#I like Shadow 2005 for the plot lol

[egg-emperor]

Can you even blame me for the way I am when in my second Sonic game and first game where I really got to know Eggman, he says things like this

Calling himself my master. Telling me to know my place. Demanding that I obey him and follow his orders like a good boy and threatening to absolutely obliterate me if I don't. Saying I was asking for it when he punishes me, getting very violent and aggressive, calling me an idiot and saying he needs to teach me a lesson.

Sir yes sir I AM ON MY FUCKING KNEES 😍💜💘💕dhsbfjsnfjsnfbsjgb

[flightyalrighty]

kinda a silly ass question, but do you think someone who knows basically nothing about sonic could still read Infested? (I used to play sonic advance 2 on my game boy... that's p much the extent of my knowledge lol). I just happened to stumble across your comic and am really enjoying it!! but if there's some source material you'd recommend I check out to understand anything better I'd love to know :)

I think that a LOT of Infested is definitely a "fanwork created for fans" kinda dealio so you may end up struggling with some of the stuff in there that's specifically using past canon stuff as a building block for other things. That said! I can absolutely give some recommendations for "homework" to help have a better grasp of Infested's whole everything:

Archie Sonic (issues 160-247 since the Pre-Reboot timeline is the one I base Infested's universe on, mostly) which you can read here

The "Shadow Fall" Sonic Universe arc, which you can read here

The Opening of Shadow The Hedgehog, which is awesome but also, more importantly, canon to Infested (FLASHING WARNING)

Probably a good idea to read the plot summary of Sonic Adventure 2 and Shadow The Hedgehog (2005)? Like, definitely SA2, but really the plot summary for ShTH05 would just be so you understand what the Black Arms's deal is. Or you can watch cutscenes! Or both!

All of stuff is awesome, but you don't HAVE to read like ALL of the modern era of Archie if you're good at picking up context clues for stuff. All the stuff with SA2 and ShTH05 tho is probably a good idea to look up, however. Especially that opening cinematic. But if you're sensitive to flashing, DM me. I can describe the reason why it's important.

[murdercide626]

Thoughts on the Sonic 3 trailer:

First of all, HOLY S***!! This trailer was frikkin amazing!! :D

Shadow looks so badass, and just from the three lines we hear from him in the trailer I can tell Keanu is gonna be great in the movie!

I'm also glad to see that they won't be shying away from the darker elements of Shadow's origin.This movie is definitely gonna make me cry I know it...

Also, Eggman finally has his chubby gut! lol

Speaking of, it seems that Eggman and Stone aren't the ones to awaken Shadow as they seem unaware of the situation until Sonic goes to them asking for help. I can see why they changed it because if Eggman was teaming up with Shadow, like in SA2, it would probably feel a bit too similar to the plot of the second movie, with Eggman's partnership with Knuckles. So it's interesting that it seems that Shadow could be working alone in this version of the story. Actually, that brings up another aspect...

WTF!! GERALD IS STILL ALIVE???

This is definitely an interesting turn, and it brings up so many questions! The most obvious question is HOW?? Well, some people think that Gerald might have been changed to being Eggman's father rather than grandfather to justify him still being around. But maybe he is still Eggman's grandfather but he was in suspended animation for all these years, like Shadow. Or maybe he's a ghost or hallucination? Or maybe it's time travel, who knows! XD Eggman called him "pappap" which could mean either father or grandfather, depending on who you ask.

So, if that really is Gerald "in the saggy flesh" could that mean that he's actively manipulating Shadow into destroying the world, or is he going to be somehow instrumental in stopping him? I'm really interested to see what direction they go with this!

Also, it looks like the Ark has been changed up and is significantly smaller. I wonder if this shot is showing it going up to space?

And in this shot that appears to show Tails flying from the Ark, you can see some sort of attachments on the front that resemble Eggman's, or rather Gerald's, mustache.

I love this Japanese Chuck E. Cheese-like place called the "Chao Garden". lol

Also, hello Shadow 2005 game reference!

Eggman actually getting to hug Gerald is something I never expected to see, but damn is it wholesome! ^^

Omg, this drawing Sonic made!! My heart!

And I really dig Eggman's new mobile base that resembles a giant crab! lol

Nice Akira reference!

Anyway, I'm starting to ramble, so I'll just end this by saying that I am so effing excited for this movie! Just a few more months! I can't frikkin wait to see it! :D

And this time I'm gonna try to avoid any more trailers or spoilers, but we'll see how that goes... lol

[vulcan-moon]

What sonic media would you recommend for someone who has never played a sonic game or anything but thinks your art of it is really cool...

depends what kind of media you enjoy!!

if you're into comics, i love the idw comics and they're pretty easy to pick up. they start after sonic forces and the first arc builds a lot on past stuff, but it's not like necessary to understand everything bc you kind of pick it up as you go.

if you're into games, i'd rec frontiers as an entry point bc it's the best sonic has been in years tbh - but it comes with the caveat that you need to at least give it up 'til the first super sonic boss fight. my personal favourite sonic game is shadow the hedgehog 2005, but that's not what i would call a Good Game. sonic adventure 2 would be another good entry point, but the steam port of it is kind of dogshit. riders is peak, but only available on the ps2 iirc. i've heard good things about project 06 but haven't played it myself so can't vouch for it.

if you're more into watching things, then starting with watching the cutscene compilations of the games on youtube isn't a bad shout bc it summarises their plots really well without you having to play all of them. some starting points would be the sonic adventure series, sonic '06, shadow the hedgehog, and sonic heroes. i'm a big fan of sonic prime too, but it's not really a good entry point when you don't know the characters much lol. sonic X is good because you don't really need to know anything going in, but it does suffer from Early 2000s Anime Disease.

if you're in it for the sillies and low commitment, the snapcube fandubs are very fun :3

[beevean]

It can't be understated how the atmosphere was like in the years leading up to 06. I remember fans feeling disappointed and wanting the Adventure formula back when Heroes released, and Shadow's game was not well received when it came out. Then you had all of the game "journalists" even back then ragging on anything that wasn't from the classic era. I remember when the tech demo for 06 was first shown off in 2005 and how hyped the fandom became. 06 was announced as this big grand refresh of the franchise for it's 15th anniversary, for the then-next gen consoles. And it was around $60.

There was so much riding on this game, and so many eyes on it. Even if the team wasn't split in half and they were given more time to at least make it more functional, it still wouldn't have been able to meet the expectations it set itself up to have to meet for everyone.

I would like to see it get a from-the-ground-up remake, with a retooled story. But I feel like it would just end up running into the opposite problem where it just ends up being something that plays it too safe and is constantly walking on eggshells to try and please everyone, missing the whole "it had potential" point people keep saying and end up feeling more like a soulless cashgrab in the end. It's one big damned if you, damned if you don't.

All of this. '06 was the 15th anniversary game, and the first game for the "next gen" console - ah, I still remember when I eagerly followed the development of "Sonic Next Gen", it took me years until I started to call it '06 lol.

It's a combination of factors that are hard to explain to those who are familiar with the modern fandom, sick and tired of Sonic games being "safe" and pandering to the Classics. It's like trying to explain to a newcomer today why the fandom loathed Sonic Forces when it came out - there's just a lot of context behind it.

I don't know about a remake. I think at this point a '06 remake would have to bear the weight of almost as many expectations as Sonic Adventure 3. What would you keep? Would you keep the plot of Sonic rescuing Elise over and over? Would you keep Mephiles, the way he tricked Silver, the entire time travel mess, Sonic dying for the final level? Would you keep the switching of characters mid-level, all 9 of them with all the complications that arise? Would you keep the inspirations from SA1? What would it take for '06 to be a good game without losing what made it its own game?

[visualsandvoices]

Ok idk if anyone said this re: Greta gerwig’s narnia on here already I only pop in from time to time…

But it seems like Liam Neeson will return to voice Aslan and Tilda Swinton is set to return as the White Witch?

There was also a comment in an interview saying it won’t change people’s conception of narnia, but just make it bigger (I think that was the phrasing, or close to it).

So I’m cautiously optimistic. That makes it sound like they want to get the audience on familiar territory — hopefully it lands! To use the same actors and then depart to dramatically from the 2005 version would be pretty jarring, so maybe they want to recreate that movie relatively closely as a launchpad for the rest of the series? But they still gotta make it their own which makes me nervous lol

Netflix handled the Shadow and Bone adaptation pretty well so maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised 😬

The only thing is that Greta Gerwig seems emphasize messaging and themes in equal measure as plot. Little Women deals prominently with marriage, expectations of womanhood, wealth/class, etc. Barbie is theme over plot, I’d almost say, given the virality of America Ferrera’s speech, I’m Kenough, and the overall impression of Barbie having an awakening to being a human woman or whatever. I haven’t seen it so maybe there’s plot I’m missing but that seems to be the idea.

This kinda thing doesn’t work for narnia, imo. I don’t want to hear Susan give a speech about womanhood in the war era, or some remark on femininity, firstly because it’s so overdone in movies these days but also bc if you’re going to put any theme/motif/messaging on equal footing to Narnia’s plot it should be faith.

I’m not saying Christianity has to slap you in the face. The Disney adaptations handled it well I think. It was there without the movie overdoing it, and there wasn’t any sort of moral or speech or sound bite to sell to the audience otherwise. It was a fantasy movie.

Susan would make an easy target, and I really hope Gerwig doesn’t fall into the “lipstick and nylons” trap everyone argues about. First of all it should hardly be foregrounded bc it doesn’t really become an issue until after she’s left narnia in which case she’s offscreen. The Last Battle maybe, but again it’s brief. My two cents on it though are that I always took it to be her grief for not being able to return to narnia forced her to try to move on, and maybe the resentment over her loss broke her faith. She’s still a character to sympathize with. People say Lewis couldn’t get past her being female and hence the lipstick and nylons but I think that’s a bad read. She was a queen, an adult woman, and cerebrally mature only to return a boarding school student. Of course she didn’t return to her dolls. I also think that it happened because she’s so logical and calculated and careful (neither good nor bad as a trait on its own) that loosing something she loved only augmented her original doubts and made her stubborn. So again it’s not about womanhood nylons and lipstick, it’s grief and sort of an internal self-defence kinda thing. If Gerwig were to explore anything with Susan as she’s older I would say doubt and logic versus faith and responsibility would both be true to the character and far more original/interesting for audiences.

I would love to see how they handle The Horse and his Boy, the Golden Age and how the kings and queens earn their titles (just, gentle, valiant, magnificent). I would love to see a Jill Pole who is allowed to cry, to be a scared school child, and also brave and stoic and thrust into an underground world on a rescue mission. I will be fascinated to see their concept for The Last Battle, because again it’s very much so a Christian story.

So I really do hope Netflix allows the series to live past the first 3, so we get new material. Caspian and Dawn Treader are gonna be a test for Gerwig’s strengths before she’s allowed into fresh territory with the other books.

I just think that if you’re intending to strip it of the intention behind the story — lost faith, found faith, tested faith, resilience, trust, redemption, all through a Christian lens, then maybe don’t adapt it at all. I’m not saying you have to make Christianity so foregrounded it feels like a sermon, but you cannot have narnia without that being the lens through which the world is understood. They aren’t separable things.

AND going back to the casting hopefully it’s not Timothy chalamet / Saoirse Ronan / Florence Pugh. As much as they’re great actors, I think for narnia as a reboot to land, they need a bunch of unknown, fresh faces and actual kids not people in their twenties/thirties. Even as a background narnia cameo it would honestly be distracting.

[stillafanofsonic]

For Sonic 3, I'm very curious if/how they are going to show Gerald's descend into insanity following the events on the Ark and Maria being lost, as well as what happened throughout that time. There's quite a bit of confusion there for me as to how GUN got their hands on Shadow and what happened inbetween Shadow being ejected from the Ark, being put into cryosleep, and Gerald's execution (e.g. how did Gerald wipe and edit Shadow's memories?). I myself am really intrigued by the idea that loss can completely twist a person with benevolent intentions into the man Gerald ended up becoming, wherein he saw Shadow (who he describes as his son in ShTH) only as a means to an end to extract revenge on the world. I would be quite interested if they can dive into that more in the movie!

YES I WANT THAT AS WELL. It's such a dark concept, that a man who loved his granddaughter would take his creation (especially one he called 'son' in Shth 2005) and twist his memory into going against what Maria wanted.

One way I could see it happening. After the 2nd movie came out, they released artwork of the after-credit scene of the room Shadow and his tube was being kept in. And in one of the sketches, there was a skeleton in the corner.

What if Gerald had gotten locked in there and GUN was like lol just let him die in there. And while Gerald was there, then he reprogrammed Shadow's memories. Of course, that was just sketches before the scene was filmed, we obviously didn't see a skeleton in that quick scene. But I could see that as an explanation for how Gerald got to Shadow and wiped his memories after the ARK incident.

The only thing it wouldn't explain was how Shadow's location was buried deep in their files and forgotten?

Anyway, if they don't do that, I hope they explain this, because it is a bit of a plot hole from the games. One that got even messier when they introduced Shadow androids.

[dxmichelle]

🎀give yourself a compliment about your own writing

🎈describe your style as a writer; is it fixed? does it change?

(≧◡≦) ♡

🎀give yourself a compliment about your own writing - It is improving! I can look back at the very first fic I made back in 2005, and compare it to the first thing I wrote when I starting writing again back in 2017, and compare that to the last thing I posted and there's such a difference. Sometimes I do the thing you're not supposed to do and compare yourself to other writers (which then makes me feel like my stuff isn't good at all...) but really, I think I'm at a place now where I'm happy with where all these hundreds of thousands of words have taken me. What a journey!

🎈describe your style as a writer; is it fixed? does it change? - This is hard for me because I really struggle to define a style. Is it fixed? I dunno...maybe? Depending on what I'm working on though, I feel like I focus on different things. The Road to Battle, Spherium, and Guilt for example are very deeply character-driven, and I can spend the time and pinpoint down all the little nitty gritty thoughts and motivations that I don't have the time to do in the plot-heavy stuff like Of Lost Swords and Shadow Magic because if I did, the fic would never end. But then there's Murder Most Foul, which is just off the rails shenanigans.

So I guess, yeah, it does change. LOL.

[im-just-screaming-eternally]

Don't want to post this to my main cause I don't want to hear about how paramount bad. I know

Spoilers for sonic 3 under the cut. Not tagging cause this is a vent blog lol, I just want to talk about this movie

But holy fuck I saw sonic 3 in theaters with friends and. I love my friends so much. This was legitimately the first time I've stimmed in public since I was like. 5.

But I couldn't help it!! When live and learn started I just!! Had so much emotion in my body!! It was so fucking cool!!! I'm not normal about this movie oh my god!!!!!!

And like. I have my problems with it. I legitimately don't give a fuck about Tom and Maddie. I'm here exclusively for the sonic cast.

And I also don't like some of the changes to the sa2 plot. I don't like that Gerald is alive. And the comedy between eggman and Gerald is funny I guess, but it's not what I watch the movies for.

Also. AMY!!!! METAL!!!!! FUCK I CANT WAIT FOR THE NEXT MOVIE!!!

Since they were both introduced in sonic CD, is there gonna be time travel? Cause eggman is seemingly dead, Gerald got obliterated, and I don't think agent Stone has the time nor motive to make metal. And like, they aren't gonna keep eggman dead. They'll bring him back somehow, I suspect an alt universe or past version via time travel.

And I have to thank this movie for giving me an excuse to talk about sonic lore to my friends. It was amazing telling them about how shadow dies in the games, but he comes back so it's fine. Or shadow 2005 in general. Or how Gerald was executed via firing squad. Or how Maria was shot.

I fucking love this series. Had I seen this movie in the comfort of my own home I would have been on my feet, screaming when shadow goes super and live and learn starts playing. Genuinely the most fun I've had seeing a movie. Ever.

[egg-emperor]

no matter what we do or don't get in SXSG I'm gonna be thinking about Eggman talking about the Shadow 101 forever until the next time they interact officially again lol

it's like how I've been completely and utterly fixated and passionate about the small Eggman manipulating Shadow side plot since Shadow 2005 and have talked about it so much and still could say so much more endlessly

it's so compelling to me I wish more people thought and talked about this but it's okay I can do it enough for all of us with the absolute size of the two of my biggest posts on this blog being about them fjsjfbslghghk

[blush-and-books]

Top 5 all-time favorite ships?

TEA!!!

Warning - this list is literally just the same m/f couple in different fonts. A lot of these were more formative and influential in my childhood or were from series that are from a couple years ago. I am naming these as my top five because of how insane I went over them/how hard I hyperfixated on them.

When I made this list I was disappointed to realize that there hasn't been a wlw couple from a series or movie that has influenced me this powerfully, but I hope to find it soon and if you have any recs lmk! :) Will also include honorable mentions!

1. Kirsten Clark and Cameron Goodkin, Stitchers (2015-2017)

This is tied with Julie and the Phantoms for one of my biggest hyperfixations ever. Kirsten and Cameron were a slowburn that was done really beautifully and nobody was doing it like them. I watched this show at a very pivotal developmental point in my life, and I think these two taught me a lot about the work that a relationship takes and the fact you have to be willing to put it in - they were a healthy relationship example for me at a time that it was necessary for me to see it. They have a lot of character development over 3 seasons but grow together in healthy ways, and the writers kind of bake it into the plot that they're meant to be lmao. They also are just a great example of loving someone for everything that they are. They definitely made me a little mentally ill but also inspired me to be a writer, so...

2. Julie Molina and Luke Patterson, Julie and the Phantoms (2020)

I don't know how long you have been following me anon, but if I've been on your dash at all in the past couple years, it was most definitely related to Julie and the Phantoms, and probably related to Julie and Luke. In one season, they had insane development and beautiful chemistry. The way their characters were written made them naturally fit together, and made me cry "soulmates!" quite often. I will forever mourn what they could have been, and be grateful for some of the most stellar works of fanfiction I've ever read that were produced in their name.

3. Anne Shirley Cuthbert and Gilbert Blythe, Anne With An E (2018-2020)

Technically they're from the whole Anne of Green Gables Universe but AWAE is one of my Shows Of All Time ™ lol so I'm crediting them to the show!!! Just everything about them..amazing. Definitely gave me unrealistic expectations for love tho bc who tf assaults a man and still bags him in the end!??? Anne. She's that bitch and I haven't reached that yet but I'm working towards it.

4. Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy, Pride & Prejudice (2005, dir. Joe Wright)

This is another one of those ships where I'm like if you've followed me long enough you could have seen this coming lol. These two are from the general Pride & Prejudice Universe, first created by the lovely Jane Austen, but P&P 2005 is by far my favorite movie of all time, and it is still breathtaking every time I watch it. Keira Knightley and Emmy Award Winner Matthew Macfadyen are really a perfect pair and their adaptations of the characters are so genuine and whole. Everything I do, I do for them.

5. Nina Martin and Fabian Rutter, House of Anubis (2011-2013)

My original Ship of All Time. Was very mentally ill over them. I rewatched this show last year and I expected to be like "oh god this is cringe how did young me like this so much" but instead I was like "oh god this is so well written how could anybody hate this show." Yes it has its silly moments but I could write essays on how well it was written. The foundation of trust between Nina and Fabian was more powerful than any "do you trust me?" YA teen fantasy movie moment of the 2000s. Fabian was the blueprint for every fictional crush I have had since.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Kaz Brekker and Inej Ghafa, Six of Crows Duology and Shadow & Bone TV series

Aziraphale and Crowley, Good Omens

Su-hyeok and Nam-Ra, All Of Us Are Dead

Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper, Stranger Things

Zoya Nazyalensky and Alina Starkov, Shadow & Bone Trilogy and TV series (yes I am a Zoyalina truther sorry)

Dan Humphrey and Blair Waldorf, Gossip Girl (will I receive hate for this one? to be determined)

Steve Harrington and Eddie Munson, Stranger Things

John B and Sarah Cameron, Outer Banks

Ethan and Sarah, My Babysitter's a Vampire

[fleetways]

I feel like it’s so telling that they left out sonic 06 on the shadow timeline during the Anime Expo panel, almost pointedly so imo.

to cover shadow’s original arc is one thing, everything from 2001-2005 makes sense, but after that? IDW comics? Really? Sonic Prime makes sense I suppose, but only because there has been so little Shadow in other media before then. They don’t even have the excuse of “different timeline” because they’ve included Sonic Boom up there of all things. Both Boom and IDW are notorious for being some of least favored depictions of the character, at least from a wider fandom standpoint. The decision to include them feels so random, unless I was of course making a timeline for a character I only plan to portray in the context of this very specific time in his life, and ignore any other developments post that, and only include titles where his presence is incidentally or largely devoid of character development.

In hindsight (especially with knowing how they portray Shadow these days), Sonic 06 truly was special for the way it managed to portray Shadow as a character that was linked to the past without retreading anything from sa2 to shadow (2005). There’s a reason that Shadow was so loved in that game, even during the time when 06 was the internet (and let’s be real, Sega’s) punching bag. To not include it as an important step in Shadow’s history to me really just drives home that all we can expect from SxSh generations is retreading of Shadow’s Ark-Amnesia storyline, which is lowkey a little disappointing.

I do feel like it’s a mix of both “writers not knowing what the hell to do” and nostalgia, and of course marketing purposes (which we know is confirmed due to Takashi Iizuka straight up saying this was the case in the Anime Expo panel).

Speaking of the panel, I am a little salty how the announcement tweet promised “shedding light on the ultimate life form”

And yet all we got was mostly information that was already available and in some cases pretty well-known by now….

It also didn’t help that the “Q&A” was just two questions 😭 one of which was clearly a joke. And while the other one was actually very interesting (for reference: “why did shadow call sonic the ultimate lifeform at the end of the finalhazard fight in sa2?”), it was clear it caught them completely off-guard, and the answer that they gave (that shadow said it because he lost his super form while sonic didn’t, declared it on a whim thinking he’s on his deathbed, and then immediately retracting that statement as soon as he gets his memory back) imo seemed like a real cop out. That line in particular has been the source of so many years of speculation and theory-building, so to wave it off honestly is a tad disappointing.

I feel like this panel was really geared towards newcomers, to go along with how clearly obvious it is that SxSh generations is marketing for Sonic 3. But how many newcomers are realistically going to see the panel at an Anime Con or tuning in at 3 pm on a Friday afternoon? Based on the crowd reaction to the Gizoid, I’m gonna say not too many. I would have preferred if they had left, y’know, the actual game to explain to newcomers and have the panel be for the real Shadowheads out there but, but I digress.

TLDR: it was such a fumble to not include Shiro Maekawa in this panel. I don’t know what they would have needed to do to get him involved, but his absence here was severely felt. The way I felt everyone’s answer regarding anything related to Shadow’s character could be boiled down to, “you thought this edgy dark hero was evil….but he’s actually traumatized….” Which like while arguably true on the most surface level understanding of the character, that really doesn’t give anything new to audiences already familiar with the plot lol

okay but it is a little funny to me that they're doing the nostalgia bating with shadow now when his entire character arc was about. oh you know. Moving On instead of welling in the past

[americachavez]

did cas really tell dean to kneel before their new god? did that actually happen? i thought him beating the shit out of dean in that alley was the most unrestrainedly horny thing this show had ever done ACTUALLY you know what scratch that new question: top horny moments from the cw's supernatural (2005 - 2020)

getting this ask feels like my sins of the last week have been weighed against the Trials I Have Gone Through since the premier of supernatural on the wb in september of 2005 and I’m not sure if it is a punishment or reward

some notes before we begin:

the ep with dean’s male siren was like, conceptually horny but not actually that horny because the dude was uglie. I’m sorry to this man

all you sam girls out there. I respect you but I do not respect jared padalecki who is JUST tall and has zero sex appeal. but those eps where he’s like, drinking ruby’s blood and then eating her pussy are. you know. I’ll give you that

I am ONLY UP TO SEASON 10 so fair warning this is not comprehensive but the horniness does seem to drop off sharply after the mark of cain is no longer in play lol gotta love a good demon murder tattoo plot

this is easily the most insane thing I’ve ever done, including the destiel manifesto

S1 EP12: the scene where dean gets healed by the faith healer, on his knees with a hand in his hair and looking somewhere between religious ecstasy, brain death and an orgasm. starting this list off great

S1 EP22: azazel possessing john winchester. no I will not explain further if u know u know <3

S3 EP10: dean being taunted by a dream version of himself, this is where we first got the daddy’s blunt little instrument line. still burned in my hippocampus a good 13 years later thank yew

S4 EP1: dean crawling out of his own grave covered in grave dirt. hot. the HANDPRINT. HOT. also tangent but this reveal after the s3 finale was WILD back in 2008 I hollered in my dorm room after canvassing for obama. simpler times man

S4 EP 1: cas’ intro scene. the barn. the shadow wings. the hair??? getting stabbed in the chest by the man you just pulled out of hell. getting aaaallll up in that personal space. his little eyebrow. “you don’t think you deserve to be saved.” OUTRAGEOUSLY FLAMING

S4 EP02: “I dragged you out of hell I can throw you back in.” <<< this angel tops. mark dean down as scared and horny etc

S4 EP16: this ENTIRE EPISODE but specifically the part where dean tortures alastair as some kind of foreplay and then alastair kicks his ass. carved you into a new animal. jesus.

S4 EP16: wait I forgot about the part where cas also gets his ass kicked and looks all....hm. dazed and covered in blood while he’s on his knees and about to die. yeah.

S5 EP4: I mean this entire ep is unfairly horny considering everyone is dying of a zombie plague and hasn’t showered in like, 4 years but if I had to pick one hmmm. the dean/dean interrogation scene with the panty kink yeah I know it’s not original but hm. it happened. also misha collins just being able to convey that CAS IS A FLEXIBLE SLUT with a single roll of his shoulders. who SAYS this man can’t act!!!!!

S5 EP18: the ALLEY SCENE. DEAN DOESN’T FIGHT BACK. CAS HOLDS HIM UP OFF THE GROUND AND THEN THROWS HIM ACROSS THE ALLEY. WHY DID EVERYONE THINK CAS COULDN’T TOP. you all had brainworms.

S5 EP18: when cas locks dean in the panic room to stop him from saying yes to michael and “well cas not for nothing but the last person who looked at me like that I got laid” I hate this show. wait I think the blow me cas line is in this episode too what the fuck were they on here

S6 EP5: the scene where dean gets turned into a vampire. between the old dude who I think calls dean a pretty boy (??) and soulless sam....watching??? no ******* but there were just some absolutely foul energies in that scene and I still do not understand WHAT they were thinking

S6 EP20: cas doing a double smite on two demons by slamming them to the ground and then shoving another demon back in its vessel and then smiting him in the same motion. TOP. ENERGY.

S6 EP22: season 6 is possibly cas’ horniest season because he’s like, going through angel puberty after getting his first boner for dean, but the final cas eps are. whoof. cas eats a bunch of souls and proclaims himself to be a new god in order to handle said boner, and then the season ends with cas telling them to bow down and profess their love to him, their new lord, or he will destroy them. note: the way this is framed makes it look like cas is only staring at dean while he says this, even though sam and bobby are also there. the season ends with dramatic zooms on both cas and dean’s faces respectively. this made me actively regret ditching this show after s5 lol

S8 EP??: literally EVERY SINGLE PURGATORY FLASHBACK. cas dean and benny are all purgatory hot in the “pop 10 cranberry pills and risk the UTI” kind of way but also. dean being the hot girl bottom between two tops who hate each other. I really. whew. I need to go take a shower.

S8 EP17: if I get canceled for including the crypt scene on this list I blame you bud. but dean on his knees begging a brainwashed cas to stop killing him WAS sexy. how many times has dean been on his knees in this list wait there’s another one coming up next jsldjfsldkjf

S9 EP2: abaddon getting dean on his knees (YEAH) and pulling his hair and praising him for always coming when called HELLO???? the only thing that ruins this is dean says “I can’t tell if we’re gonna fight or make out” because this is the CW and they won’t let him say fuck

S9 EP6: ah. this entire episode is Emotionally Horny but the horny horny part is when they’re in the car and dean is telling cas to unbutton his shirt and. watches. I know this was on my destiel manifesto but I need it here too

S9 EP9: cas, covered in blood, slitting another angel’s throat and eating his grace after getting tortured. that shot alone made me understand why this website was so goddamn horny for misha collins for nearly a damn decade

S9 EP11: MARK OF CAIN BABEY. cain watching dean beat up a bunch of demons as an audition for taking on the mark, while crowley also is a fucking voyeur to the whole thing. cain is also a hot silver fox with daddy energies. I said what I said

S9 EP 16: dean getting the first blade. he’s chained to a pillar and being menaced by a foppish dandy who wants to add him to his “collection” (WOW). dean then kills him with the blade and whew. murder is sexy sometimes

S9 EP21: dean being pinned against a wall by abaddon’s power, then using the mark of cain to break her hold, calling the first blade to him psychically and then killing her. god the mark of cain is hot

S9 EP23: dean waking up with the demon eyes NUT

S10 EP2: demon dean beating up that dude with the boring backstory and kicking his ass. really was a go on baby I got your flower moment because I hated that dude and I love demon dean

S10 EP3: demon dean being chained up and taunting sam about how his brother is gone, then hunting sam through the bunker. demon dean in general was VERY fun for me, someone who loves trash

S10 EP9: dean going berserk and killing a bunch of pedophile rapists/child abusers. I’m sorry I know this show is trying to preach morality at me about monsters and unnecessary murder and humanity or whatever but we blew past that like 8 SEASONS AGO. also the mark of cain is sexy

S10 EP14: the rest of this list is really gonna be mark of cain stuff isn’t it look I’m here to have fun. cain and dean’s fight. cain continuously tossing his mane of hair back and taunting dean with the picture of what he’s going to become, who he’s going to kill. dean begging cain to tell him that he can stop, and then ultimately killing him. rip daddy.

S11 EP4: again I have not watched this however. every shot of this episode is PRESTIGE TELEVISION because driving a muscle car is sexy. and especially the shot of dean all beat to hell and begging his car to start and giving her a little kiss from his fingers to her dash. ugh. masculinity.

S12 EP10: the bearded salt-and-pepper daddy look returns, only it’s an angel this time and he’s wearing a vest and shirtsleeves and he swordfights with a hot redheaded lady in a suit and an eyepatch. this show is good sometimes!!! and oh fuck lol I just realized this is the same guy who played krissy’s hot hunter dad in s7 probably the first guy who’s hotter as an angel than a hunter. huh.

S12 EP 11: dean riding larry the mechanical bull to “broomstick cowboy.” I have no idea where this factors into the ep but I have seen. the youtube clip

S13 EP23: from what I can tell s13 is way more emotionally horny than boner horny, although dean burning cas’ body was sexy. but the horniest part was dean saying yes to michael and then michael taking over and saying “thanks for the suit.” we are going to ignore the silliest fight scene in existence as well as the final shot ending on a FREEZE FRAME like a goddamn tiktok

S14: not gonna pick a specific moment because I have not watched yet!!! but michael dean is hot. idk why michael is weirdly hot and I cannot stand any iteration of lucifer on this television programme. it should be the reverse but I’m forever an older sibling stan apparently. someone who is catholic could probably explain this better.

S15 EP13: genevieve padalecki and danneel ackles fight flirting as ruby and anael I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY HELD OUT ON THIS TILL THE LAST SEASON

I know I am missing things but this is already an absolutely incomprehensible screed. I know I’m missing shit from the latter seasons but give me time I’m pacing myself

[segasonicaesthetics]

Common Sonic arguments

Common Sonic arguements and discourse debunked.

These often come up in discourse around the series and don't seem to ever die so today I am going to nit pick a few of the common criticism that comes on regarding Sonic discourse because why not, nothing better to do with my time.

1: Sonic shouldn't have a story or if it does it should go back to fast hedgehog gets rings and fights funny science bad guy.

A: Why shouldn't Sonic have a story? I never see a good arguement for this case and most of the ones that do come up are not that good.

First off a series should evolve and grow, staying in the past forever or playing to nostalgia endlessly is harmful. A good example of this was the classic megaman series through it's first six games, which did the same megaman fights doctor wily plot to the point the series was losing players who where getting tired of the same thing.

The games where good but they offered nothing new, thats when Megaman X grew the beard and made a leap forward which helped put the megaman franchise on the map and allowed it to take many bold new directions.

2: Well see Sonics a cartoon hedgeh...

A: And? Are cartoons a lesser form of art or media? Some of the best stories in the 2010s came from cartoons of that era which evolved with the times and tackled some interesting themes. Just because something is for younger people doesn't mean it has to be a lesser form of storytelling.

This arguement is pointless and comes from a boomer mind set locked in the 20th century seeing cartoons and games as "Just a kids thing and kids media is meant to be silly."

3: Sonic has had a rough transition to 3D...

A: This has been done to death, please just stop already, god.

Remember the Adventure games where highly praised and got good reviews at the time, this crap is some real selective memory bollocks and it seems to stem from Sonic 06 poisoning the discourse for years.

4: But sonic 06...

A: It has been over 15 years, move on already and stop using this to advocate holding the series back.

5: Sega should focus on other games besides sonic, all they do is make sonic.

A: Where is the evidence for this one? Sega is not just sonic team, they own a lot of game dev devisions and teams who work on their own franchises and projects, a few of these include AM1, AM2, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio(Which is part of Sega CS Research and Development No. 1) and a few more not including companies they own such as Atlus, Two point, hardlight and Creative Assembly. Trust me they put out a lot of games, some current ones being PSO2 reboot, miku hatsune series, yakuza etc so this arguement is total bunk.

6: But the quality of the Sonic series has been all over the place.

A: True and Sonic Team needs to do better.

7: Sonic has too many friends.

A: So? What’s wrong with having other characters, it makes the world and setting more diverse and rich. This arguement also fails because through the 2010s a majority of the games have been Sonic only with not many playable characters. If anything this arguement is coming from people who have not kept up with or still play the series and seems out of touch.

8: The stories are too edgy and dark.

A: Hello I am from 2005 and have lost my time machine, please help.

9: Lol they gave Shadow a gun, series has jumped the shark.

A: This is not 2005, we’re over this, I think Sonic team got the message 15 years ago, can we move onto some productive criticism now?

10: People make porn of sonic, fandom bad, sonic fans wanna **** big the cat lolololol XD XD XD

A: This is not an arguement about the series, this is a you problem, maybe stop googling sonic porn if it’s a big deal?

11: Sonic was never good.

A: Thats just your opinion man, don’t like it fair tons of games out there to play.

12: Sonic 2 was the best and only good Sonic game and Sega should just make that again.

A: This sort of ties back to number 1, a problem with that is doing nothing but appeasing aging 90s kids forever would bury the series harder than Sonic 06 almost did, things need to grow and do new stuff that is part of life and a good thing.

[inspector-montoya-fox]

let’s talk about the themes of the Sly games

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (2002):

Paris: this might not be the game’s main theme but it’s the theme that is most omnipresent. Paris is the glue that connects everything together. it immediately has such an impact on the player, even though it’s just the tutorial and the gang’s base of operations. Sly being a thief but also living in Paris just sounds so right, like it’s the way it should be. it fits. 

The Thievius Raccoonus: this is the main theme and what provides the game with its premise. it’s the book that needs to be glued back together and its importance is highlighted throughout. almost every level has a page included so we’re constantly reminded of its significance. the skills we earn by retrieving the main ancestors’ pages elevate the gameplay and force the player to respect it. other than that it’s a clever way to spotlight the ancestors and establish that Sly does come from a long line of thieves.

Family: this doesn’t need much explaining but i’ll do it anyway. we start off with Sly’s parents getting killed and him landing at an orphanage where he creates a new family for himself with Bentley and Murray. you’ve got 3 different types of family: (A) Connor and Sly’s mom getting murdered and Sly’s aim to avenge them, (B) Bentley and Murray being true brothers when Sly was left with no one (i’m tearing up), and (C) the ancestors, which are explored more in-depth through the theme of The Thievius Raccoonus. Family as a theme explores Sly’s motivations and drive, even though Connor’s role is minor, especially in comparison to his role in Sly 3

Morality: Sly 1 is rudimental in its gameplay. it was a little game with a big promise at the time it was released, hoping to serve Sony and the Playstation 2 with a worthy mascot and an even worthier title. but right off the bat the player is bombarded with a shit-ton of lore about the world Sly lives in and how he operates. we immediately find out he’s an antihero, an honourable thief who has a code of conduct. this comes into stark contrast with the game’s villains who are basically filthy crooks. thief takes down thieves and the theme of Morality is SP’s attempt to make the player distinguish between good criminal and bad criminal. Morality as a theme is spotlighted immensely in Cold Heart of Hate when Sly saves Carmelita because he truly is the good guy, but also when it’s revealed that what’s been keeping Clockwerk alive all these years is the lack of morals and the hatred. the game establishes Morality as the outlining theme of the entire series, placing Sly on a pedestal because he’s honourable. morals trump hatred, so fuck off Clockwerk (even though ‘perfection has no age’ might be one of the coolest lines in the game lol)

Sly 2: Band of Thieves (2004):

Paris: this is the theme from the first game but on steroids. like make it x10. when you take the plot of Sly 2 and boil down to its core, it turns out to be a full-on race against time to save Paris. it provides both a nod to the first game and a sense of closure at the end: the game begins in Paris and ends in Paris. It’s both a setting and a catalyst, and it is absolutely brilliant in the game. you spend most of the game globetrotting, away from home but as soon as you find out ClockLa is on her way to unleash her psychotic brain waves and turn the city evil, you find yourself at the edge of your seat, caring more about Paris than anything else. it’s omnipresent and powerful and i don’t know why but i love it.

Spice: if you wanna be my lover. here’s an amazing replacement for drug trafficking as a plot device in a children’s game: spice. the spice trail is what pushes the narrative forward but also gives the gang something to face before the pieces fall into place and the larger scale of things is revealed. before ClockLa steals the show, spice is the main antagonist in the game. it brings the villains together, leads the gang from one location to another, provides some memorable missions and obstacles (Spice in the Sky and a raged, spice-infused Murray). but it’s not to say that it fades away in the long-run. Spice is actually the subtle thread that connects the episodes together but also is significant to the final master plan of hypnotising Paris.

Deception: obvious one here. Neyla pretending to be an ally is the major example. we’ve got the Contessa pretending to be loyal to Interpol, we’ve got Arpeggio seemingly being the mastermind behind everything (which he kinda was until he wasn’t), we’ve got the whole evil plot reveal on the spice, we’ve got Neyla ripping off Arpeggio on her journey to become the most well-written villain in video-game history. lots going on here. overall great theme. on a wider scale (and i’ve touched on this before in some recent posts) we’ve got SP deceiving the player into thinking the plot is all laid out at Rajan’s ball until it all turns to shit and nothing goes as expected. Appearance V Reality is a sub-theme that pops up when Bentley fights Jean Bison and Bison constantly underestimates Bentley until the turtle fucking blows his lights out. it’s not an instance of Deception per se, but it’s worth mentioning

The Past: Clockwerk’s return makes this a theme instead of a motif. before ‘saving Paris’ becomes the main objective, it’s Sly’s determination to prevent Clockwerk’s revamping that kicks off the game’s events. the events of Sly 1 play a pivotal role here as they lay the groundwork for the plot of Sly 2. it’s not just Sly 2: The Sequel. with its own set of characters and an intricate story it becomes its very own thing. but Clockwerk is the link that connects everything.

Morality: this one sneaks up on you in the game’s second half and just bites you right in the ass when you least expect it. Contessa, who until her boss-fight seems to be just another selfish spider bitch witch, manifests into this advocate for Sly’s inner demons through simple dialogue. fucking brilliant. ‘You’re an ignorant child playing dress-up in his father’s legacy’ (in my opinion, the best line in the entire series) kicks it all off. and then the theme becomes obviously present throughout. it explores the fine line that Sly walks between robin hood and scumbag thief, it shows how the villains are down-right criminals who want to benefit from their crimes, it cracks black and white into a million pieces because in a single game there are like a million layers of good and evil: Barkley at the very top as the authoritarian white, Carmelita as a sympathetic cop who tries to grasp onto her own code of ethics while occasionally running with the thieves, Sly and the gang as antiheroes, the villains as... villains, and Neyla as the embodiment of satan. it’s a scale and the game spotlights this. i had a different bullet point for Justice but i think it falls under Morality. basically, Carmelita’s story arc in Sly 2 deals with blurring her views a bit and re-defining justice

Sly 3: Honour Among Thieves (2005):

Ancestry (Cooper Vault): this is what the game is all about, or at least the premise. after stitching the cottdamn book back together by the end of the first game, Sly 2 doesn’t give any attention to the Thievius Raccoonus. in fact, Sly 2 exists on a completely different plane, using its amazing plot to elevate itself away from the lore of the first game. ancestry is rarely mentioned. flashforward to Sly 3, where SP takes us back to the mythos for a new caper involving a new reveal: the Cooper Vault. what we thought we knew about the ancestors is thrown out the window to pave the way for this mystical place where the Coopers buried their secrets and their loot. i’d like to point out that the theme of Ancestry is great and all but SP does a shitty job in spreading it throughout the game. whilst recruiting the new gang members we often forget why we’re doing so and it’s not until the last episode of the game that we get the fulfilment of the theme’s promise. it’s also worth mentioning that the theme pops up in A Cold Alliance when Tsao is comparing himself to Sly and he speaks of his ancestors but we somehow get the feeling that his ancestors were all colossal jerks like him and had absolutely 0 honour

Family: this is not the same as Ancestry. the new gang members could have very well been distant with each other if not for the adventures that made them bond. Bentley’s fascination with the Guru, Murray being the Guru’s apprentice, Bentley falling for Penelope, Penelope and Panda King helping Murray with the van, Panda King and Sly working alongside each other to kill vampire mantises and the Crusher. these are all moments that helped sell the ‘group of thieves’ aspect of the game. but Family also explores the bond of the original trio and how, even when they face their differences (Bentley and Murray living in the shadow of Sly), they can still make it through, even stronger than before. other references here might include: Panda King and Jing King, Dimitri and the Lousteau diving legacy, Dr. M and McSweeney being Conner’s “sidekicks”

Honour: this replaces the theme of Morality from the previous two games as the situations the characters face allude to honour (doing what’s right for the greater good) rather than morality (black and white, good vs evil). what i mean by that is SP making an effort to distinguish why Sly is a different thief and ultimately an antihero. this was sorta explored in the previous games by having Sly put an end to the villains’ various operations but the overall plot overshadowed those instances. Sly 3 on the other hand fully explores the theme of Honour by including the word in the title and having the gang save the day in every episode. stopping harm to the environment (polluting the Venice canals, destroying the Australian outback), helping Penelope come to terms with her inner demons by encouraging her to drop the facade of the Black Baron, saving Jing King from forced marriage, etc. the theme also ties into the theme of Redemption (below) but what i’d really like to point out is that Carmelita gets in on it as well. i can’t think of a more honourable moment than when she finally, after 3 games, puts the petty cop bullshit aside and comes to Kaine Island with her squad to save Sly from Dr. M. she makes Sly’s battle her own and doesn’t give up, showing up at the very end to save him from Dr. M’s horrific boss-fight (ugh)

Deception: although not as major as in Sly 2, i’ve said this time and time again: Flight of Fancy perfectly encapsulates the theme of Deception. Penelope dressing up as the Black Baron is not the only instance of deception. you’ve got Bentley and Penelope blowing their online avatars out of proportion, you’ve got Dimitri who was initially a villain finally turning sides, you’ve got an episode card full of sunshine and bright blue and gold fonts for a hub that’s all gloomy rainclouds. beyond Flight of Fancy, i can think of a few more instances: some Shakespearian shenanigans when Carmelita disguises herself as Jing King, or when the gang doesn’t reveal their Dead Men Tell No Tales plan to the player and we’re left thinking that Sly is going to get eaten by sharks

Redemption (Choices): speaks for itself, really. this one ties in with Honour and is a sub-theme, maybe a motif. we’ve got Murray’s desire to redeem himself for feeling guilty over Bentley’s accident. we’ve got Dimitri and the Panda King joining the gang after previously being villains in the series, and eventually redeeming themselves through helping with the heist. we’ve got Penelope redeeming herself as the Black Baron by joining the gang. i also named it Choices because these characters chose to redeem themselves. Choices are all over the game, whether its the lack of free will or the sacrifice characters make: Jing King isn’t in a position to choose whether or not she gets married during her capture, Sly sacrifices his cane at the very beginning of the game to save Bentley and then jumps in front of Dr. M’s shot to save Carmelita (!!!)

Closure: or the lack of, smh. SP’s trilogy comes to a close and therefore the theme has to exist even if the game doesn’t provide the player with mass satisfaction. Sly finally gets together with Carmelita, Bentley finally gets over his fear and self-doubt and lives the good life (with Penelope), Murray kicks off his racing career, and we get happy-ever-afters for the rest of the gang as well

[sixty-silver-wishes]

so because I am a Nerd, I will now be explaining all of these as I cook some soup lol

Tier 1-

Conrad Veidt: the actor who played Cesare and the “face” of this film. He’s also well known in roles such as Strasser in Casablanca and Gwynplaine in The Man Who Laughs. Aside from his remarkable acting range, Veidt was well-known for his anti-fascist views and philanthropy during WWII.

Frame story- “Caligari” is known for being one of the first films to employ a frame story narrative device- that is, having a story within a story.

Influences on horror- As one of the first horror films, “Caligari” has had a sizable influence on much of the later horror genre, from its sets, to its lighting and filming techniques, to its plot details.

Tim Burton- Tim Burton’s art style is heavily influenced by the aesthetics in “Caligari.”

Bauhaus album cover- (technically for their single, not the album, lol). The artwork for “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” by the band Bauhaus features a still from “Caligari” with Conrad Veidt and Lil Dagover as Cesare and Jane. (Bela Lugosi is not in the film at all.)

WWI metaphor- The film is commonly interpreted to be a metaphor for German culture and social hierarchies during WWI.

Expressionist set design- The set design in “Caligari” is commonly said to follow the German Expressionist art style, but there is some debate on whether or not “Caligari” is truly an expressionist film (see later tiers.)

Bigtop Burger- This popular web series includes characters heavily based on some of those in “Caligari.”

Tier 2-

Interpretations of ending- The ending of the film is a common subject of debate, as to whether or not it’s pro- or anti-authority.

Mise en scene- The set design in “Caligari” is commonly considered an early example of exploring mise-en-scene in film, or the intentional arrangement of set elements, like props and furniture. Mise en scene is more commonly associated with theatre.

Censored ending- As the original ending of the film was considered too subversive, it was censored so that francis was portrayed as insane at the end, much to the chagrin of the screenwriters.

Queer/freudian interpretations- this film is very often interpreted through lenses of queer and freudian theory, which examine gender and sexuality, as well themes such as the subconscious and various complexes proposed by sigmund freud, respectively.

Schopenhauer- Caligari’s costuming was based on the appearance of philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer.

Painted lighting- The sets in “Caligari” included shadows and highlights painted directly onto the backgrounds, sometimes used to point towards important characters or plot devices.

Slappy Daze- Episode of Spongebob Squarepants which features cameo characters based on Caligari and Cesare. This episode also includes F. Murnau’s Nosferatu, as well as the character Slappy, whose design was based on actor Peter Lorre.

Umbrella carousels- The carousels seen spinning at the beginning of the film are actually umbrellas being rotated by people, who are concealed by the rest of the set. (This is also my favorite instance of practical effects in the film.)

2005 Caligari- “Caligari” was remade as an indie horror film in 2005, starring Doug Jones as Cesare. (It’s laughably bad.)

Siegfried Kracauer- A film theorist who proposed, among other things, that “Caligari” foreshadowed the Nazi regime. His theories on the film are some of the most well-known, but also among the most contested by scholars.

Nicholas Cage- The actor Nicholas Cage is a fan of the film, and even planned a tribute to it in “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.” However, the scene referencing “Caligari” was cut.

Living Dead Girl- The music video for this song by Rob Zombie is inspired by “Caligari.”

Silent Screamers- A series of figurines based on silent horror characters. The set includes figurines based on Cesare and Caligari (and Jane, who’s just sort of an accessory to the Cesare figurine.)

Werner Krauss- The actor who played Caligari. He went on to star in many pro-Nazi films during the 1940s, often as offensive Jewish stereotypes. He is often contrasted with Conrad Veidt, his former co-star who played antagonistic Nazi characters in American and British films to support the allied forces.

Unfortunate Events- The 9th book in “A Series of Unfortunate Events” by Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) features a location called “Caligari Carnival.” The film is further referenced in the Netflix series, where the character Madame Lulu says, “don’t touch Caligari Cabinet!” Additionally, this episode in the series also references another famous classic film, “Freaks” (1932), and F. Murnau’s name is referenced in another episode.

Tier 3-

American cut- An American cut of the film was created in the 1950s, where some scenes of the film were shortened. Most of the characters’ names were also omitted in the opening credits.

Stage adaptations- Various stage adaptations of “Caligari” have been staged, usually by small theatre companies or universities. These include operas, plays, musicals, and a ballet.

Jane/Cesare parallels- The characters of Jane and Cesare share many parallels with regards to their roles in the story and how they’re framed. This is something you’ll have to dig a little for if you want to read formal criticism (although it exists), but it’s a fascinating interpretation that I love to discuss.

Von Twardowski- Hans Heinrich Von Twardowski, who played Alan, also stars in another Robert Weine film, “Genuine.” He’s also in “Casablanca” along with Conrad Veidt.

Caligari 1962- This film bears very little resemblance to the 1920 version, aside from some plot points and character names.

Production history- Many elements of the film were allegedly based on events in the lives and experiences of screenwriters Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. These alleged influences include a military psychologist who examined Mayer, who feigned insanity to avoid the draft, as the basis for Caligari, and Gilda Langer's early death being predicted by a fortune teller (see later).

Restorations- Different restorations of “Caligari” exist, with varying degrees in quality.

“Looks like Cesare”- refers to a TVtropes trope, in which distinct elements of Cesare’s costuming are visible in later characters throughout media. A common example is Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands.

Anachronisms/electricity- “Caligari” is extremely vague on when it takes place, with the costuming, architecture, and technology being very inconsistent. It’s been placed as taking place anywhere between the Medieval era to the 1920s. The use of electricity in the film is highly inconsistent, as fire torches, gas lamps, and electric lighting are all shown being used in different scenes.

Ernst Deutsch/Gilda Langer: These two actors were initially considered for the roles of Cesare and Jane, respectively. However, Deutsch was busy at the time, and Langer died before the film could be made. The roles instead went to Conrad Veidt and Lil Dagover (if you’re curious, Deutsch’s acting can be seen in Der Golem, in which he plays Rabbi Loew’s assitant).

Autobiographical influences- see production history.

Expressionism debate- There’s a scholarly debate as to whether or not “Caligari” is actually expressionist beyond its set design, with some people saying the plot is better categorized as “gothic,” comparing it to the works of Edgar Allan Poe.

Robert Wilson- This theatre director’s style of sets, acting, and makeup is heavily influenced by “Caligari” and related films. His play “The Black Rider” is an obvious example of this (watch The Black Rider. I love The Black Rider)

Krauss’ script- For a long time, Werner Krauss was in possession of the sole surviving script of “Caligari,” but refused to let anyone see it until after his death. The script contained some elements of the film that were either changed or scrapped (see later).

Fritz Lang- This famous director (M, Metropolis, Dr. Mabuse) was initially planned to direct “Caligari.” However, the film was directed by Robert Weine instead.

Das Kabinette- An album by Bill Nelson, which was originally composed as a new score for the film.

Tier 4-

Audio dramas- Two audio dramas of “Caligari” exist, one by the BBC and one by Yuri Rasovsky. (I don’t care for either, but I prefer the BBC one.)

Deleted scenes- Some deleted scenes in the original film draft include Cesare convulsing violently after being woken up at the fair, Alan’s ghost at his funeral, Jane and Francis being a married couple and telling the story at their house instead of in an asylum, and the “kidnapping scene” initially being more graphic and sexualized than in the final film. Some set pieces, such as a moving caravan and Jane’s carriage, were initially planned, but removed due to the film being shot in an indoor studio. An alternate ending was also planned, in which Jane and Francis silently contemplate a monument to Caligari and his victims.

“The Madness”/ “The Asylum”- Two books based on elements of “Caligari.” These books are not adaptations of the film, but I included them because of the influence.

Takes place in fall- This is a detail that's only mentioned in the original script. Some people also consider the traveling carnival to be in celebration of Oktoberfest, but this isn't confirmed.

Diary of a Somnambulist- a theatrical performance piece from 1986 featuring portrayals of Cesare and Lady Macbeth, of all people. Truly the crossover of all time.

Dr. Luders/Jakob Straadt- Characters in the film whose names only appear in the script. Dr. Luders is the town clerk, while Jakob Straadt is the man who tries to kill the old woman and is arrested.

Concept sketches- Various sketches and concept art for the costumes, makeup, and sets still survive.

1913 Holstenwall murder- Allegedly, a woman was murdered by the Holstenwall, or a section of Hamburg's wallring, by the Reeperbahn (a famous red light district) in 1913. While this event has not been documented to my knowledge, the screenwriters of "Caligari" claimed that this event served as inspiration for naming the town in the film "Holstenwall." Youtube musical- A musical adaptation of "Caligari" exists on Youtube (there are actually two or three, which can all be found easily with a search). The one in question has just the songs uploaded, along with animatics made of photomanipulated film stills. The songs are quite high effort, and they've got some good singers (especially their Jane and Francis) but in my opinion, the plot isn't great. However, it did give us "they are accompanied by Francis, who beats Cesare to death with a club," which was iconic.

Hentai manga- Yep; it exists. This was written by the controversial manga artist Suehiro Maruo.

"Dr. Caligari" 1989- Another film only loosely based on the original, using the name "Dr. Caligari," but having little to no other similarities to it. It's primarily known for its sexual elements.

"Cabinet"- The word "cabinet" in the title (spelled with a "c" instead of the German "kabinet" even in the German title for some reason) does not only refer to the literal cabinet that Caligari keeps Cesare in, but could also be used to refer to a sideshow exhibit as a whole (as in "cabinet of curiosities").

"The Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez"- A little-known adaptation by Peter Sellars. Similar to most of the other film derivatives, it shares little similarities with the original film.

Tier 5-

"The Return of Caligari"- this was an unrealized follow-up to the original film proposed by screenwriter Hans Janowitz in the late 1940s. The film would have been produced by a British studio and would have employed sound, whereas the original was a silent film. I've also read that in this version, Caligari was intended to be a former Nazi officer. I'm not sure if this was to be a sequel to the original film, or a remake, or if any other characters from the original were intended to appear.

Caligari's Cure- Another film derivative by Tom Palazzolo. Once again, aside from the title, it shares little to no similarities with "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari."

Caligari Foxtrot- A short piano piece inspired by the film that was composed around the time of its release.

Cocteau Remake- Another failed remake that was never realized. A French version was proposed, with actor and director Jean Cocteau in the role of Cesare. It would also have employed a French surrealist aesthetic, as opposed to the German expressionism of the original.

Character names- In the original script, many of the characters' names were spelled differently than they appear in the final film- for instance, "Calligaris" instead of "Caligari," "Alland" instead of "Alan," and "Caesare" instead of "Cesare."

Unknown Letters of Stendhal- An alleged book that the screenwriters claimed they got the name "Caligari" from. However, no such book has been proven to exist.

Honorable mentions:

These are things I either forgot to include or can be categorized with the above points, but are still interesting enough to point out:

Marketing- Before the film was released, it was marketed by posters that read "Du musst Caligari werden" ("you must become Caligari," a plot-relevant line in the film) being posted around Berlin with no other context. The idea was that seeing this line everywhere without explanation would create a sense of intrigue, and encourage people to see it. (I, for one, think this is a brilliant marketing scheme that should be utilized more often today. Internet theorists would have gone CRAZY if the marketing for Infinity War was just the line "you should have gone for the head" posted everywhere.)

Other Musical Works- The two other musical works available on Youtube are "Cesare, Child of Night," a short rock opera, and "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: a Murderous Musical Comedy," a three-hour production which was partially staged as a workshop. (Personally, I don't care for either, especially the latter's treatment of Jane's character, but that's just me.)

2022 Play- Also among the staged works is a play written in 2022, the script of which is available for purchase on Google Books. In this play, the actors all alternate roles, so nobody plays just one character.

Scores: Various musical scores have been composed for the film.

Caligari Protest: The Hollywood Post of the American Legion organized a protest of the American premiere of "Caligari" at Miller's theater due to anti-German sentiments after WWI. Allegedly, this protest escalated into a riot. The protest was successful, with "Caligari" being replaced by an American film, "The Money Changers." However, "Caligari" was widely received popularly by both French and American movie critics.

caligari iceberg! all of these refer to either interpretations of the film, its production and history, works/artists inspired by it, or adaptations of it.