#I love the 1925 film so so much

[wanderinghedgehog]

Newest video editing project. 1925 Valjean paired with the song Time Will Change You by The Crane Wives. Hope y’all like this one.

[exdeputysonso]

friendless and brown eyes fancam <3

[hometoursandotherstuff]

Gorgeous 1925 English Tudor style home in New Rochelle, New York is a foreclosure. It has 4bds, 4ba, $999K. But, the bank will only accept a buyer with cash or a renovation loan.

Look at this gorgeous woodwork. It is well worth the price, but there's not much reno to do. Why would you want to change this? The only thing I see is a dirty floor. It looks like it's been freshly painted.

I wish they would've taken a closeup of that magnificent fireplace. Look at the doors on the left and the leaded stained glass windows.

Look at this. A couple stairs up to the hallway, thru this beautiful shelving. Look at the artwork above the window, also.

I hesitate to call this amazing area a sun porch, b/c it's too sophisticated, but it could be one. It's enclosed, so it's not a loggia.

It has a typically English Tudor ceiling in this room and the wood paneling is so beautiful

The eat-in kitchen and cabinets are in good shape. Looks like there's a new dishwasher with the protective film still on.

What a great pantry.

I don't know what this room is, but it's nice and appears to have a closet and an outside door.

I wonder if the lift works.

Here's a nice large bedroom. Maybe it's the primary.

That bath needs some work. Weird toilet cubby.

Here's another nice room.

This one's a nice shape.

This bath is fine.

This is lovely up here. It's a finished attic, but has the duct work exposed.

This bath is perfectly fine, too. This house doesn't need a reno loan to completely modernize it, though, that would be a shame. Hope they don't paint the wood white and the walls gray.

The grounds need some clean up and this is the garage. Wow, look how fancy the floor was. The property measures .37 acre.

[absolutebl]

I Feel You Linger In the Air

You ready for this?

The quickest of quick thoughts: I loved this show and hated the ending, but not for the reason you think.

This is gonna be one of my big meta beast-sized posts, skip to the end for the final review.

Some Historical Context for I Feel You Linger In The Air - Thailand 1925-1932

I love history and so here's some info that any Thai watcher would likely know, but the rest of us might not... ready?

The Historical Stage:

Burma (now Myanmar) to the west is occupied by the British.

The French hold Vietnam to the east.

Everyone is bickering over what would become Cambodia & Laos.

China occasionally gets involved from the North (also, lots of immigrants from China at this time accounting for a large percentage of the merchant/middle class)

Eventually, Japan would invade during WWII.

In part, The Kingdom of Siam was kept a "neutral" party because none of the surrounding colonial powers wanted to risk offending any of the other players in the area.

Siam re-negotiated sovereignty in 1920 (from USA) and in 1925 (from France & Britain). But during the time of this show (late 1929) it was back to it's customary type-rope balancing act of extreme diplomacy with the allied western colonial powers that surrounded it.

Recognizing that Thailand was never colonized (although it was invaded), it's boarders were constantly nibbled at and it was "ambassador-occupied" off and on by westerners whose military backing and exploitive business concerns simply outmatched the monarchy, especially in the technology department (as well as by reputation on the global stage at the time).

In other words, the farang in this show (James & Robert) were always gonna be both the baddies and the power players of the narrative. (Farang is the Thai word for non-Thai's of European descent, the word means guava.)

The king of Siam at the time (Vajiravudh AKA Rama VI) was initially somewhat popular but also regarded as overly extravagant since Siam had been hit by a major postwar recession in 1919. It should also be noted that King Vajiravudh had no son because he was most likely gay (which at the time did not much concern the Siamese popular opinion, except that it undermined the stability of the monarchy leaving it without an heir).

He "died suddenly" in 1925 (age 44) with the monarchy weakened and succession handed off to his younger brother.

In 1932 a small circle of the rising bourgeoisie (all of whom had studied in Europe, mostly Paris), supported by some military, seized power from the monarchy in a practically nonviolent Siamese Revolution installing a constitutional monarchy. This is mentioned in IFYLITA in the last few episodes but did not (apparently) appear in the original novel.

Siam would then go through:

dictatorship,

WWII,

Japanese invasion,

Allied occupation,

democratic elections,

military junta,

the Indochina wars,

communist insurgency,

more democracy and popularization movements,

multiple coups,

more junta,

more monarchy,

eventually leading us to the somewhat chaotic insanity of Thai politics we have today. (Which is, frankly, a mix of monarchy, junta, democracy, egocentric popularism, and bribery.)

The Filming of I Fell You Linger in the Air

The director if this show, Tee Bundit (Hidden Agenda, Step by Step, Lovely Writer, TharnType), has never particularly impressed or offended me as a director. I would have called him simply "workmanlike" in execution: not offensive, serviceable.

So much so that I spent some time hunting for info on IFYLITA's cinematographer (who remains uncredited on MDL) because this one, of all Tee's pantheon, is ultra stylish. It, frankly, felt too good for him.

Specifically, there is a repeated visual motif in intimacy scenes of either Yai or Jom being filmed from behind a screen/drape/curtain making them seem more translucent, like a ghost or spirit. While the other half of the pair is filmed with sharp clarity. In the first half of the series this is more likely to be Yai (an unknown and mysterious element), as the show progresses, it's more likely to be Jom (the person outside of place and time, destined to vanish all together). This cleverly conveys story, tension, and foreshadow (future shadow?)

Occasionally we shift over so they both become obscured and then clear again.

This stylized version of dirty framing and filters is used to foreshadow and then constantly remind us about that Jom slipped (and is slipping) through time and the disconnect that causes to his sense of reality and purpose, and to his burgeoning relationship.

For example, the scene where Yai is drunk and asleep in his bed. The first time Jom is sitting in a chair drawing him. Yai is blurry behind the screen while Jom is solid and sharp.

This filming technique combined with dirty and peekaboo framing is being used to give the watchers the impression of looking at something we maybe shouldn't, like we are being creepy and intruding on their private time. After all, they can see EACH OTHER clearly, it's only us who have the visual impairment.

This gives us a sense of doom and discomfort and slight sensation that we shouldn't be there. We shouldn't be watching. But ALSO that we too are outside of time, filtered by the future.

In other words his sense of displacement is being used to trigger ours visually.

It's all quite clever.

It's both beautiful and atmospheric and discomforting and touch stressful. Meaning that it is ALSO a visual vehicle to drive narrative tension. As effective as scary music, perhaps more so in this show (since I personally found the musical motifs and refrains somewhat overused.)

Linguistic corner

The word for reflection and shadow is the same in Thai.

Note on the por/phor/phô honorific in Thai

I have not encountered it before in BL. I am indebted to @embraceyourfandom for the following information;

Phô is a paternal honorific, luang phô is used for respected monks. It basically means father. And is oft seen as male honorific for village elders. It's also used as a male prefix in the names of several occupations like:

พ่อครัว phô khrua (khrúa= kitchen -> chef)

พ่อค้า phô khá (khá= trade -> merchant)

พ่อมด phô mót (mót= person of occult knowledge -> wizard)

พ่อบ้าน phô bân (bân =house -> butler) - most relevant

So, Yai's use is probubly foreshadowing that Jom will be a butler for his house, and is primitively referring to him with this title.

All that said, phô can also be used by a "man who is older/higher on hierarchy to refer to a younger/lower on hierarchy man with intimacy and/or affection."

I think all this has to do with Jom's demonstration of education. Yai figured out early on that one of the reasons Jom doesn't belong and cannot fit in with the servants is that he is more educated than a peasant (of this time period), which for Yai adds up to him being originally from a higher status and possibly wealthy family, especially since Jom speaks English and has travelled (he has a non-northern accent).

There is very little Thai middle class at the beginning of the 1920s since trade is being dominated/dictated by the West, or Chinese merchant operations, and Siam is a monarchy. So for a nationalize Thai citizen educated means military, landed gentry with trade operations (like Yai), royal/political/diplomatic connections, or... none of the above. This changes, especially in the south, throughout this decade (as it did in other parts of the world). So there is a rising bourgeoisie going on in the background but it's not that obvious in Chang Mai at this time.

What Jom's educated lack of status means to Yai is that Jom's family either got wiped out or politically disenfranchised possibly as part of the 1912 attempted coups (or even WWI)? This would be mystifying for Yai because Jom doesn't act like he comes from a military family at all. So his background and status is very confusing for Yai, but Yai does know one thing...

Jom is NOT lower class by the standards of Yai's temporal worldview and existence.

For a young man to be educated and yet entirely alone is very dangerous and suspicious. Also, let's be clear, Jom doesn't look or act like a laborer. He red flags "cultured" all over the place.

Yai is paternalistic and caring towards Jom out the gate because Yai has a big ol'crush but also because he recognizes "his own" is trying to survive while isolated and scared.

Yai wants to rescue Jom. Yai is an ineffectual 20 year old gay intellectual. But poor thing sure tries.

Let's Talk About How I Felt About I Feel You Linger in the Air

The historical aspect was great.

I adore historical romances and we almost never get them in BL. I was always gonna be biased towards this show. (As indeed I am towards Nobleman Ryu's Wedding, Tinted with You, and To Sir With Love.) Aside from some classic Thai BL production issues (less than normal, this is very high production value for Thailand) and my issues around the sound track and repetitive repriens (which frankly were more noticeable because I binged the last half) I have no complaints on that score (heh heh).

The surrounding support cast were all quite good and we even got us some lesbians!

The emotional and narrative tensions were excellent.

Any issues I had with pacing came from focus on characters that didn't interest me, but probubly did interest others. I wasn’t wild or particularly interested in the family drama or the side characters/couples, but they were necessary to make this a fully fleshed story with historical context and to give Yai much needed characterization. Also this use of a ensemble cast is very close to Thailand's lakorn heart, even thought this one had way less scenery chewing ludicrous soapy drama (thank heavens).

I was delighted that external threat, stressors, and conflict drove this plot. That's refreshing in BL.

I have no arguments with the chemistry and kisses and sex scenes were tasteful and lovely, occasionally even heart-wrenching, and it's nice to see Thailand especially use physical intimacy to drive plot, and not the other way around.

I love historicals partly because every tiny touch can have such lingering significance, they're very elegant in their chaste physicality. This show didn't need to move into higher heat, but I'm grateful it did because even that was very well done. Thai BLs can often feel clumsy around intimacy, but not this one.

The final sex scene before Jom and Yai separate forever utilizes the ubiquitous director's-favorite-romantic-moments-flashbacks (required of all Asian romance dramas) but with acceleration and tension driven by the noises of sex, which I've never seen/heard done before. In other words: climax of sex = climax of the romance story, I see what you did there, Tee. Clever. Very clever. Bit on the nose… erm… on the… well you know what I mean.

Like all Thai BLs this wasn’t perfect, but for me this is as close as Thai BL gets to high quality romance and that’s what I want the most from my drama watching experience (if not necessarily my Thai BL experience).

But... and you knew the but was coming didn't you?

I absolutely hated the ending.

It wasn't sad, don't worry, but it also wasn't good.

There is a long drawn out separations sequence and then Jom returns to the present, drowning from a car accident. Jom is "rescued" by an moustachioed iteration of Yai from the distant past (who we met once before) and then wakes in hospital. Some time later, Jom returns to the house in Chang Mai where Yai turns up and they reunite.

The end.

There is a stinger featuring Jom once more hurled back in time, only further, meeting the warrior mustache Yai once more.

Okay, that's all I knew and all I saw.

Confused? So was I.

If this had been a regular time travel romance: Yai would have been the EMT or doctor attending Jom when he woke up and their "this time period" romance would commence. With either shared memories, or not.

Had this been set up for audience comprehension in line with the original novel, we should have had flashbacks from both Present Yai (he's not the same one, as it turns out) and deep-past Moustache Yai interwoven throughout the series. Preferably with some focus on Present Yai's quest for reunion with Present Jom AND Present Yai's own experience with visions and memory of his past lives.

A full explanation of the ending is here. This explanation of the 3 different Yais makes me like our ending more. But I shouldn't need to read Cliff's notes from some random y-novel reading fan on Tumblr to understand what's going on in a series!

There is supposedly a special happening with Jom + Present Yai.

There was unquestionably a failure in adaptation in the finale of this show.

As a fan and watcher, what I actually felt was deeply confused and hurt.

I also felt that this was a disingenuous un-earned throw away happy ending, since I had no idea who this new Present Yai was and no investment in his character. I simply didn't believe he was the same Yai (Bright is too good an actor, he was clearly a different older personality).

So the fact remains that past Yai, our Yai, the 20 year old boy we grew to understand and love, is abandoned in the past to suffer alone for the rest of his life. And THAT is an unhappy ending for one half of my beloved pair. Yes Jom gets a new Yai in the present day, but it's not the same Yai. They have no developed relationship, and Jom is doomed to leave even this new Yai and slide into the past once more. That's barely even happy for now for Jom's character.

As a result of my deep sadness for 20-year-old Yai in particular, I'm not going to be able to rewatch this show. The whole thing was rendered not just confusing but the opposite of comforting by the final 15 minutes. I'm tempted to dock it two whole points - one for the ending and the other for the lack of rewatch potential.

But the first 11.5 eps were SO GOOD.

This is one of the only times where I am actually hoping for a second season, while simultaneously being wary of the screen writing and production team's capacity to give us a satisfying one.

Industry wise? I honestly don't think we can hope too hard for a full season 2. This was an expensive show with flawed/limited distribution and little sponsorship. I don't see how they'll get funding for a second season. Unless we see this show up on like Netflix or Viki, I urge you not to hope too hard and be disappointed.

In all honestly?

I started typing up this blog post thinking Thailand was finally, after 5 years, going to earn another 10/10 from me but I just can't in good conscious give it that. It's been days and I'm still upset about that last episode.

And Now My Quick Pitch Review

I truly loved this time travel romance. IFYLITA is an exquisite BL, from filming techniques to narrative framework (much like Until We Meet Again). Steeped in history and family drama it edges into lakorn (but no as much as To Sir With Love and with way less scenery chewing). This is an elegant and classy BL... from Thailand which normally doesn't even try for classy. The main couple (both as a pair and individuals) were excellent, particularly Bright (Yai) whose eye-work acting style is a personal favorite of mine. Pity about the ending. Oh it wasn’t that sad but it wasn’t good either. This show should easily have earned a 10 from me except that it fumbled the… erm… balls. Argh. Whatever. 9/10

(source)

This post is also in My Drama List as a review.

[queer-cinephile]

30 Days of Classic Queer Hollywood

Day 20: Farley Granger (1925 - 2011)

"I was never ashamed, and I never felt the need to explain or apologize for my relationships to anyone... I have loved men. I have loved women."

Farley Granger was an American actor who starred in nearly 40 films, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s. He is best known for his starring roles in Hitchcock's Rope (1948) and Strangers on a Train (1951).

Granger was a bisexual man, enjoying relationships with men and women equally. He was relatively open about this for the time, and was not afraid to be seen with other people suspected to be queer.

Granger was interviewed in 1996 and was asked about his experiences being queer in the golden age of Hollywood.

"You always hear about the golden age of Hollywood, but there was so much hypocrisy. All the Metro kids were so beaten in the head, every move was orchestrated. To this day, they still say, 'Oh, Mr. Mayer was so good to me. He was like our daddy.' Bullshit. He was a raging homophobe. All the studio heads were.

Granger was romantically linked to several women in Hollywood, having trysts with Ava Gardner and his costar Joan Evans, as well as engagements to actresses Janice Rule and Shelley Winters.

He was romantically linked to men such as Leonard Bernstein and Arthur Laurents, the screenwriter of Rope (1948).

"Who was sleeping with whom -- male or female -- was hushed up by the studios. They could tear up your contract and you'd be through if there was talk that you were gay."

He was in a 45-year relationship with a man named Robert Calhoun, from 1963 until Calhoun's death in 2008.

[lady-of-the-spirit]

Universal Monsters + Fuckability

Qualifications (choosing movies)

I have seen the movie.

Characters listed as part of the Universal Monsters lineup (Phantom of the Opera from 1925 for example is not included.)

Personality and events of film considered just as much as physical attractiveness.

[ID: Picture of Bela Lugosi as Dracula, dressed in black clothes and a cape, staring at the camera with an annoyed expression. His face is slightly in the shadows. End id]

Dracula (1931)

Bela Lugosi kinda handsome

Vampires hot

Rich. 

Has three wives (dick is good) (plus you can hang out with wives)

Hypnosis

Loses points because the movie was boring and he kills Lucy Westron, poly icon (antifeminist)

7/10

[ID: image of Boris Karloff as Frankenstein, holding his hands to his face, looking offscreen and with a disturbed expression. The lighting only lights up his face. End ID]

Frankenstein (1931)

Literally just born (minor) and doesn’t understand sex

Movie diverged too much from the book for me to like it 

Too awkward and big

Unclear if he has any genitalia at all

1/10 because this image is cool and a little sexy

[ID: Boris Karloff as Imhotep the mummy. His skin is dried and sunken in. He's glaring at something offscreen. He's dressed in a high collar brown shirt and a cap that covers the top of his head. End ID]

The Mummy (1932)

One of my faves 

Backstory is centered around LOVE - will literally curse the gods and forsake everyone for his lover. Hot. 

The opening scene where he came awake for the first time was sexy.

Anti colonialist

Hypnosis

Nice voice

Loses points for unfortunately not being very attractive - dry skin

9/10

[No image for this slide]

The Invisible Man (1933)

Wanted to take over the world and went to his best friend and not his FIANCE??? Gay, and clearly doesn’t care about lover’s needs (even with said best friend). 

Not a monster, just an asshole

Pushed over a baby carriage! Disgusting

We don’t know what he looks like. Sexiness only comes from whether or not you think having sex with someone you can’t see would be hot or not.

Gets points for being a silly little guy, ambition being hot, and the “villain goes soft only for his loved one” trope

Still. -5/10

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Like Frankenstein, Literally just born (minor) and doesn’t understand sex

Also had strong reaction AGAINST being an object of desire and so ranking her is missing the point

However because she’s the ONLY woman on this list she gets special privileges.

will be ranking her as if she was not literally ten minutes old and if she understood sex

[ID: Elsa Lanchester as the bride of Frankenstein. The lighting of the image is very bright, so you can see her whole upper body with very few shadows. She's staring at something offscreen with a curious but frightened expression. She wears white robes, and her hair is black with a white streak up the sides, in a beehive style. End ID]

Bride of Frankenstein (1935) (cont.)

Horror movie scream A+

Gorgeous and Iconic

Understands No Means No. (Unlike other creatures on this list) 

Baby Girl you are SO unnerving 💖💖💖 

Tall Woman. Probably strong. 

10/10.

[ID: Two images of the wolf man. One is the wolf man as the wolf man, standing in thr woods, his face covered in fur, his hands furry and clawed, looking panicked. The second is Lon Cheney Jr. as Larry Talbot, a white man with short dark hair slicked back, dressed in a suit with a plaid tie, with a stressed out look on his face. End ID]

The Wolf Man (1941)

This movie just makes me sad. Larry Talbot is a tragic figure.

But he’s also kind of a stalker (spies on woman)

Only a monster half of the time

Wolf form isn’t attractive. (human form okay.)

No sense of control. 

Not even a little okay with his murders. Too pathetic and sad.

2/10

[ID: Image of the creature from the black lagoon, a creature the size of a man covered in scaley and amphibian-like skin with a fish-like face. He's mostly submerged in water, only his head and finned hands with sharp claws poking out of the water. End ID]

The Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954)

Definitely my favourite

Environmentalist! Anti colonialist! 

Swimming scene half creepy half romantic, also gets points for inspiring The Shape of Water (2017).

Phenomenal creature design, A+. 

Just wants someone to love

Will kill everyone else but NOT lover.

Underwater sex. Rough sex.

Sex will probably be awkward because of this.

8/10

[ID: profile of the Bride of Frankenstein. Her head is tiled up and her eyes are mostly closed.]

Congratulations to our winner! Runner ups, The Mummy and the Creature From the Black Lagoon.

[femmeleatherface]

i tortured myself by reading the poto (1925) shooting script! there were good things and bad things and if i don't infodump about them i will explode

really long and rambly disclaimer: this isn't the original-original draft (which from my understanding is where the rosy hours of mazandaran sequence came from, but don't quote me on that), nor is it the same as the los angeles premiere cut (which from my understanding included the redemptive love ending for erik, which was apparently never scripted and got shot on the fly while they struggled to figure out how to end the film, But Again Do Not Quote Me). that said, you can see traces of the original script and some of the sequences lost with the los angeles premiere cut, and some of the choices made are... interesting!

long post so thoughts under the cut

complete list of items i am mad or at least disappointed we didn't get in some capacity:

the frame narrative. for some reason they had the story come from the files of m. faure instead of anyone actually involved in the narrative like christine or the daroga, but still. would have been cool

a close, honestly sweet relationship between joseph and simon buquet. if you're going to spend so much time focusing on joseph's death, maybe making us care about him is a good thing??? wild concept

la sorelli's knife <3 also just a role for her in general

erik using a trapdoor to spirit away cesar the horse. i don't know if they ever actually filmed this or what since it seems a little complicated, but the way it's written gives me major looney tunes vibes:

130-D ANOTHER PART OF CELLAR #5 OR #6 IF WE HAVE THE SET. MED. SHOT NEAR THE BIG OPERA HOUSE FORGE A groom currying a great white stallion while a Hercules of a smithy is preparing to put new shoes on the stallion. We plant the stallion fastened to a ring bolt in the stone wall by a strap and is parallel with the wall. The blacksmith is holding up the hoof of the great white stallion to measure a shoe, then he moves over to the forge and with his back to the horse pumps the bellows and sings to himself -- then a strange thing happens, a section of the wall and floor upon which the white stallion stands suddenly turns as if upon an axle and the white stallion vanishes leaving apparently the same wall floor and ring bolt - the smithy lifts the red hot shoe from the forge and prepares to hammer it. He casualy looks around toward the place where the horse was, gasps and drops the hammer. Then thinking perhaps one of the stablemen played a joke, he calls to him - they join him and he asks them about the horse.

so! much! daroga!!!! obviously he is the highlight to me. he gets so many more little scenes and i will say they get pretty repetitive after a while (he shows up, is mysterious for a paragraph, leaves, rinse & repeat), so i get why they changed things. but what i find interesting (and most agonizing to lose) about this particular version is that he's shown to be a pretty compassionate man, aloof but overall very kind and caring about others, even before we know what his deal is. he has a scene with raoul where he shoots him a look of "friendly compassion" while raoul is the exact opposite. it's... a wonderful characterization. what the fuck. also i get the sense that he regularly visits erik's house offscreen and maybe every time he's leaving/entering the cellars we are supposed to infer after the fact that he's paying erik a visit. MANY QUESTIONS. anyway this daroga is amazing and wonderful and i love him. we were robbed.

the "erik visible behind the mirror looking at christine" shot before ALW made it cool:

[181.] SEMI C.V. CHRISTINE ON COUCH Suddenly part of the mirror beind her becomes transparent, revealing the upper portion of the masked face.

mme valerius! she's christine's biological grandmother in this script rather than an adoptive mother, but waves hand. her relationship with christine is very sweet. definitely understand why they cut her, though, she shows up in one scene and isn't even mentioned anywhere else. but what she gets is nice

the cemetery at perros scene. it's SO atmospheric and probably was gorgeous-looking in black and white. unlike some of the scenes in this script we know they actually filmed it because we can see extant photos of it and UGH. UGH!!!!! MAD!!!!!!!

erik has a black mask. i get why they didn't do this one too because it wouldn't have shown up well in a black and white medium, but oh... it would have been nice...

the unmasking scene being partially colorized like the bal de masque. i am a sucker for silent film experimentation, this could have been neat

also the rat catcher (as a rat catcher vs. some random guy) having a colorized red scarf around his neck to make him look decapitated. very morbid. love it

the comic relief played by snitz edwards being the guy who touches red death. from a storytelling and filmmaking standpoint it makes sense (brings new characters into the original story, less actors to pay, etc.) and i'm honestly surprised this didn't make it to the final cut. also, erik's "don't touch me i am red death" warning is on his cloak like in the novel and that is one of my favorite book details so it delights me they were originally going to do it in the film

this erik line:

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY BAG? DON'T YOU KNOW THAT IS THE BAG OF LIFE AND DEATH!"

more understanding of/sympathy for erik from him expressing his desires in general

subjectivity in the torture scene. raoul imagines a forest fire and a lion in his delirium and maybe it wouldn't have worked but i love the stark contrast of that with the daroga's perspective of the frankly banal reality of the torture chamber immediately after (if only because it's a great daroga moment)

also the daroga being more levelheaded during the torture scene in general like in the book. i don't think they necessarily changed this in the final cut, but i do think they shortened the torture scene to a degree and used shots such that the daroga actively searching for a way out based on his preexisting knowledge is a little hard to infer, whereas on the page it is very obvious

this beautiful moment between christine and erik:

[535.] MED CLOSE UP ERICK AND CHRISTINE AMBER Christine gazes up at him earnestly and the picture is held for an instant. Erick realizes that the final moment is at hand and there is sense of terror in his manner. She asks him in a trembling voice: "DO YOU SWEAR TO ME THAT THE SCORPION IS THE ONE TO TURN?" BACK: For the first time Erick shows fear. In a hushed way he answers her: "YES... IF YOU WISH TO BE MY BRIDE." BACK: Quietly she turns from him. [536.] CLOSE UP CHRISTINE AMBER Without an instant's hesitation, but with thorough consciousness of what she is doing she turns the scorpion. [537.] A LONGER SHOT AMBER Erick walks toward her - a man crushed. Christine in this instant has become his master. Christine turns calmly to meet him.

but also i am extremely glad we didn't get these things:

a long, tedious history of the opera house. so much exposition that is mostly not interesting and only barely ties into the story. yawns. we dodged a bullet on this one

just raoul's entire starting characterization. the raoul we got is hardly amazing but wow. this guy is... literally everything raoul is not supposed to be: cool, suave, dashingly romantic, a womanizer. he's basically every 1920s he-man romantic lead and I Do Not Care For It. he gets better the further the script goes along/the closer the script follows the book, but woof. bad. BAD!

reveal of erik's face and the chandelier scene way too early. 35 pages into a 126 page script, or about 30 minutes in if we follow the 1 page = about 1 minute rule. that would have KILLED the suspense of erik's character and undercut the unmasking scene with christine later. and probably also messed with the pacing and sense of stakes. speaking of:

messy pacing. the most egregious offender of this is the beginning. the first fifty pages cover a single night, in which we: meet our characters, introduce the opera ghost concept, get even MORE boring exposition about the opera house, get three "wow the persian is so mysterious who is that guy" moments, set up the plot with erik wanting christine to sing, the murder of joseph buquet (also setting up his relationship with simon so we're sad about joseph biting the dust later), stealing cesare, the chandelier scene, an erik face reveal, raoul finding out about erik, and a whole bunch of other stuff that i can't even remember because it just comes nonstop all at once. the order is... weird, and the story does not benefit because there is just no dang moment to breathe and get to know any of these people. also HOW DOES ERIK HAVE TIME TO DO ALL THIS MAYHEM IN ONE NIGHT. HOW!!!!!!!!

erik's name is erick. for some reason??? it's like they couldn't decide between the eric and erik spellings and just decided to mash them together for... some reason...

subplot with philippe and his wife trying to send raoul to monaco. i do like giving philippe more to do to make his death is more meaningful, but this... is not the way. philippe calls the cops on raoul when he ends up becoming an army deserter, and i get the desire to add stakes, but I Do Not Care About Any Of This

the rising action for the climax is way too complicated. we do not need christine and raoul planning to leave after the bal de masque and then having their plans foiled because raoul gets thrown in prison, only for him to manipulate philippe into letting him out and then give christine a new plan to run away with her after the show, have erik find out about this and be mad because he was the one helped the cops catch raoul at the bal de masque (also he found out about raoul's prison escape and the new runaway plan because erik's apparently a peeping tom who watches christine get dressed in her dressing room, charming), and THEN get to erik kidnapping christine during the performance because apparently he is great at coming up with elaborate kidnapping schemes on the spot. we do not need it. we do not.

the daroga gets less important rather than more important at the end: this is something you can see in the extant versions, but it's especially frustrating in the shooting script because so much of his character was built up, but after the grasshopper and the scorpion sequence he just... exists. becomes one with the mob and that's it. at least in the extant cuts he gets to be the ONE person who ushers in the mob, semi-justifying his presence after he guides raoul to erik's house. in this script he ushers the mob in with simon buquet and raoul (because yes, the mob ending apparently existed in some form dating back to this script if not earlier--UGH!!!!!), which doesn't make the daroga feel really useful or necessary as a character at the end. also he and erik don't even get one scene together in the entire script, which is flabbergasting to me because the trajectory of the story is clearly steering toward some kind of confrontation between them at the end, but nope. my guess this is all a casualty of the constant ending rewrites and the daroga's character being one of the more difficult characters to adapt to 1920s hollywood movie standards, but i'm still mad. this daroga was so good and even during pre-production was getting done so dirty

philippe.... lives????? how did that even happen, what. just what. he went and was drowned but sike! he's alive! what the fuck.

[glassprism]

It’s kind of surprising sometimes that this story is still popular considering what the original story of the book is about. Why is that? Do you think the story still would’ve been as well-known without the musical, or if it had been written/performed with darker vibes closer to the book?

The ALW musical, definitely the musical.

I mean, all you need to do is look at the history of adaptations before the musical, and how much cultural staying power they had, and then look at everything after the musical. Phantom had a lot of adaptations before the musical, that is true, but none of them really settled into the cultural mainstream the way the musical did, with the possible exception of the 1925 film (and I think that was more because of its strong visuals and technical skills behind the scenes as well as Lon Chaney's iconic performance).

So without the musical, no, I don't think the story would have been as well-known, and I also think the public view of it might have been fairly different, perhaps seeing it more as a straight horror or suspense story rather than the Gothic romance we see it as today. Again, for proof, look at the various and most well-known adaptations pre-ALW, which tended to make a number of changes to the story and, even if they kept the Phantom sympathetic, went for more of a suspense or even horror vibe.

As for whether the musical would have such staying power if it had been darker... I mean, first, I'm not sure if ALW would even go that route (his musicals can have mature themes but I would not characterize most of them as "dark"). But my thought is that no, it would likely not have been as successful as it is now. I see this alternative version as having a fairly decent run on the West End and maybe Broadway and then getting the occasional international production, but nothing on the scale of what it is now.

Because I think what ALW did with the musical is that he brought out all those themes of unrequited love and melodramatic romance and dark, forbidden passion, which are all present in the book but subtler, and made it overt, then added a lot of earworm-y tunes to it. Combine that with Maria Bjornson's incredible design and Hal Prince's excellent direction, which emphasized even more the simmering sensuality of the main characters, and you have a musical that appeals to most audiences and is also understandable across many different cultures without any need to tweak the story.

Because at the end of the day, darker stories with more horror and suspense / thriller / mystery vibes are a little more niche. They are popular, I enjoy them tons, but I'm aware enough to know that not everyone else does, and not everyone is always in the right mind space to appreciate them. But a grand, sweeping tale of passion and unfulfilled love with a broodingly sympathetic male lead and massive spectacle? That's bringing Phantom into the mainstream, because most everyone can understand that.

[anhed-nia]

So I'm in the middle of this research project centered on Dario Argento's OPERA, for which I have required myself to watch as many screen adaptations of the Gaston Leroux novel The Phantom of the Opera as I can take. What I have determined so far is that the Phantom of the Opera is a story everyone wants to tell, but not very many people are sure of how to tell it. In fact, it's not that easy to say what it is about archetypally. You know, Wolfman stories are typically about "the beast in man" (with femininity positioned as some sort of cure for this personality split), Frankenstein stories are usually about human nature (i.e. an uncanny creature can have more humanity than vain and bigoted humans), Dracula-type vampire stories are most generally about the problems of being an outsider (queer, foreign, etc). But Phantom of the Opera is like...well, everyone likes the love story part of it, which is more or less modeled on Dracula, with a woman torn between seductive darkness and the safety of square society. But then there are all these other parts that seem to flummox people in the retelling.

I haven't read the Leroux novel YET but the first round of movies have been interesting, and also sort of perplexing. The iteration from 1925 holds up, largely due to Chaney's creation of the Phantom which remains a top tier monster. People don't often talk about the mask though! Which looks like a cross between Peter Lorre and the Devo Boogie Boy, it's disturbing and I like it.

This Phantom was born in the dungeons during a revolutionary bloodbath and is disfigured from birth, drawing on the antique idea that a mother's trauma is translated in the deformity of her children; also, compellingly, these dungeons lie fathoms beneath the opera house where the bourgeoisie are witlessly dancing on the graves of martyrs and criminals embodied in the Phantom. The ingenue Christine is an interesting figure who breaks up with her boyfriend at the beginning because she wants to give her whole self to her career; when the Phantom starts murmuring to her through the walls it's as if the spirit of opera itself has chosen her to be its avatar, which she seems to find totally rational. It's sort of cool, what other movie of this era has a likeable heroine choosing her potential for greatness over love? This is the element of the story that is the most interesting, but I'll expand on that in a minute.

The Chaney edition benefits a lot from keeping things simple. The 1943 version with Claude Raines has a little bit too much going on and the story doesn't get a lot of time to congeal between so many long opera sequences; this movie really takes the opera part of the title seriously! Actually they're the best thing about it, mostly because of Nelson Eddy who is extremely beautiful and a real opera singer, and who projects this blazing desire for Susanna Foster that is incredibly convincing. Like I'd normally say they have great chemistry, but I think it's just a lot of power radiating from him specifically.

Ahem.

Uh anyway. This movie picks up the reoccurring (but not universal) idea that the Phantom is a genteel and sophisticated composer who has just fallen on hard times, who goes mad when his latest concerto is stolen. He is disfigured while struggling with the plagiarist and installs himself under the opera house where he can haunt his former protege Christine, who is already torn between dreamy Nelson Eddy and her stuffy cop boyfriend. One of my favorite things here is that even though this film is extremely quaint and old fashioned, everybody hates cops; this Christine is less a self-determined careerist than someone who is under pressure from her artist friends who find it profoundly repulsive that she is dating a policeman. Meanwhile the Phantom is just way too gentle and sappy, which is extra disappointing because Claude Rains's Invisible Man is so fabulously chaotic and sadistic, it made me really aware of the Phantom that could have been. This one doesn't properly represent the high society vs. underworld dichotomy that Christine should be torn between. So what is this movie about? There's so many guys in it and a few different themes flapping in the breeze. Is it about love? Is it about self-actualizing through art? Is it about the cutthroat world of showbusiness? It doesn't have that much to say, ultimately, and it just seems really unmotivated. Also I don't like this mask, sue me.

The Hammer edition is even more disappointing, considering the studio's previous successes with Universal Monster remakes. Here Christine is torn between a suave opera producer, the lecherous composer who has plagiarized the Phantom, and yeah the Phantom. Too many guys, it confuses whatever the dynamic and themes are supposed to be. Michael Gough as the plagiarist is so much more evil and threatening than poor Herbert Lom's Phantom that it's hard to stay focused on the main point here. Curiously the Hammer version is rather unromantic, with the Phantom just slapping Christine around until she sings his tunes right; that is kind of refreshing in a way, although it also means that the film lacks tension, which contributes to its being surprisingly anticlimactic. The best guy in the movie is actually Thorley Walters whose character serves almost no narrative purpose at all, he just hulks around with this WTF? look on his face and it is kind of adorable. I guess I like the gross mask in this one, too.

But the Hammer version has one interesting strength, which is that Christine is singing the lead in a new opera about Joan of Arc. Just like Joan, Christine hears a disembodied voice prophesizing her ascent to power. The best thing about the Phantom lore is the idea that the woman has this latent power that can either be activated by the Phantom, or suppressed by her square boyfriend (the relationship being mutually exclusive with opera stardom in many iterations). She isn't just a love object to be possessed, she herself possesses of some kind of devastating energy that needs to be awakened and channeled--or contained and forgotten, if she decides to get married and stay home or something. This is pretty cool, and it is interestingly realized in Dario Argento's OPERA, in which (spoiler alert I guess) a killer stalks an opera singer with the aim of catalyzing her own latent psychopathy. This idea is at the center of my thesis and I'm looking forward to fleshing it out, although I'm kind of dreading all the other PHANTOMs that I have committed myself to watching. I really don't want to deal with Andrew LLoyd Webber at all, but after I get through at least the Joel Schumacher one of the those I'm going to reward myself with a rewatch of PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE which I'm going to guess right now is the best retelling of this story after the Chaney one. I'm counting on Paul Williams' music to be catchier than Webber's.

I'm whining about my own decisions, I know, but really the main hardship of this project is that now I keep getting the Vandals' punk theme song from PHANTOM OF THE MALL: ERIC'S REVENGE stuck in my head, and let me tell you that is very unwelcome. Here it is, if you've decided you're done being happy and sane:

[cannedbeefaroni]

hey, got any nsfw erik hcs on this lovely day?

I’m gonna do this for the 1925 silent film Erik (Lon Chaney) and 25th anniversary Erik (Ramin Karimloo) (warning for incel-y behavior, stalking, dubcon stuff)

Chaney!Erik

Every version of Erik is a stalker, but this one is specifically creepy about it. He knows exactly what he’s doing and how wrong it is, but he doesn’t care. He truly believes he’s evil beyond repair. His love isn’t gentle, it’s relentless and brutal.

He likes watching women undress from the shadows. The closest thing to intimacy he’s ever gotten has been touching himself while watching the ballerinas in the dressing room.

He canonically smells christine’s feet (or just the bottom of her skirt?) so he definitely has a scent kink. He would emit a strong odor as well 💀

I think he’s big on sadism but only to a certain extent. He likes being threatening and domineering, but he wouldn’t hurt anyone he loves (not too much, at least). Although, psychological damage is fair game to him (ie degradation, intimidation, teasing, brat taming, a hint of primal play)

Size kink, because he’s a massive lad. His penis would be abnormally huge. An overall big guy

this guy has a massive oral fixation. he wants to put his mouth on anything. he's especially bite-y

karimloo!erik

super romantic. even if he is a creepy stalker, his charm is unmatched. he loves aggressively, but pathetically. he's like a wounded animal who'd die without affection.

if denied sex, he'd cry. he wouldn't even get angry, just immediately spiral into despair and self loathing.

gets horrid post nut clarity where he has to isolate himself in pure darkness and solemnly play church organ.

would eat someone out on their period. a period stops nothing but a sentence.

i think he'd like to edge and sexually torture himself out of both masochism and self hatred.

after having sex with someone once, he's already planned out their lives together for eternity. he's tailoring the wedding gown as we speak.

mommy dom kink. he wants to be stepped on then cradled in a woman's arms.

[for-the-love-of-javert]

Les Miserables 1982: My Review

I'm going to keep this one shorter than my other reviews.

I loved this film. Only a couple of things were left out and a few things were changed slightly. All the characters we know and love are there. The acting is superb. The film is big on slo-mo dramatic effects which also makes the scenes where this is used more emotional.

While Michel Bouquet did not look like Javert (He looked more like British actor Derek Jacobi to me lol) he played the part stunningly well. He was stoic, authoritarian, though in a couple of scenes he did look a bit sympathetic (his eyes) such as when he was dealing with Fantine as she begged not to go to prison and there was a slight alteration made in the scene where he is freed from the barricade as well. I don't want to spoil it but if you watch you'll know what I'm on about. Javert's suicide. What they did with this was a very nice touch I thought. No comical, malfunctioning mannequin drops and no short falls into a placid river seine (considering that canonically Javert jumped into the rapids at the Pont Au Change.

I really loved Lino Ventura as Valjean, there was something about him, but he had that old, adorable Valjean poker face. He was not violent in this film, unlike in the 1998 film. His death scene was a bit OTT but it did make it all the more sadder and showed his grief at losing Cosette to Marius.

At the end there are a couple of changes (I think) I'm still reading The Brick and haven't got to the battles yet so I can't be sure. How come though, none of these films, ever end with Thenardier pissing off to America with Azelma (I read about that on reddit before anyone asks). Nor do any of them (certainly not the ones I've seen so far) show Madame T dying in prison.

There was not a single actor in this film that I didn't like. They were all fantastic imo. The Thenardier's got a good amount of screentime and we saw the Patron Minette in this as well. Though i was a tad disappointed in Montparnasse's attire because he's supposed to be well dressed but looks a bit scruffy.

One of my favourite things about this film is Gavroche, in almost every scene he's in he is singing a song and it's the same tune as 'Little People' from the musical but different lyrics. Once again his death was devastating and I'm not telling you anything more than that. From the adaptations I've watched so far, I don't recall any of them depicting the aftermath of Gavroche's death the way they did in this film.

The main thing that was missing was the attack on Rue Plummet part where the Patron Minette show up to rob Valjean's home and Eponine ruins their plans. Anything else that was missing I think I can forgive in this case because it's it didn't distract me too much. At least they weren't replaced with scenes where Cosette and Marius are held at knifepoint by an unhinged Javert.

Overall Les Mis 1982 is an excellent film and one I would definitely watch again. I really, really enjoyed it and I highly recommend it. It is a long film though, over 3 hours. But the 1925 version is still my No1 film adaptation of LM.

[miracles-and-butterflies]

Do you have headcanons for Julieta? And if so, what are they?

Indeed I do. Here’s a good few headcanons for Julieta:

Her middle name is “Esperanza”

Julieta decided, at the age of five, if she had a girl she was naming it “Mirabel” - neither Isabela or Luisa fit the name though, which is why it was left for last

As a child, she didn’t like her gift because it felt like a chore doing all the cooking and washing dishes

The only triplet who has no desire to leave Encanto or travel

Julieta didn’t have friends because she spent most of her time in the kitchen and with two siblings didn’t see the point

Alma didn’t let Julieta see her patients at first, not wanting to traumatise her

Julieta met Félix at dance classes

Julieta learnt sewing in school and would be the one to teach Mirabel, but was never great at it. Her old apron was made herself and very patchwork

She is obsessed with tea

Félix is a particular good cook and the pair usually work together for big evens (gift ceremonies, proposals, etc)

Julieta’s intended suitor was Osvaldo Ortiz - however, he’s not a nice guy, and thankfully Agustín moved into town

Osvaldo didn’t take it well

Julieta met Agustín through Pepa at a party in their late teens, he had six broken bones at the time

Agustín proposed to her with a song

They were married in May, 1925 (film takes place in May, 1950, for comparison)

Julieta loves puns and bad jokes (Agustín’s vows were full of them)

They had a private ceremony with only a couple of close friends and their families in attendance.

They always knew they were going to have three children

Isabela was the easiest pregnancy, and arrived perfectly on her due date

“Isabela” was Agustín’s choice, so Julieta picked the middle name, “Cristina”

Baby Isabela was a very difficult sleeper, who enjoyed the sound of thunder, so slept in Pepa’s room. She really liked Pepa, much to Julieta’s annoyance

Luisa was the hardest pregnancy, and was a month late

“Luisa” was Julieta’s choice

Baby Luisa was very clingy and screamed if someone left her alone for even a second, she particularly latched onto Agustín and Julieta frequently worried they were going to get hurt

There was a lot of pressure for her to deliver a son, as she had promised to name it Pedro, and it only got worse after each girl. So by the time the third pregnancy hit, everyone assumed it would be a boy, following Alma

Agustín and Julieta experienced postpartum depression with Mirabel, as it was a disappointment and everyone seemed to distance themselves from her

One townsperson suggest to her they get rid of Mirabel and try again like she never existed

That person has not been healed for anything since

Baby Mirabel wasn’t clingy at all, she didn’t like being hugged and was easily pleased. Julieta thinks it’s because of how they initially didn’t bond with her

Young Isabela and Luisa were very scrappy and clumsy, frequently getting injured. Julieta thinks they’ve grown out of it now, she’s wrong. They’re Agustín’s daughters

When stressed she over-cleans, a habit young Mirabel also picked up

Keeps little treats in her pockets at all times

Won’t allow Isabela in the kitchen

If she or Félix aren’t there, Luisa is in charge of the kitchen - they have taught her well

Sometimes (prior film), Julieta pretends to be tired, to get Luisa to stay at home and cook, to prevent Luisa from overworking herself

She does the family food shopping

She frequently doesn’t buy café con leche because she thinks Isabela and Luisa drink too much of it

Julieta can’t take care of plants for the life of her, she overwaters them and has killed many of Isabela’s

She thinks raising Isabela was what it was like raising Pepa

Julieta thinks it’s funny and cute when Agustín mistakes Mirabel for her, but not when anyone else does it

Julieta is the parent to bring baby photos for the in-laws

Agustín and Julieta get caught kissing, frequently

Really wants to be an Abuela to many grandchildren

[wizardfrog69]

Hello! I really liked your giving/leaving hickeys headcannon! What about collecting/keeping s/o's underwear/stockings/gloves for mtp boys? Thank you and please take care of yourself! Have a wonderful day! <3

Thank you for the request! Have a wonderful day too! :) <3

'•.¸♡ keepsake ♡¸.•'

Mtp x gn!reader

Mostly fluffy but there are mentions of nsfw!!! So be cautious

Feat. William, Louis, Albert, Sherlock, John, Charles.

William James Moriarty:

Ok so like he keeps or collects any peice of clothing which you leave either on accident or you don't notice it has gone missing.

Mostly your stockings go missing usually never to be seen again.

What does he do with them? You may be asking, well no one knows the answer to that and no one ever will.

He keeps them when he feels lonely and wants something which reminds him of you and also like he finds it almost humours that you're going home without any stockings on.

Also he's a theif at heart, stealing not only the lives of many and your clothes but also your love.

Louis James Moriarty:

His s/o probably left their gloves or something at his place and he say it one day and kept them to be more close to them yk.

Idk why that's the only thing I said in 3rd person but oh well.

Like he doesn't know if he should give them back or like tell you, but if you say that you can't find those gloves or something similar then he would awkwardly say he found them and he ment to give them back but it completely slipped his mind.

But yeah like he wouldn't do it on purpose just on accident kinda.

Albert James Moriarty:

This little rascal would probably take your underwear and tease you about it.

For example, the two of you were having a quicky somewhere outside of the house and when you were getting dressed he would steal your underwear either to tease you or as 'punishment' for something you did earlier.

He would later either forget about it or would keep it for good measure.

If you tried to take it back then there would be more ✨️teasing✨️.

I'm using that word too much.

Sherlock Holmes:

Maybe he keeps a pair of their s/o's underwear just to tease them but other than that I don't really see him keep anything of their's really yk.

Or like you left something in his apartment so to speak, and it stayed there forever ot until he moves out which is unlikely tbh.

John H. Watson:

He's not the type to collect or keep anything of his s/o's, if they leave something then he will tell them and give it to them.

Therefore I'm gonna say random stuff to fool you into thinking I actually put some thought behind this >:)

I'm listening to the phantom of opera rn cuz it's an amazing film, my favourite ones are the 2004 and 1989 I think Christine was great in that movie, I think Christine is great in both the movies tbh.

I also watched the 1925 one, it was a silent film which I definitely finished, but they did Erik so dirty in that one, like he had no mask, and in the 1989 version Erik literally killed someone with his face 💀 I wish I was joking I love that movie so much. But if you want to listen to some great music then I recommend the 2004 one but if you rather see rats and a random rat man then the 1989 one, it's amazing.

Enough about my rant, enjoy the rest of the fic! :)

Charles Augustus Milverton:

He collects your whole wardrobe in a weird pervert way

Like everytime he's over he steals an item of clothing from you, but only one so you don't notice (unless it's like a pair the he steals the pair but that's beside the point)

He has a special drawer for all your things.

༺♡༻ 𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧 ⋆ 𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧 𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 ༺♡༻

Sorry I got lazy again, pls ignore the John part but honestly I could write so much about the phantom of the opera like that shit is a fucking master piece and wanna get the book.

[the-lesser-light]

So I feel like it's time to spread a little Jewish love, old school style!

Here's a little bit of history that I just found out about while researching something else!

Spotlight: Jewish Fighters!

From left: Bummy Davis and the wrestlers Max Krauser and Martin Levy. 

Ever hear of a “Knak” (A hard punch), a “Shtaysl” (uppercut), and “Der gubernator” (Jabbing one’s thumb into a foe’s rib cage)? These are all Yiddish terms used for moves in boxing and wrestling. 

Jews, who had been denied most labor jobs and limited to desk work or small jobs, were often seen as scrawny, small, and weak. The intense studious life of studying Torah and furthering their education also left them stereotyped as intellectual book nerds in glasses that would be knocked over in a gentle breeze. 

What people don't think of is street smart men with fists of steel. 

“[...] but there was always an element of the working class that was tough and street smart and worked with their hands and fought with their hands.” -(Eddy Portnoy, creating of the exhibit at Yivo Institute) 

Let’s head back to the 1930s and 1940s when Jewish immigration from Russia and Europe was reaching a peak. Families fled the growing violence and antisemitism and their children faced a new world and the need to assimilate into this new culture. 

Boxing became an escape that grew among the Jewish community and quickly gained popularity. 

"Zionist and political organizations sponsored boxing and wrestling clubs, and after World War II there were boxing clubs in the refugee camps set up by the Allies." 

Several became big names that became well known in most homes. 

Jews became the dominating nationality in professional prizefighting during the 30s and 40s. There were 26 Jewish world champions! 

Many wore the Star of David on their robes and trunks as a way to represent their Jewish heritage and defy Antisemitism. 

Al "Bummy" Davis, born Albert Abraham Davidoff was born in Brooklyn. As a kid, he kept lookout for his father, who sold whiskey during prohibition.

He turned into one of the toughest kids in his area. While his brothers fell into work with the local gang, not even the gang would mess with him. 

The name 'Bummy' was actually from his Hebrew nickname "Vroomeleh" given to him by his mother (diminutive of Avrum) that was picked up as Vroomy by his family and friends. Davis apparently was not really a fan of it. 

He was known as one of the most powerful left hooks in boxing history and won many of his matches with a total knockout hit.

Max Krauser was born in Poland. 

His family owned a tannery where he helped haul the animal skins around. 

He went to college and majored in science until he attended a wrestling match at his college. 

Randomly jumping into the ring, he defeated the German heavyweight and decided to become a professional wrestler. 

His mentor was Zishe Breibart (I'll do a piece on him later), a famous strongman that was also Jewish and a hero to millions. 

He quickly became a renowned wrestler throughout Europe where he was the Heavyweight wrestling champion from 1935-1938 until the political atmosphere became too much. He moved to Australia then eventually the USA in 1939, 

In America, he was known as "Iron-Head Krauser".

Benny Leonard, born and raised in a Jewish Ghetto in Lower East Side Manhattan and son of Russian immigrants, held the world lightweight championship for eight years from 1917-1925! He later turned his boxing career into a film career. ("The Evil Eye" 1920, and "Flying Fists" 1924-25). 

Barney Ross (Dov-Ber Rasofsky) was the Son of a Talmudic scholar who barely escaped a pogrom in Belarus. Once in New York, his father was a Rabbi and owner of a vegetable shop in Chicago. Barney became a Talmudic scholar with the goal to teach. When his father was murdered in a robbery, his mother suffered a breakdown, and his younger siblings were placed in orphanages, Barney fell out of religious practice but never lost his Jewish pride.

Barney started running with tough crowds in the ghetto and got into street brawling and running with Al Capone himself! 

With the rise of Nazism and Hitler, Barney took a stance against antisemitism and embraced the fact that he was becoming a well known representative of the Jewish community. His song that played when he entered the ring was "My Yiddishe Momma". 

He became a world champion in three weight divisions. He was never knocked out and held his title against big time champions. His last match is quite the famous one where he refused to stop the fight despite the fact that he was taking a severe pounding. He refused to go down and was determined to leave the ring on his own feet. He retired with 72 wins, 22 of them were won by knockout!

He joined the Marines in 1942 and despite being told to stay on US soil as a celebrity, he insisted on going into combat where he was awarded the Silver Star. 

(Check out his biography- Barney Ross: The Life of a Jewish Fighter, by Douglas Century and his autobiography No Man Stands Alone.) 

Martin "The Blimp" Levy was a wrestler that weighed an astonishing 600 Lbs! 

He started his early career in a sideshow as the "Fat Man" at Coney Island! 

Despite his massive size, he was astonishingly agile. He is known as one of the first "Giants" of wrestling and helped pave the way for others of his size and character. 

Rafael Halperin, the son of a Viennese Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi came into the picture when his family fled to Mandatory Palestine to escape antisemitism and violence. 

Rafael took up weightlifting and karate along with his intensive Talmudic studies. He moved to the US and became a renowned wrestler that was known for his Talmudic riddles and for his refusal to fight on the Sabbath. 

Halperin also helped organize Israel's first Mr. Israel bodybuilders competition. 

He wore a blue and white wrestling outfit with the Star of David across it. In America, he fought under the name "Mr. Israel" and "The Rasslin' Rabbi". 

In Israel, he is credited with popularizing professional wrestling. 

After he retired from wrestling, he became a Rabbi.  

-

Information taken from:

The "Jewish Boxers and Wrestlers, and Yiddish Fighting Words, at Yivo Institute Exhibition" and the "The Yiddish Fight Club" exhibition. 

www.nytimes.com/2015/05/01/nyregion/jewish-boxers-and-wrestlers-and-yiddish-fighting-words-at-yivo-institute-exhibition.html?_r=l&referrer

Wikipedia, and "Is Superman Circumcised? The Complete Jewish History of the World's Greatest Hero" by Roy Schwartz

[theheadlessgroom]

Randall, fortunately, had gotten enough sleep the night before, that was not the issue. After parting ways with Emily (watching her disappear into a house, blowing a silent kiss at her departing figure), he headed on home, practically falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, sleeping like a rock until his alarm went off at its usual hour, and he prepared to begin the day anew.

So no...a lack of sleep was not the issue.

The issue, as it so often was, was Minnie.

“You better not be slacking off, Pace!” she barked at him, graying hair coming loose from its bun as she bent down to snap at him at his table, while Randall, sinking where he sat, kept his tone even as he swore to her, “No, Miss Minnie, I’m not slacking. I’m working as fast as I can.”

“You better be!” she ranted, slamming her hand against the wood of the desk, causing some of the needles and spools of thread to briefly jump into the air as she continued, “This could be the most important commission of your miserable life, and you should be grateful for the opportunity!”

“I am, Miss Minnie, I am.” “As you should be! God knows why Mr. Gracey asked a bogtrotter like you of all people to work on his hat, but you should be grateful that he did; Lord knows you don’t hardly deserve it, you lazy mick! You better be giving everything you’ve got on this project, Pace, because if you don’t, then so help me God, I’ll-!”

It was, at that very moment, that Dorian and Emily arrived at the haberdashery, arm in arm: At the sight of them, Minnie immediately softened, becoming all sweetness and light (a very familiar sight to Randall) as she approached the two of them, smiling brightly as she greeted, “Well, hello, Mr. Gracey, Miss de Clair, how lovely to see you both! Are you here to check on your hat, sir?”

“Yes, we are,” Dorian answered, trying not to appear as furious as he felt as he looked down at the woman smiling back at him so kindly-he didn’t miss the way she was addressing his best friend, and although every part of him wanted to snap at her, to demand to know what she was doing, barking at one of her employees (one of her best employees, no less) like a rabid animal, but as hard as it was, he held his tongue.

@beatingheart-bride

"I think that's more than enough raspberries for me!" Dorian laughed, quite liking this solution-the raspberry in the center would make for a pleasant surprise when the cake was sliced into, and the blueberry frosting, a lovely pale blue shade, made for a lovely, picture-perfect cake, with the blueberry and raspberry garnishes topping them a welcome addition.

(What a shame they wouldn't actually get to eat any of it!)

"But is it enough blueberry for you, my dear?" he asked her teasingly, enjoying the game they'd made of this, bantering back and forth with one another, their banter (however platonic it was at heart) seeming much more romantic to those around them-they must've looked like the sweetest pair of lovebirds in all of New Orleans to everyone (oh, if only they knew)!

He had to say, Emily was an excellent actress in her own right; she made a great show of appearing as the happiest bride in all the South, a performance everyone was falling for, hook, line, and sinker! He couldn't have asked for a better co-star in this endeavor, his smile genuine as he made a note to compliment her on her performance later...

[lordharmony]

🌈✨CRINGETOBER 2024✨🌈 DAY 10: SHIP DYNAMIC

Erik I’m so sorry when I was going into this pose and decided to use the 1925 film, I forgot about your giant bald spot and now it’s super prominent in the piece.

Anyways, I would say I like a lot of different ship dynamics, but one of my most favorite tropes that is also the most cringiest is the infamous LOVE TRIANGLE. They seem to be viewed as a blight on the romance genre, to the point people will put negative points on something just for the trope being there. But I think people underestimate just how much fun and drama can come out of it. It's the endless pining, it's wanting what you can't have, it's getting into intense love and also intense hatred as it becomes a rivalry. Love triangles allow you to basically get the best of any ship dynamic because you get two of them--maybe more, if you decide to add extra people!

I super super love The Phantom of the Opera, especially the book. There's a lot of dynamics between each of the central relationships: Christine believes the Phantom to be an angel sent from her father, but when she finds out about Erik, she can't help but feel intense pity for him. As anyone close to Erik does. Raoul is Christine's childhood friend and romantic interest, Raoul is absolutely in love with her but is kind of stupid and can't really understand any of the Phantom business at all. Other characters basically have to hold his hand through the whole thing. And then, Erik absolutely hates Raoul, their rivalry is a big part of the book despite Raoul not knowing who he is at all.

I also would say that I love how overdramatic everyone is, they're very silly. There's a scene where Erik I'M PRETTY SURE is playing a violin and KICKING??? SKULLS AT RAOUL??? There's so much wrong with him. One of my favorite details from the book is also during the Red Death scene, where Erik's cape has a big embroidered phrase that starts with "DO NOT TOUCH ME!!!" He's such a little freak, he's one of my favorite guys ever.

I did want to do something more book-accurate, but did NOT feel like doing more character designs. So I picked the classic film as the characters look closer than the other adaptations but still recognizable, HOPEFULLY.