#and then the creator of hannibal showed up and he was a woman for some reason

[vulture-cuisine]

i had a dream last night that hugh dancy was in inside out 2 and that all of the characters were also hugh dancy. also it was not a cartoon it was live action and had nothing to do with inside out 2 it was just called that and everyone was hugh dancy. this was because the main character (played by hugh dancy) kept hallucinating his own face on other people (also played by hugh dancy) and had done it his whole life. then someone floated into the sky and died stranger things style. they were also hugh dancy.

[dolicekiss]

Hello there,

If you are still taking in requests, I thought I'd just leave this here. Could you potentially do a Hannibal Lecter x reader one-shot/headcanons (it's up to you) where they used to be lovers. But when the reader caught wind of Hannibal not exactly being a normal, she practically dissappeared from his life entirely. Now, years later, he sees the reader in Baltimore at an art gallery or something (idk maybe the reader is an artist herself or just a guest?) And it just re-sparks some sort of deep longing (yandere vibes???) within Hannibal.

Just a thought.

♡: i love this idea, its fr gonna awaken the poet in me. i hope u like it and it was up to your expectations (fear of disappointing ppl goes hard)

An ache for art

YANDERE HANNIBAL HEADCANON

PAIRING: Yandere!Hannibal x Artist!Reader

CONTENT WARNING: Yandere hannibal, mentions of kidnapping, forced (?) kissing, persistant hannibal, not much, only obsessed hannibal who wants his woman back

SYNOPSIS: When you abandoned Hannibal Lecter, he searched for answers everywhere in his desperation for you. Oblivious to the fact that you'd caught onto the abnormalities of the man. Years later at an art gallery, Hannibal finds solace in the painings presented before you and when he finds out you're the creator, a spark is once again lightened.

An art gallery in Baltimore was the last destination of all places in the world where Hannibal expected to find you.

When he'd asked to see the artist that had performed such a spectacular job at capturing human longing — akin to his, under the stroke of a brush, he didn't expect it to be you.

And you surely didn't expect to meet him. Yet here you were, nervousness heaving on you like cemented blocks.

You'd abandoned him under the fear that you might become his next victim. A voice inside you prevented you from informing the authorities but your morals could not allow you to stay with a man like him.

Especially after realizing he must've fed you human remains, on one of his special dinner nights. Torn between your love for him and the need to escape, you never looked back.

Hannibal tried searching for you, everywhere. He thought you two were soulmates, meant to be forever. You'd climbed the walls that he had always kept higher and higher.

Just why did you leave then? Had he done something so severe that you had to disappear from his life? Leaving your job behind, your life behind in Florence and never appearing in front of him ever again.

“Hannibal.” Your voice a whisper. He could taste the way his name unfurled on your tongue.

For a man that in complete control of his emotions and what he felt, he couldn't contain his excitement and happiness upon at the sight of you.

Hannibal stepped closer to you, a smile causing the wrinkles to appear. The same wrinkles you once used to adore.

“Beautiful art, I must say.”

You nodded, accepting his compliment, a small smile on your lips. You felt no discomfort or resentment in his presence. Only thing left were the beautiful memories of a healthy relationship.

The rest of the evening was spent together. You showed him around the gallery, explaining subtle details of your art to him albeit that wasn't necessary as Hannibal read right through your gentle brush strokes.

Though he was more interested in the art that strolled alongside him. A beautiful sight in her glory, flourishing once more like the petals of a sunflower.

Hannibal had an ache. An ache to consume art but you were the type of art he felt full just by catching sight of. He couldn't satiate these cravings you'd left him with.

After your departure, Hannibal killed and he killed. Yet no one could even compare to what you made him feel.

You were responsible for the deaths of multiple innocents, because you chose to leave him with an ache. Hannibal wondered how you'd feel if you were to find out.

He wished for the time to stop. That everything would come to a halt and you'd stay frozen right before his gaze.

Nowhere to go, nowhere to run to. Only available to him, only before his very eyes.

If it came down to it, Hannibal would not shy away from denying you of your freedom.

As you both reached a secluded corner in the gallery, the tension like a pendulum hung in the air above your heads.

Unanswered questions probed at Hannibal from within. He needed to know why you'd left — just what had scared you away to the point of no return?

Somewhere he knew. Deep in his heart, he was aware that this abrupt abandonment had everything to do with his own sickly desires.

“Why?”

You knew it was coming and it did. You couldn't tell him you knew about his little murder sprees or how he fed you human flesh.

You tried to walk away from the suffocating conversation but Hannibal couldn't allow that. Hand grasping around your arm, his tight prevention scaring you.

“Hannib—”

“I won't let you leave this time.” He longed for you, he never stopped to begin with. Everyday he'd come to his house and find it empty, it felt like needles prickled his chest.

He missed you roaming the premises of his humble abode, dressed in one of his button downs. Casting a meaningful light over the painted walls and furniture.

His grip was tight. You saw the sheer determination so instead of causing a scene, it was best to continue the conversation someplace better.

Like a coffee shop.

Sitting before him with a cup of coffee in your hand, you stared at him. Hannibal was never fond of such small cafes on the roadside — he preferred lavish and rich restaurants.

“I know, Hannibal.”

That was all he needed to know that you were well aware. His face falling but there was no expression on his face at all. Like he'd expected this.

“Was it that easy to abandon me?”

A stinging sensation spread in your chest at his sorrow filled question. Of course it wasn't easy. You'd spent a whole year in complete isolation after parting from him.

Hannibal caught onto the painful expression, akin to his. He wished that he was different too, more like you and not the cannibalistic murderer he was.

But some instincts could not be controlled.

“Come back to me.”

You could not. To step all over your moral conscience required strong will which you did not possess.

“I can't. It will never work, Hannibal.”

Hannibal noticed the reluctance in your gaze, his own darkening. Plans to keep you by his side already forming in his cunning mind.

There was no limit he wouldn't cross for you. Whether it was manipulating you back into his life or kidnapping you, he didn't want to back out.

You picked up your bag and after sparing him one last glance, left the cafe. Bells ringing against his ears, notifying him of your exit.

Hannibal was in disarray. He needed to have you, he had to have you. There was no way he could sit idle and watch you leave him.

So he followed you, pressing you up against your car. Lips working hastily to captivate yours, as he fought the string of dark emotions inside him.

You almost melted.

Him being the only man that could make you feel like this. A bittersweet kiss which acted as the closure you never received from him.

Hannibal’s frame locked you in, his hands roaming down to your waist. He kissed you with vigor, with profound strength like you could disappear at any given moment.

Your hands stayed by your sides, lacking the courage to slither them across his nape.

The kiss heated – his lips sucking yours and then he attempted to enter your mouth. You didn't let him. Persistent you were.

Hannibal pulled back from the kiss and breathed against your lips.

You soon realized what you were doing, in who you were investing and you pushed him off you.

Hannibal loved the feeling of your small hands over his chest. The way you still tasted the same even after years had passed.

“Don't ever come in front of me again.”

He didn't like the venom in your tone and he sure as hell wasn't going to let you go like before.

Hannibal watched you leave in your car and sighed, his fingertips running along his own lips. Remnants of your saliva bringing him to the brink of insanity.

He would do anything to have you.

And if that meant going against your will, so be it.

[ghoulishcraving]

on the theme of queerbaiting and hannibal i have OPINIONS and idk how well ill be able to express them on writing and in english but here we go

i get why some call it queerbaiting, and, although, i myself consider it canon, HEAR ME OUT

I'm going first to put the example of a real life artist, yoongi, from bts, this guy has consistently answered to questions like "what's your ideal woman" by saying "a person like...." or even saying things like "the gender doesnt matter much to me, it's the personality.....", has lyrics on his songs like "either a girl or a guy I'll make you come with my tongue....", and even said on a radio show years ago that he liked "the macho type" in guys, but he is still not considered queer by the general audience, he is not queer, except to queer fans like myself, bc we see that and obviously that means the man is not straight but to the general public, to the straight public he never said explicitly that he is gay, bisexual, pansexual, queer, anything so he is "not gay".

because the thing about queer identities is that they will be denied as long as there is the slimmest chance to do it, as long as there is not a direct rotund answer.

that happens with hannibal, it doesnt matter how obvious is, because there isn't an explicit acceptance or declaration of queerness and there isn't an explicit kiss or sex scene or confession between will and hannibal.

and that is something that we do not realise as much because of the niche audience it has, but if this show blew up, and its audience reached a more general audience we would see the denial of hannigram everywhere.

because even on the "is hannibal in love with me?" we do not get a rotund yes, we get a metaphora, a rephrasal, a reinterpretation, that can be interpreted as platonic. as a platonic obsession.

because even when both actors wanted a kiss it didnt happen it stayed platonic

and what confirmed for me this idea was the treatment of margot and alana's relationship.

we have a show, about the fbi, about a serial killer about violence (traditionally directed to men) protagonized by two very attractive men (usually done to attract a women audience), that plays onto queer topics spectacularly and has a blatantly obvious queer story (for queer people) but it's not a romance, and they never explicitly portray both men as queer, the only (explicit) relationships they are shown having is with other women (therefore not risking the lose of interest or hate from a straight audience that wants to be/men the protagonist or desires them/women) but the moment they introduce a lesbian couple we dont even see how they get together, we barely see anything about them as a couple but we do have a sex scene, wich would be something liked by a straight men audience, ignored by a straight women audience, and liked by a queer audience (confirming the queerness of the show) but without risking the proclaim of the two protagonists.

I hope this makes sense, and I know what fuller says and that the man just need a bit of cheering to write and post hannigram porn on his social media but honestly for me, what a creator, producer or actor post on their socials do not count bc it's not on the show, and again it allows deniability, it isn't canon

most of this is basically how I see the show translates onto a publicity and commercial sense, I myself consider hannigram as completely canon but still I'll always say that not putting a kiss on screen had nothing to do with the purity of the bond, or the complexity of their relationship and more to do with its marketing and the possibility of losing audience over it.

although in the end the audience of this show is the queerest I've seen hajfjdbnrnf

[fatalism-and-villainy]

More thoughts about how Clarice Starling might be incorporated into a post-canon scenario (i.e., a season 4 that exists in my mind palace). I know the creators wanted to adapt Silence of the Lambs, but honestly, a scenario I’d be really interested in would be featuring Hannibal (novel)-era Clarice - i.e. not a fresh and up-and-coming ingénue, but older and more jaded. I’m thinking in this timeline she would have had her career-making success without Hannibal’s help, and is encountering him (along with Will) for the first time. Probably in pursuit of some other Big Bad, and forming an uneasy alliance.

I’m interested in this because I a) do not think Hannibal is a good novel, and b) really do feel strongly about some of the threads it hints at but never fully develops. And this is especially true wrt Clarice! Like, the badwrong hypno romance with Hannibal at the end gets all the outrage, but frankly I’m less bothered by that than the casual sidelining of her character throughout the novel. We have this implied arc of woman’s career stagnating because of corruption and sexism, the woman becoming persona non grata in Washington after a scandal and sort of going rogue in deciding to rescue Hannibal… not to mention the details about her background and her craving for finer things and fascination with wealth and luxury (which, in contrast to the dissatisfying time she’s had with the FBI, actually would have sown the seeds for her possibly being compelled by going off with Hannibal, if the book had taken care to develop it). But that’s all effectively dropped! She straight-up disappears for a good chunk of the novel, and then when she reappears, despite her decision to rescue Hannibal, her importance to the story is so concentrated on her unknowingly being used as a lure for Hannibal. She doesn’t drive the plot the way she should.

So, I think it’d be cool for the showverse to explore that character arc for her, at the point in her life when she’s angry, guilt-ridden, and disillusioned. Encountering Will and Hannibal overseas could come as a result of her going vigilante for whatever reason, the way Jack does wrt Hannibal in s2-3. And there’d be an interesting overlap between the pseudo-therapy sessions she and Hannibal do in the novel Hannibal vs. the more subtly threatening/antagonistic brain-picking he engages in with her in SOTL - how would an older, more experienced Clarice respond to that SOTL routine for the first time, while in a worse emotional place than the idealism and optimism of her younger self?

And there’s a lot of interesting stuff going on in the landscape of Hannibal-the-novel where so many players in the game are corrupt and only interested in monetary gain, and the people who are actually concerned with justice - Clarice, Jack, to a lesser extent Ardelia - are fairly powerless - and then there’s Hannibal, a villain who actually has values and standards and beliefs outside of shallow materialism, twisted as though they may be. I like the idea of the post-canon story of the show Hannibal contrasting whatever weird arthouse villainy fest is going on overseas with the moral corruption and bureaucratic drudgery of the FBI back at home - I think that’d be broadly in line with both the show’s themes and premises of the novel - and see that reflected in Clarice coming in contact with Hannibal and Will (and possibly being susceptible to being swayed by Hannibal’s POV, if only temporarily.)

[darling-i-read-it]

Jealousy

Will Graham x reader, slight Hannibal Lecter x reader

Word Count: 2.2k 

Warnings: talks of murder, corpses, crime scenes 

Author’s Note: besties you need to stop giving me freedom to chose the endings because i am SO biased. I hope you all enjoy regardless and didn’t mind that I bunched these two requests together because they’re so similar! 

Requested: by anon, Hey i don’t know if you’re still taking Hannibal requests but if you are can you do something where both Will and Hannibal have a crush on the reader? The reader would be the only one who doesn’t know about the two men having a crush on her and one day the reader hangs out alone with one of them (could be Will or Hannibal) and the other gets jealous? It could end in the reader choosing one of them. (your choice)

Requested: by anon, AHHH i’m so nervous to write a request even tho this a anon😅 I never done a request but if you could do something where both Hannibal and Will take an interest in the reader? It could just be a thing where both of them try to impress the reader who remains oblivious to their affections. And during the entire thing they get jealous of each other and try to one up each other in gifts. If you want you could end it with them being polyamorous or the reader choosing one of them, i don’t really care my main focus id just the jealousy lol😅

Summary: the requests! 

I don’t own these characters. They belong to author/director/creator

(not my gif)

You nodded gently, putting your fingernail between your teeth. You circled the corpse, giving it a careful eye as Beverly spoke over your thoughts. 

“We believe it was murder, obviously,” she said. 

“It’s just been a bitch trying to figure out how she was murdered,” Zeller commented. He was sitting on one of the stools, his hands resting on his thighs. 

“Keep working on it,” Jack said, hand resting on the cold metal table. 

“I think we should try and talk to the mom again. I feel like she knows more than she’s letting on,” you muttered. Will and Hannibal watched you as you moved to the head of the body, looking directly down at it. 

“I want to go to the crime scene again,” Will said. You looked up and met his eyes, nodding a bit. You knew the toll that it took on him so you preferred him to offer up his abilities, rather than ask him. 

“Are you sure you’re up for that?” Hannibal asked. Yours and Will’s eyes floated to Hannibal who was standing at the corner of the room. This wasn’t his crime, he wasn’t sure what Will would find. 

“I’m sure,” Will said sturtly and then turned around, walking out of the room. Hannibal watched as your gaze followed Will until he was out of sight and then you turned back to the corpse. 

“I’ll drive you to the mothers house,” Hannibal suggested. You nodded and took your hands off the metal, walking over to him.

“Thank you.” 

The two of you left quickly after that, leaving Bev, Zeller, Price and Jack in the room alone. Beverly pretended to check something on her clipboard before looking up at everyone.

“You all felt that tension too, right?” Overlapped responses came.

“Yeah.”

“Yes.” 

“When did that happen?” 

Beverly shrugged and learned against the wall. She tried to follow you and Hannibal as you left the morgue but you were already long gone.

“Who do you think she’s gonna pick?” Bev asked. 

“I say let the best man win!” Price commented. 

“We have a case here lady and gentlemen,” Jack said, pretending he too wasn’t invested. Everyone else shared one more look and then turned around, getting back to their duties. 

=====

Hannibal sat promptly in his chair, legs crossed and looking at Will who sat across from him. Will had an open stance as he looked around the room he had been in a couple of times before. 

“How was your week? Let’s start there,” Hannibal said gently, prompting Will to start talking. Will was usually filled to the brim with sarcastic comments but he never wanted to delve any deeper than that. Unless he was talking about other people's murders. 

“Um, it was fine,” he said, trying to figure out what to say. “Y/N came over last night and made dinner. It was nice to have someone over.” Hannibal was able to mask his feelings very well but Will caught a little bit of disdain. 

“That’s nice. Do you see her often?” 

“Sometimes. She’s nice and likes to see the dogs.” Hannibal saw you yesterday as well, when the two of you went to interview the mother again. Hannibal offered a nice face to the woman and it ended up getting you somewhere with her. 

“She is very kind,” Hannibal commented. 

“Do you see her often Dr. Lecter?” Will asked. 

“On occasion. She comes over for dinner. She used to be a patient but she’s been doing well.”

“Glad to hear you have some success stories.” 

That was the day that Will and Hannibal realized they were competing and they hadn’t known it. They weren’t even sure that you knew it but they understood that the other had feelings for you. 

Sure, ultimately it was up to you in the end but it was then they decided they would have to get to you first. Will was a little unhinged and confused. Hannibal was a little insane and unsettling. 

Just depended on who was going to be able to play the right cards. 

=====

You sat beside Hanniabl at his dinner table. You had a few of the case papers out in front of you, next to your plate of food. Hannibal was flipping through them as well. He was trying to help you out while also getting you to enjoy a nice meal. 

You ate the last bite of the food and showed Hannibal one of the pictures. 

“Do you think this looks like she’s been dead for a couple of months? I know water can wash away evidence and stuff but it definitely doesn’t look like she’s been dead for months,” you said. Hannibal took the picture from you and looked it over. 

“I can’t say I disagree with you.” You took the picture back.

“This is really good by the way. Thank you for letting me intrude on your dinner,” you said laughing a bit. He shook his head. 

“Of course. I’m glad you enjoy it, I know it can be an acquired taste.” 

“I really enjoy everything you make. How do you say it? It’s growing my pallet,” you said smiling. He nodded pleasantly. It was always nice to make sure people were listening. You looked like you were about to say something else when your phone dinged. At first you ignored it but then it dinged again. “I’m sorry,” you muttered and then picked up the phone. You read a couple of messages and laughter bubbled from your mouth. Hannibal immediately felt a stab of jealousy but it didn’t show on his face. “Sorry, Will just sent me something about the case. I actually have to go see him later tonight, I should probably get out of your hair.” 

Hannibal shook his head. 

“You’re always welcome here, I hope you know that.” You smiled and nodded but still put the papers together in a neat stack.

“Don’t say that, I’ll abuse my privileges.” You stood up and put the stack of papers in your arms. “Thank you again Hannibal. I’ll call you?” He nodded, standing up as well and taking your plate. 

“Of course. Have a nice night and say hello to Will for me.” You nodded and waved as you turned to leave. 

Hannibal turned to the kitchen and put the dishes in the sink. He started to wash them and after a moment he found he had been washing his hands dry. 

====

“You really didn’t have to drive me. I can drive myself,” Will said from the passenger seat of your car. You waved him off, shaking your head. 

“Please Will, I can drive you around all I want. Plus, I wanted to see Hannibal anyway. Don’t worry I won’t intrude on your session. I brought a book.” You held your book up in front of him and he nodded slightly. 

Why did you wanna see Hannibal? He decided not to ask. 

You got out of the car and followed Will inside to Hannibal’s office. Hannibal opened the door, as though he had been listening and waiting for your arrival. His smile grew at the sight of you. 

“I was hoping to run into you. I boxed some leftovers from last night because you enjoyed them so much,” Hannibal explained. 

“You went over to Hannibals’ last night?” Will asked. He didn’t mean for his voice to sound so accusatory but it did. You shrugged.

“I went for dinner and he helped me with some case notes.” You remained completely oblivious to the tension in the room. He handed you a box that he grabbed from his desk and you nodded happily. “Thank you so much! I will cherish this,” you joked. You turned to Will. “Have a nice session boys, I’ll be in the car.” 

  They both nodded and waved goodbye to you as you left the room. The tension did not leave with you. 

====

The morgue did not smell any better the next time you were in it. You were alone with just Bev this time as you compared notes on the cause of death. She and the guys were still in the process of figuring it out but it had been a busy couple of days.

“Yeah that’s kind of what Price was saying. I don’t know, I’ll look into it more and get back to you,” she said as you showed her some notes. You nodded and put your notepad back in your bag. 

“Alright, keep me posted.” You stood up from your chair and stretched a bit. You and Beverly were pretty good friends outside of work as well so she had been dying to ask you about Hannibal and Will.

“So...how’s it going with Hannibal and Will?” she asked, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall. You gave her a confused look.

“Huh?” She scoffed.

“You’re kidding right?” You gave her a look and she laughed dryly. “You seriously don’t know? Those guys are head over heels for you. Come on, you had to have noticed how jealous they get when you talk to them. It literally fills the room with tension,” she explained. You shook your head slowly. It took you a moment but the realization hit you. You had to sit back down. 

“Oh my God, I’ve been so head first in this case I didn’t even notice,” you said, laughing a bit.

“Well! Who’s gonna take the cake? Come on, we’re running bets here in the morgue.” You raised an eyebrow.

“Who did you bet on?” She gave you a look. “Come on!” 

“Will,” she fessed up. You stood up. 

“Go get your money Katz.” A prideful look went over her face and she nodded. 

“Alright then. You better go get your man.” 

======

You knocked on Will’s door that night. You teetered back and forth on the porch, wondering if Beverly had been wrong. She could have read the signs wrong. Heck, you read the signs wrong at first. You were about to walk off the porch when Will opened the door, rubbing his eyes. 

“Hi,” he said, blinking quickly.

“Oh my gosh did I wake you? I’m sorry, I am running on case time,” you said, suddenly feeling very apologetic. He shook his head. 

“No, don’t worry about it. Do you need something?” You doubted yourself again but figured that if you were going to do it you had to do it now. 

“I just...Beverly said something and I...do you wanna go to dinner? Like together? Like as a couple?” You were trying to get the words out so they didn’t sound awkward. Will rubbed his eyes some more and then his hand dropped. He smirked a bit. 

“Yeah. I would really like that.” 

“Okay! Okay. Good, good. I’ll talk to you about it tomorrow once you get some rest,” you said. He nodded happily. 

“I look forward to it.” 

“Me too.” 

You turned around and he shut the door and a wall away from each other. You were both smiling wildly. Will almost called Hannibal and bragged but he went to sleep. He would find out eventually. 

[trutrustories]

For those who think that some people are trying to erase Loki´s bisexuality by not wanting him fall for a girl:

I don´t believe that anyone want to erase his sexuality. That´s not the reason why people are angry about it either. I personaly love Sylvie, she´s great character. And I also understand that romantic dynamic betwen those two, and why it makes sense especially when it comes to Loki. Let bi people fall for whoever they want, yes. (Personaly, I make huge diference between Sylvie and Loki. And I think show runners made that effort on purpose. Also Loki is that one character, who I can see falling for himself. Here is the question though: would they do the same romantic story line, if Sylvie was i don´t know... Seamus? ) If  Mobius didn´t apear in the series first and if he didn´t have mad chemistry with protagonist (wich he had), I would probably ship them too, whether it´s Sylvie or Seamus. But Mobius was here first and with THAT chemistry, honestly, no wonder Lokius literally explode. Here´s the thing though: there is always potential, and it always end up just as that. Only as the potential. We´re back to Albus Dumbledore, who happened to be gay  after series ended. We´re back to Castiel who was killed directly after his declaration of love for Dean. We´re back to Johnlock - wich was never official despite sexual subtext (that creators themsels admitted  long ago.) We´re back to Hannibal, series ended with them litteraly holding each other and falling to their deaths. And I could go on and on all day.  Lokius shipers are not erasing anything. They´re just goddamed disappointed  and tired. Anytime there is a mainstream movie/series with dynamic male duo that has incredible chemistry it always inevitably blows up. And then you have to hear all those comments about what is it with those gay ships? Why it has to be gay? Why those dudes can´t just be friends for god´s sake? And my favourite: If you are so desperate for it just write your own damn thing. But like... how? I´m sure there was a big effort from creators to even get that accknowligment about loki´s bisexuality in there. I am happy, that Kate Herron managed to do that. I applaus her. But in the end they rather make Loki fall for a girl verison of himself then for another man. Seems like it is still more acceptable for mainstream audience. And another potential bites the dust. Saddly but unsurprisingly . It should´t be so hard in 2021 to make romantic male pair in MCU. But it obviously still is. It should´t be so unexpected for audience across the world. But it still is. It would mean less money for company. Less countries who would buy it. More people who would cry out loud about "LGBT agenda" and how it´s pushed by force into "normal" audience. If Mobius was a woman we´d already had most of the viewers shipping him with Loki without any second thoughts. But hear me out: I don´t want any fucking meaningles agenda. I want those two characters that would be great togheter, to fall for each other without reading it   on AO3. Please don´t be mad with fans who are waiting for this like... forever. Lots of them are nothing but disappointed  over and over... some of them since Star trek 1967 anyway... no matter how many times my favourite ship will blows up to my face, I´ll be waiting. God bless fanfiction.

[masterthespianduchovny]

I never wished for Gillian’s relationship to fail, but I was largely indifferent to it and it has nothing to do with Gillovny. Funny enough, I do actively dislike David’s relationship for obvious reasons.

I wasn’t super involved in the tumblr fandom during 2015-2016, but I do remember all of the fuckery that went down with David and gillian. Their behavior was what ignited dormant and new shippers. It added flames for those who never let that flame die.

So, you had all of G and D’s antics and shit, which many were going crazy over. Some notable people as well who have since distanced themselves from that era. Like most people were for this shit because whatever was going on between them was too hard to dismiss as being friendly or professional behavior. Or even harmless flirting.

Now, there are those who always insisted that G and D were acting and putting this show on for the fans. I guess to drive ratings, but this argument has always been nonsensical to me. For starters, people who are interested in Gillovny are going to watch regardless. Almost everyone else don’t give a shit and was going to watch the revival for Mulder and Scully. The things fans went crazy over wasn’t enough to even get anyone interested in the show who wasn’t already interested.

Like, the kimmel interview is mostly only interesting to someone who follows Gillovny or knows of their history. Other people would find their behavior interesting, but would they really make them watch the show??? And it’s barely even a headline.

So, what they were doing back then was enough to get philes excited, but not enough to drive ratings. Which cancels out the idea that they behaved the way they did to garner attention.

But, the naysayers kept insisting that this was all a PR ploy.

After (???) season 10 premiered, Gillian was spotted with Peter I suppose. And she kept being spotted with him. Don’t know the true timeline. But, when this happened, suddenly, these same naysayers were Gorgan. They were all in on Peter and Gillian and throwing shots at Gillovny fans and how we were “played.”

(It must be noted that just because Gillian ended up dating Peter doesn’t mean she didn’t have a thing with David. Lol)

Over time, they were gassing up this relationship and talking about Peter’s greatness and how he and Gillian balanced each other.

For me, my bullshit meter was going on.

Yes, some fans just wanted Gillian to be happy and shit, which I’m all for, but the loud gorgan supporters used this relationship to “get back” at the Gillovny crowd. I honestly don’t know how hostile it became between the two groups, but from what I did see, this support was superficial, which was proven years later.

Because, imo, how can you be for a relationship that just started and you barely know anything about it? How can you know all of this about two people you have no insight on? Gillian keeps her relationships largely private and we know even less about Peter’s relationships (read: marriage), yet there are posts about how these two are a good fit? Lol

What solidified my indifference was Gillian’s behavior. Pre like 2013, Gillian wasn’t really featured in the media all that much because she wasn’t doing any noteworthy projects. Then, she did the fall and was featured more. She was very vocal about being a feminist and shit. “Future is female”, talking about her same sex relationships, didn’t want to be in relationships unless she was in control. Isn’t this the woman who famously ended a relationship by going home and leaving her then boyfriend on the beach to find his way home? Lol.

Gillian’s image was very independent, assertive, I’m the boss, blah blah blah.

Then, she gets with Peter and it’s “he’s responsible for my success.” Peter this, Peter that, blah blah blah blah.

Gillian’s image is now submissive, insecure, handing the reigns over to her man.

That was something that made me look at her differently and not care for her relationship. It felt like whiplash from her previous image.

That image she cultivated with Peter was so contradictory in what she presented herself as while they were together. So, although I still supported her professionally, I just wasn’t here for the relationship.

Ironically enough, Gillian and Peter are the ones who come off as having the PR relationship compared to whatever David and Gillian were doing. Maybe not on the red carpet, but Gillian has (always) been silly and sexual with David. There are x files outtakes that proves this. She jokes/“jokes” with David about wanting to suck his “cock” and David has said shit to her like “did you just cum?” In many of their interviews, Gillian is the the giggly and silly.

Even when Gillian was with Mark and David was still with Tea, that dynamic was there, but a muted. 2015/16 was more pronounced, but it didn’t come out of nowhere. So, the idea that this was PR doesn’t track.

But, Gillian gets with peter and, suddenly, she has a personality change and is singing the praises of her boyfriend who she later works with.

Do I believe this was a PR relationship? Tbh, I don’t give a shit either way. But, PR relationships exist and have always existed in Hollywood. They function many ways: to bring attention to one or both parties, to deflect from (potential) rumors, to build hype for a project, etc.

Peter and Gillian were gassing each other up and shit, selling one another and their relationship. Many famous married couples don’t even talk about their spouses like them (and, yes, I believe these married couples love one another).

The thing about David and Gillian is that, even tho some thought something may have been going on around 2015, some people have always thought they were fucking at one point in time. Others think they just have massive chemistry. But, why would they need to fake a thing between them that they won’t admit to to manufacture interest in the show that people were excited to see come back? It sounds contrived, doesn’t it?

Compare that to: a well loved and acclaimed actress who hasn’t had meaty work in a while getting together with the creator and writer of a show that’s an Emmy darling. They’re always singing each other’s praise, which is noteworthy for a person who doesn’t talk about her relationship much. Who she then later works with on said show.

Which one sounds more like PR?

The actors who’ve had mad chemistry since they’ve auditioned together? Who’s chemistry never wavered even when they couldn’t stand each other and now are in a better place?

Or...

The actress and writer who talk about how wonderful their partner is and that this relationship is so mature, and then later work on his show together before breaking up a month later?

I honestly don’t think it’s absurd to have skepticism towards gorgan. Many of those adamant that gorgan was real and others are delusional are invested in gorgan because their anti Gillovny. And some did truly want to see her happy, but most weren’t invested in that way.

Whether someone thinks gorgan was real or not, I found it embarrassing on Gillian’s part. It’s probably more embarrassing if it was PR and sad if it was real.

And I know ppl will disagree with that because they found the relationship mature and supportive, but again, crediting Peter with the success of her career??? You can’t even argue, “she means now” because Gillian was getting a career resurgence and rave reviews for Stella Gibson and bedelia de murier (???). She had her role in American gods (I know it was one episode).

And in each of these roles, it was “omg! Gillian Anderson!!!”

She was so loved in Hannibal, they fucking expanded her role. And this was all pre Peter (American gods may have had some overlap).

Gillian isnt “struggling” for roles because people don’t want to hire her, she’s “struggling” because she’s trying to find roles that balances being a working actor with being a hands on mom.

And that’s why I was always “meh” about the relationship. I don’t think Peter’s a bad guy and he’s good at his job, but the way Gillian’s persona changed during this relationship was off putting and I didn’t care to get invested in them for that reason. But, as I mentioned on other occasions, the vocal support of the relationship and notable silence when they ended will always be fascinating to me. I honestly believe that gorgan support was fueled by the anti Gillovny crowd and backlash to David’s relationship (its a 🤮 for me too) and behavior towards Gillian regarding the x files’ potential continuance.

[aion-rsa]

The Horror Influences of Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan

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This article contains spoilers for JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is beloved by shounen anime fans for its nonstop action, absurd and over-the-top showdowns, and creative Stands (physical manifestations of one’s true self). It’s a bombastic series that defies predictions. We’re still waiting for the fifth part of the manga, Stone Ocean, to be released as an anime adaptation, and the story is still ongoing. Strangely, there’s still no confirmation that a fifth season is even coming yet.

In the meantime, however, we got something of a holdover: Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan. An adaptation of a series of one-shot chapters from JoJo creator Hirohiko Araki, it bridges the gap between the fourth season, Diamond is Unbreakable, and the fifth season, Vento Aureo. But while it follows manga artist Kishibe Rohan and what he’s been up to between both seasons, it takes on a decidedly different slant than the vanilla anime. Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan takes more inspiration from episodic horror anthologies, like that of The Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits. It is, by all counts, a horror series. 

It’s a new direction for JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, though not completely unexpected. The thing is, JoJo has always been riddled with disturbing, horrific, and downright chilling moments. They’ve just been couched between action-packed showdowns and bombastic character design so that the terror creeps in without you even realizing it’s there. Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan approaches the genre in a much more straightforward manner, though, wearing its influences on its sleeve. Both series, including JoJo to a staggering degree, are inherently spine-tingling properties, even if they don’t seem so at first blush.

Creator Hirohiko Araki is a ravenous horror fan, after all, and makes no secret of his passion for the genre. In his book, Hirohiko Araki’s Bizarre Horror Movie Analysis, he cites some of his top 20 favorite films as Misery, Alien, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The work itself is divided into several parts, each exploring a different branch of chilling media, such as “Bizarre Murderers,” “Animal Horror,” or “Sci-Fi Horror.” It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility to think that, despite Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan originally being meant to be unrelated to JoJo, Araki created it to satisfy his love for the macabre.

The episode “Mutsu-kabe Hill” follows a woman named Naoko Osato, who belongs to a well-to-do family. She’s living in a house that belongs to said family along with boyfriend Gunpei Kamafusa. But she can’t be with Gunpei, as she’s already betrothed to a man her father has chosen. Plus, Gunpei is a family gardener, a profession her father won’t abide. The two end up arguing, and Nao tries to pay off Gunpei to get him to leave, as she knows her father and fiancé are on their way to the home. But tensions escalate as the two become violent. 

Nao pushes him into a set of golf clubs and Gunpei dies instantly. He’s bleeding, and while Nao struggles to figure out what to do with his body, her father and fiancé are approaching her home. No matter what she does, she can’t get Gunpei’s corpse to stop bleeding. In the end, she lives with this bizarre phenomenon, telling no one about her plight, and doting on Gunpei’s corpse, disposing of the blood he continues to generate for the rest of her life.

Several comparisons can be drawn from this episode to Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” in which the narrator commits a murder, dismembers a body, and hides it beneath some floorboards. Despite having seemingly gotten away with the perfect crime, the narrator is driven insane by the sound of his victim’s heartbeat. He ends up confessing to the authorities as he believes they can hear it, too. It’s the story of an unreliable narrator whose sanity is slipping. 

Though the narrator in that story ended up confessing to ease his suffering, Nao chose to live with the consequences of her crime, succumbing to a monster that lives off of people’s affection. The stories are quite similar in tone, though with very different outcomes. 

In “At a Confessional,” Rohan recounts a story of how he met a man who confided in him while in an Italian confessional. The man spoke of a beggar to whom he refused food and instead forced to work until he died. The beggar returned as a ghost, swearing revenge on the man who wronged him, promising he’d return on the happiest day of the man’s life. Return he does, as the man has enjoyed riches beyond belief, a beautiful marriage, and the birth of a daughter. 

The beggar appears in the form of an apparition in the man’s daughter’s tongue. He forces the man to toss pieces of popcorn his daughter was eating into the air and catch them with his mouth three times in a row in an absurd challenge. If the man succeeds, his life will be spared. If not, he’s beheaded instantly.

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This tale immediately recalls Stephen King’s Thinner, a similar story about a man who’s committed several wrongs, cursed the father of someone he’s murdered — this time, because he runs over a woman while driving and engaged in a sexual act with his wife. The curse finds the man, who is obese, becoming thinner and thinner at an uncontrollable rate. 

Eventually, there are options available to the man, who pleads for a resolution. He’s informed by the same person who cursed him that he can eat a strawberry pie with his blood in it and die, or give it to someone else for him to be spared. It’s just as gruesome as forcing the rich victim in Kishibe Rohan to munch popcorn or die. 

In JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, the scares seem to come directly from a series of inspirations for Araki instead of new stories based on the media he’s obviously consumed. 

The first JoJo arc, Phantom Blood, sets the stage by introducing a swath of Gothic horror elements. It introduces the eventual vampiric rise of DIO in a Victorian society, which directly references classic novels like Dracula and Frankenstein. There’s even a serial killer named Jack the Ripper, who faces off against Jonathan and his allies, pulled straight out of history — a perpetrator of grisly murders who ends up transformed into a zombie. The undead are also a major component of Phantom Blood, likely due in part to Araki’s love for classic zombie cinema.

In the arc Stardust Crusaders, Jean-Paul Polnareff finds himself de-aged by a Stand user named Alessi. A young woman named Malèna nurses him back to health, up until Alessi uses his Stand, Sethan, unceremoniously de-ages her to that of a fetus outside of the womb. A few of Araki’s favorite horror movies of all time, including Basket Case, center on body horror, which doesn’t make this narrative decision surprising. But for those reaching that point in the story for the first time, it’s chilling in a way that even some of the most nightmarish films can’t even touch. 

While the visual of a fetus itself isn’t as offensive as some gnarled, disfigured victim, its implications are disturbing, to say the least. A fetus outside of a mother’s womb will eventually succumb to a slow death, especially one of Malèna’s apparent age. That makes Polnareff’s eventual victory over Alessi and his Stand so bittersweet.

The entirety of the fourth arc, Diamond is Unbreakable, plays out like a classic slasher flick with the introduction of Yoshikage Kira, a man with a powerful obsession with hands to the point of fetishism. He murders women with “beautiful hands,” then keeps the hands as his “girlfriends.” It wouldn’t be a stretch to compare Kira to classic killers like Psycho‘s Norman Bates or The Silence of the Lambs’ Hannibal Lecter, as Kira is believable and charming when he isn’t committing grisly murders.

Most of JoJo’s Stands are horrific on their own, and even though their story arcs enhance their terrifying power, there’s a fair amount of fridge horror to be found in these beings. The Freddy Krueger-like Death 13 can kill you in a nightmarish dream world while you sleep. Metallica (yes, named after the heavy metal band) forces you to cough up razor blades or have scissors burst from your chest. 

Another Stand, Green Day, can secrete a deadly mold that will rot and destroy the flesh of anything it touches in an instant. Lastly, Rohan Kishibe himself has a fairly disconcerting Stand: Heaven’s Door. It allows him to literally read someone like a book, then erase parts of their being, or add in what he pleases, like the ability to learn a new language as his pal Koichi asks in Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan.

It’s easy to see how Araki has masterfully melded horror into every space when it comes to both JoJo as well as Kishibe Rohan. With that in mind, it’s strange that the former has been relegated only to a series of one-shots when it shows so much potential as its own project, in which Araki gets to stretch his Rod Serling-esque legs or impart some very Argento-like stylings into his works. For now, we can appreciate what’s there — and continue finding parallels to additional well-loved classics in the genre. 

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Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan is available to stream on Netflix now.

The post The Horror Influences of Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[k-s-morgan]

Oh do you are a mod in Reddit. Anyway, to answer your question on rude, I am not being rude deliberately. Sorry if I came across as one. The canon part of the 'love' came in season 3 when the producer might have thought ok yah let's give some fans what they want. And season 3 we all know is unwatchable and it was shot down. About making money, yes some of you have the donation thing app and such. I guess the stay home mom, housewife student ? Boxing is a reputed recognized sport just sayin

I won't write any more. Sorry if I bothered you. Thanks for replying. Sorry again if hurt you or anything. Bye and have a good day. Your blog has a lot of Russian ! I am a Russian guy, good to see another Russian woman being her own in the net cheers

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

Yes, I am) And I can assure you that everyone is welcome on Reddit as long as they are polite. New discussions are always great, no matter what topic they focus on, so if you’d like to start a talk on some aspect of the show you enjoyed, feel free to do that. 

Hannibal wanted a family with Will as early as E2 of S1, seeing them as fathers to Abigail. It’s already pretty romantic. All S3 did was put the already existing thick subtext into text - I provided enough examples of it here. I don’t know how it’s possible to miss the fact that it’s a romance - my homophobic father caught up on it in E9 of S1, when Hannibal put his hand on Will’s shoulder and whispered, “We are her fathers now.” Same goes for my straight mother, step-father, and my brother. ‘Hannibal’ is one of the most romantic shows I’ve ever seen, and the fact that fans understand it and Bryan, Mads, and Hugh kept confirming it early on is already evidence enough. Hell, Bryan hinted at romance between Will and Hannibal before S1 aired. You should also know that he never does things to please others. He has a reputation for walking out when his vision is being disturbed, so he’s the last person to do anything just for fans. 

There you go again. Stay at home mom, housewife, a student? Do you think only these people can make money from writing fanfiction? How about producers of ‘Sherlock’, who aired their fic on BBC? How about Bryan Fuller, whose ‘Hannibal’ is a fic on Harris’ works? I never saw people ask for donations on their fics -  it’s illegal. But others can commission original works and things as such from those whose writing they admire. Careful deals might be struck occasionally, and while it’s technically against the law, what do you personally have against it? Are you worried about the original creators, who have billions already? 

Who is this “we” who think that S3 is unwatchable? It’s a critically acclaimed season that most critics and viewers loved. It’s casual audience who usually expresses their dissatisfaction because they want more action instead of focus on emotions. I find S3 brilliant, and thankfully, so do many others. ‘Hannibal’ had low viewing numbers for many reasons, and they were low starting with S1. It’s a miracle that we even got 3 seasons.

I believe you when you say you don’t intend to sound rude, but you just do, so yes, I’d appreciate if you didn’t send me more messages like this.

[stargaze-art]

Oh How The Mighty Fall

Hannibal’s eyes trained on the next person to pass by as he sipped his tea. The taste of honey fell on his lips, and he savored every moment of it. He saw him from afar, and the honey felt even sweeter than before. 

Ambriel. A servant of God, an angel of faith... Hannibal used to be like that once. Not that he enjoyed it. He hated the idea of authority, of all-seeing authority especially. He lived in contempt of the woman who served as his creator, much in the way human literature portrayed Frankenstein and his monster. Hannibal never really cared much for Dr. Frankenstein. He seemed entitled to create life, and then be abhorred by its existence. Such hypocrisy was discourteous.

Hannibal hated discourtesy. 

His muse continued to walk past, and he noticed a sort of purpose to his walk. He was looking at something. Hannibal’s eyes trailed forward, past the angel and to the furry creature he was approaching. Watching as he ran a hand over the creature with the gentleness that one would touch a child. The way a lover would caress another’s cheek, arm, or side. A sign of love, a sign of respect, all in one feather-light touch that conveyed every positive emotion. 

Such a hand as Ambriel’s would be better reserved for him rather than some mutt on the sidewalk.

Hannibal stood, placing his teacup on the small plate with a gentle clink and pushing it away from him to keep it from falling off the table outdoors. The crisp scent of pine wood and petrichor, it was... a stark difference to the normal smell of freshly brewed coffee. It tempted Hannibal even more into the sins of fraternization. Angels were normally off limits to the Fallen like him. Especially the ones who smelled pure as he normally called it. But this... this was different. It was much too tempting for Hannibal to resist.

Hannibal closed the distance between the two of them, and the dog didn’t seem to mind the new presence around, but Ambriel did. He stiffened immediately, refusing to turn his gaze upon the newcomer. 

“Azrael.”

“It’s Hannibal now, my dear Ambriel. It pains me to know you only see me as who I once pretended to be, rather than the beloved person I am now.”

“You are not beloved. You are a tempter of fate. You sicken me to be around, and I will not stand for the way you speak to me, as if we are merely friends.” Ambriel moved away, and the stray animal trotted off, leaving the two of them alone on the sidewalk. “Get away from me, before they see you. The eyes give away your true nature, Azrael.”

Hannibal chuckled softly, pulling out a pair of sunglasses and putting them over his eyes. “There is no problem with the way that I can disguise myself. You know I come in good nature for you, Ambriel. I only wish to show you the true potential you harbor in yourself. I want you to be free to be whoever you please, not forced to play God’s little game. She’s only worried about the big picture, she could stand to lose someone she believes is... insignificant.”

Hannibal moved close to Ambriel, inhaling deeply and gently touching his hands to Ambriel’s shoulders, gently sliding them down with a light touch, one that would rival an angel’s downy wings. “My my, you smell different, my dear.”

“Don’t touch me, Azrael.”

“I’ve told you, my beloved friend, it’s Hannibal. I’ve gone through a recent change in my aesthetic since the Fall. You can, as well. You won’t be stuck with a name like this, and you can live as your true self...”

His words were gentle, and though Hannibal’s breath fell on Ambriel’s ears like a whispering breeze, they struck his heart like a bolt of lightning, making him ache down to his very core. “I will not be like you, Hannibal. I will never be like you. You walked a line in contempt of Her knowing you would suffer consequences, and yet you did it anyway. I have lost a friend, and you are merely a shell of who that friend used to be.”

Hannibal sighed gently. “Ambriel, you mustn’t be so harsh with me. I am still the same person you befriended long ago, but I am no longer under a creator who supports a lack of self-development. Everything you do for Her is Her wants. But when have you ever tended to your own needs? Have you ever decided to do something for yourself? It’s what I did, and I’d rather live happily away from the God who created us than to be miserable under Her care.”

“That plague was uncalled for, Hannibal, and I refuse to follow in your footsteps! Just because you got attached to that child doesn’t mean you can destroy mankind.” Ambriel pulled away from him and turned to face Hannibal. There was a sincere look of disgust, and Hannibal almost felt a tinge of remorse for making the poor angel feel that way.

Almost.

“I do not see the problem. If She had listened to my words, maybe the lives of many could have been spared. Tell me, do you not feel as though you are a charge for someone? A protector?”

Ambriel went silent, looking away from the demon in front of him. He did, but he’d never let Hannibal know. Ambriel had been looking after a girl, Abigail Hobbs, for some time now. 

“I know the way you watch over her. You are a good guardian, but if she were ripped away from you... what would you do, my dear Ambriel? Wouldn’t you wish to exact revenge on the person who had decided her fate? Wouldn’t you wish to exact revenge on Her?”

Ambriel felt the leech of emotion coming up, and he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I am, and never will be, like you. You are a monster...”

“If that is what you call someone who is free, then I will be the biggest monster of all. But you will see, my dear, that when faced with adversity, the right choice may not be what She wants. And you have to make the decision for yourself whether you are going to suffer at the hands of an unremorseful God, or you can join me in our attempt to bring righteousness to the land of these humans you so desperately love.”

Ambriel was silent, and then he watched as people slowly started to fill the street.

“I have to go.”

He went on his way, leaving Hannibal behind. He could hardly bring himself to think about Abigail... He was her protector, and he would make sure she was okay. But he would never stoop so low as to go against his God.

--

part two coming soon

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Dolores Umbridge

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

Sometimes it’s not enough to have a villain. Sometimes, you have to have a character who is thoroughly, unrepentantly awful, someone so despicable the audience will root against them, guaranteed. These are hate sinks, characters that you sink your hate into. When executed well, these characters can be truly great, because they are just so horrendously evil that their ultimate comeuppance is overwhelmingly satisfying. And while she’s certainly no Huey Emmerich, Dolores Umbridge at least gets to take home the silver medal in characters you love to hate. And you will, without a doubt, hate her, for more reasons than you might realize.

Motivation/Goals: Umbridge is seemingly only motivated by her desire to keep whatever power she has. Whoever is in power, she serves unquestioningly, going above and beyond what anyone should. Her tenure as the Ministry-appointed Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was filled with horrific violations of human rights, including her brutally torturing students, and keep in mind this was all done in an attempt to monitor the school because they thought Dumbledore was training an army of child soldiers to stage a coup and overthrow the Ministry by claiming Voldemort was back.

Later, when Death Eaters took over the Ministry, she would put her same cheerful energy into desecrating the dead body of Mad-Eye Moody and sentencing Muggleborns to have their souls sucked out. So, yes, she’s just the pinnacle of the unpleasant government drone who goes on a power trip and abuses those beneath her with impunity

Performance: While she certainly didn’t fit the description of the ugly, toadlike woman from the books,  Imelda Staunton definitely showed that sometimes changes from the book are better than the original. By making Umbridge look like a kind, maternal figure she manages to project an outward air of sweetness and kindness; who exactly could think such a sweet-looking lady would be capable of such malice? It just makes the fact that she invented a blood pen torture device for use on students and that she can wear a piece of the soul of the most evil wizard to ever live around her neck with no ill effects all the more horrifying. Staunton absolutely kills it in the role, and even manages to make Umbridge a bit more cunning and competent than her book version in small ways while still keeping the smug, sickeningly sweet condescension that we all love to hate.

Final Fate: Umbridge, like any good hate sink, gets only the most brutal of comeuppances her way. In Order of the Phoenix, Hermione leads her into the Forbidden Forest; in the books, Harry explicitly mentally notes Hermione is unknowingly bumbling her way into Aragog’s den, but in both versions they are accosted by centaurs, and when Umbridge tries to assert her authority over them, they drag her off kicking and screaming. If you know anything about centaurs in mythology, you can probably imagine what they did to her, but mercifully neither book nor film spells it out. The sad thing is, she not only survives this, but she gets to retain her position in the Ministry, which pisses Harry off to no end when he finds out.

Fortunately, her good luck runs out in the final book and film. While in the book she’s merely knocked out of the story when the gang goes to retrieve Voldemort’s locket, and she would only be revealed after the story concluded to have been sentenced to life in Azkaban for her role in sentencing Muggleborns to death, in the movie it’s heavily implied that the Dementors she had been holding off sucked her soul out when Harry broke her concentration. I hate to imagine how her soul must have tasted, but really, it’s what she deserved.

Best Scene: I don’t think her best scene is even necessarily HER scene, but a scene in which she gets some sweet, sweet karma: Fred and George’s glorious escape from her nightmarish Hogwarts, a moment so awesome even Professor Flitwick pumps his fist from the sheer righteousness of the Weasley twin’s magnificent getaway.  

Best Quote: Looking through her quotes, during one of her exchanges with McGonagall she drops this line: “I am sorry dear, but to question my practices is to question the Ministry and, by extension, the Minister himself. I am a tolerant woman, but the one thing I will not stand for is disloyalty.” Now this line is already chilling on its own, but taking into account some recent developments, in which Umbridge’s creator, a woman who has a skewed idea of ‘tolerance,’ has been quick to label anyone who dare criticize her toxic views as a misogynist… the line has become disturbingly relevant.

Final Thoughts & Score: Dolores Umbridge is such a very real, very chilling kind of evil, and ultimately this is what makes her so effective. I think most of us have been in a position where a seemingly kind person in a position of power abuses their authority with a smile, and most of us have likely had an extremely rotten, unpleasant teacher. There is just something infinitely relatable to the experiences the students go through in the books.

But I think what truly cements Umbridge as one of the most disgusting and evil characters in a franchise which includes Sniveling Backstabbing Rat Man, Literally Insane Fascist Torture Fetishist, Pedophile Cannibal Werewolf, and at least two wizards who are Literally Hitler, and what ultimately helps her stand out is that she projects this air of kindness and sweetness, that she puts on this mask of being kind, agreeable, and friendly… and then she goes and uses her power to sentence innocent people to death. She has the demeanor of an angel with the heart of a devil, and while this alone makes her such an enjoyably detestable character, what helps her stand the test of time is that she really also holds up well as a criticism of J.K. Rowling herself.

Rowling put forth this sweet, motherly identity for years, this kind older woman who cared about the plight of the LGBT+ community, strived for diversity and inclusiveness, and donated so much of her fortune to charity… and then, on Twitter, she began slowly but surely showing cracks in the sweet facade. A tweet here, a comment there… and soon enough, Rowling had outed herself as one of the most disgusting things a person can be: a trans-exclusionary radical feminist. It certainly was not intentional on her part, but there is some sick humor in the fact that the woman who identified so heavily with Hermione, the girl who fought for the freedom of the oppressed with every fiber of her being, ultimately ended up being more like the oppressive, fascist monster with a sweet face.

Umbridge is an easy 10/10. She’s not nearly as fantastical as the other enemies in the series despite being a witch like they are, but her evil is so much more down to earth and relatable… even more so because she disturbingly reflects the attitudes and personality of her creator. Combine that with Imelda Stauntons incredible performance and, well, what other score could I possibly give her? She’s second only to Huey Emmerich in the hate sink department. I think Stepehn King put it best:

“The gently smiling Dolores Umbridge, with her girlish voice, toadlike face, and clutching, stubby fingers, is the greatest make-believe villain to come along since Hannibal Lecter. One needn’t be a child to remember The Really Scary Teacher, the one who terrified us so badly that we dreaded the walk to school in the morning, and we turn the pages partly in fervent hopes that she will get her comeuppance… but also in growing fear of what she will get up to next. For surely a teacher capable of banning Harry Potter from playing Quidditch is capable of anything.”

Oh, and one more thing: fuck Huey.

[snorinlauren]

The Best Horror Movies Streaming On Netflix Right Now

The number of digital platforms on which fans of horror movies can find a good scare is just as frightening as the films they have available to stream. In fact, there is even one that specializes in bringing the best the genre has to offer (and then some). Of course, for those who only have so much time and money at their disposal, settling on Netflix to help deliver the spooks would not be a mistake.

There are enough horror movies available on the popular platform to keep you streaming into the wee hours of the night, mainly because you will not be able to sleep. Among the many fears you would be facing during this binge with iconically creepy classics, modern masterpieces of the macabre, and even some of Netflix’s own ominous originals, one you should not have to worry about is the fear of disappointment.

That being said, we understand that some phobias are more challenging to get over than others, so allow us to be a beacon of despair and point you in the right direction of what the best horror movies currently available to stream on Netflix. We figured that 13 would be an appropriate number, starting with an influential cult favorite that arguably pioneered the “cabin in the woods” thriller.

The Evil Dead (1981)

A weekend getaway and an old cabin becomes an unrelenting nightmare for one man (Bruce Campbell) after his four friends are possessed by an ancient spirit that turns them into grotesque and cruel creatures.

Why It's A Good Option for Horror Fans: Writer and director Sam Raimi became the patron saint of low budget indie horror with The Evil Dead, that remains a timeless classic of astonishing influence that spawned two campy sequels, a brilliantly brutal remake, and a hilarious TV series that serves as a perfect send-off for Bruce Campbell's chainsaw-handed hero, Ash Williams.

Stream The Evil Dead on Netflix here.

Poltergeist (1982)

A family seeks help when their youngest daughter is kidnapped by malevolent spirits that have invaded their suburban home.

Why It's A Good Option for Horror Fans: From producer Steven Spielberg and directed by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre creator Tobe Hooper (well, depending on who you talk to), Poltergeist is an essential haunted house picture for how it expertly taps into traumas that people of all ages an relate to and may lead you to develop new fears as well, such as television static, perhaps.

Stream Poltergeist on Netflix here.

Child’s Play (1988)

A single mother (Catherine Hicks) enlists the aid of a homicide detective (Chris Sarandon) after discovering that the doll she bought for her young son (Alex Vincent) is possessed by the soul of a dead serial killer (Brad Dourif).

Why It's A Good Option for Horror Fans: Before there was Annabelle, there was Chucky, who may not have been the first toy responsible for giving children nightmares, but certainly became every horror fan's favorite of that kind upon the release of Child's Play, a classic slasher but pokes great fun at modern commercialism.

Stream Child's Play on Netflix here.

The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)

To catch a deranged murderer who skins his victims, ambitious FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Academy Award winner Jodie Foster) enlists Hannibal Lecter (Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins), a former psychiatrist and notorious cannibal, to help get into the mind of a criminal.

Why It's A Good Option for Horror Fans: While the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences may prefer their choice for the Best Picture Oscar in 1992 not be called "horror," with Anthony Hopkins' chilling performance and breathlessly suspenseful direction by Jonathan Demme, it is hard to imagine The Silence of the Lambs in any other category.

Stream The Silence of the Lambs on Netflix here.

Candyman (1992)

A graduate student (Virginia Madsen) investigating Chicago myths for her college thesis becomes especially interested on the story of a supernatural entity with a hook for a hand whom locals believe can be summoned by saying his name five times.

Why It's A Good Option for Horror Fans: Tony Todd created quite a "buzz" in black horror history as the title character of Candyman, a creation from legendary writer Clive Barker based on the deliciously creepy concept of an urban legend whose existence depends on those who believe in him.

Stream Candyman on Netflix here.

Insidious (2011)

After their eldest son (Ty Simpkins) inexplicably falls into something even doctors hesitate to call a coma, a family (led by Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne) begins to fall prey to a relentless evil that seems to follow them whenever they try to escape.

Why It's A Good Option for Horror Fans: Director James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell, the dynamic duo behind Saw who have since gone onto great successes on their own, created an indelibly frightening new classic to the haunted house sub-genre with Insidious, particularly for a nearly unprecedented twist that might actually have you thankful when it keeps you up at night.

Stream Insidious on Netflix here.

Sinister (2012)

Desperate for another bestseller, a true crime writer (Ethan Hawke) moves his family into a house where a disturbing murder took place, which he plans to research for his latest masterpiece, only to learn that the truth behind the incident is much worse than he could have imagined.

Why It's A Good Option for Horror Fans: Oscar-nominee Ethan Hawke became an unexpected "scream king" after playing the tragic hero of Sinister, from Doctor Strange and The Exorcism of Emily Rose director Scott Derrickson, which is, arguably, the most ferociously unsettling supernatural crime thriller ever made.

Stream Sinister on Netflix here.

Creep (2014)

An amateur filmmaker accepts a request over Craigslist to film a terminally ill man's final message to his son, but quickly comes to regret the decision when his host's progressively concerning actions lead him to question if he is the one about to expire.

Why It's A Good Option for Horror Fans: Conceived by its own stars Mark Duplass and Patrick Brice (the latter of which also directs), Creep is an underrated found footage gem that mostly lives up to its name (with a almost equally haunting 2017 follow-up that is supposedly the second of a planned trilogy), but the biggest shocker is how mumblecore pioneers Duplass and Brice essentially improvised the entire story from scratch.

Stream Creep on Netflix here.

The Invitation (2015)

A man brings his girlfriend to a dinner party hosted by his ex-wife and her new lover, but is immediately, and unshakably, convinced that something sinister is afoot.

Why It's A Good Option for Horror Fans: As this tenuous, high-wire act from director Karen Kusama progresses, you may not be sure who among these party guests, even Logan Marshall Green's protagonist, is worth your trust, but one thing I can confidently guarantee is is that the final moment of The Invitation will rupture your brain.

Stream The Invitation on Netflix here.

Train To Busan (2016)

An emotionally distant businessman's commute for his young daughter to visit her mother turns out to be a one-way trip into hell when someone carrying a virus turning people into mindless cannibals invites herself on board.

Why It's A Good Option for Horror Fans: Not only is the live-action debut of Korean filmmaker Sang-ho Yeon’s one of the most exciting and clever zombie films in recent memory, but Train to Busan, which has spawned a highly anticipated sequel, also succeeds as a moving thriller about the sacrifices we make for ones we love.

Stream Train to Busan on Netflix here.

Terrifier (2017)

Two beautiful late night partygoers (Jenna Kanell and Catherine Corcoran) are in for the worst Halloween of their lives when they fall prey to an unfriendly clown who has plenty of sadistic trick and treats in store for them.

Why It's A Good Option for Horror Fans: If you ask me, Pennywise has nothing on Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton), the future slasher icon whom the title of Terrifier appropriately refers to for his whimsically morbid imagination and tenacious blood thirst that makes director Damien Leone’s third feature a masterpiece of unapologetic shock and "ugh."

Stream Terrifier on Netflix here.

In The Tall Grass (2019)

A pregnant woman (Laysla De Oliveira) and her brother (Avery Whitted) follow a young boy's cry for help into a large field of high-growing grass, but it soon it becomes apparent that there is no way out.

Why It's A Good Option for Horror Fans: Based on a novella by father/son writing duo Stephen King and Joe Hill, In the Tall Grass is a survivalist thriller with startling fantasy, engrossing mystery, and a menacing performance by "scream king" and The Conjuring star Patrick Wilson that makes this Netflix original one of the coolest surprises in horror of its year.

Stream In the Tall Grass on Netflix here.

Tucker And Dale Vs. Evil (2010)

An idyllic vacation in newly purchased cabin turns into "a real doozy of a day" for a pair of well-meaning hillbillies (Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine) after an awkward misunderstanding with some young campers leads to a bloodbath.

Why It's A Good Option for Horror Fans: The old slasher trope of shady country folk is turned on its head in a most brilliantly hilarious, yet uncompromisingly graphic, way in Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, which may prove to be perfect way to end your Netflix horror binge: with a morbid laugh.

Stream Tucker And Dale Vs. Evil on Netflix here.

What do you think? Have we captured all the best haunts on Netflix, or is the absence of your own favorite horror flick the scariest thing you saw on our list? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check back for additional information and updates on the freakiest genre in cinema, as well as even more rattling recommendations of movies and TV shows you can stream, here on CinemaBlend.

What is you favorite horror film currently available to stream on Netflix?

[queerhannibal]

It took Hannibal 3 whole seasons to end up being irrevocably in love and devoted to Will. Unless the potential creators of S4 are willing to produce AT LEAST 2 more seasons on top of that to somehow undo everything that’s happened to Hannibal’s character so far on the show... i don’t think the Clarice “replacing” Will is at all a possibility? and yeah, they’ve given Will so much of Clarice’s character, what’s there left for her? Will IS, partly, Clarice, aka Hannibal’s only love interest.

Yeah, man, exactly? The whole show is basically About Hannibal’s journey to falling deeply in love with Will—it’s a love that blindsides him and then changes him dramatically. He spends THREE YEARS in prison doing nothing except waiting for Will to come back into his life, because he’s that sure that no one and nothing is ever going to bring him as much joy as Will does

If they had some random lady show up and win his heart in one season that would be absolutely absurd. Tbh I struggle to envision Hannibal even really noticing anyone else in anything like that way once he’s actually with Will: she could be just as perfect of a soulmate to him but guess what? He’s already got a soulmate and I anticipate that he will be pretty caught up in the Having of that soulmate for quite some time, possibly the whole rest of his life

It’s really not possible for her to be a BETTER fit for him than Will is—for one thing in previous portrayals she certainly hasn’t been and for another I’m genuinely not sure it’s possible for a person to be a better fit for Hannibal than Will is. And Hannibal has given absolutely no indication of being the sort of person to abandon something good just for the sake of having something new (in fact I’d strongly argue that he’s demonstrated the opposite tendency) so I don’t think he’d go for Clarice even if she did somehow manage to catch his eye (which is already a long shot)

And given the beauty and complexity of the show as it stands, I genuinely cannot imagine any of the people involved okaying something as cheap and forced and unnecessary as Hannibal ceasing to be in love with Will? They’ve really gone out of their way to establish Will as the Love Of His Life; going back on that would be genuinely absurd of them?

Who would write a story that they knew people found moving in part bc it was a story about a man finding love for the first time in his late 40s and then come back five years later and be like “lol jk they actually broke up and the REAL love of his life is this other lady who we just decided to introduce!!” 

Especially when they already went out of their way to ruin Will’s relationship with the woman who was his endgame female love interest in the novel and movies. It just wouldn’t make any sense and it would absolutely alienate their entire loyal fanbase who are the reason a season 4 might happen in the first place

I don’t trust people who produce media content and I especially don’t trust white men who make media content but I have to believe Bryan is not that idiotic. And I’m pretty confident that at least Mads wouldn’t be okay with something like that and they sort of need him to make the show, so. I really don’t think it’s going to happen

[flying-elliska]

What are the important bisexual characters that you said helped you? I am having a hard time finding good bi representation in which they aren’t considered promiscuous or unstable

Hiya anon ! What a quality question, thank you ! Here’s another mini essay about bi rep lmao.  If there are some that I forgot please tell me ! And to everyone, tell me about the bi characters who made an impact on your life, I’d love to know !!!!

Okay so.

-  When I answered the anon and talked about the characters that helped me come to terms with my sexuality, I talked about two in particular. Jack Harkness from Torchwood is depicted as very promiscuous, and somewhat instable. He still meant a lot to me because a) him sleeping around was never that much of a problem, it was because he was from the future, where things were different, which I thought was refreshing and b) his instability was because of the weight of being an immortal hero. Also fanon!Dean Winchester from SPN, as an older, more macho, emotionally witholding, badass dude written as bi meant a lot to me, but he doesn’t really avoid that stereotype either. But at least they were heroes.  However, I can understand wanting bi characters that actually don’t fit that stereotype, because bi people irl aren’t all like that, even if there is nothing wrong per se about sleeping with a lot of different people, or having mental issues to struggle with. And that was a while ago and now we have more and more cool characters ! Such as :

- Rosa Diaz from Brooklyn Nine-Nine. One of the best portrayals of bisexuality on TV imho. She didn’t start out as bi, she was this tough, cool, scary but with a heart of gold cop who had a lot of other plotlines before. But then, since they saw that a lot of wlw got this vibe from her, were really into her, and the actress came out as bi herself, they decided to use this. So it was super organic, and the way they introduced the subject was true to Rosa herself ; she’s a super private person, she doesn’t like anybody knowing about her life (it’s actually a running joke and Rosa Diaz has been implied to not even be her real name). But then she is dating a woman, and struggles with her parents not understanding and her coworkers find out, help her and support her. Her gay captain is there for her in his typical stoic but hilarious way. They organize game night with her when her parents won’t anymore. We see her crushing on women and dating, but it is treated exactly as the other character’s love life, they never make a big deal out of it. She isn’t the token queer character. She says outright she is bisexual and there is a specific point about her mom not understanding it’s not a phase and thinking she’ll end up with a man anyway, which #relatable. The focus is on the team as found family. Also right now she’s dating a butch woman, which is awesome since they are so underrepresented on TV and I hope we see more of her. That show really is my comfort show, it’s still bloodly hilarious and it really transcends the format to say some really deep woke stuff too, but never in a way that feels on the nose. Everyone should watch it tbh. 

- Korrasami ! Oh my god, I was so blown away when they got together. They’re two characters from the animated series Legend of Korra, they start out as rivals in love who have feelings for the same guy, but as they have to fight baddies together, they become bestest of friends, and both fall out of love with the guy. Then in season 3 and 4, their relationship becomes central to the show, as Asami stands by Korra through some really tough shit. Also, they’re both ultra badass and fight really well together. A lot of fans started reading their chemistry as romantic, but we’d never thought they’d actually go there. But the show ends with them walking into the ‘sunset’ (well, the spirit lands) together, holding hands. Now, it was never completely explicit on the show BUT they were dealing with a lot of censure from the networks and you have to be willingly obtuse not to read it as romantic. And after that the creators drew them on dates, and there is a comic series in which they are shown kissing, talking about their feelings, introducing each other to their families, etc. It made me feel so validated when it happened, and I just adore the whole ‘love triangle ditches the middle one and fall in gay love with each other’ trope. (is it a trope yet ? it should be.) It’s still a kids show at its core, but it has amazing depth and deals with some very deep shit. Korra starts off as a bit annoying but she has a really cool development, she’s a girl character we need more of - brave, dynamic but also brash and reckless and action driven in ways that are almost always exclusively shown for boys. And Asami is a more typical girly girl but she’s also a brilliant engineer and has a spine of steel and she’s also very slyly funny. They’re amazing. And the comics are super cute. 

- Now there are a lot of characters who are bi/pan that I love, and are good characters in themselves, but their arcs do intersect in some ways with promiscuity and mental instability. I’m thinking about Even from Skam and all his remake variants, Magnus Bane from Shadowhunters, several characters from Black Sails, Sarah Lance and Constantine from Legends of Tomorrow, Eleanor Shellstrop from the Good Place, Bo from Lost Girl, Ilana from Broad City, Joe McMillan from Halt and Catch Fire, God/Chuck from Supernatural (lmaooooo), several characters on Penny Dreadful, or in a totally different category, Vilanelle from Killing Eve or Hannibal from the series (who are hella bad guys but it’s never linked to their sexuality, and are also incredibly compelling to watch.)

 And even though these characters taken individually, I would argue, are good rep because they’re complex and layered and interesting and never one-dimensional (and watching them feels incredibly empowering at times)....it’s still a trend. I feel like when writing a character that is attracted to multiple genders, there is always this sort of...tangle of tropes that writers default to, unconsciously. Some negative and some positive. It used to be this trope of bis being villainous, instable, jealous, flaky, immature, perverted, manipulative, cheaters, amoral, greey, etc...and then it evolved into something of a reclaiming and subverting this trope. So now you feel like the Bi Character kind of has to be badass, glamorous, seductive, often superpowered or extraordinary in other ways.. And they also for multiple reasons (they’re immortal, they’re sensitive artist souls, they’re from the future, they’re psycho, they’re exccentric comic relief, they’re daring adventurers and pioneers) don’t care about social norms which allows them to sleep and fall in love with whomever. And so they tend to have those super busy romantic/sexual histories and very troubled backstories. In the past it was a bad thing, now it’s often presented as this positive, enlightened or at least fun and badass thing. They’re heroic, with big hearts, a tremendous lust for life and a cool rebellious attitude. They’re complex, dramatic, tortured. Which can be super cool, too. 

But it would be nice to have more ‘normal’ bi characters. I mean, boring bisexuals need to see themselves represented too ! Our sexualities don’t give us super powers. At the same time, it is true that bisexual ppl have higher rates of mental illness, which deserves to be explored, but it would be nice if it was actually articulated and not just part of this trope.  But still. We need rep, I think, that is more grounded and varied. So I think that’s also why I read a lot of fanfic. (I was really into the idea of bi Steve Rogers for a long time, partly also because he’s both very mentally resilient, kinda boring in a good way, and very unexperienced in terms of sex/romance, which is pretty much the opposite of the trope)

- I think books, and YA in general, are a good place to find these ‘normal bis’ characters. I’m thinking in particular of Leah from Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli (from the same book series that gave us the ‘Love, Simon’ movie) which is a super sweet coming of age/romance story about a super normal teenager who just happens to be also into girls (esp her best friend) and is loud and funny and very lovable and has zero doubts about being bi. You also have Adam Parrish from the Raven Cycle, another one of my forever faves ; he has an abusive family so PTSD from that but it never feels tropey, and it’s completely detached from his sexuality. He has magic powers, too. But his character feels completely opposite to the trope. He’s hardworking, somewhat withholding, prickly (and sometimes awkward), ambitious, determined, down to earth, and has a beautiful love story with another boy. And also Jane, from Jane Unlimited by Kristin Cashore, also really cool ; she’s a nerdy, smart girl who is actually inspired by Jane Eyre who has cool adventures in a weird house where we can follow her on different paths depending on the choices she makes, several of which are love stories. And finally the main character from The Seven Husbands from Evelyn Hugo, kinda fits the trope yeahhh since she’s a super glam actress who well, has seven husbands but it’s a pretty clever deconstruction since it turns out (slight spoilers) that Evelyn is actually through most of her life faithful in heart to the same person and the rest is mostly out of necessity, and her story feels very real and raw and down to earth. 

- I don’t go there yet but I really want to check out Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Schitt’s Creek which I have read have very good bi rep. And I want to catch up on Orphan Black (Cosima and Delphine both don’t have exact labels but they’re multi-gender attracted and they’re this cool couple of scientists in a relationship that gets a happy ending). I will never forgive what they did to Lexa so I stopped watching but I do think that Clarke Griffin from The 100 is very good bi rep. Alexia from Skam France, meanwhile, is a bit of a boundary case for me because, even though she’s presented as the ‘weird one’ from the group, very colorful and liberated and exccentric, she’s still a very normal teen who’s happy and comfortable in her own skin, which is awesome. 

- Disclaimer, I included characters in here that are also pan/omnisexual or don’t have a label but are attracted to several genders, for the purpose of this discussion i don’t think the difference is all that relevant at least to me (i mostly identify as bi for the sake of simplicity but tbh i could also fit under pan so i feel represented by all those characters). But I understand the importance of characters that state their identities more clearly and with pride. 

- So in conclusion : there is nothing wrong with having a sexually active life or struggling mentally (even tho that one is not fun). And I do love all my badass casanova time travelling super powered bis. 

But we need more bi characters that don’t fit that trope. We need bi characters in children’s shows, or that don’t have more than one relationship, or that don’t have a relationship at all, to break the tendency to always show bisexual ppl as overly sexual. We need bi characters in committed relationships to break this idea that bi characters are bound to cheat or can’t be satisified with only one person. We need bi characters that are mentally stable and successful and happy, to show that it’s possible. We need bi characters that are boring, bookish, nerdy, ordinary, clumsy, not particularly seductive, socially awkward, rule-sticklers, etc...to show that bi people are not all party animals, or doing it for attention, or to be wild, rebellious and socially progressive. It’s just a sexuality, it doesn’t say anything about your personality. Even though there are some correlations with MI or being bi might bring you in contact with more progressive ideas and to see life a bit differently, there is nothing automatic about it. 

- In conclusion, reading testimonies from real people also helped me a lot. It’s a very dated but I got the book “ Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out “ when I was struggling with my own sexuality and it helped a lot, to read that even back then (1991) you had all sorts of regular ppl claiming to be bi and that it was not a phase or a fad or whatever. 

[the-fandom-newsletter]

Fandom Newsletter #3

Today is Friday, October 12th of 2018 and welcome back to another Fandom Newsletter, you’re provider for all things fandom!

Writers: Atlas, Blackpurrl, Fyne, YoursTruly 

Editors: Fyne & YoursTruly 

“One person’s craziness is another person’s reality.”

-Tim Burton 

Let’s get started- 

First to YoursTruly with the: Hannibal, Horror, Tim Burton, Animation, Marvel, Movie fandoms- 

Hannibal: The Fannibals are getting excited for the new book by Thomas Harris, even if it won’t include everyone’s favorite cannibal. It’s been released that the book will be a thriller like Harris’s previous novels. The title and cover are still yet to be released. 

Horror: Horror fans everywhere are starting to get psyched for the new Halloween movie, which will be released next Friday, the 19th. Many fans are nervous about the movie due to the trailer. The trailer would make it seem that the beloved murderer Michael Myers will be killed in this film. Guess all we can do is wait and see. 

Tim Burton: Burtonists are petitioning for The Nightmare Before Christmas to get a Broadway adaptation. The movie is already a musical, but fans want to see it on Broadway. 

Animation: Fans if the animated web series Camp Camp from Rooster Teeth are thrilled to see Daniel return for the Halloween special. The beloved cult leader was 'killed off' in season 2, but he has somehow come back from the dead just to seek revenge. 

Marvel: Marvel fans are welcoming the Venom movie with open arms! After many of them saw the movie last weekend, many of them can’t stop talking about how incredible it is! One fan even stating, “Going to see Venom is like going to the theater to see The Dark Knight, but seeing Thor:Ragnarok instead.” 

Next to Blackpurrl with the Percy Jackson and Harry Potter fandoms and World News-

Harry Potter: COUNTDOWN: 36 days until the new Fantastic Beasts!

Percy Jackson: Rick Riordan has started a new series based on Hindu mythology! It’s called Aru Sha and the End of Time.

World News: Viktoria Marinova: man arrested in Germany over Bulgarian journalist murder.

Now to Fyne with the Supernatural, Sherlock, YouTube, and Sooptober fandoms, as well as your weekly dose of good news-

Supernatural - Before bringing Supernatural to television, creator Eric Kripke had been developing the series for nearly ten years. Having been fascinated with urban legends since he was a child, Kripke got inspiration from some of his favorite urban legends which can be shown by many of the episodes in the first season (the woman in white, wendigo, Bloody Mary, etc.) and when the show expanded from just urban legends to religions and gods outside of not only the norm, but our time period, Kripke became even more excited about the show (even if he did want to end it after the fifth season).

Sherlock - China's ban on the show hasn't stopped it becoming a huge hit on the internet. Despite not appearing on the Chinese Central Television (CCT) network or other major channels, 69 million viewers from China have still seen it on video websites. Initially makers didn't expect it to be quite the hit it has been in the UK, either. Steven Moffat thought it would bring in somewhere in the region of 4 million viewers. It's average is more than double that. Even more than triple that.

YouTube - Fans of YouTube and Halloween have united in a show of many horror games and skits spanning across the youtube platform. Multitudes of youtubers have been playing horror games, participating in inktober, writing horrifying skits and scripts, and overall just getting into the Halloween spirit. As of now there isn’t very much drama going on in the YouTube world (minus that fact that IISuperwomanII just released a diss track on all the men of YouTube and their channels) and it seems that YouTubers have found ways to work around the ad-pocolypse, therefore easing the many worries and anxieties fans had of losing touch with their favorite youtubers.

Spooptober - Did you know that Halloween is more Irish than St. Patrick's Day? Halloween's origins come from a Celtic festival for the dead called Samhain. Celts believed the ghosts of the dead roamed Earth on this holiday, so people would dress in costumes and leave ‘treats’ out on their front doors to appease the roaming spirits. It has since been adapted to our loved and cherished holiday of today. 

Positive News - Americans under the age of 45 have found a novel way to rebel against their elders: They’re staying married. New data show younger couples are approaching relationships very differently from baby boomers, who married young, divorced, remarried and so on. Generation X and especially millennials are being pickier about who they marry, tying the knot at older ages when education, careers and finances are on track. The result is a U.S. divorce rate that dropped 18 percent from 2008 to 2016, according to an analysis by University of Maryland sociology professor Philip Cohen. Millennials are causing the US divorce rate to plummet, and it’s not a bad thing. 

Lastly to Atlas with the Voltron, British, Musicals, and Bands fandoms- 

British: I’m still trying to figure out why Death in Paradise star Sara Martins left the show…*tear*

Musicals: Imagine if Hamilton was modernized… 

Voltron: Voltron Season 8 confirmed for DECEMBER 14TH! Fans be sCrEaMiNg. Also, it’s rumored that the Altean that crash landed was sent by Haggar.

Bands: Band All Time Low covered a Harry Styles song… Ha. Ha. hA. Yeah….. what else could go wrong?

Now back to Blackpurrl with the weekly trivia fact and quiz- 

Trivia: Uranium is the heaviest element on Earth.

Quiz: What candy are you?

1. Pick your flavor 

A. Sweet

B. Salty

C. Fruity

D. Sour

2. Consistency?

A. Solid, but meltable

B. Sticky

C. Solid

D. Chewy

3. How would you be packaged?

A. One per package 

B. Wrapped alone in waxy paper

C. Wrapped in decorated paper

D. Packaged in groups

4. Any color?

A. No, plain is fine.

B. A few different light colors would be nice.

C. ALL THE COLORS. RAINBOW SOMETIMES TOO.

D. Like five different colors is fine.

5. Shape?

A. A bar

B. A cube-ish shape. Idk, it’s kind of a blob.

C. All the shapes!

D. Humannnn......

Mostly A’s: Chocolate bars!

Mostly B’s: Saltwater Taffy!

Mostly C’s: Lollipops!

Mostly D’s: Sour Patch Kids!

And now to Fyne with the weekly book review-

Book Review - Serafina and the Black Cloak written by Robert Beatty is a dark thriller that takes place in 1899 North Carolina. Children at the wealthy Biltmore estate are being abducted during the night, and nobody knows what is causing it. The adults are terrified yet clueless and only 12-year-old Serafina, who lives secretly in the basement with her mechanic father, knows that a mysterious man in a black cloak is taking them. She teams up with the owner of the estate’s son, Braeden, to try and solve the mystery and get the children back home. This scary story is not for the faint of heart; the abduction scenes are graphic as children scream out in terror and seemingly vanish into the foul-smelling cloak. Serafina and Braeden are often under attack from the man in the cloak and other supernatural beings, but for those looking for a scare and a book that will grip them from start to finish with many plot twists along the way this book is perfect. Overall for kids a 8/10 and for adults a 6/10 would read. 

Lastly, back to Atlas with the weekly movie review-

Movie Review: Truth or Dare is a movie rated PG -13 And was released some time last year. Starring Lucy Hale, this movie centers around a group of teens’ trip to Mexico. During that trip, they get caught in a game of Truth Or Dare. When they learn that the game is cursed, it’s a matter of life and death. Don’t tell the Truth, you die. Don’t do the Dare, you die. So, what would you choose? Truth or Dare?

The comic included at the bottom is once again drawn by our very talented Blackpurrl! YoursTruly’s birthday is coming up on Sunday so wish her a good one! That’s all for this week, we’ll see you next week with another Fandom Newsletter! 

Signing off, 

Atlas, Blackpurrl, Fyne, and YoursTruly

[fandompitfalls]

Canon Queers

Originally posted: 6/4/2021

Fandom has always had queer aspects.  From the first fanzine dedicated to Kirk and Spock from Star Trek to the plethora of queer fanfic written about our faves, queer culture has always been a part of fandom. Over the years, it had progressed from “under the table” to “out and proud” and that couldn’t be more wonderful.

For a bit of fun this Pride month, I thought we could go over some of our favorite canon queer characters.

Outside the popular television shows over the years that have LGBTQ characters as the focus: Queer as Folk, The L Word, Pose, Sense8, and Gentleman Jack, I’ll be adding some old and new popular shows with queer characters who were/are either main or reoccurring characters.  Shows like Supernatural and Law and Order have minor characters who are LGBTQ but only show up for one episode as “random person” or “victim number one” that are too numerous to count.

Disclaimer: everyone has their head canons and their fanons so please don’t come at me if I don’t mention your favorite queer character or have an issue over how they are identified. I am going by a few websites that mention how and when these characters sexually identify.  There are more than a few like Captain Jack Harkness, Willow Rosenburg, Irene Adler that are listed in the bisexual section with caveats that they identify as something else; Jack Harkness, for example is identified as omnisexual and Adler and Rosenburg self-identify as lesbian even after relationships with men.

With those out of the way, let’s count them down!

📷 Everybody's favorite pansexual!

There’s a mix of shows with multiple characters so let’s get the popular ones out of the way first.

Doctor Who and it’s spin off Torchwood has a diverse cast of not only humans and alien life forms, but they come in all sexual orientations as well.  Other than the Doctor themselves being what could be said as gender neutral able to regenerate as both male and female, there is as mentioned before Captain Jack Harkness who loves anyone no matter their gender. From that show came Madame Vastra-Suliran lizard species and her wife Jenny Flint-human. Bill Potts, the companion of Twelve who was a lesbian. Clara Oswald, Toshiko Sato, Owen Harper, Ianto Jones and Professor River Song all identify as bisexual and have been mentioned to have partners of both genders.

Other fan favorites like Delphine Cormier and Cosima Niehaus from Orphan Black, Kevin Keller, Moose Mason, and Cheryl Blossom from Riverdale, Anne Bonney and Captain James Flint, Thomas Hamilton from Black Sails, Waverly Earp and Rosita Bustillos from Wynonna Earp, Piper Chapman and Sophia Burset from Orange is the New Black have integrated into the fan consciousness.

The superhero television shows have their own representation as well. From Sara Lance from Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow, Nyssa Al Ghoul, Alex Danvers, and Katherine Kane as openly lesbian characters, to Oswald Cobblepot from Gotham and John Constantine from Legends of Tomorrow who identify as gay and bisexual respectively.

Some of the fan favorite shows, the shows that have a cult following and subsequently devoted meta regarding both the characters and the episodes, host several queer characters, even if some of them aren’t canonically stated yet.  Hannibal has the two main characters: Hannibal Lector and Will Graham stated as bisexual or omnisexual by the creator Brian Fuller as well as Dr. Alana Bloom, who had a relationship with both main characters before eventually marrying a woman by the name of Margot.

Another fan favorite; Supernatural, despite its host of one-episode queer characters host three reoccurring characters who are on the queer spectrum; Charlie Bradbury, who becomes a Hunter and as a lesbian as well as Castiel and Chuck Shurley aka God, both of whom have had emotional/ romantic relationships with men, women, and genderfluid characters and are identified as bisexual.

Lastly, I wanted to take special care regarding the transgender characters in television shows, but they deserved to be recognized as well. Being a cis person, I didn’t want to add people like Jeffrey Tambor’s Maura from Transparent or David Duchovny’s Denise from Twin Peaks because these are characters who were not only played by cis men but ended up being problematic for one reason or another.

I’m throwing coach Shannon/Sheldon Beiste from Glee on this list because while there were some complaints regarding the way and some verbiage that was used in the show, the discussion of an adult transitioning from female to male was one of the first times it was done on television.  The character is played by a cis lesbian who while I’m adding it, please, feel free to let me know if you don’t think this character should be listed.

The other three, Sophia Burset from Orange is the New Black, Ms. Hudson from Elementary and Denise Lockwood from Chicago Med are all played by transgender actors playing transgender characters. There should be more.

So, who do you like on this list?  Who didn’t you expect, you do you think is missed? (personally, Stiles Stilinski from Teen Wolf was suggested to be bisexual, but he wasn’t on any of the lists I looked at, so I didn’t add him.)

Let me hear your thoughts regarding any of these and remember it doesn’t have to be canon.  If you love it, it counts for you!  So, find your favorite queer representation characters and enjoy the hell out of them.