#i realized that it's now spooky month and since this is a spooky pokemon... it is now a trick or treater ^^

[esprei]

ohhhhh id love to see u do a banette if u want to... the haunter looks properly spooky and i think them and banette r very good spooky pokemon

it's officially spooky month now so you know what that means 👻

[ilikekidsshows]

I found your ML meta and analysis posts by accident (i think i saw ur latest post abt adrien) and just noticed you have changed your icon into something matching the current spooky month so that's really cool! 😀I didn't think June's hair could be used for more pokemon but it fits haha and it's cool to see a familiar blog on my dash change their icon like this ^^ I'm also curious - have u seen the recent "ML Paris" special or are you thinking of seeing it? I know everyone is now more and more experiencing multiverse fatique from so many franchises doing their own episodes/movies w this theme, but I just find it a curious way to do character exploration. No spoilers but the special was imo kinda fun and also brought new questions into the fore, especially abt the kwami. Anyway, just wanted 2 comment abt the icon but then realized I could ask somerhing about Miraculous as well.

Thank you! My mutuals noted the same thing about Juniper hair going well on a surprising amount of Pokémon, so now I actually have a collection of pink-striped Pokémon icons to choose from. I’m glad other people liked the change too.

I haven’t seen the Paris special and, before people started posting about it, I was pretty sure I was going to skip it. I’m very suspicious about anything the show crew puts out for this franchise with what they ended up doing with seasons 4 and 5. I even ended up losing enthusiasm for the parts of the franchise I do enjoy, like seasons 1-3, and so I haven’t even seen the Shanghai Special yet despite intending to do so while season 4 was still picking up steam.

However, based on what everyone has been saying, it seems that the special managed to avoid everything I was worried about. With the way the show’s been treating Adrien, I had a lot of concerns over how an EvilAdrien take was going to go, but it seems it's not used to villanize Adrien and Adrien actually gets to influence the story of the special and his feelings are brought up and validated? We haven’t seen that since the Christmas Special. If I ignore all the nods at the seasons I despise and pretend this special doesn’t take place in the same timeline, I might be able to make it through this special.

Basically, I'm on the fence about watching the Specials.

Multiverses have been a superhero staple since All-Star Comics issue 3, which came out in 1940. It’s just that companies have only recently gained enough confidence in the superhero genre to go with the more outlandish genre staples. I’m trying to say that, as a superhero connoisseur, I don’t know the meaning of the term multiverse fatigue.

[bigfan-fanfic]

Spooky Season Special: Until Dawn (Male!Reader x Chris)

Prologue: Bystander

-One Year Ago-

Let's just say, you had been shocked when Beth Washington winked at you and slipped a sparkly envelope into your hand. Hannah had gotten overzealous with the glitter glue again, and it was a wild mess that had held your invitation to Blackwood Pines for the annual winter getaway party weekend hosted by the Washington siblings.

Mike and Emily had grinned when you told them, which was gratifying. To tell the truth, you had never felt like anything more than a satellite to the group. They all seemed so tight with each other, and all you really knew were Mike and Em. Mike because he'd been your best friend since you were toddlers, and Em since she was Mike's girlfriend and you both shared multiple advanced courses. Even despite him being athletic and your typical big man on campus, Mike had been at your side for years, even when your interests diverged. You even helped make posters for his class president campaign in your spare time, which he joked made you responsible for his victory.

But still, you never really considered yourself part of that group until Beth handed you the invitation. You had only really hung out with the group on occasion, but you knew what it was really about.

Damn Mike. He had told Beth about your crush on Chris. He or Emily had. And now they were going to play matchmaker. You weren't about to let that happen, but you figured this was your ticket to making more friends and hanging out with Mike more. ...And Chris.

And really, partying with the Washingtons was fun. Who gets to go up to a HUGE lodge in the mountains only accessible by cable car? Even the vaguely sinister sensation of being trapped couldn't undo your feeling that you were now part of an exclusive gang. You ended up on the cable car with Ashley and Sam, who immediately drew you into a conversation (Sam protested playfully when Ashley turned the conversation to a book she was reading about ghosts) and the fun began.

There was the requisite teasing of Sam as she went upstairs to take a luxurious bath in the Washingtons' simply enormous tub in the master bathroom ("Try not to use all the hot water this time, Sam!" from Beth and a "Hardy-har" from Sam as a retort.)

It started out simple enough. Hannah and Matt brought down some board games from a closet and you all began playing. At one point someone suggested Jenga and everyone held their breath as you watched the tower wobble...

Don't Move. .. . .. . .. . .. .... .. ..... ... .. .... .. .. .. .... .. . . . .

...and you finally breathed again when it was certain the tower wouldn't collapse. And then, of course, Josh and Chris arrived on Emily's turn, and she promptly knocked over the wooden blocks. She complained a little, but clearly was happy the group was all together.

Chris and Josh promptly forced open the liquor cabinet and led a toast to old friends, and lifted a glass to you and added "and to new friends!" Beth, ever-responsible, gave a disapproving look at her older brother and passed around cream sodas instead. But really, only you, Sam, and Beth chose to remain sober. Chris and Josh started a drinking game by singing the Pokerap from the Pokemon anime and drinking whenever they got the words wrong, and quickly started devolving into drunken messes. Mike and Emily started making out, and Sam was catching up with Ashley and Matt - Jessica was talking to Hannah.

Beth invited you up to her room to watch Pride and Prejudice on the new TV she had gotten in there, but really, it was just a pretext. You knew it the moment the movie started playing and Beth looked over at you. "So... Chris, huh?"

Secretive - "What about him?" Exasperated - "Ugh, Mike told you?"

Beth grinned apologetically. "Emily, actually. But don't worry, I won't blab. I think it's cute. And hey, I'm here for you."

You smiled a little. It might actually be good to have more friends you can talk to about this. When you told Mike you liked boys, and that you liked Chis, he had teased you about having a hunk of prime beef in front of you - himself - and you chose the nerd anyway. Beth, at least, seemed less likely to ridicule you.

"It doesn't matter, though." you had groaned. "He's got a crush on Ashley."

"So?" Beth asked. "Josh once had a crush on Britney Spears at the same time he discovered Leo DiCaprio. People can have multiple crushes. And I'm pretty sure Chris doesn't just like you because you can beat him at Street Fighter."

"Fine, you may have a point. But I'm not gonna make any moves tonight! Looks like Chris is on a one-way trip to Hangover City."

She smiled wryly. "Ugh. Guess I have to make hangover cures in the morning. If you and Sam are the only other sober ones, wanna help? We can make vegan pancakes just the three of us!"

You grinned. "That actually sounds really fun."

"Great!"

You watched the rest of the movie, and finally decided it was time to check on the others, realizing you hadn't heard much during your little party.

"Guys?" Beth called, a little confused when no one answered. The two of you wandered down, only to find Chris and Josh, slumped over the kitchen island, a few empty bottles of liquor between them. Beth gave a chuckle that became a sigh. You remember this part so much more clearly.

Beth looked out the window, and frowned. "There's someone out there! I thought Mom and Dad said it would be just us this weekend."

"Maybe it's the trees? They're pretty creepy at night." you suggested, not wanting the creepy idea of someone else being on the mountain to take root.

She looked away, unsure, then glanced at the bottles.

"Ugh... Once again, big brother, you've outdone us all." Beth said, her eyes roving over the bottle-covered table. She picked up a piece of paper and read it, wincing. "This is - what has my naïve sister gotten herself into now?"

You take the paper, only really having time to read the words "Hannah" and "Mike xoxo" before someone went running by, sobbing. Beth went charging after them...

Wake Chris Follow Beth

...but you quickly tried shoving Chris to wake him up. But even with you yelling in his ear, he was dead to the world. You ran out after Beth, only to run right into Matt's back.

"You know, Mike, I think you're the last person she wants to see right now." Sam was saying.

"What the hell is going on?" you asked, looking from face to face. Emily disgusted, Sam worried, Mike and Jessica looking uneasy... "Where's Beth? And Hannah?"

"Hannah overreacted to this prank we pulled," Ashley frowned. "And Beth ran after her."

"What do you think, Y/N? Should we go looking for them?" Mike wondered.

Concerned - "Beth said someone else was out there..." Responsible - "We should get help..."

"They say you really shouldn't split up in a snowstorm. Beth's smart. I'm sure she'll bring Hannah back. But just in case, let's call the ranger station?" you said. You remember the group all nodding, more at ease now that there was a plan. Emily went to call, while Mike and Matt tried to wake up Chris and Josh, and you tried to get what happened out of Jessica and Ashley, because Sam refused to talk to any of them.

A horrible prank... and two deaths. For a whole year, the idea that maybe, if you had made some other choice, you could have prevented it, consumed you. Maybe if you had chased after Hannah more quickly you could've stopped her, or maybe at least convinced Beth not to run and to call the ranger station instead... maybe at least one of the twins would still be alive.

Things only got worse after the trip. You thought it might bring you more friends, but the group fractured down the middle. Eventually Em and Mike broke up, making it really awkward to choose between them. Sam had distanced herself from the others, angry at them for the prank, and you hadn't heard from her for months. And Chris... you two had gotten a little closer, but really this tragedy had struck all of you and changed everything.

You hadn't known Josh that well, so it was surprising that he asked you to come back up to the lodge. And although it might be weird, definitely uncomfortable... you find yourself on a bus, headed right back up to Mount Washington.

With no idea of what the night will hold...

[bread-loaf-heart]

Emmet Goes Batshit: The Musical Ch 2

so I'll be reposting the rest of the chapters when I have time to format them since they're so much longer aight cool

[This story has background music, all underlined text indicates audio to play in the background]

Emmet wished he could’ve come earlier, but with Ingo's sudden disappearance, taking on his workload and the many conversations with Officer Jenny had kept him away from his destination for far too long. Faint muttering echoed down the underpass, complimenting the creepiness of the purple glow that was cast along the walls of stone and metal. Chandelure floated behind Emmet as he was pacing in the near darkness of a subway tunnel, circling a large area near a familiar open panel. It had been a little clingy since The Incident, so he let it follow him whenever he wasn’t manning his and Ingo’s stations. The subway boss had a small notebook in one hand, a pencil tapping against his cheek, and a mind whirling with possibilities. 

“No singe marks or scratches in the floor, so that rules out any fire-types,” Turning on a dime, he walked just out of range of the high-mounted camera just above the panel. “Most likely a ghost or psychic type.” Emmet looked back at Chandelure. “Could it be an electric type though?” The spooky purple pokemon gave a low warble and a shrug of its arms. Usually, Emmet would be mirroring his brother in pacing while Ingo sounded out ideas between the two. Ingo was always better at vocalizing his thoughts. Ingo wasn’t here though, and Emmet’s train of thought was turning at all the wrong switches as he tried to hit the emergency brakes. Ingo wasn’t here because somebody took him and he is going to make whoever did regret it -

A warm nudge to his shoulder broke Emmet out of his trainwreck of thoughts. Chandelure made a concerned low whistle and lightly bumped his pencil holding hand, which he realized was holding his hat in a vice grip. He quickly let go, patting it down a few times before returning it to his head. “Sorry, all systems are operational now.” An attempt was made at a reassuring smile, but the ghost type’s worried eyes didn’t change. Emmet kept the grin on his face, the familiar stretch helping him stay grounded.

Turning back to his list of notes, the man scribbled in his previous musings and resumed the sporadic mumbling. A good few minutes of pacing came to a sudden halt as Emmet looked up.

“Professor Juniper knows pokemon. She could help.”

__________

The train was starting to slow as it reached the Nuvema Town Station. Emmet’s leg stopped bouncing as he stood up, heading right in front of the doors. As soon as they fully opened, ‘safety is extremely important,’ he nearly sprinted out through the station. 

As far as any other commuter could tell, a white blur shot through the front gates and halfway through town.

Minutes later, Aurea Juniper gave a startled shout as the front doors slammed open, snapping to attention at the loud intrusion. She'd recognize that wide smile anywhere, though it seemed a bit sharper than usual.

“I am Emmet. I need help.”

_____________

The professor’s eyes narrowed in contemplation as she reviewed The Video with Emmet. Said conductor had been switching his attention back and forth from the screen to her, gauging her reactions. After a few more beats of silence, Juniper turned her attention to him. “I have a few theories, but I can’t promise anything concrete.”

Emmet’s grin widened by a fraction as she rewound the clip, highlighting something near the beginning. “Based on his reactions, it could’ve been a ghost-type pokemon. Most are tricksters by nature and regularly terrorize people in dark places like this.” 

The conductor nodded. “Chandelure does that sometimes at home.” For a brief moment, he wondered if the pokemon had spirited his brother away. The thought was quickly discarded as he recalled its despondent behavior over the past three months.

Skipping forward, Juniper played the seconds before the static showed up, and it slowed down. “What might rule that out is the way the video cuts out here. Electric types can cause effects like this, possibly even a porygon, but if that were the case the camera would’ve just been damaged instead of the video feed cut out.” The screen switched to the last part. “It’s odd that Ingo’s pokeballs were left behind, so that most likely rules out a human being the perpetrator. That paired with the fact that it cuts back in could be indicative of a very powerful presence. It sounds farfetch’d, but it’s most likely a very rare, maybe even legendary pokemon is behind this mess. Now back here we can see…”

Juniper kept talking after that, but Emmet stopped registering it. Trained on the still image of his brother's frightened face, his eyes and ever-present smile widened in a familiar sharp turn. He finally had a lead. Sure the margin was still wide, he knew how many of these powerful pokemon there were, but at least it was something. Something to blame and hunt down for taking Ingo. 

‘I will find you, no matter what it takes.’

[theouijagirl]

Hey Tumblr. It’s been a while.

It’s not you, it’s me. Lately I’ve had to shelve quite a few things in my life, and Tumblr wound up being one of them. I’m really sorry if any of you became extremely worried or distressed at my sudden absence. I didn’t intend to be gone for so long.  

I should start off by saying: I’m fine. The cat is fine, my house is fine, etc. Everything is okay; nothing is wrong. There’s nothing to worry about.

Honestly the only thing that has gone wrong lately has been the fact that a new virus evolved that is extremely deadly, and my government has decided that it would rather wish it would go away than try to do anything to stop it or prevent people from dying. My job was an indoor facility that mainly involves active play for families and manly profits from birthday parties, so obviously my building closed with no knowledge of when it would open. And toward the end of August, I got an email from my CEO saying that she decided she would not be reopening my building. 

At first I felt okay, because the worry and the wondering was over, and now it was a sense of excitement of a new chapter of my life starting, and wondering what new people I would meet at my new job. And truly, I have met some incredibly wonderful people at the places I work (two part-time jobs, so I can still be full time) and I feel more like I’m really becoming the professional person I want to be at my jobs. On the other hand, the sense of grief at losing my job that I’ve had for five years has really hit me hard during October. My coworkers really were some of my dearest friends, most of whom I haven’t seen since March. Some of them have had babies, and I don’t know when I can see them. We had Halloween traditions which involved Costco pizza and lots of candy, and it physically hurts to know it won’t happen this year and that last year was the last time and we didn’t even know it. It aches to know I’ll never again walk into my old office. It hurts to throw out my old employee shirts. It truly has felt like a death to me and I really have needed to take some time to process it.

But really, Good News Number 1 is that I am working full time again, which doesn’t allow me as much time on this blog. I was at my desk at my old job, in which I could totally go on Tumblr whenever I wanted, and there’s no way I can do that at my jobs now. Also, Good News Number 2 is that I have new health insurance and I have the best team of doctors I’ve ever had in my life, and they’ve put me on some incredible medications to manage my depression and migraines. For the first time in my life, I’m not depressed every day. We are still working on the migraines, but I don’t have a headache all day every day. However, I still have the fatigue from having chronic pain, and I’m dealing with some pretty severe side effects, so when I come home from my jobs I go to bed.

Good News Number 3 is that my ASMR YouTube channel has given me more joy than I have ever expected. I actually really delight in making a schedule, filming, editing, and posting, and of course checking and replying to comments. It feels incredibly rewarding. I’ve been meditating on why it feels so different from any other hobby I’ve had, and I’ve come to realize that all my other hobbies are basically “Put money into the thing to make yourself feel good.” So I’ve tried distancing myself from any of my hobbies that encourage spending, such as video games and Kpop. I haven’t watched anything on a paid streaming service. I’ve been limiting my time on Pokemon GO, only because their Halloween event right now is actually good, compared to other years, but I’m not doing any activity that is made easier by purchasing items. And everything just feels more freeing, like there’s suddenly a weight off my shoulders that I didn’t even know was there. I allow little things here and there, like I’ll listen to a new Kpop release when it comes out, but not stream it, and the new Sims pack looks amazing so I’ll have to play for a bit once it comes out (and the only game I’ve allowed myself is Among Us, but really only because of the social aspect). But just having my hobby be something I create that people around the world can relax and enjoy and learn from, since it’s an educational channel, feels so incredibly rewarding. It feels better than working on my Animal Crossing town, or learning a Kpop dance. It’s my favorite thing out of all the Good News.

And now there’s this Tumblr. I always do a big blog post project in October. I started it early in October. I kind of hated it. But I didn’t have any other big ideas for what to do. And I mostly felt uninspired for two reasons. 1) Even though I made a post asking people not to do this, a majority of my asks was still people asking my opinions on Shannen Doherty and Keke Palmer. For the record, I literally have no opinions on these women, so please stop asking. 2) Even though we really don’t want to admit it, Tumblr is dying. It’s nothing like it was before, and it’s easily not even in the top 5 social media sites these days. Like, what’s the point of doing a big series on a social media site that nobody uses? And this isn’t toward my solid fan base, but my solid fan base is like a couple hundred people. I used to get the “wow, I just found your blog!” Anon once a week, now I’m lucky if I get one every few months. Our community just isn’t using Tumblr like we used to. Now, it seems like TikTok is the way to go. And I just don’t want to use TikTok. I’m a writer. I just figured out how to use YouTube, and even then, I don’t like the TikTok format style of video. Like, it’s great, but it’s not the format that I feel creative with. So I just feel stuck. And it makes me not want to write on this blog, honestly.

Of course I’ll still answer questions, I always will. I don’t think I’ll ever quit this blog. And of course, if you send me an ask or message that is life or death, I’ll respond the second I see it. But I really don’t know what the future of this blog is going to be anymore.

As for the spooks, that’s never going away either. If you don’t feel that energy outside at night right now then are you even human. It’s tangible. Not to mention, when I was filming an ASMR video about spooky places and was talking about Salem, and mentioned the name of the first young girl to be hanged, I felt a cold hand run down my right hand and arm, and my room was very warm considering I close all the windows while filming and have a warm cat in my lap. 

Regardless, it’s gonna be a good Halloween.

[ad-smr]

why it is not good to being overly attached

I used to think that I am not a person that has a tendency to romanticize places or people or memories. I like to take a pictures when I am traveling, but the reason is more into the possibility to upload it to my stories. I have no habit of scrolling back through my google photos to re-create a memory behind every places that I visited. For me, passing through a place for just a day (or even hours!) would be just... passing through a place. Yes it is nice to tell someone that I’ve been visiting place A, place B, place Z, and more and more while also sharing your impression about it. But, do I called it a memory? 

For me, for the past two and a half year in Stockholm, some places are more valuable compared to any landmarks that I visited around Europe. I grew some emotional attachments to those places because of various reasons. It could be just a street that I frequently passing by every time I went outside for a pokemon hunting. Or it could be a super cheap supermarket behind my neighborhood that I just discovered after lived there for one and a half year. How could they are so memorable? Because for me, they created stories. A story that is so personal for me, which is why visiting these places again some days in the future, could pinch many parts of my heart in a hurtful way. Oh, yes, these places brought up too many memories.

It all started in a street in the back side of my house, which by 15 minutes walking could take you to the Sundbybergs centrum. It is a street that I usually passed by if I was still addicted to Pokemon go - a kind of game that requires you to go outside to catch many pokemons in term of finishing quests. Walked by this street was so nice, especially in the summer. In one part, the street is located right in front of the graveyard, but it never makes this street spooky. I also passed by this street if I was too energetic to travel by bike (even though that hilly conditions sometimes made me questioning my decision). A street will be just a street, if one particular person did not take part in the story. 

The last time I went there, where he was already lived 10.000 km away, I still felt that little pinch in my heart because it replayed some non-important moments with him. It is a same street where we spent two hours of pokemon chasing in a 10 degree temperature and with a condition where we were totally put a high boundaries between us. We talked many things about nothing. It is also a same street where we ended up cycling through it around midnight, after tried to avoid it but thanks google for screwed up the plan. It is also a street where we took our last autumn photo together.

The story continue to a safe house called Akalla. It is a house that rented out together by my four (used to be five) friends in Stockholm. It took 30 minutes cycling from Rissne but, you know, I was that lazy so I usually went there by bus. I must say that Akalla was considerably one of the best thing in my entire life in Stockholm. I did not manage to visit this place again last time since they were already moved out and the house owner kept it back. Akalla, for me, was one of the reason why I am still sane until now.

It was a place where I could runaway from him every time we got into problems. Which means, I went there frequently. All of the house members already declared me as the fifth (or sixth) occupants of Akalla. It was a place where I could laugh and say anything without being judged. It was also a place where I could get the needed support from people that actually never intended to give one. It was a place where I could be totally happy and forget all my troubles with him. 

Then I remembered that I used to hate the studio space in the A building. I hate it because it is sooo dry, even during the winter climate. There is something wrong with the heating system in the building and everyone was complaining too. However, nothing changed until my last semester in that building. Flash back to my first year in Stockholm, we (as it means me and some other Indonesian students maybe three to five people), liked to stay in the D building after class. The main purpose: to study more. The reality, it was just our excuse to avoid being alone at home. We usually spent too much time there, at least until midnight even we still had an early class tomorrow morning.

At some point, D building turned into a place that I could not wait to visit ASAP every evening. Of course, and just because, he waited for me there. During a very happy moment between us, meeting him after a long and stressful discussion with the group mates, was a time that I always looking for. We changed our habit to stay until late into went back home early to prepare our dinner. We also decided to spend much longer time in his room, talked about everything that still means anything. That was the time before some errors occurred in this relationship. That was the time when I did not realized that I started to grow a feeling for him. And his too.

So... it brought this reminisce to the most hurtful place that, I believe, I cannot visit again in the future without seeing a glimpse of him every time I close my eyes. My home. Its kitchen. Its bathroom. His room. Mine. 

There were many times during the last two years where I felt that I could not stand more to stay in this house. It could be one of the days where we had that endless arguments and silent treatments. For a range of three days till two months, there were too many moments where we decided to avoid each other's presence - totally. I could hear his morning alarms (that always rang repeatedly every 30 minutes and failed to wake him up) and heard him singing under the shower, knowing he was there and perfectly alive, without even ran to each other. And it was a worst feeling where you decided to avoid someone that you cared the most. But on the other occasion, this house turns into home. That was the very first moment I understand the differences between a house and a home. Absolutely, because there was him. The only reason that made all things happened inside this house as a projection of my future home, which is ended up as a sloppy imagination of mine. 

Since the very first time I entered the front door last week, zillions of memories dancing in my eyes. Thousand of unimportant details that were unconsciously stored in my brain particles suddenly play random short videos, just like when you swiping your instagram stories. His smile when his eyes caught mine, in the middle of his cooking session in the kitchen. Our laugh when we cut each other hair in our super small bathroom, since we were not rich enough to spend money on a professional barber. A six hours discussion about Tenet and parallel universe. His sleepyhead expression in the morning. His last hug that made me feel totally safe because I deluded myself that there will be always someone that protect me. 

Those reminiscence hurts me in a way that suddenly turned all my memories in Stockholm into a bad one.

Because he was always there, on my side, in almost every moments when I was wandering around Stockholm. Even in the farthest forest in the Djugården island and a random naked beach in, oh I don’t remember the place’s name. So now, I get my lesson. Never attached to someone or places too much. This is because, just because, if it does not end up well.. everything could be hurtful for you. And what is sadder than when your good memories turned into a bad one because of an unworthy person?

[anythingstephenking]

Drive My Car

After months without turning a single page, I am crusin’! Man I am really on a roll! If you haven’t guessed yet, I am making car puns, as we dive (drive?) into Christine, the killer car story King promised his publishers would come after Different Seasons.

(Side note: while reading I make notes on my phone of pages to reference back to, cause only a real monster dog-ears pages. My notes on Christine read “crusin’…. on a roll… think of other car puns.” I didn’t.)

Although Wikipedia claims this book was published in ’82, it was actually released in ’83. Really letting me down Wikipedia. But happily I move into the next year of King books, and one step closer to catching them all like they were a buncha Pokemon.

This cover art is the tits. Also, the author’s photo on the back! Lastly, the inner cover with SK initialed in red and gold, like Gryffindor for serial killers.

This book has no preface or afterword, which is where I usually learn all my fun facts, so I did a bit more digging (nay, googling) for the backstory on this guy.

Well I couldn’t turn out much of interest. Sorry to disappoint. The story must have just appeared in King’s brain one day. I did love that the book was dedicated to George Romero. I have enjoyed learning all about King’s friendships, and imagine they all get together once a month in some kind of bizarro-minds-club, play cribbage and gripe about how everyone thinks they’re weirdos.

Posted without comment.

Each of the 51 chapters starts with a song lyric about cars. If you’ve ever listened to Car Talk, you know the list of songs about cars is long. I recognized the Bruce Springsteen ones. It was a throwaway device IMO, and just made me feel bad for the intern that had to work to get the rights to use 51 different song lyrics. King actually calls this out in a brief Author’s Note on the copyright page of my “Book Club” edition copy, thanking specific folks for helping him get the rights. OK, I guess I forgive you Stephen. Kisses.

On the surface, Christine is a story that is part killer car, part demon possession and part star-crossed lovers. I know, right? 

Christine tells the story of Arnie Cunningham and his car Christine. Annie is your run-of-the-mill nerd. He’s got bad skin and has never done anything his parents wouldn’t approve of. His best bud Dennis is decidedly a cooler cat - he plays football so that means he’s automatically elevated to a higher class.

One day Arnie sees Christine, sitting broken on the lawn of an equally broken house and decides he has to have her. Men (eyeroll). He buys her from the owner, Roland LeBay and off he goes to a local garage to fix her up.

Dennis is almost immediately unnerved by Christine. Rightfully so, since the car goes on to kill a bunch of people.

Then along comes Leigh Cabot, the new girl in school. All the guys have the hots for her, but she’s only got eyes for Arnie. For once, the pretty girl picks the nerd, and it doesn’t really go all that well for her. Pick the quarterback the next time honey.

So Arnie and Leigh are an item, and Leigh also hates Christine. No one can quite put their fingers on it, but a rotten smell runs through her interior and the radio seems stuck on the 50’s rock station. Dennis and Leigh are plagued by nightmares of Christine coming to life.

And suddenly the engine began to rev and fall off, rev and fall off; its a hungry sound, frightening, and each time the engine revs Christine seems to lunge forward a bit, like a mean dog on a weak leash… and I want to move… but my feet seem nailed to the cracked pavement of the driveway.

King takes his time to build the story up, as he so often does. Christine doesn’t claim her first victim until halfway through. Until then you’re stuck with this looming sense of dread, knowing terrible things are coming. Every time Christine’s headlights turned on by themselves I muttered “oh... no “ to myself.

It’s not enough that Christine comes to life and runs people over (even manages this feat on a guy who is inside his house), but Arnie begins to take on characteristics of the previous owner, Roland LeBay. Since Roland was a real grade-a asshole, this doesn’t sit well with his friend, girlfriend or family. He becomes more and more like LeBay, until there’s no nerd left. Watching Arnie fall apart is heartbreaking.

But past the surface, Christine is a story of the pains of growing up, which isn’t really a new theme for King, who came of age himself in the 50s. And so often with King’s stories of teenage agony, and even when the story takes place in 1978, the 50s are lurking.

Before Arnie’s demise, he makes off-handed comments about how his parents know that having kids remind them that they’re going to die. Pretty grim stuff.

And Dennis has this revelation while out in Christine for the first time:

I was surprised by a choking panic that climbed up in my throat like dry fire. It was the first time a feeling like that came over me that year - but not the last. Yet it’s hard for me to explain, or even define. It had something to do with realizing that it was August 11, 1978, that I was going to be a senior in high school next month, and that when school started again it meant the end of a long, quiet phase of my life. I was getting ready to be a grown-up, and I saw that somehow - saw it for sure, for the first time in that lovely but somehow ancient spill of golden light flooding the alleyway between a bowling alley and a roast beef joint. And I think I understood then that what really scares people about growing up is that you stop trying on the life-mask and start trying on another one. If being a kid is about learning how to live, then being a grown-up is about learning how to die.

And these kids learn their lesson.

In some ways, Christine felt like a stronger coming of age tale than The Body. I was really rooting for these kids.

7/10

First line: This is the story of a lover’s triangle, I suppose you’d say - Arnie Cunningham, Leigh Cabot, and, of course, Christine.

Last line: His unending fury.

Added Bonus: King said in an interview about Christine getting killed and perhaps coming back to life (35 year old spoiler, sorry!): "All I can think of would be if the parts are recycled, you'd end up with this sort of homicidal Cuisinart, or something like that!” 

Hardy Har Har! I might not be scared of cars but I am now scared of my food processor.

Adaptations:

Christine The Movie was the quickest turn-around from page to screen of any King movie, which began filming just as the book was released. The producer was a friend of King’s, and signed on before the book was published. He had his pick between Christine and Cujo, and chose Christine because Cujo seemed “too silly.” For real bro? I mean, they’re both great stories but I would tend to think of a rabid dog as a more serious threat than a sentient car that love Buddy Holly songs and blood.

1983 was a busy year for King movies. I’ve lost track since I am reading the books chronologically but not watching the movies that way. I’ve already watched some spectacularly bad King movies, but at this point in 1983, the movie-going public had only seen Carrie, Salem’s Lot and The Shining. Given the popularity of 2/3 of these movies, I bet everyone in Hollywood wanted their hands on the rights to a King story.

In 1983 Cujo, The Dead Zone and Christine all hit the big screens in August, October and December, respectively. I don’t know for sure but if I had to guess, that was too much King.

So, if you expect a whole lot of a John Carpenter movie about a killer car, well then, that’s your own fault. This movie was a lot of fun. As with so many King movies, his storytelling and character building just doesn’t translate to the big screen. The screenwriters seemed to not even care to try, boiling the main characters down to stereotypes. Arnie rocks giant glasses with tape across the arch; Dennis wears his letterman jacket; Leigh’s got great legs. Christine rolls around killing people that cross Arnie. There’s little mention of LeBay or his backstory in creating (or at least encouraging) Christine.

Instead, there’s the film’s opening sequence to explain Christine’s origin, which I just adored. Christine’s rolling along the production line in Detroit, the sole red car in a sea of white. A line worker attempts to open her hood, and it promptly clasps down on his hand. All while George Thorogood’s Bad To The Bone plays. Just on the nose, great start.

Unlike the novel with its clear themes of friendship, first love and looming adulthood, this movie is about one thing and one thing only - a killer car. Which is really ok. John Carpenter does his best and there’s some suspenseful moments with Halloween-esque sound effects. Whenever someone is pissing Christine off she locks her doors and Little Richard starts singing from her stereo "Keep a knockin' but you can't come in.” Christine catches on fire and still manages to run someone down, setting him on fire in the process. I’m not much a fan of big action sequences, but knowing they used almost 30 cars to make this and everything was filmed sans CGI made me appreciate it more.

Before I go, quick notes on the cast. Kevin Bacon was set to play Dennis, but chose to do Footloose instead. Good call, past Kevin Bacon. So they cast this guy, who is basically a poor man Kevin Bacon.

Leigh is played by Alexandra Paul, who would go on to rock a rad red swimsuit on Baywatch. Kelly Preston has a small role, and would go on to play the role of a lifetime as John Travolta’s wife. Rounding out the supporting cast was Robert Proskey (who I remember as Mr. Lundy in Mrs. Doubtfire), and Harry Dean Stanton who has basically been in everything.

Next up is Pet Semetery, which is (Chris Trager voice) literally my favorite King. My goal is to get through It before the new movie comes out in September, which means I have six books to get through in 3 months. So (spooky voice) I’ll be right back!