#also love how everyone's costumes reflect their characters it's so great

[elemental-plane]

gina darling as madam glask appreciation post

[cosmicstarlatte]

Pumpkin Carving (Obey Me!)

The guys want to try out pumpkin carving. How does it go?🎃

»Characters: Demon Bros+Dia, brief side characters as judges »Tags: Humor/Fluff, Bulleted Fic »Notes: Part of OM! Flufftober 2023 // reblogs are always loved & appreciated :3 // halloween divider by saradika!

Lucifer: The Show Off™️

Decided to go for an intricate design for his pumpkin

He worked carefully & put his entire lucifussy in it

It was beautiful watching him work his magic he looked like he was creating a symphony

However his pumpkin looked like mush in the end

Everyone laughed. Everyone. Satan & Belphie the hardest.

Solomon: "...it looks great Lucifer. I can see the hard work you-"

"Don't patronize me."

Mammon: Macaroni Art Vibes™️

Complained saying the whole thing was lame but he got really into it

"Heh, look at the little guy!"

It actually looked really cute for his first pumpkin, it had a simple silly face!

Took photos with it only because "it's the type of thing you're suppose to do!"

The judges liked his very much & he came in 3rd place🙂

"...Ya so where's my reward!?"

Levi: Limited Edition Collector's Item 2023: Akuzon Fall Exclusive™️

Geeked out because he always wanted to carve a pumpkin! JUST LIKE ANIMES!

Of course he had a ruri chan stencil already made, he was waiting for this day

His pumpkin actually looked really good & made with love! He even added glowsticks to it!

However dun dun dun, tragedy struck!

He dropped it before he could show the judges

Poor baby cried his eyes out & you guys had to buy him his favorite milk tea

Satan: The Smashing Pumpkins™️ (please don't sue me, thanks!!!)

A little too good with a knife

Made the best intricate design out of everyone, it wowed the judges (& pissed off Lucifer)

Then he started punching & smashing it, completely obliterating it

Beel tried to eat the flying pieces that flew into the air

Delicately placed a pretty candle on top of the mush as the finishing touch

Solomon: "...You know what I like it."

He came in 2nd place!

Asmo: Bedazzled & Bright™️

"It screams 'I AM the now' you know!?"

I mean, he added jewels & even a mini light up disco ball inside

He carved his face into it & it projected his face onto a wall

some say they saw it reflect on the night sky like a hero signal

Was Luke's favorite because it looked fun & bright!

Note: his pumpkin got stolen off the HOL porch during the night.

Beel: Frankenstein Era™️

I know what you're thinking & no he didn't eat it 😐

(Everyone made sure he was well fed before doing the group activity)

His pumpkin looked the silliest, he added mini pumpkins to it & stacked them

Solomon: "What do you think would happen if we brought that thing to life?"

Barb: "Don't."

He did snack on the few pumpkin pieces that got carved out

...OK yeah he ate it all in the end but that was later!!! Leave him alone! He tried so hard!!!

Belphie: BANKSY™️

Didn't really want to participate but whatever brother Lucifer says, goes.

While everyone carved & decorated their pumpkin, he just napped on his like a pillow

Lucifer scolded him for doing nothing to his pumpkin

Belphie challenged him saying it was a work of art & up to interpretation

The judges 'ooo & ahh'd'

His pumpkin came in 1st place

LuciferGrindingHisTeeth.jpg

It's possible Lucifer chucked the pumpkin into oblivion when no one was looking

Diavolo: THE Pumpkin Face™️

"You can't beat the classics!"

Wanted to do a classic pumpkin face to keep human tradition! He appreciates human culture!

He took his time, stenciling was fun & cutting was a little rough

It got a little messy but he enjoyed it

The pumpkin ended up being a thing of nightmares but no one had the heart to tell him

(Barbatos cringing in the background)

Luke fainted at the sight. Dia naively took it as a sweet compliment

⬦You might also like: Costume Shopping Coconut︱Waffle House︱

[rmwb-fanfics]

How to remake Harry Potter:

(A step by step guide)

We’ve already had one god-awful adaptation that way too many people think is good. This is our one chance to have the book characters represented correctly, along with the plot they support.

I’ve put YEARS of thought into this. I’ve written scripts for episodes of a hypothetical tv show. I’ve drawn concept art. I’ve done shit. So I figured I’d share my thoughts.

1. Stick to the books*.

Stick to the books has a massive asterisk next to it because I mean the plot and characters. Some stuff (as you’ll see later) should be changed.

Nothing in this show should feel out of character. Harry should be closer with Ron than he is to Hermione. Snape should be a real d*ckhead. Hermione should be judgmental of those who don’t think like her, etc etc. The way these characters navigate their relationships is why the fandom is still relevant. It’s why canon-compliant fic is popular in the first place. We like their dynamics. SHOW THEM APPROPRIATELY.

Plot is a sticky thing because I’d say there’s wiggle room, but not too much. Certain characters have to die. Certain events must happen. You cant change that stuff.

2. Use the Medium.

You’re using film as a format to tell your story. Ideally you’d us animation, but I know Warner Bros has less creativity than Disney’s remake department, so I won’t even try and pitch that.

Use colour and saturation. It can help contextualize emotion. It can make us subconsciously recognize things. For instance, the scene growing more saturated when Ron walks into the room when Hermione is wearing the horcrux, or any multitude of other uses this could bring.

Bring in costume design that (actually fits the world) but also helps show how that character is feeling. What they’re thinking, their personality, their future, etc.

Make magic fun™️. The books sort of sidelined magic in 5-7. Don’t do that. Divert from the books. Magic should feel alive. Colour-code them so we as an audience can recognize spells and what they might do before we see it. Implement sound design to make each spell unique and vibrant. Make this world subtly bursting with magic like it was in the first few books. Have it weave around characters, wrap them up. Be creative with action scenes. Force transfiguration into battle scenes. Choreograph your duels. Show don’t tell us that a wizard/witch is powerful. Turn people into portraits. Lock them up as mice. USE MAGIC.

Your set design should reflect this. Everything should be bursting with personality. Don’t just use the shitty movie sets. Inject some colour, have the surroundings aid you in telling the story. Get weird with the camera. Use these tools to their fullest potential.

Actually fucking try.

3. Utilize Music.

Music is just… such a massive part of film. It’s frustrating how often even the best filmmakers overlook its use. Characters should have themes that mature and develop as the series goes on. Have action arrangements of the themes to play with heroic moments. As the series progresses, we grow attached to these themes. When they appear, the audience FEELS something. Don’t reuse great pieces to force emotion. (Dumbledore’s Farewell in The Prince’s Tale. Are you fucking kidding me?)

For example: Have a theme for Neville that starts out timid and uses very shy instrumentals, but we first hear a change when he stands up to the trio at the end of PS. Then it gains more instruments until OotP, when it grows again. Once we get to DH, it can be used in this heroic swell as he chops the head off the snake in front of Voldemort and everyone watching. The audience, consciously or not, will feel that moment even more.

Have a theme for Ron and Hermione that might not even be romantic until HBP when it gains that element. PLAY WITH MUSIC.

Themes for mystery, adventure, loss, love, friendship, LOCATION. Let them come back throughout the series to highlight various moments. See Lord of the Rings and The Hunger Games, as well as (surprisingly) the Fantastic Beasts films.

Let music affect the visuals. Magic can bend and swivel with the music. Use it to tell the story. Use it to show emotion. Use it to progress a character’s arc. USE CONSISTENT MUSIC.

4 . Be Bold.

This is the big one and it may seem like I’m contradicting myself but I’m not. Rowling’s work hasn’t aged crazily well to modern fiction standards. This is your chance to rectify that. Fill plot holes, actually think through the politics. Introduce world-building elements that enhance the story/characters. (The house system, and how Slytherin fits in. The logic behind avada kedavra???) Get creative with solutions. Contradict the original work when it comes to description of location. If it doesn’t work for the film format, don’t force it to work here.

Spend more time with characters we know are relevant, but maybe not to the plot. These are your Ginny Weasleys, your Seamus and Deans, Nevilles, etc. Really fill them in. Give them more scenes. Ginny has two phenomenal arcs that play completely off-screen, explore them. Show us her friendship with Hermione. Show us her insecurities and her faults. Give us more of her and Harry’s friendship. We know they get married, so maybe fix the whole “Rowling wrote the epilogue first, but didn’t realize she was waiting too long to introduce these characters until HBP”.

Add scenes. Add jokes. Add smiles and covert looks. You have more time, which means you have a chance to focus on friendships, and romance, and world building.

Tell multiple storylines. Give Remus and Tonks a cool spy/thriller subplot interjected with the main story in OotP. Show us more of Fleur staying in England. Give us more of Harry and Sirius bonding. All of this stuff can fit loosely into canon, and be welcome creative additions.

BE BOLD.

And finally,

5. This is your chance to not only retell the story, but to do it better.

RECOGNIZE THIS. Take advantage of this opportunity and enhance canon, don’t fight it.

Don’t add Hermione and Harry dancing because *YOU* don’t like where the romantic pairings went. Don’t add Draco sympathy because you want him to have a redemption arc. Don’t dumb Ron down because you don’t like the fact that he’s just like the teenage boys you dated in High School, and he was a bit immature.

Make changes, be bold, use music, stick to the books*, use the medium, but take this as the opportunity that it is to enhance what came before.

Thank you.

[theodysseyofhomer]

Emily Wilson is a professor of classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Her translation of the “Odyssey” was published in 2017, and her translation of the “Iliad” will be published in September.

June 28, 2023

In one of the most moving and memorable scenes from the “Iliad,” the great Trojan warrior Hector says farewell to his wife, Andromache, who has urged him not to risk his life by fighting on the plain. He gives their baby back to her, tells her to go home, and reiterates his decision to advance on the enemy.

Around 100 complete English translations of the “Iliad” have been published over the past 400 years. Their variety shows no clear trajectory of cultural change: Some of the more recent Homers are more archaic and less idiomatic than many earlier ones, but some are not. A wide variety of forms are used to “translate” the dactylic hexameter of the original, including prose and free verse as well as several poetic meters.

The translations reflect a wide range of possible interpretations of this short passage. Is Hector harshly scolding Andromache for offering advice about the war, despite her gender? Or is he treating her with gentle pity? Is she worried only about her husband’s death, or is she also concerned about her own imminent enslavement and their baby’s slaughter? Are her concerns valid? Does the warrior risk his life despite his love for his family, or because of it? Why must men fight? Why must women weave? How strange, or how familiar, is the society of the poem?

Each of these translations — along with dozens more — suggests a different understanding of the central themes of courage, marriage, fate and death.

The Original ‘Iliad’ 6. 482-497

The original poem is composed in beautifully musical, metrically regular dactylic hexameter, and designed to be performed out loud: It is poetry for the mouth and ear, not the page.

The scene evokes the complex emotions of three separate characters — the frightened baby, the woman, the man — and it also includes a silent fourth, the enslaved nurse.

The text provides a vivid account not only of Hector’s words, but also of his actions. At the end of the passage, he picks up again the shining helmet that he took off because its plume frightened his little son, and in so doing, he becomes again “bright-helmed Hector,” as the traditional formula of heroic poetry describes him: He again assumes his role and costume as a man who lives and will die by war.

Before this passage, Andromache has pleaded with Hector to adopt a safer strategy, rather than go to almost certain death by meeting the enemy on the open plain. As she reminds him, Hector is risking much more than his own life. His death will entail his wife’s rape and enslavement, their baby’s violent death and the sack of their city.

Hector’s response suggests a fascinatingly contradictory attitude toward his own actions. His firm tone could suggest brash confidence and/or a man steeling himself for a heartbreaking choice to prioritize his own honor over the lives and freedom of everyone he loves — a choice that becomes possible only when presented as no choice at all.

George Chapman (1611)

The first complete translation into English, by the playwright and erstwhile soldier Chapman, creates a staunch, fatalistic version of Hector, reflecting the poet’s interest in Stoicism. Chapman uses a metrical form that was already old-fashioned in his day, “fourteeners,” or rhyming heptameters; the original does not rhyme.

The translation expands on the original in ways that may be startling by modern norms — for instance, by rendering the single word for “tearfully,” dakruon, as “fresh streams of love’s salt fire.”

…This said, th’ heroic sire Gave him his mother; whose fair eyes fresh streams of love’s salt fire Billow’d on her soft cheeks, to hear the last of Hector’s speech ,In which his vows compris’d the sum of all he did beseech In her wish’d comfort. So she took into her od’rous breast Her husband’s gift; who, mov’d to see her heart so much oppress’d, He dried her tears, and thus desir’d: “Afflict me not, dear wife, With these vain griefs. He doth not live, that can disjoin my life And this firm bosom, but my fate; and fate, whose wings can fly? Noble, ignoble, fate controls. Once born, the best must die, Go home, and set thy housewif’ry on these extremes of thought; And drive war from them with thy maids; keep them from doing nought. These will be nothing; leave the cares of war to men, and me In whom, of all the Ilion race, they take their high’st degree.” On went his helm; his princess home, half cold with kindly fears; When ev’ry fear turn’d back her looks, and ev’ry look shed tears.

Alexander Pope (1715)

Pope’s translation, into elegant rhyming pentameter couplets, was a best seller in the 18th century and remains a classic. Pope adds a great many details entirely of his own invention, inserting anachronistic notions of marriage (“my soul’s far better part”), and explaining emotional responses that are unstated or ambiguous in the original: For example, Homer does not explain why Andromache is crying, but Pope clarifies that it is from “fear.” Pope invents some wonderful aphorisms that have no basis in the original but add zing to the couplet, such as “the first in danger as the first in fame.”

He spoke, and fondly gazing on her charms, Restored the pleasing burden to her arms; Soft on her fragrant breast the babe she laid, Hush’d to repose, and with a smile survey’d. The troubled pleasure soon chastised by fear, She mingled with a smile a tender tear. The soften’d chief with kind compassion view’d, And dried the falling drops, and thus pursued: ”Andromache! my soul’s far better part, Why with untimely sorrows heaves thy heart? No hostile hand can antedate my doom, Till fate condemns me to the silent tomb. Fix’d is the term to all the race of earth; And such the hard condition of our birth: No force can then resist, no flight can save, All sink alike, the fearful and the brave. No more — but hasten to thy tasks at home, There guide the spindle, and direct the loom: Me glory summons to the martial scene, The field of combat is the sphere for men. Where heroes war, the foremost place I claim, The first in danger as the first in fame.” Thus having said, the glorious chief resumes His towery helmet, black with shading plumes. His princess parts with a prophetic sigh, Unwilling parts, and oft reverts her eye That stream’d at every look; then, moving slow, Sought her own palace, and indulged her woe.

Samuel Butler (1898)

The prose version by the 19th-century novelist and satirist Butler — a lifelong bachelor — suggests a very different set of assumptions about women, metaphysics, emotions (“his heart yearned towards her” for eleēse, “pitied”) and even time management (“daily duties” for erga, “tasks”). Butler treats Homer’s repeated epithets as skippable, so that phaidimos Hector (“glorious Hector”) becomes simply “he.”

With this he laid the child again in the arms of his wife, who took him to her own soft bosom, smiling through her tears. As her husband watched her his heart yearned towards her and he caressed her fondly, saying, “My own wife, do not take these things too bitterly to heart. No one can hurry me down to Hades before my time, but if a man’s hour is come, be he brave or be he coward, there is no escape for him when he has once been born. Go, then, within the house, and busy yourself with your daily duties, your loom, your distaff, and the ordering of your servants; for war is man’s matter, and mine above all others of them that have been born in Ilion.” He took his plumed helmet from the ground, and his wife went back again to her house, weeping bitterly and often looking back towards him.

Robert Fagles (1990)

Fagles’s best-selling translation, in unmetrical free verse, uses many familiar American idioms and clichés (such as “smiling through her tears,” or “filled with pity,” a metaphor absent from the original). He softens the brusqueness of Hector’s final speech to his wife by rendering daimonie as the gentle “dear one,” and adding “trying to reassure her” and “please,” neither of which appears in the Greek.

Fagles makes Hector’s most iconic phrase, that men must be warriors, sound much chattier and wordier than the original, spreading it over two lines: “as for the fighting / men…”

… So Hector prayed and placed his son in the arms of his loving wife. Andromache pressed the child to her scented breast, smiling through her tears. Her husband noticed, and filled with pity now, Hector stroked her gently, trying to reassure her, repeating her name: “Andromache, dear one, why so desperate? Why so much grief for me? No man will hurl me down to Death, against my fate. And fate? No man alive has ever escaped it, neither brave man nor coward, I tell you — it’s born with us the day that we are born. So please go home and tend to your own tasks, the distaff and the loom, and keep the women working hard as well. As for the fighting, men will see to that, all who were born in Troy but I most of all.” Hector aflash in arms took up his horsehair-crested helmet once again. And his loving wife went home, turning, glancing back again and again and weeping live warm tears.

Emily Wilson (2023)

In my own translation of the “Iliad,” I echo the metrical regularity of the original by using unrhyming iambic pentameter. I thought long and hard about the multiple narrative perspectives suggested by the original poem, and its resonant ambiguities; in this passage, for example, I use both “beloved” and “loving” for phile — a word that could suggest either, or both — because the feelings of both the wife and the husband are at stake.

The rhetorically punchy qualities of Hector’s speech seemed essential, as well as Hector’s insistent focus on his own defining identity as a warrior. Hector is a deeply loving father and husband who makes the choice to leave his family to almost-certain enslavement and death.

As I read the Greek, we feel heartbroken for all three members of the family (or for all four, counting the silent nurse) — and all the more so because there is no hint of sentimentality in the language, no softness in Hector’s final words. The emotions are sketched with extraordinary concision: The only explicit feeling is Hector’s pity for Andromache’s tears (eleēse), but a world of other emotions is evoked through gesture.

…With these words, he gave his son to his beloved wife. She let him snuggle in her perfumed dress, and tearfully she smiled. Her husband noticed and pitied her. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Strange woman! Come on now, you must not be too sad on my account. No man can send me to the house of Hades before my time. No man can get away from destiny, first set for us at birth, however cowardly or brave he is. Go home and do the things you have to do. Work on your loom and spindle and instruct the slaves to do their household work as well. War is a task for men — for every man born here in Troy, but most especially, me.” When he had finished speaking, glorious Hector picked up his helmet with its horsehair plume. His loving wife set off for home, but kept twisting and turning back to look at him. More and more tears kept flooding down her face.

[tomasz-the-hater]

1670's costume department being great OR how zofia's relationship with rozalia is reflected in her wardrobe

Zofia starts off as a very closed-off character with a morbid sense of humor and equally morbid religiousity. That's the thing that is the most visible about her. Over the course of the story she changes and grows, her bond to Rozalia changes her, makes her life better. And this is so very clearly seen in her costuming I couldn't not talk about it. Spoilers for the first season of 1670 ahead.

To start, the first two episodes. These show her in quite the same way - she is covered head to toe in black (and bits of brown) with a crucifix as her only jewelery. The fabric varies, of course, but the color stays the same old black. It may also connect her to Jakub, also covered in black as a priest. Thus, black shows not only her obsession with death but also her devotion to religion (in her second scene she literally lies on the floor like a cross chanting ave maria)

(not important, but i just love how Zofia and Jakub are mother and son in terms of looks. especially noticeable when they stand closely)

The third episode brings changes from the very beginning. This is when we meet Rozalia, and right away Zofia is different. Rozalia comes and brings the air of spring and violets; Rozalia comes and Zofia wears something white. (TBF this is an important day, a celebration of sorts, so white is sort f Moreover, she shows her skin - first behind a white collar (but we still see quite a lot of skin) and then we see her in her bedroom for the first time, and that's when we first see her that vulnerable - when she talks to camera of Rozalia bringing her worries. When everyone leaves, we see her in her bedroom again, holding Rozalia's finger, and again she is covered fully in black, maybe assuming she will not encounter her again.

Next two episodes we see none of their interactions, but Zofia is changed already. She begins wearing blue and violet - barely distinguishable from black in the candle light of her home at times which may be a coincidence and a trick of light yet may also symbolise that to her family she is the same, more or less. But in the light of day the blue and violet are bright and vibrant, as though she can't hide from everyone completely however she tries. And she does try - blue sleeves may catch your eye but the overcoats and overskirts stay black or dark.

The nest episode, Zofia starts talking about someone new in her life - yet with her husband entering and mentioning Henrik she changes it for their lives, life of the family. And telling this, she is wearing the same dress but even more open without a collar and seemingly vibrant (so bright it is noticeable even in the house - showcasing Aniela suspects something is going own?). Her crucifix is also higher on her chest and her caul/cap/hood is decorated. After meeting Rozalia she feels and is brighter, happier, and it is almost harder to hide.

(While this outfit does have a purpose in the episode, I do believe there was an opportunity to just let her wear the same black-and-white dress from the second episode. Or to make the lightning more similar to make her dress appear darker. So I think this isn't too much of a reach to say that this at least somewhat shows her changing because of the previously shown date with Rozalia.)

And finally, the last episode. The wedding. Time to wear the fanciest clothes. And not only Zofia wears a bright red dress, she also loses her caul/cap/hood exposing her bright ginger hair (perhaps a metaphor for her inner self being eager for some love and happiness that religion, marriage to Jan Pawel can't provide?). Her crucifix is quite high up this time as well and hangs on a string of white pearls, as compared to the previous black beads.

It could be noted that red symbolises love and passion, so not only is the color appropriate in the context of the wedding but also in the context of her love to Rozalia (and passion - having sex in your and your husband's bed while the husband could potentially come in is an interesting decision).

(just a note - when Zofia leaves with Rozalia, her overcoar has these cute hearts on it. she doesn't get an opportunity to wear it again.)

Although she loses Rozalia later (and drowns her sorrows in the tavern), her dress doesn't change. She is changed by their romance. Not her dress, not her hair, not her crucifix. Not one part of her that was changed by love is given up, whatever she says of family coming first for ever and ever.

What fucks me up the most is this final portait. It feels like some wwdits shit, I swear to gods. The way that she is changed and doesn't attempt to hide it and yet the portrait shows the early, unhappily married, closed-off version of her? And her dress is the one she was wearing during her first meeting with Rozalia? Insane shit. I understand that this has some white so this is probably supposed to be just her in her Sunday/good clothes; but also, I remember the sweater and earrings I was wearing on my first date with my first girlfriend. And I would believe Zofia does, too.

TL;DR: Zofia's outfits change during the 1st season of 1670 as her relationship with Rozalia grow; her life, as her dresses, become brighter and more colorful because of love she found; and the said love, however broken up they are in the end, stays with Zofia despite her choosing family over it. All the while she barely changes for her family.

[ironladders]

of every ashrah outfit in all timelines, canon or even unused concept arts if they exist, which is your favorite? im very curious 👀

this got kind of long & out of hand im sorry i just like gushing about this girl (+ i have to air out my thoughts on her skins. i have opinions on literally everyone's outfits)

sadly ashrah doesn't have many costumes to choose from because she's only been in 3 games 💔 oh well though

i think my #1 look for her has to be her mk1 union of light skin:

like it's probably one of the prettiest skins in the entire game. insanity. it's so elegant/beautiful and her hairstyle is really cute, i like how it frames her face. in a way it kinda reminds me of her original design but updated to have more detail. the flowers are so pretty and ugjhghgljgkljg idk what else to say i just love this skin so much

that said i don't dislike any of her outfits, they're all great!

the only one that i actually think needs some help is her ood skin; it looks fine at first glance but the more you stare at it's just. hmmm. this could've marinated a bit longer

there's also the issue that this doesn't feel like an Evil Version of ashrah, which i think is a problem when the whole point of the ood skins is that they're supposed to be darker versions of the mk1 cast. but i digress

also if i may say something controversial..... i don't dislike ashrah's classic mkd/mka looks, i love them! BUT:

now that we've got a game where ashrah has distinct demonic features, i wish they did that for her older appearances. because as much as i love her deception skin and want them to remake it in mk1 (please @ nrs we need another skin for ashrah), she just looks like some lady? if that makes sense? like,,,, i would see deception ashrah in the grocery store and pay her zero mind:

i guess before mk1 the other demons also just looked like regular humans but idk... some facial markings similar to the ones sareena had would've at least been nice. they've got the kanji on her hat translating to "demon/ghost" and that's it.

and i know that's sort of the point, that she's supposed to look like a normal human upon first glance, but idk man! she wasn't done with her absolution yet, midway should've let her look a little strange 😭😭 there's some people who want her to have a normal human face if/when nrs gives us deception ashrah as a skin, but i'd rather they keep her demonic features

on the topic of mk1: i love the contrast here on her mk1 default between ashrah's clothing — clearly inspired by angels — versus her actual appearance. it's really smart and imo reflects how much she tries to distance from her origins as a demon. it really sells the idea of her being an ascending demon & i hope everyone that makes fun of her hairline + face steps on a lego

when the banished trailer first revealed ashrah some people were sad she didn't have her hat, but tbh???? i feel like her mk1 default is fine without one. it would've been nice and probably helped older fans recognize her but i'm not sure if this outfit needs a hat. yknow.

the only other ashrah outfits to talk about (because again she has SO little it's criminal) is the ones from mkd concept art that didn't make the cut:

i have no strong opinions about either of these, they're here i guess. the first one is cool, i like the idea of ashrah with super long hair and she reminds me of a jedi there lmao. the second one is also okay but something about ashrah with a mask feels weird so i'm glad they didn't go with it

speaking of concept art CAN NRS SHOW US THE CONCEPT ART FOR THE MK1 DEFAULTS because i really want to know the early ideas they had for ashrah. we get the final character concepts for everyone which is fine but i desperately want to see the initial ideas they had. i hope they get added to the shrine in the future 🥲

idk how to end this so boom. ashrah face

[morethanaloveinterest]

A Placid Review of Leia's Costumes in ESB

Let's talk about Leia's costumes in the Empire Strikes Back and they reflect her character.

This is the first costume we see Leia wearing in this movie and she wears it (or a version of it) for most of the film. To compare with her previous movie, where she just wore a couple of white dresses, this is a substantial deviation. I'm glad she didn't have to wear a dress on Hoth - instead, she gets this great snow suit. It is still in her signature color and she still has her hair up in a similar (though more flattering) style than in ANH. We see other folks wearing similar things and she seems to have rank information on the vest, which goes a long way to establishing her place in this organization in a way that did not happen before (she should have gotten a costume change for the trench run is all I'm saying).

Female representation: 10/10 For a lady in science fiction? Yeah, it's perfect. It's a full body snow suit and it could have easily been a catsuit or something figure-hugging. Instead, it is clearly padded and looks actually appropriate for this snow scape.

Practicality: 10/10 Obviously, it is the most practical option! It is probably the most practical thing we ever see her wear (or any of the other ladies in this series, honestly). And I may be biased because I, too, live in a frozen winter wonderland for a significant part of the year, but this is just so perfect. I would absolutely wear this all the time.

Leia wears this costume on Cloud City. It is very nice to see her get a costume change during the events of the film! The dress is quite different from either we have seen her wear before and having some color is great. It also makes sense for her to wear this for the more romantic scenes with Han. The colors are close to red and her hair is starting to come down a bit - all indicating that she is more available for a love story than she was in the last movie.

Female representation: 10/10 Honestly, Leia is probably gonna get 10s almost all across the board. But this one is great because it gives a more feminine impression as well as showing off her figure a bit without either removing her agency. It makes sense for her to wear this based on what we know about her.

Practicality: 8/10 I suppose it is a bit less practical - she changes out of it as soon as the action starts up again. Presumably it is a little difficult to move about while wearing it, but it's still pretty good.

Battle Leia for the end of the movie! I love how she wraps up her love story and then gets back to the business of rescuing everyone. So she changes out of the soft warm colors and back into her white practical outfit. Without the vest - it would be too hot and she doesn't need to show her rank anymore. But because she has that romantic scene with Han, her hair is still down. So this demonstrates how she ends the movie having a similar outfit, but enough differences to show that she has changed because of her experiences.

Female representation: 10/10 I love this jumpsuit so much, you guys. Where can I get one? Anyway, same above - even without the vest, it is not scandalously figure-hugging. It again makes sense as something she would wear.

Practicality: 10/10 Just as practical. Presumably less hot and her hair is down a bit, but not enough to get in her eyes as she runs around shooting at storm troopers.

This is the dress she wears in the final scene of the movie. It is the same design as the one she wore for most of ANH, but obviously it is not literally the same dress. It might be supposed to be but this is clearly a different fabric (likely thicker material). Her hair is up in a way reminiscent of the end of ANH but much simpler. Both choices make sense as she has finally returned to the Rebellion after the adventure of this movie and is going to get a bit of a respite before the next.

Female representation: 10/10 As I said about this dress before, it is a great costume for our leading lady to be wearing. Especially for the time period. And it can be made into costumes for all ages - an added bonus - without actually infantilizing her or whatever. She is an adult, dressed as a Senator and it's great.

Practicality: 9/10 Again, it may not be the most practical for running around (certainly less than her jumpsuit) but is still reasonably practical for what she needs to do.

If you enjoyed this, check out my Star Wars for the Girlies Series (New episode on Leia!)

[decarbry]

I'd love to learn your thoughts on the rest of the bnha cast, particularly the main characters! Could you list your top 10 and share why you like them?

THIS WAS SO TOUGH I had to go through a complete character list to make sure I didn't miss anyone and I'm still not satisfied

Honestly BNHA does so well with character variety I love so much of the cast, tho it does fall into the pit of "there are too many characters and story threads to finish them all or even mention them ever again", do not talk to me about Shinsou

Anyway we're ignoring Aizawa, Yamada, and Eri because I think everyone already knows that they're my least favorite characters /s

10. Overhaul - probably one of the worst people in the show tbh but I really loved anytime his character was on screen?? he was such a calm but simmering threat before he was actively violent and honestly his voice acting in the dub imo was REALLY special. the whole organized crime angle is also one of my vibes in storytelling so I really enjoyed his character. plus his character design is *chef's kiss*

9. Tokoyami - he's a bird man with a dark passenger that acts like a puppy sometimes what's NOT to love -- I'm actually going to cheat and tie Tokoyami with Bakugou here because I had second thoughts. Bakugou's pivot in his relationship with Midoriya was one of my favorite character development moments and felt so well-done and earned that he's definitely in my top 10

8. Mirio - BEST BOY! Togata is just so positive and wholesome and selfless, every time I revisit his clash with Overhaul I sob my eyes out. I wasn't on board with his pivot in eye design at first but once I got to know him I fell for him HARD. There's literally no downside to this guy but at the same time that's ALRIGHT! Rather than it being obnoxious it's done in a way that I find flawless. like he still has weaknesses but he's composed so well as a character

7. Amajiki - how can you not love this poor anxious guy?? he's very relatable and anytime he pushes through his head to succeed in his goals I just want to scream and hug him. plus his quirk is amazing and I could NEVER because I'm such a picky eater

6. Kurogiri/Shirakumo - THE POWER OF ANGST no but partly it’s his relationship to our two favorite UA teachers but also Oboro seemed like such a GEM and I want to know him as he was and I have such high hopes for where the story is currently headed… Kurogiri himself is such a cool reflection/twist of his original personality that I find myself trying to read into every appearance he makes. Save him please

5. Shigaraki - kind of more superficial to begin with because his motivations were never SUPER interesting to me but his character arc has been a joy to watch and YES I know villains and heroes alike in this story have great writing that make them sympathetic but. for me Shiggy is one of the most obvious. like he can't be forgiven because he has done SO much damage and taken SO many lives but he really is the perfect hybrid example of when heroes fail those around them, and when villains influence those around them. also his path from childish gamer tantrum child to legitimate terrifying threat was a slow burn that feels earned. I think he was also my favorite early character design, specifically his full-hand costume he wore first at the USJ

4. Shinsou - dude's personality aside he's impressively ambitious and I really feel for his circumstance, I kinda took to him like Aizawa did? i was really invested in his path from the start and really would love to see him achieve his goal. i just want to see what he'll doooo. he was a major part of why I enjoyed season 5. hopefully he makes an appearance in the manga to help with current events but I'm probably just wishfully thinking

3. All Might - i usually never like the "superman" character in most things but Toshinori is imo the best-written of them and he has such a great character arc. i want all the best for this man that gave and is giving so much to the world, all at the cost of himself

2. Dabi - HONESTLY these last two can be interchangable. Dabi's character design is probably my favorite in the entire story. it's simple but iconic and very visually appealing even though it's. dead and burned skin LMAO. i'll be brutally honest, tho Todoroki is a great character and Endeavor is definitely trying, that whole family drama is kinda disinteresting to me (but is getting better)(which I hope continues since it's the opinion of some of the more... vocal readers that it's all that carries the later story and if that's true I want to REALLY enjoy it, y'know?). i'm thankful for Dabi because his existence in the story finally has my ears perked towards that thread and I really appreciate his drive even though the intention is to destroy hero society

1. Hawks - I'm going to repeat myself: CHARACTER DESIGN. the moment I saw Hawks I was like. in love. I really like spy storylines in general but I get easily drawn to characters that are outwardly charming, friendly, a bit obnoxious, confident, and know exactly how to appear in order to communicate their intentions. But then deep down... soooo many secrets. Plus, aside from Hawks' tragic family story, his tie to Endeavor as his idol is an extreme positive for Endeavor's character arc in my eyes. Hawks' tragedy doesn't end there though, because in a world of government-sponsored heroes he is perhaps THE MOST government-sponsored, and though they were the reason he had the resources to get to where he is, it's a weakness that has him kind of leashed, and I find that really sad. then we have his ruthlessness, which no matter how you feel about what happened to Twice, is sometimes necessary when it comes to saving the most amount of people. Hawks being the one to take that final action cemented him in my top 3

Honorable mentions for the rest that fall into the black hole of spots 11-20:

Midoriya, Bakugou, Tsuyu, Nana Shimura, Kaminari (just a dumb, lovable lad), Midnight, Kirishima, Mirko, Ryukyu, Monoma, Honenuki, Fatgum (challenging Mirio for best boy placement), Endeavor

Honorable honorable mentions for character designs I just LOVE:

Thirteen, Snipe, Sero, Kuroiro, Mandalay/all of the Pussycats tbh, Majestic, Mr. Compress, Geten, Moonfish, USJ Nomu, Rappa

Honorable honorable honorable mention for this dude that doesn't appear enough to qualify for the list but still deserves a shout-out:

Yokumiru Mera, please let him sleep

[sebastianshaw]

In my darkest fantasies I am the picture of passivity Waiting for you silent stage Suppressing all my private rage But as my sister said I’d probably last six days - Girls Against God by Florence + the Machine I’ve said before Haven is generally my Mary Sue character now, with me just inserting her into everything and typically having everyone love her because it soothes my salty soul after how she was ACTUALLY treated. But there are some characters I do see being mean to her, because, well, it makes sense. Like Sinister, the Fenris twins, and. . .Emma. Now, evil and/or racist characters like the first two, but why Emma? Partly, I’m kinda fed up with her in canon so it’s the “make the character I don’t like look bad by being mean to my fave” Mary Sue thing. But partly, Emma actually is just mean. She’s mean even to people she LIKES. And I don’t think she’d like Haven AT ALL. Why though? Because I think in many ways, Haven throws Emma’s entire understanding of how the world works out of whack. Before I get going, I’d like to note, I am NOT an Emma expert so if you find yourself thinking my analysis is TOTALLY WRONG, you are probably right. But this has been in my head for AGES so I’m gonna get going.

Both Haven and Emma are very feminine in extremely stereotypical ways, but it’s very OPPOSITE ways of femininity. Emma is the “sharp” and “sexy” way, the femme fatale, whole “my eyeliner wings are sharp to cut the patriarchy” thing, the “women as conniving schemers” way. Haven is the “soft” way, the maternal way, the women as maternal and nurturing beings. This is even reflected in their dress; Emma in high-fashion super-skimpy stark whites with mostly sharp cuts, Haven in very traditional long flowy and ornate, detailed outfits in bright colors. An n being soft and yielding and nonsexual, Haven is everything Emma either can’t be, or thought she had to push down and stop herself from ever being in order to survive and succeed. She’s everything Emma thought she would be punished and taken advantage of if she allowed herself to become, and thus expects to see other women punished for. And yet, Haven is rewarded for it instead. And I think that would tick Emma off. Of course, Haven is NOT rewarded for ANY of this in canon. You KNOW how she’s treated in canon. But in MY world, where -I- am writing things, Haven’s way of being a woman and how she handles situations in general is, while SOMETIMES a hindrance or not effective, is also often rewarded and very effective. She takes a very different route with Emma, but gets great results. And to Emma, this is both bizarre and unfair. It’s bizarre because her entire life she’s felt she had to take the route of firstly being extremely callous and mean and disliked to get shit done, and also to exploit her beauty and sexuality for the same reason. She sees women who don’t as weaklings and fools, she’s pretty plain about this fact in the 80s when she talks to that one Hellfire maid who is upset about the costumes. So when she sees Haven doing NONE of this, doing the OPPOSITE, and getting just as good, it’s not just weird, it’s upsetting—Emma had to repress and carve away all the softness in herself to the point it became a struggle to reach even when she wanted to. Haven didn’t have to do that, but she’s reaping the benefits that Emma sacrificed so much for. There’s also the fact that her mother Hazel is the only “soft” woman (read: didn’t do anything about the abuse in their household, never spoke up against their father, etc) in Emma’s life and she’s a bystander to abuse. Emma has complicated feelings for her father; she hates him yet she credits him for making her a very successful woman. At times she seems to have empathy and even sympathy for him but she has none of that for Hazel that I’ve ever seen. She never expresses any feelings about Hazel at all  to my memory. She’s a non entity, she’s just there, she doesn’t count, and I think that’s how Emma sees women who aren’t like herself, as being like Hazel. Useless people who let bad things happen because they don’t have the spine to do something. So definitely hostility and projecting there. Now, speaking of women and men. . .

In canon, Haven’s allies are almost all women, and the one guy who goes to bat for her is Madrox’s gay-coded dupe who cries and wears a pink crop top that says Stop The Hate. And I definitely think Haven is a girl’s girl, I write her as catnip to other women in various ways, but I also think she’d have quite an effect on many men too. Just, not like Emma does. Emma banks on men’s desire, exploiting their need to either have her sexually because she’s hot or to conquer her because she’s NOT docile and submissive. Haven is beautiful, and I’m sure some men find her sexy, but the response I think she mainly elicits is the response to protect, to serve her, to be polite to her, to open doors, to not swear in her presence or make her cry, that kind of thing. It is still sexist in its own way, but a far more soft and benevolent sort, where she’s pedestalized as a treasure and can get to her goals that way, rather than putting up with the insipid lust and misogyny that Emma, by her own admission, relies on. Again, she gets the same results without the same sacrifice that Emma felt she had to make.

And again, Haven is beautiful. This is remarked upon in-universe, with Strong Guy saying she looks like a “babe of the month” despite that fact that she’s 40, six feet tall, with very dark skin and, to put it bluntly, a big ass (which was NOT desirable in the “heroin chic” 90s America). None of which is unattractive, btw, but is often treated like it is. Emma is the epitome of white Western beauty standards, and she canonically did that very deliberately via hair dye and plastic surgery and she sleeps in her diamond form to stave off aging. So yet again, from Emma’s perspective, she put in all this work, but then Haven shows up and is getting the same admiration while not putting in any of the effort. It’s enraging. Doubly so since my Haven has love handles and smile lines. Given how Emma has body-shamed totally svelte women before, I have no doubt she’s got no shortage of catty comments for Haven on this matter. And the thing is, Emma does see other women as competition by default as it is even without all this extra reasoning. Her father was the abuser in her household, but that abuse made her sisters into her enemies and her mother into an enabler. We can see this attitude in how she’s interacted with other women for DECADES, always ready to tear them down in one sense or another. Ironically it’s even how she seems to ultimately bond with other women, by starting off with animosity—her and Jean, her and Storm, her and Kitty in Astonishing. Any woman that Emma is friends with has always started out firstly as a foe, and always an extremely personal one at that—these three are the ones she hurt most after Firestar. I don’t think Emma knows HOW to build a positive relationship with another woman that doesn’t begin from animosity. If Emma can build a bond with another woman that doesn’t involve seriously clawing chunks out of each other emotionally and sometimes physically along the way, I have yet to see it (no, I do not count the Lourdes retcon) And integral to this is that the other woman in the equation does strike back, does have that inside her too, often in a way as nasty and cruel as Emma herself could be. Jean, Kate, and Ororo have all shown themselves more than once to be capable of absolute brutality towards others under the right circumstances, and Jean in particular really hurt Emma in a very cruel way in retaliation once. And I think it’s only then that Emma can see these women as worthy of her respect, and as kindred spirits under the skin, someone who is like her in some way, and thus not someone she feels “bad” by comparison next to. That’s why she WANTS Haven to “hit back” to show she actually ISN’T this perfect soft enduring angel, but Haven WON’T and I think it would drive her batty. Because the thing is, I think Emma knows Haven COULD hurt her if she chose, just as badly as Jean and without even needing telepathy. Emma has an empathy and understanding of other people that she usually uses for cruelty, as she did when she was brainwashing Firestar. Haven demonstrated in canon that she COULD do the same but chose not to, when she pinpoints the psychological problems and pains of everyone in X-Factor, but approaches them with sympathy rather than manipulation. She does CLAIM she’ll use these issues against them if they keep getting in her way, but never does. So she COULD probably rip Emma an emotional new one but WONT, and her refusing to rise to any bait Emma gives—as I see Emma trying to provoke her—makes Emma both see as morally superior (which she hates) and ALSO as unworthy as respect for not taking the shot. In Emma’s head, she’s both better AND worse than she is, and she hates both options. It’s complicated, basically, as anything with Emma is. And bringing it to “feeling bad in comparison next to”--while Emma is in general proud of who and what she is and sees it as an advantage to getting things done for others that need to be done and that other characters are too “pure” to do (which is an unusual thing for a female character and I do like that about her) there are absolutely moments she’s conflicted about it and hates herself for it. I think she’s proud of who she is and looks down on others….and I also think she thinks she’s a bad person. And here Haven is, just effortlessly embodying these traits Emma is so pained by lacking (or believing that she lacks) and actually getting things done like that and people love her for it. It’s upsetting. It makes Emma feel like maybe she never had to work to strip away all softness for herself, resent Haven for not having to make the sacrifices of her own soul that she did to get the same results, it makes her feel unappreciated because don’t these people who fawn over Haven realize what SHE went through for THEM? None of which is Haven’s fault nor even necessarily reality, but it’s a very HUMAN response in my opinion. And speaking of feelings, Haven’s someone pretty clearly okay with them, whereas Emma has very much shown herself as afraid of them. And I think there’d be a definite envy that Haven can let herself be so vulnerable in so many ways and be at ease with that. I also think she sees Haven as able to escape her past and responsibility for it in a way Emma can’t, because as much as writers try and drive it into readers heads that Emma was Actually Innocent and Heroic The Whole Time, other characters did still bring up Emma’s history in-universe against her all the time well after her heel-face-turn. Whereas Haven actually does have a really goddamn good excuse. As for how Haven feels in all this. . .she handles every jab with absolute grace, not retaliating or displaying any upset. Emma’s doubtless not the first person to attempt to get under her skin for some reason. And because Haven is so uncannily perceptive and empathetic, I think she can discern at least SOME of Emma’s reasons, even if she can’t know why she has those reasons, and she has a quiet sympathy for her. Which, of course, would just piss Emma off more. Because this woman isn’t buckling or shrinking under her, which the bully in Emma wants, the need to punish other women for not being like she is, the contempt she has for that (again, see the maid), but she’s also not doing the OTHER option Emma wants either, which is rising to it, breaking her Miss Perfect mask, showing she’s NOT this angel everyone else thinks. She does NOT bow to Emma, and yet neither does she push back. She is unyielding yet softly so, like a padded wall. And I think that just drives Emma nuts. But hey, I could be wrong.

[moviewarfare]

A Review of “Barbie (2023)”

Barbie is one of the most iconic toys of all time! It genuinely baffled me that it took this long for there to be a Barbie film. Barbie isn't my thing, so I wasn't interested in watching this. It wasn't until the first trailer came out and the global internet cultural phenomenon "Barbenheimer", the release of Barbie and Oppenheimer on the same day, that my interest was piqued. So is life plastic, it's fantastic? Or is it just Ken?

Firstly, casting Margot Robbie as Stereotypical Barbie was perfect! She is incredibly charming and earnest in the role. She conveys a naive yet caring nature to her character while being very funny at times. Ryan Gosling as Beach Ken is also perfect casting! He is the greatest highlight with his hilarious physical performance. Every time he is on screen, he brings the laughs. Ryan also conveys a vulnerability to Ken which is surprising. Margot and Ryan have a fun chemistry together! This film has a huge cast with many playing other variations of Barbie and Ken. They are all good in their limited screen time but the stand out is Michael Cera who plays Ken's best buddy Allan. I just love how different he is from the others and how he manages to be so lovable in his limited screen time.

From the first 30 minutes, you will notice the amazing costumes and set designs. Barbieland itself looks like a Barbie toy set brought to life. The massive amount of pink covering the world, the plastic look of all the accessories, houses and cars. Every Barbie and Kens clearly had a lot of thought put into their costumes because no Barbie and Ken look the same. Every costume manages to reflect the type of Barbie and Ken they are. The music score is great and the use of vocal songs was utilized effectively. Special mention to "I'm Just Ken" sung by Ryan Gosling! Some great dance scenes are entertaining to watch with their fun choreography. It is a comedy at heart and there are quite some funny jokes and moments with a surprising amount of great adult jokes. I also love how they poke fun at Mattel and even Barbie as a brand which is a bold move. Despite that, some strong emotional moments with one near the end can definitely tug at the heartstrings.

However, the movie does suffer from some poor execution of certain elements. There is the Barbieland stuff which is enjoyable but the real-world stuff is just not that fun. It is stated early on that Barbie's thoughts are being influenced by someone playing with Barbies in the real world. How does the connection work? how much of Barbie's thought is her own? None of these things are explored, leaving many questions. On that note, certain characters will change very quickly without much build-up to these changes. Due to this, we don't get a true understanding of Barbie as a character, she changes because the film needs some kind of character development. There is also a mother and daughter character in the real world who Barbie meets. One of them is depressed and there is a rift between them but the film doesn't bother to explore the reason for any of that. We also meet Will Ferrell who plays the CEO of Mattel and he is just inconsequential to the story but takes a lot of screen time. He is also over-the-top and silly.

I was hoping for a contrast between the cartoony Barbieland and the real world. However, characters in the real world act just as cartoony and ridiculous as those in Barbie Land. It makes the real-world scenes less impactful when it should have been a big moment in the film. The film is also incredibly preachy about its feminist message that it can be exhausting. Also, the 3rd act has a silly resolution that feels contradictory to the feminist nature of this film. Additionally, every male character in this film are idiotic baby and if that gets under your skin, then this movie is not for you.

Overall, Barbie is a good fun time. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. This film is not going to appeal to everyone with its themes and message. Nevertheless, the movie is just plain entertaining and honestly, it is "Kenough" for me!

For more reviews like this visit: https://moviewarfarereviews.blogspot.com/

[jasmariswonderland]

“Tell Me What You See” ~ Ione’s VDC Dress Vignette (1/2)

“I’ve always just wanted to be invisible, but I think that will b a little difficult now. I’ll do my best!” 

From the beginning of the training camp, Ione has been dealing with some serious issues of feeling inadequate. Now with only a few days left until the VDC and after seeing her new costume, her insecurities are becoming harder to ignore. 

Warnings: Just a lot of talk about image issues/body dysmorphia and general angst with an eventual happy ending.  

The majority of this vignette take place in flashbacks. Also part 2 will be posted after I post chapter 11 since it includes a new character that will show up in that chapter!

~~~

Two Days Before The VDC…

Vidaria: Hey Ione, while Iman is off getting fitted, mind if we go over that one move at the beginning?

Ione: Uh…sure. I think I have it down, I’m just…not sure if I’m supposed to left or right. 

(…)

Vidaria: Alright, so remember that you move left, Danica and I move right. Come, let’s try it again. 

Taima: Isn’t this right after Dani’s first solo? 

Vidaria: That’s right, because you move left with Ione and then Ione sings her part. 

Taima: Yeah, do that again. This time I’ll join you two. 

(…)

Vidaria: Ione, Vil-san isn’t here right now. No need to make yourself quiet on purpose. You can sing louder.

Taima: Yeah you’ll actually strain your voice if you keep doing that. 

Ione: I…wasn’t doing it on purpose. I’m…still trying to…get used to this. *Ione is staring at herself in the mirror, grimacing* It's awkward looking at myself like this. 

Vidaria: Hmm? What do you mean? 

Ione: Looking at myself, singing and dancing, and looking at myself…*sighs* it feels…embarrassing. 

Taima: But you’re doing so well! You’ve memorized the new lyrics faster than everyone else! Why are you embarrassed? 

Ione: *lowers her head* I…I don’t know…I don't know if I can explain it well. (It’s just because it’s me, that’s all.)

Taima: Your dancing has come a long way, and your singing has always been flawless. But if you feel uncomfortable, you’ll definitely look uncomfortable. 

Vidaria: *smiling* So you'll have to get past it soon. We can’t have you feeling embarrassed when we’re on stage. 

Ione: *irritably* I know that! I really am trying! (Ugh…why must my reflection be so…so…) 

Taima: Let’s try it again, from the top. 

(…) 

Taima: Great! That was better! 

Vidaria: I do think we got it now! 

Ione: … (I wish they’d stop patronizing me, I know I'm still not as good as them…)

*Iman walks in*

Iman: I have returned! 

Vidaria: How did your fitting go? Like your new look? 

Iman: A thousand times better than what I was wearing before! It’s so much nicer and easier to dance in! 

Taima: I feel the same about my new outfit too! 

Iman: We’re gonna be so fierce! 

*While everyone is raving about their new outfits, Ione goes silent, looking sad. She looks over again to her reflection in the large mirror and frowns.*

Ione: (Big, stupid glasses, stupid ruddy complexion, these stupid freckles all down my arms. A weed amongst roses. But how can you turn a weed into a rose? You can’t, that’s the point. Why am I even here?)

Iman: What’s wrong, Wallflower? 

Ione: Iman, by any chance, did you…see what I’ll be wearing? 

Iman: Yeah I did! Farron showed me! 

Ione: Oh!! Umm…well…how did it…I mean…how did it…

Iman: Your outfit is cute too! I’m sure you’ll love it! 

Ione: I…hope you’re right. (and hopefully it’s not short sleeved so I can hide my freckles at least)

Iman: Of course I am! 

Farron: *walking in* You can come and see for yourself, Ione!

Ione: !!! 

Farron: Danica and I are ready for you, *reached out his hand* shall we?

Ione: Uh…yeah…sure. 

~~~

Pomefiore Dorm ~ Farron’s Studio

Ione: (Ugh! My stomach is in knots! I wish we could just get this over with!  Farron said he’d be here in a minute, where is he?)

Farron: *whispering and peeking his head from the door* Hey! Vil made an impromptu visit! 

Ione: !!!

Farron: No worries, we’re gonna hold him off as long as we can but can you do me a favor and push that dressform back into the closet. The one with the indigo cloth over it. That’s your costume, but don’t look at it yet! Thanks, dear! 

*Farron closes the door, leaving Ione alone again in his studio. She does as he asks and then sits back down, looking at the vanity mirror. She tries to smile, but cringes at what she sees.*

Ione: (I bet Mother had a beautiful smile, my sisters definitely do. I wish I could see…no…I took that from her…it’s my fault she can never smile again, that I’ll never see that. My smile is hideous.)

*She shakes her head and pinches her arm to stave off crying. Looking around on the makeup stand, Ione sees a contact lens case. She picks it up.*

~~~

Flashback to Farron’s studio a few weeks prior…

Ione: Circle lenses? 

Vil: Yes, so you don’t have to wear those glasses on stage. *smiling* No need to worry about not being able to see in them, Rook was able to find your prescription and I ordered these accordingly. 

Ione: *surprised* Huh?? How did he…umm…well, if you insist I wear them. 

Vil: I do insist! I want my Swans of Seven looking nothing less than flawless! 

Ione: But…I’ve always worn glasses. Why can’t I wear them for the VDC? 

Vil: Each of the Swans of Seven has a unique charm to them, it is my aim only to enhance that charm so you can win. These circle lenses will enhance your beauty. Go ahead and try them on. 

*Ione takes off her glasses and tries on the circle lenses. Vil smiles.*

Vil: There, very pretty indeed. You might want to look into wearing them more often. 

*Ione looks in the mirror but is unsure how she feels about her reflection without glasses.*

Ione: (My eyes burn, they’re not very comfortable. But hopefully if I wear them the rest of the day, I’ll get used to them.) 

Vil: What do you think? A very different appearance, wouldn’t you say? 

Ione: …

Farron: Are you alright, Ione? If you feel uncomfortable, you can always put your glasses back…

Vil: No. She’ll get used to them in time.  She’ll have to. 

Farron: But if she’s more comfortable in glasses, wouldn’t it make more sense to…

Ione: No! No, this is fine. I’ll get used to them. (Hopefully…) 

Farron: Are you sure?

Ione: Yes, I’m sure. If Vil-san went out of his way to get these for me, I…should probably wear them. 

Vil: You should! And look at your reflection! Don’t you like this so much better?

Ione: … (I feel as awkward as ever. But maybe that’s just because I’m not used to being pretty, I don’t know. Why am I such a weed?) 

Vil: Well?

Ione: Yes, much better. *trying to smile* Th…thank you, Vil-san. 

~~~

Ramshackle Dorm ~ Ione And Crisanta’s Shared Room 

Later that evening…

Ione: Hey, you weren’t at our fitting this evening. 

Crisanta: Yeah, sorry about that. I really tried to leave early. 

Ione: Vil-san was pretty upset. 

Crisanta: I’m going to try and make the next one, I promise! *looking at Ione* Hey…where are your glasses?

Ione: Oh, they’re in my bag. But Vil-san wants me to wear circle contact lenses on stage so I began wearing them today. 

Crisanta: Ah I see. Well, what do you think of them? 

Ione: …

Crisanta: Ione? 

Ione: I’m…not sure. I know objectively I look better with these lenses on. But at the same time…

Crisanta: What do you mean objectively? Your glasses don’t make you any less pretty and lenses don’t make you any more pretty either. 

Ione: Vil-san seems to think so. *sighs* And honestly, since I’ve been ugly all of my life, I don’t know if I can really say if…

Crisanta: *slightly upset* Stop RIGHT THERE! You are NOT ugly! 

Ione: …

Crisanta: I’m serious, dear! You aren’t! I…I wish you would stop talking about yourself in such a way. 

Ione: (Well, I wish I could stop thinking about myself in such a way. But I cannot change reality. As much as I’d like to.) 

*Ione looks very sad and Crisanta places her arm around her*

Ione: Crissa…

Crisanta: It makes me so sad that you think so lowly of yourself. And it makes me even sadder because there’s no reason for you to feel that way except all the bullshit your dad put into your head! 

Ione: But…my dad…he’s not…he’s just upset about moms death. I can’t blame him. It’s my fault anyway and…

Crisanta: No, it’s not! It wasn’t! And even if your dad is still mourning your mom, well, so are you and your siblings! He shouldn’t blame you for that. 

Ione: …

Crisanta: You know what? I think your mom wouldn’t blame you either! And from the pics you showed me, you look a lot like her and she was very pretty! 

Ione: *smiling* Yeah, Mother was a very pretty lady. 

Crisanta: So wouldn’t it make sense that her daughter would be very pretty too?

Ione: …

*long pause between them*

Crisanta: *sighs* Ione, I’m going to try my best to continue this training camp with you. Because I know you really wanted to be part of the VDC. 

Ione: …

Crisanta: But my project for the art gallery is very important to me too. I really want you to see it once it’s done. I think you’ll greatly appreciate it. 

Ione: I will. And I know you’re only here because I dragged you here. Never in a million years would I think Vil and Danica would actually select us. 

Crisanta: They really liked you I think. I remember how much Rook-san liked your singing. *smiling* There, you know Pomefiore students are all about beauty. Do you think they’d pick someone ugly or untalented to represent our school? 

Ione: Objectively, I know you're right. *picking up a small cosmetic mirror and looking at her reflection.* Can I…tell you a secret? 

Crisanta: A secret? Oooh! Sure! 

Ione: I’m…not sure about how I look without glasses. Maybe because I’ve always had glasses but looking at myself now just seems awkward. 

Crisanta: Ohhhh? That’s your secret? For some reason I thought it would be more…ah…well nevermind. If you don’t like your contacts, you don’t have to wear them. *smiles* Personally, I think you’re cuter with your glasses anyway! 

Ione: *blushes* Really?! I mean…oh…well, yeah. I feel awkward without glasses. Hmmm. Maybe there’s a way I can still be pretty on stage with my glasses. 

~~~

*End Of Flashback*

Ione: *holding the contact lens case* (Crisanta later spoke to Vil-san and told him the lenses made me uncomfortable. It took a lot of convincing but eventually he conceded, he was still very upset.) *sighs* (I don’t know what I was thinking. They may make my eyes burn but maybe that’s just something I’ll have to deal with. After all, what does a weed know about becoming a rose?)

To Be Continued - 

[polyhexianbirb]

List of what i hate about Moon Knight

Episode 1:

Pretty much nothing.

Episode 1 was amazing,

They made the very first Vegan superhero protagonist eat a steak.

😭😭😭

As i vegan i am so happy they put that in

But sad about what they did to him.

Episode 2:

Episode 2 was okay. I liked Layla. She is cool.

Much prefer her over Marlene. (Comic ref)

Mr knight suit was cool. Didn’t like the pattern.

Kinda wish Marc’s reflection was in his costume instead of Mr. Knight’s.

Episode 3:

Most of my dislikes are in the final few episodes.

Layla, darling, ?????

Wasn’t a big fan of the Ennead.

Who was tho?

Khonshu just likes to scream.

(For me) it wasn’t too clear about who was who in the Ennead.

Might be different for others but i just had trouble figuring it out.

Never did figure it out…

Khonshu is me with bad ideas.

Episode 4:

As an Egyptian mythology nerd i hate this.

Alaxander the great was never a Pharaoh.

He was a conqueror

Not even a type of ruler.

I kinda liked the horror-aspect of the episode.

Dunno how i didn’t jump at some scenes

Overall, it was good.

Chill

Loved when Marc/Steven was shot

JAKE WAS IN THE FUCKING COFFIN

WHYYYY

😍Taweret!😍

Episode 5:

This episode was my least favourite

Plot was amazing

Loved the plot

Absolutely stunning.

Except the mythology stuff.

TAWERET IS OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN

ANUBIS IS THE ONE THAT WEIGHS THE HEARTS

WITH THE FEATHER OF MAAT

ON THE SCALES OF JUDGMENT

IN THE HALL OF TRUTH

NOT IN THE DUAT!

The Duat was the place they go after death

NOT WHISLT THEIR HEART IS BEING WEIGHT

and the issue of who does it is a whole ‘nother problem

Its meant to be Anubis.

Oh, and Ammit is the devourer of condemned souls.

Not a bringer of vengeance

Think of her as Anubis’s pet dog.

That.

And, just what is going on?

Why are so many of the deities stuck in a statue???

What did they do?

It was never quite cleared up.

And the fact they never mention how Khonshu is known as ‘the one who lives on hearts’?

And the fact that he is also a child.

That may be me getting s little bit into it

But i think it might’ve been nice to put a little bit of nerdy stuff in there

You know, for the fans.

A bit of backstory is all

What is Ammit and Khonshu’s relationship?

How does the rest of the deities think of Khonshu?

Why is everyone a statue?

That sort of stuff that i don’t feel go answered.

Episode 6:

Really liked this one.

The fight scenes were Epic

Wish we got to see a bit more of Ammit and Khonshu’s battle tho

Kinda disappointing

In original mythology before he was associated with the moon he was a cannibalistic deity who ate the hearts of other deities after killing them so i feel he should’ve been a better fighter than Ammit who just got tossed the hearts of the condemned like a bone.

But thats just me

I rlly like Layla

She is the Best Girl

The one issue i have isn’t her character

Not at all

Its her outfit

Her Suit

Her Avatar costume, if you will

Have you SEEN IT?

IT LOOKS LIKE SHE WOULD BE ISIS’S AVATAR

NOT TAWERET’S????

i wish there were some hippo themes through it

Thats all

Not wings

She looks like Isis????

😭😭😭😭😰😰😰😰

WHY?

Overall:

It was a really good show, i hope they do a season 2 or include Moon knight on some other things. It’d be great. I only have a few issues with backstory and such, may add onto this post later on as i think of more things. Its been a week since i finished watching it and has taken me a while to put my thoughts together. Will definitely go rewatch it and prolly make a new post with these things and anything new. Prolly do that as i watch it.

Steven is great, love him, so much better than he was in the comics (they kinda just used him and Jake as small plot devices, nothing more)

Marc is… i don’t know where to start. Awesome, stunning, Brilliant! I loved that we had to wait to see him. It was really nice and the shock (at least for the people who didn’t already know Moon Knight) that Steven wasn’t the Main (?Is that the right word?) i loved him as a character.

JAKE LOCKLEY!! Love him. So much. Never got to see him but i love him. Begging for season 2.

Wish they had a better Villain. Maybe Set? They would’ve been so much better. Or even Opopis, that would’ve been cool. I just want their mythology to be correct because them doing stuff wrong like that is just a pet peeve of mine. (If you look at my fanfiction you will see i try to be fairly accurate).

Kinda wish we had more backstory with the Ennead and why so many of them are in stone. Why is Khonshu so invested? Why was Taweret there instead of Anubis? What do they think of Zeus being shot? I know Khonshu would like it (he was uninvited to the orgy)

Hate Layla’s costume. Hate it.

Please don’t make Steven eat more meat.

We need season 2. If you see this and work for Marvel or Disney or whatever. Please! Im begging you.

[the-clockwork-three]

I posted 8,129 times in 2022

That's 8,129 more posts than 2021!

240 posts created (3%)

7,889 posts reblogged (97%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@ulysses-but-somehow-more-transer

@charlataninred

@transgender-rex

@the-dashing-mx-ollandre

@ladydragonkiller

I tagged 1,652 of my posts in 2022

#is mise an crann - 163 posts

#ask game - 48 posts

#prev - 29 posts

#save - 28 posts

#self reblog - 28 posts

#my beloved fictional husband - 23 posts

#asks - 18 posts

#the mechanisms - 16 posts

#you mean a gun powdered this tim? - 15 posts

#the mechs - 14 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#this was like 30 years ago but i still get really nervous when the bus takes the 'o fuck were like half an hour behind schedule lets skip

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I listened to the TBI debut while knitting, some highlights

"Drumbot Brian.... Actually playing a fucking drum"

Huh,,,, the lyf segments are supposed to be verbatim from a recording they made.... Note to self

Raph 🥺🥺🥺 no thoughts on Odin. Just Raph time

Oh fuck. The Ooohs in Loki gave me shivers. it's the quiet before tim just Going for it that cements it for me

Moss stitch is.... So boring but also just annoying enough you constantly have to pay attention

Something about how Thor is preformed in the debut makes me believe his anger more than the recording. It may be a voice crack or something

In Losing Track's chorus, Tim's mic is Way Too Loud and Ashes' is nowhere near loud enough. However everyone sounds fine in the verses so it may be a human issue not a tech one.

Lyf's interaction with the mechs in Expert Testimony is great. It was just a little off from the recorded version but it was a cool break

I like how red signal worked in this version. The quiet bit at the start was nearly imperceptible, and it steadily got louder. The difference between the two ranges of volume between the debut and the album is interesting

I forgot to take notes during the Ragnaroks. It was different enough to keep my attention but similar enough it wasn't distracting. Tim was not super overwhelming during Loki-Sigin duet in V.

It should not have taken me An Entire Hour to finish knitting one 3.5 inch square. AND it's even not the right shape due to bulging >:(

The crowd started to clap before the end of Terminus because they were not expecting the distress call segment

Jonny's smile at the end of Terminus is SOOOOOO good. I haven't been able to watch the video much because I was busy but I caught that :) The Void grins through him and you should be afraid

"(talking about CDs) Nothing too squamous I can assure you." "Awwwwwww." "Maybe just for you"

In conclusion: its a good live show. You should listen to it if you can

99 notes - Posted June 21, 2022

#4

In a world so full of magical fairies, dragons, and demons sometimes you just gotta be Some Dude to stand out.

103 notes - Posted July 20, 2022

#3

The Howl cardigan is done!! Featuring my full Howl Pendragon cosplay

See the full post

119 notes - Posted July 31, 2022

#2

Had a fun dream last night where I was dressed as The Toy Soldier, and as I looked out the window I thought I was just seeing my reflection in the pitch black garden, but was actually Jessica Law in full costume. In my garden. Staring into my kitchen. Mimicking my every movement.

120 notes - Posted April 10, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I love Expert Testimony because of the implications of Marius just summoning a violin.

Like if its just those three in the room, then the obvious answer is that DBB is sitting outside the cell with a small pile of instruments to hand to his pals when they need it.

But if all the mechs are in the room but most of them are just too grumpy to speak to Lyf, then do they have secondary powers of instrument creation? Do they have Really Big Pockets where they store spare pianos?

Extra Question, do the guards confiscate their contraband? And if so where do they keep them?

219 notes - Posted April 12, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[just-an-enby-lemon]

(second part): so since you threw the question back: some things I'd want them to carry over from the movie would be some of the designs - Bruce's look when he takes off the helmet and his eye makeup is smeared and his hair a mess is very fun for a young version of the character and it makes him seem more real and vulnerable. Selina's pre-Catwoman thief outfit is nice too, i like how makeshift it looks and that the beanie forms cat ears and how many earrings she wears, it suits her. Another design is the interior of Wayne Tower and the batmobile design, I wouldn't mind if these designs got carried over to the comics either. Another thing is that movie Bruce turned one of his father's old cars into the Batmobile according to tie-in material, which I think makes for interesting symbolism: using something his parents owned to avenge them. and another thing from that novel that could get carried over to the comics is that Edward was a mediocre or bad student - I know that's already older comics canon but I think they should bring it back again, it's always more interesting imo when he wasn't a good student because that would fuel his need to prove he is smart even more if even school was telling him that he isn't, and having him be someone that got failed by the school system not because he wasn't smart but because of his bad home situation and the way his neurodivergence was treated could be used to criticise that system too. Penguin starting his criminal career by working with Falcone could be interesting too

as for things I don't want them to carry over: aside from what you said also Riddler's character design, it's bland and the whole para-military vibe is something that doesn't really fit the character outside of the movie's version not to mention that it's always sad when a flamboyant character is made to fit society's standards of what is "normal" to be or dress like more. I also don't want them to carry over the way that his neurodivergence is portrayed because no offense to the actor but it came across like it really played up that he is a "scary autistic guy" who is scarier because he's not neurotypical. I also don't like how aggressive he is when delivering his riddles, it fits well for this version, but shouldn't become the standard interpretation imo. Oh and I think Martha being an Arkham shouldn't get carried over either cause her being a Kane is important because it makes Bruce jewish on his mother's side. The families could still be related though ofc, maybe via Thomas' mother?

...and now I'm curious what you think of those points haha

Okay. Let's go. About the desing choices you mentioned: heck yeah. I love how both Bruce and Selina's costumes show clearly that they are still starting their carrear and it's genuinally great. Wayne Tower has a great desing and adding to it soo does the Wayne Mansion.

And the batmobiles being adapted from Thomas cars and the desing reflecting it: aaaa. I did not knew that and now my hearth is melting.

• Edward being a mediocre student is something I actually have no opinion about on one way or anothe. I do have a soft spot for Ed being a bad student because his brain was wired different and the text based educacion system is a fraud because of the old comics. It works soo well to explain Edward misplaced fear of being a fraud, his need to prove his inteligence, because he is a genius, but since the way he filters and presents information was different than what formal education wanted he was wasted. A characther who failed by society in all aspects. It can even figure out in a version of him who doesn't know Bruce's secret identity (namely the Arkham games) as even though all evidences point to Bruce he refuses to believe that someone who was never failed by this system, who had the good grades and a good guardian and money and honestly everything could be Batman because that would mean that everyone was right that he was not helped because he isn't good enough.

But I also enjoy Edward being the best student in class and I feel like that can also created a system of self worth based on inteligence. I'm far from a genius but I had good grades and being a bullied kid with undiagnosed autism and just being weird the fact I was considered smart was the only value I could give myself for a long time. I had panick attacks when I forgot to do homework or got answers wrong because my value was being smart. It also creates a weird paradoxal feeling of you are better than everyone else because you are smart but also your value is only mesure by that if you do a mistake you are worse because you have no other talents. And since I wasn't a genius when things got hard (since no one teached me to study as I "didn't need it") and my grades started slipping in High School I started having severe panic attacks and that was how I started therapy. So I can see an Edward who never had this moment, who was mistreated at home and bullied and isolated and different but at least he had good grades and everyone always told him this was his only value and that this was enought to make him better than everyone else and he had no reason to not believe in both of those things. And still serves to criticize the education system.

So that's my way to say I think both aproachs are good and I like the idea. Sorry for the tagent.

• Penguin working for Falcone could be nice.

• Riddler's costume: Oh geez. It makes me question what they will do with Robin?

But seriusly it fits the universe. But comics are wild and any universe who has Constantine, Swanp Thing and Clayface has to stop trying for realism. Also people do dress dramaticatly or silly normally. So yeah. I hope they don't bring it to the main continuity. Also yes I hate when they nend characthers to fit into more socialy accepted clothes or behaviors and use "realism" as the explanation.

• FINALLY SOMEONE SAID IT. I mean some people are talking about it, but it's still such a small percentage.

DC has a huuge history with ableism in relation to bad portraits of mental health. Two-Face often poorly writen TDI is a prime example. Or just the fact that Arkham is based on Bedlam mostly for the scary factor. But I like to believe they are slowly improving on it or at least in showing that being neurodivergent and/or mentally disabled are not the reasons that the rogues are evil. Having Riddler's compulsive OCD being adressed in Unburied not as the reason for his crimes but as something that genuinally harms HIM and his perception of self was a small detail but it was a good start. Same with how they are slowly dealing with Harley being a survivor of DA or Bruce having panic attacks (showing Bruce having panic attacks was also a win in Unburied though it already had happened in some comics) or Jason dealing with PTSD. It's small things but they are progress.

That being the case it only makes worse for me how Riddler was portrait in The Batman. It was sooo fucking ableist. Specially for autistic people. And as an autist myself it gets me genuinally mad and offended. How the fuck did accidental coding on 1966 Riddler made for better stim representation than intencional coding (because it was intencional no one can convince me otherwise) in 2022?! Were they trying to be offensive? Was autism speaks involved in the charactherization? How did they fucked up soo bad?

• Agressive riddles should not be a thing. I think this is specially important as a thing that should not be translated to auditory media: podcasts, cartons, audibooks, future movies. Because I think it takes a lot of what riddles should mean for Riddler and also because I'm a firm beliver that all riddles should be told rhytimically in aduitory media, almost musicaly, specially with characther who do it a lot and/or like them. It just works better in my head.

• Yeah. Martha being an Arkham was something that was comic book cannon for a short while, but I don't like it. Bruce's accidental jewsish heritage makes soo much sense when taking into consideration how DC and MARVEL were founded mostly by jewish people. It feels an homage to this people (same reason I cannot see Peter Parker, Steve Rogers and Clark Kent as not being jewish though in Bruce's case they made it cannon, by accident but still).

While I think it could be interesting to have Bruce have Arkham blood on his father side. He is already related to two of the founder famillies and deeply conected with another via the Elliots. Maybe give the Arkham decendant to Tim to mix a little. Also Bruce being related to Jeremiah Arkham would be a strange thing in comics (like i don't think Mark Reeves plans to using Jeremiah so it's fine, but in the comics he already exists so it would be weird). I just think it could be cool but now really necessary at all.

Wow. I wrote a lot. Feel free to coment in any of it.

[courtbourt31]

The Rivals Review

Written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan

The Rivals, a 5-act comedic play was written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan and was produced and published in 1775. Which is about the romantic difficulties of Lydia Languish who is determined to marry for love and into poverty. She falls in love with the aristocratic Captain Jack Absolute who is pretending to be a poor naval officer named Ensign Beverly. Meanwhile, Jack's Friend Faulkland is engaged to Lydia’s cousin, Julia, but their relationship is tested by his mistrust and jealousy. The play explores themes of class, love, and the absurdities of human behavior through its use of clever wordplay and humorous situations. 

The play was wonderful and hilarious. Plays can be so much fun and was such a great shift in atmosphere for me after watching so many movies. The theater is alive with laughter and joy and it was such a beautiful place to be. In a way, I felt like someone from the 18th century seeing a play and how during that time period, comedy was a way to distract from the ruins and horrors of the world and still does to this day. 

I have seen plays before and been in them but it has been a while since I brought myself back to that place. There is definitely a difference compared to high school and college productions and one of those key differences was the detail in set, costuming, and makeup. They had beautifully large dresses with extravagant wigs all perfectly representing the right time period and styles. The men were wearing gorgeous heels and long socks each reflecting the character's status as well as personality. Each with there own color scheme and accessories. The acting was brilliant and hilarious, I personally loved the blue guy he had perfect comedic timing and would feed off of the crowd’s energy. Every piece was incredible well throughout making every piece full and rich with detail. Perfectly sharing the fashion and lifestyle of the upper class in 18th century england.

Watching the effortless flow of everything and the beauty of it all come together was brilliant. Along with the subtle lighting changes and the swift nature of set changes that happened within seconds as if they never happened was incredible. But also how comedic everyone was in every moment. There was a person who held a mirror the entire time and they were one of the funniest people there. They would mimic the body langue of whoever was looking in the mirror, which was quite hilarious. I absolutely loved it and want to see more plays in the future but mostly the ones that our school shows because they are incredible and are full of talented people, it was like I was at the rep theatre. 

-Courtney Peterson

[rainypaperangel]

I didn't like how they dressed the Monster High characters for the upcoming movies... so I re-did it xD

Disclaimer; this is just my opinion, and I've never made a clothes collection whatever-they're-called post, soeh... bear with me. I also didn't do everyone, just the ones I though could be improved upon the most! The movie will premiere on Nickelodeon, do I understand they couldn't make the characters as edgy as in the cartoon (they could, but we can't have nice things) - anyway, take this with a grain of salt!

Frankie Stein

I like how they made Frankie preppy, but they also looks a bit... boring? The dress or whatever it is seem a bit plain - I'd split it up between a plaid skirt and a plain, white blouse, and from thereon use accessories and the likes of that to make it more interesting. I chose carefully so nothing would clash with the skirt, and like in the show, Frankie's accessories are silver and metallic.

I though the tights were a bit too much - I understand they can't be too "sexy" for kids' TV, but they also look a bit clunky. I replaced them with thinner tights that doesn't look like they were ripped on purpose.

Draculaura

A key feature of Draculaura's is that she's cute and romantic, and I don't really think that's reflected in her movie-costume. She looks too much like Frankie, preppy, and not like she's 1600 years old.

In the show, she wears a lot of Victorian-inspired clothing, so I chose a poofy Lolita skirt and a pink blouse to go with it. I figured a charm bracelet would suit her, plus a bat-backpack. She has a lot of heart-imagery in her design, so I added heart earrings.

Cleo DeNile

I kind of like Cleo's outfit, but not for an Egyptian princess. Cleo's over the top, so I chose her outfit exclusively in gold and marine colors. She wears a lot of jewelry, most of which is probably amulets and other magic trinkets for protection and all that...

I was worried the excessive amounts of gold would be too much, but both the boots, the shawl, and the hair piece(?) is a deep blue - I think this would make a nice balance.

Clawdeen Wolf

I think Clawdeen's outfit was the one I minded the least, but it still didn't feel quite like her. I put her in a similar dark, purple outfit, but I chose a more emo-like skirt and some more daring jewelry and shoes.

I wanted to put her in a fur jacket, but I just didn't like any of the ones found, so I opted for a leather jacket instead - I also figured that'd be good for hunting.

Lagoona Blue

I'll be honest, I'm not suuuper hooked on the outfit I ended up with, but I think it'd be better with a blue skin tone (why is she not blue when almost everyone else gets a color??). The bracelet is Australian opals and reminds me of the ocean - I think she'd look at it when she feels homesick.

I never liked Lagoona's shoes, so I chose some more practical sneakers for her that she could actually run in. The flowers are hair-clips, which I think'd look great in big, curly, blonde hair. I also think she'd wear her jacket tied around her wait most of the time, unless it was really sunny and she worried about drying out.

Deuce Gorgon

I took this as an opportunity to completely re-design Deuce's outfit. White tank-top, leather pants, and a snakey-green leather jacket - couldn't you just imagine it?! I wanted the snake imagery to be there, but more subtle - I would love a more edgy take on Deuce where he tries to handle how he feels about his abilities; a part of his heritage, and yet, a curse...

So I ended up with a snake ring and dark glasses with snake handles (whyyyy is his live-action glasses not tinted?). I also added a red bracelet, which, in a movie-setting, I would prefer to have Greek-inspired imagery, but hey... It's a nod to the red accents of his cartoon outfit.

Also, trans Deuce supremacy <3