#when digital version of the movie comes out it's over for you all i have too many edit ideas

[arabellas]

and I still talk to you when I'm screaming at the sky and when you can't sleep at night you hear my stolen lullabies

[inkskinned]

the thing is there's like, a point of oversaturation for everything, and it's why so many things get dropped after a few minutes. and we act like millennials or gen z kids "have short attention spans" but... that's not quite it. it's more like - we did like it. you just ruined it.

capitalism sees product A having moderate success, and then everything has to come out with their "own version" of product A (which is often exactly the same). and they dump extreme amounts of money and environmental waste into each horrible simulacrum they trot out each season.

now it's not just tiktokkers making videos; it's that instagram and even fucking tumblr both think you want live feeds and video-first programming. and it helps them, because videos are easier to sneak native ads into. the books coming out all have to have 78 buzzwords in them for SEO, or otherwise they don't get published. they are making a live-action remake of moana. i haven't googled it, but there's probably another marvel or starwars something coming out, no matter when you're reading this post.

and we are like "hi, this clone of project A completely misses the point of the original. it is soulless and colorless and miserable." and the company nods and says "yes totally. here is a different clone, but special." and we look at clone 2 and we say "nope, this one is still flat and bad, y'all" and they're like "no, totally, we hear you," and then they make another clone but this time it's, like, a joyless prequel. and by the time they've successfully rolled out "clone 89", the market is incredibly oversaturated, and the consumer is blamed because the company isn't turning a profit.

and like - take even something digital like the tumblr "live streaming" function i just mentioned. that has to take up server space and some amount of carbon footprint; just so this brokenass blue hellsite can roll out a feature that literally none of its userbase actually wants. the thing that's the kicker here: even something that doesn't have a physical production plant still impacts the environment.

and it all just feels like it's rolling out of control because like, you watch companies pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into a remake of a remake of something nobody wants anymore and you're like, not able to afford eggs anymore. and you tell the company that really what you want is a good story about survival and they say "okay so you mean a YA white protagonist has some kind of 'spicy' love triangle" and you're like - hey man i think you're misunderstanding the point of storytelling but they've already printed 76 versions of "city of blood and magic" and "queen of diamond rule" and spent literally millions of dollars on the movie "Candy Crush Killer: Coming to Eat You".

it's like being stuck in a room with a clown that keeps telling the same joke over and over but it's worse every time. and that would be fine but he keeps fucking charging you 6.99. and you keep being like "no, i know it made me laugh the first time, but that's because it was different and new" and the clown is just aggressively sitting there saying "well! plenty of people like my jokes! the reason you're bored of this is because maybe there's something wrong with you!"

[haologram]

araneae 🕸️ k.sy (teaser)

🕸️ synopsis: when you realize your friend (with benefits) actually has feelings for you, a tangled web of lies and avoidance ensues. 🕸️ genre: friends with benefits au ; big dummy dumb idiots to lovers because it's the only trope ever ; ta x student dynamics ; fluff, angst & eventual smut (surprise?) 🕸️ pairing: zoology ta!kwon soonyoung x marine biology major!reader | side pairings: joshua hong x sana minatozaki ; vernon chwe x roh jisun (fromis_9) ; mentions of reader x yuta nakamoto (nct) 🕸️ word count: 2.8k | full fic: i don't fuckin' know but hopefully under 20k. 🕸️ rating: 18+. minors do not interact i beg. 🕸️ warnings: mentions of knife play (none involved), alcohol, mentions of protected sex (dw it'll get freaky later), mentions of cum, loss of virginity talk, mentions of marijuana (stoner!hoshi be off the honeypacks!!), they're naked for most of this snippet. a lot of parties later in the fic, just wait LOL. 🕸️ what to listen to: good kisser - usher ; magic stick - lil' kim ; more to come.

LAST YEAR – Sunday, October 23.

You were never opposed to a nice Halloween party. Lots of thematic drinks, stupid boys dressed as Ghostface trying to explore knife kinks, and girls going all out with their glitter make-up and tinsel in their hair for the optimal fairy costume. 

You loved a good Halloween party, music blasting out of the speakers that were stolen from the AV Club by the softer version of the Beta Tau Omega brothers. Dancing with strangers in sweat-soaked facades, and waking up with smeared face paint all over your neck and shoulders from whatever disguised hook-up you'd taken home that night.

Last night's rager had to have been one for the books, because you have no idea how you ended up in this absolute mess of a bedroom – owned by none other than your close friend, Kwon Soonyoung. The same Kwon Soonyoung who also happens to TA the class you've put off taking for the last two years, and are set to start taking the upcoming spring semester.

The same Kwon Soonyoung that was related to the wife of the Dean, and the same Kwon Soonyoung that showed up everywhere stoned or ready to get stoned. The very same Kwon Soonyoung that made infused pre-rolls and edibles for nearly the entire campus…for free. Even you could see that was a horrible business call, and you were a Science major.

Soonyoung who helped people sneak kittens into their dorm rooms and make homes for them under lofted beds. Soonyoung, who taught a dance class and self-defense class back to back, so he was never free until after nine at night. Soonyoung who made hanging out seem like he was trying to get into your pants because he was just naturally flirtatious (and somehow, still absolutely bitchless.)

Soonyoung who you've kissed twice since meeting him two years ago, both times at Halloween parties hosted by his stupid fraternity. Soonyoung, who has had his hand up your skirt twice before someone interrupts you by asking if he has any weed at hand. He always does, and it's always in his car or his bedroom. He always goes, and a part of you, no matter how into it you may be, knows it's for the best. He keeps his circle small, of friends that is. You were added to the mix sometime after your first Halloween party (and first kiss together) your  freshman year, when he slammed into you in the middle of the economics hallway, breaking your laptop in the process. He'd felt so bad he took you to Best Buy that same night and shelled out two grand for a new one and even invited you out to lunch the next day.

He did not remember making out at all. To be fair, neither did you until the digital photos came back and he texted you a picture of the two of you kissing against the Beta Tau insignia on the wall. You were so embarrassed you avoided him for a week after, but he quickly forced you out of your dorm for a movie night. The two of you became fast friends, bonding over silly little things and enjoying each other's company – but it didn't stop the rumors from flying that you were a freshman stealing a guy from the sophomores. 

You remember that he adamantly denied any and every dating rumor flung your way, and even went as far as distancing himself from you for a bit – but when you tried to pull the same move he had earlier that year, he said maybe it was best for the two of you to remain friends from a distance. You didn't speak to him for the rest of the year, choosing to spend your time with friends your age and even dating a transfer student named Yuta Nakamoto, who was also in Soonyoung's year.

When word got around, Soonyoung was pissed – but didn't attempt to rekindle your friendship. He still followed you on Instagram, and still felt a bit of anger puddle in his stomach as he liked photo after photo of the two of you together, biting his tongue at the empty smile you held by his side.

This continued well into summer, and he saw the two of you take a trip to Jeju Island together, before breaking up the following week. Soonyoung heard from your friend, Nagyung, that he was transferring back and neither of you wanted to try long-distance. 

The following school year, he watched as you got recruited by sorority after sorority – eventually joining his frat's sister sorority, Alpha Sigma Delta. You hardly had to rush, the girls actively pushing you to pledge and you were far too nice to say no. 

You saw him again for the first time at the Halloween party planning, when you and your fellow pledges were tasked with helping the frat pledges in hauling in liquor. You weren't very happy about it, but Soonyoung whisked you away without a word from you, telling everyone that he needed your help with a certain task.

That task? "Can we talk?"

And you did. You talked, and talked, and talked. He even left at one point to get drinks for the two of you, returning to you fishing through his bag of pre-rolls for the ones infused with lemon balm. He smiled, telling you they were in his car, and you rolled your eyes at it.

You kissed at that party, too. It went further this time – the two of you on Seungcheol's balcony. The idea had been to go up to the roof and get crossed, but it seems a rather tipsy Soonyoung had other ideas. You didn't mind it, in fact you encouraged it – you slipped his hand up your latex dress, you let him slip your panties down your legs. "Hey, Hoshi! Do you have any pre-rolls?!" 

Just as he'd started undoing his pants.

"Fuck, I'm sorry baby."

"It's fine."

You passed out in his bedroom that time, too tired to go back to the sorority house with your sisters. You got out of clean-up, and Soonyoung left you a kimbap roll and an electrolyte drink on his nightstand, with a note asking how you got there 'haha.' 

It hadn't been fine. Again, neither of you remembered this happening until digitals were printed. And it was freshman year all over again – except this time, Soonyoung stuck around. Soonyoung defended you tooth and nail, and even dropped a few of his friends that bad-mouthed you. When you asked him about it, he shrugged, "Nothing wrong with kissing your friends every once in a while." So, here you are. Again.

The third year in a row you and your stupid friend have made out, and somehow, you're in his bed. There's no other explanation as for why your underwear is across the room, hanging off his lamp and why his head is gently laying on your chest. There's literally no other explanation.

"Soonyoung." You rasp, patting his cheek. He doesn't stir, but pouts into your bare breast. "Soonyoung." You speak louder, shaking him slightly as he peels open one of his eyes. 

"Yeah?" It takes him a moment to realize that it's you, sprinkled with glitter from his eye look last night and practically doused in his saliva.

"Oh, fuck." He just furrows his brows, rolling off your chest with a groan. He sits up at the edge of the bed, surveying the room before realizing he's got no pants on. "Son of a bitch. Did we…Yup. Yup, it's right there." His painted fingernails point at the discarded condom atop his dresser, flung hastily in a half-asleep attempt, most likely. You sigh, letting your head fall back on your pillow with a hmph. He does the same, his fingers only reaching up slightly to close the blinds with a jerk of the liftcord.

"You think it was good?" You ask with a small smile, and he snorts. "It was with you, I doubt it would've been bad."

Silence permeates the air again, before he sees your bare bottom half also covered in glitter. You have a tattoo on your hip that you didn't have when you first met. It's a stick-and-poke kitten. "Nice tattoo." "Thanks, I got it on Jeju Island." "When you and Yuta went?" "Yup." "Cool." He sits up, peering down at you with tired eyes. "What'd you see in that guy, anyway?"

"Hm?" "Yuta." "Oh. You want the truth?" It's like being nude in front of each other isn't a big deal. It's like having slept together after years of being in limbo means nothing. It's all so normal, the way you allow him to practically eye fuck you.

"I was sad you stopped being my friend." He blinks at you, watching the way you carefully pick at a thread loose in his comforter. You pull it out, discarding it behind you with a soft smile. "Does that answer your question?" "You fucked another guy because I stopped being your friend?" He asks incredulously, and you shrug. "Not just, but it was a large reason."

"You lost your virginity to him." His eyes are wide, and you shrug once more, nodding your head. "Yup." "Did he make you cum?" "Soonyoung-" "Did he?"

You sigh, patting his comforter. "Not the first couple of times, no. He got better at it, though. It was decent." 

Nodding, he clears his throat.

"Do you think I-" "Maybe. I don't know. I don't remember much, just the Pink Whitney Mingyu gave me." "Mingyu does love his Pink Whitney." You flip onto your back again, staring at the glow-in-the-dark stars on his ceiling. Tucking your hands behind your head, you speak again. "Do you think I went down on you?" "There's lipstick on my tip." "What color?" "Uhh…wine red." You wipe a finger across your bottom lip, the small amount of residue a bloody, Cabernet red. "Hm. Checks out."

The air feels…comfortable.

"Wanna shower?" "Yeah." "Can I shower with you?" "Yeah, Soonie."

The two of you stretch simultaneously, before rolling to the side of the bed and standing up. He grabs the discarded condom off the dresser, holding it like a used tissue and taking it to the bin. You dig through his dresser for a towel, and he fishes out something for you to wear.

"Boxers okay?" "Hm, I prefer briefs." "On me or on you?" "Your underwear choices are your business." He holds up a pair of Spiderman briefs. You bite back your laugh and nod silently, extending your hand for them.

He disappears into his bathroom, flickering lights on and turning the shower head on. "Hot?" "Boiling." "Got it."

The both of you get in, and you close your eyes as the water pelts your back. Soonyoung says nothing as he moves your hair off your shoulders and away from your face, pressing a kiss to your forehead. "You should've asked me." He mumbles, reaching for the shampoo in the caddy behind you. Peeling your eyes open, you look up at him with a confused stare. "Asked you for what?" He shrugs, holding the shampoo bottle upside down over his hand and squirting some out. "I would've made you cum the first time." You snort, shoving his chest lightly. "Yeah, well…you didn't. It's fine." "This isn't weird to you?" "What? Showering together?" "After fucking, yeah." "Could be worse." "How?" "I could be that girl you've been flirting with since last year, wondering when you're going to text her back." "Who? Yujin?" "Yeah." "I'm not flirting with her, what made you think that?" "Stolen glances, flirty touches, you give her pre-rolls all the time." He rolls his eyes as he cards his fingers through your hair, his dull nails scrubbing your scalp gently. Your eyes flutter shut, and he huffs. "I give everyone pre-rolls." "Because you're a horrible business magnate." 

"No, because I'm nice." You smile without opening your eyes, your hands reaching out to touch his chest. His body feels good under your fingertips, you realize. "Are you mad you don't remember any of it?" "Furious." He mutters, gently tilting your head back to wash the soap out. You can't see the way he's looking at the sweet slope of your neck, just barely making out small nips of his teeth across your throat. Your necklace hangs nicely. The rest of the shower remains silent, as he carefully washes you before himself. His attention to detail is insane, the way his fingers hold the washcloth taut so he can feel every inch of you. He has to commit this to memory.

After, you're drying your hair with a random t-shirt he gave you. He remembers you told him that towels can be too rough for your hair texture sometimes. It's only when you're brushing your teeth with a brand new toothbrush he pulled from his cabinets that he speaks. "Let me change my bedsheets." "Don't wanna lay in the sin of fucking your friend, do ya?" The navy blue sheets are quickly replaced by ones with light grey ditsy floral print, and his comforter is shoved off and replaced by a few throw blankets. He watches as you change his pillowcases, only looking away when he hears his phone ping.

Msg From: Cheol [9:32am] hosh [9:32am] who is the girl in ur room and is she missing a pair of cat ears

"What was your costume last night?" He asks, and you snort. "I was a sexy witch." He smiles to himself as he picks up his phone.

Msg To: Cheol [9:33am] not missing a pair of cat ears [9:34am] and it's y/n

Your head snaps up when you hear a pair of feet thundering up the stairs, followed by silence. You give him an odd look, only to hear excited giggles down the hall and the pitter-patter of two adult men coming towards Soonyoung's room. You cross your arms as you hear the door creak open, an expectant look on your face as Jeonghan and Seungcheol's noses appear through the crack. "Hey, Y/N. Fancy seeing you here." Jeonghan remarks sweetly, and you just roll your eyes.

"He wasn't bluffing." He whispers to Seungcheol, receiving an annoyed huff from Soonyoung. "If you're done intruding on my personal business, I'd appreciate it if you left. The pledges still need to clean up last night's mess." Jeonghan gives you a wry look. "Can I say something and you don't get upset?" "If it's about sex, I will punch you in that pretty face of yours." You say pointedly, fluffing the pillow in your hand before throwing it onto his bed. Jeonghan purses his lips, nodding before sliding out from under Seungcheol. He nods his head, a satisfied look on his face. "Have a good…don't fuck too loud, okay?" Soonyoung barely misses Seungcheol's face with the charger he throws across the room, his giggle being heard in the hallway as he barrels down the stairs.

"Idiots." He huffs, running a hand through his damp hair as you flop onto the bed. "You don't mind if I stay here a bit? My head's killing me."

He lays down next to you, a sigh escaping his lips.

"You okay, Soonie?" Turning only his head, he scans your face. Tired eyes lined with thick lashes, plump lips covered by the Aquaphor in his bathroom. Slightly unkempt brows and your shoulder tattoo peeking out from the collar of his shirt on your frame.

"Kitty?" You grimace at the pet name, one he christened you with when the two of you met. He'd been dressed up as a cowboy, and dancing with a skeleton that was stolen from the comparative anatomy students (with the help of Junhui, of course.) He also had a lit joint between his fingers, one that sprinkled ash over your newly healed shoulder tattoo and made you yelp in pain.

"Shit, I'm sorry, kitty." He quickly put it out in a nearby ashtray, dusting your shoulder of any ash residue. "It's fine, it's fine. Just…can I get a hit?"

"Yeah?" He sits up, leaning against his bed frame before looking down at you.  "Would it be weird if I asked to try again?"

You glance up at him, an amused smile playing on your lips. "Try what again, exactly?"

He clears his throat, a beet red blush coating his cheeks. "You said Yuta didn't make you cum. And we don't know if I made you cum. So…can I have a redemption round?"

You've sat up at this point, a small laugh falling from your lips as you push your hair back, "You want to fuck me?"

"I can just go down on you, if, uh…if that's what you'd prefer." He stutters, mentally cursing himself. You glance at him, eyes scanning his face. "And we're still friends after this? You won't dump me?"

"I won't. I promise. Cross my heart, kitty." He holds his pinky finger out, insinuating you link yours. Sighing, you do just that. "Fine. Hop to, I want breakfast."

haologram © 2024 || no translations, reposting or modifications are allowed. do not claim as your own. viewer discretion is advised. your media consumption is your responsibility.

[cipheramnesia]

This is the process my brain goes through every time I see anything about Netflix Avatar The Last Airbender.

My first reaction is always: Why? The original, although not without flaws, doesn't leave a lot of room to improve. A good remake or adaptation usually involves an updated context or change in perspective that adds to the original work and gives it new meaning. It's a risky undertaking because it usually involves wanting to take on something established as iconic and make it your own. But Netflix is a corporation and seems very risk averse for the most part. Its only investment is in the name recognition of AtLA. It's hard to visualize Netflix deliberately taking a big risk on an expensive show.

My second reaction is: How? The original series is about 1400 minutes over 61 episodes, and it still had to rush the ending. We're looking at 8 episodes of roughly 45-60 minutes per episode for season 1, which would require Netflix to let it run more than 3 seasons, if the series has similar pacing. Historically however Netflix shows have glacial pacing, and rarely make three seasons. Not really sure how they plan to tell the story if the series is anything like the average Netflix series, meaning it either needs to undercut the story or let the series breathe for at least five seasons. But nothing Netflix has done makes me want to watch anything they make as an ongoing series? Why bother, they cancel everything I enjoy. So I wonder how. What's the hook to say "this will be able to provide something new and interesting compared to the original, and will be allowed to tell the complete story."

Which leads me to think, but you can't judge if something is good without seeing it. Except none of this is about whether it's good, I just find myself wondering what are the odds it's worth the effort? They're low, and it has nothing to do with whether or not it's even any good on its own merits.

Following this, I ask myself, what would a good version of this be. Imagine you are making a live action series with eight hour long episodes per season based on a children's cartoon with 20 thirty minute episodes per season. You are trying to encompass a story which was presented over three seasons as a cartoon, and you do not know if you will have more than those eight episodes. It's made for Netflix which, in terms of a company which will protect the hard earned fruits of your artistic labor, is the fox guarding the henhouse. What do you do?

If you are looking to make something good, that respects your audience investment and your own work, you make radical changes to the story. You change the pacing, the character arcs, the plot arcs. You make sure you deliver a complete story in those episodes with as much respect for the original work and as many new ideas as you can.

Except, at that point, what is even the point of a remake. The only way to work with it is either to trust Netflix allowing you to finish the story (which you'd need to be incredibly naive to do), or tell a story so different it may as well be wholly original. And that's where I always end up. Like, it'll probably be fine, but what's the point of it all? Another vanishing digital property to get canceled because of some undefinable failure to return on investment.

I think about it a lot because the two ends of the spectrum seem to be "dunk on every new piece of information" or "wait and see" but the only conclusion I can ever reach is "why even care?" That's been the lesson to take home from digital streaming in general when it comes to series, but Netflix in particular, and honestly for movie series too. If it can't be self contained, the companies who produce and release these kinds of series just cannot be trusted with it, and there are too many good original stories being put out to care anymore about big budget promises that one day they will definitely for sure deliver a finished story, this time for real.

I care enough to think about why I don't feel anything at all about Netflix Avatar. It'll be fine, whatever else. Just fine.

[wheels-of-despair]

A Quiet Place: Day One's bonus content "varies by retailer", so here's what I can confirm without buying anything:

Apple has a few featurettes, which you can watch for free.

Update: Bonus content becomes available after purchase.

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Amazon/Prime Video also shows a few free featurettes.

Update: It's just these three.

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Fandango at Home / Vudu has bonus features with purchase.

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YouTube and Google Movies do not mention any bonus content at all. Update: Because there isn't any.

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Microsoft has bonus content with purchase.

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xfinity won't tell you anything unless you're signed in, which I am not.

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50 minutes of Bonus Content will be on the physical releases (4K and Blu-Ray; not DVD) coming on October 8.

Day Zero: Beginnings and Endings—Hear from John Krasinski, cast, and crew as director Michael Sarnoski takes the reins for this character-driven prequel. (7 minutes)

In the City: Chaos in Chinatown—See how the production crew recreated Manhattan from scratch in order to destroy it. Plus, hear from some new and familiar faces from the franchise. (7 minutes)

The Exodus: Against the Tide—Go behind-the-scenes of the exodus sequence that employed over a hundred extras and a clever mix of practical and visual effects. (6 minutes)

The Long Walk: Monsters in Midtown—Meet Frodo the cat and the animal trainers behind the fantastic feline performance. Plus, filmmakers detail Sam, Eric, and Frodo's long walk through the city. (7 minutes)

Pizza at the End of the World—Hear from cast and crew about why a quest for pizza when the world is under attack poignantly speaks to our humanity. (7 minutes)

Deleted and Extended Scenes -The Back of the Bus—Sam returns to the bus disappointed after the show, but notices something peculiar happening in the back. (extended, 2 minutes) -Take Off Your Shoes—Sam notices a stranger following her and tells him to remove his shoes in order to make less noise. (extended, 1 minute) -Finding the Farm—Eric is returning with Sam's meds, but takes a detour to the creature feeding grounds to find Frodo. (extended, 2 minutes) -New Shoes—Sam and Eric try on new shoes. (deleted, 1 minute) -Poetry at Patsy's—Sam and Eric have a heart-to-heart out in front of Patsy's Pizzeria. (deleted, 8 minutes)

If you purchase any of the digital versions and bonus content becomes available to you, please share with the class!

[anim-ttrpgs]

Wait does Eureka have its own established lore for how different supernatural creatures work?

Yes, it does!

(I’m going to preface this post by saying that just about everything I’m talking about here, and more, is available FOR FREE for you to read in the free pre-release version of the Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy rulebook that you can download from our website. Go to Chapter 8 to start reading about the supernatural lore. The rulebook itself will do a lot better job of explaining all this than I will, because it has the exact details of how each one works, and I’m just hitting the highlights and going over what those details mean.)

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is a game about very human and believable investigators digging into dangerous (often supernatural) mysteries way over their heads, and sometimes those very human and believable investigators will be supernatural creatures themselves.

These supernatural creatures are every bit as human and “normal” as their mundane investigators counterparts, they have jobs, friends, families, hobbies, etc. They live among mundane society, not outside of it.

Most modern fantasy settings have some kind of separation between normal society and magical society, like you see in Harry Potter where there is normal society, and then a separate, secret magical society hidden away from it, or Vampire: The Masquerade, where vampires all have an agreement to keep themselves a secret from normal society despite acting within it.

In Eureka’s world, there is no “masquerade,” but that doesn’t mean that magic and monsters are well-known and well-documented phenomenons. Supernatural creatures such as vampires, wolfmen, etc. are exceptionally rare. Don’t take this as an exact number, but you can probably assume there’s about one of these per every 3.3 million normal people.

This rarity, as well as the fact that each individual has little to gain and everything to lose by revealing themselves (try “coming out” as a person who regularly assaults people and drains their blood), has led to them going largely undocumented in the modern day. Sure, this is the digital age, there are videos, but viral videos are not exactly scientific evidence. For every real vampire caught on camera, there are a thousand hoaxes and horror short films.

There is no secret vampire government controlling things from the shadows—most vampires don’t even know any other vampires, let alone enough to form a secret society with any effect on national politics.

As for how they work, well, that’s one of my favorite parts to talk about.

There are five playable monster types in Eureka (The Vampire, The Wolfman, The Fairy, The Witch, and The Thing From Beyond) plus two extras that are Kickstarter stretch goals (The Dullahan and The Gorgon), but in the interest of time, I’m only going to really go into detail with one of them.

Most playable monster types in Eureka are very, very old-school, with an emphasis on actual historical folklore over just making up all our own lore. That doesn’t mean Eureka doesn’t have a unique approach to the supernatural, though. Little of it is “new,” but it is certainly unique, because to my knowledge no other RPG has ever taken the old stuff this far before. A PC being a monster in Eureka isn’t just a few +1s here and there and maybe a little extra damage from silver weapons, it means playing by an entirely different set of rules from fellow investigators.

The vampires and vampire lore you see in movies are not folkloric vampires, they are mostly a 20th and 21st century pop-culture creation. Eureka’s vampire abilities, weaknesses, and other traits are based on pre-1900 vampire legends, with older traits usually taking precedent over newer ones. Thus, a lot of assumptions you might have about vampires going in could end up being very wrong. For instance, in movies, vampires instantly die when exposed to sunlight, but the first ever instance of a vampire in a story being killed by sunlight was in the 1922 film Nosferatu. In Eureka, sunlight is still awful for vampires, it strips them of their vampiric powers, but it doesn’t do any real damage to them. Sunlight is an issue vampires have to deal with, but it is far from instant death. That doesn’t mean being a vampire is inherently easy though, because in addition to having all the powers that folkloric vampires have (which is a TON), they also have all the weaknesses, and it is the emphasis on weaknesses that really makes the moment-to-moment playing of a monster PC in Eureka the most interesting. A few of my favorites for vampires are the refusal to enter homes without a direct invitation, and the compulsion to count large numbers of small objects. I think most vampire media these days considers these to be “silly” weaknesses and don’t want to acknowledge them in the lore of their “serious” scary horror vampires, but honestly I think that the “sillier” vampire stuff can still be used to great effect in horror. Imagine knowing that the only reason a vicious killer at your door hasn’t stormed in to rip your throat out is because they’re being polite.

A vampiric investigator will need to work around these weaknesses, and more, in their daily life, all while being sure not to reveal their true nature to their more mortal friends. It’s something that really changes how a character behaves and goes about problem-solving.

For instance, the rest of the party may be able to break into a house no-problem, but the vampire cannot. They need a invitation. That’s a problem. That’s a puzzle. It makes me excited just thinking about it.

This was originally going to be a much longer post where I went into more of the themes of monsters in Eureka, but I have decided that that would be most cohesive as its own post, an upcoming essay titled "How Eureka Handles Disability." So stay tuned for that.

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is kickstarting from right now until May 10th! Back it while you still can!

If you want to try before you buy, you can download a free demo of the prerelease version from our website or our itch.io page!

If you’re interested in a more updated and improved version of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy than the free demo you got from our website, subscribe to our Patreon where we frequently roll our new updates for the prerelease version!

You can also support us on Ko-fi, or by checking out our merchandise!

Join our TTRPG Book Club At the time of writng this, Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is the current game being played in the book club, and anyone who wants to participate in discussion, but can’t afford to make a contribution, will be given the most updated prerelease version for free! Plus it’s just a great place to discuss and play new TTRPGs you might not be able to otherwise!

We hope to see you there, and that you will help our dreams come true and launch our careers as indie TTRPG developers with a bang by getting us to our base goal and blowing those stretch goals out of the water, and fight back against WotC's monopoly on the entire hobby. Wish us luck.

[sommerflue-22]

Little Things They Do... (Pt. 2)

Little things they do to show you they love you

Read the other parts: Part 1 // Part 3

Featuring: Hange Zoe, Erwin Smith, Levi Ackerman, Onyankopon, Yelena, Nicolo

Warning: Modern setting, gn!Hange

Word Count: 650

Author Note

Hi, this is another version of "Little Things They Do"! I've linked the first part above for you to read. Here is the song I listened to while writing this. These actions can be perceived platonically or romantically, whatever suits you. Let me know if you want me to write for other characters as well!

Hange

Not everyone can appreciate Hange the way they are, so enthusiastic in certain subjects to the point where they can explain stuff that can't be found in Wikipedia. Having you around them, someone who appreciates them and supports them in whatever they do, is something that Hange never takes for granted. Whenever you both are having a conversation, Hange likes to drop a few 'fun facts' or trivial knowledges they've attained in their free time. They make it sound amusing as well, like that one line from a Philomena Cunk episode "The Egyptians believed that the most important thing you could do in your life was die."

Erwin

Erwin most likely pays close attention to small details such as how your necktie is crooked, or a tiny splatter of ketchup in your cheek after you ate your food. He will fix it for you every time. Expect him to stop you from rushing somewhere when you're already late, just for him to fix your hair a little bit. Also the constant reminder for you to tie your shoes because somehow they're always undone. He's just afraid that you'll trip over your own feet. It's not like you're that clumsy and untidy, he just cares about you a lot.

Levi

Levi is the cleanest and tidiest person you've ever met in your entire life, but he just lets you do things that usually irks him out. Whenever you come over to his place, he'll let you leave your dirty plate or cup in the sink. He'll wash it for you. He let you touch his TV remote even though your fingers are greasy from your snack. He'll wipe it later. He let you work/do your assignments in his living room, your papers and miscellaneous stuff scattered around the place. He'll help you pick them up later. It's his way to repay your kindness because amongst his closest circle, you deal with his sad and gloomy side the most.

Onyankopon

Onyankopon will happily help you take aesthetic pictures for your social media, anytime, anywhere, even if it's really crowded. He'll go crouching down, tilting his body, all out to get the best pictures. He knows how to change the setting, the ISO and all, of both digital cameras and smartphones. He will tell you where to stand and which way to face, working with the light to complement your figure. He takes it seriously. It's rare to find someone who is willing to take pictures for you, let alone one who is really good at it.

Yelena

Most of the time Yelena is calm and composed, which is why she kind of insisted in speaking on your behalf. No matter if you both are in a restaurant, in a bar, or at the dentist, she will speak for you. She just noticed a long time ago how you often have a hard time explaining things, something that is really easy for her to do. At first she said it's because you take too long when ordering food, or your voice was shaking as you talk to strangers it bothers her. However, as the time goes by, you realize it's her way to take care of you. You don't have to worry when you're out with Yelena, she will handle everything.

Nicolo

You and Nicolo eat together, like, almost in every chance you both get. Be it a fancy dinner, or snacking together while watching a movie at home, you both love to share your food. For some reason, whenever you have to open a packaging, Nicolo will grab it and open it for you. Once he teared the packaging open, he'll give it back to you. Nicolo is also a big "do you wanna try my food" guy. He will cut half of his steak and move it to your plate. He will break a KitKat in two and share a half of it with you.

I've never written anything about Onyankopon, Yelena, and Nicolo but apparently it was fun. I think I have a crush on Yelena now idk. I hope you like it as well! Lemme know what you think :3

[teecupangel]

the post is getting Too Long on my blog and it’s breaking my poor phone so. WHEE. new one!

gang sails off into the distance! and by “distance” I mean they’re high-tailing it into the Assassin servers in order to regroup and recuperate and figure out what the fuck to do now since. well. hey, they retrieved Desmond and they’ve kept him safe! uh. now what. if there were other Assassins’ memories in Abstergo, how long until they gain sentience as well? and how the fuck did Desmond and Jacob find a movie projector on the ship?

Desmond is still kind of reeling from everything that’s just happened, and to his surprise, despite the whole awkwardness surrounding Uh Fuckin Everything, the Kenways are willing to take him in, altho Edward somewhat morbidly jokes that their dysfunctional family being an improvement over his is really kind of sad when he thinks about it. then he offers to let him take a turn at the wheel—he needs to go see what they’ve done to the captain’s cabin anyway, he wasn’t able to since the collision and it’s probably messed with a few things.

they do need a base to operate out of for the time being. Davenport Manor is suggested, then somewhat reluctantly shot down bc of the two Templars around who are immediately like yeah uh No. Café Theatre is too cramped, although in a pinch it could do. the Frye twins’ train has little to offer in the way of bedrooms. Monteriggioni is considered and makes it into a top five list, only losing bc an entire town is a little too big and prone to glitches. (Desmond is a little peeved about it.) eventually everyone settles on finding a version of Great Inagua in the Assassin servers and regrouping there so they can figure out their next move. and maybe Edward is a little bit smug over it.

I do like the idea of Desmond teaching the gang how to really break shit in Abstergo, like—Juno is still in there, and there’s a possibility there might be more sentient data representations of dead Assassins (and dead Templars) rolling around now in the servers. Ezio shudders to think of Juno at the same time that Shay does, and they’re both concerned about the idea of Juno being able to simply possess somebody, and if she’s able to do that in the digital realm, there’s the lingering possibility of her being able to do that to an actual flesh and blood person. which nobody wants! so that’s on their priority list. and also all the other possibly-sentient people who might be running around the servers.

Arno and the twins and Henry listen to all of this, then sit in contemplation. then all three of them are like. oh shit we have to check on our simulations bc Lydia and Elise might also be gaining sentience and god KNOWS what they’re doing right now without us. who wants to come with, we’ve got spare clothes for you. (aka: how to justify the legacy outfits lol.)

The “Too Long Post” which was about the playable characters in Abstergo’s games gaining sentience for easy reference. (And considering we ended it after they got away, we can count that as Arc 1 XD)

Honestly, I think the only valid locations for their homebase would be the Great Inagua or Davenport Homestead because they also need to park their ship (depending on who you ask, it’s either called ‘Aquila’ or ‘Jackdaw’) and the Seine river would be hard to navigate while the Thames is chock-full of other ships and boats and the moving train means they can’t always get to the ship quickly. Also, they all try to fit in the mansion that Edward had ‘commandeered’ but it becomes clear that there is a division. Altaïr, Ezio and Ratonhnhaké:ton took the rooms nearest to Desmond. Haytham took the room furthest away from everyone and Shay took the room to his left. Shao Jun took the empty room nearest to Ezio while Aveline took the empty room nearest to Ratonhnhaké:ton. Jacob’s the only one who went ‘whichever room is free’ and Arno took the room furthest away from Shay which sorta put him between Jacob and an empty room that Evie took for herself. Jacob joked of Jayadeep just sharing a room with Evie so he took the room on the other side of Jacob instead, making Jacob roll his eyes. Edward just took his old room (which was the largest room). So… they might be in this together but they’re definitely not exactly the bestest of allies at the moment.  

Desmond taught them what he knew, things he didn’t know when he was alive but he just… knew once he ‘woke up’. He doesn’t even know if these skills came from his memory of Clay or from his memory of Dionysus (holy shit, his Isu ancestor was the god of wine and debauchery? What the fuck???) but he wasn’t going to reject such a boon. He’s quiet about his life though, only sharing a bit if anyone asked about what they saw. 

And the only one who asked was a worried Shao Jun because Shay was keeping his distance and the others either didn’t have such a bad memory to watch (Aveline, Evie and Jayadeep) or didn’t even see any memory (Jacob and Arno).

The ones connected to Desmond though… Desmond told them everything. Even Edward who was just in the room with the three people who had the biggest urge to find Desmond and Haytham who Edward believes had been affected just as much by the time they started to piece Desmond back together. Edward provided the alcohol back then (although Altaïr did not partake) and they finished more than five bottles of Edward’s hardest liquor. He was especially worried for Haytham who grabbed an entire unopened bottle and just started topping his glass with it and ended up finishing it and still requesting his glass to be filled afterward.  

Are we talking about the Juno in Desmond’s dataspace or the real Juno in digital space? Because if it’s the real Juno and this is set after Syndicate BUT before the comics where she died, then Juno is out in the real world (which would give us an excuse to have our sentient Assassins travel into other corners of the internet XD).

However, I do like the idea that they’ve unintentionally created Juno 2.0 from Desmond’s memory of her (and also a bit of Ezio and Ratonhnhaké:ton’s memories). This also gives Ratonhnhaké:ton a reason to want to take her down since she… technically didn’t lie but she absolutely used Ratonhnhaké:ton and gave him the short stick in that deal. (With her past misgivings to Ratonhnhaké:ton, Edward would be on board and maybe even Haytham once he learned how everything had been set into stones because of the path the Isus have chosen the world to walk to, including how the Kenway family ended).

You know what would be fun? If they made the grievous assumption that the data are gaining sentient while they were gone BUT the real reason why they’re slowly gaining sentient is because all sentient data (them) are still connected to the virus that started this all. Now, the virus was fast-acting in Abstergo because it was meant to fuck shit up there but the virus also have a failsafe that makes it dormant when it knows it’s no longer in Abstergo’s servers. But… the virus itself might be dormant but constant exposure to it will still affect data. 

… wanna make Arno have a bad time once more? Élise is slowly waking up and she starts remembering…

The many times Arno repeated her death, together with the pain and rage that consumed her during those days, not knowing Arno repeated that memory over and over again to try and save her.

You gotta wonder… if Élise would even be happy to see Arno once more when her most lived memory was her death.

(Also… Lydia would be fine being sentient since she loves her grandaunt and granddad who raised her but… remember… Jack the Ripper is also in the servers). 

[needlesandnilbogs]

I guess art is going on tumblr instead of on blogspot today lolll cause I’m lazy. half the high school au crowd goes to see a movie. that is all. (If I successfully did this then there will be a read more bc I put the fic here and it got long)

Image ID: two digital drawings. One is of high school versions of murderbot characters dressed in costumes and standing in front of a movie poster: from left to right, Rin (high school au murderbot), Bharadwaj, Overse, Gurathin, Pin-Lee, and Indah. Rin has dark curly hair and dark brown skin. It is not dressed in a costume, just a blue hoodie and gray pants, and is standing behind and apart from the group. Bharadwaj has dark brown skin and her hair is under a light purple hijab which extends into a cape behind her; she also wears a long dark blue dress belted at the waist and a silver circlet. Overse has light skin, shoulder-length dirty blonde hair, and glasses; she wears a light blue dress with pink trim and sleeves, pink shoes laced up her calves, a Magen David necklace, and a small pink crown. Gurathin has the lightest skin, brown hair cut unflatteringly, and big round wire glasses; he is wearing a red shirt and leggings with gold armor over it, and he has a silver flute hung over his shoulder. Pin-Lee has lightish skin, black hair in a bun, and wears a green bodysuit half covered in green and pink feathers. Indah is the tallest except for Rin and has medium skin and light brown hair; she is wearing a turquoise shirt, purple leggings, a skirt in a different shade of purple with gold trim, and yellow shoes.

the other image is the poster that is behind them. It is for a made up movie called “Sunshine Warriors: Day of the Second Sun” and features an orange and yellow stylized sun on a blue background. On the sun there are images of a pink crown, a red eighth note, a green bird, and a purple butterfly. Under the movie title, at the bottom, it says “Ten Years Later…”. End ID.

anyways this is for chatfic I am deciding whether to post to ao3 or not, I wrote the fic last year and it’s part of the hsau’s summer between Mensah and mb’s senior year of high school and going to college. The relevant bit of the fic itself is as follows:

———

DM: Lee (Pin-Lee), bhara (Bharadwaj)

[10:01] bhara: Hey, wanna go to the river w me this afternoon?? I need out of the house and my aunt won't let me take the car

[10:03] Lee: I'm down, want me to pick you up?

[10:03] bhara: That'd be great \o/ I have no agenda lol I just really need a break

[10:04] Lee: Also, want to come to the movies tonight with Indah and me, too? We're making plans to see the Sunshine Warriors film in full costume tonight, possibly with Gurathin and Overse and Rin too.

[10:04] bhara: OMG I FORGOT THE MOVIE COMES OUT TONIGHT AAAAAA AND ITS LIVE ACTION LIKE THE PART IN THE DOCUMENTARY WHERE THE ACTORS DID THE SCENES

[10:05] Lee: I was actually about to ask if you wanted to come when you texted me!

[10:07] bhara: I CAN GO \o/ \o/ \o/

[10:07] Lee: Great. Pick you up in ten for river time, at 4 for the movie?

[10:07] bhara: o7 but also changed my mind, let's go see how much of a costume we can put together in the time between now and 4?

[10:08] Lee: I'll make a group chat so we can coordinate costumes!

New Chat: Pin-Lee (Pin-Lee), Bharadwaj (Bharadwaj), gurathin (gurathin), indah (indah), Overse (Overse), Rin (Rin)

[10:10] Pin-Lee (Pin-Lee) started chat

[10:10] Pin-Lee (Pin-Lee) changed chat name to Sunshine Warriors Assemble

[10:11] Pin-Lee: So. We are doing this, okay? I call dibs on being Feather, he was always my favorite.

[10:11] indah: I'd forgotten how much I loved this show

[10:12] indah: I want to be Color, if possible, I have the most clothing I could use for her.

[10:15] Overse: Arada isn't interested in going but she says she'll lend me her floofy skirt so I wanted to be color

[10:15] indah: I'll duel you for it. Swords at 2 am on the 29th?

[10:16] Overse: wow rude

[10:16] Overse: whatever happened to reasonable sleep schedules? [10:17] gurathin: Not to interrupt but I want to stake a claim on flute, the least terrible warrior

[10:18] Overse: omg Gurathin just be sun lord, you're already that pompous <3

[10:18] Bharadwaj: So we have Flute, Feather, and two people who want to be Color, who wants Princess and what do the rest of you want to do?

[10:20] Overse: well, I can be princess instead, i do have good high heels for it, but what do you wanna do?

[10:20] Rin: I'm not coming in costume.

[10:20] Bharadwaj: I was thinking Queen Midnight but only if everyone else is down for going with the villain?

[10:21] Pin-Lee: I am *always* down for going with villains. I'll be over in 5 minutes and we can hit your closet and the thrift store, okay?

[10:22] indah: The plan is meet at Pin-Lee's house at 4, carpool to the movie theater, see the 4:45 showing, get dinner, see the 9:50 showing, go home, unless anyone can't stay out till midnight.

[10:30] Bharadwaj: I just checked and my aunt says that's fine

[10:30] Bharadwaj: She also says if we want to come over after and watch the documentary that came out a couple years ago about the making of the show we are welcome to do so and then sleep over!

[10:31] Bharadwaj: It's SUCH a good documentary, it's a beautiful letter of love to the way the show was made and the choices the writers had to make to make it socially acceptable

[10:31] Bharadwaj: I know I just like documentaries in general but I really love this one and not just because it's about fiction I enjoy

[10:35] Overse: omg perf

[10:35] Overse: I have to be princess then bc I loved her voice actor in the show

[mikelogan]

hello. i really enjoy your content, but i have to say i'm kinda disappointed on you still being a ts fan. this woman knows what disney does and yet she still gave them the rights, meaning she either doesn't care or actively supports the genocide. or maybe she decided to turn her morals off because money is more important. not to mention how she consistently associates herself with questionable people and how a person literally died in one of her shows on brazil and she gave zero fucks. this woman is not a good person and there are no excuses to being her fan anymore.

no, i fully understand what you're saying and where you're coming from. over the last like. idk year and a half? ive been pretty vocal about my disappointment, distaste, and disagreement with a multitude of the choices she's made lately. i 100% agree that her silence on the subject of palestinian genocide (as well as many other human rights/social causes) is at best a sign of apathy and at worst a sign of support. especially when miss americana was all about her wanting to be more outspoken and be an activist. that all feels so incredibly performative now -- and has for a while. a lot of things that she's said and done since midnights, which is when i became more active in the tumblr swiftie community, have left a bad taste in my mouth for her as a person.

like i said, i genuinely agree with what you're saying. the only thing i take issue with is that she didn't care that a fan died at her show. she donated money to the fan's family and took time to meet them. regardless of my many issues with her, i do think she can be an empathetic person and i don't think that she just straight up didn't care that someone died before her show. it's one of those things (of which there are many) where we'll never know her true thoughts bc she doesn't talk about things. which is frustrating in itself.

now that's not the point of your message, so feel free to write that off as a digression. i strongly disagree with her making yet another version of the eras tour movie and hosting it on disney+. I'm personally boycotting disney+ and have been for a while. I don't even intend on watching the new version and like the vast majority of everything I gif, that shit is pirated -- that's how I watched the original release of the movie. obviously my consumption/boycotting is just one person compared to blondie, who has influence over millions, who could make real change if she spoke out against genocide.

at this point, im not supporting her financially either apart from listening to her music. which i love. im sorry, but I do. if I didn't, we wouldn't be having this conversation. i think her constant churning out different exclusive versions of the same albums are a transparent money grab and maybe an effort to set more records as far as sales or streams or however that all works. and I'm not just saying that bc I literally couldn't even afford to buy a digital copy of an album right now.

so yeah. I appreciate that you enjoy my content and thank you for saying so, but if you need to unfollow or block, i understand. I've definitely toned down/completely stopped sharing posts about her as a person bc I'd much rather focus on just the music. and maybe that makes me a bad person for continuing to listen to and enjoy her music. im not saying i necessarily feel good about it, but i think the fact of the matter is that a lot of the celebrities, actors, musicians, etc. we like or whose content we enjoy hold views we disagree with and have different values or priorities. nuance exists. right now, im someone who is vocal about the palestinian genocide and I try to share resources/posts about it when they come across my dash and im also someone who is a fan of Taylor's music.

Idk, I hope what I'm saying makes sense at least on some level. I've done my best to word things coherently, but brain fog fucks w me a lot. and like. it's probably whatever, but I do plan on changing my url after ttpd releases. That probably upsets you more and I can see how people might think im a hypocrite or something and yeah, I get it. Idk, I just want to enjoy someone's music without endorsing them as a person, but that's extra difficult when the person in question is the biggest singer in the industry. but you'll never see me making excuses for her on things like this or the m*tty situation or numerous other things she's said and done that gross me out. im not so far up her ass that I think she's perfect or that I feel the need to defend her at every turn. like I said, nuance. anyway, if you feel the need to respond, i welcome you to do so as long as we both remain respectful, which I think we've done. this is a difficult topic, but that doesn't mean we can't discuss it. I appreciate your point of view and I'm sorry that I've disappointed you!

[fostersffff]

I've been seeing a micro-controversy on Twitter with regards to a someone pointing out that the current masters for the Sailor Moon anime aren't properly color corrected when compared to the animation cels. The controversy is over the fact that the pinkish tint on the current masters (top video, versus the color correct bottom video) is considered by a lot of people to be the "true" version of the series, on account of the fact that's the version most people would be used to seeing. Plus, it just makes sense, ~*~aesthetically~*~, that Sailor Moon would have that pinkish tint, because it's shoujo. For girls, ya see.

Most of the people I follow who've chimed in on this think the pink tint is better, which is perfectly fine, but I'm also with the original poster when they say that this should not be the case for the masters. For the sake of preservation, masters should be color corrected to match the animation cels as closely as possible, because the cels are what the original images literally are.

The problem here is that Toei is dogshit at doing this themselves. Nearly every Dragon Ball home video release has some kind of coloring problem: check out this post I did comparing Seed of Might's Color Corrected release of Dragon Ball to the Funimation Blue Bricks (which were made using scraps Toei sent them) and the home video releases of the Dragon Ball Super movies (including Broly and Super Hero), which have a green tint as opposed to pink, and is even more obnoxious an error since these films were produced digitally.

These things are not the end of the world- it's not like the footage itself has been butchered, and the Seed of Might release and even the video kicking off this post are proof that proper color correction can be done after the fact, but it shouldn't be up to fans to fix this stuff. Especially since it leads to this exact current micro-controversy, where the people doing the proper color correction are attacked because people have come to prefer the wrong image.

And, the cool thing is, if you prefer a more stylized aesthetic, that's super easy to do yourself! Here's something I was able to do by gently nudging a single slider in VLC media player's default "Effects and Filters" on Sailor Moon S The Movie:

We Vaporwave Now! We can even get more creative and crop the second image to 4:3 and run it through a VHS filter for from real ~*~90's anime aesthetics~*~ type looks:

Now, you may look and that and think "but wait, that's cool!", and I'm inclined to agree. It's neat! But the point is that I was able to do all that in like 2 minutes with minimal effort to create a specific looking variation on the original product. If someone was so inclined, they could probably find a VHS effects package to run over the entire movie and combine that with a color filter to get a version of the movie that suits their personal aesthetic takes, and that's cool as hell. But the original source they're using (that should be available to everyone, especially if they're buying physical discs) is what it was actually intended by the animators to look like.

[oneinathousand]

Pixar gets all the credit for supposedly making the first feature-length CGI movie with Toy Story, but it’s untrue, it wasn’t even the first feature-length CGI movie released in 1995!

Toy Story was released in November of 1995, but several months earlier, a tie-in movie for the Japanese point-and-click adventure series GADGET called GADGET Trips: Mindscapes was released separately on Laserdisc in the spring (with one old source I found specifying it coming out in May).

An important thing to note is that sources regarding this movie will often claim that it came out in 1998, but that was for the DVD which came out after the Laserdisc version, and the former is simply easier to find.

It certainly doesn’t have a traditional narrative, and it’s basically one long music video with a plot you absolutely won’t even kinda sorta understand unless you read the art book Inside Out with Gadget or read the helpful summary that’s inside the Laserdisc cover itself, but it’s as much of a film as something like Koyaanisqatsi is.

However, if you want to go by the parameter of “first CGI movie to be in active development and then released”, then you could say that the 1996 Brazilian animated movie Cassiopéia should get the credit because it got started in 1992, but production problems such as some of the rendering computers getting stolen prevented it’s release until after Toy Story. Many Portuguese-speaking animation fans are already aware of this.

HOWEVER… If you want to go by the literal definition of a “cgi film”, then the 55-minute long pixel-art-styled The Flying Luna Clipper from 1987 released on VHS and Betamax technically counts. When we hear the letters “cgi”, we normally associate it with being 3D, but this movie was made mostly with an MSX computer, and is pixel art not computer generated imagery? Unless you think it isn’t because it’s much more hands-on. Sure, a lot of the movement here is basically a slideshow combined with a digital form of cut-out animation, but I think there’s enough motion to qualify it as being a movie, you know? (Thanks to @easternmind for pointing me in the direction of this)

Even if you personally disqualify The Flying Luna Clipper for being 2D, disqualify Cassiopéia for releasing in 1996, and even if you disqualify Gadget Trips: Mindscapes for its unconventional nature, you can’t solely credit Pixar for breaking new ground when it comes to CGI when you take all the shorts over the years into account, and I think these artists the world over should get more credit for their achievements, and maybe there’s even more examples of movie-length CG movies before Toy Story that I don’t even know about!

[saccharineclover]

Work Song pt. 1

Boys workin' on empty, Is that the kinda way to face the burning heat? I just think about my baby, I'm so full of love I could barely eat. There's nothing sweeter than my baby, I'd never want once from the cherry tree 'Cause my baby's sweet as can be She give me toothaches just from kissin' me

A/N: This is my first time posting my writing for Leon Kennedy, I have consumed a good bit of media so I believe this is in character but also this lil mini series is canon divergent and will have 4 parts including this one. This one takes place a little before RE2.

W/C: 1.8K

It was one of those days. Where Leon got lost in all the words on the page, and in the grade of the test he took last week. It's a saturday night, and he's surrounded by scattered notes and old tests, hair a mess, eyes dark with circles. He groans while the palms of his hands are pressing into his tired eyes. He looks at his digital clock, blinking and squinting as if it will help his disoriented vision.

There was something nagging at him and it teased just at the tip of his tongue. When he can’t come up with anything, he shakes his head and let’s his gaze drift to the frame that rests on the other side of his desk, eyes focusing in on the faded picture. It's of a younger, more carefree version of him, and you. He's tugged down by your arms, securely around his neck, your face squished into his. He has you gently by the waist with one arm, face flushed but there's an untainted smile gracing both you.

Leon smiles unconsciously, sighing, as his mind slips into old memories. When he met you for the first time when his aunt enrolled him into May Creek Middle School. How you smiled at him, and gave him your favorite pencil, claiming "It writes better notes."

And when your parents never even blinked an eye at his presence, simply greeting him with a "Hello Leon, we've heard good things about you.” It started a whole tradition of him having dinners that leaked into him sleeping over that eventually stemmed into him going on the family vacations.

And how you fought the bullies that would yell and taunt him due to his orphaned nature. He remembers you huffing, rushing over to where he had been pushed down and doting over him like you yourself weren’t all scratched up from the scuffle but still you stressed, “Are you okay?”

He remembers nodding up at you, eyes sparkling before lurching into a clumsy hug, which you reciprocated graciously. You let him squeeze, while you patted his shoulder and you didn’t know but he swore, he would protect you ever since.

Even while you both navigated May Creek High, he was right there. When all your other friends fell out due to some outrageous drama, he showed up dvds in hand, mumbling something about a movie night. You didn’t hear him all that well considering you had shot forwards and gave him a swift hug, before tugging him up to your room to watch movies.

And he remembers your first break up, helplessly watching you cry into your bedding. He scrambled around, unsure of what to do until he decided maybe he should just stay. That night was the first night you climbed into his lap and made yourself comfortable. It felt better to cry into him than the sheets, and he made you feel safe and oh so loved.

But besides all the social mishaps of High School- you kept fluttering along, trying new things and finding what it meant to be you. You never once forgot to tug Leon with you, and you had nodded, eyes understanding and open when he whispered that he wanted to go into the police force. Nudging his shoulder with a squeeze of his hand, you lament that you know he can do it. He’ll be the best police officer that May Creek- No the United States had ever seen despite your underlying fear.

He remembers your screams when you both graduated, how you bounced around, laughing freely. And how you helped him pack, he did the same for you. You cried, hugging him when it was actually time to leave him in his dorm. You both stood in the middle of his room wrapped in each other, until Leon mumbled his goodbye's and love you's into your hair, as you squeezed over his shoulders and arms one last time for good measure. You squeaked out a watery goodbye, and a more solid I love you too.

Leon rolls his shoulders, setting up ready to delve into his work once more, before jolting. ‘fuck fuck fuck fuck' he thinks, body scrambling. He was supposed to have dinner with you, and now it's 8pm. He frantically searches for his phone, hoping, maybe you won't be too mad, it's only his… 4th time?

Even as he turns his small room into a disaster, he can’t find the damn device, letting out a low, "god damnit-" Leon finally takes note of the insistent knocking on his door, stomping over to swing it open "Jeez Rowan, It is not the time! i'm late and-“ He’s startled by the hand on his chest, it feels familiar, like the ones he was just say dreaming about.

"Y'know, Leon, it would be great," You walk into the room, setting the take out on the only open space on his desk, "if you would, I don't know, stop forgetting your best friend." You mock, wincing at the mess of papers and clothes.

Leon gawks, leaning his weight against his open door, blinking slowly. You're quick to start straightening up, stacking papers together, making room to eat on his bed. "You're lucky, I predicted this, AND that I love you and that I go back home tomorrow and not tonight." You continue to ramble, not catching the way Leon's face has twisted into something warm and flushed and incredibly happy.

Once you've deemed the area clean enough, you toe off your shoes, climbing comfortably on his bed, shifting around as you place the takeaways in front of you. You look up to where Leon's standing, before patting the space, beckoning Leon to join you. "Comon, the food is getting cold and I am starving." You groan, a smirk gracing your glossed lips.

Leon takes long strides, still trying to wrap his head with the fact that you’re here. He stutters out a question, "Japanese?" You nod, handing over his regular, and you begin to munch on your own. The silence blankets both of you, calm and welcome. You can't help but take in his tired eyes, and the way he moves so sluggishly, in between bites. Though you can never understand what police academy is like, you know that he looks exhausted and stressed. And undernourished from the way he’s swallowing his food.

You watch him eat, thinking of all the shit that he's mentioned over the last few weeks. The long nights of studying, the endless training sessions and the occasional bruises and aches he's accumulated.

Your eyes, travel over his shaggy blond hair, and the deep blue bruise that makes it's home on his cheek. The ugly feeling wiggles it’s way into your chest, again, as you think even more about his suffering. You try to force it down by taking a large bite, selfishly wishing he would’ve went to regular college.

As you twirl your fork, and glance over him some more you notice that the bruising doesn't stop at his face, but his arms and neck are also littered with them. Even though you tried, really you did, you can’t help the nerves that have built up in you.

Without thought, you're setting your plate aside, and reaching forward, hands gently brushing his hair from his face, hoping to take a closer look at his cheek. Leon flinches slightly, mouth still full of noodles, unsuspecting of your watchful gaze. He hums as he cocks an eyebrow, curious on what this sudden contact was for. He chokes at the way your eyebrows are pinched together, lips pouting at him.

"What? You know I'm sorry abou-" He completely stops his bumbling defense, as you move forward, hands turning his head this way and that way. You pull back, suddenly loosing your appetite, looking at Leon once more.

He mimics your actions, scooting closer once he's placed his food along with yours. He slouches, trying to catch your eyes again, wondering what could have you so upset. He can only think of one thing, and he reaching for your hands hoping he hasn’t hurt you too much.

"Leon, you've," You whisper, cracking on the words, “You've gotta be more careful, all these damn bruises- I'm- you're" And though Leon wants to be concerned, he burst out laughing, his hands clutching his sides, shaking his head back and forth.

You gawk, suddenly feeling warm, a heavy feeling settles in your chest, as you move even closer to him. There were many ways you expecting him to react but laughing, was not on your list.

"Leon, This,” You grab him, forcing him to stop moving, tilting his head to look at the bruise on his cheek, "is not funny!" You practically crawl into his space, standing on your knees as you keep one hand securely on his jaw, the other grasping his broad shoulder for balance.

Once he can breathe normally again, his hands rest find their way home on your waist. Leon beams up at you, insisting that he's fine and that these are nothing. From your position, you suck your teeth, carding your hand through his hair to satiate your need to dote. You soak up his relaxed expression, the way Leon's eyes are closed as his fingers flex, body and mind without a single worry. You mind must be on autopilot because you lean forward to press your lips into his temple.

Leon sucks in a quiet breath, but doesn’t move away as you press another into his forehead, steadying you as climb into his lap. It’s nothing you haven’t done before, you both crave that sort of intimacy, chests pressed together and arms wrapped around one another. Leon sighs, as he listens to your strong heart, and feels your weight in his lap. His shoulders loosing tension every second you play in his hair, your tender lips still pressing gentle kisses into his skin.

For awhile you stay like this, food long forgotten and totally content. Leon promises that he'll be more careful and take breaks. Even then, you're not satisfied, as you nuzzle into him, breathing him in, as if to memorize every part of his being. And though you both could stay like this forever, eventually, you have to detangle from one another. Reluctantly, he helps you down, and gather your things but he doesn't let go of your hand until he's waving goodbye as you walk down the hallway of his dorm building.

That night, he's warm, buzzing with new life, unlike before. Leon's high off your touch, charging him with an unlimited amount of energy, he snuggles into the blanket you gifted him. Thinking of you, and your unwavering support. And how you were always checking in, always there, always loving... He didn't know if he could've done it without you.

You rest easy that night, in your own dorm room, unknowingly to you, just how much Leon depended on your mere existence. All you knew was that he was your best friend and that he looked much better than he did when you left than when you had first arrived. Even though you’re worried, and incredibly scared all you can do is support him, and if that means lying a little, then it’s worth it.

[gaykarstaagforever]

Considering it has been in the public domain since 1962 (and for longer in the US), anyone and everyone can publish an edition of the Dracula novel. And since everyone is already familiar with it, you really don't have to worry about marketing it.

But also, like...there are HUNDREDS of editions of this book out there. Why would someone buy yours over another one? And also, vampires are cool.

All this taken together leads us to the amazing variation of covers for this book over the last 127 years.

(Some of these may be for strictly digital editions, or fanart. People who upload to Pinterest are garbage at providing accurate descriptions. But they're all going for the same cover-art vibe, so I've included them.)

(Also I tried to avoid comic book / children's illustrated adaptations, only because those aren't literally the same Stoker novel. ...But some of those are fun, so get bent, me.)

This will be more than one post. There are a lot of these. I'll cross-link them when I'm done.

The original 1897 edition, and still probably the best. LOOK at this. Blood red, narrow, imposing font on sickening yellow, the leg of the R dropping below the line as an ominous red fang, pointing to Stoker's name. Golden Age of novels, indeed. Just goddamn perfect. This is going to be hard to top, right out the gate.

Valiant effort. Just the original with roasted edges, with a stock photo of Castle Bran and a giant full moon draped over it. This castle + moon thing comes up a lot.

Also I have no idea what this sequel by "Dacre Stoker" is the hell about. This book is public domain so anyone can publish whatever fanfic / sequels they want about it.

...Dacre Stoker is apparently legit Bram's great-grandnephew, and is a gym teacher from Quebec who used to be an Olympic athlete and coach. Now he just writes or co-writes Dracula books. Good on him, I suppose.

Obviously an edition post the Coppola movie, what with the castle that is very nearly the one from the movie, and the field of impaled people at sunset. It's fine for what it's going for, I guess.

This is the one from the hardback edition I have, in that this is on the dust jacket I threw out because fuck those things. The actual book is black with a simple red title font.

I don't know what the legal status is of whoever using this Boris Vallejo painting for this. I assume they paid to use it. Especially since they edited the expected half-naked lady out of the original:

I love Vallejo, but using a desaturated, censored version of this kick-ass painting? Either use the original and rock the vibe, or fuck off. Lame.

...Blue? Crude sketch of a random castle? White font? I mean I know the text is free so you want to keep production costs low, but this is just lazy crap.

Nice 1960s theater poster vibe with this one. Good work.

When I think Dracula, I don't think "2010s gritty emo reboot of Red Riding Hood." Don't know why anyone would. But I'm sure the original emo / goth PC wallpaper you stole from 2006 made someone's Evangelical coworker slightly annoyed.

Simple, artful, story-relevant. Font is going a bit too hard with the Steampunk signage thing, but it's inoffensive.

This is...a choice. I mean, this IS a scene from the book, and the art is okay. Just a weird choice for the cover, especially with the obviously lazy lasso tool selection and cropping. This doesn't really represent the overall tone of the novel, which is not about old men being irritated. I guess it is certainly distinctive...?

[ssiggss]

Hello again ! You don't have to respond to any of these if you don't want to btw, I just like explaining/rambling about Trollhunters because all of my friends aren't into it.

Anyways, my story for the Arcane Order is WILDLY different from both the Wizards series and the movie.

Nari's (who is based off of the Tylwyth Teg from Welsh mythology) more of a villain at the start of Wizards, being the driving force for the Arcane Order's disdain of humanity. Skrael and Bellroc aren't fully on board with the idea of letting the incredibly violent and destructive Gumm-Gumms win the war and rule over the surface world. But, Nari's the eldest, and they can't not admit that Camelot is a threat to the magical creatures within Nari's woods.

Still, allowing the man-eating trolls to win sounds like a bad idea, so Skrael and Bellroc refuse to assist in Nari's plans.

So, Nari plays with fate by herself, approaching Arthur under the guise of a fair maiden, and planting the seeds of doubt in Morgana's loyalty. Which leads to her death at his hands.

Nari is the one who resurrects Morgana, and gives her more power, along with a mission: Tamper in the battle and have the humans lose.

Fast forward, Nari realizes her mistake mid-battle when she's forcefully shown the future via that time-map thing. (I despise time traveling, but I can make it work to keep it just a *little* closer to Canon). After seeing what her world will become with Gunmar and Morgana ruling it, she backs down, and brings the forces of nature crashing down on the Gumm-Gumms. Deya still wins the overall battle, and locks Gunmar away, just like in Canon.

Now, remember how I said Skrael and Bellroc didn't want to destroy humanity? Well, Nari's actions seem to have a habit of coming back to bite her.

Fast forward to Jim's lifetime, and the world is polluted, cultures are getting smaller and smaller, and not many people are still in touch with nature. So, remembering what Nari had tried to do with Killahead, Skrael and Bellroc decide to ask her help in wiping out humanity for good, to preserve the cultures that are rapidly fading.

Nari sticks her nose up at them and basically says "Nah fam, y'all didn't help me back then, I ain't helping you now. Besides, Merlin's letting me live at Camelot for free" and peaces out. And Skrael's like "You didn't even go through with the plan back then???"

Yeah so, Nari, #1 hypocrite in my Au. I still love her, since she's also inspired off of numerous fae and also kelpie mythology.

In what would the Rise of the Titans movie for my Au, all of the battles and stuff are a lot different, including the Titans themselves. I'll draw them all eventually, but moving on for now. There's still a fight between Nari and Skrael; Nari loses an eye and forearm during the fight, and Skrael is almost strangled and crushed to death by vines and rubble.

Eventually it turns into Skrael seeing that yes, there's still good people on Earth, and yes, killing them all is not the answer. He helps how he can in the upcoming confrontation with Bellroc, which is less of a battle and more of a therapy session. Because, damn, these guys' cultures have been absolutely wrecked by time and colonization / global warming.

In the end, the Arcane Order splits up for good.

Thank you for reading! Have a digitalized version of the sketch from the other day

This is a very interesting concept!!

UIltimately you've made some cool alterations!! I like the more in depth dive in Skrael and Nari's bond, and the differential development of your storyline!!

You've put a lot of work into this, I respect that!! Its all very detailed, and you've got good visual language!!

I like this au, thank you for sharing!!

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (October 9-15, 2022)

Supreme shock sensation of our times: a Godzilla comic released on schedule! Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors - All Hail the King! #1 dropped on Wednesday. I'll confess I forgot about it for a couple of days; your priorities get scrambled when you're recovering from knee surgery. This is a direct sequel to last year's Monsters & Protectors; I don't recommend going in blind. Two big reasons to pick it up: Gabara's debut in American comics (in a dream, natch) and a professional Xilien troll who muses over which reaction .gif he should deploy. Yeah, me too.

Toho released a teaser and this very cool still for the upcoming short Fest Godzilla 3: Gigan's Attack, showing off the Showa Gigan replica suit Shinichi Wakasa built. It's strange to see it opposite FinalGoji (presumably the same stunt suit from last year's Godzilla vs. Hedorah short). I guess it's just his destiny to face Godzilla suits that are barely holding themselves together.

I cannot hope to comprehensively cover the deluge of Godzilla merchandise forever threatening my bank account in this column, but I would like to spotlight this enamel Baragon pin, designed by Christian Gonzalez for Ghost X Ghost. When I saw it my hands simply moved to order of their own volition.

The Dino De Laurentiis King Kong films are getting format upgrades. StudioCanal has a 4K restoration of the 1976 remake slated for November 28, while Umbrella Entertainment is bringing King Kong Lives, long out of print in the States, to Blu-ray on January 18. Neither company is American, but 4Ks don't have region codes and I hear Umbrella Blu-rays are typically region-free.

Probably neither will be a buy for me. The color grading on the 4K King Kong doesn't look great, and the special features don't measure up to the Blu-ray Shout! released last year. I will grant that the King Kong Lives Blu looks like a winner, with great packaging and new special features including a Ray Morton audio commentary. (They had to be new; the old DVD didn't have a thing to mine.) But it's not exactly one of my favorites, and since Shout! recently picked up the rights to it, I'd rather hold out for a version I don't have to import.

Just over a year after it premiered at Fantastic Fest, Iké Boys is out on digital courtesy of (they just keep coming up) Shout! Factory. Hopefully a physical release will follow, because this heartfelt American tribute to tokusatsu doesn't deserve to be buried in the Google Play Store. Set in the last month of 1999, it concerns a pair of Oklahoma tokusatsu geeks and a Japanese exchange student trying to prevent the apocalypse, empowered by the obscure 1969 anime film that predicted it. It's very low-budget and hits a lot of predictable coming-of-age beats, but it's got a good heart and Yumiko Shaku (yes, Akane in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla) classes it up. Also... it's not often I'm pandered to so directly. The director's one of us, to put it mildly.

Big thing are happening on the bootleg circuit... a couple of them last week, but I never posted about them on Tumblr and this is the first installment of this column. Yesterday, Skeweds Translations posted fansubs for What to Do with the Dead Kaiju?, Toei and Shochiku's kaiju comedy with no U.S. release outside of film festivals in sight. The film is catastrophically bad, I'm sorry to say, failing as a satire and as a genre exercise; Day of the Kaiju handled the same premise far better in a quarter of the time. But if you're so inclined, you can find a copy of the movie itself on the cat site... along with a higher-quality copy of Shin Ultraman than was uploaded there previously. I don't know where these things are coming from (Zarab?), but I'm not complaining.

And in the how-can-this-be-real category, a treat for your ears: the recently unearthed Hong Kong dub of Hanuman and the Seven Ultramen. As in Godzilla vs. Megalon, Ted Thomas, Chris Hilton, and Warren Rooke voice many of the characters. You won't believe the words coming out of their mouths—I don't think they did either. Between the child murder, checkmated atheist, and Hanuman's unquenchable thirst for carnage, this was always one of the kaiju movies with the most jaw drops per minute, and it just got better. A VHS containing the dub turned up in Lebanon; @Redcome40977685, @PrissMegaforce, Omayyad, and Elie Al Hajj got it digitized and @spacehunter-m synced the audio up to a fine-looking widescreen version.