#analog horror seems to love body horror

[hello-im-not-a-possum]

I'm surprised there's no bendy analog horror series, Lost old cartoon would be perfect idea for those genre

That and the toonish ink stuff can distort people's faces in uncanny ways.

[ectoplasmer]

voicing how I get insecure over the fact that I can’t handle horror as well as the bakurae can because i’m a wimp and having a 50/50 chance of being met with a response like “oh no that’s fine!! that just means you’re more sane than me” or “you haven’t seen nor experienced nearly the amount things I have but yes you are a wimp”

[writingwithfolklore]

Monsters and Creatures

              I love a good monster—who doesn’t? Monsters can be easy antagonists in survival, horror, fantasy (or really any genre) to pose a threat to characters and incite conflict to keep the plot plotting. So how do we create a believable monster? The key is in consideration of the creature’s biology.

Before we get into it, I have an important point:

1. Yes, make them monstrous—but don’t vilify human features

One trend I really hate right now is analog horror using “fake humans” as dangerous, horrible monsters. While I love a doppelganger, what this genre has unfortunately really leaned into is using physical deformations and other natural human features to distinguish between the “good, safe” people and the “bad, dangerous” people.

I’m sure you can see why that’s not okay. Good, loveable, safe, kind and real people have physical deformities, and by only portraying them as evil or monsters in media, these tropes perpetuate harmful thinking towards disability and deformities. Media has never really made progress in being rid of this stereotype, and unfortunately it seems we’re going in the complete opposite direction we should be.

Don’t vilify normal human features. Please.

Okay onto the actual creation:

2. What, how, and how often do they eat?

Likely the first thing you’ll consider when creating a monster, and usually what determines if they’re a threat to humans or relatively harmless.

Is your creature a carnivore, omnivore, or herbivore?

How much do they have to eat? Don’t be fooled by bigger=more, hummingbirds have to eat up to 3x their body weight in food per day because they burn calories, and lions can use one hunt to sustain them for several days.

How do they consume food? Do they have sharp teeth, or tear apart with their claws first? If they’re an omnivore, they need flat, strong molars for breaking down plants as well as sharp front teeth for meat. Do they consume via mouth, tube, or other appendage?

Determine their usual diet when there are no human characters around to hunt.

How do they hunt? Do they have the ability to "clever girl" their prey? What do they use to their advantage in their environment?

2. Where do they live?

Were they grown in a lab? If so, where were the scientists intending to put them, or what were they built for?

Are they supposed to blend in with their surroundings or others of their species? (Think many types of fish, or zebras) Or are they made to stand out (such as brightly coloured fish that are poisonous)

A creature who lives in a green, lush forest that gets heavy rain often is going to look a lot different than one who lives in the desert. Consider how they’d be built to survive their environment and climate.

3. What are their social instincts?

Do they have pack instincts? Or are they solo?

If they do have pack instincts, will they bond with humans? Or other creatures of different species?

What do they do with their young or family?

How do they find a mate to reproduce?

What do they do if they come across another of their species? Or an animal of another species?

4. What do they use to defend themselves?

Are they poisonous to their predators? Do they have a hard shell or quick reflexes?

Consider what might pose a threat to them in their environment, and what they’ve developed to defend themselves against that threat.

If they are the apex predator, consider what they have that makes them so effective in their environment.

5. What are their vulnerabilities?

Or another way to put it--how can they be killed?

Do they bleed? Is chocolate or another food poisonous to them?

Do you need a specific weapon or technique to harm them?

Anything I missed?

[fencecollapsed]

I love musical theater. I may not be a theater kid stereotype, but I always found it as an interesting way to tell a story. But despite the fact I personally don’t think it’s that big of a deal, a lot of my relatives seem to take me as “the musical girl”. My mother made my 17th birthday musical themed. A lot of my Christmas presents were musical related, I’m sure you’d get it. A couple of weeks back though, my cousin in Michigan, who I don’t really know, suddenly sent me a DVD with blue sharpie on it, simply reading “The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals” in all capital letters due to how much of a mouthful that name is, I’m going to refer to it as TGWDLM for the rest of this. The DVD itself was rather normal looking. She didn’t send me the box it came in, which is probably the reason why it was labeled in sharpie, cause without it, god knows what it could be. It could be a musical or a gore video, so thanks to her for that.

As for the contents... Well, it was a Pro-shot of a musical! The story was about a man named Paul, a guy who... didn’t like musicals! The opening song seems to portray this as a huge deal but to be honest, it isn’t. One day, on the opening night of a Mamma Mia! production in the real-life ghost town of Hatchetfield, Michigan (but populated, obivously), a meteor hits, carrying alien spores of a musical hivemind. One interesting fact is that the zombies are the only ones who sing, and dear god, some of their songs are so camp, but I guess that’s the joke. Also, I can definitely see an influence from Invasion of The Body Snatchers, hell, they even reference it. The musical itself had more laughs than scares for me, but the curtain call gave me fucking chills. The unusual parts though, come from not the musical itself, but what comes after it. There’s a behind-the-scenes, with a lot of content. There were audition tapes, director's commentary, easter eggs... I personally found it as fascinating as the musical itself! There was some mentions of a earlier version of the script, with some interesting parts that weren’t in the original, for example; Paul, Ted, Bill, and Charlotte all worked at a review site similar to IGN or Buzzfeed, or that Alice, in a strange trance, spouts out a bible quote. I began to feel like these random people, from an obscure theater company, were people I knew. But as fun as the behind the scenes are, that is not why I’m here. After the behind-the-scenes, there was just... A black screen. For like, 4 or 3 minutes… Then a blue screen with white text, with a font that looks like those fonts in analog horror, with one word. “APOTHEOSIS”.

There’s more after this too. The following is a very different feeling compared to the behind-the-scenes. It appears to be the night the pro-shot was recorded. It shows footage of the curtain call, when Emma was dragged backstage. Then, it cuts to security footage backstage. Immediately Emma’s actress, who I think I’ll just call Lauren, since that’s her real name, goes out of character. The others don’t let go of her, instead ejecting her out of the crowd. She lands on her ass and says “Ow.” in a tone that says “What the fuck dude? Why’d you throw me?”. The others are silent. Lauren gets up and after a moment looking at the others, decides to take off her bandage, revealing a real scar underneath. Lauren seems unsettled by this, but it’s made worse when everyone else approaches her, talking to her as if she IS Emma Perkins, despite her insistence. They then got closer, and closer. Lauren tried to back away, but they got closer. Eventually, Lauren was completely surrounded, and they... I... I can’t say it. I just can’t. All I’ll say is that audience members found the room covered in blood and mysterious blue goo. The blue screen appears again, the text now saying “THEIR RETELLING SUCKED ANYWAYS.”

After whatever the fuck that was, I kinda had to dig deeper? I had this mix of morbid fascination, horror, and an urge to somehow bring all this to light. Well... That and how at first I assumed it was a performance act, only to find out via a google search that it was all real, Lauren Lopez was presumed dead, and the rest of the cast are missing to this day.

So I talked to people who were at the closing night show. When it was recorded. They reported being genuinely convinced in some segments, like when Emma quote unquote “Looked at Ted’s eyes in horror, like she saw nothing there” and praised the “practical effects”. They also said that the few who lingered after the curtain call heard screaming. Those who checked backstage saw... Well, you know.

I didn’t find much about it though. Only this weird cult website when searching for random tag words related to the musical. It was talking about “His singular voice” or whatever and was saying that, like, all voices needed to be eradicated, for His is the only one that should exist, or whatever. Weirdly enough, there was musical theming in there. And... A page about the musical. I can vaguely recall the contents but it’s really hard to. It had a synopsis of the musical kinda biased in the favor of the zombies, with the implications that He caused the musical apocalypse over there. Me and my friends looked at the site once in a discord call and laughed at it. But then I found the actors' faces and how they all were brought to an “apotheosis”. Like... Like in the fucking musical.

It was just a rabbit hole I found myself in at the end of the day though. I easily tucked it into the back of my brain and went on with my life. But then stuff started getting weird. With me, I think. I’ve been more scatterbrained than usual, prone to zoning out for long stretches of time, wandering off conversations to talk about something else entirely, and I’m beginning to hate the sound of other people’s voices and I don’t know why, I was never a social butterfly but I didn’t hate other people talking... Everyday when I brush my teeth I notice my eyes getting... Bluer? I don’t know how, but my eyes have gone to a dark brown, to a light brown, to a hazel, to green, and now it’s getting closer and closer to blue. My friends online have been safe at the time from my sudden hatred of other voices but I can’t really go on voice chats anymore. And my fixation on musicals has only grown as of late. I can’t help but fight the urge to spontaneously sing a show-tune. I hate it.

I’d try to see a psychiatrist or something but I can’t bear to hear another voice, it’s so grating. And I know I should just grin and bear it but the last time I tried that I yelled at them. Not many people like me much anymore. I see why, I must’ve become an asshole to them, but they don’t get it. My eyes have become blue by now, and I think it’s glowing too.

I can’t help but play the songs over and over. I called it camp but I think it’s growing on me. I like Let It Out the most. I relate to Paul a lot right now. And then I noticed a split second shot of... His actor... Being... I can’t say it. I had to vomit. Why wouldn’t I? That was so fucking disgusting. And when I puked, I froze pale at what I just pushed out of my body.

It was blue, viscous sludge. It felt disgusting looking at it, even worse when you hold it. It smelled like ammonia. I ran out of the bathroom. I couldn’t stand to look at it any longer. And that’s when I decided to write this. I’m scared, to be honest, who wouldn’t be? I’ll most likely either be dead and have my corpse puppeteered, or go missing, for another poor soul to inevitably find the DVD and end up like me. I can hear the chimes and hymns of The Singular Voice. I know He wants me to become one with Him. He says it’s inevitable for me. And what choice do I have in the matter anymore?

I’m sorry, I lost.

[trigunsbbygirl]

Human Things that Confuse Knives Part 2

Made a second one since I had more ideas lol

content warnings: teeth, use bomb in an analogy, mention bruises. this one gets more into the body/anatomy idk what all people are comfy with so just in case

•Knives already thinks dreams are kinda weird, but those surreal ones and the utterly weird ones that just make no sense or seemed so real you wonder if it actually happened? he wants to know what's going on in your brain. Knives will listen to you as you recount your dream, he won't say much or make any facial reactions, but part of him is kinda amazed that your can brain come up with the weirdest, coolest and/or creepiest things ever.

•the concept of having baby teeth and adult teeth weirds Knives out. when Knives learns that you do lose your teeth as a kid he's staring at you like you've just grown a second head. don't tell him that you have wisdom teeth that usually need to be taken out via surgery as a teenager. (Vash is kinda grossed out by it. found out when a kid he was playing with ran up to him and was like 'look! my tooth fell out!:D' he panicked, thinking they got hurt, but it's replaced with horror, disbelief, slight disgust and concern when he finds out every human looses a set of teeth. he hates it a little. has no idea what to do when a kid tells him that a tooth fell out. help him)

•also. imagine Knives surprise when he learns about the appendix. you had been talking with a friend when you mentioned appendicitis and that you had to have surgery. it peaked his interest and when you're done talking, Knives asks about it. he stares at you in uncertainty and disbelief the further you explain. what do you mean there's a small pouch in your stomach that serves little to no function that can essentially become a bomb? Knives doesn't actually believe you until he looks it up. he wonders how humans have survived with bodies like that.

•same wonder when it comes to you having to take vitamins and other supplements because sometimes a body won't produce enough of something or too much.

•the fact the humans shed/lose hair. Knives knows that, but it kinda grosses him out a bit. he hates seeing your hair strands, makes you clean them up. (I hc that the twins just have little to no body hair and they don't actually lose hair strands.)

•double jointed people also weirds Knives out. what do you mean you can twist or bend a joint further than normal? it doesn't exactly creep or gross him out, but he doesn't like it. he'll never admit that, but he won't look/talk to you for a bit after you show off that flexibility.

•Knives is fascinated by the way your skin can change colors. (don't mention that he can turn a lovely shade of red, he gets all huffy.) but, anyways, he loves examining your face, watching as your face gets darker with certain things he does. (also likes seeing your facial expressions. humans are so expressive..) he also likes seeing your bruises and watching as the bruise changes colors over time as it heals. you joked one day that you could give him a bruise of his own that he can watch. he didn't like the joke (he prefers to give you (consensual) bruises.)

•now let's get into reverse Isekai for a bit.

•Knives does not fucking understand social media lmao. why the hell do you have to tell people you've never met what you did or thought that day and why are so many people interested? why do people do stupid things for views??

•he hates online discourse and always tunes you out when you try to talk about something that happened online. he doesn't care and thinks it's stupid.

•do NOT let him find out about stan culture or chronically online people. he's gonna lose any faith he had in humanity again. I wouldn't worry about that too much though. he has zero online presence, never uses social media outside of YouTube and even then he only uses it to watch documentaries or how to videos.

•memes confuse him a lot, especially how fast they come and go. you don't even know how to explain them to him. "why is this picture of a man just standing so funny?" "it just is? I don't know either." how do you even explain memes and internet culture to someone who's never been on the internet lol

•Knives thinks you're really weird if you've got a skewed sense of humor where something dramatically falling over makes you laugh(thinking of that waffle video.) he watches those types of videos with a straight face and when the video ends he just stares at you, wondering if you seriously think that's funny.

•he hates those youtube poop and deepfried videos. not only does he find them stupid and doesn't understand them, but they just bother his ears.

•bonus: Vash thinks the circadian rythym is pretty neat and that some people just know when to wake up. it took Vash a while to develop one, or at least, something like that since he doesn't technically need sleep. it'll never quite be the same though since he doesn't exactly get tired like humans do. it took decades for that type of tiredness to become present, but even still, he doesn't need it to survive.

[zahri-melitor]

New(ish) Comics

Batman #154: Look, I don't hate this story, but did we really need another round of Thomas 'Cheater' Wayne? Especially Dr Thomas MD But Can't Handle Contraception Wayne? Been here. Done that. Bane Half-Brothers was funnier. Hopefully this is superior to every time Tommy Jr appears.

Absolute Superman #1: I think I rank this ahead of Absolute Batman but not as good as Absolute Wonder Woman. It's an interesting approach. It's very in your face and not bothering with subtlety in the analogies.

I will agree I am fond of the trend of Live Mothers With Their Sons in these stories, even if I know Lara's about to get whomped by the plot. Loved fix-it engineer Lara who wanted to be an astronaut and got washed out for having Wrong Political Views (age 9).

Action Comics #1074: in contrast, Lara in this is a 1950s cipher, literally standing there holding the baby. It's is such sharp contrast compared to Absolute Superman, especially as I read them back to back.

Aside from that, I think the Clark main plot finally picked up its pace a bit, the Kenan and Kon plot got a bit explainy but remains fun, and Kara is having a very bad time over in her plot.

Birds of Prey #15: Delighted by Cass being a menace here. Really happy we got to spend a little more time getting inside Sin's head. And Grace and Onyx looking at each other and trying to work out how to fight Barda to let her let off steam without anyone getting massively injured was so funny: they're both ripped in this comic, but Barda is, well, Big Barda.

Batgirl #1: As was generally expected, this is heavily leaning on Batgirl 2000. Interestingly as far as I am concerned, it is retaining Batman & Robin Eternal and working on twisting the word 'Orphan' to have multiple meanings! Which I've commented on before: Orphan as a name and a word has a lot of implications for Cass to be unpacked, and not all those implications are obvious on the surface.

I'm interested to see more of how they play this - it's a different approach to Cass's internal monologue and body reading skills.

As far as Shiva goes: they definitely seem to have sat down and tried to find a midpoint between preboot Shiva in Batgirl 2000 and Rebirth Shiva in say Batman and the Outsiders 2019 (both are definite influences on this).

Shazam! #17: Love the Hephaestus design. Feeling sorry for Freddy, though I liked that the whole situation is framed not as 'going evil' but as a test of strength of mind. And given the uneven power split in the family right now, externalising that jealousy makes sense.

Plastic Man No More! #2-3: caught up with Plas. Was reminded I don't actually particularly enjoy him as a character. As a set of stories focusing on treating Eel as more than just a joke character and interrogating his interiority they're doing a lot; I guess some of it is I simply don't really feel attached to him, and I'm cheering Luke O'Brian on to never talk to his dad again.

Also very much reminded these are Black Label, between the gruesome body horror, the plot, the number of character deaths and the fact Tim's running around as a Titans lieutenant checking on members.

I think these are quite good comics. I'm just not emotionally attached to Eel and these aren't managing to get me over the hump.

Batman/Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns #2: and over here in the 2024 DC Santa read along, we scored a Jason Blood telling tales of Camelot! Don't know where Nimue was - she clearly managed to sidestep this drama and reminding Jason she has very different memories of the period.

Mera also kicked absolute arse and weaponised her attackers prejudices in a satisfying manner.

As a marker: John Stewart is in this title, but he's on the JL team up that are currently trapped and don't have Santa with them. This is important because...

DC'S Batman Smells, Robin Laid an Egg #1:

Santa's Oath: this is a story about Mrs Claus driving the sleigh and being a Blue Lantern, while John Stewart is asking if Santa really exists. We covered this, John! Extensively! In the DC Santa read along last year! He's real! And not only is he real this story is suggesting he's 'busy' in a way that makes me think it wants to align canonically with Silent Knight Returns, except for the fact, John, you are currently trapped in that story, and you're undoubtedly about to MEET Santa in it by the end of it.

In terms of Blue Lanterns, if anyone is going to be one, I don't hate putting it on the Clauses.

Also add this one to the tally of Real Santa stories, even if it is 'Carol' Claus.

Secret Santa: Happy Christmas to me personally, because the 2008 Secret Six lineup are currently exchanging presents and it includes hilarious cuddly Bane musing on everyone's histories.

This is amazing. I only wish Floyd and Thomas had got more banter in it. And it wasn't even written by Simone - dare I dream of another Secret Six run?

Ghosts of Christmas Present: John Constantine gets trapped in a Hallmark Movie via Hell. This is slight and underuses Constantine.

It's a Criminal Life: ...Joker gets It's a Wonderful Lifed with a ghost dead Robin!Jason. It's deeply ridiculous.

Deadman Walking: it's a Christmas mining disaster story! Ahhh, Deadman comics. Honestly a bit too earnest and instructive on how to dig people out of collapsed mines.

Silent Nite: oh the art on this one is good (Francavilla). Silent, period piece for Dr Mid-Nite set in 1941. The direction of the story is obvious from about the second page but still well told.

The Perfect Gift: Ben Turner and Mari McCabe try to buy each other Christmas presents story. Mari massively overthinks things. Ben apparently managed some serenity from the O-Sensei and just got Mari something straightforward. Donna plays wingwoman.

O Glowy Night: The art is fun in this and the concept (Clark can't stop radiating a sunny glow). I sighed at the villain.

Honestly I enjoyed this mix. Lots of characters who mostly get back ups, from various corners of DC.

The Warlord #75: this week in Skartaris we reach an anniversary issue and with it...the return of Graemore, Tara's old childhood friend who likes trying to steal her away from Travis (via such seduction methods like 'not wandering off into the wilderness to kill things without returning for months on end' and 'appearing at meals' and 'asking Tara about her feelings').

Travis and Tara actually discuss the fact Travis is never in Shamballah for more than 5 minutes at a time and that she's tired of it.

In the Ancient Atlantean artefacts line of story, we find out that the USAF identity card thing Travis found was from the 23rd century, yet left with all the other materials of the ancients. COULD IT BE MORE TIME TRAVEL? (because this story doesn't have enough as it is). I feel sorry for whatever poor fool got trapped back in Wizard World and had to live out his days there to get this stuff over to the Ancient Atlanteans.

(Also uh the New Atlanteans try to invade Shamballah and Travis ends up punching Tara to carry her as they try to escape so she won't try to make a heroic last stand. Which. Certainly a thing that happened here)

[dark-bear-productions]

Writing Discusion: Appearance as a Marker of Virtue

(I WELCOME DISSENT!)

One of the first things I learned as a writer was also one of the most problematic and that's Appearance as a Marker of Virtue; let's call it Amov (the extra a's looked bad, ironically).

You know the thing: Hero's body is entirely "pristine", Villain has some "disturbing" feature like a scar (Blofeld in From Russia with Love), a clubfoot (Larys Strong in House of the Dragon), or albinism (Silas in The Da Vinci Code). They have a "defect", either visually revealing something that broke them, something that happened to them because of their own evil deeds, or some sign at birth that they were "wrong" through and through.

There's an interesting argument to be had about Amov's place in the Nature vs Nurture debate. If Larys had not grown up in a world expecting him to be a brave knight while physically unable to be so, would he have been as conniving as he is? Was Silas always a monster, or was he treated as one for so long he became one? I don't want to suggest that any single author using Amov -- or, indeed, just having a villainous character with some unconventional physical trait -- is problematic. Context is always key.

(As an aside, I've always liked the metaphor that says genetics load the gun, upbringing cocks the hammer, surroundings pull the trigger. You can have the genetics of the most brutal serial killer in history but if the people who raise you do well and you manage to stay in an environment that treats you as a person should be treated, you'll never know what you might have been capable of.)

When you take the body of fiction as a whole, however, I do feel that there's a very distinct pattern of using physical "abnormalities" for shock, horror, comedy, foreshadowing, what have you. It's an old trope, one steeped in religious bias, but a powerful one that we can't quite seem to shake.

(As another aside, the religious bias I'm referring to is the belief that the Devil could take a human form, but never a fully "correct" one, always having some marker such as missing an eye, having a misshapen hand, etc., etc. This was of course fertile soil for ableism, but whether the belief or the ableism came first might be a bit of a chicken-and-egg debate, though that is a poor analogy as the answer to that debate is clearly egg.)

My personal solution is to try and avoid literal physical descriptions wherever possible. If I do mention specific traits, it almost certainly has some relevance to the plot I'm trying to build, or some message I'm trying to slide in. (For instance, a small and slight Master Hunter who easily defeats a Beast five times their size because a Master Hunter has so much skill they don't need brawn.)

However, this doesn't work for every style of story. In From the Bay of Fangs, which is a series of in-world reports of monster hunts written by and for Hunters, it's fine, as the Hunters wouldn't bother writing down what their Siblings look like. In By the Wayside, the upcoming anthology of stories diving into the background and aftermath of the stories in From the Bay of Fangs, the omission of appearance sometimes felt less natural, and I had to pivot to describing vibes, clothing, and character relevant details such as unshaven cheeks or tightly bound hair.

Another sollution I really like is to use abstract descriptions. Calling someone beautiful without describing their specific features works, but describing someone by saying "He looked like a failed soldier. Dirt seemed so worked into him that the lines of his face were like writing." (China Miéville, This Census-Taker) has a lot of impact on me and I think I'm going to experiment with that in the near future.

All in all, I think what I want to say is: don't feel bad for using appearance in your writing, nor even for falling into Amov as it is so very prevalent in our fiction, but inspect why you describe your characters the way that you do and make an informed decision based on that.

(And, to immediately undercut myself: wonder how visual character design, specifically in animation, can overcome Amov without losing the powerful and immediate visual impact that makes animation so uniquely awesome.)

[corvsayscawcaw]

GREYLOCK: TAPE 012 - Waking Your Subconscious [RAMBLE]

Just gonna ramble here for a bit because that tape was absolutely crazy. You can watch it here. Please heed the in-universe content warnings as well as mine. Some of this topics will be mentioned.

Content Warnings: body horror, gore, loud noises, disturbing audio/visuals, animal cruelty (specifically against dogs, but I'm not too sure if that's the right warning for this situation), flashing lights, brainwashing (like... brainwashing visuals paired with distorted audio and such. I find it pretty disturbing, so I'm gonna add that here.)

Alright, now onto the very disorganized ramble.

Synopsis

A SimioDyn tape addressed to Charlotte Jean Melgren is played. It runs through a couple of mind exercises that slowly become more disturbing and brainwashy as it progresses, clearly altered by a malicious entity or force. The tape cuts out and switches to recording of a computer screen from a security company with an alert to a security breach and power outage at Forever Friends Shelter and Adoption Center. Charlotte, the owner of the shelter, is called by Troy, an operator for EverVIGIL Security. She checks out the kennel and confronts a thoughtform. Troy tries to keep her calm and calls the police. Charlotte is dragged away from the phone by the thoughtform and brutally attacked. The tape continues with some more exercises and a bit of brainwashing until it finishes. The police officer that was called to check out the shelter heads to the basement and finds Charlotte on the ground alive, but now a grotesque amalgamation of herself and three(?) dogs. The tape ends as he runs out of the shelter panicked as the creature screams.

Production and Small Details

So far, this has been the main analog horror I've been keeping up with consistently. For those who are fans of Local 58 or have watched the series, the video gives major Real Sleep vibes, even pulling some inspiration for the true and false sections and face exercise. I fucking love it. The shadow monster that appears in the background grid of the SimioDyn tape for Charlotte Jean Melgren slowing inching closer to the screen is an extremely unnerving visual that I like.

Major props to the actors involved in this episode! I could feel the raw fear and desperation even though there wasn't any live action footage. The horror is left up to the viewer's imagination and is fueled by the snippets of CGI for the thoughtform. There wasn't a moment where I thought that the scenes were too corny or stiff. Absolutely phenomenal. The in-universe warning in the tape also acting as a content warning is a very effective way of warning viewers AND not breaking immersion.

New Information

As briefly mentioned in the previous section, the tape that is shown in this episode is for Charlotte Jean Melgren. The surname "Melgren" stands out because another character in the series shares the same name. Private investigator Jim Melgren has been a reoccurring character in the series, debuting in TAPE 007 - back to normal in a quick flash of a news article and is mentioned by Arnold Rivers in TAPE 008 - old odd ends.

It becomes apparently clear Charlotte has gone missing because of an event undisclosed/unknown to the public and supposedly to Jim as well. Whatever has altered the tape seems to know that the person viewing it is indeed Jim. We now know why Jim Melgren is so involved in this investigation of SimioDyn and the Unit 13 project. He has a personal tie to these incidents because of his daughter, who was an unfortunate victim of one of the thoughtforms. We finally have a better grip on his character.

His daughter owned a shelter called Forever Friends and lived in a separate building right next to the kennels. She has been called numerous times over the course of two weeks regarding security breaches at the shelter, but most of the footage is corrupted or distorted, a common thing associated with the presence of thoughtforms. It seems to have been stalking her for a while.

We also a full-body view of a thoughtform as it breaks into the shelter. All previous images have been only partial or very distorted. It's a tall, monstrous skeleton with clawed hands and what looks like to be bits of muscle or blood all over its body. We still don't know who specifically created this thoughform and what its specific goals are.

Going back to the SimioDyn tape, we learn that it is supposed to induce fear and paranoia through the exercises, explaining they are crucial to induce the desire change for the experiment being conducted. It does an effective job, of course. I was utterly unnerved and very comfortable during my initial watch (creepy ambience and a slowly approaching shadow creature easily does the job for me). It goes on into a True or False exercise with a couple of statements.

The tape's aim is to alter the brain in some way to manipulate Charlotte into exploring the darkest parts of the unconscious and into opening the "Black Door", explaining "[t]he darkest aspects of [her] mind are part of a larger psychological entity that resides deep within [her] unconscious." It goes on to state the entity cannot be ignored, subdued, locked away, or eliminated, and attempting to "has the opposite effect, only making it stronger, darker, and more dangerous." I'll tap more into this shadow entity in the analysis later.

Something to note is that the tape seems to hinge on the idea of shadow psychology, which in "analytical psychology, the shadow is an unconscious aspect of the personality that does not correspond with the ego [the conscious] ideal, leading the ego to resist and project the shadow, leading to a conflict with it." I'm no psychologist, of course, so I can't really explain much about it with the little knowledge I have.

My brain is hella dead right now and running 100 miles a minute, so I'll just have to make a separate analysis post or something because I love this series so damn much, and I'm gonna milk this hyperfixation before I inevitably throw myself at another series.

[norbezjones]

Bez Reviews Independent Books 3: Tales From The Screens

Hey everyone!  I wanna do little reviews/writeups for the independently-published books I find on itch.io, and so, here I am.  I want to review one book every month or two (or quicker, if I’m lucky); it’ll get me reading more, and get authors who often go without feedback some thoughts on their work!  I think it’ll be cool for everyone!

If you want your book reviewed, the only requirement I have is that it’s hosted on itch.io.  Even if itch is just one of many places you can get the book, I want to review books that have a home there at least.  Feel free to get in touch with me with your books—I’m @NorbezJones on Twitter (I refuse to call it X), Bluesky, Pillowfort, Threads, Instagram, and Tumblr; I’m norbez2.0 on Discord.

Looking forward to seeing your books! <3

__________

It’s book time, and I’m gonna book all over the place!  Today, I’m taking a look at Tales From The Screens, a spooky tale told in the form of employee pamphlets for a haunted electronic store.  It’s written by literal_roach_king, an artist who specializes in creating kandi bracelets (which I LOVE), adoptables, and zines.  The pivot to Nightvale-inspired horror content seems a bit out of left field, but I see that as a good thing—after all, it’s awesome to expand your horizons and explore new territory!  Tales From The Screens launched with 3 zines/chapters, and I expect that there will be more in the future.  Let’s look over the story so far, shall we?

The first zine, A Guide For The Initiated, acts as an introduction to the story and world, informing new employees of the universe-defying job they’ve taken on.  We learn that the story takes place as Eidel’s Electronics, and the people who work at the store are known as “Keepers”.  To quote the book, “Here, you [the Keeper] are not simply guarding old TVs— you are protecting the world from the dangerous forces trapped inside them. These TVs hold the stories of those lost to the unknown, and your job is to ensure that these stories never escape.”  The electronics are “gateways to otherworldly realms”, who cannot be allowed to break free from their television prisons.

The book goes over basics of the store: the layout (which puts the “safest” TVs at the front, and the most dangerous TVs in the basements), types of images the TV may broadcast, rituals a Keeper must perform if a TV shows signs of breaking free, what indicates a customer has been entranced by the TV, and what to do in a big emergency.  The guide concludes with, “Never forget: the screens are always watching, and it is you who must ensure they never escape.”

The second & third zines—A Broadcast Too Long & Static In The Basement, respectively—give us employee testimonials of strange occurrences at the store, via transcripts of recorded interviews.  We also meet our main cast: Maya Calderón, a Keeper who’s quick on her feet; Jonah Harper, a senior Keeper; Callie Bennet, a Keeper-in-Training; and Arthur O’Connell aka “Artie”, whose title isn’t stated but who I assume is a Keeper-in Training.

In A Broadcast Too Long, Maya sees a strange flicker from a TV, and soon enough, the television has hypnotized all of the customers in the store.  She & Jonah manage to stop it from breaking free, but not before the TV asks Maya to join them, and says, “You can’t turn us off. We’re always here. Always watching.”

In Static In The Basement, Jonah goes with Callie, an overly-curious employee, after a staticy sound comes up from, well, the basement.  Once they get there, Callie is sucked into the TV, and the TV shows distorted images of her, turning & twisting her body.  Thankfully, Jonah & Maya manage to get Callie out of there.

Reading these zines reminded me of watching analog horror content, like The Mandela Catalogue.  I found the story & premise very interesting, and the story so far takes good advantage of the premise.  I also noticed that is appears that the story takes place in the past—the TVs are analog, and Artie is shown listening to a Walkman.

I do have some questions so far.  I ask these not to deride the work, but to genuinely try to engage with and understand the world & story:

Why are the TVs set up in a electronics shop at all?  If they feed off of people, why give them what they want by putting them in a storefront?

If these are employee pamphlets, then it’s safe to assume there’s a company of some sort that runs the electronic store and guards the TVs.  Who are they?  How did they come into existence?

How does one come across a job application to be a Keeper?  Does it look normal at first, or are they introduced to the strange right away?

If a Keeper gets fired, what’s to stop them from going rogue and trying to release the TVs?

I assume more employee pamphlets will be released as this series goes on, so perhaps I’ll revisit this in the future!  I really enjoyed what I saw and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes.

If you want to read Tales From The Screens, you can do so here!  Please check it out! Thanks for reading!  Next time, I’ll be returning to M. Kirin’s work.  Can you guess what book of theirs I’m taking a look at?

[professionallydeadinside]

One, no I don't think I've ever read your teeth story. Though, if you're mentioning it when talking about body horror, I might be interested. However, getting into the nitty-gritty of the analog horror that is the man in the suit. So, back when the very first Godzilla was made back in 1954 it was well known that most of the characters that were monsters, had people inside them moving everything about when destroying stuff. So, here comes the analog horror part. So as you learn throughout this video, it turns out that the person who was in the Godzilla suit, or Gojira as it said in japan, said that he started to feel off while he was in the suit. And after a while people on the cast and crew started to notice that he started to act very strangely. He would stop in the middle of tags, breathing very weirdly, he seemed to start answering to goji, which is what they called the suit, and just all around started acting very weird, almost animalistic. One day, he freezes in the middle of a tank and is breathing like super weirdly, and he turns to the director, still in the suit, and says "you need to find a way to take this suit off of me." And then almost automatically starts going back into that weird mindset that he seemed to have for weeks. Almost months. And so the crew was like, okay, and they started to pull the suit off of them except... His flesh started to go with the suit. As in, he was fusing to the suit itself.

When they finally were able to open it more, they noticed that his insides were basically conforming to a more monstrous inside, and he didn't seem to have any flesh left that wasn't attacked to the inside of the suit, all of the metal and wiring and everything seem to still be in there but almost seem to be part of his body.

So, seeing this, obviously people are for freaked out. And then they realize that, oh crap, he's not the only one in a suit. There's at least two to three other people who are in monster suits for this movie.

Guess what they found in the other suits!

Anyway, the main guy in the goji suit, runs away still in the suit. Later they find out that he not only killed a girl and her parents, but he actually ended up, and I cannot make this up, spewing boiling hot blood on them, making it almost like acid and burning their bodies away. So obviously, people are freaking out. They tried to tell people to stay away from the man in the suit, he's not right, he's very erratic, etc etc.

Then come to find out during this video that someone has captured a picture of the man in the suit. A little boy did, to be precise. And they said that they could not show the actual picture, so here's a portrait rendition. It is of a Godzilla suit with eerily human eyes. Then you find out that more people have gotten pictures of this guy, and everything's very weird, his eyes don't look exactly right, and turns out that this guy has mutated inside of the suit, and has gained very Godzilla like abilities. And it said that he's still around today.

That's the gist. I can send a link to the actual video If you so please. It's not very long, I don't think. To be honest when I was watching it, I totally lost track of time.

-Kirk anon

OOOOOO I'D LOVE THE LINK TO THE ACTUAL VIDEO THIS SOUNDS SO COOL,,,,,, Also sorry if this sounds weird but I love horror where skin fuses to things like I think Junji Ito has a story where a man fuses into a chair wasdfghhgfd

[quietdiet]

the different sukuna forms can represent different horror types and i think that there isnt enough horror art of sukuna and that’s what’s fueling this ramble

yujikuna is like regular horror, slashers, maniacs who torture and kill flippantly and stuff like that i don’t really have a lot to say unfortunately. the jogo fight had him doing g a lot of fnaf jump scares so he also has that going for him :)

megukuna is reminds me of alternatives from analog horror. i genuinely think gege akutami missed an opportunity to have a moment after the fight with yorozu where tsumiki miraculously regains control and sees her “brother” it could’ve been a parallel to yorozu saying “it’s me megumi! it’s your big sis!!” (i think about it all the time if i had an ipad i would definitely make this comic) and even his moment with hana where he lures her idk what a specific name for the type of horror is but it’s just like alternatives/imposter horror

sukuna could also represent body horror in a way. for yuji’s case i think it’d be scary so see his own body change from having to house sukuna inside of himself. like his teeth get sharper, eyes redder something like that ig

i also think a moment kind of like that mysterious illusion scene in spider-man far from home can be interesting. like megumi having dreams about different moments in his life as they slowly fade out of existence and sukuna starts taking hold in megumi’s body ahhh horror i love it this seems more like psychological thriller shit or something

true form sukuna makes me think of cosmic horror with how we don’t really know a lot about him (backstory, power, etc.) and the other characters are also in the dark about a lot of things the only people we can presume have an inkling of an idea about sukuna would be kenjaku, tengen, and hopefully angel but that’s more something i’ve been thinking about idk if angel and sukuna had a personal relationship (in the fic im trying to write they do!)

ummm but yeah i just really want to see more art of sukuna being a little horror monster as well as fics with him being a monster of sorts

[holdenmademeangsty]

Get to know 9 3 4 people ask game!

As per @wynnwave‘s request:

Last song listened to: Island Song (Come Along with Me) [feat. Ashley Eriksson]. It popped into my head, and it’s a lovely song, so I listened to it on repeat while I was working on something lego-related.

Currently reading: I’m terrible at committing to a single book and staying with it, but most recently I was in the middle of House of Leaves. As part of my job at an elementary school, I’m reading How to Eat Fried Worms with second graders, not because I chose it but that’s something that seemed to fit the skill level of this group of kids.

Sweet/savory/spicy: This is hard, but I think I might have to go with sweet here, savory is really close behind it though. Like, on a different day I’d probably switch those two. I don’t really enjoy spicy foods that much //shrugs//

Obsession: LEGO (Bionicle definitely a major player there, of course), Middle-Earth, food content on YouTube, FNAF, Star Wars, Welcome to Night Vale, analog horror, uhhhhhhhhh I think that mostly covers it? Maybe? Hopefully!

Relationship status: Single but very strong feelings for someone else…

Last thing I googled: “you can have my fist in your face.” That line popped into my head randomly while watching Rogue One, and I couldn’t remember where it was from. [source of the quote] Of course that’s where it came from.

Currently working on: Since I don’t have any active creative endeavors, I will use that as an excuse to use prev’s discarded answer: “surviving.” That’s all I really feel up to doing lately. Oh, I guess if I had to think of something, tomorrow marks one month since I started HRT, so I guess you could say I’m working on building a girl body 😂

Passing it to you guys now!

@trisabelle @daredevildumbass @echo-says @help-i-forgot-my-character-voice

[valleyfthdolls]

come to think of it, it may as well be impossible for me to find suitable slasher / gore horror lmao

why? it's because of the screaming. my SPD is very audio-focused, so it can induce pain and headaches, possibly even migranes. the uh. occasional auditory hallucinations i get of women screaming also don't help.

however, if you have any recs for stuff like found footage or EAS scenarios ( especially SCP ones ), i have found a fondness for them while experimenting with what types of horror i enjoy ^-^

( sorry if i word things weirdly oiyfdxchigfc )

You get occasional auditory hallucinations of women screaming too wtf-

Here are some things you could watch. I'm really, really sorry in advance if any of these have triggering content for your sensory issues. I tried my best to make sure they were all accessible, hopefully I did alright.

For found footage horror films, immediately The Blair Witch Project comes to mind, but I gave that a 4/10 lmao. Good to watch for the experience of having watched it though. Not much screaming, but I do distinctly remember once scene of one of the characters screaming "PLEASE HELP US" and the main character (who is a woman) screaming for another character near the end. No straight screaming as I recall, but scream-yelling.

I've heard great things about Lake Mungo, which apparently has no jumpscares, and is a found footage-style psychological horror mockumentary that I really need to watch.

Ringu- the original Japanese version of The Ring- doesn't really have the screams or as many jumpscares as the American adaptation, but it's pretty tense regardless. If you like horses, I would prefer this version over the American one. Also if you have sensory processing disorder. It doesn't really rely on a lot of the hella discomforting sound design of the American adaptation, which is def scarier, but god, Sadako is like 10x more nightmare fuel than Samara, even if I ultimately like the execution of Samara's character a lot more. Just watching the original Ringu, Sadako is still a good character, I just think her story got convoluted later on. The TV scene in the og too is horrific. I love it

Candyman is widely considered pretty good, but I've heard people say its themes of racism are tone deaf at times. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm familiar with it. Lacks jumpscares, should be good on sensory problems, bc it's my understanding there's not much meant to elicit abject fear, but you may have to be careful.

I love The Walten Files, but given your sensory issues, I wouldn't recommend it unless you truly believed you could handle a lot of bad sensory input. If that ever happens, check it out. If not, avoid it.

However, a similar but much lighter seeming ARG called Welcome Home may be up your alley, currently it lacks any jumpscares or similar shocking noises. It's like Poppy Playtime but actually good.

Serial Experiments Lain is a good, ominous slow-burn psychological horror anime that lacks any potentially harmful sounds. Another is more gory and dark, but doesn't have a lot of loud noises or screaming either.

Local 58 is a well known analog horror that kind of checks the EAS scenario box, and lacks any jumpscares, but is very eerie and dark. Gemini Home Entertainment is much more so, but also has jumpscares as I've heard, so while I'm not familiar with that one I suggest you exercise caution. Local 58 I have seen and it's pretty good and should be safe for you and your SPD.

UrbanSpook has no audio jumpscares, but a lot of visual ones. Pretty good body horror stuff too.

I also tentatively recommend Petscop. Tentatively because it has absolutely zero SPD triggers, but its themes heavily revolve around child abuse, childhood trauma, esp parental abuse, and some readings even involve transphobia and ableism. Darker interpretations can also gather themes of CSA. That one is all up to how you read it (aside from the very explicit child abuse themes) so be careful for mental health reasons.

(I also very tentatively recommend it because I don't like recommending Petscop to people. It's a very personal comfort for me and I don't like giving it out to just anyone as a recommendation.)

[gooddboygonebadd]

Tag Game once more~

This time in was tagged by the lovely davin (@noraecore) - Merry Christmas everyone! Hopefully you were able to spend your time with family and friends~

ANYWAYS- This tag game is ~Questions not usually seen~

A time period you feel you'd do well in...

If I am being completely honest, probably the 80s. Everyone seems so chill and the music, the styles, everything *chefs kiss*

A mythical animal you wish you could be...

A troll. They are SOO under appreciated. I'm not talking abt those big trolls that live under bridges, oh no no no, I am talking abt those trolls that steal your socks. Always the left ones...

(please smo tell me they got that reference)

Your favourite time of day...

2-4 am. I always wake up during that time. Idk why tho. There is just something magical feeling about that time. Everyone in the house is sleeping, its quiet... uk what I mean? I usually put on analog horror videos on my phone and just binge watch HOURS of them. They usually freak me out so i stay up until sunrise... or I go on tumblr. Either or.

The fictional tv show character that's the most like you...

I dont really know if I am being honest. I dont really watch tv shows or movies. But I would probably say Artemis from ready player one. Idk I just kinda have the same vibe I guess.

Your favourite flower...

Lavender. I love it so much. Nearly everything in my room smells like it too. My sister got me a lavender diffuser and I had it on all day. My deodorant smells like it, my clothes smell like it and my perfume used to be lavender too. Oh and my shampoo and conditioner- ....and possibly my body wash as well.... TO MUCH TMI I AM SO SORRY-

A fictional universe you would love to be in...

Easily the Sweet Tooth universe. If you havent watched it, (you really should... it's on Netflix) this deer-human hybrid kid (gus/sweet tooth) wants to find his mother. A big guy called big man/jeppard takes gus to red rock Colorado. BUT GUESS WHAT? (chicken bu-) there is a VERY lethal disease that they call the sick. SO its basically post-apocalyptic type world.

Also Bubble too. It's an anime movie where Tokyo was encapsulated by a bubble.

Both Sweet Tooth and Bubble are amazing. 10/10. They are on Netflix if anyone is interested~

Add stranger things to that list too

The aesthetic you wish you had...

I really like dark academia aesthetics. I really wish I suited that aesthetic. Like I LOVE it sm. And also stempunk too. Not to wear or have but just anyone who pulls off steampunk, immediate respect.

A kpop group you would love to be in...

Three words. MAMA MAMA MOOOOOOO

Kpop idol(s) you would be bestfriends with if you're an idol...

Your one and only Na Jaemin and Lee Jeno from NCT. They would be sooo much fun to hang out with. And Felix from skz. Imagine cooking brownies together 🥺

Your favourite outfit to wear...

I normally wear jeans, black tank top, and a light blue jacket I own. I do switch it up every once in a while by wearing a link (legend of zelda) sweatshirt. BUT FEAR NOT FOLKS! I went shopping and got quite a bit of clothes that made me feel good. So I'll be wearing those more often and building more ~~confidence~~

I had a lot of fun making doing this. Also thank you so much davin for putting all of the questions at the end to copy and paste them. It made the process soo much easier.

Anyways I will be tagging: @blizzardfluffykpop @kingdomtual @seohotonin @septicrebel and anyone else who wants to do it! Remember, you dont have to do it! It's there for grabs tho

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

[mmepennance]

November, 2016

(Originally journaled 11/2018)

Remember remember the 8th of November


A revolution was won
In silence, by ballot box
And misplaced apathy,
And in no small measure by
Gerrymandered maneuvering
And fear become ascendant.

Seeming bloodless in birth
Delayed casualties fall in more than
Rhetorical shots connecting now
Against vulnerable targets
Whose tangible losses grow larger
In comfortably remote distance
From those first papered shots.

2018 - and beyond
Will there be a pulsing
Counter revolution lighting
Fire in hearts and voting booths,
Or will reactionary righteousness
Strengthen its inertial sway over
Increasingly exhausted resistance?

November, 2024

(Updated 11/10/2024)

Remember remember the 5th of november

Simmering rage once coaled has rekindled

Banking only when exhausted unconsciousness

Pulls me into unquiet landscapes

We are irredeemable

50% of eligible voters did not vote

Irredeemable

25% voted against the rights

Of women and minorities

And ledgling pro-labor activism

Irredeemable

25% voted to elevate yet another

Verified sexual predator

To our highest offices

Irredeemable

25% voted for the degenerate rapist

Peddling the hope and lie of lower prices

At gas stations and grocery stores

Irredeemable

75% did not vote against the opportunity

To cause hurt, pain, suffering, and death

To those they’ve been told to fear and hate

Irredeemable

75% of friends, family, and

Others unmet

Are actively cheering

Or apathetically ignoring

Those victimized by their stance

Irredeemable

It is already happening

In hospital bathrooms and

Emergency room parking lots

After refusals of necessary

Medical standards of care

Irredeemable

Medical care deserts grow

In public indifference

Irredeemable

And I am exhaustively, exhaustedly

Reminded that the privilege of being

Considered as an equal, valuable Human

Remains a matter of public opinion

And theoretical debate

Irredeemable

‘Your body, My Choice, Forever.’

A popular Nazi blogger trends

A POPULAR NAZI BLOGGER TRENDS!?

Irredeemable

Irredeemable

Irredeemable

America hates women

America hates minorities

America loves rapists

Message received

I am hollowed, emptied of compassion

For those that confuse their elation

And my horror at their jubilation

To elevation of known immorality to power

As analogous to losing a petty sports rivalry

Suck it Snowflakes! You lost.

Don’t be such a sore loser.

We have all lost, and in losing

Will we mourn the losses of

So much more in the future

Than many of those celebrating

Yet realize or comprehend

[thesereveries]

Poor Things, (2023) Yorgos Lanthimos

I saw this in the theater recently and was moved. It’s initially confusing to figure out what this “movement” consists in. The film is packed with psychedelic colors, upsetting events, and sexual scenes; it's quite stimulating. So I’d like to tease out what went on in my mind and heart, whose rustlings were soft but painfully good.

Here are the basics of the plot. A crazy scientist, who sees science as the means for bringing about a more just future (a moral that is endorsed and that I appreciate, as a side-note), brings a new human into the world. Her name is Bella. She is enclosed in the body of a beautiful woman. We see Bella grow up, psychologically, from a newborn level of babbling and lack of motor control. We witness her discover sexual pleasure and become obsessed with engaging in sexual activity as much as possible, until she discovers reading, whose stimulation attracts her just as much, which is something to which we’ve become numb. We see her first moment of understanding the injustice on which her life is based and her horror, which is also something to which we’ve become numb. We see men fall in love with her, become envious of her love for living, or desire to destroy her.

The film evoked in me a memory. When I was 15, I woke up from a numbness that had been going on for many years. I experienced, for what felt like the first time, what it was like to be able to go on a walk—to see the beauty of the sky, feel the satisfaction of breathing, and delight in the energy coursing through my body. I experienced what it was like to talk to another human and to enter the amazement of how we make possible in each other new ideas and delight, out from thin air. I imagined all of the activities I couldn’t wait to experience "for the first time," once I got home: bicycling, painting, and so on. 

Since then, there've been some moments that involve "waking up. They aren't as totalizing as this first awakening, but they are made possible by their pooling into the grooves of this first awakening, imprinted upon my mind. The most recent one I remember happened a few months ago. I was stunned by the beauty of words with which I’ve been transacting all along in my research: "emotion," "the unconscious," "experience." Their abstraction was vivid and beautiful like music. It was as if each word were its own orchestra, playing melodies I can barely hear through the obfuscation of the finitude of my mind, but which I know is out there.

Here's a way I’ve made sense of these awakenings: It’s a silver lining of having lived under a stretch of numbness over my childhood. Today, I get to experience things for the first time with the body and mind of an adult, capable of making sense of and valuing these things in light of humanity and history. The “first times,” for most people, occurred in childhood, where cognizing things, like the acts of walking and friendship, in as penetrating of a way, simply isn’t accessible. Maybe this is an ad-hoc rationalization of a life narrative. Or maybe there’s truth here. I’ve been told that it’s astonishing how much energy I have, or ridiculous how enthusiastic I can get over random things. This way of being, which I can't help, is a trajectory that was set by that first awakening at age 15.

Bella’s situation is somewhat analogous to this. Since she’s growing up in an adult’s body, people have feelings and thoughts towards her as if she were any adult. This provides circumstances for her to grow, which are impossible for normal adults (with adult, not infant, minds), as much as for normal infants (with infant, not adult, bodies.) She registers adult events (e.g., being the object of infatuation for other men; hearing philosophical ideas that can change how everything seems; learning about slavery) from the place of full-force curiosity of an infant.

This readily provides a contrast to how most of us inhabit the world. We assume that what will happen is familiar, so we do not notice much in what happens and aren’t changed. We feel stifled in our lives, by the everyday rhythm of anticipatable dissatisfactions and satisfactions.

In contrast, when Bella looks at the same occurrence as we do, she reaches for more. She doesn’t demand for more, in the sense of self-entitlement. Rather, she simply takes as a fact of reality that there is more, and that her world shall be overturned by meeting it. This theme of renewal through living is echoed in the fact that Bella’s body is her mother’s, and her mind belongs to the baby with whom her mother was pregnant. She is both mother and daughter. We see Bella curious to find out more about who her mother was, this person whose body is hers, and to whom she owes her life. I love this as a dramatic metaphor for renewal in any of our lives. Our pasts may become as distant and different from who we are now, as Bella’s mother is to Bella. Transformation can happen to a life. Moreover, this is not an insular process. Our motherhood of our future selves depends upon the love and intimacy we have with each other.

I thought that Bella stands as an “antidote” to the sort of depression and anxiety with which the alarmingly increasing proportion of people in the U.S. get diagnosed. While one can't just choose to be like Bella, perhaps one can begin to enter places of meaningfulness like hers by assuming that one knows nothing, while practicing the bottom line of trusting and being kind to others. 

I haven’t explored any “morals” that are unusual or complex here. I get the sense that this film is simple in this way. But its simple ideas are important ones, and the delivery is fun and engaging.