#i need to stop watching youtube in my free time and watch more movies!!

[strawberrybyers]

there are a lot of actors that were nominated for the 2023 golden globes that i love but based on the performances i’ve seen; the nominations i’m most excited about are:

- austin butler (elvis)

- michelle yeoh (everything everywhere all at once)

- ke huy quan (everything everywhere all at once)

- eddie redmayne (the good nurse)

- emma d’arcy (house of the dragon)

- zendaya (euphoria)

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

04/24/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys/TheCryptid Factor; Vico Ortiz; Nathan Foad; Kristian Nairn; Samba Schutte; Jes Tom; Kay Buchanan; Guz Khan; Uproar on Digital; MerMay; Watch Party Reminders; Fan Spotlight; Mini Love Notes; Daily Darby/Today's Taika

Hey lovelies! Sorry for the delay-- I know you say not to worry if there's a delay and I try not to but last night was particularly frustrating because I got most of the recap done, but then worked 14 hours in between that and fell asleep without actually hitting finishing up and hitting send! Anyway, bit late but here it is :)

​PS: Shoutout to the lovely @/MerakiRetreat for saving my butt the other day from a horrible auto correct error! You are a rockstar! Thank you so much!

== Rhys Darby / Cryptid Factor ==

There's a Cryptid Factor Tiktok now! He's out covering the Flamethrowing robot dog! If you have Tiktok, feel free to visit the link below, if you don't, I'm attaching the video here as well, but please, if you have tiktok, definitely go there to watch and interract so Rhys and TCF folks can feel the love :) The Cryptid Factor Tiktok

== Vico Ortiz ==

Vico being 🔥 Fucking 🔥 just like their short!

Vico Ortiz IG

== Nathan Foad ==

Nathan continuing to shine in Love's Labour's Lost. You're not gonna stop hearing from me about this for a while because I find him all to adorable in this.

Img Src: @Jodie_davie_creates IG

== Kristian Nairn ==

Kristian is going to be at the Captured Festival in Malta on Sept 5th - 8th. For more info visit capturedfestival.com!

Img Src: Kristian Nairn's IG

== Samba Schutte ==

Samba's appearing in You Made It Weird! With Pete Holmes!

== Jes Tom ==

Our dear Jes Tom out and about after surgery recovery!

Img Src: Jes Tom's IG

== Kay Buchanan ==

More Leatherworking BTS by our dear Kay Buchanan!

Img Srcs: Kay Buchanan's IG

== Guz Khan ==

Our friend Guz Khan is out with the fam!

Img Src: Guz Khan's IG

== Uproar on Digital! ==

You can now access Uproar on Youtube Movies in the United States! If you're not in the US or NZ you can still buy/access them via a vpn!

== MerMay ==

Save OFMD Crew is posting some prompts for the upcoming #MerMay! Check them out below and please feel free to share your creations with @saveofmdcrewmates on their various socials!

== Watch Parties ==

It was brought to my attention I kept posting a picture that was set back in 2014! Agh! Good news, we're back to the present. Today, Thu April 25th we'll be showing Short Poppies Episode 4 & 5 on the Rhys Darby Factor Discord, if you need a link, hit me up! Otherwise you can watch short poppies on Amazon Prime! Times: 3:30 pm PT / 6:30 pm ET / 11:30 pm BST

== Fan Spotlight ==

Our friend @melvisik is still at it with another member of the Red Flag crew-- Teresa Lee!

== Love Notes ==

Hey Lovelies! I'm sorry I didn't get to get as far as I wanted with last night's love notes, so I'll save them for tomorrow. I'll share some other folks love notes instead:

Img Src: @/genleeart on Instagram

Img Src: @/YourBeautifulLife on Instagram

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

Sorry for the cheat today all, but I just, really needed to see this gif of Stede and Ed and their wonderful hands. Gif courtesy of my darling Jodi @saltpepperbeard

[alanaartdream]

Funny thing happened on one of my TikTok videos where I was drawing and talking about fairly odd parents; my fairy Timmy au; and Nicktoons unite

And I had a comment on one of them

Asking

*Danny PHANTOM has a FANDOM 😭*

With that crying emoji with it and I responded that yeah it does like I was surprised someone would ask like that being as Danny phantom was one of nicktoons most popular cartoons along with fairly odd parents invader zim; Jimmy neutron and SpongeBob for quite awhile until well Nickelodeon made SpongeBob their golden child out of its cartoons and devoted all it’s attention to it ignoring it’s other cartoons series (it kinda reflects in the nicktoons unite games because when those games started you could see they tried to include all the most popular cartoons main characters as it’s focused but as the game started to hit the end of their run the games got more and more focused on making SpongeBob the main focus witch is kinda sad they went that way)

Like I live in Australia 🇦🇺 and grew up in Australia 🇦🇺 so not all the nicktoons shows or games made it to here or were not advertised much other here ( also like most Australian families didn’t have foxtel networks like Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon; like in mine it was enithr have internet cable or tv cable and we went with having internet cable so would end up watching Danny phantom on YouTube as well as watching others game play of nicktoons unite games on there as well; think I enjoyed watching the cut scenes most)

So my guess that commenter didn’t really get to see Danny phantom cartoons ever being as here in Australia most of us got to watch Nickelodeon cartoons through abc kids channel here a lot of fairly odd parents cartoons made it on there and I think jimmy Timmy power hour made it onto there

(I was obsessed with cartoons as a kid and became obsessed with anime as a teenager; those both became a hyperfixtion for my adhd brain and I can tell you kid and teenager me REALLY hated those reality TV shows that got into way of cartoons/ anime I wanted to watch

I hated those sidcoms that were not cartoons because they stated to replace cartoons I enjoyed on other free to air channels here in Australia

Think I wasn’t the only kid who hated those I remember abc kids network asking it’s kid fans what they wanted on the network and a lot were asking for anime content so not many wanted those sitcoms)

So my guess is they only knew a handful of the nicktoons because probably only got to see only a handful of the cartoons from where they were from (what I do know Australia got SpongeBob on channel 10 network in the mornings I believe; not sure wasn’t as into SpongeBob as many others were I was more into fairly odd parents; invader zim; a very beavers cat dog Rugrats and Aaaahhh! Real monsters!

Ok now that I think about it it was abc kids and channel ten that would air Nickelodeon cartoons/shows to Australian audiences one would do mornings or Saturday mornings while the other would do afternoons after school

You had to get the times just right to watch your favourite shows

And I know jimmy neutron did well here because his movie did make it here as did fairly odd parents because that ended up showing until like seasons 6-7 on abc kids in afternoons then just stopped so kids knew about those cartoons heck avatar last air bender ended up on that network as well for a time but the thing was invader Zim and Danny phantom didn’t end up on either of those free to air tv; you had to watch on YouTube or a friend would have dvd box set of the show and you could watch it from them (that’s how as a teenager I got to see invader zim and Danny phantom I had to go to YouTube for that)

So maybe that’s why half don’t understand Danny’s family/ friends got his back while many misunderstood how Timmy’s life truly sucked for him or why he needed Wanda & Cosmo

They may not of gotten many episodes to go off on and maybe what other fans have told them or maybe I’m overthinking things

[katiekatdragon27]

To my other followers: I am so sorry.

To my two new followers: *comes out with silver platter* Here! Eat uuuuupppp~~~~

This! *slams fists on table then slams face on table* This GODFORSAKEN MOVIE HAS ALTERED MY BRAIN CHEMISTRY I'M NOT JOKING.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT KIND OF "RECLAIMING MY CHILDHOOD TRAUMA" MINDEST MY BRAIN WAS ON BUT THE OBSESSION WITH THIS PIECE IF MEDIA IS ACTUALLY SCARING ME-

Most stuff below. Lots of rambling.

So. Flatland. It's a good book, and an amazing f*cking movie. I love this goddamned movie so much bro. It's not even like a "good" good movie I just really like it for no reason.

Some lore I have with this book, since I want to talk about it.

I watched this movie the first time when I was in 6th grade. It scared me so bad that I had nightmares about it for a week. I hated the style of the 2D world and was so scared about the amount of murder that I psychologically blocked it all out.

Now in the present (as an adult in college), my friend brought up the movie for us to watch during a movie night. I was way more excited to watch it than I thought I would be (cuz of my previous encounter with it and wanting to "reclaim" the movie), but we only got 4 minutes in before my other friends got bored and decided to watch something else. I sorta dropped it for a bit after that before @/goosesartblog posted their ONE - Flatland crossover and 10000 emotions flew over me. I then proceeded to watch it with my siblings, who also did not care about the movie.

Now, it has become a lifestyle of watching it every single day. Every. Single. Day. It's bad. I can't stop.

And it's on YouTube for free.

AND the book is on YouTube as an audiobook AND the actual PDF book is just there to read.

PLEASE. I NEED PEOPLE TO NOT BE NORMAL WITH ME.

Anyways, actual relevant doodles. These characters are A. Sphere (the objectively best character idgaf) and Carlton Cube(?). I saw something about them being John-locked and thought it was really funny. Also, I saw a meme about the two getting Starbucks or smth during the week I lingered, so here lol.

Some more doodles of concept stuff. Actual A. Square art and some style testing, Hex doodle, and more A. Sphere bc I love him so much. His ass is gay idk if you think I'm wrong just look at him.

Silly little idea I had about if Spherious *(the sphere from the other Flatland movie) and A. Sphere were in the same universe. It's unlikely, but I think Spherious would be the Messiah of 2000 and A. Sphere is the Messiah of 3000. They met at some point where their lives overlapped, and Spherious tried to give A. Sphere advice, to which he was completely ignored. A. Sphere's a bratty teen here and Spherious is a grandpa. They treat their apostles very differently.

Another silly idea I had was that when A. Sphere "died", he was actually picked up by a 4D being named A. Tesseract. He stays with her until the war is over in his dimension, and he is able to see A. Square one last time during his hallucination (that's why A. Sphere's innards are seen). Also also, A. Sphere learns how to treat people better b/c of A. Tesseract and the 4th dimensions' more liberal views on expression and gender. Development for the stupid shiny solid.

Thank you for looking at this mindless rambling. If anyone knows of more Flatland media, please send it to me I'm starving. Expect more, and have a great day :)

[imagionationstation]

Hiya!

You can call me IS or NinjaNeko! Major ninja turtles fan! I adore 2012 turtles, but my interests lie with all the movies and series! LOVED Mutant Mayhem! Can’t wait for more!!

My favorite turtle depends on the brothers in question, but it’s usually between Raph and Donnie! My favorite sibling bond is usually Leo&Donnie, but, again, it depends! Ask whatever you like- I love chatting turtles!

DISCLAIMER: I am TERRIBLE at responding to things, but I love asks! I swear! I promise that every single one is appreciated, and I definitely intend on getting around to it!

I do a lot here nowadays, so let me fill you in!

For common tags to organize posts, check the tags below!

For a better understanding of the categories:

I’m most popular for my analyses. I tend to throw out a few rants/interpretations/descriptions on unnoticed or misunderstood aspects of turtle iterations, mainly for the 2012 gang. These guys are extremely misunderstood creatures (See what I see TMNT).

I also do Incorrect TMNT Quotes for the fandom (incorrect tmnt quotes), Tumblr Turtle story clips (ImagionationStation’s Ficlets), I make Mini Music Videos (IS TMNT MMV), post some 2012 show moments and randomly compile a full episode from a single turtle’s POV (Show Clips), and I intend to document thoughts about other shows when I have the time to watch (Turtle Comparison Notes).

I have a tag for asks (IS Asks) and a tag specifically for AUs that get dropped off in my Ask box (AU Asks). Got an AU idea that you’d like explored? As long as it’s in my comfort zone, let’s do so together!

Speaking of AUs:

Once Upon A 2012Donnie Au: Masterpost

Feral Raphie AU Blog Link: Intro

Other places to find me:

I’m on A03 and Wattpad!

I touch base on YouTube every now and then~

I share a sideblog for AUs and the like: @bringingourrealitys2life

If I see a comic scene that makes my brain explode with emotions, I’m going to want to find it again. I collect them here. Feel free to browse and see if I stumble on any that aren’t wildly popular or have yet to become so: @strictlyturtlecomics

Quick Sidenote!

I understand that the turtles have their flaws. I acknowledge that I have my flaws. I do not need you to yell these facts at me.

I reserve the right to block haters that hate for the sake of hating. If you are not willing to chat negatives without passive aggressive behavior or an open mind, I will block without hesitation.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful turtleful life! 💚💚

[sayitaliano]

Studying languages tip #IDK

Reminder for my fellow language learners (not just Italian learners): do not just "listen" to your target language (and I mean also with subtitles), repeat out loud. Repeating out loud what you hear can help you fix in your mind the actual sound of a word and remember it better, and also recognize it whenever you hear it from natives. Do not just rely on how you remember the sound of a word, at least not in the first days you're learning it.

So for example:

1- search for easy youtube videos in which there are only words lists pronunciations. Kids videos generally will do. (Reminder if you're studying Italian I have posted a few audios in the "#audio audios" section and you can listen to them or ask me to make some more, talk slower or whatever). You can also search for kids' songs if you want, and break them down to easy words.

2- choose a song you like or by your fav artist (in your target language). Find the lyrics and follow your artist voice for a few times, then start singing along with them. It doesn't matter if some words will sound weird or be uncorrect or you'll end up saying "blabluojaos" instead of "macchina" even if you know how to pronounce "macchina": you're singing, following the rhythm and thinking about the pronunciation of the next words as well: it's a lot. Just take your time and remember, you can do it more than once and for a few days too. [I learned English and many vocabs more cause while I was having lessons in school I kept listening to English songs: for example I ended up learning by heart Linkin Park's songs and nowadays I can still sing Mike Shinoda's rap parts. So if I made it, you can too].

3- if you're watching movies, or anything you can stop and replay, try to stop and repeat especially the words you find "uncommon" or that you have never heard of. Listen to the actor/person saying them a couple of times, then repeat them a couple of times. You can also repeat the whole sentence you heard from the actor/person, note your word down and search for its meaning if it's not clear (it may also have more than one), and maybe try to use it in different sentences (make them up). [again, if you're studying Italian and need help with meanings, transcriptions -maybe you're not sure you heard a word correctly-, how to use a word... feel free to drop an ask or search in the vocabularies you can find on @sayitalianohome ]

Just beware: once more, especially if you're studying Italian, it may happen that the singer of your choice or actor/person speaking, may not use a "standard" Italian but a regional form or abbreviations or something like that. So keep in mind that you MAY learn words in a specific sound or with a specific use that MAY not always be the one we know/use in common Italian (but you can check it anyway). Back to my personal example: I have learned not just English but also Spanish by listening to songs. My "mistake" was that I kept listening to American English and South American Spanish: this is why when I listen to British/UK English and (Spain) Spanish, I still have some troubles in understanding some words (depends on the accent of the speaker tbh). But ofc you can ask for people to repeat, there ain't nothing bad in it. (And yeah, when I speak English I tend to use an American accent and same for my South American Spanish, cause those are the accents I am more used to and I learned better).

Anyway, don't be scared, sing, yell, talk out loud. It's gonna make a huge difference in your learning life.

[monsterfloofs]

I don't know if this recommendation will interest you or if you've already seen it but have you seen the movie Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust?

They have the whole movie in dub and sub on youtube for free and I'm plan to rewatch it again this year.

It following a Dhampir vampire hunter who is commissioned to save a lady named Charlotte from the Vampire Meier Link who seemingly stolen her away. But there is more to it than most people in there world expect due to prejudice.

That's the best I can describe without spoiling it. Now it's a mostly fine movie to get through but I must mention at the final act especially from what I remember there is some blood and gore sprinkled throughout the film but other than that its a great movie. Especially for Halloween. That even me who is a bit squeamish I do really like the movie.

It's really beautifully animated and characters. And it's set in the future but covered in old gothic era elements and aesthetic.

Now you don't have to consider the recommendation but if you're interested it might add to your Halloween.

Sorry for the long ramble but I saw your post about it being hard for you this season and I've been feeling the same lately catching a cold at the cusp of the season. But I'm trying to plan out for a fun day on Halloween with things I like to make it more special.

Here's hoping it ends on a high note for us both and everyone else who needs it! Take care and I wish you all the best and fond wishes!

I have not seen a Vampire D movie! I did listen, to an audio book of the story while I was at work shelving one time. I thought it was a facinating story and did not realize the world building in Vampire D included both electronic marvels and also semi historical things thrown together in a distopian world due to what happened to the human race. It's a fascination mash up between the two and from the snippets of art I have seen it is a very beautiful art style.

Geniunely, truely, from the bottom of my heart, please never feel bad about rambling here! I am a shy bean who has trouble making connections and communicating so getting to talk to others, even in an ask format is a treat to me. I say this with every ounce of sincereity I can muster. Thank you, thank you for taking the time to share something that is precious to you. You have no idea how many times I read this before trying to figure out an equally suitable response.

And I am also going to send you a buck of digital hugs 🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂🫂 because it sounds like you need them too this season. I am so sorry that spooky month is also not going so well for you. But yes, we shall do our best to reclaim it, and if that means extending it through November and beyond well, I'd like to see people try and stop us! Spooky season is a mindset after all. ^-^ ) Thank you again for sharing a spooky month tradition of yours with me! Watching beloved movies is high on our tradition list too!

I honestly would love to read about what others do to celebrate, what nostalgia things they like to do, what movies they dust off and rewatch every year like a ritual. Songs or games, or lighting candles? Decorating the porch, heck, where I live, raking leaves is like a ritual. We have a beautiful fall change over and the leaves get everywhere! A big tradition for our household is holding a family pumpkin carving party, where we eating apple dumplings and watch Charlie Brown's Halloween and The Disney Legend of Sleepy Hollow to celebrate my Mother's Birthday since she was born just a few days from Halloween!

[gunsatthaphan]

~ Monthly BL Breakdown: February 2023 ~  

🧚🏻‍♂️ Happy March!!! 💐

Disclaimer: ALL shows can be streamed here or here, as well as on Youtube and other platforms. For more info on where to watch what, check out this post!

New breakdowns are coming at the end of every month - feel free to add stuff! (previous breakdowns)

What came out this month? (green tick = seen or currently watching)

🌟 Our Winter - February 3rd (Thailand/South Korea) ✅

🌟 Because of You a Thousand Times - February 4th (Vietnam) 

🌟 Moonlight Chicken - February 8th (Thailand) ✅

🌟 The Promise - February 8th (Thailand)

🌟 My Beautiful Man Season 2 - February 8th (Japan)

🌟 Marry My Dead Body - February 10th (Taiwan)

🌟 Oh My God! (movie) - February 10th (Vietnam) 

🌟 Cafe in Love - February 11th (Thailand) 

🌟 Bus Stop - February 11th (Myanmar)

🌟 Moments of Love (movie) - February 14th (Thailand, theaters) 

🌟 Destiny Seeker - February 14th (Thailand) 

🌟 Ghos Two Kita - February 14th (Philippines) 

🌟 Pure Vanilla - February 14th (Singapore) 

🌟 Boyband - February 16th (Thailand)

🌟 Jack Frost - February 17th (Japan)

🌟 Bed Friend - February 18th (Thailand)  ✅

🌟 Chains of Heart - February 18th (Thailand)

🌟 Justice in the Dark - February 18th (China, censored) 

🌟 Tin Tem Jai - February 27th (Thailand) 

🌟 Teach Me How - February 27th (Philippines) 

🌟 Blue Sky Complex - February 27th (Japan)

Monthly likes/dislikes

❣️ Moonlight Chicken - one of my most anticipated shows over the past year and admittedly the first 2 episodes had me a bit unsure about the pacing and the characters as it was so divergent, which changed rapidly with episode 3 though and by episode 4 I was hooked lol. The storytelling approach is unconventional and so many nuances about the characters and their lives feel so real that it hits home hard lol and the realism + minimalism is a very nice change of scenery coming from gmmtv. The cast is superb to say the least and also the ppl behind the scenes deserve tons of praise because it’s obvious that it takes a good amount of life experience as well as in directing and writing to narrate these stories in the distinct way that they do and I applaud everyone who’s part of it because you can tell they put their heart and soul into this production. 9/10.

👎🏻 609 Bedtime Story - this is a bummer because I was really excited for this one, also since it’s from the eclipse director, and it had a very promising start but then it got real weird. Like why make it so complicated? there’s no need for that. We get the idea and what you’re trying to tell us. So why make the plot so tangled? sigh. On the other hand I really liked Ohm in this role and it might be his best one yet. He was finally able to showcase that he is capable of more than just 1 facial expression lmao so I liked him as Mum but unfortunately he wasn’t able to save the plot. what a shame. 6/10.

New series & movie announcements

🎥 Playboyy (produced by Copy A Bangkok) - Date TBA (Thailand)

🎥 7 Days Before Valentine - Date TBA (Thailand) 

🎥 Dinosaur Love (novel adaption) - Date TBA (Thailand) 

🎥 STAY - Date TBA (Philippines)

🎥 Colorful Melody - Date TBA (Thailand) 

🎥 Love Puzzle - Date TBA (Thailand) 

🎥 Born to Be Y - Date TBA (Thailand) 

🎥 Venus in the Sky - Date TBA (Thailand) 

🎥 Love Mate - Date TBA (South Korea) 

🎥 My Blessing (produced by 9NAA) - Date TBA (Thailand) 

🎥 Let’s Eat Together (Manga adaption) - Coming June 2nd (Japan) 

🎥 The Last Time - Date TBA (Thailand) 

🎥 Y Universe - Date TBA (Thailand) 

🎥 Forever Yours - Date TBA (Philippines) 

🎥 My Dear You - Date TBA (Myanmar)

Other news from the BL world

❗️ Jam & Film, the mains of the BL To Sir, With Love, will be starring in a new series together under OneD. Further details have yet to be announced.

❗️ The main actors for the upcoming BL Pit Babe were announced. The main roles will be played by Pon Thanapon & Benz Natthapong. Others include Pavel Phoom, Nut Supanut, Michael Kiettisak and more.

❗️ The upcoming BL My Universe will consist of 12 stories with 12 couples and 24 chapters. 

❗️ The upcoming BLs Buddy Line Y Animal, as well as Man Suang, have commenced shooting. The release date for both is still unknown. 

❗️ Shootings for the upcoming multi-strand BL Our Skyy 2 have started. The episodes for KluenDao (Star in My Mind), PuenTalay (Vice Versa) and AkkAye (The Eclipse) have wrapped filming. Dates are still unknown. 

❗️ Actor Mew Suppasit (TharnType) expressed his frustration with his fans in a series of tweets where he stated that #MewGulf was never real and everything that him and his costar hinted at in the past was merely for fanservice purposes as him and G. were told to act like a couple according to their contract. He said him and G. have not spoken in over 2 years and told his fans to finally move on, as their obsession is having a negative effect on both their personal lives. He further told certain fans to get psychological help if they are unable to separate fiction from reality and stop their unhealthy obsession with a ship that never existed. Reactions from the fandom have been ambiguous. At the same time, filming for his upcoming BL Love Is like a Cat has begun. 

❗️ Actor Jeff Satur has left Be On Cloud. He will still be part of his upcoming series Wuju Bakery. 

❗️ The Chinese BL Novel “Silent Reading” has been adapted into a series called Justice in the Dark. Due to censorship, it looks like the show will mostly be bromance-themed. 

❗️ Fittings for the upcoming Domundi BL Punk Spy have started. An air date has not been announced. 

❗️ The currently airing BL Boyband has stopped airing on Youtube as announced by the production company and is currently only available for national fans. It is still unclear whether it will continue to be available for international audiences. 

❗️ Thai BL Triage won “Best BL Series of the Year” at this year’s BL News Awards

❗️ Thai BL Love Mechanics won "Best of Thai Series" and "Best of BL Series" at this year’s WeTV Awards. 

❗️ Park Seoham (Semantic Error) won “Best Drama Actor” at this year’s Forbes Korea Best Brand Awards. 

Upcoming series & movies for March

👉🏻 The Promise - March 1st (Thailand) 

👉🏻 All the Liquors - March 2nd (South Korea)

👉🏻 A Boss and a Babe - March 3rd (Thailand) 

👉🏻 Love Syndrome - March 4th (Thailand) 

👉🏻 Pastsenger - March 8th (Thailand) 

👉🏻 Our Dating Simulation - March 9th (South Korea)

👉🏻 Future - March 12th (Thailand)

👉🏻 A Shoulder to Cry On - March 14th (South Korea)

👉🏻 Unintentional Love Story - March 17th (South Korea)

👉🏻 Make a Wish - March 22nd (Thailand)

👉🏻 The Eighth Sense - March 29th (South Korea)

👉🏻 The Last Basic Together - March TBA (Vietnam) 

[mamaito]

What are the most surreal and macabre movies you ever watched? Your favorites?

It's hard to actually find more movies where it is both surreal and macabre at the same time, but there's possibly somewhere out there that I haven't seen yet so here's the ones I've personally watched. Some of them are only surreal and the other just macabre so browse at your leisure.

I seem to have forgotten other movies, my bad. I can't really remember some even if I try to put my head around it. I'll be putting a ✯ symbol to signify that it's my favorite:

Alice (1988) - [✯] A surreal, live action mixed with stop motion animation that is a loose adaptation of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It's goal is to create a more surreal and dreamlike adaptation as the director was disappointed that other movies of Alice in Wonderland don't bother leaning into it. It is as you'd expect it to be, it is like having a fever dream but the animations of the various character's and design are amazing.

Eraserhead (1977) - [] Those who are a fan of surreal movies will no doubt mention you Eraserhead as it is a more well known one. It is a black and white movie about a man going to his girlfriend's house to ask for not wanting to visit anymore, he gets invited to a dinner with the family only to then find out she got pregnant and had a kid so now they have to marry.

You should experience it for yourself lol, the fun part is just seeing the over exaggerated menial things to the bizarre. This is not my favorite as I prefer something more interesting to analyze and theorize.

Fantastic Planet (1973) - [] Animated film about large blue aliens with human pets. But the human pet then learns of a group of other living humans with no owners forming a resistance against the blue tyrants and go to an all out war. What is there to say other than you should go watch it and see for yourself, the colors are nice.

Hope / Wish (2013) - [] Korean drama film that's about this young girl, So-won, who was assaulted severely to the point of death and the effects of it on her family. Her life has drastically changed and has started to fear men that her own father can't even hold her so he dresses up in this cartoon character just to be close to her. It is very heart wrenching and depressing.

This is based on the real events that happened which is the "Na-young case", and yes the man who disabled and assaulted her is still alive and free. Yes, he is protected by the government like a president. Yes, I will never visit korea because of this.

It's such a beautiful day (2012) - [✯] an animated film that relies sorely on it's narrator and the stick figures shown to you, it is about a man who is suffering from an unknown illness as his memories and vision slowly disintegrates; I really love this movie as it is relatable, I still remember the trailer I watched on youtube and I was entranced by it (I was engrossed by stick figure animations during that time).

This is a movie that you need to experience for yourself as me just describing it to you won't give it much justice, there's also surreal imagery but I don't think it's leaning too hard on it, just down to earth enough to show you the protagonist's decaying mental state.

Guinea Pig Series: Mermaid in the manhole (1988) - [✯] A live action film about an artist looking for inspiration finds an injured mermaid under a manhole. As expected from a gore movie, it is not without nudity and mutilation. What I like about it is the concept of a mermaid being found in such a filthy location of all things rather interesting as I'm so used to seeing them always in either a vast ocean or a certain magical place.

Mad God (2021) - [✯] Another surreal and macabre stop motion film, the plot or rather the perspective of different characters sewed together to create a film is about these assassins sent from above to head down and search for something to prolong their dying world despite it no longer being a redeemable one.

It is a feast for eye pleasing visuals and the dark atmosphere is pretty good, I really miss these kind of animations, most tend to only be short films but this one was made in over 30 years and managed to finish the entirety of it. Just like Alice and It's such a beautiful day, you should experience it for yourself.

Martrys (2008) - [] Live action psychological horror film, a girl from a young age is found and rescued, only to grow up and take revenge against the people who tormented her that day. Another woman, who also grew up alongside her is also abused but grew dependent on the other as she tries to keep the other from succumbing to the psychological torment she is going through. After all that hardship, many things comes to unravel and the woman is left to see it all and then is chosen as a martyr.

There is a lot of plot twists in this film and it doesn't bother to let you catch your breath. There are many things not said to you out loud but the ending is where almost everyone who saw it keeps debating about. If you also want to know what this movie's about, you should go watch it. This could've been one of my favorites but I feel something is missing but I'm not sure what.

Marquis (1989) - [✯] A surreal live action french film, about the life of Marquis De Sade (Where the word sadism came from) in the bastille prison. Most of the actors are wearing animal masks and this movie has a rather unique sense of humor, if we can call it that.. You see, the main character has a talking penis (Yes..) and it is also a character in itself because Marquis De Sade is a known sexual deviant in real life and so in this film he is contemplating and arguing with his penis, Colin, on whether to succumb to his desires or remain in control and focus on his work, letting his sexual desires remain only in erotic literature, which is writing depraved stories like 120 days of Sodom.

I remember seeing a screenshot from this movie on a chan board years ago, about a female cow being tortured and there was a lot of milk being churned out and I knew right away that I needed to watch it. It took me years to find it but here it is lol. Anyway, I liked it because it's just out there.

Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show / Shoujo Tsubaki (1992) - [✯] Japanese animated eroguro film. This is a story about a young girl named Midori, who has become an orphan after her mother passed, she is then taken by a travelling circus as their own and with no other place to go, she complies. There are all kinds of abuse occurring, especially towards Midori, even when she is given an opportunity to lead a better life, it is taken from her right away. The concept of love is questioned, especially in a lawless place where it is the only option for a lesser evil and to a good life.

I cannot stress enough how much I love this film, especially the eroguro movement. I also admire the creator's dedication to fund and finish his own movie by himself. Eroguro movement tackles taboo subjects that the common people do not want to see or acknowledge. It is about a child led astray too soon and left to her own devices for people to take advantage of, when it comes to choosing a partner, she lacks the ability to assess those around her and in turn leaves her up to be abused by one. At the same time it is asking you if you'll deny Midori the right to be with the dwarf when it is the lesser evil that she will ever experience.

It is not for everyone, but as a fan I love it. There is also a live action one, it has a different ending and it has fleshed out Masamitsu, the dwarf further with some changes to it if you're ever interested.

Paprika (2006) - [✯] Animated surreal japanese film, the plot is very hard to understand at first but it is about these researchers who is studying about dreams using a device called DC and record them. But one of these devices got stolen and now this thief has been invading other people's dream and is trying to bring these said dreams into reality.

Now it is up to Paprika, a persona of one of the lead researchers to enter dreams and find who's causing it with the help of a detective, of course. The music is great too because of course it is, Hirasawa Susumu is the one making the music.

The Lighthouse (2019) - [] Black and white live action film about two lighthouse keepers stuck in a remote island together, but due to the weather, their return back home is constantly delayed. The story focuses on their unequal relationship between boss and worker, the secrets they keep to one another and the eventual decline of their sanity.

Throughout the film, you will question everything you'll hear because the two of them are not trustworthy narrators with stories constantly changing without whim. It is hard to tell who exactly is telling the truth but that's the fun of it.

The Lobster (2015) - [✯] A surreal dark comedy movie about a man looking for love in this world where you are punished for not having a partner in 45 days otherwise you'll turn into an animal of your choosing. The movie criticizes both of the extreme sides, those who believe that happiness can be found through having a partner and the individualists who believe that happiness is found where you are alone. People going out of their way to lie just to find a common interest out of fear of being alone and those punishing others just because you are alone and want others to comply with your beliefs.

It is a funny movie, I give you that. The best part for me is when the isolationists are celebrating and they have to bring their own music and dance by themselves and the movie doesn't bother to put a music of it's own. The ending is left to our interpretation on whether the protagonist really went with it or not and whether his lover will continue to wait for him in that diner alone.

The Thief And The Cobbler (1993) - [] An unfinished animated film. It has surreal visuals but it is not macabre. It is a complete feast for the eyes at how much detail and color it has.

The plot is centered around, as you'd expect, the thief and the cobbler. The thief steals from the cobbler and the man tries to get back at the thief but comes across Zigzag, a powerful advisor of the king.

The wolf house / La Casa Lobo (2020) - [] Surreal stop animation film about a german woman, Maria, seeking refuge in Chile, entering a abandoned house so that she can hide from the wolf looking for her only to find two children, symbolizing as pigs and taking them as her own. It is referencing the Nazi's influence in Chile, though I am not fully well informed regarding the political side of what happened in the country, what I did gather from my viewing is a rather oppressive one that's built from propaganda and the like.

Though she claims to mean well in caring for them, the film shows that she thinks lowly of them and that without her, they wouldn't become civilized or human. To Maria, only when they resemble or look like her are they considered as people and the path to happiness which may also be viewed as the remnants of the cult still rubbing off on her to see it that way. At the same time, she is constantly harassed by said wolf, critizing her abilities to be independent from the cult she was once a part of and her ability to take care of two children on her own.

The ending leaves an ambigious conclusion to the three, and whether she survived or not is up for debate. It presents itself as a fairytale like story telling while letting the clausthrophobic atmosphere of the film give off a constant uneasy feeling.

When the wind blows (1986) - [] An animated film about an elderly british couple living in their home till they hear the news of a incoming nuclear attack, you watch as they try to find ways to keep themselves safe in albeit useless and naive attempts as they are clearly not prepared nor knowledgeable against it, even with the help of their pamphlets where the government advises them what to do during it is rather ill informed and gives out confusing instructions.

You get to watch them slowly disintegrate from the effects of the nuclear fallout and die. I do like the art style though, makes me interested in seeing the creators comic version of this movie, eventually.

120 days of sodom (1975) - [] It is a live action film about the ruling people, the government, deciding to take young boys and girls in a secluded castle in order to commit their depraved fantasies into reality. I would say this is a loose adaptation as the director of this movie has decided to put his own interpretations and turning it as a critique on the italian government on how it treats it citizens.

This is one of those unique films that you would never consider having such high quality production to it, and though many people who are just casual viewers would not think twice on what it's trying to say, it may come off as just typical shock value. It is not my favorite but I get the message it's trying to say.

[goron-king-darunia]

Annon-Guy: Have you ever watched Edward Scissorhands?

And have you read the IDW Sonic Comics?

I have seen Edward Scissorhands, but not recently. I would fail a pop quiz, but I know the general premise and plot. As for the IDW Sonic Comics, I am aware of them, and the Metal Virus Saga was a big enough thing that I have a few reviews and summaries of it in my Watch Later on Youtube because everyone was talking about it. But no, I've never actually read any of the Sonic Comics. The closest I've gotten to reading them independently was reading some of the pages from that notorious comic by Ken Penders where Sonic wasn't allowed to be properly devastated that his children got erased from existence, same comic that is also notorious for being the jumping off point for Ken Penders' Lara Su Chronicles comic that took a bajillion years and a giant middle finger to Sega to get published. And I only read the pages that were shown in a devastating roast of Ken's material in a sort of "this is why you need to 'Kill Your Darlings'" type post on Tumblr because, like, on the one hand I 100% understand the appeal of exploring what domestic life is like for the cast once they're able to actually grow up and have lives. But when the overarching plot is badly explained timey wimey nonsense that comes out of nowhere, isn't allowed to have a proper emotional impact anywhere that it should, and gets resolved in a handful of too-short and yet way-too-long issues, yeah. A story like that isn't going to do any of its elements well.

I've heard good things about the Sonic comics, and even the ones Ken Penders got his mitts on have some good in them. You can tell the Echidnas were Ken's Special Little Guys, and honestly, as a Knuckles fan, I 100% understand. I've just never actually had the time to dedicate to reading them. Hence why video summaries are my current go-to for whenever I do have the time. It's amazing but a bit bittersweet that there's so much art out there and so many stories, but I'll probably never get to all of the stuff I want to get to. There's just too much cool stuff for one human being to experience. Homestuck was a massive thing, and I have quite a few friends who were into all of it. And I tried picking it up once. But it's such a massive undertaking that I might just have to settle for a synopsis if the interest ever hits me again. Hell, One Piece is a massive big deal now, with the Live Action version on Netflix roping a lot of first time viewers in, and I think the main appeal is how much it truncates. You definitely miss out on the finer details and elements of story-telling with the live action version, but for a manga with chapters and episodes in the THOUSANDS, I 100% understand why the Live Action series or even the movie arcs are a much more appealing way to get into the behemoth of One Piece than reading or watching the whole thing. I was into One Piece back before it was "cool" here in the states and even I'm so massively behind on One Piece because it started becoming more important to save up and not spend money buying the physical manga, so I stopped reading, and the availability of the anime was locked behind crunchyroll or funimation's own service for a long time, so it became harder to watch too. Because back when I was watching it, it was a 4Kids Dub that was free on over the air broadcast. So I'm only able to catch up on anything now because it became such a massive success that it's easy to get to the stuff I need now.

That said, the Sonic Comic dub you sent my way with the Halloween story was cute. A little simplistic story-wise, but, hey, there's only so complex you can get with a Halloween Story. Especially in a comic that targets all ages. So if you're asking because you want to hit me up with some stuff, I can try to keep up. No promises. But I'd be willing to take a look at a few of the good IDW Sonic Comics if you've got some to recommend.

[luveline]

hi jade ^^ this might be a little weird and feel free to not answer but i was wondering if you have any advice against feeling lonely and blue? i recently moved in my new flat for my last year of uni and since im living by myself, im finding im overthinking a lot since i have a lot of free time and not many friends as im not very approachable despite trying - ive been reading your fics in the meantime to stave off this feeling and theyre providing me sm comfort, your sad loser readers always feel so fitting so thank you for sharing them w us!!

Well sometimes gorgeous I don't think there is a way to escape that feeling! Which sucks, but I hope you aren't too hard on yourself, you know! I think that loneliness can be just like hunger where you need to eat or you need to spend time with others to make it go away, and sometimes you can't and that's not your fault! When I'm feeling lonely and blue I try to spend some time chatting to a friend or my sisters but I know that's not always possible either, so there's other stuff! It's good to have a hobby, something intricate that you can be proud of, like I think having a craft you can gain skill in can be really good for you, but there's definitely other things to occupy you if that's not your thing, like for example card collecting or jigsaws and stuff like that.

I'm a huge overthinker I make myself sick worrying about stuff, and jigsaws genuinely saved me a few months ago! It's hard to think about anything else when you're doing a puzzle. There are even puzzles you can get that are 3D, but for free you can do them on your phone. It's super low pressure because you can't make too many mistakes but not repetitive enough to let you think about other things too much. There's also bracelet making, cross stitch, alpha bracelet/key chain making, these are all things that you have to pay attention or you'll mess up, so it stops you from overthinking about other things.

If you're blue I'm a big believer of treating yourself exactly how you'd treat a friend, a partner, or a loved one. It's easy to blame your loneliness on yourself. Maybe if you were more approachable, you'd have more friends, you'd feel less lonely —but being approachable isn't something you have complete control over, imo. Obviously there are things you can do to be friendly, but there's no shame at all in being introverted or finding it hard to connect with people, it just isn't as easy for some as it is for others. And sometimes making friends can STILL leave you lonely, which is basically my big long way of saying that I hope you're being nice to yourself about how you're feeling. And what I'm about to say is stolen from a friend, but sometimes you need to take care of yourself to feel better, like making sure you're eating well, sleeping if you can. Also! This might sound silly but I read a graphic novel /manga called My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness and something she did to feel better was again to take care of herself, like making sure none of her underwear had holes, and to stay clean and well presented. I'm not sure if that's good advice because maybe you can't afford to buy new underwear or maybe you have all the clothes you need, but when I started to do that and to look after myself with small steps, it did make me feel better. I worry that shame and loneliness are hand in hand (like, I'm lonely because I deserve to be) because they feed into each other, so definitely take care of yourself if you can!

There's also silly stuff you can do to immediately feel better, like getting up for stretches, a loud burst of karaoke, chocolate. Sometimes I feel better by watching a movie I loved when I was a kid, or reading bits of old books. I also think there's no shame in doing 'lame' stuff like pretending you're in a YouTube video or experimenting with stupid stuff you've never done before, like Bob Ross tutorials and baking and all that stuff. I think sometimes I feel lonely because I feel as though I'm bad company to myself, so if you can manage to be kind to yourself and keep an open mind, you'll feel better sometimes!

Sometimes though it's literally impossible to not feel blue and lonely, and if you feel like for days at a time you can't shake that feeling I would genuinely suggest getting help and reaching out. There's a crisis text line in the UK called SHOUT, and if you can wait the long waiting times in the evenings, they're a good listening ear! I've spoken to people a few times that way when I felt like my anxiety was going to eat me alive/ was too overwhelming to do anything, and it really, actually made me feel better. It's confidential and free !! If you Google SHOUT their website and phone number comes up.

I hope this is mildly helpful and I hope you feel better soon babe!

[finsterhund]

For whatever reason I've been hyperfocusing on Skinamarink (2022) even though I think it is an immensely flawed movie. (I guess it's like a Seventh Brother scenario. Where I don't think it's peak cinema but I still find something very specific that I can relate to and thus become obsessed and incorporate it into my existence) Maybe it will continue to grow on me. Who knows.

I summarized it in the friend group as “Childhood neglect simulator” and I do stand by that. Analogue horror childhood neglect liminal space simulator is perhaps more apt.

But this film really embodies just what it’s like to be a terrified toddler left to fend for himself in the dark all alone.

Spoilers under this

Unfortunately I have to be honest and confess that the movie lacks substance and the style it oozes doesn't make up for that. It's slow, drags, and is boring at times. So much of the movie is "stare into a dark void and nothing happens." There's build up, and then there's “ASMR spooky liminal house tour” and this sadly felt like more of the latter. So much of what makes the movie standing out to me is because I am nyctophobic and never actually grew out of the primal toddler-aged fear the film invokes. Especially as there are periods of worse mental health where I regress all the way down to that age. The joke my friends made about it putting me to sleep if I ate an edible and watched it is not accurate. Because it simulates nyctophobia remarkable well. So I couldn't be bored out of focusing lol.

I was immediately offput by how much excessive cheesy after effects film grain filter was dumped onto the footage in post. I joke a lot about how it wants to be 70s vibe film but then it is a 16x9 resolution which took me out of the vibe pretty hard. And due to much of the movie "holding on this shot of practically nothing" I was especially distracted by modern aspects of the house such as the extremely modern 2010s wall outlet cover and the dollar tree night light (which REALLY distracted me the first viewing. I could not stop thinking about that motherfucker was not from 1995.)

The movie also did not have a folley artist and presumably the creator Kyle Ball did all the mixing himself and used free sound effects from a public domain stock archive himself. Which unfortunately really shows. Folley is an art and strange sound effect choices took me out of it on several occasions. It also feels like the background noise wasn't layered over top of specific sounds properly at certain points.

Another issue was inconsistent subtitling. There are times when there are then and times that you think really should be like those and have them but they don't.

I understand this film unlike his YouTube videos were crowdfunded and he had other people on the team so it's somewhat disappointing there isn't a noticable increase of production value(?) Just mostly an increase in length. Other than additional actors there really isn’t much that sets it above his short film “Heck” which due to its shorter length I felt was more engaging. (Although the cancer thing was very :/ you are on thin ice mr ball)

What substance is there though is very good. You can tell the creator started out with short form liminal space nostalgia "analogue horror" YouTube shorts and ASMR aesthetic soundscapes. This would work so much better if it was like his shorter videos and trimmed the fat. Otherwise it needs to have a cast that the audience can actually see and observe the interactions of more. There's gotta be a balance, again, style and substance.

The fact that it’s like watching a childhood nightmare is incredible, and if that’s what Kyle set out to achieve then he for sure succeeded. But a story this is unfortunately not.

I feel if there was media like this that had more emphasis on how the characters experienced their predicament it would do wonders. It could easily be peak experimental HoDcore.

The entity itself was so criminally underutilized. I think there's maybe a minute of combined dialogue when you add up its dialogue with that of the human cast.

Which is a shame because I feel once again, if we had more of character interaction it would be more engaging.

The entity toys with the little boy Kevin and I didn't realize until I watched it a second time and read someone else talk about the movie that one of the later scenes shows it killing him and immediately bringing him back to do it again presumably for its own amusement. (Extremely relatable character right here. I am Kevin 🤣)

This was shown by blood splattering and then being reversed like a tape being rewound. The importance of the tape metaphor became more apparent on the second watch. The first watch I felt the film relied too heavily on showing the public domain cartoons. It wasn't until much later the entity is shown YouTube pooping them and it actually becomes relevant and the comparison is more obvious.

There were instances where I feel things were a bit too vague in a "what does it mean" way. I'm torn because I don't think every little thing should be explicitly explained, but I think there should be some context, you know? (Why the entity moved things, what it did to the mom, etc.)

A big reason why I can overlook how empty and slow it is is because this experience is so quintessential as a toddler in Canada during the end of the analogue age. I feel that the toys and the public domain cartoons featured were things that never were distinctly important childhood items of significance but they were things I recognized for sure. So it was this uncanniness of it being the stuff you had and remembered but never formed lasting long love/influence from. It isn’t your favourite film on VHS, it’s that compilation you’d watch sometimes ,etc.

The phone call the dad makes is so viscerally similar to the way my mom would talk to family members in phone calls about me. The uncanny warped by darkness face of the parent/entity at the end is SO MUCH like how that shit felt to me. And that got me thinking about additional aspects of that experience that if part of the movie would have amplified it further.

The biggest thing I think would really expand the concept is shadow play. Would require more special effects or very intentional practical effects but having the shadows tangibly move/behave abnormally would have been spectacular. That is one of the most defining horrors of my childhood. How shadows seemed to shift and move. A serious source of terror growing up was how the baseboard heater made the curtains above it move, and the shadows projected by the nightlight of those curtains would twist and roll and coil. During sleep paralysis I fucking grew to hate those curtains so much.

I personally care very little for edgy "child was in a coma the whole time" theories or "child's paranormal experiences were just a metaphor" theories so I'm not even going to bother getting into those. You know we're team "Not A Dream" on the Finsterhund channel. As far as I'm concerned the entity was literal.

There were a few jumpscares but they were just that really. The first one, where the older kid is looking at something freaky on the ceiling and the younger accidentally sneaks up behind felt natural, but the reveal that the entity took their face was unintentionally humorous. I literally said "Slenderman sister jumpscare" out loud and had to pause it because I was laughing so hard I got the mood ruined.

The fisher price jumpscare though I really liked. The actual face changing wasn't too spoopy but oh my god when the camera shows what it looks like with the flashlight off, with the very faint glint of the outer circles of the whites of its eyes. That freaked me out so bad. That is the embodiment of nyctophobia making you see demons out of regular items. I don't even know if that was an edit or if those phones just normally look like that under very low light but man.

Every time someone gives me shit about leaving the lights on I will pin them down and force them to look at this until they understand.

I have a personal anecdote in that when I was a toddler I was dumped off at somebody’s house. Not someone I know of and not a family member. And they had a fucking mask on the wall and they made me sleep in that room in the dark with that stupid fucking mask. And I  fucking hated that goddamn mask. Fuck it. Fuck those people andtheir creepy fucking mask.

Some of the more tangible things the entity does that made the story more engaging were sadly also detrimental towards the mood. The toilet disappearing with a silly noise being one such instance. Removing the doors and windows and removing/incapacitating the parents I can understand. But why did the entity remove the toilet? There's even a scene where the children slide buckets into the bathroom to show the aftermath of this porcelain pilfering. Was it just for the entity to dehumanize and further torment them? I feel there were better ways to demonstrate that without silly disappearing toilet.

Because of my prominent nyctophobia I have no clue how much I can credit the movie for in it's "camera pointed at a dark void" shots and how much was just my brain filling in holes. For certain scenes I did take screenshots and blast up the contrast to see if there were literal things in the darkness pixels but every time there wasn't except for the face at the end. It was just my brain, not intentional edits in the film. I feel if there were intentional nyctophobia hallucinations they outright edited into the voids that effect would be brought to people who aren't me lol.

Honestly the biggest thing this movie instilled in me was wanting to make my own with more meat and potatoes hahaha. I'm thinking actually using a camcorder instead of editing gimmicky filters in post, including practical effect tangible interactions between the cast and the entity, etc.

I know I'm acting really harsh but I do feel like it had an exuberant amount of potential to cater directly to me but then it just sorta fizzled out if that makes sense. And I do think that so much of it was excellent that it makes what didn’t work hurt more. Unfortunately I don't think setting the mood is the only thing you need to do to create engaging horror you need a reason to care about the ones experiencing it.

Like I said, it had so much style. But style alone doesn't do it for me. Mainly because my brain already does that on its own. So I wish Skinamarink had more to it in regards towards the stuff that I can't just go and do to myself when the power goes out.

In regards to watching it with edible vs without, the edible made my nyctophobic perception of the dark void shots worse. Which is something important I should be aware of in the future for sure as this likely would have real world implications as well.

Again, I want to stress that I am glad to have seen this movie and I feel my disappointment is because I'm aware of just how far beyond this movie could have been. Or something.

Lastly, a nitpick. The song that the movie derives it's name is in the public domain. Most people know it from The Elephant Show, but the song itself was made in 1910. I really feel like it could have been incorporated somehow. And on the subject of music I feel there could have been if not outright musical scoring, some more prominent ambiance(?) What's that called where you basically write ambiance as if it's music. There's a HoD fan album that does this.

IDK call me a normie for wishing we saw more of Kevin as a character but yeah. I do wish that.

Also a running joke I had in both watchings was calling the entity “asthmatic master of darkness” because of its voice. I want to specify this.

Anyways, disassociating Cayden simulator looking pretty good.

[eyeslikewatercoolers]

Tell a Story With a Taste- Jasco pt 1

THE JASCO REVIVAL IS UPON US!! Here's the first chapter of the Cooking Channel AU. The title comes from Waitress the Musical, thank you to Juno and Luna for the suggestion (since y'all sent the exact same suggestion at the same time lmao)

Read on ao3

“What should I bring to Deja’s dinner party?” Bosco asked both her roommates as she looked at the text invite on her phone. 

“Some nice napkins would be good,” Daya responded, not looking up from her laptop. 

“Maybe some extra Tupperware, too,” Willow added from her place on the recliner, looking through the Netflix menu. 

“I meant as in food.” Bosco said with a sigh, “I can’t just show up to a potluck with decorative napkins and call it a day.” 

Her two roommates looked over to her spot on the couch, “It’s better than potentially giving our friends food poisoning.” Willow said. 

“I’ve never given anyone food poisoning, thank you very much.”

“Only because Kerri realized that the chicken you made was still raw and nobody wanted salmonella,” Daya said as she closed her laptop. “My sister said that Jo-Ann’s has some seasonal napkins on sale this week. Maybe bring some fake flowers, too,” she said with a smirk.

“You two are hilarious,” Bosco sarcastically said, sitting up hoping to be taken more seriously. “I’m not that bad at cooking.”

“We barely trust you alone with the toaster, and the microwave is still questionable,” Willow said, settling on an old thriller movie. 

Bosco watched the beginning of the movie absent-mindedly as she thought to herself for a few moments.

 It’s not that she always hated cooking, she just never needed to learn how to do it. Growing up, she was never interested in watching how dinner was made every night. Her parents taught her older sister, Irene, how to cook before moving out, but she was never interested in joining.  

As she watched the killer in the movie take its first victim, a realization hit her. 

It’s never too late to learn, and the internet was right at her fingertips. 

After the movie finished, Bosco snuck off to her room and told her roommates that she was going to bed early. “I have an early shift tomorrow, and I need sleep.” Luckily Daya and Willow didn’t ask any questions and wished her goodnight. 

Pulling out the laptop she rarely used and settling herself on the bed, Bosco stared at the Google homepage. 

She wasn’t sure where to start for her search, maybe ordering cookbooks? Or watch the Food Network? She had no idea how other people taught themselves how to cook. 

A couple of hours into reading some unhelpful articles of easy beginner recipes and advertisements for meal delivery kits, Bosco’s eyes grew tired as she needed a break. 

The living room was dark again as Bosco entered the kitchen for a quick snack before trying to tackle Google again. Settling on a couple of pieces of cold pizza and La Croix, she walked back to her bedroom but bumped into a taller body in the hall. 

“Shit, sorry.” Daya held her phone horizontally and pulled out one of her Air Pods with her free hand, “I was watching this YouTube video and didn’t hear you come out.” she said, but part of the explanation caught Bosco’s attention.

“Wait, YouTube?” she asked. It was somewhere she usually used to listen to true crime videos as background noise, but maybe it could help her now.

“Yeah, I found this guy that does these video essays that are five hours long about-” Bosco stopped paying attention to her roommate’s long explanation as she quickly said that she needed to get something done. 

Opening YouTube on her web browser and searching through the recommended channels, Bosco narrowed down the list of videos that popped up as she ate.

 Some people in the videos talked too much and didn’t show much about cooking. Others were recreating food from different movies and TV shows it looked too complicated for her level. 

Growing tired of clicking through all the videos and trying different channels, Bosco let the videos play on autoplay as she lay down and pulled the computer on her chest. 

Her eyes grew heavier, and just as she considered going to sleep. Her thoughts were halted by peppy instrumental music, followed by two meows before the actual video played.

A young blonde woman appeared on screen in a clean, but small kitchen. She had baby pink utensils and pans displayed behind her as she spoke to the camera. 

‘Hi everyone, and welcome back to my kitchen! My name is Jasmine, and today we are going to make some lemon chicken with orzo pasta. We’re going to be making my usual creamy sauce to go with this. But if you need a refresher on anything, you can find my Basics series in a playlist on my channel.”

Learning the basics was a better place to start. Bosco paused the video and clicked on the channel, and there was a pink banner that said Jasmine’s Kitchen in bubbly font with two drawn cats. Jasmine’s profile picture was her in an apron with printed cats, posing with a mixing bowl and smiling. 

Bosco found this girl in the video cute, so she wouldn’t mind learning from a pretty girl on how to cook. 

She spent the rest of the evening watching most of Jasmine’s basics series and taking notes on an old notebook from the bottom of her closet. Just as the time was approaching three in the morning, Bosco’s hand was starting to cramp up from writing. With that, she decided that it was finally time for bed. 

As she fell into a dreamless sleep, her mind wandered to making egg yolk ravioli and creating the fluffiest souflés in the future someday. 

“Why do you need my kitchen right now?” 

“Because if I use my own, my roommates will never let me hear the end of it. I just need a place to practice.” Bosco told her sister, standing outside the apartment's open front door. She had two full grocery bags from the grocery store down the street. 

Irene tilted her head in confusion, “Practicing?” she looked at the paper bags of groceries. “Wait, are you teaching yourself how to cook?”

Bosco nodded, “I’m tired of getting shit on from my friends for it. I need to show them I can learn to cook and make it good.” 

“Learning to cook out of pettiness? That’s my little sister.” Irene smirked, letting her into the apartment. “Just clean up after you’re done and don’t mess with Sugar’s baking stuff,” she said as Bosco entered the kitchen. 

After setting out her ingredients and finding a cutting board and knife, Bosco put in her Air Pods and started playing one of the saved tutorials from Jasmine’s channel. It was time to get to work. 

Three bandaids and a bowl of chopped onions later, Bosco was looking to find the next video she needed when another person entered the kitchen. 

“These look pretty bad.” she turned to see Irene’s other partner picking out a piece of onion from the bowl. 

“Luxx, thank you, but you aren’t being helpful, ” Bosco said with a sigh. 

But they were right, the onions didn’t look at all like they did in the video. Jasmine’s were all uniform and evenly cut, while her own looked like she used a machete and a blindfold and hoped for the best. 

Luxx reached into the cupboard and took out an onion, placing it on the cutting board. “First of all, you’re using the wrong knife,” they explained as they took a knife from the butcher’s block and the sharpener. 

After swiping the knife on the sharpening rod a few times, Luxx swiftly cut the onion in half. Stepping away and leaving the knife and half the onion, they looked to Bosco. “Show me how you’re doing it. Watching a pretty YouTuber can only get you so far with this.”

Now under someone’s watchful eye, Bosco nervously cut the onion. It still looked uneven, and she had to pick the skin pieces out. They looked the same as the ones in the bowl. 

“Okay, you need baby steps,” Luxx said as Bosco stepped away to watch. 

“First cut off both ends, it’ll be easier to peel,” Luxx explained as they worked slowly to show the other girl.  “Once all the skin is off, start at the end, and make thin slices.” They made an effort to show how to tuck their fingers to prevent accidentally cutting themselves. Once they reached the halfway point, they handed the knife back, handle first. “Now you try.” 

“Okay…” Bosco said with caution and sliced the onion as Luxx showed her. The slices didn’t look perfect but they looked much better than when she tried to learn on her own.

Even if it was a small accomplishment, Bosco felt herself beaming with pride. She felt like cooking seemed like an actual task that she could be good at. 

“So can we move onto the cooking step of this?” she asked, looking at the pans stacked near the stove. 

“How about we work on cutting bell peppers next, and then we’ll see if you’re ready for the stove.” 

Bosco frowned, but new baby steps would be the best way for her to tackle this. 

Daya and Willow will never know what’ll hit them when the time comes. 

[skloomdumpster]

Youtuber voice: make a gifset with me :)

alright folks, welcome to another episode of Jo talking to the void. Gonna try and do a "follow my process" thing.

It's very- VERY long and image heavy. Under the cut and feel free to send me an ask if you have any questions/want me to elaborate on anything.

Part 1: Grab at any idea that sparks joy. Anything. Today mine is the word "horror", so we'll try and do a horror set.

Part 2: Scene analysis and reference hunting. I'll open a new folder on my pc named "Horror gifset" and dump there all the FTWS scenes I already have and that I think could be fun. Open pinterest and behance and type "horror", see if anything sparks an idea.

This takes me roughly 20 mins, here's what I have:

I try to take a step back and see what is it about these designs that attracted me. Clearly the red & black contrast, Bloom and I actually just like the "police line" because of the amount of storytelling it brings by doing basically nothing. (Don't be fooled, I saved many many pics before narrowing it down)

Part 3: To me this is the hardest one. I want to have a small storyline in my gifset, so time to think of it. I open a notes document and just start typing whatever comes to mind, trying to keep the mood of the previous images.

Here's what I landed on. It's not much, but I can now start the fun part of structuring the gifset.

Part 4: I've really been into layout lately, so now's the time to do math.

The first panel I knew I wanted to have the text centered in the middle and surrounded by the mini-gifs. Here are the two layouts I thought of. I decided to go with the second one because it's more interesting, but I already knew I'd tweak a lot, to resemble an actual police line, etc.

I separated all of the scenes from 2x06. Both when Bloom is arrested and when she's released, considering I could use them in reverse.

When making layouts the only things to keep in mind is that the dashboard optimal width is 540 px and that the space in between every piece of "frame" you put within a gif is 2px. So let's say I was going with the square layout 1. It's 540 px width, BUT I can't just divide 540/3 and make that the size of my layout, because I need to account for the space in between the squares too. So the math is actually 540 - 4 (because I have three columns - two gaps)/3 = 178 px. All the squares in that image are 178 x 178.

On Scene grabbing: I do everything I can to use footage that's high quality. This is the easiest way for your gifs to come out pretty, avoid anything lower than 1080. Especially if you're grabbing a scene that'll need loads of adjustments like a night scene or a period piece with too much yellow, grab even higher quality than 1080.

When I work with Redeeming Love's footage, I work with 4k quality, because I know I'm about to destroy the quality by adjusting it.

I mean look at the amount of yellow.

I t*rrent all my scenes in MKV, then use Avidmux to chop the entire movie/show into smaller sized scenes and convert it into mp4.

Part 5: Back to the set. Once I have the basic layout, I pull in my scenes and check if they make sense. One big tip is to stop thinking of scenes as what you watched, but as what you're seeing.

Scenes meaning are very easily altered by whatever context they're put in. Look for scenes in unexpected places (the romantic scene can absolutely be horror footage) and reverse the order or add in effects to alter their meaning.

Each one of these gifs had it's own peculiarities. So to break it down:

Gif 1: I colored it to bring out the black and added the blue because I knew I wanted to use overwhelming red later and this would pop-out. Shaded the white streaks so they'd appear more like police lines and colored them using a gradient just so it'd be more interesting. I didn't like how Bloom's upper part lined up with the cuffs, so I inverted it and brought out the red

Gif 2: First off, I scavenged my memory to try and find a scene where a character appears with white eyes like Bloom's. This poor fella is from The Covenant (2005). I color matched both Bloom's and his scenes so the green was neutralized and we had more blue and red. Then finally I added the phone where the actual storyline I wrote back up starts to unfold.

Gif 3.1: First off, this gif is 540 width, but not 540 px tall. It's actually 400 px tall, which is a good tip: You don't have to stick to one format when giffing. Sometimes a layout or scene simply won't work in a tall format and that's fine.

For this first part all I did was color Bloom, slap the all red color map and the text. Then I realized I didn't like her swimsuit under blending, so I went back and specifically desaturated the red in the starting layer and made it dark, so it'd show up black. The "20 years" are subtle, but in my head it'd be what the characters are hearing in their nightmare, so it's just a faint whisper in the corner.

Gif 3.2: I colored all scenes to match each other. Sky's was the darkest one, so I knew I'd try and match to his because then I wouldn't have to destroy the quality of his footage to match the others. Musa's scenes was tricky because in the actual scene she's waking up slowly and happy. I chose to speed it up and start the gif already in her movement, so you don't realize she's actually very relaxed in the scene.

Gif 4: I started by coloring Bloom and Riven's footage, reducing the yellow and bringing out the blue and red in both. As you can see there's still a candle behind Riven, that makes it hard to see his face, so what I did was add a black shape under (or you could paint a layer in PS) with black and just blur the edges, so his footage would actually show. Finally there was that big empty spot in the upper left, so I added a note and used it to wrap up the story of the set.

There are two layers of text, both set to multiply: one is the actual text, the second one is in a brighter red and blurred in one direction, so it looks like the text got smeared in a rush. Added the blood and ta-da! We're done.

Exporting:

If you're exporting from After Effects, I've found exporting in MOV works better than trying to export in mp4, since it doesn't compress the file. You'll notice I'm using the format "apple ProRes 444", that's simply because this format keeps the alpha channel (transparent). While I didn't need it in this set, it's an habit.

Once I export from after effects, we're importing in Photoshop.

I import by going File > Import > Video Frame to Layers. Then you select your file and you should have this:

Hit OK.

If you don't have the timeline here, simply go in "Window > Timeline"

You'll end up with something like this. Now here's the most boring part of giffing, but don't give up now!

Go on the 3 lines on the bottom right of the timeline (=) and click on "select all frames". Once they're all selected, click the little down arrow under the little thumbnails to change the timing. I change mine from 0.04 to 0.05

Then I select all my LAYERS (not frames), put them inside a group. And click:

On this little piled up icon to transform into the video timeline. This is so we can sharpen our gifs.

Right Click on top of the group on the layers panel and select "convert to smart object". Then in the upper bar, click Filter > Sharpen> Smart Sharpen and use these settings:

This is what makes gifs look clear and crispy.

FINALLY we're saving. You can do it manually, like a peasant, by going on file > export > save for web (legacy). Or you can play keyboard piano and hit alt+shift+ctrl+s.

These are my export settings.

Things to keep in mind:

"Diffusion" is just one of the types of exporting you can do. TWEAK THIS for every gif. Sometimes very detailed gifs will look better with Pattern. Very colorful ones with Diffusion. It varies a lot.

"Adaptive" is just another way the pixels are laid out. I don't actually see much difference here, but I always tweak on all settings, just to make sure I'm getting the best quality by the smaller size.

On the bottom left you'll see your size. Mine is currently 6.82M. All you have to know is that Tumblr won't allow any gif bigger than 9.8M.

Looping Options: make sure it's in forever, otherwise your gifs won't play.

And then... finally, hit save.

....

Now rinse repeat and do this for 200 other gifsets, because it's a totally fun hobby to have!

[heymacy]

Could you say more, ifyou want, about how it feels better to be over your Shameless hyperfixation?

I have been thinking for months that it might greatly improve my mental health if I could get over my Shameless and Gallavich hyperfixation because sometimes it brings me joy but sometimes it causes me to spiral downward.

of course! this got long winded because of who i am as a person so my thoughts are under the cut 💛

first of all, i don't want anyone to think that my opinion on fandom has changed whatsoever. i still think fandom is beautiful and transformative and inspiring and all the lovely superlatives. this is not me talking down about fandom at all, this is just me talking about my personal experience. i will definitely continue to engage with fandom in varying capacities as i have since i was 14 years old. that won't change. i think the main difference is that i no longer feel consumed by the show. it used to be that i would plans my days around fandom activities, think about the show/characters constantly, and spend (i shit you not) 90% of my free time engaging and creating. but it just isn't like that anymore.

i didn't necessarily do anything to make this happen, it just did. but there were definitely catalysts. for example, a lot of the shameless content we consume and engage with is pursuant to ian's bipolar storyline which, to me, is very personal and intense. being bipolar myself, it became very difficult to be constantly surrounded by content about my disease - especially when so much of that content was full of really bad takes or insensitive jokes that hurt me on a very deep, personal level. i realized that if i were to embrace my waning interest fully, to step back and give myself some space, i wouldn't be inundated with that kind of hurt anymore. i wouldn't spiral like i had been and instead i could focus that energy onto maintaining my own mental health and wellbeing. so that's what i did. and it WORKED. so because of that, i feel better.

i also feel better because now i have more time and energy to engage with new and different things. for so long, shameless was one of the only shows i watched. shameless fic was one of the only things i read. shameless gifs and metas were almost exclusively the only things i posted and shared around these parts (which made sense, me being a fandom blog and all). yet somehow, in light of it all, i wasn't enjoying myself anymore. i wasn't engaging because i wanted to engage, i was engaging because i felt a compulsory need to do so. i mean, it had been my entire life for three years, what the fuck else was i supposed to do? so i made the decision to stop, even if it only lasted a week or two. i stopped watching my favorite episodes on repeat. i stopped reading fics and deleted the ones i'd downloaded from my kindle app so as to resist temptation. essentially, i cut myself off cold turkey. then step two, if you will, was to push myself to engage with new content and hobbies, even if only to cleanse my palette. so i read new books and watched new movies and fell down random niche YouTube rabbit holes. and wouldn't you know it, it felt SO GOOD. i discovered new blorbos and watched some delightful films and started doing practical, real-world things like learning to cook and organizing my apartment. i went from feeling flat and one-dimensional, like i was only made up of one basic component, to fully formed and three-dimensional, a well-rounded human being. believe me, and please don't misinterpret what i'm saying here, i am fully aware than 98% of people that engage in fandom activities are fully formed, three-dimensional, well-rounded individuals that can engage with variety of content while maintaining that fandom/life balance. that just wasn't MY reality. still, i managed to break the hyperfixation off at the roots and i feel 5000x better for it. sometimes it's what's necessary to get to a headspace where if you wanted to engage, you could, and you could do it in a healther, more well-balanced way.

i think that if you feel your interest waning even the slightest bit, or if you feel like you're too consumed by it, or if it's not sparking joy anymore, or you're concerned about your mental wellness - take a step back. try engaging with something new and different. ask for recommendations from friends. give that new show everyone is talking about a try. pick up a hobby that's completely removed from media (i've started drawing again) and throw yourself into it entirely. or just sit there! allow yourself to be bored and aimless for a little while! it feels weird but i think it was a necessary thing for me to do. what worked for me and got me to this place definitely won't work for everyone, especially because everyone's levels of engagement and consumption are different, but i think for me it was always an inevitability that this was just a season for me. and a necessity, because i was Not Doing Well near the end of things.

lastly - and if you've made it this far i am genuinely sorry i'm so long-winded and Like This - i love you. i'm sorry that your hyperfixation has you feeling this way. i relate and understand completely and if you ever need someone to talk to about it, you can always come to me for a chat or a vent or even just a different perspective on things. i wish you all the best and i'll be here as a friend and a resource while you figure it all out!

[starhvney]

Music + movie/series recommendations? 😊😊

I have a lot of free time on my hands so I’ve just been lazing the internet and scrolling on tiktok too much 😣😣

-🥸

ugh i get that so much i honestly need to delete tik tok from how much time it takes out of my day (i won’t)

i’d recommend music but honestly i listen to everything so i’m not sure what to recommend😭 like my recently listened to gives insane whiplash. like wdym i listened to needed me by rihanna to beware by deftones to 4am by grimes to first love/late spring by mitski to tumblr girls by g eazy to sonne by rammstein to tipsy by miss luxury to— you get the point.

buttt idk if anyone is obsessed with zombie media as much as me but i highly recommend watching the walking dead or playing cory, jay(kubz scouts) or berleezy’s playthroughs of resident evil or the walking dead game while doing a fun hobby!! i just find them really funny and i honestly find myself watching youtube more than movies or shows? idk i got a rank ass attention span.

if you don’t like that stuff then i always love doing a harry potter or pirates of the caribbean marathon, too<3 (also if you haven’t seen pride&prejudice it’s my fave ever romance. 10 things i hate about you is a good romcom, and i love the proposal with sandra bullock and leap year, too)

ok i’ll stop ranting about my random media interests but i hope you find interest in one of them!!