#annihilation netflix

[velosoraptor94]

The Unagi episode of Friends but with a trashier technique.

[unpopularly-opinionated]

I started watching that Scavengers Reign show everyone kept telling me to watch and hot damn, y'all weren't kidding. This show is perfect for me. It gives me very similar vibes to when I read the Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer (what the movie Annihilation was adapted from) which is my all time favorite sci-fi series.

It's got this whole natural horror element to it, but isn't explicitly scary so much as it is unsettling. I'm only 5-6 episodes in but I expect it to end fairly similarly with that sort of blissful acceptance of a situation that would otherwise be terrifying.

Fucking 10/10 so far.

[one-in-a-million-fishsticks]

Leon Belmont would be the Great Uncle Ford to Mathias/Dracula's Grunkle Stan if those two had been given the opportunity to raise their families together at the same time.

-------

Leon: "Now remember kids, we must always follow the rules and strive to create good in the world. Listen to your elders, and wield your weapons with honor."

Mathias/Dracula: "Gather round everyone, today I shall be coaching you on the finer points of tax evasion and offensive alchemy. If you ever hear someone else say something that sounds wrong, then it probably is, so do be sure to correct them. Best case scenario, they're so mad about being corrected that they become sloppy and create an opening for you to strike them down."

[blaec-ynk]

ngl the more I think about Arcane the more I find myself more enraged by the fact that 'cycle of violence' stories like it are ultimately proponents of the status quo where Piltover will reap all of the benefits while Zaun continues to be oppressed and abused and used

even at its most radical the show never swings truly left of center when it comes to politics because they clearly villainize the only individual(s) pushing for Zaun's independence while the Ideal Father Figure And best Man You'll Ever Know is aiding Piltover's exploitation and oppression and further enforces the status quo. Vander is depicted as someone that breaks the cycle of violence despite allowing and aiding its violence towards Zaunite people while revolutionaries like Silco are reduced to violent mafia bosses without any positive or even neutral influences on the society around them, his only positive/humanizing trait being his love for Jinx

this isn't a cycle of violence that you can step away from no matter how hard the story tries to paint it that way with Jinx's final arc and the dumbass move they pulled with Vander's letter to Silco and Ekko's alternate reality shenanigans. If Vander sent that apology to Silco they shouldnt have reunited because their conflict was not personal (for the most part) but ideological where Silco wanted to break out from Piltover's foot on Zaun's throat while Vander was encouraging people to just take it. Silco was the demonized personification of radical change and the end of imperialism/colonialism/classis/oppression while Vander was the glorified personification of assimilation and complacency under discrimination and oppression

this is not a cycle of violence because Piltover has its foot on Zaun's throat and can freely abuse and use and exploit and torture Zaun in whatever way it wants in whatever means it wants meanwhile the most violent thing Zaun can do is scratch and bite at the leg and foot pinning it to the fucking ground. a cycle would imply that if Zaun stops scratching and biting and writhing, they'd be freed from Piltover's control, the foot would leave its neck, but that's not what would happen; Piltover would just keep its foot on Zaun's neck. Zaun cannot break out of a cycle that does not exist; they can only try to dig their way out of a grave and doing so requires destroying the foundations Piltover built directly on top of its beaten, bruised, bleeding body--but according to Arcane, Zaun cannot unbury itself BECAUSE it destabilizes Piltover and that is the worst thing that can fucking happen, because its against the status quo and therefore the worst thing you can do

and they double down and triple down on this constantly. its especially annoying with Ekko and Caitlyn's conversation in the Firelights hideout when the story and Caitlyn herself minimize Piltover's and the Council's active and passive condemnation and oppression and exploitation of Zaun and calls it a simple "misunderstanding" when it is everything but. the people in power know EXACTLY what theyre profitting off of and they do not give a fuck. they might make a show of sympathy but that sympathy is not worth jack shit or ass when they continuously uphold and profit from the oppressive and exploitative system. NONE of the Council are good people and NONE of the Enforcers are good people and NONE of the Houses with any influence are good people because they ALL benefit from Piltover's exploitation of Zaun and never do anything to meaningfully change ANY of it (Caitlyn's mum's ventilation system is worth fuckall when it comes to legitimately improving Zaun's situation and Jayce never attempts to do anything about Zaun outside of the Shimmer smuggling and becomes corrupted literally at the drop of a hat, not to mention his anti-Zaunite radicalization in the later episodes and that barrier on the bridge; and sure, he has legitimate reasons because of the Hextech crystal and Jinx, but he was making all of Zaun suffer for one person's crimes and didnt care about it until Viktor reminded him he's from the Undercity as well)

the show's insistance that this isnt the case and their simplification of these politics and demonization of revolutions and class actions is borne of the fact that Riot Games genuinely does not believe in those values. the only way in which they want out of the status quo is by leveraging it for themselves, like with them laying off half the writing staff and producing overpriced gacha skins for a silly little game

there is definitely more that can be said and any and all points made here could be altered for a more accurate picture but i just needed this anger out of my head. im just so genuinely sick of these """"cycle of violence"""" narratives

[infin1ty-garden]

KANE (ANNIHILATION) FIC RECS

Annihilation is a 2018 British-American science fiction psychological cosmic horror film written and directed by Alex Garland, loosely based on the 2014 novel of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer. The story follows a group of scientists who enter "The Shimmer", a mysterious quarantined zone of mutating plants and animals caused by an alien presence. Kane joins an expedition to investigate a strange alien field known as Shimmer.

other fic recs.

IRREGULAR LOVE

Kane writes you a letter before his next mission and makes peace with the fact he probably won't return

by @spider-starry | angst, swearing & slight spoilers

FALLING LEAVES

Kane embraces the change of season but not without a little help

by @alwritey-aphrodite | fluff

TWO GHOSTS

You and Kane come to terms that he's changed after leaving Area X

by @alwritey-aphrodite | fluff & angst

SOULMATE

You get flowered tattoos wherever your soulmate receives a scar and meet your soulmate in an unexpected way

by @freelancearsonist | fluff

NOSTALGIA

Kane begins to remember something. (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Fusion + soulmates)

part 2 | part 3

by @onevolon | fluff & angst

FRIDAY THE 13TH

Kane being the superstitious person that he is decided to stay in for the day and makes you accompany him

by @alwritey-aphrodite | fluff

HOW KANE RE-FALLS IN LOVE

Kane falls in love with you once again

by @redeyerhaenyra | fluff

FALSE ALARM

Taking the dog out in the middle of the night isn't necessarily uncommon, but at the first sign of trouble, Kane jumps into action

by @the-butterfly-blues | fluff

Thanks for reading!

[polin-ista]

We're all losing our minds aren't we? 😂😭

[bereft-of-frogs]

omg my favorite soundtrack is back up on Netflix

[depositodecoisas]

Annihilation (2018)

[pumpkin-stars]

once again fuck whoever decided to put unremovable ‘as seen on Netflix’ stamps on otherwise beautiful book covers

[oposssumsaucee]

Listen All Systems Red is so so funny from Gurathins perspective imagine you grew up with Space Socialism and was hired to go help some pal with science but you weren't allowed to go unless you rented AmaTeslas Torment Nexus Alexa Dot and then when you get there you find out a whole continent of people got annihilated by their Tourment Nexus rentals so you take a moment to check yours quickly and find out it already had disengaged its Don't Kill People box, the only thing you've ever been told prevented them from mass homiciding their clients, something that LITERALLY just happened to people you knew a day ago, and when you say to your fellow socialist doctors HEY I think our Tourment Nexus is fucked up and it's files said it killed dozens of people barely a year ago and we should probably get the hell away from it the same doctors are like look at what you're saying. You're hurting the Tourment Nexus' feelings. The Tourment Nexus is just a little construct who likes Netflix Gurathin stop antagonizing it on the plane ride.

[omercifulheaves]

What a show. One part Moebius and Geoff Darrow comics. One part Annihilation and Alien. And a big ol' dash of Studio Ghibli -- especially Nausicaa and Castle In the Sky-- and Akira thrown in for good measure. Hope to see more from these creators, whether it's a second season or new project. On Netflix.

[ariadne-mouse]

"And you are sure these are edible?" "Ja. Well, sort of." "What does 'sort of' mean, Caleb Widogast?"

Here is Shadowgast in the style of Scavengers Reign!

Yes, this is a transparent and blatant attempt to pspspsps my fellow fans of Critical Role into watching this series. The first season is airing now on Netflix as of May 31st. They picked it up after Max did not renew it for a second season, and will decide based on the reception now whether to continue - so I am hoping that lots of people discover the show and love it! The animation studio is Titmouse, who also produces The Legend of Vox Machina.

It's like a Miyazaki-esque Annihilation. Cosmic horror and cosmic wonder in equal and necessary parts. If you like the funky biology parts of Candela Obscura, give this a shot. There is horror. There is humanity. There is hope and connection. There are creatures of all shapes and sizes, including a wonderful amount of tiny idiots, which I have made many compilation posts about. It's a setting where you can envision David Attenborough peacefully narrating a nature documentary about it, but be horrified the same time. Just an absolutely incredible show.

[feministsforkatemiddleton]

Meghan's jam smearing

Two people names in Blake Lively's lawsuit are sisters Melissa and Sara Nathan.

Melissa Nathan founded The Agency Group, the PR firm hired by Justin Baldoni for "crisis PR."

Sara Nathan is the Editor at Large for the New York Post. She also wrote the Page Six item in March (leaked by the Sussexes, 99.9% likely) that Meghan would never have a photoshop fail the way Kate did.

Regardless of how much Sussex-approved PR played into the Kate saga, they had a hand, and they benefitted from it (or attempted to). Never once did they condemn the misogyny Catherine was facing. And, for Harry, he said nothing while some of the most vile lies and smears against his brother were being thrown around for fun.

Later in March, Meghan "launched" American Riveria Orchard. Never mind whether products will ever come out--Netflix greenlighted her cooking show based around. Which, again, was a harebrained attempt to gain attention and one-up her SIL who was undergoing cancer treatment.

[what-the-wut-is]

I finished XO Kitty yesterday. And AGHHHH.

(Spoilers for season two ahead...)

I understand that Min Ho is the better love interest. They made sure to build him up like an overpowered protagonist who can never be defeated.

However, did that absolutely have to happen at the expense of Yuri?

We are way past character annihilation now.

And forget about being a good choice for the titular person. They have discarded the sapphic love interest not only as a potential option but also as a decent character.

Yuri Han is just a shell of the person she used to be. She has been turned into a bad girlfriend, a bad friend and a badly written plot point in general.

When Kitty asks her to get in contact with Jina, Yuri just straight up lies. Even when she knows it's important to Kitty, she doesn't come clean about never actually having reached out to her mother until she is confronted about it.

I get that she is having issues with her mum. Being any form of queer is never really easy. But she could have just told Kitty about not wanting to do it in the first place. Giving a reason for it is not really necessary.

At the end of the day, this feels like a very lousy excuse to make up for such deceit which could have easily been avoided.

Especially since Yuri continues to lie about having sent a non-existent email, even after Kitty apparently 'pesters' her over it a lot too. Because it obviously matters a lot to her.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

The whole cheating thing and Yuri's subsequent treatment of Kitty and Juliana is definitely not the best.

Considering these people are some of the pillars Yuri's season one persona is built upon, it's devastating to watch them shatter without any valid exploration whatsoever.

Throughout season two, her only redeeming interactions occur due to Dae and Alex. And the ones which involve Alex are stretching it a little.

After everything that has gone down, Yuri convincing Jiwon to give Kitty a chance is appreciated but not nearly enough.

And maybe they are breaking down Yuri to build her back again. Her ending up 'poor' may hint at that. They want her to be a better person first and what not.

But so far, this feels like an extremely partial setup that never really cared about the sapphic love interest in the first place. Especially because they have been portraying season two as a showdown between Min Ho and Yuri.

Just take a look at the thumbnail for the trailer of it-

Min Ho is infallible in the face of Yuri's faults.

While Yuri's character was off taking a sabbatical, Min Ho was out there winning hearts and making an impact.

Essentially, Yuri now seems to have been a shallow attempt at checking the box of token queer representation, while also getting sapphic viewers to tune in and build tension for the show.

And don't even get me started on Juliana and Praveena. Every WLW character was sidelined or discarded within the first five episodes. Thankfully, they didn't have existing backgrounds to ruin as well.

How Juliana and Kitty managed to become buddy-buddy without ever really interacting on screen at all, still confounds me.

Also, I get that music doesn't have to have an identity based on sexuality. It can be appreciated by a wide range of audiences. And I am bound to agree.

However, with everything that has already occurred, using Chappell Roan's song for Min Ho and Kitty when there is not only a lesbian love interest for her but also sapphic women around within the same vicinity... It just screams disrespect in the face of such a context.

At best, these actions are tone deaf. But really, after the abrupt assassination of all the WLW folks; it has now developed into stabbing an already festering wound on the back.

This is my fault, to be honest. For ever entertaining the possibility that it would be a fair play between characters of great potential.

One of whom is a legitimate lesbian.

Why do I ever expect anything better? This is a freaking Netflix show.

My only complaint now is, if they were always planning on doing Yuri dirty like this, introducing her as an option was never necessary.

I am sure there are other ways of exploring bisexuality. Spitting on sapphics in the process is not required practice.

Even if Min Ho was forever the end game, destroying Yuri as a whole to assure that is just plain garbage. There are better ways to make it happen. This was not it.

The writing for Yuri is obviously lacking and leaves a little too much to be desired. And it's pretty apparent they added her into the love constellation for the #views.

With season three's status up in the air, Yuri's fate has been sealed well. They didn't even give her a fair shot. And I don't think they ever will.

Love that for me. I got played hard.

I have deleted this post once already.

And another time, Tumblr did it for me because it wouldn't save the draft for whatever reason.

My excuse for the first one was that I don't want to spread unnecessary vitriol.

I am now realising this not that. And it's extremely important to share with the world.

If not for anyone else, then for me.

@lgbtpopcult said it best; western media gives straight girls love stories, and gay girls "representation."

It may not be the rule, but there are very few exceptions.

I am done.

(Also, this is not an attempt on my part to erase Kitty's bisexual identity. I just think they did a terrible job of portraying the same. And that occurs while putting down WLW people.

Katherine Song Covey is not straight, I am aware, but a lot of the fanbase for the show is.

They now have a wonderful love story to witness, while people like me suffer from heartbreak on the sidelines.

Out here holding funerals for characters whose potential they have mercilessly executed. Pun intended.

Cheers.)

[smilesession]

studying cults (actually studying them, reading books and survivor’s testimonies, not just podcasts and sensationalist netflix documentaries) has been enormously helpful to making absolute strides in emotional recovery from abuse after two years of just stagnating or appearing to be better while just disguising the problem. and I’m warning you it’s a painful fucking agonizing process. there’s a time and a place for this kind of thing, and that time is when there’s no longer room for self soothing or just circling the surface of the problem all of the time. but if you’ve ever been abused by a partner or a parent or guardian or institution you eventually gotta study cults I think. when you realize the stuff that happened to you is functionally identical to the stuff Jim Jones was doing (just that he was doing it to more people) it completely changes the game. legitimizing your pain like this makes it more acute for a second - but in the process of cementing you in the larger narrative of possible human experiences.

it will annihilate the inner voice that tells you that you deserved it, youre an exception, that youre making it up or remembering it wrong or it wasn’t “that bad”. it was that fucking bad! it was Jim Jones type bad! and every thought you ever had about yourself is something Deborah Layton wrote about in her Jonestown survivor’s memoir. or what Aum Shinrikyo survivors wrote or spoke about. or so on. this doesn’t happen to people because they “deserve” it - it happens for very specific reasons, reasons that have absolutely Nothing to do with the victim having been bad or wrong or fucked up!

[ceilidho]

hi 👋🏾 have you read any good horror/weird scifi/anything speculative? i havent read fear of god but i see how passionately you talk abt the vibe of that particular project and i am trying to diversify my reading taste in traditionally published books for 2025 so i thought to ask your opinion on any recs.

so far based on how you speak on it ive added between two fires. i already had the library at mt. char on my tbr for ages so i’m bumping it up since u seem to like it so much.

i am not immune to ceildho book propaganda lol

hihihihi!!!!! so I’ve actually watched more scifi than I’ve read sadly, but I do have a couple of books that I’d recommend and then I also have some books that are on my TBR.

- ANYTHING by Ted Chiang - he has some of the best scifi short stories I’ve ever read in my life

- The Engines of God by Jack McDevitt - it’s been like over ten years since I read this so I don’t FULLY remember what happens but I remember loving it at the time (but also don’t blame me if it sucks lmao I was so young)

- I watched this on Netflix instead of reading it, but omg The Three Body Problem was so good. The acting kind of sucked sadly but the overall plot was so so interesting - I imagine the book is even better.

The classics are always a great introduction as well: H.G Wells, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C Clarke, Octavia Butler, Ursula K Leguin, etc.

And then on my TBR I have the Annihilation series because I loved the movie but the books are supposedly even better (I know it doesn’t take place in space but still). I need to actually read The Martian lol.

And I guess that’s kind of it for now!!! I really enjoy scifi movies and films for the visuals so it takes a lot for me to enjoy a good scifi book, but I hope I find more gems in the future. Of all of these though, do yourself a favour and get into Ted Chiang - specifically start with “Stories of Your Life and Others”!!!