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hobisfavoritespritecan · 1 year

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PASSENGER

Lee X Reader

Lee has traveled everywhere with you ever since meeting you in the store the night after your father left you. He's never given you a reason not to trust he'll stay, but your anxiousness gets in the way after he admits to you that he wants to be closer than ever before.

⚠️ Warnings: Blood and gore, mentions of cannibalism, talks about sex, reader and Lee almost have sex, anxiety⚠️

The truck bounced up and down as the tires made harsh contact with the gravelly road beneath it. The bumps and swerves were almost soothing as they rocked both you and the pink haired boy next to you, who had taken comfort in the passenger seat staring out the window. His lips were drawn into a tight line and his eyes were closed but flitting back and forth as he dreamt of nightmares, presumably. It was hard to live the life the two of you shared and not feel a little scarred on the inside. Being on the road without any sense of direction was so freeing compared to the life you were living before. After discovering the news of your mother in the psych ward and your father leaving you to fend for yourself, the path towards self-love and acceptance has not been an easy one. Picking up people along the way and carrying their stories with you seemed to be the only attempt at salvation when it came to your humanity. That's what people with morals did. Did you have morals anymore? It was hard to tell.

"It's getting dark. Are we almost to the lake?" The boy piped in, interrupting your thoughts as your hands gripped the steering wheel a bit tighter as you prepared to turn right towards your special campsite. It was just a small spot by the trees and the lake that you two often shared a cigarette and a story or two. Sleeping under the stars has become normality.

"We're here." You said, turning over to glance at his expression of contentment yet sorrow. If there was anyone in the world who could manage to make both expressions visible at once, it was Lee.

The sky has darkened tremendously from when you first embarked on your little journey out towards the fields. The stars hung overhead in dim glowing orbs that contrasted against the rest of the universe above. The crescent moon illuminated the trees and the path to the usual parking spot under the bridge. It was beautiful at this time of night to say the least, and you felt your shoulders lose their tension as a serene wave washed over you.

The car's engine turned off and there was a silence between the two of you. Nothing uncomfortable, but a very distinct kind of silence where both parties are listening to the whims of nature. A cicada here and there and the rushing of water. It was all too perfect but unsettling at the same time. However, the only unsettling things were you and Lee; he only terrors that travelled in the dark were you and him. The kinds of beasts in fairy tales and children's nightmares. You consumed others and not just for their emotional intelligence. You consumed the very essence of their being. A trace of blood under the bottom of the boy's lips and scraped knees were prevalent as you took in the sights around you and remembered you were never normal to begin with. The smell of the last person you killed hung heavy in the backseat of the car and it was a stench that would not be rid of unless there was a strip cleaning of the entire vehicle. The man who kissed Lee in the same way you did at the carnival who was expecting a night of frivolity and excitement presumably due to having to hide his sexuality... was now nothing more than a couple of bloodied shirts and old pictures. Lee had monstrously slit his throat while you watched from outside in the night air similar to this one. The gleaming thick substance dripping from the man's neck and now took home in the mouth of your lover. And yet, for being this type of monster, Lee looked so lovely under the soft glow of the moon cascading down through the pick-up truck's slightly dirty windows.

All of a sudden, you broke the silence that had dawned on you two as fast as it now ended.

"What are you thinking of?" You asked, alluding to the familiar brightness behind his eyes.

"You. Me. Us." He said with clarity but uncertainty. There was more to this topic than he was letting on.

"Is something wrong between us?" You asked, wondering what it could've been that would make him think of your relationship. Was it a tension that he felt? Was it him explaining to you that the man from last night was not just due to a sense of sexuality, but had now awoken something in him that wasn't there before, and he could no longer continue being with you? Or had that sense of sexuality always been there, and you were just a way at him preventing the realization of who he knew he was? And now, in contrast to your last stream of thoughts, you decided maybe your humanity wasn't entirely diminished and that you might be more of a teenage girl than you thought.

"No, not at all," he said, reaching for a strand of your hair and pushing it behind your ear with a loving and slight obsessive look in his eyes. his hair was strewn about his face, and he allowed the loose curls to fall just above his eyebrows in pink spirals similar to fanciful ribbons. It was inviting and alluring, and you didn't want to look away from him. "I want to make love to you."

The confession hit you like a train, hard and fast as you finally realized what had been troubling your boyfriend. It wasn't unlike him to want something of the sort, considering he was a teenage boy, but it still left you slightly startled. After everything the two of you had been through, this didn't seem like something that wouldn't have ever happened. Your love with Lee was fast and exciting and wonderful but also horribly founded on the fact that you shared the desire to eat human flesh. Sometimes, you had a hard time distinguishing between what portion of your relationship was bloodlust and what was true emotional and physical connection. But then again, you felt no such connection with Sully, who had tried to coerce you into banding with him on his journey of collecting the locks of corpses.

Sounding less assured than you usually liked to, you let out an anxious mumble: "You- you want to make love? To me?"

He smiled and leaned in closer until you could feel his hot breath against your skin, alluring and charming once more.

"I want to be one together. In the ways that we can be with other people when we devour their flesh. There's something poetic about it, no? We wouldn't necessarily eat each other as we did with the guy from the carnival, but this is the closest lovers can truly get in the physical sense. And oh, (Y/N), have you consumed me in the emotional sense."

This conversation definitely took a turn you weren't expecting. Before any objections could escape you, his lips were flush against yours, pulling you into him or as close as the stick shift would allow. The dashboard was littered with papers that fell down to the floor and under the glove compartment, resting at Lee's soles. His arms, although gentle in composure, were firmly placed on the sides of you with one holding the back of your head and the other placed on your hip. He started to move his fingers up and down alongside your thigh in a polite but provocative manner. He wasn't forcing you into anything you were uncertain of, but he still wanted to show how terribly he needed you.

Breaking away to gasp for air, you look at his proud expression as he treated every moment spent with you as though it would be the last. His eyes said everything he didn't say in that moment. He worshipped you. And it wasn't in the honeymoon phase type of way, it was in an 'I see you as though you were crafted by the gods' way. His lips were slightly swollen from the kiss he'd just given you, and his sharp, shallow breaths showed you he was just as tense as you were. His pants were still covered in the mud from the cornfield where you ditched Carnival Man's body, and his shirt was torn and fraying towards the bottom. You had to have been in rough shape as well but you hadn't looked in a mirror anytime soon to confirm or deny whether that was a true statement.

Your collective breaths being the only sounds within the car and outside it made this moment so much more intimate. His face loomed inches away from your pursuing lips, as you had wanted more of his taste; your hands beckoned ever so slightly in a race to see which one would reach the beautiful boy's skin first, Lee's collarbone was the finish line. You had thought about making love to Lee before, of course. With only your thoughts to keep you company as of recent, it wasn't entirely a new concept for you to wake up after a long drive with Lee at the steering wheel; the heat between your legs unbeknownst to him. You had wondered at one point if he had ever thought of something similar, but you would never have had the courage to bring about a situation like this and bring your fantasies to fruition. But, Lee had been the one to make the first move and you were thankful.

Noticing your hesitance but desire, Lee took that as a sign to lean in closer until you were nose to nose.

"Would you make love to me?" He asked, waiting until he had your consent before he continued. The last thing he would ever want to do would be to make you uncomfortable, and for a moment he thought he had. Until you reached for the hem of his shirt which grazed his collarbone, he leant in fully and continued to kiss you with a more feverish passion.

Hot breaths and hands everywhere, everything was so awkward but fun. There would be a pause in between your kisses to allow for breathing room before Lee dove back in and offered you more of the sweet gesture. All the while, you realized the burning sensation in the core of both your chest and lower abdomen was increasing with every touch of your lips. It was as if there was something inside of you asking- no -begging to touch Lee further. A fiery feeling that you'd never fully experienced before pushed itself to the very undersides of your skin, clawing at being held within your body and not being let loose as this beast wanted. It was the same desire you felt when you watched the life drained from someone you would eventually feed on and your mouth would be already drooling with the promise of what was to come. It was a same immenseness as your cannibalistic tendencies, but at the same time what you had with Lee was entirely different. You wanted to consume his soul and his persona, not his physical components. And with this realization also came the understanding that cannibalism is a beautiful allegory to love.

Lee pulled away for a moment to give you a loving but questioning glance. His face was barely illuminated now considering the clouds that had taken control of the night sky. But still, you knew he looked so handsome as he took your hands and gently guided them to the hem of his jeans. It was again, nowhere near forceful, but entirely romantic and sweet as he was taking into account how this was just as awkward for you.

"Would you want to continue?" He asked, lightly holding onto your hands as they toyed with the fabric of his jeans.

"I want you, Lee." You finally gave him a more definitive answer than your previous attempts at vocalizing exactly what it was you wanted in this moment. It was his turn to blush, even though you wouldn't see due to the darkness of the surrounding area, but you had an inkling that his face was redder than before. Unbuttoning the top of his jeans and unzipping the fly, this became more of a reality to you. What is Lee would be done with you after this? What if he joined this whole escapade of finding your true family and what happened to you just so that he could receive sexual favors in return? You never thought of Lee in that way, but maybe because of the way he treated Carnival Man he hoped you would be next?

Halting his movements, he noticed you seemed distressed. "Is everything okay, my love?" He questioned. Lee didn't know what had happened to change the mood all of a sudden, but he assumed it had to be his fault as he was the one who had brought up the idea in the first place.

"I'm so so sorry if I pressured you into doing anything you didn't want to-"

"No, you didn't Lee." You said, trying to understand the way you were feeling. That burning feeling had left your body and was now instead an anxious and gut-wrenching pressure. Why did you have to overthink everything? You really wanted this with Lee so why would you let your thoughts get the best of you?

"Are we taking things too fast?" He asked, after a short moment of silence. He zipped up his jeans and leant beside you, hesitating at first, but then opting to put his hand on your shoulder just in case he had done something to make you uncomfortable. If you were shying away from his touch, he wouldn't want to make you feel that way again.

But to his relief, you didn't shy away. Instead, you rest your head on his shoulder and allowed for him to put his arm around you. Feeling comfortable, you wait for the anxiety to dispel a bit before vocalizing the troubling thoughts on your mind; Lee waiting patiently.

"Lee, I really want this with you. But I want to make sure that you want me."

Lee was very confused at this point. He was your boyfriend and had asked to make love to you because he wanted you, of course. He instantly felt a pang of guilt for making you feel as though you weren't wanted by him. In reality, he would follow you anywhere. His nightmare from earlier was about losing you. And not to another man or any of that type of thing, but just not being able to be in your presence again. The universe worked in strange ways and everything was uncertain, even the present.

"I want you very much," Lee said, moving in closer to you to give you a proper hug, "very much. And I apologize if I've made you feel any differently."

You sighed a breath of relief. Of course he automatically thought there was something wrong on his end.

"No, Lee. You've made me feel very wanted. I just want to make sure that it lasts. Everyone I've held dear to me has left in different ways, and I don't want to have to loose you too." You calmed him as you explained what was wrong. He tightened his grip on you, not in a way that was possessive, but in a more firm and loving way.

"(Y/N). Anyone would be a fool to leave you."

(A/N): I've been listening to a lot of Deftones lately and their music has been my go to for daydreaming about Bones and All. Anyhow, it's been forever since I've posted and I'll explain in another post for anyone who's interested! I hope this is alright as I try to ease myself back into writing as frequently as before. Love you guys! 💛🦐

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fearcrowz · 1 year

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What can you tell us about Ruby, Lucas, Bastion, and River?

Of course, I will gladly talk about them! ♡ Read below if interested:

Rudy is a patient that decided he is happier in the Hospital. No one judges him for liking more feminine things! Considering the time period he was in, he was very quick to be judged and his life and ruined for his secret. Now, he can be a fabulous, happy middle aged man just being there. His body has since passed on in he Waking World from injuries and he will never leave the Hospital. He's okay with that though. He is dad (and mom) to a lot of the patients there, making sure everyone is taken care of and will listen to all your problems with complete sympathy!

Lucas (who is actually a 12 year old girl) is a tomboy who likes to get into trouble and sneak out of the Children's Ward, much to Oswald's stress. When Lucas was a child, her father was angered that she wasn't a boy and to be the typical "I'm forcing this on my child to be what I want" and named her Lucas and started making her be more boylike. This left a lasting impression on her and she is rough edged and tough for her age. Also adventurous and a bit ornery! She wants to explore, not be cooped up with a bunch of little kids. (Though she helps Ozzy the most at the Daycare despite it, like she did her little sister in the Waking World.) One day she wants to go back and save her sister from their toxic family.

Bastian, one of the oldest residents of the Hospital is a West Wing patient. An example of if you call someone a monster or a demon enough they become one. Also an example how the Hospital twists the forms of it's Patients, like Simon, Blank, Walter and Oswald (and Laurel as well). He is gruff and kept in a large dark room. This is due to him hating anyone around him, as he thinks they all treat him like a beast. Which makes it hard cuz if you're aggressive and stubborn, you will have to be placed somewhere where you're not going to hurt others. But deep inside, under the monster heart's iron shell, he is fragile. He was never once treated with love and kindness. Once part of a running freakshow/carnival, he was mocked for his large size and inhuman strength. He was put down like a dog when girls started going missing and they blamed him. Now in the Hospital, given a chance to heal, no one has managed to crack past that iron shell of a beast, and with his form warped, he is dangerous and sedated to calm his endless hate.

As for River? She is a character that doesn't pop up often. All she is is a Shepherd for the souls. A special creation by the Hospital, like Blagden and his creations. Once someone agrees to pass on in that world and they have their rightful funeral, the Bell rings, and she takes their essence of who they were and carries it to the afterlife. That's all her purpose is.

#knellfacts #knell💉#ocs

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linuxgamenews · 9 months

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Brightside Pier Awaits You: Embark On Cassette Beasts' Unknowns Adventure

Pier of the Unknown first major game DLC launches for Cassette Beasts on Linux, Steam Deck, and Windows PC. Bytten Studio continues to impress with their amazing talent and creativity. Available now on Steam with 95% Positive reviews. Developed by Bytten Studio and launched under Raw Fury's banner, Pier of the Unknown is not just an addition but a doorway into an exciting realm within the unique world of Cassette Beasts. As the Halloween season approaches, this new content brings in a haunting vibe perfect for the season on Linux and Steam Deck. Discover the Brightside Pier: Dive deep into Brightside Pier - an amusement park that was once bustling with life but is now left forgotten, nature taking over its once-lively spots. Picture a park full of roller coasters and stalls, now silent and mysterious, with secrets waiting for you to find. The Pier of the Unknown story pulls you into its heart. And as you venture further, you'll be greeted with surprises and challenges. Monstrous Additions: Remember those monster collecting adventures you loved? In Pier of the Unknown, you get 12 brand new monsters. Only in Brightside Pier can you find them. This addition boosts the total count to 141 unique creatures. Do the math, and that allows a whopping 19,881 fusion combinations for your team. Fusion – since you can combine creatures and get an entirely new one, with shared abilities and attributes.

Cassette Beasts | Pier of the Unknown DLC

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Features that Stand Out:

Dive into a brand new Pier of the Unknown story line, full of suspense and thrills.

Brightside Pier is not just about one location; there are three individual carnival themed areas to explore.

You're not just battling with monsters; you're also getting stylish with five new character costume options.

Expect around 4-5 hours of fresh content, due to add more layers to the original game.

The Essence of Cassette Beasts: Situated on New Wirral - a remote island, here's the catch: people have the power to transform into weird yet fascinating creatures, using cassette tapes. Think of Pier of the Unknown. While you explore, you come across these creatures, and you can record their essence. They're not just for show; you also use their abilities in strategic battles. Fusion adds a layer of strategy: combine two creatures and harness their blended strengths. So, if you're someone who likes a mix of exploration, strategy, and mystery, Pier of the Unknown is something you might want to dive into. It's also the first major for the game. And if you want to experience the DLC, launching on Steam. Priced at $6.99 USD / £5.89 / 6,89€ for Linux, Steam Deck, and Windows PC. The base game is priced at $14.99 USD / £12.56 / 14,99€ with a 25% discount on Steam. Regular price on Humble Store.

#cassette beasts #Pier of the Unknown #first major dlc #linux #gaming news #bytten studio #ubuntu #steam deck #windows #pc #godot #Youtube

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essencetale · 1 year

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What is Essence?

Essence is a shapable spark within anything magical or living usally taking the form of mist. Essence is a limited tool and only a certain undestroyable amount exists. Essence can be reshaped and corrupted though.

Essence is worshiped and praised within this AU being seen as a force to be respected and loved since Essence is everything and everyone. Because of this belief, people will have several parties and carnivals to celebrate the concept of the ever re-giving magic and the concept of self-love and respect.

Since everyone is made of Essence and it cannot be destroyed, when a monster/human dies their essence will turn back into the magic within its world to be given back to the people. Because of this phenomenon death is highly respected and seen as something that gives back to others rather than a sad mournful event.

Nobody truly understands why Essence's true form takes the form of a bird, but this true form is shifted and changed depending on the person's sense of self and how they treat themself. Often people who don't care for themself will lose the ability to fly or have missing feathers while healthier people will have tails and their arms may be replaced with their wings.

Essence can be corrupted with large amounts of negative energy. Of course, negativity can be healthy but when it goes too far it can turn Essence faded and grey. Corrupted Essence cannot be fixed and must be discarded. Monsters and Humans with Corrupted Essence are often shunned and socially exiled.

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m00707236 · 2 years

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Artist Research: Gekidan Inu Curry

Gekidan inu curry is a duo of Japanese artists and animators, Ayumi Shiraishi also known by the alias 2-Shiroinu(2 white dogs) and Yōsuke Anai also known as Doroinu(muddy dog). Both are veterans in the animation industry having worked for Studio Gainax and TANTO 2D respectively, and describe their works as inspired by both Russian and Czech animation styles.

In my graphic media project I am exploring the idea of modernity through the lens of yami kawaii, a fashion subculture that amalgamates cute motifs with dark themes, worn by young adults in Japan as a way of expressing their mental health struggles and fighting negative social stereotypes surrounding mental health illnesses.

The reason I chose Gekidan Inu Curry as my artistic inspiration to present this topic is because they have depicted young people struggling with their mental health in their work for the animated production ‘mahou shojo madoka magica’ in which they designed and animated the dream like monsters which are a product of young girls depression and anxieties made manifest. The duo make use of Claymation, paper cut outs, felted models, and digital art to create a dark carnival esc aesthetic. Their use of jumpy erratic stop motion with a jumble of mixed media perfectly captures the chaotic tapestry of what it feels like for young people grappling with, what Bisuko Ezaki one of the proponents of yami kawaii calls, ‘inner darkness or sadness’, in a chaotic ever changing modern world.

In an interview with Gekidan Inu Curry, they described the characters they designed for Maaya Sakamoto’s music video ‘Universe’ as "really colourful, cute and fantastical" However, Sakamoto followed up this statement by saying that the animation has a "fancy atmosphere at first sight, but if you look at them carefully, you can see them injected with a needle, bandaged, or drooling." This perfectly encapsulates the essence of yami kawaii, having a seemingly cute veneer, but upon closer inspection you begin to unravel the darker elements.

In the interview Gekidan Inu Curry also expressed a preference in creating miniature landscapes and said that their work gave the "impression each character had a story behind him or her" and had the "quality of a picture book and the unrealistic feel of a fairytale as well as a dark aspect to it". Inspired by these statements I wanted to create a miniature landscape that told a characters story in a picture book style which is why I chose the medium of a papercut out diorama.

"Maaya Sakamoto & Gekidan INU Curry special interview (I)". Production I.G. Retrieved 30 August 2015.

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vinetamer · 2 years

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about.

NAME: Quincy AGE: Old, appears to be in his late twenties / early thirties

OCCUPATION: Hermit, unofficial “protector of the forest” AFFILIATIONS: The Grand Sorcerer’s Gemstone Clan

CANON POINT: Up to date until Ch. 6 of Nu: carnival’s main story, more or less caught up with Quincy-related event stories

SUMMARY:

Quincy hails from the Klein Kingdom, where the amount of essence in a person directly affects their magic abilities. After making a deal with Klein’s Grand Sorcerer to serve him to his dying day, Quincy was gifted a gemstone imbued with the sorcerer’s essence-- essence that he honed and mastered so well he’s veritably immortal now.

When the Grand Sorcerer was alive, Quincy did a myriad of things for him, with his main job being the protection of a gemstone altar in his territory. When the Grand Sorcerer disappeared, however, Quincy began to engage with society less and less, leaving him a hermit who’d much rather live in the wild with his furry, weasel-esque companion.

Those who live in the forest he protects view Quincy as a foul omen. When monsters appear-- animals touched by the essence that exists there-- Quincy’s own work to protect the villagers from them is viewed more as a sign that “wherever he goes, monsters will follow”. That said, he’s shunned by all, feared by most, and through the years the tales of the “old hermit of the forest that brings death with him” have gotten worse and worse.

On his end, Quincy’s stopped listening or caring much for their opinions. He was tasked to protect the forest and the altar within it-- the people, so long as they aren’t in any magical danger, can fend for themselves.

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maxwell-grant · 3 years

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Brazilian character review: Jose Carioca

I can't say I have too many strong feelings on Zé Carioca as a character, but in retrospective, I think the existence of Zé Carioca is very emblematic of the way Brazil is viewed overseas, and the contrast between this sort of idyllic postcard fantasyland version of Brazil that gringos see, and the reality.

The first thing that comes to mind when I look at Zé Carioca, other than he's a popular Disney mascot, is that contrast. He's intended to look like a carefree young carioca (a term we use for people that come from Rio), but he's perpetually dressed like a 1920s caricature, the kind you only really find in pictures of your grandpa, and attempts to modernize his look have robbed him of his charm. His name is "José", which is a common Portuguese name usually abreviated to "Zé", but in pretty much every media he shows up in, they always say his name the Spanish way, instead of the Portuguese way.

The Zé Carioca that people outside of Brazil know is a character that only exists in the context of an ensemble with Donald and Panchito, mostly defined as a suave, romantic party goer, the phlegmatic opposite to the choleric Donald and the sanguine Panchito (I haven't checked out the new Caballeros cartoon, although I intend to). The Zé Carioca that Brazilians know is largely defined as a charismatic scammer who keeps going to great lengths to avoid work, the joke being that usually he goes through a lot more work to do so than he would have otherwise.

It's based a lot on the stereotype of cariocas as lazy beach-dwellers who look down on honest work to instead cheat and take shortcuts. Every region of Brazil has it's own stereotypes, in fact, Zé Carioca in Brasil has a lot of relatives to embody those, but gringos treat Brazil like Rio is the only city in it, which is why this stereotype gets applied to Brazilians in general, and, well, it is a stereotype to begin with. It's a change that allows him to work as a solo protagonist, but it also leads to a disconnect where fans of Zé Carioca don't quite see eye-to-eye with most depictions of the character not made locally, because it's not really the same character.

I gotta stress that I don't dislike Zé Carioca, not at all, I do think the idea behind his creation was a good one. I can't think of any Brazilian character, either created here or just coming from Brazil, who was a popular name overseas during this time period (could be wrong though, but nothing comes to mind). He gets credit for that, if nothing else. He's a fairly cute character and I do like seeing him when he does show up. But Zé Carioca seems like one of those characters who is popular as a mascot, but not so much as a character.

I think the best way I can explain this disconnect between what Zé Carioca is by sharing this text I found, written by Gabriel Bayarri here, that I translated and post below. I think this kinda gets to the heart of how I feel about Zé Carioca, which is not a dislike, just a disconnect.

Brazil was the land of Zé Carioca, he who had shown the world in 1942, during WW2, a Brazil that seemed cordial and happy, a Brazil that valued it's mixed heritage as a symbol of national culture. The parrot presented to Donald Duck a city proud of itself, joyfully beautiful, where samba, cachaca, parties and romantic rascals all mixed together.

Now, he's watched, terrified, as his wonderful city embraced armed heroes, and took flight perplexed, trying to understand what had changed in a city he recalled painted in watercolor strokes. Zé Carioca flew to the heart of the tropical city, where spaces of resistance stood symbolized, straggling remnants of a democracy that he used to think was harmonious and shielded against the monsters that ruled it.

The parrot fluttered its wings between the hills, and rested its feathers in its beloved square in Cinelândia, and breathed its history, of which he only recognized the harmonious part: the square had become a central place for beginnings of the 20th century, representing the Belle Époque of Rio de Janeiro. Cinelândia acquired French features, so desired by the recent Brazilian Republic, and it tried to become a Tropical Paris. At it's center, slaves recently freed from plantations arrived, while the square acquired a cosmopolitan personality. This was all familiar to the parrot, who found in history a joyful account.

From abroad, the narrative of a happy and harmonious Rio de Janeiro recovered the idea of a cordial Brazil, without racism and without violence, promoted by Zé Carioca. In addition, this imagery of the city was promoted to foreigners as the period of a “Golden Brazil”: the drop in poverty rates, the increase in investments and the enormous influence in the Latin American and global context.

The bird breathed the chronicles of literary bohemians who populated the surroundings, and who built in their writings the characters who walked the square, its muses, its rogues, its carnival heroes or its capoeiristas. Authors built at that time a model of the “carioca people” that the parrot Zé Carioca repeated and synthesized in his image: a kind, cordial and warm character who crossed borders, transmitting to the world a image of Brazil harmonized and absent from conflicts and violence. It was that conception that, in Brazil, everything would tend to soften and adapt.

Cinelândia had begun to fill with cinemas, rooms of spectacle. Hotels, restaurants, night bars. The arrival of hotdogs at the Square was a revolutionary bridge, from North-American influences to the carioca lifestyle.

The parrot was proud of his city, until a woman approached him: “Our hot dog is carioca to the core”, explained the street vendor who was carrying a T-shirt with the face of Marielle Franco. Who was this woman who wanted to explain to him what was like to be brazilian: Who was this woman on her shirt? Where was Carmen Miranda, with the fruits on her head?

Then, the parrot listened in the square to the story of the murder of the councilwoman Marielle and her driver, and the new reports of violence on “carioca nights”, and its police conflicts against immigrants.

But Zé Carioca did not believe that his beautiful city was affected by these issues.

The parrot was aware that Cinelândia represented an image of the essence of what it was to be Brazilian, the construction of its own unique soul in a public space, the creativity and trickery and joy.

But he was surprised to hear that his happy and dancing people were also active warriors, who had used this square over the decades as a historical space for building demands, from The March of 100.000 against the military dictatorship, and the recent manifestations against the new president.

In one of its streets, the square bore the name of Marielle herself, the murdered councilwoman whose plaque had been broken publicly by the current governor of Rio, and whose death had become a symbol.

The parrot had Disneysified the image of his city, in a portrait of heroes, castles and tropical princesses, which made it difficult to understand now the political victory of monsters.

It seemed as if the history of Brazil was rebuilding itself before his eyes, and its people were now made up of activists, women warriors, LGTB+ collectives and anti-racism movements that defended civil rights and identity demands, of a Brazil that could not be pigeonholed, because it wasn't made for beginners.

What had happened to his colorful Brazil? – he asked himself nervously, replacing his straw hat and plucking his feathers.

Something transformed in the parrot's gaze, and after a brief disturbance, he decided to regain his composure. The bird spread its wings and took flight to Copacabana Palace, the place where it had been born from the hand of Walt Disney 77 years ago. He needed to reflect, think of the the gray tones of truth that splashed in his colorful costume, and seek new spaces to resist the monsters.

Perhaps the world had believed Zé Carioca's colorful report, in the palette of illusions that an emerging Brazil offered, and they had forgotten that, like every grown child, Brazil had nightmares. Kicking up at night over its racism, structural militarism, murderous violence, patriarchal inequalities.

Perhaps Zé Carioca had fallen in love with the exuberance of a land of fruit, sailors and smiles, and the world had listened to his account, a lovable sales pitch to tourists and sporting mega-events, and they had forgotten the voices of their people who watched helplessly the approach of a military parade from congress.

Zé Carioca's flight transformed the parrot, and in his old age, he went through a rite of passage to adulthood. After years of blindness to the violence of a post-colonial society and it's extended torture under jackboots, Zé Carioca opened his eyes, and faced the hidden part of a wounded Brazil.

A Brazil that had been dressed up in tropical colors and that now had to be sincere, with the world and with itself, in order to overcome the times of monsters.

#replies tag #disney ducks #jose carioca #zé carioca #brazil #BRASIL HUE PORRA #olha pra ser honesto eu nunca tinha realmente parado pra pensar no zé carioca na minha vida #mas tu quer um textão vai ter textão #não que eu ache ruim que o personagem seja meio antiquado #mas eu achei bem interessante a ideia de isso ser parte de uma história #em que o zé carioca é um simbolo de uma coisa que simplesmente não existe mais #e talvez nunca tenha existido #acho que isso pode ser uma ideia interessante pra explorar

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the-otleus-parlor-archived · 2 years

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Offers up Beth for the new essence I'm fine with whichever spot you want her in tbh

Okay okay okay okay okay.

Fried Dough.

That’s it that’s the whole suggestion I don’t know if an explanation is needed.

#mod ghost #monster carnival essence #friend beth

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letterboard-fantasy · 1 year

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Theatre of Darkness Essence | Upcoming Essences + Upcoming Packages [Updated]

I've shifted and changed up the order and contents of the Theatre of Darkness' many essence counterparts and even created some packages! I'll update this list as time goes on, linking the respective posts under that respective essence/package name! It'll take a while to get all of the different lists out of the way, but in case a certain title interests you, perhaps because you want to place them into that essence based off the title vibes, please! Go ahead! Ask away!

Essences:

Breezeblocks Essence

The Monster's Carnival Essence

Time's Amusement Essence

Wisteria's Secrets Essence

Thunders over Sakura Blooms Essence

Golden Graffiti Essence

Envoys of Passing Essence

---

Packages:

Deep-Cut Poetry Packages

Hotline 2047 Packages

Avaritia's Invitation Packages

Humanitas' Dance Packages

Bride of Shadow, Groom of Silence Packages

The Barriere Hotel Packages

Site 20493 Packages

Etched Upon the Abyss Packages

Echoes of Paradise: An Ode to a Timeless Love Packages

Best Performance Packages

A Phantom Encounter Package

Sweet Melody's Embrace Packages

See No Evil packages

Hear No Evil packages

Speak No Evil packages

Judgement Bound Packages

#ooc | mod post #mod ghost #connection | essence content #now to go make. every single corresponding essence list. gonna start with packages because they are shorter. ahaha.#i need to write magical mal lore but first!! essence and asks

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zeravmeta · 3 years

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i think meph and shuten would be really good worsties in the sense that both of them are completely aware of how monstrous they are but with meph hes an imitation of the genuine article but without that identity he has nothing which is why he plays the role of devil so spectacularly while shuten chooses to define herself by said identity because going against it would inevitably lead to tragedy since shes very aware of how different she really is. the devil mephistopheles is just the face this homunculus wears because its the only thing that gives him any value and sense of identity and shuten is an amalgamation of inhuman characteristics that give her frightening clarity in that shes a monster that knows shes a monster. both of them are very attached to those identities but with meph its a matter of defining himself by the role that was given to him and in essence giving him purpose while with shuten its a shield from intimacy because she knows how easily she can hurt someone she cares about. tfw youre both inhuman monsters who covet and fear the humanity around them and the humanity they are capable of and youre both pale and purple with stupid large blades and v necks and you laugh and misdirect from your actual feelings by playing up your role because it's your only defining characteristic and without it youre left far too open for others to see who you are and thats no good bc being understood is something that isnt allowed for them because what fool would try and find the humanity that exists in the monsters around them and despite your inhuman nature you crave affection and love more than anything else because youve convinced yourself that the way you love is inherently wrong simply bc its not the human way but that doesnt make it any less meaningful to the people who did try to understand at least. its about the monsters who embrace their roles, how one does it to be meaningful and have worth to humanity as a show of love and another does it to protect themselves from their own inherent humanity and other from their inherent inhumanity, because meph chose to betray his role and shuten chose to die with a smile.

anyways its very funny to imagine ibuki watching this absolute carnival show go down between the two and, as the most divine/monstrous/inhuman individual there, go "man thats kinda fucked up huh. glad im not those guys."

#fgo #zerav meta #mephistopheles #shuten douji #ibuki douji #anyways throwback to that time i thought ibuki in the lb5.5 trailer was meph bc he has he they on his profile and can shapeshift #fgo give me super demon meph already pspsspspssppsss cmooon ive been beaming saber christmas meph into your head for ages do this for me #ibuki douji is inherently so fucking funny. the absolute GALL of this bitch i love you so much hebi sama

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a-skirmish-of-wit-and-lit · 2 years

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Book Review: Something Wicked This Way Comes (Green Town #2)

This book did nothing to cure me of my irrational fright, my neck-prickling unease and trepidation toward carnivals *shivers*, but it did give me a grander awe and appreciation for Bradbury's mastery at storytelling.

The man is a magician in every sense of the word. (The skilled kind, not the wicked.)

His characters are people, familiar yet uniquely characterized. His setting is keen, sinister, revolving. Alive, it's enfolded in a magic that winks between day and night, between greed and generosity that thunders through the sky. His evocative language captures the essence of spooky season, of life, of death, of wanting to grow older or be younger in the time it takes to make one loop on the carousel, and he achieves this by maintaining a delicate balance between specificity and obscurity. He knows what images to paint, which metaphors to imprint. He knows how to engrave his themes with a defibrillated shock of a heartbeat so they'll linger like shadows on the back of your eyelids long after you finish the story. He also manages to encapsulate change, as if it were a kinetically tangible monster, giving it taloned wheels as well as breath of life so that you'll question where you are, where you've been, and where you might still like to go when another autumnal breeze drifts on by.

Purple and poetic isn't everybody's cup of tea, so I suppose some may not vibe with Bradbury's prose. And that's fine. It just so happened to be what I loved most, so why not say so?

4/5 stars

**Follow me on Goodreads

#ashlee bree's book reviews #something wicked this way comes #ray bradbury #classics #horror #fantasy #recs: ashlee approved!#read may 2022 #bookblr #book reviews

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ytwokid · 4 years

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SCENE ALPHABET / WORDS TO HELP FIND YOUR SCENE NAME.

DISCLAIMER: some of these words reference drug use and violence. browse at your own risk.

GENERAL GUIDELINES: alter word endings as needed to better fit the flow of your name. for example, dying or died instead of die.

alliteration is fun and recommended but NOT a requirement. you can be Sarah Acetone or Andy Massacre or whatever you want.

list updated from time to time. there may be obvious ones I've missed. I encourage you to Google more words if u are not satisfied by these!!!!! suggestions for more words can be left in my ask box @ytwokid or on TikTok.

- - - - - -

Abbatoir Abysmal Abyss Acetone Acid Acrid Agony Alabaster Alley Alleycat Angeldust Ants Arms-race Arsenal Arsenic Arson Attack Avalanche Avarice Awful Axe/Axe-wound

Barricade Bash Bastard Bat/Batty Bent Bitch Blame Blast Bleak Blood/Bloody Blunt Bone Brass Knuckles Break/Breakup/Break-in/Breakout Broke Broken Burn Burnt

Cackle Cadaver Cake Camo/Camouflage Candy Carnal Carnival Carnivore Carrion Cesspool Chaos Chimmichonga Crow Crowbar Crown Cocaine Corpse Corrode Cleaver Crack Crash Cupcake Cut Curbstomp

Dark/Darkness Damned Dead Death Decadent/Decadence Decimate Decompose Degenerate Degrade Denial Diamond Die Dice Dingy Dirt Dismal Dominate Drag Drip Drown Drop Dust

Earache Earwig Echo Eclectic Edifice Edge/Edgy Egg Electric Empire End/Endtimes Epidemic Essence Escape Error Exorcist/Exorcism

Facet Faint Fail/Failure Famicide Famine Fate Fly Forlorn Freak Fun

Garage/Garage-band Garbage Gash Glass Goob/Goober Gone Goner Gore Graffiti Gravy Gravel Grenade Guillotine Guilt/Guilty Gunk Guns Guro Gutter Guts

Hack Haggard Harm Harrow Hate Hatred Havoc Heist Hellcat Heroin Hex Homicide Horror Horrorshow

Ick/Icky Ignite Ignorant Illegal Incandescent Incoherent Indomitable Inescapable Inhumane Injure Insane Insect Insomnia Insomniac Intolerable Internet

Jacked Jail Jam Jagged Jagger Jaunt Juke Junkie

Kandi Karma Kill/Killer Krazy

Lachrymose Lame Lament Lead Leer Liar Lie Lock/Locked-up Long-gone Loopy

Mace Maggot Maim Malice Marijuana Marrow Massacre Mask Masquerade Medicine Meth/Methhead Monster Mottled Mud Mumble Murder Mute Mutter

Naked Narwhal Nether Neuter Nude Nuke Nutter Knife/Knifefight

Oil Offal Offensive Oligarchy Ostentatious Ostrich Onamontopeia

Pandemic Pandemonium Panic Paralyze Pear Pest Pill/Pills/Pillhead Piss Poison Pollute/Pollution Pray/Prayer Predator Prey Pry Puke Punch Punt Pyro Python

Quack Quaint Quest Quick Quil

Racket Rage/Rager Ragged Rainbow Rancid Rando/Random Rare Rat/Ratty/Rats Ravage Rave/Raver Raven Revenge Roadhouse Roadkill Rock Rot/Rotten Rough/Roughhouse Riot Ruin

Sacrifice Sad/Sadness Saga Sage Sardine Saturation Scar Scare/Scary Scream Sellout Serrate/Serration Shade Sham Shame Shazam Shit/Shitty Sick/Sicko Sigh Skin Slap Slaughter Smuggle Snuggle Star Struggle Stun/Stungun Suffer

Taco Tackle Tattle Tame Taunt Tear Tease Tenacious Tender Tentacle Terror/Terrified Toilet Torn Toxic Tiger Tired Tragic/Tragedy Treachery/Treacherous Traitor Trap

Undone Unhinged Updog Uppercut Unsung Unacceptable Uvula

Vacuous Vacant/Vacancy Vagabond Vain/Vanity Valiant/Valiance Valuable Vampire Vandal/Vandalism Vapid Vapor Vein Venom Vibe Violent/Violence Viper Void Volume Vomit Voracious Vulture

Warning Web Weird/Weirdo Whack Whatever Whisper Wired Wisp Worm Wreck Wring

Xylophone

Yack Yellow

Zany Zap Zest Zigzag Zoo Zydrate

#scene #scenecore #nuscene #y2kid #scene names

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doomstypewriter · 3 years

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sorry things have been crazy but im back and maybe i should start using a signature or sth but:

firstly: could you elaborate on the carnival idea? because it sounds cool but im not fully sure what to imagine (bear with me ive only seen the phantom of the opera once several years ago) unless you think that would give away too much

leaving dead animals and destroying the chandelier and effectively half of the palazzo would certainly be very much in typical remus fashion sksksk

secondly again you dont have to use anything (let alone multiple things) i say but: i cant stop thinking about patton and romina awkwardly being each others beards and virginia and janus standing off to the side laughing at them

i also love the idea of them creating their own slang like ""talking"" and ""token of friendship"". if they made references to that i would laugh very hard

pirate intrulogical! pirate intrulogical! pirate intrulogical!

logan being a mad scientist of his era! suggesting outlandish things such as the earth revolving around the sun!

logan being perfectly respectable and janus thinking 'finally. someone normal' only for logan to turn around and be completely unhinged when he goes into science mode

remus essentially dreamily going 'i like your funny words magic man'

perhaps an an awkward "in a different universe were married" type of moment between rem and pat

patton deserves to be a little shit. as a treat.

maybe he could bond over it with his ex fiance

janus offering to nudge ppl down a flight of stairs and everyone screaming 'no' except for remus

janus making off with some costly vases or something and not even being discreet because 'what are you going to do about it romina? tell them im not really your fencing instructor and get both of us in trouble? thats what i fucking thought.'

patton returning the vases

me: i like prinxiety but i dont Love it

fem!prinxiety: exists

me: 👀

so like if they could have a tender moment or have a crumb of hurt/comfort, my gay little heart would probably implode

tbh i just generally need more of virginia sksks

and also if all of them were friends in the end id give you my first born

thirdly: how about "🏳️‍🌈🕰️" for my signature to symbolise my emotional investment in this gay history au or sth? idk sksk

Hi again!!!

I am going to start addressing the signature, and yes! I love the pride flag and the clock. If you’re okay with it, I shall address you as R.C. (Rainbow Clock), given that finding the emojis on my laptop would be slightly impractical.

The carnival, yes, I was thinking about having them go to Venice during the carnival to socialise, announce Patton and Romina’s engagement... When I say Phantom of the Opera I am specifically referring to two things: the mascarade scene and the part near the end when the giant chandelier of the theatre falls.

In essence, the carnival would be an excuse to play with obscured identities and use them as a resource for characters to be able to sneak on each other. I would, of course, first have to check the timeline and origins for Venice’s carnival. I am also thinking about including Poveglia island as a location seeing that it was inhabited around the time the story is set and that could be useful.

I have ideas for what the dead animals could be for, like sending a message, but I’m thinking maybe I’ll subvert that and make something cooler and plot-twisty, we’ll see.

I intend to mercilessly milk their attempt at heterosexuality for laughs, so I’ll certainly have Virginia and Janus mentally laughing their asses off at them trying to look like a couple. Perhaps this can also be used as a way for Virginia and Janus to bond.

I can make references to them talking about “talking” and sharing “tokens of friendship” and I will, you have my word.

I’ll have Logan just go ahead and calculate the curvature of the earth, heck, I’ll even have him make the renaissance equivalent of the Antikythera mechanism because he’s worth it and because he can. The Kraken? Logan will be the first to suggest it may be a dork (slightly nsfw link so proceed with caution), yes, the whale kind, while the entire pirate crew is panicking thinking they’re about to be devoured by a giant monster just to go “huh” at his theory, and, yes, Remus will be absolutely delighted.

To be honest, I love that Janus is relieved by Logan only to find him unhinged, but I’ll do you one better and have Janus not understand at all how Logan does some stuff. It must have an explanation (and it does, it’s science) but he can’t find it. The rest are inclined to believe it’s magic.

Yes, it is going to be clear why Remus fell in love with Logan when he goes into science mode. And also!!! I am planning to write how they met, just say it involves saving someone from drowning and immediate fighting after that.

The “we would be married” moment will happen and I’ll make it extra-awkward for you, with some comedy sprinkled on top.

HMMMM. Patton and Remus teaming up for plot reasons seems very tempting. My mind is already coming up with stuff. Tension-building stuff.

But, what if the solution ended up being nudging someone downstairs? I think Janus should get that, as a treat. (I’ll have them go “no” though, it can all fit).

I’ll make the vase controversy happen.

Well, would you care for some hurt/comfort prinxiety where one tends to the wounds of the other?

Virginia is going to be the best character. Like, I can’t help it, whenever I write this AU she’s just the best thing going on, it’s what she does!

Then I think you’ll owe me more than your firstborn because I have plans. I’ll settle for more of your lovely asks, though.

If you have doubts about anything or any more ideas, ask right away.

As always, thanks for the ask!!!!

Previous ask

Fic that's a prequel to this

#intrulogical #prinxiety #moceit #renaissance au #tw: dead animal #cw: mentions of whale matings #doomstypewriter #doomwrites #ask #dooms requests

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mst3kproject · 4 years

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Dracula vs Frankenstein (1971)

I’ve been meaning to get to this one for a while. It was directed by Al Adamson and stars Lon Chaney Jr. from Indestructible Man in his last and worst film. Also featuring appearances by Greydon Clark (director of Angel’s Revenge), Forest J. Ackerman (the comic book guy from Future War), and Jim Davis (the grandpa from The Day Time Ended, not the guy who invented Garfield), and generally being one of the shoddiest and most confusing movies I’ve ever sat through, it is a mystery to me why Joel chose Carnival Magic and just left Dracula vs Frankenstein sitting there. Maybe it was the widescreen thing.

It’s hard to say what the hell is going on in this movie but I’ll give it a try. Under the cover of a carnival freak show, mad Dr. D’Ray is decapitating nubile young women and then sewing their heads back on, because… uh… because. One night, his work is interrupted by none other than Count Dracula! The Count reveals that he knows D’Ray’s secret – D’Ray is really the last surviving member of the Frankenstein family, and Dracula has recovered the body of the original Frankenstein’s Monster and wants D’Ray to help him bring it to life, because… uh… because. Meanwhile, a woman named Judith Fontaine is looking for her sister, Joannie, who was last seen on the beach near Dr. D’Ray’s Creature Emporium. Judith and her boyfriend Mike eventually find their way into D’Ray’s lair, and the doctor and his various deformed assistants (obviously he has deformed assistants) are all killed as the couple attempt to escape again. What Judith and Mike don’t know is that they’re not safe yet. They still have Dracula to deal with!

That outline actually only represents a fraction of the madness in Dracula vs Frankenstein. There’s a rapey biker gang and a bunch of noticeably over-age hippies who seem to think they’re in a very different movie. There’s D’Ray’s hunchback Groton and his pet puppy, and Grazbo the Angry Midget. There’s the stunningly unhelpful detective who’s supposed to be looking for Joannie. D’Ray brings the Frankenstein Monster back to life with the help of a magical comet. The idea that creatures like Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster actually exist is treated as obvious and commonplace, and the climactic fight between the two is over who gets to feel up Judith. It’s a mess.

The reason Dracula vs Frankenstein is such a mishmash of incongruous ideas, at least according to El Santo of 1000 Misspent Hours, is that Adamson filmed for a while, then ran out of money and had to set the project aside while he raised more. During this intermission, he got a bunch of new ideas, and had to shoehorn them in with what he’d already shot to turn his original sex-drugs-and-rock-n-roll film into a monster-versus-monster piece. It should therefore surprise nobody if the results are about as graceful as a giraffe on roller skates.

The two title monsters are astonishingly shitty. Frankenstein’s Monster looks like the Pillsbury Dough Boy gone horribly wrong. He looks like his head got stepped on and they couldn’t afford to fix it. The first time you see him, when Dracula digs him out of a cemetery, you can barely tell you’re supposed to be looking at something’s face – it looks like a mass of home-made play-dough that’s been left out in the sun. He has claws for some reason. That sequence of similes still doesn’t do justice to just how absolutely terrible he looks, and yet, shockingly, he’s less stupid than Dracula.

Oh, god, this movie’s Dracula. His face is slathered in Observer makeup (though his hands aren’t, probably because it would have gotten all over everything) and he wears bright red lipstick and fake fangs that don’t allow him to fully close his mouth. His vinyl cape almost definitely came from Party City. His voice echoes like he’s talking into an empty garbage can, even when he’s sitting in the back seat of a car. He has an incredibly funky goatee and a ring that shoots fire. Everything he says and does is deeply, self-consciously dramatic and it all comes to an absurd crescendo in the series of priceless faces he makes as he turns to dust in the sun.

On a scale of absurd theatricality, Dr. D’Ray is only shortly behind him. The mad doctor dresses like Colonel Sanders, has some classic evil facial hair, and spends much of his screen time monologuing… but nothing he says ever makes a lick of sense. The stuff that comes out of his mouth is literally indescribable so I’m going to have to give you some examples:

Rambling in his lab, D’Ray describes his work as follows: “human blood is the essence from which future illusion may be created, but the secret is not to have the blood at rest. No, the circulatory system must experience a traumatic shock, one that is inconceivable to the human mind. The idea of trauma is not a new one, but I am sure I am the first such experimenter to incorporate the horror of an actual decapitation into later rejuvenation of a human body!” This is evidently supposed to be a justification for the sewing-heads-back-on thing – it ‘activates’ the blood and allows D’Ray to make his ‘serum’. He then injects that ‘serum’ into Groton, who transforms into an axe-wielding maniac. Later, Dracula claims that the same ‘serum’ would have made him invincible. I, uh… what?

Sorry, I was talking about D’Ray’s monologuing. When describing his Creature Emporium, D’Ray informs some guests, “the greatest mysteries in the world are not mysteries at all, unless we take time to become familiar with them.” Isn’t that the opposite of how mysteries work? It’s easy to believe in, say, the Loch Ness Monster, until you familiarize yourself with the history of the ‘evidence’ and realize that it’s almost all complete bullshit.

When Dracula shows up, D’Ray declares, “I am too old and too sick to be interested or surprised by anything, but when a man comes into my house and casts no reflection on my mirror, and on his hand wears the unholy crest of Dracula, there is no scientific answer to anything. Now, what is on your mind, Count Dracula?” Honestly, this nonsense is spoken with such conviction that you almost don’t notice that the end of the sentence has nothing to do with the beginning.

The movie has two things that might qualify as a ‘special effect’. One is Dracula’s zappy fire ring. It’s crummy, but you can tell what they’re going for. The other is the ‘comet’ that is instrumental in giving life to the Frankenstein Monster. This is represented by a slow pan past a flickering light bulb against a black background. Even having just heard Dracula talking about the importance of the comet, it took me a minute to figure out what I was supposedly seeing – it’s that bad. This might be halfway forgivable if the comet were somehow important to the plot… if the Monster, for example, had to complete some mission before it sets or something. But it’s totally gratuitous. They could have taken that out, avoided a distractingly awful effect, and made the movie a little bit shorter!

As for meaning anything… Dracula vs Frankenstein does not, and indeed seems to go out of its way to avoid it. The events that unfold are remarkably meaningless. Judith finds her sister Joannie, who is not dead but neither is she alive, and then the story just forgets about Joannie and gives her no resolution. Hippie girl Samantha is saved from being raped by her angry ex and his biker gang, but then she, too, is entirely forgotten. D’Ray and his henchmen die in a series of contrived accidents that serve no purpose but getting them out of the way so that Dracula and the Monster can fight uninterrupted. This is particularly anticlimactic because so far, D’Ray has been presented as our main baddie. Dracula disintegrates Mike with his magic ring and then the movie rushes to its climax without giving either Judith or the audience time to deal with it. Dracula, the movie’s actual main baddie, just turns to dust in the sun.

There are a couple of moments that are probably supposed to be social commentary, but they have nothing to do with the meandering main plot. One is the scene where a hippie guy says to his girlfriend, “let’s get ready for the big protest tonight.” She asks, “what are we protesting this time?” and he shrugs and replies, “I dunno, but I bet it’s fun.” Later we see this protest, which does seem to have a major ‘party’ component and features some very unspecific placards being waved. In another sequence there’s a druggie bar with the walls covered in graffiti that say things like POT and SOCIETY SUCKS.

Boy, I bet Adamson was really proud of sticking it to those angry young people.

Dracula vs Frankenstein is mesmerizingly bad. Usually the best bad movies are the kind where you can follow the story a bit, so you aren’t wasting time wondering what the hell is going on instead of appreciating the nonsense dialogue and unconvincing effects. Dracula vs Frankenstein is a singular exception. You never have any idea what anybody’s doing and yet somehow it doesn’t matter… the movie gives up on making sense very early, and just forges merrily ahead, dragging you along behind it. What’s actually happening never matters enough to distract. I honestly don’t know if this is a point in the movie’s favour or not… but it would have made a hell of an MST3K episode.

#mst3k #reviews #epsiodes that never were #dracula vs frankenstein #tw: rape #all carnival no magic #70s

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