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acaplaya-musings · 3 months

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Voiceplay Visuals: This Is Halloween

So obviously I'm not the only one who loves talking about Voiceplay and analysing their content, but I wanted to do something a bit different from the kinds of analyses/reactions that other people do, both on here and on Youtube (and music theory isn't really my forte anyway). So I'm planning on making some posts just focusing on the videos (and Geoff's as well, eventually), rather than the music arrangement or vocals or anything like that. My credentials are being a Drama Kid during my high school years, and experience with this sort of analysis from my time in other fandoms. I'm not planning on doing every single video, and though I'm gonna go chronologically from mid-2017 onwards (why not earlier? Because Reasons). However, since I yesterday finished a fanfic based on Voiceplay's cover of This Is Halloween, (which I studied a fair bit to get details right), I might as well start there!

Oogie Boogie pumpkin just outside the front door! (And a Jack Skellington one on the other side I believe?) These pumpkin also shows up in the spooky Halloween realm the group are transported to after eating the candy.

Credit to one of the comments which said that Earl is wearing a cow onesie and Eli is wearing a rooster onesie, which more likely than not is a callback to their (extremely hilarious) Chicken Song performance. (J is wearing a CatDog onesie, I think Geoff is wearing a giraffe onesie? And I'm not sure what Layne's onesie is meant to be)

Again credit to a commenter (different one), pointing out that Eli deadpan elbows Layne in the back, pushing him down after he eats the candy (likely a not-so-subtle acting cue or something like that, but still very funny once you notice it)

The return of the Jack and Oogie Boogie pumpkins, along with some other creatively-designed Jack-O-Lanterns! Peep the one on the far right, a little more towards the back; its 'eyes' say VP, and its mouth is the Voiceplay logo!

Also a little bit of foreshadowing, whether intentional or not: when Layne wakes up, one of the first things in his line of sight is the axe resting on the hay bales...

First of all, how many pumpkins were carved just for this video? Because a lot of effort went into making all those different designs for sure (and no, I'm not part of Voiceplay's Patreon, as the tier that lets you see behind-the-scenes stuff is like $8.50 AUD per month, rip). And second of all, this is a decent shot of how the group starts out upon waking up. J None is wearing a yellow plaid flannel quite similar to The Wolfman in Nightmare Before Christmas, and Earl is wearing denim overalls, like the behemoth character. Eli's outfit is of course representative of the Mayor of Halloweentown, but no spider bowtie or "Mayor" rosette (would've loved to see it, but eh no biggie). Layne I will get to in a moment, and Geoff a little bit after that.

I can't be bothered getting a better picture of it but Eli's half-concerned half-weirded-out face after J's helium-like vocal line is very amusing to me

On the "eyes glowing red" line, Earl's eyes (which are white at this point) flash red for a very brief moment, basically blink-and-you-miss-it.

The colour-change on Eli's left eye is so subtle that at first I didn't notice it at all, and then I only noticed it later on in the video, and only now, doing this analysis and taking a dozen screencaps, do I realize that it happens way earlier than I first thought (which explains why he takes his glasses off at this point I guess) (so uh, that's a minor inconsistency in my fanfic but it's fine)

Shoutout to the makeup/SFX people who helped with this video honestly, they did a super good job, genuinely!

(In which the frame-by-frame scrubbing technique comes in real handy)

An interesting choice to have Layne go through a sort of "half-transformation" stage, where he has a horn and red eye on one side of the face, while the other side of the face is normal. I like it though!

People have said that Layne is meant to be the devil (who is in fact another Halloweentown resident, but honestly I think he's meant to be Lock, or at least a combination of the two, because this what the two characters look like:

See how Layne resembles Lock more? In the outfit choice if nothing else (Also he's kinda sorta got the right face shape for Lock imo). Also, Lock wears a red trick-or-treating mask with horns on top!

Earl is really distressed about his hair falling out (not that I can blame him, really)

This shot/moment is probably one of the ones that stands out to me the most (other than Certain Other Ones for Other Reasons that I will get to in a moment), because J comes across as pretty mournful here, like he knows what's happening but he's feeling really sad/regretful about it? (Also I only just noticed Eli's face in the background and I'm not sure what to make of it 😅)

"pog" is not a word in my vocabulary 95% of the time, but this is basically just Pog faces right? (Geoff and Layne probably have the most fun of the group in this video ngl)

(Also I haven't yet touched on Geoff's transformations but I love the contouring work on his face!)

My god this video is comedy gold when it comes to pausing/taking screenshots

I daresay Eli ends up one of the least recognizable of the group by the end of it (other than J), and I wanna know how long that took to do

Geoff is the only one in the video who gets an outfit upgrade (Good For Him)

They didn't bother being movie-accurate with Geoff's vampire appearance, and honestly I'm definitely not complaining. (they made him hotter)

Layne did the music arrangement, but Geoff was in charge of the video production. How much say did he have over his own costume/appearance I wonder?

Visually speaking at least, nobody is even paying attention to him, they're just like "yeah that's just Geoff, normal behaviour, nothing new" 😆

I can't get a decent picture of it but shoutout to Layne doing a silly little run around the pumpkin stack, love that for him

Another small moment that a screencap wouldn't do justice: even as a vampire, Geoff still does his little self-conducting hand motions, which you might notice as he walks around the pumpkin stack, in the shot right after his "filling your dreams to the brim with fright" line

Also love Geoff's little almost-Elvis-like moves in the background for a brief scene. I know multiple commenters have mentioned it, but I'm yet to see a reactor notice it

Suddenly Layne is Concerned(tm) about Geoff's vampireness it seems?

Also for someone who very much adores this guy, it took me an embarassingly long time to realise that Geoff's face at this point had become paler and his hairline had changed (and actually now that I type it up here, I think that might even be a wig? Oh dear)

I don't really have anything to say about J's full transformation, but it would be unfair of me to not include him as well, and it's definitely a *very* impressive costume. Almost like one of those rubbery fully-covering-the-head costume mask things, but like it's his actual face?

Is that tattoo real or fake, because I literally have never noticed it in any other Voiceplay video, but it's very realistic! (For that matter, what aobut Earl's upper-arm tattoo that kind of looks like a ring of barbed wire?)

I basically watch the This Is Halloween opening scene from The Nightmare Before Christmas every October, and same with the What's This scene in December, but I had never actually watched the movie in full until December last year. So basically when they had the axe-in-the-head moment in the movie I was like ohhhhhhh so that wasn't just a random moment that Voiceplay dreamed up for the video! (I had a similar moment with the Mr Hyde character and his Mini Mr Hydes in his hat in the movie, but in relation to Voiceplay's Kidnap The Sandy Claws video)

When Elizabeth Zharoff/The Charismatic Voice reacted to this video, she said that the kid at the end (Layne's nephew, apparently), was "adorable". Meanwhile Mortius' reaction to the end scene was "oh I didn't like that! It makes me feel like I'm next!" 😂

Also suddenly just realized that the "real world" scenes are in a different aspect ratio to the "spooky dream realm" scenes? Possibly intentional, but also possibly just due to them using two different types of cameras for the shots.

And that's a wrap! I was hoping to get this done and posted last night but it took longer than expected. Hope you enjoyed it, as I'm thinking of writing up at least one or two more now, and scheduling them for daily releases. See ya!

#Voiceplay #Acapella #geoff castellucci #layne stein #eli jacobson #j none #earl elkins #earl elkins jr #this is halloween #nightmare before christmas #the nightmare before christmas #acaplaya analysis #voiceplay visuals

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ickmick · 7 months

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Inktober days 6-10 <3

so... I said that doc drawing would be in this one, but it's not! I totally forgot... but it'll be in next week's post LOL

everything is under the cut since this'll be a long post! enjoy, and happy spooky month!

oh, and heres last weeks post!

I only list the prompts I used that day, here's the key for acronyms n such;

wh = welcome home

hc = hermitcraft (I have 2!)

ink = official inktober

gore = goretober

(actual gore will be triggerwarned! so far none has any blood or violence!)

Day 6

hc: moon

this is 100 percent another self indulgent jump! my first full attempt at drawing pearl! I love her! Ive done some doodles for the traffic series before, but thats about it. I didn't finish that pose here... but maybe after october!

Day 7 (VAUGE GORE WARNING)

hc: explosion

gore: gutspill

this was a very low spoons day! I think the little cat (me!) explosion is funny though. for some reason I can't get a great picture for this one, but erm... I tried lol

I also didnt really draw anything actually all so gorey, but the sketch implications are there, so I put the warning still!

Day 8

hc: outfit swap

I was also going to include the group/team prompt, but alas, my spoons! dear mumbo did not get a spot on this day... I also kept the features vauge because I just wanted to have fun with the clothes fit XD

(can you see the buttercup flowers? those aren't swapped, haha... I love the buttercups !! )

Day 9

hc: first hermit watched / food (?)

gore: posion (sorta of!)

Ive watched Grian from the Olden™ build tutorial/battle era and rps with Sam and Taurtis! he holds an important role in my childhood/creative life, and has continued to inpire me :D

also, it's very funny to me that I drew the silly bit, and then the next day watched his deck out wk 3 video only to cackle as he says the line! "Grian will remember that" funny timing...

Day 10

hc: fav hermit friendship / fav group/duo

life: insanity (uh oh)

the buttercups!! mumbo is so out of place here, but I was first just doing some good old desertduo, before remembering the tall spoon was already left out two days before! I couldn't possibly do it again, so I drew a happy buttercup Mumbo <3

is he a vampire? a gargoyle, perhaps? some other creature? who knows! not me, that's for sure! but I do know he has little fangs and slightly pointed ears!

(I-dont-love-that-thats-the-last-one-but-its-fine-lmao)

I Talked so unbelievably much this time! oops! :3

as I said last week, I'll be coming back at the end of october to pick doodles/sketches to finish/polish! so let me know if theres one youd like to see me come back to!

now to return to my foresty cave until next Sunday! /j

week three, week fours, week 5.1s, and the last post (5.2)!

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theb00mbitches · 1 year

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Im in to many fandoms [not enough cough] /j

PLEASE SUGGEST MORE THINGS TO WATCH/PLAY, I'm collecting fandoms like pokemon cards ✨

We got:

• Cuphead

• FNaF

• MHA/BNHA

• Helluva Boss + Hazbin Hotel

• TMNT/ROTTMNT

• DSMP

• Your New Boyfriend [does that, does it still have a fandom. Hello. I am here. Pspspspspss c'mere fellow YNB enjoyers. Spsspsps /j]

• Bluey [kind of, slowly being yoinked in]

• UnderTale [Same with Bluey, slowly]

• Harry Potter

• Sonic The Hedgehog

• Steven Universe

• The Owl House

Need to get back into :

• She-Ra

On watch/play queue :

• Stranger Things

• Hermitcraft

• Karmaland

• whatever that spooky month thing is, I forgot what its called help

• Dangonronpa [Most likely spelt it wrong]

• Bojack Horseman

• CentaurWorld

• Rick and Morty [watch random episodes, not full]

• Demon Slayer

• Kakegurui

• Saiki K

• Psychonauts

• Ducktales

Probably a few more I cant remember, I'll update if I do

#Tom.txt #Fandoms #Cuphead #Dsmp #Steven universe #The owl house #Toh #your new boyfriend #Bluey #Undertale #sonic the hedgehog #Harry potter #Rottmnt #Mha #Bnha #helluva boss #Hazbin hotel

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emeraldtart · 14 days

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ALL HAIL THE MOOSE GOD! (Scary Monsters Event ft. 1010!Yuu/Kaw)

"We must enslave ourselves... To the Moose God!!!"

- Neon J

Ah, Halloween. It was one of the things that Kaw was glad exist in Twisted Wonderland.

Unfortunately some bastards has no self-awareness and ruined the festivities so that they could have their own fun.

Luckily, Kaw (1010!Yuu) had planned with Neon J and their brothers on how to save Halloween.

In the most unorthodox way that they've known in their few months of onlining.

Kaw stared at the costume schematic that their captain just sent to them. They went to the printer, connect the port and print it out. They stare at it again and look at the hologram of their family, "Pardon my language captain, but what the f*ck?"

"Your troops all said its the scariest costume we have, so maybe this will do the trick?" Neon J's hologram shrugged.

"Sir, with all due respect, I'm pretty sure someone will have a heart attack- also, this is a Christmas costume!? What was going on in your head when you made this?"

Eloni's head appeared in the hologram's vision, "I told you it's freaky," before going back to his brothers.

The rest of the first-year squad, who was in Ramshackle for Halloween meeting were confused. It was Ace who tried to see the printed paper in Kaw's hand.

The band robot showed the schematics and everyone has a mixed face of confusion, slightly disturbed and other mixed feelings that are too hard to describe in text form.

"... I... I can't find words for this," said Jack.

"I say just do it. I want Halloween Party," Epel decided.

And Kaw agrees with that.

It doesn't take long to make the costumes, the schematics for it came with materials needed to make it. Plus, the ghost, Halloween committee and even Grim help out.

Vil stared at the costume, "This is for Christmas?"

Kaw nodded, looking at the finished product, "Yeah,"

"What was going on in your father's head that day?"

"How would I know? I wasn't born yet that time,"

"So where are we hiding the body? Just in case someone dies of heart attack," Ruggie asked.

(Later that night...)

The school is now quiet as the Halloween event for the day is over. Visitors bid goodbye and some even took some last pictures before going back to the town. Unfortunately, some decided that it's still not enough. They still want to have some more fun.

So the group of two young men and one woman decided to hide in the forest and wait until closing time. As Chad said, midnight was the best time to take real spooky pictures.

"Oh hey, look over there!" Chad said. He pointed to a very worn and old-looking sign.

Brittany looked at the sign and tries to read it, "Beware! Moose...?" there was still a word next to the 'moose', something that starts with 'G', but the sign was so old that the paint had faded.

Rudy, the group's cameraman raised his brow, "Are there moose on this island?"

"Who knows? But what I do know is that the forest is next!" Chad said. His two friends look unconvinced, so he reasoned; "It's a creepy forest in the middle of the night! There must be some ghost there!"

So the three ventured deeper into the woods. It wasn't until they heard weird noises that they stopped.

They peered from a bush and saw a group of people in hooded cloaks, a taller hooded figure with horn standing in front of a large bonfire, and a statue of a deer that has way too many eyes.

"Our Lord and savior... We must enslave ourselves...! TO THE MOOSE GOD!!!" said the leader, "Right, my breathens!?"

Brittany whispered, "D-Did we just run into a cult?"

"Don't be stupid! This must be an attempt to scare us off or something!" said Chad.

Rudy looks at the moose statue and shivered, "I don't know... This feels too real,"

"Uh... I don't know sire. This is going a bit far," said one of the followers.

"NONSENSE!"

And the three swore they could hear cracking as the leader tilts their neck.

"THE MOOSE GOD! MOOSE GO-O-O-OD~!!!"

And right in front of them sounds of creaking bones and metal, the leader of the group grotesquely transforms. Limbs elongated, neck cracking more and more, horns sprouting and finally more eyes appearing on their face.

The... Thing... It took a deep breath seemingly composing itself from it's transformation.

The three in the bushes were silent, their faces pale as the bore witness to the avatar of a seemingly ancient god.

"We need to get out of here," Chad whispered.

The entity snaps its head with a sickening crunch of metal and bone, many eyes staring directly at them.

"SACRIFICE FOR THE MOOSE GOD,"

It immediately rush towards them.

Somewhere, some students were awakened by the sound of people screaming. Then they slept because they know it was just the Moose God chasing their sacrifice.

#Twisted wonderland #Twst #Yuu #Au #No straight roads #1010 #Neon j #Eloni #Green #vil schoenheit #Grim #ruggie bucchi #epel felmier #ace trappola #jack howl

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mostlysignssomeportents · 1 year

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All the books I reviewed in 2022 (Part I: Fiction)

Every year around this time, I round up all the books I reviewed in the previous 12 months; both as a convenience for readers and to remind myself that I don't need to feel quite so horribly guilty about all the books I *didn't* review (to those authors: rest assured, I still feel horribly guilty).

I should probably mention here that I had a book of my own come out in 2022:

Chokepoint Capitalism (co-authored with Rebecca Giblin)

A solutions-oriented look at how concentration in the tech and culture industries screws over creative workers, filled with detailed proposals for unrigging these markets and getting artists *paid*:

https://chokepointcapitalism.com/

Before I get to this year's books, here are links to previous editions. These are also good books and deserving of your attention!

* All the books I reviewed in 2021: https://pluralistic.net/2021/12/08/required-ish-reading/#bibliography

* All the books I reviewed in 2020: https://pluralistic.net/2020/12/08/required-reading/#recommended-reading

Now, on to 2022!

NOVELS:

I. Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson

An ambitious, sprawling tale of an eccentric Texas truck-stop magnate who unilaterally begins a program of geoengineering in a bid to cool the Earth by doping the stratosphere with sulfur. A great look at the social and technical dimensions of geoengineering, filled with Stephensonian grace-notes, from superb use of language to delightful, idiosyncratic characters.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/01/04/general-ludd/#geoengineering

II. Dark Factory by Kathe Koja

Koja – an incredible, versatile writer who has pioneered multiple genres of fiction – presents an "immersive novel," about a high-stakes Bohemian party scene of mixed-reality artists, wealthy dilettantes, weird theorists and the very serious business of fun.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/03/20/a-walk-in-the-park/#all-night-party-people

III. Aspects by John M Ford

The long-awaited, unfinished first volume of a steampunk fantasy series, with an introduction by Neil Gaiman; "what Game of Thrones might have been, if the author had been fascinated by trains…communication and politics, magic, redemption, and the forms that love can take." A book of quiet – but stunning – erudition. Every aspect of Ford's world – its politics, its history, its geography, its magic, its technology, its economics, its mythos – rings true. What's more, every part of it fits together with the rest of it in a way that is so believable that it feels realer than our own world at times.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/09/john-m-ford/#aspects

IV. Up Against It by Laura J Mixon

The cracking first volume of WAVE, a space-opera series that manages to be both original — full of smart new ways of looking at science fiction ideas — and old fashioned — full of the kind of whiz-bang action-adventure that made so many of us fall in love with the field in the first place, about high-stakes administration of a space colony, where being good at your job is the utmost praxis. Republished as part of the Tor Essentials line.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/25/mj-locke-rides-again/#two-fisted-astro-bureaucrats

V. The Animals In That Country by Laura Jean McKay

An extraordinary debut novel, about a plague of understanding that sweeps across Australia, leaving the infected cursed with the ability to communicate with animals. It's an inversion of the standard trope of people and animals communicating with one another and finding mutual understanding and peace as a result. McKay sets herself the (seemingly) impossible of dramatizing human-animal communication without anthropomorphizing the animals, and then pulls it off – brilliantly.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/27/im-a-backdoor-man/#doolittle

VI. Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey

A gothic horror/haunted house novel that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It's a spooky tale of body-horror and homecoming that's full of twists and turns and unexpected villains and heroes. Vera's father Francis Crowder was a serial killer, but he loved her. He built the house she grew up in with his own hands, including the soundproofed basement. He did bad things, and he went to prison for them, and Vera never saw him again.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/25/can-you-hear-me-now/#crowder-house

VII. A Half-Built Garden by Ruthanna Emrys

A spectacular first-contact novel about complicated utopias and networked conflict – it's a wild ride, where the protagonist is a perfect match for the world, where a century of incredibly hard, smart work has carried us through the climate emergency, to the point where it's possible to believe that, over time, we will stabilize our relationship with the only known planet in the known universe capable of sustaining our species.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/26/aislands/#dead-ringers

VIII. When Franny Stands Up by Eden Robins

Here's the McGuffin of this debut novel: The advent of World War II and the rise of woman comedians (filling in the vacuum left by the departure of all the men) reveals the existence of Showstoppers: involuntary psychic reactions that woman comedians can induce in female audience members when they're really cooking. A book that feels simultaneously utterly contemporary and like an old, beloved classic.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/01/eden-robins/#alt-history-comedy

Next up: Kids books!

https://mostlysignssomeportents.tumblr.com/post/702452328987508736/all-the-books-i-reviewed-in-2022-part-ii-books

Image: Matthew Petroff https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George-peabody-library.jpg

CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

[Image ID: Interior of the George Peabody Library in Baltimore.]

#pluralistic #book reviews of 2022

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geeknik · 7 months

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31 Days of Halloween: Day 19, The Enigmatic Lemp Mansion of St. Louis

On the 19th day of our eerie expedition, we delve into the heart of St. Louis, Missouri, to uncover the mystifying tales enveloping the Lemp Mansion. This grandiose structure, once the epitome of wealth and success, now stands as a somber emblem of tragedy and the supernatural. As we journey through its haunted halls, we'll discover the entangled narrative of the Lemp family's fortune and downfall, intertwined with eerie apparitions and ghostly echoes from a bygone era.

Historical Background

The Lemp Mansion, situated in the Benton Park neighborhood of St. Louis, was once the residence of the affluent Lemp family, whose lineage traced back to Johann Adam Lemp, a German immigrant. The family's fortune burgeoned with the establishment of the Lemp Brewery, which introduced lager beer to St. Louis in the 1840s. Under the stewardship of William J. Lemp, the brewery flourished, and by the 1870s, the Lemp Brewery was a household name, synonymous with quality and tradition.

However, the prosperous epoch was ephemeral. The Lemp family faced an inexorable streak of calamities, beginning with Frederick Lemp's demise in 1901, followed by William J. Lemp's suicide in 1904. The advent of Prohibition in 1919 further plunged the family into despair, leading to the brewery's closure and a string of subsequent tragedies, including more suicides within the family.

Haunting Tales

The murky legacy of the Lemp Mansion is inexorably intertwined with the melancholic narrative of the Lemp family. The mansion is said to be rife with spectral activities, many of which are believed to be the unrestful spirits of the Lemp lineage. Among the most unsettling tales is that of the "Monkey Face Boy," an illegitimate child of William Lemp, who was allegedly concealed in the attic due to his Down Syndrome, and whose spirit is claimed to still lurk within the mansion's haunting halls.

Exploring the Lemp Mansion

For those with a penchant for the paranormal, the Lemp Mansion proffers an array of ghostly expeditions. The "Lemp Experience" is a notable event that allows intrepid souls to delve into the mansion's eerie enigma every other Thursday from December to August, with additional days in the fall months. Moreover, the Lemp Legacy Tour, dubbed "St. Louis’ Most Haunted Ghost Tour," guides guests through the mansion’s spectral spaces on Tuesday nights, revealing the cryptic chronicles encased within its walls.

Other chilling ventures include Halloween night ghost tours accompanied by Brick City Paranormal, offering a spooky exploration of the mansion's haunted halls while sipping on creepy cocktails. The mansion also hosts various paranormal investigations, séances, and ghost hunting equipment for those seeking a deeper encounter with the unknown.

Conclusion

As we conclude our 19th day of spooky sojourns, the Lemp Mansion stands as a poignant emblem of a family’s affluence turned affliction, veiled in an aura of mystery and ghostly whispers. The mansion invites the brave to traverse its haunted halls, to unveil the spectral narratives veiled within, and to experience firsthand the chilling tales that have rendered the Lemp Mansion a legendary haunted haven in St. Louis, MO.

#ko-fi #kofi #geeknik #nostr #art #blog #writing #halloween #all hallows eve #samhain #31daysofhalloween #31 days of halloween #lemp mansion #st louis #missouri #ghost stories #haunted #ghosts #tragic

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sunny6677 · 1 year

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October

(A Spooky Month AU Series)

PART 17/CHAPTER 17: A Plan.

Summary: A 19-year old Skid ends up moving back to his old town for the sake of nostalgia. But he finds himself surrounded by familiar faces.

TWS: PROFANITY, PUMP BEING LESS OF A DICK, IMPLICATIONS OF ROYS TRAUMA, IMPLICATIONS OF FLASHBACKS, DEATH THREATS(EVEN IF ITS AS A JOKE IN THIS CHAPTER).

A/N: I genuinely wanna know. Who do you think is actually in the wrong in this situation? Skid or Pump?

————

Skid gulped, staring into the eyes of.. well, Eyes. They looked like the feathers of a peacock, the cyan blue dots staring back at him with such intensity. Even if he remembered how he had befriended this creature with Pump in the past, it was still a horrifying sight. His anxiety levels had never been so high before, he hadn't ever believed they would ever become higher than they already had been.

He glanced at Pump who had still been beside him. Pump was not uttering a word now, his eyes completely fixed on the gigantic cyan eyes from before the two. For whatever reason, Skid had not been effected.. much like the previous time they had visited this creature inside of his lair. Skid only continued to stare back at the creature, and finally said in an almost shivering voice, "H—Hey.. Eyes.. uh.." Skid nervously glanced around, struggling to keep his calm, "h—how've you been? Heheh.. your not.. gonna kill us, are you?"

The creature did not utter a word for a moment, before its booming voice echoed around the lair yet again. "WHY WOULD I KILL SUCH INTERESTING AND UNIQUE PILES OF FLESH?" The creature asked, making Skid tense up as he continued to stare back at it in slight fear. His anxiety was plummeting to the roof right now, and his heart was beating a hundred miles per hour. The booming voice then spoke again, "YOU LOOK DIFFERENT. WHY WERE YOU GONE FOR SO LONG, FLESH?"

"W—Well.. I—it's been a long time, Eyes, I—I moved away for a decent amount of time and.. and had myself a break from this town, I guess. M—My mom ended up dying, so.." Skid said, staring down at the void-filled cyan-filled ground that consisted of nothing but the tentacles below. "I KNOW, FLESH. I AM EVERYTHING, I AM EVERYWHERE AT ONCE." Eyes answered, slightly leaning closer, which caused Skid to look away upon his own anxious instinct. "A—Ah! Of course, of course.. w—wait, why did you ask, then?" Skid said, turning to Eyes in gentle confusion.

"I JUST WANTED TO SEE IF THAT WAS WHY YOU LEFT, FLESH." Eyes answered, looming closer. This made Skid look away again, though Pump still stayed still in his position, still appearing hypnotized. "O—Okay, okay! J—Just.. just stop getting so close to me, please." Skid begged, seeming very anxious. Eyes backed away slightly, looking down upon the two humans before him, and said in a snarling voice. "HOW OLD ARE YOU TWO NOW, FLESH? WHY DOES PUMP STILL LOOK LIKE A.. KID?" Eyes said slowly, seeming as if he were trying to correct himself. Had he been trying to learn the lingo of the humans? If so, it was hard to tell.

Quietly, Pump said in a low and raspy tone, not breaking eye contact, still hypnotized, "You will be dead in the next five minutes.." Skid looked at Pump with a worried glance, before slowly turning back to Eyes. A plan was slowly forming in Skids mind to get the two of them out of there. "L—Listen, Eyes, we need to go.. Pump needs to get back home, and he's had a pretty long day.. I've had a pretty long day too, so.. can you please let us go?" Skid tried to gently ask, as if gently inquiring Eyes had been Plan A.

"NOT UNLESS THERE IS SOMETHING YOU MAY GIVE ME IN RETURN, FLESH." Eyes growled, slightly leaning closer again, which caused Skid to fight the urge to flinch back in anxious fear. He maintained eye contact, holding a slightly determined look on his face. A light bulb then clicked on in Skids mind, but it hadn't been obvious on the outside. "U—Uh.. what about.. do you mean spooky month?" Skid softly asked, giving a nervous smile as he slightly shrugged where he had been positioned.

"...ITS THE SPOOKY MONTH?" Eyes asked, suddenly eager. Skid quietly let out a sigh of relief, it seemed this plan was sort of working. Pump, even though he was still hypnotized, had said in a slightly lower tone, "...wait.. what?" Skid only glanced at Pump, still holding a look of empathy and concern. But then, his look turned into that of determination.

Without further ado, the two suddenly felt themselves being pulled closer to Eyes, and before they could fight back..

————

"Right in here, men!" John called out, grabbing a rope as other officers lined up from behind him, tugging onto the rope as well. Jack only rushed to the other side of the hole that had been plunged out of the ground, holding a walki-talki close to his mouth as he bent down to get a closer view of the hole. The officers had been determined to let the two men out of the hole, they had been ready to rescue them.

As the men and John began to try and throw the role into the very spot of the hole, they suddenly heard a loud crashing sound yet again, and everyone in the room began to tumble. Jack tumbled foward, nearly falling into the hole himself. In fact, he nearly actually did fall into it, but was then grabbed by the wrist by John who had fortunately been nearby. John then looked to whatever the source of the crashing noise had been, and uttered in a very shocked tone, "Holy shit.."

It was.. the weird tentacle-creature who had captured Skid and Pump, "Eyes", as the two had called it. And.. Skid and Pump had been on top of its head, on top of its brain-like head. Skid had been sitting in the front, while Pump had been sitting from behind him. Pump seemed to be looking down, his eyes how a teal or cyan blue. For seeming hypnotized earlier, he seemed more in control now for whatever reason. Perhaps the lair had made it worse?

Eyes, without warning, began to rush out of the house, making the officers scramble around and shriek at the top of their lungs. Skid and Pump screamed as well, not expecting his sudden movement, in fact, they screamed both at the same time.

Eyes had left the officers there, still having Skid and Pump riding on him as he rushed out of the house on the hill. John looked to be in shock, and grabbed a walki-talki rather quickly, and began to frantically call for more help.

————

"H—Holy shit, what is he doing?!" Pump had yelled that, still seeming a little.. hypnotized, from the color his eyes had been. He seemed to be more in control, but he seemed almost sleepy and exhausted with each sentence he spoke. In fact, he nearly fell off of Eyes, but Skid had stopped him from doing so, placing a hand where he would have fallen had it not been for him.

"Pump, I'm gonna need you to follow what I say for once, alright?!" Skid yelled at Pump, who had been behind him still. Skids stare seemed more stern and determined now, he was being unusually assertive. "What do you mean follow what you say for once?! I've basically been doing that this entire time!" Pump yelled back. Their voices were barely hearable over the sound of the loud footsteps of Eyes, or tentacle-steps rather.

"Yes, but your really going to have to do it this time, Pump! No sarcastic comments, no getting angry at me, and I'm certainly not gonna get angry with you! Your gonna follow what I'm saying, alright?!" Skid yelled at Pump, seeming more assertive and almost like an authority figure now. Pump didn't answer for a moment, which made Skid lightly shake him by the shoulder. "Alright?!" Skid repeated again, seeming like he was getting a little too into the role of being assertive. Pump seemed shocked, like he hadn't been expecting this.

"O—Okay, fine!" Pump agreed, with a slightly sassy roll of his eyes. "But what are you even gonna do anyway?!" Pump asked, with a rather sharp gesture of his hand ad he struggled to remain on Eyes. "That was exactly what I was gonna explain before you interrupted me, now pay attention!" Skid raised his voice, sounding as if he were panicked and assertive at the same time. Pump slightly flinched, but slowly nodded in understanding.

Skid then whispered, "We're just going to take him for some candy and some spooky dancing, and then we'll leave, alright? Just like old times!" Pump widened his eyes, and said in a mildly confused voice, "W—We're just gonna do the same thing we did last time? Isn't that a bit weird? Couldnt we have just done literally any other plan—"

Skid gave a stern but determined glare, which made Pump quiet down immediately. Pump sighed, and yelled with an annoyed look in his eyes, "Okay, fine, but—" Skid swiftly turned around, and said in reply, "No, your not questioning me anymore, your gonna listen to me for once because this time it's important! Now hold on tighter so you don't fall off!"

Pump obeyed this command, holding a look of shock. He hadn't ever seen Skid so.. determined or assertive before. But both of their eyes widened upon Eyes stopping in his tracks suddenly, and they saw what he had stopped by.

It had been Roy, Robert and Ross—they seemed to be standing by the gate. Ross seemed to be putting a comforting hand on Roy's shoulder, while Robert only worriedly glanced down at Roy. Roy seemed to be.. crying, but he was wiping his tears. "S—Sorry, guys.. I just don't have a lot of good memories with this place." Roy apologized, his voice sounding calm compared to his face. He seemed to be referring to.. the house on the hill?

"Its alright, Roy, we—" Ross stopped, and looked up, his eyes immediately turning a cyan blue. Robert looked up too, his mouth agape, and his eyes now a cyan blue. "R—Ross? Robert?" Roy tried to say, and slowly looked up. Roy's eyes widened, and of course.. they immediately turned a cyan blue.

...Eyes was hypnotizing them, again.

////////////////////

#read the tws #skid and pump #spooky month #spooky month au #pump and skid #hatzgang spooky month #roy spooky month #ross spooky month #robert spooky month #jack and john #john and jack #john spooky month #jack spooky month #eyes spooky month

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nitrateglow · 2 years

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Halloween 2022 marathon: 19-25

The Picture of Dorian Gray (dir. Albert Lewin, 1945)

I think most people know the basic premise: through ambiguously supernatural means, a young man gains eternal youth while a portrait of him grows old and corrupt, mirroring his sins.

I saw this adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s novel on TCM years ago, but remembered little of it beyond "cinematography pretty." Having read the book for the first time, I figured a revisit was in order.

This movie is a great example of what I often call "Old Hollywood gothic"-- those classy but eerie black-and-white thrillers Hollywood churned out in the 1940s-- Gaslight, The Lodger, Rebecca, The Spiral Staircase, and Dragonwyck are probably the best of the lot. This lavish and literate take on The Picture of Dorian Gray fits the bill well, creating a sinister atmosphere from its chilly cinematography and the coldness of the lead character.

Now, I know Hurd Hatfield's take on Dorian is controversial. A good portion of viewers find him too remote to be effective. Personally, I liked him-- he's blandly handsome, but as his character becomes corrupt, his eyes take on this cold, dead look that's incredibly creepy. We're dealing with a guy who's shallow to the core, emphasizing temporary pleasure over lasting value, and physical beauty over true substance. Those qualities also enhance the callousness he displays towards his victims.

It certainly helps that the most sympathetic of his victims is played by a young Angela Lansbury (RIP), who gives a truly touching performance as the ingenue songstress Sibyl Vane (changed from the Shakespearean prodigy she was in the novel). Eking out a living in a tavern, she idealizes Dorian as a knight-in-shining-armor who can rescue her from her squalid life. Unfortunately, Dorian ends up subjecting her to a cruel and misleading "test" to prove whether or not she's "pure" enough for him. When she ends up failing, Lansbury's quiet depiction of despair proves more haunting and effective than any histrionics would be.

Of course, as an adaptation of Wilde's novel, the movie isn't wholly successful. That the book's gay subtext is almost entirely scrubbed out to suit the restrictions of the Production Code is something everyone knows about (Basil Holwood's implied romantic affections for Dorian is about all that remains on that front), but the book's cynical take on morality is also absent. The movie adopts a more traditional "good versus evil" stance, whereas the book is much more complicated, with Dorian's attempts at good deeds being more a sign of his ego rather than any genuine remorse for the people he's hurt. To be honest, I feel like this movie wants to be Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde more than a substantial take on Wilde.

That being said, this is still an entertaining horror movie, even if it isn't the best adaptation.

Frankenstein (dir. J. Searle Dawley, 1910)

College student Frankenstein wants to create life from nothing. Mixing ingredients in a saucepan and then baking the mix, the result is a funky-looking monster who may or may not be the symbolic embodiment of Frankenstein's dark side... or something. I don't know. only the power of love can stop it-- that and a well-placed mirror.

Yeah, this first movie version of Mary Shelley's book is a trip. I wrote about this one more in-depth under my Short of the Month feature on my Wordpress blog. It's a weird little artifact from the nickelodeon era, but it's definitely a good bit of spooky fun. I really like Charles Ogle's monster make-up too: he's very shaggy and Victorian, the complete opposite of the more modernist approach taken by Jack Pierce for the famous 1931 version.

The Old Dark House (dir. James Whale, 1932)

A severe thunderstorm sends a group of mismatched travelers into the safety of a remote Welsh manor owned by the eccentric Femm family. At first, the Femms seem mostly harmless: Rebecca is a selectively deaf religious fanatic, her atheist brother Horace a witty coward, the 102-year-old patriarch Sir Roderick a cackling eccentric, and the butler Morgan a mute, lumbering presence. But the Femm house harbors a dark secret, one that might prove fatal to the stranded travelers. And when Morgan gets violently drunk, that secret just might be unleashed. The Old Dark House is an absolute favorite of mine, but it took two viewings to click. Film historian William K. Everson once said the movie inevitably disappoints on a first watch and I think that is very true. Considering the film is directed by James Whale and stars Boris Karloff, one expects something eerier, not unlike Frankenstein. However, this is as much a comedy of manners as it is a horror film, and Karloff is only one part of a fantastic ensemble cast.

A lot of the comedy comes from the clash between all the characters. The travelers come from different social backgrounds: the upper class Wavertons (Raymond Massey and Gloria Stuart-- the latter is best remembered as old Rose in James Cameron's Titanic, and yes, she really was a dish!), the disillusioned WWI veteran Penderel (Melvyn Douglas), the chorus girl Gladys (Lillian Bond), and the wealthy businessman Sir William Porterhouse (Charles Laughton), who came from the working class and had to buy his title. There's a low-burning tension between all of these characters, with some class resentment as well, but everyone ultimately has to work together to survive the night.

There's a lot of comedy in this film too, most of it very droll and odd. Horace's delivery of the line, "Have a potato" cracks me up everytime I see the movie, but it's impossible to explain exactly why it makes me laugh. If you don't go for that sort of thing, the movie will probably not appeal to you as much. However, this is still a horror movie at the end of the day, with fantastic stretches of suspense. The physical threat of Morgan and then later of the Femm's big secret locked away in the attic are presented as potently dangerous-- no winking there.

I've seen this film many times over the years and always lamented that the old Kino DVD was so murky-looking. This year, I finally upgraded to the recent bluray release and WOW-- it was like I was seeing a different film. It's so much easier to appreciate the expressionistic lighting and the spooky atmosphere of the cavernous dining hall or Rebecca's suffocating Victorian bedroom decor. In fact, if you love this film and you don't have the newest restoration, let me tell you the upgrade is worth every penny. It really enhances the experience.

The Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge (dir. Richard Friedman, 1989)

Eric is a high schooler disfigured in a fire when unscrupulous developers burn down his family home to make way for a mall. Donning a mask made from a mannequin's head and driven crazy by revenge, Eric makes himself a new home beneath the mall, all the while looking out for his grieving girlfriend Melody, who now works there.

So back in high school, my big obsession was The Phantom of the Opera. I read and wrote phic, I watched every version I could find, I read and reread the original novel, I regularly listened to the original Broadway cast recording of the ALW version. I also regularly watched a channel called Phantom Reviews on YouTube, where the host made it his mission to sniff out and evaluate every single adaptation of the story.

It was on this channel that I first heard of this glorious 80s take on Phantom. Watching the movie, it's an awkward cross between a sleazy slasher and a teen romance, combining the inherent cheesiness of both genres. It has everything: corny love scenes lit by candlelight, Pauly Shore monologuing about subliminal messaging, the Phantom spamming spin kicks during every fight scene, snakes biting the privates off piano-playing parking lot creepers, ridiculously gory kills-- POETIC CINEMA.

The Shining (dir. Stanley Kubrick, 1980)

For me, this is one of the most perfect horror movies ever. Kubrick had no prior experience in the genre, but he totally got what makes a “haunted house” movie work: slow-simmering suspense, a strong sense of ambiguity, and a heavy dose of the unknown. And that last part is why I love this movie so much: it never overexplains itself-- to explain something is to make it less frightening. It never really explains itself at all, which is why The Shining means a thousand different things to different viewers.

On a related note, I tried reading the novel recently, just to better appreciate the differences between the source material and the Kubrick version. But I couldn't do it-- I got about 47 pages in and gave up. I really disliked the writing style and found myself a bit bored, though I can't put my finger on just what doesn't work for me. I liked King's later novel The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, so maybe it's just early King I don't like? Who knows? Maybe I’m just not in the mood and should try again some other time.

Vampires (dir. John Carpenter, 1998)

Vampires is basically a horror/western mash-up. It's set in remote, dusty regions of the southwestern United States and the vampire hunter protagonist Jack Crow feels like your classic gunslinger type transposed to the 90s. The fight scenes are delightfully over the top (the main method of vampire slaying is hooking the undead up to a Jeep winch and then dragging them kicking and screaming into the sunlight), and the dynamic between the foul-mouthed, off-color Crow and his nerdy priest cohort Fr. Guiteau is endlessly entertaining.

However, despite these strengths, the movie itself is mostly a mixed bag-- when it's the Jack Crow and Fr. Guiteau Show, everything is campy and fun, but everything else tends to drag when they aren't onscreen. I particularly did not care for Crow's partner Anthony and his weird, uncomfortable relationship with Katrina, a vampire bite victim whose psychic link with the bloodsucking villain helps the hunters track him down. To be blunt, I found Anthony unpleasant and Katrina extremely underwritten, so their scenes tended to either annoy or bore me.

From reviews, people either tend to think this is an unjustly overlooked gem or the nadir of Carpenter's career. To me, it's nowhere near his best work, but it's hardly unwatchable, even if I have no real desire to ever revisit it.

#halloween 2022 marathon #thoughts

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epicwinsauce · 7 months

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Green colors survey answers found here, if you'd like 'em, I promise I tried to be funny occasionally:

green: Whats your favourite way to spend your day off?

Eee I don't even know. I don't get my days off to myself anymore, always working on my friendships or distracting myself with a video game. I should pick up another book.

jade: whats your favourite music genre?

~I like everything~ nah I kid. There's a certain amount of liveliness of music I enjoy but not like electronic music as much. Look up "Odo" by Ado and that's what I'm talking about.

emerald: whats your favourite place to visit? why?

The grocery store lmao. Which I haven't even done this month because I need to get a jump for my car and I just haven't done it yet. Soon.

peridot: whats on your bucket list?

To kick it.

envy: what are your hobbies and what got you into them?

I'm not sure envy is a specific hue of green? I have been enjoying pixel art and 3d art on blender lately. My buddy and I wanna make a video game and he's doing programming, I'm learning art. I haven't been progressing on my languages much (but my Japanese speaking feels much easier these days)

tea: top favourite movies growing up?

I wasn't into movies as a kid. I was very into the plots of the video games though.

mint: top favourite toys from your childhood?

I had a green Monkey Cat, a rainbow bear. My sibling and I liked pokemon figurines and we had some kind of house we used to play in. I had a lot of toy cars, too, but I gave them personalities and basically played them like Barbies tbh.

lizard: last show or series you binged?

I'm rewatching this anime series True Tears. Parts of it are eeeh cringe but it's got character. The main love interest in these animes are always the wrong ones imo like Noe was way better than Hiromi, get out of my face Shinichiro-kun

lawn: favourite show or series to binge?

One Piece obv. I also rewatch How I Met Your Mother a bit. Toradora was an instant fav.

sheen: do you like podcasts? why or why not?

I struggle to pay attention to them, so I don't listen, especially if they're on the longer side. My siblings and I listened to some like 10-15 minute spooky scary story podcasts and I was in and out but still getting most of it, it was nice

lime: if yes to the last question, do you have a favourite podcast?

I forget the name of the spooky podcast but it was on the Luminary website.

slime: do you prefer watching movies in theaters or streaming at home?

I prefer streaming at home but the theater has its charms. I'm sure it's impossibly expensive these days though

forest: list one thing, or person, that always brightens your day and why.

I have been existing in a server I made for a few friends on discord and I've been living in it tbh. My friends are so funny and it's genuinely exciting to engage with them, especially Morgan, but I've been too emotionally codependent on her and I need to fix that lmao

neon green: do you prefer breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert or snacks?

I actually have been eating more than once a day but I'm still very low energy when it comes to any of them. Pb&j's were my main food source for a few days because it's so relatively simple. but I don't care for time restrictions on my food, if I want dinner food at 1 pm I'll eat dinner at 1 p-fucken-m

light green: whats your favourite song for a dance mix?

I have an entire set of jam lists on my spotify that I turn on late at night and just dance to (quietly enough not to bother my roommate but also naked sometimes).

Ado: Odo, Ready Made, Gyakkou, Tot Musica, The Faking of the Comedy

Yoasobi: 夜に駆ける, Idol

Yonezu Kenshi: 海の幽霊, Cranberry and Pancakes, 感電, 春雷

Basically anything by La Dispute

We could be here all day

pastel green: what top things always help calm you?

I've been kind of struggling with this because I usually just sing loudly and scream for a while but that is inconsiderate to my roommate lmao. Mortal Kombat 11 has been helping

india: what app do you use on your phone the most?

I have a tablet now so I can play my games on it so probably discord, Facebook, Signal, and Pixel Studio on my phone. I love Resourcer, Nonograms Color, and YuGiOh Duel Links on my tablet (tbh the tablet was like $100 and sucks, it can't handle everything I want it to do without crashing and I'm not asking a lot, but def make sure to get one worth your buck if you decide to do the same lol

fern: do you prefer cooking or ordering food?

Cooking. Ordering food is too expensive now, but I do love having GOOD food and not just QUICK, EASY food like I usually cook

hunter: do you prefer going out to eat or ordering from home and getting it delivered?

Going out. Delivery charges are necessary but they still suck

castleton: do you have a favourite board game?

This is probably not a good time to bring up the board game called Pandemic, but imagine if I did 2-3 years ago, am I right?

cadmium: if you drink coffee, do you make it at home yourself or prefer ordering it?

I don't drink coffee

british: if you make coffee from home; how do you make your coffee?

What is British green???

phthalo: if you order it; how do you like your coffee made or whats your usual order?

Come ooon maaaan

chartreuse: what's your most prized or "favoured" possession?

Phone and computer tbh. A few books I have that I've had for years. Car. I'm very sentimental in general but those cost MONAYYYY

juniper: have you ever been to a concert?

Yes, a fair share of them. Not always worth it unless the band really makes a show out of it tbh

sage: whats your favourite genre? does it depend on the media?

Didn't we already have a music genre question? Otherwise there's zero context for this question

pea: whats a plant you really like?

Moon flower!

moss: do you have any plants? if yes, what are they? if no, would you want one?

No. I've been looking into planting but honestly it's a hassle, I don't think I'll find the fulfillment I imagine there is to be had there

shamrock: what would you do if you had $500k right now?

Pay off my car, start helping those around me pay their debts

seafoam: do you have a lucky item? if so what is it?

My clothes, they keep me from getting kicked out of the grocery store.

olive: do you have a lucky number? if so what is it?

I have dabbled in the synchronicities of finding or designating a lucky number, but nothing sticks in the long run, so no.

parakeet: who's a person you envy? if youre comfortable saying so, why do you envy them?

Would rather not answer.

pine: if healing methods from video games were available in real life which would you choose?

Resta. Heal myself and everyone around me. Not particularly Technique Point heavy (normally). No clear drawbacks, though whenever I imagine magic where healing is possible, I basically throw it back to being a doctor. You can't just heal with words, you have to know how the body functions so you can magically guide the body to a quicker healing process. I like that idea.

seaweed: if you had to work one task as your job for the rest of your life, what would it be, why and how much money do you think it would earn you per hour?

Give me a shift's worth for sleeping every night and I'll get 8 hours every night lmao

pickle: if you could cure one thing from the world forever what would it be?

Joe Mama

pistachio: say you could heal anyone in any form, emotional/physical/mental etc, how your healing have to activate and whats the drawback?

Well I guess I already answered most of these questions, I'm not sure specifically on how to activate. Magically, I guess

basil: if you could magically summon money or artificially create wealth through mystical means, what would be required to do so?

Food!

crocodile: a veggie you despise with all your being?

If I don't like it, I just don't buy it, there's no need for me to expend energy in hating it. But I don't like citrus fruits

sea: thoughts on jealous partners?

Excess is the enemy. Small dosages may be natural (I've felt it before, I know it), but each person's feelings are their own responsibility to manage, so if your jealousy is so much that you can't manage it (specifically: it slips into your behaviors, not just your thoughts), maybe you should consider getting help. Perhaps even of the venting variety of help

uniform: are you the jealous type of partner? (romantic or otherwise)

Recently I have been a jealous friend (it's not fun watching your best friend call another bestie over and over or talk about drug use history) but like I said, I manage it. I had to step out of a game night this week because I realized my emotions were unfair and I had to go sort it out (which I'm still working on).

forest: thoughts on jealousy in friendships?

Happens. May be natural. Learn to manage your emotions. If you struggle, google it or get help. It may be hard but if you're a human, it's not impossible, I honestly believe.

Sacramento: whats something about the concept of luck you find ridiculous?

How it's connected to good karma or bad. And I believe in karma, but not quite in the universalistic sense of justice (there are probably better words for this). Sometimes shit things happen to lucky people and vice versa.

russian: whats something you find refreshing?

🎼enjoy coca-colaaaa🎶

I've also been drinking water with flavoring packets in them and they have helped make my 3 cups of water a day goal much easier to reach lol

army: something in your room that helps it feel more peaceful?

My TV, it plays Spotify for me lmao

jungle: whats a song you find peaceful?

I have a Spotify playlist for Eng, German, and Japanese called ENG Soft, DE Soft, JP Soft, and ALL Soft for these exactly. We'll just go with "In Our Bones" by Against the Current

asparagus: whats the most peaceful atmosphere to you?

Rainy days, sitting on the back porch with soft music in one ear. Maybe dancing, maybe reading poetry, maybe writing it. Maybe just sitting there in my thoughts. Rainy days are good days.

harlequin: whats something that makes you feel safe?

...rain. lol. Locks on doors!

kelly: something that makes you feel hopeful?

... haaaaa

spring: list 3 things you love about nature

Rain (and any body of water tbh), trees, warmth.

viridian: list 3 things you hate about nature

Cold, excessive urbanization, mosquitoes LOVE MY BLOOD

mantis: whats your ideal environment?

Warm summer rains. I feel like I've made this clear 😂

sap: an energetic memory from childhood?

I did not like childhood, next.

dartmouth: if you could bring something back from the past to be renewed or used commonly again what would it be?

COMMON SENSE, HA .. HA .. HA .. [laughs in old people]

Sorry, it's TOO easy to make fun of the cringy parts of the older generation. Um, nothing specific comes to mind, I'm sure there's something but my brain just ain't reaching for it.

camo: whats something you used to do that youre proud you've grown out of?

Go on dates. Lmao. I really don't want to do that anymore, it's clear I am too mentally fragile for it.

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swynlake-rp · 7 months

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This is Halloween! This is Halloween!

OTMS

MUN: S! Members applauded S for diving in head-first with two memorable new characters that we already love. From the scrappy Angel to the dignified Darius, we can’t wait to see what stories you tell here!

CHARACTER: SCAMP! From the first time he popped up on the dash, we’ve simply been obsessed with J’s Scamp! He may have just joined us, but he’s already up to some exciting new plots and we just love to see it. Welcome to Swynlake, Scamp!

Honorable Mention: PACIFICA! Pacifica had a huge month, finally escaping her parents and exposing them for their shady ways! Way to go, Pacifica, and props to L for executing a thrilling and dramatic plot.

THREAD: THE MERCREW’S GROUP THERAPY SESSIONS! We love to see a community of Magicks come together like this. While Bruce, Aquata, Alana, Gil, and Gabriella each have their own reasons for being there, we’re excited to see where this goes next.

TASK: HARVEST WITH THE HAUNTLEYS | FOODIES! Snow, Cass, and Julieta are such a power trio, and we loved to see them team up for some fall food talk. More of this, please!!!

Honorable Mention: BACK TO SCHOOL-ISH | TANYA & ANGEL! This one got a shoutout for being a creative take on the paired thread prompt! A back-to-school thread… where neither of them actually go to the school. Way to go, S and E!

BOARD UPDATES

THE FOREST IS NORMAL! BUT STILL CLOSED: Thanks to Ella and her deal with Grandmother Willow, it seems the forest has retreated from its invasion of the town. There’s no need to worry about creeping vines or meddlesome chipmunks anymore. However, the forest remains closed and requires a permit to access— failing to comply can result in hefty fines!

PETITION TO REOPEN THE FOREST: DENIED, Despite almost unanimously passing by the Board, the Petition to Reopen the Forest has been denied by the acting mayor. NOTE: Mayors have always had veto powers on petitions, so Eboshi isn’t technically overstepping, but it is rarely actually exercised.

NEW SHERIFF/DEPUTY: Announcing Swynlake PD’s newest dynamic duo: Tom Harrington (Sheriff) and Maximus Keaton (Deputy)! They will be replacing Clayton now that he’s skipped town. Feel free to have your characters talk about it and hit up C and L to plot!

TASKS

EVIL TWIN: Oftentimes, your character is the hero of their own story… but what if they were the villain? Make an aesthetic and a short description of what it might be like if your character made different choices, went down a different path, and became a spooky version of themselves! (Aesthetic + 300 words)

GHOSTS: A self para or thread where your character encounters one of Swynlake’s many ghosts. Feel free to play with the ghosts that we already have in canon or invent a new one! And remember that unless you are a medium, ghosts do not appear to you.

EVENTS

OCTOBER 4-11: BELLE’S FOREST SIT-IN Come be part of a peaceful protest to show the town’s displeasure with the closure of the forest. Characters will be occupying the forest without permits. There will be snacks and drinks.

OCTOBER 11-18: A TOTALLY NORMAL PENNY FORRESTER CHARITY CONCERT Wow, it’s so wonderful that Penny is donating her time to perform for a good cause! It’d be a shame if something… happened. Something like a peaceful but extremely theatrical protest against the suspension of the elections… (Organized by Phineas and Pip. Because of course it was). Canonically on October 14.

OCTOBER 18-25: BOARD MEETING Between the closure of the forest and the postponement of the elections, Swynlakers have a lot to be opinionated about! Come make your voice heard. Canonically October 19.

OCTOBER 25-NOVEMBER 1: HALLOWEEN FUN! Get in the Halloween spirit with Swynlake’s many offerings…

Town Hall Trick or Treat: A family-friendly Halloween bash with tables from local volunteers and businesses giving out candy. Dress up in your favorite costume and bring the family! Pixie’s Halloween Haunt: For the nightlife crowd, Pixie’s will have its annual Halloween bash and costume contest! Go all out for a chance to be crowned the winner, and check out the club’s selection of signature themed drinks. Emira and Kleopatra’s Danse Macabre: Come frolic and dance until you’re dead at Emira and Kleopatra’s danse macabre, held in the PrideU dorm common room. Medieval attire encouraged, but not required!

BIRTHDAYS

Scott “Scamp” Richards: October 2

Cassandra Hamada: October 5

Mirabel Madrigal: October 6

Agustín Madrigal: October 6

Bae "Nemo" Nam-min: October 9

Elliott Morey: October 12

Gaston D’Avenant: October 13

Rose Whitman: October 15

Thomas Harrington: October 19

Todd Sionnach: October 20

David Hatter: October 29

Zero Hallows: October 31

PLOT ROUND-UP!

TING-TING GETS SOME NEWS

Characters Involved: Ting-Ting, Hercules, Su, Hera, Snow

Plot: Ting-Ting found out that she's pregnant -- gasp! After puking on the Ferris wheel at the fall carnival with Hercules (and also not getting her period) she had a hunch, but confirmed it with a test on Sept. 17 (John's birthday). So far, she's only told Hera, Su (and Mei) and Snow.

NORTHWEST MANSION HEIST

Characters and Muns Involved: Pacifica, Ollie

Plot: This thread is the culmination of a lot of self paras and plotting over the last few months as Pacifica and Ollie work together to steal the evidence they need to finally hold the Northwests accountable for their actions

PHENOMENAL CAT

Characters and Muns Involved: Cass, Hiro

Plot: To make sure that Aunt Cass isn't alone, Hiro used his skills with robotics and AI to create a cat for her named Boba

LETTER NEVER SENT

Characters and Muns Involved: Jessica, Belle

Plot: Jessica reaches out to Belle for help with her harassment and Belle has to turn her down

MERM GROUP THERAPY

Characters and Muns Involved: Bruce, Aquata, Gil, Alana, Gabriella

Plot: Bruce launched his merfolk therapy group! Aquata, Gil, Alana, and Gabriella all attended and they covered ground rules and then began discussing an anonymous online submission box where merpeople could share their concerns. They're a bit nervous about the security of the whole thing, but willing to take the risk.

KIM QUITS SSHIIT!

Characters and Muns Involved: Annie, Kim

Plot: After being sent on a wild goose chase by Annie to investigate the residents of Southern Isles, Kim finally put her foot down and told Annie she wasn't going to do it anymore. Annie didn't take it well.

POST-DEMON REBUILD

Characters and Muns Involved: Hercules, Aquata, Merida, Ren, Cora

Plot: The gym has been undergoing renovations following the PanDemonium attack, and the withdrawal of the forest from the pool area (bye otters ily). Everything should now be back to normal and classes have returned to their normal schedule!

GIL’S EX-LOVE COMES TO TOWN/THE RAS GETS EXTRA HELP ACTUALLY

Characters and Muns Involved: Gil, Jim, Roz

Plot: After a mission gone mostly wrong, Gil asks the RAS for extra help in Swynlake. Roz approves the request and Gil is shocked to find that his former flame/the spy he worked most closely with in NYC is now in Swynlake. TLDR: Leo is in town! Staying at the Tipton for now! Getting a lot of coffee with Gil... what does it mean??

The A.V. Club

Characters and Muns Involved: Penny Forrester, Eilonwy, Su, Angel

Plot: Penny has started a film club! People should join this if ur character likes film <3

ENCHANTRA COMES TO CALL

Characters and Muns Involved: Ella, Tiana, Aurora

Plot: After a disagreement about Willa’s education, Enchantra grew hostile, branching out into town in protest. Though her friends offered to help any way they could, Ella came to a compromise with Grandmother Willow, setting the forest back to normal as Ella moved into her own home closer to the forest itself.

BELLE’S REPERCUSSIONS FOR ACCIDENTALLY OPENING A PORTAL TO THE UNDERWORLD (OOPS!)

Characters Involved: Belle, Tibbs, Eilonwy, Alana, San, Mads, Berlioz, Hades, Toulouse, Ashitaka

Plot: Belle’s personal life has exploded in the wake of the Underworld opening. Her husband’s brother almost died and he won’t speak with her. Hades is disappointed in her. Her best friend, father figure, and other friends were injured. Her best friend, Berlioz, whom she told that it was her fault, is pissed at her now. She is trying to repent by throwing herself into getting the forest reopened but that’s not going well either…not to mention, Ashitaka showed up on her doorstep, causing even more problems…

BELLE GETS FIRED

Characters Involved: Belle, Agustin, James, Simba, Rose, Gil

Plot: As if summoning a demon wasn’t enough, now Belle has been fired from InterPride for insubordination. Her summer long crusade to help a cairn of Stone Trolls has been thwarted at every turn, building to a blow up with her boss. What’s her next move going to be?

CANDACE AND MIRABEL KISS

Characters Involved: Candace, Mirabel

Plot: At Phineas and Ed’s back to school party, Candace and Mirabel made out on the dance floor and then went back to Mirabel’s place for a hook up…except Mirabel started crying. Things got awkward and though Mirabel has apologized and explained she was upset about her ex…things are still weird

#swynnewsletter

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thisweekingundamwing · 3 years

Text

This Week in Gundam Wing (August 22-28, 2021)

Hey Gundam Wing fandom! Here’s your weekly roll-up. Show your fellow fans some love.

--Mod LAM

EDIT (August 29): have removed tags for richardarmititty per their request (and for evan-wins for good measure). Please do not submit posts by either party going forward. I will also be BLOCKING both accounts to avoid future inadvertent inclusion (again, per their request to not be associated with the content captured in this roll-up).

Fanfiction

The Life of the Immortal Jellyfish (CH.14/35) by @lemontrash

Pairings: Duo x Wufei

Characters: 5 pilots + Relena, Hilde, Noin, Une

Rating: MATURE

Tags / Warnings: post-canon, post-Endless Waltz, UST, roommates, Preventers, slow burn, insomnia, friendship

Summary: Is it chance that lands Duo and Wufei in the same university dorm room? They're not stupid enough to believe that but too tired to fight it. Duo's dragged himself back from the brink of going too far and remains teetering on the edge while Wufei's doggedly trying to prove himself to the 'good guys' in the aftermath of the Eve Wars. Sleep and normalcy eludes them both. As they become increasingly aware how damaged they are, they start to edge towards friendship, or something more, but all too soon the peace seems jeopardised by a new and manipulative threat.

Thrash (welcome to the gutter) by @gemstonecircles for @noirangetrois

Pairings: Duo x Relena, implied Heero x Trowa

Characters: Heero, Duo, Trowa, Relena, Hilde

Rating: EXPLICIT

Tags / Warnings: safehouses, friends to lovers, unresolved (and eventually resolved) sexual tension, graphic sexual situations,

Summary: “Not that it’s not a pretty bitchin’ look,” Duo said, his words slightly distorted by the key-pin hanging from his mouth, both his hands engaged with the grocery bags from the pick-up location in the city outside, “And OverKill is an excellent choice, but don’t you have your own clothes?”Relena and Duo are pent up in a safehouse and something’s gotta give. Eventually.

Lucerne by katopiyo

Pairings: Duo x Quatre

Characters: Duo, Quatre

Rating: General

Tags / Warnings: canon insert, dancing

Summary: Duo and Quatre catch up in the Peacemillion's break room.

The Empresses’ Third by @tziganecaffiends and @zaganthi

Pairings: Wufei x Treize x Meilan

Characters: Wufei, Treize, Melian

Rating: EXPLICIT

Tags / Warnings: threesome, alternate universe - everyone lives, fix-it, happy ending, love, prisoner of war, coercion, Light Dom/sub, pegging, Porn with Feelings, families of choice, implied/referenced child abuse and suicide

Summary: Out of a war, she had secured the safety of her husband, obtained a third, and had a daughter. They had managed to fix their colony, and they now had viable economic gains that were steady and sufficient to support their people because she had felt greedy, angry, horny, and petty, yes. Because her husband had been fascinated by the man who was now showing Mei-Xing the parts of a rose bloom, and stumbling for a moment as Wufei gave him the right words in Mandarin.

Warmth by @noirangetrois for Purdys aka Diane

Pairings: Heero x Relena

Characters: Heero, Relena

Rating: MATURE

Tags / Warnings: huddle for warmth, only one blanket, resolved sexual tension, sexual situations, Heero’s an idiot

Summary: The front door opened and Relena heard the sound of rain pelting down outside. Heero entered and shut the door behind him, dripping water everywhere.“You didn’t wear a jacket!” She had been asleep when he’d left to scout the perimeter and hadn’t realized. “It wasn’t raining when I left,” he replied.

Stand Without Flinching (CH.46/?) by @angelselene

Pairings: Heero x Duo, Trowa x Quatre, Wufei x Sally, Steve x Tony, Wanda x Vision

Characters: GW and MCU cast

Rating: MATURE

Tags / Warnings: GW-MCU crossover, alternate universe, canon divergent, fix-it, romance, Preventers, PTSD, moral ambiguity, family reunification, slow burn, found family

Summary: Wufei wasn’t sure what to expect when Maxwell came back in by himself.

With Open Arms by @bryony-rebb

Pairings: Zechs x Noin

Characters: Zechs, Noin

Rating: EXPLICIT

Tags / Warnings: post-canon, post-Endless Waltz, reconciliation, emotional hurt/comfort, semi-public sex, porn with feelings

Summary: In the immediate aftermath of Endless Waltz, Zechs and Noin (ahem) reunite.When he looked back at her, there was a slight furrow between Noin's brows, a downward twist to her lips; her eyes seemingly stuck on the slim leather fold of his wallet. "The dead man carries cash," she quietly observed.

The Art of Making a Machine by @the-reanimated-bhg

Pairings: N/A

Characters: Dr. J, Professor G

Rating: General

Tags / Warnings: two brilliant minds bickering incessantly, failed NaNoWriMoFic, humor

Summary: A Story of Love, Friendship and Fisticuffs

Fanart

Heero Smoking by @bettertasting

No Sleep (Heero x Duo) by @bettertasting

Heero and Relena by @alphaikaros

Heero and Relena Halloween by @alphaikaros

Halloween Relena by @noromax

Wufei by @farshootingstar

Quatre by @darksharinganz

Other Fanwork

Cosplay and Gunpla

(RG) XXXG-01W Wing Gundam review by @reversemoon255

Custom EW Heavyarms 1/100 HG by @the-reanimated-bhg

Heavyarms by @christianmswanson

Sandrock and Deathscythe by @christianmswanson

Shenlong by @christianmswanson

Discussion and Headcanons

@kittykatz took and online survey and found 8w7 is Une’s enneatype according to PDB. Try it yourself over here!

Gundam Fuel Source by @meggie-stardust

@kittykatz is sharing some scans of GoL and their thoughts on the scenes

Wufei and Treize’s fight and the immediate aftermath

Miscommunication at its finest

The Lightning Count

Singapore base + more Treize and Zechs

Heading to outer space

Heero’s freak out

Duo and Hilde

Other Fun Stuff

@incorrectgundamwingquotes is still making us laugh

It’s Always Sunny in Gundam Wing by @incorrectgundamwingquotes

Skeletons by @the-reanimated-bhg

Make it happen by @the-reanimated-bhg

Helmet-ception by @the-reanimated-bhg

Too hot to handle by @vegalume and @janaverse

Calendar Events

@gwcocktailfriday is back with this week’s prompt! Be sure to post your responses on Friday (September 3) between 3-5PM EST!

@/ficwip (Twitter) is hosting a "Rise of the Dead Fandoms" event. Contributor sign-ups end on Monday (August 30), so be sure to register soon! Creation period runs September-October; posting will be in November. More info at their FAQ.

September is National Prostate Awareness Month and @expewrites and @boxofhatebrains are hosting a GW Prostate Health Event at @prostatehealth-gundamwing beginning September 1. More info is available on the Event AO3 Page but in brief, options are to (1) create something or (2) donate to your prostate health organization of choice.

@gundamzine has opened up the mailing list, so be sure to register to get your FREE PDF on October 1! In the mean time, be sure to follow the account so that you can learn about the stellar 2021 Zine Crew members. Also consider donating to the team’s chosen charity, World Literacy Foundation (donations are optional, but encouraged).

The @weedgrandpacookbook is a go! The project will be an homage to the fanon of Howard as the Gundam Wing’s chillest Weed Grandpa. Yes, this includes content that promotes/celebrates/normalizes the consumption of marijuana and adjacent substances recreationally. The FREE digital zine would be presented like a cookbook, with room for meta, fic, general advice, art, graphics, crafts (Gundam-themed pipes anyone?), and of course, dank recipes. More info to come this month, with sign-ups planned for October.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the theme, this zine will be considered 18+ NSFW. Be mindful of your local laws regarding creating and engaging with content of this nature.

Spooky prompt idea generation for the GW Hallows Event will kick off mid-September, and posting period will happen in October. Stay tuned to @thisweekingundamevents!

Keep an eye on @gwoc-october while you’re at it for news on the GW Original Character (OC) October Event. You can expect a prompt calendar to go live in September with posting in October...but you can also just use the month to showcase works with your original GW characters!

Also, @thisweekingundamevents will be opening sign-ups for the 2021 Holiday Gift Exchange in September! Participants will get their assignments in October, followed by the creation period November-December and finally posting in early January 2022.

Got an event you want us to showcase? Let us know!

#gundam wing

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jungkxook · 4 years

Text

Updated ⤑ December 11th, 2021

「 K I M N A M J O O N 」

ONESHOTS

➵ demon-etized ↳ youtuber!namjoon/ghost-hunters au | smut

in this episode of unsolved, namjoon and the boys risk their lives by spending overnight in an abandoned and supposedly haunted asylum in the hopes of finding some ghouls — but the boys are pretty certain the real reason for the spooky moaning isn’t allowed to go on youtube. ***warning: very scary!!!***

— part of the not clickbait series

「 K I M T A E H Y U N G 」

ONESHOTS

➵ moonstruck ↳ werewolf au/arranged marriage au | smut, fluff

being friends with a pack of werewolves and isn’t something you would recommend but it was too late to back out now, especially when you consider the fact that apparently you’re now being “hunted” and the only way to save you is to be mated with taehyung. whatever that means.

➵ backseat serenade ↳ punk/band/brother’s best friend au | smut

falling in love and having weekly sex with kim taehyung is wrong for a number of reasons — and, no, that’s not including the whole other issue that he’s also your brother’s best friend.

➵ pour up ↳ fuckboy!taehyung ft. fuckboy!jungkook | smut

sleeping with both notorious frat boys kim taehyung and jeon jungkook doesn’t sound so bad ━ especially when you’re drunk and faded.

➵ under wraps ↳ enemies-to-lovers/fake dating/holiday au | fluff, smut

taehyung suggests that you should pretend to be dating each other to save you both the embarrassment, pity, and bothersome questions from family and friends alike for a fun carefree month of celebrations.

「 J E O N J U N G K O O K 」

ONESHOTS

➵ melomaniac ↳ punk/band/friends-to-lovers au | angst, fluff, smut

you’re wholeheartedly, madly in love with jungkook and yet you shouldn’t be because he’s supposed to be your best friend and nothing more. worst part of it all is that you know he’s in love with you too.

➵ make it right ↳ au to melomaniac | punk/band/exes-to-lovers au | angst, smut

you’re wholeheartedly, madly in love with jungkook and yet you shouldn’t be because it’s been almost a year since you broke up with him. worst part of it all is that you know he’s still in love with you too.

— part of the melodrama tour series

➵ let’s play: dirty ↳ youtuber/roommates/enemies-to-loves au | fluff, smut

jungkook’s a popular gamer youtuber who doesn’t take losing well. to make matters worse, he can’t seem to focus anymore when you’re in the room but he promises that’s not because he’s in love with you or anything.

— part of the not clickbait series

➵ stay ↳ popstar!jungkook/groupie!reader | smut, fluff

jungkook wasn’t always so madly in love with you but the fact that you’re sleeping with two of his band mates too makes things a tad bit complicated.

➵ amortentia ↳ hogwarts au | fluff

jungkook loves everything strawberry but the simple pleasure is always kept hidden, stowed away as if some hideous secret to protect the rumours that had built up around him — until a love potion outs him.

➵ the love bug ↳ spiderman au | fluff, smut, angst

every night, jungkook puts on the red mask and flings himself confidently into perilous danger; but that same heart of steel that fuels his will and spirit seems to fail him whenever it comes to you.

➵ hot boy bummer ↳ fuckboy!jungkook/fwb/friends-to-lovers au | smut, fluff

when jungkook offers you a proposition of just sex, no strings attached, how can you possibly say no? after all, what are best friends for?

➵ pour up ↳ fuckboy!jungkook ft. fuckboy!taehyung | smut

sleeping with both notorious frat boys kim taehyung and jeon jungkook doesn’t sound so bad ━ especially when you’re drunk and faded.

➵ out of the blue ↳ youtuber/established relationship au | fluff, smut

catching your boyfriend bleaching and dyeing his hair for a livestream is definitely not what you expected — but it certainly has its perks.

➵ sweeter than sugar ↳ ceo!jungkook/sugar daddy au | fluff, smut

when infamous playboy jeon jungkook comes to you with a proposition that you know you should say no to, you can’t. because all you really know is that being spoiled has never felt so sweet before.

➵ just for tonight ↳ nerve!au/strangers-to-lovers | fluff, smut

jungkook will do anything to get invited to the annual and exclusive start-of-the-year party, even if that means dragging you along for the ride.

➵ suck it up! ↳ vampire!jungkook/college au/friends-to-lovers au | fluff, smut

being jungkook’s best friend means you’re used to his strange and chaotic ways but lately he’s been acting a little too strange, like thinking he’s turned into a vampire kind of strange.

「 M I N I M A S T E R L I S T S 」

➵ not clickbait ↳ youtuber au | bts x reader | fluff, smut

➵ melodrama tour ↳ punk/band au | bts x reader | fluff, angst, smut

「 J U N G W O O Y O U N G 」

ONESHOTS

➵ midnight getaway ↳ youtuber!wooyoung/secret relationship au | fluff, smut

a “romantic” getaway surrounded by your friends leads to an interesting night alone with wooyoung.

➵ little things ↳ husband!wooyoung/slice of life!au | fluff, smut

if there’s one thing you know for certain about wooyoung, it’s how competitive he can be—and trying to give you a baby is just another task you’re confident he’ll try his best to see through.

SERIES

➵ body talk ↳ fwb!wooyoung/virgin!reader | fluff, smut

so maybe asking your best friend to take your virginity is wrong for a number of reasons, but you swear you’re still just friends. nothing more, nor less.

➵ dirty talk ↳ part two to body talk ↳ fwb!wooyoung/innocent!reader | fluff, smut

so maybe asking your best friend for help with sex is wrong for a number of reasons, but you swear you’re still just friends. nothing more, nor less.

➵ pillow talk ↳ part three to body talk ↳ fwb!wooyoung/innocent!reader | fluff, smut

so maybe, if you think about it, you might be in love with your best friend, but you swear it doesn’t mean anything. you’re still just friends. nothing more, nor less.

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songficsbyrissi · 4 years

Text

Lost Ones (Spooky Diaz x Reader)

Warnings: cursing, angst, mentions of pregnancy, abortion, and deadbeat fathers.

“And I ain't too proud to tell you

That I cry sometime, I cry sometimes about it

And girl, I know it hurt, but if this world was perfect

Then we could make it work, but I doubt it” - J. Cole

****************

Oscar “Spooky” Diaz sat on the edge of the bathtub, holding the blue and white stick tightly like you didn’t just pee on it. For some reason, he thought staring at the digital screen would change from 1 word into 2. Unfortunately, it was still that one word.

Pregnant.

You, his girlfriend, was pregnant. When you had suspicions that you were pregnant, you secretly went to the store to purchase 3 pregnancy tests and once you took them, they all said that same word.

Pregnant.

You and Spooky were expecting a child and this was not good news at all.

“Oscar, please say something.” You whispered so softly, staring at him with dried tears on your face.

He remained silent, still staring at the test. His head was swimming with thoughts. Maybe you weren’t even pregnant. Maybe it’s a prank and you were lying, but you were not this good of an actress. Besides, you would’ve busted out laughing by now.

Then the thought came to him that maybe it wasn’t his but that thought got shot down quickly in his head. You loved him with all your heart. You wouldn’t do that to him.

Did you purposely get pregnant? What happened to birth control? Then again, if you were to purposely get pregnant, you would be jumping in joy and not sitting on the floor in despair.

You got up from the floor and walked up to him, taking his hands. Your pleading eyes made contact with his.

“Please talk to me. Say something.”

Spooky finally spoke. “How did this happen?”

You sighed shaking your head. “Well when a man and a woman love each other very much or like each other or they’re just drunk enough, they wanna express it in a physical way which happens to produce a baby.”

Spooky had an unimpressed scowl on his face. “That’s not funny.”

“Do you see me laughing?” You shot back, tilting your head. Your head came back into its original position and you sighed once again.

“We need to talk about this.”

“What’s there to talk about? We can’t have a kid. Talk over.” Spooky got off the bathtub, tossing the pregnancy test in the trash. He washed his hands and went into the fridge to get a beer. All you could do was watch him do all this in shock. He chugged down the beer and you stared at him with your arms folded.

“Seriously, Spooky?”

He slammed the fridge close, glaring at you. “Seriously what? You really think it’ll be a good idea for us to have a child?”

You shrugged your shoulders. “It’s not like we never talked about it.”

“Yeah, we talked about it. FOR THE FUTURE.” Spooky got close in your face, emphasizing the last 3 words. “The future where we’re older, smarter, making a lot of money and most importantly, married. We are none of that right now.”

“I know that, and I know that this isn’t the ideal situation to bring a baby in, but like it or not, it’s here.” Your arms were folded again. You were hoping he would have a better response to this.

“Not for long because you’re getting that abortion, right?” He questioned taking a swig of beer.

You had a look on your face, as if he slapped you hard across the face and spit in it. You could physically feel your heart break. The man you love doesn’t want you to have his child. You couldn’t believe it. He had to be joking. Spooky saw the shocked and hurt expression on your face and sighed. He didn’t mean to hurt you. He never means to hurt you but he had to be realistic here. This is a life that was being discussed.

“I’m not trying to fight with you, Princesa. I’ve just been actually thinking. How are we going to raise a kid by ourselves? We are only 23!” He gestured all around you. “Does this seem like a good place to raise a kid? This neighborhood is dangerous. Where are we going to move to? Somewhere safer? Somewhere safer costs more money. Baby, I’m an ex-con. Only the jobs that barely pay shit hire ex-cons. We can’t live off your little receptionist job alone!”

You didn’t say anything. You just kept staring

at him with tears in your eyes. He took it as a sign to continue.

“Listen, I don’t want to bring mi hijo or mi hija in this world if I ain’t got shit to give them. I’m not going to leave but you gotta really think about it. Would it be smart for us to bring a child into this?”

Once your boyfriend finished his speech, you just backed away from him and stared out the window where kids were playing jump rope and riding their bikes outside. Little girls playing patty-cake and hopscotch while little boys played basketball and tag. You couldn’t stop the small smile that appeared on your face.

Looking out of the window gave you a bit of hope but Spooky didn’t see it. Maybe he didn’t want to see it.

“We have less than 9 months to figure something out.” You croaked out, still staring at the scene outside the window.

You heard a frustrated sigh behind you. “You’re not getting it.”

You finally turned around with angry tears flowing down your face. “No! You’re not getting it! You must’ve forgotten all the conversations we had way back! You remember those fucking conversations, Oscar?!”

He stared at you as the flashback hit him.

“It’s really crazy how Toya got pregnant. We’re only 21. We just became legal to drink and now she can’t.” You sighed as you laid your head on your boyfriend’s lap as he watched TV. He cleared his throat and didn’t say anything. He was always a man of a few words. Part of the reason why people feared him so much. Other than his little brother Cesar, you were the only person he would actually hold a full conversation with and talk for hours.

“Baby?” You said as you rose from his lap making eye contact with him. His hooded eyes focused on you. “What if we-“

“We’re not.” Spooky cut you off, already knowing where you were going with this.

“But what if.....we did?” You questioned softly. “And what would we do about it?”

Spooky groaned throwing his head back. “It’s not gonna happen. We’re smart.”

You folded your arms. “Smart people get pregnant too.” Your boyfriend inhaled deeply and didn’t say anything.

“The only 100% effective way to prevent pregnancy is not having sex and we’re obviously not going to do that.” You stated causing your boyfriend to snort in amusement and you elbowed him, rolling your eyes. “Seriously, Oscar. What if I was to get pregnant now? What would we do? What would you do?”

“I would do whatever it takes to make sure you and the baby are good. No matter what. The baby’s created and we gotta take responsibility because God don’t make mistakes. So if we tried to prevent it and you still ended up pregnant, we would just have to deal with it and make sure our child is born into a good situation.”

You just blinked because you were relieved that he wasn’t dismissing this conversation. He was actually thinking realistically. You saw him clench the bottle of beer he was drinking in anger.

“My father.....left me and Cesar and I still hate him for it. How am I supposed to be a father to him if I never got the chance to be a son? I always told myself that I would never put my child in that situation. It just starts a fucked up cycle and who knows when that cycle will be broken?”

Oscar shook his head as if he was trying to shake tears that were threatening to fall away. He took another drink of the beer. “I refuse to be him. I refuse to be a coward and turn my back on what I created.”

You smiled planting a soft kiss on his lips. “You’ll never be him.”

“Or did you forget that? Did you forget telling me that you wouldn’t turn your back on this? On us?”

“I’m not turning my back! I’m thinking realistically, Y/N!” Spooky began to shout now. He rarely shouted at you. That’s how you knew you were really under his skin.

“Oh really? Your exact words were-“

“I know what my exact words were! What you’re not getting is I changed my mind. People change, Y/N.”

You snorted in disbelief, laughing sardonically. “You sure did.”

“Don’t do that,” Spooky warned in a low voice coming closer but you didn’t back down.

“No! Fuck you Oscar! I should’ve known this is how you would act! You said you love me, now look at you! Singing a different song now that shit got real! I should’ve known you weren’t different from the rest. The rest of those guys who say whatever to get what they want! I LET YOU HIT RAW!” You pushed his chest as hard as you could, with your chest heaving up and down. “I let you fuck me raw, and now, I’m pregnant and you got the nerve to get in my face, talking about some abortion. This is my body, Oscar! I’m not aborting this baby! The only person taking this baby from me is God and last time I checked, YOU AIN’T GOD!”

“Y/N-“

“No! Shut the fuck up! I let you speak, and now it’s my turn!” You shoved a finger in his face as tears continued to roll down your face. “I’m going to love this baby, with or without you! My mom raised me by herself, and I’ll do the same with this child! I still don’t understand how you could be standing in my face, saying that when you said you hated your father and you would never be like your father! That you wouldn’t do that shit he pulled, but look at you! Doing the same shit! You ain’t shit! You ain’t shit to me, and as far as this child is concerned, you ain’t gonna be shit to them either.”

You got out of his sight, still holding a hand to your belly, and headed into the bathroom to continue crying your eyes out.

Spooky took a deep breath, trying to figure something out. He figured you didn’t mean what you said. You were just really upset. He had to make a decision. Stay here and wait for you to come out so you can probably talk about this or go out for a drive, giving you and him some space to cool down. He chose the latter, grabbing his keys and heading out the door.

On the drive, Spooky watched the scene where kids were playing and having fun. He began reminiscing about the times when Cesar was little and he would play with him outside. He remembered the tiny smile on his innocent face. He remembered how scary it was keeping Cesar safe on his own but he did it. He managed to raise his brother on his own and seeing that Cesar doesn’t want to be part of the Santos, he’d like to think he did a pretty good job.

Spooky doesn’t know how he did it but he managed to drive right to the park where he and his brother used to play on. There were still kids there. His hazel eyes focused on a little girl being helped by her dad on the monkey bars, giggling uncontrollably. Somehow, the little girl turned a little boy and her dad became....his dad. The little boy was him. He saw his younger self grin as he hung off the monkey bars and his father giving him a small smirk. The grin dropped a little. That memory happened before his father left his life and never came back.

“What about your seed, man?” His younger self looked straight at him and asked. Spooky’s eyes narrowed in confusion and he could’ve sworn he was seeing things.

“What about your seed?”

The vision returned back to the little girl smiling as she finished the monkey bars with her father grinning in pride. She hugged her father’s legs and he lifted her up, kissing her cheek repeatedly as she giggled in happiness. It was a beautiful sound.

He pulled off after he came to the conclusion that you and him had a lot to discuss. Maybe, he was too hasty, telling you to abort the baby. Maybe he was just scared and freaked out that he wanted the easy out but now he’s realizing it’s not necessarily what he wanted. But you were not going to find that out while he was out. He gotta go back home to you.

“Y/N?”

This house was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Spooky began to investigate. He went into the bedrooms and the bathroom. No sign of you anywhere. Your clothes were gone and you left no trace of you anywhere. You left him.

He took his phone out of his pocket to call you when a piece of paper on the counter caught his attention. It was handwritten and it only said two words.

You won.

Spooky clenched the note, falling onto the chair and just kept staring at those two words that managed to completely break his heart. What hurt the most is that he wasn’t sure what you meant by saying he won. Did you leave him for good, dedicated to being a single mother or did you change your mind, got the abortion, and left him because you hated him? Either way, you were wrong.

He was no winner at all in this situation.

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tcm · 4 years

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“Much More to Movie Monsters Than Meets The Eye” By Raquel Stecher

With his latest book Fright Favorites: 31 Movies to Haunt Your Halloween and Beyond, author and horror expert David J. Skal provides readers with the perfect guide for watching spooky films throughout October and the year. The book takes a look at 31 different horror films from NOSFERATU (‘22) to GET OUT (2017). Skal offers insights into how German Expressionism and WWI influenced early horror classics, how Val Lewton threw out horror conventions with CAT PEOPLE (‘42), how DRACULA (‘31) was a financial gamble and how more recent films like HOCUS POCUS (‘93) achieved cult status. If you’re worried that 31 horror films are not enough, don’t despair, as each of these films is paired with a bonus recommendation on a similar theme. Fright Favorites is now available from Running Press and TCM.

Raquel Stecher: Can you tell us a bit about your background as a cultural historian and horror expert?

David J. Skal: I was one of the original “monster kids” of the 1950s and ‘60s, who discovered the old Universal horror classics when they were first released to television, and for a while I couldn’t get enough of them, or of the fan culture they set in motion. I was an avid reader of magazines like Famous Monsters of Filmland, and when I came back as an adult to write about the history of horror entertainment from an adult perspective, it would never have happened without those photo-filled periodicals that engaged and obsessed me as a kid.

RS: In the book you discuss the connection between Hollywood and Halloween. Tell us a little about how that came about and how the two have become so intrinsically tied with one another.

DJS: In the golden age of American horror movies in the 1930s and 1940s, there was no supplemental merchandizing or other tie-ins to Halloween. It was still a pretty homespun holiday. The holiday’s potential wasn’t fully exploited by the film industry until after World War II, when we saw Universal franchising its monster characters as Halloween masks and costumes. In the ensuing decades, October became the major month for horror movie premieres, including studios other than Universal, and all the major theme parks got on the bandwagon, profitably extending their summer seasons with Halloween nights that are almost always tied in to some horror franchise or another, frequently of the slasher or chainsaw variety.

RS: What was the research process like for writing Fright Favorites?

DJS: Over the years I’ve done much more research for my books than I’ve been able to ever use, so Fright Favorites was an ideal opportunity to make use of information and anecdotes I’d never had room for in previous projects. As a result, it took about six months rather than the usual full year I most often devote to completing a book. Although the final selections were mine, the people at TCM are also—no surprise—very knowledgeable about movies with many favorites of their own that I was able to incorporate. There weren’t really any disagreements, just a bit of a juggling act to maintain a balance between the films included.

RS: In the book you wrote “Some early commentators on the medium worried that film might be nothing less than the arrival of living death. It is in horror movies that this pervading sense of the uncanny still speaks to us.” Were studios worried about making horror films? How did Universal's success with the genre affect the film industry as a whole?

DJS: In a way, the film medium itself is the very definition of the uncanny, bringing dead actors back to life, or its convincing simulacrum. This strange fact is always there, staring back at you. And remember, actors themselves have amounted to a species of shapeshifters, slipping in and out of identities in the manner of movie monsters. Film is a dream-like medium that has been irresistibly drawn to the fantastic and the bizarre from its very beginning, at least in Europe. American movies didn’t approach truly fantastic subjects until Universal took a chance with DRACULA in 1931. Previously, American films observed the tradition of explaining away any ghostly occurrence as a criminal conspiracy or ruse. But DRACULA, along with FRANKENSTEIN the same year, became two of the most influential and imitated films of all time.

RS: Stars like Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr., Vincent Price, etc. became known for their horror roles. How did some of these horror stars embrace the genre or how did it typecast them?

DJS: By definition, any “horror star” is already typecast, although some deal with the pigeonholing better than others. I once had the privilege of sitting in on a classroom visit by Vincent Price with a group of acting students who asked him if he resented being considered a horror star and how they could avoid being typecast themselves. He told them in no uncertain terms that show business was already a difficult way to make a living and that being typecast would be the best thing that could ever happen to them professionally. Most horror stars I’ve met or interviewed are grateful for their fame and the attention of their fans.

RS: Many horror stories have been revisited in remakes, new adaptations and re-imaginings. Why has Hollywood been so keen to revisit horror classics?

DJS: Horror is a genre with financial profit baked in from the get-go—it’s almost impossible to lose money even on a poorly made scary movie, which is why so many prominent directors have gotten their start in the genre. It’s a fairly risk-free way to take a chance on new talent. In terms of remakes, if a formula has worked before, why not do it again? Fortunately, the remakes usually veer substantially away from the original stories in ways that keep the legacy of one monster or legend perpetually alive. Horror evolves the way anything evolves—through endless change and adaptation.

RS: What are some of your personal favorite horror films?

DJS: I don’t have a number one, or number two favorite. I admire many films for individual reasons: directors, scripts, actors. People most often ask me what my favorite version of Dracula is. I tell them that it doesn’t yet exist, but it would be a master version of the story edited together from all the major adaptations, with actors from different versions interacting with each other. It would be a huge job, but if done with the right flair would be hugely entertaining and probably bring out important aspects of each version that you wouldn’t notice watching them individually.

RS: Some of the films you feature in Fright Favorites are also considered science fiction classics. How do the two genres of science fiction and horror complement each other?

DJS: Literary horror and literary science fiction are fairly separate categories, but on screen the genres tend to blur together. For instance, ALIEN (‘79) is a haunted house story set in outer space. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (‘78) is an alien invasion story that’s also about zombies. Being a visual medium, movies tend to spotlight science fiction’s bizarre and grotesque imagery and end up emphasizing the horrific over the cerebral.

RS: How do horror films tap into the pervading anxieties and fears of their respective eras?

DJS: This is the through-line of most of my books: that horror entertainment amounts to a secret history of modern times, with each new cultural upheaval or trauma setting in motion identifiable kinds of stories and characters. The anxiety and fear need to be processed, but it’s always easier to deal with real-world horror if you don’t have to look at it too directly. WWI tore about human bodies like no previous war, and all through the 1920s and 1930s we looked at one disfigured face after another, even though the films weren’t about battlefield combat. Unprecedented numbers of mutilated men were returning to society, and they were being shunned. Nonetheless, they popped up in our cinematic dreams. During the AIDS epidemic, there was an explosion of books and films about another mysterious, blood-related scourge: vampirism. Repress awareness of an uncomfortable fact, and it will always rise somewhere else in a different form.

RS: What do you hope readers take away from the book?

DJS: So far, the book does seem to be engaging readers who have a general knowledge of horror entertainment but are curious to know more. The most important thing a reader might take away is the simple revelation that there’s much more to movie monsters than meets the eye.

#Horror #halloween #Fright Favorites #scary movies #classic horror #old hollywood #old horror #Vincent Price #dracula #Bela Lugosi #nosferatu #cat people #TCM #Turner Classic Movies #Raquel Stecher

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holy-stevie · 4 years

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