#no mabel just thinks its SO COOL

[sammygender]

listened to three episodes of mabel (the podcast) yesterday. SO good, holy shit. i’ve been meaning to listen for years and i get it immediately. just the first episode was so good. turns out i’m not actually that hard to get into podcasts i just haven’t been finding the right ones…

[anonymous-ivplay]

An ongoing collection of the longest and/or most out-of-context tags on my blog, in no particular order:

[iamthescalesofjustice]

starting a reread of a series i really loved as a kid and i am once again hit full force with the hilarity that is realizing the true depths of the lack of context you have for things when you are a kid.

the climax of the book features a sequence where they sneak off a ship that hosts a traveling circus, escaping through paris onto a train where they meet the king of bulgaria.

as an 8 year old who had never heard of europe or any location within it, the part of this sequence that made the most sense to me was when they encountered a genetically engineered sabertoothed tiger, because my favorite book was jurassic park.

so many things in this book smeared together into a fun and fantastical and vaguely confusing background noise, because i was up until that point totally unaware of concepts such as cell phones.

[junietuesday]

finishing gravity falls has me thinking abt my relationship w my own sister.

[bluefrostyy]

Okay okay okay! My first question!

What could change if Sebastian grew up in an AU? Like relativity falls or reverse falls?

this one is hard bc it depends on what AU he's in

relativity falls: its HARD to think about bc so many things would be moved XD especially with the triplets being already a very moved au. mabel and dipper would be their aunt and uncle, with filbrick marrying kari still as their parents (so the twins and filbrick are siblings, making their mom have 2 pair of twins lmao)

filbrick would want a free summer away from the lil shits with kari only dealing with baby shermie. thought itd make them more men to be away from their mom too. Ford would found Dipper's journal and Mabel would bond with her nephews until dipper is back, who FREAKS OUT seeing seb's eye bc BILL! Sebs powers were also activated in town and Ford and Stan had so much fun exploring them with seb, until dipper said what this meant and they got scared of him. Mabel defended her crying nephew. weirdmageddon still happened, but the triplets relationship had been breaking way before 

reverse falls: i dont understand the au tbh. i guess hed be confused if his family is evil? but with no moral compass, hed enjoy causing chaos with ford n in some way tourture will with ford bc hes a bitch xd

monsters falls: sebs a manticore. i think this is more of a vibe than an au xd

gravity rises: ford would have lost seb n stan in the portal i guess while watching over hyperactive dip and paranoid mabel.

same coin au: hed just VIBE with stan bc hed GET him! both being reincarnations of bill. theyd use their powers together and be badasses. ford was so in awe to have such cool brothers {after being terrified of both xd}

idk more aus ahahahw

-

[albedobeheading]

jus thinkin about my hypocrisy about not like the Mabel podcast bc of the way everyone talks but i really like Hannibal even though they talk really similarly

[ashyslashyy]

alright ive mentioned these headcanons before but since it is currently autism acceptance month and this show is my special interest i wanna go more in depth on my autism headcanons for the gravity falls characters!!!

dipper: obviously his interest in the supernatural can be considered a special interest, and he also tends to be very organized and gets upset when things dont go how he planned (best example of this is in double dipper). he also has trouble a lot in social situations and a lot of his behavior is stimming (like chewing on/clicking pens, chewing on his shirt, pacing, etc). also gf is a cartoon so its not too weird that he wears the same outfit every day but i am choosing to believe its because thats his routine.

mabel: very creative and eccentric i love her. she also stims a lot and tends to miss social cues, but unlike dipper she doesnt get nervous, she just tends to be a bit sillier and more outgoing in situations where it may not be appropriate. shes also pretty high empathy; she cares a lot about people and objects and in the hand that rocks the mabel its shown she has a hard time saying no because she doesnt want other people to be upset. she also wears the same outfit everyday (not Exactly the same but shes always wearing a headband, sweater, skirt, and the same socks and shoes).

ford: like dipper, ford also seems to have a special interest in the supernatural, as shown by the journals. ford is also a bit socially awkward and tends to only keep a few people close. he also gets stressed when things dont turn out the way he planned. ford is also shown to have trouble with empathy and understanding others, especially stan. he doesnt understand why he does what he does, and its hard for him to grasp decisions that arent logical.

stan: honestly i dont have too much to say about stan, hes a bit stubborn but beyond that i dont think theres too much explicit evidence from what i can remember. this one is less about actual traits and more just about vibes.

soos: hes interested in a lot of tv shows and games and has a somewhat unique sense of humor. he also has trouble in social situations, the best examples being in soos and the real girl. he also has interests in things that may be considered childish, which isnt an autistic trait in and of itself, but it is common. also soos is just awesome

wendy: once again this one is more about vibes. shes just really cool

fiddleford: i have less to go on for him, but theres still a lot. fiddleford very obviously has an interest in mechanics and technology; this strikes me as especially important as a special interest because even after losing his memory he still retains lots of mechanical knowledge and skill. hes also shown both in the show and the book to be stimming a lot, specifically bouncing his leg. he also gets overwhelmed easily, which is shown a lot more in the journal.

bill: HOOO BOY now this is where it gets rambley bc bills my personal favorite and we have quite a bit in common so i'll be listing off more stuff here. obviously bill cant really be judged by human standards because hes. not one. but personally i think he has a lot of autistic traits. number one his low empathy swag. bill is like ford and has difficulty understanding others and why they do things. he also gets thrown off when things dont go his way. his dialogue also tends to be pretty blunt (hes good at being vague about his intentions but in general he doesnt really use idioms and if hes not trying to hide anything he'll usually say what he means). his speech is also relatively flat; hes basically always yelling but beyond that he isnt super expressive with how he talks, at least not in comparison to some other characters. he also does a lot of stuff that can be considered stimming, which you can see a lot in sock opera (like ive picked up several stims from stuff he does in that episode). also, weirdmageddon is just what happens when you get understimulated. You know how it is

obviously these arent the only characters who i think are autistic, but these are some of the main characters that i have a decent amount of evidence for.

[sleepsentry]

for the ask game, number 8: unpopular fandom opinion(s) regarding gravity falls. also, love your work. ^_^

Thank you! ^^

Of course these are based on my assumptions about what's popular and these are takes I haven't seen around in the wild.

This kinda just devolves into a headcanon list towards the end. haha ^^'

OK so hmmmm oh boy there's a lot:

Gravity Falls is NOT the best thing ever it just had a bunch of really talented people working on it who made it super fun. But it's far from a golden standard and I don't think it should be held up as a standard, that idea is reductive and creatively stifling.

I don't like comparing Amphibia, Owl House, Duck Tales (2017), Inside Job and many others to Gravity Falls. The similarities are superficial and those shows shouldn't be living in Gravity Fall's shadow. They deserve to stand tall and cast their own.

On that note Alex Hirsch is just some guy and I don't like his stuff on its own that much. He's not that funny or interesting to me, but he is just some guy. Hope he doesn't turn out to be a shitty dude. *shrug*

Stanley is overrated (I love him but jeez guys. He's not that endearing.)

Rick and Morty x Gravity Falls is a terrible crossover, tonally, technically and thematically. (I also am just very unimpressed by rick and morty in general)

Stanchez is bad. Rick can eat my shorts. Stan "deserves better". Obviously the fan creations are good. But they don't change my mind about the base idea.

The stans both did nothing wrong ever and I love them deeply without comparing them. (joke I know they fuck up, but they fuck up together.)

Fiddauthor is mid and boring. It comes off as amatonormative and people overall are very exclusionary over it wich is just being a dick and using a ship preference to justify it. (I dont mean to be mean but yeah, you guys are doing fine you can take some salt.)

Ford and Fidd are more like siblings than a couple.

Ford and Fidd both dismissed eachother and the miscommunication was on both of them. (Similair to stan and ford it's no one character's fault)

Ford and Fidd's relationship has more emotional weight viewed through the platonic lense of fidds being older than ford by two or three years and "adopting" him as a "little brother" in college, and how that followed them into their 30s even when the age gap had long become irrelevant. Rather than just "gay sad nerds have marital issues" as fun as that sounds.

Fiddleford is a crazy, scary, adorable, kind, stupid, genuis. This man contains multitudes, I try my best not to flanderize him into one over the other. He can be all those fun things.

Fiddlestan is inherently more funny and compelling than fiddauthor. (To me, to me.)

Fillbrick wasn't the devil incarnate he was just a shit dad, wich fair enough is very bad. Haha (idk there isn't enough of him for me to truly hate and I'd rather not assume the worst, I deal with abusive parents enough in my day to day I don't need to add one to my fav silly show haha)

Billford isn't "toxic" it's too bizarre for that, and much is left to be inferred about both characters and their dynamic. (Again, assuming the worst instead of something more fitting and fun) It's obviously bad for ford but I thought everyone hated him when he isn't nice to stan or being shipped with fidds so it should be cool. (Sarcasm)

Dipper and mabel fuck up equally and mabel is generally more empathetic and aware of the world around her than dipper who hyperfocuses. (Been there pal.)

Mabel is more similar to Ford and Dipper is more similar to Stan

Dipper is a good boy but a bit on the boring side for me. He's fine. I like him well enough.

Mabel is more relatable to me, but I relate to dip's anxiety disorder so bad.

Dipper would NOT grow up to look like Ford. He'd look like shermy or stan.

Mabel would grow up to be bigger and broader than dipper. She'd also be the one to get glasses and look more like ford. She's already halfway there with the hair and jumpers (sweaters)

Jokes about ford failing to impress girls are cringe, heteronormative and bad. And ford doesn't like anyone. (Bill is his own can of eldritch worms)

Dipper doesn't like girls in the way he thought he should and that's why his crush on wendy played out the way it did, it was never really about her, it was about his relationship to her. How she helped him find someone to admire, and was kinda his first real friend who he felt was cool and understood him, heteronormativity made him think he liked her romantically. He so obviously didn't that it hurts my soul.

Mabcifica is underrated as hell and more interesting than dipcifica. That being said.

I do ship dipcifica but in a queer way. You guys don't get it. They're queer.

The cis/heteronormative takes where pacifica and dipper have children together and dipper looks older but Pacifica is just her kid face on a sexy lady bod make me uncomfortable.

And that's why Dipper, Mabel and Pacifica could grow up into a polyamorous "Vee" relationship. [When one person is dating two people who aren't dating eachother, in this case obviously cause they're twins. It forms a "V" from Pacifica to the Pines twins ^^]

What was this ask originally about?

[aba-daba-dooo]

@gf10yearslaterzine

I want to take a moment to talk about my favorite quote. Because this was a prompt I specifically chose so that I could talk about it.

It’s one of the hidden codes from Dipper’s and Mabel’s Guide to Mystery and Non Stop FunIt caught me at the height of my fandom obsession, nay, it was the thing that made me the paranoid viewer Alex wanted:

“you are like me now. We are part of a higher calling. We will meet one day and on that glorious day we will show the small-minded doubters we were right all along, and are also really cool, and they should have been nicer to us.”

Coming from Dipper it was so vindictive. The fan theories, mine included, went wild. But I also found something oddly comforting about it. Like I wasn’t alone. Some how this isolating pain I felt, desperate to find and prove myself all at once— it was real.

I find myself repeating this phrase like a mantra “you are like me now”. I’m secure enough in my cringey-ness to admit I used it as a basis for some poetry in college, and that I am considering getting a tattoo. But as time has passed, I realize that the comfort comes not just from feeling acknowledged or that maybe righteous fury had a place and time— it comes from the understanding of fandom itself.

Not to get poetic and or scholarly, but these characters only live because we allow it. They have power and meaning to you because they live in you. When you breathe, they breathe too. “You are like me now” is not a vindictive statement. It is stories weaving themselves into our DNA. And that higher calling— yeah it’s the collective experience of love and celebration and identity that fandom brings us.

Sure, I’m taking some liberties with the context. But I think this quote never made its reappearance for a reason— because the meaning lies with us now. (Or Alex and team totally forgot about it…)

Let’s keep solving mysteries together.

[lollytea]

Such a short time but they showed everyone with a lot of cute outfit im so normal about it

Whats your top 3 looks from this panel?

Willow with the skates is my top 1

YEAH LETS TALK ABOUT THE OUTFITS

At least all the outfits worth mentioning. God I LOVE THEM!! I love all the outfits so much!! Not one of them missed!! Let's GOOO

Let's start with Amity because OH MY GOD SHES SO PRETTY

This dress!! The dark purple!! Her adorable little hairband!!! Also you can't see in this image I have but she has the cutest pair of boots too. Amity is DRESSING this season

OH MY GOD!!! OH MY FUCKING GOD LOOK AT THIS SHIT!!!! I KNEW IT!!! HOT TOPIC AMITY I MANIFESTED THIS!!!! TRUE EMO WITCH IM OBSESSED!!!! LUZ'S GOTH GF!!! EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS LOOK IS MAKING ME LOSE IT BUT THE PLATFORM BOOTS OH MY GOD!!!!!

I should also mention that I'm so endeared with Luz's t-shirt, jeans, fanny pack and cap outfit. It's giving Dipper Pines a little. Huge fan. And god I know we've all mentioned it but I LOVE her curls. The curls just make Luz look a million times better.

ALSO!!!

THEY HAVE MATCHING JAMMIES!!! EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LOOK AT LUMITY MATCHING JAMMIES!!!

ANYWAY GUS IS NEXT

Will use my pic of Bi Pride Gus because nothing sparks more joy than looking at it. So glad Gus gets to wave his flags again. ANYWAY this look is just SO....its boy. This is boy. This is really cool thirteen year old boy look. The long sleeve and short sleeve shirt combo. (I think that's either a giraffe or a llama on it.) The jeans, the shoes, the hoodie around the waist. This is THE coolest dude in middle school.

BUT THIS!!!!! THIS FUCKING DRIP!!!!! HE IS OUT OF CONTROL SOMEBODY STOP HIM!!!!! I can't believe what a genuine fashion icon Gus is like oh my god. Actually I've decided that he's helping to pick out everyone else's fits and thats why they look so good. You can't change my mind.

Now my baby girl

THIS!!!! Such a cute and summery look. She is PRECIOUS!!! The pink and the green, the little flower in her hair. I was manifesting a cute Willow fit in season 3 just yesterday and they came through!!! Idk I can't get over how adorable this is. It's so simple and so lovely.

Honorary mention goes to her bumblebee pajama shirt. Not much to say but she's cute and I love her

BUT OH MY FUCKING GOD LOOK AT THIS SHIT!!!! ROLLER DERBY, I THINK WILLOW HAS LEGIT DISCOVERED ROLLER DERBY AND IM SO PUMPED ABOUT THAT!!! Never would have predicted Willow in a Mabel Pines type shirt but that little top looks great on her

OK it won't let me use that much pics for one post....I'll reblog this in a sec and discuss...Him

[frequentfalls]

FREQUENT FALLS LAUNCH ANNOUNCEMENT!!

Hi, welcome to the blog!

So, I decided that I want to revisit Gravity Falls this year. Its one of my favorite shows, and its been a while since I've really dug into it again.

As I was thinking about it, I also wanted to come up with a new way to engage with the show. Watching @fordtato 's new Gravity Falls timeline video gave me just the inspiration I needed!

I am going to put out real-time updates throughout the summer exploring what Dipper and Mabel are experiencing, as it would have happened! Think Dracula Daily, but for Gravity Falls! Frequent Falls!!!

How it is going to work, is that I am going to schedule posts to this blog with updates corresponding with the events of the show. The posts will include Episode/Short Titles, time codes for the media, date and time of day indicators for the events, and a brief summary of what happens.

I think this will be a cool and exciting way to reexperience the show, 10 years after the events of the series (Fordtato's video made a 2013 believer out of me)! If you want to go on this journey with me, you can either follow this blog, or the tag #Frequent Falls

The first post of the project will be on June 1st!

Disclaimer: I don't own Journal 3 and am relying pretty heavily on the fan wiki to help with dates. That being said I will be deferientiating from the Wiki's timeline quite a bit, mainly because many episodes seem to take up more time than the wiki gives them credit for. Thus I am having be a bit creative with where I place things. I am not claiming the timeline I am using/making is canon, this project is for funsies!

[secretworldofmadeline]

Hi, G / T Gravity Falls content? I need some wholesome Giant Dipper content. Also, Giantess Mabel Pines too. They are cute twins no matter what heights.

Also, Adventure Time G / T with Finn growing to be a 50ft giant hero of OOO.

Love Cartoon G/T Headcanons.

heyyy first of all just wanted to say thank u sm for the ask lol!! second of all, ive never seen adventure time sorry!! i think my boyfriend (@im-a-heartstomper) has tho so u can ask him? idk tbh

anyways i didnt rly know if you meant both of them as giant siblings at the same time or one being giant and one being tiny so i made it the latter. and i just did hcs, sry if that isn't what u wanted!!

giant!dipper pines:

if he grew randomly and was normal size before, he would TOTALLY boast about being taller than mabel. i do not make the rules. u remember little dipper? yeah.

he makes fun of her for being short all the time

he would still love to go on adventures with mabel and by himself!!

he'd also want to display real paranormal beasts in the shack (boss mabel) but all the creatures would be able to fit in his hands dghsjdgdhsj

his height makes him even more awkward

he's totally still into wendy btw and is even more insecure of it

giant dipper has a huge fear of scaring people he loves and doesn't want to hurt. (haha HUGE <3) like he hates when people feel intimidated by his size and he always wants them to know they r safe around him

except gideon fuck that bitch

he scares him for fun

we all know he loves mabel and is protective over her and because hes giant he feels like he can protect her even more which is so cute

he was prob teased and bullied for his size in school :(

he hates it when people make him feel like an outsider bc hes a giant

he for sure has an "i just wanna be like everyone else" mentality

which makes for a lot of good angst and hurt/comfort

he's altogether much more of a gentle giant

and hes BIG. like around 50 feet.

i cannot think of anything else LMAO i just love him soo much

giant!mabel pines:

mabels a BIG girlie with a BIG personality

like shes still super hyper and always running around the house and probably screaming and bouncing off the walls

which can cause. issues

cuz if u like scream and jump and ur a giant that can cause property damage

but its ok cuz that usually doesn't happen?

however when/if it does she always feels so bad

also she loves picking people up! whether its her brother or her friends, or even her grunkles, she loves holding people in her hands

like dipper, she taunts him for his height

her and her friends + dipper can do so much cool stuff bc she can just lift them up and stuff

wanna stargaze? do it in the hands of a giant, even closer to the sky

wanna climb this fence? she can lift u instead

mabel isn't actually that insecure about her size

she used to be a lot more but then she realized how awesome being a giant can be

she probably makes bad puns about being a giantess

yes she STILL HAS WADDLES

she carries him in her pocket and hands and has tiny stuff for him

her friends brag about her they're like "we have a BADASS COOL GIANT FOR A FRIEND SO THERE"

she loves carrying people in her pockets too

mabels sweaters are HUGE

her friends lay on them and are like woaaahh so soft and big

they also do her makeup. idk why we don't talk about g/t makeup scenarios more tbh but like on girls nights they totally would

although things are crazy she almost always has a positive outlook

and when she doesn't feel so good she still has her tiny brother dipper <3

again thank you for the ask! and im sorry i couldn't give u any adventure time content :(

[witchbugs]

WHAT THE HECK WAS ALL IN. LITERALLY WHAT EVEN WAS THAT

• i’m trying to list my thoughts in the order that the events happened but i’m sure i’ll miss some things because of how MUCH this episode was. i’m rewatching as i type this

• the kpop dance party 😭 not Marcy just yeeting a dog

• of course it’s the same birds lol

• are you telling me Mr. X is married??

• BOONCHUYS BABEY! their new outfits are cool

• SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE 😭

• MARCY CAN FIT IN ANDRIAS’S POCKET SHE’S SO CUTE

• JAN AND TERRIIIIII

• Matt, your directed-the-GF-episode-with-Mabel’s-bubble is showing

• kinda digging the fantasy outfits, and Marcy’s hair was really cute

• “i think we may have a tiny bit of TRAUMA LEFT OVER” i’m sorry but i wheezed

• i legit got emotional about the Plantars saving the Boonchuys from the herons… they consider them family and Hop Pop wants to protect Anne’s parents the way he couldn’t protect Sprig and Polly’s…

• “i’m glad you’re with me, general” “likewise, milady” 💅🏳️‍🌈

• “lEt’S rUmBlE, gIrLfRiEnD” 💅🏳️‍🌈💅🏳️‍🌈💅🏳️‍🌈

• “i think its because… i didn’t love myself. not really. but meeting you three has changed all of that. and these months we’ve spent together have shown me the person i really wanna be.” I’M SO PROUD OF HERRRRRR (…finally me and it’s no big deal)

• “speak for yourself. you went from Santa Claus to supervillian pretty quick there.” dang the delivery on that line

• MY GIRL ANNE GOT THROWN THROUGH SEVERAL BUILDINGS IS SHE OKAY

• well. we were right about someone losing an arm

• Sasha went apeshit and i love that for her

• ANNE IS HEART. HER POWER IS HEART AND SEEING THE PEOPLE SHE LOVES THE MOST LITERALLY GIVES HER STRENGTH

• that fight may be the most epic thing i’ve seen. THE TRANSITION FROM ANNE TO SASHA WAS 👌

• MARCY GIRL WHY IS YOUR BLOOD GREEN

• HOW IS SASHA EVEN ABLE TO STAND? SHE HAS A GIANT GASH IN HER BACK

• MATT. YOUR DIRECTED-ESCAPE-FROM-REALITY IS REALLY SHOWING

• BLAST THAT NEWT WITH THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP

• “my dearest Andrias” “for even though you, Barrel, and I are no longer together, the two of you never really left my side” “my only remaining wish is that somehow, someday, my love reaches you” “with love always, your Leif” come on they were dating

• “my dearest friend, don’t close yourself off,” *picture of Marcy* “open your heart.” I’M FINE.

• i love that even though there was a dramatic Anne vs Andrias fight, that’s not what defeated Andrias, not really. he only began to show weakness at the letter. Leif’s love is what stopped him.

• Andrias is. a cyborg?

• “we love you. and we forgive you. come back to us” 😭🥹

• this. just this

• SOBBINF

• i really might have thought that this was the last episode if it weren’t for THAT ENDING

ok now for the bingo finally. sorry about if i missed any and sorry about the one with the question mark but it is a BLUR

[starboundsingularities]

Gravity Falls characters and how likely I am to befriend them

dipper: honestly?? seems cool. would probably enable my tendencies towards the paranormal in both a /pos and a /neg way because he definitely encourage me getting to the bottom of it and help me to do so but i alreadyd have a tendency towards paranoia and well he is a very anxious child. however would absolutely befriend him anyways and tell him about how whenever i fall asleep holding the journal its somehow always put away when i wake up (real thing thats happening to me. i do not know why). might be a little averse to some of my humor though (jokingly threatening to do VERY weird shit to people i dislike, shit like "I will ensure that moss grows inside of your internal organs" and "I AM GOING TO REPLACE YOUR VEINS WITH LICORICE" i feel like that would worry him)

mabel: would send funny pictures i bet. even if she cant give me a physical sticker she'd send me a picture of one and i appreciate the thought. seems very fun and thats bc she is in fact very fun. 10/10 would absolutely befriend her

wendy: seems very chill and laid back (even tho she Isnt) and shed probably be a really good friend but i get the feeling if we were to ever meet we would not make it into each others circles. we are not the same we live two vastly different lives and im willing to accept that. would befriend if the opportunity arises

soos: SOOS. HONESTLY. ID LOVE NOTHING MORE THAN TO BE BESTIES WITH SOOS. HES FUNNY HES COOL HES LIKE. THE EXACT KIND OF PERSON I WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH. SOOS IF YOURE OUT THERE IM GOING TO BEFRIEND YOU

grunkle stan: im always down for a good crime. hell yeah. idk if we'd rlly be "friends" per se but id gladly let him adopt me and thats close i think

grunkle ford: id play dnd with him. i mean id play dnd with anyone that i knew (please. please) but like. i feel like it'd be an interesting one with him. again idk if we'd be "friends" but again id let him adopt me. and then play dnd with me. please.

gideon: i dont CARE if he got "redeemed" in the finale he's a little creep and im blocking him on sight. do not talk to me do not engage with me i do not want you near me.

pacifica: her redemption is definitely more believable and id be willing to give her a chance but it would not mean much as i dont think our interests would align at ALL. itd just be awkward i think.

bill: seems like itd be fun and hed certainly appreciate the idea of turning someone's veins into licorice and i think he'd get enjoyment out of some of the shit i send to my friends (flesh tent, furbynomicon, furby organ, idk some 4th thing) but it would likely not be anything meaningful because he would gladly kill me to further his own plans and i recognize that. would still send him furby organ though.

[notbecauseofvictories]

hi sarah! i got into tma way back when you posted something about it (2 years ago, i think??) and while i was a little, er,,, disappointed by the ending, i still really really liked a lot of the statements and characters. i have a little time on my hands these days w everything going online again and wanted to ask if you had any podcast or book recs? when i finished tma i looked back on your posts and your analysis was always spot on so i'd love to know what you've liked.

Ah, the way to a woman's heart: tell her that she's got the most valid takes!

Anyway, I can't recommend anything similar to The Magnus Archives specifically---however, I do love horror as a genre and am happy to talk some more about my latest finds.

PODCASTS So historically, I am bad at listening to podcasts. I just am; I listen to a few episodes while doing dishes or walking, think "this is so cool!" and then utterly forget about it. However! As long as you go into this with that caveat in mind, we should be fine.

I unequivocally recommend I Am In Eskew and The Silt Verses to everyone. They come from the same creative team, and while the podcasts can be different tonally, they are some of the best horror writing I have come across in the genre. They are smart and good and fucked up, and it should tell you something that Silt Verses season 2 is coming out soon and I am only slightly worried about that will go.

Archive 81 (the original podcast!) is a little hit-and-miss for me---I thought season 1 was fine but not much else, adored season 2, then liked some episodes from season 3 and Left of the Dial. However, it's a fun time and if you're looking for something similar to TMA this is probably your best bet.

I've only listened to season 1 of The White Vault, but it is 100% stand alone and so very good. I'm a sucker for "And Then There Were None"-But-Eldritch plots, and White Vault provides in abundance.

I've listened to even less of Unwell, Parkdale Haunt, Point Mystic, and Mabel, but from those few episodes, they were all enjoyable! Parkdale Haunt and Mabel lean heavily into haunted houses (plus demons and the Fair Folk, respectively), while Unwell and Point Mystic have differing takes on the weirdness of small towns.

BOOKS/STORIES

Most recently I finished The House of Small Shadows, by Adam Nevill, which---despite some frustration with the writing style---I found delicious. Amid creepy puppets and taxidermized grotesqueries, Nevill sets up a protagonist who is overly paranoid and frustratingly passive in turns, but drags you into her specific madness with her. Slow to start, but worth it in the end.

The Glassy, Burning Floor of Hell, by Brian Evenson, is a short story collection---not quite traditional horror, but very much takes its cues from some of the more literary horror out there. "Curator", "The Shimmering Wall", and "Palisade" in particular are knockouts; a collection about...despair, sort of? About things going to rot, and inevitability.

I mentioned Revelator, by Daryl Gregory, in my "Best Books of 2021" list---it's a fun trip into Appalachian/Lovecraftian horror, very much in the vein of the "Old Gods of Appalachia" podcast. Also worth checking out is Margaret Killjoy's Danielle Cain series---very fun novellas, plus a fucked up deer! And who can resist a fucked up deer?

TV & MOVIES

I absolutely 100% did not just tack this category on to go tell people to watch Severance, a show that is firmly in the vein of what I'm going to call "corporate horror"---along with Thomas Ligotti, Episode 11 of I Am In Eskew and Chapter 7 of Silt Verses, and those scenes in Cabin in the Woods where the guys in ties complain about the Japanese office. As a corporate drone myself, this is my favorite sub-genre so everybody should go watch it and talk to me about it.

[melodyofthevoid]

11, 21, 22

if you currently write fanfiction or have ever written fanfiction, please tell us about the plot of the first fic you ever wrote

BIG ask: what do you think is the most important component of a good story?

talk about a writing experience that has pleasantly surprised you. or talk about several. seriously, writing is cool. you’re making up whole stories out of your brain, revel in that shit.

Okay so the first could technically be one of two things. If we're talking first story then the first fic I wrote was an IZ fic where Dib gets possessed by a ghost and Gaz starts noticing that his behavior is weird. It turns out through some shenanigans that the ghost is Dib and Gas's bio mom who died and ended up haunting some random house. But if it's the first fanfic type story I ever came up with? It was like... Gravity falls but MLP. Like Mabel was Celestia, Dipper was luna, and Pacifica was Chrysalis? Obviously Bill was discord.

Most important component of a good story...

I think a good story, one that people will remember comes from humanity. Examining what that is for the author, what they think it is and means. There's this earnest quality that comes from it that you can really see, and when an author, or creator of any kind honestly, crafts a story that is telling you something true to them? It's really something.

And then pleasantly surprised me? I think when I started writing for the first time. It just made something click in my brain and I feel like it... completed me in some way? And then having others respond to that was absolutely magical. For all its faults (and there are a lot of them) the fact I can share my works on Tumblr or what have you and people can interact and we can collaborate and grow a story together is absolutely amazing