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surveys-at-your-service · 3 years

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Survey #390

“i am the enemy, here to save the day!”

When was the last time you woke up in the middle of the night? I do this LITERALLY every night. Do you write? (Songs, poems ect..) RP posts and rarely poetry. What is the easiest type of YouTube video to binge watch? Probably a good let's play of a game I'm really into. Do you color Easter eggs still? I haven't in years. I would if it was offered up, though. Do you prefer to decorate with pastel colors or bright colors for Easter? Pastelllll. Do you own a cross necklace? I did in the past, but I don't now. What color is your favorite pair of shorts? I don’t wear shorts. Do you prefer bright colors, dark colors, or pastel colors? Pastels. What’s something that makes you tired? Socializing. Like it's physically draining to me. Do you like drawing or painting better? Drawing. Do you own any foreign coins? No. Do you prefer soft tacos or hard? I hate tacos. Any recent purchases? My niece's birthday is coming up, so I bought her a Disney version of a board game from my childhood called "Pretty Pretty Princess." She's going to love it. :') Do you ever make mixed CD’s for anyone? I never did, no. Are you into gory movies? Yeah. Have you ever been locked in a room forcefully without anyone knowing? omg no Do you have the same color eyes as your mother? No. Do you know anyone who has overdosed? Me. Though I obviously didn't die. Have you ever been put to sleep for surgery? Twice. What is your favorite online smiley face to you? I think I use (: the most. What is something that freaks you out no matter what? Seeing babies move in their mother's stomach makes me want to shriek and vomit. Do you have any fetishes? No. Do you take a lot of photos? Sigh, not as much as I used to... I just don't know what to photograph anymore. Never leaving home doesn't help. Do you have big ears? No; I actually have very small ears, as has been pointed out to me. Do you have a laptop, desktop or both? A laptop. Have you ever met an online friend in real life? Yes! :') There are more I wanna meet. What would you say is your favorite color, out of them all? Baby pink. Have you ever attempted suicide? Yes. What are you most known for? In my real life, my art "skills." Online, probably my obsession with meerkats. Do you have a problem with body hair? Nope. The stigma of it needs to fucking stop. If you bathe yourself and keep your hair groomed, who the actual fuck cares what YOU do with YOUR body. Have you ever been so depressed, you were put on medication? I've been medicated for depression since the 7th grade. What is one thing you think is gross about the human body? Fluids like pus gross me out. Have you ever witnessed someone being murdered? Jesus, no. o_o At what age do you plan to get married? I'd like to as a young adult, but it's not that big a deal for me because I don't want kids (I wouldn't want kids 'til marriage if I did). Do you have any candles in your room? No, but a wax warmer. Ever make a friendship bracelet for someone? Yeah, as a kid. What have you been made fun of for the most? People love to pick on me always being on the computer, when I REALLY wish they fucking wouldn't. I'm aware it's an issue that I've had before I was even a teenager and it makes me SUPER self-conscious. When you’re visiting a site, do you still type ‘www.’? No; I kinda forgot that was a thing, lol. Can you still read the time if an analogue clock doesn’t have numbers on it? Yeah. To whom will/did you first talk about the first time you’ve had sex? My mom, I think. What is something you didn’t like about being thirteen? Acne lmaooo. What can you hear right now? "Girls" by Marina. It's really been jammed in my head lately. Do you think it’s okay for kids to have cellphones? Depends on the age and the phone, imo. I personally am for the idea of (slightly older) children having some sort of cell phone with limited applications, just because emergencies happen, and if I was a mom, I'd want my child to ALWAYS be able to reach me like if they were at a friend's or something. I'll tell you right now kids don't need extravagant iPhones, though. Again: limited applications, also to prevent addiction. Do you have any siblings? If so which one of them do you get along with the best? I have one brother and technically five sisters, but I know nothing of one of them. I don't really know who I get along with best...? I'm sadly not exceptionally close to any. What’s your favorite TV show? And who’s your favorite character from it? My favorite show of all time is Meerkat Manor, wherein my favorite character was Mozart. What kind of signs do you use when you pose for pictures? I usually don't make any, but I'll sometimes do a peace sign. What math subject is your favorite? Um, none? How about science? Genetics. Do you have a favorite Youtuber? If so, who? And what is your favorite video by them? Markiplier, obviously. :') Favorite video... I think it's gotta be the first video of the Dark route in "A Date With Markiplier." It's, uh, special to me lmfao. What’s your favourite Mexican dish? I just like quesadillas. Have you ever ordered a specially made cake from a cake shop? Yeah. Well I mean, Mom has. What’s the name of your first real boyfriend or girlfriend? Jason. Have you ever dated a model? No. What is your ultimate goal in life? To be happy and satisfied with what I've done. Have you ever visited someone in prison? No. What months were you and your siblings born in? I was born in February, my younger sister in April, and my older sister is a June baby. Do you write down your passwords in a physical place to prevent losing them? No. x_x Do you have any injuries at the moment? No. Are you tall, short or average? Would you change this? Average. Nah. Have you ever taken an acting class? No, not my thing. Have you ever worked in a store while someone shoplifted there? Yikes, no. Is there anything you absolutely refuse to eat? Venison. Basically anything hunted primarily for sport. If you killed something that did not need to be killed to provide for yourself, I'm not touching it. Have you ever lived in university/college campus housing? No. Who was the last person you complimented? I think my mom? She's doing great with her diet, and I can tell she's lost weight. Do you like spring rolls? Yeah, they're decent. What do you live on in terms of a street, road, crescent, place, court etc? Court. What’s your favourite type of curry? I don't know if I've ever tried any. Have you ever had casual sex? No. Not my jam. If your phone rang right now from a number you don’t know, would you answer? Nope. What was your first pet’s name and how did you pick that? My first personal pet was either my guinea pig Squeak or Chinese water dragon Shadow. I could NOT tell you why I named a green lizard "Shadow," but I called Squeak "Squeak" because he, well, squeaked, lol. How tall are your highest heels? Not high at all. What’s your favourite flavour of frosting? Chocolate. Last thing you looked up on Wikipedia? It was a band that needed a Wikipedia link to go on the Silent Hill wiki. Someone pointed out in trivia that Tears of Mankind covered a SH piece. Should guys keep their shirts on at shows? Unless there's a good reason, like you're seriously overheating, I think so. What about girls? The same as guys. I do think women should keep their bras on though mostly for their own protection because people are pigs. Do you have multiple playlists on YouTube? Yes. What is a goal that you have trouble accomplishing? Losing weight, apparently... What color is your Easter basket? I don't have one anymore. My childhood one was a light tan basket with a baby pink frill around it. What do you need to get from the store right now? Mom just got groceries the other day. What is something that you used to feel ashamed of, but now you don’t? I can't think of anything. EVERYTHING embarrasses me, so. What is your favorite part of growing older? Uhhhhhh. Are you hypersensitive? If so, in what ways are you hypersensitive? Yes, to textures in food. What’s a drug that’s made you gain weight? Paxil was the first, but I worked it all off and got in the best shape of my life. Then Abilify absolutely destroyed my body as far as my weight is concerned because my doctor was an absolute, utter fucking idiot that I will never forgive. Is there a piece of jewelry you have your eye on right now? No. Do you believe that people can be asexual? Bro the fuck, of course I do. What color is your Bible, if you have one? I don't have one. When are you at your happiest? When I first wake up and get on the computer. New day, same shit, but don't tell me that. :^) Do you prefer to spend your time indoors or outdoors? I mean, it really depends on my mood as well as the weather, but generally, indoors. Can you honestly say that you love yourself? Nope. Where did you go, the last time you left your house? My sister's house to celebrate her husband's birthday. Do you like your singing voice? Meh, it depends on the song I'm singing, but usually, no. Have you ever done a psychedelic drug? If not, would you ever consider it? No to both.

#survey #surveys #questions #lyrics: ''brand new numb'' by motionless in white

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back-and-totheleft · 3 years

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“I’m not sure I’ve modified my thinking”

“It’s a strange place, England,” Oliver Stone informs me at the start of our Zoom call. “You’ve managed to make it worse than it was,” he says, speaking from his home in Los Angeles. “You’ve turned it into World War Two with your attitudes over there. The English love punishment, it’s part of their make-up.”

You sure know how to break the ice, Mr Stone. It’s a slightly galling accusation, given that he has hitched his wagon to Russia, hardly a paragon of enlightenment. The New York-born writer-director has never shied from ruffling feathers, though. Stone has taken on the American establishment to thrilling effect in his movies, from Platoon to Born on the Fourth of July, JFK to W, Salvador to Snowden, and still emerged with three Oscars. And he has admiringly interviewed a string of figures whose relations with Uncle Sam have rarely been cosy, including Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez and Vladimir Putin. Those had more mixed receptions, as has his support for Julian Assange.

Yet at 74 he is still a thorn in the side of the military-industrial complex and is set to remain one for some time, having just had his second shot of Covid vaccine. This being Stone, he got his jab in Russia. A recent trial showed the Sputnik V vaccine he was given to have 92 per cent efficacy and he’s palpably delighted. Angry too, of course. “It’s strange how the US ignores that. It’s a strange bias they have against all things Russian,” he says. “I do believe it’s your best vaccine on the market, actually,” he adds, sounding weirdly Trump-like.

If his bullishness is still intact, Stone reveals a more vulnerable side in his recent memoir, Chasing the Light. The book, which he discusses in an online Q&A tonight, goes a long way to explaining his distrust of government, society and, well, pretty much everything. There are visceral accounts of him fighting in Vietnam, and fighting to get Salvador and Platoon made. “The war was lodged away in a compartment, and I made films about it,” he says. “Sometimes I have a dream that I’ve been drafted and sent back there.”

The crucial event in the book, though, is his parents’ divorce when he was 15. Stone realises now that his conservative Jewish-American father and glamorous French mother were ill-suited. Both had affairs. What really stung was the way he was told about their split: over the phone by a family friend while he was at boarding school. “It was very cold, very English,” he says. “I say English because everything about boarding school invokes the old England.” He’s really got it in for us today.

With no siblings, he says, “I had no family after that divorce. It was over. The three of us split up.” His world view stemmed from his parents being in denial about their incompatibility, he writes in the book: “Children like me are born out of that original lie. And nobody can ever be trusted again.”

That disillusionment took a few years to show itself. “All of a sudden, I just had a collapse,” Stone says. He had been admitted to Yale University but his father’s alma mater suddenly felt like part of the problem. He felt suicidal and sidestepped those thoughts by enlisting to fight in Vietnam, putting the choice of him dying into other hands.

The Stone in the book was described by one reviewer as his most sympathetic character. “It’s true probably because it’s a novel,” he says. Well, technically it’s an autobiography, but it’s a telling mistake. Fact and fiction can blur in his work, from the demonisation of Turks in Midnight Express (he wrote the screenplay) to the conspiracy theories in JFK.

Writing the book allowed him to put himself into the story, something he says he’s never been able to do in his films. He has tried. He wrote a screenplay, White Lies, in which a child of divorce repeats his parents’ mistakes, as Stone has. “I had two divorces in my life [from the Lebanese-born Najwa Sarkis and Elizabeth Burkit Cox, who worked as a “spiritual advisor” on his films] and I’m on my third marriage, which I’m very happy in.” He and Sun-jung Jung, who is from South Korea, have been together for more than 25 years. They have a grown-up daughter, Tara, and he has two sons, Sean and Michael, from his marriage to Cox.

White Lies is on ice for now. “It’s hard to get those kinds of things done,” Stone says wearily. Will he make another feature? It’s been documentaries recently, the last two on the Ukraine. “I don’t know. It’s a question of energy. In the old days, there would be a studio you’d have a relationship with, and they’d have to trust you to a certain degree. And that doesn’t exist any more.”

He thinks back to the big beasts of his early years. Alan Parker, who directed Midnight Express; John Daly, who produced Salvador and Platoon; Robert Bolt, who taught him about screenwriting. “Those three Englishmen had a lot to do with my successes,” he says. I think he feels bad about all the limey bashing. “John was a tough cockney, but I liked him a lot.” He liked him more than Parker, whom he describes as “cold” with a “serious chip on his shoulder.” He smiles. “Sure. Alan did a good job with Midnight Express, though.”

You wonder if Netflix could come to Stone’s rescue. They have given generous backing to big-name directors, from David Fincher to Martin Scorsese, Stone’s old tutor at NYU film school. Surely they would welcome him? “Well, that’s why you’re not in charge! Netflix is very engineering driven. Subject matter such as [White Lies] might register low on a demographic.”

Isn’t he also working on a JFK documentary, Destiny Betrayed? That could do better with the Netflix algorithms. “I’m having problems with that too. Americans were so concerned with Trump, I don’t know that they wanted to hear about some of the facts behind the Kennedy killing. They don’t recognise that there’s a connection between 1963 and now, that pretty much all the screws came loose when they did that in ’63.” He smiles. “I know you think I’m nuts.”

Well no, but you do wonder at his unwavering conviction that there was a conspiracy to murder Kennedy, probably involving the CIA. JFK is a big reason why a majority of Americans believe in a conspiracy and, according to Stone, led to the establishment of the Assassination Records Review Board, which he claims is “the only piece of legislation in this country that ever came out of a film.”

Yet several serious studies, including a 1,600-page book, Reclaiming History, by the former prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, conclude that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. That book accused Stone of committing a “cultural crime” by distorting facts in JFK. “I feel like I’m in the dock with Bugliosi. I didn’t like his book at all,” Stone says. “Believe me, you cannot walk out of [his forthcoming documentary] and say Oswald did it alone. If you do, I think you’re on mushrooms.”

Stone knows whereof he speaks regarding psychedelics. On returning from Vietnam he was “a little bit radical” in his behaviour, he says: drugs, womanising, hellraising. He recently took LSD for the first time in years. “It was wonderful,” he says. He hallucinated that he was “moving from island to island on a little boat”.

What was radical in the Seventies can be problematic now. He has been accused of inappropriate behaviour by the model Carrie Stevens and the actresses Patricia Arquette and Melissa Gilbert. “As far as I know I never forced anyone to do anything they didn’t want to do,” he says. Has he modified the way he behaves around women? “Oh sure, no question.”

At the same time, he is disturbed by “the scolding going on, the shaming culture. I don’t agree with any of that. It’s like the Chinese Cultural Revolution. It scares the shit out of me. I do think the politically correct point of view will never be mine.”

He’s not a slavish follower of conspiracy theories — QAnon “sounds like nonsense”, he says, as was the theory that Donald Trump was “a Manchurian candidate for the Russians. That was a horrible thing to do and it hurt that presidency a lot. I’m not an admirer of Trump by any means, but he was picked on from day one.”

What does he make of Joe Biden? “I voted for him, not because I liked him, but as an alternative to Trump’s disasters. He’s got a far more merciful humanitarian side. But he also has a history of warmongering.” Fake news, he says, has “always happened”, in the east and west, on the left and the right. “I mean, back in the Cold War, the US was saying Russia was lying and Russia was saying the US was lying. Each one of these wars the US has been involved in was based on lies.”

It sounds as if Stone has been on the Russian Kool-Aid himself. He is making a documentary, A Bright Future, about climate change that advocates pursuing nuclear power in the short term, and has visited some Russian nuclear plants. They are “very state-of-the-art,” he says. “The US is not really pursuing the big plants, the way Russia and China are. I believe in renewables, but they’re not going to be able to handle the capacity when India and Africa and all these countries come online wanting electricity.”

Putin liked the interviews Stone did with him in 2017, he says. “I think they contributed to his election numbers.” Wasn’t he too easy on the Russian leader? “That’s what some say. But I got his ire up. I did ask him some tough questions about succession. ‘I think you should leave’ — that kind of stuff. The pressure that Russia is under from both England and the US is enormous,” he adds. “Unless you’re there I don’t know that you understand that. Because you take the English point of view, and they have been very anti-Soviet since 1920. You talk about fake news — I feel that way about MI5 and MI6.”

You can’t help but admire Stone’s conviction. If he’s modified his behaviour that’s probably a good thing, but as he says, “I’m not so sure I’ve modified my thinking. I express myself freely. I don’t want to feel muzzled.” Whatever you think of him, be grateful he hasn’t been.

-Ed Potton, “You talk about fake news. I feel that way about MI5 and MI6,” The Times of London, Feb 8 2021 [x]

#oliver stone #chasing the light #the times of london #ptsd #the vietnam war #russia #Trump #joe biden #politics #vaccine

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makerkenzie · 7 years

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What is the null hypothesis of Maggy’s prophecy?

When we look at Maggy’s prophecy in ASOIAF, what is the “null hypothesis”? Also known as, what is the starting point? What is the blank slate against which all other theories are judged? Another way to put the question is: who has the burden of proof? We first establish the null hypothesis (or “killjoy hypothesis”), and anyone who wants to argue something different is expected to present evidence.

Also: extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. In milder terms, substantial claims require substantial evidence.

Further: What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.

Let’s go with Maggy’s prophecy to Cersei as the subject of discussion. We can divide the prophecy into parts:

1. Cersei will never wed the prince. She will wed the king.

2. Cersei will be queen, until there comes another, younger and more beautiful, to cast her down and take all she holds dear.

3. The king will have sixteen children, and Cersei will have three.

4. Cersei’s three children will have golden crowns, and golden shrouds.

5. When her tears have drowned her, the “valonqar” will wrap his hands around Cersei’s throat and choke the life from her.

6. Melara will not marry Jaime, nor any man. Her death is here tonight.

If we read this dialogue in isolation, the null hypothesis would be that Maggy is a fraud and doesn’t know what the fuck she’s on about. For anyone to be able to make an accurate prophecy is an extraordinary claim, and it would require extraordinary evidence.

For example, if Maggy said to Cersei, “Okay, you’ll marry someone important, and sure, you’ll have some kids, but not all of them will live to adulthood, and eventually some younger pretty girl will piss you off and make you feel kind of inadequate,” that would be a cold read, and it would stand an excellent chance of being at least partially accurate based on the setting, and Cersei’s place in the hierarchy.

Whereas, if Maggy said: “You will wed the king. He will have sixteen children, and you will have three,” that is much more difficult to guess correctly by coincidence. If such a specific prediction came true, the null hypothesis would be falsified, and we would be resolved that Maggy does have some psychic powers and she does not work merely by cold reading and cognitive biases.

We have seen enough of the prophecy come true to know that Maggy is not a fraud. Null hypothesis, voided. Move on to a new null hypothesis which takes into account that Maggy’s predictions can come true with surprisingly detailed accuracy.

BEGIN SIDEBAR

If we wanted to split some even finer hairs, we could quibble over the extent to which the prophecy has already come true. In the ASOIAF books, one of Cersei’s children has died. Given the child mortality rate of the setting, it would not be extraordinary for one of a queen’s three children to die at a young age. Given the prevalence of assassination attempts on monarchs, it is not exceptional for a royal son to become a homicide victim in his teens. Whereas, two of Cersei’s children are still alive, at this point in the books. In the TV version, all of Cersei’s children are dead. If we really wanted to quibble over the effectiveness of Maggy’s psychic powers, we could argue that Tommen and Myrcella will survive in the book version and the TV version is invalid.

Furthermore, we could also argue that the TV version of the series is invalid unless and until GRRM releases the last two books in the series, and then only if those last two books confirm the major events in the TV series, and if GRRM gets hit a bus before he completes TWOW, then the TV version’s validity will forever be in question.

Such an argument presupposes insider knowledge, i.e., you’re telling us you know more about GRRM’s intentions than Benioff & Weiss do. That is a fairly substantial claim and it requires fairly substantial evidence. Show us why we should believe your theories over Benioff & Weiss’s storytelling. Until then, the TV version is understood as “correct in essentials” and we can safely assume Tommen and Myrcella won’t live much longer. Prophecy is vindicated. Maggy knows what she’s doing.

END SIDEBAR

This much has worked out so far:

1. Cersei did not marry Prince Rhaegar; he died before he could become king, and she married King Robert. No matter how you slice it, Cersei did marry the king and she did become queen.

2. King Robert sired sixteen bastards; Cersei gave birth to three children. However, it should also be noted that when Cersei asked, “Will the king and I have children?” she was not thinking of two non-overlapping sets of offspring. Therefore, Maggy’s approach to answering the question was taking some liberties with Cersei’s intentions in asking. It stands to reason that the prophecy demands some space for interpretation.

3. Joffrey was king, Myrcella was in line to be Princess of Dorne (in book version, Arianne Martell tried to designate her the Queen of Westeros), Tommen was king. Golden crowns: check. They’ve all died young while Cersei is very much alive: check.

4. Cersei pushed Melara down a well the same night as their meeting with Maggy. Melara’s imminent death: check.

THAT LEAVES US WITH the parts of the prophecy still up for grabs: the Younger and More Beautiful (Queen?) who takes away everything Cersei cares about, and the Valonqar who’ll choke the life from her.

Who could be the YMB(Q)? Cersei assumed it was Margaery Tyrell and thus drove a wrecking ball through the realm in her efforts to get Margaery out of the way. TV version, Margaery is dead. Therefore, Margaery cannot fulfill that part of the prophecy. Other candidates must be taken into consideration.

Who could be the Valonqar? Cersei assumes it’s Tyrion, and she may have succeeded in making that a self-fulfilling prophecy. After a lifetime of emotional and physical abuse, up to and including murder charges with intent to execute, Tyrion certainly wants to kill his sister. That’s not the null hypothesis, though. Tyrion is an option, which requires evidence, and counter-arguments can be made. To assume Cersei is correct in her interpretation of the prophecy is, in itself, a theory that needs positive evidence and should be subjected to cross-examination.

To assume the identity of the Valonqar will be confirmed via exact subversion of Cersei’s assumptions with Jaime as her killer, is also a theory which demands positive evidence and should be subjected to cross-examination. Jaime as Valonqar is NOT the null hypothesis; it is an option that must be measured against the null hypothesis.

HERE IS ANOTHER SIDEBAR

As a minor complication to the obvious candidates for the Valonqar position, I would like to point out that both of Cersei’s brothers have physical impairments which preclude an exact fulfillment of two-handed strangulation as Cersei’s proximate cause of death.

Tyrion is a physically small, unimposing man with short limbs. His hands may not be big enough to get a lethal grip on Cersei’s throat, and even if they are, his arms are so short and his body is so light that tall, robust Cersei should be able to throw him off.

Jaime, meanwhile, no longer has plural hands. His gilded-steel prosthetic does not wrap around anything. Could he strangle his sister to death with only his left hand? Technically, he probably could, but that would NOT fulfill the “wrap his hands around your pale white throat” clause. If he’s a candidate for the killer, then the exact wording of the prophecy must, by definition, allow space for interpretation.

We’ve already seen that Cersei’s question “Will the king and I have children?” was subjected to a liberal interpretation. If “wrap his hands around your pale white throat” includes some wiggle room, then other parts of the prophecy also include wiggle room. The translation of “valonqar” may not be set in stone. Hell, “choke the life from you” may not refer to homicide. And what does “when your tears have drowned you” mean, anyway?

All this is not to say that neither Tyrion nor Jaime is the valonqar. Just that neither of them fulfills the criteria for a killjoy hypothesis.

END SIDEBAR

With those caveats in mind, I would like to propose that the null hypothesis of the Valonqar and YMB(Q) clauses of the prophecy---the starting point of the discussion---is that Maggy was lying. She had the ability to make an accurate prophecy, and she chose to feed Cersei some bullshit because she was a snarky, spiteful old trickster who enjoyed fucking with a spoiled brat’s head. Some truths and a couple of lies; a great recipe for hastening the vicious girl’s self-destruction. The real story of Cersei’s death is that she’ll die by dragonfire, or suicide, or she’ll drunkenly fall off the side of a boat and drown in the Blackwater Rush, or she’ll die of acute alcohol poisoning. How she’ll die doesn’t really matter, because Maggy was actively making shit up.

Do I think that’s actually the case? No, I think Cersei will die by direct homicide, and the valonqar is real. I just think any candidate should be argued against the “no candidate” option. Start with nothing and work up to something.

#asoiaf meta #maggy's prophecy #cersei lannister #jaime lannister #tyrion lannister #valonqar theory #game of thrones #predictions #logic

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salty-dracon · 4 years

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beastmode

Okay so I kind of refused to add any of the elements of Caligula: Overdose into CGAU/YOur Reality because first of all, I hate the subplot that was added (transphobia, misogyny, misandry, yay), and second of all, Arthur’s not the kind of person to betray his friends under any circumstances. He is a good boy.

... but I am enamored with the idea of Narcissa harnessing the Covenant’s more negative personality traits to make them more powerful, with consequences.

Also not something she’d do unless the subjects consented to it.

The main differences between “Beastmode”, as I’m calling it, and “Catharsis Effect: Overdose” is that Beastmode not only turns the subjects into a literal beast, but it also has a negative side effect that ends up lasting for a couple days at most. This also ties in to the negative personality traits of each character. These also share some visual or thematic aspects with their ordinary transformations, which currently don’t have a name.

Arthur: Technically if we were going by the plot of Overdose, he wouldn’t have one to show off since he allies briefly with the Acolytes of Grey. His original form is a giant winged lion, so his Beastmode form would be a manticore. Visual changes consist of a darker mane, reddish bat wings and a long scorpion tail. Bloody Manticore is also much larger than Golden Leone. Though Arthur generally uses Leone for flight, protection, and precise attacks, as Manticore he becomes bloodthirsty and violent, needlessly attacking enemies even if they’re running away. The side effects of the transformation are thoughts of brutal murder, which makes him very upset.

Allie: I didn’t have the time to really draw this one, because I think it sounds super cool, but Allie would transform into what I would call a “Speed Demon”. You know how Corrin from FE:Fates can do this sort of half-transformation into the giraffe dragon? Allie sort of does the same thing, but pretty much all of her humanlike features are replaced with beastlike ones. Long, pointed fingers, a thrashing tail, and a beast head that kind of resembles the alien from Alien. It’s constantly moving around restlessly, as if it’s looking for new prey, and moves so fast it practically teleports, and hits like a truck. The side effect is partially restlessness, and partially suicidal thoughts. Allie is quick to regulate herself, but it disturbs her.

Venus: Big Hellhound Doggo Supreme becomes a Demonic Orthrus, a two-headed canine monster. Demonic Orthrus is much bigger than Hound of Shadow. While Hound appears to be a giant wolf-shaped mass behind a wolf skull, Orthrus appears to be a giant two headed zombie wolf with visible but rotting flesh and fur, and diseased teeth. Even so, he’s a tank, and an even stronger one than Hound, with a stronger bite attack. The side effects are greed, especially when it comes to food. Venus might also growl if someone gets into his personal space bubble. He wouldn’t recognize the side effects immediately, nor would be be able to regulate himself.

Lily: She’d transform into something even closer to an actual nine tailed fox, named Spit Fire. Her body becomes closer to quadrupedal, with her face deforming into something closer resembling a demonic fox, with long, sharp fangs and whiskers. Long claws grow from her fingers and toes. While she continues to shoot fireballs at her enemies, she also begins to use physical attacks and even shows cruelty setting escape routes on fire, laughing like a madwoman as her enemies writhe in pain. The side effect is pyromania- though this is sometimes hard to distinguish from Lily’s personality in the first place. Ordinarily, Lily would be disturbed by the thought of lighting some innocent person on fire.

Brooke: She’d transform into a peryton, a giant roc-like creature with a deer head and sharp, pointed teeth. Its nickname is Monster of the Mount. The peryton’s wings are iridescent green, with its head appearing to be a skull with four eyes, sort of like Hound of Shadow’s eyes in empty sockets. It swoops from on high to attack enemies, tearing at their flesh with its teeth. The side effects are thoughts of betrayal and cannibalism- a derivative of Brooke’s “eat or be eaten” philosophy. She’ll start drooling if she sees blood or raw meat, which will embarrass her if she realizes better.

Julien: They’d transform into a half-human-half-snake, named Hellmaster. Their usual confidence is turned into uppityness, their entire body (save the suit) is turned into hundreds of swarming snakes, and their attacks turn from shadow snakes to real snakes. Their original attacks are far more savage and will not kill enemies as neatly as Demon Charmer would. The side effect is extreme violence. If anyone taunts Julien (or anyone they love, for that matter) they’ll attempt to attack them with their own hands and fists. Telling them they’re going crazy will prompt a lot of apologies from them.

Ares: He’d transform into Black Wraith, a shambling, smoky husk covered in thick, black armor with glowing red eyes. Though Ares usually fights with precision and care as Crimson Blackguard, his highest priority being the protection of himself and his teammates, his strength as Wraith makes that unnecessary. Anything that gets in his way will likely be crushed with one swing of his giant sword. Out of all of the Beastmodes, his has the most powerful offense. The side effect is a strong propensity to aggravate or intimidate enemies. Since his own body’s rather strong, he might pick up the body of someone who’s pissing him off. He would isolate himself after using his Beastmode to avoid doing such a thing again.

Kal: She’d transform into Eclipse Knight, an armor-covered slepnir-centaur, with two extra human arms wielding giant weapons. Her entire body would be covered in rusted armor, with the four arms wielding different weapons (longsword, halberd, lance, giant morningstar). In this form, she charges around the battlefield attacking anything in her path, or anything unlucky enough to be in her path. The side effect is extreme pride and stubbornness. Kal is usually agreeable, but she’ll become set in her ways and refuse to be a follower in any situation. It’s hard for her to suppress this one.

Nick: I honestly can’t remember if his equivalent got an Overdose form. Whatever. He’d transform into Eye of the Watcher, which does in fact sort of derive its origin from Grey. I like to think that a bit of Grey’s power remains inside him even as Nick betrays the Acolytes. His body is reduced to stick-like forms that exist only in Paradise LR’s two-dimensional space, rendering him sort of invisible, and also super speedy. Enemies facing him might find their powers dismantled in milliseconds as he seemingly disappears from view. The side effect is giddiness- what I’d describe as “the zoomies”. He feel like he can’t move fast enough or do things fast enough. He’s mostly fine after a few nights of rest.

#cgau #life as an aj #secretagents #tmx

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nightmareonfilmstreet · 6 years

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Terror from the East: 12 Films From East Asia You Should Watch

We’re an entire month into the New Year. 2017 brought horror back into the lime light of popular cinema in full force. Now a solid month into 2018, are you keeping up with your New Year’s Resolutions? Fear not, fiends, there is always time to try something new! What better way to better yourself than expanding something you love?

Let’s talk about East Asian Horror. This sub-genre primarily consists of films from Eastern Asian countries including: Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and others. Much like Giallo, French, or other film fanatics outside of North America; the horror blends in elements unique to the cultures from which they come. Some elements that are popularized in these films include a strong connection to the supernatural or that they don’t shy away from the ultra violence.

Currently there are as many films in this sub genre as any in horror. To help get you introduced to the horror out East, here are twelve films to get you started and why you should watch them.

A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)

Ju On (Takashi Shimizu, Japan, 2002)

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Synopsis – Rika Nishina is a social worker assigned to watch over an ailing, elderly woman, but the house she lives in holds a dark whisper. Years before, a brutal double murder of a mother and her child left an imprint on the home. Their vengeful spirits will haunt whoever goes within this house’s walls until they vanish mysteriously. Rika, now tormented by these angered specters, must find out how to lift the curse of become one its victims.

Why You Should Watch – Jo On is a perfect starter for anyone wanting to explore East Asian Horror. It was one of the first few films to be adapted for North American audiences. Sam Raimi himself assisted with the production of the film, which saw wide release. The pacing and the way the cinematography of the original Japanese version will make you sit and watch the horror as it creeps its way towards you.

Shutter (Banjong Pisanthanakun & Parkpoom Wongpoom, Thailand, 2004)

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Synopsis – Thun, a young photographer, and his girlfriend Jane flee from a car accident resulting in them leaving a badly hurt woman. Afterwards, ghostly images begin to appear in the photos that Thun takes. As the ghostly images become more frequent and the hauntings of a ghost woman begin, Jane begins to wonder, is there more to these ghostly torments?

Why You Should Watch – This is another film to get the Hollywood adaptation for North American release. Unlike similar films, The Grudge and The Ring, Shutter’s American adaptation was not as well received. The original version showcases a more fleshed out backstory to the spirit haunting Thun and Jane, as well as more ghost photography to send shivers down your spine.

Train to Busan (Yeon Sang-ho, South Korea, 2016)

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Synopsis – Sok-woo is a busy man, so busy that time for his daughter Soo-ahn is usually a luxury. The divorcee wanting to please his daughter, decides to taker her on the KTX from Seoul to Busan so that she can see her mother. Things do not go well for their travels as a zombie outbreak wreaks havoc in South Korea. Now Sok-woo must protect his daughter from flesh eaters and the paranoid living alike, while trying to make it to Busan and possibly safety.

Why You Should Watch – Easily a good way to get into the style and cultural approach to Korean cinema while not shying away from the things that will make your skin crawl. The unique and fresh approach to the zombie theme has resulted in the film’s growing popularity everywhere. Keep an eye out for director Yeon Sang-Ho’s take on the superhero film, which will also be distributed by Netflix.

Noroi: The Curse (Koji Shiraishi, Japan, 2005)

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Synopsis – Renowned paranormal investigator Masafumi Kobayashi is missing. His home is burnt down and the remains of his wife are within the ashen ruins. The film centers on the recordings of his newest, in development documentary ‘The Curse’. Find out what event led to Kobayashi’s disappearance and what dark story he was investigating.

Why You Should Watch – This is one of the best, found footage style horror films to see. Not only does the film follow some of the scare tactics seen in found footage, the film delves deeply into Japanese spiritualism and mythology. The movie is a slow burn but it will captivate you for every second.

Memento Mori (Kim Tae-yong & Min Kyu-dong, South Korea, 1999)

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Synopsis – High school students Yoo Shi-eun and Min Hyo-shin find love in one another. Sadly the other students find out and chastise the two for their ‘taboo’ love. To avoid further criticism, Shi-eun begins distancing herself from Hyo-shin. Hyo-shin reacts by throwing herself of the roof of the school. After her death, supernatural terrors befall the students that criticized the relationship between the two.

Why You Should Watch – This is technically the second installment in the Whispering Corridors series. Each film centers on supernatural events in an all girls’ school setting with multiple characters to follow and focusing on the relationships between characters. The films are sort of campy with lower budgets and fun special effects. This one stands out as it focuses on a touchy subject even now in some parts of the world. Be sure to check out the other installments in the series.

A Tale of Two Sisters (Kim Jee-woon, South Korea, 2003)

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Synopsis – Su-mi is returning home after some time in a mental institution. She returns to her family home to live with her younger sister Su-Yeon, their father, and their distant stepmother. Tensions are high between Su-mi and her stepmother, as she suspects abuse of her younger sister. With these tensions spreading amongst the family, hidden secrets come forth and the family’s tragic past begins to haunt the home.

Why You Should Watch – Family can be hell and returning home after time away can be worse. A Tale of Two Sisters explores this dark sensibility of a family’s past and does not give the viewer everything right up front. What make this film shine are the quiet moments. There are a lot of long periods of silence, making the audience focus in on the scene, searching along with Su-mi to find out more about what secrets hide in the walls.

Kairo [Pulse] (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Japan, 2001)

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Synopsis – Kudo Michi is searching for her friend after he went missing while working on a computer disk. While looking for him, she comes across strange sightings, black stains on the walls of other missing person’s homes, and a rising number of suicides happening across the city. At the same time, Ryosuke, an economics student, finds disturbing images of ghastly people alone in their rooms. Is it his new Internet service or is there something more supernatural at work?

Why You Should Watch – Technology helps us reach out to every corner of the earth, but what if it connected us to a complete other side of reality? A door can be opened as easily as typing in a URL. The film showcases that fear of an always-connected lifestyle. Kairo was another film to get the American adaptation but was easily forgotten amongst the slur of remakes. Luckily the original still stands out, giving us two diverging storylines that eventually intertwine by the film’s end.

Re-Cycle (The Pang Brothers, Hong Kong, 2006)

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Synopsis – Ting-yin is a successful novelist trying to write her big follow up. After a trilogy of romance novels, she hopes to break into new genres. Writer’s block comes and now she isn’t sure where to take her new novel. After one chapter she deletes what she has, but things begin getting strange. Now she’s finding that the paranormal experiences around her are straight from the pages she wrote.

Why You Should Watch – For those that love creative worlds where you can be engrossed in the film’s setting, this one is for you. Re-Cycle is gleaming with strange creatures and an imaginative world likened to that of Alice in Wonderland. Going to a much darker and horrific approach, the film will push your comfort zones to a new level.

Thirst (Park Chan-wook, South Korea, 2009)

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Synopsis – Father Sang-hyun is a devout religious man plagued by self doubt and a deep sadness for his life spent. With his desires to aide the ailing, he submits himself to research for a vaccine to a deadly virus that fails and leaves him to die. After a blood transfusion hoping to slow his death, he miraculously recovers. Changes begin to occur within the priest, while dealing with the title of a miracle healer and a captivating woman named Kang-woo, resulting in him to wonder why this dark hunger plagues him.

Why You Should Watch – This is a classic vampirism tale told from a more dramatic and conflicted state, while also dealing with the cultural expectations of the area. We watch as an already troubled man of faith deals with his own inner demons as well as the thirst now building in Sang-hyun. The film is moody and full of existential crisis within the main protagonist. A must watch for any vampire fan out there.

I Saw the Devil (Kim Jee-woon, South Korea, 2011)

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Synopsis – Kim Soo-hyun is a secret service agent for the National Intelligent Service. One cold, winter night his fiancée Joo-yun is brutally murdered and her body parts are scattered throughout the town. Grief stricken and vowing vengeance, Soo-hyun begins a hunt to find her killer. What ensues is a descent into a dark world where Soo-Hyun tracks down and torments killer Jang Kyung-chul, no matter the cost.

Why You Should Watch – The film is a fantastic example of a theme common in countries like Japan and South Korea, which are the revenge thrillers/horror. While the film at times seems to sway more in the style of thriller, the concepts at play make the film horror genre worthy. There is excessive gore and graphic violence that make even the most secure stomach squirm. The film makes you wonder, how do you know who is possibly a murderer and who isn’t?

Audition (Takashi Miike, Japan, 1999)

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Synopsis – Lonely widower Shigeharu Aoyama might be ready to move on and find love again. With the urgency from his son and the help of his close friend, Shigeharu hosts a phony audition to meet his next love. That’s when he meets the beautiful and reserved Asami. He is immediately infatuated with her. Despite being unable to confirm some of the contact on her resume, Shigeharu dates, beds, and proposes to Asami. The night of their engagement Asami disappears without a trace and he must search for her. During his search he begins to see that she may not be the woman of his dreams but of his nightmares.

Why You Should Watch – This is one of the earlier films from renowned auteur Takashi Miike. He is no novice to the horror genre and has specialized in some of the darkest and demented stories to see on the screen. The moment Asami enters the screen you can tell something is off. Audition will pull you in and lead you somewhere dark you will never forget.

Three… Extremes (Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan 2002)

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Synopsis – The film is broken into three different segments, written and directed by different people in different countries.

Dumplings (Fruit Chan): Mrs. Li is an aging actress who wishes to rejuvenate her youth. With her husband taking on a mistress behind her back, she hopes a secret dumpling recipe from Aunt Mei with help her. What would you do to stay young and beautiful?

Cut (Park Chan-wook): Watch a deadly game, as a successful film director must face off against a deranged extra from his films. The extra is upset that such a man can exist who is wealthy and also a good person, when he is poor and abusive to his family. With the director and his wife’s life in the balance, he must prove that he is not as good as he seem to be.

Box (Takashi Miike): Kyoko is a novelist who is stricken with nightmares of her youth in the circus. Her memories of her late twin sister Shoko, and their benefactor Higata, who she had left behind long ago, haunt her. Kyoko then one day receives an invitation to the old circus she was once a part of, leaving her to wonder if that part of her life is actually behind her.

Why You should Watch – This one of the best introductions to East Asian Horror, hands down. The film instead of having a singular director for all three segments gathers three of the biggest names in the genre from each country of origin. Park Chan-wook, Fruit Chan, and Takashii Miike are some of the biggest names in their countries. Each brings their own style and approach to the horror genre. The first segment Dumplings, was also adapted into a feature length film in Hong Kong. The film also spawned a sequel with three different segments from different regions.

The post Terror from the East: 12 Films From East Asia You Should Watch appeared first on Nightmare on Film Street.

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