#and it’s a spoopy/horror novel too

[northseas]

pov your put down your book for two seconds to scroll tumblr and the cover of the book your reading was currently reblogged by your mutual

[carriagelamp]

I think I accidentally hit my reading quota in July because in August I ended up doing every else except reading! And then September just got too busy. But I managed to scrape up a handful of books for the pat few months a few quite good and some rather overwhelmingly lacklustre...

The Alchemy of Moonlight

Well, we’re off to an auspicious start because this book was genuinely awful. It was a complete impulse purchase and gave me a very sharp reminder about judging books by their covers. After reading A Marvellous Light last month I was in the mood for more queer period romance and this one had ALL that plus a werewolf to boot! Sounds fun! I could use a fun summer impulse read! But sadly it committed what is, in my opinion, the single greatest sin a historical fiction novel can do, which is that it read completely and entirely like a modern novel. 

There was almost zero effort to make the vocabulary or cadence fit that of novels from that time period (and like, I’m not expecting perfect, I'm hardly an expert, but I regularly read fanfiction written in better pastiche than this. Les Mis and Sherlock Holmes fandoms, you guys have spoiled me). The characters also don’t act in historically appropriate ways, they were allowed to get way too familiar with each other way too quickly with zero regard to social class. And I can’t believe I’m saying this but I could have actually used a touch more homophobia -- guys, just a bit of internalised homophobia, even just the acknowledgement that societal pressures affect people. 

(also this getting described as a gothic horror? fuck off gothic horror is more than a spoopy house, where is the absolute overwhelming terror of the vast Sublime?? i was not forced to read frankenstein three fucking times for school to accept something this lame trying to describe itself as "gothic".)

I tossed this one in my local little free library and I hope it goes to someone who is less of a picky bastard when it comes to historical narration.

American Girl: Kaya and Lone Dog // A Spy on the Homefront: A Molly Mystery

Two more American Girl novels that I’ve read, one about Kaya, an indigenous girl form the Nimíipuu tribe in 1764 and the story about her missing her sister and befriending a lone dog who gives birth to puppies. Like the other books I’ve read from this series, I thought it was quite well done. It didn’t shy away from challenging topics (her sister being enslaved and how that loss has affected Kaya) and drew me along for the entire plot of the book. It was charming.

The other one I read was another from the Mystery series of books. Sadly I’m thinking that the entire Mystery series of American Girl books may just be lacklustre. Like the Kit Mystery I read a while back, this one had a decent concept, explored the time period (WWII) in an interesting way, but had abysmal pacing for a mystery novel. It was not very good at creating or maintaining tension, and minimal effort to actually give a reader any clues to track. It wasn’t a bad story, especially for a kid, but it was nothing special.

Annie: An Old-Fashioned Story

After rewatching the musical Annie I decided I needed to read the novel, because I love a novelization! Me and my girlfriend have been slowly reading this together over the past few months and it’s been really enjoyable. Annie is a spunky orphan girl during the Depression is eventually taken in by billionaire industrialist Oliver Warbucks. This book gives a lot more backstory to Annie, and really stretches out the time between her running away from the orphanage and her meeting Warbucks. It was a pretty interesting and unflinching look at the hardships suffered by a parentless child like Annie during the Depression. It added a lot that the film didn’t have, and was well worth the read.

Camp Damascus

Possibly my favourite book from this review. I’d never read a Chuck Tingle book before, since I don’t tend to veer overmuch into erotica, but since this was his first “traditionally published” novel I thought now was the time to give it a go. And I have to say, I was genuinely amazed! Chuck Tingle is an incredibly compelling writer, his narration is just beautiful, I wanted to sink into it and get lost. I’m going to have to read more of his books now.

For those who haven’t heard of Camp Damascus, it’s a queer horror novel that’s based around religious horror. Normally religious horror doesn’t do it for me (I have zero interest in or fear of possession) but this one had a very different twist on that narrative. Though demons still featured in the story, the entire premise was built around the concept of religious trauma as horror, and the metaphors created by the demons as it explored themes of leaving religion, self-identity, indoctrination, queer identity and conversion therapy was honestly just breath-taking. My biggest recommendation this time around, I could hardly put it down.

Doctor Who: The Clockwise Man

Another fun Doctor Who novel with an enjoyable mystery about a mysterious political prisoner from space. It wasn’t a world changing novel, but it was a very solidly written 9 and Rose adventure, I enjoyed having the audiobook on while I drove.

Delicious Monsters

Another severe disappointment, unfortunately. I went in really wanting to like this book! I was in the mood for another horror novel after Camp Damascus, it was touted as being like The Haunting of Hill House (superb novel) with a House As Metaphor For Our Trauma And Horror which is a bend to horror I really enjoy. Sadly, despite a fairly interesting premise, the pacing and narrative voice was… rough. It was told from two different points of view, one in the future and one in the past that was slowly piecing together the mystery of what happened at this house, but the narrative voices were so similar it didn’t feel like two distinct entities. Neither made me excited for POV changes. The narration was also very heavy handed in the messages it was trying to send — all good messages, but with no faith that the reader would be able to interpret them on their own without it being repeated explicitly over and over. It all felt very bogged down and repetitive and frankly a little insulting to the reader's intelligence. I gave up on it about halfway through despite really liking the first quarter of the book.

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation comic v2

More Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation! Because I’m hooked! Very much enjoying the comic version that’s been coming out, the art is very nice and it's fun to re-experience the beginning of the novel now that I know the characters and all the background information that was so mysterious the first time around.

Heaven Official’s Blessing v1

I have finished the main series of Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation so I’ve decided to move on to another series by the same author since I’ve been enjoying the style. This series starts off with a “Laughingstock” of the gods, someone who has ascended to godhood twice already and been cast out of Heaven twice as well. The story starts with his third ascension and everyone in Heaven is pretty over it, especially when his third ascension ends up causing chaos in Heaven. He’s chronically unlucky but has an attitude that’s largely willing to go with the flow so when he's given a job to help repay the debt his ascension acrued him he agrees to descend to the Mortal Realm and investigate the disappearance of brides.

Along the way he picks up a couple junior officials who are reluctantly sent along to help and lend him spiritual power, since his own is sealed, as well as a strange youth in red who seems to know more than he should and is perhaps the only person who doesn't treat him scornfully.

The pacing of book one was interesting… it drew me along and had me chuckling frequently, especially with some of the interesting characters that are introduced, but I definitely didn’t feel fully “connected” with the characters or plot just yet. Still, I’m intrigued for book two and trust the author enough to go along for the ride until things start clicking!

James and the Giant Peach

Roald Dahl’s classic story about James Henry Trotter who, after the death of his parents, is forced to live with his two horrid aunts. Isolated from any potential friends, all alone at the top of the hill with his aunts and forced to slave away for them, James eventually meets a mysterious old man who offers him a glowing bag of crocodile tongues… something he claims has the power to grant happiness to whoever possesses them. Unfortunately before James can use them he trips and spills them at the roots of the old, dead peach tree… and awakens the magic regardless.

Just a fun September reread, I haven’t read James and the Giant Peach in years. It's definitely one of my favourite Dahl stories. I’m going to have to rewatch the movie now…

Monster and the Beast v4

The last volume of a yaoi series I’ve been reading for a while. This is a story that follows a rather callous, mysterious man known as Liam and the soft-hearted monster, Cavo, who he meets and befriends. This final volume wraps up Liam’s strange and somewhat sinister origin story and reveals what exactly the powers he wields are, and it lets Cavo come into his own. Honestly an excellent book for all the monsterfuckers out there. Overall it was a sweet ending and I enjoyed the series — honestly I wouldn’t mind one more volume of short stories that just explore the relationship dynamic they achieved by the end of this volume.

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich

The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich is a graphic novel about a young noblewoman who has to disguise herself as a man if she is to inherit her late father’s estate. So she dismisses the old servants save for a single trusted one, changes her appearance, and moves to a city far away from where she grew up. From there, “he” begins making waves in a way that draws the attention of the princess… 

It was a… fine graphic novel. I’m not sure I have a lot to say besides that. It was a comedy, but it’s not the sort of comedy that I find particularly interesting… it definitely felt like a youth graphic novel. It was also very anachronistic (part of the humour) which I’m not always in the mood for and didn’t really land for me. Over all I don’t regret reading it, and the art was enjoyable enough, but I’m glad I got it from the library. When I had first heard of it I had been expecting something a bit… more.

Red, White, and Royal Blue

I was very skeptical about Red, White, and Royal Blue. I thought it looked tacky when it first came out and I resolutely ignored it. However as the Netflix film was due to come out I decided I had better bite the bullet and figure out what the hype was about. And I can admit, I was wrong! It was honestly a delightful read!

The politics are a bit Rough, as I expected, but the relationship was genuinely delightful and I really liked all the side characters they introduced. You really have to go into it like you would a Hallmark romcom because that’s exactly what it is — and you know what, the queers really do deserve some simple, cheesy (and occasionally surprisingly touching) romantic comedies. Contemporary romcom is normally REALLY not my genre but I highly enjoyed this book and am willing to eat my words.

[just-a-carrot]

Hey carrot, do you find Our Wonderland to be scary? Like are any of your fears or what you find scary used for inspiration for some of the horror scenes of Our Wonderland? For me, although I barely play horror games, honestly this game isn't that scary, like at all. I'm more either getting laughter or crazy glee from the horror and violence, but I realize that I'm likely an outlier in this case since: A: I have been desensitized to violence, gore and horror in general as I find comedy in it or have distinct glee in watching it play out (also voicing it and getting into each character may help with this) B: I knew well beforehand that this was a horror game, so it's likely that I have prepared myself subconsciously by not giving the horror full seriousness (weird right?)

C: Since this game isn't real, I don't feel any true sense of danger, especially since it's a visual novel where I feel barely any consequences for my actions as I read through, even though there are choices which can kill Iggy, I don't feel that full weight because I guess I'm somewhat disconnected from Iggy in terms as the horror? Also choices can be predictable at times so getting into a dead end feels more like an intentional choice then a real which one is the right answer situation.

hmm... tbh not really LOL i think it's more weird than anything else. i don't think i ever really went into it as wanting to make a "scary" game and moreso wanted to make something dramatic and odd with characters with a lot of problems that i could explore the dynamics between and some of my own issues too. but i don't think i've ever really approached it in the way of hoping people will be scared from it. more that they might be unsettled and/or emotionally affected 🤔

i've thought for a while that "horror" is not really the exact description that's best for it. it's more like a character drama. but because it has gore and some horrific things happen, horror feels most fitting to get across the overall vibe

i would say my own personal fears didn't really have anything to do with most of it. heck, the eye/tongue creature was inspired by mario party 2 🤣 so i think it's more of like a surreal spoopiness. and then the core of it comes down more to the interpersonal dynamics between the group. for instance, i've never scared myself while working on this game, but i've cried many times...

at any rate, perhaps the most uncomfortable parts of the game for me are the gidget scenes in the early arcs because those were inspired by some of my own experiences 💦

[fangirlings-things]

First Costumer

Fandom: Peaky Blinders

Pairing: Arthur Shelby x female reader

Summary: you just got hired to do the job you always wanted and your first costumer, is no other but a Peaky Blinder

Word count: 2.1K

This is based on the moodboard below, made by my friend. You can find the original post here

A/N: I wrote this for @flowers-in-your-hayr 650 followers celebration. congratulations, love!! you're amazing, thank you for understanding my brazilian jokes lol and I hope you like this 💖

TAG LIST: @sophieshelby ; @charmingvalkyrie ; @inglourious-imagines ; @fairyofvoid ; @locke-writes ; @regalbanshee ; @captainshazamerica ; @lotsoffandomrecs ; @flowers-in-your-hayr ; @too-spoopy-to-be-frukd

You heard the doorbell ring and the sound filled the bookshop. Finally, a costumer. Your very first costumer. How exciting! 

You got down of the ladder you had previously climbed to fix some of the higher shelves and passed your hands through your brown simple dress, making sure it was proper and in order. Mr. Cuthbert had taken a long time to finally accept you as an employee in his establishment and now, you had to make him proud. 

You had always loved books. Since you were just a little girl, you mother had given you novels to read and you grew up living in many different ones from the reality you actually found yourself in. Books were your passion, your refugee, your ideal spot. To be able to work around them and make people happy by buying books, well, it sounded like perfection! 

The costumer took his time to walk through the shop, eyeing the shelves like they were unusual strangers in the street and then, he got to you at the back of the bookshop. Your first costumer was a man. 

He was tall. Not too tall, but just enoguh to make him able to look at some of the upward shelves without having to raise his head too much. His skin was white, giving a nice contrast with the black coat he wore. He had a moustache and you could only see a few strings of his brown hair, due to the cap he wore.

Then, you realized. After taking notice of the cap, the fine clothing made sense. No ordinary man in Birmingham had such fine clothes to wear, especially not in the middle of the week, during the lunch break time of the factories. Oh no, that man absolutely did not work in a factory. That man was a Peaky Blinder. His only bosses were the Shelbys and the Shelbys only. 

"May I help you, sir?" you asked him with a polite smile, pushing to the back of your mind the realization you had just come to. It didn't matter who he was outside Mr. Cuthbert's bookshop. He was a costumer. Who clearly, for the way his eyes were going from one shelf to the other, intended to buy a book. 

He focused his eyes on you and you saw that his stare wasn't harsh or the one of a demon, as many people said the Peaky Blinders were. His eyes were kind, even though there was an agitation in them that you couldn't quite comprehend. Maybe not even he could. "Yes" he said simply and as you kept staring at him, waiting for further information, the man looked even a bit disconcerted, like he wasn't used to having such attention upon him. "It is my sister's birthday this week and Ada, well, she really likes books, has a great shelf of them at her house. So I thought it would be a good idea to you know, give her a new book as a gift"  

You couldn't help but smile. That man, whomever he was, seemed so genuine in everything. You could see the care in his expression when he spoke of his sister. It was a nice thing to see. The stories you had heard about the Peaky Blinders seemed to be all wrong. He was a normal person. Not some crazy, openly violent man. 

"Do you have any specific book in mind?" you asked him, hands joined in front of your body and excitement filling your body because that was apparently going to be a successful sell. The man just squeezed his lips on a thin line, eyes going to the floor  as if he was embarrassed. It got to you. "Don't worry, I am sure we can work something out. What kind of books does she like?" 

He watched as you moved around the place graciously. Clearly you knew every corner of that place, every shelf, every single book and where it was. You looked at a particular spot, frowned then moved on like there wasn't anything interesting for whatever you wanted him to take to Ada. "Well, she's a communist, so she does like politics" 

"Very well" you walked towards the politics shelf, searched the titles, but nothing particularly got your attention or seemed fitting. You turned back to the man. "Does she like classics that have to do with politics?" 

"I think so, what do you have?" he asked, seeming kinda excited for what you would come up with. He accompanied you as you went to shelf on the other side of the corridor and pulled out a book. "Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo. It's centered around the French Revolution" 

The man looked down at the floor again as a quite nervous laugh escaped his mouth. "I don't think that is a good idea. France does not give my family the best memories, you see" 

"You fought the war?" you asked, smile fading a bit because of the seriousness in his tone. Maybe that's where his agitation was from. Maybe, he never did get back from France at all. He only nodded in agreement, still not looking at you. "Thank you, for your service" 

He gave out a little smile, but you knew by the way the corner of his lips didn't rise too much that he was anxious to change the subject. Honestly, see the obvious hurt in him made you want to change it either. "Alright, no France. What about Bram Stoker's Dracula?" 

"Dracula?" he frowned, eyes meeting yours in utter confusion at such a strange name. 

The fact that he didn't knew about it made you smile as you began to describe que novel's story to him with a mysterious tone in your voice to cause suspense. "It's about an old man, Count Dracula, who lives in a castle and feeds on the blood of young women to survive. Sometimes he kills them so they can join him in the after life and also drink blood from innocent people" 

The man laughed due to your clearly forced misteirous tone and the way you raised your eyebrows at him while speaking, seeming to forget the previous sadness that had overwhelmed him with the memories of the war. You were glad for it. "That sounds bloody awful, love" 

You could not help but also laugh, trying to ignore the heat that took a hold of your face when he apparently without thinking, called you love. "It is, actually" then you shrugged, passing your hand through the said novel's cover at the shelf. "But is a fine horror book" you crossed your arms over your chest and squeezed your eyes in his direction. "Be honest with me now, will your sister like this one?" 

He squeezed his lips again, this time his features assumed a expression that clearly said 'sorry'. "I don't think so. Ada is a feminist. I think she would not like a story where a monster man kills women and faces no consequences" 

"That is a very good point" you said with a sight and then turned around, biting your lower lip as you thought and thought about more options. The challenge on your very first sell was being quite exciting and you could say, interesting. Much of it of course, was because of that man. Suddenly, an idea popped into your head and you turned back to the Peaky Blinder with a smile. "What about On the Origin of Species? It's a book about pure knowledge, scientific one, about evolution. No France, no monster that slaughters women" 

The man gave it a minute of thought and then returned your smile. "Knowledge and evolution. It does sounds like Ada" you both felt silent for a moment and then, he cleaned his throat and nodded towards the book you had just gotten into your hands. "I'll take it" 

"Very well" you motioned for him to follow you and then made your way towards the back of the shop again, placing it in the cashier. "You want it wrapped up as a gift?" he quickly agreed and you raised two options of gift wrap in the air. A green and a blue one. He chose the green one. "You can also add a small card if you want" 

"That is nice, thank you" he said and again, as you looked at him, the kindness in his eyes seemed to shine out from everything else. 

You grabbed a gift card from the inside of a box where they were kept and placed a black pen upon it. "You can write it or if you want, I can write it for you" 

"You should write it, I bet your handwriting is better than mine" he said and you chuckled, nodding as you agreed to his request. 

"What do you want it to say?" you waited as he clearly thought about the question, looking unsure. With one of his hands, he took off his cap and then passed the other one through his hair. When he claned his throat, you were ready to start writing. 

"Dear Ada, happy birthday" he looked at you as if that was it but then, seeing the expression on your face that clearly indicated you wished him to talk more, he thought for a second and then continued. " Since you like books so much, I hope you will like this one, that a very nice girl helped me pick" as you wrote with a smile on your face, you did your best not to raise your eyes to meet his. "I know I am not always a very good brother, but I love you. Happy birthday, Arthur" 

"That was beautiful" you told him, letting go of the pen and starting to wrap up the gift carefully, slowly, in no rush to let the Peaky Blinder go away. Arthur. His name was Arthur. It was a beautiful name. Suited him just fine. 

"Alright, then" his eyes went to the floor again, seeming now embarrassed because of your words. 

You finished to wrap the gift in silence, then when it was done, you sighted and looked at the man. "If you want us to deliver the gift at your sister's house, in case you're busy, we have a delivery boy for such" 

"That sounds good, I appreciate that" he replied. 

You nodded in agreement and got a piece of paper, to then grab the pen again. "Can you tell me her adress, please?" he did so, and you wrote it down so the boy Mr. Cuthbert had hired a little while before you could do his part of the job later. "He is supposed to look for Ada...?" you left the question in the air, waiting for him to answer, eyes still on the paper. 

"Ada Shelby" 

Your eyes snapped up on the very same instant. 

Shelby. 

His sister was Ada Shelby. 

He was Arthur Shelby. 

"Something wrong, love?" he asked, and he didn't seem harsh like you expected him to, for the way you not in the slightly hid just how astonished you were to know his identity. His eyes were still kind, but a part of the previous sadness had come back. 

"I'm sorry, that was rude of me" you wrote down Ada Shelby and then left the paper upon the gift, at the corner of the cashier. 

"I'm used to that kind of reaction by now" he said with a nervous laugh, that carried absolutely no humor at all in it. Even if he was indeed used to the said kind of reaction, he clearly did not like it. You felt guilt consume you. "How much do I owe you?" 

You told him the price, still lost in your thoughts and cursing yourself for being so stupid and rude. So rude. He gave you the money, you placed it in the due place. "Have a nice day" he told you and then turned around to leave, placing his cap back in his head and then his hands went to the pockets of his clothes. 

You watched him leaving with a intense feeling of exasperation, tried to think fastly enough to say something and then before you could even really process what you were actually going to do, the words left your mouth. "Mr. Shelby?" he turned back around as he heard you calling, a bit of gentleness in his features. "If you ever need to buy another book, I am sure I can help you find something good" 

His lips curled up in a smile, a pure one. A bit of the guilt you felt left your body like he had just taken it completely away, just by smiling again. "I'll remember that, love" 

And then, Arthur Shelby left the bookshop.

[glitchstoxicwaste]

agghh hello!! <3 i just recently got back into the slasher fandom full force after the release of Halloween Kills, and then promptly rewatched all the slasher movies i’ve collected and now own — and i just wanted to say i love your writing!! ( and happy early halloween!! 🎃 ) that being said, if it’s no trouble, i’d love a match-up if possible!! :D ( and maybe be your friend too? 😩 )

call me odi if you’d like! i am sixteen and an april aries. i’m around average height in my opinion, around 5’3” to 5’4”, and am on the thicker side of body, though am often described as just a thicker hourglass! i have pale skin because i tend to stay inside and away from sunlight ( i hate the heat what can i say ), and i recently chopped my hair off and now have shoulder length brown hair w/ curtain bangs, all of which i normally curl ( unless i’m lazy lmao ), and have blue eyes!! i have a.. like a average face ig? 💀🤚 very faint freckles on my nose, and kinda chubby cheeks? my general aesthetic is grunge / alternative rock, which for me usually includes black skinny jeans, my rings, necklace, and earrings, and usually it not an oversized shirt / hoodie or flannel! :’) i’m trying-

personality wise, i suppose normally i’m socially awkward, reserved, and generally insecure in public ;—; buuut i have been getting better and been able to joke around more with people and talk more! around friends i’m a goof 💀 i like being able to playfully insult and banter with my friends, and i’m often the loudest one laughing — though i do have periods of time of kind of just.. being constantly tired, easily overwhelmed, fidgety, and sometimes empty feeling, though these only last a week or two, otherwise i’m the same old goofy, smiling idiot!! :DD hobbies of mine include singing, sketching ( though rare as of recent ), writing ( i soon wanna start writing for slashers actually!! :D ), and sometimes baking ( though i sometimes forget to turn the oven off uhM-). ( speaking of, i’m very forgetful ). interests include horror movies, romance novels, writing any random song lyrics that pop into my head or any random novel ideas i come up with ( right now i’m brainstorming a novel actually wooooo ), and ig just generally anything that can make me laugh or feel good / comforts me.

in a relationship, i’m really good with being understanding and patient. i often help others with relationship advice, since i’m really big into psychology and therefore think about a lot of stuff that has to do with mental health, relationships whether familial, romantic, or platonic, i’m generally really good at knowing what to say at the right time ( according to those around me ). i truly do value quality time, and would much prefer spending time with my partner around the house or wherever they’d like to go, rather than be physically or verbally affectionate. i’m not entirely huge with physical affection, specifically face-caressing or hand holding, but tbh i’m huge on stupid shit like laying on people ( i lay on my friends all the time ) and stuff!! sometimes i’ll like to give my friends or partner some little thing that reminded me of them, like a little trinket from a store i saw or what-have-you!

sorry, this is a lot 😭 buuuuut anyways, thank you so much in advance, whether or not you write this for me! <3 tysm lovely, n i hope you have a good day / night!! ( and let me apologize in advance if any information in here is off, missing, or otherwise! )

Howdy! I’d love to be your friend Odi! You can call me Glitch! Happy early Spoopy Day to you as well!! The length was great and gave a lot of information so no worries!!

I hope you like who you got! Have a great day/night!!!!

He is:

Jason Voorhees!

Please read

[realanimeguru]

Spring 2021 Plan To Watch List

(Spring 2021 Preview) these things get longer and longer...

YES!!!  (gonna watch as soon as first episode airs) 

Boku no Hero Academia 5th Season (not gonna lie i thought last season was weak... but next season looks like another tournament arc, and the first tournament arc is when i started to get really into bnha. here’s to hoping things pick up!)

Yuukoku no Moriarty 2nd Season ( the villains are way too campy to be realistic, but it’s fun regardless. eat the rich)

Subarashiki Kono Sekai The Animation (i am so excited for Joshua lmfao. the CG honestly isn’t too distracting either)

Bishounen Tanteidan (i ADORE Kinako as a character designer, and Shaft brings beautiful animation. i’m hoping the plot is good too)

Maybe! (i’m busy rn but will watch these later if they get good feedback)

Shaman King (2021) (i was tempted to watch the OLD series a while ago. if the reboot is good, i’ll just watch that instead. i love the character designs)

Mars Red (didn’t realize it was based off a stage play until just now! not a lot of good vampire anime. also love the character designs. especially mad scientist guy)

Gokushufudou (i was already interested in watching this but Tsuda Kenjiro is SUCH A GOOD VA CHOICE.. JC didn’t bring their A game animation-wise though)

86 (a sci-fi drama about the tragedies of war... the og light novel has a good score too)

Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san (i’m more iffy on this than the others here bc i’m not sure how horny this gets. but Nagatoro looks like an insane person and Senpai is really cute with his fluffy hair and glasses. i also like Nagatoro’s vibe of “only I can mess with him” ...we’ll see)

Tokyo Revengers (has an interesting premise, though you can’t tell by the pv. mc’s girlfriend is murdered by a gang and he travels back in time to infiltrate the gang before they can murder her. the manga as better style from what it looks like though)

Fumetsu no Anata e (i’m excited to cry!!! really hope they pull that off well)

Maybe not (might watch it months later or has like a 5% chance of me watching it)

Godzilla: S.P (i am somewhat tempted to watch this because the main characters are cute and i like studio bones, but i am... not into godzilla or mechs)

Hetalia World★Stars (i was debating where to put this, but i don’t think i’m even caught up to hetalia, so here it goes. genuinely curious about how modern tumblr will receive this)

Nomad: Megalo Box 2 (not a fan of Joe’s redesign, but the music slapped so hard in season one that i’m willing to give this a go anyways. eventually.)

Fruits Basket: The Final (i’m still watching season 1... >:’3 also i’m sorry to say this but Akito is my favorite character) Fairy Ranmaru: Anata no Kokoro Otasuke Shimasu (i am only interested in this in the sense that it looks like a very bad magical boy anime and i dig that)

Edens Zero (i’m confused if this is in the same universe as Fairy Tail or not, so i’m not sure if i should finish FT first but. regardless. i’m imagining that this show doesn’t require much thought put into it)

Shadows House (looks like a horror but isn’t tagged as one. i am slightly interested in the atmosphere but there’s too little to go off of. could be a good mystery)

Mairimashita! Iruma-kun 2nd Season (i am definitely gonna watch this spoopy demon show one day i swear it)

[agentargus]

OC-Tober Day 1: What is your MC’s name? Any significance to that name?

(Doing a bunch of them because there isn’t just one MC.)

Pru and Billie were just the result of trial and error different acronyms that described what they did that made names that a human might have, honestly. (I mean, Billie is also partially named for Billie Holiday, Billie Joe Armstrong, Billy Preston, Billy Idol, Billy Zoom, etc. but...)

Dara’s name is very much an on-the-nose situation. “Dara” comes from the Sanskrit word for “Evening Star,” (and is also the name of a monarch in Irish legend, but I didn’t find that out until later haha.) “Daochanh” is a combination of Lao name components that refer to the moon and stars. She’s a space-time agent and her first and last name refer to space lol. I decided on “Hadassah” as a middle name because I wanted something distinctly Jewish, I had a Hebrew teacher with that name, and it’s also the Hebrew form of her mother’s name, “Ester.” (Both are named for Queen Esther of course, because badass ladies haha.) There’s a tradition in Judaism that you don’t name people directly after other people who are still living, but variations are fine.

Silvano is named for Silvano Marchetto from the graphic novel, “Cancer Vixen.” Silvano Marchetto is a Good Wholsome Guy who loves his wife very much, has more money than he really knows what to do with so he spends it on helping people pay for cancer treatments, and owns several thousand pairs of shoes. All of those qualities influenced my Silvano lol. “Albarado” was a common name among Moorish nobility.” His middle name, “Bilal” was a companion of Muhammad and is thought of as a gentle, noble name, so I figured it fit.

Dante is thoroughly uncreative haha. I didn’t know what to call him so I was like, “I have to narrow it down, so I’ll give him the same first initial as his faceclaim,” and of all the “D” names I could think of that fit the character, “Dante” came to mind first. In addition to the obvious reasons, I went to high school with a guy named Dante who grew up to be a professional Beyoncé impersonator. Nuff said, I think. “Feliciano” comes from the Italian word for “happy” (and was probably informed by Hetalia phase lol.) “Giuliana Maria” literally just popped into my head fully formed after I decided on Dante’s name, so there you go. “Argenti” is for Filippo Argenti, a character in “The Inferno,” but since they are Spoopy Kids (TM) the similarity of the name to that of a certain family in the horror genre might be a factor too.

Meli is named after Melinda Gordon from “Ghost Whisperer,” and a co-worker who mentored me at my first job. “Margarita” was originally going to be her first name (because drinks and Statesman, it was Mata Hari’s birth name, and for one of my favorite comic book characters, Margarita “Maggie” Chascarillo from “Locas,”) but that seemed too on-the-nose so it became her middle name. “Medina” and “Tomas” both came from Wikipedia’s list of famous spies lol.

Erik is named after the Phantom of the Opera and Magneto. Pretty straightforward. “Gibson” is the kind of guitar his FC usually plays so...

[bloodmooons]

alias: chaz

pronouns: she/her

fave faces: ok legit any quirky looking/dressing gal, freckled kids, ashen n sickly looking boys. golshifteh farahani, serena motola. there’s really too many to list.

thing(s) you’d like to see on the site: complicated and intricate family dynamics, HAUNTINGS that go hand in hand with confused states of mind and maybe an overdose or two, roving gangs of mystery-solving teenagers with flashlights and weird library records cough cough the history of north american cryptids cough cough

fave spooky film/show/book/etc: i’m a big ol slut for a zombie flick. also anything with a haunted house but ghosts scare me and i’m delicate, i slept with the lights on for two weeks after i binge watched the haunting of hill house. speaking of, shirley jackson is my GAL. any book with any kind of spoopy theme has GOT ME helen oyeyemi in particular writes a nice haunted house novel (basically, rec me all your fave horror books) 

hit us with yr fave gif: 

[starspatter]

Scary OTP meme, your choice of ship!

Imma be predictable and do my top two OTPs. =P

DCAU TimSteph

Which one is more fond of scary movies:

Steph.  Tim’s not a big fan of “horror” after his own horrific experience with Joker.

Which one gets the most excited about Halloween:

Steph.  Again, Tim hates Halloween, what with kids running around dressed up as Batman/Robin (or maybe even mini-Jokers) - not to mention his own children perhaps wanting to.

Which one would be more likely to survive the apocalypse:

Tim.  If nothing else, he still remembers his training as Robin which would come in handy when surviving a world-end scenario.  (Though I’m not sure he’d want to if his family is dead.  Considering everything he’s been through he’d probably think he has nothing left to live for. =/ If there are other survivors though I think his hero instincts would kick in and he’d try to help them.)

Which one would literally kill for the other:

Tim.  Much as he’d hate to take a life (again), he’d do anything to defend Steph, and besides he’s already bloodied his hands once anyway.

Which one likes to scare or startle the other:

Neither, since Steph has learned that Tim’s self-defense instincts will kick in immediately, so she always takes care not to surprise  him.

Which one is more likely to need comforting when they get spooked:

Tim.  Steph gives him all the warm hugs and waffles when he has nightmares/paranoia, and also plays piano to help calm him down.

Which one always puts on a brave face:

Tim, considering he has to live his whole life with PTSD + the Joker’s voice in his head…

Which one would be more dangerous if they suddenly became violent:

Tim, seeing as he eventually becomes the Joker himself and nearly destroys the city. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Which one would be more likely to commit a crime:

Tim - see above.

Which one believes in ghosts:

Tim actually.  Despite being more scientifically-oriented, he’s dealt with magic before, so the supernatural’s not too far of a stretch.

Which one likes to watch spooky show on television:

Steph - although if it’s not too intense Tim might just spend some time picking apart the effects/logic, especially if it’s lower-budget.

Which one would propose the idea of holding a seance:

Not so much a “seance” but… I think Tim might go to visit his parents’ graves more as an adult and talk to them like Bruce does, out of guilt for not being more understanding towards their circumstances and perhaps seeking some sort of reconciliation/redemption.  They might not have been the best caretakers, but he has a better appreciation for them now since his experience with “fathers” since then have been considerably worse. ;(

Which one has nightmares more often:

Tim, for obvious reasons.  Again, Steph gives him lots of cuddles to help him get through the night.

Which one would want to explore a real haunted house:

Steph.  Tim would be a hard “nope”.-

ItsuHaru

Which one is more fond of scary movies:

Haruhi, if her behavior on the “mystery island” is any indication (well, before a “murder” actually happened anyway).

Which one gets the most excited about Halloween:

Haruhi loves her holidays, and Halloween is no exception.  No doubt she’d deck the SOS Brigade clubroom in full spoopy season décor (or rather make her minions do it, to which Kyon grumbles but Itsuki follows without complaint).

Which one would be more likely to survive the apocalypse:

I mean, Haruhi is supposedly “God”, and she may or may not have already ended the world on a whim multiple times before, so…

Which one would literally kill for the other:

Itsuki.  He pretty much displays as much in the most recent novel where he engages in an esper battle with the “anti-SOS Brigade” to protect Haruhi and makes this scary expression (from the manga but still):

Not to mention it’s left unclear whether he actually did *kill* Fujiwara (Mikuru’s time-travel “counterpart”) or not… >.>

Which one likes to scare or startle the other:

Haruhi, mostly in an effort to catch Itsuki off-guard and reveal his true face.

Which one is more likely to need comforting when they get spooked:

Haruhi.  For all her bravado she does get scared sometimes, loathe as she is to admit it.  Itsuki is able to sense her feelings though, but is more likely to send Kyon in to comfort her instead. ;(

Which one always puts on a brave face:

Itsuki, if his stupid fake smile counts.

Which one would be more dangerous if they suddenly became violent:

Haruhi, considering her reality-bending powers, but Itsuki can be pretty terrifying too as the above image shows…

Which one would be more likely to commit a crime:

While Haruhi clearly has no problem with outright breaking and entering, I’m sure Itsuki’s done his share of “bending the law” to maintain the appearance of a normal high school student/investigate others like Kyon.

Which one believes in ghosts:

Haruhi, and Itsuki just has to pray she doesn’t make them real as well.

Which one likes to watch spooky show on television:

Haruhi - which, combined with her love of scary films, might give the idea to make her own (much to Mikuru’s and Kyon’s dismay), whereas Itsuki can only grimly grin and go along with it.

Which one would propose the idea of holding a seance:

Haruhi, with similar reactions as above.

Which one has nightmares more often:

Itsuki, usually of Shinjin/Closed Space.

Which one would want to explore a real haunted house:

Haruhi - although in all likelihood Itsuki had one already prepared to prevent Haruhi creating one of her own.

[theraistlinmajere]

THE “”GOTHIC”” REC LIST

Edited for my own use.

LET’S START WITH THE GATEWAY DRUG BOOK

1. Flowers in the Attic (VC Andrews): Published in 1979 and technically considered contemporary Gothic. The style closely resembles a lot of “original” Gothic fiction I’ve read, but the themes, story arc and style are distinctly contemporary and very psychological. Gets a bad rap because it’s over the top insane and averagely written (which most Gothic is, tbh). Flowers is light reading, and I think it’s a good gateway drug into heavier Gothic. Has several sequels but stands alone as well. I wish I could call this Victorian-inspired Gothic but honestly it’s just knockoff Victorian in a contemporary setting. If you don’t enjoy this book, it probably means you don’t like the over the top insanity and average writing. Skip it if you like!

1.5. But if you do like it, I hear My Sweet Audrina is pretty good. All of VC Andrews and her ghostwriters are like a hellhole people sometimes don’t escape tbh it’s a raging aesthetic disaster down there.

Note: I have a strong suspicion that “contemporary” Gothic published between 1965 and 1989 will eventually have its own movement name; you will see a decent amount of it on this list.

THE VICTORIAN GOTHIC PART OF THE LIST Most of these are available for free online due to copyright law being born late or whatever. 2. Carmilla (Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu): Considered the first English vampire story (Germans invented the European vampire allegedly), and published in 187…9? 1871? Something like that. A novella. Arguably a same-sex romance (VERY arguably), but can also be read as a close friendship. The writing is good, but not the absolute greatest I’ve ever read. The real strong point here is the imagery and the dawn of the English vampire. Great Halloween read; I read it almost every autumn. 3. “The Trifecta,” according to Gothic fans: Dracula (Bram Stoker), Frankenstein (Shelley), and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Swift & Stevenson): First mainstream vampire, original English monster movie fuel, and the dawn of psychological fiction. Shelley’s the best writer out of all of them but she’s a Romantic and I’m sort of biased against Romantics. She’s a precursor to true Victorian Gothic. Dracula is still one of the creepiest books I’ve ever read and it’s the only one in the trifecta I really really love (and finished).

Note: If, by any chance, you find yourself seriously obsessed with vampires at any point in time, please consult me for an extended list of vampire fiction because I have a shit-ton of it in my reading history and left most of it out so vampires wouldn’t clutter this list lmao.

4. Edgar Allan Poe, Completed Works. The Cask of Amontillado, The Masque of the Red Death, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Tell-Tale Heart are all notable. His poetry is lovely–Annabelle Lee and The Raven are most culturally significant. Just solid and wonderful work that I like a lot but haven’t explored in a lot of detail. Will appeal to your interest in darkness imagery.

5. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories (Washington Irving): QUINTESSENTIAL HALLOWEEN READING. SPOOPY. WONDERFUL. I truly love this anthology. Will also appeal to your interest in darkness as a concept and a physical thing. 6. Nightmare Abbey (Thomas Love Peacock): an 1818 novel that makes fun of the Victorian Gothic movement. Hilarious, contains all the typical Victorian Gothic tropes and has the added benefit of actually falling into the Victorian Gothic movement ironically. Usually comes packaged with another novel called Crotchet Castle which is similar. 7. If, somehow, you haven’t had it with Victorian Gothic yet (and I got to this point, it happens, Victorian Gothic is a slippery slope)… Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (Susanna Clarke): A really bizarre story behind how this was published, at least it is to me. Published in 2004, Over 10 years in the making and is written in the Victorian Gothic style but with a quirky and modern twist. The writer takes a page out of contemporary social commentary and includes pages-long footnotes, heads up (they’re funny and entertaining though). HUGE. You could kill a man with this volume. Excellent writing; I’m halfway through. I hear there’s time travel (?) and there are about ten thousand characters. Neil Gaiman is a fan. 8. The Phantom of the Opera (Gaston Leroux) is not technically Victorian (Technically Edwardian? Also French; I’m not familiar with French literary eras) but of course it has a huge following. I’ve read a little so far; I like the style and I think it’s culturally significant. You might want to read this because it’s heavily inspired by a French opera house, the Palais Garnier in Paris. Amber tells me she read literature in French to help sharpen her skills in the language; you may consider picking up an un-translated version of this? A BRIEF INTERLUDE FOR MORE CONTEMPORARY 9. Interview with the Vampire (Anne Rice): One of my favorite books of all time! Possibly the dawn of the romanticized vampire. Falls into that 70s contemporary Gothic bracket and is pretty amazingly written, but markedly more angst-ridden than anything else on the list (save for maybe Flowers). Lots of “what is evil?” and “what does immortality imply?” type speculation. Also gets a bad rap because Anne Rice made it big and haters are rife tbh it’s a very solidly built book in my opinion (BUT SUPER EMOTIONAL VAMPIRES). If you like this, continue with The Vampire Chronicles (The Vampire Lestat, Queen of the Damned, Prince Lestat, and about 8 others in between that concern minor characters). Lestat is one of my favorite fictional characters of all time. 10. Coraline (Neil Gaiman): Quick, cute, I found myself actually afraid for a little while despite the audience being middle grade readers?? I enjoyed it. The only Neil Gaiman on the list because his other work doesn’t impress me very much. 11. The Spiderwick Chronicles (Holly Black and Tony Diterlizzi): More middle-grade creepy aesthetic stuff. Cute modern fantasy stories, five volumes. I can read these books at twenty years old and still enjoy them (like Coraline)! The only good thing Holly Black has ever produced, in my opinion, though many people like her and her ~aesthetic.

11.5. Should you find yourself in the mood for more quick middle-grade aesthetic-y stuff, Pure Dead Magic (Debi Gliori) is really an adorable book with two sequels. Victorian Gothic tropes such as the creepy mansion, creatures in the dungeon, family drama, and Weird Newcomers are all present, but it’s set in modern times. One of the main characters is a hacker. Addams family-esque.

THE SURREAL-ISH FICTION PART OF THE LIST

Not true surreal fiction; these are contemporary surreal-inspired works. 12. The Bloody Chamber (Angela Carter): An anthology of short stories which retell fairy tales. Falls into the contemporary surrealism movement and is not traditionally considered Gothic, but this is definitely your aesthetic. Very quick read, very vivid imagery, lots of second-wave feminism and some brief eating disorder symbolism. Carter was a phenomenal writer! My favorite story is “The Lady of the House of Love"

12.5 (Just as a reminder since I’ve mentioned these) See also: Nights at the Circus (Carter) and Mechanique: A tale of the Circus Tresaulti (Valentine) for your interest in circus books!

13. The Palace of Curiosities (Rosie Garland), which I also rec’d before. Similar style to Chamber, similar themes. Both beautiful books. 14. Deathless (Catherynne Valente): Oh, Deathless. Technically contemporary lit, but hails to Russian Gothic (one of the earlier Gothic movements which I haven’t read much of). Retelling of about a million Russian folk tales. I could go on about this book for a thousand years. Stylistically similar to The Bloody Chamber as well, but far more poetic. (Very) structurally inferior to every other book on this list, but so heart-wrenchingly romantic you won’t notice or care on the first read. Visually breathtaking, absolutely the closest thing to death and the maiden imagery I’ve found in fiction. I’m fairly confident you’ll appreciate this one! Might as well read it to test my theory!! There’s controversy surrounding the fact that the writer is not Russian–something to be aware of. 15. The Enchanted (Rene Denfeld): TREAD WITH CAUTION. This is contemporary literary fiction (not Gothic) written from the pov of a death row inmate. Nominated for approximately a billion awards in 2014 (and won a few); high caliber of writing. Incredibly visceral, horrific, psychological imagery that was too much for me, though I still liked it. Short but dense–I had to take a two-day break to ward off the anxiety it caused. But you are darker~ than I so you might like it more!

THE SOUTHERN GOTHIC PART OF THE LIST 16. Beloved (Toni Morrison): Contemporary Southern Gothic. Incredibly creepy imagery, explores the connection between women’s issues and racial issues. Uses abortion and slavery as metaphors for each other. Gracefully written, but Southern Gothic (even contemporary) tends to be textually dense so it’s something to really think about as you read. 17. As I Lay Dying (Faulkner): “True” Southern Gothic. DENSE AS HELL but I think Beloved is a good precursor to Faulkner. A lot of almost comedic family drama, similar to Flowers in that sense, but very srs bsns nonetheless.

17.5. Basically all of Faulkner is considered Southern Gothic. He’s the father of Southern Gothic. If you enjoy this, you might also like Absalom! Absalom! and other such works. I loved As I Lay Dying but it’s possibly his easiest read, and while I love a good challenge I haven’t stepped up to this one yet.

Note: I use reading guides for all my classical works and Shakespeare, and I think there are good ones for Faulkner too, so that might be something to look into if you wanna vanish into this hell lol.

AN ADDENDUM: OTHER WRITERS

HP Lovecraft: Father of horror or whatever. Awful writer–anyone will agree. The guy had no command of language, but he’s known for over-the-top horror imagery that people really enjoy. Honestly I hate his writing so I haven’t bothered with much of it.

Oscar Wilde: If, by this point, you still want more Victorian-era writing, Wilde is here for you. Lots of social commentary, wrote basically one piece in the Gothic style (Chapter 16 of The Picture of Dorian Gray, my favorite novel), snarky as hell, incredibly gifted writer.

Neil Gaiman: Modern surreal in my opinion, sometimes called modern Gothic, well-loved and writes creepy things. I think he’s average because I’ve read too much Murakami (who does “modern surreal” way, way better) but many people really love him.

THE BLACKLIST Knockoff Gothic/Gothic themed things to avoid. I apologize if you like any of these okay ._.

The Grisha Trilogy (Leigh Bardugo): Contemporary YA, tries to be Russian Gothic and fails. Stick to Deathless. This book makes a mockery of Russian culture whereas at least Valente exhaustively researched her novel. Also doesn’t do romance very well.

The Night Circus (Morgenstern): What the hell is this book, tbh. 400 pages of obtuse and cliched imagery which you don’t have time for in your life. No plot. Two-dimensional characters, bad writing.

Those Across The River (Christopher Buehlman): Terrible. Just terrible.

[theinkquiry]

Avengers Halloween Headcanons

Pairings: Avengers X Reader

Prompt: Headcanons about what spending Halloween with different Avengers is like.

A/N: May or may not be influenced by my own Halloween hijinks

Steve

Loves loves loves to be domestic AF for the spooky season

Makes sure to deck out his apartment and front door with stickers and pumpkins and lil' ghosts

Nothing too scary, of course

That would frighten the small kids

Taking pumpkin picking way too seriously

Spending a few hours trying to find the one just right

Settling on a small, plump, bright orange pumpkin with a little stubby stem

Steve lives for handing out Halloween candy

"Y/N, if you eat them all we won't have any left to give out!"

"I told you to buy the bulk pack at Costco!" 

Fawning over pets in costumes

Seeing Steve get really flattered at any kid dressed up as Captain America

Sometimes he tears up when the kids really do wanna be like Captain America

Kissing his cheek afterward because you're so proud of him

Trying really hard to be That House on the block

Having to run out and get more candy halfway through the night

"You can't keep throwing out handfuls like we're on Oprah, Steve."

"But look at how happy it makes the kids!"

Ending the night cuddled on the sofa watching an old horror movie

Tony

You two live for Halloween parties

Planning a month in advance 

Games, costumes, music, all of it top quality and very well thought out

Having over-the-top couples costume each year

"Are you adding actual lasers to the costume?"

"How else are we going to stay in character?"

So. Much. Candy

It being very likely that you'll start November with ten cavities

Fog machines no matter what the venue is

Leaving little 'surprise' pranks for Tony leading up to the party

"Would you like to explain how our cereal got replaced with a thousand rubber spiders?"

"The real question is how I even managed to get the cereal out."

"You ate it all, didn't you."

Memorizing the entire choreography to 'Thriller'

Watching a horror movie almost every night

Planning for next Halloween immediately after the last

"Put your stupid cornucopia away, Steve! We're keeping the pumpkins up for another week!"

Bucky

Bucky at first not really being into the holiday

"What're you gonna be this year, Buck?"

"Oh, I don't know I'm not really into Halloween"

"whAT"

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown playing 24/7

Seriously considering adopting a black cat

Halloween/Autumn scented candles everywhere

Reading lots of classic horror novels out loud to Bucky

He doesn't mind since he always cuddles up to you while you read

Bucky is lowkey highkey a fan of Pumpkin Spice Lattes

It reminds him of you sometimes because you're both so sweet around Autumn

He thinks you're sweet all the time but the metaphor has to work somehow!

Getting more into it once he realizes that you love Halloween

Also because he wants to spend more time with you

Baking so many themed-treats

He agrees to taste test all of them because he likes the way your face lights up when you finally get a recipe right

Decorating with mini-pumpkins and lots of banners

The place smelling like pumpkins and candy corn well into November

Peter

Definitely going trick-or-treating

"Aren't you a little too old to be out here?"

"Aren't you a little too old to be crushing dreams?"

Mapping out a route to hit all the good houses

Collectively hating on the terrible candy out there

"Candy corn is the worst."

"Not as bad as stupid circus peanuts."

Going to a few haunted houses

Peter tries to pull the "I'm Spiderman" act to protect you

Him being way more scared of the haunted houses than you are

Trying to convince him to dress up as Spiderman

Seriously considering dressing up as other Avengers

"Don't worry, Peter. You can have Thor."

Tony dropping by to give Peter a lot of Halloween candy on the 31st

Finishing the entire thing by the end of the night

Being adorable dorks in costumes

Avoiding all the other Halloween parties thrown by kids from school

"Jokes on them. We get free candy!"

Ned and MJ teasing you two about your Halloween excitement

Saying 'spoopy' a lot

'Spooky Scary Skeletons- Dance Remix'

[carriagelamp]

I continue my October tradition of trying to read at least a few ~spoopy~ books to get in the Halloween mood... very tonal nonsensical now since I'm positing this weeks late but there we go

The Apothecary Diaries v1

A manga that I’ve seen here and there. It had me intrigued so I finally decided to pick it up and see what I think. The main character finds herself forced to work in the inner palace as a servant… but her background is as an apothecary and things begin to change in her life when she solves a “curse” afflicting the royal heirs. I’m intrigued by the main characters introduced so far, though I haven’t decided if I’ll read more or not. I know it’s based off a light novel series that I think is getting an English release, so I may wait and try reading it like that.

Bad Guys v1 / v2

Since the movie has come out I figured I should try to knock out the first two book of the series and try to see what the hype is. Honestly, Bad Guys is a series I just can’t really get into. It has some cute, funny moments — the entire premise of these “bad, scary” animals attempting to become “good guys” is admittedly a very charming idea, especially given how bad they are at it — but it really is just so simple and so short that it feels pretty cheap. There isn’t much content on any given page, and the art is all pretty rough. I will leave this in the purvey of young readers.

Clown in a Cornfield

Meh. I picked it up from the library on an impulse because I enjoy horror based around cornfields and it feels very autumnal, but I couldn’t get through it. It is so very, painfully, agonizingly high school. I may have enjoyed it as a high school student… but even then it’s a sort of high school culture I wasn’t involved in even as a teen. Maybe it would have gotten more interesting if I had toughed out the first bit but it was really just too excruciating.

Dark Waters

The third book in a middle grade horror series, I’ve been reading one book a year, around Halloween. This series is about a group of friends who, having survived a first and second encounter with “The Smiling Man” are now trying to deal with the trauma of their experiences while keeping their family safe and distant from the terror. A fishing trip seems like a perfect, safe way to get away from the constant anxiety of their lives… until they receive a dire warning and something sinister starts to appear in the lake water.

The Girl From Turtle Mountain

Written in the style of American Girl books, this is a story about a girl in 1901 moving to the mountains of southern Alberta with her miner father. It was a charming little book about her getting used to this new settlement, getting to know the people she will share a boarding house and school with, and finding out how much a girl can spread her wings in a place like this. It was a short, simple book but it did remind me rather fondly of Anne of Green Gables.

Judy Moody was in a mood. Not a good mood. A bad mood.

I had never read a Judy Moody book before and honestly have always been a little scornful of them. I mentally put them in the same category as Junie B Jones books but apparently I was wrong to do so! It was honestly a very funny little slice of life book about Judy as she goes through life and needs to combat her bad mood.

The Laughing Corpse

Hoo boy. I haven’t read the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter books since high school, and I enjoyed them well enough back then. I read about six, though I found the style and tone had begun to wear on me by then. Since it’s October, I thought a vampire hunting book would be a fun reread so I grabbed the audiobook from the library and yikes folks! The racism! The misogyny! The aggressive Christianity and intolerance towards any other religion! It was fucking brutal! Though the nail in the coffin was Jean Claude. His fake French accent was hard enough to read through text, but needing to listen to a very American accent then try to voice him? Nope, I couldn’t do it, I bailed. Nice to know I can lay this particular book series to rest.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

I had never read Sleepy Hollow before and decided now was the time! I hadn’t realized what a short little story it was, but it made for a perfect Halloween read. The visuals were absolutely stunning, I am such a sucker for that sort of descriptive language, and it was actually really funny which I hadn’t been expecting! Honestly pop culture has changed the nature of the Headless Horseman so much over the years that I was pleasantly surprised by the original story!

My Dress-Up Darling v3

Just a fun series I’ve been picking up from time to time. It’s about a boy who is passionate about making traditional dolls and is learning the craft from his grandfather, who ends up befriending a bubbly popular girl who has the secret desire to cosplay. They end up working together to create elaborate costumes. It’s honestly just a very charming series, both main characters are very likeable, it has enough technical information about costuming to keep you interested, and just a light sprinkling of fan-service — y’know, if pantyshots are what sells a series for you.

Spy x Family v1

Up until now I’ve been profoundly indifferent to Spy x Family. I haven’t liked the art style, especially how the little girl is done, but I found the first book second hand and figured, eh, why not. And I can admit I judged it too harshly, the first book was pretty fun. It’s about a spy who needs a family for his next undercover mission, who ends up marrying an assassin and adopting a telepath. The spy and the assassin are both doing their best to keep their professions a secret, and the only one who seems to know the fully picture is the telepathic child. It’s silly but amusing.

Guys Read: Terrifying Tales

A surprisingly well done horror anthology! It’s written for a middle grade audience, but was honestly the best horror I’ve read in a hot minute. Some stories were better than others, obviously, but there really weren’t any that I thought were complete duds. What I found the most interesting was that most of the stories had a supernatural / almost fairytale like bend to it, and I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen people really do fairytales in a way that made the horror feel authentic rather than childish. This book had some genuinely fantastic “wicked witch” style horror, I was very happily surprised.

TGCF // Heaven Official’s Blessing v2

Now that I’ve finished Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation / MDZS I am now working my way through the Heaven Official’s Blessing series! This series is about a prince who was able to ascend to godhood… only to be banished back down to the mortal world and seems to be plagued with preternaturally bad luck and suffering. The stories starts just after his third ascension to heaven (after being banished on two separate occasions), which is honestly a hilarious concept. The first book I found a little slow, I wasn’t connecting with the characters much, but by now I am fully invested! The second book was fun because it actually took us back in time to learn about Xie Lian’s time as a mortal and some of the events that surrounded his ascension to godhood and what turned him from a beloved god to an object of scorn. It’s fascinating and heartbreaking, I want to cry for this poor guy, he really was wearing himself ragged trying to do the best he could.

[elliemehl]

hey Ellie, remember when I said I would some relaxing weeks? I might've been overestimating myself a little- I AM SORRY AAAAAAH I FORGOT?? TO REPLY??? I've had a lot on my mind and- god, I'm really sorry :'-). I have heard about little nightmares, but I haven't really played the game!! I've seen some of the characters I think, but I've never figured out what the game's actually about :-O I might be mistaken, but it gave me spoopy vibes (but like in a coraline-spooky style?) not sure if that-

HON 😭❤️ nonsense, you can always reply whenever you have time or not at all and just throw cookies at me, and I’d be super happy to hear from you anyway 🥰

Yeah you’re not mistaken, it’s actually an horror puzzle game, really gruesome and dark, and absolutely amazing, the developers really did a great job pretty much in every aspect of this game, from the music to the atmosphere *chef kiss* Ohhh it’s the first time I’ve heard of the Owl house, but it looks so damn cute?? 🥺 and as I see from the reviews it’s well appreciated too! I’m glad to hear it helped you unplug a bit, it makes the show even more special in my eyes 😊

Oh gosh, I’m still bitter about it, you know? It’s silly because it’s just a damn cover but I’m so weak for metallic/iridescent details and I was so disappointed hahah but I’m enjoying the novel so far, I just love Ace so much and it brings me so much happiness to read about him again ❤️

Tell me love, who do you think your favorite OP character is? I’ve been debating with myself for a long time, but I came to the conclusion that I’m too indecisive (or coward) to pick only one 🤔 

You too take good care of your precious self, I’m throwing all the smooches and smoothies at you 💕

[brigade-claire-opinions]

Day 5: Pet Sematary (2019)

Now let's talk about this novel and THIS film.

I tried my best to go into this adaptation with an open mind. After all, Pet Sematary is a very important novel to me, and while the first adaptation left something to be desired, it is still an absolute classic. It was really hard to go into this one without expecting it to be absolute garbage.

With that in mind, it pleases me to say that I absolutely loved this adaptation.

The pacing here is SO much better - this film really took its time to let us get to know the characters. We get an actual feel for what Church the cat was like before he was run over - and what he's like afterwards, aside from just being slightly grumpier.

Now, this film expects you to have either read the novel or watched the previous adaptation. It knows what your expectations are for certain scenes. During the pivotal scene - you know the one, it's about halfway through - things set up to play out the way you expect them to, and then those expectations are completely shattered.

The entire second half of this film is uncharted territory. Due to that expectation subversion, the second half of the film feels like new territory. While it poses the same questions asked by the novel and the first adaptation regarding playing God and whether Necromancy is ethical (it is), we get a better look into the undead psyche, and also how the afterlife works in this world.

The theatrical ending of the film is a bit too bleak for my tastes, but the Blu Ray has an alternate ending that leaves things on a much more ambiguous and strangely optimistic note. I really enjoyed that one, and I kind of wonder what made them go for the ending that showed on screens.

The cinematography was par for the course for a modern horror flick, but with a surprising lack of CGI. There were some digital lightning strikes and a brief glimpse at a Wendigo, but everything looked practical, which was a great change of pace.

The performances here were also great. I loved the fresh takes on Jud, Rachel, and Ellie, and the cats who played Church were really believable. They used coffee grounds to muss up their fur and give them that spoopy look, and I imagine that played a part in the yowls and growls we got.

Louis himself has always been kind of a one-note character, but I like that he got a bit more depth in this film than you see in the source material and the previous adaptation.

By now, it should be pretty clear that this is my preferred adaptation of Pet Sematary. I was very pleasantly surprised by how much fun I had with this film. Though it does take some massive leaps, I feel that it's more effective than the 1989 effort. I hope that future Stephen King adaptations see this sort of love and care.

You know, there is a sign in the third act that states that Derry is 20 miles away. Now why does Derry, Maine ring a bell...?

[mfred]

Spoopy and Romantic

It’s that time of year! Leaves are falling! Winds are blowing! Ghosts and ghouls are haunting and I’m in the mood for… romance? Of course I am!

So, I went through this goodreads list, some posts on tumblr, did a little digging and found a couple of romance novels and novellas to celebrate the season. Specifically, I was looking for romance novels set during or about Halloween– not just gothic stories, paranormals, etc. 

Truth or Beard by Penny Reid. The heroine and hero meet at a Halloween party when she mistakes him for his twin brother, her longtime crush. Surprise! You’re making out with someone else! I found the book enjoyable, not great, but fun to read. 3 stars.

Her Halloween Treat by Tiffany Reisz. When she finds out her longtime boyfriend is actually married, the heroine heads home to lick her wounds… and maybe a hot guy? And one just happens to be renovating her parent’s cabin? What luck! So they decided to have a fling, ending when her brother’s Halloween-themed wedding rolls around. A fun read, nice and steamy. 4 stars.

Crazy, Sexy, Ghoulish by GG Andrews. Actually kind of spooky and scary! The heroine is working at a haunted house when a well known horror blogger is scheduled to stop by– except he’s the same kid she used to torture and bully in middle school. Of course, romance blossoms! Until he finds out who she really is! By setting the story in a haunted house, Andrews is able to bring some of the thrills and chills of the season into the story. Did the heroine grovel enough to make up for her past? I don’t know. I still gave it 4 stars.

The Pumpkin King by Cara Demone. Do you ever read something that is objectively not good and yet find yourself kind of delighted anyways? That’s the Pumpkin King. I could make a list of all the things wrong with it, but what’s the point? If you are looking for something silly and short, and don’t care too much about quality, then maybe you’ll enjoy this. Also, nicely, the monster doesn’t turn into a human through the power of love. 2 stars.

Lion’s Halloween Baby by Scarlett Grove. This one is not good and not even in a fun kind of way. I skimmed the last half. 2 stars.

Happy Halloween, Romance Readers!

[spicynbachili1]

Steam Halloween Sale Picks | Rock Paper Shotgun

As we plunge into the top of Skeleton Appreciation Month, we enter Gross sales Season, a much more perilous time for anybody with poor impulse management. Steam’s inevitable Halloween sale is now stay, and whereas it’s not as sweeping in scale because the inevitable Christmas discount-a-thon due in December, there’s some good offers. You may see the official sale web page right here with horror, zombie and vampire collections, plus some extra extra obscure, private picks under. The sale is stay now, and lasts till November 1st.

Everybody is aware of about Darkest Dungeon and Vampyr, so right here’s a number of extra obscure video games that (principally) match the Halloween profile. Put together for loss of life by a thousand cuts into your free time.

Golden Krone Lodge by Vulgat – £2.79/€three.99/$three.99

A intelligent little hammer horror roguelike. When you would possibly begin out as a human, you’ll undoubtedly find yourself as a werewolf or vampire with restricted management, and have to juggle your (usually unwillingly) shifting type. Easy controls and methods allow you to concentrate on the large issues, like one second being an ideal shadow-lurking predator, and the subsequent second you’re blind as a bat and scurrying for daylight to guard you from the issues you understand are bumping round in the dead of night. Easy pixel graphics match the easy methods, however there’s lots of intelligent tactical challenges right here.

Zombie Night time Terror by Noclip – £1.49/€1.94/$1.94.

It’s Lemmings, however with zombies and tongue wedged firmly in cheek. For some purpose, not too many individuals tried imitating DMA designs’s traditional puzzler collection. Maybe as a result of the sequels already hit the purpose of diminishing returns? Both approach, Noclip have resurrected the components with some enjoyable twists. Taking part in because the unseen overmind of a mutating zombie swarm, you’ve bought to puzzle your minions from A to B whereas consuming as many brains as doable and getting as few zombos shot as you’ll be able to. It’s good enjoyable, and bought a free enlargement and degree editor after launch too.

Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters Dawn: Particular Gigs by Toybox – £1.74/€2.49/$2.49

Nicely, that’s a title and a half. And one other half. A guarded suggestion, however this one is simply too bizarre, inventive and low-cost to not give a shout-out. A weird hybrid of visible novel, RPG, squad ways and mini-game compilation with the only most baffling dialogue system since Captain Blood. Oh, and it’s mainly Ghostbusters as filtered by way of fashionable Japanese folklore. Lead a squad of mismatched oddball paranormal investigators round Japan, zapping spooks, yelling at ghosts and choosing the ‘lick’ dialogue motion 90% of the time as a result of it’s hilarious.

Pathologic Basic HD and The Void by Ice-Decide Lodge – $zero.99/1.29/$1.29 and £2.09/€2.99/$2.99 respectively

Two comparable however wildly totally different simulations of crushing existential dread from Ice-Decide Lodge. Pathologic Basic is a re-translated remaster of the marginally surreal plague survival sim. The upcoming remake/sequel remains to be in improvement and there’s a public alpha construct permitting you to poke round it, however the authentic is totally different sufficient to be value attempting. The Void is extra summary, and extra historically harmful and tough. Save usually in a number of slots, don’t be afraid to just accept defeat, and benefit from the gorgeously darkish artwork, even when the tech supporting it’s getting a bit creaky.

Monolith by Group D-13 £2.79/three.99/$three.99

Solely barely spooky, however there’s sufficient ghouls, ghosts and skulls attempting to homicide you with bullets to make it related. If The Binding Of Isaac is half roguelike, half shooter, then twin-stick roguelike shmup Monolith’s ratio is nearer to 1:9. Whereas the maps are randomly generated and your encounters and the weapons you’ll use are shuffled every time, ability and precision beats luck any day of the week. Sharp pixels, big replay worth (the true ending takes a number of wins), catchy music and nice bosses. Evidently Group D-13 are engaged on an enlargement, too. Learn extra right here.

Glittermitten Grove, aka Frog Fractions 2 – by Principally Tigerproof (actually Twinbeard) –  £6/€eight/$eight

Okay, this one is dishonest and never spooky in any respect, until nu-metal band Korn weirds you out on some weird degree. It’s humorous although, and good, and completely definitely worth the discounted value. Whereas weirdly compelling in its personal proper, fairy town-management sport Glittermitten Grove is only a crafty facade for a much more weird journey. Simply dig down, knock on the door and put together for puzzles, ZZT nostalgia, mini-games and the fourth wall getting kicked down, smashed right into a fantastic powder after which snorted for max boggle-eyed impact. Play the Flash authentic right here first.

So, there’s a handful to get you began. You may hear it already, can’t you? – the hole rasping of your checking account, dry and decrepit, praying for mercy to a merciless and uncaring universe. Spoopy.

  from SpicyNBAChili.com http://spicymoviechili.spicynbachili.com/steam-halloween-sale-picks-rock-paper-shotgun/