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The Ugly Monster (Oscar)

@theuglymonster.bsky.social
823 followers 1.3K following 3.3K posts

A Frankenstein of movies, games, anime, and other propaganda

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Reposted by The Ugly Monster (Oscar)
Arcade Academia @arcadeacademia.bsky.social · 22h
Though many long-time Silent Hill fans were a bit skeptical of Silent Hill f’s deviation from the series formula, it was met with largely positive reviews. Many loved the story, written by popular Japanese horror author Ryukishi07. #videogames #horror #silenthill
substack.com
If you loved Silent Hill f, you’ll adore these visual novels by Ryukishi07
The psychological horror series that captivated Konami
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Worldbuilding Wednesday @worldbuildingwed.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
We're still looking for stories about LitRPGs, the Legend of Zelda, StarCraft, Dune, werewolves, urban fantasy, eldritch horrors, and whatever else goes bump in the night. 👻👽🧛 #writing #callforpapers #writingcommunity #worldbuilding #booksky #videogames #LitRPG #horror
medium.com
Worldbuilding Wednesday Call for Papers
October writing prompts for maximum spookiness
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 45m
"What kind of person could kill another human being in cold blood and do things to the body? What makes them tick? Why did they decide to kill innocent people instead of becoming a lawyer or a stockbroker?" #movies #Medium medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
The Silence of the Lambs: Grisly Murder with a Nice Chianti
A classic psychological thriller for the true crime girlies and closeted psychos.
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 7h
"...a few prominent non-superpowered DC characters could make an appearance to ground the tone and elevate the overall worldbuilding — the film has quite a few cast members with unrevealed roles." #Clayface #Medium #NoPaywall medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
‘Clayface’ Should Include These 7 Non-superpowered Cameos
No Superpowers, Just Ordinary Humans For Horror, Tragedy and Carnage
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 7h
Nocturnal Animals is a tough sell for viewers...because one of its storylines isn’t strictly real, and the other concerns a woman reading a book and experiencing a kind of sadness that she can’t adequately articulate. medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
‘Nocturnal Animals’ Tragically Melds Reality and Fiction — 10-Year Retrospective
Tom Ford’s 2016 feature is a stunning tribute to the beauty of film and literature
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 13h
"It’s an absolute must-watch for fans of Horror, provided that you watch the first one first." #GiftArticle medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
Smile 2 is a Rarity: A Fantastic Horror Sequel
Parker Finn returns with an unrelentingly chaotic supernatural-psychological Horror rollercoaster, led by a phenomenal Naomi Scott
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 17h
"The 7th generation console hardware that arrived in the second half of the 2000s allowed Rockstar to vastly improve the visuals, physics and the character models, which made the high attention to detail in GTA IV one of its highlights..." #GiftArticle medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
Rockstar Games’ Development Saga is Odyssean
And a case for AAA companies to give us different experiences
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Tao Neuendorffer @taonf.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
I’m posting the current updates, alongside one of the first C-19 Swiss Cheese illustrations: Recognize that no single intervention is perfect at preventing spread, as each intervention (layer) has its limitations (holes). Multiple layers (of Swiss cheese) mitigate risk
Summary

A summer COVID-19 surge is underway, raising concerns over the CDC's
"bluewashing" of its risk maps,
downgrading severity without explanation amid rising transmission. Hotspots include Texas, Alaska, Hawaii, and California, with peaks expected around Labor Day and New Year's Eve. 

A new vaccine targeting the XG variant is anticipated, but FDA authorization is pending. Vaccine recommendations have seen changes under RFK Jr., though medical bodies still advise vaccination for children and pregnant women. 

Early testing is crucial for effective treatment. 

Paxlovid reduces severe outcomes for unvaccinated high-risk individuals and may prevent long COVID. Metformin shows promise in reducing viral load, severe COVID, and long COVID, despite provider reluctance.

Azelastine nasal spray and other antihistamines may offer prevention or reduce severity. 

Ensitrelvir is a new, costly post-exposure prophylactic. 

A layered "Swiss cheese" approach, including vaccination, masking, ventilation, and these new treatments, is essential for protection.The Swiss Cheese Respiratory Virus Defence
Recognizing that No Single Intervention is Perfect at Preventing Spread


Physical Distance—Stay Home If Sick

Masks

Hand Hygiene. Cough Etiquette 

If Crowded, Limit Your Time

Testing & Tracing

Air Filtration. Ventilation. Meeting Outdoors. 

Quarantine & Isolation

Vaccines 


Each Intervention (Layer) has Imperfections (Holes).
Multiple Layers Improve Success.


Based on the Swiss Cheese Model of Accident Causation, by James T Reason, 1990
Version 3.0
Update: 24 Oct 2020
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 22h
"The Stand was truly the biggest waste of time I can remember. All that traveling around an apocalyptic landscape with some nasty guy named Randall Flagg trying to start a demonic cult that in the end led nowhere..." #horror #Medium #NoPaywall medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
Stephen King is Not Scary
The trouble with King’s horror novels
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
"DIE is basically isekai D&D, and the gamemaster is a psychopath." #comics medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
‘DIE’ Maps the Madness of Roleplaying Games
A comic about the unhinged nature of TTRPGs
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
"Every fairytale has shown us the same progression of true love. It’s sacrificing, curious, and dutiful." #NoPaywall medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
‘Goodbye Lara’ and Dissecting True Love
Or whatever everyone says true love is
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
"Commander is a color-dependent format, but artifacts are usually cast with colorless mana, and hence are useful to put into a wider variety of decks." #MagicTheGathering medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
Hidden Gem Artifact Cards For Your MTG Commander Deck
In EDH/Commander format, think “multi-purpose”
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elia ayoub @ayoub.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Labour has so far done nothing to undo this embarrassment. Sally Rooney "says she can no longer receive royalties from British sales and she cancelled UK trip due to fear of arrest" www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Sally Rooney says she can no longer sell books in UK due to Palestine Action support
Irish writer of Normal People says she can no longer receive royalties from British sales and she cancelled UK trip due to fear of arrest
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
"Something happened here. It was hostile and brutal. I don’t spare it a thought." #NoPaywall medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
‘Wuchang’ and the Numbness of the Soulslike Veteran
They’re all the same
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
"...even though Dracula is literally killed by a stake through the heart, in spirit, he is eliminated by the power of pure data." #books #GiftArticle medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
‘Dracula’ Is Investigative Journalism For The Win
Death by Bite? Rather, call it ‘Death by Typewriter’!
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
"The band’s very name — Marriages — is one of those group names which could be interpreted and reinterpreted in a million different ways." #IndieRock #music #Medium medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
The Best Rock “Supergroup” You’ve Never Heard Of
Meet Marriages — a hidden gem of the 2010s heavy indie Renaissance
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Brandon Lennan @lennfilm.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Still the greatest Halloween costume in Catholic history (i.e.: Nun Zoë Lund, but Naked Harvey Keitel is a close second). Check out Part 1 of my dive into the films of NYC’s mad son #AbelFerrara below. #FilmEssays #Film #Cinema #Criterion #Ms45 #FilmSky
medium.com
Sex, Drugs, Blood, and Rosaries: The Films of Abel Ferrara (Part 1 of 2)
A deep dive into the work of New York’s loved and loathed gutter punk auteur.
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Arcade Academia @arcadeacademia.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
This week’s scholarly article about The Last of Us came off as a bit intimidating with some… advanced vocabulary. 🤓📖 #videogames #thelastofus #linguistics
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
"...once they step away from traditional storytelling, ignoring the film’s plot machinations for a moment to offer haunting snapshots of the backrooms, the film is captivating." #horror medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
‘Backrooms’ Reminds Us to Rejoice in Modern Cinema’s Creative Highs
Kane Parsons’ directorial debut is a haunting portrayal of liminal spaces and exploration of embedded trauma
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
"AAA game development has hit a snag and it has been stuck on it for the last decade." #GTA6 #GiftArticle medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
Rockstar Games’ Development Saga is Odyssean
And a case for AAA companies to give us different experiences
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
"There may not be any typical monsters you’d expect from a horror movie, but you’ll still feel all kinds of terror and dread from things that aren’t there at all — silhouettes and emptiness and anticipation." #horror medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
‘Obsession’ is Lightning in a Bottle
An indie horror movie on a microscopic budget is making unprecedented box office history
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Worldbuilding Wednesday @worldbuildingwed.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
"If readers (like me) are noticing and complaining about these fanfic-based tropes appearing in published works, then why are they still so common? They sell. They sell wildly well." #booksky #writing #worldbuilding #fantasy #writingcommunity
medium.com
You can’t rely on tropes (or can you?)
Are tropes becoming overused in the fantasy genre?
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
"As for the Dark Knight, his perspective parallels Light’s in that those who do not leverage their trauma to become strong and fight evil, unlike him, instead committing crimes and mixing with the wrong people, are unrighteous..." #Batman #DeathNote #GiftArticle medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
‘The Batman’ and ‘Death Note’ Disturb Our Moral Certainties
What Makes a Monster and What Makes a Man?
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! #Halloween #horror #NoPaywall medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
Happy Horror Movie Month!
Horror is art
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Penguin Pete | writer elite @penguin-pete.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
#Halloween #spookyseason #spooky You heard the man. Stop fucking in his woods, you perverts. You're ruining the natural ambiance for his Zen meditation.
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
"AI;DR, short for “AI, didn’t read”, is The Ugly Monster’s word of the year." #AIslop #Medium #NoPaywall medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
Generative AI is Bad and We Don’t Like It
The Ugly Monster is sick of AI slop
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
"Tilda Swinton...sinks into this role, wearing her stress and grief so transparently that you’re surprised Eva can even stay upright, let alone retain composure in her daily life." #movies #grief #Medium medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’ Examines Nature and Nurture in Response to Unimaginable Tragedy
This tortured portrait of a fraught mother-son relationship presents uncomfortable meditations on parenthood, complicity, and grief
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
This piece of revisionist fanfiction allows for the likes of Peter Thiel to have his cake and eat it too: to love the stories and aesthetics of The Lord of the Rings while in reality crafting palantíri in the depths of Mordor. (Read: Silicon Valley.) medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
The Last Ringbearer: The Tech Bro Fanfic of The Lord of the Rings
How does Peter Thiel reckon his techno-fascist empire with the morals of Tolkien?
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
There are no unsettling shadows in corners, no slow drip of gothic unease. Just the creeping eeriness of a church on the cusp of fanaticism and a dying town desperate for salvation. medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
The Cruelty At the Heart of ‘Midnight Mass’
What Mike Flanagan’s ‘Midnight Mass’ lacks in jump scares it makes up for in monstrosities
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
"...Romulus is primarily subscribed to the Alien school of plot with its slow burn, tense horror imagery, atmosphere and pacing, but it also doesn’t shy away from incorporating the 80s guns-blazing action horror elements of Aliens..." #horror medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
‘Alien: Romulus’ Manages to Succeed Despite Relying on Its Rich Heritage
An homage-heavy offering led by the next generation still finds ways to make things new and interesting
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
"...certain visual markers of AI are becoming more difficult to spot, although others remain obvious." #AIslop #StochasticParrots #NoPaywall medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
AI Apes and Chimps at a Typewriter
Putting prompts into a machine doesn’t make you a writer
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
"Goofy characters. Bad lines delivered with endearing passion and quirk. Magnificently disgusting kills. Compelling psychos stalking silently behind a mask, or razzing their victims like Reagan era vaudevillians." #horror medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma — Love Letter to 80s Slashers and Queer Freedom
KFC, Counting Crows and Friday the 13th will never be the same
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
At its core, being the space-sheriff of multiple galaxies is just like any job; you can get fired. And like any job, it’s not impossible to imagine an older, high-maintenance Green Lantern afraid of being laid off for younger blood. medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
‘Lanterns’ is the Green Light for DC’s Long-Dormant Hero
Out of the Blackest Night
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
"Where I was anticipating werewolf tropes, I was instead treated to a narrative about self-care and community that hit… hard in the current climate." #WorldMentalHealthDay #GiftArticle medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
Peter Parker, Superhero Fatigue, and the Male Loneliness Epidemic
What ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ has to say about community and self-care
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
"Digger’s comedy is, as far as I can make out, meant to be awful." medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
‘Digger’ Is an Insufferable Dissection of Moral Rot
Alejandro González Iñárritu’s latest film is a smug dissection of ‘eat the rich’ films and the real-life moral decay inspiring them
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
"...the Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG already has all the momentum it could ever hope for. This insanely popular book series has a rabid fanbase, and the crowdfunding campaign was a massive success." #DungeonsAndDragons #GiftArticle medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
‘Dungeon Crawler Carl’ Might Kneecap ‘Dungeons & Dragons’
Could a tie-in game become the new gateway TTRPG? I sure hope so.
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Arcade Academia @arcadeacademia.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
How is academia defining the growing “mascot horror” subgenre of survival horror games? 🐻 We did the homework so you don’t have to. 🤓📖 #videogames #fnaf #poppyplaytime #gartenofbanban #horrorgames
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Zach Cregger’s latest film takes an intriguingly anti-mythological approach to the revered video game series it is adapted from, with mixed results. #ResidentEvilㅤ #horror medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
‘Resident Evil’ Boasts Small-Scale, Surface-level Thrills
Zach Cregger’s latest film takes an intriguingly anti-mythological approach to the revered video game it is adapted from, with mixed…
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
"...like all of Mike Flanagan’s work, there is a pivot halfway through that upends expectations for the rest of the series and finalizes the narrative’s true horror." #NoPaywall medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
The Cruelty At the Heart of ‘Midnight Mass’
What Mike Flanagan’s ‘Midnight Mass’ lacks in jump scares it makes up for in monstrosities
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
"...Bram Stoker’s seminal 1897 novel is not as scary as the films would have us believe... The bulk of the plot...hinges on a range of rather dry documents. ...Leases. Telegrams. Train schedules. Medical memorandums. Letters. Newspaper articles." #journalism #horror medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
‘Dracula’ Is Investigative Journalism For The Win
Death by Bite? Rather, call it ‘Death by Typewriter’!
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
"Just like I Saw the TV Glow, [Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma] slowly dissolves any plot it had to begin with into a synthesis of reality and fiction between two characters and the media that’s slowly defining them." #GiftArticle #horror medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma — Love Letter to 80s Slashers and Queer Freedom
KFC, Counting Crows and Friday the 13th will never be the same
010
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Money Power Politics with Stephanie Ruhle @moneypowerpolitics.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Rachel Maddow joins Stephanie Ruhle discuss her new documentary "Kill. Bury. Print." and the importance of local journalism #killburyprint #rachelmaddow #journalism #oklahoma
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Brian Grubb @briancgrubb.bsky.social · 27/04/2024
excited for Aaron Sorkin to write a movie about a genius truth-telling screenwriter who could save our whole troubled society if internet trolls weren’t so mean to him
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
"Through 60 Minutes, CBS did D&D players dirty, most of which were kids. With the help of Tom Hanks and a supposedly professional news program, CBS spread lies about those kids’ very favorite thing. TWICE." #GiftArticle medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
Tom Hanks, the Satanic Panic, 60 Minutes, and D&D
CBS was a moral panic profiteer
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Worldbuilding Wednesday @worldbuildingwed.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
"Too many major or popular IPs have holes in them bigger than moon craters!" #worldbuilding #writing #scifi #fantasy #booksky
medium.com
Questions Fantasy Authors Should Have Answers To
Because readers are always going to ask them
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𝕳𝖔𝖗𝖗𝖔𝖗𝖈𝖚𝖑𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖎𝖘𝖙 🇨🇦🦇🥀🕸 @horrorculturist.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
#PSA
FOR THE LAST TIME…

Abyss = for staring into
Void = for screaming into

𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘺𝘴𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
"Oh how I do love a big ol’ heapin’ helpin’ of bloody revenge, especially if high school bullies are involved." #horror #Carrie #NoPaywall medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
50 Years Of ‘Carrie’
Don’t mess with the shy, awkward, strange kids
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
"The body betrays me twice. From within, because the Other within lives in it. From without, because the Others see it as an accomplished image, even if it is still coming true before their eyes." #horror #NoPaywall medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
‘Jennifer’s Body’, ‘Obsession’, and the Desire Given Too Much Being
The hunger of the Other within
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Here's a Gift Article/Friend Link. medium.com/theuglymonst...
medium.com
‘Dungeon Crawler Carl’ Might Kneecap ‘Dungeons & Dragons’
Could a tie-in game become the new gateway TTRPG? I sure hope so.
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The Ugly Monster (Oscar) @theuglymonster.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
I've talked about the Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG once or twice. bsky.app/profile/theu...
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