#centipede motif

[h3lgertime]

You thought you’d seen the last of these? Lmao

[tanuki-kimono]

Hello! I love your blog bc it helps me a lot with writing and crafting. Thank you so much for making it!

Are there any patterns that deal with poison? Either in the pattern or in the dyeing process?

Even if there's not I'm glad you and this blog exist 💗

(anon continues) Poison in the dyeing process, like when green dresses were dyed with copper arsenite and it was extremely deadly.

Or a pattern of someone being poisoned, like a historical/folktale.

_______________________________________

Thank you for your kind words <3 I tried to keep things organized but the subject is huge so my of the top of my head answer is going in many directions. I hope you'll still find what you need :3

I'll briefly cover here dyes and (pigments), poison motifs, real life and supernatural poisonings. Buckle up we've got a long post ahead!

____ ABOUT DYE

Tbh I had to think for a moment because I don't recall major "poison" stories linked to dyes in Japan, be it fictionous or real (yet that doesn't mean none ever happened, especially considering Japan's history of industrial poisonings...).

Most gruesome details in the fabric industries I know of are about the horrific life & work conditions of female laborers in spinning mill manufactures (as in many countries, Japan industrialization process was ghastly...).

If potters and dyers had excellent practical knowledge, chemistry as a science officially started kind of late in Japan as it was not a local interest, and as rangaku (study of Western knowledge) often favored other subjects like medicine or warfare.

So, until the introduction of aniline dyes (not textile related, but this article about the use of synthetic dyes in ukiyoe printing is super interesting), Japanese worked with "natural" dyes, like ai (indigo) which was the most used during Edo period.

As with any ingredient, being natural doesn't equal safety. Some mixtures could be quite potent/foul, and process could be dangerous. Plants and minerals base ingredients could be toxic (cinnabar and orpiments were then used as paint pigments, and lead could be found in make up), as were mordants used to set colors.

If you want to easily overview which ingredients were used to create colors, I recommand browsing [Irocore] which presents colors with explanation in English in their database (pick a color then scroll down).

Not related to poison, but ai (indigo) is traditionally prepared in aigame/enormous floor set jars I find utterly terrifying:

I don't know if this tidbit can help you, but some dyes and mordants actually damage the fabric overtime, leaving them brittle (silk desintegrates after a while which is a huge issue in textile conservation).

____ POISON MOTIFS

Concerning "poison" themed patterns, none would be actually used traditionally on a kimono or an obi beside novelty items ^^;

For example, many plants can be toxic, but I don't see them set as pattern for this property - they'd rather refer to a poem, be a symbol of the passing of seasons etc. Fuji (wisteria) can be quite harmful, yet it's a beloved traditional motif in Japan.

You have much more chances to find pattern with kujaku (peacock) which are thought to be impervious to poison in Buddhism, than say venomous mukade (centipede) or the horrific ômukade (a youkai I covered in a folktale).

Snakes like the habu and mamushi are dangerous, but if used as pattern snakes are most often auspicious and linked to rain dragons or goddess Benzaiten.

If you squint hard, toxic fugu could count as poison pattern, but such a seasonal delicacy as a motif would mostly underline wealth (as those fishes are pretty expensive as they are prepared by specialized chefs), a kind of carpe diem spirit, or just a fun pattern because fugu balloon shape is cute ;)

____ POISON MURDERS

Poisoning was certainly a thing is Japan since ancient times (see kodoku sorcery). Poisons were for example used in some fishing techniques.

I am pretty sure some kuge and buke were disposed of this way - even thought poison was seen as a coward weapon (hence why its supposed to be only used by shinobi/ninja - even if this "fact" is opened to a lot of discussions!).

During Edo period, such murders made up the news and penny dreadful-like illustrated books favored by city dwellers in need of a fright. But those stories didn't pass to posterity beside cheap ukiyoe plates, and were never as popular as some shinjû (double suicides) or ghost revenges like poor poisoned and murdered Oiwa's:

____ SUPERNATURAL POISONINGS

If your poison is both physical and metaphorical illbeing, mushi could be your guys ^^ This term actually covers everything small and crawling, from real worms and insects, to anything inside one's body causing distress - be it a parasite, an unknown illness, an overboard emotion, a curse etc. If you've read/seen Mushishi you've got what I mean:

In fact any illness-causing being could count as poison-bringer. Hôsôkami (smallpox demon) was truly feared by all before vaccination was introduced in Japan.

Finally, continuing the supernatural poisoning trail, best girl is probably legendary fox witch Tamamo no Mae who among other terrible deeds made emperor Konoe fall sick with poisonous miasma (some version of the story attributes the disease to another monster, the nue). I covered a similar murderous kitsune folktale here.

[bubba-draws]

The Nightbringer concept!

Shapeshifter god that brings the night and guides their followers through the dark

I’d appreciate your opinions on the designs pls :>

[girldong]

building a cosmology with some friends in a tabletop game i'm in- here are some "aspects" and their sigils

[attleboy]

i thought too hard about insect motifs got a little silly and made... a lot lmao these versions of the characters are from @sm-baby's amazing digital carnival au!! full images and rambling about insect choices are gonna get stuck under the cut... it'll be a bit long and i will be putting photos of real bugs down there so be mindful

pomni: "butterfly"

inspirational species are black swallowtails mostly for the shape, and malay red harlequins mostly for the pattern

carnival pomni's actually the one that kickstarted this whole set... i drew her hat in a way that reminded me of butterflies, went "wait...", then i fully leaned into it :)

jax: "centipede"

there was no specific species for jax. without being able to use color, they were too similar to pick any out... i have included a giant centipede just for reference though since it was mainly larger centipedes i used for inspiration

anddd there's a little bonus sketch for how pre-sentience jax might've looked with a centipede outfit... he gets a bug scarf and some goggles!

ragatha: "ladybug"

inspirational species was the twice-stabbed ladybug chosen because the inverted color scheme looked the best out of all the ones i tried, and also because it's a metal name and we know ragatha's good with a knife... stabby stab... i did add more than two spots to the dress though, it just looks cooler lol

gangle: "spider"

inspiration was the spinybacked orb weaver which i was absolutely ecstatic to find because come on that is the perfect spider for gangle like look at it!! it looks like her mask, it's got red, it's got gold on the limbs, literally twinning

zooble: "mantis"

inspiration was the spiny flower mantis which, like with gangle, i feel is pretty much perfect for zooble... they come in many colors (including pink), have abstract patterns, and it gave me the excuse to cover zooble in spikes :D fun

and no kaufmo because i'm lazy and he's dead (sorry kaufmo fans but am i wrong), and the rest don't have bug names that i know of?

i still want to draw the carnival characters in their regular looks sometime, i just got really really inspired by the idea of secret skins and bug-themed outfits and went a liiittle haywire :P

anyways if you read all that you're a real one and you've got too much time on your hands... if you didn't, i understand, i get wordy, sorry :'D okay i think that's all byeee

[zemi-noelle-art]

LPS Custom #8: Centipede Alien Cat Inspired by the album cover for Stranded by Red Vox.

Done for the alien toy custom collaboration hosted by dolly_lolly_playtime on Instagram! ( #aliencustom23 )

This was one of my most complex repaints and sculpts yet! The design is inspired off of one of my favorite space themed songs, Stranded by Red Vox. Since the collab was alien themed, I thought it would be perfect to incorporate it as a motif. I also thought centipedes would help give the main design a unique look. (aaannnd the cat portion of the design is just because I only have shorthair bases left lol.)

I've actually made a "making-of" video for this custom this time! you can view the video below! https://youtu.be/sTc3RJpIFBQ

[teddie-bear420]

GIRLS IS BUGS!!!

This was that fastest thing I’ve drawn in a while omg

Niffty Redesign🐛

Made my own take on Niffty for Fun!!!!!!!!💖 I def thought a lot on what to try with her!!!!

Pushed for a more 50’s Housewife aesthetic/hotel maid vibe. She’s wearing a pinafore apron which was very popular during that era and I took the poodle skirt idea and reworked it into the apron, but rather than a poodle it’s a bug 🐛. Also brought back warmer colors like the pilot look had. Pastel yellow was def a pop color!

Also added a name tag as to show she works for the hotel 🏨

Added more splotches and made them bigger on her apron. Polkadots were popular in that time and I think are cute(lot of her concepts had polka dots on her) plus I can see her wanting people to assume she’s a ladybug or Asian Lady Beetle 🐞 (@peeperscreeperz made a take of Niffty being that which is AMAZING and I considered making her that too but I ended up going a different route). I can see her also wanting them to give off flowers…only for most people to see them as blood stains.🌸🩸

Also gave her those iconic cleaning gloves 🧤. Shes the Hotels maid AND cook afterall 🧽 👩‍🍳

Gave her a bandana bow for the housewife and maid look and because I think it’s cute and lowkey gives off antennae. I LOVE the idea of her being a bug demon so I went with that. I was going for a subtle ambiguity of what she’s suppose to be(she’s hiding what she is).

Gave her warmer eye color back! Also made the pupil more leaf shaped 🍃.

Added gradient for her limbs.

Added extra limbs. Great for extra cleaning 🧹 🧼

Her hairs actually antennae…and extra legs 🦵

Gave her three fingers.

Made her eye bigger(bugs often got big eyes! Or for her case eye 👁️)

Added a lil bug instead of a poodle for her apron!🪳

For her color motif, went back to warmer colors and because for mine I’m going with a rainbow motif she’s Yellow💛🌈 the color known for its positives such as joy and friendship…but can also mean negative things such as Deceit, illness and often used as a warning color⚠️ it was also a popular color for Sci-Fi posters(she was based on B-Alien Movies)

Made her skin a kinda warm pastel orange🧡 I missed her having a warm palette but I also get why they changed it due to her roots 🇯🇵. So I went with orange!!!! Her hairs also a more brownish red-orange.

For her bug theme,

I went with something that I figure would connect her both to her ability to take down pests so well and Japanese origins. The Japanese Centipede! Centipedes are great for pest control but apparently to Japan they’re considered symbols of evil and rottenness, plus with how they look they often scare people even those they don’t pose serious threats to humans, which I think fits Niffty’s whole desire to be loved only to accidentally scare people away…shunned & unloved by a world she can’t seem to fit in💔

HUGE Spoiler alert!!!! Hazbin Hotel

With the reveal of Husk being once an Overlord I like to believe the same with Niffty but rather than souls(talked about this with @a-sterling-rose, she was an immensely powerful sinner like Alastor, but alas her form was far too big and scary for people to want to get close to and she was alone…until Alastor offered her a deal he’d provide a more approachable form in return for her eternal service)

A lot of her looks meant to be hiding what she is. Disguising her extra limbs as hair, her body’s color scheme based on a centipedes, poofy dress that could cover extra, even the bug design could be Interpreted as a long centipede. I was also going for a subtle sharp, mini legs for her apron ruffles, giving off her trying to look sweet and soft but could also be interpreted in another way…

I read and learned from a @lovesart23 redesign vid for her that, she was meant to be based on B-Alien Movies. LOVE that and I tried it myself(hardest part was figuring out what bug to make her and what themes to go with) but I ended up going for another Sci-Fi route. Kaiju/Giant Bug monsters. Creatures like Godzilla or those giant bugs creatures like “the Tingler” 1959(which was a centipede monster I read). I figure it’d connect well to both her struggles of fitting in but also her Japanese Roots.

Monsters are tragic beings. They are born too tall, too strong, too heavy. They are not evil by choice. That is their tragedy. They do not attack people because they want to, but because of their size and strength, mankind has no other choice but to defend himself. After several stories such as this, people end up having a kind of affection for the monsters. They end up caring about them."

— Ishir⁠ō Honda The Director of Godzilla

Plus some certain Kaijus could qualify as Aliens!.

There’s even a Yokai/demon based on the centipede know as the Ōkumade!

CW freaky Pictures of centipedes and Mice

What do u think? I’d love to know💖

I’ve also done Charlie, Vaggie and Angel🍎🦋🕷️

[deathricedrawn]

big wide open galaxy

here's my thought process on this drawing... i wrote this in google docs... I hope this is coherent lol:

I am very normal about Andromeda (the song, the constellation, the galaxy, the myth…), if you haven’t noticed already. My love for Andromeda is why I’m doing a bachelor in physics and astronomy (my course is kicking my ass but we stay balling)

I think Andromeda as a concept fits Anya very well. As the myth, Andromeda is chained to a rock as a sacrifice to save her parents’ kingdom. However, it is Perseus who comes along and unchains Andromeda and takes her as his wife. A common critique of the myth is that it’s very much centered around the male gaze: Andromeda is basically a submissive trophy wife for Perseus as a symbol of his bravery. Really, Andromeda has no say in the matter. I feel like there’s a lot of ways you can tie this to Jimmy and Anya, though I’m struggling to come up with the words for it.

Later on, Andromeda is put into the stars as the constellation by Athena. There’s a lot of different reasons as to why this is, but a commonly accepted one is that it’s to commemorate Perseus’s brave deeds. Once again, Andromeda is reduced to Perseus’s acts, even in her death/eternal life in the stars. This, I feel, is fitting: Anya died as a result of what Jimmy did to her. Her death is, in part, defined by Jimmy, similar to how Andromeda is defined by Perseus. Aside from that, just like Andromeda, once Anya dies, she too is put into the stars but in a much more literal sense. Her final resting place is literally in space. 

This also ties in as to why I think Andromeda (the galaxy) fits Anya. Currently, the Andromeda Galaxy is set to collide with our Milky Way Galaxy in 4-5 billion years. This can be tied to the crashing of the Tulpar, but, obviously, in a much smaller time frame. Jimmy’s reason for crashing the Tulpar is, ultimately, because of Anya. He feared the repercussions of what he did to Anya once they returned home, so he chose to crash the ship and take everyone else on board down with him.

A deeper dive into my art: Anya’s pose is reminiscent of the pose the Andromeda constellation is in. Furthermore, she’s held by the wrists and ankles with red chains that resemble the centipede version of Polle. This aspect is meant to touch on the idea of Andromeda being dubbed ‘The Chained Woman’, but also as to why she (Anya, in this case) feels tied down. She feels chained by what Jimmy did to her, what she’s forced to live with, and the fact she can’t feasibly escape through any means other than death. She’s chained by her pregnancy too, which explains the Polle motif.

I depicted her skin as pale and glowing. This is to mimic the brightness of a star (tying her to both the Andromeda constellation and Galaxy). Her expression is mostly neutral, though it bears traces of sadness and acceptance (you can make of that what you wish). In the background, the space is filled with eyeballs reminiscent of Curly’s. These are meant to be stand-ins for space debris, or planets. It’s meant to represent how Curly, even as she neared death, was a big part of Anya’s life on the Tulpar. She took care of him after the crash and she died next to him. The space background behind her was also meant to be similar to a womb with Anya taking the place of a fetus, next to just being there for framing and contrast purposes.

[felassan]

Just poring over some of the new images. ◕‿◕ DA:TV spoilers under cut.

in what seems to be an in-gameplay version of the more cinematic[?] group-fight scene we saw at the end of the character trailer, Rogue Rook stands ready to fight with Harding and Taash (toll...). Red lyrium mutated darkspawn that remind me of these guys from concept art, with red lyrium claws (! dangerous. and new I think?), run towards them. the structures around them are Blighted, covered by Tainted pustules and horrible growths. red lighting enhances the impression/threat of red lyrium spread and in general. also, I am really curious what these blue lamp things are? something to do with blue lyrium, or objects we can break to refresh our potion supply in the boss battle with this dragon and its darkspawn adds that is clearly about to go down, perhaps? the backdrop looks like a starry sky, and in the middle it reminds me of an eclipse 👀 (which is a prominent motif in DA:TV promo material and some previous lore. e.g. one, two, three), like the moon is blocking out the sun.

the scene compositionally reminds me of this key art, though it seems to be a different dragon, as this one's horns curl down and that one's horns curl up.

behind the dragon are the Evanuris head statues. maybe this fight occurs near the end of the game, and the team return to where it all began (Solas' ritual site in Arlathan Forest) to take down the final boss? maybe in that time red lyrium/Taint corruption overtook the area. or maybe this is taking place in the Gold/Black City in the Fade [it could be both, the Fade reflects the waking world sometimes]. as it also reminds me compositionally of the vinyl covers, Gold and Black. the dragon, the outspread wings, a figure/s in the foreground, the sun/moon/eclipse imagery in the background, corruption, the city surrounds. though this dragon's horns match neither of the dragons below hh.

the spire-like structures with their points remind me of the spire-like structures of the City here on the vinyl art - namely, the timepoint on the right, when everything is corrupted and Blighted, like it is in the image above with Rook.

I wanna say that maybe the dragon in the image above with Rook is Elgar'nan in dragon form. The Evanuris Were [all] Dragons[haped sometimes], "Elgar'nan, Wrath and Thunder, strike the usurpers with your lightning, burn the ground under your gaze, bring Winged Death against those who throw down our work", "Light radiates from the eidolon’s narrowed eyes and its open, snarling mouth", "Elgar'nan, Sun's death, burn the ground under your gaze, grant the fire blessing, your people call out, for all things to end in flame." he's back now, and Ghilan'nain is also back but she wouldn't need to take dragon form maybe, she's already in a kinda monstrous form in the gameplay reveal video and for variety her boss battle could have her in the massive centipede-monster form instead, two.

[demonslayedher]

Nerdy cultural details about the Hashira

Some details can be hard to pick up without context or in translation. Here's a handful for fun:

Breath names:

The "Mushi" (蟲) of "Mushibashira" (蟲柱) does not necessarily mean "insect." It's also not the more commonly used "mushi" kanji (虫). Kanji is often formed with many components compounding together to make new meanings, and 蟲 is a crowd of three 虫. While it might be tempting to simply say that this is a whole bunch of 虫, I've also heard this described as 蟲 being the more abstract idea of the concrete 虫, or that 蟲 went through a resurgence in popularity shortly before the Taisho Period. 虫 is preferred nowadays for its simplicity.

In either case, it's not necessarily "insects." Rather than being limited to six-legged creatures, "mushi" is a catch-all term for many kinds of creepy-crawlies that simply do not fit in other categories of animals, so spiders and centipedes and worms are all part of it. Actually, the term was originally used for snakes!

Next, what are picturing when you hear "Stone Hashira"? Something in your hands that you can throw? A big stone to lay on for warmth after training in a waterfall?

You could think even bigger than that, because the "stone" kanji used is "iwa" 岩. This is usually something at least as big as the boulders Himejima pushes around to train with, but it could just as well be a whole cliff.

So then how about that issue raised about how you can never refer to "Flame Breath" as "Fire Breath"? This might be a review since it gets brought up a lot, but it's worth restating because it makes a lot of sense in context.

First, we have two kanji to work with: 炎 for flames, and 火 for fire. To make a long linguistic history short, Japan adopted written pictographic characters from China, smashed and smooshed them around to fit the spoken Japanese language, and eventually many kanji wound up with multiple pronunciations. Case in point, 炎 is "hono'o" in the context of Flame Breathing (Hono'o no Kokyuu), and "en" in the context of "Flame Hashira" (En-bashira).

火 likewise has multiple pronunciations, but a common one is "hi." Another simple kanji that can be read "hi" is 日, the sun.

Therefore, even if they are written differently, "Sun Breathing" and "Fire Breathing" would sound the same, as "Hi no Kokyuu." This also makes it easy for "Hinokami" to be construed as "Fire God" instead of "Sun God." But why stop there, really? If you want to get into older Japanese, sometimes phonetic "hi" was used in simple reference to the power of gods.

Symbolism:

This is still somewhat linguistic rather than symbolic, but you know how Sound Breath is derived from Thunder Breath?

It's worth pointing out that "Kaminari" (雷) in "Kaminari no Kokyuu" is in reference to the sound, as opposed to something like "Ikazuchi no Kokyuu" for "Lightning Breath" in reference to the sight. We can get really, really nerdy about Japanese words for thunder and lightning and how they relate to Kimetsu no Yaiba, so I already did that here.

What's more interesting to me in regard to Sound Breath is that it takes the "sound" concept of thunder and pushes it--this time with a bit of a firework motif, again in a way that would stress the sound instead of the dazzling light. Both Uzui and Zenitsu have exceptional hearing and are exceptional users of their Breath techniques, so this is either curious that a discerning sense of hearing might help, or ironic that they use such loud styles with their sensitive ears.

Moving on to snakes! There's really no shortage of serpent symbolism, so we'll just focus on a handful of examples. I have already written extensively about the positive associations snakes have with riches, especially white snakes. This is ironic, given Iguro's distasteful paste driven by riches.

Some of the other positive associations with snakes are that they are a water element animal on the geomancy system borrowed from China. Makes sense that this Breath would be derived from Water Breathing! There are many shrines dedicated to snakes and their gifts of rain and clean water, however, water can also be dangerous. A common interpretation of a major legend about an eight-headed giant serpent, the Yamata-no-Orochi, is that it symbolizes the destructive power of a flooded river. But hey, at least snakes are often equated to dragons for having the same water association, so that's pretty cool.

Setting aside the water association, the serpent itself can likewise be considered in negative lights. In the centuries leading up to the Taisho Period, it became commonplace in Buddhist teachings and entertainment to compare jealous women to snakes. This association with woman also adds another layer of cruel irony to Iguro's past.

On a happier note, let's move on to cherry blossoms!

Well, not always happy, seeing as they are known to scatter tragically soon (I am shaking my fist at you, Gotouge). Cherry blossoms are also heavy with all the directions you can go in with symbolism, and I don't have any particular take on why they are part of the overall motif of the Love Hashira (see here for a little commentary on why it is "Koi" 恋 and not "Ai" 愛).

However! I do want to point out something very clever Gotouge did!

You know how Mitsuri's hand guard looks like four hearts that all meet at their pointy ends? This is actually a traditional cherry blossom motif!! Not a very common one, which is why I find it so sly.

Personal Names:

Bear with me, this section will get slightly more speculative, as names are always up to interpretation. I should know, I've done a lot of that for this series.

Remember how kanji can be read in multiple ways? Here's something simple you'd see right away in Japanese but that gets lost in translation to most other languages. Both Sanemi and Genya have 弥 as the second character in their personal name (as "mi" or "ya"). This was not the case for all their siblings, but it's cute that the two of them share it anyway.

So what does it mean? In modern kanji dictionaries, it's pretty bland: "increasingly." However, this kanji has more interesting use and associations that that. It was originally 彌, which carries more of an image of a stretched bow, or how something might go wide and disperse. As a child's name, this might include some hope that they might grow big and tall and go to great places. It is also commonly used in expressing the names of Buddhist deities in Japanese, but it is used only for the "mi" sound instead of the meaning in these cases. (Still, 弥 is one of the "Namu Amida Butsu" characters all over Himejima's haori, which also adds a little cuteness to his associations with Genya.)

So how about someone else with a name that closely matches his brother's? We get a pretty good explanation of Yuichiro (有一郎) and Muichiro (無一郎), with 有 and 無 being opposites (to exist/to not exist). While 有 might be more straightforward in wishing for Yuichiro to have all his needs met, the "mu" in "muichiro" is for "limitless/infinity/etc, etc."

But also!!

It bares distinct resemblance to a common Zen phrase, "Honraimuichimotsu" (本来無一物), with "muichimotsu" meaning "nothing exists" (and therefore, you have nothing to worry about, just be happy).

Speaking of resemblances, "Tomioka Giyuu" has two kanji in common with the name of the mangaka of Hunter x Hunter and I sometimes wonder if he was named in homage. But that is neither here nor there, and I'll just finish today by focusing on "Giyuu" (義勇).

This is pretty basic and straightforward: "loyalty/justice" and "bravery/courage." Pretty lofty. Put them back together and it's basically a set term for "heroism."

However, put it together with other terms for squads or armies, and this is the now the word for "volunteer soldier" or "volunteer army." Historically, it would continue to be used a few decades after Kimetsu no Yaiba takes place, but the decades prior, there were "Giyuutai" organized volunteer troops as well. Perhaps Giyuu had ancestors who fought as volunteer soldiers? Who knows.

[selfchiller]

Oh and I don't annotate or take notes.

I feel like I have such great asshole booktuber potential except for the part where I don't read consistently, don't keep up with publishing, read old shit, am borderline genre exclusive, and am constitutionally incapable of being given an assignment or homework of any kind. So basically I have great potential except for the part where I don't.

[akiradachi]

on a slightly more serious not the centipede thing is banger as fuck

the 'ooo so spooky' moving shadows of the OVAs dont hold a candle to this

yes! give me fucked up bugs as a representations of death and decay in a plague like motif of an unstoppable force!

i want to fucking eat this page

[torchwood-99]

LOTR Cast and Horror Films Headcanons

Gandalf: Finds horror films boring, only because they’ve yet to make one that can scare him. His friends are on a never ending crusade to find a horror flick, whether it be gory, ghostly, psychological or just plain sick, that will scare him, but nothing leaves an impact. The closest any film got to succeeding was The Human Centipede, and even there he was just mildly grossed out by. He does like to watch art house, avant garde horror, preferably made in black and white, and watch them while getting high.

Aragorn: Loves a wilderness horror, or one set in extreme environments, like The Thing. He’s hard to scare, and will happily watch The Blair Witch Project the night before going on a two week camping trip. Is the one to keep reminding everyone else “it’s only fiction, it’s only fiction.”

Sam: No. Just doesn’t do them. Is the one with his eyes shut, asking “is it over yet?”. His friends mildly tease him for it, not because he’s afraid, but because he’s the first one through the door when someone’s in trouble, whatever the danger, but is too spooked to watch a scary film. Sam explains  will be brave when he has to be. He doesn’t choose to be brave for fun. 

Frodo: Doesn’t watch horrors all that much because he knows Sam doesn’t like them, and would rather watch something they can all enjoy. Has no particular objections to horrors in themselves, and can appreciate a well made horror, but has a dislike for Friday the 13th and Halloween, as he’s got a thing about cursed dates. 

Merry & Pippin: Talk a big game, have all the memorabilia, insist on watching the goriest, grizzliest, nastiest films going. Spend the entire time with their eyes shut, and have to sleep with the lights on afterwards. Spend a bloody fortune on snacks at the cinema.

Boromir: Insists on having Merry and Pippin sit on either side of him, so he can wrap his arms around them. Is the one who annoys everyone else by pointing out all the mistakes the heroes make. His favourite horror moment is the chainsaw hand in The Evil Dead. 

Legolas: Turns his nose up at “pop” horror. Insists that “elevated” horror films aren’t really horror, like, they’re “horror” but they’re not “horror horror”, and feels the need to justify his love for any horror film by talking about its sophisticated themes and motifs. Gets a lot of popcorn and cushions thrown at him. 

Gimli: Likes a good slasher, especially if there are axes involved, but any sort of tool turned weapon will do. Is an unashamed horror fan and is the first to knock Legolas off his “elevated” horror high horse. Makes his own horror prop replicas, and is big into cosplay. 

Faramir: Not the biggest fan of the films himself. They don’t scare him to the same extent they do Sam, but he doesn’t find them pleasant to watch. He’s into old black and white romances, biographical movies, adaptations of classic novels (though he will spend the entire time picking out the inaccuracies) and yes, the odd musical. However, he does have a soft spot for films with badass final girls. Will sit through all night slasher gore fests to make Eowyn happy.

Eowyn: Loves them. Loves them, loves them, loves them. Has always loved them and always will. Was the one to watch way too mature horrors behind Theoden’s back as a little girl. If Eomer had a sleepover she’d watch through a crack in his bedroom door, and if there was something showing at the cinema she’d get in by buying tickets to a kid’s film. Sometimes had to get into Theodred’s bed if a film gave her nightmares, but never admitted it was because she was scared. (Theodred knew, but he’d play along.)

As an adult, like Merry and Pippin, she talks a big game. Unlike Merry and Pippin, she lives up to it. The gorier, the better. She watches the final girls at the climax, drenched in blood and screaming, going at their tormentors with a kitchen knife, and thinks “God I wish that was me”. One anniversary, Faramir surprised her by coming to bed in the Jason mask and nothing else.

That said, the more psychological horrors, horrors in domestic settings or focussing on mental health and dysfunctional families (like Hereditary and Smile) really get to her, and she will only watch them with Faramir next to her, and has to watch something funny afterwards as a palate cleanser. 

Eomer: Can’t be arsed with “elevated” horror, calls it slow, pretentious bullshit. Thinks a horror is a copout if there isn’t an explosion of blood and guts in the first five minutes. Gets into constant arguments with Legolas over this, to the point they can go weeks refusing to be in the same room as each other. As a kid was stricter than Theoden about keeping Eowyn from watching scary films, was a bit out out when he found out that Eowyn had a stronger stomach for gore than he did.

Arwen: Isn’t fazed in the slightest. Can watch that scene in The Human Centipede without blinking, then get herself a bowl of chocolate pudding and ask if anyone else wants some. 

[gakuxiu]

Asano motif: Centipedes

[paradoxbeta]

WHO IS EOC? i am very curious now!!!

>:) okay SO

tumblr picture formatting is utter garbage and i dont want these to take up too much space so im cramming these drawings into one row (or not if this crapsite breaks on me, because it seems to be REALLY fighting me on this, so if it ends up not making a nice little picture row know that i tried my best). but this is effigy of composure!

he has a couple problems, but the big one is that his superstructure has a terrible parasite situation. the parasites are flat, thin, and able to make it into grooves and pipes the inspectors cant reach. flushing out doesnt do much to dislodge them and they breed faster than they can be killed, so theyve happily made their homes in this sheltered, food-rich haven (to the obvious distress and horror of the host iterator). originally the concept for these parasites were much closer to centipedes and had the placeholder name "synapcipedes," but ive since started leaning more towards an obvious tapeworm motif for them because its gross and i enjoy it morbidly. it also has some pretty cursed implications if you think about it for too long which i have decided are funny/really disgusting/so stupid that they have to stay. i still flipflop between considering them centipedes vs tapeworms though and i dont think thatll ever be rigidly defined. the ambiguity is nice to toy with

on the top 10 list of "things that are not fun" having turbo worms has to be somewhere up there, so eoc has it *rough,* and kind of sort of eventually barrels off into the deep end because of it. his futile attempts to clean his own structure are frustrating enough, and the constant feeling of bugs crawling all over the inside of his body (which only gets progressively worse with time) does no favors either. however, the real big reason why he mentally declines is just because there's a ton of centi-worm things eating like fire through his neurons and other what-have-yous that iterators need to think and function. i think if he only got hit with one of these 3 things then he might have been able to hang onto his sanity, but with the triple combo he doesn't really stand a chance of doing much except stalling his functional death. which is good on him because if i was an iterator and my overseers told me i had a structure infestation, my mental health would have just preemptively swan dived off a bridge before anything even happened

anyhow, exponential parasite population growth meant exponential increase in all this other fun stuff, which means the time from the beginning of the infection to the time eoc is considered officially gone is startlingly short (for iterators, at least). it still took quite the while because losing your marbles is a loonnnng process, but still, yikes. its unfortunate because eoc was a real jokester pre-everything, and a cool guy to talk to. he was one of those people who could come up witty comments for anything like hed been ripped from the script of a sitcom. oh yeah, also, should have mentioned this earlier, but he ends up accidentally amassing a scavenger cult mid-insanity which goes hilariously bad because he's barely aware it's happening. nothing really works out for this poor iterator.

tldr: eoc gets parasites, they erode his brain, he goes nuts about it, (accidentally amasses a cult,) dies

[museofthepyre]

I’ve been David Lynch brainrotting lately and I’m dwelling on the way he uses symbols and visual motifs to communicate emotions, rather than to serve as clues or plot devices

Re-appearing imagery of, for example, the owls in Twin Peaks— that don’t necessarily represent a “who” or a “what”, not an entity or force

But a feeling, of being watched, being spied on by something which looks down from above, camouflaged so you’ll never know when it is or isn’t there

They are paranoia. They invoke it and signify it.

They don’t serve anyone or anything within the story itself, they aren’t clues to a mystery. There’s nothing to “solve” about what they “mean”. They’re simply part of the ambiance— the way a film’s score can dictate the mood of a scene, how it’ll swell to evoke fear or tension— Lynch uses visual motifs in that very same way.

I kinda wonder how close that is to the presence of centipedes in CHNT

Whether they represent an entity/ force, or just… a feeling. I have spent so long wracking my brain on what they might mean, if they’re entities or servants of something, if they’re omens, if there are any clues to be found in their presence…

But I think I’d be satisfied if the answer was just… something like “they are paranoia, or fear of a danger you cannot know”. You know it exists— you hear it skittering across the floor at night, you’ve seen flashes of it scurrying about— and something about it looks wrong… but you only ever catch it in time to watch it vanish right back into the darkness. Once again unseen. Never clear enough to know… beyond the fact that it is still in the room with you. You’ll never know where the danger is, and you don’t know what it can do.

But you know it is there. It could be right behind you. Stirring up paranoia, and a fear of something that’s nature will not let you know it.

Maybe it just *is* that fear… maybe that’s what it serves to express? Or maybe it’s Adam in disguise. Or maybe it has something to do with the agents I literally have no clue