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adarkrainbow · 8 months

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Spooky season fairytales (1)

I have been covering it these past weeks, and it is a perfect fit for Halloween: Hansel and Gretel.

This is one of the creepiest "popular" fairytales, that has terrified many children. The witch in the gingerbread house not only exemplifies so many bogeymen that caused children's nightmares, but is also one of the two most famous examples of witches in fairytales - and we know Halloween is one of the witchy holidays. And the whole story revolves around a house made of sweets - in modern day interpretations, Hansel and Gretel is THE candy-fairytale. And Halloween is THE holiday for treats and sweets.

Despite being an obvious choice to make fairytale horror movies, and the fairytale having inspired several great horror classics (the scene I posted before in Stephen King's IT involving the witch of Hansel and Gretel), the tale doesn't actually have a lot of treatment in the world of horror... Yeah, it is surprising, but the first true "horror movie" about Hansel and Gretel would be the Korean 2007 movie of the same name, that was recognized as a great Korean horror piece and a very touching tragic story, but is not an actual retelling of "Hansel and Gretel" - or rather it is a twisted, reversed-retelling that mostly uses Hansel and Gretel as a motif and reference rather than actual plot material.

To have "Hansel and Gretel" REALLY enter the horror movie world, we would have to wait for the year 2013, and a dual release. The first one is a famous movie by fairytale enjoyers, that is still quite popular online: "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters". This movie is what the 2005's "Van Helsing" movie was to Dracula.

What to say about this movie? It is a dark fantasy, action-movie acting as a sequel to the original fairytale and depicting the two protagonists as gun-and-arbalet-wielding witch hunters. It is everything you except from a a big studio classic action gritty-fantasy movie. In fact, that's the main flaw of the movie: it is extremely generic, formulaic and "by-the-book". There's no real inventivity or uniqueness in terms of plot, setting or characters. If you played dark fantasy action video games, you watched this movie already. It didn't even invent the concept of Hansel and Gretel as witch hunters - Fables for example had done it already by making Hansel a fanatical Puritan witch hunter in the style of the Salem witch trials. As a result, what could have been a really good, inventive, interestng movie is just... a neutral, generic movie. The kind you can watch and enjoy but that won't transcend anything and isn't groundbreaking in any way.

Not that the movie is bad, it has some highlights and qualities to it that avoid making it bad. For example, several of the actors in this movie are really good and give their best despite playing bland or generic characters (and in fact it sames some flat characters, who are given depth by their actors' work) ; and there is a true visual work, with some fascinating designs. This all makes the movie enjoyable in several aspects - but just having good actors and good visuals won't make the movie good given how generic it is in plot and style, and how incoherent the worldbuilding and the tone feels, tiptoing around anachronisms for the sake of "let's make it cool and steampunk", and failing to find a balance between dark comedy and serious movie. (Oh yes and it also dreadfully suffer from the awful "3D movies" trend of the time)

And to this movie answered another movie: 2013's "Hansel and Gretel", aka The Asylum's Hansel and Gretel. A movie which is the perfect twin to "Witch Hunters" - in fact you could say they are the yin and yang to each other.

This movie is a full horror movie, not a dark fantasy/action piece. This movie is a retelling of the original story, not a sequel to it. This movie takes place in modern day, the 21st century, instead of a fantasized Germany of unclear era. And whereas "Witch Hunters" kind of fails at meeting the hype it built up, and is a neutral, average, not-good not-bad big budget movie, this movie is... surprisingly good for what it is, and ends up much better than what it should be.

If you do not know The Asylum, the group behind this movie, they are well-known producers of mockbusters, unofficial sequels and B-movies, and very proud of it. In fact it is their goal: make mockbusters to propose a cheaper alternative to big-studio movies, and turn the making of "second-rate" movies into a true art. They make their movies very fast, they release them against big studios movie they openly took inspiration from, they use cheap special effects, they select for actors either "no-names" or "has-beens"... I think I can sum it up enough by the fact they are the makers of the "Sharknado" movies. As a result, this movie was probably going to be an utter mess and ridiculous schlock...

... But it was surprisingly good. Better than what it should be. Of course The Asylum's marks are still there. The movie opens and closes on two very ridiculous scenes (the first victim's flight in the night ; the explosion of the house), there is some cheap "sexy-horror" audience-appeal (it is no mistake the only victims to be eaten are women that are forced in underwears before being pushed in the oven), and the plot is basically Hansel and Gretel X The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. BUT all that being said, this movie actually works! In its own, small-budget, no-real-ambition way. It doesn't try to be too snobby or arrogant - it knows it is a small, derivative, B-horror movie, and it stays in its lane. There are some interesting scenes and concepts (such as the drugged-colorfed nightmares). They do manage to create some disturbing elements - while also purposefully breaking several horror stereotypes and cliches. They try to keep a "maybe magic, maybe mundane" approach to the story in their own clumsy way but that is interesting. And more importantly - the character of the witch is SO GREAT!

I can't say enough how I enjoyed the witch (Lilith) on screen, and I do believe that this is due to the incredible work of her actress. Because she is played by none other than Dee Wallace (a horror movie regular who began her career with E.T.) - and she manages to make the character entertaining and disturbing. It really works, and I suspect that if a bad actress had been placed there, the role might have felt flat and generic. But she brings extremely well the disturbed state of mind, the humanity of the monster, and the true descent into horrible madness of the character. They are notably the first movie, to my knowledge, which actually acknowledges and reflects upon the special relationship between Gretel and the Witch, invoking elements that would later become common in "Hansel and Gretel" retellings, such as the witch wanting to make Gretel her "heir", or seeing her as a daughter substitute.

Beyond the year 2013, of course, now, you hit "Hansel and Gretel - horror" in any web research system, and you get the recent horror movie by Oz Perkins, the 2020's "Gretel and Hansel".

I do believe that this movie, and The Asylum's movie, truly reflect the two sides of horror movies and how one same story can be treated under these two lenses. The Asylum's is a gory, brutal, low-budget but decent and interesting horror movie, that still works in its limitations and intends to be just your random "fun little horror slasher movie" ; this movie is the artistic, big-budget, much more stylized and psychological disturbing horror movie that veers more into dark fantasy sometimes and tries more to be an actual nightmare, in the most abstract and eerie sense.

Personally, I did enjoy the movie as a whole and I think it is a good Hansel and Gretel movie. I do think they did a good job at mixing the fairytale with the entire Christian myth of the witch as built by the witch-hunts and other countryside superstitions (they weaved in the story for example the topics of the magical ointments and the idea of witches feasting on the dead) ; and I did love the dark twists and reveals at the end ; and I also liked very much the subtle references to other fairytales slid in the story (Little Red Riding Hood, and The Juniper Tree).

However it is not a movie without flaws - and I would never call it a perfect movie. It got the ideas, the visuals, the will, the inspirations, but... sometimes it does too much, there's unecessary things that could have been cut out and do ridiculize a bit the movie (the first third of the movie is filled with unecessary and random moments like the bizarre hostile man in the abandoned house, or the "mushroom" scenes, which clearly were not needed - there's also jumpscares that are just... there, for jumpscare sakes, when this movie clearly does NOT need jumpscares). There is also the fact that while often it manages to drive its themes, messages and topics in subtle or clever ways (the dialogues of Gretel and the witch, about things such as power, womanhood, the world, are all very well done), a few times it becomes suddenly very clumsy and awkward (one particular moment was the line of Gretel about "the system" in her very first scene, which felt definitively too political and modern to fit in the context).

I do remember the so-called "debate" there was when this movie was released, and the so-called "scandal" of putting Gretel's name first. But it makes full sense when you understand that Gretel here is the main character, that we are told the story through her, and that it doesn't try so much to be a Hansel and Gretel retelling, as rather a dark and morbid fantasy movie that uses the Hansel and Gretel tale as a driving plot to explore more things - the European witchcraft myth, the theme of "Faustian deals", etc, etc... And despite some clumsiness here and there that do flaw the movie (I haven't mentionned it, but the choice of the tattoos for the witch's "final" form seemed very random and ill-thought, which is one of the several little details that don't work ; balanced by details that do work, such as the idea of having a more modern architecture for the witch's house), it still works for most of its course.

To conclude this post, I need to talk about one last "Hansel and Gretel" movie. A movie which American audiences are not actually familiar with. Because it is a German movie, that got released around Europe (I saw it in French), but to my knowledge never crossed the Atlantic. Made by Anne Wild and written by Peter Schwindt, this movie is probably the eeriest Hansel and Gretel adaptation I have seen. It is not "disturbing", "shocking" or "horrifying" - it is just creepy and unsettling. It is not a rewrite or a "retelling" per se, because it stays faithful to the original tale and barely changes anything. Out of the five movies I present you, this is the most faithful movie when it comes to adapting the brothers Grimm fairytale.

EDIT: I originally wrote this part thinking the movie was very hard to find... TURNS OUT IT WAS POSTED ON YOUTUBE! The full movie is on Youtube - in its original German though

This movie made the fairytale eerie with two things. 1) Little unsettling and creepy details in terms of style and movie editing. This movie actually has several things in common with the 2020's Gretel and Hansel - such as the heavy use of the forested landscape to make one feel both lost and trapped at the same time (helped by the fact the protagonists are here played by actual children), and bizarre camera angles and movements (including disturbing close-ups and brutal cuts). The score also includes eerie songs and creepy children whispers, that add to the general spookyness. 2) A work on the realism on the tale. There's still magic and supernatural in there, definitively. But overall it is all... "realistic" in style, making it all more unsettling. Hansel and Gretel behave like actual children - and are in fact often unaware of the danger they are getting themselves into. The color palette is drab and lightless.

Don't get me wrong: this is not an adult-aimed movie, it is not a horror movie. It is still a kid-oriented, fairytale movie, with some moments of humor (though it is mostly dark humor, such as Hansel, blissfully unaware of the witch's plan, coming to enjoy his life in a cage eating good food all day long), a happy ending, and many beautiful visuals (the witch's bedroom is especially interesting - slight spoiler but there is the beautiful visual of the witch keeping petrified birds and butterflies in her room, that come back to life once she is dead). It has poetry to it - but it is definitively not a Disney movie and not what we usually think of as "fairytale movie for kids". It is a quite dark one.

One good illustration of this would be the family dynamic at the start of the tale, and how this movie slightly changes the whole abandonment episode. In this movie, the character of the mother is actually sick - and having her suffering from what will be a deadly disease puts her entire character into a very different light. Another major change they did is that the second time the children are abandoned - the parents do not hide the fact they are abandoning them. Hansel and Gretel know it, and the parents don't bother lying or even pretending, but there is still this sort of untold shame as they don't openly admit it and flee from their crying children... It hits hard.

The creepiest part of the whole movie is however, without a doubt, the witch. By gosh, this is one of the creepiest incarnations of the character I saw. She is a perfect embodiment of the uncanny valley: she is not some cartoonish monster, she is just this pale middle-aged woman that never blinks. She does perform magic, but her magic keeps with the "realism" style of the movie - no flash, no music, no smoke. When she teleports, she is just here one moment, another the next. She prevents Gretel from leaving by casting a spell that makes it so that each time she walks away, she ends up finding herself in front of the house - despite it being impossible. Her rhyming "Who's nibbling on my house?" is actually a disembodied whisper in the ears of the children as they see nobody, making their answer "It's just the wind" an actual comforting sentence they say to themselves thinking they imagined it all. Her bedroom cannot actually exist because it is located in an impossible part of the house that does not appear from the outside. And there are those little details that do hint at her maybe not being actually human but just looking like a human - when she moves sometimes her bones crack, and other times her voice seems to double itself in a strange echo... And when she is pushed into the oven (light spoilers too) - she doesn't scream. She doesn't make a sound. Once she is pushed and the door is closed, it is dead silence, and that makes it even more disturbing than if she actually screamed in agony.

And there are other little morbid details in the movie - too many for me too count. But one thing that does stick with me was the way Gretel pieced up together the witch's real intentions for Hansel (because of course she didn't tell them she was going to eat them), by noticing little details straight out of Pan's Labyrinth - such as Gretel noticing the witch's wind-chimes is made of bones and hair ; and the witch keeping in her house a closet filled with an ungodly amount of toys in various states of aging. This latter detail was notably taken back by "Gretel and Hansel", where the first hint of the witch's previous victims are toys scattered in the wilderness around the house. In fact, I do wonder if Perkins didn't take some inspiration from this 2005 movie, because there is definitively something similar between the two.

And with this, you have to my knowledge the perfect Hansel and Gretel movies for the spooky season.

The supernatural tragedy inspired by, and a famed piece of Korean horror. The surprisingly good B-horror movie that turns the story into a new "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". The dark fantasy action-packed blockbuster that is just halfway there. The recent, heavily stylized, witch-hunt inspired artsy/socio-political horror movie. And the eerie, unsettling, faithful retelling as a dark German children movie.

#spooky season fairytales #spooky season #fairytale movies #hansel and gretel #dark fairytales #fairytale horror #horror fairytales #gretel and hansel #witch hunters

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world-cinema-research · 1 month

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Carrie (1976) Movie Essay

By Aiden McKinney

Carrie (1976) was Stephen King’s first published novel and a year later, was the first of his to be adapted into a film. With the creative direction of Brian De Palma, Carrie brought life back to the horror genre and has become a cult classic. In fact, five years after the release of the film, King complemented the filmmaker's work:

"De Palma's approach to the material was lighter and more deft than my own—and a good deal more artistic ... The book seems clear enough and truthful enough in terms of the characters and their actions, but it lacks the style of De Palma's film. The book attempts to look at the ant farm of high school society dead on; De Palma's examination of this 'High School Confidential' world is more oblique ... and more cutting.”

The movie stars Sissy Spacek as an overly shy and self conscious high school senior who doesn’t have a friend in the world. In fact, she is an outcast with an overbearing, abusive, mentally unstable, religious fanatic for a mother. Margaret White fears everything is a sin in the eyes of the Lord, especially anything remotely provocative, sexual in nature, or regarding the female anatomy and its physicality. She is so out of touch, that she never taught Carrie about a woman’s menstrual cycle. When Carrie suddenly gets her first period in the shower after P.E. in school, she is absolutely horrified and scared to death. Reaching out to her classmates for help, the girls only laugh at her and throw feminine hygiene products at her. The bullying only gets worse for Carrie, who begins to realize she has telekinetic powers. She can move objects with the power of her mind This, of course, only makes her more of an outcast. To better prepare for the role, Sissy Spacek isolated herself from the rest of the cast during production. “In a 2013 interview with Vulture, co-star P.J. Soles recalled how on "the first or second day, Sissy came over to a group of us, maybe at lunch, I don’t remember, and said, ‘I love you guys, we’re going to have a great shoot, I’m very excited to be working on this. But I just want to let you guys know, I’m going to alienate myself from you. I want to feel that alienation. But I really like you and afterwards we’ll party and we’ll have a great time. But don’t take it personally. I just want to let you know I’m doing it on purpose because I want to get into the part.’ We all really respected her for that, and that made us even more eager and able to be as mean as we could to her, because we knew it was going to help her." (Facts about Carrie- Mental Floss)

It also makes her mother believe that Carrie is the spawn of the Devil, as she was conceived in a moment of impulsive promiscuity, prior to marriage. Margaret White has a monologue that explains her moment of weakness:

Carrie: It was bad, Mama. They laughed at me. Hold me, Mama. Please hold me.

Margaret White: I should've killed myself when he put it in me. After the first time, before we were married, Ralph promised never again. He promised, and I believed him. But sin never dies. Sin never dies. At first, it was all right. We lived sinlessly. We slept in the same bed, but we never did it. And then, that night, I saw him looking down at me that way. We got down on our knees to pray for strength. I smelled the whiskey on his breath. Then he took me. He took me, with the stink of filthy roadhouse whiskey on his breath, and I liked it. I liked it! With all that dirty touching of his hands all over me. I should've given you to God when you were born, but I was weak and backsliding, and now the Devil has come home. We'll pray.

Carrie: Yes.

Margaret White: We'll pray. We'll pray. We'll pray for the last time. We'll pray.

Youtube Carrie trailer

The movie trailer covers quite a bit of the film, but it also gives a genuine vibe and creepy feeling of the film.

Box office

Budget

$1,800,000 (estimated)

Gross US & Canada

$33,800,000

Gross worldwide

$33,801,936

Carrie was a box office success both in numbers and in Academy Award nominations. Nominated for two Academy Awards, one for Best Actress (Spacek) and Best Supporting Actress (Laurie). This is notable, since the horror genre is not ordinarily recognized at the Academies, especially since Saturn Awards launched in 1972 to honor films of science fiction, fantasy and horror.

Original review from Roger Ebert in which he praises director Brian De Palma for creating a horror film that doesn’t rely on the gore and violence of a typical horror film. De Palma focuses on characterization and the reality that Carrie is a teenage girl who everyone can possibly relate to, at least once in their lives.

“I wouldn't want to spoil the movie's climax for you by even hinting at what happens next. Just let me say that "Carrie" is a true horror story. Not a manufactured one, made up of spare parts from old Vincent Price classics, but a real one, in which the horror grows out of the characters themselves.The scariest horror stories -- the ones by M.R. James, Edgar Allan Poe, and Oliver Onions -- are like this. They develop their horrors out of the people they observe. That happens here, too. Does it ever.”

Roger Ebert Carrie 1976

Carrie is a conventional film with unconventional technical aspects. There is a central character, Carrie, and she experiences conflict (so much conflict) who has a goal. There are antagonists (so many antagonists) who stand in the way of her goal. The cinematography is unconventional, in the sense that De Palma used unusual camera angles and motions that translate different emotions and feelings in different scenes. For example, at the Prom, Carrie and Tommy are dancing and the camera is spinning around them as they are spinning, creating a sense of euphoria and confusion, at the same time.

youtube.com Carrie dance scene

The movie Carrie subscribes to Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension of High Restraint. Carrie is raised by an overly religious mother who controls her and tries to keep Carrie from breaking from her strict upbringing and expressing herself in her own way.

Historical Events

United States - First Space Shuttle

NASA unveils the first space shuttle, the Enterprise.

More Information for the first space shuttle

NASA unveiled the first space shuttle, the Enterprise, to the public during September of 1976. The Enterprise was only a prototype created to conduct test flights and the official launch of the Space Shuttle Program did not occur until April of 1981 with the launch of the Columbia. The Enterprise weighed about 150,000 pounds and cost nearly $10 billion to create. While the first space shuttle never actually made it into space, it did become the first of the space shuttles to fly during a test in the following year after it was unveiled.

Jimmy Carter defeats incumbent Gerald Ford in 1976 Presidential election.

Britannica 1976 Presidential election

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heavens-sin · 3 months

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𝐏𝐄𝐎𝐏��𝐄 𝐈'𝐃 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑!

alias / name: Ares / lydia

pronouns: he/her

birthday: july 07

zodiac sign: cancer

height: 5'5 (stfu)

hobbies: reading, writing, playing video games, cosplaying, collecting oddities, horror fanatic

favorite color: shades of pink <3

favorite book: Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica, No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai , a lot of Stephen king novels. Howls Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

last song: Смерти больше нет - IC3PEAK

last film / show: American Horror Story & Scream (1996)

recent reads: started to reread The silence of the lambs by Thomas Harris

inspiration: music, imagery. i tend to get into the characters mindspace that way a lot lol

story behind url: a last resort. lmao

fun fact about me: i like making props for cosplays. from masks to weapons. it was a good way to keep myself busy. i stopped when attending college but i do still from time to time for friends when we do group cosplays for cons <3

Tagging: @rubctosis @sillygum @sovereigntism @kaizokugaris @chillin-at-partys-bar @risenocs @onepiecc @aamaranthiine @ravarui @ you reading it <3 @ me so i can be nosy

if youve done it no need to redo. skip it

#« ♛. 𝖌𝖎𝖛𝖊 𝖒𝖊 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖌𝖑𝖔𝖗𝖞 » ━━━ 𝑖𝓍. › Dash Games #「 ✧ 」 » no.1 doffy hater. 🦩 / ⸻ ˋ oocˎˊ˗

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haveyoureadthispoll · 6 months

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A re-telling of Stephen King's novel "Carrie". An outcast at her small-town Georgia high school, Madison Washington, has always been a teasing target for bullies. And she's dealt with it because she has more pressing problems to manage. Until the morning a surprise rainstorm reveals her most closely kept secret: Maddy is biracial. She has been passing for white her entire life at the behest of her fanatical white father, Thomas Washington. After a viral bullying video pulls back the curtain on Springville High's racist roots, student leaders come up with a plan to change their image: host the school's first integrated prom as a show of unity. The popular white class president convinces her Black superstar quarterback boyfriend to ask Maddy to be his date, leaving Maddy wondering if it's possible to have a normal life.

#polls #book: the weight of blood #author: tiffany d. jackson #genre: horror #genre: young adult #genre: thriller #year: 2020s

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stephenjaymorrisblog · 24 days

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The Torah Versus the Koran

Stephen Jay Morris

5/14/2024

©Scientific morality

Well, here we are in the Twenty First century. Not only do we not have solar powered, flying cars, but we still have religion! You know—the Abrahamic kind. The number one religion on planet Earth is Islam, second is Christianity, and last, but not least, is Judaism. Within Christianity, everything is in threes. You remember: there were the Three Wise Men who visited Christ when he was born. There was Christ’s family, aka “The Holy Family,” Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. Then, there’s “The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.” 1-2-3! The reason Christianity was created is because the Jewish religion consisted of nothing but rules, rituals, and abstractions of God. In other words, it was a stupid religion. So, White people created a stupider version of Judaism: Christianity! The symbol of Christianity is the cross, on which Christ got crucified. As Saint Lenny Bruce said, and I am paraphrasing here: ‘Good thing Jesus didn’t get the electric chair. If he had, the symbol of Christianity would be an electric chair and every Christian would be wearing an electric chair around their neck!’

So here we are in 2024, and vast members of humanity still believe in an old man with a long, grey beard and hair sitting on a throne, watching the race of human’s he created destroy each other. Groovy, Baby! And why do people believe in God? Simple: Thanatophobia! Say that ten times fast. What does Thanatophobia mean? The fear of death. Everyone is worried that their life will end when they die. As science progresses and finds a cure for death, religion will die faster. We are still being subjected to superstitious, primitive minds. No, they are not bad people, but they are a roadblock to progress. Here is one based quote: “I have examined all the known superstitions in the world, and I do find our particular superstition, “Christianity,” has one redeeming feature. They are all based on fables and mythology. Thomas Jefferson.” I am sorry I won’t be around for the Neo-Age of Enlightenment. Until then, we are stuck with primitive pea brains.

The religious creeps get upset when you state: “Religion has killed more people than any other cause.” Their retort: “What about Communism?” Well, you’re the one that calls communism a religion. So, shut the fuck up! Now, it is not only common people who are primitive minded; leaders of Islamic Theocracies like Islam, and the one Jewish State. Israel’s prime minister, Netanyahu, uses the bible verse about the Amalekites, from the Book of Exodus, to justify his genocide of the Palestinian people. Why do the Palestinian people get compared to an ancient race? Because it’s a political methodology to appeal to the conservative and orthodox Jews. Reform Jews think Benny is full of shit! In this fable, King Saul tells the Jews to kill all women and children who are Amalekites. Nice story. I remember the Jewish Defense League use to quote this bible verse and—I’m paraphrasing once again: ‘Wake up early before your enemy does and slay them.’ Nice quote. Thus, the Torah gives permission to Jews to be violent.

Hamas are Islamic fanatics, and members of the Likud party are Jewish lunatics. Actually, the Likud party came from the revisionist Zionist movement of the 1930’s. They were anti-socialists who wanted to tear down the Kubutz and replace them with mini malls.

Thanks to good old American Imperialism, the CIA put a stop to the potential communist takeover of the Middle East. They supported any Islamic terror state, because, after all, it’s better than having a Godless commie state. Thank you, CIA. Thanks for helping Islamic fanatics blow up the Twin Towers! I’m going to repeat again, my point: The reason the Communists didn’t use nuclear bombs was because they were atheists: they didn’t believe in the afterlife. The Islamo- terrorists fully believe in the afterlife and wouldn’t blink one eye at using nukes. Some hard-core Likud members are calling for Gaza to be nuked, and some Christian Nationalists in the USA are advocating it, also. Why should they worry about a nuclear winter and massive radiation poisoning? They’re going to get raptured and go to the great super bowl in the sky! Muslims, when they the kick the bucket, will go to heaven and screw 27 virgins! Then there are Jewish Anarchists, like me, who want to live another 10 years and enjoy what is left of my life.

Now, here is my solution to this whole Mid-East situation: Dear Israeli people, You must go back to your socialist roots. Revisionist Zionists will destroy little Israel. First thing is to have a general strike. Second, outlaw the Likud party. Arrest your Prime Minster and put him on trial. The Likud party is no different than Hamas. Israel is being occupied by Judeo-Fascists. Jews who are in love with freedom should have a revolution.

Free Israel! Free Palestine! Free the whole world!

#stephenjaymorris #poets on tumblr #american politics #youtube #anarchism #poets of tumblr #anarchocommunism #baby boomers #anarchopunk #anti religion #atheism #anti christianity #abrahamic religions

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dawnstudies · 24 days

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Spoilers to Stephen King Carrie !!!

I'm slowly transforming into a Stephen King fan, and I have no shame or regrets. His writing is just simply too awesome to ignore or to trash on.

It took me around two days to finish Carrie off and let me tell y'all, it was one of the best things I've ever read even though this was only a sip of the beginning of Stephen King's writing carrier.

Let me ramble some about the book itself...

Carrie's character, way of speech, description in itself is beautiful. I love how devoted she is and how much she loves her mother even though Margaret is nuts. I love that after all the crap she's been through she never lost her belief in God.

I'm also borderline fanatic about the imaginery of religion in the book, the sick, twisted part of it that a lot don't talk about; how the "love" of God can bring out the animal of some people.

Sue's character is a bit controversal for me, since I myself as others in the book too cannot believe that this happened the way it did, I don't believe Sue to be so selfless to pass down her last chance at prom to Carrie even out of guilt; even though guilt is an emotion worse than a bunch, a lot of times it hits the wrong, resistant person. However, if I accept that what Sue had written in her book to be true, that'd make her one of my favourite characters, right after Tommy.

Now, Tommy. Great student, brilliant sportsman, a true gentleman at the prom; obviously if what Sue wrote down to be true. I know that there were parts of the book which were in story-teller prespective, but it still can be doubted that whatever happened on the prom night and before was actually what was written down. And the possibility that it might be a big, fat lie just makes the book more intriguing.

Tommy's death was one of the things which broke my heart and I believe that it was meant to be this way; Tommy was made to be a lovable character, who's adored by every reader since he was just the perfect boy. Polite, smart, sporty, strong and kind. Stephen King truly knows our greatest fantasies, huh?

Now, Chris and Billy were two characters that I had a love-hate relationship with. Both of them were crazy, that's for sure. Chris, the typical daddy's girl, who got everything they wanted, and Billy, who grew up in a bad environment. Opposites completely, yet they still attracted, they both loved the roughness of the other as the book wrote it down. Though Nolan was way more gone than Chris and by the end, when Billy made the choice to leave Chris, I almost felt bad for her; interestingly, even though when they died, all I felt was sick satisfaction.

Desjardins was another one of my favourites, because she might've been rough on Carrie at first but after she learnt that something might be wrong, she tried to help as much as possible. Though, her actions do not make her any more of a saint that Sue, because both watched for years as Carrie got bullied, but both of them tried to change. However, Desjardins was more straightforward and she apologized. Sue never apologized. I saw her death coming before it even happened, I knew it was meant to be.

I loved the smaller characters, the connections with another, Norma and the other girls, I loved the whole plot and how Stephen King turned something like telekinesis into something so beautiful and cool. Before I've read the book, I've been asked the question, whether I'd choose telepathy or telekinesis. Back then, I immediately said telepathy. Now, I'd contemplate my choices more.

To sum it all up, the characters were interesting and detailed, every puzzle piece that had to fall in place alligned perfectly, while the ones that had to be left out were left out, which makes the book mysterious and even more worth to read. It gives the reader something to think about.

I can't wait to buy another Stephen King book.

#book review #books and reading #book blog #bookworm #books #booklr #stephen king #carrie white #original post #rant post #my post #text post #post

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kashi-chan98 · 2 months

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Things I'd Like to Know About My Fellow Writers

I was tagged by @mushroommanchanterelle! This is my first post ever and it was pretty fun.

Last book I read: I’m currently reading the book series Scum Villain Self-Saving System. I’m still on book one, but I’ve been busy with work and writing.

Greatest literary inspiration: I don’t think I have one, but if I had to guess it would be Stephen King and Edgar Allen Poe. I’m a horror fanatic and love reading their works.

Things in my current fandom(s) I want to read but I don't want to write: Sebastian being parental to Ciel in Black Butler.

Things in my current fandom(s) I want to write but I think nobody would be interested in them but me: The Archangel’s actually being good siblings to Lucifer in Hazbin Hotel.

You can recognize my writing by: Being choppy and not enough details. I’m getting better with this thanks to my friends.

My most controversial take (current fandom[s]): I don’t think I really have any controversial takes in any of my fandoms.

Top three favorite tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Found Family, and most unlikely person to care for the main protagonist.

What’s your current writing mood? (10 – super motivated and churning out words like crazy, 0 – in a complete rut): I’m probably an 8. I’m currently working on two writing projects, a Hazbin Hotel Fanfic and a book I’ve been wanting to write for a while.

Share a random frustration: I keep getting denied my FAFSA for college even though I’m doing a lot better in school. It’s super expensive to pay for each class during each semester.

I don’t know who to tag, so anybody who wants to do this can! :)

#writing

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talesofsonicasura · 2 years

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Sun Wukongs I know and personal nicknames

Something I thought of writing down and will update. Go from most known to least known.

Hero Is Back- Dāsheng

A name that he's commonly called throughout the English Sub of the movie and for the videogame. Quite simple plus more easy for me to remember. Has a small stubby tail that he prefers to keep hidden.

Lego Monkie Kid- Diva

He gives me pure diva vibes. Exaggerate some situations like running out of peach chips or is too lax at a serious problem such as MK's magic mishaps. Makeup game is on point alongside some outfits.

Saiyuki Journey West- Hermit

Wise and mischievous type that only travels for important business or visit loved ones living far away. Otherwise he gives advice, assist, and tell tales to his kingdom.

Journey To The West 1996- Teacher

Most likely to get out of a problem without much issue due to 'Out of the Box Thinking'. (Man literally acted like a marriage councilor for Demon Bull King/Bull Demon King and Princess Iron Fan.) Happily teach others if they are willing to listen to his rules and is quick to help those struggling with something. A little extra but means well. Tail acts a bit wonky making it unable to hold stuff for long.

Stephen Chow movies Sun Wukong- Feral

The type to stir trouble in two ways. Extravagant or stealthy manipulation, anything explosive and embarrassing are the most used. Will bite someone's ankles if they call him short. Has a stubby tail so he keeps up his human glamor as he rather not have someone notice.

Adventures From China Monkey King- Trick

Pulls small pranks or tends to trick people. Would definitely start a prank way for shits and giggles. If someone does manage to prank him, he takes it in stride. Not really a sore loser.

Digimon's Gokuwmon- Silverback

Second biggest Sun Wukong iteration. A bit reclusive fighting fanatic. Very bitter from having the tightening circlet placed to his head after being born. Takes time to trust others but is fiercely loyal once a bond is established. Nickname being given from his silver fur coat.

Monkey King Reborn- Flame

Hotheaded and fiery temper to match. Will throw hands with someone that pisses him off so you got to hold him back. Mischievous shit who is quick to get annoyed upon being caught in whatever shenanigan he's currently up to.

Nezha Reborn Sun Wukong- Gamble

Will bet on almost everything and likes to take a dangerous or insane route for any situation. Most likely find him at a casino that ends up going bankrupt since he's an expert card shark. Has a short tail and doesn't really care if someone sees it.

Unruly Heroes Sun Wukong- Wild

The type of person to be chilling on someone's rooftop or sleeping in trees. Probably jump into animal exhibits at the zoo or jailbreak all the simians. Will steal food from people like a wild monkey.

Smite Sun Wukong- Warrior

Fighting fanatic. Most likely host a small tournament or issue a friendly challenge. When not in a fighting mood, found enjoying good food and fine wine. Great drinking buddy, martial arts teacher from hell.

Aura Star Online- Acrobat

Has a hard time keeping still and will be a bit extra whether traveling and in a fight. Most likely to free climb any tall structure to even performing flips across the terrain. Will sneak into any performance just to steal the show. Has a short stubby tail that he prefers to keep hidden but doesn't have much of a reaction if someone sees it.

Tower of Saviors- Casanova

Suave smooth talker capable of seducing many. A huge wine lover that tends to shift between young, old, handsome or beast like appearance. Very committed to a solid relationship. Is very polite to advances if they didn't know he's in a relationship and understand that he's taken. Shift into a more monstrous form to chase off any that don't get the hint and keep pressing.

(Aura Star Online Sun Wukong btw)

#tales of sonicasura #sonicasura #personal opinion #sun wukong #hero is back #saiyuki journey west #monkey king hero is back #monkey king reborn #nezha reborn #smite #stephen chow journey to the west #unruly heroes #lego monkie kid #adventures from china monkey king #aura star online #tower of saviors #jttw 96 #digimon

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mask131 · 1 year

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I was thinking back about a recurring problem today - the “venomous headcanons” I shall call them. This habit that has grown these last years of people forming in their mind headcanons about series or show that are still ongoing, and obsessing over these headcanons (because there is no other word than “obsession”) to the point that, when the series or the show actually presents a chapter, an episode, a volume, a season, anything that contradicts this headcanon, they will resort to vile and hateful things. You know how it is. People who send death threads over their ships not coming to fruition, people harassing artists over the design of yet unseen characters, insults hurled at writers for making an event happen in their show just because in someone’s mind such a thing was implied to be impossible...

I was just thinking about this whole rise of the “headcanon” thing and how so many people took this as an excuse to just invent in their head entire things that do not truly exist, and then pretend they are the only one and true thing - as if these people owned a series, a character or a fictional relationship just because they... imagined stuff about them?

And the perfect comparison hit me. We are in Stephen King’s Misery. The Internet has somehow been a breeding ground for many, many Annie Wilkes, and now these Annies are going around terrorizing authors, illustrators and artists because they obsessed over a given story or character so much they believe in their twisted mind they have absolute claim, ownership and detention of its ultimate truth...

The only other comparison I can find are religious fanatics - because it is literaly what religious fanatics do. They take sacred texts, or a given religion, and they either invent new things that are not there and claim it is the true meaning or secret message the secret texts have always carried ; either they hyper-obsess and focus so much on a given figure or episode or rule that they ignore everything else and fantasize so much about it, what they perceive ends up being so far away from what it actually is...

But given this metaphor is maybe a bit too bleak and depressing, I will stuck with my original one - and praised by Kathy Bates - this whole “toxic headcanon mania” is basically just a large-scale “Misery” being enacted in real life by many Annie Wilkes. The Annies are out there, and in many of today’s so-called Internet “communities”, headcanons are just one step away from becoming delusions and hallucinations.

#headcanon #headcanons #misery #toxic fandoms #hatedoms #annie wilkes #this is the depressing post of the day #but have you seen all those delusional fans attacking fiction-makers because they haven't done things the right way?#there is a sort of mass-Misery going on there #stephen king's misery

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richincolor · 1 year

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Celebrating Women of Horror

To celebrate Women's History Month I thought I'd highlight some authors who specialize in creeping us out, scaring us, and writing amazing thrillers that have us biting our fingernails as we quickly turn page after page to find out "who done it". Let's raise a glass to the YA Authors of Horror!

First off, in my humble opinion, is the queen Tiffany D. Jackson. She is known for plot twists that absolutely break our hearts while giving us all sorts of literary thrills. I always say I'm going to take my time with one of her books, but we all know that's a lie. I'm way to into the story to put the book down and usually end up reading well past my bedtime. Her latest, The Weight of Blood is an excellent homage to Stephen King's Carrie in the only way a Jackson novel can.

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

When Springville residents—at least the ones still alive—are questioned about what happened on prom night, they all have the same explanation... Maddy did it. An outcast at her small-town Georgia high school, Madison Washington has always been a teasing target for bullies. And she's dealt with it because she has more pressing problems to manage. Until the morning a surprise rainstorm reveals her most closely kept secret: Maddy is biracial. She has been passing for white her entire life at the behest of her fanatical white father, Thomas Washington. After a viral bullying video pulls back the curtain on Springville High's racist roots, student leaders come up with a plan to change their image: host the school's first integrated prom as a show of unity. The popular white class president convinces her Black superstar quarterback boyfriend to ask Maddy to be his date, leaving Maddy wondering if it's possible to have a normal life. But some of her classmates aren't done with her just yet. And what they don't know is that Maddy still has another secret... one that will cost them all their lives.

Next is Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood which I absolutely loved. Who would have thought turning a romance novel into a YA horror novel would work so well? Blackwood's novel is creepy and gothic and full of steamy romantic moments that make it a wonderful thriller that you can't put down.

Within These Wicked Walls" by Lauren Blackwood

What the heart desires, the house destroys...

Andromeda is a debtera—an exorcist hired to cleanse households of the Evil Eye. When a handsome young heir named Magnus Rochester reaches out to hire her, Andromeda quickly realizes this is a job like no other, with horrifying manifestations at every turn, and that Magnus is hiding far more than she has been trained for. Death is the most likely outcome if she stays, but leaving Magnus to live out his curse alone isn’t an option. Evil may roam the castle’s halls, but so does a burning desire.

The next few books are on my TBR list and I can't wait to be scared by these awesome authors.

Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado

Mysterious disappearances. An urban legend rumored to be responsible. And one group of teens determined to save their city at any cost. For over a year, the Bronx has been plagued by sudden disappearances that no one can explain. Sixteen-year-old Raquel does her best to ignore it. After all, the police only look for the white kids. But when her crush Charlize's cousin goes missing, Raquel starts to pay attention—especially when her own mom comes down with a mysterious illness that seems linked to the disappearances. Raquel and Charlize team up to investigate, but they soon discover that everything is tied to a terrifying urban legend called the Echo Game. The game is rumored to trap people in a sinister world underneath the city, and the rules are based on a particularly dark chapter in New York's past. And if the friends want to save their home and everyone they love, they will have to play the game and destroy the evil at its heart—or die trying.

She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

A house with a terrifying appetite haunts a broken family in this atmospheric horror, perfect for fans of Mexican Gothic. When Jade Nguyen arrives in Vietnam for a visit with her estranged father, she has one goal: survive five weeks pretending to be a happy family in the French colonial house Ba is restoring. She’s always lied to fit in, so if she’s straight enough, Vietnamese enough, American enough, she can get out with the college money he promised. But the house has other plans. Night after night, Jade wakes up paralyzed. The walls exude a thrumming sound, while bugs leave their legs and feelers in places they don’t belong. She finds curious traces of her ancestors in the gardens they once tended. And at night Jade can’t ignore the ghost of the beautiful bride who leaves her cryptic warnings: Don’t eat. Neither Ba nor her sweet sister Lily believe that there is anything strange happening. With help from a delinquent girl, Jade will prove this house—the home her family has always wanted—will not rest until it destroys them. Maybe, this time, she can keep her family together. As she roots out the house’s rot, she must also face the truth of who she is and who she must become to save them all.

Read Audrey's Review

Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers

Tsalagi should never have to live on human blood, but sometimes things just happen to sixteen-year-old girls.

Making her YA debut, Cherokee writer Andrea L. Rogers takes her place as one of the most striking voices of the horror renaissance that has swept the last decade.

Horror fans will get their thrills in this collection – from werewolves to vampires to zombies – all the time-worn horror baddies are there. But so are predators of a distinctly American variety – the horrors of empire, of intimate partner violence, of dispossession. And so too the monsters of Rogers’ imagination, that draw upon long-told Cherokee stories – of Deer Woman, fantastical sea creatures, and more.

Following one extended Cherokee family across the centuries, from the tribe’s homelands in Georgia in the 1830s to World War I, the Vietnam War, our own present, and well into the future, each story delivers a slice of a particular time period that will leave readers longing for more.

Man Made Monsters is a masterful, heartfelt, haunting collection ripe for crossover appeal – just don’t blame us if you start hearing things that go bump in the night.

#womens history month #weneeddiversebooks #horror

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