#House of fear

[halloawhatisthis]

My favourite Holmes adaptations (in no particular order) -> #3 Basil Rathbone films (1939 - 1946)

[snaitf]

Rathbone Holmes, attempt #2

So I asked @blistering-typhoons about Rathbone Holmes awhile back. I tried getting into it in high school, and couldn’t get past how dirty they did Watson, cause Watson is my absolute favorite. BUT, I had seen their unironic delight at the adaptation and wondered if there was something I had missed. Even Granada Holmes, which is undeniably fabulous in terms of adaptation, had some hit and miss episodes. (The Last Vampyre. Why.) Maybe I had just had a bad, or at least particularly egregious, example.

Typhoons gave me three episodes to try out. I will go over them, and my impressions. I try not to give egregious spoilers in my discussions, but be aware they likely exist in some way.

The Pearl of Death

Okay, this is a fun and solid adaptation of The Six Napoleons. The fact that the thief/killer/monomaniac busted up a bunch of china to obfuscate the fact that they were after the plaster busts is actually a nice double blind that provides an additional hurdle before the picture becomes clear. The inclusion of the Creeper is kind of… weird? Is this a Creeping Man reference?? (looks it up) nooo, but apparently the Creeper had… his own spin-off?? What?? EXPLAIN your reasoning, 1940s Universal Studios.

I simply MUST, very briefly, go off about the knife book trap. It’s… look, it’s objectively silly. It’s an Adam West Batman level of silly trap. But, since we don’t actually see what the asshole is doing with the gift in the hallway before giving it to Watson, it’s set up as an homage to the Dying Detective, which means we get like 30 AGONIZING minutes of Watson just-barely-not springing the trap. (Note - I’ve looked back at the episode and it’s barely 5 minutes. Why am I so obsessed with this scene lmao). If I had realized it was a sproingy dagger rather than poison, I think I actually would’ve been less stressed. Because LISTEN, if there is ANYTHING I LOVE, it is a DYIN AU where Watson accidentally springs the box trap. There are surprisingly few of them out there, at least that I have found. Katie Forsythe did an excellent one. (if you know of any more PLEASE SEND THEM TO MEEE).

So much digression, sorry. All of this to say, Literally up until Holmes walked in the room, I wasn’t completely convinced they weren’t going to turn the tables on us with the music box trap. Like, the tension was absolutely obvious, but I felt it!

And now we get a little bit into my impressions of this Watson.

This Watson is… I can’t read him as dangerous. I have a hard time believing “former army doctor” from this chap. He’s affable, a bit absent-minded, and fiercely devoted to and protective of his Holmes, but when push comes to shove, would he brain a blackmailer with a chair? I dunno. (If there is in fact a later episode where he actually brains Milverton with a chair, PLEASE.  PROVE ME WRONG THAT WOULD BE SO FUNNY). But I think what I like to take away from this Watson, which I’ve seen in a LOT of fanfic and which seems like a touchstone of Sherlock Holmes mythos, is this: it’s nearly impossible not to like Watson. Where Holmes can range from purposefully insufferable to intensely unlikeable, Watson is just. A good man. He’s just a good guy that I’d like to sit down and have tea with. Part of that is the “I’m just the humble narrator” everyman of the original stories, but. I dunno. There IS something about this Watson that’s incredibly likeable.

I think the reason the knife book trap hit ME so well is that the idea of THIS Watson falling victim to a trap set for Holmes is especially galling. This guy?! Who misplaced a paper clipping he was in the middle of gluing into his commonplace book? You’re gonna ACCIDENTALLY murder THIS MAN? The stupid knife book got me where the “You MURDERED my best friend!” bluff at the end of the episode absolutely did not. XD

Anyway, Holmes walks into the room and immediately knows the book is a knife. On to Lestrade.

I didn’t think it was possible, but somehow they’ve done Lestrade even dirtier than Watson in this adaptation. Like… yikes. I know the early stories had a lot of contempt for the Yard, but come on!! It’s the SIX NAPOLEONS! Lestrade’s opportunity to say “look, there are no actual hard feelings, we actually LOVE you at the Yard.” You don’t gotta make him… just, the worst. Although, I have to say the sass-off between Lestrade and Watson is very fun. It’s about the only bit of fun Lestrade gets to have.

The House of Fear

I promise this will be shorter than the previous entry. And honestly, I’m kind of bummed about that. I WISH I had more to say. But I have to be honest.

A 1940s-era locked room mystery, in a big isolated house that they can’t leave, where the guests are picked off one-by-one, and two guests have to join forces and wits to stay alive and get to the bottom of it? I’m sorry, but the whole time my brain was going “Ah man, I want to be watching And Then There Were None.”

I am entirely biased in this point, I have to say. When I was a kid, I was sent for several summers in a row on a week-long visit to my grandmother. She had some frankly incredible stories - if she’s to be believed, she potentially met Nikta fucking Kruschev on a vacation abroad. I regret that it was hard for Young Snaitf to really connect with her, except in one topic: mysteries. We had wildly different tastes in a lot of things, but on those week-long visits we both found out that no one in the house would object if an episode of Murder, She Wrote was on the TV, and we both genuinely loved the Rene Clair adaptation of And Then There Were None. If you haven’t watched it, I cannot recommend it highly enough. The whole opening sequence establishes every single visitor to the island - their quirks, foibles, and flaw - without a single line of dialogue. It’s masterful.

Against the double barrel shotgun of nostalgia and a genuinely masterful adaptation, I’m afraid House of Fear holds no contest for me. Watching this episode just made me think of Grandmother Marie, and made me want to watch the movie. Sorry, ya’ll.

Pursuit to Algiers

Typhoons called this the “Big Daddy herself” and I can’t say I disagree. I really, REALLY liked this one.

The initial set-up of random street- and pub- people feeding Holmes clues and cryptic warnings was so incredibly effective. It was off-putting, how very blatant it was to both Holmes and the audience. I believe they were trying to use Watson to juxtapose with the innocent reaction, but honestly the fact that he didn’t pick up on the sinister vibes just came off as weird. Unless his “I don’t like fish and chips, sorry” is his way of brushing them off. “No creepy murder pubs for US today, sorry.” Unfortunately for him, they’ve managed to intrigue Holmes.

I like that Watson’s loyalty really gets to shine here. The plot is explained, and it’s one they genuinely can’t turn away from. And then a perfectly reasonable explanation is given as to why they have to separate, and Watson is just Not Having It. When the fish factor is so high that even this Watson calls bullshit, you KNOW it’s bad.

Typhoons referenced a very specific and emotional scene, and I’m so sorry typhoon. I fucked up. I was paying attention to the notice board, where the name of the boat was inscribed, and I ABSOLUTELY LOST MY SHIT about the fact that we’re on the Friesland! WE’RE ON THE DUTCH STEAMSHIP FRIESLAND. (I don’t know how I didn’t put this together until this very moment, forgive my shit listening skills) and I missed at least half of the emotional impact of this scene. I have to agree, though. There is this… weight of “what am I to do now?” that I really wish we’d gotten a little more time to sit in. Maybe a Watson left to his own devices would still befriend the singer lady and find out about the stolen jewels. Alas, Watson is given about five seconds to absorb this development before he’s pulled in another direction.

Anyway, none of these reviews is very comprehensive, and I didn’t take very many notes, so all I have is this last impression that I wrote down: Here we see a Watson that’s a step behind Holmes, because that is where Holmes prefers him to be. They didn’t have to make him stupid to put him there. And he was genuinely part of the plan the whole way through, in a classic (if assholey) Holmesian way: Holmes does not tell him the whole plan, so that Watson’s reactions will be genuine. I feel that this worked particularly well in Pursuit to Algiers, in a way that managed not to irritate me. Well bloody done.

in summation: I think I see the appeal.

[contentabnormal]

This week on Content Abnormal we present Marvin Miller in The Whistler's terrifying tale of "House Of Fear"!

[super-nova5045]

and just when you think you’re at your absolute lowest a blonde motherfucker comes along and makes everything so much worse

[charcoaldustonmyfingers]

Little Shadow 1/2

[ 2/2 ]

I would mimic absolutely everything my immediate older brother would do as a kid. I’d get his too small shirts, I’d always play as player two, and I’d follow him around and play all sorts of games with him every chance I would get. I was his little shadow all throughout our childhood.

It gets annoying though, to have to entertain your little sibling when you just want to hang out with your friends. As we grew older we formed our own friend groups and got our own interests separate from one another.

I will always look fondly on those days though :)

[fllowerrpowerrr]

their final designs r so fun to draw gahagaah

[lovemoroporo]

2 years since the most heartbreaking episode ever but yk

⭐ kofi | comms | inprnt | shop ⭐  

[hauntedbythenarrative]

[kitconnor]

#king

+ bonus

[cutetanuki-chan]

had a random thought

[helenofsparta2]

Having the whole plot between Nico and Percy be resolved simply with “You’re not my type” in Blood of Olympus was such a huge disservice to both characters

They are pivotal parts to each others journey. No person in PJO influenced Nico as much as Percy did, aside from Bianca, and no person represents Percy’s guilt and the responsibility he had to shoulder more than Nico does. The writing for both characters really suffers through this lack of a real satisfying resolution.

First to talk about what Percy represents for Nico:

Percy, first of all, represents Nico’s introduction to the mythological world

He is the first demigod Nico ever came in contact with

He saved him and Bianca from the manticore (somewhat)

Nico stated in Blood of Olympus than Percy had reminded of the heroes of his mythomagic game come to life

Nico wholeheartedly believed that Bianca would be safe, if Percy was with her and created this image of the perfect hero in his mind, putting Percy on a pedestal

2.

In Nico’s mind Percy is irrevocably intertwined with Bianca and everything that happened to her

Despite Nico naively believing, that Bianca would be safe if Percy were around, he was instead the last person to ever talk to her, and present when she died

Percy informed Nico of her death (Dead silence. I stared at Chiron. I couldn’t believe nobody had told him yet. Then I realized why. They’d been waiting for us to appear, to tell Nico in person, Titan’s curse)

Nico turned him into the scapegoat for her death, so that he could let all his grief and anger and bitterness out on him

Bianca sent Iris-messages to Percy, so that he would find and help Nico (“Percy has been worried about you, Nico. He can help. I let him see what you were up to, hoping he would find you.”, Battle of the Labyrinth)

Her ghost only appeared to Nico when Percy was with him

Percy is the only person Nico knows of, who also grieved for Bianca (“Bianca,” I said. My voice was thick. I’d felt guilty about her death for a long time but seeing her in front of me was five times as bad, like her death was fresh and new. I remembered searching through the wreckage of the giant bronze warrior she’d sacrificed her life to defeat, and not finding any sign of her. “I’m so sorry,” I said. Battle of the Labyrinth)

3.

Percy is the person who protected and cared for Nico more than anyone else in pjo

Tried to convince Bianca to think more deeply about her decision of joining the hunters, especially thinking of him (“Biance, this is crazy,” I said. “What about your brother? Nico can’t be a hunter.” (Titan’s curse)

Searched the woods in the dark for hours after he had disappeared (Annabeth and Grover helped me search the woods for hours, but there was no sign of Nico di Angelo.)

Didn’t tell Chiron about Nico’s parentage to protect him from the Gods. (I don't think Nico understands who he is. But we can't go telling anyone. Not even Chiron. If the Olympians find out—") Titan’s curse)

Decided to completely commit to the prophecy, solely so Nico didn’t have to bear that burden and go trough any more suffering(It was the last thing I wanted, but I didn't say that. I knew I had to step up and claim it. "I can't let Nico be in any more danger," I said. "I owe that much to his sister. I… let them both down. I'm not going to let that poor kid suffer any more." ) Titan’s curse)

Searched for Nico in the months after Titan’s Curse (Now, six months later, I hadn’t even come close to finding him. It left a bitter taste in my mouth. Battle of the labyrinth, chapter 3))

Saved his life on Geryon’s farm. (“Either way, you get my friends,” I said. “But, if I succeed, you’ve got to let all of us go, including Nico.”)

Always offered Nico a place at camp half-blood to the best of his abilities (“We missed you at dinner,” I said. “You could’ve sat with me.”“No.”“Nico, you can’t miss every meal. If you don’t want to stay with Hermes, maybe they can make an exception and put you in the big house. They’ve got plenty of room.”, Battle of the Labyrinth)

Invited him to join him on his birthday (“Is that… is that blue birthday cake?”He sounded hungry, maybe a little wistful. I wondered if the poor kid had ever had a birthday party, or if he’d ever been invited to one. “Come inside for cake and ice cream,” I said. “It sounds like we’ve got a lot to talk about.”, Battle of the Labyrinth)

Reminded him that he was still a child (I smiled. “Maybe it’s okay to still be a kid once in a while.” I tossed him the statue, Battle of the Labyrinth)

Helped him to get the sword of hades back to impress his father (Then I looked at Nico. Unfortunately, I recognised the expression on his face. I knew what it was like wanting to make your dad proud, even if your dad was hard to love., Sword of hades)

Acknowledged everything Nico did in The last Olympian and is one of the main reasons why Hades has a cabin at camp. ( “But your children should not be left out. They should have a cabin at camp. Nico has proven that.”)

4.

Percy was Nico’s first, and after Will, his biggest love

Nico had feelings for Percy, which didn’t leave him for around 2 1/2 years, and accompanied him throughout the most challenging parts of his life. 

Feelings, which were so deep, the god of love personally acknowledged them.

Favonius even called Percy, the person Nico cares about most in House of Hades.

This was more than just a mere crush

Percy is so completely intertwined with most aspects of Nico’s character arc, in both PJO and Hoo, be it his feeling of ostracism, his relationship to Bianca or him coming to term with his own sexuality, that them not having a final interaction, makes his writing feel shallow and unfinished. Especially Nico coming to terms with his crush on Percy opens up the opportunity for a really heartwarming conversation and a moment of character growth and maturity for both of them, instead of it being wasted on one throw-away line.

And it’s the same the other way around. Nico is also a huge part of Percy’s journey.

He especially represents Percy’s biggest failure.

The first five Percy Jackson books are characterized by Percy having to take up responsibility and him being afraid of not being able to fulfill them. Be it responsibility for camp, the world, Bianca’s death, the prophecy, his friends, teh unclaimed demigods, or everything else. Most of the time, Percy was able to make sure everything turned out fine. He saved camp, he saved Olympus, he finished his quests, made the right decision for the prophecy, and he made the gods swear upon teh styx. But there’s one exception. And that is Nico.

Percy did everything in his power to make sure Nico would be spared any more hardships. He took up the burden of the prophecy, explicitly, so that Nico doesn’t have to go through any more hardships

He searched for him after Titan’s curse, kept his identity a secret and even risked himself, Annabeth, Grover and Tyson dying if it meant saving Nico

Still, Nico is one of the characters, if not the character, who has suffered the most in PJO and Hoo, even partly because of Percy (though, of course, Nico having a crush on him was not Percy’s fault at all)

He lived alone at 11 years old on the streets and in the labyrinth, while getting manipulated by an ancient evil spirit

He was isolated and ostracized at camp half-blood

He experienced the horrors of Tartarus completely on his own

He got captured by the giants and slowly suffocated to death in a small jar

He had to deal with internalized homophobia and his complicated feelings regarding Percy

He has been a vital part of two wars at only 15 years old

Had to admit his crush involuntarily in front of Jason, etc.  

One of the things Percy battles with in Heroes of Olympus is this overwhelming sense of guilt. He blames himself for almost everything that went wrong over the last few years. Be it for Iapetus, Calypso, or especially Nico. Having Percy acknowledge this complicated relationship he has with him during House of Hades, but not allowing the two of them to talk it out is genuinely baffling to me, and one of the (albeit many) reasons why I really don’t like most of Percy’s writing during Heroes of Olympus, despite the fact that he is my favourite character by far. This could have led to a moment of character growth, where Nico helps Percy to aknowledge that he feels guilty for things he had little to no control over, while Nico himself realizes how important he actually is to Percy.

They are also so similar in terms of who they are and what they’ve been through, that even if you ignore their history with each other, it seems insane, that they didn’t interact in any meaningful way:  

Both were ostracized at camp half-blood because of their parentage, and so far are the only two half-bloods we know of with that experience

They are (together with Hazel) the most powerful demigods in the Riordan verse, and have feats which far surpass anyone else’s

Both are in some way afraid of their powers

Both went through Tartarus

Both have relatively similar relationships to their godly parents

Both have gone through immense trauma and loss

And if you read heroes of Olympus, it actually very much seems to build towards a final resolution of their relationship

Percy and Nico were, aside from Frank, the two people closest to Hazel; both saw her as a little sister, and Hazel treated them both like her brothers

Nico was the first person Percy met from his old life

Percy was the one, who received the visions of Nico being captured

From everyone present, Percy trusted Nico to lead the others to Greece in his moment of greatest desperation

They both had introspections about the other in house of Hades, Nico having to deal with his crush and Percy with his guilt in Tartarus

But, in the end, after they met again, nothing happened. The only scene we really got was the “You’re not my type” line and Percy being surprised by it for a couple seconds. That’s it.

We saw no meaningful conversation between the two of them, no acknowledgement of what they’ve been through together, no lasting feelings. Nothing.

In regards to their relationship, Percy acknowledging everything that Nico has been through led to nothing. Nico acknowledging his feelings for Percy and finally letting go of this pedestal he had placed him on led to nothing. You could argue that their entire relationship, which has been built up since Titan’s curse led to nothing. And considering that they are so important characters for each of their character arcs, their characterization very much suffers from this writing decision.

The two of them, together with Hazel, are my three favourite Riordan verse characters by a long shot, but some very important aspects of both of their characters fall so flat to me through this lack of a satisfying resolution.

 Both of them deserved so much better.  

They are the friendship with the most missed potential in the entirety of the Riordan verse and probably the most fleshed out and nuanced relationship Rick ever wrote.

R.I.P.  Nico di Angelo, and Percy Jackson, you will always be brothers in my mind.

[hoosbandewan]

12 DAYS OF AEMOND TARGARYEN-MAS

Day Four: Aemond riding a horse

[goryhorroor]

horror sub-genres: southern gothic

[astrolavas]

your worst nightmares

[liesmultixxx]

“Why did you leave me?”

can you hear me crying?

the way annabeth thought percy had abandoned her like everyone else

… girl he fell into tartarus for you, he would never leave you

NEVER

rick was evil for that

[hypnosees]

happy halloween from the dungeons of fear and hunger!