#I enjoy the one with the lights above the Arby’s. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

littlebookreader · 3 years

Text

Columbo Crossovers(Part 1/?, Podcasts)

Still alive, Columbo fandom? Well, this one’s for those of you who’ve migrated to podcasts, looking for a little something to listen to, that, much like the show, will keep you hooked.

(This is me making the list.)

For those lost, I’d suggest reading this post.

This is like an assorted chocolate box of podcasts, so if you see something you like, you should definitely use it! (Don’t forget to credit me, though.) Prompts under the cut, so let’s go!

(Needless to say, there will be spoilers for every single one of these, up to the point I’ve listened to, but anyway, SPOILER ALERT! Also, slight fantasy-sci-fi element here, in that Columbo owns a time machine and can travel to various fiction podcast plotlines.)

1. Welcome to Night Vale: Columbo lands up in a weird town, but not just ANY weird town. Oh no, this one has strange lights above the Arby’s, an infinite dog park, and a a scientist with perfect hair. (For the dynamics, basically, Columbo gets the feeling that while Cecil has killed a lot of people, he is still a good person. Columbo is practically BFFs with Carlos though, and the both of them keep rambling about their respective interests(classical music and science respectively).

Basically, they like this stranger.

2. Kaleidotrope: Being from the 70s, Columbo is initially baffled by the ‘Sidle-Smith magic’, but it’s oddly endearing. Much like the rest of the students, he is able to get behind shipping the hosts quite whole-heartedly. (He cracks the whole ‘Drew-Cal’ thing pretty quickly, but doesn’t actually tell anyone.)

3. The Magnus Archives: Columbo comes off as being Distortion-y because of his incessant rambling, but he actually serves the Eye. Make of that what you will. (Despite their initial differences, he actually gets along really well with Jon, despises Elias and bugs him at every opportunity, and buddies it up with Tim and Martin. Being like a Distortion element, he also gets along well with Helen, and sees her as a true friend.)

4. The Penumbra Podcasts: As there are two wildly different stories going on here, this will have two parts:

The Juno-verse(Juniverse?): This one is entirely up to imagination, as both Juno and Columbo can be adapted into infinite varieties of detective stories. (Juno is a dramatic, also jealous lady, but he finds the little detective kinda cute, Rita fluffs his(Columbo’s) cheeks incessantly, and Nureyev just enjoys having a partner he can ramble with/at).

The Second Citadel: Again, much like the Juniverse(yep, I’m sticking with that now), SC has a very adaptable storyline. (Marc would be pretty indifferent to Columbo, actually, though he’s glad to have someone who understands the trials of the Police exam. Talfryn would be overjoyed to have someone to talk to who’s genuinely nice, and isn’t Marc.)

5. Wooden Overcoats: Columbo goes to Piffling Vale for a bit of work, and is absolutely baffled by the the fact that people keep dying there all the time. He talks about this to the missus, every chance he gets, and she’s reasonably fed up of ‘these fancy Channel Brits who keep killing each other!’. (He’d get behind the Funn twins initially, then does a 180 and hones in on Marjorie. During his visit, he also chats it up with Agatha Doyle, and despite finding her rather incompetent, he still likes her and her sweets.)

6. Victoriocity: Columbo lands up in season one, is amazed at the size and wonder of Even Greater London, and is immediately rescued by Fleet and Clara, before his brain collapses in on itself. The shenanigans that ensue are both wacky and heartwarming, much like the podcast itself.(He’d get along with both of them very well, even if in different ways.)

7. Death by Dying: Columbo needs a break. He’s just come off from a very stressful case, and he needs to SLEEP. Call it wishful thinking, call it serendipity, but before he knows it, he lands up in Crestfall, Idaho, and meets a certain dramatic-but-well-intentioned Obituary Writer(@deathbydyingpod). They run around for a while solving cases together, and talk about the things that interest them most, as well as the ‘perils associated with the job’. It’s a fun little visit, and eases off their burdens, atleast temporarily.

8. The Bright Sessions(Note: This only includes TBS proper, as I don’t really know how to fit Columbo into the sides and haven’t really listened to the AM Archives, or the College tapes yet.) : Columbo is an Atypical(duh) with the ability to witness all events, be they past, present or future. According to Dr. Bright, he’s officially a Class E, but is actually a Class A, with a reasonable control of 6. Besides, look at the guy, Wadsworth. Does he look like he could hurt anyone? (As for dynamics, just like with Kaleidotrope, he’s pretty confused about Caleb and Adam, but is happy for them nonetheless. All the counselling women(Dr. Bright, Sam, Chloe) find him endearing, and though he gets RANCID vibes from Damien, he gets that he’s coming from a really dark place. Columbo hasn’t met Mark yet, but that’s mostly because everyone’s still in therapy.)

Well, that’s about it, for now. Part two will be coming up very soon.

#columbo #fiction podcasts #welcome to night vale #kaleidotrope #wtnv #the magnus archives #the penumbra podcast #juno steel #second citadel #wooden overcoats #victoriocity #death by dying #the bright sessions #almost forgot #prompts #nbc #peacock #death by dying podcast #little book writing

11 notes · View notes

not-from-the-absence-of-violence · 4 years

Text

Inundated with the fated thought of you

A glimpse into one of the first dates between Carlos and Cecil.

I wrote this as a christmas gift for @heyhelloitsk !! and as always thank you to Rowan @drowninginstarlights for beta reading!

Carlos was different. He’d always known it, and over the course of his life, he’d struggled with it on a variety of levels. Having a diagnosis and a good therapist helped, of course, but it didn’t mitigate the feelings that the world just wasn’t built for him.

Night Vale was, in many ways, a breath of fresh air. It was scientifically speaking so incredibly interesting, no one seemed to particularly mind him experimenting on it, and it was so delightfully different that Carlos didn’t even stand out.

And then there was Cecil, of course, sweet Cecil, who he got to hear on the radio every day and was now, to his astonishment, dating. Dating wasn’t exactly new to Carlos, but dating Cecil was like everything in Night Vale: weird and exciting.

Sometimes Cecil was aware of that, he’d get that odd, distant look he sometimes gets (Carlos is currently investigating the theory that Cecil might be involuntarily psychic) and ask if he missed the world he had come from. Carlos had learned that what Cecil actually meant to say was “Would you not rather go back?”.

Carlos had given it much thought, and he’d found that he didn’t miss his old world. He had given that much thought as well, and he’d come to the conclusion that the reason he didn’t want to leave Night Vale was because there was still so much of it left to study and categorize.

Now, however, as he sat on Cecil’s couch, watching while Cecil prepared something that by all laws of science shouldn’t be edible but smelled good, Cecil occasionally turning around, revealing his government mandated “All hail the glow cloud” apron and just smiling at Carlos or telling joke that was semi-incomprehensible, Carlos was beginning to review his previous conclusion.

Feelings were complicated things, and they very stubbornly refused to be understood, but for what was certainly the first time in a very long time he felt like he didn’t need to understand. It was nice enough to experience it.

After Cecil had shoved what he graciously called a casserole into the oven, he came to sit next to Carlos on the couch. “What were you doing while I was cooking?” he asked.

“This is very important scientific research,” Carlos said, but he felt his ears burn as he looked down onto his paper where the important numbers and equations were surrounded by bubble hearts and other little doodles.

Cecil looked at his notes and nodded seriously. “Looks very important, yes.”

Before Night Vale, Carlos had learned that silences should be awkward, but by now, he knows that Cecil didn’t mind. He also didn’t mind excitedly carrying an entire conversation when Carlos didn’t feel like talking. Most importantly, however, he didn’t mind when Carlos rambled. Usually people got tired, but Cecil would always listen to him with rapt attention, smiling like Carlos was the world's biggest genius for explaining different types of salt rock.

So they sat in comfortable silence, the ominous hum of Cecil's oven as background noise, smiling at each other.

“How was work today?” Carlos eventually asked, even though it wasn’t particularly necessary considering he’d heard it on the radio.

Cecil’s eyes lit up anyway, and with his excitement the lightbulbs brightened. He talked excitedly, recounting with detail his work day, and with his hand movements and laughs the environment moved with him, the colours blinking, the air rushing. Carlos loved it. He’d asked Cecil about it, of course, but he seemed to be either unaware of his powers or considered them as natural as breathing, and he’d met every one of Carlos’ questions with a confused but curious glance.

Cecil was in the middle of his animated explanation of the new intern's way of petting Khoshekh without being consumed by the yawning void when he briefly caught Carlos’ eye. “Is it alright if I hold your hand?” he asked.

It caught Carlos a little off guard. Cecil’s gaze was almost timid, fixed upon Carlos, accompanied by a sudden rush of a soft breeze and the smell of petrichor. It was almost overwhelming.

Carlos and physical touch had a complicated relationship. Generally speaking, he wasn't very fond of it, sometimes he craved it dearly, but in a very specific way, sometimes it hurt. Most people didn’t give him the space he needed for experimentation, but he knew that Cecil would. So tentatively he nodded, reaching out to take Cecil’s hand. Cecil immediately laced their fingers together. That didn’t feel bad, just a little cramped, and he felt a rush of excited emotion from Cecil. It seemed the slight telepathy apparently also worked based on touch. Carlos shifted his hands a little to be more comfortable, Cecil shifted a bit closer.

The whole thing was very slow, but then Carlos gently laid his head on Cecil’s shoulder, who was almost vibrating with excitement. The air around them seemed to shimmer, like a distant heat haze, with Cecil’s feelings. It was a dazzling display, and Carlos had never felt more cared for.

Cecil moved a hand ever so gently towards Carlos’ hair. He made a gesture. May I?

Carlos nodded and Cecil gently sunk his hand into Carlos’ hair. It was nice actually, Cecil stroked his hair in a rhythmic motion, careful not to tangle it or yank at it. Carlos let out a quiet, happy sound. He turned to look at Cecil who was looking back at him wide eyed and openly adoring. Pinpricks of light burst around them, looking almost like fireflies. Carlos felt like he was in a movie, surrounded by light, the rest of the world disappearing.

His heart thundered in his chest, and he could feel the flush creep its way along his neck and ears.

“It’s so soft!” Cecil marveled, flapping his hands with excitement.

Carlos understood him then. Night Vale was so different that perhaps no one would ever find the words to express the shared feeling of unity they had right now. But that was alright because Cecil made the lamps flicker and bounce; Carlos called him “neat” and attempted to explain gravity to him.

They both knew what it meant: I like you, I am happy, I am safe, I am home.

They sat there together, experimenting with small touches for a while. Cecil was clearly happy to indulge him, and very quick to stop at the first sign of discomfort. Eventually Carlos tired of it, mentally taking notes on both his and Cecil’s responses to write down later. The oven was still humming and Carlos sighed a little. The humming had started to grate on him now.

Like clockwork, Cecil clicked his fingers, and out of nowhere a soft background tune started playing, unobtrusive but perfect.

“Better?” he said kindly.

That was the first moment Carlos realised he was falling in love with him. This utterly impossible man, who recounted unknowable horrors like it was boring chit chat, who had sat there looking at the lights above the Arby’s with him, who was kind and weird and fit right in with Carlos.

“Yes, Cecil,” is the only thing he managed to say. “Thank you.”

Cecil smiled and stood up. “The casserole must be done by now!” he said, heading over to the oven and pulling the casserole in question out of the hot oven without mittens on.

They ate together, laughing and enjoying each other’s company. They watched a documentary that was intermittently broken up by government propaganda. Cecil asked Carlos to stay the night and for the first time he said yes.

Carlos mulled the day over while pretending to sleep, as you did in Night Vale. He realised he didn’t just want to stay for science anymore. He wanted to stay because this world was built for him, because Cecil was here, because of the town and its people, no matter the dangers.He wanted to stay because it was home, the only one he’d ever had.

He wanted to stay because he loved it.

He felt many things towards this discovery that he couldn’t put into words, so he just gently laid his hand on Cecil’s unmoving hand and smiled as the streetlight outside the window turned on.

#wtnv #welcome to night vale #cecil palmer #carlos the scientist #cecilos #fic #my writing

26 notes · View notes

stillebesat · 3 years

Text

What's in a Dream?

Seriously. Tell me. Because I have been having quite the week of crazy dreams vivid enough for me to remember them days later and they've been....stressing me out a bit. It's hard to get a restful night's sleep when you dream like this.

Dreams I've had under cut because of length:

Tuesday Night: We were in the middle of nowhere. Desert sort of landscape. The place where three dirt roads came together. My siblings and I were 'camping' and had pulled over to investigate an old camper trailer that had been left to rot. Typical 'weathered, been sitting here exposed to the elements for ages' type of wear and tear. It was basically a skeleton of a trailer. There was even an old mattress off to the side in the dirt that was more bedsprings than mattress. Mom was there and was like "Okay, let's get in the car." so my siblings and I (3 of us) got in the car/camper and Mom started heading towards the edge of a cliff. As we were more in redrock country now/kinda on the edge of like a Grand Canyon sort of viewpoint. And I was like "Mom, you need to brake" and she was like "I'm just turning around." But she hit the brakes too late and I closed my eyes and steeled myself as the car skidded over the edge of the cliff. Because my eyes were closed I only felt the swooping sensation of falling. But when I opened my eyes again somehow the entire family had got ejected from the car before it crashed somewhere at the bottom and we landed on the side of the red sandstone cliffs which turned out to have a bit of a trail -a sketchy trail with plenty of open air where you had to edge along the side of the cliff and risk a couple of jumps over open air in order for all of us to make it safely back to the top of the cliff. My main injury was a large rose thorn that had embedded itself just above my elbow on my left arm. I pulled it out, leaving a large puncture wound there, as my phone rang. When I picked up it was my "Dad" on video call (said Dad looked like Thomas Sanders) and he was frantically packing a suitcase on the bed -throwing white clothing around- as he was talking to me reassuring me that he was on his way to rescue us and that we're all going to be fine and he'll be on the next flight over.

Wednesday Night: I was with other people in a Aquarium/University/Mall conglomerate building. The idea was to go see a show. Whether it was a movie in the theater or a show in the Aquarium is unclear, but while I was trying to grab food from the food court, someone like a 'big boss' Fury sort of figure informed me that I was a criminal and that they were trying to capture me. So instead of enjoying a show, my life got turned upside down and I had to run away from my family and friends because I didn't know who to trust and I was haphazardly trying to gather 'supplies' because I was like only 15 or so in the dream and didn't have access to everything regular adults did so I was scrambling to find money and gather clothing and my photographer cousin ended up running into me while I was on my college campus and secretly trying to help me out, but we couldn't meet for long as I was constantly running through the hallway like areas between buildings filled with grass and trees and windows that you could look inside to the classrooms and such.

Thursday Night: Me and a guy were walking along the banks of a pond when we saw this male figure (who looked kinda like the human version of Frankenstein from Hotel Transylvania 4) with half his body covered in a grey/brown mud dragging himself along the bank like a zombie sort of creature. He was doing this in a successful attempt to scare me and the other guy away from the reeds of the pond/lake we were at because (POV switch) I -the square jawed handsome guy- had just killed my wife. How I killed her? No idea. Her body (she looked like the mother from Gilmore Girls) looked like she'd been lounging on the couch and had just died. One hand propped under her head, a smile still fixed on her face even as her unseeing eyes stared at me. But there were no signs of injuries. No obvious cause of death. She was just dead. And me -the husband- decided the best way to hide the body would be to bury her in mud in the reeds of a lake, but as I was finishing the burial, I could hear this couple walking nearby, so I smeared mud on the left side of my body and began dragging myself over to them to act like a ghost or zombie so that it would scare them away. But (POV switch) I -the girl- decided that I'd had enough of creepy zombie people and returned to my dormitory (which reminded me of Hogwarts) to change my clothes and return to class. Only, when I tried to go take a shower, the girls showers were full. So I decided that I would go get clean in the boy's area. So I walked, basically naked with only a towel covering my bottom half but my top exposed through the hallways filled with guys who were standing there flummoxed that I was walking around like that and that I didn't seem to care (I did, I was just putting on an act) that I was walking around half naked in their presence.

Friday Night: I was in my bedroom, which was located on the North side of the house/apartment I lived in. I was in a basement room, in the back corner of the house with the driveway next to one window, and the backyard was behind the west one. I could hear a guy outside moving around and occasionally going into the backyard to 'do his business' aka pee on our walls. It turns out some college guy was using the driveway -which was between my house and the neighbor's house (but reminded me of my grandmother's driveway up in Wyoming) as a camping spot with a tent and everything. Which we couldn't have him there because we kinda needed the driveway to park our cars in, and when my roommate A came downstairs to talk to me about the issue, we heard the guy come down behind the house again to pee on our walls, but when he finished there was a cop there who arrested him for trespassing, but also ended up arresting Roommate A because apparently the 'special insect killer' pesticide she used to protect the plants growing on the side of our house carried an ingredient that was spelled something like "Beilium" and that was in fact a poison to humans so the cops thought that she was purposely planning to kill people because as the college students of the forensic's class told us when at least four of them descended on me and Roommate A and Roommate T that in our applications to live in the place we'd put various gothic things like ...idk... "Love tombstones, Wanna dance on graves. Best roommates are the dead ones." etc. But all three of us had filled these out in that way just to show that we had a different sort of humor compared to the other people in the area as we didn't want just 'anyone' to join us in the house to be our roommate and so the three of us had to convince these college aged investigator people that we weren't actual killers, and this was happening in my room/the kitchen so I was puttering around and grabbed a beaded bracelet of like a phoenix where the bird was 3D in beads sitting on top of the bracelet, but the bracelet was made of a tinfoil/blanket material and it folded out and became this big blanket and I was struggling to fold it back up into it's original bracelet shape (I think the colors were red and silver? maybe gold?) but it refused to fold that small and end up covering like my entire arm instead of just my wrist. I ended up giving up in favor of us taking the college students -who were outside with us talking about where they were meeting for their college graduation and basically saying "we don't know but we'll know when we know" as the closing ceremony would be happening 'soon' but first we would go grab a bite to eat and we cycled through the options but I ended up seeing Roommate A/ my sister sitting at a table of an 'Arby's so we went inside to order food to continue our discussion, but as we sat at the table the lights around us flashed three times. Which was code for "Active Shooter in the building." Everyone around us froze, counting the flashes and such and when I looked up there was a 'gunman' standing in front of the counter, with two fast food workers in black standing among the customers seated around eating their food trying to talk the gunman down. There was a buzzing in my ears making it so I couldn't understand what the shooter was saying, but the basic gist was that he would ask each person a question and if they didn't answer it right, he would shoot them. So there was "Garbled question" then BANG. Garbled question. Another BANG. And I was staring at my Cousin A who was sitting at the very front with wide eyes staring at the gunman as he turned to her to ask her a question---

Saturday Night: I had just arrived at work and was preparing to go clean the cat adoption center, only as I came into the room it turned out the adoption group we were partnered with had dropped off like 40 cats/kittens into the room. But instead of trying to fit them all into the ten cages we had, they'd placed like maybe twelve of them in the cages and then left the rest of the cats out to freely roam around the tiny adoption area, though the group had left their traveling carriers around with the doors open so the cats could seek shelter if needed,but they'd left the door to the adoption center open as well meaning that the cats could have free access to the rest of the store. However for whateve reason they had basically stuck to their enclosure. So I didn't have to worry about finding any cats elsewhere they were in this area. And one of the cats was this adorable black kitten that, when it moved, the light would catch on the fur reflecting a shimmering green peacock coloration. (the eyes on the feathers) in the fur. The kitty even had some peacock feathers along its tail. And I knew my sister would love this cat as she loves peacocks and wanted to get a cat but couldn't because her husband didn't want one, but I pulled out my phone to try and take a picture of the kitty to send to her to see if this would be the cat that would finally convince her to go ahead and get a cat, only I couldn't get a good picture because all these people kept coming into the store. First it was a huge class of like pre-schoolers/kindergartners. Then it was a group of older adults with special needs, as well as a group of people who looked to have come from a nursing home, and each group tried to come into the adoption area -which was filthy because there were cats out of their cages so there was cat littler everywhere and some of it had gotten wet from spilled water bowls and mixed from spilled food bowls so it wasn't the safest/cleanest place to be at the moment as I hadn't had time to clean the room yet. And to top it off, it was only like 7:30 in the morning. So we weren't even OPEN yet. We didn't open until NINE. So I had to fend off each group -which all had the same feisty Karen woman (who looked like our 'favorite' red headed regular customer we get into the store (she's difficult to work with)) and inform them that they couldn't be in the store at this time because we were still closed and for their safety they would need to leave. So I had to tell the group of thirty children and their six adult minders, and then the group of special needs visitors with their tenders, and then the group of nursing home people and their nurses that we were CLOSED and to leave and NONE of them were happy to hear that. But like...they were the ones who'd snuck into the building through the door of our vet clinic and not through the main store doors. So I told them to come back later. That no they couldn't see the cats as I couldn't have them in the room while I was cleaning, and that they needed to leave. No one was happy to hear that, and in the process somewhere i lost my phone and found it again in a classroom. But as I was trying to gather the supplies to clean the cages while sending people away these two girls approached me looking for replacement lightbulbs for their reptile cages and they couldn't find them. Which...we still weren't open for the day, but I ended up leading them to a little outside giftshop area where we kept our Christmas decorations -leading them through a random loading dock area filled with people working on stocking the store and such- and showed them where the lightbulbs were -though I didn't see them at first as they'd changed locations and I only found them as we were about to head down the stairs and back outside- so I was showing each customer the lightbulbs they would need for their individual lamps----

And yah....

Those are the dreams I've had this past week.

Overall my takeaway is that every aspect of my life is somehow stressing me out currently. Yaaaay.

#stilledreams #dreams #I don't even know how to tag this #but beware the dreams are rather crazy #vent post in a way because AHHHH #i like dreams as much as the next person #but this is getting to be a bit much

1 note · View note

hypnoshatesme · 5 years

Text

Do you like Science? Because I’ve got my ion you

Cecil couldn’t stop fidgeting. He had gone through his entire wardrobe trying to decide on the perfect outfit for this occasion and now he was reconsidering if green had been a good idea after all as he fixed the slightest wrinkles in the sleeve of his tunic, only to wrinkle the other sleeve in the process. Cecil was nervous. This wasn’t sitting on Carlos’ car and watching the lights above Arby's in silence. This was a date. And it had been a long time since Cecil had been on a date. And he had never been on a date with somebody as perfect as Carlos.

He was overthinking again. Cecil tried to remind himself to breathe. It would be fine. It would be like that night, but with talking and drinking and eating. It would be just as nice. It would be better, even, lacking the shadow of (presumed) death that had hung over them the night on the hood of Carlos’ car. Cecil just needed to keep calm and conversation would come naturally. He could do it. Talking is what he did, after all.

“Cecil!”, Carlos' caramel voice called out as he speedwalked up to Gino's, in front of which Cecil was waiting.

The voice alone shattered Cecil’s feeble calm, his heart pounding nearly painfully as he looked up to meet the scientist. He hadn't seen Carlos since the night at the Arby's, where he had looked tired, shaken, dirty and bloody, but still like the most beautiful thing on earth. Now, in his pristine white lab coat, his glossy locks neatly combed with only a few stray strands falling into his forehead, stuck to his beautiful skin that looked like it'd be so very smooth to the touch. He was breathtaking. The very definition of perfection. Cecil’s mouth went dry.

"I’m so sorry I made you wait, the samples at the lab tried to escape and it took a moment to restrain them…", Carlos continued as he came to a stop in front of Cecil.

Cecil tried very, very hard not to gawk, to give any sort of answer, but Carlos flashed him an apologetic grin and Cecil nearly choked on his words. He tried again after an awkward cough, "O-Oh, don't worry, Carlos. I haven't been waiting too long.", he managed a tad quicker than normal.

Carlos grinned and nodded towards the door, "Let's not wait any longer, then." They both walked into the restaurant, tentatively locking arms on their way.

There was silence between them after they ordered and Cecil was trying to remember how to form words. He was known for babbling when nervous, a waterfall of words, pointless anecdotes and the like leaving his mouth to fill in any uncomfortable - and sometimes comfortable - silence. That wasn't happening today. He kept getting distracted by Carlos' fingers running through his gorgeous locks, by his hands rearranging the cutlery in front of him, eyes scanning the room occasionally. Had those always been so beautifully chocolate brown? When they fell on Cecil, Carlos’ perfect lips pulled up into a shy smile and Cecil forgot how to speak all over again, blushing deeply and scrambling to hide his embarrassment behind his drink, that thankfully had arrived quickly.

“I’ve been reading a book on Helium and struggling with putting it down.”, Carlos finally said, and Cecil was too busy trying to keep it together to notice the slight waver in the scientist's voice. He was too busy to even ask if said book was approved by City Council.

But he did notice the tone. It was the kind of tone used for jokes, one followed by an expectant silence and Cecil laughed before even registering the fact that he hadn't understood what exactly the joke was. He was too eager to finally know what to do and his body went on autopilot and then he was panicking again because he couldn't tell how much laughter was the correct amount to whatever Carlos had said. When he finally got himself to look up at him, though, the sight took his breath away. Carlos was smiling, warm and...relieved? Cecil wondered, but only for a fracture of a second, before he noticed the way the scientist's eyes crinkled and forgot all about the relief. Carlos' eyes were shining, his whole face was, illuminated by that perfect smile showing his perfect teeth. Cecil thought he might faint if he didn't look away but he also wanted to remember this expression forever, burn it into his memory - literally, if necessary.

Carlos started to talk about his experiments, then, and when their food arrived a couple minutes later Cecil had been swept into the conversation, nervousness melting a little with every smile Carlos gave him. He took a more passive role, nodding and inquiring further about the science Carlos was excitedly talking about. Carlos seemed to light up with every question or interested comment Cecil made, occasionally making another pun or joke Cecil usually didn’t understand, but laughed anyways, making Carlos chuckle on more than one occasion. It was the most beautiful sound Cecil ever heard.

Back at home after the date Cecil was still grinning, felt light and, if possible, more in love than before. It had been the most perfect date and he already felt giddy about the next one. When Carlos asked him as they were walking to the parking lot, Cecil’s answer had come out as a squeek, delighted and surprised that Carlos would want to meet him again. The scientist seemed to have enjoyed it, but having the confirmation made Cecil’s heart flutter all over again. And then of course, the kiss. Cecil hadn't seen it coming, hadn't expected it, and he was proud he managed to not drive into anything on his way home, with the knowledge that Carlos, beautiful, perfect Carlos, had actually kissed him. The small voice at the back of his head telling him that he had basically lied to Carlos by laughing without understanding was barely audible. Not with the lingering memory of Carlos' lips on his.

They were sitting on Carlos’ couch after dinner. Cecil had intended to take Carlos out for their third date, but all restaurants had been struggling with their food turning into a gelatinous, blue goo. Cecil had been quite excited to try something new, but Carlos had not liked the idea and had invited Cecil over to dine at his place instead. The food had been delicious and Cecil had been thoroughly satisfied at the blush dusting Carlos’ cheeks as he kept complimenting his cooking. “It’s adequate at best, really, Cecil.”, he kept mumbling. Maybe it was adequate at best, Cecil wasn’t much of a cook himself, but that certainly didn’t stop him from making sure Carlos knew how much he had enjoyed it. The fact that Carlos looked adorable when flustered didn’t give much incentive to stop.

They had moved to the couch after cleaning up and Carlos found that the avalanche of compliments falling from Cecil's lips was quite effectively stopped with a kiss. Cecil looked dazed when they pulled apart again, and Carlos couldn't help but try to bring him back with a particularly bad joke. He planted a kiss underneath Cecil’s ear, whispering, "I wish I were adenine, so I could be paired up with U.".

Cecil did snap out of his haze, blinking for a moment in confusion. When he spoke there was no trace of laughter in his voice: “Carlos..”, he said instead, voice uncertain.

Carlos felt his pulse pick up in panic, “Ah, nevermind, that one was really bad.”, he said too quickly, leaning away from Cecil and chuckling nervously. He could feel his face heat up.

Cecil’s face fell seeing how his reaction had made the scientist uncomfortable, “No, Carlos, t-that’s not...I...I don’t understand your jokes.”, Cecil said quickly, voice lowering to a murmur by the end of the sentence.

Carlos looked at him, blinking, “Oh well, I...I guess that might be a bit difficult for somebody who isn’t as familiar with science, I-”

“No, no, no, Carlos, I...I never understood them.”, Cecil quickly added, face flushing deeply. He stumbled over his words as he continued, voice getting higher in his rising panic, “I-I just thought you sounded like- you were clearly waiting for some sort of reaction and your tone made me assume you probably had said something funny so I laughed and you looked so very happy so I just...continued doing so and I was afraid to tell you that I didn’t understand the jokes. I didn’t want you to think I’m dumb or something but I also didn’t want to make you mad when you eventually found out I’ve been lying to you and-”

“Cecil!”, Carlos tried again since his first call was drowned in Cecil’s stressed out rambling.

Cecil looked up, tentatively meeting Carlos’ eyes. Cecil’s eyes were wide, guilt and embarrassment discernable in every of his features. Carlos couldn’t keep in the laughter that had been bubbling in his chest as Cecil was rambling anymore, not with Cecil’s grave expression in this thoroughly ridiculous situation, and so he snorted out a laugh.

Cecil’s expression morphed into one of confusion and uncertainty, and Carlos tried to calm himself down. He took Cecil’s hands and squeezed them, stopping their slight shaking and catching his breath, as he looked at Cecil’s shocked face.

Carlos smiled reassuringly, “Cecil, I love you so very much.”

Cecil froze, before his face lit up, “I...I love you, too!”, his voice went soft at the edges, dreamy. However, doubt made its way back into his eyes quickly, “You...aren’t mad?”, he asked, voice unsteady.

Carlos chuckled, shaking his head. He considered telling Cecil that he could never be mad at him, but opted for something else instead, “Sweet Cecil, if anything I’m thankful.” Cecil cocked his head to the side, eyebrows raising in confusion and Carlos squeezed his hands again, if only to keep himself from pulling the other man into a kiss right then and there. He definitley couldn't be mad at the radio host, not when he was giving him an expression like this.

Carlos took a deep breath before trying to explain, “I was so nervous that night and I had carefully planned out all the things I could talk about but then when I actually was sitting across from you I couldn’t remember any of it and I was starting to sweat from nervousness and when I finally managed to get myself together enough to say something that stupid joke came out and I…”, Carlos chucked a little at the memory, “I was half expecting you to just get up and leave after that.”, Carlos had been terrified, panicking the moment he closed his mouth. It seemed silly now.

Carlos smiled at Cecil, now, “But you didn’t, you didn’t even roll your eyes, you just laughed and that just...put me at ease and suddenly there was no problem in just talking normally. In that moment, I was so very happy I made you laugh, it gave me the confidence to go on and try to enjoy the evening. And I did. Did you?”

Cecil, whose eyes had gone wide with awe, nodded enthusiastically. Carlos finally breached the gap and pressed his lips to Cecil’s. Cecil returned the kiss eagerly, hands coming up to play with Carlos’ hair, pulling the scientist closer. Carlos hummed contently into the kiss, cupping Cecil´s cheek.

When they had to pull apart for air, both were chuckling at the whole situation, at the idea that the other had been just as nervous that evening. Carlos leaned his head against Cecil’s shoulder, sighing happily. Cecil was still playing with the tips of his hair, his other hand coming to rest in his lab. Carlos took that hand, caressing the smooth skin with his thumb. The sigh from Cecil was one of utter bliss as he buried his nose in Carlos’ hair. Cecil felt light, his heart fluttering and happy and he still couldn’t quite wrap his head around this, the fact that he was holding his Carlos and that everything was okay and Carlos seemed content.

Cecil thought he might burst with love. He hoped he wouldn’t, it would make quite the mess of Carlos’ neat living room and he was sure that would not be appreciated. Also, it would be much harder to curl that wonderful hair around his fingers when his fingers were just a splash of blood and bone on the carpet. Cecil pressed his lips to Carlos’ head, before pulling away slightly so that he knew Carlos could hear him, “Will you explain the jokes to me? I want to try and understand them...”

“Oh, honey, if I did that you would realise just how bad they are. You would probably miss not understanding them…”, Carlos mumbled as an answer, shifting to look at Cecil's face.

“Mhm, but I want to know for future ones! I want to be able to react genuinely…”, Cecil smiled, pressing a kiss to Carlos' forehead.

Carlos laughed, that wonderful sound Cecil had been afraid he’d never hear again after telling him he'd been lying to him, “Cecil, you shouldn’t encourage my awful puns and jokes.”

Cecil looked into Carlos' beautiful, chocolate eyes, his own twinkling with mischief, “I think I just finished doing exactly that.”, he grinned, and Carlos couldn’t help but grin back.

Cecil leaned down, planting a kiss on Carlos’ beautiful nose. Carlos huffed out a little laugh before pulling Cecil into another kiss. Carlos felt light. This was perfection.

#welcome to night vale #wtnv #Cecilos #cecil palmer #carlos the scientist #fluff #awkwardness #cute #they're such dorks #painful puns #wtnv fanfic

71 notes · View notes

knine-nights · 4 years

Text

Night Vale Survival 7

Crowley & Aziraphale

So many doubles. Not intentional, just had ideas. Honestly, these two will probably get out without being discorporated solely because of how hard they are to kill. I mean, if Heaven and Hell couldn’t do it working together, who knows if Night Vale could.

Aziraphale pops to Night Vale because he’s heard about John Peter ’s (you know the farmer?) famous invisible corn and decided he just had to have a taste. Crowley came along because Aziraphale has a tendency to get himself into trouble when he’s alone. (+2)

Crowley affectionately refers to Aziraphale as “Angel” multiple times. Citizens become irritated by this and Crowley has to snap away several members of the Sheriff’s Secret Police. (-2)

Old Woman Josie defends Aziraphale by saying he’s not named “Erika”, so he’s not an angel. Crowley and Aziraphale take the opportunity to “escape”. (+1)

Crowley loves the idea of Stop Sign Immunity and he may or may not be planning to slip the idea into the minds of some British higher ups when they get back. (+1)

Aziraphale condescendingly tries to assist the scientists and ends up confusing them a bit (a lot) more. (-1 ?)

Aziraphale does agree to go on a “double date” with Carlos and Cecil. He’s not entirely sure what that means but he’s been assured there will be food and he can bring Crowley along. (+1)

Crowley eggs on the scientists to ring the doorbell of the House that Doesn’t Exist until Aziraphale drags him away to look at the lights above Arby’s. (-1)

Aziraphale smuggled in an authentic French Baguette. This causes a large ruckus when he pulls it out to eat due to wheat and wheat by-products being illegal. When Crowley asks (very annoyed) why his Angel (snapping away another Secret Police Officer intending to arrest him) can’t eat his baguette. When informed that everything made of wheat and wheat by-products turned into snakes and then ghosts one time, Crowley rolls his eyes and they both leave town so Aziraphale can enjoy his Baguette. (+1)

Final Score: +6, -3

They’re both completely fine! That was a lot shorter than I expected. But honestly, I don’t think they’d stay in town very long. They both get out without so much as a scratch. Crowley may or may not have cursed some members of the Sheriff’s Secret Police though. They both agree to never go back (except for the double date).

Aftermath:

The sudden loss of at least 10 members of the Sheriff’s Secret Police (20 were identified) has a shockingly small effect on life in Night Vale. There is a concerning increase in Black Helicopters corresponding to the decrease in Blue Helicopters.

Old Woman Josie sends Aziraphale random things in the mail. Aziraphale is very confused and disturbed as to how she managed to find his address.

Crowley may or may not have started a wheat & wheat by-product smuggling ring in Night Vale. He claims plausible deniability.

Aziraphale may or may not have forgotten to inform Crowley about the double date until the week before it was meant to take place. After complaining for a week straight (and terrorizing his plants slightly more than normal) Crowley does actually go with Aziraphale back to Night Vale for the date. (It’s shockingly uneventful all things considered)

Crowley tells Adam and The Them all about Night Vale (maybe exaggerating a tiny bit) the next time they see them. Adam and The Them make plans to travel to America and visit Night Vale.

Anathema is truly baffled by the town and even more so by the apparent lack of heavenly/hellish intervention. Newt has no idea what everyone’s talking about. He stopped paying attention after the third physics defying anecdote.

1 • 2 • (2.5) • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12

29 notes · View notes

welcometonvheadcanons · 6 years

Text

Headcanons Special

#100 'Toast' was a roller coaster, I can tell you that much. I was planning on making a review or a liveblogging, but it would be more me fangirling uncontrollably and less of me reviewing than expected, so I decided to do a Headcanons Special, because that's what I do for this fandom, also there's a picture I drew of the episode in my main blog (@lady-dm)

Enjoy!

The one who proposed was Carlos, he did it under the lights above the Arby's.

Before the ceremony, Abby reminded Cecil that their mother is proud of him, wherever she is now. That she herself was proud of him too, and also that she loves him.

Carlos wore a really fancy lab coat that he got especially for the wedding day.

Sheriff Sam gave a toast too, it just was off the record.

Michelle's date for the wedding was Maureen.

Carlos' family managed to get to Night Vale in time for the wedding, the reason we don't hear them is because everything that needed to be said to Cecil and Carlos was do so before the ceremony.

The person who told Kevin that he wasn't welcome to Night Vale was actually Sheriff Sam.

In response to Kevin's congratulations, and to everyone's surprise (except Carlos), Cecil went 'Aww, look at him go'

He also wasn't scared about Kevin and Lauren's creepy smiles, he had already seen Kevin's from really close, so seeing it in a recording wasn't as scary.

Everybody was lowkey happy with the current situation in Desert Bluffs Too, nobody ever liked Lauren.

Cecil choose to have both a best man and a bridesmaid; Dana and Earl.

Earl is the one who cried the most at the ceremony, the second was Steve.

Earl went to the wedding with Melanie because he didn't want to be the only one without a date.

Tamika is the girlfriend that Basimah mentioned back in #79 'Lost in the Mail'

Dana's date for the wedding was Pamela Winchell.

Cecil and Carlos danced to 'Second Song' during the weather; everybody thought it was the cutest.

Cecil wasn't going to cry, until Josie gave her toast, that's it. He also shed a tear with Steve's toast; he would never admit it though.

Carlos' mother spend all day crying because his baby boy was getting married and he seemed so happy in the life he had made for himself in Night Vale. She was the happiest person at the wedding after the couple themselves.

With the 'deeply erotic' comment, at least one person facepalmed (Abby), another one rolled their eyes (Earl, through the tears produced by the beautiful speech those two were giving), five laughed (Dana, Josie, Steve and two of the scientists), two cringed in second hand embarrassment (Maureen and Michelle) and at least one person from Carlos' family went 'wait what the fuck', under their breath.

This episode was absolutely beautiful, what more can I say? I loved everything about it, especially that they didn't forget my baby boy Kevin! He and Cecil are friends now and nobody can change my mind!

All that is left to say is that I love this podcast, everything about it is perfect, no wonder I fell in love instantly with it!

#wtnv #wtnv headcanons #wtnv 100 #headcanon special #at the end... did i?#yes honey yes i did

58 notes · View notes

deltahalo241 · 6 years

Text

Halo 3 Review

Halo 3 is probably the most popular game in the long running Halo Franchise. It was a system seller for the Xbox 360 and for many people, it was their gateway into the series. So while Halo 3 has managed to craft this legendary status around itself. Does it live up to it? And, looking back over 10 years since its launch, has it held up compared to modern games. These are the questions I intend to answer as I take a look back at the heavy hitting title of 2007 and give my honest opinions of it.

Starting with the story, we have to talk about the fact that Halo 2 was originally going to be the end of the franchise, and that Halo 3 only came about because Bungie set their sights too high and had to end Halo 2 on a cliffhanger. Because of this, Halo 3 has to both tell its own story, as well as finishing off Halo 2's. Halo 3 is comprised of 10 missions, though one is just a cutscene and doesn't really count. So all in all there are 9 missions in the game, making it somewhat shorter than Halo 2. The big issue for me when it comes to Halo 3's campaign is the pacing, or lack of it. The story goes nowhere for 6 out of the 9 missions, preferring to faff about on Earth. These 6 missions are what I believe to be the way Bungie were going to finish Halo 2, or how they were retro-actively ending Halo 2 at least. Specifically Mission 5 is where I believe the ending for Halo 2 would have been. Mission 6 has lots of problems of its own that need to be brought up. To sum it up, in Mission 6, the Flood arrives at Earth on an infected Covenant Battle-cruiser. Long time fans of the Halo series will know the Flood as the all consuming parasite responsible for wiping out the Forerunners, and who took over High Charity (The Covenants Holy City) at the end of Halo 2. So this is a pretty big deal. On board the Flood infested ship, Master Chief finds a message from Cortana talking about the Ark, this is the beginning of the issues. Cortana didn't know about the Ark, she wasn't with Johnson and Miranda when 343 Guilty Spark revealed its existence to them, so how could she have found out about it? One option could be that she took it from the database of Installation 04, but if so why didn't she tell anyone about it? It would seem like a pretty big deal to me, especially when there's a portal to it on Earth that she seems to know about as well. Secondly, how did she even get the message on the ship in the first place? She was on High Charity, the message is on a physical storage device. Did she create it and put it on the back of a Flood to carry into the vessel? And when & how did she record it without the Gravemind knowing? She was being interrogated by him after all and we know how it can corrupt AIs. The threat at the start of the mission, the Flood is also dispatched by the Covenant at the end, meaning the stakes for Earth are pretty much over. The Covenant have left and the Flood on the planet are dead. This mission also introduces us to a new plot point. According to Cortana, there's a way to stop the Flood for good at the Ark, without having to fire the remaining Halo rings, a Forerunner weapon that perhaps, wasn't finished in time to save them, but could save us. Unfortunatly, Halo 3 immediatley drops this plot point, making the entirety of mission 6, pointless. The plot point leads no-where and the threat introduced at the start of the level, is gone by the end of it. It feels like the remainder of some earlier draft of the story, one that I would have liked to see for sure.

As so much time is spent at Earth, it means by the time the game actually gets to the Ark, there's only 4 missions left in the campaign. This doesn't give you a lot of time to really explore the ark, like you could explore the ring in Halo CE. 2 missions in on the Ark and the Prophet of Truth is dead, killed in a cutscene like the Prophet of Mercy before him. This is so that the game can say 'Aha! The Gravemind is actually the true villain!' as he betrays you just after helping you reach Truth. The trouble is the game only has 2 missions left at this point, and in only one of them do you actually interact with the Gravemind to any large degree. His betrayal is also somewhat odd, his tentacles raise up above Master Chief and the Arbiter as he talks about how he's going to kill everything, then fails to grab a slow moving Pelican Dropship as it escapes, only succeding at knocking Arby and Chief off of it before having his tentacles retreat and sending waves of combat forms to attack you, basically it builds up a boss fight and then nothing happens, you just trudge back through the same hallway you fought through not 5 minutes earlier, only now you're fighting the Flood. The mission after that has you delve into the Flood nest in order to retrieve Cortana. The mission itself looks great, the flood biomass over the walls really gives you an idea of what could happen if the flood gets loose. The level layout is extremely confusing and you may find yourself dying a lot as there are constantly spawning enemies including many Flood Pureforms, alongside the confusing layout, you may find it to be an exercise in frustration. This level also serves to rob the Flood of some of their menace. Looking at it lore wise, Master Chief just walked into the belly of the beast, grabbed his holographic friend had a quick chat with her and then strolled back out again. The Flood don't even seem to do anything to stop the damaged pelican he escapes on from leaving. It makes them seem incompetant. The final mission of the game has you heading to a Halo Ring, the intent being to fire it to kill the Flood infestation. This actually conflicts with what we were told in Halo CE, that the Halos don't kill the Flood, they kill its food and let it starve to death. You fight through more Combat Forms and the gravemind taunts you a little, then you get to the final chamber. Guilty Spark informs us that the ring isn't ready to fire, and that it'll take a few more days before it's ready. When Johnson informs him that they don't have that much time, Spark goes rampant and kills him, this had been foreshadowed earlier when Spark zapped a marine who wanted to check out his internals, to make sure he was functioning right, but anyone who had played from Halo CE could probably see this betrayal coming a mile off. You then have to go through an easy and boring boss fight against Guilty Spark before you can finally activate the Halo ring, as the ring is unfinished it starts falling apart, destroying itself and dealing massive damage to the Ark. Which conveniantly solves that plot hole of the Rings only killing the Floods food. This leads to the final section of the game, a Warthog run similar to the one from Combat Evolved, though not as fun. And then the campaign ends. It's a bit sudden, and they of course tease that the franchise will be continued in the future (Which it was, with Halo 4)

Now that I've finished talking about the single player, I can move onto the multiplayer. This is what most people will remember when it comes to Halo 3, as it had a massive online community back when it was released. Halo 3 offered a good range of game-modes for the player to enjoy and a wide range of maps to play on, though you may find people vetoing maps until they get the ones they want, which means you'll find yourself playing on Valhalla or Guardian a lot for instance. The weapon sandbox has been expanded from Halo 2, now new Brute weapons are in the mix as well. Unfortunatly, there's not much reason to use them. There's not a lot that sets the Spiker apart from the SMG for instance, or the Mauler from the Shotgun. The Gravity Hammer is a fun new power weapon that rivals the Energy Sword and I think it's an excellent addition to the game. Two new grenade types have been added as well, the Fire-bomb grenade and the Spike Grenade. The Fire-bomb is what it says on the tin, an incendiary grenade that burns the person it hits to death. The Spike Grenade is similar in some ways to the Plasma Grenade, it sticks onto a vehicles or surface and explodes, the difference being that the Spike Grenade is somewhat directional. Like the Fire-bomb, it's a one hit kill. Some new vehicles have also been added to the mix. The UNSC gets the Hornet VTOL and the Mongoose ATV. The Covenant lose the Spectre from Halo 2, but gain the Brute Chopper and Prowler. The Chopper is the Brute equivelant to the Ghost, only has the special ability of being able to destroy light vehicles by ramming into them whilst boosting, which is usefel in game-modes like Capture the Flag, if the enemy team is escaping with the flag in a Warthog. The Prowler on the other hand is pretty much just the Spectre, but with a Brute theme. It has a single turret on the front, rather than the rear and two side skirts for passengers to hold on. Aside from that, there's nothing else unique about it, as I said; it's a Spectre with a Brute skin. Halo 3 was also popular for Major League Gaming at first. Though there were some noticable problems for those ultra competitve players. Halo 3's netcode was a little poor, this made blood-shots (Shots that hit the enemy from your perspective, but don't register in the game, and so do no damage) rather common, which annoyed a lot of competitive players. Halo 3 also did not utilize hitscan like the previous games in the series had, rather players had to lead shots if they wanted them to land. This took a bit of getting used to for a lot of veteren players. The Battle Rifle also had some poor weapon spread as it would seem as though one shot was always going to miss, unless you were right in your enemies face. The Assault Rifle also felt a little weak as well. This may in part be due to the sound design used on the weapons, which I felt was a little sub-par in a lot of ways. Another new feature that was added in Halo 3 was Forge mode, that let people edit maps by adding in new weapons of vehicles or items and the like wherever they wanted. The mode was a bit simplistic but I won't count that against the game here as it was the first instance of the feature and what players did with it far exceeded their expectations.

Overall I'd say Halo 3 is a pretty solid game, despite what may appear as my hatred for it, I do actually like the game. But its multiplayer far outdoes its campaign. Halo 3 is an old game now, going on 11 years old. You'll find the population for online is rather low, struggling to get above 2000 people at the best of times. This is compounded by the fact the player base is split across the Master Chief collection, Halo 3 on Xbox One backwards compatibility and those still playing the game on the Xbox 360. There are some issues with the multiplayer netcode, but if you're just playing casually, then you probably won't notice too many issues. While the weapon sandbox is a little dull, it's not too bad and there's a nice variety between the weapons. The campaigns story is quite bad but you'll probably have a lot of fun with the missions themselves, the scarab fights are quite fun (even if they make the scarab feel like a bit of a pathetic miniboss) and the settings are somewhat diverse. Halo 3 is available on the Xbox 360, as a backwards compatible title on the Xbox One and is also in the Masterchief Collection. If you would like to purchase a copy, then follow the link below:

Halo 3 - Xbox 360

#bungie #microsoft #xbox 360 #review #game review #halo #halo 3

1 note · View note

nightmareonfilmstreet · 7 years

Text

The Greatest Year in Horror Film History Part III: 1979

New Post has been published on https://nofspodcast.com/greatest-year-horror-film-history-part-iii-1979/

The Greatest Year in Horror Film History Part III: 1979

Imagine you are in a restaurant. You sit in a dark corner booth and check out the menu. The faint smell of cigarettes smoked long ago fills your nostrils and Thelonious Monk tickles your eardrums. Now, this isn’t some posh bistro in Paris or somewhere “Midwest fancy” (like an Arby’s) it’s just a no-name corner spot in a no-name town. At this restaurant, you order yourself the classic three-course meal of an appetizer, entree and dessert. You have done this hundreds of times in your life, but this time is different. This meal just so happens to start off with THE BEST chicken wings you’ve ever eaten. That’s followed up by THE BEST cheeseburger you’ve ever had, and you end the meal with THE BEST piece of apple pie you’ve ever tasted. Using basic logic, that would make this the greatest restaurant you’ve ever been to, right? So what does this have to do with the greatest year in horror film history?

Now imagine that this restaurant represents 1979, the number one year in horror film history. We can call it the greatest because it features three best-of-all-time films in their sub-genre, all packed within one magical year. Within its 365 days, this year gave us the best vampire, zombie and science-fiction horror films that have ever been made. Some may try to debate these claims, but luckily for us, we have the math to back us up.

Over the past few weeks, we have examined the #2 (1986) and #3 (2017) best years in horror film history. This week, as a final gift from me in 2017, we will be looking at the films that make 1979 the greatest year in horror film history. For those of you unfamiliar with our process, here’s a quick refresher:

OUR METHODOLOGY OR: HOW WE LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE EXCEL

We took a look at all of the horror films from 1970 to 2017. (The early 1970’s were a starting point for us because A) We needed one and B) The frequency of quality and iconic horror films really picked up during this time).

To determine a “score” for each year, we took a look at 5 different rating sources-

Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer Score

RT Critic’s Average Rating

RT Audience Score

RT Audience Average Rating

IMDB Viewer Ratings

– These ratings were averaged to find the “Fiend Score” for each film. We then combined the Fiend Score of the top three horror films from each year to give that year a total. I admit, the selection of the top three films was sometimes difficult. It was necessary to take other factors into account, such as the size of release, box office total and iconic status to determine which films were included in the top three. These three films were totaled and given an official number which we are calling its “NOFS Score”. These NOFS Scores ranged anywhere from 142 (Ouch) to 255.

So, without further ado, The Greatest Year in Horror Film History is:

Part III- 1979

NOFS Score- 255

The 1970’s were a tumultuous time in the United States and abroad. This was especially true at the end of the decade, where marginalized groups struggled to find their place in society and were denied basic rights from the newly galvanized conservative movement. This directly led to an influx of horror cinema across the country, packing small-town theaters with those wishing to escape. The 1970’s produced some of the finest horror films ever made, like The Exorcist (1973), Halloween (1978) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). Everything culminated in 1979, however, and we were given the greatest year in horror film history.

The horror films of 1979 are an amalgamation of the societal fears and attitudes toward authority the population felt all through the decade. Although horror has been an effective mirror for society throughout history, this is especially true for 1979. Here are the films with the top three Fiend Scores from that year:

#3- Nosferatu the Vampyre

Written and Directed By: Werner Herzog Starring: Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz

Fiend Score- 82

Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu the Vampyre is the best adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula that has ever been made. Officially, it’s an adaptation-of-an-adaptation, but either way it far surpasses any other attempt at the story. Nosferatu (1922), directed by F.W. Murnau is gorgeous and iconic, but Herzog’s direction, cast and setting puts his version above the original. It is, quite simply, one of the most beautiful horror films ever produced.

Bruno Ganz, a man that has somehow found a way to look like Javier Bardem but talk like Tommy Wiseau, plays Jonathan Harker, a man sent to Count Dracula to sell a house. He and his beloved Lucy, played with an angelic ethereality by Isabelle Adjani, are thrust into harm’s way as the Count makes his way to town to set up shop. They are fine representations of their characters but are ultimately overshadowed by the performance of Kinski as Dracula.

He is not an attractive man who just happens to enjoy dark castles and dope capes. You cannot walk past him on the street and mistake him for yet another aristocratic gentleman. He is an animal, an apex predator than needs to hunt. Kinski plays the character with a hunger and a pent-up power that is unrivaled in the Dracula filmography. Herzog lights his sets so perfectly that even his bright-white complexion can be hidden from you if he so chooses. It is shown in several scenes that Dracula is capable of forcing you to do as he wishes. Harker is twice attacked and is unable to fully resist or remember it in the morning. Kinski’s vampire doesn’t resort to glamour or hypnosis, however, as he chooses to take what he wants and stare directly into your eyes as he takes it. The scenes where he enters the bedchambers of both Harker and Lucy are so chilling because of the hunger in Kinski’s eyes. It bores into the screen and creates an uneasiness in the viewer, almost as if he has triggered our prehistoric fight-or-flight response.

Nosferatu the Vampyre is required viewing for fans of vampires or horror in general. The film begins with actual mummified corpses from Mexico and only gets darker from there. Herzog fills every frame with a physical weight, forcing the audience to gasp to keep from asphyxiating. The scenery surrounding Harker as he journeys to Dracula’s castle, in any other film, would be gorgeous. In Herzog’s hands, however, every crag and rock looks like it is trying to keep Jonathan from finding the way. The wet trail would rather make it’s hiker slip and die than reach their destination. For to reach the castle they seek is a fate far, far worse than death.

#2- Dawn of the Dead

Written and Directed By: George A. Romero Starring: David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott Reininger

Fiend Score- 84

I remember the first time that I ever saw this film. I was way too young to be watching it, but when you’re in grade school and home alone sick with the flu, you watch whatever VHS tapes are at your disposal. Feeling OK (maybe I was just playing hookie? I can’t remember, but I wouldn’t put it past me), I made myself some lunch and popped in Dawn of the Dead. Many of the film’s central themes went way over my head, but the gore definitely did not. I distinctly remember feeling physically sick after watching the movie. So, I may have been faking my illness at first, but I was most definitely ill afterwards.

The film seems almost tame by today’s standards, but in 1979 it was a gore-fest unlike anything else in theaters. George A. Romero took what shocked audiences in his classic Night of the Living Dead (1968) and turned those scenes up to 11 and shot them in living color. Tom Savini, now regarded as one of the finest effects artists in horror film history, was still a young Vietnam War Veteran when tabbed for this film. His practical gore effects have gone down in history as some of the finest ever filmed, even with the crazy-bright fake blood that he hated so much.

The blood and guts made the film stood out for 8-year-old me, but its central theme of commercialism and the dehumanization of its survivors are what make the film so special today. Everyone knows that setting the film in a shopping mall was no accident, and Romero wanted to make a statement about how the need to buy material things turns us into inhuman beings. That message still works today, only you can now replace the shopping mall with the endless shelves of online shopping experiences. We stare at our screens and drool over (BRAINS!) digital images of things we absolutely must have or else we will surely perish. I like nice things, so I don’t really care what Romero has to say about my shopping habits, but the hedonism and greed that the survivors show is what interests me.

The ending of the film is almost inconsequential. It is the behaviors shown by the survivors of the worldwide epidemic that is what makes this film so powerful. The actions of the initial survivors and the stupid desperation of the motorcycle gang shaped what zombie films and television eventually became. At a certain point, it’s no longer about the reanimated dead, but how we interact with one another as survivors that makes zombie cinema so interesting. Without Dawn of the Dead, the zombie genre would have died out long ago and the horror genre as a whole would not be the same.

#1- Alien

Directed By: Ridley Scott Written By: Dan O’Bannon Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt

Fiend Score- 89

Priority one: Insure return of organism for analysis. All other considerations secondary. Crew expendable.

So reads Special Order 937 from the fine folks at Weyland-Yutani. These fourteen words are the central driving force for an entire franchise that has now reached an incredible 8 films. It is also indicative of a sentiment many people felt in 1979. The government and corporations cannot be trusted and will do anything to further their reign and expand their power.

The film itself is a perfect horror movie. Some have called it a slasher film in space, likening the Xenomorph to everyone’s favorite terrestrial killing machine, Michael Myers. They have even compared the Nostromo to a haunted house. While this is completely valid, I have recently run across a point of view that paints the film in an entirely different light. You see, Alien isn’t a slasher, its a possession film.

The haunted house is not the freighter Nostromo, but instead the planet LV-426 where the crew encounters the abandoned alien spacecraft. They are sent to the ship because of a mysterious beacon, luring them in even though some may see it as a warning. The crew investigates the ship, then something attaches itself to Kane (Hurt). The others rush him back to the mother ship, which only allows it to spread and evolve, putting everyone else on the crew at risk. The Nostromo represents a host body, and the Xenomoph a possessing entity. Once invited in by the foreign agent Ash (here an android, but in other films shown as a demon or Satan himself), the entity systematically destroys everything that made the host unique and independent. As the final battle between Ripley and the beast showed us, the only way to survive a possession film is through exorcism.

Whatever lens you choose to view the film through, Alien remains one of the finest horror films ever made. It is tied with Silence of the Lambs (1991) as the film with the highest Fiend Score we calculated, and it launched the careers of Scott and Weaver. Although the on-board “computer” looks a little silly by today’s standards, the rest of the film holds up and is just as terrifying today as it was in 1979. Scott’s ability to film in tight, dark spaces is unparalleled, and the creature design by H.R. Giger is still regarded as the finest in horror film history. The bio-mechanical quality of the Xenomorph makes it difficult, especially when the ship’s lights begin to strobe, to distinguish what is ship and what is alien. This forces the audience to stay on edge and to constantly search behind the characters and down the dark hallways for the creature. It is a masterclass in film-making and suspense-building, and it led the way in making 1979 the greatest year in horror movie history.

Honorable Mentions:

We’ve determined that 2017, 1986 and 1979 were the top three years in horror film history, but what was the top decade? According to our calculations, the 1970’s carry the highest average NOFS Score at 224. Even though the current decade started poorly, 2016 (224) and 2017 (234) may be a sign of what’s to come in the next few years and it may push the 2010’s over the top.

Even though it is considered an all-time classic (for some reason), 1979’s The Amityville Horror didn’t quite crack the top-3 for the year. It finished with a lowly Fiend Score of 50.

1979 also gave us David Cronenberg’s The Brood (Fiend Score– 71), Phantasm (Fiend Score– 69) and When a Stranger Calls (Fiend Score– 52). Not all of these are are earth-shatteringly good films, but all have become iconic movies that are must-watches for horror fans.

Although it was only a made-for-TV miniseries, Tobe Hooper’s Salem’s Lot also premiered in 1979. I mention this exclusively for the bedroom window scene. I still have nightmares about that one.

Dis-Honorable Mentions:

Whenever you are crunching the numbers, looking to find the “Best Of” anything, you inevitably discover the “Worst Of”. Here are the worst years in horror film history-

Although 2015 gave us The Babadook (and we say thankya), the year as a whole came in as the #3 worst year of all time with an NOFS Score of only 152. The other films from that year were poorly received, including Annabelle (Fiend Score– 44) and Ouija (Fiend Score– 31).

The number two worst year in horror film history was 1989, which finished with an NOFS Score of 149. The top-three films for that year ended up being Pet Sematary (Fiend Score– 58), Puppet Master (Fiend Score– 48) and A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (Fiend Score– 48).

Last and definitely least, the worst year in horror film history was 1995! Demon Knight (Fiend Score– 55), Species (Fiend Score– 45) and Village of the Damned (Fiend Score– 41) were the top three films of the year, totaling an NOFS Score of only 142.

Join the Discussion:

So, there you have it! 1979 is officially the greatest year in horror film history. What do you think about our findings? Head over to our Official Facebook Group and let us know! Where would you rank these years? What do you think makes the 1970’s the best decade for horror? Do you think the 1980’s should be above it? Put on your thinkin’ caps and tell us your opinions!

#alien #amityville horror #dawn of the dead #demon knight #george romero #greatest year in horror film history #horror #horror films #nosferatu the vampyre #phantasm #ridley scott #Salem's Lot #sigourney weaver #species #the brood #village of the damned #werner herzog #when a stranger calls

2 notes · View notes

monggu-eomma · 8 years

Text

10 Fun Date Ideas (Jungkook Scenario)

Warnings: None.

Note: BTS are life ruiners. This is part of my Valentine’s Day series. You can find more of these scenarios here.

#5. Kiss in an Arby’s

“You’re late,” you said when Jungkook slid into the seat opposite of where you sitting at the Arby’s restaurant.

“I’m sorry, Noona,” Jungkook said as he took off his jacket. “I missed the bus.” He bashfully scratched the back of his head and shyly looked down at the table. You couldn’t help but smile at how cute Jungkook looked. Although he was almost twenty years old and had really became a man, he still managed to look so adorable.

You stretched out your arm and laid your hand on Jungkook’s hand. “It’s okay, Kookie. I was running late too.” He looked up at you, his eyes wide, and you offered him a kind smile.

“Oh. That’s good. I didn’t want to keep you waiting,” Jungkook said.

You tilted your head to the side in confusion. “Why?”

“Huh?”

“Why didn’t you want to keep me waiting?”

Jungkook froze and his heart started to frantically beat against his chest. If he were to be honest, Jungkook would have said that he didn’t want to keep you waiting since he didn’t like the potential idea of a random guy talking to you as you waited for him, but Jungkook couldn’t say that to you.

“I just didn’t want to keep you away from food. When we were texting you said that you haven’t eaten since noon,” Jungkook quickly said. After he spoke, your stomach started to grumble and you both laughed.

“Let’s order some food then,” you said as you slid out of the booth. Jungkook followed your lead as you walked up to the order counter. Admittedly you weren’t a fan of Arby’s, but Jungkook had never been to Arby’s and wanted to try it since he had seen a lot of memes about the fast food joint.

As Jungkook stared in awe at the menu above the cashier’s head, you ordered what your taste buds had been craving. “Can I have mozzarella sticks, a chicken and cheese slider, and a chocolate milkshake?” You asked. The cashier nodded their head and input your order in the cashier machine. “What do you want, Kookie?” Jungkook slightly blushed at the nickname and pointed at the one of the sandwiches on the menu.

“Smokehouse brisket?” He slowly said.

“Okay. He’ll have the smokehouse brisket,” you told the cashier. “Anything else?” Jungkook nodded his head, although he was unsure of what else he wanted to eat. “Maybe the loaded curly fries?” You suggested to him. Jungkook smiled brightly and nodded his head. “We’ll also have a loaded curly fries.”

“And mountain dew, Noona,” Jungkook whispered to you.

“And mountain dew,” you added. The cashier finished putting in your order and told you the total cost of the meal. You pulled out your wallet to pay the bill, but before you could get your card out, Jungkook, at the speed of light, gave the cashier his card.

“It’s my treat, Noona,” he said looking down to your bewildered expression.

“Are you sure, Jungkook?” You asked. You felt guilty for letting him pay the whole bill, even if it was small, but you didn’t want to argue with him about it. “Okay, next time I’ll pay.”

Once the bill was settled, you and Jungkook walked back to the booth to wait for the food to come and in less than five minutes the food had arrived.

You and Jungkook ate in a comfortable silence, enjoying the fast food. A smile formed on your lips as you saw Jungkook enjoying his brisket sandwich. You couldn’t help but think that Jungkook’s future girlfriend would be so lucky to date him and although a part of you wanted to be his girlfriend, you didn’t think that he had romantic feelings for you. You were pretty sure that Jungkook just saw you as an older friend. You were so caught up in watching Jungkook’s joy, that you didn’t realize that you had some marinara sauce on the corner of your mouth.

“Noona, you have sauce on your mouth,” Jungkook said after finished the last bite of his sandwich. You licked your lips to take off the leftover marinara sauce and Jungkook laughed. “You still have some.”

Jungkook didn’t know what prompted his sudden burst of confidence, maybe it was because he hadn’t seen you in a long time, or perhaps he was tired of waiting, but he didn’t stop to question what he was about to do. Jungkook leaned over the table and gently placed his lips over your lips, to kiss away the tiny bit of sauce. Your eyes widened and you froze, not expecting him to give you a small peck. Jungkook pulled away, and his heart dropped when he saw the shocked look on your face.

"Kookie-”

“I’m sorry, Noona. I shouldn’t have kissed you. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking,” Jungkook said. He looked down at his curly fries in shame and mentally cursed himself for kissing you. He had always dreamed of kissing you, but in his dreams you would be smiling after the kiss.

“You know, that wasn’t a real kiss,” you slowly said. Jungkook looked up in shock and tilted his head to the side. “This is a kiss.” You leaned over the table, cupping his face with your hands, and gave him a real kiss. Jungkook smiled into the kiss and couldn’t help but laugh at your lips tasted like marinara sauce.

“Your lips taste like tomato sauce,” Jungkook said after you pulled away.

“Yeah, well yours taste like brisket, so we’re even,” you said in reply. You sat back down and tried to suppress the blush that was coming to you cheeks. This certainly wasn’t how Jungkook had envisioned his first kiss with you to be, but it was definitely a dream come true.

#jungkook scenario #jungkook scenarios #bts scenario #bts scenarios #jungkook #bts #jungkookfic #v day series #fluff #noona scenario #admin c #i think the ending is okay?#i'm not sure #oh well #hahaha #i did my best

32 notes · View notes

cisgreaterthanx · 8 years

Photo

This is a year ahead spread I did for someone.

January-The High Priestess-The Faceless Old Woman. Secret Knowledge. Perpetual maiden or virgin. An idea incubator. At the start of the year one often reflects on where they may be in a year or two or five. That future in not yet visible but it is present within yourself.

February-The Empress-Mayor Pamela Winchell. Interesting that there is the progression in the year and the progression in the deck. Also a progression from the maiden/virgin to the mother. So what might have felt barren and hopeless with out light or life in January starts to feel renewed in February. Usually February has a nice thaw the first true reminder that Spring is coming. That new life and new growth are around the bend. Hang in there, all things grow.

March-The HIierophant-Old Woman Josie/ The Erikas. Staying with the beginning Major Arcana and skipping the Emperor. Very interesting I would think I didn’t shuffle well but I laid out the cards and picked at random not sequentially. As the year plugs along you may find or desire to find a guide. A teacher or a counselor. They may be traditional and rigid but they should be kind and forgiving. Take what you will from them and leave the rest behind.

April-Six of Wands-Summer Reading Program. Over coming previous challenges and future victories are coming soon. These are often not just personal but partnered or team victories. These may have been a long time in the making. Bless these and enjoy them for what they are a moment of recognition of a difficult path or a lot of hard work. But be careful to not bask to long in the glory or grow too self congratulatory. There is no time to rest on your laurels, your path is longer than this respite.

May-The World-The Town and The Void. The completion of a cycle. The turn of a year. This is the closing of the first third of 2017 but also the closing of a much larger cycle. Now is the time to start dreaming about what is next. Not necessarily step on the path but weigh your options strongly.

June-King of Pentacles- Marcus Vansten. A person, usually male, that represents financial or business success. This could be someone offering you a job or a share in their success. There is always the implication of conservatism and not messing with the status quo. This path might be safe and secure but that might not be what you seek.

July-The Star- The Lights above the Arby’s The Star is always a favorable card but one of distance. There are dreams and wishes that are possible to come true but they are in the heavens yet and far away. The Star can be the beacon to stay on this path and will guide you if indeed that is still where you want to go. It is available to you but you must stay true to this goal.

August-The Lovers- The Whispering Forests. The Lovers can mean finding love but usually means a choice. What is gained verses what is given up. Desire and temptation can also cloud this vision. Usually this is a difficult choice one that has great rewards on either side but also one not chosen will leave you asking “what if...?”

September-Two of Swords- The Debate. It would appear that whatever choice was presented in August is still here in September. This could mean that you either tried to remain neutral or not make a decision. Of course not making a choice is making a choice of sorts. Unfortunately when this is our path we have perhaps sacrificed our options.

October-The King of Wands- Kevin. Energy. Inspiration. Desire. It appears that the choice was made breathing some fire under your ass. The road bends again and it is in your favor. You should feel more confident and powerful and in your body after a spell in your head. A feeling of almost landing, touching down, or grounding.

November-The King of Swords- The Sheriff. More rigidity. Perhaps a different manifestation of the Hierophant from March. If there was a lesson that should have been learned then, it may have come back to you in a less gentle fashion. There may the ability to see things laid out more like a chess board. A few moves ahead instead of living day to day.

December-Seven of Swords- The Old Oak Doors. Stealthy advantage. Calculated risks. This maybe in response to whatever happened in November. You may need to think like a thief to outwit a thief.

The Year in General-The Hermit- Pyramid. Of course the Hermit is the card of introspection and solitude. It is one of enlightenment and movement. The Hermit may be alone but he is always in motion with a light to guide him.

General notes: As would be expected with a yearly spread there are a ton of Major Arcana, seven of the thirteen cards. Also a lot of kings. There is a lot of nice progression here and some challenges. There seems to be perhaps some conflict between following your dreams and sticking to a safer more traditional path. Maybe this has to do with leaving old selves or ideas of self behind. It also may mean a break with tradition or familial expectations. It looks like all of the challenges will be easy to overcome but perhaps not quick. Enjoy

#tarot #tarot spread

5 notes · View notes

valentintra41557-blog · 7 years

Text

7 Easy Plant kingdoms To Expand Hydroponically

If you have actually been actually pestered by landscape weeds that have actually spoilt the beauty from your landscape, at that point you need herbicide to eliminate all of them. This could take a little investigatory work to identify the precise root cause of digestion troubles, yet these steps need to take prompt relief for the majority of people. A backyard may be simply transformed in to a gorgeous yard using some landscape ornaments and also extras. And also, given that acquiring vital extras associating with yard watering Essex can be carried out online, that is actually less complicated today to select the lot of devices demanded as per your landscape measurements. However, so merely a complement to the platform and also garden appeal enhancer aspect, position the edge or even section from the gazebo in the park.

Buy neonic-free items: Review the label and prevent using off-the-shelf neonicotinoid insecticides in your yard. Talked to which junk food store was actually nearby and also the responses varied coming from McDonald's with 8 responses, Hamburger Master along with 3 and also Arby's as well as Pizza Hut were each pointed out as soon as. Below are actually some pointers on ways to maintain your yard by the garden extrafit-superhealth.pt appearing spruced up and also glamorous. In profit for rent-free holiday accommodation, they accept do particular duties, deal with your house, and also leave your property as well as yard in the exact same circumstances in which they located all of them. It is terrific to make use of lighting in your landscape as that can add a helpful as well as inviting contact. I enjoy Elderly Vegetation, but you must keep an eye on them or even they will certainly manage your backyard. An easy-to-adapt and also affordable technique to mark off the room in your yard is actually by means of perimeter fence. I check out one article that mentioned you must quit considering your yard a collection from duties and also regard that as workout. Container gardening is the raising of plants in ground filled up containers away from the conventional backyard. Growing a natural yard is actually easier in comparison to lots of people assume, specifically if one uses the following pointers as well as suggestions.

In the first Backyard from Eden some six 1000 years back, God possessed His reasons to make use of the Evil one whom He had made to attract a gullible Eve. Capitalists will definitely keep in mind along with some enjoyment the open letter delivered by Starboard Market value slamming Olive Backyard's meals, for instance firmly insisting that Olive Garden return to salting the spaghetti water. That also entails a basic tidy up from the yard to ensure your backyard accomplishes that well-manicured and also healthy and balanced appeal. Incorporating a water attribute or backyard statuary may take a dramatic result to any type of backyard! As referenced above, the majority of Darden's purchases are actually produced off Olive Yard (43%), Red Seafood (31%), as well as LongHorn (14%).

0 notes

nightmareonfilmstreet · 7 years

Text

The Greatest Year in Horror Film History Part III: 1979

New Post has been published on https://nofspodcast.com/greatest-year-horror-film-history-part-iii-1979/

The Greatest Year in Horror Film History Part III: 1979

OUR METHODOLOGY OR: HOW WE LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE EXCEL

To determine a “score” for each year, we took a look at 5 different rating sources-

Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer Score

RT Critic’s Average Rating

RT Audience Score

RT Audience Average Rating

IMDB Viewer Ratings

So, without further ado, The Greatest Year in Horror Film History is:

Part III- 1979

NOFS Score- 255

#3- Nosferatu the Vampyre

Written and Directed By: Werner Herzog Starring: Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz

Fiend Score- 82

#2- Dawn of the Dead

Written and Directed By: George A. Romero Starring: David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott Reininger

Fiend Score- 84

#1- Alien

Directed By: Ridley Scott Written By: Dan O’Bannon Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt

Fiend Score- 89

Priority one: Insure return of organism for analysis. All other considerations secondary. Crew expendable.

Honorable Mentions:

Even though it is considered an all-time classic (for some reason), 1979’s The Amityville Horror didn’t quite crack the top-3 for the year. It finished with a lowly Fiend Score of 50.

Although it was only a made-for-TV miniseries, Tobe Hooper’s Salem’s Lot also premiered in 1979. I mention this exclusively for the bedroom window scene. I still have nightmares about that one.

Dis-Honorable Mentions:

Whenever you are crunching the numbers, looking to find the “Best Of” anything, you inevitably discover the “Worst Of”. Here are the worst years in horror film history-

Join the Discussion:

0 notes