#i actually skipped it on first viewing of the rip of the dvd i was watching

[shoechoe]

Somehow sitting through Weird Al's introduction of the ren and stimpy adult party cartoon DVD was arguably more difficult than sitting through most of the show itself

[nightowlfandom]

Anime! Fictional! BTS x Real World! Reader- Welcome To My World~ Episode 1

HEY HEY! IM SO EXCITE! Btw who here plays BTS World? This is very loosely based off that.

I need to download it again tbh.

CHECKOUT MY MASTERLIST HERE!

Leggo!

...

What does it mean to escape? To get away. If it means leaving behind all you know, all you’ve been raised to know, all you’ve been led to believe, with just yourself and the clothes on your back. Scary, but thrilling. Terrifying, but inviting. Unbelievable, but definitely possible....

...

On a early Tuesday morning where the sun was barely grazing the orange sky, you sat by your windowsill. You were dreamily staring out into the halo that was a mixture of red and orange. The halo of greyish clouds matched your mood to a complete tee. The aesthetic beauty of nature wasn’t enough to make you smile or even blink twice, however. It was always like this though. Yet something about this scene made you go sour.

Releasing a sigh, you stepped away from the window, shutting the curtains. Another day, the same thing. All you could do was attempt to power through.

As you lazily pulled your shirt over your head, you had managed to dodge that annoying dog. The little brat wasn’t even yours, but your oh-so loving step-sister’s. He always had a affinity for making your room a hot mess.  Only yours in particular. 

“Get out of here you little-.” you chased the dog out of your room, slamming your door as it scurried off. “What did you screw up this time?” you curiously scanned the room. Everytime that little fluffy beast rammed his little head into your personal space, something would end up broken, ripped, shattered, or completely destroyed beyond repair. 

You almost screamed when you saw a familiar book cover on the floor. You instantly dropped to your knees, praying to yourself that it wasn’t true. The cover had a pretty violent looking rip along with the first few pages. 

Your absolute reason for waking up in the morning was tarnished. A signed cover of BTS Universe Issue #1. Probably your one and only favorite series on planet Earth. You gingerly picked up the book, trying to inspect it with hopes that the damage was minimal. As little as this was, you almost felt like crying. However there was no time, you needed to tape up the pages and fast! Who cares if you missed breakfast.

...

“Morning Y/N!” Your step-dad greeted you in the kitchen. “You were upstairs an awful long time, I was about to send your mother to see if you were still up playing that game of yours!” he smiled warmly.

“Thanks Mr. Chai.” you replied politely. “I’m sorry I’m so late.”

“You know...Y/N...you could call me Dad.” he set a plate down on the table. “I know I’m not your father, but I want to be the best father-figure for you because I know...you haven’t really had that.”

You had to stop yourself from saying anything else. You haven’t had the best parental relationship, and your new step-dad really was trying. Maybe it was just his daughter that drove you nuts.

“Thank you.” you replied, smiling. “...Dad.” you winked, making finger guns. “Geez! You made a lot of food for just the four of us”

“ Well you ain’t see muffin, yet!” he winked. “You and Nari have a busy day today. She auditioning and you, my friend....well I don’t know exactly what you have planned for the day.”

“I’ll tell you if we can skip the food related puns.” you sat down at the table. It was a rule that everyone waited for everyone else. Even though you had taken the extra time to repair your copy of BTS Universe, you had seemed to be the first person down the stairs. In all honesty, you were just going to hang out at the comic store until Nari called to tell you she was done.

“Hey now, Donut kill my vibe!” he continued, laughing. “I have a million more of these, come on. Don’t go bacon my heart, Y/N.”

“Good job Y/N, you’ve gotten him started.” You mom came down the stairs in her little blazer and pencil skirt. “Whatever will we do now.”

“He did it himself, the guy’s an animal! You married a wild child, mom.” you joked. “He might just be a serial killer.”

“Don’t you mean...cereal killer?” he held up a box of Raisin Bran to make his point. You could only shake your head as your mother and step-father laughed together. Food related humor so early in the morning had to mean today wasn’t going to be a horrible as it started, at least for you.

“WHERE ARE MY THIGH HIGH BOOTS!” you heard a screech from upstairs. “THEY BETTER NOT BE IN YOUR ROOM, Y/N!”

“...WHY WOULD I WANT TO WEAR YOUR SHOES!” you yelled back after taking in a deep breath. “NARI, IF I WANTED TO BREAK MY ANKLES, I’D HAUL MYSELF DOWN THE STAIRS.”

“When will you two get along?” your mom shook her head. “It’s been three years.” 

“We don’t not get along.” You shook your head. “Not my fault she’s difficult.”

“I can think of a few times you’ve been difficult yourself, young lady.” you mother pointed a stern finger at you. “Like when you locked yourself in the room to read that silly cartoon of yours.”

“It’s not silly.” you defended yourself.

“Oh come on!” Nari’s voice voice could be heard alongside some loud footsteps. “I think it’s cute to be honest. Y/N here actually has a hobby besides stalking celebrities online.”

“Shut up, Nari.” you grumbled. “And keep your dog out of my room! He ruined my signed copy of BTS Universe!”

“Dorie got out again?” she seethed, looking annoyed. “I really have to put a bell on that dog.”

“Yeah.” you sighed, you bummed mood returning. Everyone knew just how much you loved that edition. You kept in in a super special display case, you cleaned the case every week, you kept your other issues on their own bookshelf along with your figurine and digital visual novel editions of the series. You were even on the buyer’s list for the special early anime release. You LOVED this series. Not even Nari dared to disrespect something as important as that, and she loved getting under your skin.

“I’m sure you’ll be able to find another one.” your mother set down a bowl of cereal in front of you along with a muffin. “Now eat, you have a big day today.”

“Yes mam.” you replied, helping yourself to some cereal.

“If you want, you can take a muffin or bagel with you.” your step dad said. 

“Dad! I can’t, I have to be super focused remember? Breakfast will just slow me down!” Nari scoffed.

“Not having breakfast will make it even worse, dummy. Dude, you’re gonna pass out on stage.” you threw a tiny cereal piece at her. “Eat something.”

“I’ll eat later, I just have my eye on the prize and nothing is going to stop me.” Nari stood up determined. 

“Will you at least eat some toast, crazy girl.” your mother said. “Y/N’s right, you need to at least have eaten something to calm your nerves. Y/N make sure Nari eats something before you two go your separate ways.”

“I’ll try, no promise.” you shrugged. “Nari, if you’re done, then get your stuff and let’s go.” You promptly finished your cereal and went to go back upstairs. “You got ten minutes.” 

“What’s her deal?” you could hear Nari ask, followed by an sudden whispering of your mom stating exactly what she thought was wrong with you. Your bet was on ‘everything’.

You walked back into your room, grabbing your purse from your desk. You eyed your taped up issue of BTS Universe #1. There was no way you were going to find another issue like that, and that damned dog just treated it like a loved toy. You grabbed your phone and shoved it into your purse. You went over to where the issue was and placed it on your desk. 

“NARI LET’S GO!” you shut the bedroom door behind you as you walked out the room. 

...

You sped to a stop outside the building. Nari was shaking in her shoes. She seemed hesitant to even open the door. 

“Call me when you’re finished so I can pick you up.” you said, getting ready to unlock the doors.

“You’re leaving me!?” Nari looked like she was about to explode.

“Hello?! It’s idol trainees only?” you raised an eyebrow. “I can’t go in there with you. Nari what’s the problem?”

“...Um...I’m nervous alright! I’m giving up almost everything and if I don’t get chosen...I’ll just prove my dad right. I need this.” she stared down at her hands. “I’m not used to being a reject. I don’t know how you-”

“You wanna leave here with two working legs, I suggest you don’t finished that sentence.” you cut her off. “I’m not a reject.”

“That’s not what I was gonna say. I’m saying I don’t know how you deal with nerves like this.” she looked like she was gonna pass out. 

“...You just do.” you nudged her shoulder. “You just go for it and hope. Go for it.”

“...Okay, I’ll try.” she opened the door. “...Thank you.” she stood up. “I’ll call you when I’m all set.” she shut the door. 

“I’ll literally be at the store around the corner.” you replied before driving off. You watched in the rear view as she took her sweet time going into the building. 

...(Later on)

You trudged behind Nari as she ran through the door. She seemed happy, so that must have meant the audition went well.

“I’m gonna take a nap.” you called to your mom and step-dad. “See you guys at dinner!”

You didn’t wait for them to reply before you closed the door. As you walked over to your bed, you noticed a disc laying on your bed. Just a random DVD. The closer you got, the font on the front got clearer.

“BTS World?” It didn’t look familiar in the slightest. “It’s called BTS Universe, Nice try Nari.” you wrote it off as a stupid prank by your oh-so-loving Step-Sister. It was only then you realized Nari was with you all day. 

You took another look at it, gently taking it in your hands. It looked like it was glowing. 

Call it curiosity, but you needed to know.

Your laptop was sitting at the edge of the bed, so you put the disc in. 

“State your name.” a voice came out of nowhere. 

“What?” you looked around in shock. The voice sounded like it came from right behind you.

“Please state your name.” the female robotic voice repeated. 

“Y/N.” 

“Are you sure that you want Y/N as your name?”

“Um Yes?” you raised an eyebrow. You still didn’t know what the fuck was going on.

“Would you like to start a new game? You don’t appear to have any saved filed under the name Y/N.”

Maybe you were sleepier than you thought, but you ran with it. “Yes.”

“Starting new game....now”

Your screen began glowing a bright blue, a vivid, saturated blue. It was like your screen had turned into a flashlight. 

“What the fu-” you suddenly stared at your hands, the very tips of your fingers turned pixelated. “MOM!!!” You tried to scream, only to have it come out in the form on an echo. You felt your feet leave the ground as tiny little pixels moved towards your computer. You could see the color draining from your walls, leaving everything white. It was like an earthquake ran through your room...only through your room.

Then...everything went dark.

...

(Why hello there...LET US PREPARE. I’m gonna go through with it this time, I swear on my bacon! The guys are coming next chappie!)

[livesincerely]

it’s beginning to look a lot like... ch. 2

Also on Ao3. Chapter one here.

00000

The Third Christmas

“You’re making the left side all crooked!”

“No, I’m not!”

“Yes, you are, it’s all ugly and lopsided!”

“Well, maybe if you’d stop hogging all the blankets⁠!”

“Well, maybe if you’d shut your face⁠!”

Jack’s got one eye on the chaos currently taking place in the living-room-turned-construction-site, the other on the pot of Easy Mac he’s got working up on the stove. The boys are in the middle of building the Christmas Pillow Fort, though it’s been stop and start all morning, with the two of them pausing every few minutes to argue about how the other is doing it wrong. 

Jack only tried to intervene the once⁠—Tony and Charlie had called a temporary truce to team up against him instead, shooing him away with the explanation that he’s too lame and too tall to help and that ‘we’re not babies, Jack, we got it!’ Though, given that their efforts have since devolved into an impromptu pillow fight, with shouts of ‘you suck,’ ‘your face is stupid,’ and ‘because Jack said so!’ punctuated by the soft thuwmp of cushions hitting bodies, Jack thinks he can be forgiven for assuming they might’ve needed his help.

But all in all, this Christmas is looking to be one of the best ones yet, and certainly the best one that the boys can remember. Jack had finally turned sixteen at the beginning of the month, and though it was late in the season, he’d managed to pick up some temp work covering holiday rush shifts at the grocery store, so there’d been extra money for better presents and better food this year. And, judging by the wide smiles and overjoyed thanks he’d received when handing over the presents this morning—Two presents each for both of them! Jack had actually managed it!—the boys were more than pleased with their haul.

Though, really, if Jack’d had it his way, he’d of already been working somewhere—an actual part-time job, not just scrounging for seasonal work—but Snyder wouldn’t let him start working until his last birthday, afraid that if Jack had a job too young it would ‘make him look bad,’ the bastard. 

Because the underfed children in his care were nothing to worry about, obviously. 

Jack’s distracted from his lunch efforts by a sharp rap! rap! rap! of knuckles knocking against the front door, followed by a pause where he thinks whoever it is must’ve tried the doorbell, only to realize that it doesn’t work. He wipes his hands on a dish cloth and turns the burner down, figuring that Tony and Charlie won’t be able to kill each other in the time it takes for him to answer the door, probably, and wanders over to check it out. 

He can’t imagine who’d be knocking on Christmas of all days, and especially in this weather, but when he opens the front door he finds Davey standing on the doorstep, bundled up in several layers with a large canvas bag thrown over one of his shoulders.

“Dave!” Jack says, startled but pleased. “What’re ya doin’ here?”

“Hi, Jackie,” Davey says, voice muffled by the scarf covering the bottom half of his face, bright blue eyes peeking out from underneath a woolen hat. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas,” Jack greets back automatically, then flushes, shaking his head. “Or, no, sorry, Happy Hanukkah.”

It’s hard for Jack to read his expression but he thinks he sees Davey’s eyes crinkle up at the corners⁠—an indication of a smile. Jack’s heart does a funny little hop-skip in his chest. 

“Thanks,” Davey says. 

“Here, come on in,” Jack says, opening the door a little wider.

“Oh, I don’t want to intrude⁠—”

“You ain’t intrudin’,” Jack insists. “And besides, we’re lettin’ all the warm air out.”

“Oh, well, thanks,” Davey says, stepping into the entrance hall. 

“Can you stay a while?” Jack asks, eager to keep Davey in his space for as long as he can, a soft feeling fluttering in his stomach. “I can take your coat, fix you somethin’ to drink, or get you a snack if you’re hungry?”

“That sounds nice,” Davey says, and he sounds like he really means it. “But I can’t stay for long. I had a hard enough time convincing my Ma to let me come out in the first place, what with the snow and all. If I’m not home soon she’ll be worried.”

“Oh, okay,” Jack says, disappointed, and then feeling stupid that he’s disappointed in the first place. What, was he gonna serve Davey up a bowl of Easy Mac? Show him the wonders of the pillow fort?

Davey, thankfully, doesn’t seem to notice the dip in Jack’s mood. “I just wanted to make sure I got these to you,” he says, letting the canvas bag he’s carrying slip off his shoulder and into his hand, holding it out to Jack in offering. “I didn’t want to bother you over break, but you weren’t at school on Friday.”

“Oh, yeah,” Jack says lamely, not wanting to get into how Charlie and Tony’s school had a half day on Friday because of the holiday, forcing Jack to cut class so he’d be able to pick them up on time. “What is it, my makeup work? Thanks for pickin’ that up for me, I really can’t afford to miss any more English assignments.”

“No, it’s not that,” Davey says. “Or, well, actually it is, but it’s not just your homework…”

Davey keeps talking but Jack doesn’t hear the rest of the explanation, though he doesn’t need to once he peers into the bag. Because it’s stacked full of presents, each wrapped in shiny blue paper dotted with silver snowflakes, tied neatly with white ribbon.

“Merry Christmas?” Davey offers, and he looks a little uncertain, fidgeting nervously with the fringe on his scarf. 

“You got me a Christmas present?” Jack asks, numbly.

“You and the boys,” Davey confirms with a nod. “Just a little something for the holiday.”

“You didn’t hafta do that, Dave,” Jack says, still not quite processing. “I don’t wantcha to waste your money on me.”

“I know I didn’t have to,” Davey says. “I wanted to.” Then he reaches out and swats Jack across the shoulder with his gloved hand. “And it’s not a waste of money, it’s a gift.”

“But…” Jack’s face feels hot, some mix of surprise, embarrassment, and joy. “But I don’t got nothin’ for you.”

“Jackie, just take the presents,” Davey says, in that fondly exasperated tone that Jack has quickly gotten accustomed to over the last few months, “and don’t worry about it. I wanted to. And it’s not like I need a Christmas present.” 

“But Hanukkah—“

“—Isn’t the same thing,” Davey interrupts, kindly but firmly. “We exchange presents, sure, but Hanukkah isn’t, like, the Jewish version of Christmas. Really, don’t worry about it.”

“Thanks, Davey,” Jack says, and his voice a little raspy as he chokes back a sudden wave of emotion, but if Davey notices he’s nice enough not to mention it. “Hey, are you sure ya can’t stay for a sec? Race and Charlie would love to see ya.”

But Davey shakes his head. “I really do need to get home,” he says, apologetic, turning back towards the door. “But tell them Merry Christmas from me, okay?”

“Will do,” Jack says. “And tell your folks Happy Hanukkah from us.”

“I will,” Davey says with a soft smile. “Have a good break, Jackie.”

Jack really wants to hug him, but he can’t with the stack of presents in his arms. He settles for a nod and a sort-of wave. “You too, Dave.”

Jack stands there for a short while, watching Davey’s trek down the sidewalk through the window until he disappears from view. Then he makes his way into the living room.

“Hey, Racer, Charlie,” Jack says. “Time out for a second.”

Tony’s head pops up from where he’s lying half on top of Charlie, pushing his brother’s face against the floor. “I didn’t do it,” he says.

“Well, I didn’t do it,” Charlie retorts, his indignant pout muffled somewhat by the carpet.

“Did I say anyone did anything?” Jack asks, raising an eyebrow. “Keep this up and you're gonna make me think I shouldn’t give ya these nice presents...”

“There’s more presents?” Tony exclaims, jumping to his feet. “Where?!”

“Slow your roll there, conejito,” Jack laughs. “They ain’t goin’ nowhere.” He gestures to the bag hanging over his shoulder. “Davey stopped by,” he explains. “He couldn’t stay but he brought us some Christmas presents.”

He waits for the boys to gather around, then hands out the presents: one for each of them, and a final one for Jack. Tony and Charlie tear right into theirs, gleeful, but Jack takes a moment to just look at his own gift⁠—inspecting the shiny foiled paper and the neatly folded corners, the curly white ribbon and the cheery holiday tag that reads ‘Jack’ in precise, rounded letters.

It’s been years since he’s gotten a Christmas present. It’s almost like his body doesn’t remember what to do with one.

The boys have no such qualms. 

“Ooh!” Tony exclaims, pulling a mass of cherry-red yarn out of his package. “Jack, look!” It’s a hat, scarf, and mitten set, perfectly sized for a eight year old, soft and warm and perfect for New York winter.

“I got one too!” Charlie says, uncovering a matching set, this one done up in pine green. He tugs the hat onto his head, then wraps himself up in his scarf, looking ridiculously pleased with himself. 

“Oh, and look what else!” Tony says. There’s a pair of DVDs tucked in between the knitwear: a copy of ‘The Lion King’ and ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.’ A second glance into Charlie’s present reveals copies of ‘The Princess Bride’ and ‘How to Train Your Dragon.’

Jack takes a shaky breath, a lump settling somewhere in the back of his throat.

“Jack, aren't cha gonna open yours?” Charlie asks, innocently clueless.

“Yeah, of course I am Choo-Choo,” Jack says, and he’s glad the boys are distracted by their gifts, because while he’s managing to keep his voice steady, he’s not sure he can hide the wetness pricking at the corners of his eyes.

Cautiously, he rips the paper off his own gift. The first thing he finds is another hat, scarf, and mitten set, this one done in a rich, charcoal gray. It’s soft as anything, thick and plush, and Jack can already imagine how useful it’ll be in the coming months. 

He feels something hard nestled underneath, and at first he thinks it must be another pair of DVDs⁠—he’s sensing something of a theme with all of this. But when Jack investigates further, he instead finds a sketchbook. It’s a simple, solid thing, with a sturdy black cover and creamy white pages. The label on the back tells him that the paper is weighted for pencils, charcoal, inks, and water colors⁠—all of Jack’s preferred mediums, except that he’s sure he’s never told Davey any of that.

“Jack, can we watch this?” Tony asks, holding up the copy of ‘How to Train Your Dragon.’ “It’s s’pposed to be really good!”

“Sure we can, baby,” Jack says, running a trembling finger along the first page of the sketchbook, basking in the texture and scent of the fresh, crisp paper. “Go set up the DVD player and get the fort finished up. I’ll dish up our lunch and be right there.”

Slotted inside the book’s front cover is one last surprise⁠—a $25 dollar prepaid phone card for Jack’s cell phone. There a sticky note stuck to it that simply reads:

So you can actually call me back :)

Jack huffs out a laugh, then slips the note safely into his pocket, packing his gifts carefully back into their box. “Yeah, okay,” he murmurs, smiling to himself. “I think I can make that happen.”

00000

Chapter three here

Tag List: @yahfancyclamwiththepurlinside

[adultswim2021]

The Brak Show #1: “Leave It To Brak” (AKA “Mr. Bawk Ba Gawk”) December 21, 2000 - 5:15AM | S01E01 regular series version aired October 7, 2001 @ 11:00PM

I’m trying to break the habit of assuming only my friends are reading my various blogs, but I failed in one fundamental way: I didn’t really describe the premise of Sealab 2021, like, at all. Despite digging into it’s roots somewhat by watching it’s various pilots, I failed to include even a paragraph with the basic premise of the show. I’ll try not to make the same mistake with Brak. Instead I'll make a DIFFERENT mistake by writing way too long of a blog entry.

On December 21, 2000, after Sealab 2021, The Brak Show, then titled “Leave It To Brak” debuted. Who the fuck is Brak? Brak began life as a villain on the 1960s iteration of Space Ghost, a fairly garden-variety Saturday morning action kid’s show. He appeared in, I wanna say, a very small handful of episodes. I’ve seen the whole series, and I don’t think he was like, a regular or anything. Without looking it up I'll say he was on it twice. In the show he was a space pirate and had whiskers. He has a very memorable design. I’ve never been sure if we’re actually looking at Brak’s face or if he’s wearing a helmet. His fangs imply that we’re looking at his actual face (or at least his actual jaw), but that little curtain thing that hangs down from his, uh, ears? Is that a naturally occurring part of his head? It suggests that his wardrobe is actually his body, and vice-versa. He just looks absurd, making him perfect fodder for an absurdist revision.

Brak as we know him today was first used (barring some kind of Cartoon Network commercial that I’m unaware of) in Space Ghost Coast to Coast, appearing with Sisto. Sisto is his twin brother who appeared in the 60s show. Why Brak was targeted for comedic revision and not Sisto eludes me. I’m guessing “HI MY NAME IS BRAK” just sounds funnier than “HI MY NAME IS SISTO”. Anyway, in the first Coast to Coast episode they are voiced by C. Martin Croker (RIP) doing a Beavis and Butt-head parody. Eventually Andy Merrill took over the role, basically turning Brak into a, uh, childish adult. Okay, he’s basically doing a retarded guy voice. Sorry, but it’s time to grow up.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast debuted in 1994 and remained a cult hit on the network until it was moved to Adult Swim and eventually canceled in 2004. The concept of Space Ghost Coast to Coast was Space Ghost, a super hero from the 60s, now hosts a modern 90s late night talk show, interviewing live-action celebrities on a monitor that hangs over the set. Random obscure Space Ghost villains would show up with skewed personalities from their original 60s counterpart. Brak was easily the runaway star of the touted rogues gallery. He would come in and cheerfully sing a song about beans or something else equally wacky. He rarely had a definable role on the show, he was just a figure that was around and would wander into the set.

A second 90s Space Ghost spin-off was commissioned called Cartoon Planet. This was an actual kiddy show that aired during the day as opposed to Space Ghost Coast to Coast which was kid-friendly but meant for adults. This time Space Ghost, Zorak (Space Ghost’s bandleader on Coast to Coast), and Brak would host an hour of classic cartoons, with little absurd skits between segments set in a studio SORTA like the Space Ghost Coast to Coast set but different. LOTS of Brak’s fandom is based on these skits, which were a little more silly and lighthearted than the material on Space Ghost Coast to Coast. The skits were popular enough that they repackaged them into their own half-hour show, sans classic cartoons. This was an early point of confusion for me. Beloved Brak songs turned out to be from Cartoon Planet and NOT Space Ghost Coast to Coast, so I'd tune into Space Ghost wondering if they cut out all the Brak segments or what?

Cartoon Planet would answer viewer letters (conceivably real ones; they DID include various ways to contact “Ghost Planet” at the end of both Space Ghost Coast to Coast and, I’m guessing, Cartoon Planet, which I never did see in it’s original form). They actually answered the reason for Brak’s lack of intelligence (brain-damage caused by Space Ghost, using an actual clip from the 60s show). I bring this up not out of genuine concern for continuity or canon; these aren’t huge concerns for the writers of these shows. The real reason Brak is dumb is because Andy Merrill thought the voice was funny, probably. I bring it up because generally the premise of Space Ghost in the 90s is that even though he IS a super hero with super hero abilities, he’s also an actor who makes cartoons about being a super hero. So, it can be concluded Brak’s brain damage is from a stunt gone wrong and not carried over from the fiction of the show.

The premise of Space Ghost Coast to Coast is that Space Ghost has captured evil villains Zorak and Moltar and is forcing them to work on the show. But they also freely reference their personal lives outside of the show, breaking character. They are actors who are sticking to a premise only when it’s convenient. Yes, it’s fun for the kids to pretend that Space Ghost has enslaved his enemies to work on his talk show, but the reality is that when the camera turns off they all go home to their apartments or wives or whatever. This concept feeds directly into The Brak Show: we aren’t watching Brak’s real home life; Brak, cartoon character and actor, is playing himself in a sitcom. His mom isn’t his real mom. His Dad isn’t his real dad. Zorak isn’t his real best-friend. They are all actors. This isn’t played up in any significant way on the show itself except for a few moments and certain episodes, but THAT IS WHAT’S HAPPENING and you wouldn’t really understand that just by watching this episode and nothing else. You would have to have been paying attention all this time to Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Cartoon Planet, and also, yes, Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak.

Okay, Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak isn't REALLY required viewing for this series. But guess what? I watched it for the first time ever in preparation for this and now we all have to deal with Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak. Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak (sorry I keep repeating the full title which is Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak) was a two-episode special presentation that aired on Cartoon Network while Space Ghost was on hiatus and before The Brak Show's stealth premiere. It (Brak Presents The Brak Show Starring Brak, that is) was a Sonny and Cher style variety show, featuring Brak and Zorak on stage together performing songs, intentionally corny sketches, and a LITTLE BIT, but NOT A LOT of backstage drama; which could be argued to have been part of the show itself. Variety shows doing sketches fictionalizing the backstage antics of the production is nothing new. There are also live-action integrated celebrities, and the show comes to a screeching halt whenever they show up. Maybe their performances are hampered by having to perform on a green screen, but these segments come off lame and pandering. Space Ghost Coast to Coast would make it's name featuring washed-up, kitschy, or counter-culture celebrities. Here we are treated to Monica, Freddie Prinze Jr. (whose segment in particular really drives me up a wall), some wrestler guy, and a lady who's name I don't remember. Okay, I admit I fast forwarded through the second of the two episodes a LOT. Sitting through one episode in real time was just too much to bear.

Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak is written off by a lot of Brak fans as a substandard product, and they're not wrong. I myself never sought out the whole special until I started writing this blog. But there's one thing I'll give it, the visuals (minus the live-action celebrity parts) are actually pretty fun. There's a lot of weird character designs, and the same playful use of stock footage and kinetic editing from Cartoon Planet carries over into this. Skipping past the celebrity guests and watching the special on mute would be the preferred viewing method here. Honestly, I've never been that charmed by Brak's songs. I never cared much for Cartoon Planet.

Brak Presents the Brak Show Staring Brak eventually became The Brak Show, but with one more step: a scrapped audio-only pilot. This pilot appears as an audio commentary track on The Brak Show Volume 1 DVD set. I discovered it by accident. In preparation for this blog I popped the DVD in, saw there was commentary for Mr. Bawk Ba Gawk, and pressed play. Instead of Andy Merrill and Pete Smith dryly talking about their creative process, I was treated to what would have been the audio for a Brak Show pilot (there are stage directions being read in lieu of visuals), roughly the length of an 11 minute episode. This version plays up the backstage antics of Brak's variety show much more, kinda like Larry Sanders meets Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak. Returning from the show is Brak and Zorak, along with Allen Wrench, a talking Allen wrench that appeared in Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak. On Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak, Allen had a crazy high-pitched voice. In this audio pilot he sounds closer to Meatwad from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Also present in the audio pilot is Thundercleese, who curiously sounds like the regular series version of Thundercleese. In “Leave it to Brak”, Thundercleese sounds slightly different. Maybe they went back and rerecorded Thundercleese for the DVD?

That FINALY brings us to the actual episode. “Leave it to Brak” was the first episode of “The Brak Show” proper to air (though if I remember correctly from what was reported way back when, they wanted to call the actual show “Leave It To Brak” but couldn't for legal reasons). It feels more like a first episode than Goldfish does, which was the first episode I saw when Adult Swim officially began in 2001. “Leave it to Brak” introduces each character with fake studio audience applause. They even introduce Sisto, who simply walks in front of the camera, farts, and is not seen again. The premise of the show is this: Brak stars in a family sitcom. His mom belongs to the same species as Brak, but his dad is a tiny human voiced by George Lowe doing a Ricky Ricardo voice. According to this episode; Brak is roughly high-school aged, but it's all a pretense to get this cast of weirdos together under one roof. Again, Brak is a cartoon character playing himself here, so we're not meant to actually think these are his real parents; Brak is not half-human, necessarily. It's all just for the sake of this dumb show.

The plot of the episode is this: Zorak, Brak's best friend and worst influence, convinces Brak to help him kidnap the mascot of their rival high school, a chicken named Mr. Bawk Ba Gawk. Having done this, Brak grapples with the morality of his actions, tries to deceive his parents by dressing the chicken up like a little man, is caught, and is taught a lesson. There's a comedic final scene that reverses the lesson Brak supposedly learned, and then it ends. Somewhere in there we are introduced to Brak's giant robot neighbor who blows up Zorak for ripping up his lawn.

The Brak Show was possibly the most anticipated show when Adult Swim was announced. We all quietly ignored how much Brak Presents The Brak Show Starring Brak sucked; mostly because this was touted to be a show for adults. Afterall, Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak's biggest shortcoming was the fact that it was the first Brak-centric product to pander directly to children. Brak was always seen as a uniquely weird creation that just so happened to appeal to kids, kinda like Pee Wee Herman or Joe Camel. Also the idea of parodying the sitcom genre seemed novel, despite the fact that it wasn't really a new idea. Now it just comes off like a shallow observation: boy, old sitcoms sure were corny, right?

I don't know exactly how to pinpoint what was so disappointing about this show. I can see there was a genuine effort to make it funny. Dad was a decently funny character. They weren't just trying to mock sitcoms, they were trying to build a genuinely strange world that resembled our own. Brak lived in the suburbs but there were aliens and robots everywhere. Sci-fi situations casually reared their ugly heads into the lives of these characters. I mean, look at the plot description of Brak stealing a high school mascot; it's an ACTUAL SITCOM PLOT. There's no real subversion to it other than the fact that Brak and Zorak from Space Ghost Coast to Coast are doing it. This could have been decent as a one-off special like Tim & Eric's Bag Boy staring Steve Brule. But they made more.

Oh wait, I figured out why The Brak Show sorta sucked. It's the fact that the show was a musical. Fuck, I hated that so much that I blocked it out of my head until this moment. Every episode had musical numbers in it sung by Brak and the family. Ugh. They were supposed to be funny nonsense but I never liked it. In fact if there were ever an edit of the show without the songs I would probably remember it much more fondly.

This version of the pilot had very simplistically drawn backgrounds. When the show went to series they redid the backgrounds with photo-realistic settings and props. It's a much more appealing look. This version of the pilot was briefly featured in an episode of Sealab, where Murphy was flipping through the channels on his monitor. He flips past this and Aqua Teen Hunger Force and maybe Space Ghost? This was back in the early days when every show seemed like it was connected to each other. I miss that. The “regular series” of The Brak Show used to give the show a different parodic on-screen title; “Mr. Bawk Ba Gawk”, which aired fifth on Adult Swim, had the opening title “B.J. And the Brak”. “Goldfish” used “Leave It To Brak”, which causes some episode guides to get confused over which episode is which. In fact, Adult Swim's website features the pilot version of this show and incorrectly uses the plot summary for “Goldfish”. I'm not linking to it because the listing says it expires today. But go look for it if you want.

The other big difference between this version and the “regular series” version is there are a few missing bits here and there. For example, the pilot version starts with Dad asking Mom for another biscuit. She sighs and says “maybe later”, to which dad just shrugs off. There's also a cut song I call “Kiss you hot” that dad sings to mom. There's probably other differences here and there. Oh, Brak's clock is the beeflog illustration from Brak Presents the Brak Show Starring Brak. Isn't my life fuller for being able to make that connection? God, I'm so glad I watched Brak Presents the Brak Show Staring Brak last night instead of getting an extra hour of sleep.

So what's good in this? I REALLY like the scene where Bawk Ba Gawk is at the dinner table and everyone keeps stealing his little hat to wear. Mom scolds Dad for wearing the hat, to which he mutters “I'll do what I damn well please”. Mom then plucks the hat from his head. When we cut to the wide shot, she's wearing it. Funny! SOLIDLY VERY FUNNY. But the series generally suffers from them trying to cram in weird pointless bits of absurd comedy. Only sometimes does it work. Not sure why. But that's how it goes, I guess.

[amydancepants-peralta]

3 or 9 from the festive prompts pls! :)

Hi there anon!  Better late than never, right? 🥺 Here is #9 - “You’re kidding, right? I’m not going out in that snow storm!” ❄️☃️💕

more than you could ever know. (AO3)

It turns out that the day that Jake Peralta realises that he is incredibly, irrevocably and endlessly in love with Amy Santiago is just another Wednesday.  

It’s a day seemingly like all the others, in that weird space of time between Christmas and New Years where you genuinely lose track of days and schedules seem unimportant.  Work had grown beyond hectic during the holiday season, in the way it always does as the stress of forced festivities bring out the worst in some people, and between the two of them they had managed to write up more arrest reports than even Amy was interested in completing.  

Today wasn’t their first day off together - the Gods of Rostering granting both of them the full week between the two holidays off completely - but it was the first day that neither of them had been roped into any plans, and in the coming weeks they had grown increasingly protective of that fact.  It was their first holiday season together as a couple - the first year of actually being able to lean in and kiss each other whenever the urge set in (which, to nobody’s surprise, turned out be a lot), and Jake couldn’t be happier.  All of the greatest Christmases in all the world could never hold a candle to the sheer magic of waking up on Christmas morning with Amy Santiago wrapped up in his arms.  To sleepy kisses and mumbled greetings, warm skin against his own until the excitement of discovering what was underneath the tree was too great to ignore and they’d raced each other out to the living room.  

Her eyes had competed with the sparkling lights on the tree for brightness as she’d opened his gift to her, turning soft with affection when she saw the necklace and matching earrings that he’d noticed in a jewellery store window and instantly knew was made for her.  And when he’d ripped open his own gift, and discovered that Amy had managed to track down one of only fifteen available copies of a limited edition Die Hard DVD with bonus features - that had only been on the market for a day before being pulled by the studio - Jake genuinely thought his heart wasn’t ever going to stop pounding.  She was a wizard, and the smartest person he knew, and in all honesty Amy could have just stuck a bow on her head and told him she was his gift this year, and he would have accepted it all without hesitation.  

(This fact only proved to be more accurate later that very day when, after all of the family gatherings were finally done, Amy stepped into her bedroom wearing a giant red bow and very little else, using that sexy voice of hers to tell Jake that he had one last present to unwrap.) 

The following day had been for extended kin - the rest of the 99 becoming their second family so long ago it was hard to remember a time when that wasn’t the case - and today?  Today was just for them, and the only thing that Jake had planned on doing was sleeping in.  

His mind, however, appears to have different plans.  

It had still been dark the first time Jake had woken up, the pressing need in his bladder yanking him from his comfortable slumber and forcing his heavy limbs out of bed.  He’d noticed on the way back to his still new and oh so wonderful mattress that it had begun to snow outside, the temperature finally dropping to the levels that the weatherman had been threatening for days now.  Far too tired to do more than acknowledge the smattering of white that had begun outside, he had lifted the duvet without haste, sliding in slowly and smiling to himself when Amy’s arms wrapped instinctively around him again.  If anybody had dared to tell him, before they’d even known each other, just how amazing it would be to sleep in a bed with Amy next to him, Jake is 100% certain that he would have kissed her the very first day they met - awkward statements from Charles be damned.  

He’d woken again not long after sunrise, in a move completely unprecedented, and no amount of squeezing his eyes shut or attempting to distract his racing mind seemed to have effect.  Jake was Awake, whether he wanted to be or not.  

Somewhere in the night Amy has shifted, her body still curling towards his but occupying her side of the bed, and for a moment Jake takes advantage of the silence, watching as the dawn’s light fills the room and highlights just how beautiful she is.  She buries her head further into the pillow as the sun began to aim it’s rays at her face, snuffling softly into the pillow, and Jake’s unable to resist the urge to turn towards her, hooking one arm around her waist and leaving a gentle good morning kiss on Amy’s forehead.

Her lips lift into a tiny smile, shuffling ever so slightly closer towards him as her eyes refuse to pry themselves open.  

“Ames,” Jake whispers, not yet entirely sure if waking up his girlfriend early on their only schedule-free day together was actually the wisest move to make.  He tightens the grip around her waist, as if preparing for an apology, and when she doesn’t respond he squeezes her briefly.  “Babe, it’s snowing outside.”

Her answer is a muffled groan, foregoing the pillow to move herself closer to Jake, sighing with happiness when he rolls back onto the mattress and her head is resting in the curve of his neck.  Like pieces of a puzzle sliding into place her arm skims across his stomach, tucking her fingers between his waist and the mattress.  With this closer proximity Jake has the leverage to slide his own hand underneath the soft material of the old academy shirt Amy uses as a sleep shirt, and he wastes no time doing so, revelling in the still-new-but-also-kinda-something-he-feels-like-he’s-being-doing-forever sense of calm that falls over him.  It’s only been a second or two, but it feels like a decade when Amy responds, eyes still closed as she moves her chin to Jake’s chest and mumbles, “Snow cold.  Boyfriend warm.”

The calm morphs into euphoria at the sound of Amy calling him boyfriend.  Such a simple word, and certainly not the first time she’s used it, but it’s been just over six months and she’s easily the best thing that’s happened to him in the longest time.  And maybe it’s the latent energy from his Christmas Eve hostage and near-death situation that is still whirling around in his body, or maybe it’s the excitement of a full day of freedom with his girlfriend … either way, Jake is filled with a sudden desire to embrace the day - starting with the building of a perfect snowman to celebrate such a glorious year.

Turning his head to the left and burying his nose into Amy’s sleep-messy hair, Jake takes a deep breath in before dropping a kiss to her head.  “Ames.  Do you wanna build a snowman?”

Amy’s chest expands under Jake’s hand as she takes a deep breath, one eye cracking open and blinking dazedly before focusing on him.  “If you break out into Frozen song lyrics right now you are done for, Peralta.”

He laughs, Amy’s grip on him tightening as she joins him, and when the room finally falls silent Jake leans in for another kiss, this time against her soft, soft lips.  “Good morning, Ames.”

She hums, a faint almost-purring sound that reverberates against him as she continues to lay against his chest, and Jake’s heart skips a beat when she smiles at him, moving her hand from his waist to run her fingers through his own messy bed hair - partially still ruffled from doing the same the night before.  “Mmm.  Morning, babe.”  Twisting slightly to check the clock on her nightstand, Amy groans and drops her head back onto his chest.  “It’s so early, though.  You rallied so hard for the 10am alarm last night … what’s changed?”

Shrugging the shoulder that doesn’t have an Amy leaning against it, Jake glances out the window before returning his attention back to Amy.  “I can’t explain it.  I woke up earlier and noticed it was snowing, and now all I can think about it is getting out there and playing in it.”

Sighing softly, Amy leaves a sweet kiss against his shoulder.  “You know, for a native New Yorker, it is truly amazing that you still find snow magical.”

He smiles at the statement, pulling Amy ever so closer to him as he does.  She was right (as usual).  Snow certainly looked beautiful - and flooded the Instagram of the hundreds of tourists clogging the streets trying to get the perfect shot - but it disrupted so many aspects of every day life that most people he knew had grown to resent its presence each year.  Jake had loved snow ever since he was a little boy, and had refused to change his opinion on it as the years passed and he grew jaded about so many other things.  “It is magic, babe.  Come out with me, I’ll show you why!”

The arm that had long since returned to his stomach braces against him briefly as Amy lifts herself up, eyes narrowing as she takes in the view from his bedroom window before falling back onto the bed with a dull thud.  “You’re kidding right?  I’m not going out in that snow storm!”

Jake’s brow furrows, and he turns his head to check the view again - just in case the light flurry of snowflakes had indeed turned apocalyptic in the few seconds since his last look.  But the sight was just the same as before; the snow still so light in its downpour that his windowsills had only just begun to build up a catchment of white.  “Snow storm?!” he answers, looking back at Amy incredulously.  “Ames, it’s like Winter Wonderland out there!”

“Winter Wonderland is freezing” Amy replies, resurrecting her earlier kiss and continuing in a line across his shoulder, heading upwards to his neck and oh, how did he exist without kisses like this for so. long.?  “And this bed is so soft and warm.”  Bringing the kisses to a stop, Amy rests her head against Jake’s pillow, tucking her nose into the edge of Jake’s neck.  “I’m normally all for getting up early, but I’ve got everything I need right here.”

It hasn’t been said out loud, but Jake knows that his dice with death three nights ago had affected Amy more than she could say.  He felt it, in the strength of her kisses and the way she had latched herself to him on the couch that same night, cancelling all Noche Buena plans to stay at home with Jake.  All of it had been completely welcome; because that whole evening, while everything was going down, even as he was telling himself that it was going to be fine, there was still one person’s voice he was wishing to hear one last time.  Her face had flashed through his mind as that thug with the cool scar had pointed a gun at him, and when she’d run towards him outside the store, smashing her lips against his, Jake’s heart had just about soared right out of his chest.  In just six short months, Amy had elevated herself to the Most Important Person in Jake’s life, and the thought of losing her had terrified him.

So he got it - her need for more moments of peace where it was just them, and ordinarily he would be all for it, if not the one demanding it.  But his body was filled with restless energy as he watched the snow continue to fall outside his apartment, and after a few minutes of his fingertips thrumming against Amy’s back she sighs, voice muffled by his neck as she speaks.  “Go make your damn snowman, Peralta.”

He hesitates, tampering the urge to leap out of bed as he buries his nose in his girlfriend’s hair again.  “I don’t have to, babe.”

“Jake.”  Amy’s hands glide over his skin as she lifts herself up completely, anchoring her elbow into the mattress and using her free hand to hold the duvet against her bare chest.  “You’re obviously bubbling with energy right now.  Go out there and do what you gotta do.”  Leaning in, she punctuates her words with a gentle kiss.  “Just come back to me when you’re done.  This bed is too big without you.”

Jake smiles, shuffling into a sitting up position and pulling Amy back in for another kiss before lifting up his side of the blanket.  “You’re the best, Ames.”  Smiling in response, Amy pulls the extra blanket Jake has abandoned towards her, creating a blanket cocoon of her own as he moves about the room.  “Don’t think I can’t see you reap the benefits of a bed to yourself, Santiago.”

“It’s still too big without you, but right now it is so. warm.” is her indistinct reply, and Jake lets out another soft chuckle before throwing on several layers of clothing, preparing for the onslaught of cold air waiting for him outside. 

*

*

Jake’s wearing his favourite black gloves; the ones his mother had knitted for him five years ago and cannot bring himself to replace, as he digs his hands into the layers of snow that have landed in the park a block from his apartment.  He studies the powder, rolling it into a snowball and passing it from hand to hand before dropping it back onto the ground, rotating until it’s grown to a decent size and lifting it back up.  Flattening the top of the bases already planted, he puts the final piece of the snowman together, stepping back briefly to inspect his structure before beginning the hunt for decorations.

His movements were quick - partly because it actually was incredibly cold out here in the snow, and partly because he was eager to return to Amy.  Borrowing a few stones from a hedging garden, Jake creates a face for the figure before searching for a branch to turn into arms.  

Not even he could fully explain the urge he had felt this morning - Jake hadn’t built a snowman in years.  It had been such an easy way to make friends when he was younger - when you’re the only kid on the block celebrating Hanukkah it can be hard to find things to bond over - and up until he was seven it had been his favourite activity.  And then his Dad had left, taking all of his happy memories of Snow Peraltas being built in their front yard, and the countless balls of snow he instinctively built up each following Christmas no longer brought Jake joy.  Instead, they reminded him of all of his father’s lies - the same few modifications of a recurring theme, heard every damn holiday and birthday.  (Next year will be different/Work has come up/My cars in the shop/You understand, don’t you buddy?)  

Soft and seemingly edgeless, always hitting him like a slap in the face.  Until finally, after his tenth birthday, he simply stopped making them.

Stooping slightly to pick up a particularly long branch, Jake lifts his opposite knee and cracks the wood for a pair of arms, sticking them into the sides and stepping back to survey his art.  Snowman Jake is lopsided, and a little wobbly, but he loves it all the same.  Then his eyes cast to the blank space beside him, and he begins to imagine another snowman next to his - this one with long dark hair and eyes that were so kind they managed to get him to spill all his secrets. 

“You make a cute snowman.” Comes a voice from behind him, and it’s a voice he would know anywhere.  He’s already smiling before he even turns around, and it only grows wider when he clocks Amy standing amongst the snow; wrapped up in a jacket, scarf, gloves and beanie with a thermos in one hand and two cups in her other.  It’s hard to see her smile, with various layers of material covering a decent portion of her face, but Jake can tell by the curve of her cheeks, and the softer edges of her eyes.  

“Ames?”

She walks towards him, negotiating the snow with her heavy boots, and hands him the cups when she gets closer.  Her voice is muffled, fighting against the layers of material as she speaks.  “Hey, babe.”

He watches her with curious eyes as she unscrews the lid to the thermos, pouring the liquid into the cups he holds and letting out a soft sigh of happiness as the scent of hot chocolate wafts up towards him.  Waiting until she’s tucked the thermos under one arm and is holding a cup in her gloved hand, he voices his confusion.  “It’s freezing out here.”

She nods, glancing around as she takes a sip of hot chocolate, and he watches as the steam from the cup dances around her face.  “I’ve noticed that, yeah.”

Jake takes his own sip, recognising the taste from the cafe two blocks in the opposite direction that the two of them liked to frequent when they had the chance.  “You hate the cold.” 

Shuffling closer, Amy smiles softly, running the tip of her nose against his before planting a kiss against his mouth, and it’s warm, so very warm.  “I like you more than I hate the cold.”  

Oh, he likes her.  So.  Much.  

She’s still smiling when they part, and he can taste remnants of hot chocolate on her lips, the air between them already feeling warmer now that Amy was here.  Looking at the snowman behind him, she nods approvingly.  “Nice work, babe.  I would have gotten here sooner, but I really wanted hot chocolate and the cafe was so busy, and - anyway.  Cool snowman.”

Turning to look in the same direction as Amy, Jake wraps his free arm around her, puling her in closer to share his warmth.  “I totally thought you were going to stay in bed until I got back?”

Twisting until her eyes meet his, Amy winks.  “Turns out the bed was warm, but my day was way too empty without you.”  Jake takes the now empty cup from her hands, stacking it on top of his own before pulling her in for another flavoured kiss.  She continues when they part, pointing at the structure.  “You were pretty eager to build a snowman, huh?”

Jake’s smile dips slightly, and he steps away slightly, resting one hand along the back of his neck.  “Yeah, I don’t really know where that came from.  I haven’t built a snowman in years.”

“You haven’t?”

He pauses, unable to take his eyes away from the snowman.  “Not since I was seven.”  

A silence stretches between them.  Amy was more well-versed in The Book of Jake than anybody had ever been given permission to be, and he knew that she understood the timeline of events he was referring to.  He doesn’t want this to be something dramatic - hadn’t ever anticipated for this to happen on what was supposed to be just another Wednesday - but his stupid heart had forced him out of bed and into this field of snow and now he was standing next to the greatest woman he’s ever known, staring at a snowman and turning it into something greater.  He’s not one to share his feelings, to let down the walls and stop deflecting things with a well-timed joke.  But nothing seemed all that funny right now.

And then she speaks, and her voice is so resolute.  “Well then.  We need to make a snowwoman, don’t we?”  Jake turns to her, face screwed up in puzzlement, and Amy continues.  “If you get a snowman, I get one too.  And Snow Amy is going to stand by your side, because that’s where I’m always going to be.”

A tiny smile begins to sneak its way onto his face.  “By my side?” he repeats.

She raises her eyebrows slightly, shrugging before kicking softly at the snow at her feet.  “Yeah.  Even if … I don’t want to say it out loud, but even if things were to change between us, I’m always going to be there for you, Jake.”

And he loves her.  He really does, right down the very edges of his soul, and it’s a love that snuck up on him completely - and totally without any of the dramatic music that every single movie had led him to believe would accompany moments like this. He loves her for knowing that, just for today, a snowman isn’t just a snowman. He loves her for refusing to let his past paint his future. He loves her, more than he’s ever loved anyone, and he’s fairly certain that he has for a little over six months.

But grand statements were to be said at the right time - not to be blurted out - and he isn’t entirely sure that he could speak properly right now anyway with his heart lodged somewhere near the top of his throat.  And so Jake nods, reaching out for Amy’s hand and squeezing, leading her over to the middle of the park where he’d found most of the snow for optimum snowwoman building.  He’s not ready to say those three little words out loud just yet, but he’s hoping that for now he can show her how he feels in other ways (including, but not limited to, Sexy Timez).

Years from now there will be a tradition set in place, the building of the Santiago-Peralta Snowman Family an important family event that grows in numbers over time but never falls behind in their rigidly organised schedule.  

But for now, there are two snow-people in the middle of the park one block from Jake’s apartment, holding hands and standing strong as they face the elements together.  The world can pass them by, or try its luck at separating them, but love will always, always prevail. 

[rose-lighters]

Time to rank every MCU film

Yes I am doing that oh so original thing of ranking every marvel film from worst to best. Criticisms and debates are welcome. (Disclaimer: I like all these films unless stated otherwise)

X. Incredible Hulk - I haven’t seen it. Sorry.

21. Guardians Of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - I can honestly say I hated this film. The only likeable part of the whole film was the soundtrack and the first few minutes with Groot dancing. Beyond that it was dull, cringy and oh so predictable. The second that Ego (???) appeared and said he was Quill’s dad I was just like “Oh so this guy’s the villain then” and noped out of there. I never saw past that point and don’t intend to.

20. Captain America: The Winter Soldier - People praise this film till kingdom come and I for one do not get it at all. Many say that it is unique in moving away from the typical superhero film and towards the spy genre. Maybe I just don’t like spy films but it is in no means a great Marvel film. I liked it enough but it’s so forgettable I had to google the plot for this review. I liked the characters and all but it just never stuck with me as anything special.

19. Guardians Of the Galaxy -  Maybe I just don’t like the guardians??? I don’t know but this was another film that just didn’t stick with me. I like Rocket and Groot but beyond that the Guardians themselves hold no interest with me. I don’t care for the humor particularly and whilst the music is great that really shouldn’t be the best part of a film unless it’s a musical.

18. Avengers: Age of Ultron - People hate this film, I however do not. It’s an okay Marvel film, I don’t care for it enough to hate it. I like that scene where they’re all trying to lift mjolnir and I think I liked the ending (I watched it like two years ago so I don’t remember that well) but I have to agree with a lot of the criticism of white washing the Maximoffs (despite how much I love Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor Johnson, it was still shady). I didn’t hate the ‘giving Hawkeye a family’ like a lot of people did because the already made it clear he wasn’t like comic Clint.

17. Thor: The Dark World - Now we’re moving into films I do like (I love Marvel films more than I dislike them, it's literally just GOTG2 that I don’t like). This was a good film from what I can remember (as I said it's been a while since I’ve seen a lot of these films). I liked the story arcs, I liked that it was set in places other than America and space (ok, so I’m from England, sue me), I loved Tom Hiddleston in this film and I like Darcy. All in all it was an enjoyable viewing, a little dull at times but generally harmless.

16. Doctor Strange - This would be further up if it wasn’t for how dull the first half hour or so is. I had to go back and watch this months after I had first tried just because the start was so boring. Once I moved past it however it was a great origin film. I liked the humour in it and I have always had a soft spot for magic so it was a brilliant film. The effects were absolutely stunning and on aesthetics alone it would place as the second or third best marvel film. I loved the good guys and was genuinely rooting for them despite Strange being a bit of a snarky arsehole.

15. Iron Man - Is this a very important film? Yes. Is it a great film? Also yes. Do I remember it? Not at all. Okay, so I remember some stuff and what I do remember was great but to say its a film that sticks out would be a lie. It’s THE origin story in as much as it’s a formulaic one: flawed character is traumatised and realises their flaws in the process, is influenced by important person, becomes a hero and is betrayed. It works though. That’s the thing, it works so damn well that its almost not in the formula. It's a great watch and honestly RDJ looks great in it (so not the point but I digress). That bit with Stane ripping out the arc reactor made me feel betrayed and I kinda knew it was coming. ( https://tonynatashas.tumblr.com/post/184375713429/that-scene-in-iron-man-where-obadiah-stane-is this post explains why this scene is so great important)

14. Captain America: The First Avenger - Another (enjoyable) origin story. If Sebastian Stan wasn’t in it it would probably be three places down but hey I have a type. No but seriously this was a great film because not only did it show off the brilliance of Roger’s transformation and gave us an idea of who he was and what motivates him but it also then gives us details of his waking in the 21st century and begins to expose his issues with this time travel (for want of a better phrase). This film shows you what you’re gonna get whilst still having pretty good effects, a good, solid storyline and a pretty badass comic book villain. The serum guy creeps me out though and there are so many ethical issues of that level of human experimentation on a person whose only friend went off to war, had Steve died they chose someone no one would really miss which is so concerning.

13. Captain Marvel - A lot of people may have a criticism of this film being so far down but for me it needs to be. I like superhero films where the main character overcomes a flaw and amnesia is not a character flaw. This is a good origin story but it is not a great marvel film. I like Carol but I don’t love her. I love the fact that we have a superhero film with a female main character and i liked that scene where she talks with biker guy but it felt like Samuel L Jackson was a more interesting character at times. I often rate characters on humor so there’s that. It was a good film but I’m mostly looking forward to what will be done with the character as she has so much potential. 

12. Spiderman: Homecoming - This is a weird one for me. It’s the only marvel film I own on DVD and it’s the only one I like where I skip scenes. I can not deal with cringy humour so I skip 80% of the jokes and awkward moments in this film however it’s a really good film. It’s funny and the music is great, I love Zendaya and Jacob Batalon probably more than Tom Holland, their roles are great and the film’s emphasis on friendship is one of the elements from the Iron Man and Captain America films that I love just further amplified. The references to Ferris Bueller and the fact that it is, at its core, a teen flick makes it a brilliant film. The vulture twist was also amazing. 

11. Ant-man and the Wasp - I feel like it isn’t talked about enough but I really bloody love Scott Lang. He is one superhero that I can really get behind because above all else he is just the nicest guy. He is probably one of the most human seeming characters in the MCU and it always makes for such an enjoyable viewing. This could probably draw with ant-man in terms of great films. I loved Ava Starr so much and my heart really went out to her and that FBI guy was a total joy to watch. The Ant man films are so funny and light hearted that they don’t have that sort of weariness that other MCU films have. If only Luis told more stories in the MCU.

10. Ant-man - Honestly just look above. Also I love Hank Pym and Hope Van Dyne so much. The villain was kind of eh but I loved the heist aspect.

9. Black Panther - I watched this film for Shuri and to an extent because I felt obligated to so I had low expectations. People were talking about it for the significance of fighting for equality (which I am all for, don’t worry) so I was expecting it to not live up to the hype and it didn’t. That being said it was a bloody great movie. The movie was beautiful, the use of colour and the CGI tech was so damn pretty. The plot was brilliant and for a while I wanted Erik Killmonger to win, he put forward a good argument and I like a ‘baddy’ so to speak. The fights were great and I was so here for their version of going under cover finally not being a hoodie and cap. Was it over hyped? Hell yeah. Was it still a great film? 100%

8. Iron Man 3 - This gets a hell of a load more crap than it deserves, mostly from comic book fans who can’t stand that their precious mandarin was a hoax but honestly I respect the fuck out of marvel for that. Rather than having a stereotypically asian terrorist they turned that stereotype on its head and made the white guy the actual terrorist. Ben Kingsley is one of my favourite actors and he was amazing. I, obviously, also loved the representation of PTSD as a serious issue and how it was displayed in all of its real ugliness. For once it didn’t just show a damaged person who was fixed with romance. So yeah, this film was a masterpiece.

7. Captain America: Civil War - Zemo may just be my favourite MCU villain to date, why? Because he fucking won. This was a film about a man who knew his victims and rather than stupidly trying to attack the big scary strong guys he exposed them and made the best of circumstance. He got under Captain America’s skin and played him like a puppet. This was more than just a villain, this was finally a smart villain. Not to mention that this film had some of the best action sequences and heart breaking moments whilst still having time for a laugh. It’s also the first film (in my opinion) that called out Steve’s morals and his obsession with the past. Bucky was hot used against him and it showed that above all else, even the little people, Steve’s loyalties are with his past.

6. Thor - Most people would disagree and rate this film far lower however for me this was the start. I didn’t grow up watching superhero films because I didn’t like watching TV as a kid so it wasn’t till I was 13 that I saw a superhero film and this was it. I honestly watched it because my friend had it on DVD and I thought Tom Hiddleston looked hot but from what I can remember this was one of the best films I ever saw. I wasn’t too bothered by Jane Foster but I absolutely loved Darcy, Loki and Thor. Whilst I’m not adopted I do know what it is like to be the younger and smarter sibling with an older thuggish brother who is still the favourite so I loved Loki with a passion and was so upset when he fell.

5. Iron Man 2 - This was the film that made me realise that I liked girls, Scarlet Johansson in a black cat suit and red ringlets was an amazing thing to little 13 year old me. Beyond that it was just a solid film, it had spies and daddy issues and sass and Samuel L Jackson. What more can you want?

4. Thor: Ragnarok - This is the peak of Thor, I’m calling it now. Never had a director before been able to capture the absolute chaos of Loki and the sweetheart-ness of Thor so brilliantly. As far as representations of characters this, Captain Marvel and Iron Man 3 may just be the best of all the MCU. This is the full completion of Thor’s arc, this is the film that the first Thor set up. Finally Thor is ready to be King. This film had so much humour but still set it all up so perfectly that it was more than just a comedy. Jeff Goldblum was amazing and honestly Taika Waititi should direct the whole of the MCU. He knows the characters better than anybody.

3. Avengers: Endgame - I cried three times. That scene with the portals was the most beautiful thing I have ever witnessed and whilst many criticize much of the plot I don’t have too much I’d change, though in fairness I did like the cursed child so maybe I just have a soft spot for all things time travel. Dynamic timelines are not used in cinema enough and the three alternate timelines create have all sorts of implications for future films in the MCU. If Thor is not fat in the next film this may go down to 20th though.

2. Avengers Assemble - This is the film that I believe best represents what the MCU has to offer. It’s a light hearted superhero film with all the characters that were needed at this point in time. For its time it was ambitious and honestly it shows. I loved the dynamics between the characters, the plot was engaging and not overly complex and even if you haven’t seen any other MCU films it makes perfect sense. In some respects it probably is the best the MCU has to offer.

1. Avengers: Infinity War - Oh boy do I love this film. This isn’t just a film, this is the film. Did it have the same emotional impact as Endgame? Fuck no but it didn’t need to. It was serious. It was funny. It had just the right amount of just the right characters and may I just say that is the best that Captain America has ever looked in the MCU. I (controversially) really loved Gamora dying and most of the Guardians being dusted. The memes were great.This was the most ambitious cross over event since Wizards of deck with Hannah Montana. One thing that I can’t get out of my head though is Bruce’s comment of “broke up like the beatles?”. Does that make Bucky Yoko Ono?

[movieiwatchedtonight]

Monthly Movie Recap: May 2017

Monthly Movie Recap: May 2017 It was one of those months that it was nearly over before I realized that I hadn't seen any movies yet! I did see Guardians of the Galaxy on opening night with Amy, but then I didn't see another movie till my group of friends and I saw Everything, Everything for my birthday. Then with my parents the next night I saw Baywatch. So only three this month but between both my brother and I's birthdays,finals, graduation, and starting my new job that's not too bad. Guardians was by far my favorite, then Baywatch, and least was Everything, Everything. Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2:

Now I remembered little to none of the first movie, I think I only saw it full out once but I didn’t really need to to understand what was going on here. Side story; but the only time I’ve seen the first movie was in Disneyland back in 2014 before it was officially released in this really cool 4D theater. Also let’s keep in mind that I’m a casual comic book movie fan so I’m not really basing my opinions on anything other than my enjoyment.

I was able to see it twice. I went to a preview screening that my local theater does (and brought my best friend Amy as well) on the Thursday before it came out and then again on Sunday in a old small town theater in Jacksonville. (Completely unrelated but one theater showed the Thor trailer and one did not)

The first time I really was just paying attention to the story and just enjoying it (which I did) and the second time I actually took notes. Here’s some of the general notes about the movie that I wrote down from my second viewing:

- There’s a new intro where it shows movie characters rather than flipping through comic book pages. Not sure which one I like better, though I don’t mind the new one

- I love the opening scene. Am I biased because I’m from Missouri and I love the 80s? Maybe  

- Also James Gunn is from Missouri; St.Louis more specifically so I love it. Fun fact Sean Gunn went to SLUH for high school

- An odd thing to love but I love all the colors, especially at the end (more on this later)

- Is Awesome Mixtape Vol.2 actually awesome? Yes. I personally prefers over Vol. 1

- Hey the dad from Sky High is here too

- Baby Groot needs a car seat

- Some lines were predictable but that’s every movie. One I really didn’t care for was when Ego tells Peter he’s just like everyone else and Peter says “what’s so wrong with that?”

- Also thought that sometimes jokes weren’t needed, a moment can just be a moment

- “Spacesuits for emergencies, or for fun”

- Ego’s planet was so pretty ( why does it remind me of the emerald city?) but was there really a need for a museum type show about why and how he formed the planet

- Kicking and messing with Baby Groot? Not okay

- Baby Groot dancing to basically the whole song Mr.Blue Sky while everyone else is fighting a giant space monster? Very okay (and so adorable!)

- Okay but like we kind of knew Ego was the bad guy the whole time, right?

- “You’re like Mary Poppins!” “Is he cool?” “Yeah he’s cool” “I’m Mary Poppins!!”  

- Didn’t mind that they used The Chain twice because I love that song but we could have fit Fox on The Run in there somewhere

- I agree, Baby Groot is too adorable to kill

- I don’t know what Cheers is either Gamora, but if I did I’m sure it would have been a cool reference

- “I thought Yondu was your father.” Turns out he was

- Why do I love Sean Gunn’s character so much? I’m not even really sure I know who he is or what his purpose was besides getting the ship ready but I loved him. Especially when he asks Nebula what she’s going to do with her cut of the money (units?) and she tells him about wanting to kill her sister and buy a bunch of weapons and he’s just like “I meant like a pretty necklace, or a hat, something the girls would aw at”

- “They killed all my friends"😭

- Yondu’s arrow is so cool, Hawkeye should get himself one of those.

- Baby Groot getting crushed by rocks (?) and has no idea what else to do so he just starts crying, that broke my heart   

- Cute little space family

- Screw Ego for putting the tumor in Meredith’s brain. I hate him

- Ok but Peter building Pac-Man was so cool

- “I’m going to make some weird shit!”

- I wish I knew what was so important about the batteries that the gold girl kept trying to kill them for stealing them

- The gold people’s little remote controls spaceships had arcade sounds and I loved it

- So many credit scenes that were about the movie (the Peter and Groot scene was my favorite)

- Also when Rocket, Baby Groot, Yondu and Kraglin were jumping through all the worlds (the part where Stan Lee has him cameo) I thought it would have been cool to like flash Asgard, just an idea

- I’m a sucker for friends choosing to become a family

- So did Peter lose his immortality and God qualities when they killed Ego? Or not?

- The scene where Ego and Peter are playing catch is emotionally manipulative  

- I’m also a sucker for power group shots and there’s a good amount of them, enough to make me happy

- Baby Groot trying to get the fin but he keeps coming back with different things was so cute. Brings back a desk; “we told you it was this big!”

- My favorite arrow scene was when it hit the lights out and then killed all those people and all you could see was the trail of red glow

Now back to what I said earlier about colors. I have a personal theory, that at least for me, bright colors matter. I mean I often find myself re watching movies like The Avengers or Captain America: Civil War (which isn’t overly colorful but is bright) but not movies like Captain America: The Winter Soldier or like Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice because they’re just dark. Like literally have a dark color palette. I don’t know if that makes any sense but this movie was full of colors and it was beautiful.

This may be a movie series where I prefer the second one over the first. They’re both good but I really like Vol. 2. I love the music in it so much, defiantly more than the first movie.This is definitely worth seeing in theaters and not waiting till it comes out later. Also wish I would have seen it in 3D because there’s a couple scenes that I bet look amazing in 3D! Especially the funeral scene, I bet that’s awesome in 3D! With all the colors and pretty lights.

Watch again: YES I will for sure see it again in theaters, hopefully 3D, and this will be a movie I preorder the DVD

Watch the sequel?: it’s a marvel movie, so of course, I’ll watch Vol. 3 as well as anything else remotely related to this movie

Baywatch: I thought this movie was alright. I definitely laughed and thought some parts were funny and I wouldn't go out of my way to not recommend it to someone. It's not going to be a summer favorite or anything but who doesn't love Zac Effron? I think my favorite part was definitely the High School Musical reference and just the whole name thing was funny to me and my parents. I didn't not enjoy this movie, it had me laughing a decent amount but I know it's not going to be like a classic comedy for me or anything like that. It’s a typical good summer comedy. I'll probably watch it again and most likely will get it on DVD but I don't think I'll go see it in theaters again.

Watch again: Yeah, I would watch this movie again but I don’t think I ever seek after it or get a craving to watch it again.

Watch the sequel?: Yeah, again I think I would. I enjoyed the first one enough to watch the second one, should one be made. Everything, Everything: I was not a fan of this movie. I mean it's one of those movies you go into knowing it's going to be far fetched and ridiculous but I just couldn't get on board with this movie. I went with about six friends to see it, Amy and I sat next to each other and just ripped the movie apart. I mean we made fun of everything, she described us as the old guys from the muppets (Statler and Waldorf). The movie wasn't as bad as we made it out to be, but I still didn't really like it. I knew it would be out there but like it was so out there. Now I never read the book, I do own it, and it's in my personal library, but I haven't had the chance to read it yet so I can't say how accurate it was to the book. I did like something's about it, I like the little twist where Maddy discovers that she was never really sick, and I liked the actor who played Olly (Nick Robinson) I thought he was pretty good. I also really loved the scene where he taped all the pictures of the ocean on her window and said something along the lines of “Every ocean deserves to be seen by you” that was really cute and I do really love that moment from the movie. I did also like how the movie made me think differently, like how we as people put so must trust into the people we love because we love them, we just believe everything they say is the truth because so far they haven’t proven us otherwise. That’s kind of scary, like to think that we just trust the people we love so easily, and we really could have no idea what's actually true and what isn’t. So in summary, I didn’t love the movie, but I liked how it got me thinking deeper.

Watch again?: Not on my own, no. The only way I see myself watching this movie again is if I’m with a group of people who want to.

Overall: May was a bus month and I didn’t see as many movies as I would have liked to, but with it now being summer vacation, I should be able to catch up for what I missed in May in June. I love that I got to see Guardians on opening night, that was really cool and a great way to start the summer movie season.

Next Month: June is a jam packed month for movies. So excited for Wonder Woman!! Also I feel like I might be alone in this, but I’m actually really excited for Baby Driver as well! As for kids movies, I’m actually going to Disney World the week Cars 3 is released so I plan on seeing it down in Orlando and Despicable Me is one of Amy’s favorite movies so we’ll go see the third on for sure. I will 100% be skipping out on 47 Meters Down, no thank you. Book of Henry has my interest because I’m slightly confused by it. Basically June is the hot spot for summer movies and with my theater having 5$ Tuesdays and 5$ student Thursdays, I hope to see as many as I can

[androidmart-blog]

Best Movies of 2000 - 2020 from the LA Times Movie Critics

This is something I put together was back at the beginning of 2000 -2020 when the top 10 movie lists were published by various publications. I thought it would be a good idea to republish the lists to give you some older movies to choose from. Hope you find something worth viewing.

 "Top 10" and "Best of" movie lists are a feature of the closing of every year. Hollywood blockbusters get plenty of coverage, but what about the less-marketed, less widely-distributed independent and foreign movies? The LA Times reviewers' picks for top 10/best of 2000 - 2020 movies contain an overwhelming line up of independent, foreign, and documentary films from 2000 - 2020. Most of their picks are movies that most people will not have heard of or had an opportunity to see unless they live in large metropolitan areas, but many are now released on DVD if you wish to buy them for your collection or rent from Netflix.com.

Best 10 Movies List by Kenneth Turan

 My personal favorite movie reviewer for LA Times, Kenneth Turan, found it impossible to list just 10 picks, and titled his "top 10 movies" list as "Ten Just Isn't Enough", giving multiple picks of related genres in his list of ten.

 Turan's first picks were described by him in a Shakespearean quote as "untimely ripped" from the screens:

You can watch all of these movien on Cyberflix app for Free. This guide from Techslott will help yout to install the app.

"The Best of Youth" from Italy's Marco Tullio Giordana and "Duma" from Carroll Ballard

Middle-Eastern focus: "Paradise Now" and "Syriana"

Family drama: "The Squid and the Whale" with "Brokeback Mountain"

Animated: "Howl's Moving Castle" and "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were Rabbit"

Meditations on the nature of violence and its outcomes: "A History of Violence" and "Munich"

Documentary: "Los Angeles Plays Itself", "Born Into Brothels," "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room," "Gunner Palace", "Occupation: Dreamland", "Grizzly Man," "March of the Penguins" "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill" and "Ballets Russes"

Biographies: "Capote" and "Good Night, and Good Luck."

Blockbusters with auteur: "Batman Begins" and "King Kong."

Foreign language: "Head-On" "Saraband", "Tony Takitani" (Japanese), "The World" (Chinese), "Look at Me", (French), "The Beat That My Heart Skipped" (French), "The Holy Girl," (Spanish), "Machuca," (Spanish), "Lost Embrace" (Spanish), and "Torremolinos 73 (Spanish)

Last, but not least, and on its own, Turan's pick for 10th place was "The Constant Gardener."

Top 10 Movie Picks by Carina Chocano

 Like Turan, Carina Chocano found herself unable to limit her best 10 movies in 2000-2020 to ten, listing the following 13 movies:

"2046" (Wong Kar Wai)

"Brokeback Mountain" (Ang Lee)

"Capote" (Bennett Miller)

"The Corporation" (Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott, Joel Bakan)

"The Edukators" (Hans Weingartner)

"Grizzly Man" (Werner Herzog)

"Head-On" (Fatih Akin)

"Junebug" (Phil Morrison)

"King Kong" (Peter Jackson)

"Last Days" (Gus Van Sant)

"The Squid and the Whale" (Noah Baumbach)

"Syriana" (Stephen Gaghan)

"Turtles Can Fly" (Bahman Ghobadi)

Top Ten Movie Picks by Kevin Thomas

 Thomas was actually able to restrain himself to an actual count of 10 in his picks for Top Ten Movies for 2005.

 "Mysterious Skin." (Gregg Araki)

"Brokeback Mountain." (Ang Lee)

"Crash." (Paul Haggis)

"The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada." (Tommy Lee Jones)

"Garçon Stupide" (Lionel Baier)

"Hustle & Flow" (Craig Brewer)

"Ballets Russes" (Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller)

"Tropical Malady" (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

"Keane" (Lodge Kerrigan)

"The Holy Girl." (Lucrecia Martel)

[heyomag]

Facebook’s ‘Faces of Death’ Style Gore Group Not For Squeamish

There’s no denying the fact that the internet can be a dark, fucked up place.

Just as you can’t help but rubberneck when you drive by a truly brutal car crash, similarly, you cannot help but check out that new gruesome, disturbing video you’ve heard about as it makes its rounds through the Twitter-sphere; it’s science, it’s human nature. Carl Jung, the father of analytical psychology, concluded we have a legitimate need to indulge our most morbid of thoughts and interests. Moreover, repressing these thoughts may actually result in their festering in your brain until they become full-blown neuroses and psychoses. So don’t worry – you’re not as fucked up as you may think.

And to the point, I promise you that I’m not the product of the Manson Family.  I have never brutalized animals. Never tore off limbs from my sister’s Barbie dolls (Cabbage Patch Kids – well, that’s a different story) – but I am just as disturbed as most of the contemporaries, at least in terms of content consumption.

Perhaps this fascination was borne from my own experience, like when my brother ripped his face open on a trampoline spring while wrestling with friends. One bad bounce and unfortunately his face was punctured with the end of a metal spring and the force from the actual bounce ended up ripping his face open.  Thankfully, it only resulted in a minor scar that is no longer noticeable because over time it has moved to the crease of his nose. Or maybe it was during summer league baseball when he slid into home and hit the plate at just the wrong angle so that it ripped open his knee, exposing his kneecap and all. There are so many more gruesome examples of things that transpired over my childhood that could contribute to my desensitized nature regarding gore.

I was simply a boy who grew up in the ‘90s with a brother 5 years my senior who introduced me to Nirvana, skateboarding, and Faces of Death. For the uninitiated, Conan LeCilaire’s Faces of Death (and the many sequels and derivations that resulted) is an American horror film depicting numerous violent and fatal acts in unnecessary detail; the film created a cult-like following steadily growing since the film’s original release in 1978.

My mom would drive all of us to the local Blockbuster and we’d each get to pick out a VHS (and later a DVD). More often than not, Older Brother would rent Faces of Death…I can only hope that my Mom only allowed this out of complete ignorance. According to one study, the average TV-viewing American youth will be exposed to 16,000 simulated acts of murder ad over 200,000 acts of violence before their 18th birthday. I think Faces of Death filled my lifetime quota. Thankfully, (to the best of my knowledge) my brother has yet to act out any of the acts we watched…he’s actually a very nice, passive person…again, somehow.

My interest in the films wasn’t as authentic as my brother’s, but this poor, little closeted gay boy would be willing to endure far worse than Faces of Death if it meant fitting in with my older brother and his friends. My blue doe eyes, still innocent in my youth, were affixed to the screen – murder, after suicide, after (literal) train-wreck. The cheers, laughter, and yells from my stoned brother and his friends grew in volume and intensity as the scenes became more and more offensive. As hoops and hollers turned into groans of disgust and simulated vomiting, we all willfully watched this shit.

Skip to many years later and here I am on Facebook clicking around when I came across a group of like-minded weirdos like myself relishing in this masochistic relationship we’ve developed with gore. The private Facebook group appropriately titled “why the fuck do i always click uncover photo despite my better judgement” [sic] has over 18,000 members aggregating the goriest and most grotesque videos and images the internet has to offer in one place.

Is it bloodier than a Tarantino film? Yeah. Is it disturbing? You betcha.

But if your constitution can stomach seeing entrails pouring out of someone, badly broken limbs, animal attacks, or someone decapitated…then check it out.

Come for the gore. Stay for the comments. Click here if you dare. 

The post Facebook’s ‘Faces of Death’ Style Gore Group Not For Squeamish appeared first on HEYO Mag.

from HEYO Mag https://heyomag.com/facebooks-faces-of-death-style-gore-group-not-for-squeamish/

[griffinkrwu198-blog]

Pointers On How To Fix Vehicle Dvd Gamer That Skips

It gets back at better if you can include a narration to the movie, telling the story with every photo transition. Once you get the exceptional DVD slideshow contractor, begin making your film. The user interface for this software application is easy as pie, and you will not need any getting utilized to in order to make the finest of your photo film. Set the song play immediately and start from extremely first slide and after that get rid of at the final slide. Modifying video choices are required to boost your slideshow.

Sony 2.1 Mp Handycam Dvd Camcorder Review

When you have actually installed the software application created to do this, it's actually a breeze. The program makes it basic. All you do is put in the game, permit your computer to burn a copy of it onto your hard disk drive, and after that include a blank Dvd Disc and wait on your computer to copy the game on the disc.

Using the dining table as a location to work can be bothersome. It is not comfortable to operate at for long periods of time and work has to be moved around to harmonize household requirements. Crucial files can likewise be lost when moving them from location to place. Having actually a function designed desk and other furnishings to use completely, makes working from house more efficient.

How To Transfer/Convert Jvc Camcorder Tod Submits To Dvd

DVD not just gives larger space but likewise safeguards data from loss. It gives data a longer life as compared to the old VCD innovation. That's why the new developed films are constantly launched in DVD and Blue ray. DVD copy can also be made from one DVD to other with the assistance of Dvdr or Dvdr. We can use these both sort of blanks disks for conserving the information. They can likewise be right protected so that any sort of forgery could be restricted.

Ever since, I have actually been sent out to physical treatment two times more-it didn't help. I have actually likewise had FELINE scans, MRI's, and bone density scans, none of which were definitive. Some tests Dvdr showed that I most likely have a problem with certain Discs in my spine, however nothing that can be fixed or helped with surgery. Another test showed that I might have a pinched nerve. Absolutely nothing is certain, so I do not have a diagnosis-none of the tests plainly show anything. So, according to my discomfort management medical professional, I essentially need to just manage the discomfort for the rest of my life. This is quite depressing, since I am just 35 years of ages.

How To Rip Dvd To Nook Tablet

None of this is too essential, of course, if you're planning on burning the copy onto a dual-layer disc, however even then it may be more satisfying for you to view if you eliminate all the previews and excess "things" that finds its way onto a DVD.

The drawback of this unit is that it does not have extra internal expansion area. You will simply need to use the USB ports and the Firewire ports to be able to include other devices to it. If you wish to add items like additional TV tuners or hard disks, it won't be possible unless you want it as an external gadget.