#and gothic horror is Extremely metaphorical

[the-crooked-library]

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Ellen’s sex scene with Thomas is weird, unsexy, frantic, fully clothed and disturbing, while Ellen’s sex scene with Orlok, literal corpse, is slow, detailed, sensual, and they are both naked. The juxtaposition.

exaaactlyyyy!! it's about the INTIMACY

regardless of how desperate both Ellen and Thomas may be to conform to their socially acceptable marriage (they're both distinctly queercoded, Ellen wants passion, Thomas cannot give it, both of them see each other as a duty), they still do not and cannot understand each other. Ellen, who comes from a wealthy but abusive home, cannot imagine prioritizing material success over love and connection; Thomas, who self-deprecatingly refers to himself as a "pauper," cannot imagine ostracizing himself so completely from the society that very easily jeopardizes the livelihood of anyone non-conforming. There is a distinct lack of intimacy between them, only partially breached by anger and confrontation; which is, indeed, illustrated by their fully clothed, aggressive scene. It is more of an argument than sex.

Ellen's death-wedding with Orlok is entirely different - as you said, slow, sensual, reverent; it centers their closeness above all. They cling to one another, both overcome with emotion (self-professed inability to love be damned), perfect living skin against rotting flesh; the visual implication here is that there is, quite literally, nothing between them. They know each other entirely, the flaws, the beauty, and that understanding is more important than their own life or death.

One is a sex scene that is actually a fight, the other is a lovemaking disguised as murder, and I am obsessed

[ravenousgf]

#basically stormlight is extrmely idealistic because it is meant to inspire hope and healling on a smaller scale through large scale stories @jewishdainix ~!!!!!

Tbh I think a lot of the dynamics stormlight portrays are unrealistic. Like in real life the deal kal made with dalinar would not have happened but it makes sense when you remeber that things are happening in stormlight not brcause they are a thing that would happen but because stormlight is meant for the character arcs and emotional developmeant and not for realistic results?

[antigonick]

just stumbled into one of your snippets and i'm OBSESSED with your writing style. it is so fluid and punchy and such a delight to read. if you ever feel like answering, how does your writing process works? what are your inspirations, style and tone-wise? and what themes do you enjoy exploring the most?

have a lovely day! 💌

Oh, that's... WELL. That's! The best compliment you could have sent me, thank you so much, I don't know what to say.. I'm actually trying to write a... I'm gonna call it a novel when it's just a mess of fragments right now, but—yeah. Fluid and punchy is exactly what I strive to achieve with the character's voice so this is so nice to hear. WHATEVER. THANK YOU.

Anyway! My writing process is really... steeped in rhythm, I guess? It starts with character writing, which leads me to character voice, which leads me to finding the right "mind" tempo, and from it cascades the headspace I need to write. In that, in the idea of perspective and voice influencing the story first, I'm indebted to Faulkner, to Marlon James, to Woolf's The Waves, to Shirley Jackson—to the perspectivism twists of horror and gothic writing as a general rule. Rereading her, I think Emily Brontë has shaped my metaphorical network very early on, and my handling of violence, especially in dialogue—though more recently, Tamsyn Muir made me tick about dialogue too. Malin Rydén is one of my utmost inspirations, not a little because the main character of my story was first created for his story, but also because he was my gateway into harder, grittier speculative fiction and digital literature, which both inspire me now for the story I'm trying to shape—horror out of the gothic castle and into the terrible anticipation of what comes next, with more politics, with ghosts and body horror twisted to technology. In terms of pure form, I'm extremely impacted by poetry—E. E. Cummings, Alice Oswald, Emily Dickinson—those who deconstruct syntax to wrangle it into breath. He didn't influence me because I discovered him too late, but I feel a kinship to some of the early stylistic experimentations of Frank Bidart too. Hanif Abdurraqib, whose first name I gave to one of my main characters too because his voice is incredible: it moves. Charles Olson's Projective Verse gestures at what I feel when I write, you know? "ONE PERCEPTION MUST IMMEDIATELY AND DIRECTLY LEAD TO A FURTHER PERCEPTION (…). Always one perception must must must MOVE, INSTANTER, ON ANOTHER! (…)" and then "Breath allows all the speech-force of language back in." Even silence can be your story-weapon.

I'm interested in... blowing apart labels, dichotomies, I think, making them harder to grapple with—right and wrong, love and hate, personal and universal; transgressions, fluidity; how language fails, how language betrays; the way human connection can both fuck you and raise you up, in its constant failure and constant trying, in the violence of intimacy, in the tension between hardness and vulnerability—more than anything, I'm interested in the way individual desires clash with collective needs or personal ideals, in the lies and justifications you can find for yourself, in what it means for you when you come to dismantle them (or refuse to). I love palimpsest, stories retold again and again, and/or I love difficult, ugly settings, speculative and dystopia topics, I want the story to be political in itself, even when it's not politicking; and I LOVE mindfucks: using our terribly faulty, terribly subjective perception / perspective / memory / dreams / FEARS / intellect to tell a story that is both fascinating because it's unique, and trapped by it. Can't escape yourself. What are you gonna do with yourself (against yourself, for yourself) now?

Formally, I try to use that in writing: trapping the reader in one voice that swallows them really, ideally that jostles them a little, that blurs the boundary between them and the character: extreme immersion. I like to try and convey emotion / impression and even action as it is experienced, rather than explaining it clearly. In that phenomenology has influenced me, I guess? Deleuze, Guattari, Merleau-Ponty, and poetry again, I guess. Archibald McLeish says "a poem should not mean / but be...", and that's what I try to do with the character I choose, and then I let them be, and they drive both the story and the writing that should echo it—form and content cycling each other like mirrors.

Goddamnit, that got so long. Anyway. THANK YOU for being interested, I'm really touched.

[chaos-and-sparkles]

I yearn to talk about my Dracula!Holmes au, and the universe has seen fit to give me free will and internet access, so talk i shall.

Listen. Hear me out just hear me out.

We literally have Johnathan motherfucking Harker whose written POV we read Dracula from for like a solid half of the book, right. Well, no more, he's John Watson now babeyyy, a retired army man now gainfully employed as a lawyer who's off overseas to act as estate agent to the strange and eccentric client who has expressed interest in moving to foggy London... Count Holmes! [insert jazz hands]

Instead of being Evil(tm) and plotting to take over London or whatever, my guy is just Autistic. Also riddled with ADHD and in desperate need of some enrichment in he goddamn enclosure. He will also in fact be trans, because. Of course. Vampirism as a metaphor for queerness and the social ostracization that follows as a punishment and having inherently queer narratives intertwined in them etc etc... anyhow! Count Sherlock Holmes, vampire detective!!!

(I do also want him to be aroace, or aroacespec at least, but I'm willing to negotiate for the Johnlock and the Johnlock alone.)

Mina Harker here is of course the one and only Mary Morstan, although it is clearly a lavender marriage, because we aren't cowards in this household and so Mary gets to be gay with her Lucy equivalent here, just as god intended. I haven't decided who her Lucy equivalent will be yet but this au is still young (technically I've been going insane about it in my mind for like a month or two but whatever) and there's no reason we can't make up an OC for her Lucy.

John Watson, resident gay doctor lawyer, of course, is smart enough to realize the enigmatic Count Holmes' vampiric secret within like one adventure, but he sure is going to have a slow burn of realizing just how gay he is for said enigmatic Count Holmes. We, of course, get to witness this tooth rotting bullshit firsthand as we read his diary entries and some later letters to Mary.

And instead of being one long gothic horror narrative, it's just adventure of the week with your friendly neighborhood crime solving vampire, the various other mythical creatures who do said crimes, and Just Some Guy.

Just, every Sherlock Holmes adventure adapted into this au with other supernatural elements. The guy from the Red Headed League is a local villager being bamboozled by a leprechaun, the Silver Blaze thing is about a kelpie. Everyone including Sherlock was operating on the assumption that Irene Adler was a siren, but actually she was just a regular human, and instead of unlearning misogyny (bc I don't see trans vampire Sherlock living so long through changing times and society and being sexist), Sherlock has to learn not to underestimate the intelligence of humans.

Also, he's just really excited to have this new human, John, living in his castle. So curious, too, about humans, he has sequestered himself from them for such a long time and John seems like a very interesting one. He's probably the first friend Sherlock has had in a long time, too.

Also. Instead of being warded off or harmed by garlic, to Sherlock, garlic is just the vampire version of cocaine. He just gets high as fuck off garlic. Could live on the stuff. And the reason people think he's warded off by garlic is just because he was seen getting high off his ass, turning into a bat, and flying away in loop de loops upon consuming garlic one (1) time. And everyone thought it's his weakness. And he never bothered correcting them bc Why Would He. He's basically getting free cocaine left and right from villagers who are scared/wary of the supernatural Count Holmes and only go to him when there's no other option, and it's no bother to leave people he's not investigating alone.

I genuinely do think cocaine!garlic addicted Sherlock has so much comedic potential, it really is so beloved to me. Just imagine, if you will, an extremely put-upon John Watson caring for Batlock who has gotten high off his ass and refuses to stop flying into his own antique chandelier.

I was also thinking that it would be funny to have Mrs. Hudson and Mrs. Turner in place of Dracula's sexy vampire roommates or whatever those three were lmao (I couldn't think of a third character, sorry)

Also. Obviously. Van Helsing has got to be Moriarty, by virtue of opposition. I do think their whole deal has a lot of potential to be very funny and entertaining also. I am also considering it might be fun to have Lucy's other suitors be the Scotland Yarders, like Lestrade, Gregson and what have you, but that risks missing out on the very fun possible dynamic of "Sherlock being exasperated with the dumbass out of their depth Yarders he keeps helping" raised to like the hundredth degree so. I honestly would like people's thoughts on that.

Anyway so YES, Dracula au please and thank you. Maybe with endgame QPR Johnlock? Yes? Please? Queerplatonic husbands Johnlock is my shit.

In conclusion: THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MY TED TALK <3

[velvetvexations]

i personally have never seen a single media be able to accurately capture the queer experience for me, being someone who both identifies as cis and trans. even within the realm of allegory or metaphor. i don't want to say it's impossible to find stuff like that, only that i haven't found it yet. it's honestly easier to write my own shit. my ideal form of representation is a gothic horror fantasy based around victorian ideals of gender that features a cis guy haunted by his creator who only made him cuz 'she' was extremely dysphoric and closeted with oodles of body horror cuz having a body is horror and i am okay with that.

having a body is the true body horror and you're so real for saying it

[submarinerwrites]

v.c. andrews, flowers in the attic

★★★★☆

flowers in the attic is a classic of modern gothic fiction. published in 1979, it tells the story of the four dollanganger siblings and their imprisonment in the attic of their ancestral home.

my boyfriend and i picked this as our second bookclub book. i was extremely excited to read it since it’s been on my mental tbr since i heard about it in middle school, but i’d always been dissuaded from even purchasing the book by my mother, who found it deeply disturbing. i didn’t. in fact, there was something comforting about the story. flowers in the attic reminded me strongly of adolescence and the feeling of confinement that pervaded mine and so reading it was deeply cathartic in that sense.

andrews has an incredible sense of atmosphere. the entire novel feels like a fairytale—not, of course, a sanitized disney version but one of the real ones, with teeth. even at its most intense moments, the novel remains dreamy and somnolent, reminiscent of radcliffe’s seductively hypnotic prose (but probably honestly not as good), a sensation that’s enhanced by cathy’s deeply disturbing semi-prophetic dream sequences. this romantic fairytale atmosphere would be interesting to compare with the virgin suicides probably.

i will note that this is actually a story where i feel like the horror/terror distinction promogulated by radcliffe does actually make sense. flowers in the attic does not, in my opinion, ever actually reach the point of horror—it doesn’t paralyze your senses with fear, if that makes sense. you are always waiting for the other shoe to drop, which of course radcliffe argues is an atmosphere of terror. even the scenes that most align with the idea of horror end up closer to terror due to andrews’s frequent deescalation of the plot. before cathy and chris are forced to eat raw mice to survive, for instance, they discover the grandmother (supposedly, though based on later evidence i actually think it was more likely their mother) has left them their picnic basket of food. and again, even when horrific things happen, andrews’s prose decisions mean that they don’t feel like horror.

this is also an interesting novel to think about with respect to the male and female gothic, a distinction i think is usually reductive but which interests me here. andrews spent much of her life in a wheelchair while living with a mother who was ashamed of her. as such, much of the novel resonates with radcliffe’s concern about female dependency, consanguineal responsibility, and property rights. it’s very mysteries of udolpho of andrews tbh.

on the subject of consanguineal responsibility: typically, within the gothic, it’s the traitorous family member who commits the act of incest, because the incest is a metaphor for the way their familial responsibilities have been perverted. here, however, chris is not the villain, and cathy does love him, deeply and irrationally. it’s a neat kind of inversion: even though their incestuous relationship is a consequence of a lack of consanguineal responsibility, it’s not necessarily about chris’s specific role in that failure. andrews’s inversion of the concept keeps their relationship romantic, and enchanted, and almost sacred.

also!! hellOOO freudian attraction to the opposite sex parent!! not gonna get into it but it reminded me strongly of the idea that the relationship between fathers and daughters is always already erotically charged.

i will say that the intensity of this erotic parental relationship for both cathy and chris honestly makes the eventual transgression of the incest taboo seem less surprising? lmao. like their attraction to their parents is so intense that it makes sense for them to also be attracted to each other, especially since the book makes so much of them being their parents’s clones.

idk i just thought there should have been more guilt and angst over the incest, but really it felt like both cathy and chris accepted it as the natural course of things. which for them it was, and in some ways i was glad there wasn’t that much shame because there usually is with female teenage protagonists who have sex, even without the element of incest, but at the same time, the shame is what makes it delicious. so i do wish there were more.

and on a similar note, the fact that chris rapes cathy is soooo intensely romance novel coded. her desire for chris is obvious and intense and terrifying and i think in some ways the rape is meant to be the author’s gift to cathy. the onus of desire is taken off of her and she gets to have what she wants without having to ask for it or feel guilty for having it happen. idk much to think about here.

other things i loved: the blood-drinking!! holy shit, that was a good scene. as i think i’ve discussed before, cannibalism and incest have been inextricably symbolically linked since literally the eighteenth century, so i loved that andrews included it. but at the same time, that scene is incredibly tender and loving, which is such a delightful inversion.

as far as the prose goes, it was entertaining but not strictly speaking what i would call great or even especially good. it’s not bad, but it’s not even close to the most compelling thing about the novel: there are no lines that i feel really stuck out to me. it was just kind of... there. not necessarily in a bad way, but the content was clearly more important to andrews than the form.

overall, i really enjoyed the novel. i adore the gothic as a genre, and i can see why it became a cult classic. there’s so much about flowers in the attic that’s compelling, and compelling for young women in particular, and it’s honestly a novel i’d love to share with any future daughters.

[fatherfigurefusion]

NDRV3 Characters with DRDT Talents

Korekiyo Shinguuji, Ultimate Lucky Student

(Having been cursed with bad luck his whole life, as an abandoned orphan, Korekiyo finds fascination in the idea and concept of luck, considering it "beautiful". This causes him to be seen as unnerving by others, in spite of his otherwise affable personality. With his massive collection of lucky charms on his person, Korekiyo is determined to turn his bad luck around, survive the killing game, and find his missing sister.)

Kokichi Ouma, Ultimate Clockmaker

(This enigmatic young lad, in spite of his immature appearance and personality, is a prodigy when it comes to handcrafting only the most intricate of clocks. His appearance and personality also belies a conniving chronic liar, who speaks entirely in clock and time-related metaphors and seems intent on toying with and confusing his fellow classmates.)

Maki Harukawa, Ultimate Plastic Surgeon

(While a master in all matters of surgical procedures, Maki seems to specialize in cosmetic surgeries for a massive number of celebrities. In spite of this, Maki claims to dislike performing surgery and can't stand the self-centered attitudes of the people she performs her surgeries on. Both in and out of the operating room, Maki is cold and aloof, not willing to engage in small talk.)

Kirumi Tojo, Ultimate Personal Stylist

(Famous for her attractive appearance and gothic punk fashion, all the spikes and leather belie a loyal and kind-hearted woman. If one wishes to improve their wardrobe, Kirumi will always be there to help, with her knowledge on all matters fashion. However, while she may normally be passive and obedient, let's just say that this leather hides silk, which also hides steel.)

Rantaro Amami, Ultimate Zither Player

(While infamous for his travels and the wealthy family that he is a part of, Rantaro is even more famous for his innate talent in playing the many instruments of the zither family. Rantaro is known amongst the class for his bountiful wisdom, his coolheadedness, and his attractive appearance. Having 12 younger sisters back home, Rantaro appears to have a brotherly instinct, when it comes to a couple of people in his class.)

Shuichi Saihara, Ultimate Effects Artist

(As the son of a famous actor and screenwriter, it was only natural that Shuichi would be an expert on the ins and outs of the film industry, although his main speciality is in special effects. In spite of his status as a blueblooded prodigy, Shuichi is also extraordinarily humble and timid, possibly due to all the hotshot actors overshadowing him.)

Kaede Akamatsu, Ultimate Jockey

(Having a love for horses since she was young, Kaede won many horse-racing competitions and always has a spot in her heart for all of her horses. Cheerful and energetic even off the track, in spite of her legions of fans, Kaede is also rather socially-inept, spending more time with horses than with actual people.)

Himiko Yumeno, Ultimate Matchmaker

(Referring to herself as the "Ultimate Cupid" and fashioning herself in a similar manner, if Himiko senses the right chemistry between two people, they would be destined to be happy together. Outside of romantic pursuits however, in which case she becomes extremely conniving and ambitious, Himiko is incredibly lazy and would only ever put in the absolute minimum effort, if asked to do something.)

Gonta Gokuhara, Ultimate Horror Fanatic

(Having been raised away from civilization by a bunch of eldritch horrors, Gonta is an expert when it comes to all matters horror. He is very enthusiastic when it comes to the topic of horror, and would love to talk at lengths about them. In spite of his creepy fascination and bad tendency to psychoanalyze, Gonta prides himself on being a kindhearted "gentleman" to everybody.)

Ryoma Hoshi, Ultimate Student

(Truly an academic role model in every sense of the word, Ryoma is renowned throughout his school for topping academic charts and being diligent towards his studies, and always being eager to assist other people. He is even a star member of his school's tennis club. According to some unreliable sources, though, Ryoma is more lazy and pessimistic than what his public appearance would seem.)

Miu Iruma, Ultimate Chemist

(Specializing in the studies of pheromones and aphrodisiacs, Miu is about as perverted and bawdy as one would expect from someone with that line of study. In addition to her sex-laden speech, Miu is also highly proud of her intellect and appearance, and is always ready to put down other people for their perceived lack of intelligence/beauty. Unless they talk back to her...)

Tsumugi Shirogane, Ultimate Pet Therapist

(Garnering fame in her hometown for being able to rehabilitate and reason with even the most disobedient of pets, it is often rumored that Tsumugi has the ability to speak to animals, something that she would neither confirm nor deny. Generally preferring the company of animals to people, Tsumugi always tries her best to blend in to the background and seem as "plain" or "unnoticeable" as possible.)

Kiibo Iidabashi, Ultimate Bowler

(Raised by a former bowling champion, it didn't take long for Kiibo to pick up their father's craft with ease, eventually joining the best bowling league in the country. Having spent a good portion of his life having their favorite sport be belittled and mocked, Kiibo is notably sensitive and overprotective, when it comes to the topic of their talent. Apart from that, they remain kind and cheerful.)

Kaito Momota, Ultimate Art Forger

(Despite referring to himself as the "Modern Day Da Vinci" and being genuinely talented at all artistic pursuits, Kaito's talent is one of the more sketchy and morally ambiguous of his class. Having been exposed for his forgery by the authorities, Kaito seeks to turn over a new leaf and remake himself with a brand-new heroic image and persona, seeking to restore the rapidly-disappearing art of the past.)

Tenko Chabashira, Ultimate Rebel

(Standing up for the rights of women everywhere, Tenko wants nothing more than to dismantle the patriarchy hanging over the heads of innocent women everywhere. Tenko is also well-known for her contributions towards the lesbian/trixic community, garnering a reputation as a lesbian icon. Ignoring her vilurant hatred of men, especially male authority figures, Tenko is cheerful and warmhearted.)

Angie Yonaga, Ultimate Inspirational Speaker

(Traveling all over the country to spread her motivational speeches to as many people as possibly, Angie greets every day with a bright smile and a blessing being made towards Atua, while encouraging others to do the same. In spite of her title being "inspirational speaker", it wouldn't too far off to call her a "preacher" or a "missionary" with how dedicated she towards Atua's word.)

Miyadera Shinguuji, Ultimate ???

(???)

Had this AU in my mind for quite some time now, and I'd love to hear any thoughts on it.

[van1ll1am]

Was having a thought while walking to my train.

Why is it that antis are all for censoring media? Pro-shipping isn't something that's contemporary, it's been happening in literature for CENTURIES. As a BA English student, it worries me that critical thinking, especially critical thinking in regards to darker subjects, has been declining in my generation.

This is several paragraphs long, so,

TDLR : Critical Thinking is in fact a much needed skill, I am worried about my generation's ability to understand what's real and fictional, and worried for the future of literature.

I specialize in poetry, however I dabble in gothic literature, so I know what I'm talking about when talking about Wuthering Heights, hell, it was the very first book I ever properly analyzed.

Wuthering Heights has been touted as one of the greatest romance novels ever. Hell, Kate Bush even has a song about Heathcliff and Cathy, the two characters often seen as peak romance. To the normal person, this is normal, this isn't out of the ordinary. However, if you are well versed with the novel, you'll know this crucial fact.

Heathcliff and Cathy are adopted siblings.

That's right! There's incest in this beloved novel. There's also pet murder, abuse, death in general, implied necrophilia, and the list goes on. There was backlash for the novel in those times, but that was mainly for the fact that Heathcliff was a man of colour, and the general edginess of the book. Which makes me wonder, if Wuthering Heights was published in this day and age, would it have such a chokehold on the literature scene as it does now, or would it burnt to the ground?

See, people nowadays see writing about dark topics as ENDORSING the behavior. Which is. Extremely incorrect. I would never, ever endorse such a destructive relationship like Heathcliff and Cathy's, but the sphere related to dark media is full of, forgive me, literal children tearing apart people for what? Writing about the same thing Emily Bronte did? What's next, tearing people down for writing about horror? Tearing people down for writing about death, or trauma? There is a very steep hill here, and we are racing down it.

I was once an anti, but upon looking into literature and starting to analyze novels, have I realized it was wrong to be an anti. I now have access to the full sphere of media exploration, to Lolita, to Wuthering Heights, To Stephen King's IT. We need dark topics to explore and understand why these things are so wrong. Which is why I'm so terrified for the future of literature.

Will we end up losing these novels due to metaphorical book burnings because of censorship?

[faustus-pheles]

I already had these ideas for about a year and a half but I was finally able to draw it/write them down. Also, I tried my best to draw in the project sekai art style. The face was the best I could do (T-T)…I’ll probably do the school uniform later.

If you want to know general ideas or maybe more info, you can read below, though, it’s kind of long(^^;) This unit will definitely be set before the 3rd anniversary.

This unit is known as Rozen Notturno, a classical and gothic band that focuses on one pair of musicians and one pair of singers/dancers. Together they create highly polished music. Pairs are changed depending on the song and while there are main singers, that doesn’t mean the musicians don’t sing. Because they’re more invested into music playing, they become back-up singers. Their dances are a mix of ballroom dancing and ballet. Each band member has an instrument(s) associated with them. Miyuki (piano, harpsichord, organ, etc.), Suzu (Violin), Aiko (Electric guitar, accordion), and Rei (Cello). Miyuki/Suzu tend to be in one pair and Aiko/Rei tend to be the other. Their lyrics are very symbolically/metaphorically driven and story based( they tend to be horror or fairy tale inspired). When they do add lyrics based on themselves, it’s usually hidden between the characters they created. Miyuki is the composer, Rei is the lyricist, Suzu is the storyteller, and Aiko is the stylist.

In terms of how their music sounds like, it’ll be something akin to Ali Project, Valkyrie (enstars), and Hollow Mellow. On the more extreme side, Rozen Notturno can lean more into gothic visual kei bands or Youseki Teikoku. Even jazz is a possibility.

Some of the vocaloid songs I was thinking that they could potentially cover could be limited, but that could also be because I haven’t search enough. Either way some of the songs include:

Kikuo (ex. Histrionic, Rolling Rolling Tumbling Along, Dance of the Corspes, KikuoHana in general

Kanon69 (Darkestory, Royal Scandal series)

Nem (ex. Angelfish, Virgin Suicides, Scissorhands)

Machigerita (ex. Coffin of Sweet Death, Dream Meltic Halloween, Moonlight and Black)

Hitoshizuku & Yana (ex. The Corpse Princess and the King of Vengeance, Prisoner of Love and Desire, 13th Apocalypse, Alluring Secret ~Black Vow~)

Some general songs (ex. Honeymoon Un Deux Trois, Cantarella, Cendrillion/Adolescent)

Their sekai would be the Ballroom Sekai. A place full of extravagant paintings/decor and musical instruments. It’s very Rococo inspired. It has enough space for Rozen Notturno to practice and for “guests” to peek in. The guests are porcelain dolls that are about 2.5 ft. The sekai is created by the dream of both Miyuki and Suzu, the dream to once again play together in front of a live audience (in an orchestra).

Miku and the rest of the vocaloids would be ball-joint dolls. Specifically with Miku, she’s an always smiling and always kind (albeit slight eccentric) doll that’s constantly en pointe. She has no instrument associated with her as she’s only a singer/3rd dancer. The rest of of the vocaloids change instruments based on the song.

The main story will most likely be about Miyuki meeting Suzu again after many years and failing multiple times to get her to play with him. He’ll meet Aiko and Aiko wanting to help him, will probably recruit Rei, who has no friends. The general idea of creating a “band” will actually be Aiko’s idea as in having more people to perform together should be much easier than having only one. With they finally recruit Suzu (with the help of the vocaloids as well), they decide to try to perform on a small stage. Though until the very end, Suzu is unable to, as her fears are triggered. What they decided to do thanks to Miyuki’s plan is to use Suzu’s persona, Engel, to perform instead, and to wait until Suzu is able to perform as herself, as everyone wants to continue playing together as a “band” . The main story arch will be mostly focused on helping Suzu gain the courage to play as herself with everyone. Smaller arcs will include on how they want to run their band/how they should perform, Rei’s inability to open up even for the most simplest of things (trust issues/vulnerability issues), and Aiko’s fear of being abandoned by her friends (abandonment issues). Miyuki’s the only one who’s actually ok(^^;). Though, arcs will most likely focus in his creative endeavors (same as Rei).

Some character interactions:

Miyuki will have interactions with Toya (mostly), Akito, Kanade, Ichika, and Tsukasa.

Suzu will have interactions with Mafuyu and Mizuki (She’ll have the least because of her social anxiety)

Aiko will have interactions with basically everyone but mostly Mizuki, An, and Tsukasa.

Rei will have interactions with only the Kamiyama students and he won’t have any favorites.

That’s all I have but I might add more later when I get more ideas.

[goldenteaset]

…So I finished La Salut…there were things I really wanted to enjoy but couldn’t, and things I didn’t enjoy at all (sometimes things don’t need explaining!). And then suddenly the emotions worked again and I actually cried, repeatedly! I now have even more thoughts about “divine mantles” and how various characters in Virche learn to embody or discard them…but 0 coherence. ^^;

That said, I couldn’t get into Adolphe that much. I felt for him, but it’s the same feeling as from a distant acquaintance that you see sometimes on his way to Job at Location. There's a lot of implications to him that are interesting: how he's structured his whole life around Ceres and what that means for his sanity, his horror at Relivers, etc., but the writers are so committed to him being Normal (tm) that those aren't touched on as much. This is what happens when you put Ankou and everyone else right next to him. Poor guy…his more snide faces are extremely good though. Hopefully later playthroughs will make him more endearing!

...Actually I do have more thoughts, oops. First the "aw man :(" and then the "YAAAAAY" under the cut:

The "Aw, Man :(" which isn't "bad" so much as disappointing:

Please imagine with me a version of this story where Ankou is the God/Watchman of Death he proclaims himself to be. Imagine everyone else, terrified of dying, suddenly being able to ask about the Afterlife, even if the answers are vague. (Can't have everyone get too hyped to die!) Wouldn't that have been unique and gothic-ly fun? I still like the actual answer on some level, but I wanted this too.

On that note, an actual dislike: I viscerally hate Ankou being embarrassed about acting the part of Watchman of Death. It felt born from a place of love for the Drifter, Yves and Ceres, so for him to feel so negatively toward it? Awful.

Less awful and more confusing: Ankou says he uses "smoke bombs", but none of his previous exits imply smoke. All the more reason to pretend it's only canon here!

The "Queen's genes" (ha, rhyme) thing really did amount to nothing, huh? I don't understand why it's here and that rankles.

Every time some variant of the line "Ceres is a plant/lycoris" comes up I feel like the Six-Fingered Man from The Princess Bride while Inigo Montoya does his revenge speech ad nauseam. "STOP SAYING THAT!"

Seriously though, I can handle Ceres being like a lycoris, akin to, etc. But something about "is a plant" is so inherently funny/brain-breaking that I'm no longer thinking of all this as a metaphor, but an actual, physical part of her, and it just doesn't gel. ;_;

It feels like there were two plots going on in this route: The Royal Family and Adolphe VS Ankou, and frankly I wound up more invested in the former. This isn't the first time it's happened, it won't be the last, but I still was drumming my fingers a little waiting for things to switch back.

I was really hoping the bouquet confession would lead to an option to choose Adolphe or Ankou (or both), because it felt like Adolphe was passing the baton over to Ceres in that moment. But nope! :(

Yves and Lucas' mini-endings in this route's Salvation ending were so wonderful I now have 0 desire to play their actual Salvation routes. Oops!

The "YAAAAAY", which I hope is self-explanatory:

Dahut's reveal? Literally iconic, as was the final scene between him and Salome. Loved his revenge, loved his friendship toward Nadia, loved how he unwittingly gave Lucas the hope he needed to make his first steps toward freedom, etc.

All the love interests working together to save Ceres! Also self-explanatory.

Adolphe and Ankou's banter and arguments, down to their voices being similar, was so funny and also sad post-reveal. It reminds me a lot of Archer and Shirou in F/SN's Unlimited Blade Works route, but better crafted I think. YMMV.

Capuchine KABOOM! (I find him rather morbidly cute, so his frustrated scream pre-explosion gave me both catharsis and a weird sort of cuteness aggression. Again, Scien, again!)

On a more serious note, Scien and Lucas having to interact and him being able to help Lucas on the road to recovery was really sweet. They were both great in this route.

Hugo/Yves are my OTP now, actually. That love realization from Hugo was just too good, ditto them traveling together. Please let there be scenes of their road trip in the fandisc!

The aforementioned inconsistency and embarrassment aside, Ankou being revealed as Adolphe was masterfully done. Loved the Drifter planting those stories of him in the past and then those stories helping to keep Ceres alive in the future. The images of him collapsing among the ever-growing lycorises along with the voice acting made me cry!

THE BOUQUET. All that subtle build-up over the routes (this one included) culminating in that one gorgeous CG. Ankou choosing of his own accord to take up the mantle of Watchman of Death, fulfilling that now-old fairytale and closing the cycle for good. ;v;

Hearing Lucas' voice post-ending also made me cry, but happily this time. He's alive and well! He's free! Nadia has a cane now! AAAAAA

Scien ripping up the time travel research letter. Yes. YES. I don't know how to explain it, but something about the way he's written, whether antagonistic or anti-heroic, just gives me such joy.

Ceres flustering Adolphe at the end, and their kiss. Again, I still don't quite buy their romance, but like Ankou I'm glad she's able to smile from the bottom of her heart.

...And that's it! Now to choose whose Salvation route to do first, Matthis or Scien's.

[wattwrites]

January 2024 in Movies and TV

A collection of mini-reviews about the movies and TV shows I've watched during the past month.

A lot of these are 2023 releases I didn't get round to when they released, So I'm playing catch up a little bit this month. Please note that I only watch things I'm personally interested in and please remember these are just my opinions. If you would like to read my reviews in full, Please go to my Letterboxd.

MOVIES:

09.01 - Hercules (1997, Ron Clements.) 3/5

Beautiful animation, some really under-rated visual sequences. Meg and Hades are the best characters, They have so much charm. Plot is a little stiff but the characters for sure make up for it.

10.01 - The Boy and the Heron (2023, Hayao Miyazaki.) 3.5/5

A powerful piece about grief and displacement, Our protagonist continues to venture through the world despite his loss. Breath taking animation and some superb voice acting, just really beautiful.

10.01 - Saltburn (2023, Emerald Fennell) 3/5

I didn't think this was as crazy or as good as it was made out to be, Casual movie watchers need to stop misunderstanding artsy films. There were a few moments that gripped me when I first watched it but seeing it all be picked apart on social media ruined this movie for me. I found Felix really likeable and I went into it knowing that Oliver was a piece of shit; Rosmund Pike and Alison Oliver gave some of my favourite performances.

12.01 - Poor Things (2023, Yorgos Lanthimos) 5/5

My favourite movie I saw in Janurary, A visual treat for anyone who likes traditional gothic horror, the visual effects and the set design was beautiful and I genuinely felt so emerged in the world. Kinky and gorey and does not hold back on a single punch, Bella is unashamedly herself and learning to find her way in the world and I've never experienced such a well rounded character arc before.

13.01 - Fantastic Mr.Fox (2009, Wes Anderson) 3.5/5

The first of several Wes Anderson movies I watched this month, I really like the flare in his movies. George Clooney plays the character so well and all the characters are so charming - I did think it got a bit overcomplicated in the middle but isn't that just Wes Anderson to a T. Beautiful animation and genuine well done slapstick comedy, a family treat.

14.01 - Wish (2023, Fawn Veerasunthorn) 2.5/5

Disappointing is the best way to describe Wish, It did have some merit but for what was supposed to be Disney's 100 Year movie it fell extremely short. Flat animation, boring characters and generic plot progression. Fine for kids who don't pay attention but there is very little of actual worth, I can't believe this came from Disney the same year as Across The Spiderverse.

15.01 - Arrietty (2010, Hirosama Yonebayashi) 3/5

Pretty music, great animation as usual but not quite to the scale of some other Ghibli productions. The voice acting really blew me away on this one, Mark Strong was a great choice for the stoic father but Olivia Coleman really went above and beyond in her performance. Neat, warm and cozy - The ending felt really simple but it was a good middle of the road Ghibli movie.

19.01 - The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014, Wes Anderson) 4/5

Fun, silly and warm. The whole movie felt like it took place in a toy box. Loved seeing all the usual Anderson offenders, I've started playing guess who when I watch one of his movies. I would give anything to hang out with M. Gustave of the Grand Budapest Hotel. Ralph Finnes was a fantastic choice, He embodied the role so well.

20.01 - Princess Mononoke (1997, Hayo Miyazaki) - 3.5/5

Easily the most brutal Ghibli I've seen, Doesn't hold back on its message at all and it was a fantastic visual metaphor for Man vs Nature. Great animation for the time, solid secondary characters and good voice work.

24.01 - Ghostbusters (1984, Ivan Reitman) - 4/5

My first time properly watching this movie and I loved it, can't believe it took me so long to watch. Oozes with charm and tone, The goofy spooky vibes are on point and every character is very unique. Fun popcorn cinema, It's extremely silly but takes itself seriously when it needs to. I found myself wanting more of the four Ghostbusters just bouncing off each other, All these big personalities play off each other so well.

26.01 - All of Us Strangers (2023, Andrew Haig) - 3/5

I completely misunderstood this movie and didn't go into it knowing it was a sixth-sense / supernatural movie so my first viewing left me very confused. Its full of very heartwarming moments, Claire Foy and Jamie Bell play the parents very well and there is genuine connection between the characters. Confusing and a little disappointing but it does pack a punch with some of the emotional moments, There was a few times it genuinely chocked me up. 

27.01 - Watership Down (1978, Martin Rosen) - 5/5

I personally don't know how to put into words how much I love this movie, It was a favourite of mine during childhood and it still holds up. The music and the tone is so strong and never once does it lose its pacing, You can tell the animators and production team really cared about the story. The commentary on nature and war was cleverly done, Not in your face but very present and the voice work was fantastic for the time.

27.01 - Raiders of The Lost Arc (Steven Spielberg, 1981) - 3/5

Goofy and fun but packed with really well executed and well directed action. The monkey broke my heart, I was rooting for her and she was a snake! Indie is kind of a scumbag but Harrison Foord plays him so well I can't help but love him, He'd make me crush on him too tbh.

28.01 - The Holdovers (Alexandar Payne, 2023) - 4.5/10

For a movie with such hurt and wounded characters at this core, This movie continually upholds the message that life can go on. Three protags all grieve something; a different life, a family, a child and all come together in this beautifully human story. Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa and Da'Vine Joy Randolph all play off each other so much, hats off to them all.

31.01 - Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023, Sam Fell) - 2.5/5

Big tonal change from the original tbh, I liked how gritty and dark and actually hopeless things felt. The uncanny valley vibes (for chickens) are kinda on it and the animation is pretty good but the over saturated colour pallet really doesn't do anything for these characters.

Television:

17.01 - Ted (2024, Seth MacFarlane) - 3.5/5

Packed with laughs and surprisingly human moments, the characters are all very fleshed out and I genuinely get the chaotic family vibes. Actual comedy and not just Family Guy-esque jokes, The whole season felt like a nicely wrapped gift. Not sure if I want more but I enjoyed it for what it was.

21.01 - Hazbin Hotel (2024, Vivienne Medrano) - 3/5

I was really conflicted going into watching this show as I don't have the best opinion of the creator but I was surprised. Good characters, fluid animation and some musical bangers. It hasn't quite blown me away yet but as of time of writing the finale hasn't aired yet.

[countingspoons]

Locked tomb series

Priory of the orange tree

Anything by seanan mcguire or her horror pen name mira grant - my favorite series is her october daye series (folklore fae not sarah j maas fae, author has a folklore degree/studied folklore) but Wayward children is also quite good (and I promise it's not ya despite some people assuming it is just because it takes place in a school, it's definitely aimed at adults reflecting back on growing up and feeling alienated)

Scholomance series (I think this might technically be ya but definitely not typical ya very adult friendly)

An education in malice and a dowry of blood if you like vampires

What moves the dead and what feasts at night if you like fantasy horror, first one is mushroom horror

If you like the mushroom horror Mexican gothic is also good

This is how you lose the time war

Anything by nghi vo my favorite is siren queen (it never mentions the term fae but it's fae like old school folklore horror fae)

Shades of magic series as well as invisible life of addie larue by ve scwab

Natural beauty by ling ling huang (fantasy elements and horror elements, critique of beauty industry)

Anything by mona awad - all have some fantasy and horror elements, rouge is also a critique of beauty industry

I keep my exoskeletons to myself - dystopia with a fantasy element, criminal justice critique with lesbians

Archive undying - hard sci fi

Poppy war and Babel by r f kuang

Book eaters by sunyi Dean- vampire metaphor for disability, also has lesbians

Our wives under the sea - lesbian under sea horror, wife comes back wrong

Daughter of the moon goddess (I dont like the sequel but the first can be read as a standalone)

Memory police

Ninth house and hell bent leigh bardugo

Inheritance of orquídea divina

Golem and the jinni and the sequel

Scent keeper I really liked but I'm not entirely sure if its fantasy or realism but the fantasy element feels too extreme to be just realism

Oona out of order- woman lives her life out of order- fate vs free will

drop your women written fantasy and sci-fi recs. no YA pls 🙏

[just-a-bookish-reader]

⭐⭐⭐⭐

A quick, fast paced, under-300-pages novel about the harm of toxic cycles set against the backdrop of a creepy cult in a small, small town and the courage needed to break these cycles, Sklya Arndt finds a way to weave this perfectly themed story, just in time for Autumn - or in other words, "spooky season."

I really enjoyed that the cult was "right" in the existence of the literal seed and the demon, instead of it simply being a metaphor for mental illness. I also really liked the fact that this is a horror/thriller meant for an audience being about the characters ages (aka young adult), allowing for "dumb teenager horror movie vibe mistakes" (such as a phone going off when trying to hide from the murderous cult in the church at night - looking at you Wil) without, say, an audience of adult readers groaning and grumbling about the stupid teens.

Now, not that I've read all that many horror novels nor seen all that many tv shows or movies in that same genre, I do get the feeling that many end in one of two extremes - either horribly, with the "bad guys" winning, or overly happy, specifically unrealistically so. Instead, Skyla Arndt allows for a bittersweet ending. This book is definitely more of an unsettling, creepy, atmospheric, gothic horror than any sort of terrifying slasher horror, so if you're looking for a read along the lines of the latter, this one would not be for you.

The commentary on cycles of abuse and the courage needed to break them was fascinating in the genre (and I can't help but mention that I felt really… happy? when the Clarke patriarch died - without giving too much away.) I knocked this down one star due to my struggle to emotionally connect with the characters, otherwise this was a wonderful YA gothic, atmospheric horror.

[theharpermovieblog]

#HARPERSMOVIECOLLETION

2023

I re-watched Elliot (2017)

I wanted to rewatch this because it's a creative way to deal with a miniscule budget. And, we should all support independent art and entertainment.

In a futuristic dystopian nightmare, a worker drone named Elliot often escapes into a digital world and a digital avatar. After meeting a woman in that digital world Elliot goes on a journey to find her, while becoming unsure of what is real and what is not.

The VHS horror franchise of films doesn't necessarily represent what actually shooting a movie on VHS was or is. I've always thought that shooting a movie on VHS tape that isn't part of the "found footage" genre was a bad idea. So to film a straight 4th wall film on VHS with a 4:3 aspect ratio and with almost no money is insane to me. Especially a sci-fi/horror.

Back in the 1990's there were several microbudget sci-Fi films and Christian films made on VHS tape. They did very little to draw in the viewer's attention, mainly because they were ugly and poorly written and directed. While very odd curiosities, I found them extremely bland. It seemed impossible to me to shoot something decent or engaging on VHS.

Elliot, a film made in 2017, with an estimated budget of $7,500, has managed to not only film something interesting on VHS, but to do so by embracing the same limitations those 1990's films faced. Staking it's flag firmly in a very lost and never-loved style.

Elliot is about escapism and creating a digital persona online. It's an easy theme to crack and the metaphor for our own lives isn't a very deep one. The dialogue isn't stellar and feels like it was written by a love-lorn sci-fi nerd with no understanding of pacing and no ability to have real social interactions. (No offense to the socially awkward nerds). The acting is amateurish and the characters aren't very three dimensional. Outside of it's interesting execution, it's a very basic film, which I certainly have major issues with. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, outside serious filmmaking fans and oddity junkies. It's main draw comes back to those 1990's films and the feeling that you could find yourself watching this movie on late night tv, maybe even public access, and repeating, "why the fuck am I watching this?"

It's a grainy and difficult to see collection of images, full of cheap homemade sets and costumes. The special effects are little more than flashing lights, interesting makeup and decently used, but dated editing techniques. It's runtime is an hour and seven minutes, which makes it pretty easily digestible, but I wouldn't want much more of it.

So why do I like it?

What I find fascinating about this film, is that it's proof that budgetary restrictions and bad equipment can be overcome by creative decisions and a complete disregard for one's limitations. Old independent film, especially old independent horror, wasn't always judged on its fantastic filmmaking, but for it's creativity when it came to completing a film in outside of the mainstream.

There's nothing perfect about Elliot from a storytelling perspective, but it definitely makes me consider a type of filmmaking I have long disregarded as a pure waste. For sure, VHS filmmaking has something to offer the horror genre outside of found footage. Elliot gives me a few very interesting images, moments and an underdog feel, if a bit pretentious about how artistically deep it wants to be. But, mostly, I like it because it fuels in me a desire to try the challenge of a microbudget VHS horror myself.

(And a shout-out to the gothic industrial soundtrack. I dug it.)

[autoeroticalgolania]

Hannibal perfectly embodies Bataille’s theory of eroticism, the values of Nietzschean aestheticism [in a psychological, american gothic horror/crime thriller], de Sade’s sovereign man and cannibalism as a religious metaphor for love. Arguably the greatest love story on television. Hannibal and Will are obsessed with understanding each other, and being understood by eachother. Their capacity to see eachother for who they really are, fuels a passionate, bloody chase of affection and betrayal. The violence, the murders, are anything but profane; taking the form of highly stylised erotic offerings. Equally, sacrifices for the greatest artist; death [God] themself. Ethics and aesthetics become singular. God as the cruelest and most loving of them all. so quotable too: “extreme acts of cruelty require a high level of empathy” — This is the back bone of the show; someone with a lot of empathy has the best tools to act extremely cruelly. To fully transgress the taboo, you have to feel and acknowledge the weight of the taboo. So the most cruel people paradoxically have a lot of empathy - they have to, to take real pleasure from their own cruelty. “He didn’t murder those families, he changed them” — The change is their return to continuity. “Could he daily feel a stab of hunger [literally] for you, and find nourishment at the very sight of you?” Love as violence. The greatest gift from the Other, is the annihilation of the Self. we all want our Lamb of God xx

[jinkieswouldyoulookatthis]

@gremlin-pattie Sure it's an extreme metaphor, because hyperbole is more fun/effective than just being like, "to me the late seasons are like walking into a grocery store and seeing some guys arguing over Frosted Flakes vs Organic Grain-free O's like an old married couple." Because A. that's completely expected behavior from the two of them specifically and B. you'd just think they were married and wouldn't give it a second thought. But if you found them fucking in the cereal aisle it would be jarring, to say the least.

Also, no, a lot of us who ship wincest actually do have siblings. Shipping wincest is not the same as thinking that incest is normal or okay in the really real world. Wincesties also recognize that sexual wincest isn't canon. It's a ship. But that doesn't mean that Sam and Dean have anything even remotely healthy or normal going on between them. I love my sister dearly and would 100% commit crimes to save her life, but I wouldn't sacrifice someone else's life to save hers. I wouldn't ever do anything that would prevent her from being in a committed relationship with someone else, even if I didn't like her choice of partners. I wouldn't be jealous of the attention she gave to someone else. We respect each other's personal space and privacy, because we have an actually healthy sibling relationship. Sam and Dean don't. They are literally soulmates, and while that doesn't mean they are having sex with each other or even that they want to, it does makes them weirdly close. They choose to co-habitate until Dean dies, and only then can Sam actually be in a serious relationship with someone else, that's nowhere near normal btw. They're close enough that it is so easy to just nudge the characters a half a step closer to make them literally joined at the hip, if you know what I mean.

Fantasy does not need to be something that you want to actually happen. Fantasies can be dark, forbidden, gross, upsetting, unhealthy, unwanted, non-consensual, violent, harmful, depressing, etc. because they are not reality. OP's point was that the very purposeful theme of incest that is woven throughout Supernatural made more sense when the show started off as a dark gothic horror, than it did at the end as a fantasy action adventure. So by the end of the series, it stands out so incongruously as to be rather jarring.

it’s so funny to me how sam and dean’s whole incestuous codependency thing stays the same throughout the whole show. they’re sweet and funny and lighthearted with each other most of the time but there are a bunch of very heavy moments when you see that they are not normal and very weird about each other. and in the first few seasons it all fits the family horror vibe of the show.

but then the show stops being a horror show at some point and then the whole being weird and incesty for each other thing becomes (imo) totally incongruous with an unremarkably written brightly lit cw action adventure show. it just puts into stark contrast exactly how fucked up they are (and by fucked up i mean totally obsessed with each other in a lovely and tender way). to me the late seasons are like walking into a grocery store and seeing some guys having sex in the cereal isle. like is anyone else seeing this…