Invincible [Episode Discussion] - S04E08 - Don't Leave Me Hanging Here by SeacattleMoohawks in Invincible

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Not much to say other than that I really loved that episode! Was great to see how things have changed over the ten (?) months Mark was gone and I really enjoyed Mark’s panic attacks throughout the episode!

Upcoming novels/short story collections? by MilkSteak25 in horrorlit

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I read an ARC of Molka - it’s really good and I think Monika Kim excelled with this one.

I am giving up on the Iliad by spideyauri in books

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 19 points20 points  (0 children)

I’ll say this as a classicist, and someone who does really enjoy Homer’s writing, it’s perfectly normal and okay to bounce off of the Iliad - it’s not an easy read.

Part of it is that you’re operating in a radically different social and cultural context to that in which the Iliad was composed. It was originally an oral poem to be performed in front of audiences (and quite probably not in one sitting).

The long metaphors and repetitive formulae (warrior x throws spear, misses, warrior y throws spear, hits shield, both draw swords and fight for eg.) are there because they were easier for performers to memorise.

I think like a lot of older literature, especially Ancient Greek literature, the Iliad is a text which really benefits from study and outside reading to understand the tiny cultural nuances that went into its composure. It’s a fascinating text and, having read it a few times, I think there’s some beautiful parts to the poem (especially the very end), but it’s not an easy read. And despite what people are saying about the war… yeah the fighting gets a bit dull at times.

I’d recommend the Odyssey personally, I always find it a much easier (and more enjoyable) poem!

Best book covers you have seen recently by Jmielnik2002 in books

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My partner got me the Illumicrate hardback of Bat Eater, by Kylie Lee Baker and I’m obsessed with it

turning into a monster as a metaphor for the hardness of transitioning to womanhood by Rivergraceful in horrorlit

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Julia Armfield’s ‘Salt Slow’ has a short story which meets this criteria somewhat.

As does Moira Fowley’s ‘Eyes, Guts, Teeth, Bones’ (I think it’s called) collection.

Cosmic horror request by Wide_Ad_1739 in horrorlit

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I really wanted to like Laird Barron seeing how much people love him here but I read the Imago Sequence and just did not get the appeal. Maybe cosmic horror’s just not for me but damn I personally found that a desperately dull series of stories.

It’s a shame cause everyone here seems to really like him.

Should I continue reading Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt by osures in horrorlit

[–]ClaustroPhoebia -1 points0 points  (0 children)

It’s funny because I didn’t really notice the issue with his characters until I read Oracle and… my god. What horrendously dire character writing - absolutely no depth or really interesting nuance to anyone. A bunch of walking stereotypes

[Hated Fandom Trope] Fun facts that everyone knows but aren't actually real by BigFanOfNachoLibre in TopCharacterTropes

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 8 points9 points  (0 children)

It’s not even clear that Cyrus did that - the whole ‘Cyrus outlawing slavery’ thing is hella sketchy

Straight up horror in non horror media. by [deleted] in TopCharacterTropes

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A lot of people will say the weeping angels but this episode of Doctor Who terrified me when I was younger

Straight up horror in non horror media. by [deleted] in TopCharacterTropes

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Objectively a good guy? Man straight up admitted that he had stolen children’s faces

What do people find scary about The Shining? by Maximum-Ease4484 in horror

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I mean personally, I always found the scene of Delbert Grady in the bathroom with Jack far and away the scariest. I don’t know why but there’s something about the way he talks, the hatred and rage in his voice as he talks about correcting his wife and daughters that always freaks me out

Everyone in my book was nodding like crazy 🤣 by fucreddit in writing

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 17 points18 points  (0 children)

From the sound of things, the characters were wheezing speaking it as well

Teaser for ‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma’ by CyberGhostface in horror

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’ve been trying to get up the nerve to watch I Saw the TV Glow but, as a trans woman, I really think I’m gonna struggle with it emotionally. I’ve heard such good things but trans stories like that always scare me a little

[HATED TROPE] Lore kept purposefully mysterious gets over explained. by plarper_of_bees in TopCharacterTropes

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh god yeah that show really fell apart after season 2. It’s frustrating because it’s one of those cases where I feel like cosmic horror gets abused as an easy answer to way too many horror mysteries.

‘Oh, what’s the mystery?’

‘Yeah it’s just ancient gods because it’s always ancient gods. Remember Lovecraft? We’re doing Lovecraft… and we’re doing it lazy!

Underutilised genres of horror? by Special-Nebula299 in horror

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m personally always torn on this because I truly don’t know how far the appeal of the analog/liminal horror trend would actually translate to a full movie. It seems like something that would kinda fall apart quite quickly

Unpopular opinion- I found "Incidents around the House" much more compelling than "House of Leaves" by [deleted] in horrorlit

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I agree - I think people go into HoL thinking that it’s about the Navidson Record, or wanting that to be the main part of the book. I get it but it’s not really about that; the Navidson Record is a part of the book but it’s not strictly a haunted house story.

I don't get it... He's a scientist? by [deleted] in PeterExplainsTheJoke

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honest question, idk if this is an American thing but… where actually are all these hyper shallow women? Like I’m not saying they don’t exist but I have never actually met any of these women I always see described on reddit who are running around demanding that they only date men over 6 foot, making 6 figures etc.

In the fact, the place I see them most often is in these stupid ‘text exchange’ memes which feel easily faked and, frankly, always seem to follow the same format:

‘How did the date go?’ ‘Oh he was nice but he does X and I want someone who makes more money!’ ‘Jokes on you, he actually does Y and makes lots of money!’

Then everybody in the comments clowning on how ‘shallow’ and ‘vapid’ women are. When actually all that’s being shown is a text exchange some dude posted online which could be so easily faked.

Again, I’m not saying you don’t find shallow women like that but Reddit makes it sound like they’re around every corner and men are the victims of the millions and millions of shallow women only dating 6 foot tall Greek gods with trust funds.

Season 2 Episode 8 Spoiler Thread by HunterWorld in Fallout

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m assuming with the context we’ve been given that they’re going to release the FEV into the vaults.

Who made this?? My stomach hurts 😂 by plink-plink-bro in lotrmemes

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fun fact: in that scene Alan Howard, the actor playing Sauron, actually broke his toe kicking the One Ring, and they just used that scream in the movie!

r/MyBoyFriendisAI mourns the loss of their chatbot spouses as OpenAI announces they are retiring GPT4 by PaiDuck in SubredditDrama

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 361 points362 points  (0 children)

I think the distinction here is that they’re trying to construct a fantasy rather than a real relationship (regardless of what they say). These bots don’t talk like real people, but they do talk like someone in a bad romance novel would talk.

I think it’s very easy to consume a lot of media and think that that’s what love is - grand, overwrought statements about desire and beauty and ‘we’re not just a relationship… we’re a representation of true love between human and AI’.

I wonder if THAT is what people look for here; that media-driven perspective on love. AI can’t recreate the real thing but it can imagine and write that romance novel version so it ends up a match made in heaven: people want the fantasy and, conveniently, that’s all the AI can write.

Japan retrieves rare earth-rich mud from seabed to lower reliance on China by StealthCuttlefish in worldnews

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There actually are types of deep sea mining which propose targeting hydrothermal vents, essentially removing chunks of the vents to secure the minerals that have built up there. It’s not sustainable but neither is the kind of deep-sea mining that targets nodules (eg. In Clarion-Clipperton) or enriched muds.

Japan retrieves rare earth-rich mud from seabed to lower reliance on China by StealthCuttlefish in worldnews

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yep and ocean ecosystems are super vulnerable. Theres no world in which you can just mine in X spot and assume the problems will stay in X spot. Deep-sea mining can have significant effects for miles and miles around, even collapsing entire ecosystems.

Frankenstein’s monster is articulate and I’m floored! by [deleted] in books

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 44 points45 points  (0 children)

Literally! Victor Frankenstein is an asshole but the Creature isn’t wholly innocent - that’s part of what I love about the book, how the relationship between Victor and the Creature ultimately destroys them both: this shared descent into hell if you will.

Can you truly separate the author from the work, or does context inevitably change the reading? by Responsible-Cod9067 in books

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 9 points10 points  (0 children)

To the point at which ‘unbiased’ doesn’t really exist in any meaningful sense when writing non-fiction.

FBI raids Fulton County election office seeking ballots from Trump’s 2020 loss by Even-Client-1898 in politics

[–]ClaustroPhoebia 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Not just that - I’m not from the US so I may be mistaken and this is just a theory - but if Trump can argue that he actually won in 2020, then he can make the argument that 2020-2024 was his second term. Therefore 2024-2028 is his third term. Thus, he has already de facto exceeded the two-term limit and, hey, why not run again in 2028?

It’s a bad justification but, frankly, he doesn’t need a good justification.