#if you like me have not seen it or read any lovecraft

[gibbearish]

i still have yet to see the new hbomb but for anyone who's watched it now and wants more this is not the first time he's covered this kind of thing, "here's three stories about youtube plagiarism" is from 6 years ago on the same subject and is still very good

[sleepanonymous]

If you liked the Teeth of God Graphic Novel and would like more cosmic horror fiction to consume, I would recommend:

Movies (also short stories/novels)

The Color Out of Space

Originally a short story by HP Lovecraft, “The Color Out of Space” was made into a film in 2019, directed by Richard Stanley. Essentially a meteorite that crashes into a farm in Massachusetts begins to infect life around it with a new color. It’s way better than I make it sound. Think “Evil Dead Rise” meets “The Thing.” I don’t want to give away too much, but Nick Cage and Tommy Chong are in the movie, so you know it’s outrageous.

Annihilation

The novel (the first of 4) was published in 2014 by author Jeff VanderMeer, and the movie was released in 2018, directed by Alex Garland. I haven’t read the novel or the “Southern Reach” series, but the movie is easily one of my top favorite horror films. Similar to "The Color Out of Space", a “meteor” crashes on a beach of a wildlife preserve in Florida, creating an anomaly known as Area X, or The Shimmer. Also similar to “The Color Out of Space”, all life inside the anomaly is affected and altered (Crosby, Stills & Nash begins to play solemnly in the background). Funnily enough, the author denies any and all correlation to Lovecraft’s short story.

The Mist

Created by Stephen King, the movie was directed by Frank Darabont. It’s undeniably King, so that depends on if you’d like this novella/film or not. Less space and more interdimensional, “The Mist” is about a catastrophic storm/supposed military experiment gone wrong, which created a tear in the space-time continuum that unleashes multidimensional horrors. I haven’t seen the show, but I have read the novella and seen the 2007 movie. Unlike the two recommendations above, “The Mist” focuses less on an affliction to biology and more on the people attempting to survive with heavy religious undertones. I personally preferred the novella to the film.

Event Horizon

Opposite to the above three, this was a movie first and then was adapted into a novel. The film came out in 1997, and was directed by Paul WS Anderson. The novel adaptation was written by Steven E. McDonald and released the same year. This one is less “cosmic horror comes to Earth” and more “humans go to the cosmic horror” in a basic sense. “Event Horizon” is about a space vessel (😏) by the same name that is capable of interdimensional travel in order to make otherwise impossible space voyages. The vessel disappeared for several years before suddenly turning up orbiting Neptune while issuing an SOS call. The story follows a space crew who goes to investigate what happened and are met with The Horrors™. The film unfortunately fell victim to the Hollywood machine, but still has a lot of potential and can give you a lot to think about.

The Thing

Since I mentioned it previously, I thought I’d recommend it as well. “The Thing” is a classic, though small-scale, cosmic horror story. If you haven’t seen/read any version of it, I highly recommend the 1982 John Carpenter version. There's also the original 1951 film, “The Thing from Another World,” which is based on the novel “Who Goes There?”, and a 2011 remake. The novel and original film take place in Alaska, but the latter adaptations are based in Antarctica. The basic plot is a scientific team discovers an alien spacecraft/organism frozen in the ice, and the ultimate game of "Among Us" ensues.

The Void

“The Void” is a 2016 film directed by Steven Kostanski and Jeremy Gillespie. According to reviews, you’re either going to love this film (like me) or hate it. This movie is based more around the occult and an eldritch being versus something from space, but does have similar tones and elements to all of the above recommendations and the graphic novel. This is the only film to not have a novel/written counterpart. It also has absolutely disgusting (/positive) practical effects.

ARGs:

Local 58 TV

This ARG is comprised of several YouTube videos designed to look like recordings from a local American television station spliced with cosmic horror. I don’t want to give away to much because all the videos are superb, but there is definitely something funky going on with the moon.

The Sun Vanished

This ARG originated on Twitter and follows a user who woke up one morning to find that the sun has vanished and the world has been plunged into chaos. Since the social media site has become increasingly unfavorable under its new owner, I’ll leave you with a link to a full 4+ hour YouTube narration below (I know it’s long but it's so worth it).

Video Games:

Dead Space

The original video game was released in 2008 by EA, and was remade in 2023. There are also two game sequels, an art book, novel, several comics, and a graphic novel linked to the franchise. I personally have only played the first game and the 2023 remake, and the premise is the player character is part of a search and rescue team for a spaceship that has an alien artifact called The Marker on board. It has a similar plot in the beginning to “Event Horizon” and also has religious/occult undertones like in “The Mist” and "The Void." Also Vessel from Sleep Token played this game.

[cara-dreamer]

TikTok has found IHNMAIMS. I do have a mouth and I am about to scream if they don’t stop with the worst takes I’ve ever seen in my life. I know Tumblr isn’t known for its media literacy but it’s gotta be better than this. I don’t know how to add the keep reading so uh long post incoming.

Some woman: I just feel absolutely awful for Ellen. She didn’t deserve any of that.

Some man: Um ackchually the guys didn’t deserve any of that either!

I AM SHAKING YOU BY THE SHOULDERS THAT IS THE POINT! None of them deserve what they’re going through!

We also have the babygirlification of AM but like beyond what’s normal. (I will say I’m not a completely innocent bystander there. I love pathetic little meow meows.) However, I have been a fan of the story for years and years and recognize that he’s still an irredeemable monster. I am not having a good time seeing people trying to justify why they like him by minimizing that. Just post the “hear me out” and move on. Your taste in fiction says nothing about your moral leanings, but defending it and arguing to justify it does. It forces you to make up a moral stance, usually a bad one.

I’m not including the person that drew AM as a Tumblr sexyman with the intent of pissing people off. That’s just funny.

Another is these people forgetting what an unreliable narrator is. There was someone who commented on a video talking about it, “So you think you know their experience better than them?” YES THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THEYARE SAYING!

They can’t handle a narrator that doesn’t always tell the truth and doesn’t have perfect morals or perfectly accurate information on events.

And then there’s the talk about the author. Maybe just chill out. You’re not a bad person for enjoying fiction by bad people, especially since he’s been dead for a while now. Talking about and critically analyzing his cool short story isn’t showing support. I enjoy the works of Lovecraft, but I’m not a fan of the racism. That’s where the “critical” part comes into play. Just enjoy the story for what it is.

The only people I have some patience and grace for are the ones that are pointing out genuine questions raised. They at least had their brain on while reading. Seeing “Did you know the title probably refers to both the protagonist and antagonist?” or “Is AM still limited in his power to only be a tool of destruction, even now?” gives me some hope. Also the crack ship of AM and the Qu. That’s the kind of dumb content we should be getting out of it.

[mifhortunach]

Horror Short Films You Can Watch For Free - Right Now!

Just a 'small' post collecting some less well known horror short films that you can find mostly on youtube & vimeo! All worth a look!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUNGAZER 9min, 2020 (You'll have to log in to vimeo to watch this one!) "A short, wordless horror film about the terrors lurking just beyond the veil of reality." - Or, a man waits, and performs a ritual. Wicked atmospheric, manages to really paint a world despite the run-time. Looks great as well. [TW: flashing lights, body horror, harsh noise]

The Color Out of Space 5min, 2017 "A meteorite, strange vegetation, a colour: an experimental take on H.P. Lovecraft's spiral into madness, shot with a vintage camera on truly unique LomoChrome 16mm film." <- All accurate! Eerie little film.

My House Walk-through: 12min, 2016

Short, sweet, and unnerving!! The person who made this has done a tonne of other (more classical) 'internet horror' shorts, but this is a really wonderful & understated piece. Visually it feels very PT inspired, but its even more about atmosphere and repetition. Worth checking out the making of as well, pretty much the whole thing was done practically!! [TW: unsanitary conditions, blood]

Possibly in Michigan 12min, 1983

Cecilia Condit mostly does weird, dreamy short films. They have a kind of cake with a worm inside feeling, if you get me; things are rotting inside. This one is a cannibal musical! [TW: cannibalism, unreality, insects, murder, animal death]

The Black Tower 23min, 1987

More unsettling than scary. A man finds himself followed by a mysterious building. I really love how this one gets built up visually. The most like a tma episode out of all of these, or something out of Blue Jam. You can read more stuff about it here! [TW: unreality, talk of mental institutions, disordered eating]

Heck 29min, 2020 If you've seen any of these, I think it'll probably be this one. Its the short that originally inspired Skinamarink. I personally kind of prefer this. Digitally gritty and mean. [TW: Same warnings as skinamarink for the most part, there's a kid in danger, a little body horror].

Juliet in Paris 18min, 1967

Juliet moves to Paris for college, is lonely, and keeps losing blood. Kind of a vampire thing? But also not a vampire thing. Vibes and vignette heavy.

[TW: blood, animal death, self harm]

Dawn of an Evil Millennium 20min, 1988 (in 3 parts!)

A palette cleanser! Getting a honourary nomination through me hearing about it on a found footage podcast (lol). A trailer for an 18hr movie that doesn't exist; staring demons, 'olds mobiles', space-travel and cops. Deeply 80s, kind of ooey-gooey, pretty fun! [TW: some vomiting, a lot of fake blood gets splashed about]

Thanks for reading!

[dreadfuldevotee]

Thank you for this last post. The discourse on this fandom can often be so annoying. I hate it when people are like "this is a Gothic horror, let them be toxic and problematic!!!!11!!!1" because it's not take they think it is? At the end of the day, they still want us to root for these characters and relationships, right? So how can we do that if they're stereotyped vampires, who is dark, cold, just hurt each other and don't have an ounce of growth, development, empathy and humanity? And this is such a dismissive opinion of the show and even the books, because their conflict with humanity and vampirism is a central aspect of the plot. That said, if you reduce them to the abuse alone, you're also missing the point of the story? I mean, you can totally have your opinion, you can see them as unforgivable even on this fictional universe, you can hate and root against them... But this show isn't about punitivism, it is about them navigating immortality. There are consequences for their actions, as there should be, but the goal is for them to find a way to make this work. You don't need to agree (idgaf about the British monarchy and still watched a few episodes of The Crown for the acting, for example), but if you expect otherwise, you're just playing yourself? But this fandom seems to have a problem with finding a good balance. Not to mention the hypocrisy of never forgiving certain characters and reducing them to their problematic actions, but treating their faves very different lol. And I'm like, okay, you don't need to love everyone, it's okay to have a favorite, but at least don't be contradictory? Your fave does the exact same thing or worse? Anyways. Thanks again for putting it so well. It's refreshing to see posts like that here.

Thank you! I'm glad that other people get anything out of my ranting and raving, as I am a chronic yapper and really only talk for my own health LOL.

But yeah, there is a lot of selective hearing in any fandom, really; but it pisses me off a lot here because of all the "Gothic Horror" handwaving going on. Interacting with the fandom, reading the books and seeing clips & bits of personal writings from Anne Rice, the image it paints for me is a profound unwillingness to engage with contents of the story if they're not fun and sexy. Shit, even my own odyssey into the books is spurred on in one part, to be able to form my own opinion and critique on the writing and secondly, realizing that book readers were straight up lying at times about how things went down.

And there is this persistent idea I've seen on here and twitter of "If you have issue with XYZ then this series isn't for you" and like, okay if you don't wanna see gay people who have everything-but-the-bagel of mental illnesses then, yeah, sure. But when someone goes "Hey there is like,,, a ton of casual pedophilia and CSA in these stories that is framed as cute n' casual and/or deeply romantic, I wonder what that's all about" and then people crawl out the woodwork trying to convince you its not weird or that you're weird or weak for think its kinda fucked up- then at that point, I think maybe there is actually a different issue occurring here, you know?

Anyway, I think where I'm going with this is- TVC is a cultural phenomenon and has a tangible impact on Vampire and Gothic Horror canon and that's good and fun. But if we can recognize something like H.P Lovecraft's racism/classism/general fear of change having a profound effect on his writing and the spark of the entire Cosmic Horror Genre, then I think we can interrogate how AR as a Rich White Woman who grew up in mid-21st century New Orleans has an effect on the kind of stories she writes and how she does it.

[theloud]

My prediction: any moment now, people will start saying that Neil Gaiman’s books suck. Many will say they could always tell that Gaiman was a bad person, just from the ample clues in his books. They hated him before it was cool.

I’ll go first. In Good Omens, Witchfinder Sergeant Shadwell says awfully racist things, and doesn’t get punished in the narrative for it, or even learn the error of his ways and atone for his sins. Instead Gaiman rewards the totally unrepentant Shadwell by giving him a happy ending, including a relationship with Madame Tracy. This proves that Gaiman approves of all the awful racist ideas that Shadwell spouts, according to the laws of literary criticism I can deduce from the discussions of fiction I see online. If Gaiman weren’t racist, he’d have punished this fictional character for his racism, because a novel writer’s job is to reward good characters and punish bad characters, according to the consensus I see on the internet. Since Gaiman didn’t punish Shadwell, that proves either than Gaiman is a racist who thinks Shadwell is right, or Gaiman is a bad writer who failed at his job to punish bad characters. You just can’t argue with that logic. Believe me, I’ve tried.

Therefore, instead of reading Gaiman’s books, which suck, readers should read books by… I don’t know, whichever writer hasn’t come out as a bad person yet. I’m pretty sure that a lot of people advocating this switch will be the same ones who recommended Gaiman a few years ago as the unproblematic alternative to J.K. Rowling (whose books suck for similar reasons.)

So far, I’ve seen Douglas Adams recommended as an unproblematic alternative. His books are great, and he has the advantage of being dead, thus unlikely to get in the news for assaulting any nannies. You’d think it’s safest to stick with dead authors in general, but the problem is, the longer they’ve been dead, the more likely they are to have opinions that don’t meet modern standards. I was happily reading a book by P.G. Wodehouse and then boom, fatphobia. And don’t even talk about H. P. Lovecraft.

Terry Pratchett still seems safe, but I’m nervous about typing that since I don’t want to jinx it.

Enjoy your novels. They’re such a fun escape from reality, aren’t they?

[velvetvexations]

RE: Lovecraft's racism

I don't have anything meaningful to add, just some personal anecdotes.

I started reading Lovecraft from some selected works books, and I didn't see any issue for most of it. I didn't know his reputation, and also I am European so race is not something that I am actively aware about (because POC here are extremely rare and mostly are rich tourists and exchange students rather than minorities). Up until he described Inuits as "dwarfish creatures who call themselves Eskimos".

Later I have read complete collections of his works and saw some absolutely horrific racist sentiments, and also now that I am tumblr-level socialist I can see all problematic innuendos in selected works as well, so it's in no way defense of Lovecraft. Just my addition.

P.S.: I also think that people calling Lovecraft exceptionally racist just didn't read a lot of popular USAmerican fiction of the time. Burroughs is IMO worse, or at least more obvious about it.

P.P.S.: There was a popular joke some time ago like "Lovecraft would go insane if he met me" that was made by white neurodivergent queer people, and I feel that it's weirdly tone deaf. We don't know Lovecraft's opinion on homosexuality or transgenderism, at all. He probably was at least somewhat homophobic considering times, but we just can't prove that he wouldn't have changed his mind if presented with science-based arguments, and autism is definitely not what he considered scary mental illnesses. His entire deal was being racist, not just generally bad person.

P.P.P.S. (wow): Also, not enough people talk about him describing political system of Great Race of Yig (or whatever they are called) as "a mix of socialism and fascism"

Actually, we DO know how he felt about queer people!

From a letter to J. Vernon Shea:

I guess it is true that homosexuality is a rare theme for novels—partly because public attention was seldom called to it (except briefly during the Wilde period) until a decade ago, & partly because any literary use of it always incurs the peril of legal censorship. As a matter of fact—although of course I always knew that paederasty was a disgusting custom of many ancient nations—I never heard of homosexuality as an actual instinct till I was over thirty…which beats your record! It is possible, I think that this perversion occurs more frequently in some periods than in others—owing to obscure biological & psychological causes. Decadent ages—when psychology is unsettled—seem to favour it. Of course—in ancient times the extent of the practice of paederasty (as a custom which most simply accepted blindly, without any special inclination) cannot be taken as any measure of the extent of actual psychological perversion. Another thing—many nowadays overlook the fact that there are always distinctly effeminate types which are most distinctly not homosexual. I don’t know how psychology explains them, but we all know the sort of damned sissy who plays with girls & who—when he grows up—is a chronic “cake-eater”, hanging around girls, doting on dances, acquiring certain feminine mannerisms, intonations, & tastes, & yet never having even the slightest perversion of erotic inclinations.

Even worse, from a letter to James F. Morton:

Have you seen that precious sissy that I met in Cleveland? Belknap says he’s hit the big town, and that he’s had some conversation with him. When I saw that marcelled what is it I don’t know whether to kiss it or kill it! It used to sit cross-legged on the floor at Elgin’s and gaze soulfully upward. It didn’t like me and Galpin—too horrid, rough and mannish for it!

The idea that this fucking dweep saw himself as the alpha male in the room is dadgum hilarious.

And yet, R. H. Barlow and Samuel Loveman (again) were gay. Did Lovecraft know? He met the aforementioned "precious sissy" at a gathering Loveman had taken him to. R. H. Barlow wrote a story lost to us called "I Hate Queers" which Lovecraft read that certainly sounds psychologically revealing, but his brief commentary on it really tells us nothing about the content and if it made Barlow's closet more transparent or not.

Derleth said Lovecraft "seemed" to be unaware they were gay, but what the fuck does that asshole know? Lovecraft personally explained the ideas behind his stories to him and he still fucked up the Mythos for decades with his bullshit. On the other hand, Derleth was bisexual himself, and I don't know how Lovecraft couldn't have picked up on it from this letter he sent him:

I can understand your detestation of sex irregularities in life as violations of harmony and I here fully agree with you. I had previously misunderstood you to mean protestation from a basis of morals, and on this basis I would have stood squarely opposed to you. I have known and still know many people who are sexually irregular, both homosexual men and women, and except for three cases out of perhaps 21, I have always found these people highly intellectual, fully aware of what they were doing, and in all cases quite helpless. Speaking perspectively and in the abstract, I could as easily conceive myself entering upon a monogamous homosexual relation as a heterosexual one—though perhaps practice would change that point of view. To quibble about mere words, I should not say that perverts necessarily lived inartistically.

As to if Lovecraft would have accepted scientific evidence in favor of queer validity, maybe. He was becoming a full-blown Actual Communist towards the very end of his life and his racial views, while still preferring to keep cultures separate, had gotten to the point where he believed a Chinese baby raised by White parents would be essentially the same as a White person, which is, uh, technically progress?

[futuristicdoormats789]

@theyonagoda was kind enough to tag me for the '9 books I want to read in 2025.' Thankyou very much for tagging me!

May We Be Spared To Meet On Earth [Currently Reading]: I'm loving this book so far even if it is most likely the hardest book I've had to read relating to the Franklin expedition - Not due to difficulty reading but because of how harrowing it is to read/look at drawings and letters from the people related and on the expedition. But so far its been amazing and I recommend it.

The Terror by Dan Simmons: This has been on my reading list for a while. I'm excited to read it even though I'm incredibly biased towards the portrayal of the characters from the show and am scared of the horrors they will endure in the book version. But I owe it to myself to give it a go!

Madhouse at The End of the Earth by Julian Sancton: Thanks to Terror Camp one of the first things I did this year is hunt down this book at my local bookstore. It is now with me and I am so ready to read it, especially after hearing Julian's talk at the keynote!

Frozen In Time by Beattie and Geiger: I've been meaning to read this book for a long while! Its highly recommended by all who have read it and I know I'm gonna love every second of it. While I've read so much about the Franklin expedition, Frozen In Time seems like a fantastic and comprehensive read over the events. I also think it includes in depth information regarding the Beechey bodies which I am so looking forward to reading about.

Unraveling the Franklin Mystery by David Woodman: This is probably the book I am the MOST excited to read though it has some obvious steep competition. I've heard only amazing things about this book and I cannot wait to dive in and read it myself.

Erebus by Michael Palin: I read HMS Terror by Mathew Betts towards the end of last year and am now prepared to read about her sister ship Erebus! They are both such fascinating ships and I really love Palin's writing style (I believe he wrote the foreword for May We Be Spared and it was excellent).

-- That's my current reading list for Franklin Expedition/Polar Exploration related books. Please if you have any further recommendations on this topic send them my way! I am always on the hunt --

Tales of Horror by H.P. Lovecraft: A collection of Lovecraft's horror stories. Although I haven't read much Lovecraft (besides Mountains of Madness) I really want to sink my teeth into more of what he has to offer. Hoping to hunker down and read some of these stories this year.

Persuasion by Jane Austen: Been trying to read some more 'classics' recently and found this book at my bookstore. From what I've read I really enjoy her writing style.

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky: I've seen this name floating around for years and always wanted to read it. I found it on the same trip to the bookstore and couldn't resist picking it up. Really interested in the story and presentation of this one.

I tag the following people because I love you all: @johnnyy-guitarr, @copperphysics106, @thepratandtheidiot, @sunlaire, @killyourrdarlingss, @rysingsun, @fitzjamesbulletwound, @dead-freight @boatswainer @bell-swamp-fitzjames @lazyfox411 @speedruntechnically @leadandblood @rappa I am sure I missed so many people so if any muties see this and want to do it please tag me so I can read your lists thanks beauties <3

[jasper-tarot-reader]

This is wholly my opinion, naturally, since you came to my blog for my opinion, but-

Decks I think did a good job being a divination tool and a representative of their original media:

the Cthulhu's Vault tarot deck (does a great job bringing in the written aspect of Lovecraft's works)

the Magic The Gathering oracle deck (already said good things about it here)

the Neopets tarot deck (already said good things about it here)

Decks I think missed on either the divination tool and/or representation of original media angle:

the Dark Grimoire tarot deck

the Dungeons and Dragons tarot deck

the Skyrim tarot deck

The Dark Grimoire Tarot is more of like...if someone within the universe of Lovecraft's mythos made a tarot deck and then half-assed it. It's a Lo Scarabeo deck, so you get a bunch of languages and almost no depth at all in the guidebook. It is, however, incredibly Lovecraftian. It references many of his stories across different cards, though they aren't all in the same suits as each other.

The Dungeons and Dragons Tarot is so fucking hard to understand. It's pretty, but there's no telling what the hell is on any card or if you're supposed to recognize any of the characters. Renaming the suits to four of the six stats without any mention of the other two stats was hard, and there's no telling from looking at the card which suit the characters are actually supposed to be part of, so you end up looking in the guidebook just to find out what you're looking at. And the guidebook isn't exactly thorough. Would have been better as an oracle deck split into six suits for each stat...and with clearer labelling. Though they figured out what worked and what didn't before they put out the MTG oracle deck.

The Skyrim Tarot has a ridiculous number of characters who are not actually depicted in Skyrim on the cards. And it being marketed specifically as a Skyrim deck is a huge thing because of that. I don't actually mind that it's a pip deck, but the reason behind putting some characters on cards over others are utterly inscrutable to me. A friend of mine and I sat in VC when I got it and went into elaborate detail about how we would redo this deck in any number of directions.

Not that any of these decks are bad! I can still read with them, and I do a damn fine job of it, as y'all have probably seen. They're still pretty. One of my favorite cards ever is the 3 of Pentacles from the Dark Grimoire Tarot:

This image is genuinely the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life. Also, I keep misreading "Oros" as "Oreos", so you can imagine my joy whenever I get to pull this baby out.

Anywho, yeah, this post is just me spreading my bad opinions everywhere. Thank y'all for your time.

[keyishacolecat]

do you have any book recommendations? pls i need lots 💙💙

this is such a loaded question friend. but lucky for u, i am procrastinating assignments, my take out has yet to arrive, and i just finished another book!

horror fic has been my choice for the last several books

the centre by ayesha manazir siddiqi is about a young Pakistani woman living in the UK. she's a translator for Urduru films. language and translation are central to this book. people are becoming fluent in a matter of weeks in complex languages.... the centre is gorgeous if not entirely mysterious, magical even. but whats the catch?? beautifully written. vivid details. anisa is a flawed, honest, and genuine feeling mc, as are the people in her life. i just finished it a couple hours ago n i miss my girls.

slewfoot by brom is set in 17th century Connecticut. our protag, Abitha, is not from this town but she does he best to adhere to the Puritan standards, if not for her well being, than that of her husband's. something stirs in the outskirts of the village, in the forest and beyond. she finds help from an unlikely source while also fostering a deep inner power of her own. these characters felt so well thought out, the writing is magnetic and the action is well paced. it puts so many preconceived notions right on their head. i loved this book and can't wait to read brom's other novel, the child thief, a retelling of peter pan and the lost boys!

sister, maiden, monster by lucy a. synder was oh so gay and oh so cosmically horrendous. this is like h.p. lovecraft wasn't a weird racist. this is like if biblically accurate angels were once just women in love. this is horrifying, visceral, and relevant to our COVID world. i was gawking at so many of the details. there are so many monster themes actually, it's perfect. the story is told through 3 povs of 3 different women. and we love women! and horror! i didn't expect to pick this one up but I'm so glad i did.

mary: an awakening of terror by nat cassidy do u know what it's like to be virtually invisible? forgotten? disaffected? do u know the pure joy of having a precious collection, adding to it over time, and it being almost ur only reason for living anymore?? then you're a lot like mary. and mary is a lot like plenty of women who get the chance to live beyond adolescence, who are cast out by society-- deemed invaluable. mary is utterly lost at a time in her life she feels she should have it all figured out. she goes back to her hometown, an ambiguous small town in the middle of the desert, and some unlikely characters help her piece things back together. i finished this book feeling so close to mary. we are friends now. there is mystique, horror, fables, myths, bad guys, mysterious architecture, and well mary is not the most reliable narrator. loved this one too.

the last house on needless street by catriona ward i had no idea where this book was going and i loved piecing the narrative together through several characters and their povs. it forces u to confront ur own biases regarding mental health. u are sympathetic to the characters in the most painful, heart wrenching ways. there is murder. there is mystery. there is missing children. there are cats. this book surprised me and it was fun to have to find a couple reddit threads to be sure i was understanding the story correctly. i felt like i read this kind of fast! which is always fun too.

brother by ania ahlborn this one pissed me off a bit. but in a good way because i was so deeply invested. this one is set in Appalachia. i'm not one for stereotypes, especially bc i think Appalachians have a bad rep and it's of no fault of their own. that being said, the insular feel of the book and the absolute claustrophobia those mountains create in this story were like a character in it of itself. our protag, michael, knows there's something beyond. he's seen them on colorful postcards. but his own mind and his own heart seem utterly trapped here. this one is heartbreaking. it's horrifying. and it'll make u dizzy from the amount of times u change ur mind. excited to read her other novel, Seed, because this one stuck with me so much!

a couple honorable mentions that fit the theme:

the vegetarian by han kang korean food. infidelity. art. nightmares. inexplicable mindfucks! this story was scary because it felt very.. possible? no monsters this time. no spells. just... the mind deteriorating. could happen to any of us.

a certain hunger by chelsea g. summers what if girlbossing is just a quick pivot from sociopathy?? what if the crimes are so much more gratifying than say, fame or fortune or even love?? women can be sociopaths too, you know!! this one is fun bc the protag is crazy and it's fun to slip into these characters. cathartic even. omg did i mention, she's a foodie too! just like me :-)

[note-boom]

After reading that Dead Apple Post and all the posts within it, I had commentary and theories and random points to make....but I couldn't really put in into a cohesive post, so instead just have them as bullet points in the form of questions

So, obvious one first. What in the world is up with Atsushi's ability? The thing is. It's him that's described as a guidepost to the Book rather than his ability and when he looks at that blue cube, he calls it himself. And yet his ability is supposedly the one who can guide people to what they most desire, as well as his ability being described as something that can basically devour other abilities

On that note...it's interesting to me that it's been pointed out how Akutagawa's ability can cut through any physical structure (matter) and even space itself (so Akutagawa has a space-matter ability) while Atsushi can cut through and basically unalive any ability (tiger devouring prey imagery anyone?). And then we have Dazai who is able to nullify abilities for a brief period of time, not obliterate them just cancel them out. Which is very interesting to me when we have this whole imagery of Dazai represented by sunset, the ADA represented by twilight, the PM by the night, the Special Division by the day, and Atsushi by the moon. The moon is within the night and it's what sort of...cancels out the power of the night. Meanwhile, twilight (ADA) is the time between sunset (Dazai) and dusk (apparently, it goes like sunset -> twilight -> dusk), and it just sits interestingly to me that the ADA people are framed as those "in between" two great forces (day and night), and Dazai the nullifier as sunset sits in between Atsushi the ability devourer represented by the moon...and perhaps something represented by the sun. And the question culminating out of all that: was Shibusawa (the chaos of "ability" itself) the sun to Atsushi's moon or have we not seen that yet? Or is Akutagawa, also represented with draconic imagery, supposed to be that sun or is he really the night that "backgrounds" Atsushi's moon, as we seen in their fights?

Thirdly, something to be said about shapeshifting abilities. All I can remember off the top of my head right now is Lovecraft's Great Old Ones, Shibusawa's Draconica's final form, Bram's vampire ability, and Atsushi's Beast Beneath the Moonlight. (And from the theory linked in the dead apple post that talks about a possible Fyodor ability being the ability to copy himself makes him a kind of...form-shifter as well?). That said, in all these four, the carrier of that ability doesn't just use their ability, they become their ability. That sort of distinction clearly sets them apart from other ability users, I think...it makes them something....other (it also brings up Tanizaki as a rather interesting point, not as someone who can shapeshift or cause shapeshifting but as someone who can pretend to do so through illusions). And Dazai has all this angst about him not being human, but the real question is how human are those shapeshifters? Lovecraft clearly isn't human, Bram's vampires definitely aren't, and Shibusawa was an ability that survived its user (we've seen some other abilities do that, but none of them are sentient). I definitely think Atsushi's 100% human, and I think his lack of initial control over his ability is a testament to that....but I do wonder if he has the ability to be a little bit other-than-human like the other shapeshifters seem to be.

Continuing the Atsushi thread...we've already established that his ability can reject wounds/regenerate wounds. And while I do think we have evidence that he's recovered from normal gunshot wounds and such things, there's also the thing about him having orphanage scars and how most of the times he regrows limbs etc. etc. it's because an ability wounded him. Do you think that Atsushi might possibly have the ability to recover faster from non-ability based wounds (and thus get scars out of it) but an actual power to "reject" ability-inflicted pain (so no scars)?

Also, the whole thing about singularities is interesting to me, especially considering Chuuya and his...instability. I wonder if there's a difference between curated and manmade singularities like Chuuya's and Oda/Gide's...or if Chuuya's (and Verlaine's) whole singularity experiment was an attempt to recreate something the scientists had already seen...namely, a singularity that could survive within a person without actually harming them. And could Atsushi be one of those people who contain a natural singularity within himself?

[chronicbeans]

Candle Cove Headcanons (3)

How the show works, in a sense. Who could see it, and why some people remember it being different than others. Most people within the community have not put these pieces together, yet, but some have their suspicions.

TW: Neglect, Children getting into Dark Media for their age

📺 The show only showed itself to neglected children during the early 70's. As such, a lot of people in the community make joke posts saying "Candle Cove was there for me when my parents weren't." Unfortunately, they don't realize how literal that statement was. The show appeared to give those kids something to do. Something to distract themselves with. To give them characters to play with, even if they're terrifying. It became addictive, in a way, but only because those kids often had nothing else to do, or were too stressed by their situations to do anything but sit in front of the screen.

📺 The first half of Candle Cove is the same for everyone who watched it. It's all about Pirate Percy and Janice fighting the Skintaker and Horace. However, while the main plot beats of the second half are the same, many have very different recollections of what exactly each episode was like. Many say the differences begin once Percy begins growing more paranoid. This is because the show, in a way, personalizes itself to the viewer watching it. It does it in a very specific way, however.

📺 Children left to their own devices often find things they shouldn't. Children left to their own devices, bored out of their minds and desperate for any form of entertainment might find media they shouldn't, like gruesome movies or books. Children love the taboo, so even though they might know they shouldn't read something so dark, or watch something so violent, chances are they'll take a peek. Candle Cove personalizes itself based on other media the child has seen. So, based on what sort of things the child has gotten into, recently, they might begin seeing it in Candle Cove. However, it's always done in such a way that it can fit the vibe of a particularly dark children's show. Maybe not one that's suitable for their target demographic of 5 to 9, and would be much better for 13 and over, but still a children's show. And weirdly enough, it's only horror media that affects it, probably because any adult media would instantly take it out of the children's age rating.

📺 Have you gotten into some Lovecraft stories your father left out? Well, now Percy is offhandedly mentioning something sleeping beneath the sea, or talking about a nearby town of Innsmouth. Watch a few slashers? The Skintaker has been more gruesome than normal, and they've even begun including red food dye. Did you see any psychological horror media? You better hope not. You don't even want to know what happens.

📺 And yet, throughout all of that, the most basic parts of the second half of the plot stay the same. Percy gets progressively more paranoid, Percy fears Janice will betray him, Percy attacks Janice at the cave he uses to calm down, and Horace confronts him about it. No matter what changes were made through the personalization, that stays the same.

📺 Other things the show takes into account while personalizing itself to the viewer is life events happening. If the viewer or a family member of them is severely sick, it might show episodes about sickness more often. If they are dealing with parents fighting often in their household, it might show episodes that can teach them how to deal with it. Maybe they are dealing with a death in the family, so the show turns on an episode dealing with death.

📺 No one in the fandom has figured this out. Instead, they either believe people just saw different episodes because they watched at different times, and that they missed the episodes they didn't see. Others think it's a Mandela Effect, because some episodes could be exactly the same with one or two minute differences.

[centrally-unplanned]

do you know what the writers had in mind as models or influences when coming up with the second impact? I'm wondering if there's a link to "At the Mountains of Madness", either as a direct acknowledged influence, or maybe at one step removed, an influence of an influence.

A good question! So my first-order response to the Lovecraft element is going to be "no", for two reasons, but with the caveat that I have never seen any document specifically stating it one way or the other. The first is that (to answer the other part of the question) the Second Impact is not something that there is a lot of "behind the scenes" documents on. As its backstory its not a topic that comes up in interviews a ton, its not mentioned beyond its establishing facts in the Evangelion Proposal or (from what I have seen) production notes, etc. It lacks that elevated importance for us to get real answers on why its designed the way it is. So I don't have any real sources on, for example, "Why Antartica".

The second is that Hideaki Anno did not read or overly like western sci/fi & fantasy authors. Given Eva's positioning in the sci-fi genre he was asked, very frequently, things like "oh how much did Arthur C Clarke influence you or what do you think of Cordwainer Smith" and his response is usually "I don't read any of that shit lol". His influences are other anime & things like tokusatsu. So if I made a bet on "why Antarctica" for example, I would point to the ice planets in classic space anime, or even Anno's work on Nadia which has episodes in Antarctica. Or just a convenient way to flood the earth and get the apocalypse vibe. Lovecraft is not an influence I have seen the core team cite.

But as for Lovecraft being "in the water", that is a very different story. Lovecraft was very popular in Japan - even in the pre-Cthulhu boom days. And just like in the US, Sandy Peterson’s Call of Cthulhu RPG launched a boom in Lovecratian interest in Japan upon its translation & release in 1986. Manga adaptations, direct inspirations, references in other works, and so on are present in Otaku-adjacent media in the 80's & 90's. Chiaki Konaka (writer for Serial Experiments Lain) was a big Lovecraft fan and definitely drew from that for the work he did on tokusatsu series Ultraman, which Hideaki Anno loves enough to direct a film entry for last year.

And At The Mountains of Madness as definitely available in Japan, having been translated more than once into Japanese by 1990. It even has a full manga adaptation in the 2010's, if that appeals! So while I doubt you will ever be able to prove anything, the idea of Antartica having a touch of the horror vibe via serving as a tomb for dead gods being a culturally current idea, influenced in part by Lovecraft's works, seems as valid a guess as any to me.

As always, there 100% could be an interview out there I haven't seen that directly addresses this, would love to hear other's thoughts!

[literaryspinster]

Do you have any fantasy or sci-fi book recs that are tonally and thematically similar to Gen V? And/or have a couple that give the same dynamic as MarieJordan? :3

I think part of the reason I like Jordan and Marie so much is because I really haven't seen a couple quite like them in any medium before. By that I mean the fact that Jordan can change gender and that causes Marie to reflect on her capacity for attraction. That's a really unique concept to me. They did something kind of similar on Lovecraft Country but that storyline gave me the ick so I wouldn't recommend it for that. I hear the show Misfits had a character who could change genders as well but I heard that their powers manifested differently and I'm not sure if that character was involved in a romance. I think I mentioned before that Jordan and Marie's personalities and dynamic give me Paris and Rory vibes, but they were never a couple on Gilmore Girls. As far as books with similar themes, I would perhaps suggest The Magicians trilogy by Lev Grossman, it's about a group of students at a magical university and it's a pretty fun read, A Blade So Black by LL Mckinney is a YA take on Alice in wonderland with a queer Black girl protagonist, so it has the whole element of being thrust into a dangerous new world thing going for it. And it's not Fantasy, but Tiny Pretty Things (the book, not the show) has the elements of fierce competition and intrigue. Hope that helps somewhat.

[c0rpsedemon]

ppl, mainly white lgbt ppl, have a longggg history of liking lovecraft work but not knowing how to address his bigotry and there are two main strategies i see irt this:

1) the most common one is the "it's abt me now" which is when they like to go off abt how awful lovecraft was as if he's a cartoon villain (and yes lovecraft was bad but in the grand scheme of things he didn't rlly take it out on anyone else and he at least seemed to become less bigoted as time went on so like. as far as racist historical authors go it's strange how ppl decide that This is the one that's treated like he's the fucking boogeyman or smthing) but the emphasis all comes down to "actually i'm spiting lovecraft by jacking his shit bc he would hate me bc i'm gay/trans" when like. lovecraft didn't give a shit abt gay/trans ppl. he probs didn't even Know they existed. the only evidence for him having negative views of gay/trans ppl is a severe misreading of the thing at the doorstep which comes from hearing a summary and not actually reading the thing, or going in in bad faith (the horror isn't 'gasp! edward thought he married a woman but she's rlly a man!' it's 'gasp! poor asenath lost her own mind and became her father... literally!' . like lovecraft was Very scared of inheritted mental issues asenath is a borderline self insert for him). lovecraft was racist, classist, and antisemetic . he was not homophobic or transphobic . it's not abt you. and hey he rlly would like you jacking his shit actually . he loved when ppl did that. (honestly he might even be ok w it if you Were in one of the groups he was worked up abt. like he Rlly wasn't that dedicated to his bigotry he literally married a jewish woman. also anyone jacking his shit at all was like the best thing that'd ever happen to him he rlly wanted ppl to do it bc he felt the more references there were to things like miskatonic university or arkham asyllum or the necronomicon the more real they seemed and the more mindfucky it was. and i think doing his literal favorite thing in the world is a p effective way to get him to overlook everything else). sometimes the "spiting lovecraft" is just adding monster sex bc he'd be sooo scandalized by it. babes he created innsmouth and wilbur whately he would Not gaf and i doubt you've actually read any of his shit 0/10 strategy accomplishes nothing and spreads misinformation

2) i call this one the "actually he wasn't involved in this at all" . the 'arkham asyllum was created by dc comics!' approach. mainly seen in fans of re-animator 1985 who like to call it a frankenstein adaptation. 0/10 you are Lying

[play-rough]

8, 21, 22, & 25 for Dazai and Chuuya 🥹💕

🩵❤️‍🔥

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

Dazai- god i feel like I’m so picky about Dazai characterizations and it’s so hard to describe sometimes I’ll just be like NO THATS WRONG‼️ but I guess one thing is when Dazai mentoring ryunosuke is just boiled down to a black and white situation where Dazai was soooo abusive to poor ryu (and i feel like this is a disservice to akutagawas character too), but Iike you have a child raised in a strict mafia environment and then you give that unstable child control over *another child* it’s not gonna go well, and i don’t personally blame either of the children in that scenario 🙄 idk BSD just has a lot of complex situations and I feel like they’re not always handled as such 😌🩵 Wtf this morally grey character is making problematic choices??? Cancel him🚫

Chuuya- when he’s just angry shouty guy who yells and shouts, sometimes I feel like I’m looking at a bad bakugo parody 😭

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

Ummm for Dazai i like making him break down and cry and forcing him to admit he needs help or attention 🥺👉👈 or sick or just any kind of general vulnerability, and flip side for Chuuya, I love forcing him to admit he’s worried about Dazai or cares about him. My favorite part of Chuuya’s character is that he’s a genuinely nice person, Dazai is just so annoying and pushes his buttons, so I love showing off Chuuya’s softer side and highlighting his protective and caring nature. That scene where chuuya watches Dazai get slammed into a tree by lovecraft x1000000❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to ths character? Something you don't like?

For both of them like I said above im so picky and if you make them one dimensional or even if the vibes are bad I’ll just be like NO THATS WRONG‼️ and close the fic

Something i *like* is pretty much my same answer for 21 ajdhhfhdjs I really only write about what I like reading about so I’m a sucker for vulnerable Dazai and sappy Chuuya BUT for a more specific, ridiculous, self indulgent answer i like when Dazai is written regressed 🥹🩵 or even if he’s baby, just in energy 🥺🩵 Dazai is baby and should be written as such

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

First impressions of Dazai was i don’t even remember him, I read the first bsd book at the library when I was in middle/high school (don’t remember exactly when) and was like eh. Boring. I think it didn’t help that they didn’t have all the books so it was like volume one, three, five, prime numbers only. I think I read soul eater instead lmao. Flash forward to college I had seen bsd characters and i liked the designs, and i had figured chuuya would be my favorite bc he kinda reminded me a bit of Karkat from homestuck (a dear fave of mine at one point) in that angry but actually sweet and kindhearted kinda way.

I was still eh whatever about Dazai, which is crazy because I’ve seen him compared to both Gojo and Reigen in the silly mentor who lost the kids he’s custody of kinda way, and those two are some more faves of mine. Tbh i didn’t solidify him as my fave until we learned of his tragic past because my OTHER favorite kind of character is a rude little bastard, and i was shown the light. Dazai Osamu has the range. He’s like a two for one, which I’m pretty sure he’s a Gemini??? I’m not gonna google and confirm just trust me i think he’s a Gemini ♊️

Impressions now obviously Dazai is my babygirl, my soaking wet cat, my poor pathetic meow meow who has both never done anything wrong and also committed so many war crimes. Chuuya I knew i would like him and I do lmao, close second from Dazai. I think Dazai is pretty much my ultimate fave character of all time…