#I genuinely adore this movie and all the symbolism

[dollsinvogue]

It’s come to my attention that apparently many of you have not seen the movie Us and you don’t understand how amazing some of the accessories are! I’m a huge fan of easter eggs in character designs and I love this movie! ✂️ 🐇

(This post may contain spoilers, if you can I highly recommend watching this movie)

These two characters are Adelaide in white and Red in red. They are both played by Lupita Nyong’o and are meant to be tethered/mirrored versions of each other.

Starting off we have the box art background which was already previously leaked, it is of young Adelaide at a fair and it shows the house of mirrors she gets lost in which is a very important role in the movie

Then we have the classroom with stick figures on the chalkboard on the box, this is from the underground classrooms and is a drawing of all the tethered people

if you’ve heard of Us you should definitely know about Red’s scissors, you could not make a doll without these scissors, they were all over promotional posters, not only are they creepy but they do also represent something important for Red in the film

Red’s earrings are paper cut outs of tethered people and Adelaide’s earrings are the handcuffs that Red locked her up in

Adelaide’s outfit keeps core elements with the layering but the blood looks amazing and I’m so happy they went with it, she also has a pattern which I believe is bunnies but I could be wrong

Adelaide’s hair accessory is a fire poker, her main weapon in the movie

Adelaide has charms on her belt and I couldn’t tell what they were but my friend @the-ghost-rat pointed out that the top one is a ballerina! Ballet is a way that Adelaide expressed herself after she went through a trauma. The dolls also both wear pointe shoes which is a detail that I saw confused some people but I love it (also I love that they included some blood on the shoes!)

And finally (for now) the pet bunnies may seem random if you haven’t seen the movie (honestly the bunnies were a confusing part of the movie on a first watch) but there are a lot of bunnies in the film, it’s not just some random thing they threw in there I can’t even explain it

Another detail I really love is that Red looks like she is crying (at least in the art she does) and it is a beautiful detail to include. I can’t wait for these dolls to release and get better photos of them!

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Ava Gardner (The Killers, The Barefoot Contessa)— She's so goddamn hot. Her and Frank Sinatra could've sandwiched me and I would've thanked them for the privilege

Dorothy Dandridge (Carmen Jones, Porgy and Bess, Island in the Sun)— The first Black actress to ever be nominated for best actress, Dorothy Dandridge was a groundbreaking actress who deserved better. She started her career as a singer, being put in a song-and-dance duo with her sister by their stage mother, and singing in soundies (I highly recommend cow cow boogie, it's adorable), proto-music videos. She started appearing as a featured singer in films. Her star was on the rise and she soon became a star solo performer. She continued acting, but had limited options because she refused to do stereotypical roles. She finally landed a starring role in Bright Road in 1953, but it was the movie Carmen Jones that truly cemented her as a star and sex symbol. Not to sound cheesy, but she literally sizzles on screen. You can't help but understand how poor Harry Belafonte gets caught in her trap, just look at her. This is the role that got her that Oscar nom. She didn't win cause I mean #OscarsSoWhite, but she was a sensation and continued starring in films, despite troubles in her life (including a shitty director bf who fucked with her career and a traumatizing pregnancy/delivery). Outside of her filmwork, she was also an activist, fighting against racism. She left behind an amazing legacy, and continues to inspire many actresses to this day (including also very hot first (and only) black woman to win best actress, Halle Berry).

This is round 4 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Ava Gardner:

Ava Gardner is one of my favorite actresses of all time. Although a lot of her roles in movies are about her being beautiful and nothing else, there are some films where her acting truly shines.

Gifset: https://www.tumblr.com/pelopides/721438308726603776/ava-gardner-as-pandora-reynolds-pandora-and-the

Gifset 2: https://www.tumblr.com/portraitoflestatonfire/731899355804598272/if-the-loustat-reunion-doesnt-look-like-this-then

HER FACE. LOOK AT IT. Also was a life long supporter of civil rights and a member of the NAACP, had lots of fun love affairs with other stars, bullfighters, married several times but was also happy in between to just have lovers and was unapologetically herself.

I literally gasp every time I see her.

Between 1942 and 1964, Ava Gardner was credited in no less 50 films, and is still considered by some to be the most beautiful actresses that ever graced the silver screen. Despite life-long insecurities regarding her talent as an actress, she weathered public scandal, industry hostility, and outright condemnation by the Catholic Church with fearless grace. She would later in life talk candidly about the reality and pain of living through two (studio approved!!) abortions during her short marriage to Frank Sinatra, and while the two of them could not make their relationship work, they remained in each other’s lives for nearly 30 years. She would forever describe herself as a small-town girl who just got lucky, but always felt like a beautiful outsider.

Really genuinely one of the most beautiful human beings I have ever seen. An autodidact. Had amazing chemistry with Gregory Peck to the point where I do think about watching On The Beach again sometimes because they're so good together even though that movie did destroy me. Was a great femme fatale in many movies.

Dorothy Dandridge propaganda:

Beautiful actress and hand-working and talented singer, she's especially notable for the number of firsts she accomplished such as the first African-American woman to receive a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and the first African-American woman to appear on the cover of Life magazine.

Dorothy Dandridge was a classic Hollywood triple threat, singing, dancing, and acting with the best of them. She was the first African American nominated for an academy award for Best Actress for her role in Carmen Jones and she was just jaw-droppingly beautiful.

this og of black film needs no introduction (star on the hollywood walk of fame anyone?), voice of an angel, heavenly features, just an overall stunning lady :)

Look at her!!! She is so unbelievably charismatic in Carmen, it’s insane. Her chemistry with Harry Belafonte is off the charts, and every time she puts another outdoor [sic] on it’s like ‘oh god this is a whole new level of stunning’ 🥵. She was so so talented, when she’s on screen I genuinely dare you to tear your eyes away from her. Deserves to be known so much better but due to Hollywood racism and a tough personal life she didn’t make it as big as she should have done. She’s incredible.

First Black actress to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress! Was the first choice for the role of Cleopatra that went to Elizabeth Taylor (we were ROBBED).

[brucequeensteen]

what is “The Box”. what the fuck went on with The Monkees. these are genuine questions not for the LOLs because I have like 3 mutuals who post about them but I have zero real knowledge of them

oh brother that's a whole can of worms like there is so much to say on "what the fuck went on with them". but basically there are 2 answers to "what was the box": 1) the box was a repurposed meat locker put on the set of the monkees tv show while they were filming season 2 in which the monkees were sent to sit in the darkness and do whatever they wanted without disturbing the set and the crew, and they'd be summoned back out by a bright light bulb with their name under it flashing suddenly in the darkness, and micky dolenz said that often they'd stumble out dazed not knowing what was happening for a few minutes. 2) the box is a literal physical big black box that the monkees get trapped in several times in their movie head (1968) and it serves as a symbol of the public perception they were trying to escape. The Box is television. The Box is the stage. The Box is every hotel they stayed at on the tours they didn't really want to go on. The Box was the eyes of every teenage monkees fan who perceived them and adored them at the height of their fame. The Box isn't real but also it is real but none of the monkees seemed to want to make the connection that the big black box that appears in their film all about the exploitation and psychological horror of hollywood was the same as the big black box they sat in on set during the filming of their tv show. and basically if you want to know what was happening to them go watch the entirety of the monkees tv show (or maybe just watch season 2) and then watch head 1968 and then come and talk to me.

[meraki-yao]

George-Hebry reincarnation? I'm very intrigued 👀

Oh my God this one, I'm gonna have to do a lot of character study on show George if I wanna get this one right

I think the idea started with seeing a post in passing on Weibo on someone saying that George reincarnated as Henry and getting to be loved instead of used and be used, so the core idea isn't an original idea from me

But it did get me thinking about possible parallels

I have a similarly structured fic planned out but not written for my other fandom: Shadowhunters, for Raphael Santigo -> Rafael Lightwood-Bane, but the idea is reincarnation is a second chance of some sort

So in George and Henry's case, the basis is that Henry is George's second chance, one where things are opposite: genuinely loving immediate family with adoring parents, being told to suppress his sexuality instead of flaunting it, having power given to him instead of fighting then being corrupted by it, getting to experience true love without alternative motives

I need to watch it with an analytical lens, but I feel like George from the first episode, although kind of petulant, is a starry-eyed good kid who believes in die-hard romances and love before all. That transparent heart was polluted inch by inch until it was black.

Now look at Henry, someone who wants and believes in die-hard romance and one true love, just thinking he can't have it.

So what if the starry-eyed kid George used to be actually got to grow up without having that part of him twisted?

This is more a character study in the form of a fic more than anything. The structure will kind of be George's story first, then Henry's story phrased as paralleling lines of George's.

Something else about this fic that I thought about is that how movie Henry still has his middle name "George Edward James", but now has the surname "Stuart", the same name as the King who loved George more than the world. Something something taking your spouse's surname something something symbolism.

Also there's a contrast/ parallel to be drawn with the meaning of their names:

George, the impoverished boy who rose the power to the point where he was the de facto ruler of the kingdom: Farmer

Henry, the prince born into power but being so careful with it, wanting to do actual good with it: Ruler

James: May God Protect Him

Alexander: Protector of Man

I don't know maybe it's just me but I'm a sucker for poetic paralleling shit like this

Ask me about my WIPs!

[lynzishell]

List 5 facts about a favorite sim of yours, and send this to 10 simblrs whose sims you adore 💙

Yay! I'm finally going through my asks, lookit me go! We'll start this week with the winner of the poll... The one and only ✨Dawn Stephens✨

💖She has a Sociology degree from Foxbury Institute. She did not graduate with a high GPA, in fact she barely passed. She’s very smart, but genuinely hates reading and studying. She is the type of person that likes to be up doing things all the time. She struggles to just sit quietly. If she’s going to sit for an extended period of time, then it’s usually to watch a movie or a favorite TV show (with someone else, never alone). Even then, she’ll likely be distracting you the whole time.

💖During college, Dawn dated a lot, and had a lot of relationships that were short lived and full of drama. To be honest, being so heavily neglected growing up had left her desperate for love and affection. Most of the guys she dated wanted to date around and have fun and enjoy their college years, but Dawn would become instantly attached and clingy which would drive them away. It took her a while to work through this phase in her life, to understand why she felt/acted the way she did, and what she really needed. Before meeting Phoenix, she hadn’t dated anyone in nearly a year and was finally in a good place. That coupled with the fact that Phoenix is a very present and attentive partner means we’ve never seen that needier side of Dawn.

💖The necklace that she wears everyday was a gift from her high school best friend, Claire. Feeling rebellious one weekend, the two of them hopped a bus to visit a mall (strictly forbidden, of course). Claire caught her eyeing the necklace and bought it for her. Unfortunately, Dawn was never able to wear the necklace because A – she wasn’t allowed to wear jewelry and B – she would’ve had to explain where she’d gotten it. When she and Atlas left, Claire stopped talking to her, just like everyone else, and they’ll likely never speak again. But wearing the necklace now is kind of a symbol of her freedom from that life.

💖She loves the process of getting her nails done but can’t stand them afterwards. Every once in a while, you’ll see her with long painted nails, but they never last long because she removes them after a few days. (fun fact: she has beautifully manicured nails when she gives birth to Aspen because I forgot to remove them from her swimwear after their Sulani vacation. I didn’t want to risk messing up the childbirth process by going into CAS to fix it… so let’s just say she had her nails done while in labor, cos why not?)

💖There is an intentional inconsistency in the story that I doubt anyone noticed, it’s such a small detail… In this scene, Dawn mentions having a dog growing up: “He was a miniature schnauzer named Snickerdoodle. [giggles] But I would call him DooDoo.” … But then later, in this scene, it’s stated that Atlas has never had a dog: “He’s not used to dogs. In fact, he’s never had a pet of any kind before, so he isn’t sure what to do.” These two grew up in the same home, so what's the deal? Who was Snickerdoodle? This was actually Claire’s dog, and Dawn was absolutely smitten by him and would pretend to herself that it was her dog. (And she did in fact get in trouble once for saying DooDoo.)

[justtimings]

Jujutsu Kaisen - "The JJK Trio As Your Sibling"

contents: tooth-rotting fluff, crack, them as your siblings

features: idatori yuuji, kugisaki nobara, fushiguro megumi

a/n: this is my very first time doing something like this, so i hope i did well characterizing them.. also, can you tell i was struggling a little w/ megumi? i feel i'm similar to him (i'm also a younger sibling & my sister said i act exactly like him) but it was still challenging. nonetheless, i hope you enjoy!!

Idatori Yuuji ➤

Sweetest older brother on the planet!! Loves to spend quality time with you: he's a family guy

He'a a genuine idiot to the core. Always saying stupid shit that has you cackling on the ground until your stomach burns

Definitely a dog person: convinced y'alls parents to get one, which eventually turned to two, then three

The type of person to make stupid songs out of anything, and you eventually started to join in without hesitation

He loves watching movies, especially horror, and has a tradition of watching them on his birthday

Though he is a great brother, he was a certified menace when you were a little kid: convincing you that you're from the jungle, or that you're an alien

You've designated him as your personal chef; he could pursue culinary if he really wanted to

If being annoying as hell was a job, he'd be a fucking billionaire. He always finds a way to tick you off, intentional or not

Likes to keep notebooks from school (whether it be algebra, biology, etc.) to pass down to you once you take that class

He's the older brother that everyone knows and loves ^_^

Kugisaki Nobara ➤

Also surprisingly gives me older sibling vibes! I don't know what it is about her, but she just radiates cool older sister

Her favorite hobby's shopping, and she forces you to go with her on all her sprees

Loves spoiling you, getting you at least two things on every trip she takes you to

She adores searching for getaways, and she's always finding the perfect places for a family vacation

As much as she loves going out, she's not a fan of nature, and will definitely scream and cuss you out if you jokingly bring a bug near her

Very big on pictures!! She will capture it all, the mundane and the memorable

Super overprotective of you. She does not let anyone play with her little sibling, and she will go to hell and back to prove it

Uses the fact that she's older than you to send you to ask your parents for something she wants

Definitely obsessed with astrology. She knows all of her friends' charts, and full on rambles about what each of the placements mean everytime you forget

She's the iconic older sister that practically raised you, if we're being honest

Fushiguro Megumi ➤

He's a younger sibling, for sure (yes ik he also canonically is, but it's also so obvious when he's with Yuuji & Nobara)

He'll sometimes randomly blurt something out just to see confusion wash over your face; thinks your expressions are the funniest thing in the world

Speaking of which, he also opens your door just to stare at you before closing it, stifling laughter as he walks away

He's secretly competitive. You always catch him huffing and giving you death stares after losing in a round of Uno

Gets second-hand embarrassment from anything you do in public. It would be over the most ordinary thing too, like accidentally dropping a fruit in the grocery store

His curt character paired with his insults can either have you wheezing until you physically can't, or it can be the biggest stab at your ego

Loves going on walks: he enjoys the scenery, and it helps to clear his mind of stress. He'll most likely be out for 30 minutes just aimlessly strolling through the neighborhood

Has a hobby of analyzing music & films and loves to explain it to you. He's very attentive when it comes to literature/symbolism

He's a typical younger sibling, but you wouldn't have it any other way

please give me any feedback on my work! i'm extremely new to writing, so if you have any tips to help with that, i'd deeply appreciate it!

[mishkakagehishka]

And here's from the thread i posted on twt but slightly reworked bc i think i wasted it on twt lol but

There's the idea that speaking a dialect makes someone less educated or dumb. And asides from the fact that i just think kansai sounds Good, Mika subverts this trope of characters in media who are given dialectal speech as a symbol of "this character is meant to be dumb" because he is actually GENUINELY intelligent. I can name examples for three days, but in the end I always return to HE READ. THE MABINOGION. IN MIDDLE ENGLISH. And got into Yumenosaki which is apparently known for having an awfully difficult entrance exam. What i'm saying is, i appreciate SO MUCH that happyele didn't give him a "country" accent because they wanted us to know he's dumb in the simplest way they could show it. They actually let him have a personality that doesn't revolve around stereotypes. His dialect is treated as nothing more than his manner of speaking, not something that is tied into his intelligence or something we are supposed to judge his character based on. In fact, he himself has talked about how people see him and how they expect him to act just because of his accent - and he has mentioned that it's upsetting to him!!! It's refreshing to see this sort of stuff acknowledged in media when for so long, non-standard accents and dialects were just used as another way to present a character's lack of intelligence and education through speech characterisation.

And you know what - I think that fits very well into the other thing I really love ab him - he's a character based entirely on contrast and paradoxes. Not just the contrast between him speaking a dialect associated with certain characteristics (extroversion, humour, openness, but also stupidity) and being. Well. Shy and introverted and not very quick with coming up with funny quips and INTELLIGENT (i have eternal beef with everyone who falls for Mika's "uhm sorry I musta dropped my brain somewhere" act). But also so many other contrasts like. I don't care, I choose to believe his mismatched eyes are supposed to represent that. Asymmetric on the outside AND inside. We all know he loves creepy/cute, he often calls creepy stuff cute and he loves horror movies and he collects scary images/posters but he also LOVES cute things, he rescues plushies from the trash!! And fixes them and names them and loves them!!!!

But like whatever whatever he's a little orphan who lied to us ab getting adopted, who almost buried his roommate alive bc he thought he killed him, who threatened to kill himself or Shu's future spouse if he gets married, who has been obsessed with Some Guy since he saw him once in, like, elementary(?) school, who decided to enter Yumenosaki (AND MANAGED) almost on impulse, who loves the trash-picking part-time jobs bc he doesn't have to interact with anyone, who collects and fixes thrown away plushies, who apparently makes eroguro art, who wants to be a beacon of hope for all the children who were abandoned and feel as alone as he did, who manages to overcome shyness when he has to talk for TV bc Shu is too shy etc etc i actually adore him.

He means everything to me.

[jinbedreams]

Rambling about personal things ahead be warned lol

I'm having a rough time feeling like I don't have someone to share my life with. It feels like everything is sectioned off into parts and nothing really crosses over which means when I find something really cool and exciting I don't have anyone to turn to and share my excitement with immediately. I have to hold onto it and wait until someone else in my life volunteers that they are also interested. It's like it's become harder to reach out because I just keep getting my enthusiasm met with lukewarm half-interest. And then when I do see someone I know who is interested in that thing I'm lagging behind or they've already talked to other people about it first and there's this awkwardness in the air.

I want to share my love and interests with someone who is fully interested in me and what I have to say. Someone who is curious and wants to accompany me on my journey. Someone who genuinely wants to go on a journey and travel with me. Who wants to stay in a hotel with me and explore a new place together. Who wants to watch movies with me and talk about the various symbols and tropes we picked up on. Someone who adores the way I love various sad old fictional characters and will not just tease me about it but suggests new ones for me to check out. Someone who will let me watch them play video games while I draw and vice versa.

I want someone to be interested in me. These days I feel like people mostly just tolerate me. I'm abrasive and blunt, I lose track of my thoughts and my time, I struggle with object (and emotional) permanence.

When I try to reach out it feels performative and sometimes it feels like I don't respond the way people were expecting me too and that feels alienating. I overthink things so I try course correct by not thinking about much at all. I want to be relaxed and happy and unbothered by life but I worry that instead I'm signaling that I am content in my loneliness. I should be content in my loneliness because I cannot demand people love me or care for me. So I do my best to accept the love that I am given and try not to desire anything more.

I know there are people in my life who would feel my absence if I was no longer there. I also feel like it wouldn't be so big of an absence. The gaps I would leave would be filled again soon enough by other people like me.

I think I'm just broken. A tiny bit of the universe with so much love to give and nowhere to truly direct it either outwards or inwards. There's this gap beside me I've been trying to fill all my life. Sometimes I've gotten pretty damn close to finding that person I want to spend my life with but ultimately nothings really panned out and I truly believe it's because I'm broken. I have the desire to love but somehow do not contain the ability to love in that way.

I know that love takes work, it's not a magical spark that just makes everything fall into place, but you gotta at least have a spark to begin with right? Something that draws you to that other person, both coming back to each other again and again.

Man I don't know I have no real experience as to how it should feel.

[kerubimcrepin]

Episode 12 - The Great Glucid, Part 2

I don't know why, but this episode is very cute to me.

Kerubim being a baker is also just a bit emotionally charged to me, in a good way, — even if it is just a silly little episode.

It feels nice, that he engaged in a hobby that one wouldn't expect of him. This isn't exactly manly, monster-slaying adventurer stuff. And that's good! He should do things that make him happy and proud more!

It's also nice that he spent time with his mentor's grandchildren, considering Kerubim seems to adore kids. (Perhaps, that's one of the reasons he wants Joris to call him a grampy-cat, instead of a father? Because that was his first real experience with a functional family, as an orphan and a demigod?)

Very succulent and healthy energies all around, compared to his usual tales of violence and divorce and toxic friendships.

And, perhaps, at least in part, it's also nice because it's his cultural and familial heritage, as a person who grew up in Amakna?

It feels like we're exploring a part of Kerubim's identity that isn't something like "gambler, cheater, warrior, ORPHAN WITH A DEAD FAMILY who's only brother left HATES him, god's plaything, divorcee," and instead something more gentle, kinder, like "guy who likes babysitting," or "an Amaknean man in his natural environment (making baked goods)"

Like yes. He should be baking. Yugo, his fellow countryman, should also be baking. From both of their shows, we can see that Amaknean men are at their happiest when they're in the kitchen. So, chop-chop!

...We will see that despite trying really hard to hate one another, Atcham and Kerubim are... quite passionate about their family history and heritage. No wonder he became a baker.

*Wakfu: One More Gate is an unreliable source due to its plot being a dream, however, if it is based off things that really happened to Oropo during his youth, and considering the fact that, to my knowledge, the game's plot was changed into the dream thing during development, it would imply that the Crepin family has been selling things, especially weapons, for generations.

Yessss another dice moment.

Me @ fictional men I like.

He switches between holding two different weapons. BOOO tomato tomato tomato, how dare they have an animation error in their children's cartoon. (I'm joking.)

To reiterate, I really think we should talk more about Kerubim being good at baking and being really proud of it. (To the point of being a show-off, as he is with everything else he's good at.)

My headcanons of the day:

Kerubim is definitely the one who made the food in the beginning of the Julith movie.

I think Kerubim would learn how to make macarons without any machines involved, and give himself carpal tunnel and actual hand damage over it. Because he'd like the idea of being A Guy Who Can Make Macarons that much.

People in this house LOVE standing on tables and counters. Micromen. Manlets. Tinyguys.

On one hand,

On the other hand, he looks genuinely sad about what happened.

I suppose, considering this whole thinly-veiled-symbolism-for-addiction-played-for-funnies thing happened after this story, this might have been one of the last times Kerubim spent with his mentor while he was healthy.

And while it is only in my head, bc we here on this blog take this show way too fuckin' seriously: This guy might have been the first normal familial figure in his life, considering the whole Demigod/Orphan thing.

Aaand I just made myself sad.

Anyway, HURTING HIM.

[williameschenk]

Introduction

I'm William E. Schenk. Will is fine, Willy is less fine, just don't call me 'Detective.' Never.

I probably wasted the last fifteen years of my life chasing someone, but I've got a passion project in progress right now, and it's going great. Really killer results. :)!

Feel free to throw anything my way, I'm on here for the experience, whatever that'll be.

----

Roleplay account dedicated to William Emmerson/Schenk from the movie "Spiral: From the Book of Saw"

Hi! Thanks for checking out this character account! It's my first, not sure how much people will care for a William Schenk blog (since people adore Spiral /sarcasm) but Willy is here to party, talk to anyone (saw oc accounts, other saw character accounts, anons) and piece his life and who he is back together after being disappointed by his failed fifteen year "recruitment effort". (Zeke Banks 🤫) He's still spiral killing!

Feel free to bother him whenever about anything!! Forever! On any type of post! In any way!

Heavy emphasis on the "figuring out who he is" line. He has been a man on a mission since age twelve, that's why there's nothing about his hobbies or identity (gender, pronouns, sexuality). Making this up as I go, who William is will be shaped by the interactions he has on this blog!

I'll do my best to be in-character! (If you want to refer to me for any reason, you can call me 'Ari', any pronouns.)

// symbol signifies that something is ooc and from me

Feel free to ask genuinely anything! Please!! Go wild!

Trigger warning for the usual Saw Franchise topics: All types of violence/Nsfw mentions

I know William doesn't know any of the other Saw characters at all, but I'm sure he'd like to meet some of them!

Some tags:

#William's Blog - All of William's posts and interactions without running into the same reblogs repeatedly

#Spiral Killer William - Whenever William eludes to being the Spiral Killer or discusses his work as the Spiral Killer.

#William Socializes - William talking to other rp blogs (I will use this one all the time for every interaction, it's just fun)

#William Talks - William shouts into the void (talks to nobody in particular)

#William Answers - For your (non rp) asks!! :) Love these!

(I can't find anything concrete on tumblr rp etiquette [I also just don't know how Tumblr works], so feel free to let me know if there's anything I'm missing or doing incorrectly! Pls!)

[practically-an-x-man]

Answer the questions and tag 5 fanfic authors you know

Thanks @goldheartedchaoticdisaster!!

How did you get into writing fanfiction?

I was writing fanfic as a kid before I even knew what it was, I was always coming up with little stories and ideas (it always ended up where I hand-wrote ~6 pages and proceeded to completely forget about it), but it was during the early COVID pandemic that I actually started getting into the fandom scene as a whole. I started reading fanfics when I needed a pick-me-up (@asteralpine's Loki's Lullabies series GOT ME THROUGH the pandemic, no joke, they're probably the reason I stayed sane), which then led to me experimenting with writing some of my own and daring to post it.

I had the benefit of finding a little writer-friendship with another writer on AO3 when I first started out (we both wrote for Hank McCoy and would comment on each other's fics), and they would comment on every chapter of my fic even though it was probably extremely obvious that I was a new writer who didn't always know what they were doing. I genuinely think that without that encouragement and feedback, I would have fizzled out and lost confidence as a writer, so I am forever grateful to brigid1318 on AO3 for helping me get started.

2. How many fandoms have you written in?

12, not counting rollovers (y'know like "X-Men: Movieverse" vs. "X-Men: Alternate Timeline Movies"). A couple of those are just gift fics or oneshots for friends, though, not regular fandoms I write for.

3. How many years have you been writing fanfiction?

Three and a half? Not counting all the things I wrote as a kid before I even realized they were fanfic

4. Do you read or write more fanfiction?

Hm... I'd say it's about a 50/50 split. At the moment I'm not really branching out and exploring new fics to read, I'm kinda sticking with trying to keep up with my friends' fics since I'm so busy right now, but I'm always writing something or another.

5. What is one way you've improved as a writer?

I think crafting my characters has really improved overall. My early OCs weren't awful, and there are elements that I still like about them, but my more recent OCs just feel so much more real and human compared to the old ones.

6. What's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

Oh man... the history of the New York Aquarium - for my Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire fic, Heart in Your Hands. The weird part is that, since one of the characters is a ghost from 1915, I had to research both the modern version and the historical timeline, to make sure the character had the right perspective on it. And just the layout of NYC as a whole, since I've never been there myself.

7. What's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work?

I mean, I really love any comment I get and I will never complain (unless you're mean, but... y'know, that's a given), but I LIVE for the comments that pick out particular lines or moments that they noticed. I work hard to include symbolism, foreshadowing, or even just fun bits of figurative language in my writing, and I never know what gets noticed by the readers, so I absolutely adore comments that let me see inside a reader's head like that.

8. What's the most fringe trope/topic you write about?

Uh... Taking Flight as a whole is pretty fringe. It takes place in the Fablehaven fandom, which is tiny, and on top of that, it involves a lot of discussion into various cryptids and magical creatures, some of which are very obscure.

9. What is the hardest type of story for you to write?

Pure-blooded romance, for sure. I need there to be something else happening, even if it's small or weird or whatever. I've never been able to read or write a story that's solely about two characters getting together.

10. What is the easiest type?

I'm gonna say angst or horror. I watch a TON of horror movies (it's kinda my job lol) and read a lot of horror books, so capturing that whole atmosphere is really easy for me at this point.

11. Where do you do your writing? What platform? When?

Most of my writing is on AO3, though I've gotten into the habit of doing some writing here on tumblr too - mainly oneshots, ficlets, bonus pieces, etc., while the main fics or series are on AO3.

12. What is something you've been too nervous/intimidated to write, but would love to write one day?

I read the Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires a while back and was fascinated by the character James Harris (I want to slice him up and put him on microscope slides), and I want to write a piece exploring more of the book's themes of subtle manipulation and abuse. I haven't written it yet because 1. I don't trust people's reading comprehension and I worry it would be misconstrued as me glorifying abuse when it absolutely is not, and 2. I haven't seen anyone really talk about the book so I can't imagine many people would read it

13. What made you choose your username?

I chose my tumblr username first, then just made my AO3 username the same one. It's an anecdote about my personal life - I've got a ton of genetic mutations (my body is lowkey a total mess) so I'm 'practically an X-Man'

Tagging (no pressure!): @can-of-pringles @kyber-infinitygems @witchy-self-shipper @negative-speedforce @sashathedoge

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Virginia O'Brien (Panama Hattie, Til the Clouds Roll By, The Harvey Girls)��oh god I love a sarcastic deadpan bitch. She shows up in a lot of not-very-good 1940s/50s movies as a side character who Sings One Song and then Leaves, but it always brightens up the proceedings to have her come in looking like she wants to kill everybody before fucking off and doing it again somewhere else. She would absolutely do numbers in a modern sitcom.  

Dorothy Dandridge (Carmen Jones, Porgy and Bess, Island in the Sun)— The first Black actress to ever be nominated for best actress, Dorothy Dandridge was a groundbreaking actress who deserved better. She started her career as a singer, being put in a song-and-dance duo with her sister by their stage mother, and singing in soundies (I highly recommend cow cow boogie, it's adorable), proto-music videos. She started appearing as a featured singer in films. Her star was on the rise and she soon became a star solo performer. She continued acting, but had limited options because she refused to do stereotypical roles. She finally landed a starring role in Bright Road in 1953, but it was the movie Carmen Jones that truly cemented her as a star and sex symbol. Not to sound cheesy, but she literally sizzles on screen. You can't help but understand how poor Harry Belafonte gets caught in her trap, just look at her. This is the role that got her that Oscar nom. She didn't win cause I mean #OscarsSoWhite, but she was a sensation and continued starring in films, despite troubles in her life (including a shitty director bf who fucked with her career and a traumatizing pregnancy/delivery). Outside of her filmwork, she was also an activist, fighting against racism. She left behind an amazing legacy, and continues to inspire many actresses to this day (including also very hot first (and only) black woman to win best actress, Halle Berry).

This is round 1 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Virginia O'Brien:

Dorothy Dandridge propaganda:

Beautiful actress and hand-working and talented singer, she's especially notable for the number of firsts she accomplished such as the first African-American woman to receive a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and the first African-American woman to appear on the cover of Life magazine.

Dorothy Dandridge was a classic Hollywood triple threat, singing, dancing, and acting with the best of them. She was the first African American nominated for an academy award for Best Actress for her role in Carmen Jones and she was just jaw-droppingly beautiful.

this og of black film needs no introduction (star on the hollywood walk of fame anyone?), voice of an angel, heavenly features, just an overall stunning lady :)

Look at her!!! She is so unbelievably charismatic in Carmen, it’s insane. Her chemistry with Harry Belafonte is off the charts, and every time she puts another outdoor [sic] on it’s like ‘oh god this is a whole new level of stunning’ 🥵. She was so so talented, when she’s on screen I genuinely dare you to tear your eyes away from her. Deserves to be known so much better but due to Hollywood racism and a tough personal life she didn’t make it as big as she should have done. She’s incredible.

First Black actress to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress! Was the first choice for the role of Cleopatra that went to Elizabeth Taylor (we were ROBBED).

[thelittlehansy]

Opinion about The little mermaid remake

I enjoy it because I really really love the story one of my fav Disney movies. I found Ariel as endearing that in the animated and her relationship with Eric is amazing show. Adorable and I like how they really succeed to show the eric from the cartoon rebellious and a genuine kind and benevolent soul. When I was watching the movie I was like yes they got his personality right. that’s him. Now for the bad the world under the sea 🥲 I found it unbelievable and unrealistic I had a very difficult time with the world under the sea.

The big point I would like to talk about is….

SPOILERS

Eric dont kill Ursula. I saw that coming talk about it on my blog 😅

To me it was very very important that Eric is the one that kill Ursula at the end and no just because that make him freaking badass

Reason one : save Ariel.

The whole plot of the movie is that Ariel saved his life. without Ariel , Eric would have been dead. so him saving the life of Ariel at the end by killing Ursula is powerful. I don’t see any bad thing in it. To me Ariel already show the feminist aspect of her personality she is the one taking actions she is the one that made the badass epic choice to save Eric during a murderous Storm and give him Back to his people. So it’s really symbolic imo that at the end of the movie he is the one killing Ursula.

Reasons 2 : Ursula herself

Ursula is in her little bubble at least Triton a knowledge the human world but not Ursula e everything is about her And the sea world Plotting to take Triton powers by using Ariel. Eric is a random humain he is tool that she used to gain what she wants. and at the end of the movie she is been killed by the one she had never paid attention by the one she never considered to be a treated at all for her. so it is at the end a great lesson for the sea witch.

Reason 3 : Triton

Triton hate the humain and think they are all evil and then there is Eric a kind and benevolent human that save him and the whole ocean by his love for her daughter by killing the sea witch who was treathening them. Eric could have stay in his land after his wedding and let Ariel alone but he did not do that and challenge the sea witch. A scene between triton and Eric after he said goodbye to Ariel would have been so great.

Conclusion not disappointed because I read really awful review enjoy it but yeah the world undersea not a fan.

[slayerlevampire]

ask game time and I'm gonna be weird--

Neil Watts with 5, 15, and/or 25

Eva Rosaline with 1, 13, and/or 20

And just 'cause, Dr Robotnik with 21, 23, and/or 26 >:3

Weeeee let's gooooo

Neil Watts

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

- Cancer by MCR, and probably because of our crackship lmfao

15. What's your favorite ship for this character? (Doesn't matter if it's canon or not.)

-SPEAKING OF THE CRACKSHIP, Wattley, of course, (Wheatley from Portal x Neil Watts for those who don't know) if not just for the fun times. Though Rosawatts is a close second because they're sooo cuuuute

25. What was your first impression of this character? What about now?

-He's a loser, and he's still a loser but now he's my special loser. And tragic.

Eva Rosaline

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

- I love Eva because she's a great foil to Neil for one, but that's more why I like both of them, and she's just so cool and collected. A good head on her shoulders, and her fascination for jellyfish is adorable.

13. What's an emoji, an emoticon and/or any symbol that reminds you of this character or that you think they would use a lot?

- 🥕🍅 carrots because of the replacement cussing, tomatoes because I think if she'd got into memes any she'd do the whole "booo, tomato tomato tomato 🍅 🍅 🍅 " thing often lol

20. What character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

- It's probably boring of me to say Neil, but it's true! They're just, ya know, real great for each other, whether just as friends or maybe more. And maybe I'm biased, and maybe it doesn't help that there's not many titular characters I can see her hanging out with lol

Dr. Robotnik

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

- Ugh, I just love writing for Robotnik in general. (The live action Sonic movies version of him, specifically, that's the version I always deal with for those who don't know.) I do more roleplaying than fic writing, so I'll use that more for my basis, but I adore writing moments he gets to be genuine. Which is NOT often at ALL, lemme tell ya. Whether that's for genuine hatred or sadness or happiness or anything, I love it. I guess more specifically I like describing the way he's looking at someone for whatever reason, eyes squinting or upper lip twitching, things like that. I'm a sucker for imagery. As for what I don't like, well, not really anything lol. I adore anything about writing him.

23. Favorite picture of this character?

- Don't know how to answer this one! I don't really have any pictures of him saved since I have a new phone. I love pretty much any fanart with him in it though!

26. FREEBIE QUESTION!!

- I would have assumed Freebie Question meant you gave me one you came up with yourself, but since you didn't I guess I just get to say what I want lol. So I'm gonna go with my favorite AU! My favorite AU I've ever written him for is a vampire AU where he's a vampire and Agent Stone is his drudge. I have made so many OC's for that AU alone that I have remastered and repurposed since then, too. Second favorite is probably the one where he's a siren but at this point I'm just a sucker for any sort of Monster/Cryptid Robotnik lol. And as for other AU's I've read, there's this really cool (abandoned I believe) fic on Wattpad (shocker) where he's this powerful dark elf. And as for here on Tumblr, I can't pick a favorite tbh I adore them all that I've seen thus far djddjeidjisd.

[saintofdaggers]

top 10 movies I've watched this year (so far!)

cinema my beloved artistic medium <3 I'm not counting rewatches, so here are some of my new faves.

Saw: but of course. masterfully made and intense as hell, amazing characters, some iconic lines, one of the most endings ever written. careful: may induce immediate and massive brainrot.

Saw V: one of the best (and gayest) in the franchise. criminally underrated. people with taste know exactly what I'm talking about.

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944): old movies are a LOT less boring and tame than some people would think. an almost perfect insane black comedy with impeccable acting and some truly unhinged jokes. Cary Grant and Peter Lorre were such icons in this.

Angel Dust: liminal-spacey urban isolation, obsession, a dreamlike murder mystery that gets more and more unhinged the deeper we go. one of the most hypnotically beautiful psychological horror movies I've ever seen.

A Nightmare on Elm Street: a true classic. adore the set design, the soundtrack, the scares. new favorite final girl just dropped.

Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary: an Expressionist silent film adaptation of a ballet adaptation of Dracula. insanely beautiful and beautifully insane.

Don't Look Now: another classic I should have checked out much sooner. tense, eerie, unsettling, heartbreaking. the color red has never been scarier. it literally gave me a nightmare!!

A Dark Song: a minimalist occult character study about grief, selfishness and flawed people making each other worse. an absolutely beautiful obscure Irish slow-burn horror that I adore to pieces (I also think that jarring ending was thematically perfect for the story, but that's just me).

Let the Corpses Tan: one of the most stylish horny movies I've ever seen! hypnotically colorful, visually rich, and the sound editing is shiver-inducing. this might be the kinkiest neo-western thriller ever (I realize that's a pretty narrow category anyway, but this movie dominates it for sure).

Garth Marenghi's Darkplace: an absolutely deranged masterpiece. genuinely one of the funniest parodies I've ever seen, and so magnificently tasteless. my sides were aching by the time I was done.

+ short films: My House Walk-Through (fucking terrifying!!!), Meshes of the Afternoon (symbolic cinema at its finest, and so beautifully eerie), AM1200 (stylish, terse, scary as hell), The Black Tower (what does it mean? what does it all mean??)

[measuringbliss]

Baring Peter Parker: The Ditko era (1/3) - The Tie Symbolism

MASTERPOST

This post was slightly edited on 22.12.2023.

Does Peter Parker appear as sexually enticing from the get-go? What's the matter with his tie? Why is issue #17 so important?

Let's say these are compendiums of my observations. Sometimes there's analysis, and sometimes it's just things I remark on.

Note: When I say stuff like "masculine", "virile" and "feminine", I assume a classical, uncomplicated view of gender as "men fight, women cook". These comics *were* made in the Sixties, after all.

#1/2/3

The panel where Peter puts on his costume and is midway through his stomach is a classic of the comics and comes back again and again. It's featured pretty much in every issue.

As a civilian, he's usually featured in a classic suit: loose pants, sometimes bare forearms, it's not really erotic as much as functional.

I'd argue the end of #6 is the first time Peter's shown in an enticing manner. He's shown sewing his suit a few times beforehand, but here, he's sprawling on a couch and enjoying himself in a way the comics haven't shown until then. His collar is open, contrary to his work attire, he's resting his foot.

#7 features for the first time a close shot on Peter's hand. I wouldn't exactly say it's glamorized, but it's not bad on the eyes either.

It also features an interesting scene where Peter is in a position of weakness: he's visibly worried (along with the regular sewing scenes, it makes Peter more personable to the female audience), he's sneaking out the way you'd see in teen movies, but whereas in those, the guys sneaking out are usually shown as mischievous and eager to go out, Peter is shown as genuinely worried the way girls should have been. Different socialization directions! Of course, the fact Peter has been raised by his aunt (and uncle, but we never see much of him) probably explains in part how much of Peter's feminine side is shown. And as I said, his feminine side makes him approachable. See the way he's holding his jacket in the middle panel of the last row, it's almost like a woman covering her breasts from the audience. His sprained arm in the same issue is just more of this: he's not the all-strong, virile, macho hero (at least, not yet, we'll see more of that in the following era).

In #8, Peter is challenged to a boxing match by Flash, and they both wear very short shorts, as expected in those events. This is the first time Peter is depicted wearing so little, and it's obviously to showcase his strength. Interestingly, he's the one bridal-carrying a knocked-out Flash at the end in a quite obviously homoerotic pose. Also interestingly, no female character comments on Peter's body. He's not objectified in-narrative. It's my own gaze that makes it -(homo)erotic.

#9 also features several interesting things. Similarly to #6, Peter's shown looking casual (middle panel), but this time, he's topless, although he still wears suit pants. There's something adorably youthful in Peter's pose in the next panel, something that rarely see after that and that I don't recall ever seeing in Romita Sr. or Conway's eras. In the fourth panel, Peter's wearing a tee for the first time. The artist try new things. It's simple, but Peter's arms are flexed. Compared to the previous issue's virility, here, it's much more balanced.

In #10, Peter gets a blood test and the sleeve thing is back. Later in the same issue, he's briefly held against a much bigger man, and there are two things to note:

First, Peter's suit contrasts with the rowdy treatment he receives. Second, his tie. His tie's important! It's out, flowing desperately, it showcases Peter's panic and his struggle with hiding his heroic self. And once he gets in control of his emotions, he fixes it. Naturally, what you can do with ties is also pull at them, undo them. I'd say these panels are very interesting. I hope we see more of Peter's tie acting up. Think about what a tie symbolizes and what it points at.

In the same issue, you can see a callback to Peter spraying on a couch--but this time, he's quite bothered.

The cover of #12 is quite curious as well. Peter's not showing a feat of strength, he's being possessed by Dr. Octopus, held by his long tentacles, on his back, limbs dangling over the floor, unmasked and humiliated in front of civilians. It's similarly to Romita's first tenure a few years later, in that Peter's in a typically feminine position.

Later in that issue, Peter is sick, a "poor boy" (and offers the gazers his feet, if they care). His feminine traits are fine as long as he's still young. That's not to say that Peter lacks masculine attributes; he's also often rash and a dumbass (aren't we all?).

Note his clumsiness in #13 (two plates in minutes, Peter!) and subsequent submissive position as he picks up the broken plate, in spite of his dialogue. Also, the pink pajamas. Peter's not cishet.

The tie is back in #15! Not only that...

Peter looks like the ideal male here: muscled, joyful and approachable. You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like. Funnily enough, the issue also features clumsy Pete again as well as the White Tee of Nakedness.

And the Sprawling Legs of Approachability!

Anytime he wears that white tee, it feels obscene.

It feels like #16 finally showcases how form-fitting Spidey's costume actually is, but it's not what I focus on--just thought I'd mention it here.

In the magical Annual #1, Peter's laying on his bed, and his position is almost that of a Pin-up, what's with his arms above his head and his leg slightly bent. The calf dangling from the bed also implies casualness, comfort. Even the tie is not straight (ha!). And later...

Forearms!

You could argue new shirt, I would argue bad coloring. Still, he's practically naked here. Remember: Being naked isn't as erotic as hiding the skin.

#17 has the tie!!!

Now, Peter's just taunting the reader. The first panel? His disheveled hair? His open collar, barely tucked-in shirt, ruffled pants, flying jacket. This is THE moment. Or The Moment. The turning point. Peter looks like he just had some fun with someone else in a closet (ha!). He's erotic. And when he's running, the suit clearly espouses his buttocks.

THE OPEN BELT?! The ease of movement? Oh, this issue is IT.

And at the end, Peter visually bares himself to the audience (the shadow makes it clear).

By this point, I find Ditko's art actually enjoyable. His Spidey scenes are particularly pretty, but he's noticeably more used to the whole setting.

In the next part, we should hopefully cover the rest of Lee and Ditko's run (until #38, included). I haven't read past 1976, so I won't get to the 80s anytime soon, but I'll definitely talk about the Romita Sr. and Conway eras.

I've already rambled about Peter's quantum sentient inflatable butt in Civil War (#532-538) HERE if you're curious.