#there's also the silent hill version where i feel like i'm on my way to uncover truths about myself that i've repressed.

[scorndotexe]

listening to video game soundtracks to read is all fun and good until you stop reading and you're on your way to do something else and feeling like you're on your way to kill a king so ancient the rest of the world has forgotten him. and he's past reason, the only thing left to do is pick up your sword and do your best to save this part of the dying universe. but really you're just walking to class

[hiwelcometothemonstersancturary]

Image ID: Two glitter texts, reading as "NIGHTMARE FACTORY – DEVLOG 0". End image ID.

Hi, I'm Garça Visconde Mirigis, and I'm VERY happy to announce that this post you're reading is the first devlog ever for my nightmare game, a 3D platformer parody of mascot horror genre! And yes, nightmare, not dream game, because making my actual dream game is way out of my current abilities at the moment!

Ever thought to yourself how different a horror game would be if our protagonist decided to help the monsters instead of... [reading a list off-screen] killing, imprisioning, sacrificing, exorcizing or even banning them to other dimensions? Because I have, for ungodly amounts of time, and after literally years I decided that the time to actually make this thing has come. Welcome to the NIGHTMARE FACTORY!

OKAY BUT WHAT IS THE SYNOPSIS?

As previously mentioned, NIGHTMARE FACTORY is a parody of mascot horror games, set in an abandoned toy factory that also used to host a theme park. You play as Vera Torres, a 57 year-old mechanic who used to work in there. One day, our dear Vera receives a call from an old coworker: The higher-ups are going to sell the factory and the theme park, but they need a good inspection, and no one is accepting the offer! Feeling a bit nostalgic and wanting to help her friend, Vera decided to help take a look inside...

... Only to discover the place is now filled with strange monsters whose leader has, somehow, decided that she's actually his mother?! But she only had one kid ever in her life...?

Yeah, Vera is CONFUSED, and it's now your duty as the player to help her figure out just what the heck is going on!

... AND WHAT THE HECK IS THE GAME ACTUALLY ABOUT?

The game is a lighthearted and pink look at mascot horror as a whole, featuring little references to other games and lots and lots of silly jokes. It is also a long love letter for the genre, because as much as I like poking fun at FNaF, it did change my life for the better and it will forever have a soft spot in my heart. I love the franchise despite it all, and making a whole game just to poke fun at it and other similar games feels stupid. No one can create a good parody if they don't love the thing they're parodying even a tiny little bit.

NIGHTMARE FACTORY is not an "aha look at how stupid this is" look at mascot horror. I want it to be as sincere as possible, and the end product needs to be honest and not ironic in the slightest in order for it to be a success.

HOWEEEVEEEER. Despite the silliness, NIGHTMARE FACTORY can and will feature grapphic imagery and disturbing content due to its nature as a horror title. Trigger and content warnings have not been currently set, but shall be added as development continues.

WHAT ARE THE ~ INSPIRATIONS ~ ?

HEHEHE. HAHAHHAA. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. MY FAVORITE PART!

The gameplay is inspired by the original Crash Bandicoot trilogy, Pac-Man World 1-2 and Rayman 2! These are my favorite platformers ever and I played them for hours as a kid, and since NIGHTMARE FACTORY is all about toys and childhood I figured it would be the perfect fit!

For themes and story, NIGHTMARE FACTORY is inspired by Five Nights at Freddy's, Bendy and the Ink Machine/Bendy and the Dark Revival, Tattletail, Poppy Playtime, Silent Hill 1-4, Welcome Home, My Friendly Neighborhood and the Lacey series on YouTube! Some of the themes include loss of childhood, the horrors of motherhood and girlhood, corporate corruption, trauma recovery, grief and rage.

For visuals, however? Alice: Madness Returns, Hello Kitty Roller Rescue, Strawberry Shortcake: The Sweet Dreams Game, Disney Princess' Enchanted Journey and old dress-up flash games are my references!

THE SETTING

The game is set in 2020s São Paulo, Brazil, AKA where I live, and it can and will feature elements of brazilian culture. The final version should have both english and brazilian-portuguese translations, with cultural notes being featured to help non-brazilians understand some jokes and themes better.

CURRENT SITUATION

NIGHTMARE FACTORY is currently sitting at "the single gamedev is desperate to start programming but he's busy with uni work" stage of production, but do not worry, the single gamedev is also working on the story, how level progression shall go, how the game should feel to play, and, of course, planning the mechanics, AKA the most important part of a fun game. I'll make an entire devlog detailing every single main mechanic as soon as I'm able to finally start fully working on this!

NIGHTMARE FACTORY is being made with Godot, Blender and Krita, and it will be released first for PC.

NOW A LOOK AT HOW THE SINGLE GAMEDEV IS ALREADY ANXIOUS ABOUT MAKING THE GAME

It wouldn't be a project I made without me losing my mind about it from day 0!

Nightmare Factory is a 3D platformer game, with around ~30 levels planned, divided into 5 acts/chapters/arcs/sessions. You can think as these sets of levels as Crash Bandicoot's Warped level selection, like this!

After answering some asks relating to mascot horror as a genre, I remembered a conversation I had with my amazing partner some weeks ago about how I want to release NIGHTMARE FACTORY. YES, I didn't even start programming it, but this is the type of thing I need to settle on before I build a good chunk of the game. It will be important!

But then. There's the problem: I don't like it when games are "released" but you have to pay more to get all of them. Yeah, each chapter would be super cheap so they would have a full game price when combined, but also. Do I want to do this. Do I genuinely want to do this. Like? Am I sure this is the right way to do it?????

Image ID: Screenshot of Crash Warped for the PS1, with Crash standing in front of a warp room with 5 blue buttons on the floor, each marked with a number from 1 to 5. The 6th button has the face of Tiny Tiger, signaling it to be the entrance to a boss fight level. End image id.

My first plan was to release each act separately so I could both get feedback and also have more fun, because by getting feedback I would be way less worried about messing things up + I could update things like character physics to be less wonky or more stiff in case it was a common complaint, which could change the entire level design. And also because I'm a clown and I want to make a mascot horror parody, and releasing it in chapters aligns perfectly with how I want this to go.

Anyways, this has now lead to me deciding that the game should be a "pay for it once" type of thing. I'll still release it in chapters, but the updates will be for free. Will I regret this decision because liking it or not I need money + I am an indie dev + there's nothing wrong with game devs expecting to be, y'know, PAID for their work? Absolutely so!!!!! But I think that, for now, this will be how I develop this silly game.

Anyways, this is getting long enough, so I'll finish it for now. Character introductions will be made after the gameplay-focused devlog, so see you guys soon enough! Byeeee <3

[owliellder]

Music Recs (for writing)

I thought it would be fun to make a post of the type of music I listen to when I'm writing while also providing music recommendations cause i love finding new music myself. obviously I'll add more as I go along

I use music to help with feelings (like angst, love, fluff, etc) since I struggle conveying those naturally and I only really use apple music because spotify has always evaded me, so I'm literally just going to write each song and then link it on youtube 😭

also heads up, my music taste is EVERYWHERE so there is no rhyme or reason to any of this

Fluff/Happy Mix:

Fall On Me by R.E.M.

Fresh by Daft Punk

Keep Feeling Fascination by The Human League

Around and Around by John Denver

Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits

Feel It All Around by Washed Out (don't mind me, just adding Washed Out's entire discography here)

You'll See It by Washed Out

Angst:

Veridis Quo by Daft Punk

Face to Face by Daft Punk

Wicked Game by Chris Isaak

It's Raining Again by Supertramp

Take The Long Way Home by Supertramp

Eyes Without a Face by Billy Idol

Goodbye Again by John Denver

Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve (this is a very specific type of angst I feel)

Belong by Washed Out

Phone Call by Washed Out (this version of the song can only be found on youtube)

You and I by Washed out (again, this specific version is only on youtube)

Clap Intro by Washed Out

What Once Was by Hers

Just Wait Til Next Year by John Maus

Sprawling Idiot Effigy by Nero's Day at Disneyland (I do not suggest you listen to this one unless experimental music is your thing cause I tend to listen to Nero's Day at Disneyland when I am too under-stimulated to write)

(In) Love:

Love Story (Instrumental) by Lana Del Ray (I put this on loop for hours it's such a beautiful instrumental)

Digital Love by Daft Punk

Cheri Cheri Lady by Modern Talking

There Is a Light That Never Goes Out by The Smiths

Linger by The Cranberries

Annie's Song by John Denver

The ENTIRE Paracosm album by Washed Out (trust me on this one it all flows as one song)

Eyes Be Closed by Washed Out

Amor Fati by Washed Out

Everything in You by Adventure Time (ft Half Shy) (the Fionna and Cake series ruined me)

Nights in White Satin by The Moody Blues, London Festival Orchestra

Baby I'm Yours by Cass Elliot

Stay by Oingo Boingo

Spice 😈:

not a lot of this yet since i tend to listen to my BG music when writing smut

Lose Yourself to Dance by Daft Punk

Make Love by Daft Punk

Hurt/Comfort:

Something About Us by Daft Punk

Instant Crush by Daft Punk (ft. Julian Casablancas) (I really like Daft Punk)

Why (12" Version) by Carly Simon

Gypsy by Fleetwood Mac

Dreams by Fleetwood Mac

Back Home Again by John Denver

Poems, Prayers, and Promises by John Denver (I also really like John Denver)

Kids by MGMT

The Ghost Inside by Broken Bells

Andromeda by Weyes Blood

Luck by Washed Out

Far Away by Washed Out

Fly Away by John Denver

General Scene Building/BG:

now this is my favorite part since these are what I use most often when writing. you can pick out obvious tone indicators here in the titles 😭

a way i've learned to tap into certain feelings for when i'm writing is by using my own feelings on personal experiences, so a lot of these playlists i'm linking I have a lot of personal connection to (also because they're all so damn specific)

you're inside the last memories of a dying person (playlist) by nobody

you're an astronaut lost in space (playlist) by nobody

i feel like i've been here before (playlist) by nobody

|| nobody here || Silent Hill fog core playlist by Armand Tormo

February 22, 2001 - A liminal playlist by Dan

recalling moments of a christmas that never happened (playlist) by nobody

you're visiting the grave of an old friend while remembering the moments you spent together (playlist) by nobody

you found a place where spring is eternal (playlist) by nobody

you're staring at the ceiling while creating romanticized stories in your head (playlist) by nobody

you're walking under the golden trees watching the melancholic leaves dancing in the air (playlist) by nobody

Lost in the Poolrooms (a visual vaporwave mix) by K1K1n

Music for Vibin' on Jupiter's Hydrogen Sea (vaporwave mix) by olimar124

Unknown Songs (Lost Media Comp.) by Christopher Cherigo (one of my hyperfixations is unknown songs lololol)

[jessaerys]

It’s so great to find people who think the same things about mello and near, I watched dn like last year and was so sad that there was a lack of fics exploring their REAL dynamic and just reducing them to “they hate each other forever!!!!” like cmon guys😪 I beg of u to write something for them and give us the brothers-enemies-soulmates energy that they really have!! Also your art is bomb and ur vv big brained and talented but im too shy to say this off anon hah😁😁

i'm too shy to reply to messages like these when they are off-anon so i think this works for the both of us as an intricate ritual.... (what are we)

once again, no promises, but i do hope i can overcome my fanfiction-posting fear and eventually get buff enough to adapt to longfic format taka's and i's insanely rambly RP threads where near and mello get stuck in a rural greek island with no contact to the outside world except for a village of elderly people for two weeks post-near traveling to the underworld orpheus and eurydice style to bring mello back from the dead so all they can do is sit around trying very hard to avoid having a good time or process any feelings whatsoever. and also bond and experience community and rest or whatever. but mostly come up with increasingly implausible lies to themselves as to why they want to make out. which they don’t. oh and also there’s only one bed. and the clock is ticking till they have to return to the real world and face the music or whatever. it's like blue lagoon by way of silent hill style therapy and it's like 70k words at this point but only like 6 days have happened in-universe time hence the need for a film (fic) abridged version. in the meantime you can peruse my #august underground tag for only the vaguest of context clues

anyway nothing fuels me more than rooting for an underdog ship knowing with my entire being that i am objectively so correct and everyone who disagrees is wrong so i need to produce quality fanworks to Win at Shipping. something that is normal to want and possible to achieve. i think it's because i was raised to proselytize so now i need to chanel that instinct like a dog without a job. sorry where was i going with this

[brandnewhuman]

Hi there hope youre having a great day! i would like you to match me up with some hot slashy man 😏 I'm not really tall probably like 5'1, i have medium lenght brown hair. My personality is *coughs* yeah you have to get used to me :) I like to spend time with people but then i don't want to see anyone for the whole week. I'm also very straightforward some would say 'mean and arrogant' and my anger issues can get the "best" out of me (working on it) I act all tough and "i don't need anyone" but when i really love someone i'll make sure they know it 🖤 I do witchcraft too! Spells, readings, offerings, you name it 🔮 I like metal/rock music so my style is simple: all black + leather + LOT OF jewerly. I think that's all thank you 🖤

I paired you up with...

♡ Pyramid Head ♡

CONGRATULATIONS BRO, YOU'RE THE FIRST ONE WHO GETS PYRA

I have squeezed my brain so hard for this one broski. I initially thought about Asa but idk if someone with a such a strong personality would work out with him since he has his fair share of bad temper ecc plus idk why but i think pyra and witchcraft are a good pair

And let's be honest, how great is to have this absolute unit of a man silently fussing over you

Okay so you must be thinking "izzy, you fucking idiot, how is this supposed to work?" I HAVE MY THEORY SO BEAR WITH ME

This man has to deal with far worse than anger issues or strong personalities, he's not easy to piss off despite what most people think. He's not angry when he's working, he's just doing that work. LISTEN I HC HIM AS REALLY CALM, LIKE HE GIVES ZERO FUCKS ABOUT MOST THINGS THAT PEOPLE MAY FIND ANNOYING OR UPSETTING. I think he doesn't understands human emotions all too well but makes an effort (an actual one tho, like he's squeezing his brain here) and tries to rationalise how and why you might feel the way you feel. He is already content with you being in his life so he doesn't really needs anything more from you other than what you want to share with him if that makes sense

He's gonna be out like a lot so you'll probably have a good balance of alone time and quality time with him. He makes sure of it and if there are days where you need more of one rather than the other he will make everything in his power to respect your needs

This man is the definition of almost offensive straightforward so idk if thats a good thing or a bad one. Like he can't really talk so most of the things he's thinking will never see the light of day so maybe you won't have too many troubles with him

There was a fanart or a cosplayer i can't remember which one, that did a version of pyra with like latex black clothes and he look majestic bro. If you give him any kind of jewellery he will treat it like the most precious thing in the world. Not a big fan of the music, maybe due to what he has to do for a living, but will try to get into it if it means making you happy.

BEEFY DORITO HEAD IS A SOFTIE AND IM WILLING TO WILL DIE ON THIS HILL

Anyway hoped you liked it broski ^^

Song recommendation time!!

[a-silver-dragoness]

Greetings!

I call myself Iilah (meaning moon in dovahzul) and this is where I post all my art!

All OC's and art are free to use. Put them in stories, change them, throw them into a meat grinder, I honestly don't care. Go nuts and have fun!

Things I am:

Dragonkind

Godkind (Imagithrope) (goddess of souls and magic)

Light Furyhearted

Fictosexual/Fictoromantic

Proshipper/Ship and Let Ship

Things I have:

Anxiety/Depression

MaDD

Sometimes I talk very passionately about stuff that boils my blood (Light Fury hate and Christianity come to mind), so if that makes you uncomfortable, feel free to block me!

Otherwise, I don't care too much who follows me or how you interact with my posts, just don't be a douche, and we won't have any problems! 😊

Me ^^^

Favorite things/Random stuff ⬇️⬇️⬇️

My Favorite Animals:

Dragons (European/Wyvern)

Hummingbirds

Ball Pythons

Whales

My Favorite Pokemon:

Fire: Charizard

Water: Vaporeon

Grass: Torterra

Normal: Eevee

Electric: Kilowattrel

Fighting: Humipummel

Ice: Glaceon

Poison: Bulbasaur

Ground: Onix

Flying: Corviknight

Psychic: Lugia

Bug: Combee

Rock: Relicanth

Ghost: Spiritomb

Dark: Bombirdier

Fairy: Sylveon

Steel: Dialga

Dragon: Latios/Latias

My Favorite Bands/Music/Artists:

Heilung (particularly their Lifa album)

Aviators (particularly their Soulsborne songs)

A playlist of random songs I like (I put this playlist on shuffle 99% of the time):

My Favorite Book Series:

Wings of Fire

Specifically the third arc, I just love the concept of HiveWings, SilkWings, and LeafWings. But the last two books sorta spiraled into absurdity for me, I would have preferred a simple rebellion story, not a "the world is in danger and we have to save it!" type story. But overall, the third arc is still my favorite.

How I discovered I was a dragon:

Saphira (movie version) helped me figure out what I look like! While I'm not part of the Eragon universe, I share many physical traits with Saphira. Sometimes when I hyperfixate on dragon stuff, it makes me question whether it's a kintype or not, so I usually have to wait for the hyperfixation to fade before I can really tell. Usually, it means this kintype-like feeling fades with the hyperfixation. Not so with my silver Saphira-like form! This feeling of "this is me, this is who I am" stuck around after my interest in the movie faded.

How I discovered I was a goddess:

My MaDD (maladaptive daydreaming disorder) is a huge part of this. For many years now, my daydream world hasn't changed much. While the narrative changes frequently (on a daily basis), some characters and locations have become permanent, they're always part of my daydreams, they're always a part of me.

My husband King Solaris of the Angels (whom I miss very much), my doctor Corvus, the silver knights, the stone wyverns, the Lunar Sea, the forests, the mountains... these are all permanent.

In this world, also exists my idealized self. The goddess of Latria. The silver dragon. The goddess of souls and magic.

This idealized version of myself is permanent, and hasn't changed for many years. Which leads me to believe I am her in some way. I know, it sounds bizarre, or wrong, but that's how I feel. I am her. I... can't change that.

(Back when I was a kid, I could change my daydream self whenever I wanted, but that doesn't seem possible anymore)

My Forever Husbando:

King Solaris of the Angels, god of physical strength

All Husbandos:

*degree of interest changes every so often, usually on a monthly or weekly basis

War (Darksiders)

Toothless (HTTYD THW)

Sir Artorias the Abysswalker (Dark Souls)

Ludwig the Accursed/the Holy Blade (Bloodborne)

Big Daddy (Bioshock)

Pyramid Head (Silent Hill)

Nemesis (Resident Evil: Apocalypse)

Mr. X (Resident Evil)

Ghost People (Fallout New Vegas Dead Money)

SCP 049 (Creepypasta)

Master Chief (Halo)

Optimus Prime (Transformers Bayverse, G1, Prime)

Ratchet (Transformers G1)

Prince Dion Lesage/Bahamut (FF16)

King Rauru of Hyrule (LOZ TOTK)

Joshua Graham (Fallout New Vegas Honest Hearts)

Little Ghost/The Knight (Hollow Knight)

Godfrey the First Elden Lord (Elden Ring)

The Whalers (Dishonored)

Daud (Dishonored)

Inarius (Diablo)

Imperius (Diablo)

Tyrael (Diablo)

Usiel (Darksiders 3)

Archon Lucien (Darksiders 2)

Abaddon (Darksiders)

[nathank77]

5/26/24

12:26 Added to/Edited

I've been wearing one of my pairs of Ray-Bans since this morning and my eyes aren't straining. I put the case in a separate place so I can differentiate from the other ones that cause my eyes to water in less 1 hour.

I guess if I pay for lenses for one of my Ray-Bans I will pick the others. Now I can consider the Arons for lense replacement...

I mean I'm still on the fence.

I want to play Silent Hill Origins again and do an UFO ending guide... I did a playthrough today on the good ending cause I already had a guide for it and It been months since I played so I wanted to make sure if I did a guide I wasn't rusty.

Imma either return the chicken or eat the money... I don't want to go out tomorrow.... I want to stay in and play Silent Hill 1. I may only get a few more days with this shitty hdcp bypasser and I want to enjoy my silent hill games. I truly don't want to play them if I can't record them talking at the screen helps with my hallucination a lot...

I have a few options for what to do with the rest of my night:

1) silent hill origins ufo ending

2) try to play with my hdcp bypasser and see if I figured out the trick and maybe play the maria sub scenario on my greatest hits version if I did... cause it's short and then either shower or just watch TV for the rest of the night.

3) watch TV and shower a little later.

Idk what I want to do. Silent hill origins is still on obs... and I could keep going... I'd play it again bc my memory is refreshed and the ufo ending is significantly shorter and it would complete one of my playlists.... and I don't have it in me to play any of my other silent hill games or even play far cry or something. I don't want to get immersed in fc4 or fc2 assuming the hallucination levels out. I'm still waiting for my white mulberries to kick in it shouldn't be long...

I hate being immersed in a game and having to turn it off.... I want to play fc2 or fc4 when I have all day and when I feel like playing it. I can complete silent hill origins and or the maria sub scenario so I can fully immerse myself and feel a sense of completion.

I got to decide. I didn't shower today cause I wanted to play all day. I def did get a lot of game time but I want more but I'm scared that the white mulberries are really sensitive... appearantly I need to take them every 24 hours within 24 hours.... they are truly an antipsychotics not with a commlatative effect but rather a daily effect... if I get hospitalized for something like a heart condition they'll need to be given to me daily. I will be on them for life.... with the way it's been since letting 24 hours pass due to the potential Dihherea and the issue with the chicken..

Also less tv times means it's harder to focus on the dialogue when I listen to the tv when I'm trying to sleep. I lost a lot of time to my chicken and the ocd and I'm still worried but appearantly fat balls are not that uncommon nonetheless it looked a little raw where it was and I am glad I only ate the skin but I wish I saw it before I ate the skin. Parts of the skin was so fatty and I'm scared but I got to stay distracted.

Idk what to do. I'll prob stay home and eat the money I lost on the chicken... stay home, shower, get my hdcp bypaser to work and play silent hill 1... cause I really need more game time. Like sincerely. I hardly game anymore. And I need all day to fully immerse myself it helps level out the hallucination and it makes the game more fun.

Immersion is important in a lot of ways.

[paleclementine]

I did this last year on my other account, so here it is again: these were some of my favorite songs this year, in no particular order.

Style- Taylor Swift. I played this song so ridiculously much but it's so good. Which is why I played it. lol. I kinda played this so much because I wanted to have a 1989 moment (all year) but mostly prep for the summer vibes. Also, somewhat embarrassingly, I listened to this song because it reminds me of soukoku (fic inspo). it's funny how itricately my fanfic-writing and taylor-listening went hand in hand, such as Coney Island, Ivy, I Wish You Would, Clean..... really all of evermore and 1989. I told myself I'd have an evermore year, and I did.

This Comes From Inside- The Living Tombstones. again, this is one of those songs that could also be swapped out for any other fnaf song. This summer, I had a huge internet music phase, and I also had one in winter but it was more subdued. It was nice to let myself be cringe and into Fnaf, Markiplier, Unus Annus, Cosplay, and other things that had to do with being internet trash.

Romantic Homicide- d4vd. I listened to this song so much?? I wouldn't even say it's one of my favorite songs, but it is catchy and I do like the lyrics and concept of it. it's just chill and pretty... and also inspo for my fic.

Alaska- Pingrove. This was during my phase where I was obsessed with van life and getting the fuck out of my room. I felt very free while listening to this song, and I loved the concept of a life falling apart but being brand new at the same time, scraping your knees on cement on your way to a better place. "I asked what I'd been asking you / Like trees repeat, like numerals do" "Through that opalescent open road / And then time spread and expanded / The lines fanned out across the land."

I Think About You All the Time- Field Medic. this song is so calming and contained every ounce of yearning I felt when I was away from Anthony. It felt like a painful summer day and a nectar heart. "When I hear your voice in a whisper / To me it feels like leisure." I really did create a life with Anthony inside my mind whenever I closed my eyes.

Cover Me- Starbenders. This was my song of the summer! it's what ABBA would give if they were all witches. I loved the singers voice. The song reminded me of a modern fleetwood mac. "die for one another / sacrifice my soul." Simple lyrics, and not flowery, but I feel it in my bones.

Oleander- Mother Mother. the TUNE of this song makes me go actually crazy. Also, the live version of this song is a lot better but it's only on youtube. It makes me feel evil, like I'm a bad person and in a relationship that only hurts each other-- like biting people for the intimacy of blood. but loving each other even if it kills.

Wicked Game. This song gives such fall vibes, grey clouds, but warmth. "The world was on fire / And no one could save me but you." I liked this song around the time I played Night in the Woods, and it made me feel so fall. It feels so canyon. It feels dark and red and- the world was on fire, but autumn-chilled.

Headfirst Slide into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet- Fall Out Boy. I LOVE THIS FUCKING SONG. I was obseeeessssed with this album all throughout fall. This song just scratched an itch in my brain that no other song did. there are so many different melodies in this song and they all make me feel achingly angry-in-love. I also loved the tune of tiffany blews. Really just every song.

Mg1- Machine Girl. this song got me through the winter. It's so depressing and I relate to it. it sounds like silent hill. This is an opportunity to talk about the songs on youtube, so big shoutout to Oliver-vocaloid songs and I Deserve to Bleed and-

Blow my Brains Out (sped up version). obligatory addition because holy F this song is so good, makes me want to dance and ofc blow my brains out at the same time. such a fun dancey song, so internetty but normie at the same time. Thanks, song. ily.

[mythicaldemigoddess-of-deltarune]

My Second Pet Cat Had Surgery (Also My Thoughts About Alastor Situation)

[Note: Mature Audience Readers Only...also because this will get off topic from my talking about Alastor and what went on with my cat...I'm going to have this on "Mature" instead of "For Everyone" just in case...also reading this is optional. and even if the words in this might not be super dirty or super mature, but I'm still having this in Mature just in case...]

first I want to say, that I came so close to losing my second cat, who I was lucky was given to me when she was just a fluffy baby kitten...

and let me tell you this, she had never went to the vet before or been away from the house before that we currently live in...

and ever since after the surgery, she has been extra clingy and even resting on my chest or lap....

but also if she wasn't taken to the vet on time (which lucky it wasn't too late and she was taken on time...) or if those who were treated her made the wrong mistake and cause something really bad to happen to her...

my thoughts were, if I had the power to....

I would start Omnigeddon...

something like Armageddon, but it would involve freezing Hell or at least half of it over and basically going all Alessa Gillespie & Carrie White...even if it might not really happen, but my thoughts still went to the whole wanting to do a Omnigeddon if I lost my cat.

even though I am trying not to become like them, still love the movies of Silent Hill, and I do still hope there will be a third movie.

I still haven't worked up the nerve to watch the new versions of Carrie yet....I'll try to get to it at some point...

just like I should try to finally check my blood type to see if it will come out O RH D Negative for the third time...

I really need to stop procrastinating that whole triple checking to see if my blood type will come out the same for a third time...

it has also been a while since I checked to see if one of those modern radios will act weird on me again when I turn the switch on and move my fingers close to it and it either got all static sound, or what is playing goes off or on or something around good or poor frequency.

then again, like I said before....it does appear to only happen sometimes so it might not happen all that much.

I also want to say that even though it has been days and some weeks since my cat had the surgery, I decided to spend most of them on one of my game consoles while letting my sweet fluffy baby who is even more clingy since what happen...lay on me most of the time and well, there is still the situation where I need to eat something, but we do find a way to work around it.

but let me be perfectly clear, I still like Alastor, and I had found a video that talked about some unpleasant things...which I ain't gonna repeat but I was peeved off...but hopefully things will work out.

and like I pointed out before, I'm not like Other Earth Angels...

I know perfectly well I'm Defective, and the whole self-nickname "Eveningstar" mostly has to do with the funny story that had to do with my Mom when she was still pregnant with me...

that she NEVER got Morning sickness, she only got Evening sickness...

also let me point this out, that I may have before...

not all my Ancestors are white, and I know some of my ancestors come from different religions as well...

and while I use to go by Christian, and I haven't come out to my family about going by Neo-Spiritual, well unless some end up ruining it but hopefully that wont happen.

but yeah another thing I can't come out to my family about is that I am Aroaceflux, well that and Fictoromantic but they may not care much about that last one...

and yeah, before I figured out I'm Ace, I unknowingly been picking up certain toxic-lust energy, and it is part of the reason I wear my gem bracelets all the time....if I'm going to feel any form of "lust" or whatever, I rather it be of my own accord...

but it would appear that I can still be weak to those toxic energies when I sleep, I may or may have brought up the whole second close call when I was sleeping...which lucky some old man and some woman with long white hair and I think pale skin, kept me safe in that second close call dream, that was possibly still a dream-walking thing.

so yeah, even though I took the big dream-catcher down before, I decided to put it back up again after that second close call but instead have it hanging outside my door and pray to both God and Goddess that a type of protective around my room, like on the walls, door, windows and I think the floor...

the other stuff I use my bracelets for besides protecting me from the toxic-lust energy from others, well at first it wasn't just to protect me from the human ones...

I know the first reason I decided to wear a gem bracelet while I sleep, was because a Incubus scared me awake...

like I had explained before, I was on my back and it was like being between awake and asleep or maybe like self aware...

and it was dark and well, I didn't see the Incubus but I felt them touch me in a way I ain't gonna say....and well even if it was for a split moment or second, it was enough to scare me awake.

also my being Aroaceflux/Fictoromantic, is a separate matter from my being scared of being hurt in a certain way...

and I know I talked about the panic attack I had in 2015 in a car, where I was alone in the said car and I ended up hitting my head on the ceiling of it...

even if there can be some guys that could be trusted and who wouldn't do such a thing, but I rather have my first be something that could be like a emotional bond between the heart and soul, and not just the physical that some humans seem to put the whole physical part as more important, and despite what some may think...

there are some Aces who ain't Maidens anymore and have Significant Others, and some of their partners might respect their wishes if they do not wish to engage in the whole certain snu-snu at times.

I mean not everyone is the same, and not all Aces are the same.

of course even though I can still feel the whole emotional crushes, and as weird as it might be I can have a type of multi-crushes but they might not be the very big type at the moment.

but I haven't felt much of the other type of attraction for maybe a few months...but I can still feel a bit of the small crush feelings.

I mean I have crushes on Fizz and Ozzie from Helluva Boss, and those two are one of my OTPs.

and I started to call them Adorkable Sweet Potatoes.

another weird thing, besides my calling those two Adorkable Sweet Potatoes....is the new view I have the Robotic Fizzarollis.

is that since Fizzarolli aka Fizz and sometimes Fizzy, is the Robo-Fizzes Template and Ozzie basically makes them but apparently feels uncomfortable about it...

well I can't help but view Ozzie and Fizz being like the Robo-Fizzes own Dads...

well maybe I will talk about that in a post after this one...

I also want to point out that after watching and hearing what I found on a video that had to do with Alastor, I was shaking some, and I had to wait a bit for my shaking to cool off some before I finally signed on after some weeks.

I did do some drawings on Christmas, that one of them is a bit of a Crossover and well the other being my new fave OTP...

well technically even the Crossover drawing has a ship drawing in it, which I'm calling Mamtella.

I was thinking after seeing the video that talks about it, I should wait to post those drawings, because how I was feeling.

but maybe I will wait a while and see if I change my mind and might post those drawings on here later, like maybe a few hours from now.

I think I should at least try to keep calm and try not to let all my anger out because of what I had found out about...

and hopefully it can work out and Alastor will be safe.

I know that I also pointed out, there is a reason why I have my gem bracelets act as sealing charms and limiters...

because after the whole using a pendulum for the first time and learning a bit on how I can make it move with my mind, or like have it move by a type of asking "Yes" Or "No" ways, but I haven't been using it as much lately and I'm making sure to only use it once in a while.

but because of my using the pendulum, I think it may had ended up unlocking something...

which I found out when I held a pop bottle by it's lid and it started to move a bit like my pendulum, well a pop bottle and even a pen.

of course necklaces that has a gem on it or even a locket still moves in the same way like my pendulum, but I don't want to bother to try to fix that and it's okay.

also I had make sure the gem bracelets still work to limit it so it doesn't end up like that whole pop bottle moving like my pendulum thing, even when I have to take half of the gem bracelets off and even if I do, they should still work and still work even when I have to take all my gem bracelets off every once in a while...but the rest of the time, they are staying on.

I don't think I would be able to control powerful telekinesis or whatever else it could be called besides that, which is why as much as I love the movies the characters come from...

I want to try to not become like Alessa or Carrie.

even if I might be a bit paranoid about it, but better safe than sorry.

I still want to give the Lucifer that lives in our dimension or close to it, the whole cold hands to face punishment.

and no matter the multiverse in the fictional universes where he has his own counterparts, well him and the other 7 deadly sins plus the 8th...who might not really be evil and needs a hug, ice cream and emotional healing...it might be my being weird or paranoid or both, but I couldn't help but have the thought I suffer from the 8th one at times, well I had those two depressions and sometimes I do get my not so great feeling days...

but anyway like I was trying to say, no matter the multiverse, those Eon-Boomers ain't the boss of me...

but I'm okay, well I did get really peeved when trying to progress in a video game I was playing and I was getting really mad, I'm taking a break from playing it at the moment but I think some part of the game is broken, like one of the switches can't turn on even when ya point at it...the other two switches work just fine all but the one where Princess Quest 2 is....and yeah I'm talking about FNAF Security Breach...I got jump-scared by Deejay (DJ-Musicman) a few times when trying to go turn on the switches.

I had to leave that dance and arcade place, and go check out the other places in the Mega Pizzaplex and try to get those switches later.

also even though I was planing not to go down that path in the game, but watching the walkthrough of FNAF Ruin DLC, and playing or watching a walkthrough of the game where Gregory doesn't tell Freddy the whole truth about how he really got the upgrade...

it is pretty clear that Gregory in the canon ain't no angel...

we could view every fan's fanon version of Gregory as being the Good-Gregory, or like there being two of him.

and if a fan wants to, they can also have the canon Gregory show up in their fanon au works.

even if Freddy's friends were after him, but Roxy might end up even more after him after what happens in one of the endings in the Ruin DLC, and one of the reasons why Roxy will go after Gregory and not just for taking her eyes....it would be for revenge for someone he left for dead.

it could be possible that the elevator ending, could be the canon ending, even if there is the other endings, but it is possible that what happens in the elevator ending, is the true ending.

but we wont know unless it is proven in a future game, where we get to have a new playable character who could be looking for Cassie.

and anyway, Magic can take on different forms and not all of them will be the same...and my view on what I can do with a pendulum, and well using food salt on some gems could be a type of magic.

well I have been basically praying to both the Heavenly Father/God and Earthly Mother/Goddess on how I want the gems to work and function...

and yes like I pointed out before, I believe in a Goddess now too.

and even if I can still try to still believe Jesus still has some good in him, but because of some stuff that I had read before that involve him and some stuff that has been going on.

(if you wish to skip some of this and go back to reading a bit about my thoughts on Alastor, watch out for the bold words.)

I had started to try to pray for him, and I know not everyone has to agree about it or the theory I have that has to do with why he would possibly be involved in it....and if Archangel Samael is a part of that, I know it isn't possible for me to go all Feral Earth Angel on him...

but with how some of the Eon-Boomers work, their insensitive actions make me want to slap them...

and there is a reason why Mammon is on the wishful type list of those I wish to punch in the groin...

if it is true that humans were puppet into messing with that Covid-19 so recklessly without making sure even if working on a vaccine, to make sure it didn't get out into the world.

and well I do not approve of scapegoating humanity, just to make a point...

I still think I may still want to grab both the Antichrist and Jesus by their ears...if Heavenly Father & Earthly Mother gave me permission to, I would do so...

and well, what I want to say that I think the reason Jesus would end up doing certain actions that would be harmful and even put more harm to the fragile balance between the Masculine and Feminine energies....which would of been fixed a bit more properly ages and centuries ago, if it weren't for the fact Lucifer and the others had to do that little fight at the worse possible time...of all the times he could pick to do that rebellion thing, he had to choose that time.

but anyway, I can't really remember much about the info about it, and I maybe have to look it up, but I know it had to do with Jesus going to Heck when he died...

which my new theory about Hell, is that it wasn't always called Hell, and only became that way because of a really bad imbalance and it was once a part of Omni-Mom's (I'm weird and that is what I started to view Earthly Mother....) Earth Kingdom, or like some part of the Afterlife version of it, which might be Eden.

what became known as Hell, had been possibly quarantined and was possibly full of toxic and negative or something close to miasma.

and yeah not everyone has to agree about this theory and what I believe could be true, but I think if Jesus did certain bad stuff, it might have to do with him becoming infected by that really bad energy that was already there way before Lucifer and the other princes took it over, they may have fell and landed there, but it could be possible they didn't transform into forms that was less angelic looking, until they spend too much time in the toxic, negative miasma energy that was caused by some bad stuff that was going on.

and well it could be possible if it is true, Jesus could of not been aware that he became infected by something that had also infected Lucifer and the others, but there could be some who have a semi-immunity to it, like those who become infected a bit by it, something in their soul could end up fighting it off....like having antibodies.

also besides the whole finally letting it process that Jesus is also family, cause of the whole we are both related to King David.

but I'm going to still see it being a blessing to be a descendant of King Solomon, that still ain't a curse but a blessing.

plus I still think King David should of punished that sicko son of his...

I like being a purple blood better than being a blue blood, plus calling me a blue blood would be incorrect because not all my ancestors are royals.....

and yeah I'm still weird to figure out I'm technically a "Earth Angel Princess" and I have no idea how many there are.

also I had thought about either early this December or before it became December, about if Jesus did have a daughter, he wouldn't just be a Messiah to her, because to her, he would be her Dad first.

and for some weird reason I couldn't help but cry when thinking he may have put his work and duty above spending time with her...

like parents can be in the gray at times, and sometimes they might not know they are hurting the feelings of their own children.

well hopefully if he did have a daughter, he made sure to have some kind of balance and didn't make her feel not loved enough.

also to the topic of Alastor, his abilities could still be magic related and he can still have power over the radio waves.

one of the info about him, is that he is of a mixed race.

and well, he should still keep his heritage in both his human life and afterlife as a Overlord.

it might be interesting if it turn out that Alastor had certain abilities when he was still alive as a human on Earth.

don't know what his blood type is, but if it was like my blood type, when that would explain it, even if it would be a different type of RH Negative.

and yeah I get the whole some RH Negative types are suppose to be descendants of the Nephilim who are suppose to be the offspring of some Watcher Angels...

I wonder if I would have the permission to double flip the birdies to those Grandpas...?

not sure if Nephilim would be mention in Hazbin Hotel or Helluva Boss or not, but even if they do, what would be left of the original ones would still be their descendants.

I still like the idea of a crossover fan fic about Panty & Stocking with Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss, which would be like a Fanon Crossover Timeline.

I want to try to do a crossover of that sometime...

I think if I did have a twin sister, I would be the Stocking while my twin sister would be Panty.

if a guy can't understand why I don't like being touched at times or I might not be ready certain stuff, and if I had to choose between the guy to go on a date with or sweets, video games and awesome shows and movies that I like.

it would still be the sweets, video games and shows as well as movies I like.....well those, and books, and some of those books being comics.

I would also be the weird introvert while my twin sister is the extrovert...

I think if I did have a older twin sister, she would use her big sister authority to make me out more even on days when I don't want to.

I would go all "hiss like a cat" mode on her and try to hide under my covers if I have to...I wouldn't be surprised if she grab me by my leg and pulls me out all while telling me to "stop acting like a weird cat."

of course I would be the weird twin, I was born weird and was probably still weird even in my past lives....which it might be a good thing not to fully remember some of them, like only getting bits and pieces but not full pictures.

and even if it does turn out that Phenex is like technically my "Dad" through some form of soul fragments merging together, even with the other soul parent being another Earth Angel...

his hope of returning to heaven might very well be hopeless, even if I do end up going, I still might want to find the edge of the clouds and try to go back to Earth, maybe to go live like a Nymph.

but if it looks too high up, I'm likely to freeze like a deer in the headlights.

and yeah, there is the whole if it does turn out that Phenex is technically my Dad (all while still sharing DNA with my human Dad in this present life.) I guess that would make me a type of Demi-Goetia.

I love the hybrids in Helluva Boss, and I'm still going to view Blitz's Mom as 1/2 Imp & 1/2 Succubus and even if canon proves otherwise, I can still view it in fanon even if it might not end up being canon.

I think later, I will watch Ah My Goddess, I think I can relate to one of the characters in it, which I mean Belldandy's older sister, Urd.

and maybe after I watch Ah My Goddess, I will watch Transformers.

I hope things do get better, and I hope the stuff that I had found out about Alastor, can get better....I had no idea that was even going on.

well, I have another reason to be Semi-Misanthrope.

and I seriously don't want to hear "oh, your just being that way because your white." or "oh, your just being a white supremacy"

I do NOT want to hear that...

and well, even if I have calm down and I'm not shaking like I was before, but it doesn't mean I'm still not happy about finding out what has been going on.

but hopefully it will calm down, and even if my whole using gems to protect myself might be strange to some...

but once again, my first time to use the gem bracelet to protect myself while I sleep, has to do with that Incubus...

didn't see them, but they still scared me awake.

my form of "magic" might be weird and strange, and yeah I don't think I have to use the food salt all the time other than for placing it on some food...

but I have been thinking about wanting to throw some of the food salt around the house because of certain reasons.

well, maybe I wont have to do that...

and well there is some stuff that I believe now, I can't really share fully with my family.

and there might always be the type of Toxic-Religious people who will misuse the words "may the lord have mercy on you" or "may god have mercy on you" if ya become open about starting to believe in the Omni-Mom as well...

and if someone cries and says that your hurting their feelings by throwing those words at them, a little advice...

please listen and stop misusing those words, cause that ain't freaking helping and it sure wasn't helping me when a toxic-religious jerk was throwing those misused words at me and no matter how it made me cry and was hurting my feelings, that jerk just kept throwing one of those words at me.

and there might always be some humans in this world, who don't know the whole facts and there can be really bad misinterpretation.

and if it is okay with those who do read this, I rather not go into the whole talk about the bad stuff I just found out about today that has to do with Alastor and hope things will work out.

I would express how mad I felt when I saw the video, but I want to try to keep calm and not give into that really REALLY mad side.

and to the topic of my cat, when I'm able to, I will say what it was that could of had me lose them if they weren't given help on time...

I can talk about what type of surgery it was that they needed, maybe in a future post...

and I wasn't joking about the Omnigeddon thing, my thoughts were that if I lost them, like if anything went wrong in the surgery or like if she wasn't help on time...if I had the power to, I would do a Omnigeddon...yeah might not really be possible but I'm weird and those were my thoughts when the stuff going on with my cat was going on...

and since I know it is possible not everyone will be interested in reading this post, even when it gets off topic...

which is why I gave the option, meaning no one had to read this if they don't want to, but for those who did read all that is written in this post and didn't skip some parts...

I hope you can understand why I would be not very happy about what I had found and my hope that things work out, as well as the other stuff that I talked about along with my fluffy baby who if I had the power to....I would do a Omnigeddon for, which lucky can't really happen.

if ya Bill Cipher involved, it would be Omni-Weirdgeddon.

also I don't want this to be reblog, so do NOT reblog this without my permission...so yeah anyway, I'm going to check out some fan art to make me a bit more happy and I will do another post in a hour or a few, and maybe I will post the drawings I drew on Christmas in those few hours...

PS:

even if I do go into more detail about the video I found out about today that has to do with Alastor, but I rather not talk about the deeper details and well, I know if I do try to, it is likely my words will be misinterpreted. and I want to try to avoid that...

I still love Alastor, and I'm still gonna hope things work out.

I also still love my fluffy baby and once again if I was able to, I would still do a Omnigeddon if they weren't taken to the vet on time.

[ghoulish-fiction]

Nearly Everything I Could Ever Want

Mountain/Reader Reader is nonbinary, AFAB. Explicit, 18+ only. Oral sex, breeding, knotting. See AO3 for full list of tags. 3,436 words.

Another fic I wrote for my wife and edited to share online. Its cute and hot, imo. At the time that I am posting this, I am still waiting on my wife to read their version. Lol

Read the full text under the cut, or on AO3 by clicking here, and please let me know what you think! 🖤

Mountain had told you to meet him outside the Abbey at sunset. You thought this a bit odd, but you didn't question him. He probably wouldn't have told you much, if anything, about what he had planned even if you had asked him. So here you stood alone on the grass watching the clouds turn from white to pink to orange as the sun sinks behind the treeline. You didn't have to wait long, you soon saw Mountain's towering figure appear from a back door and make its way across the lawn to you. As he draws nearer you see he's carrying a bag with blankets and pillows.

"Thank you for waiting." Mountain says with a voice deeper than a canyon. He bends down and lifts his mask just enough to kiss the top of your head.

"No problem, babe! Are we camping? What's all that?"

He chuckles and shakes his head.

"I promised you the perfect stargazing spot. I found it. Come on."

Mountain holds out his hand and you eagerly take it. He leads you silently through the woods behind the Abbey. As you venture deeper into the trees, and the Abbey is long out of sight behind you, Mountain lets out a deep, content sigh.

"Happy to be out here and away from everyone?" You ask with a warm smile.

"Everyone but you." He says giving your hand a tight squeeze and returns your smile.

The two of you continue on in comfortable silence. Mountain isn't much of a talker, which is fine by you. You are happy to simply be in the presence of your love.

After about twenty minutes of trudging on it becomes quite dark, and it is difficult for you to see where you are going. You try to keep pace with Mountain, who seems to have forgotten he's the only one between the two of you who can see in the dark. Just as you were beginning to fear it, you trip. Lucky for you, Mountain reacts quickly and catches you.

"Are you okay?" He asks.

"Yeah I'm fine, but I can't see where I'm going. How much farther do we have to go?"

"Not much farther...uh... here hold this."

Mountain presses the bag of blankets and pillows into your arms. You look down at them in confusion.

"Why? Is this supposed to break my- Oh!"

Mountain bends over and lifts you effortlessly into a bridal carry. He holds you tightly to his strong, lean frame.

"I forgot you can't see in the dark. Sorry. I'll take you the rest of the way."

You feel a bit silly, but grateful to your kind giant for helping you. You certainly didn't want to end your evening together early because you twisted your ankle in the dark and fell down the hill Mountain is now climbing. After about ten more minutes of walking gradually higher, Mountain stops.

"We are here." He says excitedly as he gently lowers you to the ground. In front of you is a large, nearly circular clearing atop a hill.

You hurry forward to the middle of the clearing and look up. You see more stars than you have ever seen in your life. The Abbey is already far from the city lights, but you are now even farther and free of most light pollution. The full moon illuminates the clearing, allowing you to take a good look at your lover.

He's also staring up at the sky, but he was looking in the opposite direction of you.

"There's one more surprise. Looks like it has started." Mountain says pointing to the southern sky.

You look too, and see a star streak across the sky. And then another. And another after that.

"A meteor shower?! I had no idea there was one tonight. Thank you for finding this place and bringing us here, Mounty. Its beautiful."

"You're welcome." He says simply, but you can hear the pride in his voice.

"Let's lay down." He says reaching for the bag in your hand.

"Could we just lay in the grass for a bit? I always want to, but feel like people would judge me. We don't have to if you don't want to." You look nervously up at Mountain. You don't think he will mind, but you don't want him to think you're strange. Mountain stifles a laugh.

"I'd love to. I am an Earth Ghoul, love."

"Oh...right."

So the two if you sit down together on the ground. Mountain promptly removes his shoes, happy to have his bare feet in the grass.

Mountain sits with his legs spread in a wide V and gestures for you to come sit between them, which you do. With your back to his chest he wraps his arms around your waist and holds you snugly against him. You rest your hands on his arms, and his chin sits atop your head. You can hear the whisper of his tail swishing in the grass.

The two of you sit happily like this for a long time. You don't have to worry about the cold night air thanks to Mountain being a walking furnace. One of the many perks of marrying a ghoul.

Mountain occasionally points to a star or constellation to name it. You both count the shooting stars you see. After number fifty you ask, "Have you made any wishes?"

"Why? I have everything... nearly everything I could ever want right here in my arms."

He lifts his mask to kiss the top of your head, then he kisses your shoulder, and then your neck just to give you goosebumps and make you squeal, "You're mean!" He only holds you tighter as you try to wiggle away. You feel him smile into your skin before securing his mask again.

"You know you don't have to wear that around me, unless you just want to." You tell Mountain, "You're so handsome."

Mountain can't help but laugh, "Force of habit." He does take off his mask, though, and gently sets it aside before hugging you close and burying his face into the crook of your neck. He kisses you again. And sits up.

You sit together in silence for some time, before you say,

"Hey Mounty..."

"Yes?"

"You said you have nearly everything..."

"Yes. I do. I have you, and I'd like to have a family with you." He explains.

"That's what I thought you meant, but I wanted to be sure."

You and Mountain had talked about children before. You talked about it and agreed you both wanted a family before you were married. So you were madly in love, you both wanted children, but didn't know when to start. You were busy with your own career and education, Mountain was touring the world on and off with the band. Was now a good time? Is there ever a good time? Why not now?

"Mountain..."

"Yes?" He said hesitantly at the sound of his full name rather than a pet name or nickname.

"I want to start a family with you. I want to try... soon."

"How about now?" He purred, nipping at your shoulder with his sharp fangs, his long fingers starting to wander and pull up the hem of your shirt.

"Mountain, I'm serious!" You say growing frustrated.

"As am I." He says, "Look at me."

You turn to face him, and you see he is grinning. He gently cups your face in his hands.

"I've been waiting for you to be ready, love. Its your body, so we go at your pace, but I am ready. I can't wait to have a family with you." He gently places a hand on your stomach, long fingers splayed. "I can't wait to see you carrying my child."

"Oh." You say feeling your face growing hotter and desire start to well up inside you.

"Are we- are we doing this right now?" You ask, excitement growing.

"If you're ready."

"I am. Please, babe..."

He grabs you and pulls you into a feverish kiss. He pulls back grinning just as before.

"You get undressed. I'm going to get the blankets." He stands and begins to lay out the blankets and pillows on top of the soft grass.

Such a strange, out of place nest on top of a hill in the middle of the woods under a blanket of stars, you think to yourself, but it's perfect.  

After watching for a moment you do as you were told. You shed your clothes and lay them in the grass. You stand bare in the moonlight, watching Mountain remove his shirt as well with his back to you. He turns now to see you.

"Y/N... you are amazing." He gasps. Without taking his eyes off you, he sits down and lays back in the nest, stretching his long limbs and beckoning you to join him. You can see the tent forming in his pants, so you straddle your lover and perch yourself upon his lap. You teasingly grind against his growing bulge.

Mountain lets out a low growl and pulls you down into another, much more heated kiss. He bites your lips again and again just to hear you moan and feel your breath hitch.

You break away from his lips to kiss and bite at his throat, your long nails scratching along his chest and sides. Mountain's eyes flutter closed and his head tilts back granting you full access, submitting himself to you.

"I love you so very much." You say softly into his ear.

Neck still bared Mountain chuckles, "I love you, too, honey. You sound so desperate."

"I am. I want you." You confess.

Mountain growls again. He wraps his arms around you and with a twist of his hips he's switched your positions. Now you lie on your back and he hovers over you.

He kisses your lips, biting them once more, before leaving a trail of kisses down your chest, to your stomach where he lingers, and then to your hips.

"May I?" He asks.

You nod, so he spreads your legs apart and puts them over his shoulders. He kisses and bites the inside of your thighs again and again. He teases you until your hips begin to wiggle impatiently.

You feel him smile against your leg as he tries to keep teasing you, but he can't make you wait any longer. Mountain runs two long fingers through your slit. He chirps in surprise.

"You're so wet for me already." He says before finally diving in. Mountain's long, forked tongue licks long stripes against your clit while he fingers and spreads you apart on his index and middle fingers. Your back arches and your mouth falls open.

"Oh, oh, oh! Yes! Ah! Yes, Mounty, please!" You beg. Mountain begins to suck on your clit, already adding a third finger, eager to have you ready for his cock.

Mountain begins to pull his head away to lick and swirl your clit with his tongue, but you were so close when he was sucking you off. You grab a fist full of his short hair and push him back against you. He growls and goes right back to sucking your clit. Your back arches again, your free hand grips the blankets in a tight fist. You feel your orgasm rushing in.

"Ah! Don't stop. Don't stop. Right there. Please... AH!" You cry out as your cum on Mountain's fingers. He moans at the feeling. He gives your clit one last long, slow lick before sitting up and pulling his cum soaked finger from you. He gently grabs hold of your jaw with his clean hand and holds the cum covered ones to your lips.

"Open up, love." He says, and you eagerly comply. You love Mountain's long fingers. You love watching his hands as he does tricks on stage with his drumsticks. You love how he holds them behind his back while standing at attention. You love holding his hand. You love when he runs his fingers through his hair or yours. You definitely love his fingers inside of you, but you love them in your mouth most of all. You suck and lick them clean. You let him gently pump them in and out of your mouth, across your eager tongue, while you both moan. He pulls them out of your mouth completely with a faint pop!

He kisses you softly, but still full of need. When you part, he moves away from you to remove the rest of his clothing. When you see his dick spring free, you can't help but stare. You've seen it, sucked it, and had it inside you before, but you still stare in disbelief everytime. To put it simply, Mountain's cock is monstrous. It's long and thick and has a slight, delicious curve. His thick head is already dripping, and you feel like you are, too, just at the sight of him.

"How do you want me?" He asks towering over you on his knees, lazily stroking himself. You prop yourself up on one elbow to run a hand from his chest, down his tight stomach, along the trail of hair that leads to his base where you wrap your fingers around him. You give his cock a small squeeze before replacing his hand to stroke him.

"I want you in my mouth first."

"Oh sweet Lucifer... Love, I wish you could suck me off but I am already so close... ah! I want to fill your pussy with my cum. I don't want to waste a single drop."

"Then take me however you want. Please, babe. I need you."

You let go of Mountain's giant dick and lay back. He hovers over you on his knees. The head of his cock presses lightly at your entrance while he rubs quick circles around your throbbing clit.

He kisses your cheek and asks once more, "Are you sure you want to do this, honey? It will be too late to stop when I knot you. So tell me you're sure. Do you want to have my baby?"

You take his face in your hands and look him dead in the eyes, well, as dead in the eyes as you can when he has four eyes and you only have two.

"I want this. I want you. I want us to make a baby. I have never been more sure about anything in my life than I am about wanting you and the family we will make."

Mountain kisses you deeply and pulls you close to him, causing you to scramble to hold onto him as you're lifted into his strong arms.

You feel him line his cock up with your entrance once more, and finally push into you while pulling you slowly onto him as well. The feeling makes your eyes snap shut. Your nails claw into his back. You're crying out in pleasure as he stretches you out. He doesn't stop until he bottoms out, something you didn't know was possible. The stretch is slightly painful in the most extraordinary way. You can't help but whimper and cling to him.

"Shhh... I've got you. Are you okay?"

You nod enthusiastically, not trusting your voice to be anything more than a needy whine.

"Good. You feel so good. Tell me when, love."

He holds you tight, gently rocking into you, waiting for you to adjust. You take several deep breaths before nodding in the crook of his shoulder.

"I need you to say it." He says in your ear, kissing the side of your head.

"I'm ready."

Mountain pulls out of you slightly, and shallowly thrusts back in. Then a little farther, and a little faster, again and again, until he has set a fast pace of deep thrusts in and out of your soaked cunt. He has laid you back down on the blanket again with a pillow under your head. He's propped up on one hand, the other is back to your clit. He keeps a brutal pace. His normally well kept, slicked back hair begins to fall onto his sweaty forehead. All four eyes closed as he moans and growls and pants above you. You feel like you're about to snap, but you know he's not ready yet. He's close but not there. You grab hold of the wrist of the hand that's rubbing your clit and you bring into your lips again. Mountain's eyes open wide and stare at you full of lust.

"Oh yes..." he breathes.

You open your mouth and take his index and middle fingers into your mouth again. You hollow your cheeks around him, causing Mountain to cry out in pleasure.

"Oh yes. Oh I'm going to knot you. Tell me I can, please."

"I want your knot, Mountain. Give it to me."

Mountain sits back on his knees suddenly with you laid out over his lap and the blanket. He grabs hold of your hips in a vice like grip which is sure to leave bruises later, not that you mind. He growls thunderously as he forces you onto his knot. Taking Mountain's cock already spreads you out wider than you ever had been before, but this? This felt impossible. You shouted out as he spread you farther and farther. You thought you might black out from pleasure and pain until he gave one last rough thrust of his hips. You could feel his knot settle inside you.

One hand released its hold on your hips to rub your clit again.

"Cum on my knot. I need to feel you squeeze me dry." Mountain growled, fangs bared.

"Ah! Yes! Yes! Keep going. I'm going to...ohhh..." and with that a second orgasm crashed over you. As your cunt spasmed around Mountain's knot, his orgasm crashed over him as well. You gasped and moaned as Mountain growled "Yes, yes, yes!" 

He grabbed ahold of your hips again with both hands in a crushing grip in an attempt to thrust into you, which was quite impossible at this point. You could feel Mountain's cum pouring into you. It felt like it was never going to stop.

After riding out the waves of your orgasms, you both became still and quiet, nothing but the sound of you both trying to catch your breath filled the still night air.

With his knot still firmly in place, Mountain very carefully laid over you and then rolled you both so you could lay your head on his chest. You closed your eyes, listening to the rapid beating of his heart slow, and his breath become more even. He ran his hand up and down your back and kissed your thoroughly messed up hair.

"How are you doing, love?" He asks gently.

"Wonderful!" You sigh. "How about you?"

"Wonderful." he echoes.

"Thank you. Being with you is so good. So so good." He sighs.

He tilts your head up to kiss you.

You can feel his knot going down.

"Hey," you say, breaking the kiss and making Mountain look at you. "We're making a baby."

Mountain laughs and holds you tight.

"Yes, yes we are."

The two of you lay together for a long time, enjoying the quiet of the night and comfort of each other's embrace. You count a few more shooting stars. Eventually Mountain is able to pull out of you. It's a mess. You did not come prepared and both do your best to clean you up with the blanket. You two roll everything back up haphazardly and shove it into the bag, a problem to worry about tomorrow.

As you get dressed you find yourself barely able to stand. Your legs are very wobbly, but you manage. You look sadly out across the distance you must travel back to the Abbey.

"Ready?" Mountain asks, reluctantly slipping on his shoes as you shrug on the last of your clothes.

"Ready..." you sigh.

You go to take a shaky first step, bag in hand, when suddenly you're lifted off your feet.

You squeal in surprise.

"I didn't think you were going to carry me again."

"I couldn't let the mother of my child stumble through the woods in the dark. Also you could barely stand to put your clothes on."

"Well, I won't argue with you, the father of my child."

You both laugh.

"Let's go home and sleep." He says softly nuzzling against your hair.

As Mountain walks out of the clearing you fall swiftly to sleep in his arms, where he now truly, but unknowingly for the time being, held everything he could ever want.

[mirai9]

unused silent hill 1 monsters

in order:

monkey (file name MKY), this monster actually ends up having very similar animations as the zombie dogs in the final game so this was probably supposed to be an early version of them. i like this prototype the most out of all them, something about it is very cute. not very monkey-like though, uhhh...

ostrich (OST), it has a stinger? thing? in its animations it also jumps at you and its legs extend long and far which i thought was cool. it looks kind of like the numb body though i find this more disturbing, it looks like a tumor with a proboscis.

butterfly (BTFY, looks more like a moth to me), i feel like this is obviously an early version of the floatstinger, possibly another varient. i'm guessing they would make the butterfly more powerful than the twinfeeler and then of course, the floatstinger being the grand boss. would've been cool to have these flying around like mini bosses as you fight the floatstinger (or maybe just tedious idk haha).

ray (EL as in "eel" possibly? definitely looks more like a manta ray to me), i really like this one, probably because i just like sea creatures and seeing one in silent hill horror is very cool to me but i also enjoy the idea that there possibly would've been an area where we'd need to explore the lake more.

snake (SNK), these things just look funny, just short n fat n silly. baby-like, ugly babies. it looks more like a worm or a caterpillar.

frog (FRG), this more suggests that there would've possibly been a part of the game where we explore the lake at the resort area. maybe a swamp area even???????

chicken (CHK), this was supposed to be a boss. probably symbolizing some kind of arrested or distorted development. featherless, overgrown chick, its arms are completely disproportionate to its body and its stomach is distended which could symbolize starvation/malnutrition. obviously a manifestation of how alessa was treated. very disturbing, the way it moves is even more gut-wrenching. sometimes it'll sit like a child which evokes more traumatic imagery in my head. i really like it, i would've liked to see where they would've used it.

[nighttimepixels]

So... I've been seeing wonderful people on here lately making versions of their own HorrorFell Sans and well I'm desperately bi and hooked and wanna know if. there's a HorrorFell Serif....?

You are all criminals I’m supposed to be doing things

I love you all holy shit big same so

below a cut because it got long! CW for bear-trap related injuries.

It’s time to meet Dusk.

=====

They weren’t supposed to turn on the machine again.

The guys weren’t exactly ones for promises, but after the incident, after the girls had managed to prove how unsafe it was, how unstable-

-they weren’t supposed to. They weren’t supposed to, to drag anyone else into this, to mess up even more timelines, it was a standoff, but it was stable in the meantime, or it should have been-

Someday, you’d meet this Sans, and you’d personally kick his coccyx into next Tuesday, you swore, for this and for everything else-

But right now, chances were looking pretty slim of seeing it to next Tuesday yourself.

“G-guys, it’s okay, really-”

“she’s got you by the fucking throat-!”

“If you fucking hurt her- te arrancó el brazo y lo tiro al mar-!”

You inhaled sharply, tears pricking at your eyes as the hand around your middle squeezed you tighter, your back pressed to a jagged, massive set of ribs, bare but for the massive coat shielding much of them, and draped around your form. The other hand at your throat held no weapon - but it was a weapon, even without the claws that threatened to prick your skin.

But the hand of the enormous skeleton woman holding you wasn’t squeezing your throat. It hadn’t once.

Blood, meanwhile, dripped slow and hot down your leg, staining the dead leaves of the forest floor below.

You wanted to curse your luck - curse the fact that you were on a walk in the woods with the dogs when Alpha’s monitoring programs picked up the subtle fluctuation in space-time that marked that machine being turned on for even an instant. You wanted to curse the fact that you’d tripped on a dumb root, cracking your phone and, apparently, breaking the ringer so you didn’t hear the many calls that came in. You wanted to curse the fact that you’re a magnet for skeletal trouble-

-or you would, if it hadn’t also brought you too much good this past year…But when you’d stumbled across the wounded, massive skeleton now clutching you, your feet dangling more than five feet off the ground, your first thought had been concern as you only saw her back turned to you, and a bear trap big enough to catch a rhinoceros nearly snapping her leg in half-

“Blade, holy shit- are you… are you okay-?”

The massive hole in her skull had been so familiar… but a moment later, you’d realized it was wrong. As was the way her head had snapped around… two massive gold fangs implanted in a mouth overrun with nigh-feral sharp teeth, a jagged red eyelight in the wrong socket, the hole on the wrong side of her head, the scars all wrong, so wrong-

The fear and fury in her face so unfamiliar and dangerous.

And yet… you… you didn’t leave.

You were nearly an hour’s walk away from the house. You shouldn’t have gone alone in the first place, but you had the dogs, far more intelligent than any normal animal, and you’d been cooped up for weeks because of bad weather and-

-and then, slowly, murmuring, crouching low with your hands out in a deference of power, soft nothings and reassurances spilling out of your mouth… you were approaching, circling in a wide berth to her front. Her snarls and growls were so loud you nearly lost your balance in the physicality, but…

… but slowly, while you were out of reach, she began to growl quieter, pain eking out over anything, though not once had she blinked…

A new arrival, you’d known. You’d found out about the machines a long while back now, and… there was no questioning it. But her tibia and fibula were cut almost clean through in a trap you couldn’t help but wonder if was from her world, brought with her - how long had she been out here? What was running through her head?

Why were you risking yourself-

The sound of fire, the feel of your own fear when your old place had crumbled around you… the soul-breaking relief when you’d been rescued, despite the danger…

You steeled yourself, and slowly came closer.

It took several tries - she nearly lunged at you once, when your hand slipped, digging the trap teeth in on her. You apologized, and kept talking- did she even… even speak English? Gods, you had no idea. But the sound of your voice seemed to help, so you kept at it- noticing more and more scars, noticing how terrifyingly dusty the wound was becoming- when you gestured for her to hold the one side to help undo the mechanism, trying to explain, ask for help as it was too strong for you alone-

-she’d done so, her hand larger than your head. Despite the pain, her grip didn’t shake, but you heard her teeth gritting, creaking as they ground down, erratic, unsteady magic charging the air around her-

And at last you’d freed her.

The trap to the side, you’d hurried to look at her removed leg, shedding your hoodie, forgetting to move slow. You missed the flicker in her gaze, pain undeniable in every shadow of her face, the moment of confusion, of hunger, of hesitance, of her reaching towards you-

But you’d looked up then, sweater in your hands, hovering over the horrifying break, an injury you were certain would have killed her otherwise- ready to bind her up.

Her hand had frozen at the level of your throat.

Like a rabbit in the gaze of a wolf, you’d frozen.

The wind rustled the leaves overhead, afternoon sun growing long, dimmer behind gathering clouds.

Her hand slowly came closer.

You didn’t move, a fine tremble in your spine, but- you didn’t look away.

She paused again. Watching. Waiting- your heart was racing, but- you didn’t run. For a thousand reasons, you didn’t run, despite some deeper instinct beyond logic begging at you to.

And then she’d brushed a lock of hair back from your throat, catching a bead of sweat with it, and lingering over your pulse.

Oh so slowly, her pinprick eyelight dilated.

“… y..ou…”

Without warning, a shout in the distance, cutting in as if through a phone line picked up startled you both. The dogs, waiting, tense, worried just a few feet behind you, barked- and all hell had broken loose.

Serif had shortcut into the clearing, her eyelights no sooner landing on you than taking in the massive, dangerous looking skeleton with her hand at your throat. She’d sworn, magic suddenly flaring at her fingertips before, as if desperately wrenching her senses back, it vanished, and she lifted her hands, furious and hiding too much emotion but clearly attempting to look reasonable, to calm down the newcomer.

It was too late.

The sudden appearance, the split second of aggressive magic was enough. The injured skeleton woman was surging forward, enveloping you- before, as if forgotten, her leg gave out with a sickening crunch.

You both fell, and your leg slammed into the hellish, too-jagged bear trap you’d just removed from her leg. The jagged metal and sharpened bone teeth of the closed trap protruding from it cut into your leg and dragged viciously as intertia and gravity took over before she could catch herself, taking the brunt of the fall-

The smell of blood had a visceral effect on the woman holding you, even as your vision was cut off by the ground and her arms and jacket- your scream mingled with a guttural sound, a language glitching and feral- clashing with the sounds of more people arriving, hitting the ground running, swearing, your vision blurring and whiting with pain lancing from your leg straight through you and whiting out your conscious mind for a moment- vertigo as you were suddenly upright-

Now you stared at your friends, leg throbbing, hot blood staining your jeans and shoe, struggling to keep your vision clear and not panic. She was cornered - you were too, you supposed, in her arms. Her leg was… it wasn’t right. You couldn’t quite see it when you glanced down, and that was… a problem. She seemed to be propped against a tree, against a steep hill that was nearly cliff- staring down, chest heaving at Serif, Scarlet, Crimson, Sapphire, and Cinnamon. You had no idea where the others were. There was no time to spare to think about it - or how they’d found you at all-

“P-please, I think she’s just scared, I think she’s feeling my pulse, s-since- I’m hurt-”

“doesn’t mean she gets t'hold you hostage,” Cinnamon’s low voice was a drawl, but her stance was one you’d only seen once or twice. Ready, ready in a way that would set your internal alarms off if they weren’t already pealing.

“Come now, let’s… let’s just take it easy,” Sapphire’s voice was measured, even almost warm - her eyelights were steady, and she was the only one who didn’t visibly appear to be a moment’s away from a fighting stance. Still, her voice was almost too measured. You knew her too well to miss it. Nonetheless, she met your gaze, and her chest took a steady inhale, then slow exhale, ever so minutely.

You blinked, tears threatening to spill at the silent message to breathe, that she’d stay calm too, she’d try and de-escalate-

The rough, static-like inflection of the woman’s speech behind you twisted and rumbled, short, dark, aggressive-

A huff of air tickled your hair, and you felt her… her head, dip down to the back of yours. It cut through the pain, almost tingling with a wild sort of magic, but… not in a bad way.

The others looked confused in varying degrees, and Crimson’s arm out only barely kept Scarlet from acting- but there was a flicker of deeper confusion yet on Serif’s face… one of almost-recognition and angrier confusion on Cinnamon’s-

But Crimson’s sockets widened.

“ay, ni de coña-”

Several eyelights snapped to her as she swore, shaking her head as if to clear it of cobwebs-

And then… slowly, she stumbled through a handful of similar sounds.

Words.

Glitching, uneven, but also rich like radio static - if a little clumsier in her mouth-

You felt as much as heard the surprised intake of breath behind you.

And slowly, came a response.

Crimson frowned, scowled outright, sockets squinting and head cocking a bit. A few more words- a grunt, then a continuation that sounded corrected-

An angrier response from the woman holding you-

“could you please let us in on the conversation, thanks,” hissed Serif sharply at Crimson, but she was promptly waved off as Crimson haltingly tried a few more words-

And slowly, the hand at your throat drifted just a little further down.

“… n..o.”

“pendejo-” Crimson swore, making a sharp rude gesture - but not at your captor, at the sky.

“¿Qué le hizo?” Scarlet was sharp, too quick, her Spanish rough and thick with anger-

“that bastard must’ve turned it on alright- she’s…. joder, she’s like Blade but- us too, hermana. our estrelita here apparently helped her outta a trap she was dyin’ in, and when we showed up-”

“shit,” Serif swore softly, her hands lowering again, anger and stress and understanding flickering over her face.

“she’s still holdin’ her,” Cinnamon pointed out, words tight - but her posture had relaxed… slightly. “we gotta get her some first aid-”

She paused, then, quieter.

“both of ‘em…. fuck, her leg’s completely…”

“Please, let us help you- both of you-” Sapphire’s voice was earnest, firm but gentle- but you couldn’t quite focus on her. On any of them, now, not with your vision threatening to tunnel.

You were starting to shiver a little, following along but only just. The wound in your leg must be… pretty bad. You were feeling faint. Your body shifted in time with the growing shallower breaths of the woman holding you…

Crimson was swearing, attempting a word again, and again, but clearly not knowing how or what to say in that strange language-

“what even is it you’re speakin’-” Cinnamon pressed.

“shh, it’s just- it’s– old, old monster shit, most forgot except uh- certain scientist, and a few others, it’s been ages but-”

Suddenly, you were higher off the ground, your mind slipping for a moment in vertigo. The next, you realized… both her arms were supporting you, cradling you close, a modified bridal carry to accommodate the size difference and your wounded leg that-

“Oh god-”

You dry heaved, forcing yourself to look away from the open gash in your leg.  You’d never been good with great quantities of blood, but - but you’d seen white in the deep, long wound, and your head was spinning, fuck-

“…n.ow. b… oth.”

The two halting words were punctuated by a longer phrase in that radio-static language you couldn’t understand. Your eyes were closing, unable to focus any longer. Whatever was going to happen, you couldn’t fight it… at least… at least they didn’t seem like the others were going to fight, either…

“you gotta give her to us- you can’t pass through a shortcut with that-”

Your mind was fading, and you barely registered the harsher, almost booming radio-static words falling from the woman holding you possessively, protectively. The following swears tumbling from Crimson might as well have been white noise...

“Take… take care of her, first,” you mumbled, not seeing the other girl’s attention snap to you, nor the wide stare of the woman holding you. “She was… d-dust, at… at her wound… please don’t let- let her… fall…….”

And with that, your mind slipped away in pain and anemic exhaustion.

—

It wouldn’t be till much later that you found out that the girls had apparently surged into action that, and somehow, together, managed to shortcut you and your new friend back to Blade and Twist’s place.

Both of you were patched up…

But the cost of teleporting while so grievously injured cost this new arrival her lower leg. A cost she apparently knew she might pay.

You cried when you found out.

But you’d also awoken in her arms, a place she’d apparently refused to let you free of, even at Blade’s anger and Twist’s worry. Her leg was gone, yours was patched and stitched by Twist’s patent, phenomenal care. And still, you were there... warm, bundled in new blankets, with the woman’s eyelight rarely leaving you, even as Crimson and Serif explained what happened, Blade looming nearby.

She couldn’t speak English well, you found out then, too. She’d… forgotten it. What monsters were left in her world forgot it - forgot a lot, apparently, forced into a feral survival, hunted by… something.

But in the end, to start… you were able to help her choose a new nickname, at least. A beginning. A start, because… Despite their concern, well, none of the girls were going to kick this new arrival out on her own. Crimson in particular had been there too, the whole time, helping translate broken sentences and try to parse together what she knew…

Dusk, she chose as her name, after a long game of suggestions and narrowing in on sounds and concepts she seemed less opposed to. She seemed pleased… if you were reading her right.

And… she didn’t have a sister that came with her.

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior 5/7/21: WRATH OF MAN, HERE TODAY, THE UNTHINKABLE, MONSTER, THE WATER MAN and More

It’s a new month, and I guess going by previous years pre-COVID, this weekend would normally be the start of summer. This year, we’re instead getting a summer with a lot of movies that would normally be dumped into April or February or some other uneventful month. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t or won’t be any good movies, but really, there’s nothing that feels like a summer movie until A Quiet Place Part II and Disney’s Cruella open on Memorial Day weekend.

There’s been lots of great developments, though, including the Alamo Drafthouse in Brooklyn reopening this Friday and then in a few short weeks, theaters may be allowed to be open with no capacity rules although social distancing and masks will probably still be in place. Believe me, it’s been a confusing week as the city that got used to being on the backburner when it comes to reopenings, especially with movie theaters, is now dealing with arguing politicians competing to see who could throw open the then most doors fastest. It’s actually pretty embarrassing.

That aside, this week’s The Weekend Warrior column is brought to you by the new album “Coral Island” from Liverpool band The Coral, which I’ve decided to listen to on loop until I finish this column, because it’s taking me so long to get through it. (Eventually, I switched to Teenage Fanclub’s “Endless Arcade,” since I hadn’t had a chance to listen to it yet…. And to an old standby, Royal Blood, with their own excellent new album, “Typhoons.” At least the record business seems to know it’s the summer!)

Before we get to this week’s new movies, a couple tidbits. First of all, I’m thrilled that my friends Larissa Lam and Baldwin Chiu’s documentary FAR EAST DEEP SOUTH can finally be seen by the entire world, or at least the United States. It debuted on PBS World Channel on Tuesday night as part of the “America ReFramed” series, but for the entire month of May until June 3, you can watch it On Demand HERE, and that is huge! (There will be other ways to see it that you can read about here.)

This is an amazing MUST-SEE doc that looks into the little-known Chinese communities that took root in Mississippi in the early 20th Century and how they became such a huge part of that area with their markets, also bonding with the African-American communities that were similarly dealing with racism from the typically white post-Civil War South. It’s not just a history lesson, and it’s an incredibly moving story about a family trying to find its roots in the most unexpected places. There was a good reason why the couple’s short “Finding Cleveland” won the Oxford Film Festival while I was on the jury that year, and Far East Deep South similarly won an award there last year after its World Premiere at Cinequest was almost scuppered by COVID. It’s amazing how much more relevant and important this film has become since I first saw it last year, since both Asians and African-Americans are dealing with serious racial issues, and this movie shows that more than anything, they should be working to boost each other rather than fighting. Do check it out On Demand this month if you get a chance!

Another musician making movies is Mr. Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters. I mentioned his documentary WHAT DRIVES US last week, but I actually only got to watch it on Thursday, and like his previous film Studio City and HBO mini-series, Sonic Highways, it’s a fantastic look at the music biz, this time through a variety of artists who began their careers by piling into vans and driving around the country. That is, except Lars Ulrich from Metallica, who mentions that the band was never so small or indie that they didn’t have a bus. But Grohl has used his vast connections to bring in a lot of great musicians including The Edge from U2, Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and more, making this a very entertaining movie both for fans of the various bands but also live music fans in general. I gotta admit that as much as I loved What Drives Us, it did bring me down a bit since it’s been almost 14 months since I’ve seen any live music, and I really miss it. This is now streaming on The Coda Collection, which you can subscribe to through Amazon Prime Video.

Guy Ritchie is back with his latest movie, WRATH OF MAN (Miramax/MGM), which reunites him with Jason Statham for the first time since 2007’s Revolver, I believe. Statham plays the enigmatic Paul “H” Hill who works at cash truck company Fortico, responsible for moving hundreds of million dollars around Los Angeles each week. Fortico has recently been hit by a lethal robbery, and H’s team soon learn that there’s a lot more to their new coworker, who happens to be looking for revenge against the man who murdered his son.

(Unfortunately, reviews for the movie are embargoed until Thursday at 6pm, so I can’t tell you whether it’s any good or not. Until Thursday night. Sorry!)

But I will talk about the movie’s box office prospects, because why not? Ritchie’s last movie, The Gentlemen, opened in January 2020, during the “before times,” with $10.6 million, but that was more of a classic Ritchie ensemble crime-comedy. Wrath of Man is more of the type of movie Statham has been making over the past few years, a cross between a revenge thriller and a heist flick. In fact, Statham has done a pretty good job creating his own brand through a variety of action-thrillers as well as a number of franchises including “The Transporter” movies, “The Expendables,” and eventually joining the “Fast and the Furious” franchise as Deckard Shaw with Furious 7 in 2017. Statham then went off to make Hobbs and Shaw with Dwayne Johnson, which didn’t do bad with $174 million. Before that, Statham starred in The Meg, a summer shark attack movie that grossed $145 million. Statham going back to help his old mate i.e. the director that gave Statham his start is pretty huge.

But as I said earlier, those were all in the “before times” and with the box office the way it is, it’s hard to imagine that the exciting reunion of Statham and Ritchie can open with more than $10 million but maybe closer to $8 million, because MGM/UA just doesn’t have the marketing clout of a Warner Bros. or Universal. Even so, that should be enough to be #1 this weekend as both Mortal Kombat and Demon Slayer continue to fall away. Unfortunately, if the movie *is* any good -- and I can’t tell you one way or another -- then by the time reviews hit, people will already have other plans for the weekend than to go see the movie. So yeah, that’s pretty dumb on the part of MGM, huh?

UPDATE: MGM is putting the movie into 2,876 theaters and maybe I'm being overly optimistic, because, as you'll read below, the movie IS pretty good and reviews have remained positive with the American reviews rolling in last night, still at 70% Fresh at this writing. Maybe that'll help the movie do a little better, maybe as much as $9 million, although I'll probably owe MGM an apology if it cracks $10 million, and I don't think it will.

Mini-Review: If you’ve seen the trailer for Wrath of Man, you might go into Guy Ritchie’s latest thinking you know what to expect, because it’s sure being sold as another typical Jason Statham revenge thriller. Don’t be fooled by the marketing, the movie really is Ritchie’s chance to make his own version of Heat, an L.A. heist movie that owes as much to Rashomon as another movie being released this week.

Wrath of Man begins with the heist of an armored truck that turns deadly with the wanton murder of a couple guards. From there, you might think we know where things are going when Statham’s “H” company whose truck was hit, and on his first day, he stops a similar heist by killing the truck’s attackers. H is immediately the hero of the company, although he still has quite a few suspicious coworkers and the feeling is quite mutual. Ritchie’s film then slips into the second episodic chapter which goes back five months to that initial heist where we learn that Statham’s son was killed by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I don’t want to go too much deeper into how the movie and story play out, because like The Gentlemen and some of Ritchie’s more intricate films, there’s a lot that purposefully isn’t made very apparent at the beginning. To many, this movie will be seen as even more macho than most of Ritchie's films, to the point where even the only woman guard, Dana, being just as macho as the men. As the movie begins, there’s a lot of joke-cracking and crotch-grabbing, all while Statham’s character silently observes and only acts when necessary.

The film’s shift to more of a classic Ritchie ensemble does slowly take place, but by the third chapter, it shifts to the group perpetrating the cash truck heists with an “inside person,” taking the movie to yet another place that makes it more obvious that this is Ritchie’s attempt at delving into the L.A. heist genre that other filmmakers have done so well.

Oddly, Statham doesn’t have too many lines, acting almost like a Terminator in his determination to right wrongs, but as always, Ritchie puts together a fantastic ensemble cast including a number of great American character actors who we rarely get to see in such great roles. I was particularly impressed with Jeffrey Donovan, who has appeared in a number of otherwise forgettable crime films this past year. The same can be said for Holt McCallany as H’s truck driver “Bullet,” but Ritchie also cast the likes of Josh Hartnett and Scott Eastwood in smaller yet still significant supporting roles, all of whom become more interesting as you start figuring out who all the players are.

Like I said, the movie is fairly macho and the few women play very small roles, but it’s how things are set-up in the first few acts to then change course and build to an absolutely amazing third act that will undoubtedly bear comparisons to Heat. And yet Wrath of Man (which is actually based on a little-seen French crime-thriller) does branch away from some of Ritchie’s standards, first of all by being far darker and even more violent with any of the wisecracking humor that pervades a lot of Ritchie’s work to counterbalance such violence disappearing once the flashbacks begin. It’s all punctuated by a fantastically tense score by Christopher Benstead, which seems a bit much at first but eventually settles into the perfect pace and tone for the action.

Despite disappearing for a good chunk of the movie, Statham is still great, basically killing everyone as his characters are wont to do, but watching how all of the different ideas come together leads to such a satisfying conclusion that one hopes those who might be put off, thinking they know where it's going due to the somewhat pathetic and obvious marketing will give it a chance to see how Ritchie has changed gears as effortlessly as he did with Aladdin a few years back.

Rating: 7.5/10

After even a longer time since he directed a movie, Billy Crystal once again takes the helm for HERE TODAY (Sony/Stage6), a movie in which he plays comedy writer Charlie Burns, whose chance encounter with Tiffany Haddish’s lounge singer, Emma Payge, leads to an unlikely friendship, as he struggles with early stage dementia.

I’ve known about this movie for over a year now, and I was pretty excited to finally get to see it, since I was such a fan of the other movies Crystal has directed, 1992’s Mr. Saturday Night and 1995’s Forget Paris, and it’s just amazing to me that he hasn’t directed a movie since.

At first, it seems like it’s the type of meet-cute we’ve seen so much in Crystal’s past filmography, but his pairing with Haddish isn’t something that might work on paper, but in fact, their comic styles mesh so perfectly together that it’s amazing that no one thought of putting them together before.

Crystal wrote the film with comic Alan Zweibel, who adapted it from his own short story “The Prize,” which refers to Haddish’s character winning Charlie in an auction for a lunch. Actually, her ex won the lunch, and she decided to use it because… free lunch! It’s a pretty simple set-up but one that allows the filmmakers to explore some of the odder things that happen in life.

Much of the movie’s humor plays upon the differences between the two characters, and how unexpected their friendship is. I can totally relate, because I have a lot of good long-time friends who most people might never expect us to be friends, but Crystal, Zweibel and Haddish pick up on that and create a movie that’s very funny but has enough other characters around the duo toa allow their characters to show how they’re just really nice people. We see that with how Charlie takes a young writer at his late night show under his wing or how Emma livens up the bat mitzvah of Charlie’s granddaughter. Oh yeah, and Haddish sings. She actually has a number of great performances in the movie, and seriously, anyone who watches this movie is gonna wanna see a smart filmmaker put Haddish in a musical immediately.

The film also acts as a truly touching tribute to Crystal’s friend, the late Robin WIlliams, who was diagnosed with the exact same type of dementia after his suicide death, and knowing that fact, makes the film even more poignant. More importantly, it doesn’t use Charlie’s condition for laughs, and for that alone, I feel like this is ten times better than that overrated Oscar winner The Father.

Here Today’s biggest problems come in the third act when it feels like the movie is starting to over-extend its welcome, even going into somewhat expected places, but it recovers from that rough third act to land a really nice ending. Crystal has always proven himself to be a really strong mainstream filmmaker (ala Rob Reiner and others) who makes crowd-pleasing movies, and it’s so nice seeing him going behind the camera for a movie that’s obviously very personal but also highly relatable.

As far as box office, I certainly have high hopes that Crystal still has an older audience of fans who might want to see him on the big screen again. I’m just not sure if this will be in more than 1,000 theaters, and though I’ve seen quite a bit of marketing, I just haven’t seen Crystal or Haddish do nearly as much in terms of getting out there that would be necessary to reach an audience that might want to venture out into movie theaters to see the movie vs. waiting until it’s on cable/streaming. There’s also Tiffany Haddish’ fanbase, and there could be some benefit for the movie coming out the same week as her new CBS show “Kids Say the Darndest Things.”

I’d love to be optimistic with this making $4 to 5 million but it’s probably more likely to be closer to $3 million especially with capacity limits still in place for most theaters and the audience generally being older.

UPDATE: Maybe I was a little too optimistic, because I enjoyed the movie so much and it will probably be closer to $1 or 1.5 million since other reviews aren't as great.

Next, we have two movies finally being released many years after their festival premieres…

The Swedish apocalyptic thriller THE UNTHINKABLE (Magnet), directed by Victor Danell, is finally being released after playing genre fests in 2018 and 2019. It stars Christoffer Nordenrot as Alex, a young piano virtuoso who ran away from home due to his abusive father Bjorn (Jesper Barkselius). Years later, he returns home for his mother’s funeral after she’s killed in a terrorist attack on Sweden. At the same, there’s a virus that’s erasing people’s memories, but Alex is still in love with Anna (Lisa Henni), the girl he had a crush on when he left, and the three of them will have to help each other face all the horrible things hitting their home at the same time.

As I was watching this movie, a lot of it felt eerily familiar to me, but I couldn’t figure out why. The more I watched it, the more I realized that I actually HAD seen the movie before. Sure enough, I saw this movie over two years ago at the “What the Fest?!” in New York two years ago, and I honestly don’t remember loving it. Still, I decided to give it a fresh look, hoping to get more out of it on second viewing.

Some of the same things bothered me on this second viewing, because it’s really hard to figure out exactly what is going on and whether the horrific events are natural, man-made or a combination of both. For some time, we get so mired into Alex’s lame relationship with Anna, and when he returns home, his conspiracy theory-driven father is busy protecting a bunker that’s being invaded by foreign military troops he thinks are Russians. We cut between these two disparate scenarios while sometimes returning to the capital of Sweden and throwing in a few big set pieces. It’s so disjointed that you feel like you’re watching a lot of random unrelated events, maybe a bit like last week’s About Endlessness -- maybe it’s a Swedish thing?

There are aspects of The Unthinkable that are quite commendable, particularly those action moments and how the mystery about what is happening develops as the film goes along. Eventually, the film does find a more consistent pace, and things start becoming a little clearer, which makes the final act better than much of what we’ve watched earlier. Even so, it’s still quite annoying how long it takes to figure out what’s going on, even on a second viewing, and for most people, that may already be far too frustrating to get through it.

Hitting Netflix on Friday over THREE years after it premiered at Sundance is music video director Anthony Mandler’s directorial debut, MONSTER (Netflix), based on the novel by Walter Dean Myers. It stars Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Waves) as Steve Harmon, a 17-year-old film student put in jail, accused of murder in a bodega robbery. His defense lawyer (Jennifer Ehle) is trying to help him be released, but he’s fighting against the odds of a judicial system that sees him as a “monster” because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I have to be honest that I did go to see this at Sundance the week it premiered, and for whatever reason, I just wasn’t feeling it, so I only really caught about twenty minutes of it. Watching it now with more time and a little less weary than I usually am towards the end of Sundance, I was able to appreciate Monster more for what it is. On the surface, it’s just about Steve’s case and how what really happened unfolds before our eyes and we learn more about those around Steve and how their influence may have pulled a smart and studious young man into the criminal world that now has him in prison with much more violent life-long criminals.

We already knew that Harrison was a great actor, but Monster shows us that he was already on his way to greatness with this movie that for whatever reason got buried even as it dealt with issues that have been in the headlines almost every day since this debuted.

Mandler takes an interesting approach, both non-linear and also with blatant nods to Kurosawa’s Rashomon, which is even cited by Steve’s teacher, played by Tim Blake Nelson. Jeffrey Wright and Jennifer Hudson are decent as Steve’s parents, but they’re generally smaller and non-showy roles compared to the moments between Harrison and Ehle. Much of the film takes place in the courtroom with flashbacks showing what happened through the viewpoint of whomever is on the stand, which eventually includes Steve himself.

The way Mandler handles the material may lean more on the artiness rather than something more mainstream -- Michael B. Jordan’s Just Mercy comes to mind -- but it’s just as powerful in showing how someone like Steve can be othered by society into being a criminal. Sure, there have been other handlings of this sort of material that I thought were better films, but if you know anyone who has ever had dealings with the “justice” system and know how unfair and horrible it can be even to the innocent, then Monster will certainly strike a chord.

Also hitting Netflix this week is the new series based on Mark Millar and Frank Quitely‘s comic books, JUPITER’S LEGACY (Netflix), another kind of twist on the superhero genre ala Amazon Prime Video’s series based on Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson’s The Boys. I love the comics, and I can’t wait to finally get around to seeing Netflix’s first adaptation of a Millarworld property.

David Oyelowo makes his directorial debut with THE WATER MAN (RLJEfilms), a movie about a young boy named Gunner Boon (Lonnie Chavis), whose mother (Rosario Dawson) is battling leukemia. In an effort to cure her, Guner goes off on a journey along with a teenage girl named Jo (Amiah Miller) to find the mythical Water Man, who can provide them with a magic token that might save Gunner’s mother’s life.

I’ve interviewed Oyelowo a few times before, and I really like him a lot, so I had really high hopes for him as a director since I feel he’s just a terrific actor. Unfortunately, the material here is just not strong enough that I think even a far more experienced filmmaker could make something out of it.

Set in PIne Hills, we meet Gunner, a bright kid who loves drawing comic books, but he has trouble connecting with his father (Oyelowo), so when he has an idea that might help his sick mother, he goes off with a head-strong teen named Jo, in search of the Water Man, a summertime adventure permeated by a lot of very bad low-budget visual effects.

Honestly, I’m not even sure where to begin with where The Water Man falters, because Oyelowo has such a great cast, including Alfred Molina and Maria Bello in tiny parts. The story is a problem, as is the writing, which is just so bland and dull, that there’s really nothing in Oyelowo’s direction or any of the performances that really can salvage it. Neither of the child actors have much charisma or personality, and even Dawson’s performance, which would normally be a showstopper is repeatedly lessened by the constant cutting back to the kids. (And as someone who beat leukemia myself, I’m never a fan when cancer is depicted in movies as a death sentence rather than just another hurdle in life that needs to be overcome.)

Oyelowo himself may be one of his generation’s best actors, but he brings so little to the role of Gunner’s father, maybe to not take away from his younger star, but it hurts that he doesn’t do more to create a stronger conflict by making the character more horrible to drive Gunner away. The actual Water Man doesn’t improve things when he finally shows up, essentially talking like a pirate but not even remotely paying off.

Honestly, The Water Man seems like such a misguided venture -- Exec. Produced by Oprah, no less -- and it might have been totally forgettable if the characters didn’t keep saying the title of the movie every five minutes.

Hitting theaters Friday after a festival run is Tran Quoc Bao’s action-comedy THE PAPER TIGERS (WELL GO USA), starring ALain Uy, Ron Yuan and Mikel Shannon Jenkins as martial artists once known as “the three tigers but now middle-aged men must set aside old grudges and dad duties to avenge the murder of their teacher. I’ve had a screener of this since last summer when it played at Fantasia Festival in Montreal, and I just never got around to watching it, but if I’m able to squeeze it in before the weekend, check back here for my review.

Streaming on Shudder this Friday is Ryan Kruger's South African comedy-thriller FRIED BARRY (Shudder), starring Gary Green as Barry, a violent street junkie who is abducted by aliens who take over his body in order to… well, actually… they do a lot of drugs, have a lot of sex and other craziness. It’s a pretty strange and bizarre movie that reminds me a little of movies like a lower-fi Under the Skin or Beyond the Black Rainbow, and much of it is driven by the insane and unique performance by Green and the odd characters he encounters that I think will find its fans for sure, but it will definitely be for a very select audience of genre festival fans, as this is by no means a mainstream genre film.

Speaking of which, another movie out this week which I wasn’t allowed to see in advance is Gia Coppola’s MAINSTREAM (IFC Films), starring Maya Hawke as a young woman seeking internet stardom by making YouTube videos with a charismatic stranger, played by Andrew Garfield, until “the dark side of viral celebrity threatens to ruin them both.” Yup, it’s one of THOSE movies. It also stars Nat Wolff, Jason Schwartzman and Johnny Knoxville, but I haven’t heard anything good about it, and I’m not sure my curiosity is piqued enough to spend any of my own personal money to check it out.

Hitting Amazon on Friday is the doc THE BOY FROM MEDELLIN (Amazon) from Matthew Heineman (City of Ghosts, Cartel Land), a portrait of musical superstar J. Balvin, as he prepares for a massive sold-out stadium show in his hometown of Medellin, Colombia, which is hindered by the growing civil unrest in the area.

Lots of other movies this week, but a few that i just wasn’t able to get to this week, including:

ABOVE SUSPICION (Lionsgate) INITIATION (Saban Films) ENFANT TERRIBLE (Dark Star Pictures) QUEEN MARIE (Samuel Goldwyn Films) SILO (Oscilloscope) CITIZEN PENN (Discovery+)

That’s it for this week. Next week, Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson star in SPIRAL: FROM THE BOOK OF SAW (Lionsgate) and Angelina Jolie returns for the thriller THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD (New Line) and Timur Bekmambetov’s thriller, PROFILE (Focus Features). That’s right. This will be the first weekend in over a year where we’ll have three or maybe even four new wide releases.

[baronvonriktenstein]

I posted 6,858 times in 2021

2062 posts created (30%)

4796 posts reblogged (70%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 2.3 posts.

I added 2,442 tags in 2021

#silent hill - 509 posts

#saiyuki - 323 posts

#silent hill 4 - 310 posts

#henry townshend - 268 posts

#video - 246 posts

#gifs - 206 posts

#cho hakkai - 160 posts

#naruto - 159 posts

#minekura kazuya - 142 posts

#nara shikamaru - 119 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#this is a joke because her earlier version was but she is not in the current version and hasn't been since since i was in like jr high or hi

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Sanzo giving me the side-eye in the last picture

Even though the cigarette broke before I even opened it, I think, he's super beautiful still

24 notes • Posted 2021-04-20 16:31:59 GMT

#4

holds out hand, richard braintree pls

I hope this is acceptable. Richard was being DIFFICULT WITH ME but I'm happy to draw another Silent Hill man in charcoal.

<3<3<3

39 notes • Posted 2021-09-06 07:11:56 GMT

#3

Received permission to share with you all this super cute commission I've been using as my icon lately.

I love them so much ;7; So delighted.

Artist: @aestheticcannibal , who does super great work. Definitely recommend.

54 notes • Posted 2021-06-04 15:50:27 GMT

#2

Despite my shipping Hakkai with like loads of people and pretty prominently Goku...

as far as OTPs go, nothing strikes me as hard as Gojyo x Hakkai

their canon friendship is just so well written and fleshed out and they play off each other so well, I don’t think anything else has lived up to it for me.

The significance of Gojyo finding Hakkai/Gonou dying and nursing him back to health

Their discussion about ‘premonitions’ of feeling when your loved one is in danger because Hakkai/Gonou felt guilty he didn’t feel anything when his lover was in danger, and then when LATER in their month-long getting-to-know-each-other-without-Gojyo-even-knowing-Gonou’s-name period, Gonou’s in danger and Gojyo senses it...

The awkwardness between them after they settled in to live together, because they actually are in equal standing now and Hakkai’s way of living is in conflict with Gojyo’s (but at this point he’s still trying not to be too inconveniencing of the man who’s taken him in)

The fact that Hakkai saved Gojyo’s life during this time, and we’re led to believe that their relationship settled after this

Hell, their day to day schedules have them still living their separate lives, but if Gojyo’s still asleep at around 11 am, Hakkai will vacuum around him to wake him up lol

The ride-or-die relationship they’ve seemed to build over this time To the POINT where Hakkai said he would FIGHT Sanzo if Gojyo went berserk, because he couldn’t bring himself to kill Gojyo.

AND LET’S NOT FORGET THE FACT that in their past lives (because this manga does reincarnation), they were also very close and people referred to them as a married couple anyways.

That Tenpou (Hakkai) died after Kenren (Gojyo) and in his dying moments Tenpou is talking to Kenren.

That Gojyo’s and Gonou/Hakkai’s meeting somehow mirrored that final moment in a way.

Tenpou apologizes for taking being late as he dies, when Gonou wakes up a week after Gojyo finds him, Gojyo chastises him for taking so long (waking up).

Not related to their relationship exactly but Tenpou dies with his guts falling out, and Gojyo meets Gonou when... well Gonou’s guts are falling out.

Fuck, guys.

They’re my OTP and my BroTP like

Even if I’m placing them in a universe where they’re not romantically involved, they’re still the closest of friends, maybe even brothers. It’s a lot.

66 notes • Posted 2021-01-24 01:03:01 GMT

#1

I'm so delighted to share this, I couldn't wait until decent hours.

Commissioned from @fungusamongus , my Naruto OTP (Fem!)Shikamaru x Hinata, in like a survival-horror sort of scenario. I've wanted to see more fem Shika for a long time, I love these two, and I love my beloveds scraped up and a little bloody so there's nothing else I could've possibly asked for.

This artist is amazing and I'm so happy. Would recommend! ;w;

94 notes • Posted 2021-05-19 04:53:42 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[phantastus]

Hi Kit!! I was thinking about Shattered Memories for the first time in a little while and so I decided to search your blog about your opinion on it and you said it frustrates you, and I'm curious to hear your thoughts on it if you're interested? :)

Oh man, what a coincidence. I was just talking about this with @dunglizard.

Hmm… to condense my thoughts on it, my basic opinion is that while I did enjoy playing the game, there was a lot ABOUT it that was frustrating. Most of my issues with it have to do with wasted potential and the disrespectful attitude of the people making it, and then also there were gameplay aspects that were frustrating too. Of the two, the gameplay aspects are more forgivable imo, because like, no game is perfect and they really were trying to do something new, which is risky and doesn’t always succeed even with the best of intentions.

But to be clear– I had fun playing it! The story was compelling, the character writing was great, and the entire visual makeup of the game was haunting and beautiful. There was a LOT about it that I find really commendable!

And, really, what made it so frustrating to me was the fact that those aspects of it… deserved better, and were sorely let down by the things that WEREN’T good about the game.

I’ll put my negativity under a readmore because it got really long.

(disclaimer: I’m an angry old Silent Hill fogey and while I think I’m generally more reasonable than a LOT of fans, I’m still exactly the kind of person that Tomm Hulett likes to chortle about never being able to please, so like… keep that in mind.)

So uh, we’ll start with the gameplay I guess!

I love the idea of a no-combat Silent Hill game, and I remember when the game had only just been announced, I spent so much time chatting with friends about how a Silent Hill game featuring a protagonist who had a valid reason not to be able to fight the monsters (such as a small child, or an elderly or disabled person) would be really, REALLY cool. But even with Harry 2.0 as the playable character, I was still looking forward to what I thought was probably going to be a stealth-based Silent Hill game, which was SO exciting for me because the most scared I’ve ever been while playing games as a kid were ones where you had to sneak, with no option for combat (guess who nearly had a fucking heart attack every single time I had to sneak out of the Slytherin Common Room in the Harry Potter + the Chamber of Secrets PC game? spoilers it was teenage me). If you were caught, that was it. And the trailers for the game seemed to indicate that this would be the case, with mechanics for hiding from the monsters so that they wouldn’t find you. You know, like what would make sense for a no-combat horror game. This is a common mechanic for horror games both indie and mainstream NOW, but at the time, the only major one I remember knowing about was Amnesia: The Dark Descent, which blew everybody’s MINDS with how pants-shittingly scary it was, and the thought of an SH game trying the same thing was like:

But then when the game came out, that mechanic wound up being… kind of broken. Maybe the AI for the monsters was just ramped way up or something, but hiding essentially felt useless, since there was basically never a time when the monsters WEREN’T chasing you. No matter how far ahead of them you got, they still seemed to know exactly where you were and would catch up to you within a few seconds. If you DID manage to hide, most of the time they seemed to telepathically know you were there anyway and would drag you out. Not to mention, since you pretty much had to run the entire time without slowing down or stopping, there was no time to check the map and, as the courses got more and more difficult, they basically stopped being scary. 

There was no time to actually breathe and build up that apprehension of “Will it find me? Did I lose them? Is it safe to pull out my map and figure out where to go?”– instead it just became an obstacle course race where all the other participants were not only more in-shape than you but also knew the course by heart and wanted to eat you. What should have been heart-stoppingly terrifying and dread-inducing just turned into “oh FUCK now I have to run around at breakneck speed for twenty minutes and hope that I’m going in the right direction”, and that just got… really aggravating after awhile. It could have been really good, and it just… wasn’t. 

Pictured above: me thinking I’ve taken a new path for the 20th time only to emerge directly into a Raw Shock army who already  knew I was coming.

At best, watching Harry get repeatedly dogpiled by Raw Shocks every time my thumb faltered was pretty funny. But they were going for adrenaline rush and instead wound up with yackety-sax. Not a good move for a game boasting about how damn scary it was. The non-chase portions of the game definitely had a lovely, dread-filled atmosphere, but the fact that you were never in any kind of danger until the scripted events where the Obstacle Course Race From Hell happened kind of dampened their effectiveness, too. 

ANYWAY, onto the other stuff, which I concede is more personal than objective. But I do feel really strongly about it, so here goes.

Originally, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories was going to be an entirely new entry in the series, not only featuring a new story and characters but also the first female protagonist since Heather Mason. Between THAT and the unique atmosphere that SHSM had, I really, REALLY think that it would have been an awesome entry to the continuity, and GOD does Silent Hill need more female protagonists!

But somewhere down the line, that idea was scrapped in favor of the “re-imagining” idea, so instead of a new entry to the series, instead we got… a new entry where the characters had the same names as the ones from SH1, despite resembling them only in the most superficial of ways, and also you’re playing as a dude instead of a girl because of course you are. The honest truth is that if those familiar names were filed off and only a few minor tweaks made to the story, it would STILL be a completely original entry, which makes the re-imagining aspect feel jarring and cheap– the game really felt like it was banking on the shock value of Harry Mason Actually™ being an alcoholic womanizer and Dahlia Gillespie Actually™ being a hot sexy twenty-something, etc more than anything else– when the truth is, if they had just trusted in the story they were telling and the genuine emotional impact of the characters’ problems, they would have had an equally (if not MORE, imo) impactful and memorable game.

Instead, the SH1 aspects felt forced and ugly, and when you factor in Kaufmann 2.0’s smug soliloquey at the finale about accepting that your [Cheryl’s AND the player’s] perfect image of Harry Mason was wrong~ and unrealistic~, the entire story felt like a smirking hamfisted dickpunch aimed at people who enjoyed the original Silent Hill story about a diminutive and flawed (yes, even in the original canon, he WAS flawed) but determined man who rescued his child from a nightmarishly abusive home situation. 

Reading Tomm Hulett’s opinion (pictured above: me reading almost anything Tomm Hulett says) on the game only reinforced that impression– I honestly don’t feel like going and looking up the interview because it pissed me off but it mostly consisted of insisting that SHSM was “as canon as any of the other games” and was supposed to be considered a viable in-universe ending to SH1 (despite… literally being an alternate universe BY DEFINITION and not being continuity-compatible with the other games). Given Hulett+Co’s consistent obsession with “fixing” the original games (see the HD collection debacle, during which the original voice actors/actresses were mocked rudely and key dialogue changed to be “more believable” despite the new dialogue being totally deaf to narrative, characterization, and tone), it’s really hard not to take the “We fixed Harry Mason to be more realistic and the entire message of the game is about how silly and fantastical the original character of Harry Mason was, hohoho” attitude as being deliberately condescending and self-masturbatory.

Not to mention, while I have NO PROBLEM WHATSOEVER with the characters of SHSM entirely on their own (hence why I’d honestly be all for filing the names off and treating them as entirely-unique characters in their own story, which I feel they absolutely deserved), I personally find the whole concept of… ‘fixing’ an everyman hero by ‘revealing’ him to be an unfaithful, child-abusing alcoholic, and a delightfully sinister and brilliant villain to be a Sad Mom ™, AND a troubled and traumatized but ultimately heroic young woman to be a Daddy Issues Stereotype who was also Crazy The Whole Time ™ to be…. just repugnant, in the same way that I find overly-grimdark versions of superheroes repugnant.

Pictured above: me when people take pre-established characters and make them edgier for shock value and not much else.

For me, that was what took an otherwise interesting and poignant story and cheapened it for the sake of beating a dead horse (because they’d rather SHATTER our MEMORIES of those silly OLD games, lol cry moar babies!!! than take the plunge and try doing something that could stand on its own).

The characters of SHSM deserved so much more than to just be a “fuck you” to SH1, and the characters of SH1+3 deserve more credit than to be considered flimsy and unrealistic just because they didn’t fit into someone’s approved level of Grimdark. Given that, after all the smirking and hullabaloo and Problematic Decisions ™, the game’s connection to SH1 was still so, so superficial, it went from being just a questionable storytelling choice to actively making the game worse than what it could have been, for virtually no good reason.

And final footnote: These are my opinions, and obviously there are ample reasons for people to like and enjoy SHSM! I also in no way think that writing characters with the issues presented in SHSM is bad or “edgy” by itself, it’s purely the reasons behind doing it and the fact that it denied me a bona fide in-universe canon Silent Hill game with a new female protagonist that puts it in that territory for me. Nobody has to agree with me if they feel differently. Thank you for reading.

[plasticnightmaredoll]

"Resident Evil 7: Biohazard" spoiler-filled review

Well, I went ahead and replayed "Resident Evil 7" after finishing "Resident Evil 8" twice. I wanted to see if the former was still as good as I remember it being when I first played it several years ago.

Sure enough, it is still my favorite RE game so far (I have only played 4, but still, I don't think any of the other games will beat RE7 in my eyes) and one of my favorite survival horror games (my favorite gaming genre).

RE7 is why I even got into the RE game franchise at all. I always (and still do) prefer "Silent Hill's" games, and never had a strong desire to play any of the RE games. I just...wasn't impressed, I suppose, with what I saw and knew.

RE7 changed that and now I have played three other games in the franchise and have the intention to play most of the others (the ones on PC only because I don't have, can't afford, and don't need a console right now).

I actually have less to say about RE7 than I do about RE8, but that isn't a bad thing, mind you.

Anyway, onto the review!

The Good

Setting/Locations

I liked the location the game took place in. It was a departure from what RE had offered so far, bringing us back to the roots of the series in a way. The original "Resident Evil" took place in a creepy mansion, and RE7 takes place in three creepy, rundown houses.

Horror games taking place in a city (which RE2 and RE3's remakes did) doesn't mean they're not capable of being intense horror experiences, but I just like the classic aesthetic and age-old trope of "haunted" houses. Also, by taking place in the woods and not in a city (nowhere near a city from what I could tell), RE7 increases the tension by making you feel completely isolated. There's nowhere to run, except the woods, and who knows if you'll find help in time.

I also loved the part where you play as Mia and you have to initially explore the wrecked ship without any weapons, thus causing you to have to be cautious around monsters while still trying to get things done. Even when you get ammo, it doesn't turn the segment into a walk in the park.

Plot

The story was good, starting off as a bunch of fucked up mysteries (What happened to this house? What happened to this family? Were they always crazy? What's with the ability to "glue" severed limbs back on? What's with the crazy regeneration ability for Jack? Why is Mia so crazy and violent? What's with the mold?) and does provide answers at a steady pace as you progress until all is revealed by the end.

Still, it's not like it makes things less disturbing. In some ways, it makes it even more so. I mean, we have a kid with special powers who actually just wants a family but seems to lack any sense of compassion or mercy, probably because she was kept in a lab all her life. We have a family she "corrupted" and led to the deaths of 3 of the 4. Then you have Mia, Ethan's wife, who has been forced to turn evil on occasion, even against her own husband, and she nearly died. And, well, we have Ethan who is stuck in the middle of this giant mess.

It's not an over-the-top horror story, and while it relies on some horror game tropes, it never gets stale. It uses the tropes wisely, creating an atmospheric survival horror experience.

First Person

I am not a big fan of the 3rd person perspective that the other RE games have (minus RE8). I'm not a fan of it in general, and it actually makes the game less scary. You know you're playing as a character because you can clearly see them, so it's more like watching a movie, I guess. It can still be scary just not as much, in my opinion.

The first-person perspective is perfect for horror games because they make you feel like you're there. You are seeing things from the character's own eyes, like you're in their place, so the danger feels much more real. I'm so glad RE7 seems to have broken this trend as is possibly steering the franchise towards first person.

Weapons

Now, I was debating whether to put this in "the good" or "mixed thoughts" section, but I'm keeping it here. RE8 does have the benefit of weapon customization, so you can give your weapons more firepower, decrease their reload time, have them carry more bullets before reloading...RE7 has none of this. What you see is what you get.

Now, I don't see this as an issue, in fact, it's kind of a good thing. Since the weapons you find are going to remain as they are for the whole game, including the shotgun which only holds 4(?) rounds, you have to be smart. I think there is less ammo in RE7 than in RE8, too, so you really have to be careful. If you're not implementing some sort of strategy in fights in RE7, you could find yourself running out of ammo or not switching between weapons fast enough. You can only hold 4 in the active slots, too, which limits you further because you may have to swap two weapons during a fight.

It's not annoying...it's horrifying in its own way! I mean, if you have a bunch of ammo laying around and you can make your weapons Doom-style in terms of power, then where is the fun? Where is the horror? You can just blast away all day at enemies. By limiting what you have like RE7 does, you feel like it's a much more intense gaming experience, not to mention a more realistic one. I mean, in reality, you wouldn't be able to even carry that many weapons at once, nor would you be able to easily craft lots of ammo, nor would you be able to upgrade your weapons on the fly.

Graphics & Soundtrack

The soundtrack was very fitting, adding additional chills to the already haunting atmosphere but never forcing the "mood," so to speak. Graphics still look fantastic even now after 4 years have passed. Sure, RE8 has more polished visuals, but RE7 still is a very attractive game in terms of graphics quality. Lots of great lighting effects, including a lot of shadows to build more suspense since you're not running around in broad daylight or in places that are fully lit (most of the time).

Characters

While there aren't any remarkable characters in the game, I think they're all still memorable.

Jack is an absolute psychopath who loves to stalk Ethan while taunting him. When you see what he used to be like later in the game, it's almost sad because you can tell how distraught he was at what b became of him and his family.

Marguerite is the crazy bug lady, trying to get you to eat her gross food.

Lucas is the wide-eyed, sadistic killer who likes to make his victims play morbid games.

Zoe is the only sane one in the family and provides Ethan with much-needed guidance.

Mia comes off as the typical "wifey" type but she can actually kick some ass and knows how to use guns.

Ethan is a very resilient and noble character who cares about his family and would do anything for them.

Eveline is a creepy, weird girl (a trope but it still works here), but her backstory is kind of sad when you think about it: She has been raised in a lab her whole life as an experiment and has no concept of what love and compassion are, and acts out like a disturbed child more than an evil monster.

Bosses

I thought the boss fights were all pretty challenging, especially your final encounter with Jack and the fight with Marguerite. Eveline was easier to deal with, but when you think about it, it was still messed up considering you had just killed her and now she was mutating into a horrifying monster in an attempt to get revenge.

Sure, there weren't many boss fights, but a game doesn't need to have a dozen of them to be good. As long as what you get is entertaining and challenging, then it's all good to me.

Mixed Thoughts

The gross (and sometimes goofy) mold monsters posed a significant threat, a lot of it because you have to deal with them in small areas. They're so weird-looking, so inhuman, yet they make up the majority of the enemies in the game. It's the mold monsters and Marguerite's evil bugs.

They served their purpose well and provided some decent jump scares, but I wish there had been a bit more variety. I'm not sure what considering the location but I feel like there could have been one or two more monster types (like the nasty spider babies from "Not a Hero"). Hell, even having some gators around for Ethan to deal with would have been fun.

The Bad

Nothing!

Final thoughts:

I really love "Resident Evil 7." It's fun to play and chilling all at once, which is what I want out of horror games. It's easily the best thing to happen to RE since probably RE2 or RE3 (the original versions), and gave the series a much-needed change in direction.

Grade: A

Resident Evil Village: B+

Resident Evil 2 (2019 remake): A-

Resident Evil 3 (2020 remake): B-