#god I love 90s special effects

[thesearchforbluejello]

Sorry but USAF soldiers playing cards while the most dangerous thing on the planet is right behind them and they don't even know it is one of the most "nailed it" show openings of all time.

(This thought brought to you by the fact that I got so mad that Stargate isn't on Netflix NOR Amazon anymore that I finally hooked up the DVD player my mom got me for Christmas and started playing my 20 year old DVDs. Which, by the way, have the best design ever (each disc is a little Stargate and they say "ENTER THE STARGATE" in a dramatic voice to get you to click into the DVD menu). The box they're in is bigger than the DVD player itself (I think I got them for Christmas in 2003 or 2004).

[giantkillerjack]

I never understood the bit at the beginning of Fear Street hey hey everyone go watch it right now it is SO GOOD where one of the characters that the film wants us to sympathize with reacts to a local tragedy with a kind of flagrant, unhinged humor.

And then 2020 lasted for 84 years.

And I was like,

Ah.

I get it.

[pankomako]

genuinely can't tell if i suck at splatoon, or if i'm actually pretty good at splatoon and people target me for that reason, or if people target me because i play like an annoying little bitch. because i keep dyin' in game every 5-10 seconds

[imaginespazzi]

Another game down, another step closer to March (it's literally tomorrow guys) and like always, I have thoughts :)

Paige Bueckers: is insane

22 points on 90% NINETY PERCENT, NINE-ZERO PERCENT like y'all I don't think we even realize we're watching a once in a lifetime kind of efficient player. She's just- yeah she's just insane. Not a flash of passive P tonight AND she got to sit for a whole quarter? Yeah, this is HER season and everyone else is just along for the ride.

YEE FUCKING HAW ASH LET'S GO! I was actually a little concerned that first half because a) no one was helping P and b) Ash just looked like she was doing cardio out there but there's no energy like the energy a halftime buzzer beater can inject you. AND THE STEALS! Girlie been working on that defense and you love to see it.

My NFOY had a "quiet" 17 points which speaks to Sarah's maturity and her ability to just get a bucket. And the IQ is just so beyond her years; it's wonderful to see. That 3-ball isn't falling yet but TRUST it's going to and it's gonna be something special.

Ice finally gave me something. I still wanna see more but she was pretty god today. More than anything, I just loved seeing her hustle for those points. She boxed out well, made smarter decisions than usual. I see the progress and she's gonna get there (off the bench), I see the vision

Kaitlyn did what Kaitlyn does. I think we could use a little more from her but I think her presence is really solid. She made some questionable decisions tonight but I do think the Storrs environment which is unlike anything she's used to maybe played a factor.

Speaking of questionable decisions, KK made a fair few of them and reminded me of her freshman self. However, she also reminded me of the really great stuff she did her freshman year with a couple defense and offensive plays.

Jana didn't get as much playing time as I'd have liked her to get but the minutes she did get? Effective as hell and I can't wait for her to geting into the starting-lineup.

Morgan's a SHOOTER. And boy did we need shooting because 3's? Not our thing at all tonight.

Allie wasn't really a factor tonight but she also didn't feel like a burden so you really can't complain because her main job is to go out there, not be a liability, maybe make some things shake so that the starters can get their much needed rest.

Overall I don't think was a particularly great game. The first half was practically a Paige carry-job which is great for the agressive!P agenda but it's USF and I don't love that we were so dependent on her. The third quarter was pretty good (made up for the last one agianst BU) and the fourth quarter showed that we're still learning how to navigate without Paige. Again, its really early and the fact that we won by so much just shows how much talent we have and how high our floor is, which means out ceiling is waaaay higher.

Free. Throws. We don't get as many as we should as it is so please, please, please, make them.

Three point defense needs a fair amount of work.

Caroline is still wearing earplugs and I just wanna give the girl a hug.

Paige and Azzi finally got to sit to next to each other and immediately started yapping as if they don't do that all day?

[redsrooftopprincess]

Jess!!! (According to Jess)

(A/N: This is a breakdown of my OC with a twist. This is also set well past the Gravity Arc, so beware of spoilers ahead)

...

Hey there everyone! I'm Jess! (She/Her) 😁

I was told that I've been getting some love here, so I stole a questionnaire thingy from @thelaundrybitch (go check out her OCs, they're delightful and I wish we lived in the same universe), Frankenstein'd it a little, and did the thing!

Content Warnings for sex, drugs, violence, and more of our favorite things.

Hey, it's me, don't tell her, but she's got a habit of downplaying herself, so I'm gonna proofread this shit for accuracy. 😘

- R

Physical Stats

Full name: Jessica Anne Jones

Nicknames/Alies': Jess, Princess <-mine.

Born: October 9, 1996 (28 yrs old)

Star Sign: Libra, but I don't put a lot of stock in astrology

Place of Birth: A stained mattress in a torched out crack house in Queens, in between bumps of whatever god my birth portal had decided to pray to that evening.

She gets poetic about shit she doesn't want to talk about.

Species: 100% Pure, Unfiltered Human... Until my mutation. Now I'm not entirely sure what I am. Mutant, I guess? I'm still effectively human, but I'm a bit tougher, I suppose.

D says she's somehow both in the middle and way beyond all of us. All I know is they fucked with the Ooze. Then they fucked with my girl and found out.

Height: -5'-

Perfect

Weight: -115lbs-

Perfect

Gender: -Woman (mostly). You know, I've never really gotten the whole "gender," thing. I'm generally pretty fem, but can't honestly say that I've landed on *one*. Pronouns are she/her, and I look like my assigned gender, so that's what people call me by default, but I'll honestly answer to anything.-

Perfect

Skin: Pale as fuck. I used to have to try really hard to avoid going out in the sun because I tan/burn easily. NOT ANYMORE. I blame them *points vaguely behind me*, so thanks? I guess? I've also got freckles.

Okay, so when she says "freckles" I know you're picturing a cute little dusting here and there, but girl looks like the night sky. It's unreal. -They taste pretty good, too 😈-

Scars:

Right ankle where I had to remove a tracking chip.

Bitch carved it out with a broken bottle like a fucking G.

Left eyebrow, left upper arm, right abdomen from when I got beaten up while I was kidnapped once.

Not my best moment.

Very light vein scars up my left arm that spread up across my shoulder and back, disappearing into my hair. From being injected with the Ooze against my will.

You should've seen her trash talking those dicks. If I hadn't been so fucking scared I'd have been proud as hell.

Eyes: blue-gray

They're like the color of the sky right before sunrise starts, but they've got a little gold right in the middle that looks like a sunflower. When she's really mad, they turn kind of green.

Hair: Wavy and down to my mid back, black with brown bangs. Usually up in a messy bun during the day. Usually down and styled when working. Braided buns when I'm *working*.

Full on opium-style addicted to her amber conditioner. -very grabbable 😈-

Clothing: I usually try to be pretty put together, while still rocking the traditional graphic-tee-jeans/skirt-boots nerd combo. When I want to get dressy I like to keep it classy, the "little black dress" is pretty standard. I do still have my Maid of Honor dress from April's wedding because I can't bring myself to get rid of it: a floor length vintage green silk number with a slit that's probably illegal in some counties in Utah. It's gorgeous, but It's still in the back of the closet, because I'm not sure how Red would feel about me wearing it. That night was kind of intense.

I did not know she still had that dress...

Make up: Very light/natural 90% of the time. Classy neutrals while I'm working.

Okay, so she's got this cherry red lipstick she wears on special occasions that don't wear off for HOURS, and I owe the lady who came up with that shit a bottle of whatever the fuck she wants.

Tattoos: the Kanji for "Beauty" (美) in red on my right shoulder. I moved back to LA for ten months, and about two weeks into that particular adventure I got pretty homesick. Red's always been my Beast. 🥰

This was before we figured our shit out, and I swear when I saw it for the first time I almost told her everything.

Piercings: ears: Lobes (3L/3R - usually with something dangley in the first hole), Cartilage (2L/3R, usually rings and occasionally a cuff), left nostril (ring/post), right eyebrow (ring/bar)

She had a navel piercing, but it kept catching on my shell, so that one's on me. She says it's fine, but it was really hot, so kinda bummed about that.

Signature Color: don't have one

Mine.

Occupation: Musician. I play piano and sing at a bar called Songbirds.

Also a professional badass.

Hobbies/Likes: D&D/TTRPGs, music, arts and crafts

She's on that nerd shit and it's hot as hell.

Spirituality: Eclectic Pagan. My spirituality is pretty fluid, but it's hard not to be in awe of the natural world when I'm in love with a force of nature.

Could say the same about her.

Illnesses/Disabilities: I'm Autistic with lower social needs, but higher sensory needs. Red's skin is my favorite stim.

She also likes hugs. 🥰

Drugs/Alcohol: I don't really drink, never developed a taste. Big fan of weed. Helps with my body's sensory bullshit. Try to get Red to take it more to ease the pain he has in his *everywhere*. Made the mistake of treating the boys' weed as if anything about them is normal, and ended up falling asleep in Raph's lap.

She was adorable for the 5 minutes she was awake.

Relationships:

Casey: my big brother. We were both in foster care and ended up in the same group home. We looked out for each other, and the day he turned 18 he was at the courthouse with the guardianship papers. 🥰

When Casey somehow found out that Jess and I were going to have the "us" talk, and pulled me aside. I thought I was gonna have to beat his ass, but I didn't, which was nice.

April: Best gal pal on the planet (on par with Lani). I knew April before the boys, and when Casey told me he was thinking of proposing and then took FOR-E-VER to do so, I threatened to fucking do it myself.

Between these two, fuck, even on their own, Casey and me don't stand a chance.

Leo (He/Him): At first, I thought he didn't really like me, but then Mike explained that's just how he is with new people. Cordial. Now, while we still don't see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, when he isn't feeling the need to be a hard ass, he's actually a lot of fun to be around. There is a mutual respect and understanding that we have completely different and entirely valid approaches to the same things. Late night insomnia induced philosophy talks with Leo over tea are honestly incomparable. CAN GET SILLY! It doesn't happen often, but once in a while, when patrols have been easy and their long list of enemies has been quiet, he loosens up. This is my favorite Leo. I'm pretty sure it's his, too. And I'm pretty sure we all wish we got to see him more often.

They get along really well most of the time, but she's not afraid to call him out on his bullshit when he's acting like a dick. A few months ago something happened, I don't know what (relax, nothing like that), but there's been less tension.

Donnie(He/They): My best friend in the whole wide world. I help in the lab occasionally. Specs and I play D&D online, where I introduced him to my friend Cassie and they hit it off really well which oh no who expected that to happennnn..... 😈

Can't say I'm surprised. And Cassie sounds really nice.

Mikey(He/They): The whole ass reason I met the boys in the first place. S-Tier smoking buddy. I'm usually worried about him, and try to pay attention to where is head is at. A few months ago I started worrying less. Turns out it was about the time he met Lani, hmmmmmm....

I swear this bitch will try to set up just about anyone. She's a sucker for love (not that I'm complaining, believe me). Best big sis to my little bro. Really good at noticing when his heads in a rough place.

Master Splinter (He/Him): The calm in the storm. Sense of humor drier than the Sahara, but funny as HELL. My relationship with splinter is just... comfort. Safety. If I had a dad, I'd want it to be him.

She does and he is.

Cassandra (she/her): CASSIE! She was my best friend in high school and now helps runs the Reptile House at the San Diego zoo! She's also a vet/geneticist. We play D&D on Saturdays and she and D have been getting along swimmingly. 😁

Never talked to her, but seems really nice, and I've learned to trust Jess' judge of character.

Lani (They/Them/Any): Fab as FUCK. Best shopping/tik tok/rainbow fun buddy. Taught me how to do a smokey eye that FULLY DOUBLED my tips. I adore them. They're pretty new to the group, a friend of Mike's, and they both insist there's nothing more there but BITCH I SEE YOU.

Lani and Jess are a trip when they get going. Complete chaos. Fun as hell to watch. Zero volume control.

Raph (he/him): Okay, so I left this one for last, because putting any of this into tangible words is really hard. But I'm gonna try. So here it goes. and I promise I'll try and keep it short.

Meeting Raphael was like meeting a literal force of nature, it had the same feeling as if a Mountain just rocked up on you and started talking (see what I did there?). He was beautiful, and I wish there was a better way to describe him, but it's kind of the same feeling as seeing Niagara Falls for the first time. You just realize the world is so much bigger and more wonderful than you could possibly imagine.

It took is a long time to finally reach "us," longer than it should have. But now that we're here if was worth every minute. "Love" doesn't really work, it feels too normal. What we are to each other... I'm not sure there is actually a word for it. Personally, I don't believe in soul mates. I chose him, and he chose me -(not that he actually had many options, and that thought by itself isn't completely terrifying, especially if they ever find a way to go topside and everyone sees how wonderful he is and he finds out I'm not all that great ANYWAY)- whatever we are, we built this ramshackle thing together. We're like two idiots trying to build a bridge on opposite sides of a river, but neither of us actually know how to build a functional bridge. Somehow, we figured it out, and it's made of scraps and bits and pieces, and occasionally something falls apart and we have to improvise, and it's weird and chaotic and perfect and it really really shouldn't work and for some reason that's why it does.

Anyway, sorry, in my defense I really did keep it short.

Mate: Some asshole.

(😁)

Tactical Stats

Gear: Black Tactical Suit, Black Boots, Daggers/Gloves, Cell/Comm, typical tac gear (flashlight, wire cutters, smoke bombs, etc).

Still trying to get her to wear the Black Widow suit.

Weapons:

Main Weapon: Punch Daggers. Okay, so I've got these amazing daggers that retract into my gloves that Donnie made me and they're so cute and super fun and really good at severing arteries. I love them.

She had D Anodize them red and they look cool as HELL.

Secondary weapon: Rope Dart. Spun fire for a while in LA, wasn't that hard to pick it up. Used this up until my mutation, when I could finally convince Red to actually let me fight. When Red watched me play with it for the first time I'm pretty sure he had a minor stroke. Mostly use my daggers now, but still like to play with it on occasion.

Yes we do.

Position: Striker. I tend to go in first to shake shit up (which Red hates), and try to use surprise to take down as many heavy hitters as I can in round one.

God. Fuck. Training Jess in CQC was just, honest to God, the hardest thing I have ever done.

Specialty: Stealth, Agility, Small Spaces. Red and I have a "Fastball Special" where he throws me at enemies and it's SO much fun.

Bitch is a wildcat.

Favorites:

Food: Wendy's fries and a chocolate frosty

Yeah, she's one of them...

Drink: Dr. Pepper, or a good old fashioned PSL.

-me😈-

Color: ...seriously?

What she said.

Season: Winter. Honestly, you guys, the boys get so sleepy and cute in the winter, you have no idea.

Fuck it. Yeah. I cuddle with my boo when it's cold. Say somethin'.

Dinosaur: Ankylosaurus

Hell yeah, it is.

Holiday: Christmas/Solstice.

Mine too... or maybe I just like unwrapping things.

Films: Beauty and the Beast. Okay, so I swear it started as a joke, but has somehow become a really important part of "us." I'm a huge geek, so Hulk/Natasha, Hellboy/Liz, etc. are referenced constantly. Occasionally, when I call him "Red," he'll call her "Sparky" -(which totally doesn't make me feel all fizzy inside, nope)-. It does have it's downsides. I can't watch the End of Beauty and the Best, and Raph could only watch Endgame once.

I don't like to be reminded of certain things.

Also, and more importantly, TERRIBLE action flicks. It's actually how Red and I bonded in the beginning. And yes, Die Hard is, in fact, a Christmas Movie

Girl understands art.

TV/Streaming: Your typical nerd fare, Dr. Who, Critical Role, Etc. My favorite show right now is Reacher because OF COURSE IT IS 🥵. Got Red hooked on Dimension 20 (still hasn't forgiven me 😈)

This nerd shit is compelling as hell.

Games: Don't get much time for video games, used to really love Action RPGs. These days I stick with tabletop, and play online with Donnie once a week. We're trying to convince Raph to play. I think getting him a PHB signed by Vin Diesel helped. 😁

Okay, I'll admit, it MAYBE looks kinda fun. Joe Manganiello plays, too.

Music: I'll usually listen to anything unless it's overtly whiney, screamy, or has really heavy distortion. Really like a midway point between acoustic and electronic. Depending on how my nervous system is acting that day, volume can also be a problem. 😬😬😬

Whatever she's listening to, I just like when she sings along.

Books: fantasy, mostly. I love really Faerie Tales and that section at Barnes & Noble called "Now, here me out..."

The amount of monster smut this bitch reads...

With that being said Happy Monsterfucker Pride Month, my fellow deviants!

That's the end of the thingy, I hope you... enjoyed? I don't know. Whatever your reason for reading this, I hope you got something out of it. Mike's fired up the hookah so later, kids!

Okay, I've got like seconds to finish this up before she walks back in here. I really don't know how to close this out. Jess is perfect and I can't imagine my life without her. Love you, babe. Hope your not too mad. 😘

.....

Tag list

@thelaundrybitch @the-cauldron-witch @fyreball66 @ninnosaurus @tmntngl @thegirlwiththeninjaturtletattoos @zagreustomb @ramielll @silverwatergalaxy @gornackeaterofworlds @footninja @daedric-sorceress @sophiacloud28 @iridescentflamingo

[sassy-leather-jacket]

i’m trying so hard to love this new era of doctor who. but god i just don’t. i wonder if this is what it was like for people who grew up with classic who when it was rebooted in 2005.

and like i don’t HATE it, i just don’t love it either. and tbh, i think a big chunk of why i don’t like it is that it seems like 90% special effects. that’s where i think its disney-fied. they have this huge budget now and instead of using it for real props and authentic costumes we get cgi and fast fashion outfits that are trying to mimic authentic clothes.

i do have to give millie her props for 73 yards though. personally i think she should have been more hurt and upset with the doctor as she got older, but i can understand why they chose to have her more at peace with it. even so, they could have given us some kind of explanation as to wtf exactly happened.

[huggingtentacles]

Hi I am very sorry for barging in unannounced but I really wanted to thank you for your posts regarding Elden Ring’s pvp scene. I plucked up the courage to try some dueling on a high lvl character and god DAMN it is so fucking fun even if I have no clue what I’m doing. I actually feel confident enough to equip the taunter’s tongue on some other characters to spice up my normally singleplayer only experience, thank you so much!

You are not the first to tell me this, and you are not the last, thank you so much for this!

Elden Ring PvP is like a special hobby for me, that has connected me with wonderful people, entertained me for thousands of hours, and genuinely made me a happier person. I don't expect it to have the same effect on everyone, but I encourage people to at the very least try it out and engage with it in a thoughtful manner.

That first invasion experience with doing Varré's quest that sucked? It could turn out to be more fun than you've ever had with the actual main game! Maybe you are the person who has what it takes to get into it and have fun with it!

At the very least try PvP. Try dueling, try invasions, with friends or random people. You paid a bunch of money for this game, and there is a sizeable community for whom PvP is like 90% of it! Get your money's worth god damn it!!

Agitation aside. I'm genuinely happy for you, and I think I could even say proud of you! I hope you stick around for the DLC, whether you're buying it or not, the activity surge is gonna come, and it's gonna be a great time to be an invader or duelist.

I would also love if you actually posted about your PvP experiences in the Elden Ring tag!

[stormikins]

Mass Effect Trilogy Tag

tagged by @nowandthane thank you!! Warning I ramble a bit in this lol

I am a fan since: 2017, I got it for Christmas in 2016 so I always just say '17

Favorite Game of the series: By virtue of simply replaying it the most, three. I really love the combat in it so I've played it near thirty times? But all time fave would have to 1 because of the aesthetic, tone, and story. There's something about first discovering a world which is what me1 is about.

MShep or Femshep? Gotta go with Femshep. I have played both, its just hard to capture the male shepard image I have in my head in the character creator so Femshep it is.

Earthborn, Colonist, or Spacer: earthborn! My main Shepard Jenn is earthborn so that's what I'm going with. Though, I have numerous Shepard's are various background combinations. I have feelings about each background trust me

Biotics or tech: Both! Though I really do love biotics, you can do some cool stuff with them, setting up and detonating both biotic and tech explosions.

Paragon or Renegade: I have to repeat what nowandthane said, paragon choices, renegade dialogue.

Favorite Class: Sentinel. I love the versatility of the class, but I do have an affection for Infiltrator because that's what got me through me2 on insanity.

Favorite Companion: Tali. By story value, Javik. He's like one of the most important characters

Least Favorite Companion: Javik, throw your attitude out the airlock. IM JOKING! (he has every reason to be like he is. I love him very much) Liara is my answer though only because I don't like some of the story choices the devs did with her. (ex: why does she have Shepard's armor in a display case when i didn't even romance her??? I can't mention this at all??)

My squad selection: For Jenn's playthrough: Wrex/Tali in me1. Garrus/Mordin/Miranda generally in me2. Thane and Miranda/Samara for the collector base. Kaidan/Javik/James in me3. Of course, I mix it up based on story aspects and the difficulty settings. But me3 is pretty fixed bc I always play on insanity.

Favorite in-game Romance: Tali and Garrus. I'm a sucker for awkward, wet cat of a man like Garrus is. But Tali's romance man.... her parting line to Shepard during the beam run "I have a home" makes me insane actually

Other pairings I like: Obligatory Nihlus/Shepard/Kal (and the duos within in this throuple) mention here. Other than that, Joker/Miranda and Joker/James, Ashley/Garrus, and Shepard/Wrex, I could list a whole lot so I'll keep it to those ships lol

Favorite NPC: Nihlus and Kal'Reegar for sure. Victus and of course Niftu Cal our favorite biotic god.

Favorite Antagonist: Saren. He's the best one that we get in all three games (Harby could have been number one if they did anything with him in three but that's a rant for another time lmao)

Favorite Mission: Haestrom/Tali's Loyalty mission because that's when I get to see Kal <3 and blow up a colossus with the Cain. Also, the Collector Ship mission I have to mention because it's frankly the only mission besides the two previously stated where I've loaded up the save to play it on insanity when I'm bored. It's fun. Of course, this is with the Infiltrator.

Favorite Loyalty Mission: Tali for numerous reasons. Kal mention here. But I love the insight into Quarian culture we get. Also we see that fire in her when she's talking to the Board which I always appreciate. Along with her dialogue at the end, "I got better, Shepard. I got you." and then on the ship afterwards, "I don't think life is about what we deserve." I love her so much.

Favorite DLC: Leviathan. Only because of the horror aspect.

Control, Sythesis, or Destroy? Destroy. I have so many issues with the ending and that's the least worst option in my opinion so. (I too ignore that it wipes out the Geth and Edi fuck that)

Favorite Weapon: The M-90 Cain or the M-99 Saber aka the "Big Iron". Lancer in three was my favorite weapon before I found the Saber. Special mention to my bud the Mattock, I have been convinced of its glory. I do not think the Harrier is better anymore lol which my brother would be happy to hear

Favorite Place: me1 Citadel my BELOVED.

A quote I like Quotes I Like: The ENTIRETY of Sovereign's dialogue on Virmire GOD ITS SO GOOD!!!! / "Stand in the ashes of a trillion dead souls and ask the ghosts if honor matters. The silence is your answer." / "Does this unit have a soul?" / "Just followed your example, Shepard. Yell loud enough and eventually someone will come over to see what all the fuss is about." / "I won't let fear compromise who I am." / "I MADE A MISTAKE!" / "Help me out here, Shepard. The line between friend and foe is getting a little blurry from where I stand." / There are so many great quotes in these games I could go on and on but I'll stop myself

No pressure tags: @spacebunshep @jtownnn

[soleil-in-retrograde]

So I decided to do a Xena rewatch. It was popular when I was in elementary school and I have literally not watched this since middle school. This will be an interesting thing to see.

What I remember of Xena: Warrior Princess

Good-Mom-Xena

Good-Dad-Gabrielle

Villain Athena

Recurring villain Hades

Twilight of the Gods

90s Camp and special effects

It was a spinoff of Hercules the Legendary Journeys but eeeeeeh, all I remember about Hercules is Hera was the villain and I'm not interested in that show anyway

Mermaid mafia episode??? With amnesia????

Ares was in love with Xena

Aphrodite was my favorite because sparkly and pink and BARBIE

AIYAIYAIYAIYAIYAIYAIYAIYAI

Chakram going ZIP ZOOM ZAM all the time

A lot of 'flash forward to modern day' episodes in which the show was based on Gabrielle's scrolls.

Fun with reincarnation!

Eve

What I expect

Stuff not to have aged well because it was the 90s

Me being an adult slowly closing in on forty going "oooooh, that's why everyone kept insisting Xena and Gabrielle were together before they actually were."

(Look, I didn't catch the hints of Mulder and Scully in the X-Files until I was an adult either. Cut me some slack.)

Misremembering a lot of stuff, as one does about shows from childhood.

I'm going out with friends later, but will see if I can get the first episode in later today.

Ciao!

[cto10121]

Re-watching the New Moon movie and I have many Thoughts(tm), namely

Why is the cinematography is so warm toned compared to the first movie when New Moon is the most depressing book and truly the worst era of Bella’s young life: A Mystery in 2 Hours

At least Pattinson!Edward looks a little better than usual. They put him in these crisp suits. Very nice (Edit: Never mind, that awful Volturi bathrobe with the pasty-ass makeup was horrific yuck, yuck, yuck)

They just had to introduce Jacob this early on, didn’t they? And ofc Bella is much more emotive and gets all the witty dialogue with him (!!). In the books she is much more romantic and wittier with Edward as a whole. Jacob tended to bring out her immature side

“How come Jacob Black gets to give you a gift and I can’t?” “Because I have nothing to give back to you” Nice to know the screenwriter(s) still doesn’t understand the Bedward dynamic. And by nice I mean horrific

…What film version of R&J are they watching??? It’s not the ‘30s version and definitely not the ‘60s or ‘90s one. Is it the ‘70s BBC one? In the book it was the ‘60s version, which is the correct answer. Did they not get the rights? Also, also, why are the human characters much more affected by R&J than Bella and Edward????

“[Romeo] Killed his only love out of sheer stupidity” “Yeah” Oh no, no, no, no, movie, you are not going to make Bella, a close Romeo iteration, agree with Edward!!! Edward is meant to be 100% wrong by his take. Dumbass script!!!

Edward: “Eyes, look your last” 😐 Couldn’t Pattinson just inject a little bit more feeling into his line reading? Most of Edward’s objections were Romeo’s actions, not his suicide. These are the lines Edward can and should relate to.

The movie people garbing the Volturi in 18th century clothing when they are older than the Romans is just laughable

“Dating an older woman. Hot.” Okay, Emmett is 💯, no notes. Definitely erred on the side of frat boy, but you know what, it’s fun and ho boy do these movies lack it

Bella holding up her whole bloody finger in a coven of vampires 💀 Why, movie

Stewart!Bella’s chemistry with almost everyone else in the cast (that scene with Carlisle tending her wound!!!) but Pattinson!Edward confirms what I have known all along: Film and real life chemistry are very different and they shouldn’t be confused. The proof is in the celluloid.

I’m just going to call it: Stewart and Pattinson are modern subtle quirky actors playing what are essentially neo-Gothic star-crossed lover roles. They absolutely should never have been considered for these parts at all by a competent director. Absolutely not fitting at all

“You’re just not good for me.” Hmm, this is what Bella believes about herself, not Edward. I suppose Edward could have done it on purpose, but the fact that he was flabbergasted his lie worked indicates that he doesn’t. Movie just straight up portrays him as more manipulative than in the books, where he just lies baldly

Oh God the months-on-the-screen thing was terrible. This movie fails so much at portraying Bella’s depression, it hurts. It’s like visual SparkNotes

The Bella-writing-to-Alice device sucks. Not too badly, but still. We had her voiceover in the first movie without any problems but for this one, we need a justification? Also, it fuels the Bella/Alice fan dumb something awful

Really dislike the way they did Hallucination!Edward with the ghostly transparent effect. It’s corny and also…way to pass up a chance at some mystery and intrigue by just having Edward be there without any special effects (maybe keep the echoing voice). I guess they really didn’t want people confused and think he returned when he didn’t. But c’mon.

Movie Bella going off with the biker 🤮 Book Bella at her most insane would never. The only good thing about it is that it does lead to Bella having an interest in motorcycles. Efficient movie storytelling and all that.

“Bella, where the hell have you been, loca?” Wonder why this line became so meme-worthy. It’s by far not the worst (“spider monkey” is perhaps the most awful) and Lautner’s delivery was natural enough. Is it the random Spanish? It is random.

Bella is already smiling at her first scene with Jacob…this movie is just awful at selling her desolation. Meanwhile Jacob’s first thought was how awful Bella looked

The Quileute characters are well-cast and nicely played so far, and their banter is good. Emily especially is beautiful and her scar makeup was convincing. Great

Book: “He took off his shirt” Movie: He took off his ~~~~shirt 😍

Laurent’s arrival and his death should have been a much better and weightier scene than we got. God, the pacing is so bad in this movie. Jacob becomes a werewolf, Bella finds the meadow, Laurent suddenly arrives—all within a minute or so. Ugh

“As soon as you put the dog out.” Damn, why, movie? Book Alice did not begin the slurs until she was well and truly angry. But sure, let’s do some really obvious racebaiting 🙄

Whoa, whoa, whoa, Jacob KNEW he was talking to Edward and not Carlisle????? Movie, wtf? And all to save up on some screen time…sigh

Bella: “I can let you go now.” What. The. Fuck. Movie????? Not only could she not let Edward go, Bella never wanted to let him go. That was and had never been her arc!!! She would have gone to Edward regardless of anything!!! I hate this, I hate this oh GOD

No, I’m not done, I need another bullet point for this BS. The whole reason why Twilight was picked up to be adapted in the first place was because Hollywood execs saw “Ooh Romeo and Juliet with vampires 🤑” written all over this one…only for the actual filmmakers to just say, “Actually her whole ~journey this movie is letting go of Edward uwu” Poor Meyer…she just had to grin and bear it until she became the producer, I suppose

*Bella and Edward having a whole-ass conversation and making out* *Felix and Demetri watching in the shadows*: “So…should we interru—” “Don’t you DARE” “Felix” 🤣 I’m sorry, but this whole “I lied I do love you” convo should have been in the bedroom scene proper; there are literal Volturi about!!! Also, also, no “Amazing. Carlisle is right”!!! No Romeo quote!!!! Fie, for shame

Dakota Fanning as Jane…Well, probably not perfection, but she is great as usual. The Volturi got done so dirty overall, though—they look and act like Vampire Diaries rejects.

THAT ELEVATOR SCENE, OH GOD. So much meme potential. Why does this series keep injecting humor and comedy where there shouldn’t be and just ditching the actual humor and comedy of the actual books?????

Again, these Volturi gives me discount Vampire Diaries. Also, that chamber is so damn small. Where is the mystique, the grandiosity?There should be a crowd of vampires around, it’s their dinnertime.

Michael Sheen is just too British for the la tua cantante, lol. He also says something else (“Forse le vostre l’uno per altro”??? The accent is just too thick). He’s way too handsy (movie, they’re regular vampires who are sharks!!) but overall I guess his creepy-genteel approach works. Again, the cringy script fucks him over, as it does everyone. The movie has him touch Edward only now and not immediately when he meets him. Oh, God.

Edward just stumbling forward to Jane’s demonstration on Bella 💀 Jane saying “Pain” and Edward just standing there instead of collapsing 💀 Stewart!Bella freaking out and begging them to stop…actually, no, there she did very well, I liked it

Edward and Felix fighting ewwww…and with that awful slow-mo. What’s with these movies and including non-canonical battle shit???? Also, Aro would not order Bella’s execution if simply because he wants to collect Edward/Alice and Bella once she turns (it’s obvious she is a shield).

Of course fucking Alice speaks up at the very last minute before Aro chomps on Bella!!! When she would have had a vision of this exact scenario!!! This movie I swear!!!

THEY ACTUALLY SHOW THE VISION OF VAMPIRE BELLA, OH GOD. AND WITH THE CORNY SLOW-MO. KILL ME

“Once Alice changes me, you can’t get rid of me.” Okay, Movie Bella is officially more interested in immortality than Edward, the exact opposite of her book counterpart. Dishonor on your cow, Rosenberg.

“Jake, I love you.” Aaaaaand it’s official, the movies are definitely Team Jacob. Fuck you, too, movie

[weirdstuffinthewoods]

Bride of Chucky

A Review

Ronny Yu made the correct choice working with the one and only father of Chucky, Don Mancini. I feel like Don's seamless continuing control over the Chucky franchise paired with Ronny Yu's absolute lack of knowledge of the Chucky franchise (and his love of the monster) made for a one-of-a-kind franchise installment.

Writing- 5/5

This entire script takes the snark we know Chucky for and dials it up by giving him a dominating sparring partner in Tiffany Valentine. There are some jokes that kinda feel needless (repeating the "what a crock" joke only got an "eeh" out of me), but Voodoo for Dummies?

And lines like:

"For God's sake Chucky, drag yourself into the 90s"

"Martha Stewart can kiss my shiny plastic butt!"

When Chucky tells Tiffany to "act natural" and this is her response

The entire weird sex scene conversation that 100% does happen in a film about two sentient dolls? It was only a matter of time before we got here, let's be honest.

The addition of Tiffany Valentine allows for a totally valid reason to shake things up- creative kills, high-speed freeway chases with two DOLLS holding two whole adult humans hostage, and the film's only gay character (spoiler but RIP David) getting absolutely blasted by an 18-wheeler for no reason other than Don probably just realized the cast needed to shrink real quick.

Special mention-

The honeymoon suite kill scene. Yeah, it looks a little cheesy, but you best believe before I was old enough to watch horror movies, my older cousin was telling me about this scene in vivid, terrifying detail (much scarier than reality, but what can you do?)

Soundtrack- 4.5/5

Living Dead Girl starts this movie off with a bang and a moment I haven't forgotten for one second of my spooky sapphic life. These are the moments in which horror icons are made.

The soundtrack is mostly upbeat drums and chugging guitar riffs which I loved (it especially added to the freeway chase) I just didn't go full 5 stars because I didn't notice it as much as I'd want to in a party movie like this (because yes, if I ever do host a halloween party I will be popping in this exact VHS to play on repeat).

Also shout out to my boy, Graeme Revell. Been a legend since The Crow in my eyes (but also for so much iconic 80s and 90s horror....and Sharkboy and Lavagirl) and I'll always get excited when I see that name in the credits!

Effects- 4.75/5

First let me say Chucky looks fantastic. Can he emote as well as Tiffany with those pencil-thin eyebrows? Maybe not but this is the opus version of Chucky, so.

The animatronics are still my favorite thing to watch in a Chucky film because you forget that these aren't sentient dolls almost constantly (except when Chucky's body double is crawling on all fours- that's some nightmare fuel). Their faces are so expressive (for rubber doll faces) and there's even a shot of Tiffany walking across the floor of a Winnebago (maybe?) without a wire in sight! Oh, how far we've come.

The effects in some scenes are a little cheesy (the honeymoon suite kill, the gross, fleshy title card, etc) but it's easily overlooked because Chucky and Tiffany are by far the main event of the sfx team.

Extra ratings?

Queerness-3/5

Written by an out gay man, HELLO!

Alexis Arquette!! Easily the second-hottest person in this movie, I loved seeing her camp it up (in a masc role, but goths love to play with androgyny so I'll take it) as the try-hard Damien.

This also unexpectedly features the gbff trope usually reserved for rom-coms in David, a guy whose queerness isn't painfully exaggerated like some portrayals were at the time, and who's probably the most level-headed of the bunch.

RIP, -2 because David got blasted by a big rig and not in the fun way.

Bride of Frankenstein retelling 5/5

It's pretty obvious on rewatch, but this is a whole Bride of Frankenstein retelling. It even follows the title convention (I tell my younger self who completely missed the comparison). I haven't read the dissections of the original that explain why the bride is a metaphor, but in a more literal sense, this Bride has the power unlike her predecessor. Even though she falls in with a toxic ex, she has autonomy and pushes back, eventually sort of kind of helping the two teens (who are not interesting enough to put in this review) stop Chucky. And she gives birth to a weird demon baby while mostly charred through a non-stretch plastic vagina so. That's pretty metal.

Tiffany Valentine 11/5

TIFFANY VALENTINE THE WOMAN THAT YOU ARE

THE COSTUMING

THE TRAILER SET DRESSING

But most of all the performance!!!

I may be looking through heart eyes, but I'm not wrong!

Overall, Bride of Chucky will never not be one of my favorites. The addition of Jennifer Tilly allowed the Child's Play series (and all future iterations), to have fun, but to also play with the tone of its installments. Seed of Chucky and the Chucky series tend to focus on Chucky (and friends)'s humanity and personalities, whereas Curse and Cult of Chucky take the franchise back to an exciting, sometimes scary, and eventually openly queer and complicatedly sapphic place. Ignoring the reboot (which he was thankfully not responsible for), Don Mancini's got quite a legacy going, and Ronny Yu had a key part in that.

[latentspaceofficial]

research tangent! scp x wh13

so this is something a little bit different than what i normally talk about. i'm putting on a different cap today. ok little nerd moment thats been living rent free in my head for days. ive got an antistatic bag on my desk thats been sitting here for a while and i noticed something familiar

that sure as hell looks like the scp foundation logo

which got me really thinking. so its very obvious to me that the scp logo takes inspiration from this iso or ansi symbol. but whats even more odd was looking at the timeline of the scp wikis birth. im a zillenial (god i hate that word) so my childhood was watching markiplier play scp:cb, scrolling the old wiki, fucking with cleverbot. fun stuff like that. i was still a drooling idiot. when sci-fi renamed to syfy. but i remember the switchover and not being allowed to watch eureka because there were some "goddamns" in there. but i was allowed to watch warehouse 13, in spite of steve's existence. i was way too into the steampunk and lore of warehouse 13 when it was relevant. so much so i had a fucking farnsworth ringtone on my lg shit phone and i thought it was the coolest thing. i'm also still gay as hell for h.g. wells and her fit.

but anyway anyway. the premise of warehouse 13 was finding dangerous "artifacts" that imbued special status affects on people and to neutralize them with "neutralizer grid polyethylene static bags" as they say. their motto being "snag it. bag it. and tag it." or something to that effect.

what im getting at is that warehouse 13 has a similar premise to the scp foundation, but more mainstream comedy and less psychological horror. there's a tangential link between wh13 with scp via anti static bags and the symbol. so i looked into this a bit. through cursory searches, i didn't find anyone really talking about this other than a similar premise. so i looked at timelines. in july 2008 the scp foundation wiki (idk which one) was started, while wh13 piloted on july 2009. with a year delta, it seems clear "who stole from who". but wait. writing, pitching, and filming takes quite a while. is a year really enough time? i can't find any trademarks registered by universal nor any evidence of a canadian filming license. so this is where i stopped typing on my phone and started researching. the waters are a bit muddy, so bear with me. wh13 was co-written by a handful of people and rewritten as well. but the original plot was announced by sci-fi here in october of 2007

according to wikipedia (the free encyclopedia), inspirations for warehouse 13 include the x-files, raiders of the lost ark, something called moonlighting, and this show from the late 80s and early 90s called "friday the 13th: the series". i'd never heard of it, but it shares the vaguest premise with both wh13 and scp to keep bad artifacts away from harming people.

well what about the scp wiki? when did it form? well it's complicated. (i'm sorry for my poor cropping, it will happen again)

the scp wiki itself states that the original scp came from 4chan and that a lot of original organization happened on 4chan. indeed 4chan is the source of famous scps such as 173

posted on june 2007 is the original lore post about 173 and can be seen as the beginning of scps. which pre-dates the announcement of wh13. i don't know about you, but how fast you could go from trolling 4chan to a pilot script? at this point "some government authority retrieving dangerous magic embued items" was not a previously done idea and was indeed original. the x-files kinda did this before with balancing larger plot arcs with mini plot supernatural occurrences, not all aliens. but nothing about being an authoritative group that comes in and cleans up super natural mishaps. nah, mulder and skully just stayed in the basement or took an occasional road trip to see a whistleblower. i honestly love scp far more than wh13, but i'm going to be the devil's advocate and not give the new era spin on an old idea to the scp wiki just yet. 173 is an scp, but the idea of scps is not fully laid out yet. the thread was also deleted days later and thus only lived in the minds of active forum users of the time as fan derivatives were made. so there was a period of time where the fandom had started to form, but no official wiki existed. the semi official scp wiki formed in january 2008. later than the announcement of wh13 but before the pilot of the show ever aired in july 2009. so it's always possible the writers were 4channers and yoinked the idea. again, it's so fascinating how close in time and narrative the scp wiki and wh13 are. i personally doubt the writers were on 4chan at the time, but neither the wiki nor the show writers exist in a vacuum. i think it all warrants scrutiny and there's no smoking gun saying who inspired who, or if it's absolute coincidence. that is unless some ogs from the scp wiki or the writers of wh13 are able to speak on it. i'm curious what other people think.

[docilepillow]

April 2024 Media diary

yea im good thanks PSEUDOREGALIA

by part this game and by part not really this game's kinda burning me out lol like the games objectively good i think its just the game style and some of the design choices that kind of abbrasively make me not like this game as much as i should like i love goats i love platformers i love metroidvanias but after finishing this game i dont really say i lik it persay but at the end i can only bring myself to only hate aspects of it , more then anything? like the ccombats ok its nothing flashy. and like. the main mechanic of this is wall kicking, whicch feels cool as hell . the movement in this game is great. but with how hands-off it is , and in combination with the nonlinearity and intended sequence breaking you can do, it is * horrifically * easy to get lost. i hear an earlier version of this game didn't even have a map, which is awful for this genre in my opinion. id describe this game as very frustrating and it feels like 90 percent of the time you're hitting your head against a wall trying to go anywhere, which, for some people, is absolutely fantasstic. im sure trying to fedangle around with this moveset is awesome. but i spent most of the game just wanting to get the full moveset as soon as possible, because, allthough a completely deterministic game as far as i'm aware, progressing from place to place feels really convoluted. i feel like in between grunting " ugh " and " I want this to be over with " and " god i wish there was an upgrade for this " and " i'm SO lost..! " the game has great ambiance and area design and theres plenty to do, i just kinda wish you had like . a few more quality of life features in the game. like . idk. like an area completion counter for each area, or a cursor for where you're located on the map.... Then again , i dont think thiss game was designed with that in mind, so i think it's just a shame or for people that just aren't like me. Yea, sybil is cute, i guess. ill give credit for that. i just cant really see that over what's , for the bulk of it, a stressful affair that feels like guesswork and trail and error. if this game ever gets a big qol update, i'd probably love it a whole lot more, but once again, i'm pretty sure thats an intentional artistic decision to reflect the era it's from . i went into this wanting to like it a whole lot more, i promise, but this is like a 5 out of 10 game ( for me personally ) ... i basically spent alot of it mentally appologizing to nmh2 for some reason. i need a break for today. i'm kind of really dissapointed right now THE CROODS video game movie

its cool

Also, on the topic of mario maker 2, which, technically, i finished last month, i DID in fact finish mario maker 2's story mode! i simply neglected to before andd i think it's okay. i think its a little bit better then the 3ds version's array of levels, and, playing them so close together, i'm honestly surprised they didn't try to impliment the acheivements you can get in those levels in this game, given the fact that so much is tracked by clear conditions in MM2. i wonder if that was a prototype feature they tried early in 3ds before implimenting it in the sequel? Oh well. i'm glad they just ddint implliment the clear condition where you cant get grabbed by claws, those are just the absolute worst..!

Daemonis Algebra

https://gothbingarbage.itch.io/daemonisalgebra

This one's actually nice and special, because i can say some friends of mine made it! It's for a gamejam, so it's pretty simple, but i think it's relatively effective for the kind of hectic gameplay they were going for with it. I'm actually a little bit clumsy when it comes to assembling the little " creature " you're putting together by running around the map, and, i get the sense they're supposed to match,but, given my luck / level of coordination, my creatures usually end up looking something like this --

Oops. It very much affectionately reminds me of older styled flash games you'd find on coolmath, though it's definitely a lot more polished then most of the ones i think of aestetically and mechanically. You just kind of dash around and collect charming little monster parts. It's a little hard to figure out what part's a leg or an arm or the like sometimes ( I actually thought my animal's head was an arm ); but i'm really confident in saying thats a genuine creative decision- it's kind of like a cute little cartoon dilema. i absolutely love this game's cute spritework and music!!!!!!!!!! go play it right now stupid!!!!!

( I Got Sidetracked And Am Doing The Entries For Everything Below At The Last Minute Because Of Nocturne ) THE PRINCESS BRIDE

I've seen this movie before, but i think it still holds up good. An overall solid movie with basically everything you could want from a classic film. Very very watchable with people or alone. You can't really complain with the film at all but i dont havve any new thoughtss on it or anything pokemon scarlet violet epilogue

TLDR; techniiicallly i've finished scarlet-violet a long, long time ago, and i mostly just.... forgot about it up until decently recently, after the prior movie i think, and was prodded to give it a try by a friend. I think some of the writing at the start is charming enough and it's not completely a waste like the rest of the game , but i'm still of the strong opinion that this dlc isn't even half the bar set by Swoshi's entire DLC lineup, which is a little bit sad.... I guess that's what happens when you rush out an open world supermassive entry in a series known for scopecreep and capital interest..? That seems a bit cynical, but I don' t really remember much of my thoughts about it in retrospect, now. It's a little out of the way, but i'd hate to see what happens to this event when servers go down and you can't get pecharunt's item anymore.

POKEROGUE

There isn't really a good image to represent this game, so just the logo will do, i guess. TLDR, I think this is a fangame with a cute idea, and psudo-decent execution , but it's definitely still a work in progress. the earlygame grind where you're just trying to get started is absolutely brutal in a way that is simply just---- timeconsuming and not that much fun at all. If you want to check out the game yourself, I reccomend catching a paldean tauros as soon as possible so you can use it at the start of future runs. The basegame is set to last around 200 rounds, so it's definitely a massive time commitment to try, but once you do get a run going, it can be fun. I still think the earlygame needs ironing out and some of the moves aren't fully implemented yet because it's still new. I'll be honest and mostly say i jumped on this one out of a bandwagon. If you're curious to see me try a run, this clip might still be up for anyone to watch, but i wouldn't count on it forever - https://streamable.com/44j2v2 STRONG BAD'S COOL GAME FOR ATTRACTIVE PEOPLE

( The first 4 episodes, out of 5 . I ran out of time, once again, thanks to nocturne. Oops! )

SBCGFAP on wiiware is a game based around homestar runner, which i've mostly come to appreciate only recently this year. I got into it around February, where me and my boyfriend incidentally started watching it around the tail end of our trip. A few months later, and i'm super endeared by this show's writing style! It sort of feels like how something like Castlevania or Spore feel like to me now, in that it's not really a thing that's upkept anymore that much, with sparing crumbs of new stuff to see thrown out in little rations . So, when i got home, and, having recently re-modded my wii u ( And, with a Vwii setup, in part due to my sister wanting to play the overseas unreleased Mystery Dungeon games, the means to play wiiware in a way that i'm sure would've been fine to set up, actually, because dolphin is also awesome, just, more convenient for me because it wouldn't be taking up my laptop's storage space ) ; i proposed playing this game with him in call , which we did for a while! I'd say as a complete novice to the Point N' Click and also Telltale Game genre that the writing was pretty suitable. The scenarios are mostly just standard homestar runner stuff, and it did keep a big smile on my face. I actually think my favorite episode so far was the first one, looking back on it, considering how much Homestar is in it and how the puzzles ended up being lighter, but that's to my own preference. I think these games are worth looking into if you have a modded Wii U around, which im sure some people do. I imagine most people getting into HSR would've already watched a lets play or something on youtube already..! Anyway, i think this is good. i think people should give it a try even outside the inherit fact that this game is nearly lost media. I didn't get to finish the trogdor episode more then halfway before getting sidetracked by college preperation stuff. Sorry.. PORTAL 2 - COOPERATIVE TESTING INITATIVE ( technically properly capitalized! )

I've actually never finished any of the portal games! I'm too stupid to finish them ! But my boyfriend is hella into it and I know the story stuff already! And we both haven't done the co-op stuff before! So we did ! On a whim ! And i don't QUITE feel comfortable putting it on my backloggd until i at least finish the singleplayer campaign as well, so that puts me in a neat spot! id like to think i wasnt ccomplete dead weight in this playthrough but i was a little dumb. this game leads to fun banter and silly fun though it lends itself well to being coop and it's not as confusing as it would be when you're working with someone compitent who can backseat you as you completely misinterpret his directions. I'm honestly shocked how high the steam statistic for clearing this mode is , look at this ---

Do a fifth of people really play this???? I can kind of believe that but really ? damn! ! ! ! thats pretty cool you dont usually see numbers like this for modes like this. I'm a little bit sad there aren't more multiplayer co-op experiences like this, but that's kind of what makes them special in the first place. SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI III - NOCTURNE

This game has been one i've been procrastinating on trying since finishing SMT IV and IV-A nearly a year ago now, just in part because of it's reputation as a brutal, arduous journey of an RPG. I've heard many good things about this game. I've heard many bad things about this game. I've heard many things about this game's remaster, and I have it bought on both Steam and PS4. I dunno. Just because it was an SMT game on PS4. The primary thing that's making me finish it now is mostly just in part due to the only game i'm looking forward to, shin megami tensei V - Vengeance, coming out in around a little over a month as of typing this-- and, considering V on switch was how i got into the game, i MOSTLY know what to expect. Though, i never got to finish the DLC in that game . AND if i finished nocturne, i could confidently tackle every ounce of that game's new content under a fresher lens then JUST a series newcomer. I have really high hopes for V-V, but that's not really what this game is about. I knew already in advance that i would need to section off a very large period of time for this game going in , so I basically ended up sticking to logging in a couple of hours over the whole month when not fixating on anything else media wise or when not doing important college preperation shit that I need to get done and in fact STILL HAVE THINGS TO DO FOR. And still i only just barely about had enough time to do it!!! SMT nocturne , for the most part, and as long as you have some expectation and experience in the traditional RPG genre, isn't actually that bad difficulty wise. Like, as long as you're prepared, you'll actually fare way better then in some of the other games in the series that i've played, which is nice. Like, outside something like a super unlucky light / dark magic oneshot hitting you once and a while, as long as you're dilligent and prepare and use the systems you're given, you'll live. Like, i'm not gonna say this is how you get into SMT, but it's reputation is only MOSTLY overblown as unfair and stupidly difficult. But, because i'm stupid, and dont understand the ramifications of my actions, i went for the best ending on my first playthrough, cus, once again, i'm using it as a thing to do before SMT 5 V comes out so i can fully enjoy both. Now, apparently, for most people, it takes 110 hours or so to do the " true demon " ending, but i mostly went in , i dont wanna say rushing, but i mostly went through the game with as little as i'd need to thrive, i guess. optimized? Idk. I think most of the game is very intuitave and very enjoyable. its very somber and very dungeon crawly, and i think its gameplay rules. i think i like IV more still but i think this game is cool most of the time when you don't get cosmiclly unlucky . but like. the final bosses of this game are just fucking cheaterss that kill you . the last dungeon of this game took me like 10 hours by itself its insane thats like my only gripe. like. sometimes id pull up a guide when a boss has like null physical and it kills me because the game doesn't let you double check matchups like the games after it, or when theres a particularly convoluted way forward ( Note - by convoluted, i mostly just mean, i'm too stupid to navigate most 3d games without getting lost at some point unless it's perfectly linear ), or just for convenience, but it's a very fair level of challenge for most of the way if you know what to look out for. my only regret with this game is i'm sorry about any friend discussions ive completely halted by bringing this game up all the time in conversation. oops... That and it takes a surprising amount of effort to go through alos idkd idkd ddikd i just wnana get this log done its way too late at night also i was assuming naively that Nocturne would be my 100th logged game since i've started documenting my own media diaries, but because of how things turned out, it's closer to the 97th on backlogged. Oops! That's an arbitrary achievement only i care enough about! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aloi9Cj6wFA

[zhouxiangs]

10 BL Boys I Want Carnally

or as close to that as i can get, tagged by @bunnakit !

i had to look deep in my soul and tumblr gifs for this so please enjoy the boys, under a cut to keep the mystery alive for two more seconds

i am very ace so the concept is nebulous, let's just say i feel some type of way... and if you see me call these men my sons it's bc they are, ty for your time <3 also the order is kinda eehhhh general idea, i don't actually keep a mental list it took me hours to make this one 😭

10. pete (kiss me again/dark blue kiss)

do not ask me why idk either... there's just Something i can't explain. also it was between him and knock from together with me so i'm choosing the one that committed less crimes, anyway *holds him up like a potato* i just think he's neat

9. vegas (kinnporsche)

my little meow meow,, my explanation for most of these is just "do i not have eyes", but some (like vegas) are special jsjs in his case kp was the first thai bl i watched, as soon as he became remotely relevant i was obsessed with him and then a rewatch made me finally fall into thai bl as a whole so... thank you for your service

8. gong gil (the king and the clown)

my baby my darling my angel and the reason i even know about lee joongi, the actor i've been following the longest that i remember. i haven't watched tkatk in a while so i don't remember the details that well but i've always loved him, pretty sure he's my first bl boy too

7. xie'er (word of honor)

does he count? is this cheating? idc he's staying either way, MY XIE'ER 😭 will never get over him or his killer eyeliner

6. gaipa (moonlight chicken)

possibly the cutest 30yo man out there, that alone endeared me to him but also the way he is with his mother is just so 🥺 he's so special to me (also the fact that he's 30 AND cute as heck it's just so personal to me)

5. wen (moonlight chicken)

god i wish i could explain what he DOES TO MY BRAIN. some of it is the mix effect but i was normal about mix before wen so... he's so beautiful so magnetic i want to bite him

4. black (not me)

listen- he's my lil murder raccoon i know there's plenty of reasons for him to be as angry as he is for the 90% of his screen time and they're all sad but he's just so attractive like that (even though i'm more of a white girlie most of the time)

3. karan (cherry magic th)

i've only had him for two eps but if anything happened to him i would kill everyone in this room and then myself, etc. he's perfect and a nerd and i would love him for any of those two things alone, but they're combined into such a gentle beautiful (inside and out) and sensitive character i jsut love him so much

2. way (pit babe)

so i am definitely not babe, here supporting way's rights and wrongs from day 1. is he pretty? yes. is he evil? quite possibly. do i still want him? also yes. he hasn't touched me so pretty sure his big sad eyes are doing something. to me.

1. sand (only friends)

The Only Man, which is how my non bl friends know him bc i've apparently called him 'the only man i would like if i liked men' more than once ? HIM

special entry: tharn (the sign), yeah this one is definitely cheating

(using the only gif i've made of him so far which isn't great for this but...)

he's so tiny and efficient... like a fiat 500

if you see this and want to do it consider yourself tagged by me <3

[popculturebuffet]

Little Retrospective of Horrors: Little Shop: Bad Seed: That's Not a Joke that's the actual episode title (Comission by WeirdKev27)

Well here we are friends, at the end of my look of little shop of horrors. I may return for the comic adaptations of the films one day, but for now.. there's one last strange and intresting plant to cover before we close shop and count the bodies. Intresting may be pushing it i'll admit but it IS strange, so at least it has that.

Little Shop is a 1991 cartoon based on the musical and film, which mashes together the 60's do-wop themes of the musical, peanuts and Rap into one series.

Yeah THIS happened. I knew about it for a long time but hadn't seen hide nor hair of it till a reviewer I used to watch covered it. What clips I saw really didn't inspire confidence. However Kev loves to watch me suffer and coudln't wait for me to cover this whenever I could, so he paid me money to watch this thing.

So I decided to give the series a fair shake, look at the first episode. And i'm glad he did in the long run as it DOES feel more complete having this series in the retrospective. My soul will never entirely heal but hey, that's the price you pay sometime in this line of work. So join me under the cut as I talk about an Audrey Junior that raps. If that didn't scare you off, join me won't you?

We begin little shop with the theme song. And credit where it's due.. the hook for it is fire.

It's a weird sandwitch of a song where the begining and end are great, a nice 90's style rnb hit. Problem is like many a 90's work they drop a piss take rap in the middle with lines like "get ready for a funny bone overload" "I'm comin atcha like toon style" "In full effect" and "the little shop posse's gaining respect"

Look if you don't know how something works don't do it. It's why i stay far away from tik tok and why Little Shop shouldn't of tried to enter the rap game.

This decision.. will never not be hilarious. Eldrictch God Levels of maddening too, of course, but hilarious. See... you'd THINk from this decision Little Shop abandons the Do-Wop, 60's pop sound of the musical entirely. You'd THINK. Instead they have numbers in that style AND rap numbers with Junior that make Poochie look dignified. So the writers clearly GOT that the music was one of the most valuable, iconic and awesome parts of the movie and stage play.. but also failed to grasp that it clashed horribly with rap. Or execs did. Or roger Corman

And the 60's style is still present for the most part as in their next baffling decision, they decided the best thing to possibly pair with little shop of horrors.. was peanuts

Now this isn't something I've really had a chance to dig into on this blog.. but I absolutely LOVE peanuts. The specials, the films, and of course the comic that started it all. As my frequent use of Breaking Cat News and Bloom County panels shows I love me a good comic strip and I love the godfather of most modern comic strips. If it didn't come from peanuts it came from Bloom County or Calvin and Hobbes, which came from peanuts.

So I actually do understand the impulse to model little shop's style after peanuts: it's a classic style, it has roots in the 60's as the specials started there and A Charlie Brown Christmas is still played every christmas as gods intended, and it works well. And they do a good job styliistically: it's peanuts esque but has it's own unique style and I like the minmalist yet colorful backgrounds. it really pops and the show LOOKS good, even through the vhs rip I watched.

The big issue is that they go for the peanuts style.. but often don't actually match that tone. The start of the episode kind of does, Seymour is charlie brown now, talks about his bad luck, not being "smart" enough to be a nerd, and his constant bullying by Pain Driller

Our DENNNTTIIIIST. The problem is LIttle Shop goes for a zanier universe. And it's not that Peanut's universe couldn't be rediculous. We've had things like Peppermint Patty being out of school for several weeks going to a dog obdience school thinking it was private school, Snoopy walking all the way to Kansas City when trying to get to Wimbledon and reuniting with his sister, Snoopy's awkward teenage nephew

The Kite Eating Tree which is not Charlie Brown's imagination, the EPA trying to arrest charlie brown for biting the bastard tree, Charlie Brown having to wear a sack over his head due to a baseball shaped rash... Charles Schultz wasn't above getting weird with it, and I'm here for it. Weird peanuts is some of the best peanuts.

The diffrence is peanuts is more.. chill. There will be big events and weird shit but it has a relaxed tone. Even something as awful as Lucy throwing Linus out of the house... was mostly just Linus chilling with Joe cool at his dorm and their parents having not intervened because they were missing... and the reveal of WHY gives Lucy her commpuance in the best way possible.

It's a fairly relaxed strip. There can be tense arcs and weird shit, but generally the stakes are just a setup for jokes or character work. So throwing a magical talking rappin plant into that kind of tone dosen't work. I get the impulse as the originla flim was also kinda relaxed.. at first. But it's hard to make "Carnvrious talking plant" work with "chill and relaxed"... so why do it? Why not just have them as teens at least? why? why/ Why?

So we find out Seymour has a job at Mushnik's still because Child Labor dosen't exist in this universe and is still yelled at by him because Mushnik uses child labor you think he's above YELLING at his free child labor? Seymour, as you'd expect, has a crush on Audrey whose mushnik's daughter in this one so she has a reason to be around. In a series where almost none of the changes make sense, why is THIS the one that does?

She ignores seymour because she wants to be a fire fighter

She apparently has a diffrent new passion every episode, like Daphne from Be Cool Scooby Doo but not as endearing. Seymour can't get her to notice him, and unlike the previous two versions she dosen't SEEM to have a thing for him back.

So Seymour needs to turn his life around and as usual finds a strange and intresting plant.. or rather it's seed as that's how Little Shop thinks plant dormancy works. Granted i'm not a botanist, but one google tells me that's not how it works. A plant simply stops growing and strengthens it's roots and what not to survive. So the IDEA of how Twoey isn't fozilied depsite, as we'll find out, being from caveman times, isn't bad.

This leads to our first musical number as Seymour tries to raise Audrey Junior to impress Audrey who in this version is a jerk about it while Mr Mushnik talks about his bad luck as does Seymour and no one cares because Seymour is a blatant copy of a way more popular characte rinstead of a kidified version of rick moranis and Mushnik reguarlly bullys a child.

So while we saw Seymour's mom earlier, he's sleeping at the shop. Apparently Mushnik bought him for a wadded up five and a slim fit condom. He dreams of caveman times, and Audrey Junior, who orders himself a pizza. Because apparently having a childrens show about Rambo, Warrior for Piece is okay but you can't sell one about a plant murdering a child's enemies.

So instead Junior just eats a lot. Anyways Pain is the delivery boy because child labor laws can go fuck themselves in this universe, and plans to rob seymour. So instead of being a murderous manipulative monster Twoey.. is just an asshole. Or dosen't know how money works.

Twoey does as usual offer some quid pro quo: Seymour tkaes him home later,a nd Twoey gets Audrey to notice he's alive. He agrees. Mushnik plans to fire the child he shoudln't of hired, while Twoey needs to hold up his end. So he decides to plant the idea in Audrey's head that seymour's cool, by literally pulling a seed out of the plant equilvent for a butt. His aim is lousy though so he hits pain instead.

This works to their advantage though as it allows them to steal his dope ass moped. Unfortunatley Junior finds that his home.. is now a petrified forest. And we get the one joke that actually made me laugh "Petrified Forest, please stay off the petrified grass". And I'll give them credit, Juniors sadness over his family being gone and being stuck in an urban hellscape is great.

The problem is that Junior.. lacks anything that made his predecessor Twoey or his grandpa also junor work. The original junior was just a mindless plant that Seymour was stupid enough to get hooked on corpses. The film version was a creepy trickster who manipulated Seymour ot his ends. A comedic twoey COULD actually work: keep the big eater thing and simply have him manpiulate seymour to his own ends. IT's not as good, but it'd work for what hteir goin for here. Instead while they try that, what we've got is a character whose just a selfish asshole with no trickstery charm and whose also a walking fossil of the 90's instead of the jurassic.

Still as is law Junior DOES help. In trying to lead a plant rebellion against humanity, he instead just makes all the flowers grow. Seymour accidently floods the place trying to stop him, which gets Audrey's intrest thinking he was fire fighting. I'm too tired to think of the logic here. Mushnik is happy to not fire him as long as their's buisness so we have our setup: Junior decides to adjust to modern day, Seymour keeps him because it benefits him, Audrey actuallyt alks to seymour now and Mushnik is taking advantage of a small child

Little Shop.. isn't very good. You'd THINK tha't dbe inherent in "Little Shop of Horrors Cartoon for Children'.. but the idea of one ISN'T as bonkers as it sounds. Little Shop of Horrors.. works for kids as while there's defintely a lot of muder and violence, most of it is pretty subdued. Only the feeding scene from the film really has a lot of gore to it. So as "selling this to children" properties goes, the film with a big awesome puppet, catchy songs, and a happy ending that also has mutilations and spousal abuse.. isn't the wildest swing you could take.

And adapting it for kids.. is really easy. As I said, just have Audrey II be a selfish trickster ala zack morris, doing things for his own benefit. Which they have here, just with an annoying rap gimmick. You age up the characters to high school, take away the unecessary attempts to copy peanuts, and it works. The franchise is already goofy, and while done well serious enoguh, even th efilm and musical still have wacky shit like Orin's entire musical number. The premise is goofy enough to work as a goofy over the top comedy, you just gotta let it. Little Shop ultimately dosen't work because it dose'nt know what it wants to be, mixing peanuts with a magical sidekick, rap and musical numbers more along the line of the original. It dosen't know what it is and that's why it only lasted 13 episodes.

Will I revisit this series? probably. It's pretty nuts and while I don't LIKE it, it was riffable as all hell. And it does sound like it gets more and more bonkers as it goes. For now though the shop is closed, but i was happy to finally give the full breadth of the franchise a looksee. It was certainly strange and intresting.

[liesonthefloordramatically]

A wild 2023 recap post appears!

Stuff I made this year:

Fiction: Nope. Work continues to consume me.  I DID write like 33k that maybe will be publicly accessible in the future, but who can say.

Playlists: I think the only two I remembered to share were Oleander (a playlist for my Wickedness character) and the vast and the void (what it says on the tin).

RPGs: Also a nope.

Knitting: Made a shawl!  And a hat, technically, that I forgot to take pictures of.

Other stuff: Taught 5 classes, 4 of which were new preps!  Did fieldwork in Japan for the first time since 2019! Gave an hour-long talk in Japanese!  Presented on two conference panels!  Finished two academic book reviews! Survived somehow!  The period between August and December sort of doesn’t exist in my memory?  I was doing things but almost all of those things were work, so. The isolation has been wearing on me, but with the combination of A. not having any time to do anything other than work and B. for Various Reasons questioning whether I want to stay at this job, it's been really hard to build local community. I'm going to try to work on that next year, but also I'm going to have two new preps again in the fall and one of my spring classes is already overenrolled, so who knows how effective that'll be.

Media I enjoyed this year:

Books: I read 46 books this year apparently!  Top picks in no particular order: The Singing Hills Cycle (embarrassingly my jam), The Southern Reach Trilogy (shocking that it took me this long to read this), My Own Devices (even MORE shocking that it took me this long to read this), Imperial Radch (so AGGRESSIVELY my jam), She Who Became the Sun (this was a hilarious accompaniment to one of my fall classes), Camp Damascus (read this on a plane back from Japan which was An Experience), The Tale That Twines (loved the first book; the second book is even better), System Collapse (yeah, no one is surprised that I loved this).

TTRPG: Wickedness!  This was the only new TTRPG I played this year, but it was really good.

Video games: Mask of the Rose and Saltsea Chronicles, both of which I want to/should poke at more. Special nod to 13 Sentinels which we enjoyed 90% of a lot.

Manga/comics: I think the only thing I read was The JOJOLands?

Fanfic: I didn’t actually wind up reading that much fanfic this year again, in part because I was reading so many books.  A few picks, in no particular order: The Gardener (CR C2), Keys to the Castle (CR C2), Whistle Song (CR C2), pieces of (you) me (CR C2), Descriptions of a River Flowing (CR C2), Slip the Blindfold (CR C2), Heart to Heart (JJBA: JJL--PLEASE read this if you care about JJL at all), riverside beatitudes (JJBA: SDC), Fully formed, ready to run (ExU: Calamity).  Honorable mention to Asking for More (Stranger of Paradise), which is a WIP but made me laugh so hard I hit myself in the face with my phone.

Films: I actually watched like eight movies this year!  All but two of the new ones on a plane, to be fair, but.  Top picks: Spider-man: Across the Spider-verse and Shoplifters (『万引き家族』).  Honorary mention to Suzume.

TV: Finally finished Stone Ocean!  It was good!  Rowan and I are also like halfway through catching up on TGCF and it is also very good.

Podcasts:  Continued to listen to way too many of these.  Top picks: The Silt Verses, Trice Forgotten, Within the Wires (hey can we talk about the newest season? truly wild), and Re: Dracula.  Honorable mentions to The Evaporated: Gone with the Gods, 『なんかIWAKAN！』 (WHICH IS TRAGICALLY ENDING???? where am I supposed to get my chaotic Japanese gender and sexuality discussion now :(((((), Cry Havoc! Ask Questions Later, Critical Role, and Worlds Beyond Number.

Music: Dessa's Bury the Lede was excellent, of course.  I also apparently listened to Maisie Peters' The Good Witch a lot (it was in my grading rotation in October). And then this past month there's been a lot of Hozier's Unreal Unearth. But a lot of my listening this year was either albums on the bus (rotating mainly between Quiet Company’s We Are All Where We Belong, Bury the Lede, yorushika’s entire discography that I can purchase, Wednesday Campanella, and various soundtracks) or putting something on loop and falling into a fugue state.  Apparently my top song of the year on Spotify was “Square One,” which I think I put on looping while grading in the spring.  My Spotify top songs list was even more inexplicable than usual this year.

Anyway, あけおめ！！！ 良いお年を！！！ (or else!!!!)