u/Alternative_Fun_1390

I'm not old enough to have lived through the golden age of the Slenderverse not using a translator or subtitles, however, I recently learned that this kind of podcast existed and the truth is that I'm quite interested, but after a while I lost track of what happened to the person who ran it. I don't know if I'm just missing some information or something like that, but could someone please tell me?

It's imposible to me to look for information about therians because here on my country I only find impostors and news mocking them. Last time I saw one of a girl that loose an arm because she went into a pool with sea lions and thought they would not so anything to her. I don't even want to see if that was true or just fake news.

So you can imagine my frustration of only seeing bad news and insults. I need a study, a real one, or at least something similar. Maybe not academic, but surely something trustable.

Here's the subject: a GenZ guy who had a nostalgic view in 2005 as his favorite and definitive version of WotW. I showed him too the 1953 and although he liked it, he decided to rewatch 2005 after it. And them something happend: Sudenly, he didn't enjoyed the movie as before. He even said "I didn't remembered Ray's kids to be so annoying" something that he said before didn't had a problem with it.

So the time was now. I didn't propose it, it was him who said "What about next time we see the radio drama?" And so it began.

One hour and a half later, he admited to be actually scared. He went speachless in the moment the Tripods invaded New York and the black smoke spread around Dr Pearson. Although he said to be dissapointed of the second act, because he was too much into the realism aspect that the second act felt like a diferent audio drama.

Still, I remember his words about it...

"I tried to imagine the people jumping in the river... like rats. I couldn't. I just can't. Dear god..."

I know they can coexist, but I see how the community was divide it by this a while ago, so I wanna see if that keeps.

Why in the Ark we began to make these versions out of the sudden?

As some of you may remember, a while ago I asked for ideas and people to interview in order to make a film about the community in general. The thing is, it's not the first time I've tried this; this project has been on my mind for about 3 years, and in all that time there have been a multitude of ideas, almost one per year, so below I'm going to tell you about some of these ideas. If you have any comments about anything you would have liked to see or that would have interested you, please leave them in the comments. I would like to have feedback on this.

1- The Lost Boys idea - Around three years ago.

This idea came to me after watching quite a few videos on social media. At that time, I hadn't yet researched the origins of the community, and it simply emerged as a sort of idea to work with people who were used to this type of thing because what I had seen was quite impressive, and I wanted to work with them.

The plot revolves around a young man who, while mountain climbing, falls and twists his ankle because he's too deep in the woods to be rescued. He then encounters a small community of Therians who, each year, decide to camp alone in the forest under certain conditions to maintain their anonymity, knowing each other only through their animal alter egos. The film is an exploration of this community, very similar to the film . The protagonist develops a bond with them based solely on interaction through gestures and physical affection, without uttering a single word. The film begins and ends in the bedroom of one of the residents, showing him arriving and leaving his house while putting on or taking off his mask. The only line spoken in the film is by the protagonist at the very end, when he asks, "Will I ever see you again?"

The idea was discarded because the more I researched, the more I realized that this version was a rather inaccurate fantasy about what the community was really about, especially since it could lead other people to misinterpret what the community was going to do. Remember, this was meant to be an introduction to the Therian community for casual viewers. Therefore, it had to be as respectful and accurate to reality as possible, hence the idea was completely discarded.

2- Lord of the Flies idea - Around a year and a half.

This version came to me after finding quite a few dramas on the internet about people fighting over how to express their therian identity. Therefore, I decided that the film would revolve around this topic as well as a possible solution or proposal to them.

The story would follow a person who has just discovered their identity. They would then find themselves in the group I rescued from the previous version, camping in the woods every summer. The problem is that they weren't the only ones, and some within this small group were fighting amongst themselves about how they should act. Everything would unfold when they realize that a mysterious hooded figure with a bow, who has come only to commit a hate crime, would literally try to hunt them down like animals. Therefore, both communities would have to work together to survive and stop the killer.

As I said, the idea for the film was to convey the message that everyone has a different way of expressing themselves, and therefore you can't force how others express themselves, nor how you should express yourself. The film, once again, would be completely silent, highlighting only physical interactions and gestures with all the characters wearing masks. However, this idea was also discarded because I found the story too generic, as well as unexciting and even limiting in certain aspects, so I couldn't explore all the themes I wanted.

3- Requiem for a Dream idea - Around half a year.

This version of the film is actually quite abstract. The idea was to tell a story with several characters as protagonists, but all of them would be experiencing the same situations, only in different contexts. That is to say, we can see a scene that was happening practically the same way in another part of the world. This was with the idea of ​​showing that everyone is having a similar experience and that everyone should be united as a community to avoid discrimination from others. The film was going to be a bit more raw, and I remember well, I had thought of what was initially a scene of direct bullying to the protagonists.

The idea was discarded because it was going to be too ambitious and also too abstract in terms of ambition; I wanted to sign in other parts of the world, but since I'm stuck in an independent production, that would be impossible. Not to mention the fact that it could be giving the wrong message that everyone has similar experiences when the truth is that there are several people who may or may not be experiencing the same thing.

4- Billy Elliot idea - Five months ago.

This is the last version of the film I worked on at the time, and honestly, it was the one I was most convinced about. It was about a person who was slowly discovering that he had Therian traits and, as a result, began to delve deeper into the community. In this case, the film mixed some of the elements I liked most from the previous scripts. We still had a protagonist who was new to the subject and was gradually getting involved. We also had the point of view of a Therian, through which we could explore some of the things you experience. We had a general overview of the community and the ability to explore themes of identity and belonging.

This version was the one I actually told my friends I wanted to make, and they were quite supportive. The problem is that 2026 had barely begun and Therians went viral around the world, so there was not only a huge stigma surrounding the community but also a lot of misinformation about it. It got to the point where even my father sent me a message saying that if I saw him wearing an animal mask and thinking I was Lizard or something like that, he was going to give me a slapping therapy session. Of course, he said it jokingly, but this made it clear to me that it wasn't the right time to release the movie.

Currently, and because my writing style has changed over the past few years, I'm trying to find a slightly more psychological approach to how I develop the story and characters. Therefore, while the latest idea is the one that has stuck for the time being, it won't be the final version, as it will be subject to several changes. Among them, I'd like someone to conduct a serious study on the community at some point, but until that happens, I'll have to put up with the fact that practically half my city hates therians.

Originally I wanted to release the film in about a year, but due to the issues I already mentioned, I'm now speculating about two or two and a half years, just to let things calm down, at least in public opinion, while I'm involved in other projects and a film about dissociative identity disorder, but until then I'm trying to improve. If anyone would like me to interview them to gather more information and to get different perspectives, I would be very grateful. I was only able to interview one person last time, and it was a very enriching interview, but I need more.