#costumes in the Danish production are so beautiful

[thephantomofanastasia]

Anastasia production in Denmark is playing now.

Source: Det Ny Teater on IG

The production of Anastasia which will start performances in December 2024.

Source:

Teatro Arcimboldi Milano on IG

[operafantomet]

(Please ignore if this is a big ask but I thought you'd be the best person to ask!)

I'm going to the Det Ny Teater to see Anastasia later this year and I was just wondering about all the Phantom props on display? I assume some are just on display around the theatre and can be seen while there, but I miss the Golden Angel (love from London) ahahahaha. So I guess my main question is the Sceneriet usually open to the public or does it just depend on when they have events/tours in there?

Again, sorry to be asking you specifically, I know you don't work for them ahahahaha but tragically I do not speak Danish so I thought you would be a good first point to ask

Thank you!!!!

Ooooh! First of all, FUN! This specific production of Anastasia feature design by Gabriela Tylesova, so already there is a good Phantom vibe. You probably knew that already. I hope to catch it as well!

All props and costumes is on display in one specific place: The underground restaurant called Teaterkælderen, underneath the theatre. It's their old props and sets storage rooms from 1908, which is no longer used for that purpose. It's quite big, and the whole area is decorated with photos from the theatre's history, notes, and various props. There's also a singing staff, which means your waiter will now and then burst into song. Last I was there the Monkey Musical Box (AKA Lille Abe) was on display, caged in (PS - you really have to look for him in a "secret" side room... and don't take styling tips from him):

There is also the Don Juan Rehearsal piano, and various Masquerade dummies. The dummies are placed on top of various staircases leading down to the cellars. The Golden Lion and Golden Ox can be seen at the main entrance to the restaurant, while to grander crinoline ladies greet the guests who enters from the "secret" staircase underneath the theatre's main grand staircase. This is only possible right before and after a performance, so be sure to try it! Here's the Golden Mask lady on display last year:

In the restaurant there is also a 'chambre séparée" called Sceneriet, which is occasionally booked for events, celebrations and such. It is also usually where they do early rehearsals for new productions, before moving into the stage itself. The room is a big square place with a sort of balcony construction all around. This space is where they have a lot of dummys in display showing costumes from various earlier productions, Phantom, Wicked, Beauty and the Beast etc. And of course, it's where some of the bigger set/prop pieces are - the Hannibal elephant...

...and the Golden Angel... Last I was there it was without its wings. In the past it was with wings. I don't know the reason for the switch, possibly easier to mount? Here it is with its wings:

Sceneriet is usually closed off. But if no specific events hinders it and you ask nicely, they sometimes open it up to visitors. It depends on the person, how busy the restaurant is and probably other factors. But no harm in asking! It's a friendly staff overall.

Also, if Per Engström is conducting himself, be sure to chat a bit with him! He conducted the original Stockholm production for six years, and then 3-4 years of Phantom in Copenhagen, as well as Love Never Dies. A living POTO legend right there, still giving us beautiful music.

[technicolorfamiliar]

Technicolor Familiar Watches Too Many Conrad Veidt Movies Part 5 of ?

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4

Contraband (Blackout), 1940 Dir. Michael Powell ⭐4/5 Watched Dec 18, Archive.org Uncle Erik: Your Captain, he is a beautiful man! From the first moment, I loved him! Me: Hard same. So much fun. By far my favorite of the Connie Spy Thrillers I've seen so far. Valerie Hobson is so slick, and the rest of the ensemble is pretty good for a change, especially the guys at the Danish restaurant. The bondage scene (not really, but... yeah, it is) lives up to the hype. The screenwriters really went off on this one, didn't they? I mean, this movie gave us Conrad Very-Serious-Actor Veidt whispering lovely things in the dark like "good girl" and "do you trust me?" The scene with the music box in the pocket watch? Too much, can't handle it. Connie's dry humor is a delight and all the sexy, flirtatious fun he's having in this role is like a precious balm for my tortured soul.

Above Suspicion, 1943 Dir. Richard Thorpe ⭐3/5 Watched Jan 3, Vudu Oh, filmmakers. Bless you for having Fred MacMurray get strangled in greeting by Conrad Veidt. A great film it is not, but it's definitely cute. And while it's a semi-tough watch as Connie's last film, I'm so glad it was this one where he's clearly having a ball -- whether on the dance floor (does Hassert always go out in the middle of the day to tango with mature, voluptuous women?), getting stepped on by Joan Crawford, sticking his fingers in bowls of cake batter, or climbing down trellises with his knees all out in the wind. He's very obviously living his best life and I love that for him. The movie is riddled with very silly, eyeroll-worthy one-liners, but the plot is enjoyable. Joan Crawford looks like she's having a good time too, and Fred MacMurray is pretty tolerable. I haven't seen Basil Rathbone in a lot of other movies, but I wish he got to be nastier and that he and Connie got to have some scenes together. Connie's physicality is so subtly funny, I really wish he had gotten to do more intentionally comedic films/roles.

Lucrezia Borgia, 1922 Dir. Richard Oswald ⭐3/5 Watched Jan 10, Archive.org I've been trying to watch at least one silent every once in a while. And while I have to lodge my typical complaint of these older films being a bit too long, this film is clearly a feat of production for the year it was made. The huge, open sets and beautiful costume details were incredible. As always, Connie 100% steals the show. He's delightfully wicked and nasty, slimy and pathetic. I wish he had better scene partners to receive and react to his intense performance as Cesare Borgia. But it's ok, it's like a Game of Thrones episode without the dragons or misogynist nudity.

Nazi Agent, 1942 Dir. Jules Dassin ⭐4/5 Watched Jan 14, Youtube I admit I chose to watch this one because I was charmed by the idea of Double Connies. But not even five minutes in and Otto had won my heart. I didn’t know anything about the movie itself going in, but was completely prepared for it to be cringey and mediocre. So I was pleasantly surprised that it was actually decent. Maybe I'm rating this one higher than it really deserves, but really those four stars all belong to Connie's performance/s. Daggers in my heart. So many moments in this little movie affected me more than I expected: Otto's line to Richten about being only one of however many million citizens willing to rise up against fascism; his look toward the Statue of Liberty at the end; the little glittering tears in his eyes when Fritz says, "We do what we're told because we must…"; his gentleness and deeply tragic sense of loss that permeates the film. And, perhaps most of all, how cute he was with his pet canary. Cue the waterworks. I have so many more thoughts about this and about his time in Hollywood in the 40s in general, but I'll save that for another time.

Kreuzzug des Weibes, 1926 Dir. Martin Berger ⭐3.5/5 Watched Jan 20, Snowgrouse's masterpost This movie was made nearly 100 years ago and we're still having the same conversations about reproductive rights today, especially now in the US after Roe v Wade was overturned in 2022. It's pretty disturbing how much of the script could be lifted from a dozen different arguments between contemporary conservative lawmakers and the people trying to better advocate for and provide safe reproductive healthcare. It's a pretty bare bones film, the story and performances clearly more important, appropriately so, than cinematic bells and whistles. Thought it was an interesting choice to have the lawyer's office so stately and huge, like the patriarchal systems he's operating in -- overbearing, empty and impersonal. The movie does feel like a public service announcement (which I guess it was), but that didn't really bother me. What bothered me was the ending, because OF COURSE the woman has to comfort the man even though she's the one who went through a major trauma. But the way Connie's character broke after the doctor told him what happened to his fiancée? I've never seen anything like that. He went fully offline. His whole nervous system got unplugged and rewired. P.S.: The extra half star in my rating is for all the monocle twirling.

[the-celluloid-correspondent]

The Northman

A young Viking prince quest to avenge his father's murder.

The Northman is easily one of my most anticipated films of the year. As someone who loves Norse Mythology and Viking history, I was really looking forward to seeing someone like Robert Eggars do this fantastic and fascinating culture to life. With someone like Eggars behind the camera, safe to say that he stuck the landing spectacularly but also brutally in his own signature. The Northman is a brutal and trippy historical epic worth of Valhalla.

The Northman tells the classic tale of an exile prince taking revenge on an evil uncle. Many would say that this story itself is unoriginal. However, The Northman is adapted from the Danish legend "Prince Amleth," which inspired William Shakespeare Hamlet. So the Northman is the OG of this classic tale. Furthermore, you throw in Eggar's unique and brutal direction with this classic story, which makes The Northman feel incredibly original. Eggar's outstanding direction takes center state in this film as he perfectly balances the trippy and brutal "magic" of the Vikings while also showing the brutal reality of these people. The writing in The Northman is incredibly elevated and poetic, which is a rarity in many historical epics today. However, it does sound muffled at points. Overall, Eggars was able to take a classic story and give it a unique style that makes it stand out from the rest.

The poetic writing came from fantastic acting. Alexander Skarsgard takes center stage as the ruthless berserker hellbent on revenge. His performance is powerful and captivating as he balances the hellbent berserker and a warm prince. Anya Taylor-Joy is another standout performance. Her performance is enchanting and beautiful as she plays a witch of the Earth. A performance that kinda surprised me was from Nicole Kidman. I only see Kidman as an Oscar-bait actress, but I know she takes on weird roles every once in a while, and she does a fantastic job as a Viking queen. Another performance that I really loved was from Bjork. Even though she is on screen for a short while, her performance is a standout in the film. The remaining performances from Claes Band, Willem Defoe, and Ethan Hawke were all outstanding.

Eggars and the entire creative team created what is easily one of the most immersive films that I've ever seen. The costume and production design are fantastic. The score is amazing to listen to. I really felt every one of those drum beats in the theater. The cinematography is breathtaking, even though it was a little dark and oversaturated at points. Furthermore, I must really applaud the filmmakers for their handling of the Viking rituals. They were enthralling to watch. The entire creative team really did their homework in this film. My only complaint is that I did not get a Blood Eagle.

Overall, The Northman is a historical epic that stands above the rest. Its unique, brutal, and trippy directions give its classic revenge story an intricate twist, that makes the film worthy of Valhalla.

I am giving The Northman, an A.

[soulmate-game]

Prompt: “How did you- No, nevermind, I don't want to know, plausible deniability and all that" with... hmmmm.... Dick? Yeah, with Dick!

Real quick, I think a few of you misunderstood. When I say 3-from-1, I mean I am taking your single quote and pairing, and using it in all three prompts, not just one. Maybe this first one will help explain. Here are parts 1 and 2, since I think I’ve gone long enough without giving you guys content. I’m still working on the last part for this prompt, but it should be done soon!

— Part 1: The Romantic One (so Dickinette)

Tom and Sabine had decided that maybe a break from Paris was in order. Nobody could tell if it was the maniac turning random citizens into superpowered villains every other day, the fact that their daughter had come home with a few bruises that suggested extreme escalation on the side of her school bullies, or how they had caught said daughter asleep against her mannequin— standing up and drooling all over her expensive fabric.

Paris was clearly not a healthy place for Marinette at the moment, and a nice month-long vacation to Jump City was just what they needed. It was similar enough, with its villains and heroes, that they wouldn’t get too whiplashed by the long change in scenery. But it was also a lot safer than Paris was at the moment, and without nearly as many frequent large-scale villain attacks that ended with half the city in ruins as other places (looking at you, Gotham and Metropolis). The lack of villains that took advantage of civilian emotions was a plus.

Marinette, for one, was extremely grateful for the change. Sure, she still had to teleport back to Paris whenever an Akuma showed up, but Jump City was so much easier to relax in. And the ability to see the city’s heroes just walking around in full costume during the day, just relaxing, was an unexpectedly nice thing to experience. Marinette, as it turned out, happened to have a similar taste for places to hang out.

Now, she never spoke to them. She tended to just smile at the sight of them and go back to her own business— she knew how annoying it could be when people always invaded someone’s personal life just because they were well known. So when she saw them every now and then at the best arcade in town, or at one of the few vegan-friendly restaurants she liked? It brightened her day a bit, and she was pleasantly relaxed for quite a while afterwards. It was like, despite never actually approaching them, she was still among friends for once. People who understood everything she had gone through over the past several years since donning the Ladybug miraculous.

So yeah, she was enjoying her time in Jump City. So much so that her parents extended the trip indefinitely, and went through all the necessary paperwork to open a second location for their bakery in the city. They liked it there too.

That led to Marinette standing in line inside of the bank, right after getting all her own paperwork to attend school in Jump City in order. She was already exhausted from all the waiting and general boredom that followed doing anything official in America, and it was already past sunset to boot. The last thing she wanted was to be around when a villain attacked. The bank was already about to close and she didn’t know if they’d call her up in time for her to do what she needed to do.

And what happens? A blue-skinned magician with clear insanity and far too much of a resemblance to an Akuma to give her any sort of comfort comes bursting in and robbing the place. Marinette could only sigh, taking out her phone and informing her parents about the change in plans with all the ease of someone who was far too used to these kinds of things to be healthy. Luckily, the Teen Titans burst in only a few seconds later— must have been on a stake out, she thought.

Marinette put her phone away, deciding just to watch everyone in action. It was almost surreal, seeing such a large team fighting with such fluidity and lack of arguing. They seemed like such a perfect team, it made her envious. Only Chat was a good partner anymore, Marinette dreaded the days she had to find another temporary holder because nobody was a safe choice anymore. But the Teen Titans? They were a beautiful sight to behold.

That is, until Mumbo set his sights on her. The only civilian who wasn’t currently restrained, panicked, or hiding. Marinette blinked.

Oh, she thought. I must have been so tired I forgot to react to anything again.

But Marinette was also too tired to care much about first impressions, so the second Mumbo grabbed her arm and tried to use her as a hostage, she Reacted. The Teen Titans could only watch as Marinette jumped up and over Mumbo’s head, dragging his arm behind him in the process, before slamming her other fist into the small of his back and sending him onto his knees. As he tried to twist away, she kneed his wand out of his hand and twisted his other arm behind his back before he could cast another spell. Right before he could say some magic word and turn the tables on her, he was met with her head hitting the back of his and sending him unconscious immediately.

Problem handled, Marinette let go of him and backed off, dusting her hands off before letting loose a huge yawn.

She turned to leave when Cyborg’s hesitant voice Called out: “Uh, Ma’am? You should wait for the police. They’ll probably want your statement.”

Marinette blinked, and sighed as her shoulders dropped in dismay. “Oh yeah. I forgot I actually fought this time. Sorry,” she sighed again before adjusting her purse on her shoulder and obediently walking further inside the bank, leaning against the wall to wait. That was when Robin approached her, passing a few glances between her and the now-bound-up Mumbo.

"How did you- No, nevermind, I don't want to know, plausible deniability and all that,” he cut himself off mid-question, shaking his head. Marinette couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s nothing all that special, Monsieur Robin,” Marinette assured, still amused. “And I’ve seen you do far more impressive things, I’m hardly that good of a fighter. My Maman has a background in martial arts, her whole side of the family has a minor obsession with teaching the girls how to fight,” she admitted with a small shrug. “It’s how we bonded, growing up. Every weekend she’d spar with me and we’d spend the whole day just training, and my Papan would bring food in every now and then when he wanted us to take a break. We don’t do it as often now, my Maman says she’s getting a little too old to spar all the time, but I still practice on my own.”

The vigilante blinked, not knowing how to respond for a moment. It was then that Marinette noticed the entire team had been listening, the police having already arrived and taking Mumbo away in cuffs. She blushed a bit, coughing into her hand in embarrassment.

“A-Ah, well. I wouldn’t have interfered at all if I wasn’t so tired, I’m sorry if I got in your way,” she began to babble, the usual nerves that came with having so many eyes on her kicking in. “I tend to space out when I’m exhausted, and so I kinda forgot to react when Mumbo came in? I just spaced out, and I got distracted watching you guys fight so well, and then he tried to grab me and I just… kinda… reacted?” Her voice got faster and higher as she spoke, until she ended her babbling by making it sound like a question. “I promise I won’t make this habit or anything, it’s just been a long day!”

“You…” It was Beast Boy who spoke up, eyes wide. “Did that while you were exhausted?! Woah! I’ve never seen anyone other than Robin fight like that when they were tired!”

Marinette knew her face must have been completely red by then, because it felt like her head was on fire. “I-it’s really not a big deal!” She started waving her hands in Marinette Denial, shaking her head like crazy. “P-probably just a fluke or something! I’ll just give my statement and get out of your hair!” She didn’t wait for a response before fleeing to the police out of sheer humiliation, and giving them the world’s fastest statement. The Titans tried to get her attention as she left, but her face was still one giant, ripe tomato and she just speed walked right past them without a word.

She didn’t even notice that she was followed home, or that she had a team of heroes watching her for a while before they completed their background search and left back for their own home. Or that Robin cast a glance back at her apartment several times as they left, questions crossing his mind too fast to recall all of them.

It wasn’t until a week later that Marinette saw them again, this time when she was at the grocery store. She let her shoulders drop when she saw them talking to each other in the middle of a random aisle, debating over which brand of a product to buy. Once again, a small smile crossed over her lips and she walked on by, fully intent on leaving them be and enjoying the aura of calm that their presence always seemed to give her. It was as she was calmly debating over which kind of fruit would make the best filling for the danishes she wanted to make, that a hand tapped her shoulder. She hummed, tearing her eyes away from the blueberries and raspberries to turn around.

“Yes? Do you need—“ she cut herself off when she saw that the person who had tapped her shoulder was none other than Robin himself, with the rest of his team giving her friendly smiles over his shoulder. She blue screened for a moment before shaking her head, sending him a small, confused smile. “Is there something you need, Monsieur Robin?”

“As a matter of fact,” he ran a hand through his unfairly fluffy hair as he gave her a far too charming, lopsided grin. “I hope you don’t mind that I did some research on you and your family after we met last week—“ Marinette almost laughed when she saw how his teammates face-palmed behind him and quietly groaned about how much tact he lacked. “—and I realized why your movements seemed so familiar. Your mother wouldn’t happen to be from the Cheng family in Hong Kong, would she?”

Marinette immediately lost most of her embarrassment, snorting. “You’re the one who did my background check, you tell me,” she teased. The rest of the Titans seemed floored by the fact that she wasn’t at all annoyed, insulted, or creeped out. “But since you’re asking anyway, yes. The group of primarily female martial artists in Hong Kong, the Chengs, is run by my Aunt. Why?”

Robin’s smile grew. “Well, it just so happens that they have one of the only unique combat styles that my mentor— Batman, of course— was never able to learn.”

Marinette actually did laugh now, connecting the dots as to what he wanted to actually ask. “Ah, because they only accept male pupils if they are blood-relations, non? Let me guess,” she crossed her arms and popped one hip, giving him a smug little grin. “You want me to teach you?”

“We have the best training facilities you have ever seen,” he bribed, eyes practically shining at the prospect of training in a new style of combat.

“I don’t doubt it,” Marinette got a little dreamy eyed herself at the thought. “And Maman can’t spar with me anytime soon… why not? I’m not bound by the Cheng rules after all, nobody can get mad if I teach you. And it requires a lot of gymnastic ability, which you clearly already have. Just one question,” she turned, gesturing to the fruit behind her. “Do you prefer blueberry or raspberry? I’m trying out a new danish recipe and don’t know which to choose.”

She did not miss how, as she was walking out with a few new acquaintances by her side and a few cases of blueberries, Cyborg whispered to Beast Boy:

“I can’t believe Robin actually picked up a girl when he led with the ‘we did an extensive check on your family history’ schtick!”

—*—*—*—*—*

Slam! Marinette’s shin collided with Robin’s waist while they were both mid-air, sending the vigilante flying to the ground, tumbling until he could gain traction and stop himself. Marinette, on the other hand, landed on the padded floor of the training room nimbly.

“Not bad!” She praised. “You’re picking it all up really quickly!” Robin scoffed goodbye-naturedly, smirking as he stood up.

“If you didn’t restrict me to only using Cheng-style, I’d have won,” he boasted. Marinette’s eyes shone playfully at the challenge.

“Are you sure? I restricted myself to that style as well,” she teased. “It is the best way for you to learn, after all.”

As per usual, the rest of the Titans were nearby either doing their own training or snacking as they watched. Nobody left Marinette alone when she was at the Tower, which she understood. Apparently they had had someone betray them in the past, so she understood being cautious around her even if she had been teaching Robin twice a week for the past two months. Starfire floated up, flying over to tell them both about how much more exciting this spar had been than the last few, but the Tamaranean was interrupted when Marinette’s phone let out a loud alarm.

Being who they were, all the Titans stiffened and were immediately at alert. Marinette cursed softly, pulling out her phone to see—

“What’s an Akuma Alert?” Robin, ever the nosy idiot, asked. Marinette clenched her jaw. This was not good. It was only nine in the morning in Jump City, making it three in the morning back in Paris. Marinette had hoped he wouldn’t decide to have a late night attack when she was in Titan Tower and essentially trapped.

Marinette looked up from her phone, looking around as everyone’s gazes grew suspicious the longer she stayed silent. Until, finally, she sighed and silenced her phone. She began to speak even as she unzipped her purse to put it away.

“It’s an alert from Paris. I’m sorry, and I understand if you do not wish to see me after this, but I must go.”

“Go where? Paris?” Raven asked, sweeping up to stand next to Beat Boy. If this turned out to be another Terra situation, the boy would need support again. Terra had torn his heart out, and Beast Boy had finally allowed himself to like Marinette and get close to her as a friend. All of them had. “How?”

Marinette clenched her eyes shut, mourning the friendships she was sure she had just lost. Maybe she should stick to the opposite side of the city from then on, so they wouldn’t have to run into her again. With that plan in mind, she drew the magical pair of glasses out of her purse and put them on, making Kaalki materialize.

The Titans stiffened, and Marinette felt her heart shatter a little. But she still called on both of her transformations, and left to save Paris.

She did not go back to the Tower. When the battle was over, she just opened the returning portal straight to the alley outside her apartment and went back home to sob into her pillow. She couldn’t explain what was going on, wasn’t sure they would even want to listen. And she and Robin had been getting so close, too.

But Marinette would not stick around after keeping secrets. She was certain they hated her, anyway.

She went out of her way to avoid them, not even looking their way when they passed by her apartment— on purpose, she was sure. She did everything she could to avoid them. But one day, she couldn’t. She was in the middle of trying to lose them in the alleys on her way to go grocery shopping, when a wall of black cut her off, shadows moving to pile up dumpsters and block her escape. Marinette shrunk in on herself— so they were finally moving up to using their powers, huh?

She heard Starfire drop down to hover behind her next, then the sight of a green hawk landing on a balcony nearby gave away Beast Boy. Robin dropped down from a rooftop, and Cyborg pulled up in the T-Car to block the entrance of the alleyway.

“Marinette,” Robin started, but she shook her head and cut him off.

“Robin, I’m trying to stay out of you guys’s way. I get it, I kept secrets and that’s not cool, I’m not gonna interfere in your fights, you don’t have to worry about—“

“Friend Marinette, we are not angry,” Starfire spoke up, flying over to land next to her. She put a hand on Marinette’s shoulder. Her eyes widened, and the smaller girl gulped.

“You… aren't?”

“We hacked into Paris news and street cams after you left,” Cyborg admitted, crossing his arms before giving her a wide smile. “Why didn’t you just tell us you were one of Paris’s heroes? Did ya think we wouldn’t understand or something?” Marinette froze, and then her face grew red when realization set in.

“... Oh Kwami. I’m freaking out about heroes finding out my identity… as a hero…” she groaned as soon as she said it, her head falling into her hands as her friends laughed around her.

“Guess I don’t need that plausible deniability for the reasons I thought,” Robin joked, making Marinette glare at him.

“Don’t tease me, I’m too busy being mortified.”

“Too busy for me to offer you a room at the tower?” He asked, and Marinette looked up to berate him for continuing to tease her, only to stop and realize that his expression said he was completely serious. Her eyes widened in shock once again, and she opened and closed her mouth only for her voice to not work. Robin smiled, holding out one of his hands to her.

“Just for whenever you need a break. Judging by your reaction, your parents don’t know about Ladybug, right?” Marinettte winced at his words. She gave them a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of her neck.

“No, back when we lived in Paris it was way too risky for anyone to know, even them. And now that we’re in Jump City, it’s been so long that…” she shook her head. “I don’t think they’d take it well.”

“Because they don’t understand,” Raven guessed, earning a nod and a small smile from the Parisian girl.

“And that’s why we’re offering you a room,” Robin continued, crossing his arms and giving her a confident, relaxed smile. “A temporary one, for whenever you need to drop by and be around people who understand you a bit better. Now, everything outside of the bedroom itself will still heavily monitor you for a while, but—“

“That’s fine!” Marinette agreed easily, beaming happily. “I get it, trust isn’t something that is easy to earn especially when it’s already been broken before. But the offer itself is already extremely generous, thank you!” Marinette lunged forward, tackling Robin in a tight hug. He laughed, returning the embrace.

“Dogpile!” Beast Boy yelled, of course transforming into a giant Saint Bernard as he leapt to start a group hug. His huge, furry body slammed Marinette and Robin to the ground, making them groan in pain and annoyance before Starfire picked all three of them up and started her own crushing hug. Followed by Cyborg wrapping his hands around the pile of superhero on the opposite side, and Raven… just kinda floating over to slump on top of the ball of teenaged heroes in the laziest hug ever.

Marinette didn’t stop laughing until her sides hurt.

—*—*—*—*—*

Marinette had become a constant presence at the Tower, and Ladybug had even become an occasional member of the Team. She was officially labeled as a reserve member of the Titans, since her duties in Paris came first. But she was fine with that. She didn’t want to draw Hawkmoth’s attention to Jump City after all, but the few and far-between appearances she made weren’t too odd. It had already been a year and a half of her new life in America, on one of the weekends where Marinette found herself sprawled against the couch scrolling through Instagram on her phone, that everything changed. She heard the elevator door open, and took only a second to narrow down who it could be.

First; Kori was visiting Tamaran and wouldn’t be back for at least another week. Victor was working on the T-car and probably wouldn’t come back up for a while. Rachel was meditating, as always, and Marinette could still feel the magic aura from the floor above that told her that she had not moved a muscle. Gar was taking a literal cat nap on the kitchen counter. Only Robin was unaccounted for, since he had gone to Gotham to visit Batman for some “top secret Bat business” and could come back at any moment.

Deduction done, Marinette felt herself smile unintentionally. Her and Robin had become immeasurably close, and she had been pining after him for almost— well, since she first started training him all that time ago. So she sat up, ready to go attack her best friend and major crush in a hug.

“Welcome ba— WHAT THE FUCK?!” Marinette tripped over thin air like she hardly did nowadays, floored by the sight in front of her. Robin was a stickler for his identity, though the rest of the Titans weren’t really. She had never seen him out of uniform, including mask, in the entire time she’d known him. Never heard his real name.

But here stood a boy her age, with extremely familiar fluffy hair and strong jaw. Who seemed extremely conflicted and distraught, in a black hoodie and sweatpants. It was the glimpse of red and yellow under the fully zipped-up hoodie and the slip of black fabric he held in one tightly curled fist that solidified exactly who this blue-eyed beauty was. Marinette swallowed, her throat suddenly dry.

Her yell had startled Garfield awake, who burst into his normal form and was staring at the scene equally wide- eyed. He made a few rapid gestures with his hands before choking out;

“I— I’m gonna… go see if Cy needs help,” before he scrambled away and into the elevator, flabbergasted. Robin didn’t say a word the whole time, just silently moving out of the way for the other boy.

Once Beast Boy was gone, the silence returned with stifling intensity. Marinette finally managed to clear her throat and get her thoughts in order.

“Are you okay?” She asked, because his well-being was more important than the fact that she was seeing his whole face for the first time. Because the fact that this was happening at all meant that something was probably very wrong. Just to make sure, she reached out with her Guardian abilities to read his aura— and yes, it was Robin. It couldn’t be anyone else.

But he didn’t look at all like their normally composed, erratic, confident leader. He looked like a young adult who had just had his world upturned and didn’t know how to manage it. He finally raised his eyes from the ground to meet her’s.

“... Batman got a new Robin… a while ago, apparently.”

Marinette sucked air through her teeth, grimacing. Yeah, that… that was a lot. “Come here,” she sat down and patted the couch next to her. “You clearly need to talk. We can even spar later if you want.”

He walked over, sighing and running a hand through his hair. “For once, I don’t think sparring will help. I mean yeah, I left Batman a long time ago because he wouldn’t take me seriously, but…”

Marinette understood. That was different than Batman giving his title to someone entirely new without even telling him. So she sat, and she listened as Robin explained all about his new adoptive brother, about the fight he had had with Bruce. Because apparently Batman was Bruce Wayne, but Marinette would shelve that headache for another day. At the end of it all, she hummed.

“Sounds like you need a new name then.”

“Mari,” Robin glared at her half heartedly. “That’s all you have to say? Really?”

“No,” she shrugged. “But I can’t keep calling you Robin, can I? But okay, you want me to be serious? It sounds like he was trying to do a good thing, getting Jason off the streets. Was he right to just give your moniker away with no warning? Of course not. But I don’t think he did it maliciously. If anything, I think this proves that Robin is a title for Batman’s sidekick to hold. And you’ve gotten way past that point in your life.”

“Well, for starters,” he said after a while. “My real name’s Dick.”

Marinette deadpanned at him, raising an eyebrow. “... I’m sorry, what?”

That got a snort out of him, and he smiled for the first time since he got back, running a hand through his hair again as he grinned at her. “Well, technically it’s Richard. Richard Grayson. But I prefer going by Dick.”

“Oh for the love of— good luck surviving Victor and Gar after you tell them that,” she warned, rubbing her temples at the mere thought of the chaos that was going to ensue. Rob— Dick— just laughed. But this time when he fell silent, Marinette didn’t immediately notice through her preemptive headache. But when she did, she looked up at him only to see him staring at her silently, an odd spark in his eyes. “What?”

“Well, if we’re admitting things and getting rid of secrets…” he started, leaning back a bit as his cheeks suddenly took on a pink tint. He cleared his throat, but met her eyes bravely. “I’ve been wanting to ask you out for a while, Marinette. If, uh, if you want. To go out with me, I mean.”

Marinette sat there, out of order, for a moment as her brain refused to work. Dick panicked.

“I mean, I get it if you don’t. Dating in the team and all, probably not the smartest move ever. So I get it—“

“Shut up,” Marinette interrupted, her face entirely pink. “I just couldn’t talk for a sec. yes, Dick. A million times, yes I’ll go out with you. Holy crap how dare you catch me off guard like that you jerk,” she glared at him before the two of them broke, bursting into laughter and leaning on one another.

They had gone through a lot. If the others found them slumped against one another on the couch, asleep and still holding hands, well they deserved the rest after the day they’d had. Now whether or not they deserved the many photos that had been taken to be held as blackmail against them? That was up for debate.

—*—*—*—*—*

Part 2: The same prompt, but siblings this time

[transparenttriumphzombie]

Christine Jorgensen (May 30, 1926 – May 3, 1989) was an American transgender woman who was the first person to become widely known in the United States for having sex reassignment surgery. Jorgensen grew up in the Bronx, New York City. Shortly after graduating from high school in 1945, she was drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II. After her military service, she attended several schools and worked; it is during this time she learned about sex reassignment surgery. Jorgensen traveled to Europe, and in Copenhagen, Denmark, obtained special permission to undergo a series of operations beginning in 1952.

She returned to the United States in the early 1950s and her transition was the subject of a New York Daily News front-page story. She became an instant celebrity, known for her directness and polished wit, and used the platform to advocate for transgender people. She also worked as an actress and nightclub entertainer and recorded several songs. Jorgensen often lectured on the experience of being transgender and published an autobiography in 1967.

Jorgensen was the second child of carpenter and contractor George William Jorgensen, Sr., and his wife Florence Davis Hansen, and given a male name at birth. She was raised in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City. She later described herself as having been a "frail, blond, introverted little boy who ran from fistfights and rough-and-tumble games".

Jorgensen graduated from Christopher Columbus High School in 1945 and was soon drafted into the U.S. Army at the age of 19. After being discharged from the Army, she attended Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica, New York,[5] the Progressive School of Photography in New Haven, Connecticut, and the Manhattan Medical and Dental Assistant School in New York City. She also worked briefly for Pathé News.

Returning to New York after military service, and increasingly concerned over, as one obituary later called it, a "lack of male physical development", Christine Jorgensen heard about sex reassignment surgery. She began taking estrogen in the form of ethinylestradiol and started researching the surgery with the help of Joseph Angelo, the husband of a classmate at the Manhattan Medical and Dental Assistant School. Jorgensen intended to go to Sweden, where the only doctors in the world who then performed the surgery were located. During a stopover in Copenhagen to visit relatives, she met Christian Hamburger, a Danish endocrinologist and specialist in rehabilitative hormonal therapy. Jorgensen stayed in Denmark and underwent hormone replacement therapy under Hamburger's direction. She chose the name Christine in honor of Hamburger.

She obtained special permission from the Danish Minister of Justice to undergo a series of operations in that country. On September 24, 1951, surgeons at Gentofte Hospital in Copenhagen performed an orchiectomy on Jorgensen. In a letter to friends on October 8, 1951, she referred to how the surgery affected her:

As you can see by the enclosed photos, taken just before the operation, I have changed a great deal. But it is the other changes that are so much more important. Remember the shy, miserable person who left America? Well, that person is no more and, as you can see, I'm in marvelous spirits.

In November 1952, doctors at Copenhagen University Hospital performed a penectomy. In Jorgensen's words, "My second operation, as the previous one, was not such a major work of surgery as it may imply."

She returned to the United States and eventually obtained a vaginoplasty when the procedure became available there. The vaginoplasty was performed under the direction of Angelo, with Harry Benjamin as a medical adviser. Later, in the preface of Jorgensen's autobiography, Harry Benjamin gave her credit for the advancement of his studies. He wrote, "Indeed Christine, without you, probably none of this would have happened; the grant, my publications, lectures, etc."

The New York Daily News ran a front-page story on December 1, 1952, under the headline "Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty", announcing (incorrectly) that Jorgensen had become the recipient of the first "sex change". This type of surgery had previously been performed by German doctors in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Dorchen Richter and Danish artist Lili Elbe, both patients of Magnus Hirschfeld at the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft in Berlin, were known recipients of such operations in 1930–31.

After her surgeries, Jorgensen originally stated that she wanted a quiet life of her own design, but once returning to the United States, the only way she could manage to earn a living was by making public appearances. Jorgensen was an instant celebrity when she returned to New York in February 1953. A large crowd of journalists met her as she came off her flight, and despite the Danish royal family being on the same flight, they were largely ignored in favor of her. Soon after her arrival, she launched a successful nightclub act and appeared on TV, radio, and theatrical productions. The first of a five-part authorized account of her story was written by Jorgensen herself in a February 1953 issue of The American Weekly, titled "The Story of My Life" and in 1967, she published her autobiography, Christine Jorgensen: A Personal Autobiography, which sold almost 450 thousand copies.

The publicity following her transition and gender reassignment surgery became "a model for other transsexuals for decades. She was a tireless lecturer on the subject of transsexuality, pleading for understanding from a public that all too often wanted to see transsexuals as freaks or perverts ... Ms Jorgensen's poise, charm, and wit won the hearts of millions." However, over time the press was much less fascinated by her and started to scrutinize her much more harshly. She was often asked by print medias if she would pose nude in their publications.

Knox and Jorgensen after being denied a marriage license, April 1959. After her vaginoplasty, Jorgensen planned to marry labor union statistician John Traub, but the engagement was called off. In 1959 she announced her engagement to typist Howard J. Knox in Massapequa Park, New York, where her father had built her a house after her reassignment surgery. However, the couple was unable to obtain a marriage license because Jorgensen's birth certificate listed her as male. In a report about the broken engagement, The New York Times reported that Knox had lost his job in Washington, D.C., when his engagement to Jorgensen became known.

After her parents died, Jorgensen moved to California in 1967. She left behind the ranch home built by her father in Massapequa and settled at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, California, for a period of time. It was also during this same year that Jorgensen published her autobiography, Christine Jorgensen: A Personal Autobiography, which chronicled her life experiences as a transsexual and included her own personal perspectives on major events in her life.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Jorgensen toured university campuses and other venues to speak about her experiences. She was known for her directness and polished wit. She once demanded an apology from Vice President Spiro T. Agnew when he called Charles Goodell "the Christine Jorgensen of the Republican Party". (Agnew refused her request.)

Jorgensen also worked as an actress and nightclub entertainer and recorded several songs. In summer stock, she played Madame Rosepettle in the play Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad. In her nightclub act, she sang several songs, including "I Enjoy Being a Girl", in which, at the end, she made a quick change into a Wonder Woman costume. She later recalled that Warner Communications, owners of the Wonder Woman character's copyright, demanded that she stop using the character; she did so, and instead used a new character of her own invention, Superwoman, who was marked by the inclusion of a large letter S on her cape. Jorgensen continued her act, performing at Freddy's Supper Club on the Upper East Side of Manhattan until at least 1982, when she performed twice in the Hollywood area: once at the Backlot Theatre, adjacent to the discothèque Studio One, and later at The Frog Pond restaurant. This performance was recorded and has been made available as an album on iTunes. In 1984, Jorgensen returned to Copenhagen to perform her show and was featured in Teit Ritzau's Danish transsexual documentary film Paradiset er ikke til salg (Paradise Is Not for Sale). Jorgensen was the first and only known trans woman to perform at Oscar's Delmonico Restaurant in downtown New York, for which owners Oscar and Mario Tucci received criticism.

She died of bladder and lung cancer in 1989, four weeks short of her 63rd birthday. Her ashes were scattered off Dana Point, California.

Jorgensen's highly publicized transition helped bring to light gender identity and shaped a new culture of more inclusive ideas about the subject. As a transgender spokesperson and public figure, Jorgensen influenced other transgender people to change their sex on birth certificates and to change their names. Jorgensen saw herself as a founding member in what became known as the "sexual revolution". Jorgensen stated in a Los Angeles Times interview, "I am very proud now, looking back, that I was on that street corner 36 years ago when a movement started. It was the sexual revolution that was going to start with or without me. We may not have started it, but we gave it a good swift kick in the pants."

In 2012 Jorgensen was inducted into the Legacy Walk, an outdoor public display which celebrates LGBT history and people.

In 2014, Jorgensen was one of the inaugural honorees in the Rainbow Honor Walk, a walk of fame in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood noting LGBTQ people who have "made significant contributions in their fields".

In June 2019, Jorgensen was one of the inaugural 50 American "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes" included on the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor within the Stonewall National Monument (SNM) in New York City's Stonewall Inn. The SNM is the first U.S. national monument dedicated to LGBTQ rights and history, and the wall's unveiling was timed to take place during the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots.

Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, during his earlier career as a calypso singer under the name The Charmer, recorded a song about Jorgensen, "Is She Is or Is She Ain't" (The title is a play on the 1940s Louis Jordan song, "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby".)

Chuck Renslow and Dom Orejudos founded Kris Studios, a male physique photography studio that took photos for gay magazines they published, which was named in part to honor Jorgensen.

Posters for the Ed Wood film Glen or Glenda (1953), also known as I Changed My Sex and I Led Two Lives, publicize the movie as being based on Jorgensen's life. Originally producer George Weiss made her some offers to appear in the film, but these were turned down. Jorgenson is mentioned in connection with Glen in Tim Burton's biopic Ed Wood (1994), but Jorgenson is not depicted as a character.

The Christine Jorgensen Story, a fictionalized biopic based on Jorgensen's memoir, premiered in 1970. John Hansen played Jorgensen as an adult, while Trent Lehman played her at age seven.

In Christine Jorgensen Reveals, a stage performance at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Jorgensen was portrayed by Bradford Louryk. To critical acclaim, Louryk dressed as Jorgensen and performed to a recorded interview with her during the 1950s while video of Rob Grace as comically inept interviewer Nipsey Russell played on a nearby black-and-white television set. The show went on to win Best Aspect of Production at the 2006 Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, and it ran Off-Broadway at New World Stages in January 2006. The LP was reissued on CD by Repeat The Beat Records in 2005.

Transgender historian and critical theorist Susan Stryker directed and produced an experimental documentary film about Jorgensen, titled Christine in the Cutting Room. In 2010 she also presented a lecture at Yale University titled "Christine in the Cutting Room: Christine Jorgensen's Transsexual Celebrity and Cinematic Embodiment". Both works examine embodiment vis-à-vis cinema.

The 2016 book Andy Warhol was a Hoarder: Inside the Minds of History's Great Personalities, by journalist Claudia Kalb, devotes a chapter to Jorgensen's story, using her as an example of gender dysphoria and the process of gender transition in its earliest days.

Jorgensen, Christine (1967). Christine Jorgensen: A Personal Autobiography. New York, New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 978-1-57344-100-1.

[eyes-like-the-night]

☕️ + Tanz/Bal Vampirov costumes

What we are not going to do is mention just how long this has been in my inbox or how many times I have tried to answer this but ultimately been unhappy with it 

but here it is, my opinion on the Tanz/Bal Vampirov costumes. 

The German production is iconic to the point Alfred in a red jacket is kind of a staple in every production and as a fandom we all side eye a design if Krolock doesn’t have a cape and/or long hair. It has a very specific vibe to it as well that I don’t think any other production has, like everything has a heavy layer of dust and there’s something comforting with the bright colors that are made to look dull and the fun look of the vampires and the town and the castle that looks like it could use a good cleaning. 

The Kentaur costumes while keeping the iconic bits feel more polished like everything has a place and it has all been set up, the castle is lit up more while not perfect it all looks like the dust was removed and everything got a good shine.

That is all the the pretty way of saying that the german costumes remind me of vampire costumes you’d buy at a Halloween store and the Kentaur ones have more of a romantic  look to them, even the graveyard vampires don’t look as rough while still looking like they only get out once a year. The color palettes of the two shows are different and there’s more flashes of bright colors and pastels with the OG design and Kentaur seems to have gone more with jewel tones. 

This isn’t all to say that I don’t like the OG designs I love them they’re wonderfully tacky and oh boy the neon green during carpe noctem gets me every time. I’m even iffy on Sarah’s red dress but it fits the rest of the show so well I can’t complain. If I had to complain about anything it’s the ‘sir I would love to be able to focus on your face right now but I can’t’ tight pants. you know exactly what I mean and I get it, we’re pulling a Labyrinth but still. 

The Kentaur designs just tends to be my favorite which defintely has to do with the fact that I am a sucker for the Russian production and I watch that the most. While I’m very iffy on the red dress yet again (It’s the heavy beading that I find out of place) Danish black dress ftw I love the cohesiveness of Krolock and Herbert, Herbert has more grown up vibes to me? idk how else to put it. As much as I love the red jacket Krolock gets It makes no damn sense story wise like that is shortly after Alfred and the Professor have been brought into the castle so he really changed the jacket and cape to brood in the portrait gallery to chat with Sarah? actually... I know it’s such a small thing but I can’t let go of it for whatever reason. Also I feel like there’s heavier romantic vibes with the different color palette and hell they tend to make Krolock younger, with less harsh angles and less grey wigs or ones that are completely black. But still wonderfully vampiric. 

Really they’re both absolutely wonderful and there isn’t much I would change in either production costume wise. They both fit beautiful with the sets and frankly would look so out of place if you swapped them.

TLDR: Kentaur design is more jewel tones and more upfront with the romantic side while the OG design is more like something that is well loved and shows it’s age in the way that makes it better than if it was all cleaned up

[chiropteracupola]

TREASURE ISLAND MUSICALS, OR AT LEAST THE ONES I COULD SORT OF FIND IN A FIVE-MINUTE INTERNET SEARCH: Rated by Me, Sometime Late Last Night, In A Haze of Confusion and Banana Bread.  Do not expect coherence, and please take all judgments with a grain of salt. 

Folketeatret 2019 (The Glorious One) - These people know what they’re doing.  Glorious sets and costumes, and the songs that I can find range from fair to excellent.  From what I can see, the characterization is pretty good as well!  Can’t really find enough of it to make judgements about the plot.  Fairly sure I could find a full version if I googled about for a bit, but I’m so tired and I want to go to sleeeeep...  Lots of fog and ominousness, with a suitably scary Flint and Silver.  I want to see more of this, and will now have to start learning Danish in order to figure out what they’re singing about.  8/10.

Burning Coal Theatre 2018 (The Chaotic One) - It is …fun, at times.  The songs are good and reasonably catchy, but the characterization is iffy at best.  Unclear what they thought they were doing, Silver is pretty good but everyone else is a mess and a half.  The production team has clearly seen Treasure Planet many times, as seen in its lack of Trelawney and frankly distressing Livesey, among many other suspect decisions.  Plot has a great deal of awkwardness, but makes great use of the “Anyone Who Could Even Vaguely Be Considered A Father Figure Is Now My Dad” thing.  Second act goes sideways, downhill, and a lot of other places I would rather it not have gone.  My eyebrows got a workout, but I did get a few laughs out of it.   Two hours of my life I probably could have spent better. 5/10.

Muppets Treasure Island (The Classic One) - I have tried, tried so very hard, to say something other than positive about Muppets Treasure Island.  I still get the songs in my head sometimes despite the fact I haven’t heard most of them in years.  I’m listening to Shiver My Timbers, which is probably the best Piratical Song I’ve ever heard.  And I’ve heard a lot of Piratical Songs.  Plot does some Things, but the pacing actually seems to run better than the original in the second half.  It’s beautiful.  It’s a classic.  It’s the Muppets’ show now, and possibly forever.  9/10.

Arkansas Repertory Theatre 2013 (The Incomprehensible One) - Sweet Bob Ross in heaven, something happened here.  I can only find bits and pieces of the production, and an interview with the production team that sounds like one of those Monster Factory “Every Time Griffin And Justin Say ‘Boy’” compilations, except less fun.  I think this might be a production of The Sea-Cook: A Story For Boys.  Style is interesting, looks kind of like some kind of pirate metal band?  Fun to look at, but I genuinely can’t tell if these people know what a boat is, which is very worrying.  Songs are a bit of a disaster.  2/10.

Music Theater International (The Mysterious One) - May or may not be real.  I can find only the vaguest references to its existence, but apparently there’s a song called “Cheese! Cheese!”.  From that alone I trust that these people know what they’re doing.  3/10.

I do not think I ever want to see a Treasure Island musical again, unless it’s Muppets Treasure Island.  I am done, so very very done. 

[breebeelee]

Jewels, a Simple Question of Vanity?

The records of jewelry throughout  Jewellery Design Competition time is not so much an account of human arrogance than a mirrored image of the evolution of human societies and the urge of human beings to create symbols and beauty.

Jewels across time

There are signs and symptoms that humans had been sporting jewels from very early times on as private adornment. Originally, these were made of materials easily to be had in nature which include shells, animal bones or enamel. With time humans learnt to paintings with exceptional stones and metals, such as gold and gem stones that had been particularly valued in rings. Our ancestors had been highly talented jewelers and the splendor and beauty of the antique jewels nevertheless fascinates us as simply confirmed by way of the interest proven for jewel shows in museums or for itinerary exhibitions on as an example the Gold of the Incas or the treasures from Egyptians tombs.

With the use of valuable metals like gold or gem stones like diamonds, jewels became tangible signs and symptoms of wealth, energy and societal order. At extraordinary instances, like within the Middle Age, legal guidelines were surpassed as to who was allowed to wear jewels, which in itself illustrates the social significance connected to jewels.

The idea of crown jewels was created within the Renaissance duration where the French King, Francois 1st declared eight excellent pieces to be inalienable heirlooms of French kings.Similar law in other countries soon laid the ground for the treasures of the European Royal families.

19th and 20th century, a turning factor

The use and significance of jewels changed substantially inside the 19th century due to social, technological and cultural elements.

A new social code - Until then men wear just as sumptuous jewels as ladies did. Likewise they had valuable stones, pearls, gold and silver threads sawed into their garments. However, around the 19th century the social code required a greater sober dress code for guys. Furthermore, across the equal length, a miles sharper differentiation become delivered between day and night jewels, the most sumptuous being reserved for evenings and galas.

A new generation - The commercial revolution made it viable to mass produce jewels of excessive- as well as low-exceptional, hence putting rings inside the economic draw close of a far larger phase of the population. This in flip caused a extra relaxed relation to jewels acquired at a lower cost and effortlessly changed via new collections for a speedy converting fashion.

The modern way of life - The Art Nouveau movement and the 1900 World Exhibition marked a brand new era wherein layout and creativity are prized above material price, as a consequence shifting the emphasis of the jeweler's art from the setting of stones to the artistic layout. This marked the beginning of what's now known as artwork earrings as opposed to standard jewelry.

During the Art Deco duration Coco Chanel substantially popularized costume jewelry as ornamentation to supplement a selected elegant gown or garment. Those dress jewels frequently product of non precious material and mass-produced marked the start of an technology of disposable jewels that are fashionable for a quick time frame and fast previous through a new fashion style.

One cannot point out layout without citing the Danish Design. This revolutionary motion is characterized by way of quite awesome sober round traces of remarkable esthetic high-quality and a predilection for silver. Georg Jensen is the maximum emblematic determine, however simply now not the simplest renowned name. Danish Design had a huge have an effect on inside the rest of Europe and inside the US and laid the ground for plenty experimental jewels in the Sixties an Seventies.

Jewel design did now not only experimented with new forms and new fabric - including cheap substances like aluminum, plastic, paper, nylon, however haute-couture designers consisting of Coco Chanel, as cited above, and renowned artists like Salvador Dali, Picasso or Max Ernst made a giant contribution to innovation in that subject. This paintings challenged constricting conventions and truly blurred the limits between jewelry, style and first-rate arts.

Jewels these days and the next day

Jewels are simply appealing these days as they were inside the past. It is not feasible at this point to assume what the 21st century will bring as novelty. However, looking at what's taking place these days may give us a touch as to dispositions.

Art jewels

One of the symptoms of the ongoing monetary and cultural significance of jewels in current society is the once a year Copenhagen Jewellery Fair that is Scandinavian biggest earrings and watch fair. This yr, the royal safety of the fair, Princess Marie, delivered the prize to the winder of the "Bella Nordic Jewellery Award", that may be taken into consideration as that Nordic competition for jewelers.

Though, faraway from that glamour, you may discover many small jewel designers' ateliers scattered throughout Denmark. There, you may locate beautiful unique jewels created by way of gifted humans with a ardour for his or her craft and presenting a extraordinary diversity of design and recognition.

Home-made jewels

The high fee of best jewels has paved the manner for a "do it yourself" movement. There is pretty a good sized quantity of physical or virtual shops had been private customers should buy jewels components that they could then assembled to make jewels for themselves or others. Those stores had been till now be a profitable business, but there are actually signal that the marked is coming to saturation and opposition is becoming harder.

Jewels, consumption society and recycling

As mentioned earlier, jewels are a mirrored image of societal trends. On one facet mass manufacturing with cheap substances has intended a huge provide of jewels that everybody can find the money for. Those jewels have emerge as normal objects of intake for use and discarded without a second notion

As a response to this "waste society" recycling has emerge as a sturdy societal movement. Waste cloth, even trash, is used to new creations, consisting of jewels. Those are in keeping with definition particular pieces popping out of the designer's creativeness and bought at prices substantially fluctuating with the popularity of the dressmaker.

Jewels for guys

While there seems to be no restrict of length, shade and composition in ladies's jewels, the provide and use of men's jewelry is comparatively pretty restrained. It is hard to say whether or not that is because of men themselves, to societal norms on what a person can put on or due to the lack of interest and creativity at the a part of the designers. It is though increasingly prevalent for men to wear earrings, which might be a signal that conventions and taste are changing.

Jewelry - an eternal love story

Jewels have observed people at some stage in a while and feature had a social and cultural position that has developed hand in hand with societies. In our complex modern society jewels, in a single shape or every other, are low priced to all layers of society and are used as alerts on attitudes, lifestyles and belonging. The cultural importance of jewels is tough to determine in view of the brilliant offer and diversity of jewels from the cheap mass-produced to the greatest specific pieces. As Clare Phillips1 states "What remains real now, as for the duration of the a while, is that rings at its greatest has the strength to fascinate and inspire - that is the top function of artwork at its quality in any of its many manifestations." It can then be conclude with none doubt that, yes, jewels are an awful lot more than an expression of human conceitedness.

[viggwigg]

Pretty Faces |  Chapter 1

Pairings: Tom Holland x Reader

Summary: You are a rising makeup artist whose talent is quickly taking off.  When one of your closest friends happens to be a big-shot director, you get the gig of a lifetime working next to him and his crew. No one could ask for a better workspace when surrounded by people you already love. Just what happens when the biggest crush of your life walks onto the set, ready for his close up?

Disclaimer: Cursing

A/N: OOPSIES totally my bad. Got kinda busy and put this off until now. But here it is! 🤩

--------

SFX, beauty, costume, you name it. You had done it all. No makeup challenge had ever held you back from a 110% attempt on your part. 

Even if you didn’t do so hot on your first try, you continued to perfect your technique with every opportunity you got. You had the kind of drive that inspired other artists to pull out their own strengths in their work. To take pride in their profession. 

Not to mention your humble personality about your talent. In your eyes, your abilities were earned through blood, sweat, and tears.

With how much fun you had playing around with it, it just made sense to enter into entertainment. You didn’t mind using crappy written tv shows to jumpstart your career. Nothing really slowed you down in your mind.

From weddings to the Halloween photoshoots, your name circulated around L.A. in a slow burn. And then an all at once fire.

Your credibility doubled as multiple directors could vouch for your performance. It took a load off their shoulders seeing their actor’s bloody lip look completely real.

You were called on last-minute set emergencies with how reliable your skills were.

And when your buddy Jesse came to you with a job offer, you knew that you were at least somewhat qualified for what he would throw at you.

It’s not to say you weren’t shitting bricks, no, of course you were. However, you would have to admit to yourself that you were doing significantly better than when you started out.

Due to how highly acclaimed Jesse’s movies were, he never offered you a spot on his team in the past. It’s not to say that he wasn’t impressed in your work; he definitely believed you would become great. But he didn’t want to hand you a job without you having earned it first.  

And with the last production you were a part of wrapped up, Jesse thought the timing couldn’t have been better.

He invited you to be an artist in his upcoming movie. Casting for the roles had just been finished and filming would commence within the month. 

He had a devilish laugh when you curiously asked about the casting list, yet he wouldn’t budge and insisted that you had to wait like everyone else to find out.

Being the director’s best friend seemed to have little benefit at this point.

You rolled your eyes as you thought back to your conversation with him. If he was gonna be stingy with his information, you were going to be stingy with your kindness.

Currently, you were walking with a multitude of bagels and coffee in your arms, on your way to the meeting point. The makeup artists usually weren’t invited to the production meetings but today they were assigning departments and groups to certain divisions.

This was the first day that all crews and actors would see each other. 

The treats you were bringing were for your fellow artists who you have met a couple times before today. You guys went over your individual techniques so that you could have a consistent result when the time came around.

Had Jesse not been selfish with his list, an everything bagel (bro I love these bagels so much) would have been delivered to him as well.

But alas, he would have to suffer.

Your arms were starting to cramp up at the odd angles you were holding everything at. The short walk from the cafe to the set proved a harder trek with the extra baggage. 

Although, thankfully, the doors to the right place were insight. Today’s meeting would be held at a regular building and later in the week you would move to the actual set.

Your heart was beating a little faster than usual. Your fellow beauty gurus were nice for sure, but who could tell how these next few months would go.

Still, working with your best friend was gonna be awesome.

You walked in and flashed your ID badge to the receptionist, quickly greeting her. It was surprisingly quiet in the building considering the whole place was rented out. 

However, as you neared hall doors, you could hear the muffled voices of everyone behind them.

You took a quick breath and turned the door handle.

The room was fairly large with little decoration. An elongated table sat in the middle of the room with many people around it. Some were sitting in the various chairs scattered about, but most just stood in a group of their respective departments.

First impressions were positive. Many smiling faces, a few dead stares, and a single person completely asleep on the table.

You could make out some well-known faces in the quick scan through you made.

Jesse looked away from the production manager he was talking to and caught eyes with you. 

“Y/n!!” His eyes lit up.

 The production manager was cut off mid-sentence. Jesse hit him on the chest playfully and excitedly in happiness. 

“Dude, this is who I was telling you about,” he said as he dragged you towards them.”She’s the leech that always hangs around me and my sister.”

“Ouch-and here I thought we had something special,” you said dramatically. 

The two of you paused and stared at each other before bursting into a fit of giggles. The excitement of working together seemed to hit both of you simultaneously.

The production manager just stared at you both before moving to introduce himself.

“Hi, I’m Justin. It’s nice to meet you…”

You shushed Jesse and offered your hand, “Y/n. It’s nice to meet you too-”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, we’ll get through intros later,” Jesse interrupted. “Right now there are much more important matters to attend to.”

He guided you both to some seats and began.

“Okay, so we’re just waiting on a few people before we begin. We should start- wait what’s with all the stuff?” Jesse gestured at the coffee and bags in your arms. His mouth began to water.

You made eye contact with the group in the back of the room and smiled, “Oh these are for the other artists actually.”

“Aw, how sweet of you! Where’s mine?” 

You moved your arms away just in time to miss his grabbing hands at the bags.

“Hands off, Jess! I didn’t get any for you.”

“Yo, what hell, y/n,” he whined. The sense of betrayal he went through could not be described in any other words than unforgivable. You knew this place had his favorite danish. 

You had to be the devil.

“I invite you to be on my crew, MINE, and this is the thanks I get? That’s it, we’re through. I mean it.” 

He huffed and turned away from you.

Justin looked at you with entertained admiration and chuckled to himself.

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry,” you picked up the coffee and pastries.”Just let me hand these out and then I’ll figure out how to make it up to you.”

“Whatever”

However, just as you began to stand from the chair, the doors to the room swung open yet again. 

A man tall man with glasses walked into the room. He nodded at the various people in the room and moved along.

A shorter man with chocolate brown eyes trailed behind. He wore some comfy joggers and had a cap covering much of his hair.

All eyes shot to the second newcomer, everyone unanimously recognizing the familiar face.

Jesse recovered from his depressive state and replaced it with a shit-eating grin.

Justin rose to greet the man and give him the rundown.

You paused mid-air from your seat with wide eyes.

Tom Holland stood before all of you with a friendly smile and wave, “Hey, guys, I'm happy to finally meet you all. Sorry I’m a bit late.” 

...What the actual fuck.

--------

A/N: My god this is so unrealistic. I literally don’t know anything about where they do all their meeting and how they film so that’s why its so vague. I am so uneducated on this 🤦‍♀️ Lol thanks for the love on the prologue though! 💌🥰

-------

Tag list: @greenarrowhead @diamonddia-mond @jackiehollanderr

[bespokeredmayne]

Is Amazon sinking The Aeronauts?

With the announcement Tuesday (July 23) that Amazon is scrapping and reducing its theatrical release schedule for the Eddie Redmayne-Felicity Jones film in favor of its streaming Prime platform, it appears the adventure epic has the makings of a film disaster.

Rarely have I received so many private messages from disappointed fans — many of them Amazon Prime customers (like myself) who had looked forward to seeing the film in a theater, tantalizingly in IMAX’s vast scale.

Even the largest home entertainment setup of a Prime customer is a relatively “small screen.” And you have only to read the comments of industry experts and social media followers to see that the perception is The Aeronauts has suddenly become a small, unimportant film that Amazon flagrantly is promoting as an awards magnet, hoping they have another “Roma” on their hands.

A look back — and a glance forward — at how this is unfolding.

Amazon’s changing winds May 14 — With PR fanfare and a dramatic new still, Amazon Studios announces that The Aeronauts will first be released to IMAX theaters for a week’s run, before opening for a traditional theatrical release on Nov. 6. “The Aeronauts is a spectacular movie featuring emotionally engaging performances and edge-of-your-seat action," Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said in a statement. "We're thrilled to join Imax in showcasing this one-of-a-kind film in such a grand format. We look forward to giving our customers an unforgettable theatrical experience high above the clouds," Salke said. (The Hollywood Reporter) 

And IMAX’s Megan Colligan was effusive in her statement: “Tom (Harper, the director) designed this movie for the IMAX screen and the result is going to blow audiences away. This film, inspired by incredible true events, offers heart-pounding intense sequences that are woven so wonderfully with the beauty, scale and emotion of these two characters as they go on their epic journey.”

July 23 — Slightly more than two months later, while the film is reportedly in post-production for IMAX presentation, Amazon’s Salke announces the winds have changed. “The theatrical experience is an important part of our business but our highest priority is our customers. We know The Aeronauts is a film Amazon Prime Video customers will want access to as soon as possible, and is the perfect example of high level, quality filmmaking customers can expect from us both in theaters and on Prime.” (THR) 

Serving up awards bait Think about the backlash against Bradley Cooper and A Star Is Born last year over all the early and aggressive Oscar talk. Eddie Redmayne fans know fully that Hollywood casts a jaundiced eye toward what it perceives as “awards bait” — a stinging charge that followed him through awards campaigns for The Theory of Everything and The Danish Girl. There’s a years-old Reddit thread that refers to him as Eddie “Redcarpet” for what’s perceived as his thirst for awards. Yet the sheer quality of those films — and the subtlety of the filmmakers in promoting the stories, performances, direction, and crafts from screenwriting to makeup to costuming to music — earned them nominations and awards.

So why Amazon has chosen such an overt approach to The Aeronauts is puzzling. More from Salke Tuesday: “Considering how competitive it has become to capture audiences’ attention and how audiences are consuming their entertainment, we believe this is the best choice for the film and that we’re delivering our customers an epic film that we believe will be a major player in the awards conversation at the height of awards season," Salke continued.

If The Aeronauts is announced for the Venice Film Festival on Thursday and shows to acclaim there and at other showcases (such as the rumored Telluride Festival), some of this puzzling change of strategy could be softened. 

Still, The Aeronauts’ two stars — whose, talent, professionalism and chemistry is proven — an impressive cast, and gifted director, screenwriter, costume director, composer and more who created this film deserve better. 

As do fans.

[indigo-ra]

The Little Black Mermaid

There’s a lot to unpack here. First off, let me start by saying I think it’s very progressive to see a black girl casted for Disney’s live action version of The Little Mermaid. It seems that after 70 some-odd-years, Disney is finally taking steps to represent diversity for this next generation of kids.  Now, I  also have to come in and say that I don’t understand why Disney is doing all these live action remakes. I saw Aladdin recently and I could see the love that the creative team put into the costume designs and backgrounds- it was so BEAUTIFUL.

But I also saw something I fundamentally disliked about this new generation of live-action remakes. See, when Disney does any storytelling, whatever the source, it is scrubbed of much of its authenticity and then sugar-coated for mass consumption for all ages. Of course, it wasn’t always this way. If you go back a few decades, you’ll see some downright offensive things produced by Disney too; but Disney 2019, is the owner of Lucas Arts and Marvel now. They’re such a massive conglomerate corporation, their image has to be flawless so they can set the pace for each new wave of consumerism. You’re thinking “Yeah, so?”  So, I’m just going to say, after watching Aladdin, I felt hollow. To get a Disney-filtered animated version of the story, there are a lot of things to weigh and consider. Animation, by and large is a treatment most production companies market toward children. You also have to understand that you can get away with a LOT in animation, because impossible things are possible in 2D animation and everything is intentional.  To take that story that had already been through such an intense filter to make into an animation, and apply that same exact treatment to live-action is moving backwards. Not only that, but Disney took it a step further and made a point to omit any semblance of ANYTHING that could be considered risque in the slightest. Jasmine’s short scene of seducing Jafar was swapped out for a new princess power ballad and left the entire story feeling FLATTER than the 2D Animation. It’s true. The reason why, is, because all the richness of a story adapted for animation has been applied to live-action. Three dimensional people don’t squash, bend, stretch or emote like cartoons, so the songs, the action, the intensity of it, unless treated like a LIVE-ACTION movie would never add up. And it’s incredibly flat. The movie has no surprises, no intensity, no complexity and no personality. She looks very pretty though. Now with that in mind, I’m going to approach the topic of The Little Mermaid. Keeping in mind that Disney is catering their brand toward a new generation of gender-neutral pussies in the making, their message has changed. It used to be “Your prince will come.” but now it’s “You’re a princess, you don’t need  a prince.” Taking the “Happily ever after” off of the ending in favor of some “...to be continued” because, it sells. The first go round was so successful, there was all kinds of collectible junk that came out with each classic movie and even new rides for the theme park. People ate that shit up, and Disney is like, “well it if ain’t broke...”, and is now redoing the same projects because, everybody else has done it.  In recent years how many versions of Disney princesses trended? Modern takes with them illustrated wearing casual clothes, On the cover of magazines, Photoshopped to look photo-real, Covered in tattoos, doing drugs etc... In the past 2-3 years there has been an upward trend, after we came out of our sexy vampire phase (True Blood, Twilight, Vampire Diaries)  and went in the direction of modernized fairytales (Once Upon a Time, Grimm, The Hunstman, Descendants). Disney rode that wave until it started to decline and THAT’S when the live-action remakes started. The Little Mermaid casting choice, plain and simple is a grab at black dollars. I’m not mad at it. But I think it’s very flippant how Disney made such an unexpected move, knowing exactly how Black people would react.  It has mostly been positive. Disney is certainly trending in the black community, and new art of the new black Disney princess is popping up everywhere.  But not all Black people agree. Some don’t even understand why they don’t like the concept, because it does seem like they should be happy, that, for once, color seems not to matter. Which is exactly the problem.  The issue at hand is when white actors are placed in roles that ARE WRITTEN or CALL FOR ethnicities that are NOT White:

Disney is making an effort.-But not really. I understand why black people are happy, but I also understand why they are upset, and for ONCE white people do have some reason to feel slighted in this situation. The Little Mermaid has been black-washed. The Little Mermaid is a story written by Hans Christian Andersen in 1837 - who was Danish man from Denmark. SO if you’re under the impression that The Little Mermaid was originally about this “Yemoja” Orisha I’m seeing popping up all over the place from these hoteps that claim they’re woke, that is called “cultural appropriation” plain and simple. We hate that, so let’s not be those people. The original story is about a mermaid in search of obtaining a soul, and though it is a mythical creature, SUNSHINE is what makes people dark-skinned. If you live underwater, in DENMARK of all places, fuck white, this fish would be damn near transparent. This was one of the times where Disney didn’t have to worry about appeasing black people. If Ariel was casted White, Black people wouldn’t have cried about it being unfair because that would be accurate. NOBODY petitioned, going around asking for signatures, demanding that Ariel be black, and now, White Disney supporters are feeling slighted, and rightly so, because Disney isn’t trying to balance the scales, so much as perpetuate the message that they “don’t see color” and “race doesn’t matter”; and Black people hate that narrative! It’s like when you get into a fight with your little sister or brother growing up and your mom makes you apologize, even though they started it. To your mom, it doesn’t matter who started it, and even though it’s unfair, she forces you to humble yourself even if you were the victim. That’s not balance, it’s a forced compromise. We need to stop being so eager to jump on the bandwagon of any pitiful handouts they give us, especially if it’s not coming from a pure place of good intent. White people will buy new merch to burn and Black people will buy anything that has their face on it, so both ways, Disney wins. I love Disney, but this was a blunder on their end. Halle Bailey’s singing chops in a Disney movie is not going to even get close to showing off her skills or range as a vocalist since Disney songs are all written in keys and chords that the general public can sing along with.  Personally, I think Disney could have been better about choosing a character that more matched the Ariel we already know and love. It’s not like we are starting from scratch. We already have a red-haired, fair-skinned mermaid girl, who we know and love from the 2D animation. If you’re RE-MAKING the movie, why not make it in the image of the first success? Don’t change the main character’s color on a whim. If Disney was RE-IMAGINING The story, then it’s okay. Tweak the story. If it takes place in the Carribbean, maybe with some influential cultural tweaks like the prince being from Barbados (Sebastian can obviously stay the same), and maybe some pirates thrown in, it could be good, and Halle Bailey would be a wonderful casting choice, just like Brandy was in Rodger and Hammerstein’s version of Cinderella. But it wouldn’t be a REMAKE. But if it’s going to be a remake, as I recall, I do believe the Disney’s version took place in The Caspian sea, according to Ursula’s spell.

I never felt like I couldn’t relate to Ariel because she was white, A mermaid isn’t a human in the first place. We’re 2 for 0 in black women getting the “another species/race/creature” treatment with Disney. A princess that was a frog and now a mermaid and we’re playing it up like a victory while Disney is about to make some serious coin off of us. That’s all folks.

[dreamsofthescreen]

The Emotional History of Lili Elbe - The Danish Girl Review

Transgender pioneer Lili Elbe breaks our heart and attempts to teach us a lesson of authenticity in ‘The Danish Girl’.

Eddie Redmayne & Alicia Vikander in ‘The Danish Girl’ (2015)

Tom Hooper’s ‘The Danish Girl (2015) bursts with life, change & controversy, seen through it’s portrayed emotion, score & production design. Based on the touching story of 1920s Danish transgender pioneer, Lili Elbe & her wife Gerda Wegener, it focuses primarily on the unconditional love and support between the couple throughout. It is through the convincing writing that we get to see both partner’s go through life-changing transformations to understand their place in a world not so accepting of their beliefs. The artistic focus that is held on the film showcases the significance of the story. However, the portrayal of supposed ‘femininity’ was one that can be seen as offensively diminishing in it’s attempt to represent what it means to become and be a woman. Told through the eyes of cis-men, where there is a pioneer, there is controversy, especially in the LGBTQ+ world.

Set in 1920s Copenhagen, marriage between painters Gerda and Einar Wegener seems to be prospering in the artistic, seaside city. As the two appear to be made for each other, the complication that arises is life-changing for both characters. As Gerda’s friend Oola is unavailable to sit for Gerda’s painting, she persuades husband Einar to put on a ballerina’s costume, where he has a great revelation. Eventuating into belonging as ‘Lili Elbe’ after months of playing dress up, it is Gerda’s support that shows the poignancy in Lili’s journey. As Oscar-Winner Eddie Redmayne portrays both Einar Wegener and Lili Elbe, Swedish actress Alicia Vikander’s performance as Gerda earns her the Academy Award. As much as the film obviously focuses on Lili’s journey, Vikander steals the performance more than Redmayne, and she is just as significant of a character in the tale. However, in the 2016 Academy Awards, Vikander was still listed as ‘Best Supporting Actress’. And support did her character do. As the perspectives of Lili change drastically, Gerda’s unconditional love has her view of her partner staying the same, with her care only growing stronger. Having been known for representing strong female leads gracefully in pictures like ‘Testament Of Youth’, Vikander’s performance utters strength and an inspiring feature in the writing of the film. As Lili has an interview in Paris to discuss the possibility of a sex change, she states, “The fact is, i believe that I am a woman. Inside”, to which Gerda replies, “And I believe it too”.

In a world where no one could begin to understand what transgender even means, Gerda believes every word that her partner utters. As she never doubts Lili’s transition, and although there is constant grief and fear, we see how Gerda’s love overrides any challenged faced. Even though they may have not known it, that devotion was always the foundation of their relationship. This pure love is certainly recognised by Einar/Lili, as she utters, “I love you, because you’re the only person who made sense of me”. Einar & Gerda both take on great change, viewers gaining a new perspective on transitioning, seeing that it is not only one person who goes through it, but the loved ones around them too who discover the meaning and hardships of authenticity. The beauty of the connection between Gerda & Einar or Lili is a great highlight of Hooper’s film, creating interest and bringing meaning to the tale.

In ‘The Danish Girl’ we explore the world of art in the 1920s, which was a greatly influential time period - the art deco and nouveau styles, further expression post-WWI. The costume, set design, cinematography and score all weave into making an aesthetically stunning film, as the life of two artists themselves appears as a painting on screen. With the costume design by Paco Delgado, the production design by Eve Stewart, cinematography by Danny Cohen & the soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat, all these creative components do a beautiful job in tying into the meaning of the story. The costume design is a paramount feature in Einar’s journey into discovering who Lili is, as he is surrounded by women in striking dresses, tutu’s and silks. Delgado’s dressing of Einar see’s him as a stiff man, very restrained in tight, uninspiring suits. Where as when Lili is seen, she bursts with life in colourful velvets and layered capes. The cinematography by Danny Cohen focuses on some rather extreme close ups, which at times seem like too much, as though we as an audience cannot distinguish a characters emotion & need help by a camera’s exaggerated shots. Nevertheless, the shots themselves are symmetrical, and resemble artworks themselves, as the costumes, sets and light are all convincing of the time period. Director Hooper stated that he got inspiration for many of the shots and production design from Vilhelm Hammershøi, a Danish painter who was known for his subdued and empty, light focused interiors. Thus, when working with set designer, Eve Stewart, this had a lot of the images on screen genuinely resembling something on canvas & the long summer nights in Scandinavia. The maximalist, bohemian interiors of the apartment that Lili and Gerda share upon moving to Paris for exhibition work showcase the change and gained freedom in the couple. As Einar is exploring more of who Lili is, Gerda is faced with the challenge of accepting her new partner, whilst grieving her old one. Gone is the lonely, repressed space in Copenhagen that once represented the couple, and new is the lively and luxurious Parisian loft. Alexandre Desplat’s superb score is one of the things that hits the nail on the head of the emotions that break our hearts in Hoopers film. The discord, romance and speed in the soundtrack all perfectly reflect the mix of discomfort, love and terror in the story throughout. The dissonant piano taps or legato strings in the forefront of some scenes further dive into the characters experiences. A soundtrack can sometimes only support a film, yet Desplat’s work has us further understanding the shame, affection and despair in Lili & Gerda. The visual and audial areas of ‘The Danish Girl’ surely succeed in portraying deeper significance in the world and experience of a couple undergoing an overwhelming change in a time that helped, but didn’t understand.

The real winner in representing Lili’s story is the spotlight on Gerda & Einar’s artistry. As Gerda’s paintings of Einar dressed up as ‘Lili’ are her big break, Einar gets to see who he could be. Where there is flowing freedom in Gerda’s art, Einar’s continuous, rigid landscape work of the trees at Vejle represent his suppression. As in one scene Einar reveals to Gerda that he had dressed as Lili as a young boy in Vejle, him painting that same place can be seem as him stuck there, as he was his true self in that moment. Women started to become more in touch with their sexuality in the 1920s, seen through simple acts such as showing their ankles or dancing at speakeasies. This had screenwriter, Lucinda Coxon, cleverly making this aspect prominent in the transition of Einar to Lili & her discovery of herself. Einar is surrounded by nudes in his life, seen in his fellow workers art, his wife & specifically in a scene where he can visit a peep-show, even examining a cisgendered stripper there, to mimic it himself. In a scene where Einar visits As Gerda paints nude portraits of the character ‘Lili’, Einar himself can see who he truly is, as so much of the transgender experience would be defined by ones severe gender dysphoria. As the couple’s careers are both greatly visual, we can literally see the meaning of their works and how it ties into their lives - Einar feeling oppressed is his art pieces & Gerda discovering who her partner truly is supposed to be through hers, as well as the importance of being comfortable in ones raw body.

The controversy that surrounds ‘The Danish Girl’ is the fact that the cis-men that worked on it have succeeded in creating an untrue and fictionalised impression of womanhood.

A writer on site ‘IndieWire’, Carol Grant wrote a piece on how Hooper’s film was potentially harmful, stating that “In ‘becoming a woman’, Lili gives up painting to become a department store salesgirl.’ As Lili utters, “I want to be a woman, not a painter”, Gerda teases, stating “well, some people have been known to do both.” It can be argued that as Lili is an amateur in even being a woman, that she is uncertain of how to act accordingly & can only base herself off of stereotypes. Yet this plot line is never mentioned, and we as an audience are left with a badly represented and shallow idea of what it means to be a woman. Aren’t we meant to be inspired in seeing the authenticity in an early transgender pioneer? Yet this girl seems rather fake in her freedom, as we see how her overplayed feminine gestures seem to gain more merit than her actual spirit. Why does Lili’s early life have us see her delving into housewife activities, such as focusing on what scarf she loves or how to properly spray a perfume, rather than showing audiences what really means the most to her?

In moments that Einar reveals his truth to Gerda, we get to hear lines that do resonate well with the experience of a transgender man or woman, stating, “I think Lili’s thoughts, I dream her dreams. She was always there.” But Hooper never presents what Lili’s dreams or thoughts really were. It can be said that Lili never had enough of the time to fulfil these wishes, as (spoiler alert), this story ends with a tragic death. Yet Hooper had every opportunity to give us some insight into Lili, rather than just what her favourite nightdress was. This superficial focus on Lili separates her and her meaning greatly from the cisgendered characters, like Gerda herself, and Hans, a friend from Einar’s hometown of Vejle. Both Gerda and Hans are empowered through who they are: their ambitions, their careers, their empathy etc. By separating Lili from her loved ones & characterising her through her femininity only, this is potentially damaging to the transgender community, as trans women are too often seen as something that isn’t real or is a joke. We could have seen Lili as proof that transgender women are anything but fake and are so much more than just someone dressed up to the nines. There is depth in all humans, and by lacking this in Lili, her character only supports the harmful view that the trans community isn’t legitimate. Furthermore, the fact that Eddie Redmayne, a cisgendered man, played Lili Elbe didn’t sit well with many as this film too had opportunity to showcase the experience of a real transgender woman. Yet, this move was most likely made in order to sell the film to audiences, Redmayne being a well-known and praised actor.

Despite a lack of depth at points, Hoopers film still seems to soar in it’s skilful artistic communication. A solid attempt and successfully entertaining effort in portraying a pioneer was pulled off through the emotions seen on the surface. However pretty it looks, it cannot be ignored that the characterisation still lacks meaning in its main star. Yet, ‘The Danish Girl’ is still a marvel in how it raises awareness of an experience still highly misunderstood & through it, conservative judgements can be challenged.

Stars Out of Five: 3/5

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Thursday, October 15

WILLOW I just—I still don't get it. (shrugs) Why you like me. I mean, you don't even know me. KENNEDY Have you seen you? (Willow blushes) And we like the same things—Italian, skate punk, Robert Parker mysteries, fighting evil... WILLOW (smiles, shakes her head) I don't like any of that stuff. Except the—the fighting evil part. Even then, I prefer a nice foot massage. KENNEDY OK, I dig the way you always turn off the Moulin Rouge DVD at Chapter 32 so it has a happy ending. (Willow laughs) I like the way you speak. It's interesting. (Willow smiles) And your freckles...likeable. (Willow blushes) I'm not so into the magic stuff. It seems like fairy tale crap to me, but if it matters to you... You care about it, so it's cool.

~~The Killer in Me~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

the good kind of silence (Angel/Oz, T) by solaleonis

goodbye, my danish sweetheart (Faith/Buffy, not rated) by toyhdgehog

Like Drowning (Angel/Kate Lockley, E) by girlpire

Costume Shopping (Buffy&Willow&reader, not rated - worksafe) by council-of-readers

I Drown In Him Instead (Spike/Buffy, G) by Abhimary00

[Chaptered Fiction]

A Beautiful Friendship, Chapter 1-2 (Xander, ensemble, T) by Francis_Eugene

Hope, Chapter 15 (Spike/Buffy, T) by Wonder and Ashes

Flickers, Chapter 7 (Spike/Buffy, PG-13) by Dusty

What Makes a Monster, Chapter 3 (Spike/Buffy, NC-17) by SleepingTigress

Hope, Chapter 15 (Spike/Buffy, PG-13) by Wonder and Ashes

Let It Burn!, Chapter 33 (Spike/Buffy, Adult Only) by Axell

Echoes of Beljoxa, Chapter 11 (Spike/Buffy, M) by myrabeth

[Images, Audio & Video]

Drawing: Spike (worksafe) by trolladriel

Drawing: Buffy (worksafe) by caipteancalahaan

Vid: She (Jenny) by Cordelia Jewel

Vid: Behind Blue Eyes (Buffy) by Faith Victoria

Vid: undo (Spike/Buffy) by Jess Editz

Vid: Cool Girl (Faith/Buffy) by Faith Victoria

Artwork process video: Draw With Me: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Sketchcard (Buffy) by ELFIE LEB

Music: Going Through The Motions (Halloween Special Cover) by Damon Petrova

Music: Rest in Peace cover by Mike Fernadez

Music: Close Your Eyes violin cover by jpuffrx

Dramatic reading, cosplay: This Year's Girl || Acting as Faith Lehane by It's SockGirl

Video: Pup Songs Buffy S6 Something to Sing About Tribute/Loving Parody by Barbara Baker

[Reviews & Recaps]

Once More, With Feeling [is god tier, a modern classic] by mego42

I love season 4 and if it weren’t for the main plot... by comradesummers

Episode #52 - Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) by Viewmasters

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Talk || s1e2 by CineMoore

Analysing Buffy | BTVS S01E09 "The Puppet Show" | "...liberal thinking that gets you eaten." by What the Pop

Does Buffy Suck? The Puppet Show (s01e09) by Prison Wallets - A Love Story To Movies

What's My Line? - Part 2 by Flunking the Written

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 2 - Episode Showdown by Sunnydale Survivor

GrrArghCast Episode 40: BTVS "Hush" and "Doomed" by GrrArghCast A Buffy Rewatch Podcast

Familiar Pain, Safety, and Season Six by Riley Finn Lesbian Productions

Let's Talk: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Series Review) *SPOILERS* by angelarts

A Class of Angels - s1 e1 City Of [advanced writing techniques through the lens of AtS] by Michael Aguero

Buffy reboot vol 2 and 3 review || what a MESS! (spoilers) [Boom! comics] by Book Odyssey

Ranking the season premieres by MyNameisBrian88

A first time watcher’s thoughts on Buffy season 5 by lalalegion

Episode recs for spooky szn by Wooden_Storm9102 and others

Reading Season 9 right now.(Major Spoiler) by YellowUnderbelly

What’s your favorite “bad” episode of Buffy? hosted by keveroony

[Recs/ISO]

Fic search: Buffy too strong for humans and Spike is too big for most women. requested by SpikesGirl8472 at Spuffy Find-A-Fic Forum

[Community Announcements]

A Trip Down Memory Lane 2016 at seasonal_spuffy

Buffyverse Top 5 Opens in 1 Week

A Trip Down Memory Lane 2016 at seasonal_spuffy

[Fandom Discussions]

[The only people who would have been capable of helping Buffy after the resurrection were Angel Investigations] by cantigasdetanjaouia

[They did an incredible job at making Buffy a relatable character] by kat—writes and anon

[Androgynous partner headcanon for Buffy] by council-of-readers

There's not enough crackshipping in the Buffy fandom by tuoshpreecq

Halloween Headcanons - Cordelia Chase helping take s/o’s siblings trick or treating by prose-for-hire

Celebrating Halloween with Cordelia Headcanons by council-of-readers

Willow’s voice annoying me on rewatch by binxlyostrich

What's your biggest Buffy unpopular opinion? by uglyrabbit1

Buffy & Connor by theboyaintright92

[And what, you're going to tell me Oz ain't ace?] by osteophage

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[2700fstreet]

BALLET / 2017-2018

WHIPPED CREAM

American Ballet Theatre

Kevin McKenzie, Artistic Director Choreography by Alexei Ratmansky Set and Costume Design by Mark Ryden Music by Richard Strauss with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra

Daniil Simkin and Alexei Agoudine in Whipped Cream. Photo: Gene Schiavone.

So, What’s Going On?

Let’s time travel back to Vienna, Austria. It’s 1924 and the German composer Richard Strauss (1864–1949) has created the music and the libretto, or storyline, for a ballet set to premiere at the Vienna State Opera. Sadly for Maestro Strauss, the performance is not well-received. Truthfully…it is an utter failure. And so, his score is rarely heard again, and the ballet named Schlagobers (pronounced SHLAG-oh-bers) is forgotten.

Fast forward more than a century as choreographer Alexei Ratmansky comes across Strauss’s score and decides to create his version of the ballet with the same name. And that’s where the mystery about this ballet’s title is solved. “Schlagobors” is the Viennese word for whipped cream!

Hear Alexei Ratmansky discuss Whipped Cream and watch dancers perform segments of the ballet at:

A Sweet Storyline

Act I

The ballet begins in Vienna where “The Boy” and his friends have just received their first communion. To celebrate, they go to a confectioner’s shop full of delicious sweets. The Boy, who really LOVES whipped cream, eats so much that he becomes ill and has to be taken away.

After the children leave, the magical sweet shop comes alive. Suddenly, Marzipan archers, spear-wielding Sugarplums, and swashbuckling Gingerbread Men engage in military exercises. Meanwhile, Princess Tea Flower appears and is wooed by Prince Coffee, Prince Cocoa, and Don Zucchero, who all try to win her favor. Ultimately, the Princess chooses Prince Coffee for her partner.

As the Chef appears, mixing whipped cream in a bowl, the shop fades away to The Boy’s dream world where, not surprisingly, EVERYTHING is made of whipped cream.

Scene from Whipped Cream. Photo: Gene Schlavone.

Act II

Still recovering from too much whipped cream, The Boy wakes up to find himself in a dark and mysterious hospital room attended by a doctor and an army of nurses. The nurses give him medicine and then depart. In their absence, Princess Praline appears to help The Boy escape.

Alexei Agoudine in Whipped Cream. Photo: Gene Schiavone.

The Doctor has a headache and tries to relieve it with liquor, just as the bottles come to life. The nurses return only to realize that The Boy is gone. They find him and lead him back to bed. But then, the liquor bottles intervene and intoxicate the doctor and nurses. Fortunately, Princess Praline is able to free The Boy and take him back to her kingdom.

When they arrive there, creatures of all kinds are celebrating and The Boy is welcomed by Nicolo, the Master of Ceremonies. At last, the fantasy world that The Boy dreamed about has become his reality.

Who’s Who

The Boy, a young child fond of whipped cream Princess Tea Flower, a Princess in the confectioner’s shop Prince Cocoa, partner to Princess Tea Flower The Nurses who take care of Boy The Doctor in charge of Boy’s care Princess Praline, ruler of her fantastical kingdom Nicolo, Master of Ceremonies in the kingdom of Princess Praline

Sweet and Sinister

All paintings by Mark Ryden.

Contemporary artist Mark Ryden is highly recognized for his paintings which are a mixture of both sweet and sinister elements. His artwork, painted with incredible detail, frequently portrays innocent-looking children with larger-than life eyes. Although the children are often shown together with toys or cute animals, Ryden adds disturbing or surprising elements to his pictures that catch the viewer off guard, replacing innocence with an unsettling impression.

With that in mind, Ratmansky felt that Ryden would be the perfect collaborator for his ballet. Because the storyline of the ballet is very basic without many plot twists or turns, Ratmansky knew the set and costuming needed to be visually strong. And when he saw Ryden’s work, he felt there were similarities between their artistic approaches.

More so, both artists are interested in using their mastery of traditional methods to say something new and unusual.

The ballet Whipped Cream, like Ryden’s paintings, seems sweet and light on the surface, but also explores a boy’s nightmare, where things feel unsafe and adults can seem unfriendly or even scary.

Watch for…

the way adults in the ballet are portrayed with giant heads, differentiating them from the children.

the sinister, larger-than-life needles used by the Nurses when treating Boy.

the set backdrop in Act II when Boy is feverish. The backdrop is covered with an array of eyeballs, flowers, sea-creatures and single-celled organisms. When explaining this backdrop, Ryden stated, “I was trying to depict what might be lurking in his deep subconscious, what was swirling around.”

Go behind the curtain in this interview with Mark Ryden about Whipped Cream:

And check out the dancers and their dessert-filled costumes at:

Whipping Up a Production

Putting together a brand new production requires that many parts come together to make a whole theatrical experience. When American Ballet Theatre’s Artistic Director, Kevin McKenzie, heard about Ratmansky’s idea for Whipped Cream, he agreed to the production, knowing how much work would need to be done. Not only would there be original choreography, but new sets, scenery and costumes, too. Many people worked tirelessly for months to present the spectacle you see on stage. Read on to learn more about this impressive production:

Choreography

Alexei Ratmansky by Fabrizio Ferri

Alexei Ratmansky is currently ABT’s Artist-in-Residence. He hails from Moscow, Russia, where he trained at the Bolshoi Ballet School in Moscow. He has performed with the Ukrainian National Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and the Royal Danish Ballet. Perhaps one of his biggest successes was his appointment as Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Ballet in January 2004 after restaging The Bright Stream. Under Ratmansky's direction, the Bolshoi Ballet was named as one of the best foreign ballet companies in 2005 and 2007 by The Critics' Circle. Mr. Ratmansky's success continued to grow when he won the Theatre Union of Russia's Golden Mask Award for Best Choreographer for his production of Jeu de Cartes for the Bolshoi Ballet in 2007. In January 2009, Mr. Ratmansky joined American Ballet Theatre as Artist-in-Residence and has since choreographed The Nutcracker, Firebird, Shostakovich Trilogy, The Tempest, The Sleeping Beauty, and Songs of Bukovina specifically for American Ballet Theatre.

Ratmansky’s choreography challenges dancers because it is very quick and detailed. He puts unexpected movements together, which ask the dancers to utilize their bodies in new ways. Ratmansky’s choreography is often inspired by and responsive to the music.

In Act I, Princess Tea Flower performs a solo. Watch for moments you don’t usually see in classical ballet, including:

when the ballerina drops her arms, letting them go limp.

the parts of Princess Tea Flower’s solo that take place on the floor. In ballet, dancers don’t traditionally sit or roll on the floor. In fact, many of their movements are done on their toes with a lift through the torso and arms, giving an impression of lightness.

Costumes and Scenery

Being inexperienced when it came to costume design, Ryden was unsure how his paper sketches would translate into garments—especially ones that would allow a dancer to move freely. In addition, he had never painted on such a large scale, a proportion obviously needed for scenic backdrops. But no worries; help was on the way.

Costume designer Holly Hynes was hired to assist with translating Ryden’s designs into costumes, and stage designer Camellia Koo helped with the scenery. This was no small task since there are 150 costumes in Whipped Cream. In fact, 11 different costume shops were needed to create all of the costumes. Additionally, two different scenic houses translated Ryden’s designs into large painted backdrops.

See below and compare Mark Ryden’s painting of Princess Tea Flower and the actual costume the dancer wears in the ballet created for the dancer.

Stella Abrera as Princess Tea Flower. Photo: Doug Gifford

Also, watch for…

the three liquors who distract the doctor, allowing Boy to escape. Notice how their costumes make them look like bottles, but still allow the dancers to bend, jump, and turn.

the way the four adult characters carry the big puppet heads on their shoulders. Each of these gigantic heads was made in a costume shop in Portland, Oregon. They are only around 10 pounds each because they are made from carbon fiber. If the heads were too heavy, it would be hard for the dancers to move. Each one was personally painted by Mark Ryden.

The ballet includes 20 different wigs, three beards and mustaches, and one prosthetic nose. They were made by ABT’s hair and makeup departments.

There are 78,000 Swarovski crystals adorning the scenery and costumes. Of these, 64,000 were applied to the costumes, and 16,000 to the scenery. Plus, don’t miss the three chandeliers decorated with crystals.

Nicolo’s wig with its two-foot long, hand-dyed braid.

When the costumes and set pieces are finished, the design team checks to see what they look like on stage to make sure the colors and details are visible to the audience from many rows back in the performance hall. Adjustments to costumes are often made right up to performance time, even during the ballet, if fixes need to be made.

Scene from Whipped Cream. Photo: Gene Schiavone.

Take Action: That’s Surreal!

Mark Ryden’s artwork has often been called surrealist. Surrealism is an artistic movement of the 20th century that sought to express what might be happening in the subconscious mind.

When The Boy is feverish, we have a glimpse into his subconscious as portrayed by a mixture of images on the scenic backdrop, including eyeballs, flowers, and sea creatures. How they connect and why they are there is a mystery. Surrealist artists like to connect images that aren’t normally seen together to make us look at them in a new way.

Daniil Simkin and Richel Ruiz in Whipped Cream. Photo: Gene Schiavone.

If you were a surrealist artist, what items or ideas would you put together? Try cutting out images from a magazine, and then combine or overlap them in an interesting collage. Don’t worry if your collage makes sense or if the images connect logically to one another.

Take a picture and post it to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Snapchat, or any other platform. Then, tag five friends and ask them to share their collages. Use #surrealKC as your hashtag.

To read more about Surrealism, go to: http://www.tate.org.uk/kids/explore/what-is/surrealism.

Explore More

Go even deeper with the Whipped Cream Extras.

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Photo (TOP): Scene from Whipped Cream. Photo: Gene Schiavone.

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American Ballet Theatre's engagement is made possible through generous endowment support of The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund.

Support for Ballet at the Kennedy Center is generously provided by Elizabeth and C. Michael Kojaian.

[claraxbarton]

Film Project

Okay, so here is the final list if anyone was interested:

Project 1: Introduction to Costume Design (5% of final grade) Each student will select a film featuring, in their mind, excellent costume design. The student will write a 3 page paper analyzing the costume design, the inspirations the designer used, and the overall impact of the design on the film. In addition to this paper, the student will create a 5-10 minute visual presentation, including clips from the film, and present this to the class along with their analysis. Students should use reference material including interviews, production sketches and existing analysis of the work. Choose from the following list of films: Atomic Blonde Marie Antoinette Hidden Figures The Affair of the Necklace Madame Bovary The Book Thief The Sapphires Master and Commander Agora A Room with a View Carol An Education The Last Samurai The Dressmaker Elizabeth An Ideal Husband Finding Neverland Pride and Prejudice The Young Victoria Bright Star Atonement The Great Gatsby (either version) Titanic Casanova Mansfield Park The Grand Budapest Hotel The Importance of Being Earnest Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day Topsy Turvy The Duchess Jane Eyre The Aviator The Danish Girl Wilde This Charming Man Belle The King’s Speech Vanity Fair A Royal Affair Stage Beauty