#but they aren’t?? a typical YouTube channel??

[themoonking]

not to get into it but like. they made it pretty clear that they literally cannot afford to keep making content at the same level they have been without pivoting. and some of y’all are getting “money hungry” from that?

[flower-boi16]

Lily Orchard’s Takes on Hunter are garbage and here’s why [The Owl House]

I decided to remake this post because there were some things I wanted to add in or change about the original post (and because no one saw the original post lol). So...let’s just get this over with. 

I'm just gonna cut to the chase; The Owl House is a fantastic show and I think LO's takes on one of the characters in the series are poorly thought out or just not true and here's why. For those who (somehow) don't know; Lily Orchard is a youtuber who makes video essays on cartoons, she's also probably the most controversial youtube critic I've seen. I'm not gonna cover much of the drama that Lily's been involved in, but I felt like that was worth mentioning. The Owl House is a show that Lily covers quite a bit on her channel, but she has a very certain dislike of one particular character in it; Hunter. I decided to make this post for two reasons; 1) I don't see many people debunking Lily's arguments about Hunter outside of some asks on LO gossip blogs on Tumblr and 2) I really like Hunter. He's probably my second favorite of the main characters right below Luz for me, and I wanted to make this post after finishing the show because...

Lily's arguments about Hunter aren't very good. They are filled with Lily constantly making poorly thought out and false arguments about Hunter that could be easily disproven if you actually watch the show. So I'm gonna cover some of Lily's points about Hunter and why they are false. This post is going to cover some of Lily's major arguments criticizing Hunter and why I disagree with them. Let's begin.

"Hunter Is a Passive Character"

I'll just take this piece of text from a really good article I've found about passive characters right here:

"These characters have goals — from as small as a glass of water to as big as saving the world — and their determination to achieve those goals creates the stakes of the story.  Passive characters are, naturally, the opposite. They wait for things to happen instead of making them happen. They’re reactive, not proactive.  Whereas active characters impact the story, passive characters sit back and experience the story." -WHY YOU SHOULD AVOID WRITING PASSIVE CHARACTERS (& HOW TO MAKE THEM ACTIVE)

As the text says, a passive character is a character that doesn't contribute to the story in any meaningful way and simply sits back, and watches the story as it goes, often waiting for things to happen instead of making them happen. It's important to define what a passive character is to illustrate my point; that being, Hunter is not a passive character, which is what Lily accuses him of being. To take some quotes from Lily's video on Hunter:

"Hunter's character has been passive from his first appearance, even when he had the trash boy Vanitas vibe going for him. He shows up, does nothing, refuses to elaborate and leaves."

"Typically passive characters aren't a good thing to give this kind of screen time to because the majority of that time will be spent watching them hem and haw and drag their feet. This was the problem with Hollow Mind. It doesn't go through much information that's new to the viewer, and indeed that new information is kept to the background paintings. And that's because 90% of the episode is spent watching Hunter cope and seeth which grinds the story to a halt"

"Most of the time when he's actually in an episode, the story grinds to a halt while Hunter sits there and does fucking nothing and you may as well skip to act 3 because its going to go the same way the last few of them went" -Glass of Water Character Potential Doesn't Excuse Lazy Writing

Lily says that in most of the episodes centering around Hunter, he just sits there and does nothing until the episode's third act. However, this simply isn't true. Let's look at four out of the five episodes focusing on Hunter and why the things he does in those episodes don't make him passive.

S2 EP 6: Hunting Palisman: I don't have much to say about Hunter in this one. This episode basically introduces us to Hunter proper where we get to see him grow a slight friendship with Luz and him deciding to let her take the palisman instead of betraying her. Don't have much to say here.

S2 EP9: Eclipse Lake - This is an example of Hunter pushing the plot forward and him not being a passive character. Here, he disguises himself as a coven scout to go to the expedition led by Kikimora searching for Titan blood in eclipse lake so he could prove himself to be useful to Belos after he says that Hunter is "replaceable".  Later in the episode, he gets the Titan blood key and gives it to Belos. This is an example of Hunter being an active character; he pushes the plot forward and contributes to it, which is important because passive characters don't do that; rather, they wait for the plot to happen and react to it rather than actually making the plot happen.

S2 EP 13: Any Sport in a Storm - Now this is where Lily's points about Hunter being "passive" really begin to show their cracks. In this episode, Hunter goes to find recruits for the emperor's coven after being "ordered" by Darius to do, so he could, like in the last episode, prove his worth to the emperor's coven. Here, he joins Willow's flyer derby team and after playing a game he basically kidnaps them and makes them join the emperor's coven against their will. After realizing what he did was fucked he goes to protect them by saying their too weak for the emperor's coven, giving them a chance to escape. Hunter, like in the last episode, is not only an active character by pushing the plot forward, but he also goes through development here as he learns to make connections with people outside of the emperor's coven and is even willing to take a lethal blow from Darius to and sacrifice his status to protect his friends. Hunter, like in his last episode, is not a passive character.

S2 EP16 Hollow Mind - Hey, did you know that Lily thinks Hollow Mind is the worst episode of the show and thinks it's a 1/10? I could cover how bad Lily's takes on this episode are but someone already did make a video on that so I won't touch on her other takes about the episode here, but it's clear from the last quote that Lily misses the point of the episode. In this episode, Hunter gets trapped with Luz inside of Belos's mind and they end up seeing Belos's memories, which challenge Hunter's entire worldview. The episode shows how much Hunter was manipulated by Belos, as he believes that Belos has done nothing wrong and that he is making Hunter do the right thing. As the episode goes on however, and he and Luz begin seeing Belos's memories, Hunter ends up being in denial that Belos is actually evil, making excuses for what he did in those memories, with this line after Hunter and Luz see what the sigils actually do standing out to me;

Luz: You can't deny it now. Belos is trying to hurt people!

Hunter: He was just... perfecting sigil magic! Besides, maybe, he's remembering things wrong. Who knows how mindscapes work?

Luz: I thought you did!

Hunter: Well, maybe I'm an idiot!

Hunter was raised to think that emperor Belos was doing a good thing, and that he loves him. All of that comes crashing down when It's revealed that Belos has killed previous Golden Guards, and the episode ends with breaking from Belos's control and realizing that he was being used and manipulated all along with his whole world turning upside down. This episode has Hunter learn the truth about Belos and shows how much Belos warped his worldview into believing he was doing the right thing. That's the point of Hollow Mind; It's about Hunter realizing that Belos has lied to him this whole time and breaking free from his abusive "uncle". The fact that Lily just labels this episode as another one where he "waffles around about whether to do the right thing again" is just missing the point. Again, he's been lied to his whole life, it's gonna take a lot for him to see the truth.

S2 EP18 Labyrinth Runners - I don't have much to say about this one, but Hunter does still grow as a character here. In the episode, Adrian (The head of the illusionist coven) tries to get the students of Hexside to get sigils for the day of unity, and Gus ends up creating a giant illusion that covers the entire school making many students (and teachers) get lost in the illusion. Before that, It's revealed that after the events of Hollow Mind, Hunter has gone under hiding from Belos and went to Hexside to crash in. Like the previous episodes, this episode has Hunter grow as a character, with him overcoming his trust issues with Gus, but he also saves Gus from Adrian. This is another episode where Hunter grows as a character and actively pushes the plot forward.

So, as we've seen through all of these episodes, Hunter is not a passive character, unlike what Ms Orchard over here would like to tell you. He doesn't spend most of his episodes focusing on him sitting around doing nothing; In all of the episodes he's in he is either actively pushing the plot forward or growing and developing as a character. Lemme take another piece of text from that article I previously mentioned;

These characters have goals — from as small as a glass of water to as big as saving the world — and their determination to achieve those goals creates the stakes of the story. - WHY YOU SHOULD AVOID WRITING PASSIVE CHARACTERS (& HOW TO MAKE THEM ACTIVE)

Hunter starts out as a character that has a goal; that being proving himself worthy to the emperor's coven, and we see him try to work for that goal in S2 EP9 and S2 EP13. So, Hunter is not a passive character, he's a character who either pushes the story forward or is actively growing and developing, unlike what Lily would like to tell you.

And here’s another thing; notice how Lily never sites any examples to her point where she says this:

"Most of the time when he's actually in an episode, the story grinds to a halt while Hunter sits there and does fucking nothing and you may as well skip to act 3 because its going to go the same way the last few of them went" -Glass of Water Character Potential Doesn't Excuse Lazy Writing

“The same as the last few of them went”, Lily, please explain how each of Hunter’s episodes go if you’re going to make this claim. Hunter’s episodes don’t have the same structure copied and pasted throughout, if you actually watch them you would know this. I know Lily watched these episodes, so where is she getting this from?

"Hunter is Stapled onto Other Characters"

This is another common complaint Lily has with Hunter, that being he is "stapled" onto other characters in his episodes and that he often overshadows them. I'm just gonna cut to the chase; wtf does this even mean? Lily doesn't specify what she means by Hunter being "stapled" onto other characters nor why it's a bad thing, if anything all she is describing here is Hunter interacting with other characters in his episodes. However, there is another side to this argument that Lily has, that being that she thinks that Hunter overshadows other characters, mainly Willow and Gus, and that they get pushed to the side for the sake of his arc, and that Hunter takes up too much screen time.

The issue with this point is that Hunter really doesn't overshadow other characters as much as Lily says he does. For Gus in particular in Labyrinth Runners he isn’t pushed to the side in favor of Hunter like how Lily says he is; the episode shows both of them working through their trust issues. Hunter isn’t being “stapled” onto Gus here just so he could overshadow him, both characters support each other’s arcs and help them grow. It really feels like Lily hates Hunter for just...being in an episode, regardless of the reason. As for Willow, I don’t think Hunter overshadowed her much either. That being said, I always found Willow to be an underdeveloped character to begin with so maybe that’s why, but like Gus she also does support Hunter’s arc and helps him grow. 

She even sometimes says that Hunter is just shoved into an episode for no reason other than Dana apparently liking him a lot which...also no, Hunter is not shoved into an episode for no reason, in his episodes he is interacting with other characters and growing because of them.

So yes, Hunter is stapled onto other characters....why is that a bad thing tho? He’s just interacting with other characters in the show, what’s wrong with that? Why is a character interacting with other characters bad? Like, in her TOH season 2 round up video, one of the cons for the episode Hollow Mind is “Golden Guard is stapled onto Luz to inflate his importance”...so she’ll just list Hunter being there or interacting with the characters as something wrong with an episode...ya. If that’s not another really bad point I don’t know what is.

"Hunter is a superfluous character"

This section is going to be shorter than the other two mainly because this was partially responded to in the first section, but it was a big enough criticism for Hunter that Lily has so it's worth giving its own section to. So anyways, Lily often says that Hunter is an unnecessary character and that you could remove him from the story and nothing would change. This, like Lily's other points about Hunter, isn't true. Aside from how, like I mentioned earlier, Hunter has a connection to Belos, the main antagonist of the series, he makes major contributions to the plot outside of that. He's the one to give the titan blood key to Belos, he saves Gus from the illusionist, he discusses what is going to happen on the day of unity with the other students at Hexside, and he's the one to get possessed by Belos. So no, Hunter is not an unnecessary character, he's a character that makes contributions to the plot , and major ones at that.

Conclusion

So, that was my mini-essay on why I disagree with Lily's points on Hunter. I had never made a post as big as this one before, but hey, at least I get satisfaction out of defending one of my favorite characters in a show that I like from someone who clearly misunderstands it. So ya...bye

[thatfreshi]

Could you do Markiplier x fem faceless YouTuber reader headcanons? Like him dealing with pressure for reader to do a face reveal and stuff

I went ahead and made this a full-fleshed story, hope you don't mind!

There’s a lot of strange ideas about what the modern power couple looks like. Sometimes it’s two typical celebrities, sometimes it’s a duo of jacks-of-all-trades, and sometimes it’s the most noticeable and the least noticeable YouTube stars on the planet. You and Mark have been together for a while now, and his viewers know that, but yours don’t. You appear in videos of his all the time, all-the-while keeping your own channel a secret from nosey subscribers of Markiplier. It’s not like you don’t want to be known, you just don’t want to be known for being his girlfriend. So, instead of your channel and your real life sharing the same persona, you’ve always kept the two separate. That is, until the rumors started. I guess it’s hard to call them rumors if they’re true, but people have started pointing out that you sound very similar to this faceless content creator, and it’s been the only thing filling Mark’s comments section as of recent.

“It’s fine, I really don’t mind. You don’t have to come out and say anything.”

“Yeah, but doesn’t it get annoying? The comments aren’t even about the videos anymore, they’re all just conspiracy theories about how you’re dating this YouTuber.”

“Y/n, all I care about is making content that I enjoy, and that other people can enjoy. If that’s what they wanna spend their time talking about, then so be it.”

You sigh and lean back on the couch, a million thoughts racing in your mind. What if they find a picture somewhere on the internet? What if they somehow connect your channel and his? What if-

“Hey, y/n, I’m telling you it’s gonna be okay.”

You catch your breath, trying to block out the anxious thoughts. After a couple breaths, the idea comes to you, the solution.

“I think… I think I have to do a face reveal. I have to get ahead of this before it’s a New York Times article.”

“No one is making you do that y/n, it doesn’t matter if anyone finds out, it’ll blow up and then in a week no one will care.”

“Yeah, and then again, what if people only think I’m successful because we’re dating? Like what if they think you’re buying my subscribers or something?”

He sighs, realizing that you won’t be able to let this go until the two of you find a solution. It’s true that while it doesn’t matter, people won’t ever actually stop talking about it unless you guys address it.

“Well, then I think I have an idea.”

After a couple hours of planning, you and Mark set up a stream where both of you can go live with the same set-up. If you’re going to announce the relationship, you might as well make it live to address anyone’s thoughts before they take it to Twitter.

“Are you sure you want to do this? Because we don’t have to.”

“I appreciate it Mark, but I think it’s time to get it all out there.”

You guys both give an understanding look to each other, the nervousness beaming through your eyes. He holds one of your hands in his, gives it a kiss, and prepares to go live. 

“Hey guys, so we just wanted to hop on really quick to make an announcement, at y/n’s request, and we just wanted to confirm that we are dating, and that my girlfriend does in fact have her own faceless channel.”

“I just wanted it to come from us before rumors got out of hand and I didn’t want to lie about anything, but if you guys have any questions, that’s what this is for.”

You both go silent for a moment, letting the comments roll in, waiting for the trolls and the insults, but it was surprisingly tame.

‘I knew it!’

‘Omg, youtube power couple.’

And many other positive things came in the chat. You give Mark a look of surprise, and he shrugs, unsure of what to say.

“I mean, I guess if no one is confused, why don’t we play a game or something?”

Mark nods.

“Yeah, yeah why not.”

In an anticlimactic turn of events, you and Mark sit down and play from free games online, and basically make it into a hangout stream. Apparently you were worried for nothing, and honestly? That’s probably for the best.

[theghostpinesmusic]

And now it's time for some music from the other drug band I'm obsessed with!

(To be clear, it's my impression that the Goose guys don't tend to indulge much while performing at least, and Phish famously almost stopped being Phish due to Trey's pre-sobriety drug issues. So it's not really either band that does the drugs, but...oh man, the fans definitely pull their weight.)

Anyway, darkly humorous, slightly misdirected pejoratives aside, I wanted to focus my next few jam band posts on Goose's Capitol Theatre run from April. These shows were a bit of a surprise, as they were announced two (three?) weeks before they happened, and they happened in the middle of a six-month break from touring that the band initiated after replacing their longtime drummer. I wrote about that and my thoughts about in detail awhile back so I won't rehash those thoughts now, but suffice to say these shows were 1) unexpected and 2) incredibly exciting to watch as they ended up being Cotter's first "live" performances with the band (i.e., not a prerecorded video shared online after the fact). I was particularly excited to see the band plan a four-night run in one venue, as that meant four shows with no repeats, which in turn meant getting to see Cotter really dig into the band's catalog for the first time.

I obviously didn't travel to New York to see these shows in person because I don't sleep on a bed of money, but, needless to say, I tried my best to watch all four of these shows as soon as they became available. I watched the first two live online (including the first one on the same night I got back from a snow camping trip that included a hilariously wild fifteen-degree night spend on an exposed ridge), and then watched nights three and four a few days after they first aired.

I suspect very few people read these posts to begin with (thanks if you do!) and I imagine even fewer of those people are actually interested in watching whole concerts from the bands I write about, but if you are interested, I believe all four full shows are still available to stream for free on the band's YouTube channel, and they're all really good, exemplary shows. I'd start with night one, though, if I had to pick.

So, to get to it: I'm focusing my posts about the run on some highlights that the band's YouTube as well as the Relix YouTube channel (the company responsible for the livestreams in this case) shared afterward. This first one is just sort of an excuse to ramble about the Cap run a bit, as it doesn't really contain any long-form improvisation at all.

I really love the "Seekers On The Ridge" suite, so much so that I've actually written a bit about it before. But I like this version and what Cotter adds to both songs, and since Relix uploaded this to their channel, I figured it was worth a share to kick off this next series of posts.

"Seekers" has two parts, but they're almost always (with a few memorable exceptions) played together. They're a great, collective example of a subgenre of Goose songs that I wrote a bit about in my previous post including these songs:

If you don’t already know, Goose has a whole pile of songs that contribute to a larger mythology/legendarium (think Phish’s Gamehenge, but less goofy). Of the ones I can think of off the top of my head, most of the songs that fit into this sub-oeuvre tend to be more prog-rock-style in their composition, and the lyrics vague, mysterious, and more than a little Joseph-Campbell-esque. I don’t write about most of these tunes because, with the notable exception of “Elmeg The Wise” (which I’m sure I’ll get to someday), they aren’t typically songs that get jammed out.

And yes, for some reason this Relix-sourced video is only in 720p, even thought the shows were definitely streamed in (at least) 1080p. Oh well.

Trevor sounds great on this video, and was one of my favorite parts of this run, even as I went in expecting to pay the most attention to the new guy. I don't know if they just have him up higher in the mix than usual, or if he's leveled up during the band's mini-hiatus. Maybe both?

Also, I've been curious to hear them play this a second time during summer tour because while the band has typically performed the "Seekers On The Ridge Pt. I" chorus with a sort of slow, epic feel (see how they play it the second time through here at 4:13), the first time they play it in this version (at 2:19) they keep the verse's shuffle going. When I first heard this, I (and a bunch of other nerds on the internet) laughed about how Cotter must have missed a cue and played the chorus incorrectly the first time, then "fixed" it the second time through. Watching this video again, now, though, it's obvious that the rest of the band plays this first chorus the same way as Cotter (Rick keeps the same strumming pattern, Jeff keeps shuffling, etc.) and there's no real break to indicate the rest of the band wanted to do something else while he's doing something "wrong." I think they might just play it this way now. Which is interesting, and...fine? Anyway, just a nerd thing I was thinking about while watching. Forensic music nerd-dom!

I've said this before, but the transition between the two parts of the song (starts at 5:55) is one of my favorite Goose musical moments.

I feel like the second part of "Seekers" in particular is a Goose song that Cotter's jazzy touch really stands out on.

Otherwise, as advertised above, this is a pretty standard version of a great song (or pair of songs). The next few posts will be both jammier and wordier, but I think I'll save those for another day. I should probably get some actual work done at some point today.

[wildlyplanted]

Snap back

Make a cup of tea or coffee because this is a long one :)

The other day, I was watching the YouTube channel of a couple I follow. They just welcomed a baby, and the latest vlog was the woman showing her 3 weeks postpartum body, which looked unbelievably great, and for some reason, I felt a little uncomfortable while watching.

I asked myself, "why?" as I thought back to all the similar vlogs I’ve viewed. I think the postpartum vlogs that make me uncomfortable are the ones where the woman seems to be having a quick “snap back.”

“But why?” I asked myself, again. Then it dawned on me. Most of the women I know didn't recover as quickly as some of the women I see in vlogs and on social media. I think this notion and perpetuation of "snapping back" is detrimental to women, especially while they’re in such a vulnerable state, having just given birth.

In this particular vlog, the woman mentioned (multiple times) how she still needs to lose weight, criticized and pointed out areas of her body, including her stomach, even though her body was recovering, remarkably. This blew my mind because I was thinking "Oh my goodness, you grew a baby in your uterus, of course it’s still swollen! You just brought life into the world! Stop!!”

In my sensitive opinion, I think the conversation around postpartum should not be focused on a mother’s body and how fast she is, “snapping back” and I don’t think women should offer up their postpartum bodies for debate. These “snap back” vlogs and social media posts can cause women to be subjected to unfair comparisons by their partner, causing feelings of inadequacy and stress. Comparison shouldn’t happen, but I can guarantee it does.

Instead, the focus should be on mothers receiving an abundance of support from their partners and the trusted people around them in caring for a new baby, eating well, getting ample rest, feeling ease and calm, feeling confident in expressing the status of their mental and emotional health, and overall feeling extra taken care of.

I understand that for some women, the healing process happens nicely, and they feel good enough to exercise as soon as they're cleared by the doctor, and they're in a good space. I also understand that many women who give birth for the first time have been shocked to find out that 6 weeks is not entirely accurate for how long it can take a woman to heal because the dominant narrative is the quick “snap back.”

I'm so thankful and appreciative that more mothers are sharing their childbirth and postpartum journey and showing how different it can look from what we see on social media. Showing that it can be a long way down the road before you feel comfortable in your body again, or before that favorite outfit fits the way it used to.

Additionally, I’m grateful to all the women who are bringing to the forefront, important conversations about healing after having a baby. As someone who has yet to give birth, I want to know as much as I can about the process, keeping in mind that each woman’s experience is unique to her. Something that I’m surprised to only have recently found out is that before a woman even thinks about any sort of working out, she should first take care to strengthen her core and pelvic floor, and only after that, begin working out again.

Hearing and seeing different narratives are so important, because for example, I had no idea that Pelvic Floor Specialists existed until a couple of years ago. I also had no clue that so many women experience Diastasis Recti and when that is the case, they should absolutely not do any typical ab workouts because it will make it worse and most definitely cause setbacks and issues. Working with a Pelvic Floor Specialist is the appropriate procedure.

I’m quite stunned that the medical community does not do women justice regarding postpartum. Why aren’t all mothers given a proper exam to determine if she has Diastasis Recti? Why aren’t all mothers referred to a Pelvic Floor Specialist as a place to start after they’ve been cleared for movement? I’m not sure if insurance would even cover the cost of the specialist.

If men were the ones to give birth, the postpartum period would be 6 months, not weeks and every sort of specialist would be offered up to them, along with insurance covering it all!

Not only is 6 weeks an inefficient and unreasonable amount of time, in my opinion, for a woman to heal– it’s definitely not enough time for a mother to even begin thinking about losing weight or “snapping back.” I would imagine, she just wants to be able to sit and stand without being in pain.

The last point I would like to make, is that I don’t think men truly know how painful and traumatic childbirth and postpartum healing is. Even though more women are sharing about the realities of childbirth and the aftermath, I think so many more don’t share because their journey doesn’t look like what we see on YouTube and social media.

Not enough women are talking about how terrible it feels (I can only imagine) to have swollen and painful private parts, a swollen uterus, hurting when peeing, bleeding a river up to 6 weeks, in some cases, pain during breastfeeding and experiencing issues like Diastasis Recti. Now add on top of that, being expected to perfectly care for your baby, knowing exactly what to do at all times, enduring sleepless nights with little help in some cases, leaking milk and standing in a body that you don't feel comfortable in and can hardly recognize. Then add even more on top of that, being the main person your baby clings to for survival and support and fighting unhealthy thoughts about how your body looks like or what it will look like weeks and months down the line. Imagine how mentally and emotionally taxing it is to love your child and at the same time not like what carrying and birthing your child has done to your body. It’s A LOT!

Welcoming a baby into the world will always be a heavier burden on the mother and just straight-up unfair to her in so many ways. The “snap back” narrative just adds more unreasonableness and should be done away with!

*Shout out to the loving partners who play an equal part in caring for the baby and who help alleviate some of the mental and emotional stress that women experience during postpartum.

Where you can find me/how to contact me:

IG: wildlyplanted

YouTube: Wildly Planted (this is a work in progress, but I’m finding direction)

Email: wildlyplanted@zoho.com

[mcyt-archives]

I was just wondering if you have the video for Felps vod from 22nd Jan? It's still on twitch and on your sheet, but with no video link. Just wanted to check before it gets to the end of the month incase it just got forgotten about with february and march (and selfishly while I have been poking the twitch stream I'd really appreciate subtitles, even if YouTube's automatic ones)

Here you go! The archivist tracking it just didn’t upload the vod since Felps typically upload officially. It looks like Felps simply didn’t upload it on YouTube so here’s our archive of it: https://youtu.be/V1_DXC9Hw-w?si=q5i2Po_loBv9nGUX

On an additional note, similar to Cellbit’s Twitch channel, Felps’ Twitch VODs aren’t deleted from Twitch after 2 months and seemed to be up indefinitely unlike most Twitch channels. So reassured they won’t disappear.

[mellometal]

Here we go again...Jesus tap-dancing Christ. This is a lot longer than I wanted it to be.

Hey.  I haven’t been able to make any posts related to Dhar Mann over the past several months.  I needed to make my mental health a priority over a guy whose presence literally makes my blood boil. (Also...side note: I have said this multiple times before, I don’t always want to discuss this individual or anyone associated with him. I don’t want to be restricted to talking about one topic. /notmad)  I’ve also been going through a lot, as a lot of you know.  You’re probably not here for me to tell you about why the posts about this individual and anyone related to him have halted, so I’m gonna cut to the chase.

This is an important topic, as almost every single actor who has worked under Dhar Mann is protesting against him due to him not paying them a liveable wage.  Y’know, despite racking in a shit ton of ad revenue that’s around $25k or something like that.  Hey, aren’t you a multimillionaire?  I know damn well you can afford to pay the actors a liveable wage for their time and ensure they can pay for essentials, like I don’t know, A ROOF OVER THEIR HEADS! I’ll be linking as many videos talking about this subject from some of the actors themselves and through YouTube commentators as Tumblr will let me link. As I’ve mentioned in passing, I haven’t watched any videos Dhar Dhar Binks has made in the past few months because hate watching his videos will only line his pockets and hurt the actors. Especially now.

Dhar Mann has been firing people for speaking negatively about the conditions of the studio and the pay.  This has been through emails (a few people’s emails have been put up on social media, which is super unprofessional and can be dangerous for the people whose emails were posted online).  Instead of taking criticism and actually trying to make things right for the people who have made his channels successful, he doubles down on all the “positive” experiences that some of the actors have had with him.  One of them notably being Katherine Norland, which considering how problematic she is outside of working for Dhar Mann, I’m not at all surprised.  Two birds of the same feather flock together.  She talked about how her experience working with Dhar Mann has been great.  Hey, Katherine, not everyone has the same experience as you.  But I bet you like playing the bigoted Karen roles you get, huh?  Figures.  

Here’s a five minute clip of a FORTY-FIVE MINUTE VIDEO she made. I already have a headache listening to her spew typical Boomer/Boomer 2.0 (A LOT of Gen X...mainly elder Gen X) bullshit.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRnqHuvd/

All I gotta say is: Okay, Boomer. Lay off the Kool-aid. (She probably isn’t a Boomer, but she sure talks like one.)

Another actor I’ve seen speaking more on neutral ground, but still defending Dhar Mann low-key is Melvin.  To sum up what Melvin said, he basically said that Dhar Mann’s “a good guy (to him)”, DM “shouldn’t be canceled”, he saw where the actors who were protesting were coming from, and “everything’s gonna get solved”. The clip where he talks about this is below:

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRnqD1pv/

According to Colin A. Borden, who has worked with Dhar Mann as an actor for the past few years, he stated on his social media platforms that a lot of the actors, himself included (most likely, I’m not sure), can’t even afford rent with how little Dhar Mann pays the actors.  This was when he was talking about why actors are protesting at the moment.  He’s not the only actor I’m going to be naming.  A few other notable actors protesting are Mair Mulroney, Rachel, and a couple others.  I linked a few of their videos below.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRnVcm4A/ (Colin's video)

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRnVvEK5/ (One of Mair's videos)

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRnVGLaB/ (Nathan's video, where he talks about why the contracts and payments are bad.)

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRnqNyPd/ (A compilation of actors protesting.) (TW: There are whistles being blown.)

According to other actors who have come forward with their experiences with this individual (Rachel being one of them), they would work twelve to fifteen hour days for the wage of eighteen dollars per hour (for non-speaking roles) or thirty-three to forty-four dollars per hour (for speaking roles).  To my understanding, this was a few times a week.  This kind of schedule is not sustainable.  These actors can’t even afford to pay their rent, like I have mentioned before.  Dhar Mann can lie his ass off about how he pays everyone fairly all he wants, but you know I’m going to believe the actors over him any day.   

Clip from a livestream where Rachel is talking about pay:

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRnqBSrF/

“Eighteen dollars an hour for a non-speaking role?  Thirty-three to forty-four dollars an hour for a speaking role?  That sounds great!  What’s the problem with that?”

Getting paid eighteen dollars an hour (for non-speaking roles), or getting paid thirty-three dollars to forty-four dollars (for speaking roles) for twelve to fifteen hours a day a few times a week sounds like a lot of money, but that’s further from the truth.  Let me explain. 

If they’re only there for twelve to fifteen hours a few times a week, to paint a better picture, and they’re paid semi-monthly, the people with non-speaking roles would only get around $1,440 every two weeks, and the people with speaking roles would get around $2,640 - $3,520 every two weeks. (NOTE: These are only estimated amounts. I used 80 hours here in total for the two weeks, and used a tax calculator based in California, where they work. This is given that their hours actually equal forty hours per week. The hours are variable, as Nathan has said in his video talking about this subject. The actors could actually be getting paid less than the estimated amounts I put up.)  This is before taxes are taken out, hypothetically, if Dhar Mann or anyone who handles payroll is actually doing their job.  After taxes are taken out, the extras would only be getting $1,132 every two weeks, and actors in speaking roles would be getting $1,923 - $2,456 every two weeks.  He pays everyone out through PayPal…instead of at least giving them a pay card where he can put their paychecks onto or letting them use their banks through direct deposit, or giving them paper checks so they can deposit their earnings into their bank accounts.

The average person’s rent in all of California was around $1,818 back in 2021.  That’s not including utilities, insurance, and other bills.  They’re pretty much scraping by to survive if they’re living on their own.  Those are some “competitive wages”, huh?  Get over yourself, Dhar.  You’re fucking cheap and you can’t manage to pay the people who made your shitty channel huge fairly.  Just admit that.

Another thing that I need to mention is them painting a mural to honor an actor who passed away, then taking it down a few days later. The reason for this wasn’t really made clear. Something about the landlord saying to take it down, or they needed that space for a video. Whatever the reason is, it’s not cool to paint a mural dedicated to an actor that you’re not even gonna keep up. It gives off the impression that you only did it for clout. Just saying.

ETA: This is new information that I found from doing more research. Carl Judie, according to Riki (who was close to him), was actually planning on leaving before his death due to how he was being treated. His loved ones do not want Carl’s face to be anywhere in Dhar Mann’s studios. This is the video where Riki discussed Carl:

Another actor came forward to speak about how Dhar Mann was practicing a scene with her for a TikTok and he was chasing after her with a real knife instead of a prop knife. 

Clip from a livestream:

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRnqPsCm/

A child actor (Brianni) talked about how she was fired because she has medical issues THAT DHAR MANN WAS WELL AWARE OF. Her video is below:

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRnqmUTd/

Riki, one of the major actors in his shitty videos refused to do any more videos that have to do with race and she got less work as a result.  A black woman not wanting to do videos about race?  *gasp* How will Dhar Mann ever recover from this? /s Oh, I wonder…I will be linking her video where she explains why she stopped doing any more videos that have to do with race.  She explains it a lot better than I can. Her video is linked below:

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRnqRnSn/

Actors are generally unionized to prevent this kind of thing from happening (i.e., paying dramatically low wages and an overall unhealthy work environment), but the way Dhar Mann runs shit, it’s not unionized.  Fearing that you will lose your job if you’re critical of the boss in any capacity or you speak out about work conditions is not a healthy work environment.  Nobody should be having to walk on eggshells and be afraid of losing their job if they say anything.  There’s a thing called the whistleblower act, which is there to protect employees from being attacked by their superiors for speaking out about what is wrong with the workplace. Dhar Mann has apparently been threatening actors who have spoken out against him with lawsuits on top of all this. So that’s cool. /s

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRnVTBkV/ (A video of actors protesting that Mair recorded talking about what/why they're protesting.) (TW: There are whistles being blown.)

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRnqPWbV/ (Protest video Nick recorded.) (TW: There are whistles being blown.)

I’ve seen people write off Dhar Mann literally breaking labor laws as his actions simply being ‘show business’, as well as invalidate the actors coming forward to talk about their experiences all because they’re independent contractors who Dhar Mann calls every now and then.  “Every now and then”, MORE LIKE EVERY DAY.  You do realize there aren’t just adult actors working in his studios, right?  There are child actors who are working under Dhar Mann too, and they should be getting paid fairly for their work.  Or else Dhar Mann’s gonna get into legal trouble again.  Either with a series of lawsuits involving the actors he fired suing his ass, the IRS coming after him, or he’s gonna serve jail time.  Either way, he’s in deep shit.  The reason why I say he’s breaking labor laws is because he’s (probably) not paying the kids who work for him fairly either. Quite a few of them appear to be elementary school age or middle school age, around maybe eight years old to possibly thirteen or fourteen years old. Maybe he shows the literal children working for him some mercy...because most of the people who watch his videos are children. I don’t know. Apparently they were supposed to stop casting actors who are minors (under eighteen years old), but there are QUITE a few kids working under this cringe ass nae-nae baby. So...that’s pretty fishy.

According to sources from commentators like AugustTheDuck and Jarvis Johnson, none of the actors who have worked under Dhar Mann have ever (allegedly) received a 1099 form for their tax returns from DM. 

Both videos AugustTheDuck made:

First one

Second one

The video Jarvis Johnson made:

A 1099 form, for anyone who has never heard of it before, is a form that independent contractors receive by the end of the year usually.  In this case, DM has (allegedly) not given any of his actors their 1099 forms, and it is mid-February (as I was typing this...it is now the end of February).  With independent contractors, which is what the actors who work under Dhar Mann are classified as, the maximum they can be paid without getting a 1099 form (1099-NEC, formerly known as 1099-MISC, and/or a 1099-K) is about six hundred dollars a year.  This was before the IRS changed the rules about that.  Clearly they are making WELL over $600 a year.  You know what Dhar Mann had to say about that?  PAYPAL should’ve given out 1099 forms to his actors, not HIM.  The payer (Dhar Mann, or anyone who handles payroll) is responsible for sending out 1099-NEC forms to his actors and the IRS.  PayPal is only responsible for sending out 1099-K forms to people using PayPal for business as well as the IRS if you made over $20,000 that year, or you made over 200 transactions.  Dhar Mann has made well over $20,000, and he has made well over 200 transactions. Clearly.  Please correct me if I’m wrong, but shouldn’t the actors be getting both forms? I feel like they should be getting both of those forms.

Every time the actors would band together to try having a meeting with Dhar Mann to discuss their grievances with their work environment as well as their pay, he’s nowhere to be found and he tells them to forward their grievances with HR.  They have sent Dhar Mann letters through hard copies and emails directly to him, which were forwarded over to HR.  HR scheduled a meeting for the actors to discuss their grievances and they wanted Dhar Mann to be present, as he was the person they were having issues with.  The meeting kept being postponed multiple times.  By the time the meeting came, Dhar Mann was nowhere to be seen.  He was obviously not present for the meeting he was supposed to attend.  Why?  HE WAS CONVENIENTLY ON VACATION.  Wooooowwww.  Your company is not big enough to where you can’t realistically be reached.

You think you’re too good to show your face to people who have worked for you for years, listen to their grievances, and try to come up with a solution, don’t you, Dhar?  If you’re such a big, important man, why can’t you be an actual boss and show up to meetings that you’re supposed to attend?  Oh, is it because the vast majority of the actors (former and current) are understandably pissed about how little they’re being paid by you?  Is it because the vast majority of the actors are sick of your shit?  Sounds like you can’t handle any sort of criticism from people who have worked for you for so long.  You know, I had an inkling that this kind of thing was happening behind the scenes before ANY of the actors came forward.  Then to find out that inkling I had was right all along…that’s not a good thing, Dhar Mann!  I thought you learned your lesson from getting in trouble for committing fraud almost ten years ago!  GUESS NOT.  It’s all come full circle.  

You paint yourself as a good guy, but you treat the people who have made your sorry excuses for channels huge like shit.  How the fuck do you sleep at night?  How do you think this is okay to do to people?  Do they not deserve to have enough money to be able to live somewhat comfortably with the means to pay for essentials? Hmm…let’s talk more about how you fired one of your actors for having medical issues that you were made aware of.  That’s against the law, under the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act).  In California, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) protects disabled workers.  But you’re all about supporting disabled people! That’s what you preach, right?  You know…until you have to work alongside them or you have to accommodate them in some way. Then disabled people are just a huge inconvenience for you. It’s too much to ask for you to properly accommodate anyone with medical issues, apparently. It’s such a hassle to check on anyone with medical issues that work under you and make sure they’re okay. Gotcha. /s

Summary:

Dhar Mann, multimillionaire, doesn’t pay his employees fairly!

Dhar Mann, Big Boss™️, gets all butthurt because his employees are speaking out against him! He fires everyone who speaks poorly about him and/or about the work environment instead of putting in the effort to come up with solutions! That’s just TOO MUCH to ask out of The Big Boss™️! /s

He will live to regret his decision.

[wot-tidbits]

Wheel of Time Resource List

The list is made on Reddit by JaimTorfinn to help fellow WoT fans.

This is a comprehensive list of WoT resources and extended material that includes books, short stories, websites, apps, subreddits, artwork, YouTube channels, podcasts, Discord servers, and more! It is primarily focused on the books, but I included some show stuff as well.

Warning: This post is spoiler free, but be aware that many of the links contain major spoilers for the entire series. Every link will have a spoiler rating to keep everyone safe. Please note that some direct links might be spoiler free, but the sites themselves may have spoilers. For example, I linked to some info pages on Dragonmount that don’t have spoilers, but spoilers can be found if you explore the Dragonmount site.

CLICK HERE FOR LINK

LightOne here:

I already mentioned it last week but I put the link again as I want to make clear and helpful post for the list. This list is truly amazing as a huge WOT fan you can find there many various resources - Printed Material, Subreddits, Websites & Apps, Wheel of Time Artwork, YouTube Channels, Podcasts, Discord Servers and Other Stuff. It is updated to Fall 2021.

The list is notorious for the UAF and Tumblr community because this list includes two WoT blogs under "Websites & Apps" section:

First is my sideblog @wot-notes

WoT Notes Tumblr (SPOILERS ALL) - A look at some of Robert Jordan’s notes. Interesting stuff! There are definitely spoilers, but I’m not sure how extensive they are since I haven’t read through all the notes yet.

Second is awesome @neuxue

Lia’s WoT Liveblog (Spoilers Possible) - A liveblog from a first time reader as she goes through the series. Both entertaining and insightful. She is incredibly good at noticing little details and foreshadowing. I have read all her posts and found them quite enjoyable. There technically aren’t any spoilers, but she notices a lot of things that a typical first time reader wouldn’t catch so I’m giving it the “spoilers possible” designation to be safe.

[calipersandtongs]

The Universal NPC’s Homeworld

I’m still piecing together the storyline for my next video. Initially I was going to create some kind of compilation video with funny clips from past videos since I recently hit 5000 subscribers on YouTube (if you’re subscribed to my channel thanks for subscribing! 😊) So I wanted to do something a bit different before moving onto my next game NPC video since it’s a milestone. Also I was going to start building the NPC museum I mentioned in my last video. 

So if you plan on watching the video I’ll probably be covering everything here in that video anyway. Also I posted some of this on twitter before yesterday. I just felt like rambling about my ideas and mods I’m looking at lol.

Somehow this morphed from museum though to ‘dream world where Rod Humble’s computer stash is really located.’ So I started building this as a subhood for Blightgate. It’s called z_¦¦S•e•¦¦D••¦o¦¦••N¦¦ªa••¦¦¦• based on the Sedona hood which was scrapped by Maxis at some point in development but still has the hood template + references in game files + a flythrough.) I wanted to use a glitch text editor to make some weird looking names for all the lots but The Sims 2 can’t display that text so I just kind of used random characters that would show up instead. 

There’s a train station lot (which I downloaded from mts a while ago called Simton Railway Station it’s actually a really great lot outside of what I’m using it for right now haha.) Then I found this awesome effects collection by Sophie-David so I could actually have trains running through! 

When I was working on my Don Lothario Machinima I realised that lots placed close to the edge of the world in Strangetown have this kind of fading effect where they disappear into the sky. This was pretty great for Vidcund’s dream sequence but also in this case allowed me to have the train kind of floating off.

So there’s a kind of backrooms maze type lot I’m working on too here and one of the rooms is kind of an gnome room. So I was looking through more of Sophie-David's mods because they have some more magical effects I haven’t added yet but I think would look cool. And then I noticed they had a mod called ‘Gnome of Protection’ which is so funny and has lots of uses(including summoning a gnome guardian that intercepts burglars, repo-men and Mrs Crumplebottom,) but it also can stop Sims from stealing the Gnomes to quote:

“Basegame gnomes may still be stolen, but potential perpetrators will typically be distracted to come and admire the Gnome of Protection instead of committing gnome theft. As a side effect, these Sims will gain just enough Niceness points to prevent them from stealing gnomes in the future."

haha love that so much. I was having an issue with Sims stealing the gnomes in the gnome room lol so I might have to add one of those instead of just locking the door which is less interesting. 

The entrance (will be adding more effects/changing some things later):

I’m trying to find ways to incorporate more Blightgate characters into the storyline too and obviously Victor is still technically on a mission to find Rod Humble’s computer source to become a full member of the Shadow crime family since Rod keeps escaping him. I remembered that I actually have a more minor character who lives with her friends who actually came to Blightgate in the hope of setting up a museum so this seems like the perfect time to cover that household. I’ve said this before but I headcannon the universal NPC’s as being cryptid type beings that can travel between worlds. So they kind of come from a magical location in the game files and aren’t rooted in any of the neighbourhoods regular Sims live in. Well besides the ones that have temporarily moved into spaces in my game like Mrs Crumplebottom lives in Blightgate for now.

[8bitcalavera]

How Old Reviews Birthed This Blog

On the topic of reviews (as per my last post if this is at all chronologically posted) I must admit, this entire blog is inspired and continuously inspired by the reviews of yore. Indeed, I’ve been looking at every gaming magazine scanned review and gotten the vibes of them down; channeling them to pen my own pieces of whatever the fuck I have going on here.

Let me tell you, there’s something insanely entertaining about the way these people weave points together and cleverly compliment or insult the game they’re playing. Now, I may disagree with a good chunk of what I read but that doesn’t negate its quality or what I can learn from it. 

This all came about when I was watching Folding Ideas’ video on James Rolfe, a video where he points out that James Rolfe – er, Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN for short, herein) – did something that was already pre-existing but in a different medium, citing a review from PC gamer that was a pretty harsh critique but admittedly pretty funny. I will quote a part of Folding Ideas’ point here real quick:

“For as long as the review has existed as a literary form, writers have sought to make them entertaining for their own sake.”

Are you watching Hbomberguy? I cited my sources! (I’m joking thank you very much for your work).

And honestly, I think that’s what inspired me. Now I will admit that I have not read a review penned by anyone since I stopped buying Nintendo Power (or Club Nintendo in my country) magazines when I was an adolescent but if Youtube reviews are any indication of how the landscape of reviews are… I would say that some of them aren’t really anything bombastic or new. Just regular old folks who have a platform to talk about their shit, nothing else. Nothing new, at least to me. But then again, I shouldn’t be trusted I don’t know shit about fuck.

I wanted to sit down and just write something entertaining and fun – create a platform where my rather bright personality can give you a respite from whatever the fuck is happening in life at the moment. Writing is my strong suit (or it used to be, at least) and entertaining others has always been my passion. What better way to do this than to write these blogs that will possibly, eventually, become structures to future videos that I want to make. That’s right, I’m also an aspiring youtuber, why the fuck do you think I complain so much about the damn thing? Ehem, anyways. I would like to just… let loose in this art form, which is easiest to make for me and I’m the most comfortable with. 

I want to challenge the typical nerd culture with charisma and wit, show that nerds CAN be cool (cause let’s face it, I’m fucking cool as hell), I want to shake the boat with defenses of “bad games” that I think deserve the same kind of vehement energy that myriads of AVGN clones have for games they hate. Imagine that, someone who angrily defends and – with aggressive yet jolly delivery – actually gives these “bad games” a fair chance and critique. Hell, we may even talk about trends of the past, events that happened, things around gaming or movie culture – anything, but you better believe I will make it fun! Or try to, because comedy is subjective or something. 

That’s what I want to be, that’s what this blog (and eventual channel) aims to be, a celebration of all kinds of games (and movies) and its history. Because why the fuck not, right? Will this be as ineffective given the fact that people engage far more with people angrily yelling at games for sucking or will I find a little goldmine of like minded folks who may not agree but will understand what I’m shooting for? Maybe I’ll find folks who agree and share that same enthusiasm. Shit, I hope to even be recognized for my actual genius because let’s face it, I am. You just don’t know it yet.

Ehem, that aside. I think old gaming magazine scans are super fun to read especially as a Retro gamer myself. Stacking up how games were regarded back then versus how we rank them now, how the gaming industry has evolved and changed. Or more surprisingly, you can also find how some games have not aged at all, how some perceptions haven’t changed, how gaming culture has evolved or not at all. A time capsule of words and graphic design right in our hands, if you have it in physical – or a virtual time machine if you consult the internet archives. While everyone nowadays has the visual and quick medium of video sharing websites, I want to try this medium and pay tribute to the articles that we all grew up with. Hell, I even want to touch base with some of these reviews and compare, just do a bunch of creative stuff.

Or something. Enough rambling, I got a rice to burn!

[madeitlate37]

Winter of ‘83 by Lewis Lovhaug (Part of the Channel: Linkara-Atop the Forth Wall)

(Note: Full disclosure, this is probably going to be the last consistent post. But I may still post the occasional review, Prehistoric Emergence in particular because it recently became another favorite series of mine.)

With that aside, the Winter of ‘83 is an Analog Horror film—approximately an hour in length—about a mysterious threat related to snow. Because I couldn’t make a post this close to the usual “winter break” and not do one that was winter-themed.

It helps that this one has a legitimately good concept, and a good execution of that concept with effective uses of repetitive sounds and a compounding mystery surrounding the origins and nature of the threat. This time, since the visuals are not typically fantastic—particularly when actually showing the threat—I’m going to focus on how this series uses sound and other techniques to boost the execution of its ideas.

First, though, let’s go over the spoiler-free section:

• Science, if your someone who loves science in horror—and it’s typical contribution—you may like this one

• Unreliable sources, the majority of the story is told through police reports and a struggling news station. The news station in particular has no reason to actively harm others, but does have reason to stretch the truth to keep their channel and jobs, which can make it hard as an audience member to trust their word.

• Nature-themed threat, it’s not a demon or a full-on alien, and it uses nature to its own end, which makes it feel more threatening.

• Smart-threat, rest assured that this threat isn’t like the aliens in that one movie that are vulnerable to water but who then went to a planet that’s about 70-80% water. This threat knows what it’s trying to take down, what it can use to do that, and has the means to execute those strategies in an effective way. The solution that’s attempted to take them down isn’t simple, either.

• Uncanny-valley, this one’s a little off because as I mentioned, the visuals aren’t stellar, so the film relies on sound a lot more. But you can still clearly tell with those sounds what is a person and what isn’t. This part of the sound in particular is really good at building a sense of dread.

• Rural area, not dominated by farmland necessarily, but it is a very small town with a lot of spacing in-between buildings. Which, considering how the threat works, makes it very easy to corner people.

Now, for the more in-depth part:

I’ll start with the visuals because that’s what I’ve been talking about already. The voice-acting and the use of sounds to make up for a lack of visuals is really well done in this Analog Horror. As said, they aren’t great. The YouTuber: “EmortalMarcus” even admitted before reacting to it that he initially dismissed it because of the cheesy opening, and the ending reveal of the threat doesn’t necessarily do the buildup a favor.

But, the creator and crew know this. So instead, they rely on building everything else while using visual scenes for more “establishing” or “hidden-attack” scenes. Not necessarily the way Vintage Eight does with their Analog Horrors where there’s no visuals at all. You do still see the setting, but there’s rarely any sign of the threat in it. Unless it’s covering a council meeting, it’s even rare to see a person, and the landscapes often look lifeless as a result. Even with this lack of visuals, they’re still used to portray a sense of isolation because of this threat, and the other qualities of the film only amplify this.

The biggest example of the good use of sound is that they essentially use it to create a “theme” for the threat. If you hear the sound, you know that it’s nearby.

The kicker? It’s just one sentence: “Hey, can you help me with this?” Said in a casual manner by what sounds like a middle-aged man.

The dread associated with this sound, however, is done in one scene to establish its connection to the threat. You hear it once, and it’s a little ominous already because the one holding the camera is in the middle of a parking lot at night. But then you hear it again, repeatedly. And it’s said in the exact same tone, same pitch, same intonation, everything. Every time you hear: “Hey, can you help me with this?” it sounds identical to the last time you heard it.

This ties into what I said about the uncanny-valley being portrayed through sound, you know that the characters can see it, but all you have are the sounds that these threats make. In this first scene, once you catch onto the repeat, it becomes clear that this creature does not have it’s own voice, and is instead mimicking what it heard from a person in the hopes that it will attract a victim.

In this same scene, the sentence gets further away the more the person tries to follow the voice to help the person. Using this sound, it’s not only pretending to be a person to get a victim’s attention, it’s using that attention to lure the victim to where they’re least likely to get help.

So, these are effective ways to handle the fear surrounding a threat that can’t be shown, at least not clearly.

Now, as bluntly as possible: The threats are snowmen.

There is more nuance revealed about them that makes them seem much more dangerous, but the only times you can really see them are when they are snowmen. And as stated above, the film does a phenomenal job to make you legitimately fear these snowmen.

For people who wish to make an Analog Horror but are afraid that the visuals won’t be great, Winter of ‘83 and all of Vintage Eight’s series’ are fantastic examples on how to use other senses to build horror. In Vintage Eight, it was that sense of isolation and confusion from rarely seeing the world outside of that computer monitor. In this film, it was the use of repetitive sounds and “themes” that built up the threat. It all just depends on what kind of feelings you want to build and what kind of fear you’re going for.

But, that’s pretty much all I can gush about with this film. Not one I expected to like so much, but is a pleasant surprise and definitely worth watching all the way through. Because on top of what I already said: The pacing is great, and similarly to the Tangi Virus, there’s enough of a variety in footage/recordings to prevent redundancy and keep momentum.

If you’re looking for something winter-themed, or that’ll make you scared of Snowmen, give this one a try.

As always, Linkara-AtopTheForthWall’s Channel is available here to watch the film, (it is also available as a miniseries).

No preview this time as I’ve reached the end of my planned list, but if I do post again it will most-likely be Prehistoric Emergence.

Cheers!

[newspropaganda]

OKAY WHAT THE FUCK IS WITH YOU AND YOUR HATE TOWARDS YUGIOH FANS INCLUDING MANGAKAMEN? CAN'T YOU JUST RESPECT HIS OPIONION OR IGNORE HIM ATLEAST? HE NEVER MADE A VIDEO ON CALLING YOU OUT OR YOU EVEN TRY TO BE A A JACKASS. YOU JUST HATE HIM BECAUSE YOU CAN'T BE POLITICAL CORRECT TO AMERICANS WHO TRY TO BE GOOD PEOPLE? IS THERE SOMETHING YOU HAVEN'T SAID YET OR YOU GONNA IGNORE ME?

"Why can't you just ignore him?"

Then why does he make videos about Yu-Gi-Oh! girls, calling them lackluster and mocking them? Why does he trash Jack Atlas while praising Seto Kaiba? Why does he keep insisting that Tokusatsu is good? And why does that motherfucker keep milking Metal Gear Rising when it's almost 2025? Because he's just another stupid American who only knows basic literacy and loves mainstream media, like everyone else in that country!

Did that dude even undersant that what he does is just making him look patetic.

He doesn't understand Yu-Gi-Oh! or know when to keep his mouth shut, like a typical normie. Here's the deal: he made videos explaining Yu-Gi-Oh! girls, but most of them just repeat what everyone has already said, not even worth debunking. He came in salty about Akiza, calling her a benchwarmer, but had previously praised her. He loves GX so much, but never made a video pointing out how Judai stole the screentime from every single underdeveloped character. And did he ever call out Yoshida or Junki Tatetagami for it? No. He just ignored that and jumped into JoJo's Bizarre Adventure nonsense.

His whole gimmick is being this YouTuber who can't even grow a spine, trying to use bad comedy like it's 2011 all over again, and it doesn't work. He can't tell me anything that doesn’t involve 5D’s being screwed up by some cults or real-life events that aren’t even real and were just made up.

Doesn't he realize that Metal Gear Rising was made for plebs who only care about hype culture and can’t grow up? He doesn't even know that Kojima stopped making games after 2015 because he and Konami can't stand each other. I keep saying it—literacy is crap and not worth investing your time and patience in. He likes to read books, but if someone gave me a book, I’d burn it right in front of those nerds. I don’t read manga or support anything these people say.

His whole channel should be nuked by a C4 bomb or purged by hackers. He can't even explain why he doesn't like 5D's as his favorite. All he said was that 5D's screwed up because of some 'X' thing that was debunked years ago. He's just chasing after a dead horse at this point. Does he even realize that Twitter hates people like him?

He's just another American sell-out, no different from Forever, who hated all the Yu-Gi-Oh! spin-offs, or Dylan from Yu-Gi-Oh! Everything, who never made a good video. Then there's NoajenksYGO and that fucking Octomadly, all of whom I absolutely loathe.

Here's my opinion on him: he ruined the Yu-Gi-Oh! community with those videos. He doesn’t understand that critics struggle to debunk anime culture or its production. MangaKamen is just a fucking loser who doesn’t make good Yu-Gi-Oh! videos—he only makes videos that destroy its legacy.

WHY DO YOU THINK I HATE TAKAHASHI'S DARK SIDE OF DIMENSIONS MOVIE THAT EVERYONE ELSE SEEMS TO LIKE? BECAUSE IT FUCKING SUCKED. IT WAS PURE DOGSHIT.

And if that jackass ever reviews OCG Stories, he’ll do the same thing he did with 5D’s, slandering it with his feminist American BS all over the place. There's a reason why we don't want any more of the American Yu-Gi-Oh! community. You blame anyone who doesn’t respect 5D’s or tries to be a good fan these days. MangaKamen is just a fake fan who’s never even made a video reviewing the manga.

[tms-blog-site]

Movie Financials Uncovered - Spacenet TV's Box Office Analysis

Film studios aren't often able to disclose the budgets of their films. But there are ways to determine the cost of a film. Movies have to make money through a variety of sources beyond ticket sales. These include: ancillary revenue, sequels, merchandise, TV rights, and streaming. What's the word on box office profits? 1. Theatrical Revenue Tickets for movie theaters are the primary source of income for films. Whether a standard experience or an extravagant one the number of seats used during the filming process of a movie is directly linked to its overall potential for revenue. The big box office numbers you read about in the media are based on gross domestic and international revenues. Before the money is transferred to the studios they must deduct the costs. Then there's the sales tax and the shares of cinemas - which typically range from 40 to 45 percent. That's before the actors' share and the other distribution costs. A movie isn't considered profitable when the box office revenue exceeds twice the amount that was invested in its production. This is why some movies that have huge profits such as "Harry Potter" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" have to declare losses on their financial statements. Don't be too quick to judge. These losses are due to international sales and marketing. 2. Television Rights In the last few years, the rights for television market has experienced an abrupt shift. Pay-per-view and dedicated sports channels platforms have been fighting against broadcasters who are traditional, and tech giants have also gotten into the fray. Broadcast Rights (excluding Te Mangai Paho Funding) refers to the right to broadcast the Programme(s) as part of a linear television broadcast service using satellite, terrestrial, cable or fibre transmission network to allow public display and streaming, which includes delay or simultaneous retransmission or distribution, as well as making it available to the Internet or mobile broadcasting technology. Free TV Rights (excluding Te Mangai Paho), refers to the right to broadcast the Programme(s) in a regular linear manner on any independent or public network for public viewing as well as on-demand viewing. This includes the right to communicate the Programme(s) to the general public via any internet, cable, IPTV or wireless transmission networks where subscribers of the public are required to pay a fee or subscribe. 3. Merchandising The right to sell merchandise can be significant sources of income for both distributors and studios. Disney for instance, built a huge empire by selling Mickey Mouse ears as well as other items related to movies such E.T. The sale of movie products is a great way to promote a film, as well as generating new revenue. In the movie The Goonies a scene shows an infant giving Reese's Pieces to the main character. This led to an impressive increase in sales for company making Reese's Pieces. The application of this type of placement of products in major films is essential. Also, music from well-known films such as Saturday Night Fever and Flashdance can generate substantial revenues from soundtracks and also be utilized to increase awareness of the film. 4. Streaming

Streamers will prioritize shows on television that they produce (or show on channels owned or operated by their parent company such like NBC Universal TV Productions or 21st Century Fox Television). It lets them recoup the licensing fees they have paid for the show after having paid off their production costs. In turn, it's not uncommon to see some of the same names pop up on the lists of streaming originals and acquired shows. (Source: Nielsen Streaming Content Ratings, U.S., based on minutes viewed by persons 2and over.) NBC Universal TV productions rank among the streaming shows that are watched by the most people, followed by Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Paramount+ and Peacock. Credits to YouTube

[jamescomputer0]

TOP 6 BEST NO CREDIT CHECK LOANS GUARANTEED APPROVAL WITH BAD CREDIT

Fourth Tier Lenders: A Potential Solution for Those Struggling with Bills

Houston McMiller, Credit Specialist

If you're behind on your bills and the banks or credit unions aren't helping, there may be an alternative solution – fourth tier lenders. While these lenders come with higher interest rates, they may be more willing to work with individuals who have poor credit or limited options.

Key Considerations with Fourth Tier Lenders

Tribal Lenders: These lenders may be more willing to work with you, as they often use third-party credit bureaus and are more interested in your current situation than your credit history.

Credit Reporting: Most fourth tier lenders do not pull directly from your Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion reports, so you don't have to worry about hard inquiries.

Eligibility: These lenders typically only require an active checking account, phone number, email, and that you're at least 18 years old.

Exploring Fourth Tier Lender Options

Big Picture Loans

Tribal lender with flexible loan amounts

Pulls from third-party credit bureaus like Clarity, DataX, and LexusNexus

Check 'n Go

Location-based lender with varying loan amounts depending on your state

Offers installment loans, title loans, and cash advances

Advance America

Provides a range of loan options, including installment loans, title loans, and cash advances

Loan availability varies by state

Loans Now

Offers loan amounts up to $10,000

Interest rates are typically high with this type of lender

Check 'n Cash

Provides installment loans ranging from $50 to $5,000

Has both online and in-person lending options

Opportunity Financial

Community development financial institution with loan amounts from $300 to $10,000

Does not impact your credit when checking for approval

Spot Loans

Offers installment loans from $300 to $800

Direct lender, making the approval process more straightforward

Remember, while these fourth tier lenders may provide a solution, the interest rates will be significantly higher than traditional lenders. If possible, consider exploring other options, such as requesting temporary tax exemptions from your employer, before turning to these high-cost alternatives.

YouTube Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02UtDOiVSDk YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwTiSgSSNPiNANoB2cREAAg Related Content: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/777785798173234809/ https://www.diigo.com/profile/jamescomputer0

[blackleopardgirl]

I like myself more now, after watching EU YouTube channel 🌸

  At first I thought that EU’s channel was a hate page towards BW or DSBW, and of course, I don’t believe in hating on another woman just because of the way she looks or her stereotyped behavior, however, upon watching a video of hers in its entirety, I realized that I actually relate more to her channel than someone like Chrissie’s. 

  I am not a DSBW who is unambiguous, and so I can’t relate to the typical talking points and experiences that those women have, I still will stand up for mistreatment of any person based on what they cannot control, but I’m not going to follow their channels and watch their videos because it’s not simply my fight to fight. It’s their image, their likeness and their story. They can choose to talk about and discuss whatever topics they want to, but staying in their spaces with them and essentially taking a backseat doesn’t benefit me. 

  Especially since they obviously aren’t interested in other women who look different having their own opinions heard. This is why I agree whole-heartily in the idea of women who look like myself and others who cannot relate to their talking points and experiences, having their own spaces online. Being able to talk about your own experiences without someone becoming angry at you, and undermining what you’re saying is needed. 

Watching EU’s channel and seeing the inconsistencies that they have for us is beyond wild. They hate us when we market ourselves to other audiences because it is jealously, but then they pick and choose when we’re apart of their community. It’s simply jealously, and I don’t think that we should have to dislike ourselves simply because many of them haven’t worked through their insecurities. 

  The final straw was when I saw them jump from getting mad at the woman from Slayology for not taking clients who don’t have a sizable social media following, to them accusing her of being a colorist. Isn’t it interesting that now she’s a colorist? Then the talking points went to, “Oh well she’s in black women’s spaces, she should know how to do type 4 hair!” Maybe she’s in mixed women’s spaces…did you ever think about that? Y’all are always telling them to make their own spaces and stop “replacing you” and now it’s that she needs to learn how to do EVERYBODY’S hair? No, she probably only has type 3a/b hair herself, and she probably isn’t used to doing type 4 hair. She has every right to accept the client she wants to, and if that client doesn’t have type 4 hair then that’s fine. Then when people showed proof that she does in fact accept clients that are dark skin, they said that those women either don’t have broad features, or they said that those women don’t have type 4 hair. Yet that wasn’t the original complaint, they’ve switched their story so many times because they realize that their original claims for not liking that hair stylist are bullshit. They’re upset and feel entitled to her doing their hair which is wrong, and they’re now upset because they believe that she should accept women who look like them as her clientele when that also has been proven to be false. 

  They have an internalized belief that women who are lighter than them automatically don’t like them or won’t accept them and that’s sad. It’s wrong to assume that women who are MLS or unambitious automatically do not like you. They have some serious issues with how they view themselves and how badly they want to be accepted by other women. They don’t think that they’re pretty enough, so they find something in nothing and make a large deal out of something as simple as a hairstylist posting videos and photos of her work online. 

[whatsonmedia]

Music Monday: Fresh Tracks & Tour Dates to Amplify Your Week!

Embark on a curated symphony of music by Adam Humphries! From the rebellious punk of Polevaulter to Newmoon's dark shoegaze and YOVA's artistic "Addictions" video, this week promises a musical spectacle. The Ritual Union festival amps up excitement with a second wave of music acts, and gothic enthusiasts can anticipate Tomorrow's Ghosts Festival's haunting lineup. Dive into diverse sounds, emotions, and upcoming music events – the stage is set, the playlist is ready. Let the sonic adventure commence! Militant dance punk duo POLEVAULTER drop video for 'Pissed In The Baths'! Loud and in your face, pretty much as I like it. I like it when you happen across a punk outfit that doesn't look the soul of punk or its edginess. The vocals are strong and punch straight through the music and will not be ignored. Pissed in the Baths has that 'typical Friday/Saturday night feel to it  Listen  https://open.spotify.com/album/2Q1PwUGg7Fq2AxQqj66zZM?si=fG03wN9jRH6pHnjJ6iyGWg Watch  https://youtu.be/3fKMpEVQgVM?si=SrVSzmHFWondGIJa Polevaulter will tour the UK and EU as follows: - Jan 31st - The Fenton, Leeds - Album launch - Feb 2nd - Hatch, Sheffield - Feb 3rd - Little Buildings, Newcastle - Feb 6th - New Adelphi, Hull - Feb 7th - The Lounge, Manchester - Feb 8th - Old Blue Last, London - Feb 9th - Bear Cave, Bournemouth w/ JOHN - Feb 10th - Craufurd Arms, Milton Keynes w/ JOHN - Feb 13th - DAda, Toulouse, France  - Feb 14th – TBA, France  - Feb 15th – Le Lezard, France - Feb 16th - Melody Maker, Rennes, France  Watch the livestream back here: https://www.youtube.com/live/fozLRUBKzAE?si=1Zc6upxFdC0cQJLO And to donate visit NEWMOON release dark yet uplifting new shoegaze single 'Crazing'! A fantastic song that fits somewhere between edgy and atmosphere somber and uplifting. Crazing is one of those songs where it has the vibes and sounds of one place yet it takes a type of detour and goes to another place. The vocals are put together in such a way they seem almost ghost like. I find that clever Listen https://open.spotify.com/track/64FvrabyyMJPE1QoYV3Xrp?si=a5db7e18f25a4a40 Watch https://youtu.be/GhOtLtLggD4?si=xSmQOOiHzWtT7dAK Pre-order ‘Temporary Light’ here YOVA - Reveal Official Video for "Addictions" - Watch Now || 'Dreamcatchers' Album - Coming 1 March Well, we all knew it was coming and now here it is, the official music video for Addictions. I just enjoy the artistic creativity that have gone into it because for me it demonstrates that the artists aren't just about channeling through vocals and music. They can embrace their artistic talents as well  WATCH ON YOUTUBE HERE https://youtu.be/nWkL7MqJ1Ds?si=R8xCbPWfxc4HSosd RITUAL UNION - Announces Second Wave of Acts inc. Sam Akpro, Ovlov, Minor Conflict + more RITUAL UNION BRISTOL MULTI-VENUE ALL DAY FESTIVAL SATURDAY 23 MARCH 2024 - ANNOUNCES SECOND WAVE OF ACTS FEATURING: SAM AKPRO || OVLOV  GARDEN CENTRE || PEM || MINOR CONFLICT || MM'99 NEW ACTS JOIN A 2024 BILL ALSO INCLUDING: DREAM WIFE || LIZ LAWRENCE || DO NOTHING WIDOWSPEAK || CHEEKFACE || DAS KOOLIES || THE CLEANERS FROM VENUS || WILLIAM DOYLE  + MANY MORE...  TICKETS ON SALE NOW HERE RITUAL UNION, BRISTOL> SATURDAY 23 MARCH 2024 CONFIRMED LINE-UP - DREAM WIFE - LIZ LAWRENCE - DO NOTHING - WIDOWSPEAK - SAM AKPRO ** Just Added ** - OVLOV ** Just Added ** - CHEEKFACE THE CLEANERS FROM VENUS (A Very Special Opening Set) - CENDE - CHALK - DAS KOOLIES - GARDEN CENTRE ** Just Added ** - HOLIDAY GHOSTS - VAN HOUTEN - KATIE MALCO - THE ITCH - EVA MAY - MARUJA - MARY IN THE JUNKYARD - WILLIAM DOYLE - – - AMY MAY ELLIS - ARCADIA PLANITIA FIVE-A-SIDE FOOTBALL TEAM - BERT USSHER ** Just Added ** - BUFFEE - CALLINSICK - DAMEFRISØR - DEAD SPACE CHAMBER MUSIC - EBBB - ELLUR - FEBUEDER - HALF HAPPY - HANDCUFF - JÆD - JAPANESE TELEVISION - KNIVES - MASCA - MINOR CONFLICT ** Just Added ** - MM'99 ** Just Added ** - MOULD - OSLO TWINS - PEARLING - PEM ** Just Added ** - PENCIL - SLATE - THE NEW EVES - THISISDA - WELLY TICKETS & DETAILS  £17.50 Super Early Bird & £20.00 Early Bird tickets have sold out.  £25.00 3rd Release tickets are on sale now.  Please note that the festival is a 14+ event. Tickets are available here TOMORROW'S GHOSTS - Whitby Gothic Festival Announces 2024 Line Up Tickets On Sale Today! TOMORROW'S GHOSTS FESTIVAL // HALLOWEEN GATHERING  THE ULTIMATE GOTHIC CELEBRATION RETURNS TO WHITBY FOR 2024 FEATURING HEADLINERS: PETER HOOK & THE LIGHT: 'JOY DIVISION: A CELEBRATION' & CREEPER WITH VERY SPECIAL GUESTS: - IST IST - AND SUPPORTING PERFORMANCES FROM - SKELETAL FAMILY +  - BLACK DOLDRUMS +  - THE GOSPEL - PLUS CLUB NIGHT HOSTS CARPE NOCTUM,  - GOTHIC & ALTERNATIVE MARKETS + MORE - PLUS, FURTHER 'VERY SPECIAL GUESTS' STILL TBA - @WHITBY PAVILION, WHITBY – FRIDAY 1ST & SATURDAY 2ND NOVEMBER FULL LINE UP  FRIDAYSATURDAYCREEPER  Very Special Guests:  IST IST  SKELETAL FAMILY THE GOSPEL + CLUB NIGHT HOSTS: CARPE NOCTUMPETER HOOK & THE LIGHT Very Special Guests: TBA BLACK DOLDRUMS + CLUB NIGHT HOSTS: CARPE NOCTUM FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE Or please contact: thom@sonicpr.co.uk Read the full article