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hrrtshape · 2 months ago

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i want the tea emmaaa 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

✶ the latest report on my shift to my better cr (aka kind of a socialite dr)

◞ when i shifted : for way longer. way, way longer. i blinked and suddenly i had months’ worth of memories. time is fake, time is a performance, time is a dinner party where i am the guest of honour and also the mysterious figure slipping out the back door. the ratio? unknown. inconceivable. i went to sleep and woke up and lived. isn’t that enough? but the present in my better cr is currently the present in here !

◞ where i shifted : still new york, still my mom’s penthouse, still living in a pinterest board except this time i fully leaned into it. every single aesthetic touch, every candle, every casually draped cashmere throw. curated to perfection. we are talking "architectural digest home tour where the interviewer is quietly weeping over how good my taste is" levels of perfection. the google maps situation remains the same: in this reality, my house is a hotel. fate? simulation glitch? the universe keeping me humble? who knows.

◞ family dynamics : my older brother remains a tech bro of the most devastating calibre. the type who makes a billion-dollar deal on his phone in between espresso shots, then immediately gets distracted by an art heist conspiracy theory and disappears for a week. my younger brother (he's weirdly obsessed with filming cars for instagram) continues to reside with my dad in the west village, and their place is basically a salon for the emotionally sophisticated. like, picture cigars (unlit, for aesthetic), first edition books, and a record player that only plays vinyls of people arguing in french. my dad..... still at sotheby’s, still slightly overwhelmed, still one misplaced signature away from an auction-house disaster. my mom is still an empire-builder, still the queen of sugar-free decadence, still able to make a CEO cry in under five minutes. i am so obsessed with her.

◞ my friends : lily-rose remains my ride-or-die. our friendship has transcended words and become something closer to an art form. we communicate through glances, through impeccably timed laughter, through the shared knowledge that we are always, always the main characters. also, blair waldorf is STILL in my life, and i am STILL not over it. she tolerates me, which is the highest form of affection. the gossip girl universe continues to imprint itself onto my reality, and honestly? i welcome it. @chaaistained you're still the light of my life xxxx

◞ loml, coryo : mhm. mhm. mhm. (pause for applause). not writing how just yet, but let’s just say the universe finally got the memo. cutest cutie ever.

◞ food : the cafes remain exquisite. the hazelnut croissants remain life-altering. i have officially become one with my iced matcha. my bloodstream is no longer soy milk; it is pure, concentrated vibes. best meal.... one night my mum and i booked out an entire restaurant just to have a private dinner and discuss our enemies. just mother-daughter bonding things. le bernardin continues to serve food so good i nearly cried. and, of course, because i went to paris, we gorged on croissants.

◞ outfits : i wake up. my closet, endless. my options, infinite. every single piece of clothing i have ever wanted? there. there were DAYS i changed outfits purely because i could. there were NIGHTS i sat in front of my floor-length mirror, trying on silk dresses and whispering, "what’s the move tonight?" even if there was no move. just the illusion of one.

◞ school : st. lazarus remains the most iconic institution to ever exist. the uniforms are still perfect. the hierarchy is still thrilling. my classes are as follows !!! :

philosophy : my professor has officially lost his grip on reality. i am his nemesis and also his favourite student. i say things just to watch him spiral. it’s a sport. history : the battlefield. coryo is writing my history IA. i am having the time of my life. literature : divine. ethereal. my professor respects me too much. maths : a struggle but at least my notes look nice. but i did script that i atleast understand what's happening.

◞ social scene : parties, parties, PARTIES. penthouses, rooftops, spontaneous trips. people draped over velvet sofas, half-drunk champagne glasses abandoned on marble countertops. whispered secrets. dramatic exits. nights that felt like music videos.

◞ unforgettable moments : celebrated my younger brother’s 15th birthday. f1-themed, obviously, because he’s still in his karting prodigy era. the cake was a racetrack. the vibe was grand prix meets family sitcom. the whole paris trip. somewhere in the mix: a snowstorm, a museum date, a night spent on the roof because the city looked too beautiful to go inside. got recognised at least once in public. tried a new restaurant where the shakshuka made me question my entire existence. there were art gallery openings where the champagne was free-flowing and the conversations were like a linguistic fencing match. sunday brunches that spiraled into entire days out. afternoons spent trying on impractical dresses just to twirl in fitting rooms. soft launches of new perfumes (because every era needs a signature scent).

◞ books i read : ulysses (continued). the secret history ( i read it in my cr...but...c'mon. it was time ). a collection of sapphic poetry that made me feel like i was floating.

◞ the details that made it real : the way my pen scratched against my notebook in class. the exact weight of my chloé tote in my hand. the way my breath fogged up the glass of my balcony doors when i pressed my forehead against them in the early morning. the quiet click of my mum’s marc jacobs' boots on marble floors.

◞ oh !!! and christmas !!! : christmas in my better cr was in lithuania, obviously. flew out on the 23rd, spent it with the extended family. my grandma made dubai chocolate (not that kind of dubai chocolate...she lives in karoliniškės, ok). my makeup artist aunt got me a lip tint, very on brand. my one-year-old cousin nora is in her cherubic era. we were besties for the week. played with her nonstop. got my younger brother every f1 lego car in existence. my mum got me archival miu miu. my great-grandma saw me, got sentimental, cried a little, made me eat an ungodly amount of cepelinai. very lithuanian of her. left early, landed at jfk at a stupid hour. 1 am. coryo was there in sweatpants, threw his car at the curb like he was in some noir film, very dramatic, very romantic. nearly tackled me. i was gone for less than a week but he missed me like it had been years. got me presents too. he is so lovesick it’s almost embarrassing.

that’s it for now, lovies. i have MORE, obviously, but let’s pace ourselves. mwah xxxxxxx

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thefirstlioveyou · 25 days ago

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Mike Possibly isn't Biologically Related to the Wheelers — [deep analysis]

(Part 2)

This ties in with my Alien Mike theory. But I wanted to write this to better explain why I think Mike may not even be related to them, just generally without touching on the supernatural aspect of it. (well, i do but only a little because of his superman parallels lol)

Appearance

This one is the quickest piece of evidence, although it isn’t strong enough to stand on its own. Mike’s hair is very dark brown, appearing almost black. He has dark brown eyes and freckles. Nancy and Holly both have lighter hair tones, matching Karen and Ted. The Wheelers being related to the Creels is a popular theory. While I think Nancy and Holly do look like they could be related to them, it still does not explain Mike’s features. The Creels all have blonde hair and blue eyes with no freckles in sight.

However, while Mike does look vastly different, the main physical feature Mike does have in common with Nancy and Karen is his cheekbones. I still don’t consider that enough though.

ST does a great job casting their families. I don't understand why a cast a family that all look similar except for one. Even if you consider the Creelers, there's still no one that strikes any resemblance to Mike specifically besides cheekbones.

Holly's new actress shares resemblance to Nancy. They have the same button nose and eye color.

There are No Baby Photos of Mike

I go over any sort of photos I spot at the Wheelers in this post. Mike is not spotted in any. It's primarily Holly and Nancy. This is probably my biggest and most explicitly there kind-of piece of evidence. You have several of photos of them in these big frames all set up and not one - just one - is of Mike? Something is very wrong here.

During S5 filming, they posted a picture of Mike's likely only picture sitting somewhere by itself, away from any other family photos. Underneath the photo is two vinyl records of children stories that were both released in January of 1971 - Mike's birth year. Could this be hinting at scenes of Mike as a baby next season? Why would seeing him that young be relevant?

Side thing: It's interesting that while Mike was the first main character introduced, we actually know so little about him when he was younger. We know things about Will and El, but the only thing we know about Mike is that he felt scared and alone on his first day of school. Perhaps this is intentional.

Mike is Treated Differently -- For Some Unknown Reason

Now before I get into this section, I wanna say this: I am NOT a Karen anti. I think it is important to understand the kind of situation she is in with her marriage, while also recognizing how she treats Mike in comparison to Nancy. I'm gonna be mentioning Karen far more, and that is because she at the very least is doing something, even if it isn't the best. Ted does nothing at all, period. So there isn't much to say about him. He needs to step up as both a father and husband.

In S1, we immediately learn how dismissive Karen is of Mike's interests and how dismissive Ted is of anything happening with the family in general. When he mentions how the campaign took 2 weeks to plan, Karen rolls her eyes dramatically. When he looks for an answer from Ted, he simply leaves it for his mom to answer, careless.

In the next episode, Karen approaches Mike to talk about Will's disappearance. This is a sweet scene. But later you catch onto how she approaches Nancy. There is a clear difference in how Karen communicates her support. "You can talk to me" vs "I want you to feel like you can talk to me." There is a subtle but huge difference between the two.

I'm not sure how to put it, but when Karen talks to Mike, it's almost like there's some sort of barrier that she isn't comfortable crossing. There's emotional connection missing. To me, their "talks" feel more like a counselor talking with a student rather than a mom talking with their child. "You can come to me if you'd like, I'm here for you. But I won't intervene myself. It's your job to come to me. I can't do that."

When Will's body is found, Ted and Karen are sat in their living room watching the news. Ted proposes they go down to Mike's basement and talk to him about this. Karen instead insists they give him time, believing he'll come to them instead eventually. This scene occurs exactly after Joyce hesitates to talk to Jonathan, who is sobbing in his room, and ultimately chooses not to, leaving it for him to handle alone.

The next day, Karen lets Mike stay home due to what had happened the previous night. She makes sure Mike will be alright on her own. She asks if he'd like to tag along and that she'd let him rent an R-rated movie, while she gives someone else the time and day to talk about everything going on. I ain't gonna lie, if I hadn't watched any of the show prior to this scene, I wouldn't even think his friend died because of how she's approaching this situation. As I said above, she weirdly sounds more like a counselor than a mom, like there's an invisible line she feels she can't cross.

Throughout S1, we see Nancy make consistent effort to get to Nancy, to understand her. She wants and seeks to make sure Nancy knows she's on her side. She fights with her for an answer and persists. She gets involved. Because of this persistence, Nancy does inevitably open up to her, she trusts her. Karen has told Mike once that she's there and that she doesn't have to hide anything... But we have yet to actually see him go to her to have a talk. Going for a hug at the end of the season after everything's already blown over isn't going to her to talk. We have yet to see the payoff of that scene in S1.

We go into S2. Mike is facing grief and showing signs of PTSD. Owens talks with Joyce about symptoms of PTSD and how it will get worse before it gets better, to just wait it out and pretend it's not there. However, Joyce refuses. She knows it's something more than this. She knows her son. She knows what happened last year. And guess what? The next scene is literally Ted and Karen shaming Mike for his misbehavior that matches up exactly with the symptoms Owens described right before. They then punish him and tell him to donate two boxes worth of his toys. When Mike refuses to do this due to his toys having way too much emotional value, they mock him for it. Mike eventually complies and goes down stairs in basement to do what they said and grieve over El again.

This is never resolved. Mike finally ends up releasing his pent up emotions but to Hopper in the end of the season, a character that is clearly meant to serve as a father figure to him. There is no hug with his mom like there is in S1 or S3 and S4. And still notice - Mike actually uses his words and expresses himself to Hopper, unlike he does with his parents. He cusses this police chief out and punches him, something his parents would've very well scolded him for. But Hopper saw through that and saw a hurt kid.

Nancy and Karen have a heart-to-heart in S3 that is very sweet and very genuine. Later in the scene, there is a joke that implies one of the Wheeler kids isn't biologically theirs.

In the end of S4 before the California group all finally reunite with the Hawkins group, Karen insists Nancy holds onto her stuffed animal because of its emotional value. Interesting. But when it's your twelve year old son, it's unacceptable. Nancy still decides to donate it. "No, he'll be more loved in another home." Moments later, the California group arrives and Karen runs to hug Mike. She tells him, "you are staying right here." Interesting choices of dialogue being made here hmmm.

Now all this treatment in of itself doesn't necessarily indicate he is adopted. What leads me to believe he is adopted is the lack of reasoning for this treatment. Why? What is it that makes Karen and Ted unable to cross that barrier that they set up? Why is it set up in the first place and only for him?

You understand why there's a gap between Joyce and Jonathan. Jonathan was put in the position as the father for the sake of their survival. He wasn't able to be son. There's a distinct reason why Jonathan is treated differently than Will by Joyce. Will was treated differently by his father because Will is visibly queer. Lonnie wanted to change that part of him. He wanted to make him a "real man." But when you look at the Wheelers and Mike, what reason is there? We see he gets different treatment when it comes to emotional support, but why? That's just not something that's ever been clear.

I think S5 is gonna share with us that reason "why." There is an issue with Mike and his family, his parents especially, that needs to be resolved next season. You cannot resolve conflict in a story if you don't provide the reason it begun in the first place!!

Mike is Isolated From Them

There's a weird separation the show depicts between Mike and his family. Visually, we're often shown him set apart from them. He seemingly doesn't fit in with them. He's the odd one out in dinner table scenes. His picture is now away from the others in S5.

When Mike explains what a friend is to El, he says they're someone you tell things to - Things parents don't know. He hides things from them and doesn't see a reason to tell them things.

Mike offers El his entire bedroom all to herself, telling her that he's always in his basement anyway. In words I cannot put together... That just feels so isolating. There's a sense of separation. El, Holly, Nancy, Ted and Karen would all be on the same floor... While Mike is in his basement away from everyone else.

Irl, why not, right? If a kid is happier sleeping in the basement, that's fine. But, this isn't irl. This is a story constructed a specific way to say something about a character. His basement is very crucial to him, a safe-space. We see him cope with the hardest of emotions here alone and by himself. We know no one's going down there to check on him. This is saying a lot about him and especially his place in the family.

As stated in the other previous section, they posted Mike's photo by itself away from the family photos, separating him from his family.

Mike and Loneliness

This section doesn't necessarily equal he must be adopted. However, if it is true he is adopted, it can give more reasoning for the deep sense of loneliness he experiences.

Despite having several friends, Mike is depicted as lonely and outcasted within society and his family.

In a ST comic, Mike tells us that before DND, he used to feel scared everywhere including school and his home. Finn also describes Mike as a "natural outsider."

For his monologue to Will in S2, they chose to tell us about Mike's first day of school ever. He tells us he felt so scared and so alone because he had no friends and knew nobody. This is alarming to me because for a child to feel so alone and scared barely on their first day tells me they've already been feeling this way prior. He's only five at this point.

There are a couple songs on his playlist that scream "I don't belong":

"You leave in the morning with everything you own in a little black case. Alone on the platform, the wind and the rain, on a sad and lonely face. Mother will never understand why you had to leave. For the love that you need will never be found at home." — Smalltown Boy by Bronski Beat

"Here in my car, I feel safest of all. I can lock all my doors, it's the only way to live, in cars." — Cars by Gary Numan

"Made to feel the way that every child should, sit and listen, sit and listen. Went to school and I was very nervous. No one knew me, no one knew me. Hello, teacher, tell me what's my lesson. Look right through me, look right through me." — Mad World by Tears for Fears

Mike and Being Different

Here's the thing with Mike - He's invisible. He has privilege that Lucas, Will and Dustin don't have. Whatever makes him different, he can hide. Or rather, he doesn't even need to do anything to hide. He slips between the cracks. Besides being bullied for his interests and appearance, he is still seen as the "normal" one amongst his friends.

But within his family, he is different. Something about him makes him different. If he wasn't, he wouldn't be so isolated from them. He would be right next to Nancy and Holly in their baby pictures. He wouldn't stand out in dinner table scenes. He wouldn't be scared and alone even before beginning school. He would be approached with the same effort by Karen the way Nancy is approached. The show would be emphasizing his dynamic with Karen but they don't. They choose not to.

We get this one parallel in S4 that is so. it's so. god. We're so gonna find out next season what makes Mike so different.

El talks about being different and not belonging. Will talks about being different and feeling like a mistake for it. Both are framed the exact same way, with Mike blurred in the background. Will is a character seen different within society. El is seen different within society and family. For Mike, I think he would be seen different within his family.

Will doesn't feel like he belongs in society due to his sexuality identity and his trauma with the UD. El doesn't feel like she belongs anywhere due to unfortunately growing up and being abused in a lab, making it harder for her to adapt to the real world. Mike doesn't feel like he belongs in his family due to his identity as a whole (sexuality, interests, etc,.) and not being their biological child (I think if it is true he isn't blood related, it would have to be tied to something supernatural, which would explain other things)

His parents finally coming around and telling him how much they love him and actually go after him instead of waiting for him, inviting themselves into the little world they let him close himself into, is something that I think is much needed next season for all their development. His relationship with his family is something that will be very crucial to his arc next season, I don't doubt that in the slightest. The Swiss Family Robinson record, the increase in Wheeler Family focus for S5, Smalltown Boy, Family being a core theme within the story, etc., you get the idea.

The writers have to tackle where Mike's internal issues sprouted from and that would be his home.

Mike's Name and Superman

This was originally meant to be for the next section but it got wayyy too long. This one does cross more into Alien Mike territory but I think is still important to include regardless.

A while ago I realized: Mike introduces himself to El as Michael but Mike for short. He then gives her the name Eleven, El for short. I thought it was interesting that if you combined both their nicknames, you'd get Mike-El.. Michael. Then I remembered.. Superman's actual name is Kal-El. His biological father is named Jor-El.

The suffix "El" means God.

Kalel = Voice of God

Jorel = Father/"God will uplift"

Michael = "Who is like God?"/A Gift from God

Jane = "God is gracious."

Yeahhh. I'm sensing a very intentional pattern here lol.

Mike's character itself and his role in Will's painting matches closely with Michael from the Bible, an archangel.

[x / x]

Michael is also associated with the color blue, which reminds me of our Mike, the Upside Down and of course — Superman. Not just that, but the meaning behind Michael reminds me of exactly what Superman's character is all about. He represents justice. He's a moral compass. He's a protector and a guiding leader who inspires others. He is selfless and willing to sacrifice. He's exactly the person that people need in their life. (hey remember that one pic shawn levy posted w finn lolol).

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"They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you - My only son." - Jor-El to Superman

Michael = Gift from God... "I have sent them you" ... Mike being the Heart... Superman being the light people need... "Everyone needs a Mike in their life"... Mike guiding the whole Party and inspiring them.. Mike being the Key... Bruh. Y'know.. I'm just saying. Clearly, if Mike's whole thing was realizing he doesn't need to be Superman, they wouldn't have designed him to literally represent who Superman is more than the character that *he* thinks should be Superman.

If that was truly the point of his character, what happened with Mike in S4 would've been something set up for the next and final season. Not the season where they all lose in the end. Just a thought.

Possible Foreshadowing/Hints

This section is primarily about smaller details within the show that could serve as foreshadowing for the reveal.

Hopper tells Enzo, not literally, that his son (Mikhail, the literal Russian name variation of Michael) is not his son.

Karen jokes with Nancy that she could've been swapped at the hospital because she has no clue where she gets her positive traits from. Nancy tells her she gets it from her. Karen looks uncertain of this and responds with "Well.. Wherever you get it from..." This could be hinting at a future reveal that one of the Wheeler kids isn't biologically related.

In S1, the kids lie about El being Mike's cousin. During the ending of the season, before Mike kisses El, Mike tells her with certainty that his mom will adopt her. Nancy and Holly would be her sisters, his mom and dad would be hers. El then asks if he'd be like her brother, to which he responds with "No.. It's different." I don't think Mike would be aware he is adopted yet, but there could very well still be a hidden double message in that line.

Almost every film/story Mike brings up or hangs up in his room contains a main character that is an orphan. Superman, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Conan the Barbarian and The Dark Crystal. This is 5/7 films associated with Mike.

There's a painting in the Wheelers house of a family of birds. There are only 4 birds - Three adults and one baby. The Wheeler Family is a family of five. Someone's missing.

Conclusion

I really wonder what would've happened if Mike told them about going crazy and seeing El in S2. It's certainly something how he just never resolves anything with them that same season.

I think the fact the Wheeler parents have yet to learn Mike's involvement with supernatural shit is due to something that they're going to reveal in S5. I don't think Mike keeping all this from them including his own personal struggles for the entire show is for no reason.

This all being said, I am starting to strongly believe Mike isn't their biological child. You have all these things he deals with and doesn't get from his parents.. You look at it side by side with Nancy and Holly.. Yet you're still missing the "why." You need the "why." Holding off the "why" for this long could be indicating something big.

#had time to finish this during little moments in between work 🔥#tried a slightly different writing layout for this post #also probably my longest analysis i've posted so far jshdjsjs #mike wheeler #the wheelers #adopted mike #Youtube

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hotvintagepoll · 1 year ago

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Propaganda

Judy Garland (Meet Me In St. Louis, A Star is Born, Summer Stock)— Judy is the GOAT when it comes to classic movie musicals. The voice of an angel who deserved so much better than she got. She can sing she can dance she can act she's a triple threat. Though she had a turbulent personal life (her treatment as a child star by the studio system makes me mad as hell like Louis b Mayer fight me ((she was made to believe that she was physically unattractive by the constant criticism of film executives who made her feel ugly and who manipulated her onscreen appearance by capping her teeth and using discs in her nose to change its shape and Mayer called her "my little hunchback" like imagine hearing that as a child and not having damage)) she always goddamn delivered on screen and in any performance she gave. She began in vaudeville performing with her sisters and was signed to MGM at 13. Starting out in supporting parts especially paired with mickey Rooney in a bunch of films (she's the best part tbh) she eventually transferred to the lead role. She is best known for her starring role in movie musicals like the iconic Wizard of Oz (somewhere over the rainbow still hits hard and is ranked the top film song of all time), meet me in St. Louis (Judy singing have your self a merry little Christmas brings tears to the eyes she is that powerful), the Harvey girls (she looks like a technicolor dream and sings a catchy af song about trains), Easter parade ( dancing and singing with Fred Astaire), for me and my gal, the pirate, and summer stock ( with pal Gene Kelly who she helped when he was starting out and he helped her when she was struggling). But she also does non- singing just as well like the clock ( her first movie where she sings no songs and is an underrated ww2 era romance), her Oscar nominated a star is born ( like the man that got away she put her whole soul in that and I have beef with the fact she lost to grace kelly ((whom I love but like still not even her best work)), and judgement at Nuremberg (a courtroom drama about the nazi war criminal trials). Outside of film she made concert appearances to record-breaking audiences, released 8 studio albums, and had her own Emmy-nominated tv series. She was the youngest (39) and first female recipient of the Cecil B DeMille award for lifetime achievement in the film industry. Girl was a lifelong democrat and was a financial and moral supporter of many causes including the civil rights movement (she was at the March on Washington and held a press conference to protest the 16th street Baptist church bombings). She was a friend of the Kennedy family and would call jfk weekly often ending the calls by singing the first few lines of somewhere over the rainbow (she thought of them as Gemini twins).She was a member of the committee for the first amendment which was formed in response to the HUAC investigations. Though she died far too young and tragically she remains an icon for her work and her life. As a girl who didn't feel like i was as pretty as everyone else I have always felt a connection to Judy and I just really love her.

Patsy Kelly (The Countess of Monte Cristo, Merrily We Live, Topper Returns)—patsy kelly was a character actress best known for her brash wisecracking best friend roles, first appearing in a series of comedy shorts with thelma todd and then in a number of feature films. she was openly gay (lovers included tallulah bankhead), even candidly referring to herself as a dyke to the press on occasion and declaring she didn't intend to marry.

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

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Patsy Kelly:

Oh, that wry little smile! She could sing. She could dance. She could do comedy and drama. Her mother enrolled her in dancing school to distract her from playing baseball and trying to become a firefighter. At the height of her career, she burned the whole thing down (heh) by answering a reporter's softball question about why she never married with "Because I'm a dyke." She became Tallulah Bankhead's "private secretary" and by the 1960s, she was once again a prominent character actress. Remember Laura-Louise in "Rosemary's Baby"?

Judy Garland:

Judy's voice alone qualifies her for at least top ten hottest HOT VINTAGE MOVIE WOMEN. She was a truly incredible swing singer, with a stunning voice on top of her technique. Her short dark hair looked incredible in just about any style. Have I mentioned her swagger? I can’t do it justice with words. She had swagger. She was funny as hell, and clever too. Incredibly charming and cool. I adore her.

Her eyes, her voice have bewitched me

I mean how can you beat the one and only Judy? She's beautiful, her smile is contagious, the way she sings with her whole body. You can't help but love her.

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Beautiful woman, love her singing voice. And she can do everything between happy or silly and angry or heartbroken

#patsy kelly #judy garland #hotvintagepoll #ladies 1 #fuck that old woman

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dissvicious · 1 month ago

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So I got very bored at work and started thinking about where different One Piece characters could be from within their countries.

With that said, welcome to:

Where I think each of the main Kid Pirates are from in Scotland. By a Scottish person

Please note this is just a bit of fun and gave me something to do while I was cleaning.

Heat: Glasgow, it has a large punk/alt scene plus he has the Glasgow smile. Specifically I think he would live/have grown up in the Trongate/Calton area because it’s near the river Clyde and they have the Barras (the Glasgow equivalent of Camden market) where a lot of people sell punk/alt jewellery and clothes.

Wire: Wire has an air of sophistication to him, he literally and figuratively looks down on people. So I think St Andrews, a lovely coastal city that is known for being expensive. It’s an old city with a lot of fancy places so I could see him growing up there then going to Glasgow for uni and meeting Heat at the Barras.

Kid: With Kid being a mechanical man I could see him being from Aberdeen, a large port city known as the Granite City. Back in the day a lot of ships were built there, back in the day it’s where the best of the best welders and metal workers went. I could also imagine Kid speaking Doric, a form a Scots that you will mainly hear spoken in the north east of Scotland

Doric fact: in the Disney film Brave the character of Young McGuffin is subtitled as speaking gibberish but it’s actually Doric as his VA Kevin McKidd grew up speaking Doric

Killer: With how quiet Killer is he reminds me of Orkney. A collection of islands off the north east coast of Scotland. I could see him shearing sheep or working on the fishing boats. I’ve been once and the people were very quiet until I spoke Gaelic then they were very helpful. They also have the strongest hatred of the English out of any place in Scotland.

Nina: My darling Nina, a smart person with a medical background so my mind goes to Edinburgh. They have brilliant medical school there which I could see Nina attending at the insistence of Hogback. The castle of Thriller Bark makes me think of Edinburgh Castle and all of the old buildings in the city. They do have a punk scene but it’s not as prominent as Glasgow. Another reason is Hogback and Moria remind me of Burke and Hare, a pair that went from digging up then selling dead bodies to medical schools to murdering then selling the bodies to medical schools.

WAHHHH thank youu for blessing my inbox with thoses!! hi from the other side of the sea :3 I love scotland!

once CMK story is all published I wanna draw some modern AU CMK shenanigans, I keep this very preciously >:3

wonderful day to you pal!

#one piece #kid pirates #kidd pirates #one piece headcanon #kid pirates headcanon #kidd pirates headcanons #eustass kid #massacre soldier killer #wire one piece #heat one piece #ask sid glorious #oc nina #cmk #asg hall of fame

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faelorelia · 1 year ago

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If Byler isn't endgame, then why…

1. Why do they consistently emphasize the unique nature of Will and Mike's friendship within the party? Why highlight their deep bond and illustrate their special connection?

2. Why does Mike gaze at Will with expressions of fondness, affection, admiration, and longing? Not to mention the times he seemingly focuses on Will's lips…

3. Why do they exhibit strange behavior around each other in s4? If they're merely friends, why the nervousness and awkwardness? Their dynamic sharply contrasts with the rest of the party.

4. Why does Mike feel compelled to insist that "they're just friends" to Will if it's an obvious fact? Could it be that Mike senses something more in their relationship?

5. Why are some of their scenes so romantically coded? If you consider it typical best-friend behavior, try swapping Mike with, say, Dustin or Lucas. Byler's scenes, particularly in seasons 2 & 4, are remarkably moving and heart-felt.

6. Why do they share intimate moments they wouldn't with other friends? And say things that sound rather romantic, like "Crazy together," "Hawkins hasn't been the same without you," "I felt like I lost you," "You're the heart"…

7. Why are some of their scenes so intimate that when interrupted by other characters, Will and Mike look as if they were caught doing something "inappropriate"?

8. Why do many of their scenes include "tender, emotional music playing," reminiscent of scenes with other ST couples?

9. Why are Will and Mike consistently paired up and paralleled with other canon couples? And sometimes with gay characters from other films/shows? I recommend checking out this thread as well.

10. Why do Netflix and the ST cast & crew talk about Byler so extensively? Here's a great thread with all their mentions.

11. Why are there numerous queer references surrounding Mike and his relationship with Will? If unclear, you can check out this channel.

12. Why does it seem like Mike and El's romantic relationship is reaching its logical end? If they were intended to be endgame, why did Mike struggle to say he loved her until he felt forced to? And why didn't we get a passionate Mileven scene after his "love confession"?

13. Why was Will present in almost all Mileven scenes in s4? And why was he the one attempting to piece together the broken elements of Mike and El's relationship?

14. Why make Will fall in love with Mike (canonically!) and illustrate the depth of his love for Mike, only to reveal that Will's feelings are unrequited? This character has already endured so much. In the context of a fictional story, it makes sense for such a good character to have a well-deserved happy ending (including being with Mike).

15. And finally: why invest so much in the beginning, highlighting the unique bond between Will and Mike, creating tension with romantic undertones, only to leave it unresolved and without the exploration it seemed to promise?

I want to clarify that I'm not claiming Byler is a definite endgame. I'm fully aware of the unpredictability of ST. However, it seems like a narrative gap if Will and Mike's relationship doesn't find its logical conclusion, which, in my view, is them being romantically together.

#byler #byler tumblr #byler is canon #will byers x mike wheeler #will x mike #will and mike #will byers #mike wheeler #stranger things

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curiositydoorunlocked · 4 months ago

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The Recent News

Spoilers ahead for Stranger Things 5, including photos of actors on set.

Look, something about all this (the leak + the photo situation) feels… fishy, and I can see people in various tags are getting various levels of upset by it. So as someone who has been around the block a couple of times, I want to say something.

First of all: hi, everyone! I’m glad to be here. I’ve been a fan of ST since early-mid 2020 and involved in the fandom since mid-late 2020 (on other accounts, which have since been deleted), so I feel at least marginally qualified to say what I’m going to say. That being said, I drifted away from the fandom before S5 filming began and haven't watched the show in a while; if I get anything wrong please feel free to correct me.

First I want to talk about Bridgerton S3. I closely followed that production in 2022 and 2023. Like Stranger Things, Bridgerton is a high-budget Netflix original show with a large cast, lots of public interest, an active fandom, and what I would call "special considerations" for filming. (In Bridgerton's case it's the historical element; in ST it's the sci-fi/fantasy element plus the historical element, albeit to a lesser degree.) They filmed for a shorter period of time than ST5 is expected to film for, yes, but many of the circumstances are/were similar. That brings me to my point: when Bridgerton S3 was filming, the best we got from the main cast was a handful of photos a) taken from relatively far away that b) did not spoil anything major. Luckily for us, the photos were clear, but in the end they didn't really amount to anything more than eye candy, something to get excited over.

In contrast, these photos from the ST5 set are clear, close, and most importantly reveal seemingly significant story beats/results. (Okay, the Mike and Hopper one isn't super close or clear, I'll give ya that. But it's still pretty damn close for a set that's supposedly locked down! Especially if they're filming a scene possibly related to a major character's death/disappearance!) Kinda odd, right? I'm not necessarily saying they were leaked on purpose to misdirect fans, because I'm not that confident in myself. I don’t have any insider/industry knowledge; I can only claim a healthy (perhaps too healthy?) level of skepticism. But I do want to put that possibility out there, because I think it’s an important one to consider.

“But wait,” you might say, “many parts of S4 were leaked, and leaked accurately at that. What’s to say these aren’t real too?”

That’s a fair point! Maybe production hasn’t learned their lesson from S4; maybe they’re truly terrible at preventing leaks and that’s the end of the story. Yes, they’ve spoken a little about security measures in the lead-up to S5 but that doesn’t mean those security measures were implemented well, or even at all.

Even keeping that in mind, I nonetheless implore everyone to chill the hell out. I say this again, with so much love: CHILL THE HELL OUT. This has happened before: even with the accurate leaks and clear photos we got during S4 filming, we lacked so much context. Mike and El’s “I love you” scene is a great example of this. There was quite the brouhaha over that leak in certain corners of the fandom… and yet the actual scene turned out nothing like the phrase “Mike finally says ‘I love you’ to El” implies. Another example are these photos (see above; my apologies for the poor quality!) of the Hawkins group in the parking lot of The War Zone. When those photos were leaked, I recall speculation that the scene would appear at the very end of the finale, that it related to an apocalypse situation, and so on, but not so! In the show it appeared before the final battle with Vecna: the town was in a panic, yeah, but no apocalypse.

That’s what I mean about chilling the hell out. We can’t assume the photos/leaks are genuine—and even if we did indulge that assumption (which is fair given production’s history!) we can’t assume we have the whole story.

Hang in there, folks. We survived S4 production and we’ll survive S5 production too :)

TL;DR: Hi, I’m new and also not new here. I made this account just to talk about this photo/leak situation because that’s how passionate I am about this godforsaken show. This is a little weird, but whether the leaks/photos are real or planted, stay calm. We know so little right now. Don’t waste your energy on blind panic, not when we still have another year(ish) to go.

#if you found this post helpful a reblog for wider visibility would be appreciated! new account = no followers = nobody sees my post 💔#mine #stranger things #stranger things 5 #st 5 #st 5 leaks #st 5 spoilers #stranger things 5 spoilers #stranger things leaks #byler #<- target audience #(I'm very familiar with that tag! I know how it can be! 😅)

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best-star-trek-character · 2 years ago

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FILM FINALS!

#best st film character competition #best film character competition #Saavik #george and gracie #the wrath of khan #the voyage home #the one with the whales #star trek the wrath of khan #star trek the voyage home #st #best star trek character competition

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anyplaceisparadise · 16 days ago

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The Use of Colour in Gladiator II: Purple

Alright, lets get into purple. This one is going to be pretty obvious, I think.

So once again before I get into it, here's my copy and paste from previous iterations of this: I referred quite a bit to some of my favourite books, The World According to Colour: A Cultural History by James Fox, The Secret Lives of Colour by Kassia St. Clair, and Emperor of Rome and SPQR by Mary Beard while working on this. I highly recommend all of them! These are definitely not mind blowing ideas here, just stuff that came to me because this movie has given me a severe case of brain rot. If you disagree, that’s cool. If you’ve mentioned any of this before, I love that we’re on the same wavelength. If you think this is ridiculous and I’ve gone off the deep end, you are correct.

As well, here are the previous colours I've looked at: Yellow White Brown Black Pt. 1 Black Pt. 2 Red

In Gladiator II, purple is used to convey power.

Purple was not used often in Gladiator II, but just like with yellow, when it was used, it was utilized well. Purple was a special colour in ancient Rome:

“In the Roman Emperor Domitian’s Edict on Maximum Prices (301 CE), which catalogued and costed more than a thousand commodities, a pound of the finest Tyrian purple silk was priced at up to 150,000 denarii- seventy-five times more expensive than saffron, more than twice as expensive as gold and five times the price of a healthy male slave. The only item on the list to match its astronomical cost was a ‘first-class’ male lion.’" – (The World According to Colour, James Fox, pg. 170).

Furthermore,

“While ordinary citizens made do with an off-white toga pura, magistrates and high priests wore the purple hemmed toga praetexta, equestrians’ garments were decorated with a thin purple stripe (angustus clavus), senators were permitted to wear wide purple stripes (latus clavus) while triumphal generals and emperors donned an all purple toga picta” (The World According to Colour, James Fox, pg. 170).

So it makes sense that it is the twins that should be wearing purple, right? Yes, but-

Macrinus wears purple too.

And it makes total sense for him to do so in this scene. He's watching the potential gladiators, sizing them up, picking out which ones he wants. Purple conveys power, and he is demonstrating his power over the situation and the people considered below him.

He also slips in purple elsewhere in the film.

He is asserting his power over both Thraex and Lucius in these scenes, and what colour is popping out of his robes? Purple. It's not as much purple as his previous outfit though, and I'm going to argue that's because they are now in Rome, where only the emperors would have the right to wear purple. Still, the little bit of purple amongst the rest of his outfit stands out.

Another character that wears purple is Lucilla:

Please forgive how awful the quality of this photo is, it's a dark scene and so I tried my best to capture the colours here. This is what she is wearing to meet with Acacius and the senators to discuss the coup plans. She is wearing (what looks like to me, anyway), a purple cloak over a green dress.

And this is so fitting for the scene. They are discussing her own birthright, her imperial lineage, and what her father wanted for Rome. While she may not have ever been able to rule herself, she is still the closest link they have to Marcus Aurelius, and therefore wearing purple here makes sense: she has the power here, rightfully. As Thraex says, “Take back what is rightfully yours and the senate will support you”.

And this is where we get to the emperors, the two characters in this film that really should be wearing purple. Except, the only time we see purple on an emperor is in the final few moments of the film, and even then, it is only Caracalla that wears purple.

There's a lot to say about Caracalla wearing purple, especially here. As wearing purple is reserved for emperors, the fact that he never wore it before Geta's death is notable. He only wears purple, the colour of power, when the power is solely his. Now, I think we all know that at this point, Caracalla's faculties are entirely questionable. He does not realize that Geta is even dead, nor does he realize that he had a minor hand in it. I've always felt that Caracalla wearing purple here is a nod to the way the historical Caracalla actually made big moves for ancient Rome: he ordered citizenship for everyone in the Roman Empire, for one.

I've also posted about how child-like he seems in this scene, the way he is sitting, his excited mannerisms, the way he is sitting in what has always been Geta's seat. His entire being is contrasted by the purple he wears. He has power, but he probably shouldn't.

There is also the matter of the deleted scene, where Geta and Caracalla approach Lucilla with an adoption plan. And I thought this was super interesting, because while Geta wears black and silver, and Lucilla wears pale gold, Caracalla is sitting in a throne, wearing purple.

The use of purple there is an interesting one. It's almost a slap in the face to Lucilla, to wear purple while asking for her to adopt them. She may need to appease them to survive (at least in this moment), but they need her for legitimacy. The use of purple, which conveys their power as emperors, is at odds with their words. It shows how silly and ridiculous they truly are.

There is also a power imbalance at play here that is further demonstrated through the use of purple. It is Caracalla that is wearing purple, and it is also Caracalla that makes the uncomfortable comment about Lucilla still being desirable despite being past child bearing age, as Geta points out.

I'd also like to point out that the shade of purple doesn't seem to change despite different characters wearing it. The dark shade worn in the film is likely supposed to be Tyrian purple. Pliny the Elder noted that "the best Tyrian cloth was tinged with black" (The Secret Lives of Colour, Kassia St. Clair, pg. 159), and that it smelled of "rotting shellfish and garlic" (pg. 160). So, keep that in mind when writing your fics!

#gladiator ii #emperor geta #emperor caracalla #macrinus #lucilla #gladiator #joseph quinn #fred hechinger #denzel washington #connie nielsen

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unexpectedreylo · 1 year ago

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So, It Wasn't Planned After All

https://x.com/RichEisenShow/status/1734703529552699725?s=20

While Adam Driver is making the rounds to promote "Ferrari," he drops by the Rich Eisen Show and when asked about Ben Solo during the True or False segment, Adam spills the tea.

He doesn't get asked much about Star Wars so this is the first time I think he's talked about his character arc since TROS was unleashed upon us 4 years ago. And he drops the bomb that the Ben Solo thing wasn't planned from the beginning. That's right, Bendemption happened late in the game. He says that JJ Abrams told him the idea was Vader In Reverse (starts out vulnerable, ends entrenched in the dark side) and he kept that concept in mind throughout the time he filmed the ST, until they changed it with the last film. Adam has alluded to the concept of Vader In Reverse before but this is the first time he's gone into greater detail about it, including the revelation that the decision to turn Kylo from the dark side came during the third film.

This shouldn't be surprising to anyone who read the Duel of the Fates script and it explains why Ben hardly says a word during his scenes on Exegol. Abrams and Co. conceived of Kylo Ren as an evil bastard whose destiny was to get eviller; killing Han Solo was meant to be what sent him down the path of no return. Then two things happened: TLJ and Driver's commitment to humanizing Kylo Ren. People loved Kylo and Rey together (hence Reylo exploding in popularity) and they fell in love with Adam. They empathized with Kylo. So they changed course with TROS, a little. Kylo returns to the light as Ben but he is quickly dispatched once the big battle is over. I believe Ben's death was for two reasons: one, they were less invested and focused in Ben's part of the story than we were and two, there was always the intent to end the Skywalker line so Star Wars could focus on new characters. Remember, Rey essentially turned Skywalker into a title that could be transferred to anyone.

That the story changed over the course of the trilogy isn't that big a deal. There was no Chosen One prophecy until the prequels. Leia wasn't Luke's sister until Lucas wrote ROTJ. Han wasn't guaranteed to get out of carbonite because nobody was sure if Harrison Ford was going to come back. Instead of a tyrannical, ruthless bastard like Lee Pace's emperor in Apple TV's Foundation show, Kylo Ren gave us quivering lips, teary eyes, and mooning over the heroine who is supposed to be his enemy. When Rian Johnson introduced the bond between Rey and Kylo, Abrams and Terrio explained it as a dyad and made it prominent in the film. The kiss got put in because Reylo was so popular. Okay, fine.

The problem was they never should have made the Jedi Killer from early drafts Han and Leia's only child. As an old Star Wars fan who saw every film since 1977 and followed the Skywalker clan for over 40 years, I didn't want to see Anakin Skywalker's grandson end up even more evil than he was. What a huge bummer that would've been, even worse than if Rey was killed off. (For the record, I hated the whole Darth Jacen thing so much in the legends books I stopped reading them.) Abrams and Terrio probably realized it was going to be a problem returning to the idea that Ben was too evil to save; TROS already comes off as a tragic ending rather than a happy, triumphant one. And it goes against the whole message of Star Wars. So it ends up being Vader 2.0 and fans hoping Ben would survive were disappointed. I wasn't fond of the idea of exile or something as Ben's fate prior to TROS, but now I think that probably would've been the best outcome. It would've left a lot of possibilities to explore in future SW stories without having to come up with a convoluted explanation for bringing him back.

As much as they fumbled the ball, I'm glad they at least spared us Evil Kylo 4 Ever and Adam's turn as Ben was great even without anything to say besides "Ow." Adam sounded a little disappointed to me but maybe I'm just reading into it too much. In any case he has also stated in recent interviews he would be open to returning to Star Wars, so I guess we can still be hopeful even if he doesn't appear in the upcoming film. (Just don't wait 30 years, okay?)

#adam driver #kylo ren #ben solo deserves better #ben solo #reylo

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pinnesasong · 3 months ago

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OOC. — INTRODUCTORY POST !

Greetings, everyone! My name is mon (the mod), 22, he/him. My main is @monnarchives and I like to post about my hyperfixations, shitposts, art, and all the other stuff that makes me happy !

Please allow me to introduce this new roleplay blog on the block! This blog is exclusively made and penned for the character 'Stick', who is portrayed by the actor Richard Stites, who appears in the beautifully haunting film, Dead Poets Society (1989) !

For continuity purposes, the universally acknowledged setting of the film is at Welton Academy, Vermont, in the academic year 1959. However, due to the lack of social media, and the internet as a whole at the time, some creative (modern) liberties will have to be at play.

Stick's character is underutilized and an undeveloped one, background at best, but that's actually the reason why I like him so much! Just like a blank canvas waiting to be painted upon, he has so much potential for future characterization and fleshing out; there is nothing that is set in stone. Come join me as I create, mold, and develop my own interpretation (headcanons, interests, relationships, etc.) for this wonderful character! Since his canon name is just a nickname, I've taken on the liberty of thinking about his full name. On here, it will be Mr. Sterling H. Spick.

(See what i did there? 'St' + '-ick' = stick)

I've also made a separate dossier/biography page for him, which can be found here, but it is still a work in progress! I will add to it, gradually of course, over the duration of my journey with him.

This blog is also part of a pre-existing DPS roleplay group! Joining my Stick muse are the following lovely fellows:

❧ Neil Perry @deadpoetperry

❧ Todd Anderson @sweaty-toothedpoet

❧ Charlie Dalton @dxltons

❧ Richard Cameron @r-cameron-tradition

❧ Steven Meeks @mr-ill-try-anything-once

❧ Gerard Pitts @gerardjpitts

❧ Knox Overstreet @yawp-knoxious

Our group is still in need of a Chris, Ginny, and/or another background character that anyone of you would be interested to develop alongside us! We'd be really happy to have you !

Stick is, at the very least, acquainted and friends with most of them, according to canon. Please don't hesitate to message me, ask, or interact; I am always down for relationship building, brainstorming, and talking !

— Rules (I will make a blog theme page for this sometime!)

No rude, racist, bigoted, or other super-bad behavior. No super-explicit NSFW. Innuendos are as far as I can go. For OOC interactions, my inbox (fellow mods) / ask (followers) is always open! Submissions are fine, but please keep it mild! No gore, pedophilia, triggering topics, etc. "Have you no shame? How revolting."

— Specific Tags List (Will also make a page for this sometime!)

sticksays (for ic posts, interactions, and reblogs) stickynotes (for asks) stickindle (for musings, quotes, and literary ic posts) stickinterest (for photos and collage ic posts) stickysthetics (for aesthetics, visuals, moodboards) psa (for ooc and important blog annoucements)

#psa #stick dead poets society #sticksays #stickynotes #stickindle #stickinterest #stickysthetics #dead poets society #dps #roleplay #dps rp #rp blog

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anghraine · 4 months ago

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Best friend update:

While waiting for a movie to start, he and I made some kind of murder joke for some reason I no longer recall. A younger friend of ours was having a long day and went O_O, so I just added, "I mean, murdering me might cause problems, my corpse wouldn't fit in the trunk…" and J (my bff) immediately got it and replied, "Not with that attitude!" She broke down laughing, and J and I were like, "our 25-year friendship is founded on being totally cool and normal people."

On a different occasion, while reassuring her that identifying with angry marginalized villains rather than Good Representation(TM) is entirely common and normal and in fact an ancient venerable tradition, J used himself as an example: the most relatable Shakespeare character for him is Shylock and as a former theatre kid, there's no one he would rather perform on the stage. She didn't know who Shylock is, which was kind of great because J got to breathlessly explain how Shylock did nothing wrong and dramatically perform the "If you prick us, do we not bleed?" speech in the middle of a crowded diner.

(Note: J follows in the other ancient and venerable tradition of Jewish atheism.)

Speaking of J's atheism, he often jokes that his strongest religious devotion is to Star Trek (he basically relates to it the same way I do to P&P). We've been watching TOS together, which I had virtually no memory of outside the films, and mostly having a huge blast with it. We were recently discussing the romantic inclinations of all the captains we care about, and my fandom osmosis understanding of Janeway/Chakotay (Janeway was his hero as a child), and he admitted that he liked it a lot as a kid, but the Star Trek ship he really truly loves the most is .......... Sisko/Jadzia Dax. As he was very earnestly explaining the greatness of his ship, I was charmed anew, lol—the first time I went over to his house when we were 13, I was deeply impressed by his geek creds via the Enterprise blueprints he had on his wall, and some things don't much change.

(He's not in online fandom at all because he hates social media, but if he wrote fanfic for anything, it would be ST.)

But he's also the person who properly introduced me to Star Wars when we were in high school and got me into it back then, and we've happily spent hours dissecting things we both love and/or are frustrated by. Though I prefer SW and he prefers ST, ours is a household of Star Peace <3

#anghraine babbles #rl: bff #rl: ash #star voyages #long post

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robin-hood-for-freedom · 7 months ago

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The problem with so much of modern media isnt meta humor(although it is overused) or over reliance on quips(although that can be an issue). Its that so much of it is just...mean spirited.

Look at something like Galaxy Quest. The film is basically nothing but meta-jokes making fun of some of the sillier aspects of Star Trek, and even the fandom to an extent. But its not doing it to say 'Star Trek sucks' but as more of a 'yea some of this stuff is silly, but we still love it, and also theres some great stuff about ST too.' The result is that Galaxy Quest is embraced by nearly the entire Trek fandom, even being haled as 'one of the best Star Trek movies.'

Whereas 90% of modern meta-humor can be boiled down to 'this is stupid and sucks, and we know it sucks,' usually followed by them doing The Thing anyway. She-hulk went so far as to have the title character literally just tell the audience that. And its like..if you are spending your precious time and money to watch a show/film, you dont want to be told its trash, not by people around you, and certainly not by the show itself. Its a literal buzzkill.

I think this is why, despite the dwindling reputation(and sales) of the mcu, Deadpool and Guardians of the Galaxy were still well-received and made money. Because, say what you will about Ryan Renalds or James Gunn, at least they dont hate super hero movies.

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chthonic-cassandra · 8 months ago

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what vampire musicals are there? asking bc of the tag meme you posted a few days(?) ago where you said it was pretty accurate aside from no vampire musicals... i know wildhorn dracula, but what else? (and which are good?)

Thank you for asking a question which allows me to indulge myself by recounting all this. The question of "good," however, is rather fraught, and I ask everyone to remember that these opinions are just my own.

The (probably) first, and the only one to achieve significant success, was Jim Steinman's Tanz der Vampire/Dance of the Vampires, first stage in 1997. Tanz was an adaptation of Roman Polanski's comedic vampire movie The Fearless Vampire Killers, and features "Total Eclipse of the Heart," a song Steinman always intended to be about vampires. Tonally, the musical veers wildly between the broad comedy of the source film and something approaching sincerity and the comedy sections have never really worked for me, but it's certainly the most musically sophisticated of the vampire musicals and at its best, like in the major ballad sung by the lead vampire character about the loves he has killed (here sung by original cast Steve Barton, and here by Drew Sarich, who is in all the major vampire musicals and who we shall have more to say about anon) it's spectacular gothy camp glory.

Tanz was incredibly popular in Austria, where it was first staged, and then throughout Europe and in Japan. However, when it was brought to Broadway it was drastically rewritten, partly at the behest of Michael Crawford, starring in the show and anxious about changes in his body and being compared to his career-making performance in Phantom of the Opera. The comedy was foregrounded and the show was constantly being rewritten, to the point that the actors didn't know how their parts might change performance to performance. I didn't see the Broadway production, but it is accounted by all to be a colossal failure. The show remains popular worldwide to this day, but has not received another major staging in North America.

Next comes the Frank Wildhorn Dracula the Muiscal, which I know you know about, but as it is vital to this narrative I must give some explanation. Wildhorn is a sort of mid-tier musical theater composer, known for melodrama and period pieces. After the popular (though not critical) success of his Jekyll & Hyde musical (1997 on Broadway) he co-wrote Dracula with lyricist Don Black, premiering on Broadway on 2004.

While I maintain that Dracula the Musical has been unjustly maligned by comparison with some other works of musical theater, it is admittedly a mess, and the Broadway production, which was, despite highly publicized special effects, shockingly static, did it no favors. It tries to do far too many things, combining sections of relatively close novel adaptation (Christopher Hampton's book is often quietly strong) with a messily shoehorned Dracula/Mina romance. The score is variable, ranging, even just in Dracula's material, from the rousing "Life After Life" as Dracula welcomes the transformed Lucy, to his cringe-inducing "The Longer I Live". (I still think almost all of the music and lyrics are better than those of Les Miserables but then again I think most things are better than the Les Miserables musical.) The Broadway production had a reasonably strong cast, including Melissa Errico as Mina and Kelli O'Hara as Lucy, but it failed nearly as badly as the American version of Tanz had, if not quite so dramatically.

Wildhorn subsequently brought DtM to Europe, where it enjoyed significantly more success, first in a stripped down modern production in St. Gallen starring Drew Sarich and then in Vienna where the role of Van Helsing was expanded for popular star Uwe Kröger. It's continued to be performed in Europe and Asia, and in some USA community theaters.

Next up was Elton John's Lestat in 2007. One would expect that this musical would have been wonderfully over-the-top glam rock, but somehow Lestat ended up being one of the most staid things I have ever seen. Filled with forgettable music (even if we all do want to see Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson doing "Embrace It". It was further brought down by a lackluster performance of the title character by Hugh Panaro, previously known for his mediocre (sorry Panaro fans!) turn in Phantom. It was enlivened slightly by Carolee Carmello as Gabrielle earning one of the show's only Tony nominations and Drew Sarich (there he is again!) playing a decidedly not book accurate but very entertaining Armand. It also involved a Buddhist monk Marius de Romanus, but I constantly question whether this was a fever dream of mine. Lestat was yet another failure on Broadway and, as far as I can tell, has had no real subsequent afterlife, though I've been wondering if that might change with the IwtV show (and Sam Reid's evident enjoyment of the musical!).

Those are the major vampire musicals, for what they are! But there are also some others which never got even this level of attention, including:

Two dueling French-language Dracula musicals with almost the exact same name, Dracula - L'amour plus fort que la mort and Dracula - Entre l'amour et la mort

A Nosferatu musical which is a strong contender for the worst lyrics I have ever heard but also entertains me

another mysterious Dracula musical made in the UK with songs of wildly varying qualities, but containing the only Mina hero ballad with which I am familiar

There are also edge cases like Bat Boy and Rocky Horror Picture Show, which I would not call vampire musicals but someone else might.

Anyway! Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share some of the truly disproportionate amount of information I have about this topic in my head. I hope this brought some entertainment.

#finalgirlfall #musicals #dracula #vampires #vc reread

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