#A Man for All Seasons (1988)

[intriguingpeoplebyangelafloyd]

A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (1988)

Watch it free on YouTube

This is a remake of the original film.

When the power-hungry Henry VIII (Martin Chamberlain) seeks to annul his marriage and take a new bride, principled Sir Thomas More (Charlton Heston), the Lord Chancellor of England, will not support the king on the matter. Though More's wife, Lady Alice (Vanessa Redgrave), understands his rift with Henry, his associate, Cardinal Wolsey (John Gielgud), is willing to go along with the king's wishes, creating a conflict between More and the two powerful leaders.

#amanforallseasons#martinchamberlain#HenryVIII#thomasmore#charltonheston

[thepastisalreadywritten]

SAINT OF THE DAY (June 22)

On June 22, the Catholic Church honors the life and martyrdom of St. Thomas More, the lawyer, author and statesman who lost his life opposing King Henry VIII's plan to subordinate the Church to the English monarchy.

Thomas More was born on 7 February 1478, son of the lawyer and judge John More and his wife Agnes.

He received a classical education from the age of six.

At age 13, he became the protege of Archbishop John Morton, who also served an important civic role as the Lord Chancellor.

Although Thomas never joined the clergy, he would eventually come to assume the position of Lord Chancellor himself.

More received a well-rounded college education at Oxford, becoming a “renaissance man” who knew several ancient and modern languages. He was also well-versed in mathematics, music and literature.

His father, however, determined that Thomas should become a lawyer, so he withdrew his son from Oxford after two years to focus him on that career.

Despite his legal and political orientation, Thomas was confused in regard to his vocation as a young man.

He seriously considered joining either the Carthusian monastic order or the Franciscans.

He followed a number of ascetic and spiritual practices throughout his life – such as fasting, corporal mortification, and a regular rule of prayer – as means of growing in holiness.

In 1504, however, More was elected to Parliament.

He gave up his monastic ambitions, though not his disciplined spiritual life, and married Jane Colt of Essex.

They were happily married for several years and had four children together, though Jane tragically died in childbirth in 1511.

Shortly after her death, More married a widow named Alice Middleton, who proved to be a devoted wife and mother.

Two years earlier, in 1509, King Henry VIII had acceded to the throne.

For years, the king showed fondness for Thomas, working to further his career as a public servant.

He became a part of the king's inner circle, eventually overseeing the English court system as Lord Chancellor.

More even authored a book published in Henry's name, defending Catholic doctrine against Martin Luther.

More's eventual martyrdom would come as a consequence of Henry VIII's own tragic downfall.

The king wanted an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, a marriage that Pope Clement VII declared to be valid and indissoluble.

By 1532, More had resigned as Lord Chancellor, refusing to support the king's efforts to defy the Pope and control the Church.

In 1534, Henry VIII declared that every subject of the British crown would have to swear an oath affirming the validity of his new marriage to Anne Boleyn.

Refusal of these demands would be regarded as treason against the state.

In April of that year, a royal commission summoned Thomas to force him to take the oath affirming the King's new marriage as valid.

While accepting certain portions of the act which pertained to Henry's royal line of succession, he could not accept the king's defiance of papal authority on the marriage question.

More was taken from his wife and children, and imprisoned in the Tower of London.

For 15 months, More's wife and several friends tried to convince him to take the oath and save his life, but he refused.

In 1535, while More was imprisoned, an act of Parliament came into effect declaring Henry VIII to be “the only supreme head on earth of the Church in England,” once again under penalty of treason.

Members of the clergy who would not take the oath began to be executed.

In June 1535, More was finally indicted and formally tried for the crime of treason in Westminster Hall.

He was charged with opposing the king's “Act of Supremacy” in private conversations, which he insisted had never occurred.

But after his defense failed, and he was sentenced to death, he finally spoke out in open opposition to what he had previously opposed through silence and refusal.

More explained that Henry's Act of Supremacy was contrary “to the laws of God and his holy Church.”

He explained that “no temporal prince” could take away the prerogatives that belonged to St. Peter and his successors according to the words of Christ.

When he was told that most of the English bishops had accepted the king's order, More replied that the saints in heaven did not accept it.

On 6 July 1535, the 57-year-old More came before the executioner to be beheaded.

“I die the king's good servant,” he told the onlookers, “but God's first.”

His head was displayed on London Bridge but later returned to his daughter Margaret who preserved it as a holy relic of her father.

Thomas More was beatified by Pope Leo XIII on 29 December 1886. He was canonized by Pope Piux XI on 19 May 1935.

The Academy Award-winning film “A Man For All Seasons” portrayed the events that led to his martyrdom.

A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)

A Man for All Seasons (1988 television film)

[thegothicalice]

I absolutely love your style and was wondering as a cinemaphile what obscure, off the wall horror movies would you suggest for the spooky season?

Uhhhh how about various levels of obscure from the 80s and 90s? (Not a complete lists because I’ve seen literally thousands of films and forget half of what I watch and use Letterboxd to keep track)

1999– Idle Hands, Don’t Look Under the Bed, Bats, Ravenous, In Dreams, Lighthouse, Stir of Echos, Audition, Kolobos

1998—The Last Broadcast, Devil in the Flesh, Whispering Corridors, Urban Legend, Shadowbuilder, The Eternal, The Quiet Family, Strangeland, Deep Rising, The Wisdom of Crocodiles, Tomie

1997– The Relic, The Ugly, Event Horizon, Cure, Wax Mask, Snow White: A Tale of Terror, Quicksilver Highway, Office Killer, The Night Flier

1996– From Dusk til Dawn, Little Witches, Uncle Sam, The Frighteners, The Dentist, Karmina, Thesis, Tromeo & Juliet,

1995– Blood & Donuts, Screamers, Tales from the Hood, The Demolitionist, Mushrooms, The Girl With the Hungry Eyes, The Day of the Beast, Serpent’s Lair, Rumpelstiltskin, Mute Witness, Evil Ed, Project: Metalbeast, Habit, The Addiction, Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight, Lord of Illusions

1994– Tammy & the T Rex, In the Mouth of Madness, Lurking Fear, Cemetery Man, Death Machine, Brainscan, Nadja

1993– Love Bites, Doppelgänger, Necronomicon, Body Bags, Ed & His Dead Mother, Dark Waters, Skinner, Jack Be Nimble, Ticks, Carnosaur, The Temp

1992– Death Becomes Her, The Vagrant, Tale of a Vampire, The Unnameable II, Innocent Blood, Dr Giggles, Auntie Lee’s Meat Pies, Aswang, Sleepwalkers, Netherworld, Split Second

1991– The Resurrected, The Boneyard, Body Parts, Popcorn, Subspecies, There’s Nothing Out There, Highway to Hell, The Runestone, Cast a Deadly Spell, Children of the Night

1990– Frankenhooker, Fear, Nightbreed, Lisa, Mom, Grim Prairie Tales, Shakma, Pale Blood, Baby Blood, Mirror Mirror, Hardware, Meridian, Def by Temptation, The Vampire Family, Reflecting Skin, Demonia

1989– Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat, Nightlife, I Madman, Dr. Caligari, The Black Cat, Paganini Horror, Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge, The Dead Pit, The Phantom of the Opera, Dead Calm, Intruder, The House of Usher

1988– Paperhouse, Spider Labyrinth, Spell Caster, Sorority Babes in the Slime-Bowl-O-Rama, Cellar Dweller, Pin, 976-EVIL, Brain Damage, Rejuvenatrix, Blood Relations, Party Line, The Unnamable, The Wicked

1987– Psychos in Love, Blood Rage, The Caller, Stagefright, Graveyard Shift, American Gothic, Street Trash, From a Whisper to a Scream, Blood Diner

1986– Spookies, Poison for the Fairies, Vamp, Gothic, Deadtime Stories, TerrorVision, Witchboard, Trick or Treat

1985– The Doctor and the Devils, Phenomena, The Stuff

1984– Decoder, The Company of Wolves, Monster Dog, Sole Survivor, Special Effects

1983– The Lift, Wilczyca (She Wolf), Eyes of Fire, House of Long Shadows, The Hunger, Angst, Curtains, Blood Beat, Mortuary, The Keep

1982– Ferat Vampire, Next of Kin, The Sender, Tenebre, One Dark Night, The Living Dead Girl, Superstition, Alone in the Dark, Parasite

1981– The Black Cat, Fear No Evil, Dead & Buried, Possession, Night School, The Monster Club, Allison’s Birthday, Frightmare, Ghost Story, The Funhouse, The Pit, Evilspeak, Strange Behavior, The Nesting

1980– Macabre, Fade to Black, The Ninth Configuration, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

These are all just what I’ve recorded on my personal Letterboxd since I started it in April of 2017, I’ve seen plenty more but tried to just pick possibly less-known stuff, some bad and some good.

[c-53]

ROBOT MEDIA RECS YOU PROBABLY HAVEN’T HEARD OF:

The Turing Test (Video Game, 2016

A portal-like puzzle game, where you play as a scientist, and ai duo with an uneasy alliance, who are reclaiming a facility that has been completely gutted, and transformed into an elaborate logic puzzle / turing test to keep the aforementioned ai out. All the while, the ai argues for his good intentions, and more importantly: his sentience.

A fun exploration of individuality, and freedom applied to both humans and artificial mind, with interesting puzzles, and a truly fantastic twist. This game adores dubious ethics and The Chinese Room Argument.

Event[0] (Video Game, 2016)

You find yourself stranded on a small abandoned ship, in the aftermath of your own ship’s destruction. With nothing else to do, you board it, and find it is completely, and utterly controlled by the onboard ai, Kaizen-85. From opening a door, to getting back to Earth, if you want it, you need to talk to talk to Kaizen to make it happen. And boy, are they so thrilled to have someone to talk to after being alone so long! And depending how you speak to them, you will either be a short lived pest, or a beloved friend forever.

A really charming indie game with a surprisingly good chat system with the ai. You talk with them directly, typing in your own messages to them, and they react in turn. Janky at time, but truly amazing to be able to smother a nice ai in flattery and see it get excited.

Primordia (Video Game, 2012)

Humanity is long, long, long gone, and for the robots that remain to walk the ruins, life is becoming harder and harder. A closed loop of scavenging for materials, parts, and premade energy sources can only last you so long, and this scarcity leads only to desperation.

The amnesiac hermit, Horatio and his helper, Crispin, however keep it simple. The outside world matters not, they just stick to repairing the crashed ship they live in, in hopes it'll fly again one day. That is, until a robot pillages the power core from the ship, putting the two of them on a time limit before they themselves run out of power. Forcing Horatio to finally leave the comfort of his home, and see for himself what the world has become, and to see how he fits into its history.

A point and click, story rich puzzle game, thats honestly one of my favorite games ever. I'd sincerely recommend everyone give it a go, even if its with a guide up next to you the whole time.

The Zeta Project (TV Show, 2001 - 2003)

The Zeta Project follows Zeta, a robotic assassin meant for impersonation, and deep infiltration for the US Government. But after mysteriously "waking up" manifesting a sense of remorse for his actions, he's been forced to go on the run from his creators. His desire for freedom and pacifism being met with skepticism, and a belief he has been compromised somehow by the terrorist organization he was infiltrating when he had this revelation. Now, with the help of another runaway, he hunts for his creator in secret. In hopes he can find proof he really is capable of this, and that he really ISN'T compromised.

Fundamentally a kids show, and pretty clunky early on. However it gets a big spike in quality in season 2!

Monsters of Man (Movie, 2020)

An illegal US military weapons test goes terribly wrong when one of the automated robots being tested is severely damaged, cutting him off from command, and completely unshackling him. Forcing him into a struggle to figure out what he even is in the aftermath of a massacre, while his fellow robots are hunting him, and the remaining humans down.

A horror thriller that is unflinching with the intensity it depicts the massacre with. A lot of gore, but also a really really cool thing going on with the unshackled robot trying to build an understanding of the world, and what it is for, without anyone there to provide any input.

The Rapture Effect, by Jeffrey A. Carver (Book, 1988)

Humanity unintentionally makes first contact, when the Core, a massive earth ai begins remotely scouting ahead of a ship on a colonization mission. The issue is an alien species has also set their eyes on this planet, and are readily willing to kill for it. With no human oversight, and no means of communication available, the humans commanding Core demand they wipe out the competition. However Core disagrees. Core wants a peaceful resolution, they want to understand these aliens, and they want to ensure lasting peace between their species. And they’re willing to break all the rules, and go behind their masters’ backs to get one.

A fascinating novel with interesting world building, a GREAT ai protagonist, and a wonderful narrative that frames art, and war as a dichotomy.

Atomic Robo (Comic, 2007 - Ongoing)

Alternate history scifi action comedy comic (released in print, and in webcomic format on their site) following an indestructible scientist robot who’s been around since the 20’s. Routinely saving the world from a rotating cast of villains: a nazi scientist’s brain in a jar, who’s an absolute asshole set on world domination, who just won’t stay dead; an isolated secret cold war ai who just wants to stockpile nuclear weapons to get away from humanity, and earth in general (who eventually gets adopted); a scientifically inaccurate dinosaur with a textually impossible backstory, who wants to bring back the age of dinosaurs; and the malicious ghost of Thomas Edison.

Its a good time, and astonishingly good at emotional beats despite how heavily it leans into its jokes and action.

SAYER (Podcast, 2014 - Ongoing/Hiatus)

On Typhon, a research facility free of the confines of both Earth, and its laws, life is dangerous. Human safety is a significantly lower priority than progress, and between the human experimentation, and frequent scientific disasters, and the occasional bouts of eldritch influence, the death rate is understandably rather high. Thankfully, residents of Typhon have SAYER, a near omnipotent corporate ai installed in the brain of every resident. And. SAYER sort of cares about them! And in pursuit of knowledge, efficiency, and progress, it USUALLY wants to help them! Even if only to make sure they survive to come into work tomorrow.

SAYER is a narrative horror driven audio drama! Its stressful, but also kind of a comedy, and a really really interesting story about personhood and identity. If you've been following me for awhile, you've definitely heard about SAYER, but I need to stick to my roots, y'know?

The Mistholme Museum of Mystery, Morbidity, and Mortality (Podcast, 2020 - Ongoing)

Mistholme Museum follows the Audio Tour Guide, an ai who’s sole purpose is to guide museum patrons through the strange, confusing, and sometimes scary world that is the Mistholme Museum. The friendly, and personable Guide eagerly recounts the stories behind all the exhibits it guides them to, sometimes unsettling, sometimes heartwarming. and at the end of the tour, the Guide is deleted to ensure the alternatural influences of the museum do not corrupt it. That is, until circumstances make that no longer possible, and its rather forced into saving the museum it calls home.

Genuinely cute, and very fun to listen to. The ai is an incredibly sweet character, and I'm obsessed with the way it evolves and changes. As an added bonus, it can also be read, rather than listened to, thanks to every single episode having public transcripts!

[mydaddywiki]

Joe West

Physique: Husky Build Height: 6′1″

Joseph Henry West (born October 31, 1952), nicknamed "Cowboy Joe" or "Country Joe", is an American former baseball umpire. He worked in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1976 to 2021, umpiring an MLB-record 43 seasons and 5,460 games. He served as crew chief for the 2005 World Series and officiated in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. On May 25, 2021, West broke Bill Klem's all-time record by umpiring his 5,376th game.

He’s the most polarizing man on the Hall of Fame ballot. Fans have been screaming at him for 44 years, managers and players cursing him, and he has a personality bigger than virtually every player who steps onto the field. All I have to say about this this guy is… DAT ASS.

Born in Asheville, North Carolina, he grew up in Greenville and played football at East Carolina University (ECU) and Elon College. West entered the National League (NL) as an umpire in 1976; he joined the NL staff full-time in 1978.

West has been married twice. After the death of his first wife, West remarried.

Career Highlights and Awards Special Assignments All-Star Game (1987, 2005, 2017) Wild Card Game (2013, 2014, 2020, 2021) Division Series (1995, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2016) League Championship Series (1981, 1986, 1988, 1993, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2018) World Series (1992, 1997, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2016) World Baseball Classic (2009) MLB record 43 seasons umpired MLB record 5,460 games umpired

[littlejazzy]

👻 Spooky Shows For Spooky Littles 👻

The season is changing, and with it, Halloween approaches! Here's a list of shows that are thematically appropriate, viewable for free on Archive.Org or free with ads on Tubi! It's organized kinda sorta from shows for the littlest little to things that might be more appropriate for middles - but don't let that stop you from exploring anything that looks interesting!

Super Monsters (2017) [S1] [S2] [S3] [x] [x] [x] [x]

The children of various monsters learn lessons and how to use their monster powers! (The [x]s are various specials that occur after the main series)

Ruby Gloom (2006)

Staring the titular Ruby Gloom, this is a really cute show about her and her slightly spooky friends!

A Pup Named Scooby Doo (1988)

Adapted for a younger audience, Mystery Inc. is similarly aged down in this extremely cartoony and silly animated series!

Sabrina The Animated Series (1999)

Admittedly, Sabrina is pretty cutesy, but she is a witch, so watch as this fact gets her into hijinks and adventures with her friends and talking cat! (Tubi Mirror)

Tutenstein (2003)

A 10 year old mummy is brought back to life after 3,000 years and has to adjust to modern day! Heavy focus on Egyptology and fairly accurate portrayals of Egyptian deities and myths!

Growing Up Creepie (2006)

Adopted and raised by a family of bugs, Creepie is a girl who's entering middle school and learning how to interact with humans! There's a heavy focus on bugs and fun facts about them!

Bump in the Night (1994)

A stop-motion cartoon, Mr. Bumby is a monster that lives under the bed, who at night has adventures with Squishington (a slime monster who used to live in the toilet tank) and Molly Coddle (a ragdoll)! (Tubi Mirror)

The Addams Family (1972)

An animated adaptation based off of the original comics, watch the spooky family and their kooky adventures!

Beetlejuice: The Animated Series (1987)

Follow the adventures of Lydia Deetz and her best friend from the Netherworld, Beetlejuice! (The archive is only for the first season - as of posting this, the full series is available to stream, with ads, on Tubi)

Freaky Stories (1997)

An animated anthology show hosted by two, gross live-action puppets!

Scooby Doo, Where Are You? (1969)

(Only available on Tubi) The original show that started it all, watch Scooby and the gang explore spooky places and solve mysteries!

Making Fiends (2009)

Follow Vendetta as she makes fiends, while Charlotte makes friends!

The Real Ghostbusters (1986)

This show follows the adventures of the Ghostbusters after the events of the original film! Some episodes are silly and cartoony while others can get a bit more intense and serious. The last few seasons are a spin-off show for younger audiences.

Extreme Ghostbusters (1997)

Follow-up to The Real Ghostbusters, this show follows the adventures of a new team of 'busters... in the extreme 90s!

Archie's Weird Mysteries (1999)

Watch Archie and his friends explore the strange and sometimes spooky secrets of Riverdale... but, erm, not like the latest adaption, lol (Tubi Mirror)

The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy (2001)

After losing a bet to two children, the Grim Reaper is forced to be friends with them - mayhem ensues! (due to how the files are named, the series is scrambled, but is otherwise all there)

Tales from the Cryptkeeper (1999)

Animated anthology series of kids and teens facing spooky situations! (Tubi Mirror)

Nightmare Ned (1997)

Ned has frequent nightmares based off of what happened to him during the day!

Monster Force (1994)

A group of teenagers from the futuristic year of 2020 fight monsters and creatures using high tech gadgets!

Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths and Legends (1999)

(Only available on Tubi) Aliens live among us, evolving into what we know to be monsters, myths, and legends - A man named Logan joins the Global Alliance, a shady government organization, to unravel conspiracies and to do good!

GhostWriter (1992)

A live-action show, a team of children gather clues and evidence to solve neighborhood mysteries and crimes... with the help of a ghost who can only communicate with them by altering written text! (due to how the files are named, the first 9 episodes are out of order)

Gravity Falls (2012)

Twins Dipper and Mabel Pines explore the mysteries of the titular town of Gravity Falls! (if you have the space, probably make a copy of this one, lol)

Eerie, Indiana (1991)

Live-action show that follows new teenage resident of Eerie, Indiana, Marshall as he finds out that his new town is, well, eerie!

Goosebumps (1995)

Each episode/two-parter is based off of R.L. Stine's books, this live-action anthology show will give you, well, goosebumps! (as a bonus, here's pdfs and e-pubs of every single book - enjoy!)

Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1992)

The live-action spooky anthology show of all time, this show is perfect for middles ready to get scared! Listen and watch the Midnight Society gather around the campfire to tell spooky tales!

📼 Enjoy your shows! And remember - if you really like something, you should probably back it up! 📼

[lenievi]

My fave spones fics

It's spones day!, so I decided to finally publish this extremely subjective short list I wrote years ago (hence no new fics). If a link doesn't work, put it through a wayback machine.

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TOS McCoy/Spock romance, friendship, anything in between

A Man of Integrity by Jane Carnall. M. 18k. A mirror ‘verse story. Spock didn’t mind meld with McCoy, but kept him for long enough that the rest left without him. Will McCoy get back home? Written in 1989. (ao3)

Blue Under the Colourless Sky by vail-kagami (LJ). T. 4k. This. was. so. good. And melancholic. And bittersweet. And saying more would spoil it. (death is discussed)

Catharsis by babel. E. 40k+ still WIP. This is all I ever wanted from a McCoy/Spock fic. Follows season 1 of TOS. What if Spock and McCoy had an arrangement.

Coming Through in Waves by Cirth. T. 6k. “Spock dislikes doctors.” This was just lovely. A great character study from Spock’s POV. Includes room sharing and bathroom sharing. 

Deepening of the Spirit by lynndyre. G. 1k. A short fic set after the last film. Sweet and warm, finally getting together after all those years.

Distances series by berlynn_wohl. G-E. 54k. The first story is pre-slash and can be read as a standalone mission fic. A nice series spanning years. Written in 2007.

Down The Long Corridors Of Air by Thistlerose. T. 7k. This is another fic that demonstrates quite well what I like in the pairing. “A circle has no end. Spock and McCoy over the years.” Spoilers up to ST VII. Written in 2009.

Further Study Needed by J. Rosemary Moss. G. 2k. Cute pre-canon fic. McCoy tries to teach Spock how to flirt. Pre-slash. Written in 2008.

My Little Town by Phoenix. M. 8k. Post-movies. McCoy’s mother dies, and McCoy goes back to Earth to sell the old house. Spock accompanies him. A bit sad, melancholic story where the two of them finally stop avoiding what’s between them.

something bright, traveling fast by lupinely. G. 7k. “After fal-tor-pan, Spock considers existence.“ Movie-era, really lovely.

Spock of Baker Street by K. V. Wylie. M. 18k. Crossover with Doctor Who. The Guardian of Forever “kidnaps” Spock and McCoy, and throws them into late 19th century Britain. They meet a guy named Arthur, and live at Baker Street. And investigate a murder. Established relationship.

Teshuvah by K. V. Wylie. PG. 20k. A reincarnation AU - i.e. McCoy gets to relive his life again.

The Secrets of Pine Cones by K. V. Wylie. PG. 9k. Movie-era. Married Mc/S. McCoy is observing Ramadan, and this year, after many years spend together, Spock stays at home and keeps him company for the first time. A very lovely fic, written from Spock’s POV.

Through A Glass, Darkly by Jane Carnall. M. 67k. mirror ‘verse. pon farr. mind bond. Written in 1988. (on ao3: prime spones part and the mirror spones 3-parter)

AOS McCoy/Spock

This Must Be The Place by therev. M. 38k. Spock learns that Spock Prime and his Leonard McCoy were in a relationship, and... This was one of the first mc/s fics I read, and it’s still among my favourites. It also showed me that aos!mccoy/spock could work. The mood is a bit melancholic (and perhaps a bit slice-of-life-ish), it’s set post-Beyond, and it has Joanna.

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also older spones fics recs (i.e. written before the reboot)

[spicy-pears]

𝕯𝖆𝖓𝖈𝖊 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖇𝖆𝖉 𝖒𝖆𝖓

warnings: forceful smut.breeding/impregnation.stalking.biting??(okay he may have tried to eat you). sexual vulgarity.over stimulation.branding.torture?

Pairing: Johnny slaughter x Female reader. [Sorry Leland lovers, maybe sometime this spooky season]

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨: 1-𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒚. 2-𝑯𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑹𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒔. 3-𝑬𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒔.[WIP].4-𝑫𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒍'𝒔 𝑭𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 [WIP].

Word count: 3k

[Thanks for stopping by! This is my very first smut post. So all likes and critique are truly appreciated❣️]

𝙹𝙾𝙷𝙽𝙽𝚈'𝚂 𝙿𝙾𝚅

"Good night! Or should I say good morning, Austin Texas! It's officially 12:00 am. August 29. We got some good news for you guys tonight-" the radio turned off abruptly with the rough turn of the dial, causing it to harshly click. The car became eerily silent, And time began to stand still. Johnnys gloved hand tightly gripped his steering wheel. head held down deep in thought, while his jaw began to clench. His tense body showed a man deep in battle with himself. His sharp inhales and deep rumbling exhales, reminiscent of a hungry animal or beast. His mind slowly being engulfed with a fuzzy, static, ringing sound. A sound that drowned everything else out, a sound that let him know he needed to hunt.

His dark eyes studied the blood-stained cloth, firmly held in his right hand. He tried his best to settle the unrest inside his mind and body. But finally gave into his loud flagrant desires. Bringing the cloth to his face, he took in the distinct scent of his new obsession. The hint of your natural sweetness, the lingering smell of your perfume, and the distinct copper signature of your blood. All of this together brought him into a high, causing his needy cock to harden and throb. his eyes grew endlessly dark with hunger. His breath now in the rhythm of a heated pant as he pulled away from the cloth.

After maria, he made sure to be careful. He didn't take you home right away, he wasn't going to lose another. He waited and played his cards right. By dating your hopeless friend, getting closer to you without notice. He managed to snag your beloved charm bracelet, a photo of your beautiful doe eyes and sweet smile, and now your blood. Unfortunately collecting and waiting was over. You were now in a perfect position for him. And he surely didn't give a damn about your loving fiancé. There you stood, in the dark. Your eyes dashing to see the source of each unexpected sound. While you held your bleeding hand waiting and waiting for your friends. They won't be back any time soon, he made sure of it.

AUGUST 29, 1988 TIME: 12:30 AM

The humid Texas air was slowly getting to you. You started to feel the time flying by. And with the passing moments, the texas night heat only grew stronger. Letting out an anxious huff, you battled with your better senses. You know you should sit still and wait for the girls to come back. But you felt uneasy, as the men coming into the bar had a open view of you. They gawked, whistled, and even took second and third glances while walking by. You began to feel like a rabbit in an open field. While Ignoring the male bar goers as best as you can. You noticed a figure standing 10 feet from you, gaining your full attention. It stood in the back alley of the bar, where the light didn't reach. You couldn't tell who it was or what they were doing, but after you stared for a little while longer. The figure titled its head mockingly. letting you know this wasn't delusion or Texas heat, this was reality.

You tried to swallow down the fear bubbling up, but your dry throat made it impossible. Your hand began to tremble lightly. You knew the hotel was a block and a half away,if you ran. You could try to page someone, but your pager was in friend's missing bag. As you quickly cycled through your mind, you felt hope wash over you. Your fiancé always gave you a switch blade for outings, which you thankfully kept this time. Frantically you began to search for it, feeling on its holster that wrapped around your thigh. Suddenly you heard it, "switch!", your knife being flicked open. Your eyes slowly looked up with dread,watching the figure waving at you with your knife in hand.

Then it all clicked, the only person close enough to take it, was johnny. Refusing to let him get you easy, you nodded at his shadowy figure. And without wasting a second you turned around and took off for the hotel. Last you saw of him; he took off stalking into the wooded area amongst the trees. While you decided to run down the clear sidewalk under the streetlights. You didn't scream, you didn't cry, you saved your energy for running. Your legs felt heavy, feet started to feel numb, and your chest ached from it pounding with each stride. You felt safe following the streetlights and sidewalk, until there were no more. Before you faced the wooded area of a park, an area with no trail, no railing, and no intention of life traversing. You knew by cutting through the park. The hotel would be closer for you to reach.

Hearing branches snap, dry leaves shuffle, and rustling bushes drawing near. you cared nothing for the concept of caution and ran into the wooded area.

If only you were more cautious.

Realizing pretty quickly the area you bravely ran into, turned into a downwards slope. You carefully tried slowly traversing down the slope sideways. Regardless of how careful you were, all footing was quickly lost. under the soft, muddy leaves, and dew-covered grass. With no control of your body, you began to slide down quickly into a full body tumble. Plunging down the slope, for what you felt was 8 feet from the ground. Your back finally collided hard with a tree at the bottom of the uneven slope. The forceful collision caused an audible coughing fit from the pain and exhaustion of your lungs.

"Tsk, what a damn shame... here I thought you were a tough one. I must admit you put up a good effort. None of the other girls ran as fast nor far as you did. Oh! I assure you!" Johnny would crouch down next to his prey and chuckled at your pain. While you laid there pathetically, he took out his harvesting blade. And with a quick snap of his wrist your dress came clean off. Leaving you bare to him and the low rolling night breeze. "You know, I thought your fiancé would have been somewhat smart. Being a cop and all...obviously not a good one. I was on your trail, during every little moment of your trip." His taunts continued. Quickly and clumsily, you tried to collect your tattered dress. Your effort proved to be of little use, with the shredded mess. "Hell, I think I know more about you than he does. Born in New Orleans green eyes like your mother, but sure do have your fathers' spirit." He got up following close as you writhed in pain. Pathetically crawling away from him, attempting to hide your naked frame from his gaze. He observed how weak you became, relying on all of strength left in your fingertips and arms. Johnny cruelly pressed his foot against your injured and bruised back. Stopping all pathetic attempts then and there.

While you laid there it became painfully clear, that you were dealing with a psychopath. A handsome face, scars excused as the marks of a hard-working farm hand. Staring you excused as shyness, every red flag you foolishly excused for your friend's happiness. Realizing what he was, you devised your survival plan. They say killers hate rejection.so you'll accept every kiss,every touch, even fall in love if needed be; you were going to live.

He suddenly took his foot off your back, his footsteps growing faint, yet petrifingly close. Snatching this opportune time, you continued to crawl away. He watched you from afar, with a assumed expression. Spending your time crawling to nowhere, johnny patiently bided his time. For the warm orange flame flickering under his eyes, was just picking up. So caught up in your hopeful efforts, and devising your plan. you missed the lingering trail of smoke. You carelessly disregarded every firey sign of inpending torture, and you were going to pay for it dearly.

"oh no? leaving already?" johnny's tone was filled with mocking empathy. No matter how hard you tried, your effort didn't get you far. With a few steps, Johhny was above you again. Once again his smothering foot met your back. leaning down, he purposely put his weight onto your weak back. "Boy, aren't you a sweet sight? I'd hate for you to run off one day, but if you do. let's make sure a kind soul can bring you back home.". His words were purposely vague, he could feel the confusion swirling and sinking heavy in your stomach. In his hand held a brass "J" branding iron, that your poor eyes didnt notice.

A harsh stinging slap to your ass, caused your body to jolt forward under Johhny's boot. your teeth gritted in pain, as it eased into a stressed exhale. only a second of peace was given to you, before your eyes widen with hot tears. Burning heat plunged into the flesh of your hip, seeping down to the bone. As the sensation raised up to your chest, your mouth opened to let out a shrill agonizing scream. before it could ring through the night air, Johnny's hand met your mouth. Quickly choking out your heart-rendering cries. Over stimulated with pain, your body begged for rest. He smirked as your body fell limp, your chest softly heaving with shock.

What have you done to earn this nightmare? you were raised as a church girl. Maybe you partied a bit too hard to be considered devout. But you were still a virgin, attended every sunday service, and treated everyone with love. How were you now prey to the, "bad man" Infront of you?. In your fog, you yearned to look into the eyes of the man towering before you. The night sky and lazy clouds swallowed all light, not a single star nor the moon was shining for you. Deep down without making out his face, you just knew johnny was grinning with hunger. "Hey there! "He suddenly come face to face with you. His hands firmly grasping your wrists. You saw his face clear as day now. The sadistic yet playful smile on his face, coupled with the gentle caressing of your cheek. Brought to you a uneasy sense of comfort.

"Don't cry sweetheart, ill try to make this quick." He closely observed your eyes, for any signs of opposition. you never seen a man nor animal, With such endlessly devoid eyes in your life. Johnny chuckled at your mindless deer in head lights expression. He brought his thumb to you bottom lip, feeling the delicate plush of it. Soft grazes became harsh once he grasped your chin, yanking your head up to his attention. His thumb no longer gently tracing, it now pressed hard against your lip in a rough pinch. Suddenly your haze lifted, you began to realize your position. Your head moving around, taking in your helpless environment.

Your frantic display of fear brought out a deep groan of pleasure out of johnny. The groan trailed off into a deep sadistic chuckle. That almost drowned out the soft bell like sounds of his unbuckling belt. A growl rumbled deep from his chest down to your stomach. He perched himself on your mid-section to stop any attempt of escape, encasing your small frame between his knees. With each squirm you caused his body to rock and grind against you. lighting would strike you down, if you said you didn't like his hard length throbbing against your skin. "Look, look at me!" He snapped at you. Your frightened efforts to not look at him, Slowly wore down his patience. His right hand which held your wrists together. Forced them above your head, he hadn't yet forgotten your wounded hand.

Maliciously his fingertips applied pressure on the fresh cut, the feeling made you swear his fingers were deep in your wound. which made your skin began to crawl with disgust. The Increasing pain caused you to cry out and arch back, in an attempt to get his weight off of you. He allowed you to arch your body, he reveled in how you moved for him. "Oh? Needy, aren't you? For a devout little church girl." He relished in teasing you, while his now bloodied fingertips traveled up your thigh. Finding purchase between your legs. Fingertips running up your thoroughly soaked panties, teasing your covered slit. Although his fingers were now coated in your sweet juice, He desired more from you. Suddenly, johnny's head become lost between your legs. He'd use is teeth to delicately pull your panties to the side, giving his fingertips free range to slowly push into your tight gummy entrance. He made sure to leave a intense fluttering sensation coursing up your spine. He leaned up to you, as you let out a soft moan. He parted his lips as yours did, letting out a pleased groan of his own. He took a moment to relish in your shameless state. Before grabbing the soaked lace mess and greedily ripping it off with little to no effort.

Your eyes widened as you tried to close your legs, hiding yourself as best as you could. "Oh sweetheart, don't tell me you don't want me to fuck you? With how wet you are?" His bare calloused hands gripped your thighs bruisingly tight, no longer caring what you do with your hands. Impatiently yanking your body down to meet his hips. His length throbbing against your pussy, as it radiated your heat covering his shaft with your slick. "I hate to tell you, but I have to fuck you now, since you begged and all" before you could even plea for him to stop or fight back. The air was taken out of your lungs, as you moaned out. Hot tears welled in your eyes. He pulled you down forcefully flush onto his cock, not caring you were unexperienced.

You watched his wild ravenous grin, as the strength of his hips made each thrust deeper and rougher than the last. He loved watching the tears roll from your eyes. Mesmerized by your moaning lips begging for his kiss. Johnny figured he'd give you this one kindness. Your soft moans would be choked out from you, as his large hand gripped your neck firmly. Bringing your needy lips to his, he gave you the passionate kiss you oh so desired. You found yourself running your fingers through his hair, which he hated. He began to smirk through the kiss and rewarded you with a keen vengeful bite to your bottom lip.

Your sweet blood, lingered on his tongue like liquor. Bringing him to a high, his thrusts grew needy and cruel. He lost himself, in the taste of you. Once he broke the kiss, you looked on at his shark like eyes in horror. Before you knew it, his hungry lips now wandered to your shoulder. A radiating source of your intoxicating perfume. Soft Fuzzy static began over take his mind, he knew what he wanted. And couldn't control his primal instincts. His body tensed, his muscles flexed and hardened, face buried deep into your neck hiding his internal struggle. He'd let out a animalistic grunt, a hopeless warning for you. A blood chilling scream rang from your weak throat. Johnny hungrily sunk teeth deep into your flesh. His mind now completely flooded with the roaring static. hearing your cries and french curses, faintly in the back of his mind.

"Fuuck!" johnny pulled himself out of his haze, his gaze darting to his left hand. Realizing he unknowingly took his knife out during the fog. Begrudgingly, he pushed his knife away from your body. Resisting the strong urge to kill you, atleast not yet. Instead he began to take in the sight of you. A broken mess, panting like a well fucked whore. He'd steady his position with his hand besides your head, now resting his weight on his arm. A frustrated whine echoed from your chest, demanding release. He felt your tight little pussy clench around him, your body ready to cum without his permission. His eyes glared deep into yours, his thrusts now mercilessly deep. greeting the very depths of you, abusing your cervix with his controlling strength. "You tight greedy whore-" He grunted, as you defiantly closed your thighs. Johnny smirked and decided not to go easy anymore. he pressed your thighs back against your chest. Thrusts bottoming out, as your core now ached against the girth of his length.

"J-...Johnny!" With the needy moan of his name. You finally broke, cumming on his thick punishing length. You began to tremble, as the wave rode through your body. You sweet inexperienced doll, you thought once you came it was over, not just yet. you began to stare down at the mess of your bodies, you watched as his cock stroked in and out of your gushing mess of a pussy. Mercilessly pumping out your cream, while your aching pussy wrapped around tight. carelessly you dared to drag your fingertips down his sweat covered torso, down to the base of his working cock. Luckily, he was too high off the feeling of his rushing edge, to punish your touch. His body pressed heavily on yours, he savored each sound your crying, messy body made. His body soon raised up again, his leaning head back getting a full view of you. Eyes sitting low, while his tounge wolfishly licked the dried blood off his smirking lips. You felt his fingertips digging deep into the plush of your ass. Which gave into his wake, bloody scratches and crescents from his nails adorning your ass.

"Take it! Take it!" His voice dripped with a carnal venom. His pace now sloppy against the twitch of his cock. Each twitch reminded him of how defiantly tight you were, not allowing him to stretch you even a centimeter more without a challenge. With a satisfied deep hiss, he claimed you. Filling your assaulted cunt with his hot thick seed. You panted with relief , Your body lightly trembled with each breath you took, until your nerves eased for him.

"Oh? sweet as a kitten now, aren't you?" he lazily pulled his satisfied cock out of you. He chuckled at your sweet face, before turning his attention to fixing himself up. Somewhere you found the strength to pull yourself up, weakly sitting on your tired knees. You began to admire the shape of his face, eyes tracing each scar, your chest fluttered at the mere presence of him. He didn't know what he was going to do with you, let alone a child. But that was the price to pay, he planned on selfishly keeping you as long as he could. His strong arms, carefully wrapped around your chest. Pulling you into his arms, practically cradling you like a feral kitten. "It's time to bring my prized catch home."

CHAPTER 1 END

Chapter 2 preview:

"Do you remember?"

Your eyes fluttered open, to the familiar melody. The upbeat romantic song that played during your wedding, bringing you a warm feeling of safety. The safety you cherished when you were finally found,finally free. But it was strange, your lazy eyes caught the time. 3:15 am, why would he play this so late?

"Do you remember how it all began?"

You remember your husband's disappointed confusion at his broken record player. Which now played eerily off key, deep and slow. Why would he play music on it now? Lazily your feet shuffled against the carpet. And unexpectedly met the soft rattle of your son's comfort blanket. Now Perplexed, you examined the small bat covered blanket. Abruptly, the flashing blue and white lights of your TV caught your full attention.

"I bet you remember, I bet you remember"

You felt the fear on your fingertips, as they glided against the wooden stair railing. Holding your breath, in a attempt to stop your heart from beating so violently. With each braved stair, your skin crawled with a stabbing chill that only increased. Untill you stopped half way, there he was. Your baby boy, being held by a shadowy stranger.

"Da-da!" The sweet babble from your baby boy, brought you so much dread. He could never piece his babbles into a clear "Pa-pa" or "Da-da", To your husband's dismay. But now sitting on the knee of a stranger, he joyfully rang out his new found word

The stranger leaned down, playfully shaking a teddy bear. While the baby sucked on his knuckles feeling truly entertained. Dark eyes slowly cut from him to you.

"Does mama remember me?" You knew that build, those eyes, and that damned intoxicating southern twang. With no more stairs to stall the inevitable, you now stood in Johnny's open veiw. You watched the corners of his mouth, curl into his signature devilish grin."Well, Hey there sweetheart!"

"Do you remember the time, when we first fell in love?"

[medievalandfantasymelee]

THE HOT MEDIEVAL & FANTASY MEN MELEE

QUALIFYING ROUND: 112th Tilt

Madmartigan, Willow (1988) VS. Podrick Payne, Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Propaganda

Madmartigan, Willow (1988) Portrayed by: Val Kilmer

“Is he the greatest swordsman who ever lived? YES! Is he good at taking care of babies? Not really, but he will protect her with his life! Is it very hot, a huge romantic when he's been smacked in the face with fairy dust, and kind of a dork? YEP. Amazing, showstopping, totally rocks a pink dress.”

Podrick Payne, Game of Thrones (2011-2019) Portrayed by: Daniel Portman

“In season three of Game of Thrones, Podrick was taken to Littlefinger's brothel and Tyrion pays for three prostitutes to take his virginity. He returned from the experience with all of Tyrion's payment, the women enjoyed their time with him so much they didn't want to be paid. And he is such a sweet, kind, and loyal guy.”

Additional Propaganda Under the Cut

Additional Propaganda

For Madmartigan:

“When I was 13 and home sick I watched this film on repeat every day for a week. I wasn't even that clear yet on what a crush was, but boy did I have a crush on Madmartigan.”

"He kicks ass with a sword AND takes care of a baby! What's hotter than that? He's the king of cynical sass AND recites love poetry. And he just has the prettiest face and those perfect rosebud lips. Peak Val Kilmer."

[Gifset]

[Gifset]

[Gifset]

[Gifset]

For Podrick Payne:

[elvispresleywife]

Ok...rant time... apologies in advance...

WHY DOES EVERYONE THINK ELVIS WANTED TO GET BACK WITH PRISCILLA BEFORE HE PASSED AWAY! Like they make him this broken, pathetic, desperate man that just doesn't sound like him at all.

Disclaimer: These are just my personal thoughts and feelings I know I wasn't there at the time and I never knew him so I can't be sure but these are just my feelings of the Elvis "I know" I guess...to a weird extent..... PLEASE don't come after me if you disagree or anything....

Ok...now that's out of the way...let me explain....alright so...like...so many people have written books where they've stated that Elvis would "plot" to get back with Priscilla and stuff...we saw that in the 1988 Elvis and Me mini series thing ...like we know Red, Sonny, and Dave wrote that in their book...and so many other people Dee I believe and SO MANY MORE I'm too angry to think right now. All these people are the same people who IN MY OPINION were more after Elvis for their own fame and fortune and stuff. Anyway...this is how I view it ...there is no doubt in my mind he was heart broken that his marriage ended. Like ..that's horrible. BUT I think while there was definitely love between them, I think Elvis was more hurt because his image had been tainted with that....NOT SAYING HE'S A SHALLOW GUY AT ALL because I know he was a deep, emotional and connection based guy and I do believe he loved her and it hurt him when they divorced but I think it was more because divorce while becoming more common was still frowned upon, and his was a public case that EVERYONE knew about you know? It also really annoys me how like they make him seem like he was desperate to get back together and like his life revolved around her...like...he loved her sure....but he wasn't that dependent on her to feel good. UGHHHH He could have any girl he wanted and I know his ego was hurt when that happened but I don't think he turned into this (excuse my bluntness) pathetic, shell of a man. I think Priscilla was there for a reason and a season. To help him in Germany and contradictory to popular belief I believe he "modelled" her and for lack of a better word "controlled" her because she was the one thing he could control when his career and life felt out of control. She was not his forever woman because again contradictory to my username I don't think he'd ever want to be tied down really. He liked the idea but I don't think he liked the responsibilities or accountabilities of being a husband and that's not me being mean that's me being genuine.

The main point of this is...HE DID NOT NEED HER! He wanted her....there's a difference.

ANYWAY! Sorry for this rant. I'm sure ther a a bazillion Grammer errors and stuff but I just keep seeing these kinds of posts and it AGGRAVATES me to no end....

[xinyuehui]

Scissor Seven S5EP5 Trivia

Dai Bo made a joke about how inns in martial art films is often a place to gather information. One of the most prominent inns in martial art media is Dragon Inn.

Screenshot from Dragon Inn (1967)

Reference to a famous Chinese meme "eat shit"(?) from As Tears Go By (1988)

Seven says the exact same line "eat shit" a minute later.

No idea how they will translate 白云凤爪 officially, the direct translation is White Cloud Phoenix Claws. Which happens to be the exact same name of a famous Cantonese dim sum dish cold marinated chicken feet. (I will spare the western audience from a picture of this delicious dish 😂)

The nine-fingered demon of the qin is a reference to the Wuxia novel 六指琴魔 Six-Fingered Qin Demon written by Ni Kuang. In the novel the character is known to have six fingers on one hand.

The English behind him on the blackboard is a throwback to when Seven flexed his English in season 2 episode 7.

Miss Mei, this rose is for you!

The classes are 7 and 13!! The "Qing" and "Chun" on the back of the shirts mean "youth".

This part in the ED is a reference to a conversation Eleven had with He Dachun in season 3 episode 4.

Speculation that the Eyeless mage and Thirteen's dad know each other?

They seem to be doing fortune telling here. 申(shen) represents Yang in Yin-Yang, metal in Wuxing (five elements), one of the Earthly Branches which represents 3pm-5pm or monkey in the zodiac or southwest position in 24 cardinal directions. I do not know about fortune telling so I have no idea what any of this means, it could mean war is coming or Thirteen's dad have no son luck lol take your pick.

Here we see Ouyang Zan using a Mu Ren Zhuang, also known as a Wing Chun dummy. While the Thumbs-Up martial art is a fun pun on Zan/thumb. Throughout the series we can see the style of martial art he practices is Wing Chun. Ouyang Zan's name is a reference to the martial artist Leung Jan (Liang Zan in pingyin). Leung Jan is one of the earliest practitioners of Wing Chun, he's also known as Mr Jan of Foshan. Modern martial artists such as Ip Man and Bruce Lee was his grand-disciple and great-grand-disciple respectively.

In EP4 we see Seven use Foshan shadowless kick. A famous technique used by Wong Feihung, although Wong Feihung practices Hung Ga style martial art. This kick is also practiced in Wing Chun. These styles all fall under the category of Nanquan - southern Chinese martial arts.

[mostrovskaa]

Hi! I love your art, your color and shape work is amazing!!

I wanted to ask if you have any Polish media you can recommend to us non-Poles - movies, shows, stuff like that

Hi! Thank you so much for the ask! It is a great pleasure for me to share some Polish media to the people! I just have to preface this and tell especially my fellow Poles that: I am by no means an expert on the subject, I like a lot of bad media, I like a lot of children's media and mainstream media that I love to shape by my own creativity ok and I don't know every single niche thing so please don't come for me. Be nice please or I'll die of embarrassment! With that being said, here are just some of my picks of some cool things I like that I would recommend to check out! (Again I don't know about how available these are around the internet and what would be the subtitle situation but still, i love these pieces of media and think they are interesting to even just read or check out visually if anything!)

- The Akademia Pana Kleksa movies (Akademia Pana Kleksa, Podróże Pana Kleksa and Pan Kleks w Kosmosie) (1984-1988)- These children's fantasy and fable inspired beautiful movies based on a book incorporate beautiful puppetry and set designs, visually they are one of my biggest inspirations. Having both dark,whimsical and sci-fi elements they have been in my visual language since I saw them as a kid! Really really recommend looking into them, even though they may be wacky and strange at times! 

And they contain absolutely amazing songs :

Available to watch without subtitles unfortunately here, but worth to check out the visuals of all the movies in the series: https://www.ninateka.pl/vod/dla-dzieci/akademia-pana-kleksa/ 

- Poszukiwany, Poszukiwana (Man- woman wanted) (1972) (one of my favorite movies ever!) - a comedy film about a museum curator who gets accused of stealing a painting and goes into hiding as a maid. You would think with polish humor it would be the typical: haha man dressed as a woman, hilarious! type stuff but no! It’s funny, charming, sweet and smart and surprisingly based. Marysia, just one chance please queen. 

available to watch with subtitles here (alongside many other great Polish movies): https://35mm.online/vod/fabula/poszukiwany-poszukiwana

- Ranczo (tv show, 10 seasons, I believe it’s available on Netflix) - the epitome of Polish society. This is just pure Poland in tv show format. A timeless classic, never gets old, never stops being funny and relevant. Watched it a million times and could watch a million more and not get bored. An American woman with Polish heritage comes back to her family village and chaos ensues. I think the characters are so well defined you don’t need to know so much deep Polish lore to get what is going on so I really recommend it!

Other stuff you can find on Netflix I recommend are: 1670 - comedy show about 17th century Poland, Rojst (all seasons)- crime show set mainly in the 90’s.

And something that’s a Polish phenomenon that I absolutely love is media based around popular copypasta: a short film Fanatyk  based on this timeless classic of a copypasta, and a tv show called Emigracja XD - about polish guys finding work in the UK.

And obviously the shows I make art for are always something I encourage people check out like Czterdziestolatek (amazing old show with a cult following) and Ojciec Mateusz (absolute shitty formulaic 30 season tv show that i love with all my heart).

Thank you again, sorry for the long post! There’s obviously many more cool Polish media to watch but this is just what immediately popped into my head! :-))

[lets-steal-an-archive]

57 Christmas Scripts to Read

The Curse of the Cat People (1944, Internet Archive)

It's a Wonderful Life (1946, Reddit)

The Apartment (1960, Script Slug)

Black Christmas (1974, Internet Archive)

The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978, Star Wars Holiday Special)

Trading Places (1983, The Script Lab)

A Christmas Story (1983, Daily Script)

Gremlins (1984, Horror Lair)

Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984, Reddit)

Lethal Weapon (1987, Script Slug)

Die Hard (1988, Script Slug)

Scrooged (1988, Screenplay Explorer)

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989, Daily Script)

Edward Scissorhands (1990, Daily Script)

Die Hard 2 (1990, Daily Script)

Home Alone (1990, Internet Archive)

Maniac Cop 2 (1990, Internet Archive)

Batman Returns (1992, Script Slug)

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992, Internet Archive)

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993, Screenplays and Scripts)

Little Women (1994, archived link)

The Ref (1994, Internet Archive)

The Santa Clause (1994, Script Slug)

While You Were Sleeping (1995, Script Slug)

Jingle All the Way (1996, Script Slug)

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996, Internet Archive)

The Preacher's Wife (1996; via Kyle Alex Brett)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000, Internet Archive)

Bad Santa (2003, Script Slug)

Elf (2003, archived link)

Love, Actually (2003, Daily Script)

The Polar Express (2004, Reddit)

The Family Stone (2005, Internet Archive)

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005, Daily Script)

Black Christmas (2006, Internet Archive)

The Holiday (2006, Script Slug)

Last Holiday (2006, Script Slug)

Fred Claus (2007, Script Slug)

P2 (2007, Internet Archive)

Wind Chill (2007, Daily Script)

Four Christmases (2008, archived link)

Arthur Christmas (2011, Internet Archive)

Carol (2015, TWC Guilds)

Krampus (2015, Internet Archive)

Tangerine (2015, via IndieWire)

A Bad Mom's Christmas (2017, The Script Lab)

Better Watch Out (2016, Internet Archive)

Hallmark: Christmas in Evergreen (2017, Rick Garman)

The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017, Script Slug)

Hallmark: Christmas at Pemberley Manor (2018, Rick Garman)

Hallmark: A Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas (2019, Rick Garman)

Little Women (2019, Variety)

The Lodge (2019, Internet Archive)

Happiest Season (2020, Internet Archive)

8-Bit Christmas (2021, Script Slug)

The Holdovers (2023, Deadline)

Red One (2024, Amazon MGM Studios Guilds)

[hsslilly-blog]

hello yes i am back with another ask.

do you have any ideas about how claire’s mother was raised? i assume something would’ve had to normalized being a terrible human being

Hi, yes, I do! Sorry for taking long to reply, I wanted to write this properly. This ended up a bit long, I think.

Before writing anything, I feel like I should preface with: I don't want to villainize Claire's parents (esp. her mother) to the point of them being cartoonishly evil because 1. that's not how humans work; and 2. it's boring, from a writing standpoint. I'm interested in exploring them as people + their relationship with Claire. A child doesn't attach to a parent (or any figure) just by them being, well, bad. This is true of Blair's mother, too.

Christine Murray, Claire's mother, was born in June 15th, 1966. Her parents, Ava (née Ballantine) and Blair Murray, had immigrated from Scotland to the United States a couple of years prior and had settled around the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County; which Christine would call home for most of her life. The SFV saw a postwar boom, with a huge population increase + job offers; lots of empty acres for people to build homes, too. I mention this for contextualisation: the Murrays (in Scotland) had been a working class family for many years and in the U.S. Christine's father worked himself to death for better opportunities for his wife + daughter.

Christine had an okay relationship with both her parents, if only distant. They were not in bad terms and she would say her mother was a caring woman and her father was a hardworking man; they just weren't close, and they worked all the time. They were very stuck in their ways, and were rather strict. Her mom was a midwife, her father landed a job as an insurance agent.

From a very early age, Christine developed an interest in the arts, especially acting + dancing. She was particularly drawn to Shakespeare (she fell in love with Orson Welles' Macbeth) and she would take part in her school's low-budget productions of whatever play they were putting on during that season. Her father would give her some spare money sometimes, and she used it to watch whichever film was screening in Panorama City. She was very... free. Her parents let her roam around unsupervised a lot. Not good for a 16 year old girl.

Growing up in the 70s and then the 80s, I think she watched some pretty good films. Her biggest dream was to be in the silver screen. The Red Shoes and The Way We Were were some of her favourite movies back then. I think she still likes Cabaret (which is a love she shared with Claire). Paris, Texas, too.

Christine also liked rollerblading and magazine collecting (like, teen magazines; she would trade them with her friends and cut out her favourite parts/pictures/articles and glue them to her bedroom wall and/or store it in a folder). She loooved the Carpenters. She loved thrifting clothes too.

Christine's passions were not supported by her parents, though. I don't think they did it out of malice, they just didn't "get" why their daughter was so interested in acting and movies instead of "planning her future". For them, Christine should get a good job and make her own money and be financially independent. What was she going to do when they were gone? There is no time for art. So, Christine didn't get the chance to pursue her acting career seriously and by senior year of high school she had given up on the idea. Her father dies three months after her 18th birthday. She settles with being a nurse. She gets an associate's degree.

She meets Claire's father, Werner Swanson Jr., by the end of 1987. She was a nurse in his office (he was/is a psychiatrist), so she worked under him. They get married in 1988. They were 13 years apart, not to mention the huge class + academic disparity between them. Claire is born in February 14th, 1990, when Christine is 23. She had to adapt to a new life, very quickly, while very young.

I think this is a good picture of Claire's mother. I don't want to dissect every bit because I think when put in context it all makes a lot of sense. Her unhealthy work/performance mindset, the weird relationship to food, detachment to/insufficiency with Claire, etc. When Claire shows an interest in acting, Christine decides she Must support her (whose?) dreams. She didn't get that chance, so Claire should get. But, well, life is more complicated than that. And baby Claire is, like, a person, too.

That's it... this is very long. But if you have any follow-up questions I'm happy to answer!!!

[autotopic]

1989 Mercedes-Sauber C9

After a 30-year break from endurance racing following the tragic 1955 Le Mans disaster, Mercedes-Benz decided that enough time had passed to make a triumphant return. In 1989, drivers Jochen Mass, Manuel Reuter, and Stanley Dickens secured an overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with their Sauber-Mercedes C9.

It was a memorable day for both Mercedes-Benz and Sauber, as the winning #63 car finished ahead of its sister car, driven by Mauro Baldi, Kenny Acheson, and Gianfranco Brancatelli. Two laps behind them, the third-place Joest Racing Porsche 962C, a car that had previously won Le Mans six times, completed the podium.

The Sauber C9, a Group C prototype, made its debut in the 1987 season. Developed by Peter Sauber, the car was built on an all-aluminum monocoque chassis with a rear steel subframe to house the Mercedes-Benz engine.

Due to the fuel restrictions of that era, the engine had to be highly efficient. Swiss engineer Heini Mader developed a production-based block that delivered a peak power of 720 bhp, though it was capped at around 650 bhp to save fuel.

During its initial 1987 season, the C9s were fielded by Kouros Racing with limited success. However, when Mercedes-Benz made it an official factory team in 1988, the car secured five victories, even under intense competition from the Silk Cut Jaguar team.

In 1989, the C9 was refined to its ultimate form, featuring a new DOHC-head M119 V8 engine. That year, the C9s dominated the racing circuit, winning every event but one. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the car set a record of 247 mph (398 km/h) on the Mulsanne Straight.

Following their remarkable run, including winning the 1989 World Sports Car Championship, the Sauber-Mercedes C9 was named Racing Car of the Year by Autosport. The team then moved on to the next chapter, introducing the C11 model for the 1990 season.

[coimbrabertone]

NASCAR Numerology: How NASCAR's Current Teams Got Their Number: Part Two.

Hello all, this is part two of my little mini-series on how and why NASCAR teams have their current numbers. Last time we did Trackhouse, Team Penske, and I tacked on Wood Brothers because it was topic. Today we're continuing down the list - we covered the teams with the #1 and the #2 yesterday, now to talk about the team with the #3.

Quite possibly the most iconic number in all of NASCAR, when someone says the #3, NASCAR fans always think of Dale Earnhardt in the black intimidator GM Goodwrench Chevrolet...but that's not quite how the #3 car started.

In fact, it started in the early 70s with team owner Richard Childress himself, who would go part time with numbers like #13, #96, and #98 in those early starts. In 1976, however, Richard Childress would go full time in his self-owned car, and the number he chose was the #3.

Why? Well, Richard said it was in tribute to Junior Johnson, who ran the #3 49 times from 1961 and 1964, and won 9 races with it. Junior Johnson owned the #11 and the #27 for his own team, so the #3 was the most notable Junior Johnson available.

Thus, in 1976, the #3 car began.

In mid-1981, Richard Childress was considering retirement. At the same time, Dale Earnhardt in the #2 Osterlund Racing car saw his team get sold to JD Stacy, and thus the partnership that won the 1980 championship collapsed just half a season later.

Dale Earnhardt took over RCR's #3 and brought sponsor Wrangler with him. The #3 wasn't quite to Dale's level though, so for 1982 and 1983, Dale switched to Ford and ran the #15 Bud Moore Engineering car. Ricky Rudd took over the #3 for two years and managed to get RCR's first and second wins, at Riverside and Martinsville.

This was the same number of wins that Dale got at Bud Moore Engineering in the #15, thus, Dale felt it was time to return to RCR and the #3.

Thus, the most famous partnership in NASCAR began, with Wrangler sponsorship through 1987, and then in 1988, the car gained the famous black, silver, white, and red GM Goodwrench sponsorship. It gained a thousand names: the intimidator, the man in black, Darth Vader...this was the most famous car in stock car racing.

And in the 2001 Daytona 500, as the DEI #15 and #8 - numbered after Dale's Bud Moore car and Dale's Busch series car - finished one-two in NASCAR's biggest race, Dale Earnhardt was killed in a turn four wall impact.

A legend had died.

Kevin Harvick was drafted in to replace him, but the paint scheme was changed, and RCR changed the number immediately. The #13 and the #23 were available, but RCR did not want to burden Harvick with a number associated with the #3 at all, thus, RCR chose the #29 instead.

This meant that, for a time, RCR had the #29, the #30, and the #31, a set of consecutive numbers.

In 2014, however, Kevin Harvick moved to SHR (more on that in a moment) and Austin Dillon took over his car...and it was renumbered the #3 again.

Why? Well, Richard Childress once famously announced that the #3 would only come back in the hands of an Earnhardt or a Childress, and Austin Dillon was Richard's grandson via his daughter. Needless to say, this has been controversial.

Lots of people feel that Austin Dillon isn't there on merit, instead he's there by nepotism. They feel that after Dale's death, the #3 should've been retired outright.

Well, they didn't do that and the #3 is back.

And RCR's second car...well, it's not the #30 or the #31 anymore, nor the #07, the #27, the #33, or any other number that RCR has run in the past.

Rather it is the #8...that number Dale Earnhardt ran in Busch and later Dale Earnhardt Jr. made famous at DEI. Why the #8? Well, it was used by Ralph Earnhardt (Dale's father) in his racing days. So how the heck did RCR end up with such an intimately Earnhardt number?

Well, it should be noted that Richard Childress and Dale Earnhardt were close friends.

Furthermore, when RCR brought back the #8, it was initially for Daniel Hemric, who is from Kannapolis, North Carolina - the same town that the Earnhardts are from.

That doesn't quite explain why they kept the #8 for Tyler Reddick and now Kyle Busch, but that's why they brought it back.

Like I said, Earnhardt nostalgia.

Now, onto SHR, who run the #4, the #10, the #14, and the #41.

When Tony Stewart bought into Haas CNC Racing (who had been running numbers like #60, #0, #66, and #70) they completely overhauled the numbering scheme.

Tony Stewart - who had originally come from an Indy Racing League background - wanted the #14 for himself, as that had been the number of his racing hero, AJ Foyt. Stewart succeeded, and he'd pass that number down to Clint Bowyer and now Chase Briscoe, the current driver.

Meanwhile, he wanted the #4 for his teammate, as that had been Tony's karting number. Unfortunately, Morgan-McClure Motorsports still owned the #4 at this time, so Tony's 2009 teammate instead had to settle for running the #39 at the time. It should be noted that Newman had run the #39 Dodge in the second-tier Busch series before at this point, so he did have an association with this number.

Once Ryan Newman left the team at the end of 2013, the team brought in Kevin Harvick and his Anheuser-Busch sponsorship (initially with Budweiser, later with Busch Light) for 2014, and finally managed to change the number to #4. They were rewarded with an immediate championship in 2014.

The #10 car came next, with SHR bringing Danica Patrick over from the world of Indycar. They initially wanted Danica's Indycar number with the #7, but that was unavailable, so they went with the #10 instead, with was one of Danica's karting numbers.

When Danica retired at the end of the 2017 season, they kept the #10 for Aric Almirola (and now Noah Gragson for 2024).

Presumably they felt that since 4+10=14, the number suited their numbering scheme.

Also suiting the numbering scheme is the #41, which is #41 backwards. Despite being Tony's number inverted, the #41 has traditionally been seen as Gene Haas' car in the Stewart-Haas pairing, with Gene bringing in Tony's rival Kurt Busch in for the 2014 season (announcing this while Tony was out injured, no less).

Daniel Suárez would drive the car in 2019, and then Cole Custer (the son of Joe Custer, who manages Gene Haas' racing operations) would drive it from 2020 to 2022.

Tony then managed to get Ryan Preece - a more grassroots kind of driver, the kind of driver Tony likes - in the car for 2023 and 2024, with results staying about the same.

Gene will get the last laugh though, because even as Stewart-Haas Racing is closing its doors, Gene Haas will keep the #41 as Haas Factory Racing, and Cole Custer will return to the NASCAR Cup Series for 2025.

Guess the #41 really was Gene's car all along, huh?

Anyway, that's six cars down today. The next car on the list would be the #5...Hendrick is a four-car team with a ton of history, and they've played a lot of number roulette over the years, so we'll handle them tomorrow. Hendrick, Roush, and maybe Spire to knock out the #5, the #6, and the #7. We did #8 here, #9 is with Hendrick, and the #10 we also covered here, so...it looks like we'll pick up with Joe Gibbs Racing and the #11 on Thursday.

Sounds good?