#Monsters in the Mills anthology

[kristipetersenschoonover]

NECRONOMICON PROVIDENCE is ALMOST HERE!

Truth be told, my blog’s usually pretty quiet—because I’m always slammed with other writing projects, and honestly, my craft and art come first, and this summer was absolutely no exception. I still have lots to share, but for now: NECRONOMICON PROVIDENCE is almost here, and I can’t wait! Here’s my committed (meaning these are things I absolutely will not miss; the rest is fluid) schedule…

[denimbex1986]

'David Tennant met Doctor Who comic creators Pat Mills and Dave Gibbons on the set of the 60th anniversary special "The Star Beast." The first of Russell T Davies' three anniversary specials led by Tennant and Catherine Tate adapted the story of Mills and Gibbons' 1979 Doctor Who Weekly comic strip of the same name. In "The Star Beast," the Fourteenth Doctor (Tennant) and Donna Noble (Tate) are swept into an intergalactic pursuit when an alien fugitive crash lands in London.

With the Doctor Who special "The Star Beast" introducing the Meep (Miriam Margolyes) and the Wrarth Warriors, original creators Mills and Gibbons were invited to see their creations come to life on set.

As revealed in the behind-the-scenes show Doctor Who: Unleashed (via @darkwillowz), Mills and Gibbons were joined by host Steffan Powell and Tennant, allowing the actor to receive a signed issue from them and express his love for the comic strip...

Tennant: I got this every week. And I remember this comic strip.

Gibbons: You stole it or you paid for it?

Tennant: I paid for it! Well, my parents did – I mean, I was only nine. But this is so… When I first got the script, and I saw what it was based on the front page, I… it all came back so vividly. I remember these comic strips so clearly.

Mills: That’s great.

Powell: So you remember reading this story?

Tennant: I remember all of them! The Iron Legion, and The City of the Damned. And of course this one, yeah. Very clearly.

Gibbons: He’s passed the test, he remembers all the names, Pat. He’s a genuine fan.

Tennant: It’s true!

Doctor Who Has A History of Expanded Media Tales Influencing The Main TV Series

Mills and Gibbons join a number of expanded media writers who have had their work brought into the main Doctor Who television series. Returning showrunner Davies' first contribution to Doctor Who was not the 2005 TV series, but the 1996 novel Damaged Goods, while fellow showrunner Steven Moffat penned the short story "Continuity Errors" for the 1996 anthology Decalog 3: Consequences. Other writers who first contributed to Doctor Who's expanded media before joining the main series include Mark Gatiss, Paul Cornell, and Robert Shearman.

Like how Mills and Gibbons' creations were brought to the screen, Cornell and Shearman would see their original stories get adapted for the show's revival. While both writers contributed to season 1, Shearman would adapt his 2003 Sixth Doctor audio drama "Jubilee" for the screen in "Dalek," where the Doctor's encounter with a sole surviving Dalek was adjusted to work in a post-Time War setting. Meanwhile, Cornell's tale of the Seventh Doctor becoming human and hiding on Earth shortly before the First World War in the novel Human Nature would be reimagined by the author into the two-part season 3 story "Human Nature/The Family of Blood."

"The Star Beast" was a wonderful celebration that allowed wider audiences to enjoy one of Doctor Who's most well-known expanded media tales. It was gratifying to see Davies properly credit both Gibbons and Mills for their contributions, and allow them the opportunity to see their monsters brought to life during filming. Though Tennant has been heavily involved with Doctor Who even between his Tenth and Fourteenth Doctor tenures, it is heartwarming to see the actor have the opportunity to have his own moments with them as a longtime fan, as well.'

[high-and-away]

Let's see some fluff between Victoria and her dad! :D

[Late evening on Starlight Day, in a battered industrial town to the east of the Imperial capital, where the mills have moved on but the residents have lingered.] Titus hasn't put up decorations in the last few years. It's just such a production, you see. You wrangle the tree into the house. You dig the boxes out of whatever crammed-full closet you've stashed them in. You dig through the boxes, through a great Gordian knot of tangled string lights and shedding tinsel. You carefully extricate the ornaments and drape the tree full of glittery baubles and cheerful snowmen and kindergarten popsicle-stick snowflakes and a miraculously intact glass pickle, given as a bachelor-party joke before your short and abortive marriage. You sit down to wrap, run out of tape, nick yourself somehow on the kitchen scissors, and scramble not to bleed on what you're wrapping, like a fantasy anthology, or goofy fluffy slippers shaped like dogs, or two tickets to Madama Butterfly since pricing gave you one of two choices and you figured Tosca was slightly more inappropriate for a ten-year-old, maybe. Titus cen Castellus hasn't put up decorations since the letter from the XIIth that said they regret to inform him. Titus cen Castellus hasn't bothered wrapping gifts since then either. His daughter will never come home to open them. So he puts on a smile and goes to work and makes sure the equipment is in good condition and the broadcast is loud and clear and no one's been stripping copper for scrap and all day through his mind screams and screams and screams behind the charm and wit and bonhomie. And then he goes home and drinks and the smoking, melting, hurting-whimpering-broken-animal parts of his brain gutter out for as long as he can keep up the buzz, and that makes it a little bit better, if he doesn't go up in her room or look at the pictures on the mantel or the handful of trophies on a shelf nearby. Much better then. Starlights and birthdays and deathdays he has to work a little harder, but that's what his sick days are for. He makes it work, or he did before the war. Now he just sits and waits, bottles empty and shotgun close at hand, clawing panic just barely beaten down, because just because everything hurts doesn't mean he wants to die yet. He can't handle looking at the idea of dying, or twisting broken-jointed into a beast of despair, or losing himself in blind service to their monstrous, rotting emperor-eikon. Titus has to be around. Titus has to remember her. No one else will. Titus just sits and waits and rigs the cans and wires and bottle rockets and bear mace and pipe bombs. No matter how perverse and pointless, no one will be his end except himself. The taut twing of a broken wire and clatter of cans interrupts his slow circling of the mental drain. Too close to the house. There are at least four layers of tripwires or alarms or potentially lethal booby traps between their his house and the nearest little cluster of two-beds-and-1.5-baths and one of them has just been dealt with. Twing-clatter. Who broke it? Or what? What is out there waiting for him? Man or monster or worse or-- Titus is calmly (not calm he's never calm you spineless trembling fuck so bloody useless) loading the second shell into his grandfather's 12-gauge when the thing that broke the wire knocks hesitantly on his door. Hesitantly. Adverb. In a manner suggesting shut up brain shut up shut up shut UP-- Knock knock. He racks the shotgun. Silence at the door. Maybe it's gone. Maybe he wasn't worth it (he was never worth it ha ha ha) maybe he's fucking alone again with the windows boarded and the house dark dark too dark. Knock... ...knock. "Fuck off," hisses Titus, his voice small and raspy-reedy from isolation and the thin spiny skin of anger that he drapes sloppily over fear. Nothing but the smell of gun oil and his own ragged panic-breathing and the creak of wood under shifting boots on the porch outside before the mind-rotted telofilth on his doorstep knocks again oh-so-gently.

Nothing but the gun and the fear and the beast and the little wisps of smoke he swears he's been seeing in all the rooms he won't smoke in (smoking in the house is gross, Dad) and it doesn't matter. Not a fucking bit. Not now with the sky on fire and the Empire shattered and his daughter gonegonegonegone so he cradles the shotgun in one arm and yanks the door open. Maybe it's Jules, he thinks at first, with the strong nose and jawline and sort of honed steeliness he lacks. Or maybe a tempered, with the half-gone ear and the scars and the too-dead haunted look. Or maybe it's his own face he's seeing, with the trembling lip and too-bright blue-grey eyes and the slouch in the shoulders that means that the tears will come, they just need a nudge that doesn't care if it's cruelty or compassion. "Dad," says the monster on his porch, in a halting voice he knows - five years dead, now five years deeper. Grown. Not sixteen and cracking with anxiety at every moment of attention.Still right, still her-- Titus lets the shotgun's barrel drift down to point floorwards, his finger slipping off the trigger, and his lips part to form a name-- "Dad," says Victoria again, pained and guilty, and whatever careful explanation for her alleged death she might make crumples with her self-control at whatever she sees in his face. "Dad, I'm sorry--" Titus cen Castellus sets his gun on the side table and wraps his daughter in a hug as she breaks down in tears. The questions, he decides as the wave of relief crushes him into racking sobs, can come later. Right now, everything else can wait.

[edgecastlema]

what are the mw (new) fandoms and mw characters?

hey non! we're giving you a bit of a mix of brand new fandoms, but some fandoms we've got around that our members just really wanted to see. of course just cuz something isn't on our list, doesn't mean we wouldn't be obsessed with seeing them.

fandoms: grey's anatomy, buffy the vampire slayer, shin megami tensei, fire emblem, shadowhunters, the vampire diaries and all it's spinoffs, shameless, the walking dead, outer banks, stranger things, queer as folk, legend of vox machina (any critical roll honestly), dimension 20 (crown of candy and fantasy high esp), haunting anthology, yellowjackets, monster high, the wilds, texas chainsaw, cobra kai, star trek, classic horror, and barbie charas: lottie matthews, vanessa palmer, ben scott, travis martinez, misty quigley, johnny lawrence, ali mills, chozen toguchi, miguel diaz, robby keen, samantha larusso, eli "hawk" moskowitz, demitri alexopoulos, tory nichols, kenny payne, byleth, alear, lyndis, corrin, edelgard, dimitri, ike, roy, chrom, dorothea, marianne, azura, camilla, marth, lucina, luke crain, miles wingrave, nell crain, dani clayton, theo crain, steve crain, shirley crain, flora wingrave, rebecca jessel, owen sharma, jamie taylor, hannah grose, willow rosenberg, cordelia chase, angel, oz, dawn summers, tara maclay, faith lehane, kendra young,

[flurryheaven]

Primetime Emmy Nominations - Outstanding Period Costumes For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie

Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (FX) Season 2, Episode 1 "Pilot" Lou Eyrich - Costume Designer Leah Katznelson - Costume Designer Emily O'Connor - Assistant Costume Designer Laura McCarthy - Costume Supervisor Hanna Shea - Assistant Costume Designer Miwa Ishii - Head of Workroom

Ninetieth nomination for Eyrich. She was previously nominated in 2010 and 2011 'Costumes for a Series' for Glee, 2013 'A Miniseries, Movie or A Special' for American Horror Story: Asylum, in 2017 'Period/Fantasy Costumes for a Series, Limited Series, or Movie' for Feud: Bette and Joan, in 2019 'Period Costumes" and 'Drama Series' for Pose, in 2019 'Fantasy Sci'Fi Costumes' for American Horror Stories: Apocalypse. in 2020 'Contemporary Costumes' for The Politician, in 2020 'Period Costumes' for Hollywood, in 2021 'Drama Series' for Pose, in 2021 'Period Costumes' for Ratchet, in 2023 'Contemporary Costumes for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie' for The Watcher and 'Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series' for Dahmer- Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. She previously won in 2014 'Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special' for American Horror Story: Coven, in 205 'Fantasy Series, Limited Series, or Movie' for American Horror Story: Freak Show, in 2016 'Contemporary Series, limited Series or Movie' for American Horror Story: Hotel, and in 208 'Contemporary Costumes' and 'Limited Series' for The Assassination for Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.

Second nomination for Katznelson, previously nominated in 2023 'Contemporary Costumes for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie' for Fleishman is in Trouble.

First nominations for O'Connor, McCarthy, Shea, and Ishii.

Griselda (Netflix) Episode 5 "Paradise Lost" Safowa Bright Bitzelberger - Costume Designer Joseph Castellanos - Assistant Costume Designer Jennifer Marlin - Assistant Costume Designer Serena Duffin - Costume Supervisor Joanne Mills Trotta - Head of Workroom

First nominations for everybody.

Lessons in Chemistry (Apple TV+) Episode 1 "Little Miss Hastings" Mirren Gordon-Crozier - Costume Designer Jen Kennedy - Assistant Costume Designer Kelli Hagen - Costume Supervisor

First nominations for everybody.

Mary & George (Starz) Episode 3 "Not So Much By Love As By Awe" Annie Symons - Costume Designer Cédric Andries - Costume Supervisor Courtney McClain - Assistant Costume Designer Jovana Gospavic - Assistant Costume Designer Jason Airey - Assistant Costume Designer

Send nomination for Symons, previously won in 2012 'A Miniseries, Movie or a Special' for Great Expectations.

First nominations for Andries and Airey.

Second nomination for McClain, previously nominated in 2011 'Costumes for a Series' for Boardwalk Empire.

Second nomination for Gospavic, previously nominated in 2023 'Period Costumes for a Series' for Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.

Ripley (Netflix) Episode 4 "IV La Dolce Vita" Maurizio Millenotti - Costume Designer Gianni Casalnuovo - Costume Designer Ernest Camilleri - Wardrobe Supervisor Teresa D’Arienzo - Assistant Costume Designer Francesco Morabito - Assistant Costume Designer

Second nomination for Millenotti, previously nominated in 2000 'Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or Special' for Arabian Nights.

Third nomination for Casalnuovo, previously nominated in 2000 'Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or Special' for Arabian Nights, and 2002 'Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special' for The Mists of Avalon.

First nominations for Camilleri, D'Arienzo, and Morabito.

[quacka-quacka]

I mentioned Paul's strong resistance to being recognized as effeminate man or gay (here). Although he can hang out with gay guys, wear rainbow flag in public [yeah I definitely need to write that again in case someone didn't see it], being considered gay or "cute" is beyond endurance. I know someone love to interpret this as "don't want to his sexuality being mislabeled", which indeed looks sensible when it comes to the homosexuality, but this excuse can't be applied to the "cute" thing, right? You can't say being cute or feminine is the same thing as being gay, can you? Well, I can hear Paul's every single cell screaming O!M!G! Feminine! all the time. He doesn't want himself have anything to do with feminine, which, unfortunately can not be simply regarded as personal preference, it's indeed a despising of femininity, and femininity? Of course it's about female. Yes, "phallicism", the worship of masculine are still popular in today's society, but it doesn't mean it's right. I have to say Paul's thought is the product of this society, not to mention that he is an old man who grow up in a working-class family six decades ago, we can't demand him that much. His attitude towards women is the same thing.

PAUL: We were more amazed to see the [Japanese] women leaping up out of the seats for the promoter, because we'd never seen that in the West. The subservience of the women was amazing. They'd say, 'Oh God, I'm sorry - was I in your seat?' I remember us getting back to Britain and saying to our wives and girlfriends, 'I wouldn't want you to do that, but maybe it's a direction worth considering?' Promptly rejected.

— The Beatles Anthology

Although Paul seems to know that it's pretty cool for a woman to pursue her own career, like admitting Jane was famous before he was, allowing Linda to write a cookbook or have a photography exhibition, the androcentrism is too ingrained for him to forsake. He acknowledged Jane's achievements but still wanted her to give up work completely:

'I always wanted to beat Jane down,' says Paul. 'I wanted her to give up work completely.'

'I refused. I've been brought up to be always doing something. And I enjoy acting. I didn't want to give that up.'

— Hunter Davies, The Beatles

He allowed Linda to do her own thing, but they are not entirely hers - all those projects are belong to MPL, and do not forget Paul said this after Linda's death:

She never did anything on her own because we were together so much. 

— Paul McCartney, interview w/ Chrissie Henderson for USA Week-end: Tears and laughter. (October 30, 1998)

That's so sweet to see Paul would support his wife any time, but on the other hand it also shows that Linda never get the chance to do something entirely on her own without Paul's interference after she got married. No wonder so many people from inner circle [including Linda, yeah] described Paul as "typical Northerner":

Linda confided that Paul was a ‘typical Northerner’ who believed women should stay at home while men worked.

— Bonnie Estridge, The Mail on Sunday. (March 20th, 2005)

Paul was raised the old-fashioned way. Men were the breadwinners; women stayed at home, had babies and tea on the table. He's still an old-fashioned guy, very careful with money.

— Ruth McCartney

Like the other Beatles, he [Paul] was essentially an old fashioned Liverpool man, who wanted his woman tucked away at home cooking the dinner and minding the kids.

— Cynthia Lennon, John

Jane was a serious actress and wanted to continue her career, but Paul had other ideas. That’s why Linda was so perfect for Paul; she was just what he wanted, an old-fashioned Liverpool wife who was completely devoted to her husband.

— Marianne Faithfull, Memories, Dreams and Reflections

I'd say Paul was not that old-fashioned, at least he allowed his wife to do other things besides being a full-time nanny, but everything she does must cater his needs. As Jane once mentioned, he always wants his girl to adore him like fans:

The trouble is, he wants the fans’ adulation and mine too. He’s so selfish; it’s his biggest fault. He can’t see that my feelings for him are real and that the fans’ are fantasy.

— Jane Asher, Love Me Do! The Beatles’ Progress by Michael Braun

I know some of the fans can't wait to jump up now and shout "Paul and Jane didn't have a mature relationship!" "He's much mature after he meet Linda!" "Paul and Linda had a very very very healthy relationship!" Ok, if you really did some research, you may know that he's never mature enough to know how to fully respect women, at least before the end of divorce with Heather Mills. I have seen the theory appears too many times that Paul and Linda's marriage is the result of careful consideration: Linda came along with a ready-made child and she's ready to marry again - well, I regret to tell you both Paul and Linda wouldn't agree with you.

I was a great disappointment to my family When I got married [to a geologist] and moved to Arizona, it was crazy. I had been pressured by men all my life. I rather liked being on my own, making my own decisions. I had actually sworn to myself that I would never get married again.

— Linda McCartney, interview for Playgirl: An intimate conversation with pop’s preeminent pair. (February, 1985)

As she says, she's quite enjoy her freedom and had absolutely no interest in marriage. What did Paul do? He "twisted her arm" to make her agree.

I persuaded Linda to come to London for a visit. Then I rang Heather in New York and said, ‘Heather, will you marry me?’ She was five. ‘No, don’t be silly,’ she said. ‘I’m too young.’ ‘Well, I can wait,’ I said. So we went to New York and brought her back to London to live with us, and I twisted Linda’s arm and finally she agreed to marry me.

— Paul McCartney, interview for Playgirl: An intimate conversation with pop’s preeminent pair. (February, 1985)

Linda also said neither of them knew what they were doing when they got married:

LINDA: 'So instead of getting an agent I met Paul instead and got married. Or I was going through a transition then and didn't know quite what I was doing and he obviously didn't know quite what he was doing so we ended up marrying instead.'

— Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now

Again, I'm not saying Paul and Linda never loved each other or their marriage was completely made up for media, but I don't think his marriage with Linda enabled him to prioritize other's feelings [his status as one of the four head monsters doesn't help]. Linda's overmuch unilateral compromises certainty don't make him look mature. Let alone his excessive dependence on her.

------------------

Reply to all these who think feminize Paul/men is a bad thing:

You love to say that Paul doesn't want the cute title because people used to mock him by that. I understand it. But do you ever think about why being feminine is not taking him seriously? Do you ever think about this is the discrimination about femininity from the whole society? Why does a man must be despised when he has anything to do with femininity? And Paul's approach is denying his femininity, which is the same with those who mock it, like - a man being feminine is a shame because it means he can't be "respected" like other men. It's the recognition of this concept, which is outdated if you think about it.

P.S. Someone who reblogged my post doesn't seem to like the sentence "there must be many sweet moments between Paul and Linda". Ok, I delete it then.

[fandom-imagines-stories]

No Worse Company

gif credit: @holylulusworld​

Dean Winchester x Reader

Words: 2385

The Deal S2 E2: Series Masterlist

Summary: The reader copes with her return while Jody tries to get a hold of the boys. Cas deals with what Lucifer did while possessing him. 

Notes: Here’s the next part in Chapter Two of the Deal Anthology! I hope you guys enjoy it. This one feels a little like a filler, but I’m really excited for the next part. 

-

He couldn’t stop looking. After everything that happened- all of the pain and the anguish, all of it his fault- he couldn’t stop looking. He had to find Lucifer and he had to put him back in hell. He owed you that. 

Driving down the road in his stolen truck, Cas’ eyes fell on the passenger seat. He frowned. That drive to St. Louis didn’t seem so long ago anymore. Sam and Dean’s cries as they watched the hellhound tear you apart were still fresh in his mind. He had turned away. At the time, he thought it's what you would have wanted. For him to have his final memory of you be one of your smiling face, content with the family you had found. Now he felt like he had turned his back on you. Now he was cursed to see your screaming face forever. 

He had to find Lucifer. 

Cas glanced down at his cellphone and sighed. Multiple missed calls and unopened messages from Dean filled his screen. He couldn’t face them. Not until he found the Devil.

-

One Week Ago

The police officer that found you had found some clothes that were two sizes too big but you took them gratefully nonetheless. You were sitting at her desk, staring blankly at a photo beside her computer. Her big happy family smiled over a picnic table on a beautiful sunny day. You wanted to put your fist through it. 

“Alright sweetheart, I’ve got someone on their way to pick you up.” The officer gave you a small smile. 

“Did you find Dean?” 

“Not exactly.” She pulled up a seat across from you. “It’s a good thing I was the one that found you. I don’t know much about those Winchesters, but I know that if any other cop in this joint put them through the system, they’d probably take you in for questioning. Fortunately for you, I have a friend up North that told me to give her a call if I ever heard the names Sam or Dean Winchester.”

“Look, I appreciate your help, but I can’t stay here.” You stood up, but she blocked your path. 

“Well you’re certainly not going out there on your own.” Her expression was caring, but stern. “I don’t know what happened to you, honey, but I know that going out alone will only make things worse for you.” 

“Believe me, I can handle myself.” Nothing in this woman’s imagination could even remotely describe everything that had happened to you. Still, the officer stood her ground.

“Right now you’ve got two choices. You can either stay here and one of the other officers will take you to a hospital, or you can come with me and we can meet Jody half-way.” 

“Wait… Jody?” Your face softened, the idea of seeing a familiar face warming your cool exterior. 

“Yeah, Sheriff Jody Mills up in Sioux Falls.” She put her hands on her hips. “Do you know her?” 

Jody, even though she wasn’t much older, was like a mother to you. She helped you and boys out when you needed and had saved your life on more than one occasion. You pictured being enveloped in one of her hugs and a small smile crept onto your face. 

“I used to.” 

“Then let's get moving. We can get you something to eat on the way there.” The officer grabbed her keys and started towards the parking lot. As you followed her, something caught your eye. Your face reflected back at you in the glass of the window and a moment of panic nearly took you off your feet. Your eyes were black. 

-

Now

You could tell that Jody had been walking on eggshells for the past week. After everything that was going on, you couldn’t really blame her. When she saw you the first time, she tried to kill you, thinking you were a shapeshifter or some other kind of monster. When she realized that it was really you, she was speechless for the entire ride back to Sioux Falls. 

Jody had been trying to get a hold of Dean for the past couple of days, but to no avail. The longer you waited, the more and more you debated running away in the middle of the night. Could you face him? Jody said that you’d been ‘dead’ for three years. A lot had changed. You knew that you were his Y/N anymore. Maybe he wasn’t your Dean. 

“Coffee?” Jody offered, holding a mug in front of you. 

“Thanks.” You took the warm ceramic mug and held it between your palms. The heat spread across your skin as the smell wafted up to your nose. Who knew a cup of coffee could hold so many memories. Sitting across from Dean in the kitchen of the bunker or looking over a case with Sam in the middle of the night with only caffeine to keep you going. 

“I might be a little later at the station today. Do you think you’ll be okay here?” 

“I think I can handle a few more hours of daytime television and boxed mac and cheese, Jody.” You smirked. She shook her head with a light chuckle. 

“I have to say, I missed that snark of yours.” She finished her own coffee before putting on her coat. “Now you call if you need anything, okay? I’m going to try and get a hold of the boys again.” 

“Jody…” You started, but looking at her hopeful face, you couldn’t bring yourself to say anything. Of course she would think that reuniting everybody would solve everything. She didn’t know what was lurking under your skin. You put on a smile. “Have a great day.” She put a hand on top of yours.

“You too, sweetie.” 

She glanced back at you with a flash of concern before the front door closed behind her. 

“I thought she’d never leave.” The voice made you jump out of your seat, the coffee mug sent shattering on the floor. A woman walked in from the hallway with a smug smile on her face. You lunged across the table, reaching for a knife from the counter. She grabbed your arm and pinned it to the table. With a single blink, her eyes turned jet black. “Boo.”

“Lavina.” You gasped, trying to yank your arm away. 

“Aw, you missed me.” She laughed, raking her nails across the back of your hand just deep enough to break the skin. “So how’s my little protégé doing back up top?” 

“How are you here?” She let you go and you examined the scratches. 

“What? You think the security in Hell is really the top priority right now?” She wandered around the kitchen, picking up the knife you had been reaching for and twisted it back and forth in the light. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to kill you. That’d be too easy.”

“Then what do you want?” 

“I’m just checking in to see how you’re holding up.” Lavina flipped on the radio and laughed at the tune. It was just the last few seconds, but it still sent a chill up your spine. 

“You know that you’re the only one to say okay. But you’re motorin’ yeah motorin’.” 

“I remember this one.” Lavina smirked. “Didn’t this used to be you and dreamboat Dean’s song?” 

“Shut up.” 

“What? Aren’t you excited to see your sweetie-pie Winchester again?” She read the fear behind your glowering eyes and chuckled. “Or maybe you don’t want to see him. Maybe you know.” 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about you black-eyed bitch.” 

“Maybe you know that whatever soul you’ve got walking around in that meat suit isn’t all you anymore.” The song on the radio ended and you recognized the next song as Bad Company. “Man, this station is on fire this morning! There’s no worse company than yourself when you’ve become what you have.” 

You tried to block out her words, but you knew that she was right. So you turned away so she wouldn’t have the satisfaction of seeing your fear. Your fists clenched at your sides. 

“Get out.”

“Sooner or later, you’ll be begging to come back to me. Begging to finally tear all of those souls apart. Begging to embrace what you really are. Let’s just hope you realize it before your precious Dean gets hurt.”

Bad, bad company til the day I die

With an angered scream, you grabbed a plate and hurled at Lavina’s head. She caught it and held it out in front of her. Clicking her tongue, she let it fall to the floor. The sound of the ceramic shattering made you jump. 

“Don’t worry. You’ll know how to find me.” The pieces cracked under her boots as she walked across the kitchen and vanished down the hall. 

You were shaking- from rage or from terror, you didn’t know. The image of your reflection back at the police station had been haunting your thoughts ever since. You had yet to look into another mirror out of fear of what you’d see. Lavina was right. Whatever Amara had brought back, it wasn’t you. 

-

Sam was surprised when Jody told him to meet her at the station rather than at her house. Maybe Dean was right. Something just felt off about this whole thing. Dean’s whole body was tense, his eyes scanning every part of the room, expecting to see a monster ready to pounce. 

“There you boys are.” Jody let out an exasperated sigh and pulled both Winchesters into a hug. Both could tell how freaked she was. Sam pushed back and put his hands on her shoulders. 

“Jody, what’s going on? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. There’s just… there’s a different problem back at my house.”

“Is something wrong with Alex? Or Claire?” 

“No, no. It isn’t them. Alex has been taking a nursing course in Rapid for the past two weeks and god knows where Claire is.” She ushered them into her office and closed the door. “No, this is… weirder. It’d be best for you guys to just see for yourselves, but I wanted to prep you first.” 

“Prep us for what?” Dean asked, that deep feeling in his gut returning. Jody looked at him with sympathetic eyes. 

“For what you’re going to see.” 

“Jody, what are you talking about?”

“I can’t explain it. I don’t know what happened. One minute I’m dealing with a couple of pot-smoking kids and the next I’m getting a call from a friend of mine saying that…” She took a deep breath to keep from rambling. “Like I said, it’s better for you to just go and see her yourselves.” 

Sam and Dean exchanged a look and Dean’s forehead creased with confusion. 

“Her?” 

-

Cas stood alone, looking out on the vast lake before him. His search was getting him nowhere and nothing was helping with the visions. Everywhere he looked, he saw hands slick with your blood. Every car horn or singing bird was replaced by your screams. He was supposed to be your friend. Lucifer used that against him. 

“Cas, please I know you’re in there somewhere.” You cried, just earning another punch to the gut. 

“I’ve got to admit, you’re holding up a lot better than Dean ever did down here. Only took him 30 years to give in. It’s been, what, 300 for you?” He blew out a low whistle. “For a while, I liked having Crowley as my chew toy, but when I found out you were down here, man I just couldn’t resist.” He laughed as he ran his finger down your bloody arm. 

“Cas…” You pleaded, screaming when he drew a blade down your face, just missing your eye. Blood dripped from your temple, making it hard to see You were used to pain by now, but this was different. This was looking at the face of your friend and seeing only malice. 

“Lavina told you about good old Dean getting ganked by Metatron, right?” Cas’ gave you a fake pout. No, not Cas. Lucifer. “I mean, come on. Metatron? Of all the angels in heaven that’s the one that quote-unquote ‘Michael’s Sword’ bites the bullet for?” He laughed picking something up from the table. “I guess that’s not really the right expression, right? His death went a little more like this.” 

He shoved the angel blade deep into your chest and your mouth fell open, but no scream came out. He grabbed you by the hair and lifted you up so his lips were by your ear. 

“All of this- the suffering and the torture- was for nothing. You saved Dean only for him to die a few months later. You’re death meant nothing. You mean nothing.” When he let you go, you fell to the floor, held up only by the chains on your wrist. Your blank eyes stared back up at him. Not that it mattered. You’d be awake soon enough for him to start over. 

-

When they got to Jody’s house, Dean had one hand on his pistol and the other clenched at his side. Sam stood up a little too straight, clearly on edge from whatever lay beyond that door. Jody turned the key and the three went inside. When Jody got to the kitchen, however, her face fell. 

“Damnit.” She muttered, pulling out her own weapon. The boys joined her, looking down at the shattered plate on the floor. Sam and Dean went to search other rooms in the house while she cautiously opened the back door and peaked out into the yard. With a sigh, she holstered her gun. “Out here, boys!” 

Sam was first, but he froze on the spot. He just stared, eyes wide and heart pounding. Dean had to push past him to get out the door. When he did, that feeling in his gut made him sick to his stomach. The last time he saw that face, it was being torn apart. 

You dropped the whiskey bottle into the grass and felt tears welling up in your eyes. He was finally here. 

“Dean…” You gasped, wanting to reach for him, but you couldn’t move. You were frozen under his glaring eyes. It wasn’t until his pistol was aimed at your head that you snapped out of it. 

-

General Tag: @rae-gar-targaryen; @takemepedropascal; @childhood-imagination;  @mylovegoesto; @yellowbadgergirl; @itmejado; @suckmyapplejacks; @kendahl0216​

Supernatural: @desimarie12; @deandreamernp; @vicmc624; @halesandy; @livshaes; @d-whinchestergirl87; @mrspeacem1nusone;  @crist1216

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[chacerider]

I want to get into Ultraman but I don't know where to start any recommendations

tl;dr version: It’s tricky, but Mebius might be a good place if you’re not going to just start with the original Ultraman and proceed chronologically. You could also just jump into New Generations Ultraman with Ginga and go from there, with only minor confusion (and you might want to watch Zero’s movies before watching X or especially Geed). “Canon” is very loose and rarely required knowledge between seasons (though there are exceptions; hi, Orb’s Jugglus Juggler being a major character in Z! Hi, Geed showing up there as well!), so really, you can jump in anywhere.

  expansive version, w/ reasoning and some discussion of official sources to watch Ultraman at:

  Okay, so, here's the bad news: With only a few exceptions, just about every Ultraman series is at least going to LIGHTLY reference past seasons. (The OG Ultraman obv doesn't, and Cosmos doesn't as well -- I think a lot of the early 00s seasons don't, but I can't confirm that myself.)

Now, here's the good news: in MOST seasons, any references WILL be light and fairly well-explained for newcomers. (The largest part of their audience is young children, after all!) If you go in with an open heart and a bit of a detective attitude ("ah, so that's how it is? So, then, it works like this?") you shouldn't have any problems just jumping in-- mostly.

With that being said...

Obviously, you could just start with the original Ultraman and go forward chronologically from there, but since you're asking me instead of doing that, I'm guessing you're not necessarily into 1960s/1970s TV. Which is fair! There's a lot to love in that era, especially Ultraman-wise, but I too have trouble getting into it as much as I get into newer shows. So, skipping forward, my next recommendation would be...

Mebius is a fairly good place to jump in if you can find it -- it's a mid-2000s anniversary season, but it does a really thorough job of explaining/establishing worldbuilding & lore that's still considered mostly-canon today, and as an anniversary it'll introduce you to major recurring characters (the Ultra Brothers, among others). It's also genuinely REALLY REALLY good, and it's a full-length season so there's plenty of content.

After that... Ultraman Zero and his main villain Belial come up a LOT in modern Ultraman, and Zero's super fun, BUT -- he doesn't actually have a season. What he DOES have are a string of movies and DVD specials, so if you can track down those, I'd highly highly recommend them. The watch order goes Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legends, Revenge of Belial, Killer The Beat Star, Ultraman Saga, then Ultra Zero Fight finishes it off. There's a TV anthology (Zero Chronicles) that cuts the movies up for broadcast, but the editing's awkward and they do NOT follow the chronological release order for... some reason, idk. (They put Zero's first movie in the middle of the anthology! They spread the first half of Ultra Zero Fight over the end of several episodes! I do not know why!!) So if it's the only thing you can find, it's there, but... It's a mess, ye be forewarned. (The host segments are cute, though.)

At that point you're very well set for New Generations Ultraman (the current modern seasons) -- everything from Ginga onwards, though you could also just start with Ginga! It's a bit of a weird (and low-budget) one, but hey... it's where I started and here I am many seasons later, lol. I've loved every single NewGen Ultra I've watched, though I should mention that Z (the current one) very heavily references Orb and minorly Zero, and Geed also features Zero (though in a very good way!). I should also mention these seasons are shorter than older seasons -- about 24 episodes apiece. (Budget reasons.)

Long story short, though? Just jump in. It's a little tough to start out, but the more you watch, the more you'll get out of it. And hey, there's always the internet for looking up lore you don't know!

Oh, and finally: I didn't really mention where to find this stuff, because, well... It's all over the place. Some of it's on VRV/Crunchyroll! Some of it's on Amazon's Toku channel! Some of it's on Blu-Ray through Mill Creek Entertainment! (I love those Blu-Rays, very much recommend them if they're an option for you.) Some of it you're only going to find fan-subbed, for now at least. If you need a pointer towards something specific, I can try to help you, but... Google. Google is your friend.

(Also: Ultraman Z has been simulcasting on Youtube with English subs... however, episodes are only available on Youtube for a couple weeks, so at this point you’d have to find another source for the first few episodes in order to catch up. After that, though, Z’s great and it’s wild being able to experience it as it airs!)

Hope that helped!

[aion-rsa]

WandaVision: Who is Agent Jimmy Woo?

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains WandaVision spoilers.

Now that WandaVision episode 4 has expanded a bit to show more of what’s going on, it really ties into what made the first phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe work, but in a very surreal way. The first Avengers movie was about the culmination in connections and bringing together the top heroes that existed so far in continuity. Now that we’re four Avengers movies in and we’re taking our first step into the era of Marvel’s Disney+ TV shows, we have such an odd collection of characters from all over the MCU converging.

Really, it’s pretty wild. We have two Avengers who otherwise never had all that screentime. We have a supporting character from Captain Marvel who first appeared as a child now a central character all grown up. We have the comic relief from the first two Thor movies. Then there’s that FBI agent from Ant-Man and the Wasp, whose only role was to be a pestering doofus to the hero.

Yes, Agent James Woo (played by Randall Park), the guy who tried to make sure Scott Lang was making good on his house arrest, is trying to figure out what the hell is going on in Westview, New Jersey. That goofball from Ant-Man and the Wasp is the guy talking over Wanda Maximoff’s radio in episode 2 to try and figure out who is controlling her.

Dorky or not, Jimmy Woo has a long history with Marvel. In fact, he predates all the other characters on this show. He even predates Marvel itself!

He first appeared in Yellow Claw #1 from Atlas Comics, created by Al Feldstein and Joe Maneely, though Jack Kirby pretty much took over as of the second issue. The Yellow Claw was a Fu Manchu-type yellow peril villain and FBI Agent Jimmy Woo was the agent assigned to track him down. With Yellow Claw being one of those awful racist caricatures that the era was known for, Woo was seen as almost revolutionary in comparison. He was Asian, but not a walking joke based on his nationality.

Yellow Claw only lasted a mere four issues, but its status as a comic book footnote would ultimately help out Woo in the long run.

Woo was brought back in the late-60s as an agent of SHIELD. He spent the next many decades being a run-of-the-mill go-to SHIELD guy. Someone you would merely throw in a scene, even though the focus was on someone like Nick Fury or Dum Dum Dugan. Really, one of his more notable appearances was in the late-70s Marvel Godzilla comic. He admittedly didn’t do much, but he survived a few confrontations with the King of the Monsters and that’s awesome!

The late-70s also laid some important seeds for Woo’s future in an early issue of Marvel’s What If? series. The anthology comic was usually about Uatu the Watcher focusing on an alternate reality and seeing how things would have ended up if history had zigged instead of zagged. A world where Captain America wasn’t frozen, a world where Spider-Man prevented Uncle Ben’s death, etc.

The ninth issue, “What If the Avengers Had Fought Evil in the 1950s?” was written by Don Glut and drawn by Alan Kupperberg and Bill Black. As a framing device, the story was being watched by Avengers members Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Vision, and Beast. Looking into the past of an alternate reality, Iron Man saw an adventure where a bunch of 1950s characters teamed up and called themselves the Avengers.

The team was made up of:

Jimmy Woo, still trying to hunt down the Yellow Claw.

Marvel Boy, a twist on Superman’s origin where a man tried to escape Nazi Germany by flying he and his son to Uranus on a rocket. The son grew up to be a hero using gadgets and enhanced scientific knowledge.

3D Man, with the speed and strength of three men. He was sort of a cheat, as he was introduced in the 70s with his story taking place in the 50s.

Venus, the Goddess of Love.

Gorilla Man, who is like Tim Allen in the Santa Clause if you replaced “being Santa” with “being a talking gorilla.”

The Human Robot, a malfunctioning 1950s robot from a horror comic.

There were also appearances by Namora and Jann of the Jungle. Pretty sure one of the villains showed up in one of the obscure “Commie Smasher” Captain America issues.

Anyway, after the good guys won the day, President Eisenhower told them to disband. The way he saw it, the world wasn’t really ready for a ragtag super team of weirdos. Watching this, the mainstream Avengers noted their similarities to the members of this alternate lineup. Captain America and 3D Man were cut from the same cloth in terms of fighting style, Iron Man and Marvel Boy were both geniuses with cool gadgets, Thor and Venus were both gods fighting alongside mortals, Vision and Human Robot were both androids with heroic hearts, and Beast and Gorilla Man were both smartass talking furballs.

The Watcher appeared at the end to remind the reader something important: just because Iron Man saw this in an alternate reality doesn’t mean it didn’t happen in regular continuity. After all, who’s to know? It was a neat team-up that was quickly swept under the rug and didn’t have any lasting complications.

Other than a minor appearance in Avengers Forever, the What If? issue finally got the callback it was looking for in the mid-2000s. The team of Jeff Parker and Leonard Kirk did a miniseries called Agents of Atlas. The idea was that while they didn’t call themselves the Avengers, those 1950s heroes did indeed secretly team up back in the day.

For the most part, the characters were the same, but there were plenty of tweaks. Since their origins were tied to the 1950s, Jimmy Woo was aged up immensely for it to make sense, only to be de-aged through Marvel Boy’s technology. Marvel Boy himself was renamed the Uranian and they altered his backstory since one doesn’t really live a normal life on the surface of Uranus (tee-hee). Human Robot was referred to as M-11 and would rarely speak. 3D Man wasn’t part of the team, but they eventually brought in the hero Triathalon to fill in the role. As for Venus, she was retconned into being a guilt-ridden siren of the sea who for a time believed herself to be the goddess.

Most importantly, it gave us this panel.

Sadly, despite its high-quality and Marvel trying again and again, Agents of Atlas never truly caught on. It did last roughly as long as Guardians of the Galaxy did around the same time and we all know how successful that was once it became a movie. Come on, Marvel! Give us some cinematic Gorilla Man! You already know that people love wise-ass talking animals!

Marvel rested the concept for a few years until bringing it back as a new all-Asian superhero team led by Agent Woo. So Woo still has stuff going on.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Maybe WandaVision will be a stepping stone from learning close-up magic to actually being the leader of his own group of heroes. One day…

The post WandaVision: Who is Agent Jimmy Woo? appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/36sZIee

[trulyinspiringmovies]

Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark

“Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark” had so much potential but managed to squeeze out an average movie.

Stella, Auggie, and Chuck are a group of friends living in Mill Valley in 1968. They pull a prank to get back at a school bully named, Tommy. They get chased and meet a new face named, Ramón. They get followed to a haunted house and trapped in there. They find the book of Sarah Bellows, which is said to have scary stories. They soon realize that each night, a new story appears and one of them disappears. It’s up to the group to find out what’s going on and put a stop to all of it.

When I heard that this movie was going to be produced by Guillermo Del Toro, I was going to watch this in theaters. I remember reading the first book when I was younger and seeing the first trailer was like the drawings just jumped out of the book and onto the screen. When the reviews first came out, I was disappointed. I thought this was going to be a great anthology horror film, but everyone said it wasn’t. Now that I had an excuse to watch it for myself, I could say for myself that those people were right. It’s not an anthology, which isn’t inherently bad but made the writers come up with a way to bring all these monsters into one story. They do this haphazardly, partly because the premise itself is a bit weak and partly because the writing was mediocre. Of course, the costumes and practical effects were godlike. Guillermo Del Toro has cemented himself as the king of horror monsters. Even some of the completely CG monsters were decent. The monsters alone couldn’t save this film. The actors were all really bad. Some of them were obviously fake-crying, which was grating to listen to because it went on for so long. Some of their jokes felt like they were just reading them off of a Scholastic Book Fair joke book. Some of them smiled at inappropriate times and threw me out of the movie. Some of them were just annoying and I don’t know if it’s because of the acting or the actor. This film tries to sequel-bait by making it seem like the next film is going to focus on bringing back all of the lost kids, but honestly, I don’t really care if they come back. The movie was better off without them. They were all one-dimensional and I didn’t care whether or not they died. Speaking of their “death scenes”, the film makes it ambiguous because of the potential of a sequel, so they don’t outright kill anyone. Instead, they’re taken away to a different plane of existence. It really takes the horror element out of this movie because it’s never explained where they’re taken to or why I should be scared that they got taken away. One of the kids gets hugged and disappears. It kills any momentum that scene had previously and forcibly ejected me out of the moment. I shouldn’t have wasted my time on this film and you shouldn’t either unless you’re like a super-fan of the books.

★★★

Watched on October 6th, 2020

[italymystery-swanqueen]

Chapters: 31/31 Fandom: Once Upon a Time (TV) Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan Characters: Emma Swan, Evil Queen | Regina Mills, Pinocchio | August Booth, Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Prince Charming | David Nolan, Baelfire | Neal Cassidy, Henry Mills (Once Upon a Time), Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard, Huntsman | Sheriff Graham, Grumpy | Leroy, Peter Pan | Malcolm, Red Riding Hood | Ruby, Lily | Lilith Page, Captain Hook | Killian Jones Additional Tags: 31 Days Of Halloween, Anthology, Part II, Spooky, Scary, Halloween, Scarytales, Dark Magic, Sex Magic, NSFW, Evil, Monsters, Paranormal, Fear, Supernatural Elements, Haunted Houses, Halloween cranked up to 100, Murder, Blood and Injury, Witchcraft, Resurrection Series: Part 18 of Scarytales Summary:

Part II of the Halloween Anthology! :D

[moonlightmadnessreviews]

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark: PG-13 Horror Done Right

This review is meant to scare viewers out of missing the movie discussed therein. At the end of the review, pause and then scream at the top of your lungs to make sure your friends know to go see it! Directed by André Øvredal and produced by Guillermo Del Toro, this summer’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark has found more ways than one to make the monsters of our childhood leap off the page. Like many movie-goers my age, I was an avid fan of the Scary Stories series of books, so I was more than a little excited to see how this movie would adapt the creepy tales. The end result is a fun, PG-13 ride that accomplished the same goal as the books, which is to turn young kids into fans of horror and the macabre!

Author Alvin Schwartz first published Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark in 1981. A collection of camp fire ghost tales, folklore and urban legends, Schwartz found a way to make scary stories accessible to a young audience. I can still remember walking up to the books at each year’s book fair, flipping through the pages of the book and putting it back down once I’d sufficiently creeped myself out. I wouldn’t be brave enough to check one of the books out of the library until just before a road trip to Niagara Falls in my early teens. I read the stories the whole way there, transfixed by Stephen Gammell’s illustrations, which have become just as iconic as the stories themselves.

The movie follows teens Stella, Auggie, Chuck and Ramón as they explore the home of local legend Sarah Bellows, accidentally unleashing her vengeful spirit and the book she uses to curse the local town’s folk of Mill Valley. The cast of young actors did an exceptional job through out, getting a few good laughs, great scares and quite a bit of emotion from their performances. Michael Garza stars as Ramón, Gabriel Rush does a great job playing the “everything has a ration explanation” character of Auggie, Natalie Ganzhorn and Austin Zajur play siblings Ruth and Chuck respectively, Austin Abrams plays obnoxious bully Tommy and Zoe Colleti stars as the shy but strong final girl Stella. Along with creating some great scares and good tension, I loved seeing how Dan and Kevin Hageman‘s screenplay dealt with themes of alienation. Ramón faces racism and sideways glances, a member of the Bellows family staff is blamed for teaching Sarah black magic (much like in the Salem Witch Trials) and Stella deals with her mother abandoning her and her father, played by none other than Dean Norris. The only heavy handed performance came from Zajur who serves as the comedic relief, though I feel that may have more to do with the script itself. At time it feels like he was directed to act as dopey as possible to help sell the comedy but as heavy handed as it was, it never felt annoying.

A spooky atmosphere was achieved throughout with the help of music by Marco Beltrami and Anna Drubich. The film captures the same kind of wonder and fear felt in the books through beautiful and haunting cinematography from Roman Osin. Øvredal, who’s previous film The Autopsy of Jane Doe is a must watch, manages to give the film a wonderfully gothic look, especially within the home of Sarah Bellows. The set design reminded me of Guillermo Del Toro’s Crimson Peak, and you could almost smell the pumpkin spice and burning leaves when exploring the town of Mill Valley.

I couldn’t get through this review without mentioning the amazing special effects work. I’m a huge fan of practice effects, as I feel it helps to get a genuine reaction from actors when they have a physical horror to react to and, when done well, the effects look amazing on screen. Veteran special effects artist Norman Cabrera and effects studio Spectral Motion helped to recreate some of the most iconic monsters from the book series with striking accuracy. It also helps that they had the talented, and horrifying, Troy James as The Jangly Man and Javier Botet as a corpse in search of their big toe, each bringing amazing physicality to their respective monsters.

Re-reading the books in preparation for the movie, I was surprised by Schwartz refusal to pull his punches when it came to the scares. Furthermore, though the set up and delivery of the stories were rather simple and to the point, it never felt like Schwartz was talking down to his readers. The series is really rather adult for a being a collection of what were scary stories for children. Though the movie takes a similar approach, there is a fair deal of hand-holding and exposition. You can tell they’re trying to make the film easy for its intended PG-13 audience to follow. I wouldn’t say this aspect of the movie can be overlooked, as it’s fairly blatant in some parts, but its excusable as it doesn’t feel insulting to the audience.

This is certainly balanced out by the fact that the scares really push the boundaries of the film’s PG-13 rating, the “Teenage Scarecrow” scene being a great example. I originally expected the movie to be an anthology akin to movies such as Creepshow or Trick r Treat, but I’m glad they came up with a way of weaving individual Scary Stories into the overarching plot. Del Toro himself said they decided against an anthology because:

“Anthology films are always as bad as the worst story in them — they're never as good as the best story. I remembered in Pan's Labyrinth, I created a book called 'the Book of Crossroads'. I thought it could be great if we had a book that reads you, and it writes what you're most afraid of. Then the theme became stories we tell each other."

While horror movies seem to be more mainstream than ever, more and more cash grab horror movies are being released (see The Curse of La Llorona, The Nun and The Bye Bye Man) in an attempt to capture the PG-13 crowd. These movies are often filled with vacant characters, horrible scripts, and nothing but jump scares that lead to laughter rather than tension. This is exactly where Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark excels! A movie that knows it’s audience, builds tension and uses jump scares as effectively as possible with characters you actually care about, Scary Stories is a refreshing horror movie for young audiences. Øvredal and company have shown that it’s possible to create a “Baby’s First Horror Movie” experience without being mindless and vapid. Like the books the movie is based on, I’m excited to see younger audiences really latch onto this movie and develop a love for horror because of it.

Rating: 4 Full Moons out of 5 🌕🌕🌕🌕

[brokehorrorfan]

Blu-ray Review: Ultraman

Following the success of Ultra Q, Japanese special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya (who previously co-created Godzilla) immediately went to work on Ultraman. While not a direct continuation or a spin-off per se, the series serves as a spiritual successor of sorts. Running for 39 episodes between 1966 and 1967, it became a ratings juggernaut for Tokyo Broadcasting System, launching a pop culture phenomenon and a huge revenue stream that would last for decades.

Ultra Q was never particularly explicit, but Ultraman is decidedly more kid-friendly, as made immediately evident by the opening theme sung by a chorus of children. Ultraman is also shot in vibrant color and features a prominent child character. Gone is Ultra Q's sonorous narration, although a new narrator is employed to provide intermittent exposition regarding Ultraman's abilities. The occasional social commentary still sneaks in.

The series revolves around the Science Special Search Party, a Japanese agency that protects Earth from monsters. In the premiere, one of the group's five members, Shin Hayata (Susumu Kurobe), is nearly killed when Ultraman, an extraterrestrial from Nebula M78, clashes with another creature on Earth. To repay his debt, Ultraman becomes one with Hayata, giving him the ability to transform into the giant alien as needed. In typical superhero fashion, no one knows Hayata is the alter ego despite him being conveniently absent whenever Ultraman appears.

Ultraman is less anthological than Ultra Q, as Hayata and the Science Special Search Party are integral to each episode, but it's very much a monster-of-the-week approach. Some of the creatures are goofy, and several are recycled from Ultra Q, but on the whole the villains are more inventive than Ultra Q's giant animal trend. Ultraman's appearance goes through their three variants over the course of the series, getting sleeker with each revision.

As with Ultra Q before it, Ultraman's production values are on par with any of its giant monster contemporaries - including Godzilla. The color pops, although the show was downgraded to 16mm from Ultra Q’s 35mm. A combination of suitimation, miniatures, wire work, blue screen, and optical effects is utilized to bring the creatures to life. Tonally, Ultraman is more consistent than its predecessor, leaning into the science fiction-fueled action. Kaiju pictures often feature monsters engaging in professional wrestling-style maneuvers, but Ultraman being humanoid results in even more WWE-worthy body slams.

Ultraman's complete series has been released on Steelbook Blu-ray and standard Blu-ray via Mill Creek Entertainment. The original Japanese broadcast edits have been remastered in high definition with lossless DTS-HD Master Audio in its native Japanese with English subtitles. The six-disc set includes a 28-page collectible booklet, which features a brief history of Ultraman by SciFi Japan’s Keith Aiken along with guides to the series’ episodes, monsters, characters, and technologies.

Ultraman proved to be an immediate hit, drawing higher ratings than the already-successful Ultra Q. Tokyo Broadcasting System was eager for more episodes, but Tsuburaya declined, citing fatigue from producing Ultra Q and Ultraman back to back. But Ultraman's rest would be quite brief, as the alien hero was revived for the first of many times later that same year in Ultraseven, which is also part of Mill Creek’s ongoing Ultra collection.

Ultraman: The Complete Series is available on Steelbook and Blu-ray via Mill Creek Entertainment.

[apisa-b]

His Raven Heart

Rating: M Warning: Minor character death, attempted suicide

Shortly after Ben had severed the last ties to his family, he was summoned to the mysterious mill near Corellia by a faraway voice in his dreams. With nowhere better to go and desperate to avoid the army recruiters on both sides of the war, he followed the voice, and upon finding the mill took on an apprenticeship – and a new name. The work was grueling and mind numbing, and slowly he came to the realization that something wasn’t quite right in this mill. After discovering the Master’s dark secrets, he was already far too entangled in the twisted ways of the mill to be able to break free from the shackles binding him to the malevolent Master. All hope of escape seemed lost. Can a chance meeting get Ben to embrace love and light, and start a chain of events resulting in his freedom?

Reylo AU inspired by and based on the German classic YA novel "Krabat and the Sorcerer’s Mill" by Otfried Preussler.

Chapter One - Obey the Voice of the Master

Chapter Two - Raven feathers sprout on me

Chapter Three - Feel my raven heart

Chapter Four - With neck and crop you are mine    

Chapter Five - Obey, because he will get you in the end    

This is my contribution to Amid Secrets And Monsters: The 2019  Reylo Fan Fiction Anthology by @reylofanfictionanthology​ .   

[beetledrink]

comprehensive list of movies on netflix to watch for halloween based on what i remember about them not having rewatched them

se7en: holds up as a pretty interesting thriller if you can stomach the content of actors accused of various degrees of sexual misconduct in it

scooby-doo: best movie ever made. watch this with your friends. fuck you if you disagree

the sixth sense: i once watched this with my friend who somehow hadn’t had it spoiled for her yet and it blew her mind. if you know someone like this cherish them. some scenes still make me cry. i was scared for like a decade after i saw this as a kid

the reaping: if nothing else kind of an interesting twist, otherwise pretty run of the mill horror

dreamcatcher: for some reason i was super fixated on this book and movie as a teenager and i don’t know why cause it sucks a pretty fair amount. at one point they fuck up the lines and call major characters by the wrong names and no one does anything. great movie if you wanna see jason lee in ugly clothes saying weird shit

the boy: i absolutely expected this movie to be ridiculously bad mid 2010s horror and it spanked my expectations. better movie than you think it is

1922: one of the only stephen king stories i enjoyed almost entirely and the movie does it justice, soundtrack rules and the actors kill it. pretty good but not exciting halloween party fare

the ritual: best monster design of the last decade, cool soundtrack, awesome movie

the void: like if event horizon and resident evil had a baby. i dont remember almost anything about this besides the vibes of it i think i watched it last year but i remember liking it i think

tale of tales: i dont know why this is in my halloween recs but its kind of a cool fairy tale anthology i actually liked it quite a lot

the voices: my mom made me watch this twice

the shining: i dont know if this is actually a good movie, if its just perceived as a good movie because of its critical reception, or if i think its a good movie just because my brain has worms in it

the vampires assistant: i watch this movie all the time of my own free will just for john c really and his wardrobe

deep blue sea: im scared as hell of the ocean so this scared me but it sucks quite a bit also

the vvitch: what do i even have to say... great movie if you love gut wrenching tension and 2 hours of almost nothing happening, which i do. has cool goat

my remote stopped working and i cant move away from the netflix trailer loop for pirates of the caribbean dead men tell no tales so i guess this list is done

[stainedglassgardens]

Watched in February

Sitting Next to Zoe Dark Places Nocturnal Animals The Limey Side Effects Good Sam Anima What Did Jack Do? Fleur de tonnerre Parasite The Field Guide to Evil Devil 37 Seconds The Falling Grave of the Fireflies (火垂るの墓, Hotaru no Haka) Elena (Елена) The Lighthouse Baskin In Fabric Leviathan (Левиафан) Suffragette

Did not finish

Lettre à ma mer (Mégane Murgia, 2016) Greener Grass (Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe, 2019)

Did not like

Nocturnal Animals (Tom Ford, 2016) Side Effects (Steven Soderbergh, 2013)

Okay I suppose

Dark Places (Gilles Paquet-Brenner, 2015) Good Sam (Kate Melville, 2019) Anima (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2019) What Did Jack Do? (David Lynch, 2017) Devil (John Eric Dowdle, 2010)

Films I enjoyed

Sitting Next to Zoe (Ivana Lalović, 2013): One of those rare stories about teenagers that I was able to truly enjoy. Maybe because it didn’t happen in a school setting?

The Limey (Steven Soderbergh, 1999): Been wanting to see this for a while. Technically perfect. One of those Man Films that transcend genre

Parasite (Bong Joon-ho, 2019): It was... good? I just didn’t get the hype

37 Seconds (Hikari, 2019): This film talks about disability and sexuality with a perfect mixture of tact and subversiveness, and should be required viewing for pretty much everyone

The Falling (Carol Morley, 2014): This felt like it could have been better thought out, and I still preferred Morley’s latest effort Out of Blue, but I did like it. Maisie Williams and Florence Pugh are both, of course, amazing. Also reminded me of Jordan Scott’s (very underrated) Cracks, for the setting and atmosphere

Grave of the Fireflies (火垂るの墓, Hotaru no Haka, Isao Takahata, 1988): Finally saw this! I didn’t even cry, which, according to one of my best friends, makes me a monster

Elena (Елена) and Leviathan (Левиафан) (Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2011 and 2014): Zvyagintsev sure loves miserable women, and the deader the better. Yet I don’t know what it is about him. His bleak settings? His soundtracks? Or is it just the fact that I can use his films to get some Russian exposure?

The Lighthouse (Robert Eggers, 2019): Hmm... what the fuck?

In Fabric (Peter Strickland, 2018): This was a bit of a disappointment as I was such a huge fan of Strickland’s other films, The Duke of Burgundy in particular. Still a treat to watch, if only for the aesthetics Suffragette (Sarah Gavron, 2015): I had such low expectations for this one, I only ended up watching it because it was going to be taken off Netflix France at the end of February. But I was pleasantly surprised! A bit run-of-the-mill, but still a story that deserves to be told as often as possible. Especially to the younger feminists out there. Also to watch while reading Lara Williams’s Supper Club for a short introduction to feminist terrorism

Favourites of the month

Fleur de tonnerre (Stéphanie Pillonca, 2016): Wonderful scenery, very tolerable acting. Love my lady villains. Love Strong Female Characters that are not, you know -- good.

The Field Guide to Evil (Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala, Katrin Gebbe, Yannis Veslemes, Ashim Ahluwalia, Agnieszka Smoczyńska, Can Evrenol, Calvin Reeder, Peter Strickland, 2018): This is a surprisingly good-throughout anthology horror film, except for the American one, which I didn’t really see the point of. Favourites segments were by Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala, Can Evrenol, Yannis Veslemes,and Peter Strickland

Baskin (Can Evrenol, 2015): This month’s film-that-fucked-me-up! I looked it up after I saw Can Evrenol’s segment in The Field Guide to Evil. I was about to quit at some point in the second half due to gore literal overkill, but I’m glad I stuck through. The ending is great, and this is a great horror film that deserves to be better-known

*

In February I tried to consciously watch fewer films in order to focus on reading and other activities I enjoy. It wasn’t a great month for film-watching! I did finally finish Chernobyl, which is as good as everyone says it is. I also tried watching Mindhunter after a friend recommended it to me, but it was awful and I couldn’t even finish the first episode.

In March I’m going to keep trying to watch less stuff, and I hope I’ll have better luck with stumbling upon stuff I really enjoy.