[Off-Topic] Community Chat Thread

[TheGildedGoose]

Any good recommendations for good monster movies?

Well, I won't mention the classics like Jaws or Alien, but my favorite is An American Werewolf in London.

[materpillar]

Not a monster movie but I really really enjoyed "Ready or Not" from 2019. That's easily my favorite horror movie in the last while.

[BeneTleilax]

Nope is real good.

[benjameenbear]

Thanks ya'll. I'll add some of these to my list!

@TheAmericanSpirit
I did missionary service in CA for two years. Yup, I was one of them Mormon kids banging away on doors lol. Anyways, There was an area in Palmdale that was pretty known for drug users and other questionable activity. But we didn't care, and I was asked to accompany another set of missionaries to a specific person and went to go knock on ther house. I remember the house was this faded yellow stucco, with holes and chips in it. What immediately stood out to me was that even though it was a bright sunny day in the desert of Palmdale, the house was... dark. Like, it felt gray even on the outside and there was a palpable feeling of murk as we approached the door.

Anyways, a lady answers the door. And my weirdness radar goes FULL alert.

Now, for context, I'm at the tail end of my 2 years of service. So I've kinda developed an eye and feel for people's auras, their micro-expressions, and general personality reading. I'm pretty good at it at this point.

So when I tell you I looked into this woman's eyes and saw only a cold, calculating darkness BEHIND her actual irises, it felt more real to me than anything else I'd experienced before. Perhaps it was the bloodshot-ness of her eyes that colored her sclera darker from drug addicition. But, to me, it was different. Like, it felt like I was being watched by a second entity even while I was trying to talk to this lady and maintaining eye contact with her. She invited us in, and the house only confirmed my impression of evil spirits.

Sure, general trash and disorganization is pretty common for this part of the city. And based on my conversation with the other set of missionaries, I knew this lady struggled with drug addiction (meth is no joke). But, there was an odd layer of grime on the floor, the walls, and the windows. So the light coming in was a muted, lurid shade of yellow. Crosses were turned upside down. Some shades on some of the windows. And as I watched this lady walk to sit down on the couch, it was like a disjointed shambling with moments of regular smooth walking.

So, we've got this environment of darkness and grime. The regular behavior of a normal person, even drug users, is NOT present in this lady. My intuition is on full alert. And then she opens her mouth to talk.

And it's so freaking guttural and raspy I almost don't recognize it as human.

She coughs a few times, and then her voice takes a regular tone. Almost like she's trying to recover her regular voice. My hair stands up on my neck (which is DEFINITELY a creepy, scary sensation if you've never experienced it before). I sit and talk with her for a while, and I watch her reactions as we read from the scriptures. Tensing of hands whenever we get to a reference to Christ, slight twitching around her mouth as she answers our questions.

As we go to leave, the other missionaries turn their backs to her to walk out the front door. I don't. She suddenly twitches up and takes a too-fast step forward to get in front of the hallway entrance. I stand up myself and suggest we say a prayer so we can get the eff out. And as I lay my hands on her head, she starts to legitimately writhe underneath my hands as I say a prayer over her. I feel inspired to cast out spirits, and as soon as I say so, she immediately calms down and slumps down.

I kneel in front of her to check on her and ask her a question. And she responds in an almost completely different tone of voice than the other interactions we'd had with her. Her eyes are no longer as dark to me. The twitching has mostly subsided. There's a note of relief in her voice that's almost palpable. We then left, and when I went back with the other missionaries to check in on her, she wasn't there anymore. So I'm not sure what happened after that interaction.

Yeah, I'm sure there's rational explanations for each of these things. But the cumulation of these micro-moments in such a short timeframe convinced me like never before that, yes. there are indeed spirits on this world and that, yes, some of them are evil. So I don't joke around about evil spirits. Nor do I watch movies that focus on them. Because there's emotions and fear there I'd rather not relive unless I needed to. And I think movies can be mediums that make people susceptible to their influences.

[Hermes_]

Thanks ya'll. I'll add some of these to my list!

@TheAmericanSpirit
I did missionary service in CA for two years. Yup, I was one of them Mormon kids banging away on doors lol. Anyways, There was an area in Palmdale that was pretty known for drug users and other questionable activity. But we didn't care, and I was asked to accompany another set of missionaries to a specific person and went to go knock on ther house. I remember the house was this faded yellow stucco, with holes and chips in it. What immediately stood out to me was that even though it was a bright sunny day in the desert of Palmdale, the house was... dark. Like, it felt gray even on the outside and there was a palpable feeling of murk as we approached the door.

[kirkusjones]

@benjameenbear not trying to be snarky, genuinely curious: are there certain cards you don't play based on their art/flavor because of your beliefs?

[Hermes_]

@benjameenbear not trying to be snarky, genuinely curious: are there certain cards you don't play based on their art/flavor because of your beliefs?

As I'm also LDS, not really at least for me.

[Venedrex]

I just wanted to chime in and say I believe benjameenbear 100%. I'm a Christian, and what he described pretty much lines up with my beliefs on magic in real life. IMHO, there is only one true form of sorcery in this world, and when you encounter it, you'll know. It's why I'm not concerned about playing MTG or DnD. If there were any real evil or magical power in these games, it would be apparent to all.

[RxPhantom]

Wowzers. I was going to tell a little story about how one of my decks went to Magical Christmas Land last week, but I can't possibly follow an exorcism.

Tangentially related: I have oscillated between atheism and agnosticism my whole life. We send my daughter to Catholic school, mostly at my wife's insistence. A couple of weeks ago, when I was dropping her off, the priest blessed my dog in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. Weird times for me.

[benjameenbear]

@benjameenbear not trying to be snarky, genuinely curious: are there certain cards you don't play based on their art/flavor because of your beliefs?

It's a good question, and the answer is not especially. I've noticed that I stay away from black-aligned Spirits though. Otherwise, most of the card pool is fair game because it's pretty easy to delineate this as a fantasy IP with small roots in some true life lore.

Wowzers. I was going to tell a little story about how one of my decks went to Magical Christmas Land last week, but I can't possibly follow an exorcism.

Tangentially related: I have oscillated between atheism and agnosticism my whole life. We send my daughter to Catholic school, mostly at my wife's insistence. A couple of weeks ago, when I was dropping her off, the priest blessed my dog in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. Weird times for me.

It's one of 2 stories about evil spirits I've personally experienced. I won't press anyone into believing there's a benevolent God who cares for us as humans and wants the best for each of us. I consider myself a decent theologian, and I'd enjoy a good discussion about it, but religion is definitely a sensitive topic that's highly personal!

I guess it's cool that the priest was thinking of your dog? I personally have some issues with Catholic doctrine, but the overall intent of his blessing is well-intentioned I'd guess. So take it as you will?

[Hermes_]

I found a budget super friends deck that is under 50 USD and then another that is about 230 USD lol

[Dunadain]

@benjameenbear not trying to be snarky, genuinely curious: are there certain cards you don't play based on their art/flavor because of your beliefs?

This is actually a really interesting question to me (I know it wasn't directed to me, but it got me thinking so I'm going to answer it anyways XD).

I'm catholic, I believe that evil spirits exist, but I think situations where they have any more influence on the world than temptations are exceedingly rare. I also don't think I've ever observed such a thing (I've experienced some weird stuff, and one scenario in particular, a friend of mine who was also there swears it was supernatural, but I'm very cynical so idk).

My mom has always been one of those people that are against all sorts of fantasy, (dnd, mtg, pokemon, and Harry Potter were the biggest culprits). So I've heard this kind of stuff a lot, and I've always thought there's a pretty clear line between fantasy and genuine attempts at contacting demons and as long as you approach it with that mindset, you have nothing to worry about.

However, you asked if i might have a problem with any individual cards, which is a question no one has asked me before.

Demonic Pact specifically comes to mind as a card that makes me uncomfortable, but I don't think it's actually dangerous, it just makes me uncomfortable. There are also a couple cards that make me uncomfortable for other reasons, disturbing artwork usually. I also imagine if i was playing a deck in which it was particularly good, I'd get over it XD. I run Demonic Tutor plenty.

So while there are no cards I wouldn't run because of my beliefs, there are some cards I'm less likely to run, and I might be interested in official alters for.

[TheAmericanSpirit]

Tangentially related: I have oscillated between atheism and agnosticism my whole life. We send my daughter to Catholic school, mostly at my wife's insistence. A couple of weeks ago, when I was dropping her off, the priest blessed my dog in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. Weird times for me.

I've been Catholic my whole life, and I ain't ever seen a priest bless a dog. You got one rad Padre right there, @RxPhantom. He's a freethinker.

It's one of 2 stories about evil spirits I've personally experienced.

Come on, tell the other one! Pleeeease? The first one was excellent, so come on tell the other story! I %$#% love ghost stories, man. Please?

[Legend]

I'm actually on the hunt for any good monster horror movies to watch for October ( I stay the f*&^ away from evil spirits and demons. I've seen some ish...). Any good recommendations for good monster movies?

Summer of '84 was awesome IMO. Granted, it leans on 80's nostalgia ala Stranger Things, but as a child of the 80's, that just makes it even better, IMO. And let me tell ya, it rather actually embodies how we thought about those kinds of things back then due to legends both real and urban. If you plan to watch it, don't read or watch any spoilers.

[tstorm823]

I've been Catholic my whole life, and I ain't ever seen a priest bless a dog. You got one rad Padre right there, @RxPhantom. He's a freethinker.

Many places do that specifically for St Francis' feast day on October 4th. It's one of those official but optional things.

[RxPhantom]

I guess it's cool that the priest was thinking of your dog? I personally have some issues with Catholic doctrine, but the overall intent of his blessing is well-intentioned I'd guess. So take it as you will?

I've been Catholic my whole life, and I ain't ever seen a priest bless a dog. You got one rad Padre right there, @RxPhantom. He's a freethinker.

Many places do that specifically for St Francis' feast day on October 4th. It's one of those official but optional things.

I take my daughter to school on the days I'm off, and my wife told me that they were doing a 'blessing of the pets' and that I should bring Ferrous. The priest came over to the car, said a brief prayer, then sprayed a little holy water on him. It was very sweet, actually. I'm still not remotely religious, but it's a good school and they're kind to my daughter.

[Hermes_]

[kirkusjones]

Man, I need to rewatch The Thing. That movie scared me %$#% when I was a kid. Between the practical effects and the tangible paranoia, that movie is a masterpiece of fear.

Can confirm that the movie has aged pretty decently. I haven't watched the remake of it yet, but if the movie's ambiance and feeling of dread, suspicion, and horror translates over with updated special effects it would be amazing.

I'm actually on the hunt for any good monster horror movies to watch for October ( I stay the f*&^ away from evil spirits and demons. I've seen some ish...). Any good recommendations for good monster movies?

Troll Hunter.

[DirkGently]

Okay, I think I found the logistically optimal solution to sticker sheets. Each sleeve has the top half to identify the sheet, and then the individual p/t and ability stickers with the acronym of the name stickers on the back to tie it to the top half. All of them printed large so they're more reasonable to read from across the table. Each sleeve has a number on the back so I can roll a d10 thrice to choose 3 sheets at random (or awkwardly shuffle them and draw 3). It's time to Blorpityblorpboop.



As Garfield intended.

[RxPhantom]

Everything @DirkGently just said would probably make more sense if I ever took the time to understand stickers.

[Lifeless]

In lieu of understanding I have chosen to pretend these don't exist like I'm sure the majority of players will.

[Hermes_]

Everything @DirkGently just said would probably make more sense if I ever took the time to understand stickers.

I'm just wondering why he didn't do an attractions deck instead of stickers, a guy in my group has an attractions deck and it's actually pretty nutty if you let him get out of control.

[DirkGently]

I'm just wondering why he didn't do an attractions deck instead of stickers, a guy in my group has an attractions deck and it's actually pretty nutty if you let him get out of control.

I may also do attractions, but I felt like being contrarian. There's only one decent attraction commander and she's too popular and kinda broken.

[Legend]

Promo Cards: Not sure I follow.

Every card should be made of paper and look and feel like it could've been printed in Beta both front and back.

[Guardman]

In pointless things that I've spent way too much brainpower on, I've finally figured out why they named the black mana myr Leaden Myr instead of Lead Myr. It's so that Lead (Plumbum) isn't confused with Lead (Duco). I feel like I should've figured that out soon since I always make fun of Lead Dental whenever I drive past it.