#because i want to picture that small (or big) hypocrisy that exists when your mind is completely shadowed by depression etc etc

[kingslionheart]

OKAY I HAVE MADE SOME GOOD PROGRESS FOR CHAPTER TWO LET'S GOOO

stared at google docs for 2 hours and wrote not even a word

[elecalice]

I believe that when I die, my consciousness will end up in another body.

Either in this same forsaken world, or on another forsaken world on... IDK, another timeline? Dimension? World?

I hope that when I die and I became conscious again on another body, the world isn't a massive clusterfuck that the one that we're living right now...

But I don't want to get my hopes up. I want to be "realistic".

And I'll admit. I'm a broken idealist, to the point of being dangerously cynical and even being a negative nihilist at my worst moments.

WARNING// THIS BLOG ENDED UP BEING A MASSIVE CYNICAL ANGRY RANT OF THE CURRENT STATUS OF THIS WORLD, MAKING ME QUESTION MY LOVE FOR HUMANITY. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ SOMETHING BLEAK, PLEASE DON'T READ THIS BLOG. (UNLESS YOU WANT YOUR DAY BE RUINED)

My mom tells me that I should watch the news more ofter-

THE NEWS ARE ALWAYS NEGATIVE CYNICAL BULLSHIT!!

I STOPPED WATCHING TV NEWS BECAUSE I KNOW THAT THIS WORLD IS BURNING DOWN (FIGURATIVELY AND EVEN LITERALLY) DUE TO OUR OWN INCOMPETENCE, LACK OF SENSE OF HUMANITY, REMOSE AND EMPATHY!!!

THE ONES WHO ARE HARMING HUMANITY AND THE WORLD ONLY CARE FOR THEMSELVES!!

NARROW-MINDED PEOPLE WHO ONLY CARES FOR THEIR GOALS AND REFUSES TO LISTEN TO OTHERS!

GREEDY PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE MONEY TO FUND STUFF THAT CAN HELP HUMANITY TO BE/GET BETTER!! YET THEY REFUSE TO GIVE AWAY A PART OF THEIR MONEY JUST TO MAINTAIN THEIR "STATUS"-!! IF YOU WANT YOUR REPUTATION TO BE LEGITIMATELY GOOD, BE MORE SELFLESS!!

VIOLENT PEOPLE WHO HARM PEOPLE IN SOME WAYS OR OTHERS WITHOUT REMORSE OR CARE FOR OTHERS WHO ARE AFFECTED BY THE POSSIBLE COLLATERAL DAMAGE!!

And more... And more horrible people...

It hurts me because... I legit believe that humanity can be better and better...

I believe that humanity is capable for awesome progress and good stuff for this world!

I WANT TO BELIEVE THAT HUMANS CAN BE BETTER!!

But... The current state of this world...

I question my love for humanity. It makes me question more that the small good things that we do are... Worth it?

Like- "Why are we keep planting trees if eventually someone's will burn all it down?" (and trees are take YEARS to fully grow)

"The Small Flower planted with Love will be eventually Stumped"

"Why are still doing X when Y is still happening?" as a summary of my occasional questions.

I envy those who do NOT care... Who accepted that this world is a clusterfuck.

I CARE... Maybe too much. And it hurts me that this world and humanity are in constant pain and violence.

I just wish to stop caring and live my life with a "That's life" attitude, even accepting that the most HORRIBLE things are still happening.

But I can't... Because I care so (too) much...

I don't expect that someone really important is going to read this and say "Oh. See this sad Chilean girl rambling about humanity being so cruel. Maybe we should stop?" and BOOM! Humanity will stop act horribly towards each other and we live in a eternal utopia.

No. I do NOT except that my words are meaningful for people with power.

I am a nobody for them, after all.

(Also that utopias can be dystopias for others, as well as utopias not being possible to be real)

I love humanity... But...

It frustrates me... And I can't pretend that everything is okay. Because nothing is okay in this world.

I know!! That we can't stop being bad. Nothing will stop bad stuff to happen. After all, "Without crime, Justice will not exist"

But when everything looks so bleak and bad... It makes me feel that everything good that we do will eventually be overshadowed by something massively horrible...

Humans can be beautiful beings as well as horrible monsters.

I'll shut up now. My ramblings are meaningless in a big picture.

(And I complain that people on Internet are so cynical to worrying levels. While I'm a massive cynic like right now... I acknowledge the hypocrisy of my part...)

EDIT

I know what people will tell me.

"Try not to care˜ Your whining will not change this world"

I Know! I'm not stupid!

My whining will not change my world. And never will!

Again, I'm just a nobody towards the eyes of the big ones.

But it hurts that I legit believe that humanity can be capable to be better, but also be horrible...

But well. That's humanity. Ugly yet beautiful.

...I don't want to have a depresive episode again...

But is pains me that I can't shut my eyes to the problems of the world. I can't pretend that the world is fine. I can't pretend that everything's fine.

It pains me that every moment that I see something that brings me hope on humanity, there will be always, ALWAYS something that breaks that hope.

Right now, we're living in wars; genocide; greedy persons making havoc to the ones with little to no money; companies and people that are capable to bring advances in technology, medicine, etc. that can bring good to humanity, but instead they prefer to bring those who bring them money; people disregarding the needs of minorities and dehumanizing them; people harming other people in general...

I CAN'T PRETEND THAT EVERYTHING'S OKAY.

BECAUSE IT IS NOT.

...

I want to be hopeful.

But hope is meaningless after all.

I want to help. But... Performative activism is a fucking joke.

I WANT TO ACTUALLY HELP.

BUT I WISH THAT PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE CAPACIBILITY TO HELP BUT REFUSE TO ACT DUE TO "NOT CARING" OR "NOT MY PROBLEM".

...

HUMANITY. YOU ARE BETTER THAN THIS.

I know that you can be better. But you're a troublesome entity.

I hope you can be better, and that you can finally open your eyes and do stuff that can bring prosperity and good to everyone.

... Hope's a joke. Action is important.

Again.

Humanity. You are better than this.

If you keep proving me wrong... I... don't know what to think anymore.

If you SOMEHOW managed to reach the end, My apologies for this massive despair-dumping trash of a blog post.

[no--envies]

I’ve always wanted to write something on how Jin Guangyao describes the events of Wei Wuxian’s downfall in the Guanyin Temple, since it isn’t talked about enough.

Jin Guangyao did a lot of despicable things, but he has a keen perception of the things that happen around him and is really good at analysing situations. He displays such skills in the Guanyin Temple, after everyone found out that the culprit behind Jin Zixun’s curse - what started the chain of events that led to Jin Zixuan’s death and everything that followed until the first siege of the Burial Mounds - was Su She.

Firstly, Jin Guangyao illustrates Wei Wuxian’s role in his own fall from grace, presenting his downfall as something that would have happened anyway sooner or later regardless of Su She’s actions:

As he laughed, Wei WuXian’s eyes reddened. He mocked, whether at himself or otherwise, “I can’t believe it’s because of someone like you… because of such a ridiculous reason!”

But Jin GuangYao seemed like he knew what he thought, “Young Master Wei, you really shouldn’t think like this.”

Wei WuXian, “Oh? You know what I think?”

Jin GuangYao, “Of course. It’s quite easy. You’re definitely thinking about how unfortunate you are. In reality, you’re not. Even if Su She didn’t curse Jin ZiXun, Mr. Wei, you’d receive a siege sooner or later, because of some other reason.” He smiled, “Because that’s what kind of a person you are. At best, you’re the untamed hero; at worst, you offend people wherever you go. Unless all those whom you’ve offended lived their lives safely, as soon as something happened to them or someone did something to them, the first person they suspect would be you and the first person they seek revenge on would also you. And this is something you have no control over.”

Somehow, Wei WuXian smiled, “What should I do? For some reason, I think you make a lot of sense.”

Jin GuangYao, “And even if you didn’t lose control at the Qiongqi Path, could you guarantee you didn’t lose control sometime in the rest of your life? Thus, someone like you is destined to have a short life. You see? Doesn’t it feel a lot better if you think about it this way?”

(Chapter 104, ExR translation)

Jin Guangyao portrays the events leading to Wei Wuxian’s death as inevitable given his circumstances. On one hand, Wei Wuxian was the “untamed hero”, who always did the right thing without caring for his own reputation and without considering gains and losses. On the other hand, he made enemies wherever he went because he was unafraid to speak his mind and stand out against public opinion, even when he knew doing so would put a target on his back. While this is what makes him the hero we all love and admire, it’s what made him become a target of the sects’ hypocrisy, classism and self-righteousness. Wei Wuxian himself acknowledges there is some truth to what Jin Guangyao is saying, because he’s aware that his own attitude and personality made him disliked and judged by many.

Jin Guangyao is the kind of person who always tries to deflect blame when he does something wrong, either by claiming he didn’t have a choice or by highlighting other people’s responsibility. He’s a master manipulator: his words are so convincing because there’s always some truth in them.

After this exchange, Jiang Cheng attacks Jin Guangyao blaming him for everything that happened and calling him “son of a prostitute”, to which Jin Guangyao counterattacks by describing Jiang Cheng’s role in his shixiong’s downfall:

Hearing the words ‘son of a prostitute’, Jin GuangYao’s smile froze for an instant.

He looked toward Jiang Cheng. After some thought, he began in a lukewarm tone, “Sect Leader Jiang, calm down a bit, won’t you? I understand what you’re feeling right now. You’re in such a terrible mood only because you know the truth behind your golden core. When you think back on what you did all these years, your proud heart feels a tinge of guilt, and so you’re anxious to find a culprit for what happened to Young Master Wei in his past life, a villain onto whom you can push all liability. Then, you’d lash out at him, both in vengeance for Young Master Wei and to ease some of your burden.

“If being determined that everything from the Hundred Holes curse to the attack at the Qiongqi Path was part of my singlehanded scheme would ease your troubles, then feel free to think whatever you please. But what you have to understand is that, for what happened to Young Master Wei in the end, you are responsible too and in fact, you are very much so. Why did so many people crusade against the YiLing Patriarch? Why did they shout their support, no matter if they were involved or not? Why was he one-sidedly condemned by so many? Was it really their sense of justice? Of course not. A part of the reason is you.”

Jiang Cheng laughed coldly. Lan XiChen knew Jin GuangYao was going to start calling white black again. He shouted in a hushed voice, “Sect Leader Jin!”

Jin GuangYao wasn’t swayed, continuing with a smile, “… Back then, the LanlingJin Sect, the QingheNie Sect, and the GusuLan Sect had already finished fighting over the biggest share. The rest could only get some small shrimps. You, on the other hand, had just rebuilt Lotus Pier and behind you was the YiLing Patriarch, Wei WuXian, the danger of whom was immeasurable. Do you think the other sects would like to see a young sect leader who was so advantaged? Luckily, you didn’t seem to be on good terms with your shixiong, and since everyone thought there was an opportunity, of course they’d add fuels to your fire if they could. No matter what, to weaken the YunmengJiang Sect was to strengthen themselves. Sect Leader Jiang, if only your attitude towards your shixiong was just a bit better, showing everyone that your bond was too strong to be broken for them to have a chance, or if you exhibited just a bit more tolerance after what happened, things wouldn’t have become what they were. Oh, speaking of it, you were also a main force of the siege at Burial Mound…”

Wei WuXian, “Looks like being called the son of a prostitute is really Sect Leader Jin’s weak spot. No wonder you killed ChiFeng-Zun.”

Jin Guangyao’s main purpose here was hurting Jiang Cheng’s pride in retaliation for his insult, but what he said isn’t false. In fact, putting both of his descriptions together we get a pretty accurate picture of all the factors that contributed to Wei Wuxian’s downfall.

Given Wei Wuxian’s circumstances and personality - his cultivation method, his brash attitude, his actions that went against public opinion - it was just a matter of time before people started criticizing him and tarnishing his reputation, often driven by their envy and self-interest. Jin Guangshan’s greed and ambition also played a big part, since he succeded in adding fuel to the flames to make the rest of the cultivation world turn against Wei Wuxian, so that he could get his hands on the Tiger Seal and Wei Wuxian’s manuscripts. Besides helping his father in his fabrications, Jin Guangyao took advantage of Jin Zixun’s curse to set up the situation that caused Wei Wuxian’s loss of control at Qiongqi Path, which was the turning point that made the cultivation world’s diffidence toward Wei Wuxian turn into open hostility and convinced them that he was an actual threat to them all.

In this complex situation, Jiang Cheng himself wasn’t blameless and his actions impacted the events quite a lot. Not only his attitude made clear to everyone how fragile and strained his relationship with Wei Wuxian was, but it took almost nothing for Jin Guangshan to convince him to abandon his shixiong. Jiang Cheng’s position in the cultivation world wasn’t actually that vulnerable at the time: if he had managed to have Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue on his side he could have swayed public opinion in Wei Wuxian’s favor. The only thing he needed to do was show more conviction when he tried to speak up for him and actually explain the real extent of the debt of gratitude both he and Wei Wuxian owed to the Wen siblings. Without Wen Ning and Wen Qing’s help, the Jiang Sect wouldn’t even exist anymore. Given the importance of debts in the universe of MDZS, Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue would have surely been more inclined to believe Wei Wuxian hadn’t freed the Wen remnants and killed several guards because his demonic cultivation was corrupting him, but because he had a very good reason to take revenge.

I tend to find Jin Guangyao’s words quite interesting because he’s often right in his evaluations. It’s not his perception that is flawed, but the way he reacts to the things that happen to him and his habit of bottling up his emotions and remembering all the wrongdoings he received from others, instead of letting them go and focusing on the good things in his life. This is one of the main themes of the novel and makes Jin Guangyao a very interesting foil for Wei Wuxian, since Wei Wuxian’s willingness to leave all his grudges and negative feelings in the past is what allowed him to have his happy ending, while Jin Guangyao’s inability to do so was what ultimately ruined him.

[thusatlas]

20

I have been wondering how to answer this for a few days now. For reference, the post and the subsequent question (feel free to ask for more):

Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

The obvious one story to go to is the Crownless. But I've been scratching my head on how to answer this without giving any spoilers because most of the stuff that I'm like 'aljnglajbgklrbgl' about, has been planted, but has not yet come to fruition.

So, I'm going to say that there will be spoilers in this post up to Chapter 20 if you have not caught up yet, and the rest is going to be a massive tease for what's to come.

(Which I think is rather fitting as we enter the last few chapters of part 1.)

Continue past this point at your own peril.

Hidden References

There are loads. I was brought up as a gamer, finding Easter Eggs is my crack. I'd love to go on about how, with the theme of wanting to fully embed the world in magical realism, I have incorporated a number of Easter Eggs from real life to enrich the text in a meta way - but that just simply isn't true.

I'm just a fiend who has a lot of fun with the freedom of fanfiction.

The most obvious one that near enough everyone who has commented has picked up on, is the Pirates of the Caribbean reference in Lucius' chapter.

My favourite Easter Egg of them all is that I have actually given away Raine's true identity and further hinted and the lore that goes with that identity. It's buried within the text, hidden in plain sight, which is in keeping with the theme of the story.

There's a fair few references to the Grimm Brother's, especially where the Black Forrest is concerned.

The narration style of 'describing the wallpaper' is a homage to Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, who have greatly influenced the humour and style of this entire fic. In particular here, the items that Hermione carries on her person is a direct callback to 'Hitch Hiker's Guide to Galaxy'.

There's a reference to Deborah Harkness' 'All Saints Trilogy' (highly recommend these books). I read these and fell down the alchemical rabbit hole that led me to the Voynich.

There are all sorts of popular culture references, from Marvel to Jane Austin hidden within the text, simply because they were on my mind as I wrote them and it brought me great joy to have the freedom to write them.

Not everything is serious. However, I am seriously considering going through and making an Easter Egg masterlist, and anyone who can name them all will get a cookie.

Characters, relationships and hidden foreshadowing (because I love spinning webs)

There are loads, every character has an arc, whether it be big or small. Someone once commented that they weren't sure whether some details was a red-herring and what was real, while another commented that every detail given is a clue.

Both are right, unfortunately - all details mean something but whether they're there for worldbuilding or character development is only something that can be seen when the point comes to light.

The two characters who show this the best are Theo and Raine.

With Theo, we start with this roguish, glib, charming character, who's a touch flamboyant but generally a smooth white-collar criminal.

With Raine, we start with a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde character - Dr Jekyll being quirky, weird and unassuming. In the beginning, we only see brief touches of Mr Hyde - the serious, cold and calculating General. The overall effect is a character that I am pleased to see no one trusts.

But the clues are in the names. They always have been, they always will be.

Just the same way that Fear was a foreshadowing from chapter 1...

For Theo, the reader has had some indication of his character arc since Chapter 2. This was re-affirmed in Chapter 13 and again recently in Chapter 20. Theo is closely tied to my favourite Easter Egg, whose name ties into this whole thing, and further builds upon Harry's canon identity, as we see in Deathly Hallows. I shan't say more, because spoilers. But you will find out soon.

For Raine, it's trickier. Again, it's all in the names, and as I've stated, I dropped that Easter Egg a while ago. But then the reader is told that 'Raine Willows' is infact a careless name, thought up in the spur of a moment. A name is an identity, ergo, what sort of Being cares little about that? Further to this, his journey is closely tied with Hermione's - always has been. The more Hermione has fallen down the rabbit hole, the more Raine has moved away from Dr Jekyll and become Mr Hyde.

The crux of their arcs is closely tied to the heart of the story. For Raine, he is Hermione's mentor. The other characters - Draco included - move around Hermione. She is the constant.

Much the same as the central plot. No matter how many side plots or whatever there are, it's all a helix towards the same focus point.

Part 2

It is my hope, that by the time we begin part 2, all the pieces will be lined up, ready to go. The Fuckening is one really really long introduction, setting the scene and laying the foundation. In order for the plot to exist and for our characters to go on the journeys that they will in part 2, everything has to break.

The allegory

Don't mind me whilst I put on my pretentious hat and dust off my critical thinking robes.

There is a fuck tonne of symbolism, sometimes in the staging of a scene, sometimes in the character's behaviour - Narcissa and Draco chapter 20, the character development of a Messiah.

But by now, if you've been following me or have spoken to me for more than 5 minutes, inevitably 'worldviews' would have cropped up. I sincerely apologise, I am aware that I am a broken record.

I started this fic in a really uncertain time in the world. As a STEM social science researcher, it's my job to look at the big picture and at the time (and still relevant to me now) the question was, wtf is going on?

So for me, along with it being a conversation about the psychology of love and friendship in a deterministic world, I wanted to highlight the importance of belief systems. I wanted to show from a psychological perspective how civilisation is built upon a very fragile network of beliefs both individual and collective, and the agreed-upon social norms only continue to exist, because we as a collective continue to perpetuate them.

I wanted to show how easily those belief systems can break which is why we begin with the disappearance of a horse and a somewhat intelligent cat. And the only way I could do that was to base canon in magical realism. A norm so adjacent to the ones we accept today, is one that will fracture everything so thoroughly and so quickly, that I won't have to write a tome to get my point across.

The Crownless is a story told from multiple perspectives, seeing and living the same long and winding conspiracy. And in worldbuilding, I have tried to show perspectives of different stakeholders, how politics is again, a delicate promise spun from beliefs. The Crownless is not meant to be a serious piece of literature, but it's my way of showing the hypocrisy of claiming Absolute Good and Evil in any situation.

[mochuelovelli]

GAAAAHHH OKAY

Let's talk about the Timephoon Episodes

This is such an old topic of discourse but after reading many fanfics, videos, and some posts on the subject I have found little divergent takes on the whole subject.

While commentators are of the mind that, for the most part, the punishment and execution of said punishment for Louie's actions were partially if not fully justified but how she went about it was wrong.

Some fanfic writers and some subsects of the fandom but they are much more critical and often in a more black and white interpretation. Which is valid for vent art. However, I find both these portrayals to be lacking in some nuance.

Specifically when it it comes to who's to blame for the next 3 episodes, and to me, its more than just Della (and Louie but there really isn't much discourse here).

Let's start with Timephoon:

This pretty much solidifies their relationship throughout the episode[Also sorry for no captions]. Multiple times Della is shown to have a very laissez faire style of parenting as she primarily wants her kids to enjoy being kids and having fun. This is probably in part to her personality in general - which is probably what Beakley assumes here - however it is also her want to be loved by her children and even more critically, she doesn't ever want them to suffer like she did. Above all else, she wants them to be happy and feel confident in themselves. We see this in all the previous episode with her and her kids - From Dewey and reassuring him that he doesn't need to prove himself to her [notably in this episode she only shows concern when Dewey himself is in danger, she doesn't give a shit when he almost kills her] to Huey and helping him to have the most fun he possibly can, to even Webby and making sure that she also feels confident in herself regardless in how she goes about things.

Bringing up all these adventures does raise some pretty damning hypocrisy. Della encourage Dewey's reckless behavior in his episode. The lesson at the end wasn't, okay maybe we shouldn't be going on dangerous adventures, it was its okay to be afraid and you don't need to prove to me that you're great I already know you are. Huey's message was similar, albeit more low stakes. Webby's lesson wasn't even that she shouldn't be trying to take such risks to find adventure in the future, it was just a lesson in not being disappointed when things don't work the way you want.

So why wasn't Louie's adventure treated the same? Well... let's look at some more examples of Beakley V Della this episode before we answer that -

This is right before the kids find Bubba, Beakley's reaction is what most people would consider to be parental as she is concerned for the safety of the kids running out in a hurricane. Again we see Della acting casual.

Once Bubba is inside and Huey geeks out about him, Beakley actually smiles bc she knows that something like this means a lot to Huey [keep this in mind for l8r]. She only gets serious after Della says it's neat without much after thought so she gives the lesson of the episode - "Small problems become big problems later if not prevented early."

Next we have Della's faux attempt at being strict with her kids. Letting the irresponsible thing happen as long as they are "safe". While also harkening back to her previous episodes where she also is shown to have this attitude that "the kids can do anything as long as they are safe with ME or Scrooge or another SAFE adult", it is also good to note SCROOGE'S expression here to her patting herself on the back for her parenting. Now he could just be confused as to why Della is taking this "lesson" as a win, but he could be noticing that she really doesn't know what she is doing but unlike Beakley doesn't make any attempts to correct this.

Another scene that people often forget when reviewing this episode, just like with all her other kids she at first takes LOUIE'S side and decides they should just roll with the punches like always. Which honestly is sort if valid because that's kinda Scrooge's whole MO; though he also had others to there to keep him afloat but we all know someone like Scrooge, Della, and the kids hardly see that. I also want to hammer home that, just like with the other boys, she doesn't shy away from displaying that she loves them ALL. A few seconds later, it's subtle but she is shown smiling and patting Louie on the head because like the other kids she just wants him to feel supported. If I was to be critical, I would say this is possibly because she likes the IDEA of her boys more than them but I mean - this is pretty much everyone's attitude towards kids. It might be amplified bc of her trauma but it's not unusual. But even still I would argue that she mainly does love the boys for who they are as she is excited to get to know them.

After Della figures that they are looking for a "master thief", Scrooge and Beakley immediately know it's one of the kids. Shocking her since she later states she is of the belief that her kids are too "good" to do something like this. I also want to bring attention, again, to Beakley smiling (ik im putting a lot of stock into expressions but animation tends to do stuff like this for a reason). She is smiling at whom she expects is Dewey for messing with time and space. Bc even if she planned to scold him, she knows it's just their normal. Scrooge seems to also be of the same mind. Later Beakley gives a really good line about "Even good kids can do dumb things. We got to make sure those dumb things don't turn into bad things like destroying all of existence!".

Mrs. B exists stage right

All jokes aside, this must have been a nightmare for all of them but especially Della. She had just finally admitted that she was out of her depth and made another mistake in parenting. But now it seems like she lost her chance to rectify that. Because for all she knows, Mrs. B will never come back. This is import-ALLRIGHTWEGETIT

Della is then shown explicitly worried about her family. Emotions, insecurities and fear obviously getting the best of her. We don't know exactly what she is thinking but we know she is terrified of the possibility of losing one of her kids. When she asks about Louie, she probably thinks he must have disappeared without her knowing. That she might have already failed more than she could know, because she wasn't there to protect him. She doesn't know - she is "Della Duck" and she doesn't know how to fix this. She didn't expect everything to go so horribly wrong, but that's her theme isn't it?

She is both relieved and understandably PISSED when finding that Louie was responsible for almost destroying the fabric of reality (let me say this again, nearly destroying the fabric of reality). She goes scold both herself and her son about the danger he put them in. Later we see Della, the last one leave and seeing almost everyone she loves vanish. We don't know how long each of the characters who left were in the past but we can assume it was long enough to have to change clothes. Yeah this was probably more of a visual gag but like, the other past characters didn't change their outfits when they came to the present so - (also Launchpad was specific about knowing how the world ends so he had to be there enough for him to understand it). Side note someones gotta write fanfic of these characters time misadventures. I wonder if Dewey and Webby ran into Agent 22.

[Last picture of the infamous scene, side note did anyone notice Launchpad NODDING his head when Della mentioned his time schemes could've cost them their future? He's the only one who knows what happened so maybe Louie's misadventure has more impact than we think-]

Anyways, yeah we know what was said here. But I think it's important to see the reaction the other adults (sorry LP, and Gryo i GUESS) have here BC this is basically why I made this post. What Della decided to do was unquestionably the wrong decision, at least her way of going about it and I will not absolve her of her many MANY mistakes. However, let's remember she wasn't alone in any of this. She was with other parental figures who KNOW more about her kids than she does.

After Louie leaves, why did they think it was good to encourage this course of action? Why did they think giving full parental control to a PTSD, trauma survivor who barely got back less than a month ago was a good idea? Sure it's one thing to not want to overstep your boundaries but are you telling me they wouldn't want to guide her in the right direction at least? We KNOW both Beakley AND Scrooge have their grievences towards Della's parenting strategy or lack there of. Beakley so far doing the most to try and put her in the right direction (which speaks volumes to the problems Scrooge has).

So why wouldn't they explain that, hey, maybe taking away the one thing your kid thinks he is good at ISNT a great idea? Why didn't either say anything about their two day vacation? Something that came up presumingly on a whim and might of prevented (although i doubt it) Louie from trying to steal w/ time? He might have considered pushing back time schemes at least 3 days later. While Mrs. Beakley might be less aware of Louie's insecurities and ambitions, Scrooge definitely isn't. He should have talked to her, and hey we don't see what happens before they leave so maybe MAYBE they did. But again, I doubt it. Seeing as how they all agreed with her at the end, I don't see them trying to meddle with her.

But they should've. They are both experienced guardians and they have nothing to say to her? Plus Donald (goddamn it i almost finished a post w/o him) have THEM responsibility to take care of the kids NOT Della. So they are obligated to help her. Really, the other option other than just well negligence would be not thinking this punishment was a big deal. I wish this aspect was also scrutinized just as much as Della and Louies role in this arc.

Beakley and Scrooge (more so Scrooge) are just as much to blame in what happens as Della if not MORE since they know of her situation in only a way that an experience adult can. There is no excuse for their negligence.

[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

[illusionnatiletstalk]

How do we see attraction as individuals?

Hi and welcome all you beautiful people, I hope you all having an awesome day, what is attraction? Attraction is a quality that causes an interest, desire in, or gravitation to something or someone. Now what attracts people to each other, let’s see good looks, ambition, and a good sense of humor are common qualities that people seek out. But there are other factors you're likely unaware of that play an important part in who you're attracted to. Past experiences, proximity, and biology all have a role in determining who catches our attention and who doesn't. So for now let’s look at physical attraction for the moment, As an individual what physical features do you find attractive in a person, and does society play a role in your decision making? What I mean by that is if you were alone in a room and given a book filled with pictures of different people who all had a different look to them, and asked to pick the person you found most attractive. While your choice being kept anonymous from anyone else, without having to worry about what other people would think or say, would your choice differ? Do other people and trends affect how we see physical attraction? Does looking at popular influence rs and all other celebrities affect how we see everyone else? Are certain body types and hair cuts we are attracted to influenced by social media and what is hot at that given time. Is physical attraction affected by what is trending? Rather than what we are attracted to as individuals, there are so many of us on this planet we all have a mind of our own and different likes and dislikes yet social media does affect our likes and dislikes in a large way it’s the indirect peer pressure of sorts. Life is so interesting and diverse to look at physical attraction in such a singular way is boring to me, to find someone attracted simply because they have a certain body shape, style, facial features or hair type is boring and untrue, or at least it is for me. Now as a guy sure I have certain tastes and likes, a type so to say but I don’t allow that to influence my views in who I find physically attracted, sure I might notice someone first or more if they are my type. But if I keep myself centered and open-minded I can find someone who is the complete opposite of my type attractive. Imagine if the world was limited to one or two colours how boring would that be, so limiting yourself to your type or certain features you are also limiting your possibilities and options, and who knows if you were just slightly more open-minded or truthful with your self you could have found the right person for you maybe even your true love if you believe in true love that is. But those are my thoughts on physical attraction, the most important thing to keep in mind is to be honest with your self, because you may live for society and trends but society can’t live for you, you have to live for your self so don’t let others or trends tell you something you should know for your self. How many times have I looked at someone without knowing a single thing about them or even hearing their voice and found them attractive even when they are not my type or have any trending features simply because I am honest with my likes and dislikes. No one is saying find everyone physically attractive because that’s not right either, just be honest and open-minded about it. Physical attraction is the easiest type of attraction as it requires no reason or value you either find someone attractive or not is a simple process that should not require any more steps than that, you just know.

Another type of attraction ambition perhaps the most controversial type of attraction, your needs and want’s in life and how you can get or achieve them from someone else. Now personally it’s an attraction I do not care for but I am me and not everyone else, whether attraction through ambition is a good thing or bad is not for me to decide but for the individual and the majority. Morally I think it's wrong simply because no one likes to be used, and most who do agree or practice attraction through their ambition, those who are attracted to someone because of their social power, financial power or even their corporate power. Would not want to be used in return or others to look at them for that reason so I find that very hypercritical, I do think living a life without hypocrisies is impossible but at the very least we can try our best to have as few hypocrisies in our lives as possible. To me being attracted to someone simply because of what they have is a very shallow way to live, it's like living life like a candle in the wind eventually that candle will blow out. Money does not last forever it can be lost at any time, someone’s social ladder can topple at any moment and no one works forever. It’s a temporary attraction that normally only has one winner at the end of it, it’s an attraction that does not need love or emotions or any other kind of attraction, it’s a stand-alone attraction and a lonely and selfish way to live. Haha maybe I shouldn't of given my opinion on that kind of attraction, my viewpoints on it are quite set in stone, but the reason for it is simply because eventually, it will cause someone pain or harm while benefiting the offender.

What about a good sense of humor, most of us have different views on comedy but pretty much all of us are capable of finding something funny, enjoying a good laugh, comedy puts a smile on most faces but again we are all different what someone finds funny someone else will not. So even if someone is considered to have a good sense of humor by most there will always be one or two people who don’t think so. So this type of attraction is complete up to the individual and to what they consider to be funny or not and also how much funny a person can take or want in a day. Some people might want someone who is a child all day long while others want someone who is cable of being funny but only at opportune moments, and is serious the rest of the time. So what is a good sense of humor well you already know the answer to that that’s something we each know and can tell apart from a bad one or at least what we consider bad. Because it’s all about considering what we like and don’t like, some people like childish humor, while others like dark, rude and lewd comedy. So going for someone who is a child all day when you can’t stand childish behavior is a recipe for disaster or a pan to the head. So when going for someone base on their personality make sure you like it or can handle it daily. Because unless that person is willing to change for you or adapt to your liking, it will more than likely end badly one day, even if that person fits all of your other attraction criteria. Then comes the questions if its okay to make someone change for you, as we are all individuals and should be allowed to be who we are, so to conclude that kind of attraction it’s tricky as nothing remains funny or acceptable forever and some can only handle so much humor a day so just be sure a person’s sense of humor is right and acceptable for you.

Now past experiences play a role in attraction as well there’s not much to talk about on this as we all have different backgrounds and different experience in life, but experience does affect attraction because certain good and bad experiences will tell us whether a certain type of person is good for us or not whether we choose to follow that experience or not is another thing entirely. Because so many of us keep ignoring that voice in our head that says no. If we have had a bad experience with a certain type of a person it could stop us from finding anyone else like or similar to that attractive and if we have had a good experience with a certain type of person we would normally look for someone else like that.

Proximity is another form of attraction we forget exists but truth be told seeing someone or talking to someone daily could affect or change how we see them, maybe if that person was just passing through or by we would not give them a second thought but constant exposure to them could grow small feelings into admiration or affection, or perhaps no feelings into something. Proximity also affects who we realistically look for most people look for someone who is close by or in the general vicinity, because most don’t like challenges, and finding someone abroad is difficult, its hard to get to know someone simply through text or a screen because we are never truly our selves in front of a screen or behind a text we always try to show the best versions of our selves and sometimes a fake one. But attraction by proximity does limit our options to our area and surroundings who knows the wonderful or perfect person for us we could be missing simply because we choose not to look outside our own little box. But still even while I think distance should never be a factor when looking for love or someone you are attracted to, you should always be four times as careful and always keep your eye and mind open till you meet the person in real life when there is no screen between you. And yes cost also plays a factor as travel is expensive and borders play a role, but like the saying goes love finds a way. Now being attracted to someone biologically, what does that mean while to me it means being influenced by individual genetics, psychological, or cultural factors, as well as Sexual attraction. This requires no explanation, well I just don’t have one, genetics, I am not a scientist so it means nothing to me, psychologically we are all different and different experiences and things that happen in our life will affect this, what kind of people we grew up with and what kind of people left lasting impressions on us will make us look for someone similar. Culture plays a very big role and breaks or makes a lot of relationships, it depends on how adaptable and accepting both parties are. If both are accepting or willing to adapt to the other culture then it stops being a problem but all it takes is one to be forceful and want the other to change to their way of life to ruin a relationship. So yes culture plays a big role in attraction if you are forced to change or accept things you don’t agree with, it’s a lot easier to accept someone like you than someone different, but to me, difference is beautiful and fun as long as I can be myself and not forced to change who I am, or what I think. Now sexual attraction I am not going to touch on simply because we all have our own kinks and what we like, plus I am not sure how deep I’ll go if I start pun intended, haha plus its something you should already know what you looking for and if you don’t you will with experience and lots of it.  

[aion-rsa]

The 21 Best Christmas Horror Movies

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Technicolor lights are about to illuminate every other home in the neighborhood; carolers are marching through the streets; even that old tree in Rockefeller is shining brightly.

For some folks, that’s enough to make you want to grab an axe. But don’t do that. Watch demented men dressed as Santa Claus or a demon Krampus indulge your Anti-Christmas sentiments with maximum gore. Indeed, this list isn’t about the most charming, heartwarming, or schmaltzy Christmas viewing traditions. Nah, this is about the 20 grossest, nastiest, and all around most fun Christmas horror movies. The kind where the greatest gift you’re going to get on Christmas morning is escaping with your life and maybe some psychological triggers whenever you see jolly men in red suits.

Yep, these are the very best Christmas horror movies. Ho. Freaking. Ho.

Anna and the Apocalypse (2017)

Almost certainly one of the sweetest, most positive, and upbeat Christmas movies on the list is this wonderful feel good musical romance from director John McPhail, which also happens to be a zombie movie. It follows a group of friends in a small Scottish town who are just about to finish school and are making plans for the future when a zombie outbreak lands. 

Incredibly catchy tunes which take inspiration from Buffy musical episode Once More With Feeling, mix with inventive festive kills – zombie snowman decapitation is a highlight – in a way that manages not to tonally jar. It’s mostly thanks to the super-likeable performances of the young cast, headed up by Ella Hunt, and the teenage troubles, romances, and heartbreak which form the backdrop of the movie. Paul Kaye also pops up as the school’s tyrannical headmaster – his musical numbers aren’t the best but he brings cartoon villain energy to an unusual but rather adorable Christmas horror that’s way better than you might expect.

– Rosie Fletcher

Better Watch Out (2016)

Home Alone is surely one of the most popular and iconic Christmas movies of all time, though it is not, of course, a horror. However, if it was, it would look something like Better Watch Out, a slick reinvention of the home invasion sub-genre. Olivia DeJonge plays babysitter Ashley, who attempts to protect her charge, 12-year-old Luke (Levi Miller), when they are threatened by intruders in his home. But all is not as it seems.

DeJonge and Miller spar beautifully in a movie which plays with gender and coming of age tropes and includes handfuls of gruesome set pieces, while Ed Oxenbould brings comic relief. This is clever, funny and gruesome stuff from director Chris Peckover which might not become a new Christmas tradition but should definitely be watched at least once.

– Rosie Fletcher

Black Christmas (1974)

Getting stabbed by a unicorn head to the tune of carolers singing “Silent Night” is probably not how you want to spend Christmas Eve. This pre-Scream holiday slasher claims its victims in a sorority house haunted by creepy phone calls (sans ghost mask), demonic noises, bodies eerily shrouded in plastic wrap, and one perverse killer whose voice alone is enough to freeze your blood.

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When an unidentified caller keeps harassing your entire sorority house with obscene things you can only half-understand (because he sounds like a deranged Donald Duck that laughs like the Joker), you should run even if it is 10 degrees outside. The blizzard of murders keeps raging with one victim dragged screaming by a hook, and another bludgeoned to death. Never mind the one suffocated by plastic wrap and left next to the window like the vacant face of a doll staring out into the night. You’ll hardly sleep in heavenly peace after this one.

– Elizabeth Rayne 

Christmas Evil (aka You Better Watch Out) (1980)

In his one and only film as writer/director, Lewis Jackson crafted a smart and clever black comedy that’s more character study than straight horror film. John Waters insists it’s a comedy about a closeted transvestite (of a sort), but it’s much more than that—it’s the Taxi Driver of Yuletide shockers. Brandon Maggart plays a man who takes Christmas way too seriously. His home is filled with bright holiday decorations all year-round while Christmas carols are playing on the stereo. Santa is his role model, a symbol of all that is good and just in the world. He even works at a toy factory.

He so identifies with Santa, he takes to spying on the neighbor kids, keeping his own carefully annotated naughty and nice lists. But when he recognizes the level of cynicism and hypocrisy among his co-workers, bosses, and the people around town as the most joyous time of the year approaches, well, he goes a little funny in the head. He reaches for the suit and beard and axe, determined to reward the good and punish the evil.

Maggart has since tried to desperately distance himself from the film, but he gives a remarkable performance here as a completely isolated figure with a head swimming with both joy and rage. In the end, the film remains king of the sub-subgenre. Screw It’s a Wonderful Life and Rudolph. Apart from Blast of Silence and Invasion U.S.A., Christmas Evil is the only holiday film I watch annually.

– Jim Knipfel 

A Christmas Horror Story (2015)

Admittedly, a number of horror-based Christmas movie have gone with the anthology angle for their storytelling. Hell, this isn’t even the only anthology film on this list. A Christmas Horror Story may not be on a lot of people’s radar, but it’s a worthy installment that goes to some unusual places purely because both the Christmas and anthology playgrounds have gotten so bloated at this point. This film also benefits from being executed by a cabal of directors who are responsible for directing some of the best horror movies to come out of Canada in passing years, such as Splice, the Black Christmas remake, and the Ginger Snaps trilogy.

A Christmas Horror Story deliciously uses a radio DJ (William Shatner) as the connective tissue that holds together the four stories that comprise the film. Parables on ghost possession, clone doppelgangers, Krampus, and zombie elves all get their due here. The film also has a pretty inspired ending that actually casts the picture in a whole new light. It’s got Santa Claus fighting Krampus. What’s not to like?

– Daniel Kurland 

Dead of Night (1945)

Never play hide and go seek in a house where someone was murdered. While it might be best known for Michael Redgrave’s night-terror-inducing ventriloquist dummy scene that sparked the phobia of possessed puppets, Dead of Night also invites you to a Christmas party with a spectral guest. Spacecase Sally’s genuine terror at realizing what she thinks she saw is what she really saw will forever have you second-guessing shadows creeping in the cold. 

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What is obvious in this scene—encroaching darkness and shadows looming over what a place you know is haunted without ever having to hear the big reveal—is hardly as chilling as what is not so obvious until the truth silently materializes. The ghost of the little boy plays hide-and-seek with the other children as if warm blood courses through his veins. Unlike many stereotypical see-through phantoms of the era, this one doesn’t have that telltale translucence which would set off a chorus of screams. Being almost disturbingly normal is exactly what makes him so terrifying. 

– Elizabeth Rayne 

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Eyes Wide Shut was the non-denominational star at the top of Stanley Kubrick’s Christmas tree. Originally conceived as a Woody Allen vehicle, it almost starred Steve Martin after Allen insisted on reading the script from right to left. It is as much a cautionary tale as Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, bringing the whole family together with a different Christmas tree in almost every frame.  

Kubrick pours on the cheer from the opening sequence at the Christmas party where the first gifts are unwrapped, and oh boy are they unwrapped. Bill Harford, played by Tom Cruise, dives right into the muffled spirit of giving after he performs a more than charitable deed for the party’s host, played by Sydney Pollack.

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Harford spends most of the film looking for the perfect gift like a slow motion version of Jingle All the Way, rushing around from New York City’s famous toy repository FAO Schwartz to downtown specialty shops, to the suburbs, where he can find collectors’ editions. Cruise pays Harford like a wooden windup toy, and not a particularly cute one, either. In spite of all the colorful lights and trips above and below the rainbow, Harford just can’t get into the Christmas spirit. He’s not even moved by the uplifting seasonal tunings of “I Want a Boy for Christmas” by the Del-Vettes. He recovers his seasonal facilities while humming along to the chant during the climactic illuminati sex party, though! The song is actually “Here Comes Santa Claus” sung backwards in Latin, adding more menace to the proceedings than Silas Barnaby brought to Toyland in The March of the Wooden Soldiers.

– Tony Sokol 

Gremlins (1984)

Santa doesn’t exist… unless it’s your father in a red suit who met his untimely end trying to slide down the chimney with a sack of presents before getting stuck. Don’t tell that to the innocent bat-like ears of a harmless (for now) Mogwai. It’s exactly the kind of story you expect to hear while hunkering down in the shadows with a flashlight while a bunch of leathery green things with too many teeth ransack the neighborhood.

And as for Santa? That smell coming from the fireplace weeks later was no dead cat. Worst. Christmas story. Ever. 

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This movie should be on every hardcore horror fan’s holiday playlist just for the musical monstrosity of those reptilian things decked out in Santa hats and earmuffs singing “Deck the Halls” at the neighbors’ door, sheet music and all. This is continuing proof that animals have a sixth sense, because her yowling cat senses something off about the voices warbling “Joy to the World” outside. She’s right to have an aversion to Christmas carolers.

– Elizabeth Rayne 

Holidays (2015)

There have been so many holiday-themed horror films at this point—reaching Christmas and going far, far beyond that—so why not make an anthology film that takes that idea to the extreme? Holidays hits the expected staples such as Christmas, Halloween, and Valentine’s Day, but part of the fun here is how holidays with lesser expectations like Easter or St. Patrick’s Day deliver some truly horrifying content (seriously, the St. Patrick’s Day segment is disturbing, bonkers chaos).

The Christmas segment comes courtesy of Scott Stewart (Legion) and has Seth Green trying to survive the holiday as he attempts to get his son the perfect gift. Stewart’s installment feels very reminiscent of a Black Mirror episode with virtual reality, consumerism, and the dangers of mob mentality all playing their part here.

A lot of these anthology films also try to bank off of the name recognition and notoriety of the assembled directors, but Holidays proudly features a collection of mostly fresh faces (although Kevin Smith and Starry Eye’s Kevin Kolsch contribute segments). It’s fun to discover a bunch of new blossoming talents here.

– Daniel Kurland 

Jack Frost (1997)

This ain’t the cringeworthy father/son bonding vehicle starring Michael Keaton. No, this is the Jack Frost where the killer snowman’s nose functions as both a killing tool and a device to sexually assault his victims. All square? But hey, at the least the film isn’t afraid to ride its ridiculous premise as hard as possible.

First of all, an actual killer named Jack Frost crashes into a truck of “genetics material” that causes him to transform into this cold abomination in the first place. That sets the tone pretty nicely for the abundant murders, sex, and plot holes that plague the town of Snowmonton (yup). It’s hard to believe that this film got made, with all of the visuals being some real spectacles that you don’t typically see in the horror genre.

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Jack Frost is the perfect Christmas horror film to shut your brain off and watch, or the title that you should be selecting right in the middle of your deep eggnog haze. It’s utter nonsense, but it knows that it is and has tons of fun with itself. We need more talented individuals trying to tap into the killer snowman subgenre. There’s still a true classic waiting to come to life here.

– Daniel Kurland 

Krampus (2015)

Morbidly funny in its anti-holiday sarcasm and ridiculous demons, Krampus is like a mashup of the Griswolds, the Grinch, and every mythical beast that has ever been rumored to devour children on the naughty list. You’d rather get coal in your stocking than a killer jack-in-the-box jump scare… or find chilling hoof prints in the snow that are definitely not from Rudolph.

Krampus is one Yuletide monster actually worse than the Grinch. The grisly inspiration for this tale is a Germanic one about a hairy, horned, and cloven-hooved demon who stuffs naughty children in his sack and either beats them with a wooden switch or eats them (depending on who you ask). Also, his heart won’t grow three sizes from gorging on human flesh, either.

This version of Krampus is also hungry for anyone who’s lost their holiday spirit—whether or not you otherwise qualify for the nice list. Watch this with the lights off for the full effect of the power outage that works to the creature’s advantage as he goes hunting for holiday nonbelievers. Kids, don’t scorn Santa or Krampus will come to collect you.

– Elizabeth Rayne 

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

There are some of us who know this movie verbatim and to the point where we will shamelessly break out singing “This is Halloween” and raise Jack’s quasi-Shakespearean monologue from the dead even in the middle of July. Or keep warning people that tragedy’s at hand. Or correct anyone who says there are 365 days until next Halloween by growling “364!” The stop-motion animation saga of the talking skeleton turned “Sandy Claws” bewitched an entire generation of ‘90s kids. 

Even people who hate Halloween will stare with delight and awe when Jack’s skull bursts out of a snowdrift, and he first puts colored lights in his eye sockets and explores every “what’s this?” in Christmas Town like a spook in a coffin shop. You just can’t help but love the adventurous skeleton, even if he does end up making haunted houses out of people’s living rooms on Christmas Eve. Whether you’d rather be making Christmas with strangely somber carols, reanimated reindeer or toys that bite back, it’s now an officially unofficial holiday classic.

– Elizabeth Rayne 

P2 (2007)

On the sillier end of the Christmas horror spectrum comes P2, a film named after a section in a parking lot, starring Wes Bentley and Rachel Nichols. She’s a business woman trapped in a multi-story parking garage on Christmas Eve, he’s the insane Security Guard who’s obsessed with her and really wants her to try his festive eggnog, so to speak. 

Camp and gory, this is the directorial debut of Franck Khalfoun who would follow it up with a remake of Maniac. The movie was co-written by Alexandre Aja who made one of the greatest cat-and-mousers ever in Switchblade Romance. The set up is formulaic, perhaps, but the game performances and relentlessness of the action makes this worthwhile. And if that’s not enough check out a deranged Bentley dressed as Santa, for the angel on the top of the Christmas tree.

– Rosie Fletcher

Rare Exports (2010)

There couldn’t possibly be a more sinister place to search for Santa’s ancient burial mound than in the frigid depths of Lapland. It’s the same supposedly enchanted place Dick van Dyke hiked to in the search for Santa in an ‘80s musical Christmas special, except this time you won’t find him in a cozy cottage with stockings hung by the chimney with care. You won’t find the guy in red from the mall, but anything that takes a disembodied pig’s head as bait couldn’t possibly be jingle-belling on a sleigh with eight tiny reindeer, especially when he seems to have a ravenous appetite for said reindeer. 

This time, “the spirit of the season” is literally the most malicious Christmas spirit that has ever terrorized the Yuletide. Even if you watch the whole thing in Finnish and don’t understand a word except the screaming, the ghost of the child in you that really did believe there was a guy in the North Pole will be forever traumatized. This glaze-eyed zombie incarnation of Mr. Claus doesn’t laugh like a bowl full of jelly. You better watch out, indeed.

– Elizabeth Rayne

Santa Claws (1996)

You do have to wonder what happened to John Russo along the line. 30 years after co-writing Night of the Living Dead, he came up with this decidedly sleazy but sadly unoriginal wonderment, which was much more focused on boobs than Yuletide butchery. In what by that point had become a battered cliché of the Slasher Santa subgenre, a young boy named Wayne (Grant Kramer) sees his mom having sex with a man wearing a Santa hat (!), and so murders them both. I’m not exactly sure how this transference would work in Freudian terms, but when he gets older, he a) becomes obsessed with a low-budget scream queen named Raven (played by low-budget scream queen Debbie Rochon) and b) decides he’s Santa.

As you might imagine, stalking someone when you’re wearing a Santa suit is no mean feat, but Wayne gives it his best shot. Most of the film, however, focuses on Raven and her extended family as she gets undressed a lot and wonders not only why that creep in the Santa suit keeps showing up everywhere, but why everyone around her keeps dying in a particularly bloody fashion. It can feel like there are two films going on here, a by-the-numbers stalker/slasher movie and a holiday horror film, which leaves me thinking Russo had one of them in mind, but after some eight-year-old smarty-pants came up with that clever “Santa Claws” pun, well, he just had to run with it.

– Jim Knipfel

Santa’s Slay (2005)

Christmas can sure scare the Dickens out of people. Hence why you can’t not watch a holiday horror flick in which Santa is the Antichrist, sentenced to 1,000 years of delivering gifts after losing a curling match with an angel, and played by former pro wrestler Bill “Who’s Next?” Goldberg.

As the only son of Satan (you know what they say about rearranging the letters in that name) whose grim legend is immortalized in the Book of Claus, he can now at last spread Christmas fear with weapons, karate kicks, hand grenades, exploding presents, and his own perverse idea of what “Ho ho ho” should really mean. Them’s the breaks once the bet’s terms are done.

Read more

Movies

MST3K: A Christmas Episodes Guide for Mystery Science Theater 3000

By Gavin Jasper

TV

Christmas in The Twilight Zone: Revisiting Night of the Meek

By Arlen Schumer

Santa’s methods of murder are fiendishly festive—to say the least. There is no naughty or nice list when it comes to an insatiable appetite for violence. He even knocks out poseurs in red suits and drives a sleigh with a rocket engine like it’s the Batmobile. Mall Santas everywhere are shaking in their pleather boots.

– Elizabeth Rayne 

Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)

Naughty children get punished with more than just a stocking full of coal in this Christmas chiller. Just the opening scene with all those empty-eyed animatronic toys haunting a window display after-hours should tell you that this is not a movie that’s going to end in visions of sugarplums. Forget that it’s supposed to be the season of all things magical. Those things can be more terrifying than every single plastic skeleton and gaping zombie mask you’ll ever see in a haunted house around Halloween.

You’d better watch out for that psycho in the red suit who grabs a hatchet off the wall as if it was his bag full of toys and packs an automatic pistol in his fur-lined pocket, murdering misbehaving kids he’s been watching undercover of shadow. This sadistic Santa clearly doesn’t believe in sliding down chimneys—and the only red he’s interested in wearing is the blood of innocents. If that won’t convince you to stay awake because he sees you when you’re sleeping, you must be Freddie Krueger.

– Elizabeth Rayne

Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987)

Three years after the shit-storm sparked by the original’s ad campaign, some smart cookie decided a sequel was necessary. A tough call there, given most all the principals were killed off pretty thoroughly the first time around, but still, right?

But there was money to be made, so they brought in an untested director (Lee Harry), a mostly untested crew, and a cast of mostly non-professional actors. After a half-dozen writers took a swipe at the script, they came up with a confounding but tepid rehash of the first film. This time around, and mostly in flashback, we learn that after the first killer Santa was sloppily dispatched at the end of Part 1, his brother Ricky becomes determined to uncover what went wrong.

Read more

Movies

9 Jolly Santa Slasher Movies

By Jim Knipfel

TV

100 Best Christmas TV Episodes of All Time

By Wesley Mead

He pays a visit to the sadistic Mother Superior at the Catholic asylum where his brother had been kept, and before you can say “ho ho ho,” Ricky ends up donning the red and white suit himself to do a little rampaging, though without nearly half of his brother’s imagination. They even used the same fucking poster design, just slapped a “2” on it. I guess hoping they might raise the same sort of ruckus the first one had. Sadly, it was too late for that.

– Jim Knipfel 

Sint (2010)

Dutch director Dick Maas took some early steps toward Krampus territory with his re-imagining of the legend of the warm-hearted Saint Nick. Borrowing heavily from earlier Italian, Spanish, and American horror films, as well as Danish folklore, “Sinterklaas” here was actually a bloodthirsty medieval murderer and all around brute who oversaw a savage reign of terror. Finally fed up with all his nonsense, the ornery local villagers banded together on the night of Dec. 5 and lynched him. As per tradition, however, in the moments before he died Sinterklaas vowed vengeance from beyond the grave, promising to return every 32 years on that very night to do bad and icky things to the villagers’ descendants.

Over the centuries, the story was mainstreamed and soft-pedaled, becoming part of the local folklore. The character of Saint Nick became much more benevolent and child-friendly so as not to scare the wee folk. Then, well, wouldn’t you know it? That anniversary creeps around again, Sinterklaas is true to his word, and Amsterdam turns all bloody, leaving it up to an intrepid teenager named Frank to put a stop to the mayhem.

Read more

Movies

The Best Christmas Movie Soundtracks of All Time

By Ivan Radford

TV

The Twilight Zone Marathon: A History of a Holiday Tradition

By Arlen Schumer

A stylish, wicked, and hugely entertaining take on the darker history of a beloved legend. It was also the top grossing film in Denmark in 2010, which either says something about the Danish film industry or the Dutch themselves.

– Jim Knipfel

Tales From the Crypt: And All Through the House (1972)

The Crypt Keeper first emerged as a ghoulish EC Comics horror host in the pages of Tales From the Crypt who crawled onto the big screen in this horror anthology, welcoming unknowing tourists to his catacombs with bony arms open. What the tourists don’t know is that they’re all recently deceased. The invite is to a subterranean story-time in which he unearths the gruesome details of their deaths with a gap-toothed grin. Creatures are obviously stirring when killer wife Joanne is stalked by a homicidal Santa in this warped homage to ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas titled (appropriately enough) “… And All Through the House.”

So it is that “O Come All Ye Faithful” is interrupted while playing on the radio by a scratchy warning of a homicidal maniac run amok. And wouldn’t you just know it, this occurs right as Joan Collins is offing her husband with a shot to the head—and then realizes she has to dismember the body before cashing in on his life insurance. Her blissfully naïve daughter lets the killer jolly old elf in, shrieking that Santa finally came before he erupts into psychopathic rage. Clement C. Moore must be turning in his grave.

– Elizabeth Rayne 

The Wolf of Snow Hollow

Certainly less purely Christmas-y than other entries on this list, The Wolf of Snow Hollow is nonetheless a wintry delight set during the holiday season. Carols play ominously in the background during key moments, and the immaculately snowy white setting of Snow Hollow, Utah is broken only by splashes of color from lights on homes and Christmas trees. Oh yes, and the blood of the titular werewolf’s victims.

Read more

Movies

The Wolf of Snow Hollow Review: A Quirky Werewolf Movie

By Don Kaye

Movies

13 Must-See Werewolf Movies

By Mike Cecchini

Jim Cummings’ film is heavy on cozy, ski town holiday atmosphere without leaning on its actual Christmastime setting at all. But good werewolf movies are a rare breed indeed these days, and a werewolf movie set at Christmas? Well…now you know what to watch when the moon is full each December

Mike Cecchini

Got any other suggestions for Christmas horror movies that we missed? Let us know in the comments!

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The post The 21 Best Christmas Horror Movies appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[deathnoting]

i'm new to the death note fandom, and everyone seems to have vastly varying interpretations of L's character do you mind talking a bit about how you interpret him?

hi anon! first of all: welcome to the fandom! we’re not dead but we’re close enough that you could bury us by mistake. always good to have new people. :-) as for your question…. *cracks knuckles* i’m so glad you asked.

thinking about it, i guess i interpret/have interpreted L in a lot of different ways since i first got into death note. of all the main dn characters, he invites the widest range of interpretations. not only did ohba state that much (most?) of what L says is a lie, L also refers to himself as a liar on at least one canon occasion. add to that the variation in his characterization between the early manga chapters (scenes where he is alone) and the later ones (scenes where he is around other characters), the ryuzaki alias and mannerisms being used by b in labb in such a way that calls into question their origin and authenticity, and the general tilt of facetiousness to most of his dialogue (depending on who’s playing him. alessendro juliani’s L constantly talks like he is lowkey making fun of everyone), and it’s no big mystery why there’s so many fanon versions of him. he’s a character that’s enigmatic enough to generate questions in and of himself, and when you give the fandom a decade to stew over those questions, this is what happens.

(small aside: this is one of the things i absolutely love about fandom. the way that one work can spawn so many works, and one character can spawn so many permutations. as someone who spends a lot of time creating and developing characters on my own, it’s humbling and amazing to see characterizations crowd-sourced over such a long period of time from people all over the world. that doesn’t just go for L, but for all of my favorite characters who have enjoyed long and complex fanon careers. i’m looking at you, Every Harry Potter Character.)

as for my personal interpretation of L? if you’re looking for the cliff’s notes, it can be summed up pretty well by this post.

the full earful is:

since i’ve ever been in the fandom (say 2013 ish?), L’s characterization has been a hot topic. this was discourse before it was even called discourse. (rip “fandom wank”.) there was a good portion of people who were big fans of L, saw him as the “good” character to light’s “bad,” and just wanted to fantasize about their anime husbando in peace, goddammit. the backlash to that was the establishment of a long and enduring tradition of posts pointing out all of L’s morally dodgy actions, and tagging pictures of him with #garbage man or something along those lines. that was definitely an aspect of my brand when i was a popular blog. “this is my favorite character in the series and how dare you say that he is a good person!!!!” at the time i was very into squabbling over anime character interpretations. idk what ya’ll were/are doing in your teens, but that’s what i did.

at this point? i see it like this: in the canon, there’s a sharp disconnect between L’s quirky, pun-making, donut-scarfing, face-pulling personality and the insidiousness of his tactics. you can only really read his disregard for the law and for conventional human decency as harmless if you assume he is stupid, and since the very basis of the plot rests on the viewer accepting his (and light’s) genius, then that means he is smart enough to know exactly what he is doing and in what ways it is wrong, and doing it anyway because he believes that it’s necessary to achieve his ends. what’s cool about this is that ohba doesn’t insist on this perception. it isn’t hammered into the bones of the story the way that light’s hypocrisy is (probably because it was more incidental than not) but it is very much there in between the lines: L is not a better person than light, just more subtle.

something that i have always really liked about death note as a piece of media is that, although it is a heavy-handed, cartoonish (literally, yes, but also thematically) shonen jump series where all the characters are caricatures, it occupies this weird space of bleak realism that fits so strangely within its genre that it is almost like the whole world of the story is being pulled in two totally opposite and incompatible directions. light’s bond-villian-esque tirades are bordered by panels of disturbing domestic emptiness. L’s helicopter-flying, ice cream guzzling world’s greatest detective (like, honestly, how is that a real title that exists and is known and cared about by the public?) schtick overlays scenes of him holding suspects for fifty days, limbs bound, without trial. there’s a morbidity to all the fun in death note and i think one of the reasons L is so popular, and so polarizing, is because he holds those two aspects pretty well in balance. after his death, light’s desolateness is the only thing left standing. (i’m not saying mello and near aren’t fun, but i’d argue that their isolation from each other makes it so their morbidity outweighs the level of fun they can produce.)

if you skew a lot closer to the more sober and realistic aspects of death note and further from the hijinks of its genre, that’s where my interpretation of L sits. i think, if this person actually existed, what would he be like? probably unhealthy, both physically and emotionally, but high functioning. desensitized by over-exposure to disturbing stimuli. prone to exaggerating his natural eccentricities in order to throw people off. egotistical, but also preoccupied with things that have the potential to prove him wrong. enamored by the mysterious. terrified of death. disfigured by physically damaging habits but too set in them to want to change. do i see him as a bad person? well, it’s next to impossible to wield that amount of power and not be. L’s power is integral to his character. if he had no money, no handler, no international reputation, or ability to construct a building a moment’s notice, or helicopter, or sway with which to bypass a police protocol—well, then it wouldn’t matter what his ethical philosophy was. (which, the canon suggests, pretty much boils down to: “L always gets his man” *finger gun* *wink*). just like light’s self-aggrandizing idealism would be more or less harmless without the death note, L’s identity is inextricable from his role as the world’s greatest (three) detective(s). without those larger than life roles, light is just the pretentious kid going off in your intro to ethics class and L is just the harried professor pinching the bridge of his nose and wondering how academically scrupulous it is to tell him to shut up. (and yes, please, someone write that au.)

that’s just my canon analysis, though. i think, especially for new death note fans, coming straight from the source material into the world of totally wacky and incongruent fanon ideas and characterizations can be very disorienting. if you want to know all my self indulgent characterizations that i assign to L just because i like them and not because i have any good reason to, that’s a whole separate post. (hint: they involve a victorian gothic childhood and an interest in power-bottoming for the people whose paychecks he signs/prison cells he holds the keys to.)

sorry to go off, anon! i’m not even sure i fully answered your question but hopefully this provided a little clarity as to why this fandom is in disparate characterization shambles.

actually i think it would be cool to hear from a lot of people about their L interpretation. if you asked this q to multiple people, anon, you should amass the highlights into a mega-post of crowd-sourced L characterization or something.

[cryptochurp]

In the Cryptoverse, AsicBoost Controversy Picks Up Steam

There are no “Sleepy Sundays” in the land of cryptocurrency and today is no different with the latest episode seeing Twitter and both Bitcoin subreddits explode with emotion over the proposed merging of patented overt AsicBoost technology into the Core reference implementation.

Also see: How Coinbase Added Bitcoin Cash (It Wasn’t as Easy as You Think)

Subscribe to the Bitsonline YouTube channel for more great interviews featuring industry insiders & experts

Debate Reaches Fever Pitch

Caught in today’s drama is Andreas Antonopoulos, thanks to a 2017 Q&A session regarding Bitmain, Core Developer, and Halong Mining entrepreneur BtcDrak, as well as long standing community member @CobraBitcoin.

The action started with a tweet by bitcoin mining pool Slush Pool revealing that Halong Mining hardware with overt AsicBoost had successfully mined its first block using their pool.

Our block #514882 is the first-ever block mined using the active version-rolling aka overt AsicBoost. According to the available evidence, it was mined by @HalongMining hardware. Congrats to lucky miner from Guangdong, China https://t.co/4XtmSN6yo1

— Slush Pool (@slush_pool) March 24, 2018

Halong Mining is owned by Core dev @btcdrak and was launched during the intra-community political impasse over scaling and SegWit in 2017.

With the airing of the Slush Pool tweet, another controversial Twitter identity, Cøbra, unleashed a series of tweets taking aim at BtcDrak’s recent pull request which Cøbra claims will make it easier to use Halong Mining’s patented AsicBoost technology, effectively favoring one company over others.

I want to draw attention to a particular pull request by @btcdrak: https://t.co/PPqz7X9Gfr. This pull effectively degrades the functionality of Bitcoin Core's soft fork deployment system in order to make it easier for his business to use the patented version rolling ASICBOOST.

— Cøbra (@CobraBitcoin) March 24, 2018

Under no circumstances should we be degrading the reference implementation to make it easier to use patented ASICBOOST. We complained when @JihanWu blocked Segwit because it stopped his use of covert ASICBOOST, but this is worse because it *changes* Bitcoin Core to aid ASICBOOST.

— Cøbra (@CobraBitcoin) March 24, 2018

Twitter was quick to respond. Some pointed out that within the pull request, Core developer Matt Corallo noted:

“Without some kind of review in the form of several mining hardware manufacturers weighing in that they feel comfortable building in asicboost into their hardware, I don’t think we can give this kind of implied approval of it’s use”, but Cobra countered by pointing out that such a fuss was made over Jihan Wu and Bitmain’s ‘blocking of Segwit,’ but now the Core development team may be degrading the network to benefit a specific company that happens to be owned by a Core developer.”

If this gets merged, Bitcoin Core will have directly degraded the network on purpose to make it easier for a specific company to use their patented technology. Nobody in good faith can defend this, no matter what. This is a line that should not be crossed.

— Cøbra (@CobraBitcoin) March 24, 2018

In the GitHub comments section, contributor “FivePiece” also responded with:

“[N]othing stops anybody from using asicboost already. This proposal only standardizes overt asicboost using nversion rolling, which is the cleanest type of asicboost. It doesn’t require smallempty blocks and is not dangerous in requiring transaction index permutation……Let’s wait for the rest of the community to react to this proposal before putting words in their mouths.”

Other well known figures lept to the Core development team’s defense, like Vortex:

There is zero "degrade" on the network and anyone can use this patent and in doing so must reveal their own patents resulting in increased transparency in the ecosystem overall. Game theory and market competition wins out over deception and fear mongering in bitcoin.

— Vortex (@theonevortex) March 24, 2018

Everyone and Their Mother Sounds Off

The exchanges also ignited a flurry of heated activity on Reddit, especially r/btc, which dragged Andreas Antonopoulos’ name into the debate.

Antonopoulos pictured.

In an April 2017 Q&A Andreas spoke at length about Bitmain’s use of covert AsicBoost, explaining his view that covert use of AsicBoost “is unacceptable” and implored that “if you’re going to do it, do it with the overt version.”

To this end, Redditors like u/zongk were quick to jump on Antonopoulos, suggesting that the scholar would not speak out against Slush Pool’s use of a patented technology because he sided with the Bitcoin Core development team:

u/zongk wrote:

“The difference: overt works with segwit while covert does not. Core is using their control over the protocol to fuck with Bitmain.”

This sentiment is to be expected on Reddit, however a counter to that line of thought was posted in response to Cøbra’s tweet that echoed the “hypocrisy” theme, with @ProfessorPMills noting that the pending patent owned by Halong Mining is a defensive patent and part of a group in which members agree to transparency and the sharing of patented technology.

Still patent pending, but the license exists already and the technical details have been shared with license holders of the blockchain defensive patent license such as @HalongMining

Everyone who joins agrees to share patentshttps://t.co/IEJXwxkN9Thttps://t.co/qxh9W43gc9

— P.Miller (@ProfessorPmills) March 24, 2018

But of course, this is crypto and the mudslinging and calls of “hypocrisy” and “shilling” came thick and fast. Both major bitcoin subreddits seemed confused on how to approach the subject of the covert and overt AsicBoost, often allowing the conversation to delve into the quagmire of ulterior motives and which messengers can be trusted.

u/tophernator noted that:

“[M]y point wasn’t that people should trust Cobra. If anything it’s the exact opposite. The top level post seemed to imply that if Cobra was criticizing BTC or anything to do with it he must be on BCH’s side. I see similar attitudes displayed by the people defending Craig Wright. He can’t be a bad guy if he spouts pro-BCH or anti-BTC soundbites. In the real rational world people are complex. Cobra’s comments about the ASIC-boost hypocrisy have absolutely no relevance to his views on BCH.”

Over on r/bitcoin the arguments led back to AsicBoost and the insinuation that Bitmain were blocking SegWit to maintain their monopoly and would use patents to make China the dominant force in Bitcoin.

To that effect, u/metalzip wrote:

“[…] it was offensively-patented (instead of defensively), so they could use police (or most likely lawyers etc) to kill any competition (or at least in China, but that’s what counts nowdays).”

The drama surrounding BtcDrak’s pull request and the use of AsicBoost technology is unlikely to end anytime soon, especially with the still simmering tensions between the big and small block camps. Such melodrama seems poised to rear its head again and again for the near future.

What’s your take? Are you in favor of, or opposed to, overt AsicBoost? Sound off in the comments below. 

Images via Pioneering Minds, psichika

The post In the Cryptoverse, AsicBoost Controversy Picks Up Steam appeared first on Bitsonline.

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[nemesis-nexus]

Hail Marduk Omnipotent Satan and Father to us all, hear us! The world has lost its collective mind and this is evident everywhere you look. You have animals on the endangered species list being removed from said list because apparently it’s too much trouble to protect them even if said protection is to keep them ALIVE and prevent them from going EXTINCT! I will never understand why the human race thinks that it is above everything else on this planet when its own actions demonstrate that it clearly is not – EVERY other species on this planet adapts as best it can to the habitat around it and rarely, if ever, takes more than it actually needs to survive whereas the human race takes and takes and takes and rarely gives back or leaves anything for anyone else to utilize for its survival – and believe it or not, that’s not the worst part! The grizzly bear has already been removed, the red and gray wolf are slated to be next! The best part of this initiative is that the real reason these animals are being removed is so that the environments they are living in can have THEIR federal protections removed! Places such as Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks and Bears Ears Monument are being SERIOUSLY considered to have their federal protections removed and WHY? Because the greed and avariciousness of the so-called powers that be leave little to no room for anything that does not benefit their money lust! They will claim that they are doing it in the name of putting people back to work but the reality is that they themselves don’t want to do the work required because it means getting down in the trenches with the rest of us lowly mortals digging tunnels! AND PEOPLE HAVE THE AUDACITY TO ACCUSE THE ANUNNAKI OF TRYING TO ENSLAVE HUMANS TO DIG FOR GOLD FOR THEM?!?! Why is it when it’s other humans throwing you in the pit it’s called a JOB but if any Anunnaki were to take leave of their senses and do the SAME THING, it’s called SLAVERY? Can you say HYPOCRISY? I knew you could! Even closer examination reveals just how much these “jobs” are actually benefitting the workers versus how much MORE the backbreaking labor of the workers is actually benefitting the ones providing said jobs and the truth of that is that the ALLEGED providers stand to make MILLIONS whereas the workers IF THEY ARE LUCKY might make between 40 – 100,000k a year (depending of position) but even that is not guaranteed AND if the company goes under or the deposit being tapped runs out, so does the employment and the money, not to mention any kind of benefits such as HEALTH INSURANCE! The immediate answer to that is for people to move with the company but not everyone can do that, some people have family members with serious illnesses that require medical attention round the clock and others are immobile, to tell these people that their situation is NOT your concern after they risked their lives to make you richER not only demonstrates their actual worth to the company, but to the industry itself! This is why renewable energy NEEDS to be invested in and studies show that solar energy, NOT OIL, is actually leading the way in job growth and sustainability! They won’t tell you that because they NEED for you to be as dependant on oil as possible so they can keep THEIR money coming in! The reality is that yes, we need oil and petroleum but NOT as much as they have the general population convinced we do! The truth is if we were to utilize and develop solar, wind and hydro energy we would have all we needed as far as electricity is concerned, heating homes in winter would also be cheaper because the demand won’t be as great AND we won’t be putting non-human lives at risk, destroying the landscape, increasing seismic activity above and below sea level and will be less likely to contribute to that supervolcano erupting in the MidWest US!! The ONLY reason they need for everyone to believe that we NEED oil as much as they say we do is NOT to compete on the world market – that is a LIE that keeps on taking from the poor and giving to the rich – it is because THEY don’t want to lose the financial stranglehold they have over the people! If you don’t believe that then look no further than North Dakota and just how far Energy Transfer Partners was willing to go to BRUTALIZE and DEHUMANIZE the people even hiring a security company called TigerSwan to infiltrate and instigate trouble between the Water Protectors and the militarized police who were ILLEGALLY occupying the land/Backwater Bridge! TigerSwan was recently FIRED by Energy Transfer Partners in an effort to avoid any fallout and so they could throw TigerSwan under the bus when the lawsuits start getting filed, too bad ETP was ALREADY busted a long time ago! This right here demonstrates just how much these bastards care about the people working FOR them, nevermind what they are willing to do to anyone who has the gall to tell them NO! The fact is they don’t give a damn about anything or anyone or about LIFE in general and that is the reason that ETP needs to be shut down! Anyone who is willing to MAIM or KILL in the name of profits not only does not deserve to be prosperous, they revoke their own right to exist at all! Blessed Father Marduk we know that every few thousand years the Earth must purge itself of that which is the most destructive and this would be AT LEAST the second time this has happened to the human race! Why does it happen? Because humans have ego issues by which they think they are above everything else on this planet to the point where they NOW feel as though they have the ENTITLEMENT to venture out into space in search of other planets to colonize and WHY? Because we’ve done so much damage to THIS one that “we don’t have a choice”! BULLSHIT! You know who else abandons ship when it starts to sink? RATS. That’s right, RATS! The human race is not only NOT above anything else in nature, at this point it is no better than a colony of rats feeding off of the filth and creating even more of it in the process! They take what they want and when it runs out, they take off in search of more and they don’t do anything in ways of sustaining the environment in which they were living because they don’t care, it no longer benefits them and therefore it is not their concern, what happens to IT or to anyone who is still living there! We may not like this comparison but if we do not wish to be compared to rats or viruses then we need to stop behaving in similar fashion and start acting as though we are more evolved! We need to step up and BE the change we want to see, the simple fact is that NOTHING is going to change if WE don’t do our part and it doesn’t take a whole lot to start, it can be as simple as growing a garden, planting a tree, buying only recycled or greater percentage recycled goods, teaching the children to not litter, to not throw things out car windows or into the ocean, to make it so that things such as MEDICATION is no longer being flushed down the toilet and affecting the marine life either by poisoning them to death or in the case of hormone drugs, causing them to develop alternate sex organs! Every SMALL action changes the BIG picture, the situation is NOT hopeless, we just need to give enough of a damn to slam on the brakes of what is currently happening and change course! Glorious Dragon who oversees all we know there are some things we can control and some things we can’t, even though many of us seem to think we can or should control everything which is how many religions AFTER THE ORIGINAL were created, to control the masses and limit free thought and critical thinking! The reason why Satanism endures is because we understand that we are NOT always in control (I dare ANYONE to stand in the path of any size tornado and COMMAND it to stop, send us a postcard to let us know how well it worked out for you) that chaos is a constant and a necessity, if energy ceases to move then the system collapses upon itself, however if we move with the energy and don’t get arrogant, then all forms of evolution takes place and the world continues to grow. We also understand that RESPECTING NATURE IS NOT AN OPTION, that is not if one wishes to SURVIVE their time here! We cannot control natural disasters such as tornadoes but we CAN lessen the presence of things such as earthquakes by simply NOT FRACTURING THE MANTLE especially not in the amount and frequency that it is currently being done in and how much MORE they want to do it in! The seismic air gun blasts that they need to use in order to even find the oil deposits offshore and underwater not only harms/kills the marine life in the area, it also increases the potential for tidal waves and the chances of tsunami’s such as the ones that almost took out Sri Lanka and devastated the coast of Fukushima! The OTHER reason Satanism endures is due to PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY! While our Illustrious Father gave us the free will to do as we see fit we also understand that WE are responsible for everything WE do, that it is NO ONE ELSE’S job to come galloping in to save us from ourselves because we alone are at fault for any messes we make! It endures because we understand that if we want something in life, that just praying for it is not going to manifest it, that just as much physical effort needs to be applied in the process, failure to act on our own behalf is accepting failure at everything we try because half-assed work yields half-assed results and there is NO ONE to blame for that but ourselves, after all WE are the ones who claimed we wanted whatever then failed to provide the work to make it a reality! While things don’t always work out even with a substantial effort, we don’t just throw in the towel and insist it’s “god’s will”, that’s a cop out and an excuse to give up right away! Instead we review the steps we took and try to come up with a new way to reach our goal, if it is determined that it won’t work out no matter what we do then we simply move on accepting that we were unable to do something and there is nothing wrong with that, it’s part of accepting that things don’t always go the way we want and that there is no supernatural force preventing it from happening! Blaming someone else when things don’t work out but trumpeting your success when it does is not only arrogant, it demonstrates a lack of character! Either you had help in the endeavor or you didn’t, you don’t get to blame someone else for your inability to make something happen then completely disregard that same being when you ARE able to make it happen; that’s a good way to get yourself into some SERIOUSLY DEEP SHIT with the Deity or anyone else whose assistance you may have requested! Sometimes it’s even for the best that some things don’t go how we want as the end result may be detrimental for us and anyone else who may be affected by our actions, ESPECIALLY if they are done in haste or out of anger or grief! The biggest reason Satanism endures is in my opinion is because we don’t live in denial that there are many different kinds of people and that it is not for us to judge anyone - with the exception of course of pedophiles, rapists, elder abusers, animal abusers and religious zealots (regardless of religion) – as there is already too much arrogance and self importance in the world and as a result many people have been imprisoned, tortured and KILLED just because they were different and nothing more! We endure because no matter how much other people may hate us, we keep pushing through! No matter how many people accuse us of crimes we are not guilty of, we rise above! No matter how many lies they tell about us in an effort to isolate us and make us the enemy, we counter with truth, logic and rationale! It is because of these things that we were able to move beyond horrific events such as the Salem Witch “Trials” and the Satanic Panic when people generally speaking were unjustly accused of crimes they were not guilty of and the public at large just went along with it because they were too terrified of the consequences if they didn’t! We must keep moving forward beyond events such these and we must cull all those who are hell bent on reviving them as well as the violence and hate they caused from our Community! We must do it to protect ourselves, our children, the Community at large but also to defend the honor of our Deity who put his own neck on the line to save us so that we had a chance to grow beyond what we were and become more than we are! “Family Honor O Father Satan I Ask That You Give Us Wisdom! You are the Flame of Intelligence and because of you we are not blind to Truth or Reality! O Father Satan I Ask That You Give Us Clarity! You lift the veil from our eyes and clear the smoke from the mirror so that we may see! O Father Satan I Ask That You Give Us Peace Of Mind! With steady hands and steady hearts we can accomplish anything no matter how great or small! O Father Satan I Ask That You Give Us The Strength To Carry On! In our most trying times you are our rock and because of that we are able to get passed any obstacles! O Father Satan I Ask That You Help Guide Us Through The Darkness! When we are stressed to the point where we don’t know which end is up, you are there to help see us through! O Father Satan I Ask That You Embrace And Protect The Most Vulnerable! There are many – young children, the elderly and many animals – that are victimized who need your help to fight of their aggressors! O Father Satan I Ask That You Raise Your Sword And Smite The Wicked! Anyone who abuses a child/elderly person/animal/the Earth in ANY context should be sorted out with EXTREME prejudice! O Father Satan I Ask That You Brandish Your Shield In Protection Of The Innocent! Your love knows no bounds and as much as we may try to help those that we can, we simply cannot do it alone! Father Marduk In You All Things Are Possible! Father Marduk In You Nothing Is Out Of Reach So Long As We Put In The Effort To Acquire It! Father Marduk We Thank You For Your Efforts In The Beginning! Father Marduk We Thank You For The Earth That We Call Home! Father Marduk We Thank You For The Herds That Sustain Us! Father Marduk We Thank You For The Grains That Sustain Them! Father Marduk We Thank You For The Waters Of Life – MNI KIN WICONI! Father Marduk We Thank You For The Air We Breathe! Father Marduk We Thank You For The Fire That Warms Us! Father Marduk We Thank You For Guiding Us On Our Path! Father Marduk We Thank You For Our Families! Father Marduk We Thank You For The Friends We Meet Along The Way! Father Marduk We Thank You For All The Good Times! Father Marduk We Thank You For All The Rough Times! Father Marduk We Thank You For Our Ability To Reason! Father Marduk We Thank You For Being Patient With Us! Father Marduk We Thank You For Enduring The Slings And Arrows Of Corruption So That We May Continue To Evolve! Father Marduk We Thank You Most Of All For NOT Giving Up On Us!” ZI ANA KANPA! ZI KIA KANPA! MAY THE DEAD RISE AND SMELL THE INCENSE! Etiamsi MULTA Et Nos UNUM Sumus Nos Sto Validus Ut Nos Sto Una! Semper Veritas, Semper Fideles, In Diabolus Nomen Nos Fides! AVE SATANÍ! (We Are ONE Even Though We Are MANY And We Stand STRONGEST When We Stand TOGETHER! Always TRUTHFUL, Always FAITHFUL, In Satan's Name We Trust! HAIL SATAN!) Ave URURU! Ave EA! Ave DIMUZI! Ave ININNI! Ave GILGAMESH! Ave ENKIDU! Ave TIAMAT! Ave ABSU! Ave MARDUK! Ave SARPANITUM! Ave SATANÍ! HAIL SATAN! HPS Meg “Nemesis Nexus” Prentiss

[jimlopezzo]

Cover Letter for “Fight Night At Golgotha”

Hey all,

Below is a cover letter for a script contest which I entered my horror script into. It’s not the best thing I’ve ever written, but it serves as almost a mini-essay and allows me to wax philosophical the story concept and reflect on what I hoped to achieve. I doubt anyone will be interested, but it’s here if anyone is so inclined.

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To Whom It May Concern,

I am excited to submit my horror script, “Fight Night At Golgotha”, for consideration to the (INSERT NAME OF COMPETITIVE SCRIPT COMPETITION OR FELLOWSHIP HERE).  I would like to discuss the origins of the script as well as some of the things I had hoped to accomplish in terms of character, story and tone.

Part of fleshing out a horror story concept involves asking myself, “What am I afraid of?”

“People” is a very common answer to that question.

With regard to our species, I’m always reminded of a quote from the character of Ellen Ripley in Aliens (one of my favorite films). “You know, Burke, I don't know which species is worse. You don't see them fucking each other over for a goddamn percentage.”

To me, human beings are the scariest monsters because of the choices they make. Small crime scenes and mass graves alike all begin with choices.

What also makes human evil especially scary to me is the mundane normality of most of it. Many people who do terrible things are quite “regular”. They often have normal bodies and normal jobs, and families and beloved pets, and favorite sports teams, foods and TV shows. They had baby pictures once. By turns, they can also be kind, generous, witty, charming, insightful and tender.

They can also be creative, which is the “jumping-off” point for my story concept.

One thing I realized about two years ago was that a good deal of my book, movie and record collection consisted of “beautiful art by awful people.” I’ve had this conversation many times: How does one reconcile appreciation for a beautiful creative work made by someone who has done (or has allegedly done) some really awful things? Do we ennoble these people (and minimize the disgusting nature of their actions) by enjoying their art? It’s a complicated line to walk.

This “good art, horrible person” debate made me think of a character / personality concept: a widely-beloved figure who has used his or her public persona as camouflage for a more genuine persona that is cruel, abusive, and monstrous. Bill Cosby is arguably the most recent topical example of this.

I took this line of thought a step further in considering other themes.

What if intense creative talent and terrible anti-social behavior come from the same psychological wellspring in people? Are hurtful, destructive geniuses the price we pay as a society for art that elevates us? Is there a sliver of hypocrisy in celebrating the art while condemning the “bad” person that created it?

I asked myself, “Wouldn’t such a person make a tremendous horror villain?”

From this question, the details of my antagonist, Ben Krupps, were born. Not all of them found their way into the script, but they were integral in gaining insight into what made him tick.

Publicly, Ben is an iconic, widely-respected author who is beloved on the level of Robin Williams. He has been ranked alongside many of the literary heavyweights of the 20th century. His public-facing persona is positive, kind, playful, rugged, philanthropic, mediagenic and wickedly funny. To many, he’s a living national treasure. He gives inspiring talks. His quotes appear on tote bags. Occupying a base of operations “somewhere in a flyover state” (he won’t say which), Ben embodies the consummate American blend of homespun, Will-Rogers-esque wit and counterculture iconoclast.

Privately, Ben is a very different person. He’s misanthropic. Racist. Abusive. Volatile and ill-tempered. Paranoid. Sociopathic. Isolated and increasingly unstable. He alternates between bouts of sadistic fantasy and deep self-loathing. He deftly cultivates his public persona for the leverage it gets him, but privately believes in little of it.

As the script opens, his isolation and boredom while working on his latest novel has become excruciating. A chance discovery of forgotten manuscripts forwarded to him by aspiring writers gives him an idea: host a writer’s retreat and nurture some young talent.

One writer interests him more than all the others.

Angela, our protagonist, is a talented-but-struggling writer in her mid-twenties. She lives a spartan, hand-to-mouth existence in the tough North Philadelphia neighborhood of Fishtown. Writing for a Elise, an autobiographical proxy of herself, she says this of her home:

“On the sixth day, God created North Philly. Life rolls on at a clip there. Only faces change. The kids that Elise babysat seven years ago were getting into oxy.

Classmates she used to play freeze-tag with were yelling at their own kids out in the street. In a weird way, the neighborhood made sense because it didn’t hide what people really were. Petty. Tribal in their shared misery. Never wanting to see anyone else do too well. White, black, brown, it was all the same to her.”

Angela is a fish out of water in her home, and lives with her back to the wall in an isolated inner world of anger and quiet desperation. When she receives an invitation from Ben, her literary hero, to attend the writers workshop at his home in Wyoming, she is over the moon. It’s her first “break”, and an incomprehensibly big one at that.

Angela makes her way to the workshop, and meets the other writers who have been in invited. Despite early instances of competitiveness and clique mentality, it begins pleasantly enough.

And then one night, everything goes to hell.

***

In terms of the creative vision for the screenplay, I had three points in mind.

I set out to write a “small” horror film with a minimal cast, and which could be scaled to a small budget as needed. Though I did add some scenes to clarify certain character details, the core of the story is one location and six people.

It was also important to me to take the time to develop my characters, and make me protagonist and her allies relatable and empathetic. Horror films often suffer from underdeveloped protagonists, and as a result, we don’t care one way or another if they live or die. However, when care has been taken to flesh them out and make us want to root for them, the stakes feel higher, and the horror of the situation feels powerful and organic if they fail.

I wanted to write a film that would not require an appreciable special effects presence to tell the story, but would rely instead on strong performances.

“Fight Night At Golgotha” is my fifth script. It was a tremendous amount of work, and a pleasure to write. I hope it makes for an entertaining read. Going forward into the future, I am excited to see how the script will continue to grow and develop.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Jim Lopezzo