caltrans

26 they/them free from the 100 now I can watch real tv again

[volatilevale]

how life feels when there's a sicko on the same disgusting freak wavelength as you

[mossquitoman]

came to me in a dream

[charyou-tree]

@abalidoth

[yourrealpalcal]

On my relisten friends, trying to figure out Harrow (and by extension the directors) covenant. Wiki says Xyzikxyz and that make sense in terms of doors between places and seeking knowledge and experiments and all. But was that ever explicitly stated? Porcelain and black eyes is very much the aesthetic of the Urnundurn especially the Tabernacle of the Black Eternity and then in episode 189 the director is described as "the writhing black mass of the eternity of her" which seems very specific phrasing. Idk I've been thinking maybe Urnundurn could be? Wondering what other people's thoughts are.

[enameledcoppergirl]

Make your haters become incubators when you wield the ovipositor of success

[gremlingrin]

Thinking more about the how the Coterie would set up their Elysium. I've only really seen discussion just on who the Prince would be, but there are other court roles in Vampire the Masquerade. Since this is the first Vampire campaign for D20 and not all D20 fans may be familiar with the system so I'll say who i think gets the role and how it ties in to lore.

LaVonte as Prince: I feel like this one just makes sense he is the political front at the moment and he also has all of the buisness experience and has the vision. Also traditionally Ventrues tend to be Princes due to their ambitions.

Hj as Seneschal: The Seneschal is the one working closest with the Prince and helps with the business end of things and promotes the Princes vision. I think this role is perfect for HJ as we already know how close he is to LaVonte. I also dont think HJ would be Prince as his behavior seems too erratic and not to mention his social stats aren't as good.

Madelaine as Harpy: Harpys are like the social force and keepers of information. Since Madelaine is very effective at socializing and also making people fall for her, she would likely be the best for this role.

Zaeth as Keeper of Elysium: The keeper is the one responsible for protecting the Elysium and also setting up meetings with the Prince. Since Zaeth is currently in his responsible era I think he would fit this role nicely.

Mitch as Sheriff: The sheriff upholds the rules of the Prince and the Masquerade. Mitch was made for this rule given the whole justice thing and I think would he the best for the title.

Vesper as a Hound: Hounds are basically deputies appointed by the sheriff. I think she works for this as she and Mitch already have the superhero sidekick duo thing going and thats why I put her in this role. However, I do hope that by the end she views herself as more then a sidekick and to be her own hero if that makes sense.

Interested in other's thoughts, though I do think when they do set up Elysium they will probably do something funny like making Ghorse the Prince or some other classic D20 shenanigan

[kafkaswasteddayz]

not now honey, mommy’s yearning for something that once was and will never be again

[yourrealpalcal]

Ok getting caught up on ccod are we thinking Helena is a changeling maybe? Uses bud and branch to extract glamour? Probably Kelly Sweeney too getting glamour from sweetie pies yes?

[chefboy-argirl]

Check what sexual orientation best describes you

Straight

Gay

Bisexual

Queer

✅ San Francisco

Polyamorous

✅ Dual male income partnership

Other

[yourrealpalcal]

Woe, Valerie Maidstone fic be upon ye.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/85462551

[passumbapper]

did chikorita ever end up decreasing the increase or was that another of bidens failed promises

[mapleejay]

does anyone else think about how brave all their friends are and get really emotional about it

[mapleejay]

I'm glad everyone is alive rn

[hellofromthehallowoods]

only realised after this most recent episode that the Humble Boot wears a walking boot of some kind on his head and not. You know. A welly

That would put him blasphemously close to our noble grand political leader Vermin Supreme!

[yourrealpalcal]

I've always wondered if he's also wearing boots in his feet. I do feel like it'd be rad if despite his whole thing he was rockin sandals

[yourrealpalcal]

The Countess doing classic vampire shit like confusing love and possession hell yea! Your life has been so fucked up and sad and you're really still just that young girl the world hates, you can't even enjoy your only friend returning. I love you! The Countess, give it up for The Countess everyone!

[justdirtandash]

So Marolmar the Dawn and (presumably) Urnandurn is the Darkness, does that make Rothogroth the Deep?

[yourrealpalcal]

And if I said Mike Flanagan's The Haunting of Hill House was the Anti-Shining, what then?

[yourrealpalcal]

Specifically I'm thinking about the movie here but let's look at some similarities shall we? Both stories are about a family moving in as caretakers to a place that they will be staying at temporarily. The place is haunted by lots of different ghosts and the place itself is evil. One of the children has supernatural powers that let them understand more about people and ghosts. It features the dissolving of a marriage and that family because the hotel/house begins to possess one of the parents who eventually tries to kill their kids. The other parent has to flee from the house with their children who experience both the mundane horror of their parent trying to harm them and the supernatural horror of the ghosts. Ultimately the possessed parent dies and becomes part of the haunting and the rest of the family escapes. BUT while The Shining is invested in the further unraveling of a violent man in the haunted place, Hill House is interested in what happens after the haunting, how do the remains of this family live and deal.

The protagonist of The Shining is Jack Torrence. (Yes he's framed as bad but he is driver of the plot, he is who the movie mainly follows, he is who's emotional journey is important, he's the character with the most agency). The protagonists of Hill House are Hugh and the Crain Siblings, Hill House's very own Wendy and Danny. (Though you could argue that if there is one protagonist it is Steven, either way the point stands). Hill House is much more interested in focusing on the survivors than the perpetrator of violence in the story.

That's not to say it's not interested in Olivia Crain. Just like the Shining it gives plenty of time to explore and even empathize with the attempted family annihilator. Both haunted places fed into fears and flaws already present in the parents they choose to manipulate. BUT the motivation is so different! Jack already had broken Danny's arm. He wanted to kill his family because they were annoying, a burden on him, and would not fall under patriarchal demands. Olivia loved her children and wanted to protect them, to keep them safe forever. Ultimately it is still an act of violent control but comes from an extremely different place.

And like, both productions had some extremely long and difficult shooting days, and while everything we know about the Hill House long takes were that they were hard, there is also emphasis put on care for the actors and crew. Meanwhile Steven Kubrick and Jack Nicholson tortured Shelly Duvall and made her do hundreds of takes for no reason other than to torment and exercise control over her. I don't think it's a coincidence that the behind these productions were such different experiences when they had different opinions on what was interesting and should be prioritized in their story.

I also think it was really smart to bring in Mike Flanagan for Doctor Sleep, the sequel to the Shining ABOUT Danny Torrence and in my head this was because someone also saw these connections and how well executed Hill House was but I digress.

Anyway, I'll always be more interested in the story of a Wendy and a Danny, even an Olivia, over a Jack Torrence. We have lots of movies about violent men killing and tormenting their families, and even if the men are bad in those movies, they are still the center point. I love a lot about Hill House but I especially love who it focussed on in its haunted house story.

[yourrealpalcal]

And if I said Mike Flanagan's The Haunting of Hill House was the Anti-Shining, what then?

[kidzbopdeathgrips]

it's really funny how the entire world basically just blew the fuck up six short years ago and nobody wants to admit that that may have had some lasting consequences lmao

[kidzbopdeathgrips]

like so much of Everything today is premised on the idea that the earth-shattering catastrophe which happened within living memory of everyone older than a third grader has had no meaningful material or psychological effects on the general public and i don't think that's good, lol.

"(some of) the top-line economic indicators (sorta) recovered (in most places) so everything is fine and we don't need to talk about it" is not a sustainable framework for interfacing with reality

[kidzbopdeathgrips]

"why is everyone so angry and paranoid now?" "why is politics so dysfunctional now?" "why is [x] [y] and [z] now? blah blah blah"

2020: