#not a cannibal film after he worked w *****

[everything-magic-sparkles]

The State with the Black Stain

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A horror-mystery fic

~Warnings~

Mentions of violence, scopophobia, uncanny valley, true crime, sexual content

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Your alarm goes off at 6:30am. You really don’t want to go to work, though it’s all you have to look forward to for the day. That is, if you want to keep food on the table. Your job, a 9-5 at a VHS store in Milwaukee Wisconsin. You had been working there for a couple of years now. It didn’t pay much, but that doesn’t matter when you live alone.

It wasn’t that difficult of a job, either; Restock the shelves, work the register, know the genres of movies, and where to find them. Check in on time and clock out appropriately. There wasn’t much to hate about it, but you did hate how late you’d get out sometimes. You didn’t live too far away, but you didn’t live in the nicest part of your neighborhood, so being out late at night made you nervous.

A lot of times you wouldn’t be doing any work at all, so you’d read the newspaper. What else were you supposed to do? After a while of reading, you started to notice that the headlines all had the same focus: disappearances.

Was there any explanation for all of the disappearances? No. All that law enforcement knew was that 17 had gone missing so far without any indication of where they could’ve gone. You wondered how that could happen in such a small town. But, it can happen anywhere, right?

It was slightly disturbing to hear about all those disappearances and made your nightly trips back home even worse than they were before. Eventually, though, your mind wandered elsewhere and was able to forget about it.

That was, until a particular customer gave rise to the notion all over again. In the worst way possible.

“will that be all, sir? Just this film right here?”

“Yeah that’s it. I have a coupon for it Lemme get it.”

The man dug through his pockets as he looked for the coupon, “Oh, by the way, have you heard about the disappearances lately?”

Oh boy. Here we go.

“Y-yes I have. Why?”

“Well you remember that guy that died all those years ago? I can’t remember his name. All I know is that…” he leaned in closer to you, “People think he’s still alive. You know, the Milwaukee Monster.”

The name sounded familiar to you.

“Oh yeah- uh… W-wasn’t he a cannibal, too?”

“Mhm.” The man said, “He killed a bunch of black men around here… They took down the apartment building, but I don’t trust it. Mm-Mm. Not for a second. This state has a bad mark on it…”

You shut your eyes tightly remembering what happened 30 years ago. His face was still plastered in your memory. “Have a good day, sir…”

That memory was enough to set your paranoia into full swing. That man was one of the worst serial killers in American History. Sure, he was dead, but that didn’t mean that Milwaukee was over the tragedy.

Instead of trying to forget about everything, you decided to do some digging to jog your memory. You remembered having an old box full of old newspapers and magazines in your house. Eventually you found what you were looking for; an old newspaper with the headline: Cannibal-killer: Jeffrey Dahmer confessed to 17 murders.

The name made your stomach churn. Amidst your nausea, however, you made the shocking connection that the number of disappearances lately had directly matched up with the number of the monster’s victims;

17.

Just as you made the horrible realization that something wasn’t right, your radio began to play on its own.

‘Babe, I love you so.’

The radio sang as you stormed over to shut it off,

‘I want you to know, that I am gonna miss your love, the minute you walk out that door.’

“This isn’t fucking funny…”

‘So please don’t go-‘

You shut the radio off. The song name showed on the display, ‘Please don’t go, by: KC & The Sunshine Band.’

“Goddammit. How am I supposed to get any sleep now?” You thought, heading to bed. Surprisingly, you were able to fall asleep. Not without conflict from your mind, of course.

No one could’ve been playing tricks on you. You lived alone. And why would they? You were a young man that worked at a VHS store who wasted half their money on buying cigarettes. That’s about as generic as you can get. Hiding in plain sight.

Your last customer of the night walked up to the register.

“Just this, please.”

The man handed you a copy of the movie ‘The Exorcist III.’ You cocked a brow at the title as you scanned it, knowing how gruesome it was.

“That’ll be ten…”

Something caught your eye.

“T-ten ninety nine…”

Your eyes were glued to what appeared to be a man’s face, staring at you from behind one of the shelves. A white face.

“Is something wrong?” The customer asked.

“N-no I just… it’s nothing.”

When you were done scanning the movie’s barcode, you slipped it into a bag and handed it to the man, to which he left.

Something told you that you needed to get the hell out of that store. So, you did. You went straight home and didn’t look back.

‘What the hell even was that?’ You thought, ‘Maybe that bastard’s ghost is running around here still. I know what I saw wasn’t a fucking person.’

You lock your doors and windows out of paranoia and try to head to bed. That is, until your radio plays again. The same damn song as the night before.

Now you really know something is fucking with you. You get up to go shut the radio off,

“Alright, where are you, shithead? Get the fuck out of my house! You’re not welcome here!”

The radio plays again and you continue to shut it off every time it turns back on. At this point you were completely defeated and terrified, but you didn’t want to leave. Inside there was better than out on the street. You slid down the wall of your living room and covered your face, about to cry.

Between your fingers and your tear-blurred vision, you see him. The white face you saw earlier, standing in the doorway, his eyes peering down at you.

“Fuck!” You yell and cover your face, shutting your eyes quickly.

As you do so, you hear footsteps getting closer to you.

‘I’m so dead I’m so dead I’m so dead’ your thoughts ran amuck. After a while there wasn’t any response. So you uncovered your eyes.

Big mistake.

There he was, standing right in front of you. Jeffrey Dahmer. His ghost, rather. You wondered how he could look so real, despite being dead.

“Wh-what the fuck do you want?” You squeaked out.

The man grinned, a sharp-toothed smile stretching across his face, “You.”

To be continued…

[warningsine]

Cannibalism is considered the most inhumane of activities. In the last year, however, films and TV shows like Bones And All, Fresh, Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, House of Hammer, and Yellowjackets have forced viewers to grapple with the trope by digging into the metaphorical, social and political themes it may represent beyond all that body horror. What they’ve discovered is just how delicious cannibalistic themes can be when digging into capitalism, patriarchy, human connection and autonomy for those at the bottom of the food chain. 

In Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All, based on Camille DeAngelis’s 2015 novel, two cannibal lovers face tragedy. In the final scene, Lee (Timothée Chalamet) is dying from a punctured lung and he’s not willing to let his partner Maren (Taylor Russell) do anything to help save him. Their lives thus far have been defined by marginalisation, abandonment, shame, violence and trauma with only romantic love between the two of them offering any sort of true solace. With his final breaths, Lee urges Maren to eat him, "bones and all." We’re told in an earlier speech it is the ultimate, cathartic cannibalistic feeding experience. And so, through tears and after initial reluctance, she does. Two disenfranchised people finding connection in the most tragic of circumstances.

Now if your takeaway from this ending is that it condones literal cannibalistic love, then screenwriter David Kajganich would like to interject. "If I felt we had somehow pointed an impressionable audience in the direction of ‘this is a beautiful vision of how love should work’ I would have not gotten my laptop out," he tells Mashable. "I think what's important isn't why Maren finally eats Lee, it's why Lee gives up." The teen maneater’s fatal injuries were incurred while killing Sully (Mark Rylance) an elder cannibal. It’s not the first time Lee’s killed; it started with his father’s death and ever since it's been the predominant means by which he secured human flesh to eat. "In his case, the specific trauma of murdering his father is a repeat cycle that even love can't break," says Kajganich. "The ending is less about cannibalism and more about Lee's character deciding, 'I don't want to be here anymore. I don't want to live even for this relationship.'" Living on the outskirts with his trauma, the guilt and the shame of his murderous cannibalistic secret is ultimately too much for Lee to bear.

A nuanced understanding is required when regarding the cannibalism trope employed in the novel and its 2022 screen adaptation, as several other social and cultural themes, such as class and gender, overlap and are presented through this taboo prism. But neither book nor film are alone in this resurgence of cannibalistic narrative exploration. Sebastian Stan raised red flags in Mimi Cave’s 2022 poppy rom-com horror Fresh as a hunky human flesh connoisseur using meat-cutes (spelling intended) to source female bodies to the highest bidder. Factual television series like House of Hammer and true crime drama Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story have been readily consumed by audiences with a taste for sordid exploitation. But, as audiences, are we missing the memo that directors are trying to send us through this series and movies? 

Eat the rich

There’s something of the American Psycho about House of Hammer, which details not just actor Armie Hammer’s public downfall – following allegations of sexual abuse. The documentary examines Hammer's expression of cannibalistic fantasies in DMs and shows a backdrop of context by also looking at the alleged criminal legacy left by the powerful men in his super wealthy family. Patrick Bateman, the eponymous psycho in Bret Easton Ellis’ 1991 book and Mary Harron’s 2000 film adaptation, like Hammer, has the power, the wealth, the looks, and the cis white male privilege to have whatever he wants – so why not human flesh too? He’s the ultimate consumer but the bodies of his victims tell a bigger story about his immorality. "When Bateman’s seeking the service of sex workers they think it’s for sex that they're going to provide but he ends up cannibalising them," says Mary Wild, Freudian psychoanalyst, cinephile, and co-host of The Projections Podcast. "What he's lacking is humanity. He sees it in people just trying to make a living and he needs to take that away from them." In these contexts, cannibalism runs parallel to extreme wealth and privilege within a capitalist system, in which wealth often comes at the expense and exploitation of other less privileged humans. 

"But it is important to differentiate those who have cannibalistic sexual fantasies and those who literally act on. Although these two sometimes intersect, this seems to be the exception and not the rule," says Victoria Hartmann, Ph.D., an extreme pornography and paraphilia researcher and executive director at Erotic Heritage Museum Las Vegas. "I strongly believe it remains vital to carefully consider the chasm between those who are disordered in such a way they would cause harm to another human being in real life without a shred of empathy, and those who have unusual (which can also be considered extreme) sexual interests."

Texts attributed to Hammer suggest he has been "kink-shamed" for his sexual fetish which is commonly known as vorarephilia (vore). Vore is characterised as "the erotic desire to consume or be consumed by another person or creature," specifically being swallowed or swallowing someone whole which is a tad different to the allegations against Hammer. Many of the women claim they were coerced and manipulated into his so-called vore situations which left them feeling physically and emotionally damaged. In the vast majority of cases – because eating people is a horrific crime, of course – vorarephiles, whether they imagine themselves as predator or prey, mostly enjoy this kink in a fantasy realm reinforced through images, texts or video games shared online through websites like Eka’s Portal. "Research continues to indicate, and this has been reproduced in study after study (including my own studies from 2012-2014), that paraphilias (also known as fetishes) are not usually indicators of abusive tendencies," adds Hartmann. 

For some, however, the focus on cannibalism in this conversation says a lot about our social acceptance of certain heinous acts compared to others. "Sexuality scares us; it is a place where we as human beings are deeply vulnerable, both physically and emotionally," Hartmann tells Mashable. "Now add to that something of an ‘extreme’ nature (such as a cannibalism kink) and this creates even more fear — both existential and real….we are forced to ask ourselves why some people would be drawn to the idea of sexualising death, it’s process and its aftermath."

Death has never been an easy discussion topic let alone when overlapped with desire – unless vampires are thrown into the mix. "Most people cannot fathom even for a moment how those two could ever come together," says Hartmann. It’s disturbing and disgusting and yet, no less harrowing than assault, abuse and sexual violence, which is far more commonplace and continues to be. "We only have to look at the low incidence of convictions for these very real crimes to understand how little value we give to survivors of these forms of violence," she adds. And certainly in the case of Armie Hammer, those accusations were deemed less shocking than the claims relating to cannibalism.

What’s important to remember, says Hartmann, is that a person's cannibalistic desires may not be the root cause for their "impetus to harm others in a non-consensual manner." "Generally, it stems from a co-morbid set of personality disorders; it’s just that some happen to have a co-existing paraphilia(s)."

Consumptive love and desire

The serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is a prime example of this sort of overlap. In the opening episode of Ryan Murphy’s Dahmer series, starring Evan Peters as the titular serial killer, he rests his head on the bare chest of Tracy Edwards (Shaun J. Brown), the man he has lured to his apartment in order to murder. "I wanna hear your heart," Jeff tells the scared Tracy as he pushes him back on a bloodstained bed, strokes his chest and breathes heavily. "'Cause I’m gonna eat it."

After Tracy’s escape and the serial killer’s arrest, we learn that he had been murdering, carving up and eating his victims while keeping some bones as keepsakes – a habit psychologically influenced by the perceived abandonment by his mother. This could be seen as a way of preventing his victims of "love" from ever truly leaving. 

"Cannibalism is the consumption of someone else so, as a Freudian psychoanalyst, I see that as a longing for intimacy, a longing for psychological or emotional closeness, that is actually taking the form of a physical reunion or keeping that person as close to you as possible," says Wild. "Physical intimacy in terms of intercourse, that's not going to do it. You actually need to ingest them, you need to metabolise that person."

In fictional works the cannibal trope can provide fertile metaphorical ground to explore consumptive behaviours involving romance, intimacy and desire, especially for female writers and/or female characters, as with Fresh and Bones and All. "The mere concept of pleasure, especially tied to feminine pleasure, has been considered taboo or worthy of derision, not just in art but society in general," says Kayleigh Donaldson, critic and pop culture writer for Pajiba. "In its most basic form, romantic fiction can be a great way to bust those taboos and dig deeper into our desires. It's a safe space, so to speak, and genre fiction can be a great way to dissect those trickier areas, if it's done well."

Cannibalism in this context can be seen as an expression of female desire and autonomy in a patriarchal world that suppresses and oppresses. "We're taught to walk this literal and figurative thin line of femininity," Chelsea G. Summer, author of cannibalistic body horror novel A Certain Hunger, tells Mashable. "You have to be desirable, but not too desiring. It’s a test that female humans are set up to fail."

Unrealistic feminine standards continue to cause body image issues and eating disorders for women and girls. While not solely female conditions, female cannibal characters like Bones and All’s Maren can provide a "diagnostic criteria," says Wild. "It’s a type of eating that is done in secret, that is shunned by the rest of society and that's seen as abnormal, or, taboo, or sinister. It's representing on a screen this total, emotional spiralling and falling into an eating habit that is shameful. And cannibals themselves will express shame."

Outsiders in a discriminatory world

The desire for self-expression in a still discriminatory world has meant cannibal stories — like Raw, Yellowjackets, and Hannibal — have also been embraced by members of the queer and LGBTQ community. Not in the Dahmer sense of a gay man who racially fetishized many of his gay victims. But in the keen sense of disenfranchisement and societal shame where cannibalism is a substitute for a marginalised queer identity. "It isn't hard to imagine anyone in the LGBTQ community who has ever felt targeted intuitively understanding this metaphor," Kajganich adds. "Cannibalism is such a taboo of the civilized world, such an emblem of what is considered immoral and contemptible outside of holy communion, of course." 

"Horror is often such an amplification of everyday anxieties. Why shouldn't those two things combine for those of us in the LGBTQ community as a great language for expressing how it feels when your completely natural way of being intimate is judged as morally violent and socially destructive?"

And yet, when writers, artists or filmmakers employ such cannibalistic themes, characterisations or narratives, an angry online mob is sure to follow. From right-wing groups to QAnon conspiracy theorists, pro-cannibalism accusations have been levied at varied marginalised creators and groups to justify discrimination and fascist politics. And it’s nothing new. "Cannibalism is a charge deployed by colonising people throughout the globe throughout history," Summers points out. "When [Christopher] Columbus hit the Americas he said [the indigenous people were] cannibals therefore we need to change that." 

"Now there's this whole network of far right fascist media saying things like, ‘The New York Times is promoting cannibalism, this author is saying everybody should be cannibals and that is why we need to assume control of the West.' It is a fascistic way of implementing control. Cannibalism is the thing we hold up for being inhuman; not murder, not rape, and certainly not colonising. It's cannibalism."

Cannibalism in film and TV is proving to be a nourishing narrative tool to embrace and exemplify the disenfranchised. As well as forcing readers and viewers to negotiate their own awareness and sensitives to morally-challenging stories that don’t serve up clear answers on a platter. "If the element of cannibalism in the film isn't testing your empathy with the characters," adds Kajganich. "If it isn't forcing you to continue to re-up your contract with them in terms of just being open to their lives, then we failed, right?"

And that’s the power of this storytelling tool. By using cannibalism to ask questions of societal power structures, the patriarchy as well as the shame and fear associated with marginalised identity, it forces the audience to seek answers inside themselves. Is cannibalism the problem – or are we? Food for thought. 

[hareofhrair]

You're just not looking in the right places then lmao, it's still crazy prevalent in the horror, creepypasta, and monster lover communities, unfortunately.

From my understanding, the history is basically- in 2001 a guy named Larry Fessenden made a movie named after the relevant entity, though the content of the movie used little of the actual folklore and possibly borrowed more heavily from a similar inuit story. Significantly, his version included the antlers/deer skull motif. It was very indie and unsurprisingly didn't do great on release, but gained a lot of popularity with film enthusiasts and people who make movies as it traveled the film festival circuit. As a result, creators influenced by it began including the creature in their own work. Many had little to do with the original legend, but simply traded on the exoticism of the "mysterious, mystical, native myth."

This brought Fessenden a lot of success. He even eventually published a book in 2010, "Sudden Storm: a W/d/g Reader" which "explores the mythology from a crypto-zoological point of view." The entity as a kind of cryptid was already being cemented in the public consciousness by this point.

Then came the one two punch that sealed the deal, at least as far as Tumblr is concerned. The 2013 release of "Hannibal" and it's explosive popularity leading up to the finale in 2015, capped off by the release of "Until Dawn" the same year, a horror game that makes liberal use of the entity, though it avoids the deer skull.

"Hannibal" featured a recurring motif of a black stag which haunted the main character, Will. It was symbolic of the first man he killed- a serial killer who impaled his victims on antlers- and his own growing homicidal urges. As the titular Hannibal manipulates Will towards embracing his desire to kill, Will begins hallucinating the stag and Hannibal becoming one, symbolized by the image of Hannibal, painted black and wearing antlers. Though it was never referred to in the show using the relevant name- it's never given any name at all- fandom quickly began to refer to this recurring nightmare image of antlered Hannibal as the w/d/g, making the connection between the cannibalism and the deer imagery that had become so prevalent. This spread the concept through fandom space in general, breaching containment from where it had been festering in the monster/cryptid lover circles of tumblr, carried on the coat tails of Hannibal's more mainstream appeal.

"Until Dawn" was then released to much fanfare and commercial success, firmly cementing the name of the entity as a free-for-all generic spooky monster. Here's the fun part- guess who wrote "Until Dawn?" Fucking Larry Fessenden again. This guy is more or less single-handedly responsible for the entity becoming a pop culture property.

Now you can't swing a stick in horror spaces without hitting a deer skull monster with the relevant name. Some people aren't even aware of it's native origin and genuinely assume it's a cryptid like mothman or the jersey devil, it's become so detached from the actual entity. Native people have been loudly telling us to cut it out from the start, but it will not surprise you to learn nobody really listened.

non-Natives cannot be w/nd/go/g. non-Natives cannot be w/nd/gokin, nor w/nd/go extranths, nor any other sort of w/nd/go identity. i don’t say this to be exclusionary, i say this as a Native person who’s tired of our culture and religion being bastardized, appropriated, and stolen by colonizers. i say this as someone who’s tired of plain old racism being excused by those who straight-up don’t care about Native voices

a w/nd/go is not just some cannibal ice monster, nor is it some deer cryptid, nor is it merely a Native personification of evil. it is far, far more than that, and it requires cultural knowledge and experience to really understand. this is knowledge and experience that non-Natives are not let into because of centuries of us sharing our culture with people who take it, misunderstand it, silence us when we try to correct them about it, and then continue to oppress Natives while enjoying cherrypicked parts of our culture

if you, as a non-Native, believe that you may be a w/nd/go; no, you are not. i’d recommend looking into monsters and such that aren’t from closed cultures, as well as potentially taking a look at invented species from things such as the furry culture, and then proceeding to uplift Native voices on this topic

non-Natives are encouraged to reblog this, and please, don’t uncensor the word unless you have to. i don’t want anything coming after me that i’m not prepared for

[justapillowpetpanda]

Fallout Season 2 Announced by Prime Video

Greetings, Wasteland! Just a short time ago, Prime Video announced that Fallout has been given the greenlight for a second season. The first season, which premiered all its episodes on April 10th, has been getting rave reviews and love from fans themselves. Check out my review of the first season if you haven't done so already! Let's hope some super mutants and more await us in the next season!

Credit: Prime Video

Fallout Journey Continues w/ Season Two

Following the show’s phenomenal debut, Prime Video announced today that it has renewed its latest hit series, Fallout, for a second season. The series comes from Kilter Films and executive producers Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy. Nolan directed the first three episodes. Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner serve as executive producers, creators, and co-showrunners. “Jonah, Lisa, Geneva, and Graham have captivated the world with this ground-breaking, wild ride of a show. The bar was high for lovers of this iconic video game and so far we seem to have exceeded their expectations, while bringing in millions of new fans to the franchise. The cast led by Ella Purnell, Aaron Moten, Walton Goggins, and Kyle MacLachlan have knocked it out of the park!,” said Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon MGM Studios. “We’d like to thank Jonah and Lisa and our friends at Bethesda for bringing the show to us as well as Geneva and Graham for coming aboard as showrunners.  We are thrilled to announce season two after only one week out and take viewers even farther into the surreal world of Fallout.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW02WpC8y0o   “Praise be to our insanely brilliant showrunners, Geneva and Graham, to our kick-ass cast, to Todd and James and all the legends at Bethesda, and to Jen, Vernon and the amazing team at Amazon for their incredible support of this show.  We can’t wait to blow up the world all over again,” said Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, Kilter Films. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O61dhnP7PtI “Holy shit. Thank you to Jonah, Kilter, Bethesda and Amazon for having the courage to make a show that gravely tackles all of society's most serious problems these days -- cannibalism, incest, jello cake. More to come!,” said Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner, executive producers, creators, and co-showrunners.

Ella Purnell (Lucy), Credit: JoJo Whilden/Prime “It’s been one of the most spectacular projects we’ve ever been a part of. Jonah and team did such an incredible job, and we’re overjoyed not just by the reaction to the show, but that we get to work with these amazing people even more,” said Todd Howard, executive producer, Bethesda Game Studios. Based on one of the greatest video game series of all time, Fallout is the story of haves and have-nots in a world in which there’s almost nothing left to have. Two-hundred years after the apocalypse, the gentle denizens of luxury fallout shelters are forced to return to the irradiated hellscape their ancestors left behind—and are shocked to discover an incredibly complex, gleefully weird, and highly violent universe waiting for them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iZl7Ncyyhg&t=2s   Ella Purnell is Lucy, an optimistic Vault-dweller with an all-American can-do spirit. Her peaceful and idealistic nature is tested when she is forced to the surface to rescue her father. Aaron Moten is Maximus, a young soldier who rises to the rank of squire in the militaristic faction called the Brotherhood of Steel. He will do anything to further the Brotherhood’s goals of bringing law and order to the wasteland. Walton Goggins is the Ghoul, a morally ambiguous bounty hunter who holds within him a 200-year history of the post-nuclear world. These disparate parties collide when chasing an artifact from an enigmatic researcher that has the potential to radically change the power dynamic in this world.

Walton Goggins (The Ghoul), Credit: JoJo Whilden/Prime The series stars Ella Purnell (Yellowjackets), Aaron Moten (Emancipation), Walton Goggins (The Hateful Eight), and Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks). Athena Wickham of Kilter Films also executive produces, along with Todd Howard for Bethesda Game Studios and James Altman for Bethesda Softworks. Amazon MGM Studios and Kilter Films produce in association with Bethesda Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks. The series cast includes Moisés Arias (The King of Staten Island), Sarita Choudhury (Homeland), Michael Emerson (Person of Interest), Leslie Uggams (Deadpool), Frances Turner (The Boys), Dave Register (Heightened), Zach Cherry (Severance), Johnny Pemberton (Ant-Man), Rodrigo Luzzi (Dead Ringers), Annabel O'Hagan (Law & Order: SVU), and Xelia Mendes-Jones (The Wheel of Time). Read the full article

[jalboyhenthusiast]

timmy chevrolets new film is about cannibalism????

[smokeybrandreviews]

Arabian Nights

Like everyone in the world right now, i was absolutely captivated by the Dahmer series on Netflix. I'm too episodes in and, goddamn, is this show brilliant but F*ck me if it isn’t draining. That show is tension incarnate. I haven’t been this goddamn stressed watching something since Uncut Gems. Suffice it to say, i need a break. I needed some breathing room from what is easily the best performance of Evan Peters’ career. I can’t speak for the entirety of the series but those first two episodes are f*cking brilliant. So, to cleanse my palette of murder and cannibalism, i opted to take in one of the many, many, films i missed this summer. I think the last film i saw in theaters was Thor IV. It was a disappointing end to the summer, my first summer back to the cinema after the Wuha claimed two years of my movie going life. It was a summer that shouldn’t have ended in disappointment because i should have went to see Three Thousand Years Of Longing in theaters.

Longing is one of the best movies I've seen in the last half decade and that’s no hyperbole. This thing is what movies should be. It’s gorgeous. This film absolutely seduces the eye with such a vibrant presentation and so many surreal images. This thing is by no means an acid trip, you’re not falling into the abstract by any measure, but I'd be lying if i said there wasn’t a distinct and earnest feeling of whimsy permeated throughout the run time. Seriously, this is a master craft on film making. The transitions, the scene composition, the use of color and sound, the direction, the performances; Everything is so goddamn brilliant, it’s hard to imagine this thing was made in the modern age. In an age of remakes and adaptions and comic book fare, Longing feels like a throwback to a bygone era of do-it-yourself creativity, where you have to work to bring your vision to life within the confines of a minuscule budget and legitimate magic is captured in that toil. I miss films like this. It’s why i love A24 so much. That studio carries that lost spirit in every production they green light.

This film is easily the second strongest film I've seen this year, after Everything Everywhere All At Once. I know that it’s considered a flop but don’t let that fool you. Longing is a f*cking gem, to be sure. It’s carried by some of the best work out of Idris Elba since his days as John Luther and an ageless Tilda Swinton returning that energy in a rare, sparring, performance where her partner makes her so much better. I was absolutely captivated by the Djinn’s stories and even moreso when you take into account that this was George Miller. Mr. Mad Max, himself, coming through and blessing us with his unique vision and inspired eye for visual storytelling. And these visuals tell a whole goddamn story. This man’s filmography s as eclectic as his approach to direction and i love him for it every day. He wrote this film, just like he wrote Babe, Fury Road, and f*king Happy Feet. Of course the movie about a Djinn betrayed by love, finding love with a woman who can’t interpret her own desires, is something that would appeal to him.

Three Thousand Years Of Longing is an exceptional example of pure, cinematic, storytelling and everyone should watch it at least once. I can’t even call this a review because i can’t objectively find fault in this film for what it wanted to do. Maybe it’s a poor adaption of The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye or maybe the pacing is a little suspect for some. Maybe the climax comes too abruptly or the creative choices made by Romero might chaff, i don’t know. Even if these are things, they are minuscule inconveniences in the face of the complete film. I loved those movie way more than i expected to and i am disappointed in myself for not catching it in a theater. My goodness would this have been a strong ass  2theatrical experience. Missed opportunity, for sure. If you missed it, too, rectify that right now and check this thing out of VOD. It’s worth the loot and definitely worth the watch. Also, the last film i saw in theaters was Nope. Which make missing Longing in theaters even worse. Nope is one of the technically sound films I've ever seen and so is Longing. That back-to-back punch would have solidified this year as a successful return to the theater. F*cking bummer, dude..

[poirott]

Do you think this Armie Hammer cannibalism scandal thing will ruin Death on the Nile?

Death on the Nile has been affected by the scandal, yes, one way or another, just by association. I don’t see how it wouldn’t be. It’s a given, it’s how Hollywood works. What we don’t know is the extent of the damage, not just to the production, but in effect the Agatha Christie Estate, or even Kenneth Branagh because he's the director and person responsible for casting Armie (it’s unfair, I know, I feel so bad for everyone involved).

And I say “one way or another” because “He’s fantasizing about cannibalism during sex!” is but the tip of the iceberg of a much more complex issue that includes sexual assault allegations, women coming forward on social media about his sexual abuse, etc. There’s a lot to this story. :(

The allegations give me flashbacks of another Agatha Christie adaptation, the Ordeal by Innocence (2018) tv series, that had to re-cast one of its main actors because of a very similar scandal. BBC spent 12 days re-shooting 35 scenes after allegations against W*stwick.

So here we are again and it’s heart-breaking. 

What does this mean for Death on the Nile? I think its fate depends on whether the full scope of the scandal is reported by October when the film is supposed to come out. Also, will the story reach any major outlets like The New York Times (if any of the people involved go on record in interviews, so far it’s only been via social media) or will it remain on smaller media websites and in gossip rags? Will there be a legal battle? How will Armie and his team deal with the allegations in the following months? What is their strategy? Is there going to be a statement from the film studio?

We can’t predict the outcome at this point or what route the studio will take because the story is developing, and Disney and Armie have made no statements about DOTN. They’re waiting just like we are. While the Christie Estate could potentially distance themselves from the film if they so wanted, the issue is more complicated for Disney and Ken and I’m sure they’re having meetings about their options, discussing Plan A, Plan B, etc.

It goes without saying, the bigger and far-reaching the scandal, the more inclined would the studio be to do "damage control". Movie studios are in the business of making money, so bottom line for them is, how much money are we losing because of the scandal, and how big of a hit can our reputation take if we don’t act?

What options does Disney have? Here are a few I can think of:

- They release the film in theatres as planned, and accept any bad press, potential loss of box office, etc. The “keeping fingers crossed, hope for the best” option. Sidenote: Hopefully this option does not lower the chances of a potential third Poirot film.

- They release it but remove Armie from future promos, solo + group interviews, and cut down his screentime in clips and trailers. In short: they don’t advertise he’s in the film.

- They dump the film on streaming only, and decide against a theatrical release, which may be contractually impossible because DOTN originated as a Fox movie, and Disney signed the agreement about a theatrical release. Or so it’s been reported.

- They lessen Armie’s screentime in the film itself, though it's debatable to what extent it can be done because he's not a side character but the other male lead besides Ken. It’s also debatable what purpose cutting down his screentime would serve, he’s still IN the movie.

- They re-cast Armie with a new actor, which would not only mean re-doing the whole promo campaign with new trailers and posters and everything (they’d have to start all over again from scratch), but also very expensive re-shoots and pickups in the middle of a pandemic, unless they delay DOTN until 2022. The cast would need to be in the same physical shape as before, and be willing to re-do a big chunk of the film. Some may accept a smaller paycheck out of loyalty to Ken.

It would be a logistical nightmare getting all the cast together again for group scenes because the actors have already signed on to other projects and may not be available. Group scenes like those several minutes-long uninterrupted shots Ken is famous for, would be hardest to re-do, while some scenes could be re-shot against blue/green screen or on the studio set instead of on location like before.

They could also use alternate takes from the original shoot, or film more closeups of each actor separately for dialogue scenes, rather than having them all in the same shot (because they only have limited time with the group). This way the shots give the illusion our actors are all present in the room and talking to each other but in reality they were filmed on different dates (depending on actor availability). Ken would need to improvise a lot. 

It all comes down to how much money Disney would be willing to spend on re-shoots of a film they got from another studio via the Disney-Fox acquisition, a project they’ve delayed several times already due to the pandemic. How invested is Disney in DOTN?

- They CGI another actor's face over Armie’s for certain scenes to save on cost, and re-shoot the rest with a new actor. CGI is an expensive option that could produce very awkward results, but may still end up being cheaper than re-shooting EVERYTHING with the new actor and the rest of the cast. However, I think this option is unlikely.

I’m sure there’s more. Someone mentioned selling the film to another studio. I don’t know how realistic that is. At this point in the developing story, my theory is they’ll go with option 1 or 2, just put the film out and try to move on from the drama. It’s not in the studio’s interest to re-cast and re-shoot because it would mean more budget spending. But who knows where the story will lead us...

Thanks for your question and take care! 

[k-s-morgan]

another thing that worried me from the reunion is them saying they would pick up on the show to fit with the time (old men and cannibalism or w/e). does this mean hannigram spend 5 years together without filming the immediate departure from the cliff? and that after all the time they dont have a sexual relationship and will is losing his mind (still)? am i misinterpreting it

This is exactly what confuses me too! Almost from the moment TWOTL aired, Bryan and everyone kept saying how the story will easily work out after a big time skip. But what does it mean for the characters, with everything else he recently said about his plans?

This is how I make sense of it. At the start, Mads said how Will and Hannibal would wait for 4 or so years before hunting anyone, with Bedelia being their first victim. So, it explains why Will could start losing his mind - after 4-5 more years of suppression, he finally breaks free and is lost to darkness, with Hannibal trying to help him back. The idea that they never discussed their relationship and didn’t have sex for all this time makes no sense to me, but Bryan also wasn’t all that specific about his answer. So, maybe Will and Hannibal spent some of these years being an established couple, but after they start hunting and Will is going crazy, Hannibal puts a temporary stop to it because he’s not sure Will fully understands what’s happening.

But it’s still pretty much a stretch, and I hate Bryan’s latest plans with passion. I was more than happy with “Murder Husbands adventures” plot he was advertising in different ways for all these years.

[ramblinganthropologist]

N7 Challenge 10 and 11 - Allies and Found

Summary: Well... we won. So... uh... where’s Shepard? We don’t leave men behind, especially not when they save the universe. Luckily, it’s hard to keep Bo Peep Shepard down. She’s going to find him if it’s the last thing she ever does.

---

Fuck; they'd won.

“Commander Shepard, you need to lie down! You're still-”

Bo wasn't paying attention as she stormed away from the Normandy. Her head was pounding, and she was pretty sure at least a few of her ribs were broken. Her right arm might be too – it hurt to move it, and so did her ankle. That didn't matter, however, as she kept running as fast as she could.

Her tattoo felt like it was going to explode. Al had done something stupid.

All around her it was chaos. The Reapers had just dropped out of the sky, nonfunctional as the area around them exploded with light. Not only that, the geth had stopped moving and fallen into a heap. Up above her head, it looked like the sky was on fire with the brightest glow she had ever seen.

Didn't matter – she had a goal.

“Whatever the fuck you did, Al-” Bo shook her head as she grabbed a lost gun and checked it for ammo. It went onto her belt as she kept going. “I'm coming.”

Of course, she wasn't sure how she was going to be getting anywhere. He brother was on the Citadel far above their heads, and she was down on a war-torn Earth as the survivors began to realize they had finally won the war. Shell-shocked soldiers looked as though they weren't sure if they should start celebrating or counting the dead – both were valid options. It would set in later that they had won, but at the moment it was quiet.

Bo's ankle was throbbing as she ran towards the last place she had seen her brother before it had all gone to hell and a Mako had flipped onto them. There was a lot of blood there, turian and human reacting in a puddle violently, but she paid it no mind. Her goal was up ahead, where there were still light.

She didn't know shit about tech, but that looked like a gravity well to her.

“Monster, slow down!”

Someone grabbed her by the wrist and she tore it out of their grasp, half expecting to shoot. However, she didn't – didn't want to waste the ammo. Besides, she was pretty sure Vega was on their side. He'd definitely been gnawed on by the cannibals if the dents in his armor were anything to go by, so she was pretty sure he was with them.

He needed to get the fuck out of her way, though.

“I don't have time, Vega. That shit is gonna close and we gotta get up there!”

He held up his hands. “Just figured you shouldn't go alone, Monster. We'll go get Loco together.”

Excellent, they were a squad of two as long as he could keep up. Bo didn't care as she nodded. Together, the two of them ran towards the light before anyone could comment on it. That comment would've probably been 'insane' or 'just plain fucking suicidal' but she didn't care as she breached the area.

Al needed her, and she wasn't about to leave him hanging.

The next thing she knew, she and Vega were surrounded by rotting corpses.  The smell was enough to make her stomach turn, but she pressed on. He fell in behind her, gun out in case they ran into any hostiles. However, this part of the Citadel seemed abandoned as they threaded their way through.

They definitely didn't have this one on a map in the Presidium. Must've been Reaper made.

“Where the hell are we even going?”

Bo kept talking as she ran. “I don't know... I just have this feeling.”

With every step, the tattoo on her lower back throbbed with an agony she had never felt before. It brought stinging tears to her eyes as she kept going, following the only path that wasn't blocked by the dead or blown to bits. It looked like a bomb had gone off on the Citadel – what that meant for anyone in the emergency shelters, she didn't know. They would have to figure that one out later.

Vega at least didn't argue with her – he nodded and kept going. Maybe it was the fact they'd finally won that made him agreeable to this honestly stupid plan. Well, plan was giving it too much credit – she was acting on instinct. But maybe that was what they needed with the tech scrambled and everything else going dark.

She knew Al was there somewhere... and he was close.

“What the hell is that thing?”

Vega was pointing at what looked like the epicenter of the blast. Bo squinted as she tried to pick out the details. Whatever it was still held enough energy to spark, and she swore she saw smoke rising  from a ruined console in the distance. Something about it made her stomach lurch, so she started running towards it without thinking. Her brain was screaming run away, so she just ignored that.

Most people wouldn't do that, but she was working with what she had.

“Shit... what the hell happened here?”

If a bomb had gone off, here was where someone had set the charge. Bits of metal were embedded into the wall nearly forty feet away, and oil leaked from a ruined canister on the far side of the room. There was an impression burnt into the floor, like someone had left old film too far long exposed in the light. There was also a body.

Oh, hey. How the fuck did the Illusive Man get on the Citadel? Also, what the fuck?

“I don't even want to know.” Bo kicked his leg to make sure he wasn't getting up. Given the hole in his head, she doubted that greatly. Besides, he was looking pretty rough. In a weird way, it reminded her of  Saren the very first time they had blown up the Citadel a few years prior. What that meant settled heavily into her stomach as she stomped past his corpse, trying to find where her brother might be hiding.

Whatever happened to him, she hoped it hurt.

“Shepard... it's Anderson!”

Bo's heart caught in her throat as she looked over at where Vega was standing. He was kneeling down in front of another body, one that had been propped against another console. This one wasn't breathing either.

Anderson... he'd be shot.

“Fuck.” She bit her lip. “Not him too...”

Even though the man had always liked Al a little more in her mind, he had been a good person. Besides, he had punched Udina in the face – it was hard to argue with those kinds of results. With him gone, the universe was missing somebody great.

She bowed her head. “We'll... figure out how to get him down after we find Al. Start looking.”

Together, the pair stepped away from the bodies and continued their frantic search around the ruined room. After a  few minutes, all they had managed to find was a gun streaked with blood. It wasn't his, and it wasn't Alliance issue – so it was probably the Illusive Man's.

Hoped it hurt when he shot himself. Fucking asshole.

“I don't think he's here.” Vega sounded pained as he looked around. “Loco's little, but there's a limit to where you can stash a guy.”

Bo shook her head, gritting her teeth as the pain in her lower back increased. “He's here, Vega. I can feel it.”

But he wasn't going to be there much longer. Even as it hurt, she could feel the pain starting to get weaker. It wasn't in the everything was going to be alright way, the comforting sensation she had learned to live with knowing her other half was ok. This was something she had felt once before, when she had watched Al drift into space with a cracked helmet.

They had given him a headstone after that. No way was she letting him get any use out of it yet.

She did one last turn around the room, ducking under ever corner in the hopes he might be there. As the sweat poured down her face, she could feel the pain ebbing. He was fighting, but there wasn't much left in him. At the rate she was going...

No. He wasn't dying a second time, not on her watch.

“Al, if you can hear me fucking say something!”

Her voice reverberated around the empty room, highlighting the crackling of ruined wires that surrounded them. Bo could feel her heart in her throat as she strained her ears to listen for some small sign. Just... something. Anything.

She couldn't do this again.

“...here.”

A small voice, almost too quiet to hear, sounded in her ear. Bo jumped to her feet as she looked around, wide-eyed. Vega was standing still, so there was a chance he hadn't heard any of that. Knowing the weird shit tying her and Al together, maybe that was to be expected.

“I heard you, do it again!”

A few seconds and then “Over here” sounded from a large pile of rubble. Bo was over there in a flash, tearing the pile apart with aching hands. Her second in command soon joined her as they started to rip the debris away. All the while, her heart pounded in her ears as she hoped against all else she'd find something other than more blood.

When she spotted the N7 emblem on the front of his armor, Bo could've cried.

“Al!”

He was in bad shape. His left leg was just... gone, ripped away from the blast. The way his arm was hanging, she doubt they'd be able to fix that. He was bleeding from a thousand places, and his breathing was so shallow it was almost like it wasn't happening at all.

But what was left of his leg wasn't bleeding...

“I can't hold him much longer. He needs medical help.”

A voice – not Al's – escaped from cracked lips. One unfocused eye was a light blue, almost the same shade as when he activated his biotics. She could see the leg wound was glowing in the same shade, but it didn't matter. Whatever was going on, it was keeping the worst of his wounds from bleeding out.

She would figure it out later.

Vega scooped his commander up before she got the chance. When she opened her mouth, he countered, “Your arm's broken, Shepard. Let me handle this one. We need to figure out how to get down.”

Right... there was no return gravity well. It wasn't like they could jump down either. Even though they had Al literally in their grasp, getting him medical attention was all but impossible unless they figured how to get back down to Earth.

Her heart was in her throat again. “Damn it... he can't die here.”

“There... button on the panel. Saw the dead man use it.” The strange voice from Al was getting weaker. Whatever was holding him together was failing. Bo wasn't about to argue with strange presences – instead, she slammed it down so hard she was pretty sure she broke something.

Then they were back on the ground, surrounded by confused marines with a lot of guns.

Bo didn't even react, she grabbed the nearest one. “Get medigel now, he's bleeding out!”

True – there was a lot of blood now splashing down Vega's armor as Al started bleeding from his leg wound. The rest was a blur as people jumped in. None of it made sense to Bo as she rushed along, trying to process what was happening.

They had found him... now they just needed to save his life.

---

“How is he, doc?”

“We were able to cauterize the wound, but he's probably going to lose that arm. It's a miracle he even survived the blast, nearly every bone was broken...”

Bo listened to the report with a somber gaze. They were in one of the few hospitals the alliance had gotten running since the end of the war. Unlike most, Al had a room to himself. They needed it – he was barely alive.

Lost a leg, lost an arm... that eye wasn't looking good. They were pretty sure his amp had blown out so there might be brain damage. Yet he was alive somehow, and holding on by a thread as they fought to keep the blood in his body and infection at bay.

“The commander is a lucky man. A few minutes, and he would have bled out.” The doctor's attention was drawn away – someone else needed him to save their life. He rushed off without another word, leaving Bo to sit there with her brother.

She wasn't too good either – her arm was bandaged and in a sling, and they had wrapped her ankle with orders for her to keep off it. Add in a few broken ribs, a nasty concussion, and a ringing in her ears and she was pretty lucky to be alive too.

But... shit. They were both alive.

“You better wake up, Al. We pulled this fucking thing off and I'm not taking any of the credit without you there to get some too.”

He didn't respond – they said he was in a pretty bad coma due to getting knocked around. At least he was breathing on his own. It wasn't like they had many ventilators to go around, so that was a relief. Had it been worse...

No. She wasn't going to think about that. He was alive.

“Garrus is going to be ok, by the way. You saved him.” Her shoulders sagged. “You saved all of us, you fucking moron. So you better wake up.”

She sighed, eyes closing. Things still didn't make sense. What the hell had that voice been? Had she just hallucinated it, or had Andeson's ghost paid his adopted son and favorite soldier one last favor before he passed on? It was hard to believe it had even happened. Maybe she had just dreamed it up with the stress of finding him...

Hell, maybe it was eezo. Eezo did weird shit.

Whatever, it didn't matter. Bo was going to sit there until he woke up. If it took a while, she had time. She was turning in her resignation once the com channels were fixed anyway. They could get someone else to help save the galaxy – she was done.

So was he, probably. Maybe he could finally go to med school once he woke up and got a prosthetic or two.

“We won, Al. Whatever you did... the Reapers are gone.” And despite everything, Bo let out a grim smile as the sun rose through a broken window. “And the sun rises on Earth once more. How fucking poetic is that?”

And then she lapsed into silence as she continued her vigil. No matter what, she was going to be there when he woke up. Then she was probably going to yell at him, and after that she wasn't sure. She'd figure that out then.

Until then... she was going to keep off her ankle and make sure he had company.

[sanoiro]

Lucifer 5x04 - It Never Ends Well for the Chicken - Spoilers And Speculation

Warning! There is always a possibility that certain scenes might have been mixed up under their non-respective episodes.

I would appreciate if no media from my S&S posts were taken (again!). I post bts directly from the OPs never from second sources. I spend hours on this as a fan but I’m not a news site nor a source for anyone, therefore, do not take anything from this post. If you want to post some of the photos or videos you see here find the OPs do not take advantage of the hours I’ve spent on this! 

Written By: Aiyana White

Directed By: Viet Nguyen

Aiyana White has written/co-written the episodes:

4x05 - Orgy Pants At Work

5x04 - It Never Ends Well for the Chicken

5x10 - Resting Devil Face (Teleplay)

Cast: Tom Ellis as Lucifer, Lauren German as Chloe, DB Woodside as Amenadiel, Lesley-Ann Brandt as Maze, Kevin Alejandro as Dan, Scarlett Estevez as Trixie, Rachael Harris as Linda Martin and Aimee Garcia as Ella.

Season 4 Recurring Characters: None Officially Announced Guest Cast:

Emil Beheshti...Abe Gantz

Iris Braydon...Portraitist

Patrick Daniel...Paddy

Christopher Gerse...Benny

Joe Sobalo Jr....Vincenzo

Behind The Scenes

(Including the ET intwerviews)

Locations

This episode was shot in two locations the WB lot and at a mansion at Beverly Hills.

- Penthouse?

- New York Street WB Lot

-New York Street WB Lot - The ‘Garden’ Club

-Beverly Hills Mansion (Ellis + German and a lot of background actors)

This S&S is different than the rest mainly because on some level I know certain parts of the plot so here I had to decide what to do. The writers are obviously really proud about this episode and they should be as it is based on an amazing concept. At the same time do I really need to spoil a magnificent episode by writing accurately around 1/3 or 1/2 of the episode? To prove what? To achieve what? After the Part has dropped I’ll share that script page.

So early on I talked to some friends and it was decided that the verified by a script page and crew call page spoilers would not make it in the S&S. At least not the actual core of the episode. Some minor details here and there will still be here yet that is met with another problem as 5x04 sets in motion the rest of the season and if I’m correct also affects 5x09. Therefore, I do hope you do not mind if I’m vague on some parts. Finally don’t you worry when I speculate about things I will tell you upfront like I have done in the previous episodes.

As you can imagine I struggled a lot on how to explain this episode and write the S&S by what has already been spoiled from the cast, mainly in their ET interview at that time from Lauren, Ellis, DB and Aimee.

What I have to tell you first is that 5x04 moves on 3 levels. The first level is the present as a story is being told, it does not begin at random. If you remember 5x03 left us with a temporary solution and two amethyst bracelets on Dan and Lucifer. At the same time 5x05 features the title Detective Amenadiel. Lets speculate here that Lucifer is not that well so the clarity he gained in 5x03 with the show Diablo allowed him to recall of a different time that’s the second level, his past. The third level is how the episode is dressed meaning as a Noir episode that is set in the 1940s.

First, let’s explore the first level. Lucifer for some reason he feels the need to take the audience back to his past, and in order to do that there must be a present audience in his story. Someone that will make him go back and forth. I remind you that the shootings of the noir episode didn’t give any space for a lot of present time shootings so I would guess that Lucifer is at a place he feels safe perhaps his penthouse or Chloe’s house. I do not think that must be happening during therapy as we need a place that comforts him and this is a story not a therapy session the whole structure of it does not support Lucifer talking during a therapy session but to someone he trusts.

Now as you know when you tell a story you need to put everything in a perspective that your audience will understand. Us yes but also the person/s Lucifer has in front of him so the story changes and is manipulated according to us the viewers but also Lucifer’s audience.

w let’s go to the third level before the second for a very simple reason. We would expect for Lucifer to remember his past that this story to be set in Heaven, the Silver City to have angels and a pearly gate, clouds and harps but our genius writers take us somewhere else. They take us in 1940 before the US joined the Second World War. The US joined WII on December 7, 1941. The clothes the actors wear carry this late 1930s, early 1940s style where everything is bigger, there is colourful patterned fabric, no shortage of metal, there is no reason for grimness and of course, there is no war. So here is the thing as the audience you can hear the war drums echoing in the distance but this episode for its main part carries this innocence before WW2. WW2 is also relatable to the humans in Lucifer’s life, they get that people never expect a grand war and that certain behaviours are understandable.

In addition to that film noir concept for 5x04, before WW2 that genre was popular but skyrocketed in the 1940s when we had two of the most amazing Hollywood noir films of all time. By the way, do remember that Hollywood thrived due to the war as the rest of the world either had to halt filming big productions or the technology was simply not affordable yet you will find some good foreign movies but without the same exposure Hollywood gave for the simple reason that it had not been affected directly by the war, meaning the bombs and the poverty.

Now the Noir films I was talking about are The Maltese Falcon that was released in October of 1941 just two months before Pearl Harbor and Citizen Cain in May of 1941 that inspired so many great film noirs we can also mention of course High Sierra in January of 1941. All these movies are important to remember as Lucifer’s past is narrated in a very similar way but with a twist which I’ll let you know what it is when I start explaining the second level. Until I get there do remember that Lauren was watching the movie ‘Only Angels Have Wings’ (1939) which although it is not a film noir it is relatable to this episode and I wouldn’t be surprised if the writers recommended to the actors to watch it. So we gather that the film noir is not a random choice or an attempt to make this episode artistic as other shows have done but it actually deals with that atmosphere the misdealings and the unfortunate choices but also heartbreak. Well, for some that is.

The second level of this episode is that Lucifer talks about his past. If level two and level three correspond then we can claim that it was before Lucifer Fell. I do believe and support this theory as on a level it follows the Comic’s concept that Lucifer Fell around the time he met Lilith. Lilith has been confirmed for 5x04.

Now if we are in a time when Lucifer didn’t Fell what does that mean for the episode itself? Who will. appear there? Why do we have Chloe dressed as a man? Why Lauren called her character Jack? What is going on? Unfortunately for all of us I know that part so I’ll have to skip it but at the same time I’ll not disappoint you.

First of all the second and the third level are connected so they are one thing and the whole story is on some level an allegory in some places and true on others. In order to understand this better you need to be familiar with the book/movie “The Life of Pi”. For the ones who have not read/watched it it’s basically a story of a boy stranded at sea with a Tiger, a Zebra, A Hyena and a Chimpanzee only in the end to realize that none of the zoo animals the ship carried had made it to the raft but the actual story involved humans, murder, cannibalism and the madness that led to boy’s survival through a long quest of keeping up faith to nothing yet everything. The same happens in this episode more or less.

Our characters are changing and as Aimee said even her character in that episode is different. You see the only constant in this story is mainly Lucifer, most of the rest are ‘shifting’ and that’s the appropriate word to explain it. You should also go to all the leads social media and discover some more clues here and there because our leads do not do post in random. Like with my speculation with Inbar for 5x03 I support the same speculation here but from a different person.

So let’s get to the story that Lucifer attempts to narrate. We are back in a time before the big war and we see a Lucifer with lighter colours, curious and of course young. We do not know if he has Fallen but as I speculate over and over in this S&S let’s say that he has not so perhaps we will see the process of that Fall of what or who helped him think for himself.

In the comics, Lucifer after Ibrael slept with Lilith and she bore him a Nephelim son called Briadach, Lucifer and Lilith started having long conversations over why she lays with demons, why she left Adam and the matter of will comes up something that Lucifer contemplates a lot after that. As the years pass in the comics the time comes when Briadach and Maze kill Ibrael because not only he refused his son but also wanted to exile all the Lilim from the Silver City which they have built. You see Lilith was so in love with Ibrael that she gave him her children as builders for the City of Heaven.

Long story short the Angels wanted to kill Maze and Briadach to atone the sin of Ibrael’s murder but Lucifer refuses to take a side which angers Gabriel. Samuel then takes the name Lucifer and leaves the Silver City,

The chances of all that happening are slim to none of course but the concept that Lucifer and Lilith talk at some point in that episode about will and freedom means a lot. There are a lot of firsts in this episode actually that the viewers will certainly love. Also, I do not think we should approach their meeting as a romance more like a platonic romance of similar ideas and a start of how Lucifer made a stand towards divine plans.

Talking of firsts as some of fans noticed Lucifer in that episode didn’t wear his ring. The writers' room had two backstories (not from the start of the series!) for that according to Idly and apparently, they have decided which one to use so in 5x04 we will see how Lucifer got his ring but not everything is that simple or innocent. And talking about lack of innocence that is one of the reasons why the Garden is transformed to a club that bears the same name in the episode. Also perhaps that duet is actually Lucifer’s first introduction to a piano and he is a natural? Honestly no idea.

^Video Here

There is also always an alias... I told you this story is moving on 3 levels all the time. 

It was first assumed that it was Lauren but as White was the writer of 5x04, in reality, we see Ellis and Lesley Ann before their duet if that tux is anything to go about. 

From the bts we have seen that there is a case, there is always a case and there is even a police car so if I were you I would expect a body somewhere (you will probably be shocked when you see the victim) and so things will need to be investigated and unveiled. Meaning the culprit.

We have seen Lauren with a black eye as well as a cut lip and that is again normal as the story progresses yet you will not get much of the story’s zest aside from the fact that Lucifer is working with Lauren’s ‘Jake’ and that in the Garden he meets Lesley-Ann with which he has a duet. Perhaps some mommy issues from Maze can finally be addressed when Lilith makes her entrance.

^Lucifer getting in the Garden Club^

^Remember there is always a trap... There is always a chase for riches and... power. 

Now you may ask and what of the Proprietor? Well, he might be our villain and he might be someone totally unexpected. Do not get fooled by titles and do expect the unexpected.

As a final note, I’ll have to remind you this. Season 5 is a heavily supernatural based season like S4 was and before that S2. It’s basically what the Writers Room can do without being controlled by a Network and when they have the freedom to create the path they want for the characters. Season 1 was supposed to be a filler for FOX and to get a second season it was unexpected, to say the least and then in December of 2017 the news came that it had been renewed for a 3rd season at that point, the network wanted a full S2 meaning 22 episodes, 4 of which as you know were moved in S3. So S2, S4 and S5 are in the same tune and 5x04 will set the tune to synchronize with the supernatural elements of the past seasons.

Plot-wise you will notice that most of the shooting was done at night also Lucifer’s clothing lighten up here and there while the story becomes bleaker. 

^Some bts suggest that Maze is present in Lucifer’s story or at least in the present aka the first level of that episode even if she is not around that story from the beginning. 

Now early in this S&S I told you that this episode might affect Season 5 Part 1 as a whole and even 5x09 but I didn’t tell you why. The solution of 5x03 is temporary and Lucifer in 5x04 realizes that he can find a permanent one by recalling events of his past. Perhaps his audience comes to the conclusion that a solution may lie on a detail of 5x04. That leads to a quest but what frees Dan and Lucifer has other consequences and do not be surprised if in Part 2 you will see the younger version of Lucifer again that you met in 5x04. Confusing? Yes, but better than nothing I suppose at least we know that the season is well crafted.  

Unfortunately due to the circumstances under this S&S is written I’ll not answer any questions that will ask from me to clarify or further speculate details and in general what I have mentioned above. Thank you for your understanding.

PS As far as I know up to that point the Hell set was still up in the stage so we might see it again in 5x04. Only time will tell.

PS2 There are hints everywhere in every single bts above. Things that are obvious and others that you simply cannot spot until you watch the episode but trust me this will be an unforgettable experience for all Lucifans!

Although some photos seem to be the same like the ones in 5x03, which is true, it is why sometimes we do not know which episode she shoots as multiple scenes from 2-3 episodes sometimes are shot in one day due to Scarlet’s other responsibilities and under the Child Actor Act that does not allow a child to work for more than a certain number of days and hours per week. 

Bonding time I guess... 

^The same t-shirt so we shall see :P 

[intoxicatingimmediacy]

Big Ups: Clipping Pick Their Bandcamp Favorites

“Right from the beginning, we always wanted to make a horror-themed record,” says Jonathan Snipes, a producer in the Los Angeles-based progressive noise-rap trio Clipping, alongside MC Daveed Diggs and fellow beatsmith Bill Hutson. The group’s third project for Sub Pop, There Existed an Addiction to Blood, updates the cult horrorcore hip-hop trend of the mid ‘90s in a thrilling and forward-thinking fashion. It’s a striking and deeply atmospheric record, powered by synth-based sonic experimentalism and grisly concept-focused writing that exudes a sinister and shadowy feel.

There Existed an Addiction to Blood adds to a stellar canon of work that kicked off with Clipping’s introductory midcity mixtape in 2013. “That one was really us learning how to be Clipping, and what we sounded like,” says Hutson, who helped mastermind the project’s metallic, glitch-afflicted beats. On the following year’s debut album, CLPPNG, the crew moved further towards what Hutson calls “dark and noise-tinged instrumentals.” The omission of the letter I in the album title represents the way Diggs avoids rhyming in the first person. Hutson maintains that if much of hip-hop involves MCs rapping about their own lives, Clipping’s music strives to be “a novel, not a memoir.” Case in point: 2016’s Splendor & Misery took shape as an Afrofuturist sci-fi adventure that explored an artificial intelligence world; 2017’s single “The Deep” inspired the author Rivers Solomon to expand the song’s environment into a novella of the same name.

Basing There Existed an Addiction to Blood around horrorcore and gory movies is a natural representation of Clipping’s influences and the way the trio approach writing songs. “Horrorcore is this forgotten and maligned subgenre of hip-hop that we’ve always had a tremendous amount of affection for,” says Hutson. “So much of Clipping is about referencing styles of hip-hop—almost all our songs were conceived as our take on a certain type of rap song—so this horror album was always going to happen.” Snipes adds, “We think of each of these songs as self-contained movie scores of vignettes in a specific genre.”

The original horrorcore movement that inspired Clipping’s latest album was spearheaded by RZA and Prince Paul’s Gravediggaz project, plus artists including Houston’s Ganksta N-I-P, Detroit’s Esham, and New York City’s Flatlinerz. ‘90s horrorcore lyrics were packed with macabre imagery and references to psychological disorders, satanism, and cannibalism; the gruesome verses were often relayed over willfully dank and grimey production. Clipping’s resurrection of the subgenre taps into the same lyrical themes—but this time Digg’s intense verses are backed by marauding waves of monstrous synths, sharp abrasive stabs of discordant noise, and snatches of field recordings that bring a chilling realism to There Existed an Addiction to Blood.

Key song “Run For Your Life” plays out like a frantic short movie. It co-stars Memphis MC La Chat, who used to roll with Three 6 Mafia and the Hypnotize Minds roster back in the ‘90s. “She’s hunting down Daveed and approaching and moving behind him in a car,” says Snipes. “Then in the third verse, we’re fully in the car with her.” To drum up the effect of the protagonist being chased to a bloody demise, Digg’s lyrics are surrounded by constantly shifting ambient noise: The sound of passing cars blasting music and dogs barking literally pulls the listener into the chilling scenario.

The same blend of adventurous production techniques and concept-heavy writing present on Clipping’s latest album also runs through Hutson and Snipes’s Bandcamp recommendations. Blasts of abstract hip-hop lyricism mix with innovative thematic albums and avant-garde film scores, adding up to a smart representation of Clipping’s advanced-level musical DNA.

Bill Hutson

Dax Pierson - Live In Oakland

I first saw Dax Pierson play around 2003, when he was in a group called Subtle that was an Anticon side project with Dose One and Jel. Dax was also the secret weapon of the Themselves project, which was also Dose and Jel, and on tour he’d play keys and finger drum on MPCs. Dax is this compelling, creative performer and composer. This tape came out on Ratskin and it’s from a more recent show—I might have even been at the show! His music is fascinating, almost uncategorizable left-field dance stuff that’s blending all these ideas.

John Wall - Hylic

I was really enamored of improvised music in the early ‘00s, and it’s a lot of what fueled my ravenous collector habit, which came from having to track down these obscure records that came from Japan and Germany and Switzerland and England, where they were only pressing a couple of hundred copies. John Wall is very careful as a computer music composer, and he’d spend years and years cutting up tiny pieces of improvised sounds and turning them into these totally austere and totally alien compositions. I was fascinated by the disparity between how much intention there was behind it and how alien the result sounds. Hylic almost sounds like there’s no human brain making logical choices that would compose this music—it feels like it’s naturally occurring in some way, like you’re listening to the background radiation of the solar system—but there’s also the most extreme version of authorship going into it.

billy woods - Hiding Places

I think billy woods is a fantastic example of this very abstract and angular and strange rapper but with these really strong connections to the history of New York rap. It’s almost like he’s from a different timeline where southern hip-hop didn’t take over the mainstream in the ‘00s and we kept going with Nas and Wu-Tang, and it’s developed into this new form. [Producer] Kenny Segal is a buddy—we’ve toured with him—and he would have been a youngster in the Project Blowed days but came out of the experimental L.A. hip-hop scene that produced Abstract Rude and Freestyle Fellowship and, later with the beatmakers, birthed the whole Low End Theory and Brainfeeder movement. This album is a New York and L.A. collab record that seems to perfectly synthesize two different types of left of center aesthetics, but feels completely natural in a way we wouldn’t have expected maybe 20 years ago.

Kevin Drumm - 09082001 gtr​/​synth ‘solo’

I included this not because anyone needs me to tell them Kevin Drumm is a fuckin’ noise hero, but I wanted to include Drumm because I think what he’s doing is a really unique thing that Bandcamp can provide: A couple of months ago I bought Drumm’s entire discography for like $22, which was like a hundred or so releases! He puts out so much, and it’s all of such high quality. This specific recording is from my favorite period of his work in the early-2000s, but it wasn’t available [back then] until he started bypassing labels and physical copies and started putting everything up himself direct to the fans.

DEBBY FRIDAY - DEATH DRIVE

[The label] Deathbomb Arc put out some of the first Clipping stuff. I think of [founder] Brian Miller as A&Ring my listening habits because he’s out there finding new artists I wouldn’t come across and putting out their records. DEBBY FRIDAY completely blew me away—this release seems both out of nowhere and so fully formed. It’s just brilliant and sort of industrial hip-hop. It’s really like the best Skinny Puppy album we never got but with way better lyrics and content and performance. It’s so smart and dark—she’s a really great lyricist.

Jonathan Snipes

Missincinatti - remove not the ancient landmarks

Missincinatti was Jeremy Drake, Jessica Catron, and Corey Fogel, and they had this band for a short time in L.A. where they played these contemporary arrangements of sea shanties. They’re all incredible musicians, and their arrangements were always so off-kilter and smart. This album is only on Bandcamp, and it’s like a little monument to this band that I loved so much for a short time. One of my favorite things is arrangements of folk music that almost feel like critical theory about folk music and this project feels like it’s in this realm. I wish they were still around playing shows so I could go to them.

François-Eudes Chanfrault - Inside

I discovered François-Eudes Chanfrault when I saw the movie for which this is the score. Then, when I started looking into François’s music, I realized that I’d run across him in online nerdy computer music circles. He became one of my favorite composers, and I became obsessed with tracking his music down. The development of the Inside score is really slow and tasteful, and that’s hard to accomplish when working with film. I also score movies, and film music always feels like if the music’s following a picture. It wants to be fast and have abrupt changes—but François is someone who is somehow able to make these really long elegant cues that actually play against the action of the film in this really striking way. It’s probably the last score I’d expect anybody to write for that movie, and it hits exactly the right tone. His use of electronics and computers and his use of a chamber ensemble are perfectly matched.

Lauren Bousfield - Fire Songs

Lauren’s a really good friend, and this album’s only available on Bandcamp. She’s an incredible musician—an absolute genius. This is the album she released shortly after her house burned down and she lost all her possessions in the fire. It feels very personal. It’s easy to think of electronic and breakcore as just splattered breakbeats that feel mechanical and machine-based. But this one, with the context [of the backstory], feels very emotional, and almost makes me tear up when I hear it.

Bryce Miller - W A S P

Bryce Miller is someone I found through some Bandcamp journalism, which I read regularly. This album, which is based on the Stieg Larsson Millennium books, is elegant and precise. There’s a lot of this retro ’80s synthwave stuff flying around—I’ve made a fair bit of it myself—but somehow this really nailed the tone of feeling very contemporary, but also very ancient. It’s like what I wanted synth records in the ’80s to sound like at the time, but they never quite did. The sense of melody and structure and tension and release is really spot on. Bryce feels like a real composer in that realm.

Max Tundra - With Love To Mummy

I first heard Max Tundra on the double disc compilation Tigerbeat6 Inc. from like 2001. I was really into Aphex Twin and Squarepusher and Kid606 and Matmos, and I was trying to figure out who was doing weird electronic music and that comp came out and it ended up being a huge window into bands I’d never heard of. Max Tundra’s track [“The Bill”] sounded like a general MIDI soundtrack to a spy show that he’d recorded into his answering machine! I’ve been a lifelong fan of his since then, and this collection is, like, his teenage recordings—it’s really interesting to hear his old music. It’s charming and fun to listen to as a fan, and to note where his music took him after that. I suppose other people feel the same way about that Radiohead release.

[deutchmendes]

below the cut you can find a compiled list of 100+ problematic fcs and receipts to support the claims as well. we are by no means telling you not to play these fcs, (apart from the obvious racists, abusers, etc.), however, it is necessary to acknowledge that everyone on this list is problematic, thus, they should all be held accountable for their actions. it is imperative the community is aware of who they’re using and then they can make an informed choice of whether or not they would like to continue using said fc. without further ado, here’s the List™ you’ve all been anticipating / dreading from us.

alex pettyfer - domestic abuse

alexis ren - n word

alissa violet - n word

arnie hammer - in a movie that glorifies pedophilia adapted from a novel written by a straight man

ash stymest - dated a minor for 2 years (lily rose depp)

bella hadid - n word, racist tweets

bella thorne - n word, made fun of eating disorders, cultural appropriation

blackpink - mocked native american culture in their boombayah song, jennie’s use of the bindi in ddu du ddu du video

blake lively - got married on a slave plantation, said woody allen empowers women

brendon urie - rape / racist jokes, fat shamed

bts - did a photoshoot with nazi symbols at a holocaust museum, said the n word alot, colorism, general racism, misogyny, lyrics contributing to rape culture, fatphobia, made of eating disorders, rm wore dreads once and more

camila cabello - n word, bullied normani

camila rowe - dressed as a pregnant sharon tate for halloween and idolizes both manson and roman polanski, n word multiple times

cardi b - transphobic, racism

chantel jeffries - accused of allegedly stabbing someone

charles melton - fat shaming tweets

claudia tihan - n word

cole sprouse - made insensitive/racist jokes about tyler the creator, compared blm to cannibalism, emotional abusive to ex girlfriend, discredited jughead’s canon asexual identity

colton haynes - blackface  

demi lovato - sex worker prank to her bodyguard involving sexual assault

dinah jane - made fun of black women / dark skinned woc on her twitter, claimed she was black despite not being black, culture appropriation, and supports trump

dom sherwood - said a homophobic slur

donald glover - made rape jokes / said a man can't get raped, fetishizes asian women, ableist, said the f slur & r slur

dove cameron - said depression is a choice

dreamcatcher - profits off native american culture

dua lipa - appropriated gay culture with “homo” shirt, n word

dylan o’brien - stole native american artifacts and laughed about it, starred in american assassin (an extremely islamophobic film)

dylan sprouse - racism

eddie redmayne - played a trans chara despite being cis

eiza gonzalez - blackface

elle fanning - worked with woody allen, played transgender teen despite being cis herself, refused to apologize for working with woody allen

emma roberts - domestic abuse

emeraude toubia - culture appropriated, lashed out when ppl were trying to educate her

exo - multiple instances of racism, colorism, homophobia, blackface, ableism and more

gal gadot- zionist, accused of emotional abuse

(g)i-dle - used henna in their latata music video  

gigi hadid - made fun of asians, other general racism

gregg sulkin - said n word in snapchat, dated bella thorne while she was still a minor

hailey baldwin - n word, racist tweet

halsey - kissed underage fan

harry styles - white feminist, ignored a black fan and only interacted with their white friend

hayley kiyoko - n word, general racism

herizen guardiola - dated a minor

hilary duff - multiple instances of culture appropriation, dressed as a pilgrim with her husband as a native american

holland roden - racist

ian somerhalder - threw away his wife’s birth control without her consent, sexism

jack gilinsky - verbally abusive to his ex, madison beer

jared leto - is cis and played a trans person, sexual assault

jared padalecki - rape jokes

jason mamoa - made comments/jokes about rape

jennfer lawrence - sexism, transphobia, misogyny, ableism, culture appropriation, fat shaming and more

jensen ackles - rape jokes

julianne hough - blackface

justin bieber - animal neglect (left his monkey in germany and never claimed the monkey after being told he needed the proper documentation), wrote he would’ve hoped anne frank would’ve been a belieber when he visited the holocaust memorial, pissed in a mop bucket, egged his neighbor’s house, cultural appropriation, dreadlocks, punched a pap, almost ran over a pap, said “being gay is a choice”, doesn’t believe in abortion, used the n word and the word kkk in a song, spat on his fans, spit in his neighbors face and threatened to kill them after being told to drive careful, made prince’s death all about him, pretended to be in a wheelchair to cut lines at disneyland and has a diu

keith powers - said men can’t be bisexual

kelsey chow - claimed to be native american and she isn’t

kendall & kylie jenner - racist pepsi ad and victimized herself after being called out for it (kendall), offensive wheelchair photoshoot (kylie), stole designs (kylie), cultural appropriation: used pictures of tupac and notorious b.i.g. (without permission) for their fashion line, appropriated chola culture for their fashion line, designed a handbag shaped like a chinese takeout box, used a tan emoji despite being white (kendall), wore dreadlocks, wore cornrows multiple times despite being called out (kylie) and for a photoshoot (kendall), blackface (kylie), put the n word on a birthday cake for her friend (kylie), wore a bindi (kylie), wore indian nose ring to coachella

kiko mizhuara - blackface, culture appropriation

kj apa - liked fat shaming comment, posted a misogynistic picture, dating a minor, liked a slutshaming post

lana del rey - culture appropriation and more

lauren jauregui - rape jokes, homophobic slurs, n word, henna photoshoot, called psychiatry a joke and tweeted vaccines give autism and more

kristen stewart - worked with woody allen

lili reinhart - discredited lesbians by calling them “fanfic”, queerbaits fans, minimized depression on twitter

little mix - culture appropiation for their salute tour, culture appropiation again, perrie has multiple counts of culture appropriation, jesy wore dreadlocks

lily macapinlac - racism

lucky blue smith - trump supporter

lucy hale - bodyshamed herself on instagram, appropriated baby hairs

machine gun kelly - n word, sexualized black women

maggie lindemann - accused kesha, a rape survivor, of lying of rape

mamamoo - multiple instances of blackface, culture appropriation and more, hwasa said the n word in irreplaceable cover

marina diamandis - culture appropriation and blackface

megan fox - biphobia

melissa benoist - homophobic comments about ship ‘supercorp’, played a muslim character in islamophobic film, patriots day

melanie martinez - accusation of rape, problematic lyrical content

michael fassbender - abuser

momoland - culture appropriated in their baam video, nancy made jokes about eating disorders

naya rivera - domestic battery assault charge

nct - jaehyun sang along/mouthed the n word

neels visser - trump supporter

nicki minaj - shamed sex workers, culture appropriation/fetishization of kimino, racist stereotypes in song and snl performance of chun li

nicola peltz - dated a minor (anwar hadid)

nina dobrev - johnny depp supporter, culture appropriation

noah centineo - claims to be latino and took a latinx role when he is in fact white, supports logan paul,

rihanna - multiple instances of culture appropriation

ronni hawk - trump supporter

sabrina claudio - n word, racist remarks

sara sampaio - n word

selena gomez - all lives matter, woody allen supporter, wore a bindi multiple times despite being called out and more

shay mitchell - n word

sophia turner - made a joke about coming out as pansexual on instagram, n word

tana mongeau - filmed dead body and later deleted the video

taylor hill - made fun of indian accents, made fun of a muslim man with her bf, culture appropiation

taylor swift - cultural appropriation, romanticized imperialism, victimized herself at the expense of a black man, white feminist, posed w someone wearing a swastika on their shirt, more culture appropiation, slut shames constantly in her music, said in a song, picture to burn, she would tell her friends her ex was gay as if it were an insult

thomas doherty - said depression is a choice

timothee chalemet - worked with woody allen, in a movie that glorifies pedophilia adapted from a novel written by a straight man, lied about his contract forbidding him from speaking out on woody allen

tyler posey - came out as a joke on social media

uriah shelton - alm, abuse allegations

vanessa hudgens - countless instances of culture appropiation

wendy (red velvet) - made fun / stereotyped black girls

wjsn (cosmic girls) - appropiated indian culture

zayn - alm, racism, fat shamed, appropriated black culture and more

[friendlyneighborhoodborg]

Marc Appreciation Week 2019| Day 1: Writing| “The First Session”

So this is literally the first fanfiction I’ve ever published, done for @wearemiraculous / @seasonofthegeek ‘s Miraculous Ladybug event, celebrating everyone’s adopted son, Marc Anciel.  I planned this overarching story back when it was first announced, so before the actual prompts were given, so I don’t know if the days will actually match up very well.  Disclaimers (PLEASE READ) and chapter are under the cut.

(~c. 1500 words, for those of you who care about that kind of thing.)

Chapters:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Disclaimers before the actual content: I am not affiliated with anyone involved with creating Miraculous Ladybug.  I’m just a fan, this is just fanfiction.  This is a seven-part fic, one chapter for each day (if I can finish them on time), and it features heavy LGBTQ+ themes and mentions gender dysphoria (Not in this chapter but in later chapters).  I am not dysphoric, nor have I ever been, and I identify as a straight male.  As such, I may get something wrong.  Please, tell me if I do get something wrong so I can fix it.  The last thing I want is to hurt anyone with this.

Also, mild language warning.

Okay, I think that’s everything.

Sunday… by the blue, purple, yellow, red water… on the green, purple, yellow, red grass…

           Well, no, actually.  He was in a public library, not a park, and the closest thing to a river was a drinking fountain a few shelves to his left.  Still, it was Sunday, and this was the song that was piping in through Nathaniel’s earbuds.

           ‘You’ll love it,’ Rose had said.  ‘It’s inspired by that painting, the famous one with all the dots.’

           ‘Un dimanche après-midi à l’Île de la Grande Jatte,’ he had guessed.  ‘By Georges Seurat?’

           ‘Yeah, that one.  It’s about all the people in the painting, and all their troubles getting masked by the artist creating one fictional, perfect afternoon.  And then Act II is his grandson having to deal with creating the same things over and over.  And it’s just…’  There, Rose wiped a few tears from her still-red eyes.  ‘It’s some of the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard.  The same composer wrote Into the Woods.’

           ‘And Sweeney Todd,’ Juleka had mumbled from close by.

           Well, he couldn’t argue with Rose.  There were some incredible melodies, and watching the filmed version (at Rose’s insistence) had brought some tears to his eyes.

           It was about art.

           It was about himself, too, in a way.

           In the play, Georges invests himself so far into the fictional world in his painting that he neglects his lover, his family, and even his own life in the end.

           In real life, Nathaniel had gotten so wrapped up in his art that he had started to see everyone else as an obstacle to the creative spirit.

           “Hey,” a voice mumbled.  “Sorry I’m late.”

           Which is how he found himself here, in this mess.

           “It’s no problem.”  Nathaniel glanced at his phone.  “You’re actually early.”

           “I know,” Marc said tensely, quietly slipping into a chair across from him.  “But I still got here after you, so…”

           “Like I said, no problem.  I wasn’t bored.”

           “Oh?”  Marc looked at Nathan’s sketchbook, which was open on the table.  “What are you drawing?”

           Nathaniel regarded his creation.  It wasn’t anything too special: a tree, a river, a bench, all in a park scene done in swooping, curved lines.  The shading was done with a bunch of little tick marks instead of the smooth gradient style he sometimes did.

           “Just a scene,” he answered.  “From this musical I’ve been listening to.”

           “Sunday in the Park with George?”

           Nathaniel nodded.  “Yeah, how’d you know?”

           “Uh, Rose – that’s her name, right? – she told me about it.  She said her friend and her dad were in it together.”

           “Yeah, Mylène?”

           “That was it.”

           “Yeah.  She’s been forcing everyone in the art club to listen to the soundtrack for weeks.”  Nath flipped to a different page in the sketchbook.  “You’re the newest member, so naturally you’re her latest victim.”

           Marc gave a weak laugh, but his expression stayed sober.  “So how is it?”

           “Hm?”

           “The play.  Is it any good?”

           “Oh.”  He mulled over this.  “I like it,” he decided, even if he felt that didn’t answer the question.  “It’s a… perspective on the art piece.  Definitely unconventional.”

           “Yeah.”  Marc fingered the hem of his hoodie and bit his lip.  “It is a bit weird, isn’t it?  Writing something that big inspired by one piece of visual art.”

           “Yep.  And I’m now drawing something inspired by that.  Comes back around, doesn’t it?”  Nathaniel cringed, like he always did when he tried to be profound.  Profundity didn’t suit his verbal abilities.

           To his surprise, Marc nodded in agreement. “The cyclical, cannibalistic nature of art.”

           “Cannibalistic,” Nathan repeated, amused.  “That’s good. I like that word.  It’s very… blunt.”

           “It’s a strong choice,” Marc agreed. “Connoting something brutish or barbaric.”

           “Works perfectly for art, then.”

           Marc smiled this time.  “Guess it does,” he said.  His voice, to Nathaniel’s perception, seemed to take on some quality, giving it a lighter… texture?

            ‘No that isn’t right.  What’s that called?’ he pondered.  Whatever it was, it was a welcome change from Marc’s usual moody demeanor.  The small smile on his face was uniquely refreshing, emotionally speaking.

           “Kinda like this, huh?” he noted.  “I mean, I was doodling, you wrote stuff for it, and now I’m drawing based off what you wrote.  I’m cannibalizing myself via you.”

           Marc lost his smile.  Nathan suddenly felt bad, like all the weight in the air had fallen in around him.

           “Sorry,” he apologized.  “Forget I… I was trying to be clever, never mind.”

           The heaviness in the room was making it difficult for him to breathe.

           “So…” Marc tried to break the silence.  Nathan winced inwardly at the shift in social dynamic. Apparently, he also winced outwardly, because Marc suddenly started to backtrack.  “I mean, you, um…”  His voice dropped to a timid whisper.  “Oh, shit.”

           Marc made to get up, grabbing the bag that was hung on his chair.  “Wait, no, I’m sorry,” Nath pleaded.

           “This isn’t going to work.”  The writer shook his head.  “I’m sorry for taking up your time.”

           “Look, it’s my fault.”  Marc stopped moving.  “I’m sorry, I’m just not used to… working with people.”  At the deflated look this received, Nath amended himself.  “I want to, though.  Let’s just give this a chance, okay?”

           “Oh.”  Marc set down his bag and withdrew his journal.  “Uh… okay.”

           “Yeah.  I don’t exactly know how to… do…”  He stopped talking, not knowing what word he could finish with.

           “Collaborations?”

           “Yeah.  I’m not sure… What’s the, um, protocol here?”

           Marc shifted in his seat, playing with the cover of his book.  “I don’t really think there is a set protocol.”

           “Oh.  Sorry, my bad, I just—”

           “No, you’re fine, I’m the one who should—”

           They both stopped talking over each other. Once again, they merely looked down at their own papers in silence.

           After a minute of this, Nathaniel decided, against his better judgement, to address the elephant at the table.

           “So… Yesterday, huh?”

           Marc continued to hunch over.

           “You got akumatized.”  Not like the superfan was going to judge.  “You really wanted in on this project, huh?”

           Marc shut his eyes tight.   He whispered, “It wasn’t that.”

           Nath was surprised.  “Oh?  Then…”

           “I just wanted to…”  For the first time in the meeting, Marc momentarily lost his tongue. “I don’t know how it got to that. I just wanted to say that you were… and then Marinette just made it about us working together…”  He shrugged, defeated.  “It just sort of escalated.”

           “Oh,” Nathaniel nodded.  “Then we agree.”

           “Huh?”

           “Marinette is terrible at mediating people.”

           “Oh.”  Another smile, much smaller than the first, graced his lips, which his collaborator was grateful for.  “Heh. She really is, huh?”

           ‘Levity,’ Nathan realized, looking at Marc’s smile.  ‘That’s the word I was looking for earlier.’

            He wanted to keep the conversation going.  “So… what were going to say about me?  So you can get that out of the way.”

           It took a while for him to answer.  “It’s just… I really like… your art.  There’s just something in it.”  He looked away, blushing with what Nathaniel assumed was embarrassment.  “You seem to really care about it.  Not really in any way I’ve ever seen before.  I-It’s so well-constructed, too, plot-wise.”

           “You think so?”

           “Yeah.”  The scriptwriter rubbed his arm.  “I mean… I’m not an expert, but I like stories that… you know.”

           The cartoonist didn’t know, but he kept that to himself.

           “Why do you, um…”  Marc gulped.  “What led you to… drawing?  And doing stories like this?”        

           “Why do I do this?”  Nath thought about this for a moment.  “I can’t really say.”

           “Okay.”  Marc didn’t push further.

           They continued to sit silently, until Nath once again spoke up.

           “Do you ever feel like there’s something that’s just…”

           His accomplice tried guessing.  “Wrong?”

           “Exactly.”  Nathaniel crossed his arms.  “Something that’s just wrong with you.”

           “Yeah,” Marc nodded.  “I think that’s normal.”

           “It really isn’t.  Or it shouldn’t be.”

           “I’ll agree on that.”

           “It’s part of why I do this.”  Nath shrugged pensively.  “It just feels right.”

           Marc smiled.  “That’s how I feel about writing.”  He tried to clarify.  “You know, like, constructing words, into sentences and paragraphs and stories. And then you come up with that great sentence, that play on ideas, and it’s just…”  Seeing that his point didn’t really get across, he elaborated.  “I am to words as you are to… let’s say, colors.”

           “I can tell.”  Nath motioned to Marc’s journal.  “From what I’ve read, you’re really an artist with them.”

           Marc blushed again, though Nath couldn’t tell from what.  “You really think so?”

           “Yeah.  Even just talking to you is… well, kind of exhilarating.”  Wondering if that was the right word to use, he backtracked. “Something like that, I guess.  Anyway…”  He closed his sketchbook.  “What do you say we finally start working?”

           Marc’s expression shifted to surprise.  “W-working?”

           “Yeah.”  He got out of his seat and walked around to Marc’s side.  “Show me what you’ve been writing.”

            “O-okay.”  He reluctantly opened his journal.  “Well, it’s not really, um, much, but there’s this thing you did after Copycat that I sort of expanded on…”

So, yeah, that was Day 1.  Sorry if it sucked, I’m really new to this and I’ve never posted anything before.  That’s my excuse.  Please don’t send hate, but I will take constructive criticism.  Therefore, if you do send hate, pretend it’s that instead.

The whole thing is actually not fully finished, but I’ll try to get everything up here eventually regardless of whether or not I can do it all in time.

[weirdmovies]

weird movie masterpost pt. 10

He Took His Skin Off For Me (2014) - a man sacrifices a lot for his love

Night on the Galactic Railroad (1985) - two kittens go on a magical train ride that transcends the laws of physics (via @r3ver1e)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) - after a breakup, the former couple gets a medical procedure to forget each other

Fritz the Cat (1972) - america’s first x-rated animated film satirizing college life and the free love movement

Litan (1982) - a couple passes through a strange village hosting a festival of the dead (via anon)

It Follows (2015) - a young woman is followed by an unknown creature after having sex with her boyfriend

Alucarda (1977) - two girls living in a convent become possessed by satan

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) - five teenagers go to texas and become trapped by a family of cannibals (via @valleyofthedollparts)

Creep (2014) - a filmmaker looking for work answers an online ad to record the last messages of a dying man

Body Bags (1993) - three short horror stories told by a morgue attendant

*all movies w links are available on youtube

**send me recs for pt. 11

***all parts here

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Master Post on HOW Beth Will Arrive

Okay everyone! Happy Saturday. I’m gonna start out by saying that most of this stuff has at least been discussed before, either by me or other TDers. It just came together for me last week in a way it never has before.

Do I think we’ll see Beth in 8x10? Overall, YES. I think there’s a VERY good chance of it. Maybe I’m wrong and we won’t, but in case we do, I wanted to get this posted today.

So it started with me having a convo with one of my fellow theorists (of course it did ;D), @frangipanilove. Actually, it was the same convo that led to the Sorghum Post. Go read that if you haven’t.

@frangipanilove asked if I remembered what the “how the harvest gets home” theories were about. I never did any “harvest” theories because I didn’t start my account until after S5 ended, but I remember reading them. Daryl and Aaron fell into the wolf trap in 5x16, and on the side of the white trucks, the slogan read “how the harvest gets home.”

The prevailing TD theory was that the harvest was Beth and she’d be returning in 5x16. Obviously she didn’t. The basis of this theory was two-fold. It came from 

1) all the wolf symbolism around Beth (party when the wolf comes home, blond girl on tree in 5x15, Red cloak in Beth’s cell in 4x01—Red Riding Hood, etc.) and 

2) from Morgan’s wall in 3x12, Clear. One line on his wall reads, “Transport BEF/Transport Harvest.” So, “BEF” and the “harvest” are synonymous. Most people think BEF is Beth anyway. It can stand for Blue-Eyed Female or several other acronyms that would work for her, some of them even having to do with war. And it sounds like a slightly skewed version of her name.

This idea of the harvest = Beth is bolstered by what @frangipanilove found in the Sorghum post: the Danville, KY distillery, who also produces Blue Heron whiskey, also produces a “Harvest Rum” made from sorghum. The symbol for most harvests, no matter what the crop actually is, is usually wheat. (Type the word “harvest” into google and then look at images. You’ll see what I mean.) And fermented wheat is what alcohol is made from. We all know alcohol on the show = Beth. So it all works together.

So, while this may be super-obvious to some people, it occurred to me that the theory wasn’t wrong at all. About her showing up in 5x16? Yes. But about her being the harvest? No. I think the “How the Harvest Gets Home” trucks were 100% a foreshadowing of Beth’s return. The white trucks/wolf trap is how the harvest/Beth will get home.

No one has done theories on this since 5b/6a (when the wolves invaded Alexandria) because we just didn’t know where to go with it when she didn’t show up with them. But that doesn’t mean the theory is wrong. Go with me on this:

White Trucks

I’ve thought since S7 that Beth would come north via a boat coming up the coast. She still may, but there’s another component here that needs to be considered. We’ve seen a LOT of white trucks that look exactly like these Harvest trucks in. We saw one with Bob in 4x13. Yes, Alone. 

Remember that Bob was a major Beth proxy. One of the major ways he is has to do with this flashback of him being alone on the road before Daryl and Glenn find him. Think about this, guys. He sleeps on this white truck and almost as soon as he gets off it, Daryl and Glenn show up. So the white truck lead directly to him finding TF. 

No one has ever been able to make anything super-definitive of the numbers on his truck. I will say that there’s a 4 and a 5, an R, and then an 8 and a 9. Could it be that these are season numbers for Beth? She was in 4 and 5. The R could stand for “returns” and then 8 and 9. Just a thought. No idea how the 66 at the bottom would figure in, though.

Bob also connects to Carl now, because he died of a walker bite, and the clock behind him pointed to Carl’s death by the same cause.

We saw a similar truck in S1 and in Coda. Yup, that’s right. I did a post comparing the trucks HERE if you want to check it out. I wasn’t sure exactly what the point of the white trucks were back then, only that I saw the parallels. Now, it’s more clear.

In Crossed, when the group is on their way to Atlanta to rescue Beth and Carol, we see Sasha and Ty talking in the back of this truck they use. (It’s the same one Daryl and Noah drove out of Atlanta in 5x06. This one isn’t completely white on the outside, but the cab is, and the inside looks the same.) 

It looks almost identical to the one Rick, Glenn, Andrea and co escape from Atlanta in, in ep 1x02. 

But what ends up happening with the truck in S1? They take it back to Atlanta to get Merle and…it disappears. Why? Because Merle takes off with it.

We know there are tons of parallels between Merle and Beth. Merle was the first character to disappear in the show, only to return later. He was presumed dead and showed up two seasons later, alive and well. And with an enemy of TF (the Gov). Not to mention, handcuff parallels anyone?  

So I think they use these white trucks because something about them = how the havest/Beth is transported. Because Merle was transported in one first. This is another example of Gimple building on symbols in previous episodes.

I’m going to talk about something else for a minute and then I’ll come back to this.

Morgan and Fear

Why talk about this? Well, for one because this line about transporting the harvest came from Morgan’s wall. Second, because in that same episode he said something to Rick about people wearing dead people’s faces, which sounds eerily like a reference to the comic book Whisperers, who tend to cut off walker faces and wear them like Halloween masks. (Ew!) 

Remember that Gimple was 100% responsible for everything written on Morgan’s walls in Clear. He alone worked on that story line (specifically for that episode, not necessarily other Morgan story lines) in the same way only he worked on Beth’s story line in S2. That, combined with all the other Beth/Morgan entanglement  we’ve seen (such as his after-the-credits scene in Coda) shows that the two simply must be related.

Now we have the fact that Morgan is crossing over into Fear the Walking Dead. In a way, it makes perfect sense that he’s the crossover character. Many people (including me) believe the characters in Fear will end up being the Whisperers. And they foreshadowed Morgan having an arc with the Whisperers using this line back in Clear.

I’ve mentioned before that I don’t think the Whisperers will be called Whisperers in the show. I think Gimple is merging the Wolves and the Whisperers. We’ve had a lot of evidence for this, especially lately. I mean, we had the wolves, this huge evil group that were there and gone, and whose name starts with a W. We also have a foreshadow of their return (X). Why would the show create two bad groups that both start with W? Doesn’t make much sense.

Back in S5, we saw them do this with the Hunters. In the CBs, the Hunters were a group of cannibals that TF crossed paths with. In the show, they did the Termites instead, but it was based on the CB Hunters. It’s just a way to make the story line unique to the show, but keep it based on the CBs. I think the same will be true of the Whisperers/Wolves. The story lines will still be there for sure. They aren’t taking out the Whisperers. But it will be changed for the show so it’s not identical to the books. We’re already seeing that because Carl won’t be in it, and he was a big part of the Whisperer story line. 

I’m also side-eyeing what Kirkman said, “There are big, huge stories coming up that you might think will be massively altered because of the absence of Carl,” Kirkman told EW. “But we have known these story lines have been coming for years. There are plans in place to make it all work. The loss of Carl doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re going to be losing big swaths of the comic book story. It means that there will be some differences to them. ” (Source) As soon as I read that, I thought of this Wolves vs. Whisperers theory.

Then there’s the theory I’ve addressed a couple of times via Asks. Many TD-ers believe Carl’s Whisperer arcs will be given to Daryl, and of course Beth would take on Lydia’s roles. While I’m all for that theory, my one reservation is that I doubt the Whisperers/Wolves will show up in a big way this season (we’re still in the midst of AOW) and I really feel like everything points to Beth’s return THIS season. So I’m just not sure how it would all play out.

But let me finally bring this all together for you. Complete picture:

After talking to @frangipanilove about the harvest stuff, I was talking to my brother. We were discussing Morgan, the cross over, and Fear. I was explaining that many people think the Fear characters will be the Whisperers, and how Morgan will probably end up finding them, etc. My brother then asked if I thought Beth would return with the Whisperers. (He knows all about my TD beliefs, of course. ;D)

I don’t know why, but something about the way he asked it made it all come together for me. Morgan running into the wolves and Beth somehow being among them would fulfill all the Beth/Morgan entanglement we’ve ever seen. We know Lennie James (and Melissa McBride and perhaps Norman and other TWD actors who cancelled the Australian con) was filming in Texas (X), but perhaps the Wolves/Whisperers eventually come to D.C. using the white harvest trucks.

Want more evidence of Morgan’s imminent wolf entanglement? Check out this pic @wdway found from 8a:

There’s a W carved into Morgan’s gun. Coincidence? Um, no.

Does all this mean that Beth will actually show up with the wolves or that we won’t see her in S8? No on both counts.

I don’t know how it will all play out, but I still think all the evidence points to us seeing her in 8b. There’s all the 8x10 stuff that I’m crossing my fingers for. There’s the faux magazine covers, which suggest we’ll see her resurrection THIS season. There’s all the 8s we’ve found upon re-watching, all the water/baptismal symbolism, which the number 8 represents in the bible. Just tons of it.

(P.S. In Rick’s/Carl’s Old Man Coda this season, they talked about a “Harvest festival.” Just saying. ;D Might means we’ll see the harvest at Alexandria th is season.)

Also, there’s the license plate Aaron takes off the wolf truck. 

Notice the 8x16 on it. That suggests something about the wolves in the finale of S8. I know there are some people who think we won’t see Beth until the finale, and they may be right. I hope not. I hope we’ll see her sooner. But if they’re right, at least she’ll have returned in S8, right?

(Another detail: @frangipanilove told me that the stars on the Alaskan flag on this license plate show the Big Dipper and Polaris. I never realized that before. Remember Carl told Judith to use the North Star to find her way HOME.)

But the other thing is that one of these harvest trucks were slammed into the gates of Alexandria in 6x02 when the wolves arrived. And Alexandria is TF’s “home.” So I think “home” and the harvest trucks go hand in hand.

(Something I just noticed looking at this picture? The building behind the truck is a burnt church. Carl just died in a burnt church, y’all. The harvest really ought to be showing up any time, now.)

So I’m hoping we’ll see Beth in 8x10 at Oceanside, but that she’ll actually arrive at the gates of Alexandria in 8x16. That would be a great parallel to how Morgan arrived in S5, and confirm @katkhaos’s theory about Morgan being the first coda, and Beth being the second. It would also establish even firmer parallels between Morgan and Beth.

The Wolves are HOW Beth will get home, but that doesn’t mean she’ll still be with them when we see her. I’m not going to go into details about this because this post is already long, but @wdway has found some amazing parallels between Oceanside and S8 the past few days. Mostly they’re connections between Tara at Oceanside in 7x06, Swear and stuff we’ve seen in S8, as well as connections she made to Beth stuff back in S4 and S5. I’ll probably post about it eventually, but not today. My point is that I think Tara in 7x06 was in every way a proxy or foreshadow to Beth. So I still think Beth will most likely show up at Oceanside. All the rest of this is probably back story for how she’ll end up there.

And that makes me super happy because we already know we’ll see Oceanside/Aaron/Enid in 8x10. Fingers crossed the two of them run into Beth there!

Finally (last thing, I promise!) I’ve harped a lot on how the sequence of Bob’s death is important, right? We see a male character die from a walker bite, and the very next episode we see Beth awaken at Grady. Now, in S8, Carl has died from a walker bite, so hopefully the next episode we’ll see Beth.

The same idea holds true where Beth and the wolves are concerned. TPTB told us in 5x16 that Beth would come home via the wolves. (They even focused on a shot of cans hanging from the truck, which were a big symbol in Still and Alone, and you can see the harvest slogan on the truck behind them.)

This may be the most obvious thing I’ve ever said, but it can’t possibly be a coincidence that the last thing we hear in Still is “there’s gonna be a party when the wolf comes home” 

and then right after Beth is shot and disappears, the group actually runs into a group who call themselves THE WOLVES. 

Even for those who don’t know what we do about Gimple’s attention to detail, it’s kinda ridiculous to think that’s a coincidence, don’t you think? Beth may not have appeared with the wolves in S6, but she will return with them at some point.

It’s just a matter of when.

Thoughts?

[the-master-cylinder]

SUMMARY Claire Ward hires private investigator John March to look into the increasingly bizarre activities of her husband Charles Dexter Ward, an esteemed Rhode Island chemical engineer. Through a series of conversations with John, Claire reveals Charles’s recent unexplained isolation in their carriage house, his sudden uncovering of his family history, and their visitation to an abandoned ancestral farmhouse near Pawtuxet where he found a painting of a man named Joseph Curwen, to whom he bears an uncanny resemblance. Since these events, Charles has purchased and moved into the farmhouse, leaving Claire without explanation.

Upon investigating, John finds that numerous deliveries are made to the farmhouse, and inquires about them to Charles, who is evasive; Charles explains that he is undertaking routine chemical tests using animal cadavers. Shortly after, an elderly man in a neighboring home is found brutally murdered, only a few remnants of his bones left in the house. Police assume he was attacked and eaten by an animal, but John is skeptical. Claire and John go to visit Charles together, and find him pallid and speaking with an archaic affect. They attempt to extract an explanation from Charles, but he simply tells them he is on “the edge of greatness”, and that in six weeks’ time, they will understand.

Claire agrees to have Charles committed to a hospital. Doctors find his metabolism to be inexplicably high, triggering ravenous hunger, and attribute his change in demeanor to hormonal issues; however, they are unable to explain his craving for blood and raw meat. Meanwhile, John uncovers a diary in the carriage house from Ezra Ward, Charles’s fifth-great grandfather, dated 1771. The diary explains how Ezra had an affair with Joseph’s wife Eliza, and that Joseph had been practicing necromancy in catacombs he constructed on his property. After a flood penetrated the catacombs, the townspeople discovered a grotesquely malformed creature in the river, which they burned alive. The diary ends leading up to the townspeople’s raid of the Curwen house, and Eliza’s admission to Ezra that she was pregnant with Joseph’s child; Claire, John, and John’s assistant Lonnie surmise that Charles’s biological great-grandfather was actually Joseph, not Ezra.

John and Lonnie decide to search for catacombs on the farmhouse property with Claire. They uncover the entrance in the house’s basement, and inside the catacombs find a laboratory and half-grown creatures in wells; Claire also discovers Charles’s briefcase. They attempt to flee but are attacked, and Lonnie is killed by one of the creatures. John leaves a bomb in the catacombs, and he and an injured Claire escape with the briefcase before the house detonates. John takes Claire to the hospital where she is sedated, and the doctor informs him she is pregnant.

John goes to visit Charles in the psychiatric institution, and confronts him with the briefcase, which he discovered filled with human bones. He accuses Charles of in fact being the 250-year-old Joseph Curwen, who successfully found a way to conquer death through his necromantic experiments. Joseph admits his identity, and confesses that the bones in the suitcase are those of Charles, whom Joseph killed after Charles raised him from the dead. He explains his plan to regain his health and eventually be discharged from the hospital, after which he can impersonate Charles. Joseph attempts to cannibalize John, but John pours the restorative potion from the laboratory over Charles’s bones. Charles’s skeleton reanimates, and begins to tear the flesh off Joseph, before the two disappear in a cosmic explosion.

DEVELOPMENT Two facets of Lovecraft’s work create problems for filmmakers, who must not only wrestle with expanding his short stories to feature length, but must also find a cinematic method of conveying the sense of malign cosmic conspiracy underlying many of his later plots. Perhaps the closest anyone has come to capturing Lovecraft is Roger Corman’s THE HAUNTED PALACE (1963), which, despite its Poe title is actually a previous adaptation of The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Though Corman retained little of Lovecraft’s plot, many of the author’s more outre concepts survived, and Corman’s visual style was a fair approximation of Lovecraft’s literary voice.

THE RESURRECTED was initially written as a spec script by Brent V. Friedman, whose interest in adapting Lovecraft was piqued by the work of Stewart Gordon. “I didn’t really start reading Lovecraft until I noticed that RE-ANIMATOR was based on his story,” recalled Friedman. “I went out and devoured everything I could by him. The one story that struck me as having filmic potential was The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, because there’s so much there. His stuff is mostly short stories I saw some great little ideas, but I didn’t see a film in any of them.”

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is one of only three short novels that Lovecraft ever wrote. At approximately 120 pages, its length seemed optimum for translation to the screen. Noted Friedman, “Because I was so naive at the time. I thought, ‘This will be easy to adapt.’ It was very difficult. The way the novella is written is just how the title implies—it’s written as a kind of objective look at this strange experience. There was no real main character. Unless you want to make a documentary, that doesn’t hold up.”

Friedman set about adapting the novella without being aware of Corman’s film. “I didn’t see it until after I’d written the script I didn’t realize what it was based on until someone told me,” admitted Friedman. “It’s an interesting little film, but it’s a very different version.” After several drafts, Friedman managed to dramatize Lovecraft’s tale well enough to show the script to producers Mark Borde and Kenneth Raich, who took it to Toni Scotti of Scotti Brothers Pictures. In looking for a director, Borde sent Friedman’s script, then titled SHATTERBRAIN, to Dan O’Bannon through a mutual friend. The choice was appropriate: O’Bannon’s RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD had been an effective low-budget directorial debut; perhaps more importantly, O’Bannon’s ALIEN, though an “original” screenplay, captures many of Lovecraft’s more visual concepts probably better than any official adaptation, particularly in the sequence exploring the alien planet and derelict spaceship.

Coincidentally, O’Bannon had already been trying to adapt Lovecraft’s novella, and he brought many of his ideas to the script. “My script is relatively different from the film,” said Friedman. “I set up the main character as a psychiatrist examining Ward. The thrust was how the case affects this psychiatrist. He’s coming from a scientific background, thinking there’s a rational explanation, and takes on a case which makes him rethink everything he believes. After finding out there’s a supernatural explanation, he ends up going slightly crazy.

“When O’Bannon came onto the project, he had been trying to write a script from the same material, and he felt that he had never cracked the third act. He read my script and said, You’ve solved a lot of the problems, but the way I’d always had it in my mind was the main character’s a detective.’ If he was going to get involved with the project-which everyone was very keen on-he wanted to tell the story his way. Everyone was skeptical at first, because my script was getting good response. O’Bannon wrote out a 15-page treatment to show how you could integrate parts of my script with what his idea was.

Rejected Creature Design

“I can’t even tell you what a thrill it was to find out he was involved with the project.” Friedman enthuses. “In just the past six months that I’ve been working with him. I’ve probably learned more about writing than in the previous 26 years of my existence. It’s almost as if, until that point. I was just winging it.”

“Dan’s thinking was this story naturally lends itself to a detective because there are so many clues to be discovered. It looked good on paper, but the execution was a lot trickier than he had made it seem. The toughest thing was to keep the detective not only intellectually involved, but emotionally involved. Dan’s idea was to involve him, a la CHINATOWN, with the wife—which works on a certain level but on another level becomes distracting.”

The change in lead characters resulted in a change of title as well. “The word ‘shatterbrain’ is actually a Middle English term for crazy,” explained Friedman. “It was more relevant in my original script, because the psychiatrist came unglued. It does sound a little like a B-movie, but at the same time it evokes a certain image, so it was appropriate. I pushed for it long into post-production-people got very bored with my suggesting it. THE RESURRECTED, to me, gives too much away. Once you meet the three main characters -well, one of them’s been resurrected, and it’s not too hard to figure out which one!”

PRE-PRODUCTION Devising a photographic look that would capture Lovecraft’s tone fell to cinematographer Irv Goodnoff, who went through an interesting audition process for his director. “There was one other director of photography interested,” said Goodnoff, “so Dan gave us an assignment to bring in what we thought our interpretation of the script would be.

I went back and studied a number of painters that had the flavor of what H.P. Lovecraft felt like, expressionistically speaking. I brought in 30 books, marked out with the pictures I liked. About a week later, I got a phone call saying Dan wanted me.”

Pre-production lasted from June to October 1990, followed by seven weeks of principal photography in Vancouver, Canada, which doubled for Lovecraft’s beloved Providence, Rhode Island. The Bridge Studios, which cover almost 50,000 square feet, provided ample space for the construction of a labyrinth of tunnels where dwell the ghastly results of Curwen’s experiments.

“It’s a contemporary piece, but there’s also the 18th century and the whole world of the catacombs, so, in essence, the picture has three looks,” explained Goodnoff. “We used two different film stocks: Kodak for most of it, and Agfa for the period scene. The Agfa has a more creamy pastel look; the Kodak is much higher contrast with a denser black.

I try to create a flavor and a feeling. Sometimes, a third of the screen is black, and there are shafts of light. When you’re doing horror, you don’t show everything. Dan O’Bannon told me, “You set an expectation for the audience. Then you make them wait, and you make them wait, and you make them wait. When you finally suggest that they see something, they’re going to be scared.’ That was basically our approach.

“It was the most difficult job I’ve ever had to do. The scheduling should have been nine weeks, but we only had seven. We wrapped principal photography just before Christmas. It was one of those deadline days. The plug was being pulled at midnight. I’ve been on a couple of pictures like that: because of bonds people, financial and contractual things, one minute over 12 means you’ve blown it. Those bottom-line people have no grace in a lot of cases. We had three different units going. I was running from one to the other, checking, then shooting my own unit. It was a 14-hour marathon.”

Sarandon with O’Bannon

“Charles Ward is basically a well-intentioned, good man who is led astray by a desire to conquer this great scientific problem that his ancestor has posed. It’s kind of a parallel to Frankenstein: a good man who is consumed with something that he shouldn’t be messing with. The big theme here is basically “Don’t screw with death.”  – Chris Sarandon

SPECIAL EFFECTS The premise of the story is best summed up by a passage Lovecraft quotes from the alchemist Borellus: “… from the essential Saltes of humane Dust, a philosopher may … call up the shape of any dead Ancestour from the Dust where into his Bodie has been incinerated.” Typically, Lovecraft refers to the results, when not all the “essential Saltes” have been gathered, simply as the “livliest awfulness” without ever describing them in detail.

Such restraint doesn’t work on the movie screen, according to Friedman. “He didn’t really show you a lot,” said Friedman of Lovecraft. “In a book that’s almost scarier, because the reader uses his imagination to fill in the blanks. In a film you can’t just keep talking. Ata certain point you have to deliver the goods. The way the script plays is you get up to the point where he left off and then you have to start creating on your own.”

Coming up with specific designs for Lovecraft’s livliest awfulness fell to Masters, who took his initial inspiration from Friedman’s script. “There were incredibly bizarre descriptions which I had a lot of fun interpreting,” said Masters. “When it finally came to materializing these, O’Bannon would show me books of paintings by Francis Bacon, who I’ve always been a fan of. He would express himself in these imageries, these strange concoctions of paint and color and light rather than form and shape. Dan really got into talking about the character rather than the form, so it was an interesting challenge to come up with a design. What we tried to do is take the human form as groundwork and completely distort a certain aspect of itas long as there’s something the audience can grasp, it’s quite frightening. We designed about 30 monsters; in the film there are about five. I’ve still got reams of designs that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to use for anything else because they’re so weird.

The effects unit during principal photography was directed by supervisor Todd Masters because O’Bannon was on a tight schedule. “Dan would take a sequence all the way up to where the effects jumped in, and he would finish off a sequence,” said Masters. “He would leave us the middle. My crew worked nights, mainly for sound reasons we didn’t want to cause troubles with the other unit. We had to match a similar camera style. Things marry very nicely.”

“We’ve done more tricks on this film than on any other I’ve ever worked on,” said Masters. “We have monster suits, remote-control animatronic characters, puppet heads, stop motion, and pneumatics. We had a set of prosthetics on Chris Sarandon for a good portion of the end of the film. You can’t tell he’s wearing anything—they match his face-until we turn on the lights. It’s networked with fiber optics, so it gives the illusion that his veins are glowing when he comes to his climactic end.”

“For most of the monsters, I was given a long leash,” Masters explains. “O’Bannon started coming down with quite a strict design on one creature that I called the ‘Darwin monster,’ which in one of the early drafts of the script was actually supposed to be Darwin resurrected. As the script developed, that monster kind of got pulled all over the place. Some of the earlier maquettes had some really wild designs, but O’Bannon finally just said, “Well, you know, what I really want to see in this movie, which we haven’t done yet, is a half-skeletal body-being that these are supposed to be resurrected corpses with its other half this kind of swollen, amorphous, elephantitis looking guy.’

“I was never too excited about that,” Masters admits, “just because I always thought it was more interesting when [the Charles Dexter Ward character] made these mistakes out of these corpses’ ashes–they didn’t always come together in the right place, and would elongate and do strange things. Dan wanted something that was a little stricter, closer to human, so he actually sat down and pencilled out this sketch which would eventually become this monster, and I did a maquette and a variety of sketches to hone in on what he was trying to get.

“It’s a pretty neat monster,” Masters concedes, “but it’s not my favorite in the film, because to me it’s too much of a solid substance. Many of the other ones are so disturbing and so amorphous that it’s difficult to put your finger on exactly what every piece is.”

I though there are a number of creatures in The Resurrected, Masters points out that there isn’t an overabundance of gore for gore’s sake-although there are some healthy sprayings of blood.

“That’s one thing that Chris Sarandon and I were really trying to steer away from,” he clarifies. “I’ve never been a fan of gore, and I don’t really care for splattering walls with blood even though I did splatter two sets with blood for this film. Actually, one day I flew in from LA, got off the airplane, and Dan came up to me and said, ‘Do you have a lotta blood?’ I said, “Well…yeah.’ And he says, ‘Well, do you have lots of blood?’ It’s like, ‘I don’t know.

Extensive visual effects, supervised by Todd Masters in post-production, helped the ambitious nature of screenwriter Brent Friedman’s evocation of the horror of Lovecraft. Though many of the effects in Friedman’s script were deemed too expensive, Masters-originally hired to produce makeup and physical effects-sought to find a way to retain them, working closely with production designer Brent Thomas.

“Thomas really pulled rabbits out of his hat,” said Masters. “He loved the project from day one. He and I would get together after office hours at the studio and sit down in the hotel bar to concoct ideas. That’s how the movie turned into such a crazy fiasco. We thought the whole idea of Brent Friedman’s script was so bizarre and wonderful that we kept wanting to play.

“Every time something was pulled away from us, because there wasn’t money for this monster or that set, Brent Thomas and I would figure a way to put it back in. We didn’t want a film that has small production value. Horror films deserve all the scope and scale they can get.”

The horror that was to be resurrected by detective John Terry early on in Curwen’s laboratory got axed so Masters’ effects unit could afford to rent a studio to work in. As a low-cost stop-gap director Dan O’Bannon suggested that Terry resurrect just two fingers, “a goofy idea,” said Masters, who came up with a believable, low-budget finger monster concept instead. “We had to keep fingers in it,” said Masters, “so we turned this thing into almost a crab monster with fingers, an eyeball, and some external organs.”

After principal photography wrapped, Masters and producers Mark Borde and Kevin Raich viewed a rough assembly to determine what effects were still needed. What was originally intended to be a few weeks of rotoscoping expanded to six months, four shooting miniatures and another two adding opticals. “The producers really wanted it to be an effects-filled film,” said Masters. “We made sure that we kept the budget down. I’ve coordinated a lot of visual effects in the past. Since our eyes were looking through the camera, and our eyes only, we cheated to hide all the expensive stuff just inches out of frame.”

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One amusing episode involved a four-foot-high balsa wood miniature of Curwen’s mansion, rigged to explode. “This was part of Ted Rae’s unit—he did two miniature shots in the film,” said Masters. “We had it set up in Ted’s parking lot, waiting for nightfall. As I was painting part of the chimney, I heard these little cracks in the structure. As I was ready with the final dab of paint, a big gust of wind came and blew the whole thing down! What a nightmare! Ted and I jumped underneath the house and tried to hold it up, but we ended up having to recreate the whole building in a day and blow it up the following night.

“Everybody that worked on this film put their blood into it,” Masters summed up. “It turned into a labor of love for a lot of us-which I know sounds cliched, but everyone was really pulling for it, and it shows in the film.”

The extensive post-production schedule turned out to be a hindrance for composer Richard Band. “They made about eight edits the night before my recording session,” said Band. “That’s a composer’s nightmare, but all too common these days.” Band came up with a synthesizer score that boasted a full orchestral sound. “To have done this score with an orchestra would have cost $400,000,” said Band. “The producers have resigned themselves to a synthesizer score.”

Summed up Friedman, “I think we retained more Lovecraft than any other adaptation I’ve seen. We didn’t just use the concepts as springboards for our own story. In fact, there’s one scene lifted word-for-word, dialogue-wise, involving the first time you see Curwen posing as Ward, and he’s talking this strange 18th century speak. So there’s some place where Lovecraft is completely intact, and there are others where liberties were taken. It’s not as grossly amusing as REANIMATOR and FROM BEYOND. It takes a much more serious, Gothic slant. In the end, I wish we could have made my original script, but I’m still happy we made something.”

CAST/CREW Directed Dan O’Bannon

Produced Mark Borde Kenneth Raich

Written Brent V. Friedman

John Terry as John March Jane Sibbett as Claire Ward Chris Sarandon as Charles Dexter Ward/Joseph Curwen Robert Romanus as Lonnie Peck Charles K. Pitts as Ezra Ward Megan Leitch as Eliza Lauren Briscoe as Holly Tender

Special Effects by Jason Barnett��   … prosthetic effects David P. Barton  … prosthetic department head (as David Barton) Julie Beuscher   … prosthetic effects Bryan Blair  … prosthetic effects Evan Brainard    … prosthetic effects Kevin Brennan    … prosthetic effects Jeffrey Butterworth  … first assistant special physical effects (as Jeff Butterworth) Scott Coulter    … prosthetic department head: Todd Masters Company, Inc. (as John Scott Coulter) Bernhard Eichholz … prosthetic effects (as Bernie Eichholtz) Earl Ellis   … prosthetic effects: Todd Masters Company, Inc. Kevin Flemming   … special effects photography Thomas Floutz    … key effects makeup artist (as Thom Floutz) Mark Garbarino   … prosthetic department head Karin Hanson … prosthetic effects Marty Huculiak   … special effects assistant Timothy Huizing  … prosthetic effects (as Tim Huizing) Gil Liberto  … prosthetic effects (as Gilbert Liberdo) Geoff Martin … special effects key grip Todd Masters … special effects unit director Mike McDonald    … special effects gaffer (as Michael McDonald) Kevin O’Leary    … special effects assistant Gary Paller  … special physical effects coordinator Dennis Petersen  … special effects assistant Tom Price    … special effects assistant (as Thomas E. Price) Jonas Quastel    … special effects first assistant camera Robert Sheridan  … special effects assistant Mark Sisson  … prosthetic effects James Slavin … prosthetic effects (as Jim Slavin) Chris Spouler    … special effects assistant Candace Van Woerkom  … prosthetic effects Andrew Vincent   … special effects lamp operator Scott Wheeler    … prosthetic effects Shawn Wilson … special effects assistant Andre Bustanoby  … prosthetic effects (uncredited)Visual Effects by Bret Alexander   … visual effects miniatures Jim Aupperle … visual effects director of photography Asao Goto    … visual effects miniatures Dave Gregory … optical effects supervisor Todd Masters … special visual effects Jeff Pyle    … visual effects miniatures Ted Rae  … additional miniature / visual effects director of photography Marc Tyler   … visual effects miniatures David Williams   … additional optical camera: Illusion Arts (as Dave Williams)

CREDITS/REFERENCES/SOURCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY Cinefantastique v22n06 Fangoria#106 Fangoria#112 Gorezone#22

The Resurrected (1991) Retrospective SUMMARY Claire Ward hires private investigator John March to look into the increasingly bizarre activities of her husband Charles Dexter Ward, an esteemed Rhode Island chemical engineer.