#newman wolf

[paul-newmans-sauce]

watched my girlfriend play the first episode of the wolf among us and started playing it myself today. i havent seen bigby drive a car yet. can he even drive a car (i dont think he should btw)

[nobodysdaydreams]

I WAITED ALL THIS TIME FOR CUTTER’S TRAGIC BACKSTORY AND IT’S THAT HE GOT HIS TELESCOPE STOLEN AS A TEENAGER AND DECLARED REVENGE?

Oh, well then, forget Hilbert’s family dying of radiation, Jacobi’s guilt over his failures, and Maxwell’s alienation from her family, THIS was the sad villain backstory the show was building up to. And Cutter is so serious about it too, y’all I can’t. 🤣

(Or my reaction to Wolf359’s Special Episode: Volte Face)

Hi Dear Readers. Gonna be doing some work during this one, but I hope you like the reaction regardless because I've put off enough, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. Here we go!

Tagging the mutuals who got me invested in this, and if you want to be tagged or untagged from these posts, lmk, or you can follow my blog or simply follow the tag "#bods wolf359 reactions". Anyone who has followed me for a while knows my updates are inconsistent, so I apologize in advance for that and for any spelling/grammar mistakes in my posts.

@sophieswundergarten @oflightningandstars @acollectionofcuriousreblogs @herawell @commsroom @lovelyladylavie

Special Episode: Volte Face

Huh. A few years before the start of the show. This should be interesting.

Oh ew Rachel.

Wait is this her origin story?

Enlil (yes I looked up the spelling this time, yes I was careful, and yes I did this after the reaction) is so cheery. Like Cutter if he was actually nice.

Wait. Why are they calling her “Miss. Nash”?

Oh. They tried to kill her at the hotel. And she seems to know they’d try to do this, is totally okay with it, and willingly getting on a plan with them? Okay?

Don’t like this David Clark fellow.

Nash is not nice Enlil. She’s not nice at all.

Does Cutter kill or hire all the reporters that come to his door? If so, I hope Minkowski’s husband is okay.

The safety video is on mute? That’s symbolic.

The AI is the only character I like.

Andrea Nash? Am I hearing this wrong, I swear that’s Rachel Young.

So Enlil got the job Hera wanted. Flying a fancy jet all day. Hera did say that’s what happens when you’re happy and do as you’re told.

Huh. Did not expect Cutter to be a Harry Potter fan.

Ew not Cutter doing the “welcome to Wolf359” I hate it.

Was Goddard the OG Marcus? Wright-Goddard? Interesting… let’s see… 40s, 50s, 60s… AI.

Renamed in 1974… so that’s significant. Also when Cutter says “things no monkey could do” why do I think he means humans?

1976. So that’s when he took control.

People? I don’t like the sound of that.

Change the world for the better? …no. I respectfully disagree.

Oh she’s not asking about certain things. Restraining bolt?

“where were we” “how you were gonna change the world for the better” 🤣 yeah. Right after he removes everyone’s free will, sure.

Are all these people that are being listed Cutter? That’s a lot of new people.

Right they all disappeared.

Do the names of the stars have a similar pattern that the fake names have?

What does she mean by “I have EVERYTHING”? What is everything? Like… everything everything?

Oh they got that restraining bolt.

David. I think Cutter might decide to give you the restraining bolt instead.

“The same reason you don’t hold this job for more than a decade” DANG!

Matthew Newman?

Oh that’s him isn’t it? The real him?

IS THAT A GUN?

This escalated so quick.

Oh she got him. And Cutter took this so personally.

Come on Cutter. Drop the backstory. Oh Andrea Nash isn’t her name either.

Yep. Matthew Newman. Here he is.

Ah. A little high school student poking his nose where it didn’t belong. Oh so Cutter has been infatuated with aliens since he was a boy.

Wait. That’s it? The government took his telescope when he was 15 and he declared revenge? That’s his sad backstory? That’s the best he could do?

Oh and then he got fired when someone had to take the fall at the company. That too. But he still said he declared revenge when he was in high school? This is ridiculous. And further proof that science nerds who are also over dramatic theater kids cannot be trusted (expect for me because I’m special 🥰).

Oh so when Matthew left he gave the restructure order. I see… but then how did he get the new bodies?

He found Miranda Pryce. But how did she have the tech?

Maybe he used plastic surgery the first time around.

Oh. He was Miranda’s first test subject. And she wanted to manipulate the human body probably because of her blindness.

“Revenge is fun” “you can just steal one” “space exploration is only part of the bigger picture: progress. I want a better future” put those three statements together and tell me if you sound like a good guy, Cutter.

I see. So rather than stop him, Nash wants in so that she can have a hand in it. She’s just as gross as he is.

“No” *cuts to Andrea as Rachel head of special projects*

Cutter has seen Monsters Inc?

“More productive use” “Volte Face” okay this is the part where you should have brought a gun… oh the wave radiation. Good thing she’s knows that. I guess that’s enough to give Cutter the job. Rough day for you David.

Oh she has to reinvent herself. Rachel. Yep. So this is how she got here. I don’t like her. She knows what Cutter’s about, and her response is she wants in? Absolute worst.

“Goodbye Miss. Nash”

Well that was sort of a dark ending. You either willingly give up your humanity to join Pryce and Cutter or they take it. One way or another.

Anyway, now we know more about Rachel and Cutter. Gotta say, his sad backstory is funnier and lamer than I could have ever imagined. I was, bear minimum, expecting something like the board members who pushed him out of the company were close personal friends, or maybe his parents yelled at him and forced him to give up his space dreams or even a line about the kids at school laughing at him for being a high schooler who believed in aliens. But nope. He stumbled upon something, got his telescope stolen by the government and was like “you know what? I’m gonna spend the rest of my life and several more lifetimes getting revenge for this specifically.” The people who took the dang telescope aren’t even alive anymore! Look, I get they also ransacked his house and yelled at him, which is a lot for a teenager, but to respond by declaring revenge then and there and plotting world domination, I just…

I mean, I guess the moral of the story is don’t inconvenience a young science genius if they’re also a dramatic theater kid. Because they will immediately jump to world domination and change their name as part of that process and befriend(?) an evil woman who gives them next level tech. It’s happened too many times in too many of my fandoms (well two so far, show Curtain and Cutter. At least show Curtain’s sad thing was that his family left him. Still not an excuse considering his brother was also a kid at the time, but it’s better than a telescope).

I can see why you all hyped this up. It’s hilarious, but also shows how being affiliated with Cutter makes people slowly lose their humanity (again, one way or another) despite Cutter calling himself a “people person”.

Also if Rachel knows about the modified bodies, does that mean she has one? Or maybe she’s not old enough yet.

On a more serious note: Rachel’s character makes me sad. She could use her powers for good and expose so many bad people. And it sounds like she did for a while. But then she decided to sell out. Disappointing. What a waste. And since Rachel and Andrea were both fake names… we might never learn who she really is. Or maybe that doesn’t matter, since that person, who ever she was, no longer exists. Again, Cutter and Pryce do specialize in taking away other people’s humanity.

Well. Only 2 hours left. Not tonight, but later. When I have time to really sit and give a good listen. We’re in the endgame now dear readers. I hope y’all are ready!

[ask-sebastian]

Bangers. All of them.

Dance the Night - Verdun Remix

[angelstills]

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

[ichabodcranemills]

okay but like. Does the timeline for Cutter makes no sense or am I being terrible at math?

[amaritheartist]

Major spoilers for Wolf 359 and TMA

Just finished Wolf 359 not long ago, and the way Cutter was just Jonah Magnus-ing his way through things!

Not the twist I was initially expecting, which is what makes it a twist, but that was a funny little thing he pulled.

[aro-oak]

I've listened to Volte Face so many times but I. Only just realized. That Cutter was not the original Goddard and was in fact the original Matthew Newman

[a-life-in-film-by-wc]

Road to Perdition (2002)

By now I had moved to Bounds Green, with my older brother in Palmers Green, we would meet in the middle in Wood Green (as far as I remember, Bounds was the only one that actually had a Green). I tagged along with Ben and his housemates to the ‘Hollywood Green’ Vue. Since we mysteriously got there way too early for the film, we spent an hour in the Wetherspoons beforehand, which is at least two hours in student drinking time, making this the first film I ever watched at the cinema completely hammered. 

Nevertheless, it was a great film and the first on this list with Paul Newman, who died a few years later.  Sadly, this was his last live action movie according to the internet. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was a big favourite of mine around that time. Like many people my age, I first saw his face on a bottle of salad dressing so it was nice to see what else he could do.

I had no idea the movie was adapted from a graphic novel, which was itself heavily inspired by the excellent Lone Wolf and Cub. The actor who played the son even went on to play Superman in a television show or two. You wouldn’t think of this as a comic book movie but there you go.

Memories are a little hazy but I remember the film being quite economical with dialogue. I guess I’d have seen American Beauty but wouldn’t have been au fait with the mise-en-scene of Sam Mendes yet (yes, I can use French cinema terms). It would take me a few more of his movies to notice his love of using rain, mirrors, windows, tables and Daniel Craig.

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🌈 Queer Books Coming Out in August 2024 🌈

🌈 Good afternoon, my bookish bats! Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books you can add to your TBR before the year is over. Happy reading!

[ Text list below ⤵ ]

❓What was the last queer book you read?

[ Release dates may have changed. ]

❤️ Failure to Comply - Sarah Cavar 🧡 I Spit On Your Celluloid - Heidi Honeycutt 💛 You're Embarrassing Yourself - Desiree Akhavan 💚 Death of the Hero - Briona Johnson 💙 Between Dragons and Their Wrath - Devin Madson 💜 The Crimson Crown - Heather Walter ❤️ Sacrificial Animals - Kailee Pedersen 🧡 Oath of Fire - K. Arsenault Rivera 💛 The Palace of Eros - Caro De Robertis 💙 This Ravenous Fate - Hayley Dennings 💜 Mistress of Lies - K.M. Enright 🌈 Wolf Bite - T.J. Nichols

❤️ In the Valley, A Shadow - Samantha Tano 🧡 Follow My Lead - Adrian J. Smith 💛 The Last Woman I Kissed - Venetia Di Pierro 💚 Full Shift - Jennifer Dugan & Kristen Seaton 💙 Hers for the Weekend - Helena Greer 💜 Come Out, Come Out - Natalie C. Parker ❤️ Rules for Ghosting - Shelly Jay Shore 🧡 How to Leave the House - Nathan Newman 💛 Plot Twist - Carmen Sereno 💙 On the Far Side of a Crescendo - Kalyn Hazel 💜 Tiny Oblivions and Mutual Self Destructions - Maxwell I. Gold 🌈 Daylan and the River of Secrets - Edd Tello

❤️ The Italy Letters - Vi Khi Nao 🧡 The Gender Binary Is a Big Lie - Lee Wind 💚 The House Where Death Lives - Alex Brown 💙 Ash's Cabin - Jen Wang 💜 The Avian Hourglass - Lindsey Drager ❤️ The Heart Wants - Krystina Rivers 🧡 A Grand Love - Janna Barkin 💛 You Can't Go Home Again - Jeanette Bears 💜 Libertad - Bessie Flores Zaldivar 🌈 Her Golden Coast - Anat Deracine

❤️ Mighty Millie Novak - Elizabeth Holden 💛 Rise and Divine - Lana Harper 💚 Dying for You - L Flowers 💙 I'll Have What He's Having - Adib Khorram 💜 Changing Her Tune - Amanda Kabak ❤️ Monogamy? In this Economy? - Laura Boyle 🧡 The Rainbow Age of Television - Sayna Maci Warner 💛 Medusa of the Roses - Navid Sinaki 💙 Confounding Oaths - Alexis Hall 💜 Idol Lives - K.T. Salvo 🌈 Brother's Keeper - Quinn Cameron

❤️ Key Lime Sky - Al Hess 🧡 Crushing It - Erin Becker 💛 The Husky and His White Cat Shizun - Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou 💚 Not for the Faint of Heart - Lex Croucher 💙 Tasting Temptation - JJ Arias 💜 Ami - S. Jae-Jones ❤️ You're the Problem, It's You - Emma R. Alban 🧡 Cubs & Campfires - Dylan Drakes 💛 The Dark We Know - Wen-yi Lee 💙 Practical Rules for Cursed Witches - Kayla Cottingham 💜 Riyati Rebirth - Kalani Shimizu 🌈 The Brujos of Borderland High - Gume Laurel III

❤️ A Bánh Mì for Two - Trinity Nguyen 🧡 Dance of the Starlit Sea - Kiana Krystle 💛 Scattered Snows, to the North - Carl Phillips 💚 Beyond a World Apart - Caitlin Myers 💙 Don't Let It Break Your Heart - Maggie Horne 💜 Nothing Heals Me Like You Do - Harper Bliss ❤️ How It All Ends - Emma Hunsinger 🧡 How Do I Sexy? - Mx. Nillin Lore 💛 The Palace of Eros - Caro De Robertis 💙 Prince of the Palisades - Julian Winters 💜 Better Left Buried - Mary E. Roach 🌈 Back to Back - Jo Fletcher

❤️ DITCHLAPSE / [REALLY AFRAID] - Tommy Wyatt 🧡 The Love Archives: Bonus Scenes & Excerpts for Palestine - Various 💛 Guardian: Zhen Hun - Ying Priest 💚 The Sunforge - Sascha Stronach 💙 Queering Reproductive Justice - Candace Bond-Theriault 💜 Gender Explained - Diane Ehrensaft & Michelle Jurkiewicz ❤️ The Unlikely Pair - Jax Calder 🧡 In Universes - Emet North 💛 We Love the Nightlife - Rachel Koller Croft 💙 Lessons from Cruising - Martin Goodman 💜 Wild Ginger in the Rhubarb - Eule Grey 🌈 Not My Circus - Delicia Niami

❤️ Asunder - Kerstin Hall 🧡 The Phoenix Keeper - S.A. MacLean 💛 Encounters with James Baldwin - Various 💚 Verity's Game - Jennifer Giacalone 💙 Hunt Me! I Crave the Chase - Fae Quin 💜 The Audacity Omnibus - Carmen Loup ❤️ Haunted to Death - Frank Anthony Polito 🧡 Blood Orange - Paige Grunewald 💛 The Bad Things We Did - Chris Archeske 💙 Dark Restraint - Katee Robert 💜 Worth the Wait - Kenna White 🌈 The Maid and the Crocodile - Jordan Ifueko

❤️ Loving Corrections - Adrienne Maree Brown 🧡 The Last Witch in Edinburgh - Marielle Thompson 💛 The Duchess of Kokora - Nikhil Prabala 💚 The Scales of Seduction - Rien Gray 💙 Survival Is a Promise - Alexis Pauline Gumbs 💜 Loka - S.B. Divya ❤️ The Every Body Book of Consent - Rachel E Simon 🧡 Southern Lights - Liz Arncliffe 💛 Then Things Went Dark - Bea Fitzgerald 💙 Death at Morning House - Maureen Johnson 💜 The Last Doorbell - William Parker 🌈 The Pairing - Casey McQuiston

[queer-ragnelle]

So, there's a lot of books that you complain about being awful (most of which I haven't read), usually because of the interpretation of some character (or many characters).

Is the problem with most of these books:

1. That the character on question has been written as a bad person,

2. That the interpretation differs from the Vulgate Cycle,

3. or the specific combination of those two things?

Or have I completely misread this situation?

See the thing is, yes it has to do with interpretation of characters, but perhaps not as superficial as it sounds! While I do love the Vulgate and prefer a more nuanced Mordred, that’s not really the root of the issue. I want Mordred to topple Camelot. I don’t expect or want authors to follow the Vulgate exclusively, there’s plenty from Chrétien or SGATGK or Parzival or the Mabinogion I’d love to see incorporated and they often are! Yay!

The real answer is a complicated thing that can only be expressed through examples because citing “misogyny” or “racism” doesn’t convey the magnitude or severity of the problem. Medieval society was misogynistic and racist at times, I don’t think those things should go ignored in a retelling. It would cheapen the narrative to pretend Guinevere’s or Morgause’s situations weren’t brought about largely due to the patriarchal systems at play nor do I want to pretend everyone who met Palomides was race blind.

Here’s an exhaustive list of sourced examples to indicate what I’ve encountered that really turned my stomach in retellings…content warning for everything from animal abuse to rape to genocide. This is gonna be long….

Adding more/intentional incest.

Agravaine sexually attracted to his mother Morgause (The Once and Future King by T. H. White) or to his aunt Guinevere (Arthur Rex by Thomas Berger, The Road to Avalon by Joan Wolf)

Gaheris sexually attracted to his mother Morgause (The Wicked Day by Mary Stewart)

Mordred sexually attracted to and raping his mother Morgause (Morgawse by Lavinia Collins)

Uther sexually attracted to his step-daughter Morgause (Igraine by Lavinia Collins)

Kay sexually involved with his uncle Lancelot (Guinevere and Morgan by Lavinia Collins)

Mordred sexually involved with his aunt Morgause (Guinevere Evermore by Sharan Newman)

Morgause attempting to seduce her teenage son Mordred (The Wicked Day by Mary Stewart)

Arthur marrying his sister Morgan (Bedivere by Wayne Wise)

A life-long sexual relationship between Arthur and his aunt Morgan (The Road to Avalon by Joan Wolf)

Mordred and “auntie” Morgan having sex (Merlin and the Sword (1985))

Exceedingly graphic first-person rape of Guinevere by her cousin Maelgwn (Queen of the Summer Stars by Persia Woolley)

Mordred kidnaps and tries to rape his sister Avlynn (Merlin and the Book of the Beasts (2009))

Increased racism.

Using modern slurs like the N word against Palomides (The Once and Future King by T. H. White)

Aggressive and confrontational Safir “restrained” by white characters and called “homicidal Moor” by Kay (The Book of Gaheris by Kari Sperring)

Palomides speaking in broken English mentioned as a “turn-off” for Morgause (Morgawse by Lavinia Collins)

Palomides a former slave orphaned and raised culturally British instead of immigrating to Britain and constantly othered as “the Arab companion” when the others don’t have modifiers like that (Queen of the Summer Stars and Legend in Autumn by Persia Woolley)

Depicting Arab Bertilak as perpetrator of pederasty, random anti-black or anti-Asian allusions, random antisemitism, etc. (Arthur Rex by Thomas Berger)

Tristan wanting to put down “barbarian” Palomides and drives him to madness (The Enchanted Cup by Dorothy James Roberts)

Black face Palomides (The Black Knight (1954))

Adding pedophilia/child brides.

Girls including Morgaine forced into ritualistic sexual situations for “ceremonial” reasons (Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley)

Eleven year old Morgause given to Lot in marriage by her mother Igraine who lied about her age (Morgawse by Lavinia Collins)

Child bride Isolde (Legend in Autumn by Lavinia Collins, Enemy of God by Bernard Cornwell)

Merlin sexually involved with fosterling Nimuë and later attracted to young Olwen (The Winter King and Excalibur by Bernard Cornwell)

Morgause preying on minors (The Wicked Day by Mary Stewart, The Book of Gaheris by Kari Sperring)

Pedophile/serial killers Kay and Mordred (Dragon’s Child and The Bloody Cup by M. K. Hume, The Queen’s Knight by Marvin Borowsky)

Morgause sexually abusing Agravaine (Queen of the Summer Stars by Lavinia Collins)

Pederast Arthur sleeping with young Peredur and Geraint (Arthur the King by Allan Massie)

Lancelot grooms young Mordred to be his lover (Mordred, Bastard Son by Douglas Clegg)

Bademagus raping 13yo Lynette (The King’s Damosel by Vera Chapman)

Warp a character into a rapist.

Morgause/Morgan tricking Arthur to sire Mordred (The Once and Future King by T. H White, Excalibur (1981), The Hollow Hills by Mary Stewart, Bedivere by Wayne Wise, Morgan by Lavinia Collins, Guinevere by Sharan Newman, Camelot (2011))

Gawain threatening Guinevere with rape then eventually banished from court for raping someone else (Guinevere and Morgawse by Lavinia Collins)

Exceedingly graphic first-person rapes of Morgause by Lot and Mordred, Morgan by Urien (Morgawse and Morgan by Lavinia Collins)

Morgause laughing when she learns how traumatized Arthur is after her seduction of him (Queen of Summer Stars by Persia Woolley)

Agravaine threatening to rape Guinevere (The Road to Avalon by Joan Wolf)

Perceval raping Layla and getting turned on watching the rape of someone else (A Knight’s Tale by Richard Monaco)

Lancelot forcing himself onto Guinevere (First Knight (1995))

Lancelot raping Galahad’s gf (The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell)

Bors tries to rig a dice game in which the prize is sex with Nimuë (Cursed (2020))

“He would not fucking say/do that.”

Arthur, Lot, Geraint, Urien, and Lancelot are wife beaters with minimal to no consequences (Warrior of the West by M. K. Hume, I Am Mordred by Nancy Springer, Igraine and Morgan by Lavinia Collins, Knight Life by Peter David)

Lancelot doesn’t rescue Guinevere leaving her to burn at the stake by Arthur (Fall of Knight by Peter David)

Lancelot used Guinevere for political gain (Excalibur by Bernard Cornwell, The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman)

Lancelot married to Elaine then cheats on her with Guinevere and causes his wife’s death leaving Galahad an orphan (Merlin (1998))

Agravaine skins Elaine’s cat and wears it (Queen of Summer Stars by Persia Woolley)

Gareth helps Gawain torture Pellinore to death (I Am Mordred by Nancy Springer)

Genocide.

Arthur picks up where Uther left off and continues to commit genocide against magic-users, Merlin helps (BBC Merlin (2008-2012)

The red paladins commit genocide against the fay, Lancelot helps (Cursed (2020))

Gawain uses sun powers to commit genocide in the holy land, other knights like Tristan, Mordred, and Agravaine help (F/GO Camelot Wandering (2020) and F/GO Camelot Paladin Agateram (2021))

Lancelot as high king of Britain commits genocide against allies of Arthur to stay in power, other knights like Dagonet, Lot, and Calogrenant help (Kaamelott: First Installment (2021))

So yeah. It isn’t ideal that Lamorak is old in Sword of Lancelot (1963) or Dagonet is stoic and boring in King Arthur (2004). But like, whatever! I like those films! Same goes for replacing Gaheris with Geraint in Sarah Zettel’s series or cutting Gareth out of Gillian Bradshaw’s trilogy. Kind of a bummer, lame even, but not a deal breaker. The things about these bad retellings that drive me mad are much more sinister than that, rooted in really detestable opinions about women and children and people of color.

Can’t Mordred, Agravaine, and Morgan be normal scheming/evil/power hungry like they were in BBC The Legend of King Arthur (1979) or Howard Pyle’s books or Knights of the Round Table (1953) instead of whatever the above are doing? Not to mention the complete violation of Guinevere, Morgause, Lancelot, and Gawain as characters. I’m so tired, man.

Hope this clears things up. Sorry if you made it through that list. I’m sure you hated reading it as much as I hated writing it. But I think it makes it clear the problem here and that I’m not just being picky. The psychic damage is taking its toll.

[brokehorrorfan]

I Walked with a Zombie and The Seventh Victim will be released on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD together on October 8 via The Criterion Collection. Katherine Lam designed the cover art for Val Lewton productions.

1943's I Walked with a Zombie is directed by Jacques Tourneur (Cat People) and written by Curt Siodmak (The Wolf Man) and Ardel Wray. James Ellison, Frances Dee, and Tom Conway star.

1943's The Seventh Victim is directed by Mark Robson (Earthquake) and written by DeWitt Bodeen (Cat People) and Charles O'Neal. Tom Conway, Jean Brooks, Isabel Jewell, and Kim Hunter star.

Both films have been newly restored in 4K with uncompressed monaural soundtracks. Special features are listed below.

Special features:

I Walked with a Zombie audio commentary by film historians Kim Newman and Stephen Jones

The Seventh Victim audio commentary by film historian Steve Haberman

Interview with film historian Imogen Sara Smith

Audio essays from Adam Roche's podcast The Secret History of Hollywood

Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy - 2005 documentary on producer Val Lewton featuring William Friedkin, Guillermo del Toro, George A. Romero, John Landis, Robert Wise, Neil Gaiman, and more

Trailers

Booklet with essays by critics Chris Fujiwara and Lucy Sante

Terror lives in the shadows in a pair of mesmerizingly moody horror milestones conjured from the imagination of Val Lewton, the visionary producer-auteur who turned our fears of the unseen and the unknown into haunting excursions into existential dread. As head of RKO’s B-horror-movie unit during the 1940s, Lewton, working with directors such as Jacques Tourneur and Mark Robson, brought a new sophistication to the genre by wringing chills not from conventional movie monsters but from brooding atmosphere, suggestion, and psychosexual unease. Suffused with ritual, mysticism, and the occult, the poetically hypnotic I Walked with a Zombie and the shockingly subversive The Seventh Victim are still-tantalizing dreams of death that dare to embrace the darkness.

[caracarahoney]

H.I.V.E. Birthday Bundle 2024:

With the best worst father with too many names, Cypher!

(And the color gold.) Buckle up folks, it's a long one!

Playlist- Not Afraid (You Should Be)

The Lab Era Mad IQs- I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME GUY.exe- Superfruit On The Run E.V.O.L.- Marina and the Diamonds Pork Soda- Glass Animals Lent- Autoheart Paranoia in B Major- The Avett Brothers Family Man Clusterhug- I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME C Sections And Railway Trestles- The Avett Brothers The Loss Paper Scars- Lovedrug Black Light- My Epic Cypher Is Born So Called Life- Three Days Grace Look Away- The Dear Hunter Me Against You- Three Days Grace Rumors- NEFFEX The Siege Absinthe- I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME Yin Yang- USS (Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker) NFWMB- Hozier All Alone Leopard- Jack Stauber Paul Newman vs. The Demons- The Avett Brothers Gone Rogue P.O.L.I.T.I.C.S.- MISSIO Wolf In Sheep's Clothing- Set It Off Bleeding White- The Avett Brothers Gone Forest Whitaker- Bad Books, etc.

Art:

I got a rabbit as my animal, which honestly fits- lots of cool symbolism there. Something, something, snares and escaping and prey animal vs predators, etc. I honestly think this man is motivated more by fear than he lets on. Fic: A Temporary Alliance (A negotiation leads to an effective, if begrudging partnership between Cypher, three girls… and a pilot in deep over his head.) Headcanons:

Extremely paranoid ever since he began working in the villain industry, and this only became exacerbated after Xiu Mei’s death. Also misanthropic and believed most people are more bad than good, though he recognized a few exceptions like his family.

Instead of a plain oval of glass, his mask was a modified helmet resembling a motorcyclist’s. Alongside gloves, it allowed him to cover every inch of skin to prevent anyone getting hair or fingerprints for DNA testing.

Had long hair ever since he entered G.L.O.V.E., as he became paranoid that someone would assassinate him while cutting it. As Wu Zhang, he cut it himself and kept it up in a high ponytail (when down, it was a little past his shoulders). After losing Xiu Mei, he didn’t keep up with caring for it as often and let it grow a few inches longer, tucking it into his helmet as Cypher and tying it up otherwise.

Wore his mask anytime he was around others during his Cypher era, including his own henchmen. If he ever needed to sleep– such as on long flights– he would sleep with it on and hold a gun the whole time.

Based his Cypher look on some of the Power Rangers-esque shows Wing would watch as a child; he would watch them with him sometimes as a form of easy bonding time.

Adored Darkdoom’s exploits and would tell Wing bedtime stories about him; took inspiration for the Kraken from Darkdoom’s vehicles.

Despised Xiu Mei at first after the Overlord incident, but acknowledged they were stuck together. Their escape from China was full of violence, running from enemies, assassination attempts, and the usual actiony antics. This is when they first learned to appreciate each other as they both saved each other a few times. 

As a husband, Mao was less physically affectionate. He showed love through gift giving, usually by making Xiu Mei small robots or trinkets or buying her nice things. He was very aloof as a person in general, so she valued being one of the few people he would willingly be close to. They enjoyed having movie or tv nights at home more than any other kind of date, which they’d usually end with a cuddle on the couch.

As a father, he was distant, but hardworking and comparatively loving. He knew from his teen years that he wasn’t cut out for family life, but did his best once avoiding it was no longer an option. He preferred to do the “maintenance work” of the family (house work, handling paperwork, planning stuff, etc) behind the scenes while his wife handled the face-to-face parenting. After Xiu Mei’s death, he was emotionally negligent and occasionally verbally abusive whenever he and Wing would argue, but never lashed out physically. He feared how angry he could be as he grieved and would separate himself early to avoid outbursts, but the absences only made things worse.

After Xiu Mei’s death and a small depressive period, vengeance became his primary goal and he began training himself in combat. This is where some of his absences in Wing’s life came from and where Wing’s early fitness started, as he tried a few times to work out with his father to bond with him. Considering that Wu was always very upset when doing so, it never worked out. Cypher was roughly at Nero’s level in combat by the end and had some training with most weapons; he’s not a boxer and wouldn’t do well in a fist fight, but if he was armed or given the chance to strategize, he could be very dangerous.

Did not build his criminal empire from the ground up– he instead infiltrated and worked under another villain for a year or two before assassinating him and stealing his holdings, using a few robots he’d made to bolster his defenses until he was powerful enough to use his reputation.

Genuinely believed Nero stole Wing for hostage purposes, as he received a letter that appeared to be written by him threatening Wing after his disappearance. In reality, this letter was crafted and sent by Overlord to encourage Nero and Cypher to go to war.

Needed glasses or contacts; his vision wasn’t horrible and he could function without them, but he was prone to bad migraines without them. As Wu Zhang, he preferred contacts, but switched to glasses as Mao Fanchu. During his time at H.I.V.E., he would become very uncooperative if not provided with glasses and an occasional exam. Also had high blood pressure and other chronic stress issues, but knew how to manage them. 

After the fall, he had to do daily physical therapy. Nero ensured he had equipment to do so (which was stored under his bed), but he struggled with chronic pain for the rest of his life. Also occasionally had chronic pain from Overlord’s blast, but this was less frequent. One of the closest relationships to amicable he had as Cypher did come from this though, as he developed an acquaintanceship with Dr. Scott.

After Overlord, he was a brontophobe (feared lightning in particular) and had a strong distaste for the color red despite using it as one of his cardinal colors. Also feared A.I.s and almost threw up at the sight of H.I.V.E.mind in Rogue.

Resented most supervillains’ “they’re disposable” attitude towards their technicians or low-ranking staff, especially as Cypher. He also preferred to avoid killing enemies’ staff, but did so to fit in and get closer to Number One, seeing it as genuinely necessary in his mission to save the world. 

And finally, Prompts! (AKA my rejected fic ideas for this...) - Darkdoom the pirate finding siren Wu after the latter got in a scuffle with the infamous Captain Nero. - A student finds Cypher's cell and talks to him through the door. - In an AU where he survives, Cypher playing Battleship with Laura. - Wu Zhang and Xiu Mei fleeing from G.L.O.V.E. after the Incident. - Cypher arguing with Nero in his cell about bringing Overlord online too early.

Anyways, hope y'all had fun! Can't wait to see what you've all created!

[m4ybanks]

BELOW THE CUT YOU'LL FIND THE MUSES THAT HAVE BEEN MOVED FROM TWO OF MY SIDEBLOGS TO HERE !!

TEEN WOLF MUSES

stiles stilinski   . . .   head of the fbi. pansexual. [ dylan o’brien ]

scott mccall   . . .   the true alpha. veterinarian. pansexual. [ alex meraz ]

isaac lahey   . . .   chef. werewolf. pansexual. [ daniel sharman ]

derek hale   . . .   co-owner of apollo hale’s photography company. werewolf. pansexual. [ tyler hoechlin ]

meilani mccall   . . .   nurse. scott mccall’s twin. necromancer. pansexual. [ melissa barrera ]

odette lahey   . . .   journalist. isaac lahey’s younger sister. werewolf. pansexual. [ virginia gardner ]

apollo hale   . . .   photographer. derek hale & cora hale older brother.  werewolf. pansexual. [ casey deidrick ]

BAND MUSES

colby newman   . . .   31. drummer for rebel crew. pansexual. [ colby newman ]

kellin st james   . . .   32. bassist for rebel crew. pansexual. [ taylor zakhar perez ]

luke monroe   . . .   25. guitarist for rebel crew. pansexual. [ chris briney ]

braxton patterson   . . .   25. lead singer for rebel crew. pansexual. [ charlie gillespie ]

kaden  newman   . . .   22. dj. colby newman’s son.  pansexual. [ evan roderick ]

kinsley murphy   . . .   21. guitarist for mortal monkeys. pansexual. [ lola tung ]

elliott fowler   . . .   22. lead singer for mortal monkeys. pansexual. [ joshua macqueen ]

veronica lochlan   . . .   23. bassist for mortal monkeys. pansexual. [ halle bailey ]

kai delgado   . . .   24. drummer for mortal monkeys. pansexual. [ michael cimino ]

[bitchboynasty]

These are drag visions I have

- Elvis (sideburns, fringe, gold, SWEATY)

- Herbert west reanimator / dentist from little shop (evil scientist nerd, lab coat, big latex gloves, syringe, green lens glasses)

- Slutty Augustus gloop (suspenders rly short lederhosen big dick little hat, candy in pockets)

- Gay peter griffin (white short sleeve button down, green short shorts, circle glasses)

- Captain Kirk (slashed chest version, probably the simplest to do?)

- Smokey the bear (lumberjack chic, beard, hat, gay bear jokes)

- Dad drag (huge mustache, Hawaiian shirt with related pattern, socks and sandals, is there like a house remix to margaritaville or sweet Caroline)

- Hedonismbot from futurama (all gold, gold face, on bench, get off bench for theoretical performance obvs)

- Newman from seinfeld but the Jurassic park version bc everyone knows him from that even though he’s just doing Newman there (Hawaiian shirt again, shaving cream prop required, perhaps even Jurassic park shirt underneath)

- Bruce Springsteen (sleeveless shirt, denim denim denim, hanky, tight jeans)

- CEO of money (big shoulder pads, wolf of Wall Street cocaine aesthetic, Patrick Bateman)

- Goth dumbledore (would anyone get this)

[ultimatemilvesbracket]

THE MILVENING HAS BEGUN

That's 114 contenders! Amazing job everyone!

we got 323 submissions and labored over every single one until approximately 2am, which is why this bracket looks so fucking incomprehensible. (shoutout to tumblr user asparagoos for creating The Milves Rubric and user pastramis, who plays fantasy football and knows brackets.)

anyway, full match-ups are below the cut. starting tonight (3/30) we'll start with uhh the upper left-hand chunk today, then make our merry way down the list three times a day until the first elimination round ends. the top scoring milves will not appear until the second elimination round, aka when this bracket is legible.

milf lovers grab your therapist's number!

ROUND 2 / BRACKET 1

Regina Mills (Once Upon a Time) vs. Marge Simpson (The Simpsons)

Queen Clarisse Renaldi of Genovia (The Princess Diaries 1 & 2) vs. Olivia Crain (The Haunting of Hill House)

Barbara Howard (Abbott Elementary) vs. Ambessa Medarda (Arcane)

Helena "HG" Wells (Warehouse 13) vs. Taissa Turner (Yellowjackets)

ROUND 2 / BRACKET 2

Catelyn Tully Stark (A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones) vs. The Black Fairy (Once Upon a Time)

Penelope (Greek Mythology, The Odyssey) vs. Siobhan Sadler (Orphan Black)

Xenomorph Queen (Alien Cinematic Universe) vs. Goldie O'Gilt)

Bella Goth (The Sims) vs. Jean Milburn (Sex Education)

ROUND 2 / BRACKET 3

Cersei Lannister (A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones) vs. Valka (How to Train Your Dragon 2)

Queen Calanthe (The Witcher Netflix) vs. Nancy Botwin (Weeds)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 1

Marge Simpson (The Simpsons) vs. Ella Montgomery (Pretty Little Liars) WINNER MARGE

Queen Clarisse Renaldi (The Princess Diaries) vs. Peggy Bundy (Married With Children) WINNER CLARISSE

Sarah Jane Smith (Doctor Who, Sarah Jane Adventures) vs. Olivia Crain (The Haunting of Hill House) WINNER OLIVIA CRAIN

Barbara Howard (Abbott Elementary) vs. Stacy's Mom (Fountains of Wayne) WINNER BARBARA

Ambessa Medarda (Arcane) vs. Jacqueline Carlisle (The Bold Type) WINNER AMBESSA MEDARDA

Helena "HG" Wells (Warehouse 13) vs. Flemeth (Dragon Age) WINNER HG

Taissa Turner (Yellowjackets) vs. Janet Van Dyne (Antman and the Wasp) WINNER TAISSA

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 2

Patty Hewes (Damages) vs. The Black Fairy (Once Upon a Time) WINNER THE BLACK FAIRY

Milah (Once Upon a Time) vs. Penelope (The Odyssey) WINNER PENELOPE

Siobhan Sadler (Orphan Black) vs. Norma Bates (Bates Motel) WINNER SIOBHAN

Gerri Kellman (Succession) vs. Xenomorph Mom (Alien Franchise) WINNER XENOMILF

Alex Blake (Criminal Minds) vs. Goldie O'Gilt (Ducktales 2017) WINNER GOLDIE

Bernie Wolfe (Holby City) vs. Bella Goth (The Sims) WINNER BELLA

Elizabeth Jennings (The Americans) vs. Jean Milburn (Sex Education) WINNER JEAN

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 3

Valka (How to Train Your Dragon 3) vs. Ana Servín (Madre Solo hay Dos) WINNER VALKA

Matriarch Benezia (Mass Effect) vs. Queen Calanthe (The Witcher Netflix) WINNER CALANTHE

Julie Cooper (The OC) vs. Nancy Botwin (Weeds) WINNER NANCY

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 4

Ana Amari (Overwatch) vs. Aunt May (Spider-Man MCU) WINNER AUNT MAY

Joyce Byers (Stranger Things) vs. Queen Ramonda (Black Panther) WINNER JOYCE

Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Star Trek: Voyager) vs. Nalini Vishwakumar (Never Have I Ever) WINNER JANEWAY

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 5

Carol Newman (The Santa Clauses) vs. Bette Porter (The L Word) WINNER BETTE

Addison Montgomery (Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice) vs. Sabine Cheng (Miraculous Ladybug) WINNER ADDISON

Laura Roslin (Battlestar Galactica) vs. Mrs. Brown (Paddington 1 and 2) WINNER LAURA ROSLIN

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 6

Yennefer of Vengerberg (The Witcher 3) vs. Carminha (Avenida Brasil) WINNER YENNEFER

Camila Noceda (The Owl House) vs. Sarah Alder (Motherland: Fort Salem) WINNER CAMILA

Wynne (Dragon Age) vs. Melissa McCall (Teen Wolf) WINNER MELISSA

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 7

Mon Mothma (Star Wars) vs. Carol Peletier (The Walking Dead)

Helen Parr (The Incredibles) vs. Seven of Nine (Star Trek: Picard)

Abigail Pent (The Locked Tomb) vs. Medea (Greek Mythology/Euripedes)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 8

Queen Elinor (Disney's Brave) vs. Caroline McKenzie-Dawson (Last Tango in Halifax)

Evelyn Wang (Everything Everywhere All At Once) vs. Takhisis (Dragonlance)

Annalise Keating (How To Get Away With Murder) vs. Maureen Robinson (Lost in Space)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 9

Gemma Teller (Sons of Anarchy) vs. Celeste Wright (Big Little Lies)

The Fairy Godmother (Shrek 2) vs. The Smart House (Disney's Smart House)

Marcia Roy (Succession) vs. Martha Rodgers (Castle)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 10

Pyrrha Dve (The Locked Tomb) vs. Danielle Rousseau (Lost)

Olivia Benson (Law and Order: SVU) vs. Linda Flynn-Fletcher (Phineas and Ferb)

Morticia Addams (The Addams Family) vs. Maeve Millay (Westworld)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 11

Melanie Cavill (Snowpiercer) vs. DCI Amy Silva (Vigil)

Beverly Crusher (Star Trek: The Next Generation) vs. Lucille Bluth (Arrested Development)

Abby Bartlett (The West Wing) vs. Laura de Mille (Doom Patrol)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 12

Alicia Florrick (The Good Wife) vs. Ellie Torres (Cougartown)

Zelda Spellman (The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) vs. Lisa Lisa (Jojo's Bizarre Adventures)

Tsunade (Naruto) vs. Jules Cobb (Cougartown)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 13

Katherine Hastings (American Auto) vs. Esme Cullen (Twilight Series)

Abby Griffin (The 100) vs. Letty Ortiz (The Fast and the Furious 9)

Jocasta (Greek Mythology) vs. Joss Carter (Person of Interest)

ROUND 1 / BRACKET 14

Julia Sugarbaker (Designing Women) vs. Eve Fletcher (Mrs. Fletcher)

Chrisjen Avasarala (The Expanse) vs. Marion Lavorre (Critical Role)

Tiffany Valentine (Chucky) vs. Jodie Mills (Supernatural)

[singeratlarge]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Desi Arnaz, Benedict of Nursia, Moe Berg, Ed Bournemann, Dale Bozzio, Larry Carlton, Karen Carpenter, John Cowsill, Daniel Craig, John Cullum, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Maxwell Street, Jimmy Davis, Becky G, Rory Gallagher, John Gardner, Mikhail Gorbachev, Laird Hamilton, Sam Houston, Bryce Dallas Howard, John Irving, Jennifer Jones, Léon Jongen, Jon Bon Jovi, Orrin Keepnews, the 1933 film KING KONG, Papa Lightfoot, BarBara Luna, Madonna’s 1989 single “Like a Prayer,” Chris Martin, Gates McFadden, drummer-producer Tony Meehan (The Shadows), Method Man, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Lauraine Newman, Jay Osmond, Ethan Peck, Elvis Presley’s 1956 single “Lawdy Miss Clawdy,” Luke Pritchard (The Kooks), Dottie Rambo, Red Saunders, Dennis Seaton (Musical Youth), Shostakovich’s 14th Symphony (1969), Bedřich Smetana, the 1995 musical SMOKY JOE’S CAFÉ, Ludovico Spontoni, the 1965 film SOUND OF MUSIC, composer-trumpeter Derek Watkins (James Bond films), Kurt Weill, Tom Wolfe, "Théo" Ysaÿe, and the creative provocateur, poet, and singer-songwriter Lou Reed. He was the principal songwriter for The Velvet Underground and his solo career spanned 5 decades. 

Velvet Underground were not commercially successful but are now regarded as one of the most influential bands in the history of rock. Brian Eno said that everyone who heard the first VU album wanted to start a band. Reed had a deadpan voice that, for me, required forgiveness as singers go (though he did step up on occasion, particularly when he sung with The Blind Boys on THE RAVEN album). Eventually I connected with his noir fiction, transgressive “eyewitness reporting” lyrics and songcraft. He neither approved or disapproved of the subjects he sang about and, in the end, he just wanted to write catchy rock’n’roll. Over the years I’ve performed at least 6 Reed/VU songs—recording 2: “What Goes On” and “Sunday Morning,” on which I was joined by members of The Badlees (who did a splendid job in one afternoon). Reed himself commended our cover and promoted it on his website in the mid-90s. HB and RIP Lou.

#loureed #velvetunderground #sundaymorning #singersongwriter #bretalexander #thebadlees #blindboysofalabama #raven #edgarallenpoe #noirfiction #poet #guitarist #eyewitnessreport #johnnyjblair #singeratlarge #birthday