#also?? red looks unreasonably good on rudy

[moki-dokie]

sigh. i can still pretend. at least we'll have crumbs.

[bluegiragi]

hello! i'm gira, i go by she/her, and i've been making fanart for the cod fandom for about four months now :) the majority of that time's been spent on the soapbox saga, which is sort of just what i call the very plot-ridden porn comic featuring ghost, soap and konig. and recently i've been working on the monster 141 au!

i'm here to address the reasoning behind how i assigned certain monsters to certain characters, particularly the POC characters as well as accusations of racism regarding me neglecting gaz in all my art :) whoever you are, if you're reading this in good faith, i thank you! i earnestly never intended to make anyone feel uncomfortable from my work.

The Monster AU

i won't post the blog who brought this issue up mainly because, (realistically speaking) i think people might go after them and spam them with hate so I'm paraphrasing here. but basically..."how come all the POC in the Monster AU are assigned animal-associated monsters? Comparisons to animals can be incredibly demeaning when it comes to minorities".

I completely agree! But earnestly, I think my desire to assign every character a 'monster' that was relevant to their culture overshadowed the part of my brain that would've raised red flags about this sort of thing. There's the argument here that I could've assigned these characters cooler monsters such as Price who is a dragon, and Ghost who is a wraith, but I wanted to be respectful of all the minorities in the COD cast by giving them creatures that reflected their culture and personality.

ALEJANDRO - NAGUAL

In the Monster AU, Alejandro is a nagual, which is considered a guardian spirit in Mesoamerican culture. Typically, it's said that the nagual is the shapeshifted form that powerful men can transform into in order to do evil (although that doesn't apply in this case, Ale's a heroic lad), and can come in the forms of a jaguar, deer, dog or bird. I chose a jaguar, since it seemed to be the most common form of nagual depiction in the resources I was looking at. The 'panther mode' isn't pre-established as part of nagual mythology, but since most panthers are just black jaguars, i thought the association wouldn't be unreasonable.

I chose Alejandro to be a nagual because it's so in character for him to be protective of his home. The idea of him being a literal guardian spirit for all he considers his just made sense to me :)

--

RODOLFO (RUDY) - CADEJOS

In this AU, Rudy is the vessel for two cadejos, which are legendary dog spirits popular in the mythology of Central America, parts of South America and Mexico. Historically, they've been known as psychopomps (guides to help humans into the afterlife following their death) but modern interpretation has shifted to depict them as the good guardian dog and the evil attacking dog respectively.

A lot of the minute information about the cadejos tends to differ depending on the source. Like whether they're actually two separate dogs, or they're the same dog just in different 'modes', or how big they are. My personal depiction of them has them sized as normal dogs (although their spirit nature means they can move into small spaces pretty easily by just becoming immaterial temporarily) and as separate spirits that have been passed down through Rudy's family generationally.

I chose the cadejo for Rudy because although I wanted to include him in the Monster AU, i still liked keeping him as a character who was a bit more 'human' than Alejandro. I think Ale needs Rudy to hold him back sometimes, and having the two cadejo definitely helps with that. Sort of like how cheetahs in zoos have therapy dogs growing up because they're so anxious all the time! I think it also does a good job of showing Rudy's two sides as well, like he's a softie who just wants to protect those he loves, but he's capable of a lot of violence too.

--

VALERIA - GORGON

Valeria is a gorgon which, admittedly, is not part of Mexican mythology. However, I was put in a bit of a bind here, since my research didn't really reveal to me a monster in Mexican culture that I thought would suit Valeria's vibe (manipulative, elulsive) and I just felt like a gorgon would be perfect for her. Medusa's myth has her being continuously demeaned by the men in her life and is a symbol of female empowerment, which I thought was a great reflection of the implied reason that Valeria left the army was due to internal sexism. There's also the perfect parallel of how anyone who sees El Sin Nombre's face dies, and Medusa's whole 'turn you to stone' thing.

I thought i could compromise by making Valeria a gorgon but her hair would be Mexican black kingsnakes but...turns out they're actually not that dangerous. Some people even keep them as pets! So I decided to keep the visual, but make her a pit viper, a subfamily of vipers found in the Americas as well as Eurasia.

--

HORANGI - HAETAE

Horangi is a haetae (해태) which is a beast in Korean mythology that typically comes in the form of a horned lion or dog. It's prevalent in a lot of cultures in East Asia actually, although it goes under different names depending on the region - kaichi for Japan, xiezhi for China. I made Horangi a tiger variant on the creature because...well...'horangi' means 'tiger' in korean. It just made sense to me to put that little twist on it.

Typically, haetae are seen as spirits of judgement, that decide on innocent and guilty parties in disputes and punish the latter. It's also considered a guardian against fire (hence the fire immunity and cloud manipulation powers I gave him).

GAZ - HARPY

Gaz is a harpy which, I won't lie, was purely inspired by the fact that he seems to keep falling out of helicopters. But it's also because...yeah, I did neglect Gaz in the soapbox saga. But I think I neglected...everyone in the soapbox saga who weren't directly involved in the main ship. I sort of just tunnel visioned on the main three, so my exclusion of characters isn't just limited to Gaz, it was included Price, Laswell, Alejandro, Rudy, Graves etc.

I just want to make clear that my treatment of Gaz in particular isn't reflective of any inner preference against him. And to make good on that, me assigning Gaz wings of all things was to help me spend more time on him in the Monster AU! I think the contrast between Gaz being an upstart harpy, and Price being a one-winged dragon has a lot of potential as a mentor/protege relationship (and perhaps even something more) and it's why I assigned this monster to him. I really wanted to establish a connection upfront, but just making Gaz another dragon felt cheap - the harpy thing felt a little more in turn with his character :)

--

I really hope this cleared up any remaining frustrations with my designs for the Monster AU. I hope you can see that I never meant anything demeaning by assigning these monsters to their respective characters - in fact, I earnestly tried to go out of my way and be respectful to their backgrounds.

In any case, if you have any more questions I'd be happy to answer them - I'd just ask you to please ask politely :)

[watching-pictures-move]

Put On Your Raincoats | Satan Was a Lady (Wishman, 1975)

Apparently in her hardcore features, Doris Wishman delegated the filming of the sex scenes to an assistant director. One wishes that she delegated them to an assistant director who had some semblance of style, as in Come With Me My Love and here, they feel entirely anonymous, lacking the personality that comes with Wishman's own hand. That being said, the sex scenes here are better than in the other movie, largely thanks to the presence of Annie Sprinkle. To an extent, the enjoyment that one gets out of such scenes is driven by their affection for the performers involved, and the ones here feature Sprinkle, Bree Anthony and C.J. Laing (who has hiccups for some reason and disappears after her one scene). But Sprinkle in particular has an irrepressible good cheer and magnetism that goes a long way in alleviating any tawdriness that might be present otherwise. I mean, she came out of an especially sleazy scene in Phil Prince's Oriental Techniques in Pain and Pleasure without seeming like she was demeaned, and this is quite a bit less scuzzy than that. In fact, there are two scenes with Bobby Astyr that other movies might have opted to play for grim and mean spirit but here actually come off as pretty...well, warm is a strong word, but they're surprisingly easy to watch given the setups. (That being said, having to look at Bobby Astyr's face repeatedly in the heat of the moment might make this harder to watch for some, but that's kind of mean to say.) I suppose the very last sex scene is made with some artistic flair, captured with photonegative footage and accompanied by an atmospheric, psyched out funk score.

So this is better pornography than Come With Me My Love, but I would argue it's a lesser Doris Wishman movie. The almost wall to wall sex scenes might have played better with the raincoat brigade, but drown out most traces of Wishman's personality. Like that movie, there's a lot more sync sound than I expected, which means that it arguably feels less cheap than the average Wishman joint. The apartment in which this is set appears to be pretty uninteresting for much of the runtime, until late in the movie when we notice the combination of a hideous foliage-like pattern on the sofa and the angry green shag carpeting. Arguably Wishman's presence is felt most strongly in the narration of Sprinkle's thoughts, provided by Wishman herself. I laughed every time, and also at the extremely nasally exchange between Anthony's mother and fiance.

"So you're going to be my son in law."

"That's right, mutha."

The plot here has Anthony getting engaged to some dude who Sprinkle wants to make jealous by having lots and lots of sex. At one point, their mother calls Sprinkle over to tell her the news about the engagement, only to chastise her for showing up practically undressed. (This is recurring theme in the movie.) If you read the title and hoped for a literal Satan, preferably with horns, a tail, a trident and a red catsuit, maybe even Annie Sprinkle in said catsuit, poking people with her trident and getting in a few chuckles, you will be sorely disappointed. The Satan here refers to the sins of woman or something, I dunno, I didn't read the Bible. But if Sprinkle is Satan here, she plays the role in the same vein as the one in Petey Wheatstraw, who was kind enough to grant Rudy Ray Moore magic powers to get back at the standup comedians who had all his friends and family killed and even set up an orgy for him with some pretty nice looking demon ladies, for the not unreasonable condition that Moore marries his monstrously ugly daughter (on the outside, we have no reason to suspect she's a bad person on the inside; also Moore naturally tries to weasel out of the deal). Sprinkle brings joy to the world by having nonstop sex and generally refusing to put her clothes on. Is that so wrong? She's making people happy.

Anyway, this is mostly loosely connected scenes of fucking and sucking, until the last few minutes when it decides to cram in a movie's worth of plot in a clumsy expository exchange. If you thought the explanation at the end of Psycho was jarring, this might give you some perspective.

[bisaria]

The human body is an extremely complex and intelligent system; for example, if we are developing a disease, it immediately sends signals to let us know about it. The face is one of the body parts on which the symptoms of many diseases are quickly manifested. Sometimes, a thorough look at your reflection in the mirror can help you evaluate your state of health and even prevent an illness.

George Rudy / Shutterstock.com

Today, we will tell you about 8 common signs on your face that might indicate possible problems with your health.

1. Flaky skin

In most cases, flaky skin indicates a deficiency of vitamin A and B2. A healthy diet will help you get rid of the problem. However, if the peeling is accompanied by severe itching, you'd better consult a doctor as it can also indicate the presence of fungus.

2. Red nose

There are lots of blood vessels on the nose, and when they expand, it causes discoloration. The reason for redness can be an allergy, cold, sharp changes in temperature, and/or stress. However, if your nose is red for quite a long time, consulting a certified specialist will be the right way to treat the problem. It may be a sign that you should pay attention to the state of your blood vessels and reconsider your lifestyle.

3. Butterfly-shaped rash

Rashes appear on the face mostly because of poor quality cosmetics, climate changes, allergies, or overeating sweets. But if it develops in the form of a butterfly and covers both cheeks, it can be a symptom of systemic lupus erythematosus. This disease is also accompanied by pain in the joints, numbness of the fingers in the cold, and fever. In this case, we strongly recommend to consult a doctor.

4. Peeling skin around the nose and the mouth

Causes of skin defects around this area are various, but peeling usually indicates a deficiency of the vital vitamins A, B, C, and E in your body. Reconsidering your food habits is a way to solve the problem. We also recommend you have the necessary tests done in the hospital in order to determine exactly which vitamins you are lacking.

5. Chapped lips

If this symptom is also accompanied by muscle weakness in the corners of the mouth, it can indicate a lack of vitamin B2 (riboflavin). Consuming products, such as peanuts, eggs, soybeans, pears, peaches, and cauliflower, will help you get rid of the deficiency. Still, it would be good to consult a certified healthcare professional before reviewing your diet.

6. Dark under-eye circles and sacks

Very often, dark circles under the eyes is an inherited trait; however, if this symptom has developed recently, you should find out the cause. It could be from smoking, allergies, a hormonal disbalance, lack of sleep, overconsumption of salty food, coffee, or alcohol, or chronic intoxication of the body. After getting rid of the problem source, dark under-eye circles and sacks should disappear. To avoid the aesthetic discomfort that it can cause, you can use cold compresses or special patches for a temporary cover-up.

7. Yellowish skin and eyes

Most often, this change indicates too many harmful substances accumulated in your body. Sometimes, a yellow color of the face and eyes can be caused by alcohol abuse. It is also recommended to check the states of the gallbladder, liver, and pancreas to exclude the possibility of hepatitis, infectious mononucleosis, and virus infections.

8. Thinning eyebrows and eyelashes

If your eyebrows and eyelashes have started thinning, and this phenomenon is also accompanied by skin dryness, fatigue, unreasonable weight gain, and apathy, it could indicate health problems based on weak activity of the thyroid gland. In this case, we recommend you consult a specialist and have your blood tested to find out the level of your thyroid hormones.

As mentioned above, the face can inform us of deficiencies and serious diseases. Therefore, it's extremely important to pay attention to your body's signals and take the necessary measures to eliminate any problems in a timely manner.

READ ALSO: 7 Health Problems That Cause A Longer Than Usual Menstrual Cycle

This article is solely for informational purposes. Do not treat yourself, and in all cases consult a certified healthcare professional before using any information presented in the article. The editorial board does not guarantee any results and does not bear any responsibility for harm that may result from using the information provided in the article.