thenightling

[thenightling]

The new season of King of the Hill is actually really good once you get used to the idea that all the characters have aged and get used to Dale sounding different. The only flaw I can name is in the second to last episode, Cotton's widow talks about applying an ointment to his stumps. Cotton didn't have stumps. We had been told doctors sewed his feet to just under his knees after his shins were mangled on the battle field. That's why he didn't have shins.

[thenightling]

So I was thinking about Spider-Man and some of the early descriptions of Peter's Spider-Sense. He felt it as a tingle that went up and down his spine and in his scalp. You know what we call that today? ASMR.

Peter Parker has an ASMR reaction to trouble. :-P As if he didn't have enough issues, imagine how the poor guy would react if a Youtube ASMR video worked for him.

[thenightling]

I think some of the more dubious Sandman headcanons would not happen if more fans actually read the comics.

For example anyone remember that annoying "Whorepheus" trend? Meanwhile in the comics we only know him to have had six lovers in about ten billion years. That's like calling Elon Musk a big spender if he spent six dollars and nothing else for his entire life.

And then there was the headcanon about Jessamy being a real raven and all of Morpheus's previous ravens having been regular ravens and Matthew being the first made from a deceased human. All because we never got to see Jessamy speak. Meanwhile, in the comics every raven was previously mortal. Lucien, Aristeas, Jessamy, and Matthew.

And now there are people headcanoning that Delirium was in on the conspiracy to cause Morpheus's death. Really, folks?! Really!? The story wasn't dark enough for you!?

If you actually read The Sandman: The Kindly Ones Delirium becomes upset when she sees Morpheus' statue in Destiny's garden appear to be crying. The statues show the true nature of each Endless, hers is still Delight, by the way.

And while looking for Barnabas, Delirium ends up at Lux (Lucifer's piano bar) and tries to ask Lucifer to help Morpheus and Lucifer tells her that it's too late.

She does NOT want Morpheus hurt or dead. What the Hell, people?

Just read the source material.

This is worse than when Tumblr Marvel's Loki fans nicknamed Agent of Asgard Loki "Teen Loki" even though he was supposed to be adult. Kid Loki was teen Loki (Loki age fourteen). He didn't age up only two or so years.

Or the fans who headcanoned that Marvel Loki's favorite food was pudding, American style pudding (So only sweet, not savory- like chocolate pudding cups). And the reasoning was Tom Hiddleston (who was talking about British puddings) said he liked pudding.

Meanwhile the comics repeatedly declared that Loki's favorite food was "breakfast meats." (Eggs, sausage, bacon.)

It's okay to come up with your own headcanons but in my own experience I think the best headcanons are actually reasonable deductions based on the content that is cnaon, i.e. suggesting that Wonder Woman's favorite food is strawberry ice cream. This can come from Wonder Woman talking about how great ice cream is in the Wonder Woman movie and comics, and also many depictions of her eating ice cream that happens to be pink, suggesting that her favorite flavor might be strawberry.

But if you headcanon something contrary to the source material... Try to check the source material first. I remember back in 2002 a lot of weird Lestat headcanons after the Queen of the Damned movie came out even though simply reading the books would have contradicted them.

The panels below are Lucifer talking to Delirium in The Sandman. So no, she didn't actively try to have Morpheus killed. I'm almost angry there are people who think this. Actually, I am angry.

[thenightling]

I am very tired of some Sandman fans very pretentiously claiming that The Sandman: Overture was a cash grab that Neil Gaiman pulled out of his ass. He set the seeds for The Sandman: Overture decades before it was published. Not only did Overture explain where the helm came from and the backstory of Alianora (from A Game of You), and what inspired Morpheus's "I am Hope" but it also gave us this from issue 47 (In Brief lives) from inside Destiny's Book.

Someone just claimed to me that Overture "changed" how The Sandman started. No, it didn't! It was there all along!

[thenightling]

I was just thinking how there were people genuinely angry that Beetlejuice is portrayed as bi / pan in the Beetlejuice Broadway musical and how "That's not in the original movie." Buddy... Tim Burton originally wanted Sammy David Jr. to play Beetlejuice. A one eyed, openly bisexual, black man. I bet these same people thought Otho was straight...

[thenightling]

Crack theory about The Sandman.

Okay, here we go...

I think Morpheus died in The Wake.

Morpheus caused his own death by making everyone dream he had died.

According to Dream of a thousand cats and The Sandman: Overture if a thousand souls dream the same thing at the same time it can re-write history so that what had been dreamt becomes the reality.

Having *Everyone* to attend Morpheus's wake makes more than a thousand souls dream the same thing at the same time. They all dreamt, at the same time, and that retroactively made it real that Morpheus had died because of the events of The Kindly Ones.

Just imagine it. A version of The Wake where Morpheus brought everyone there, made them dream that he had previously died and that they were grieving him, and thus that made it reality.

I think I've lost it. :-P

[thenightling]

Svengoolie is on right now!

[thenightling]

I put dates in for mine because there's an older Monster Mash movie and the one I like is the 2024 film. And with Faust it's the 1926 version I like, not any newer remake.

I don't think it was that deep at all. :-P It's an Internet quiz after all. But it was still fun to do.

My favorites are subject to change on a whim but these were the four I chose when taking the quiz.

My results:

Ah, very intriguing choices!

Nightmare Before Christmas showcases your appreciation for blending lightheartedness with darker themes, suggesting a love for the duality of life. Sleepy Hollow is a classic that delves into the macabre, indicating that you’re drawn to stories that explore the supernatural and the human psyche. With Monster Mash (2024) being a modern take on classic horror elements, it's a sign that you enjoy a playful yet nostalgic approach to storytelling. Faust (1926) reveals a deep engagement with philosophical themes concerning morality, temptation, and the human condition.

Here’s your reading: You have strong values and believe in the complexities of existence and the beauty found in darkness and whimsy. You see the world in a fantastical yet introspective way. You're definitely deep. I’d wager that your most profound thoughts and feelings arise when you're immersed in creative expression or contemplating life's moral intricacies.

[thenightling]

Svengoolie is on right now!

[thenightling]

I don't think it was that deep at all. :-P It's an Internet quiz after all. But it was still fun to do.

My favorites are subject to change on a whim but these were the four I chose when taking the quiz.

My results:

Ah, very intriguing choices!

Nightmare Before Christmas showcases your appreciation for blending lightheartedness with darker themes, suggesting a love for the duality of life. Sleepy Hollow is a classic that delves into the macabre, indicating that you’re drawn to stories that explore the supernatural and the human psyche. With Monster Mash (2024) being a modern take on classic horror elements, it's a sign that you enjoy a playful yet nostalgic approach to storytelling. Faust (1926) reveals a deep engagement with philosophical themes concerning morality, temptation, and the human condition.

Here’s your reading: You have strong values and believe in the complexities of existence and the beauty found in darkness and whimsy. You see the world in a fantastical yet introspective way. You're definitely deep. I’d wager that your most profound thoughts and feelings arise when you're immersed in creative expression or contemplating life's moral intricacies.

[thenightling]

Happy Lughnasadh / Lammas! (First of the Harvest holidays)

[thenightling]

I accidentally published the post too early, there are a lot more I can add, I'll revise it later.

Public domain monsters for your haunts

Spooky Season is upon us and if you run a Haunt or write scary stories, or comics, or even make decorations here are a list of classic horror, Halloween, and creatures of lore with name recognition that are in the public domain. Being in the public domain means anyone can use these characters. Just don't try to make them took too much like specific depictions from films because studios can lay claim to their own specific depictions. Now to begin. All these characters are in the public domain and anyone may use them. __________________________________ Vampires: Carmilla Varney The Vampire Lord Ruthven Count Dracula The three female vampires in Dracula's castle. (They are not called brides in the original novel) Mina Harker Lucy Westenra _____________________________ Ghosts Hamlet's Father (From Hamlet) Sir Simon de Canterville (The Canterville Ghost. And Lady de Canterville (possibly named Eleanor) The Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow or the Dullahan of Ireland (Both headless Horsemen) (Also counts as Dangerous Faery) Stingy Jack (origin story for the Jack-o-lantern) Jacob Marley (A Christmas Carol) _______________________________ Dangerous Faeries: Red Caps The Erlking The Banshee (Also counts as ghost) Mab Robin Goodfellow (Puck) Titania Oberon ___________________ Immortals: Dorian Gray _______________ Witches: Wicked Witch of the West Baba Yaga The Blind Witch (From Hansel and Gretel) The Evil Queen (Snow White. Non-Disney version) Circe / Calypso Doktor Faust _____________________ Werewolves: King Lycaon of Arcadia (First werewolf of Greek mythology and source for the word werewolf) The Werewolf of God The Farmer's Wife (Folktale where a farmer on his way home is attacked by a werewolf and he cuts off the wolf's paw only for it to turn into the hand of his wife, she was the werewolf). Big Bad Wolf of Little Red Riding Hood Rougarou (also known as the Bayou werewolf) __________________________________ Miscellaneous Cryptids: Big Foot Loch Ness monster Moth Man Chupacabra The Kraken ___________________ Lovecraft: Cthulhu __________________ Mythology and folklore Man-killing mermaid / siren Medusa Echidna Arachne ___________________ Demons: Lucifer (Paradise Lost depiction) Mephisto (from Faust legend)

[thenightling]

Happy Lughnasadh / Lammas!

This is the Ancient first harvest. There are three harvest holidays.

It also marks the half-way point between The Summer S2olstice and the Autumn Equinox. You could call it modern Mid-Summer.

The day we actually call Midsummer is The Summer Solstice (actually the first day of summer, June 21st) because it's from early Greek seasonal divides which were two seasons instead of four- so the start of what we today consider spring was the start of their summer. And that's why it has the potentially confusing name.)

The traditional way to celebrate Lammas is to bake bread, show appreciation for nature, decorate for harvest and feast with friends and family.

The next harvest holiday is Mabon (Autumn equinox) which is most easily described as Neo Pagan / Wiccan Thanksgiving.

And then Samhain (Halloween).

So to explain the harvest holidays for those not of Neo Pagan faiths...

Mabon = Thanksgiving Holiday

Samhain = Dead Holiday.

Samhain is actually the ancient New Year, and time of year several cultures feel a connection to those who have passed and believe spirits may wander the Earth. A time of magick.

Bread, thanks, the dead.

[thenightling]

🍞Happy Lughnasadh / Lammas!🍞

[thenightling]

Now that The Sandman is over I can focus my media obsessions / hyper fixations on other things. You're welcome to join me for...

Wednesday (Addams) seasons 2 and 3. (I love this show)

Wednesday spin-off (in early development).

The Lost Boys Broadway Musical (Yes, that's a thing.)

Fright Night (1985) prequel tie-in novel.

Monster Squad novelization.

Hour of The Pumpkin Queen (I'm morbidly curious)

Werewolf by Night 2 (pre-production).

Werewolf by Night Blood Moon comic event.

The latest Dracula movie (the one with Danny Elfman's score. Not Abraham's boys).

Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein.

Motel Transylvania Netflix series.

What little is left of The Witcher (though I'm kind of burnt out on that too).

Whatever the Hell Tim Burton's working on besides Wednesday and Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman.

Over the Garden Wall (old obsession. New merchandise that I can't afford...)

Aurelio Voltaire's Summerween album.

Spooky season.

Agatha Harkness (Wherever MCU TV or movies dump her.)

Interview with The Vampire season 3 / The Vampire Lestat now modeled on David Bowie. (Oh, hai, teenagehood obsession...)

Whatever Danny Elfman is recording right now.

Werwulf (Movie in development)

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General obsessions:

Gothic Horror Spooky Season Halloween (lifestyle)

[thenightling]

Now that I've noticed it, I am a bit bothered that The Sandman Netflix series didn't acknowledge the existence of reincarnation as an option. This has be a deliberate omission.

They left out Morpheus mentioning a dog who recalled a past life as a mortal (from The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes).

They left out Nada reincarnating as a Chinese boy.

They also left out Elysium (Greek Heaven). In The Sandman: The Wake comics we see Orpheus whole and with his lyre there and I don't like that it seems to be missing from the show.

It annoyed me back when the Lucifer TV show went out of its way to have Linda say that reincarnation isn't real and now The Sandman doesn't acknowledge it.

I guess they thought it would "undermine message" but at the same time it feels very disrespectful to many faiths.

[thenightling]

Yes, the promo material says it's present day.

Something I love about Darkmoor village (the setting of Epic Universe theme park's Dark Unviverse) is the Burton's Batman effect (best way to describe it) of the setting. By Burton's Batman I mean it's supposed to be present day but there's also an apparent timelessness and an aesthetic from another time period. You'll notice the Tim Burton Batman movies, Batman the animated series, and even the show Gotham are set in present day with 90s and 2000s technology such as CDs and video games, but the clothes, ambiance, and even automobiles are of the 1920s-40s and everything has a sort of noir quality to it. If not for the modern technology you really can't tell what time period it's set in. With Darkmoor Village it's like a Hammer Horror film or more recently Asylum's Monster Mash, where you can't quite tell what time period it is. Officially it's supposed to be present day and the original Universal Monster movies happened about a century ago. But the architecture (which is partly medieval, partly Victorian), clothes (also partly medieval and partly Victorian), and even the technology (which looks very steampunk) suggests a fairy tale-like agelessness

This surreal timelessness is charming and appealing to me. It makes you feel like someone could easily come sashaying down the street in a nineteenth century opera cape, while someone else could be wearing a 1920s smoking jacket (and bandages) and it won't feel out of place (except maybe for the bandages). I like that surreal, Gothic, timelessness. The 1960s TV series Dark Shadows pulled it off pretty well too, at least from episode 210 until it ended.