#i could also scream about how much i love the costume design of other characters on this show

[amysterywrappedinanenigma]

Ranking (bullying) LD Curtain's season 2 fashion choices

Because even if the show seems to have forgiven him, I sure haven’t. 

DISCLAIMER: This is in NO WAY criticizing the costume designers of this show- it couldn’t be farther from that. They’ve done an amazing job with every single piece in the show, and all of these fit Curtain’s personality and aesthetic perfectly. This is just me mocking the in-universe fashion choices that the character makes, because he needs to be bullied more. All lighthearted, all in good fun.

Disclaimer #2: I know literally nothing about fashion, please don’t attack me. 

Okay, from least heinous to most heinous, here we go! 

First up:

As much as it pains me to admit this. I actually. Really like this one. (”And if you told me I would never say something like that, well, I would never say something like that, but here we are.”) I think the silhouette is interesting, and all of the pieces come together well. Plus, in some of the tighter shots you can see that the fabric texture and detailing is really cool:

The leaves as clasps and that crinkly texture kind of really slap, and I really love the way the collar sort of wraps into the placket.

8 / 10

Interview outfit:

Wow, look! Another one that doesn't inspire immediate feelings of rage! We're doing so well.

This one isn't as visually interesting as the first outfit, but I do sort of like it. The collar folds create kind of a cool shape, and the grey accents under the top is a nice little contrast. I don't know how I feel about the zipper right below the collar, it's kind of a weird choice and might look better if it wasn't so visible, but I'll let it slide for this one since we have a much more heinous zipper situation coming up later.

I like the contrasting shades of blue with the button up shirt, and the lavender shirt he wears under it later in the episode, and the fact that part of the collar can kind of fold down to make a different shape.

6 / 10

Clown sleeves:

So the sleeves on this one are. kind of a lot. But they gain a couple of points for being the only thing in this outfit that really pops. They're sort of weird, but I can see the appeal of them standing out against the black vest, and being a pretty nice contrast that draws the eye.

5 / 10

Meh:

Time for the part of the post where I include 6 outfits that I just kind of don't have strong opinions on, mainly because they feel like pretty standard, decent outfits with no real reason to bat an eye at them.

The last image is saved on my computer as "are those your pajamas?" but. acceptable.

sure / 10

Dancy dance:

🧍‍♂️

I don't have much to say about this one other than, for some reason, the visual of him wearing tennis shoes makes me viscerally uncomfortable.

🤡 / 10

Elizabeth Holmes Chic:

He looks like a kid playing dress-up in their dad's giant overcoat, except someone let him go outside looking like this. I know oversized clothing items can be fashionable but here he's like drowning in it.

And then when he takes the coat off:

This maybe wouldn’t be a terrible outfit, it’s just so goddamn pretentious. He seems like he's trying to look like Steve Jobs, but ended up looking more like Elizabeth Holmes.

about to start another pyramid scheme / 10

Vacation dad (derogatory):

On someone else I might like this outfit, but on him it just looks so dumb. He looks like he's about to go skydiving with how much he's buttoned up. Better watch out or he could get carried away and spend 20 minutes unstrapping and unbuttoning it to reveal his fun little vacation shirt underneath! It's somehow stupidly formal and stupidly casual at the same time, and I just think it's a very silly little outfit. He's joining the army as penance for his fashion crimes. If you ask very very nicely he might tell you what's in his four huge, weirdly-placed pockets.

what's in the pockets / 10

And now.

We've arrived. We're finally here. The last one. The moment we've all been waiting for.

The worst of the worst:

I'll be honest, I don't really know where to start this one. There are too many things to choose from. Do I start with the weird asymmetrical pattern on the sleeves, with the red and blue stripes that aren't even made up of the same type of pattern?

Or maybe the fact that the buttons (and the piece of fabric they're attached to) ends too high above the neckline of the top layer?

Or we could talk about the fact that the top layer looks like one of those smocks you'd wear to get an x-ray at the dentist, made in a fabric that must have been rescued from the back of a fabric store after 50 years of not being bought.

I think by far the worst part is the length:

The fact that those strange little smock flaps go almost a foot past the zipper, halfway down to his knees. It swallows like 2/3rds of his body in this horrible block of grey fabric, and this man has the audacity to carry himself like it’s fashionable, instead of an assault on the senses. 

I want to set it on fire. I want to burn him along with it. I want to gently take his tailor aside and ask if Curtain held him at knife point and made him design this monstrosity. TEAR IT TO PIECES, GET IT OUT OF MY SIGHT, TURN IT INTO SCRAPS FOR SQ'S ART PROJECTS.

Anyway.

This outfit is such a menace to this world that I thought everyone should get a chance to tear it to shreds, so presenting, the communal roast:

“GROSS. SHUN.” -@mvshortcut

"prison chic. dentist x-ray chic. ugly." -@mysteriouseggsbenedict 

“the terrible zip up vest that just keeps on going fucked a potato sack” -@bi-demon-ium

“runway model for the most pretentious fashion designer who ever lived” - @sqenthusiast

“Trying to be casual but also Better Than You. The definition of 'you really thought you did something there'” -@echo-delta

“Child with one of those books where you can draw clothes over top the shape of a person” -@mysteriouseggsbenedict 

“Mr Curtain sir I don’t feel very happy looking at this. I think it’s a little counterproductive.” -@mvshortcut

Truly horrendous.

borrowing constance's acid to destroy the outfit and then clean the eyes of anyone who wants to forget they saw this monstrosity / 10

Thank you so much for coming on this journey with me, and as always, send the x-ray bib to hell.

[xkeyon]

Luna Maximoff Marvel Future

So Luna is a pretty popular character, reaching most of the Marvel fan base thanks to the many connections she has, even though she doesn't get used that much. Marvel loves to bring out the next young hero so why not have one who is known yet can also be developed, letting her have a shot at something and there are 2 paths that come to mind.

That would be the Avengers path, first the Young Avengers later on joining a different Avengers group most likely Uncanny. The other would be the Magic path, as it is revealed one per-generation of the Maximoff line takes on Witchcraft powers and holds a Scarlet Title, so have her be the next inheritor going to Strange Academy while getting private lessons from Wanda.

Ok now that 2 paths are out there what about a costume, most superheroes wear some kind of costume and she has a family full of them. Well I would put costume in 3 sections. Design, Colour, and Attributes. The design would be leaning to the Inhumans, she is a literal Princess for them. Plus her mother's family seems to have a theme that she could follow

A prime colour, with black trim, and a given name symbol on the waist

Crystal = Diamond Medusa = M So Luna could be a Crescent, as for colours I would look to her father for this

Switching out the Black trim for white, as for the Prime I think it should depend on the path she would be on. I would go green for the Avengers, and Blue for Magic. Now Attributes to really scream Avengers or Magic.

If Avengers then wear her mother's Avenger's jacket, a real passing of the torch moment.

If Magic, then Red/Scarlet like Romani articles of clothing. She would adopt these not just with her costume but also everyday clothing as well. Since she would be at Strange Academy and while they have a uniform it does look to have some customization.

So powers, as an Inhuman who has gone through Terrigenesis she has gained powers that in the form of empathic aura reading and control.

But this has given also some precog abilities. It has not been explained how this is, but I think it might be she sees the future someone is leaning to the most based on their emotional state.

She holds a high amount of Inhuman DNA so will have their advanced bodies even before Terrigenesis, as well has received martial training from the likes of Karnak. Of course if she goes the magic path then Witchcraft will be a birthright as much as her Inhuman gifts. Witchcraft a magic that connects to a Goddess and the Earth.

Now while all of these are good things for a hero path to have she doesn't feel at least right now a solo act. Teams and Companions will be important part to her, and how she will act with either the Young Avengers and Strange Academy will depend on who could/should/will be there, but I do know someone who could get added to these Franklin Richards.

Currently depowered him getting his own new path could work here. For the Young Avengers give him a suit like the Thing Suit + Thing Rings, but make it something that connects to the other three Fantastic Four members letting him take on their powers though it being weaker. Each of the main members of the Fantastic Four have been part of the Avengers so he captures still the Young Avengers theme. If magic, well Agatha Harkness was his nanny maybe her recommendation to try plus get into the academy could work here, him learning Quantum Magic, still leaning into the F4's more science connections but looking at it another way.

Their families are close so they know each other and depending on who is on the teams they would most likely have the closest connections with each other, perhaps even moving from friendship to romance.

[kitkat-the-muffin]

Here I am, once again~ Playing Cloutchase with my friend~

Anyway hi! Welcome back to Muffy-Posts-Cloutchase-Spoilers!!! Here are the other two installments: [1][2]

I had SO MUCH fun playing Vol. 3 with my friend! She is amazing at doing impressions and gave YouTube and Twitch the perfect voices, I couldn't ask for anything more. But enough about her since she prefers to remain anonymous, today I am here to present my favorite screenshots from the latest release of Cloutchase!

Without further ado, here are the spoiler-free teases:

And there's the cut!

Aight let's do this

First thing I absolutely loved was that Twitch is so expressive! The facial expressions were all so delightful. ALSO. CLUB PENGUIN. AND WIZ101. And of course Webkinz, Animal Jam, and Neopets are in the background as well hahah, love that too!

This minigame was SO AMAZING omg I am OBSESSED with these character costumes and the fight animation too. Love all the cameos but this Strife content was so awesome!!!! The buttons were a little non-responsive at times but I managed to beat Twitch first try heheh

This is a pretty awesome frame and I'd like to shoutout AJ who I'm pretty sure drew it but I don't have the time or computer charge to reopen the game credits to check. If I'm wrong lemmie know but AJ deserves a shotuout anyway

I love how the subs are sub-sandwiches and I love the design of the camera and chat

I love how complex Twitch's route was. It was very compelling and definitely something I think most streamers need to hear. Swell job Team Timesync! Swell job indeed

I could shout about filmscore and the ghostie crew but instead I'm gonna scream about the google floor lmbo look at it I love it

Oh this. This is beautiful. I read the bonus room content and it's so neat that the timelines lined up coincidentally

Love the dramatic over-the-topness of this fake apology. He's so fake I love it. The voice my friend gave him was kinda like if a greaser was born in Alabama but raised in New York if that makes any sense

I STARTED SCREAMING AT THIS HAHAHAH! YOUTUBE KIDSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Peak good end, now I know how to tie a tie. I actually really liked YouTube's route as it was cleverly designed and I love all the many different endings. It was kinda like wading through YouTube's recommended section where you'd save each different possibility of choices in your Watch Later and visit them all when you have the time (which is usually never). So many options but what to pick? I picked them all!

So when I got to this point I started laughing because my friend does all the voices and I only play User and Miss Blog Runner so she was carrying this entire section of the playthrough... AND THEN-

AND THEN THERE WERE FOUR! SHE HAD TO VOICE ALL FOUR OF THEM HAHAH! AND SHE DID AMAZINGLY! I kinda wish she wasn't anonymous cause I wanna give her a shoutout, but maybe when all the routes are released I can convince her to voice them all in a fandub (well not them ALL but definitely Kik and YouTube)

SWEET SWEET REVENGE HAHAHAHAH!!!! Totally deserved as long as they're done here hahahah. I do hope they can all tolerate each other again tho but I love this ending

This volume was long but a lot of fun! I love the Strife minigame and kinda hope it comes back in the future with more mechanics. Maybe an entire spinoff game like Smash Bros idk. Everything was so well written and I love how complex the characters are

Another fantastic entry for a fantastic game! Remember to recommend this game to various streamers to give it the attention it deserves (but not too many, don't wanna overwhelm our fav indie creators!)

[wake-me-up-inside-imagines]

Could I get a haikyuu one with asahi and daichi with an S/O who's in theater. Possibly, their next play would be a musical.

Of course! I'm writing this as the readers an actor/actress in the play, so I apologize if you meant for them to be in a different role. I hope you enjoy!

Daichi and Asahi with reader who's in a musical

gn! reader

Warnings: none

Daichi:

-Prepare to answer a lot of questions because Daichi knows absolutely nothing about theatre, let alone musicals

-But he wants to! He knows how important theatre is to you so he wants to understand it and be able to have conversations about it with you

-Thinks it's so cool that your an actor, he can't imagine how much talent it takes to act out personalities that aren't your own and to sell it well

-If you have rehearsal the same day as his volleyball practices and he ends early, he'll come watch you for the rest of your rehearsal

-If you need a practice partner he's down to help whenever!

-...Just don't expect him to do it well, since he can't act for shit

-You sang a song from your upcoming musical to him once, and he's in a w e

-He thinks you have an amazing singing voice, and now he can't wait to hear the rest of the musical

-Probably starts asking you to sing more around him since he loves your voice so much

-While musicals aren't really his thing, he'll gladly listen to recordings and soundtracks with you, he's just happy you're happy!

-On your musicals opening night, he gets front row seats and invites the entire team

-He's your biggest hypeman, the team coming in close second

-He watches your performance with intensely, he's afraid if he takes his eyes away for even a second he'll miss part of your brilliant acting

-Once the musical's over, he rushes straight backstage to give you a bearhug

-He's so proud of you, and he thinks you did amazing!

-Brags about you to all his friends, he needs to share how amazing you are with anyone who will listen

-He's so proud of you and he tells you everyday, he can't wait to see your next theatre project!

Asahi:

-He probably knows a little about musicals through clips he's seen on the internet, but it's not something he's super knowledgeable about

-So expect a decent amount of questions from him too!

-Once he finds out what musical you're doing, he'll secretly look it up and learn everything he can so he can have more in-depth conversations with you about it

-Listens to the soundtrack to so now he knows all the music by heart

-He'll also help you practice if you ask, but unlike Daichi he gets a little more into character the more he helps

-He really admires your confidence, he can't imagine being able to act and sing in front of all those people

-Picks you up from ever rehersal so you can discuss how it's going, what part your focusing on, stuff like that

-He may or may not ask you what the costumes are like, he's interested in fashion so he's curious how costume design works for live performances

-He's too shy to admit it, but he loves hearing you sing and wishes you would sing more around him

-Once opening night comes closer, he's worrying enough for the both of you

-He has full confidence in you, but he worries about everything else that could go wrong

-What if a set piece falls? What if an actor slips or messes up their lines? What if a costume rips? What if there's a screaming baby the whole performance and it distracts everyone on stage?

-It's not even his play and he's acting like a worried crew member

-But when it's actually opening night, he's so excited for you!

-He may invite the team if they promise not to be loud and embarrassing, but otherwise he'll just invite Suga and Daichi to come with him

-He still needs to show you off to someone after all!

-He's mesmerized the whole performance, practicing lines with you is one thing, but it's totally different seeing you act in costume, on stage, with a set and other actors with you

-When it's over, he cannot stop complementing your performance, he's totally enchanted lol

-Asahi can't wait to see what you do next!

(Sorry that this was shorter, I don't know as much about theatre as I should considering how many of my friends are theatre kids lmao)

[bluegekk0]

I’m sorry to bring this up if it makes you feel unoriginal but I love how many troupe headcanons we share

-Divine is the costume designer

-Brumm has feelings for the master

-Grimm cannot cook to save his life (Brumm, a seasoned chef, has actually banned him from the kitchen on account of him burning one too many recipes) and only knows how to make tea

It’s just nice to know I’m not the only one with these thought processes lol

Though it does make me curious. What species of bugs do you headcanon Brumm and Divine to be, and where would they be from if this was our Earth? Also, do Divine and Leg Eater still get together in this AU, and if so, does Leg Eater still… meet his rather unfortunate end?

Oh no don't worry, it actually feels really nice that people have similar headcanons! I know Brumm having feelings for Grimm is pretty common but the other two are such a fun coincidence! I love that.

Something about Divine to me just screams "she loves fashion" (maybe it's the fancy mask?). And rewatching The Hunger Games, Effie's character gave me even more inspiration for my interpretation of her. So I headcanon her as quite eccentric and flamboyant, very much a perfectionist with an eye for beauty. She wouldn't be as shallow or manner focused as Effie, though, I do imagine she has a bit of a snark to her. But that bright, energetic personality, and her impressive talent for costume design, definitely made her very popular in the Troupe. She's very involved in the costume making process from start to finish, she wants to make sure each Grimmkin gets a costume that fits them perfectly, and she'll contribute during the sewing process, instructing her crew and assisting them in any trouble.

Brumm's feelings for Grimm were initially just a small nod to the relatively popular ship of these two, but it evolved over time into something that explores both of their personalities to a slightly larger extent. It emphasizes Brumm's loyalty and commitment, but also implies that deep down he wants something more. He lost his family before Grimm invited him to the Troupe, and one of those dead loved ones could have been his partner. Perhaps there were similarities between that partner and Grimm which eventually made Brumm have feelings for him. But then you might wonder: how much of it is genuine, and is it possible that he's just projecting his loss onto Grimm? I doubt he knows the answer himself, but at least Grimm was clear that he wasn't interested and spared Brumm the trouble of figuring it out. So he got the confession out of his system, and was able to sort his feelings out and move on. Well, at least mostly. I think he does still feel attraction towards Grimm, Brumm's subtle glances at Grimm's body whenever he lifts his cloak tell you that much, but that's nothing new for Grimm. He made his body desirable on purpose, so he's used to it, and in his eyes those stares don't mean anything. But at the very least Brumm realized that he needed to move on from his feelings towards Grimm, so those glances aren't as emotionally driven as they were in the past. Just a quick look to admire, that's all. Or so he says.

I made a post about Grimm being terrible at cooking already, so I won't repeat myself. But that is when our headcanons differ a little bit. While Brumm is definitely better at cooking, I wouldn't call him a seasoned chef. The Troupe has its own dedicated cooks so he doesn't visit the kitchen that often.

---

As for the second half of the ask. I mentioned before that I don't see the "bugs" in the AU as actual bugs (insects). To me they're just fictional species, though some of them do resemble real life animals (bugs or otherwise). So neither Brumm or Divine are an existing real life species of bug, though Divine does take heavy inspiration from termite queens (though she isn't actually meant to be a termite queen in my eyes, shes still a fictional creature). Brumm? He's definitely more mammalian in my eyes, maybe a bit bear like? Or perhaps he'd resemble something like a badger a little bit.

I'm not sure how to answer the Earth question, especially since, again, they are a fictional creature species to me. But maybe I could mention what kind of regions they're originally from.

Divine would be from a warmer region, maybe something resembling the mediterranean climate. Warm and dry summers, and cool and rainy winters. She's definitely from far away relative to Hallownest, Grimm would travel the whole world back then so that is why the two first met. She doesn't handle the Hallownest cold very well, you'll very rarely see her outside during the colder months, and she wears a lot of outfits with furs.

Brumm is from a colder region, something like taiga. His home land definitely had a lot of forests and long, cold winters, which made him adapt very quickly to the climate in Hallownest. He's covered in fur similarly to Grimm, though his isn't as much for show as it is to protect him from harsh temperatures. Consequently, his home isn't that far from Hallownest.

---

And lastly, no, I decided that Divine and Leg Eater don't meet. There is a lot about my Divine that I changed from canon for personal preference reasons. The charm making process in particular is... A bit too much for me personally hahaha. And I headcanon my Divine as gay, so she wouldn't be interested. Lucky for Leg Eater haha.

[rndyounghowze]

PHL-17 Once On This Island

Book and Lyrics by LYNN AHRENS

Music by STEPHEN FLAHERTY

Based Upon The Novel "My Love, My Love" by Rosa Guy

Directed by AMINA ROBINSON

Presented By: Arden Theatre

Colorism isn’t something that we talk about in white spaces very much. Yet Once On This Island, based on a book by Rosa Guy plops it right onstage. Two sides of an island in the French Antilles hate each other. Their politics, class, and religion are split on color lines. One is Black and the other is “mulatto” (blech! That word leaves a horrible taste in our mouth). When Te Moun leaves her home to follow her love with a boy from the other side we think we’re getting a typical love story. Yet this Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty show helmed by Amina Robinson isn’t your typical tragedy of star-crossed lovers. It’s about a community seeking healing.

Love Is A Seed

Rosa Guy’s books were considered radical back in the day for portraying poverty and race in clear-cut terms. When looking at a story like this it’s normal to get confused. This isn’t your traditional love story. Though an adaptation of the Hans Christian Anderson story this show is the reverse of The Little Mermaid you might remember. A teen girl makes a deal with the gods to get a boy to fall in love with her. Yet unlike the sappy Disney story, this Te Moun dies when her love isn’t returned. She doesn’t turn into sea foam but a tree. Yet this also isn’t a typical Romeo and Juliet-style tragedy either. The story is cut and dried with very few character moments...or so we think. It’s important to remember that the peasant villagers tell this story. The villagers play each of these characters and provide the set pieces and costumes from the stuff lying around the plaza. How they reveal this story gives us a hint about why they tell this story. Guy tells us that change does come, love does bloom, and communities can heal. She doesn’t give us the illusion that things change immediately and magically when we choose love. Love is a seed. It has to be nurtured if it’s meant to grow.

A Team That Brings The Story To Life

When we see Robinson’s name attached to a project we think “This is going to be good.” Robinson is a director with an almost invisible touch. Nothing screams “This is obviously a choice Amina would make” or “Amina really added to the story here.” The minute the lights come up you forget about her. You don’t see her invisible hands guiding the performers’ movements. This means Robinson creates a community of creatives who bring their craft to the story. Robinson brings a team together that brings the story to life onstage.That’s a strength and talent we’ve seen Robinson use time and again. She’s always made a lasting impression on us.

Amazing People Part 1 & 2

if you want to see performers who can dance beautifully and break your heart in song look no further. You will leave the theater feeling SHOOK! Each one of these performers was a star in their own right. They had to change hats and characters on a whim. It’s very telling of their talent. All of them could own the stage. They end up owning your heart by the end of the show.

Conversations, Flirtations, and Languages

Sinclair’s choreo was a perfect mixture of island vernacular dance and contemporary. Most importantly Sinclair created movement vignettes as if he was a fellow storyteller. The dancing wasn’t just a part of the spectacle it signified culture. The peasants on one side lived in the movements of their hips and torsos. The uppercrust stood straight and did a lot of gestures with their hands. Sinclair created conversations, flirtations, and languages in movement.

Amazing People Part 3

I know they’re a demon but this is our god now. They are the Afro Goth Icon of our dreams. Shout out to costume designer Levonne Lindsay for the epic outfit. Also, shout out to Jessica Johnson for bringing such an iconic character to life. Yes, we know Faison and Williams could sing but did they have to peel the paint off the walls?!? They could SAAANG! Also, shout out to Gina Giachero the music director!

How Theatre Can Help

If we seem at a loss for words this is one of the most moving and impactful musicals we have seen in a long time. Luckily for all of you, it is extended until June 23rd! More importantly, they are sharing charities you can support to aid Haiti during this time of unrest.

ardentheatre.org/HaitiSupport

[icepixie]

SNW 2x01

Spoilers ✨

Not bad. Definitely a more interesting episodic plot than almost anything in season one. Maybe they've finally found their legs.

Sad we got only two minutes of Una and Pike, but I liked what we got. "You cannot resign. The loss to Enterprise would be unimaginable. ...To me." (I'm reading it as "loss to me would be unimaginable," not "I can't imagine the loss to Enterprise." Because of course I am.) Hopefully more next week.

Everybody looked friggin' amazing in their undercover gear. A-plus costuming. Christine especially looked fantastic. Very D&D chic.

The special effects feel so different than what I mentally associate with Star Trek, even the later series that used CGI. I think it has something to do with the "camera" angles they're using to show said special effects, like spiraling down Starbase 1 at the beginning. I recall prior series doing more of things just moving around onscreen while the camera stayed in one place. (I could totally be misremembering, though.) I like it a lot; it feels very cinematic. It clashes a smidge with the set design, which is much more old school/almost 70s and 80s sci-fi movie (especially the predominantly white corridors, all the angles rather than softer curves), but that's fine.

M'Benga and his actor were outstanding here and he's secretly becoming my favorite character. "Nice guy must do violence" is old as the hills, but I liked that they acknowledged that he would take any other choice besides what they do, and he chooses it deliberately. So often that trope comes out of left field because the nice guy gets too emotional or whatever. I also really, really like his and Chapel's father-daughter-type relationship.

But Pelia. PELIA. BEST ADDITION TO THE SHOW. PERFECTION. I still miss Hemmer and wish we could have them both, but goddamn I love her character already. We needed something to lighten up this episode and she did that well. The concept of these Lanthians living undiscovered among humans until quite recently is interesting and I would like to see how that went down when they were discovered.

On the downside: Spock/Chapel is grating in just about every way possible. There is just no there there for me. Logically, I get it--Christine I'm sure has some kind of alien kink and half-breeds are even more entertaining, Spock released his emotions or whatever last season and I think it involved Chapel (don't care enough to check). But it's kind of like Archer and T'Pol, something in the interaction between them just screams "nope" despite how the PTB are writing it.

I honestly don't understand why I find Spock's journey towards feeling things so off-putting. This should be something I like. B'Elanna's human/Klingon stuff was cool. Troi's human/Betazoid stuff was cool. Why is this not? Is it because the thing he's struggling to accept is feeling emotions and I just don't really give a shit about that? Or is it that Spock is by far the character we already know the most about and any time spent on him is time we could be spending on any other character?

...Sorry, Spock-lovers. A little of him goes a long way for me.

On to the next episode. Next week. Like the heathens we were when watching network television, ugh. I don't absolutely hate spacing them out, especially when there are so few, but I definitely prefer being able to go at my own pace.

[famiconblogs]

Furuya no Mori: A Japanese Folk Tale

Adapted by Nagashima Shinji

A story of mistaken identity and humorous misunderstandings, 'Furuya no Mori' exhibits the charms of the Japanese folk tale, mixing mischievous intruders with a comedic sequence of events in a mountain village. I was first introduced to this story through one of Nagashima Shinji's folktale adaptations in Garo December 1968. He has a series of these illustrated folk tales throughout the magazine, many of which are my favourites from his body of work. There, his distinctly cute and cartoonish art style brings the folk tale to life, reinvigorating it with a new edge.

Monthly Garo Magazine 1968 December Issue (cover art by Shirato Sanpei)

I'm not entirely sure of the origins of this folktale, but if you want to read up on a translated version of the original, here is a pretty good link.

But to start things off, we're introduced to a bandit who believes he's the best thief out there. Dressed with a conspicuous costume and a goofy expression, the thief stations himself at a house and waits for the best opportunity to snatch the horse. However, we are introduced to a wolf who also wants this same horse, setting himself up in the stable. Both intruders, unaware of each other, wait atop the horse until the inhabitants of the house finally go to sleep where they'll take that chance to strike.

Meanwhile, a boy and his grandparents are eating in the main room, telling stories of things they think are the scariest. The grandma says a bandit is the scariest, making the bandit feel proud of himself. The grandpa disagrees and says that wolves are the scariest, inflating the wolf's ego as well. However, the grandpa thinks of something else that is scarier than both, leaving both the bandit and the wolf anticipating in fear. A 'Furuya no Mori'.

The bandit and wolf wonder what a 'Furuya no Mori' is. They start sweating and shaking, imagining how much of a horror it could be. As they shiver in fear, rain starts to fall and leak through the roof, causing a panic in the main room.

"This is bad!" screams the granpda.

"The Furuya no Mori is here!" shouts the boy.

To explain, 'furuya no mori' translates to a leak in an old house. The bandit and wolf had misunderstood and thought the term referred to an unknown horror that was even scarier than themselves. The two speed away together, with the bandit getting stuck in the inside of a tree and the wolf reporting the horror to the other animals.

None of the animals had ever heard of this mysterious 'Furuya no Mori' before, so they go and investigate. They dare the monkey to search the inside of a tree with his long tail, but the bandit manages to pull himself out and his tail snaps. From that point on, the monkey was stuck with a short tail and a red face from the shock, a reminder about the 'Furuya no Mori' incident.

The ending is an interesting one that explains the appearance of the Japanese macaque through the medium of the folk tale, a feature which I really love. It was a pretty simple and straightforward story, made all the better with Nagashima's visual rendition of the tale with cute and expressive character designs. There's plenty more folk tales that he had adapted in his "Dansan Collection" throughout many issues of Garo, so I might make this a series as well. Always fun to learn about different folk tales, so I hope this was an enjoyable read!

Japanese macaques chilling...

[korra-the-red-lion]

Let’s Talk: Female Heroes and their costumes.

After seeing Black Widow this week, something occurred to me as I was leaving the theater and it made me smile. The difference in the costumes for both the DCEU and the MCU now that more women are getting involved.

My first example is from Birds of Prey.

There is nothing inherently pulling the male gaze with these outfits. One could argue that Dinah’s is a little, but she is also still wearing her outfit from work, where she works for Roman Sionis, so that would explain the cleavage that she’s showing. But overall, most of the women in this shot are wearing flat shoes and clothes that they look comfortable in and look like they can actually fight in as well. Of course they make fun of Dinah later on for her choice in pants, but it’s more of a fun tongue-in-cheek moment more than anything else. But look at Harley’s outfit, that’s a fun outfit but there’s nothing that screams “LOOK AT MY BOOBS AND BUTT” like her outfit in Suicide Squad did. Helena is decked out in combat boots and protective vest. And of course, one of the most relatable moments in women’s comic book history happens during the big brawl:

You love to see it. From the outfit choices and this scene alone, I would have known that this film was directed by a woman.

Even in Wonder Woman 1984 we saw a difference. Sure, Diana was still running around in her tiny skirt/metal bra combo, but she got the chance to put on the golden armour and while it kinda looked tacky, it was still better than the other suit in terms of getting rid of the male gaze.

Practical, covering her while still looking nice. There is a slight heel on the boot but nothing too crazy, unlike her other costume. And which movie did she first wear the Iconic Wonder Woman costume? Oh that’s right, BvS, a movie directed by a man. The difference is easy to spot if you’re looking. There is nothing wrong with her costume, but you can see the difference from when a man is making the choices versus when a woman is.

Next we hop over to the MCU as we take a look at Carol’s outfit from Captain Marvel. 

Carol’s suit is very much like Steve’s suit, in the way that it’s very military looking. It fits her body, but so does Yon-Rogg’s and the other members of the Kree. A man did design this costume, but with input from the directors and I believe Larson herself, though I’m not sure on that. But the whole outfit screams badass practicality. There is no cleavage, no ridiculous heels. You could switch her outfit with Steve’s and it would basically be the same, and that’s a good thing.

Next is Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff.

She’s been on record to say how much she disliked the first costume on the left. Olsen said that she didn’t like how revealing it was, and that it didn’t really fit her or the character. The middle one wasn’t a lot better, but at least she wasn’t showing as much cleavage. But the last costume? Olsen had a say in it and she loves it, and I think it’s the best one to date. I actually would argue it’s one of the better costumes in the whole MCU. It looks visually appealing on her and really suits the character as well. And while they’re not featured, the shoes she’s wearing are more flat in the bottoms I believe. The last costume is just a sign that if you listen to the person who has to wear it constantly and focus on making it look cool and practical rather than sexy, it ends up being more attractive anyway. I don’t know a single person who has complaints about it.

Last but certainly not least, Natasha “Black Widow” Romanoff. This is one of her costumes, coming from Age of Ultron:

Zipper is super low, you can see the size of that heel from her, and it’s super form fitting. Natasha was sexualized the moment she showed up on screen in Iron Man 2 and they rolled with this look for a very long time. We saw them relaxing it a little in Endgame when she wore the comfy clothes and her socks, but overall she’s always had this look. 

Even here you can see how far dawn that zipper is, and even the vest is nearly wide open. But as you will soon seen, Johansson had enough of that and had a lot of say in Natasha’s clothing in the Black Widow movie. Natasha for most of that movie is wearing loose clothing or clothes that stay up near her collar bone. Also, throughout the whole movie she and Yelena wear combat boots, never once wearing those heeled shoes that Natasha wore in all the other movies. It’s a subtle enough change that it’s not changing the entire look of the character, but enough that it got me thinking “about fucking time.”

Look at the zipper placement. While it may be a little low here, it’s not so low that she’s falling out of her costume. Plus there’s the added strap that hold the jacket in place. The pants are also a tiny bit looser, and so is the jacket. Just a tiny bit, but you can see the bunching and creasing from the extra fabric. ScarJo said that it was her favourite costume to date and the most comfortable to wear. And just to compare the two Infinity War Era Natasha’s:

See where the zipper is on the inside jacket? The vest is open but that’s how Yelena wore it for most of the movie as well. It looks comfy and attractive, but not in the male gaze way.

As you can see from the examples above, the more that the industry is changing due to women getting involved, the more the costumes reflect that. No longer are these female heroes meant for the male gaze and not much more. The costumes are cool, they’re practical, they’re badass. It may have taken a while to get here, but at least we’re starting to see it. Hell, even Melissa’s Benoist finally got pants after asking for them for years. Look at the new Supergirl’s costume, there’s no skirt or heeled shoes.

Also, this isn’t to say that sexualized costumes are evil or anything. I really did like Supergirl’s original costume, but it depends on who it’s for. I never liked Harley’s outfit in SS because it was meant for the male gaze, and I found it silly. While I appreciate Diana’s iconic look, there is something off-putting seeing her with a tiny skirt and corset-esc top while Batman and Flash get armour in the Justice League. Even in the CW’s Stargirl, Courtney wears a crop top and shorts that are above the knee. I like the costume, but it could be a full shirt at least. It’s not practical for her to be exposing that much skin considering how many times Cindy stabbed her or she got tossed into the pavement.  But if you’re going to put a woman in a sexy outfit, then do the same for men. And for the love of all things good in this world, stop putting women in heels in action movies. It’s ridiculous.

[thinkingaboutyoungroyals]

I’ve re-watched “Young Royals” so many times and each rewatch just never fails to astound me. This is one of the most beautiful stories I’ve ever seen in a teen drama. Yes, it’s trope-y, there’s no avoiding that. And it’s not a perfect show. But, it managed one thing that many teen dramas often struggle with: authenticity.

All the characters, yes, including August, are all so well thought out and no one is one-dimensional. They’re all flawed. They have their own morals and beliefs that they either embrace or reject. They have their own background stories and motivations for their actions. Not to mention, the teens? They act like teens! They go to school, hang out with friends, complain about their families, have crushes, and take part in hobbies. 

And none of them look like they’re about to walk a runway! They have acne and scars and messy hair.

The costumes, man! The kids wear regular, comfortable clothes that are still fashionable and appropriate for school. Yes, the rich kids are wearing designer names that scream “money!” (I noticed the Calvin Klein logo in one of Wilhelm’s sweatshirts) but that’s the thing — they’re subtle without being in your face. Even the girls’ makeup looks like the actresses themselves did their own makeup!

And don’t get me started on the relationships! All the relationships! Familial! Platonic! Romantic!

Wilhelm clearly loves his parents but he’s the second born. The spare. Most of the attention growing up was most likely on Erik. And Wilhelm most likely felt invisible, which was just fine with him, he doesn’t like the attention… until Erik died and Wilhelm became crown prince. Suddenly, all the attention that their parents gave Erik was given to him and it wasn’t the good kind. They have expectations for him now. Big ones. I don’t think Wilhelm’s parents are homophobic, not at all. His mother seemed sympathetic towards him after the video came out. But, at the end of the day, she was still the Queen and she had to make choices for the good of the Crown. And, unfortunately, that clearly took precedence over her role as a mother.

Simon and Sara’s dad made some wrong choices and lost his family in the process. And although Simon seemed more forgiving, Sara is clearly not. Micke tries to get back in Simon’s good graces by getting him the booze for the party but freaks out when he thought Simon was using drugs. And even Linda, best mom ever, clashes with Sara, who believes that their mother isn’t doing enough for them. We, the audience, sees that she is and Simon does, too, but Sara feels that it’s not enough and Linda doesn’t even try to fight her on it.

And Felice clearly loves her mom and struggles to meet her expectations but is getting choked in the process (’quite literally). It makes me wonder if her initially going after Wilhelm is because her mother is pressuring her to get with the prince. During parents’ day, her mother asked after Wilhelm, not Felice. And Felice realizes pretty quickly how toxic her mother is but, in the beginning, there wasn’t much she could do but go along with it. But, slowly and surely, she starts breaking away, starting with refusing to wear her mother’s dress and refusing to be Lucia and giving it to Sara, who actually wanted it.

And there’s August’s obvious distaste of his mother’s boyfriend and his rocky relationship with her after his father’s suicide. August is still clearly grieving while his mother seemed to have already moved on. And although this doesn’t excuse August’s actions, it shows his motivation and how strongly he’s holding on to whatever sort of control he can get his hands on: the rowing team, his status in school as prefect, and Wilhelm.

(More under the cut cause this was longer than I anticipated.)

I can’t talk about “Young Royals” without talking about Wilhelm and Simon’s relationship. The way it started because Simon spoke up in class about the unfairness of the law when it comes to welfare scams and tax evasions. Wilhelm’s whole life was probably filled with fake friends, people who only wanted him for his connections or to elevate their own status. In a sea of fake people, Simon was authentic. He never pretended to be anything he was not. And I can see why that must be intriguing to Wilhelm and he pursues him without even realizing it. He’s drawn to Simon and not just ‘cause he’s cute and has the voice of an angel.

And they got the actual way teenagers act when confronted by feelings for a crush. They watch and long from a distance. They shyly try to get close but get overwhelmed at any hint of reciprocation. The careful hesitation at that first kiss. The heartbreak of the possibility that you read the signs wrong. The giddiness of that first relationship. Yes, they do have sex from the get-go but the relationship itself was not sexual — it was innocent, sweet, and full of adoration.

They even have a fairly healthy relationship! They communicate and talk about their feelings. They don’t let things fester. When Wilhelm realizes he’s hurt Simon, he apologizes. And Simon, even if he may not understand Wilhelm’s motivations, tries to do so, anyway. They have so much respect for each other. They had a relationship that stemmed from friendship and trust.  

That’s what makes the eventual reality setting in hit hard. Because we suddenly remember that Wilhelm is no ordinary boy — he’s a prince. He’s in love with a commoner who also happens to be another boy. I don’t know what it’s like to live under a monarchy but I can imagine that even if the actual people they rule don’t care if their crown prince likes boys, the monarchy is still set in their traditional ways.

And these boys, who are experiencing love and a relationship for the first time had theirs marred by the violation of their first time and the expectations of the crown. Not to mention, they’re teenagers! That’s traumatizing for both of them! 

Suffice to say, I’m glad we have this piece of media that, despite it about being about royalty and nobility and rich kids, it’s enjoyable to watch because it’s incredibly relatable and real.

When you see these characters, you see your peers and people you’ve grown up with. You can even see yourself. 

And that, my friends, is why we need a season 2.

[justiceleaque]

Hey Leaque! I know you watched the new Justice League movie and I was around when you were doing the very first DC movie reviews back in the day. I would absolutely love a review of this one if you have the time :)

i've been a fan of Snyder's universe from day 1 so i understand this might be considered an off-balance review already, but i want to note that i didn't come in wanting the film to be good or willing to see it as good despite actual impressions. i wanted to watch it as the Justice League movie i was supposed to get back in 2017, the same one i was willing to not watch for years if it meant Zack Snyder got to finish his vision even later down the line

i was actually as neutral as i could possibly get because at this point i don't have any real emotional involvement in whether this version of the DCEU continues or not. WB execs have done some fucked up things with the treatment of the cast/ray fisher, so i take this as Snyder's DC trilogy and nothing more (which makes it bittersweet for me but that's a different topic)

heavy spoilers follow

it's incredibly comic book-like. i remember typing the exact same words back in the Dawn of Justice days: it doesn't read as a superhero film a la Marvel but as a comic book film. each frame could be a realistically painted comic book frame; the dialogues would fit freakishly well if they had to fit speech bubbles. the damn scene overlaps and changes are heavily reminiscent of a comic book. better yet: of a Justice League comic book. if you’re familiar with comic book events where big things happen and it affects everyone, this is how this reads

it’s a heavy film but it’s not hopeless. i’ve been seeing reviews pop-up already: “ZS’s Justice League film is twice as longe and twice as hopeless” is the maybe verbatim title of most articles. the one thing i kept thinking throughout these four hours is how much hope this is filled with. we’re dealing with a post-superman world that was shaken by the loss of a beloved superhero and you see batman, the #1 comic book superhero known for brooding and darkness and all things sad and bad, be the loudest, most hopeful person in the film, trying to get a team together to save the world, and later on being two steps from literally screaming that bringing back superman is what should happen no matter the cost because of his faith and hope in winning. did we watch the same film?

in the same vein, the 4 hours seem like a stretch until you realize each part has an actual purpose that introduces or ties in important aspects related to the film’s one purpose: take down Steppenwolf and Darkseid. i don’t believe any scene was wasted on useless information. it can get tiring in the way watching a shot tv series gets tiring: it does NOT get boring at any point

such wonderful character arcs. seeing each of the team’s personalities and quirks, the way they clash with each other, the way it makes it all work so goddamn beautifully. the way they click because they just keep interacting so much? Whedon’s cut didn’t give me a team, it gave me five different people in costume that were forced to sort of work in the same vicinity as each other. Snyder’s cut gave me a version of the Justice League that worked so flawlessly together by the end of the film it felt like a dance. felt like comic book page spreads

right before the epilogue they all pose together in the rising dawn, clark included, having won. super reminiscent of the JL cartoon intro. i cried a bit

J’ONN J’ONZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DO YOU KNOW THE AMOUNT OF SPECULATION ABOUT GENERAL SWANWICK BEING THE MARTIAN MANHUNTER BACK WHEN MAN OF STEEL WAS RELEASED???? VINDICATED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

listen to me. i need to make this clear. listen.  j’onn. j’onny boy. the way he’s designed and cgi’d..........the adorable frown............the kind smile......................his obvious need to make others feel better and to simply help......................i love him

his interaction with bruce only comes in the end and it’s super brief but seeing those two still not know how the hell each other works even in film format is hilarious. bruce having accepted aliens and magic and shit is the new norm after like 20 years of only having to deal with the joker attempting to rob neon green hair dyes or some shit is so much bigger of a character development than i ever expected, especially coming from BvS where he’s just a stupid fat-bat-carrying onion

i wasn’t a big fan of Suicide Squad’s joker portrayal but we get to see him at the end of the film while we’re seeing a possible future where lois lane has died and superman is best friends with darkseid playing tic-tac-antilife equation. Snyder somehow managed to turn jared leto into a disgustingly legit comic-faithful joker. dont’ ask me how

in the same scene they mention jason and his death

: - (

we see a few bits of some green lanterns in some scenes, one from the past and one from a possible ultra dark and edgy darkseid future. still convinced bruce simply willingly did not go looking for hal, which, fair

they cut out the fish joke bruce tells arthur when they first meet which immediately turns the whole film into a 1/10 for me

ben affleck’s bruce wayne and batman continue being my favorite on-screen batman iteration to date. we finally move from the usual dark lone soldier version Hollywood is relentlessly giving us into one that belongs with the Justice League. incredibly heartwarming to see

there’s a scene when the JL are first assaulting Steppenwolf’s base and they’re all fighting parademons and shit and there’s a moment where you see batman fighting the Space SWAT From Hell alone and the way he moves? the way he flows from one position to another and another like i’m watching a damn comic book animation????????? sir????????????????????

barry allen saved them

like, literally, barry allen saved them. superman was back and everyone was ready to dance one final time and they were all going ‘steppenwolf fucking SUCKS’ and steppenwolf was crying to darkseid and then the motherboxes did their thing and they all were obliterated into star dust and then barry allen was like ‘bitch i told you i need FRIENDS’ and turned back time and now they’re all okay again :o)

darkseid @ batman through his magic spacetime portal: i’m gonna get your ass one day soon and take you back in time and you’re gonna eventually bring about the end of the world by having every dark twisted batman invade your universe because you inspired them

batman:

batman:

batman: i haven’t read Rebirth bro

i know i���m forgetting stuff but that’s the gist. hands down one of the best comic book film experiences i’ve ever had. with an aside to barry allen being more of a mix of barry and wally, everyone feels incredibly faithful to the source material. also batman definitely killed like, at least 400 parademons in one night, but pest control doesn’t count

(like. he straight up obliterates them)

(pulls out a batbazuka on them)

(amazing)

[oikawaplssteponme]

Hi willow 😚 so after reading your angst earlier, even after it broke me, I want more Bakugous angst BUT it ends in fluff. So I was listening to home by Catie Turner and I thought about Bakugou being on a really long mission and maybe after a month or he ends up losing contact with the reader and she starts worrying and just anxiety. But he turns up and everything is ok🙃

Pls I really had tears in my eyes in the middle of class reading your angst🥲

hi mar!! hehe that actually makes me glad that my angst broke you (though i am sorry for the pain, it hurt me too) because it means i did my job 😚. angst to fluff? say less

•

Home

pairing: (Pro Hero) Katsuki Bakugou x reader

warnings: swearing, anxiety, emotional breakdown, mention of death but none present

genre: angst to fluff, established relationship, aged up characters

a/n: if you’d like to read the fic that mar is talking about, it will be linked here. also the song is linked in the tittle [ the fic isn’t directly based on the song however ] :)) enjoy xx

~

You grabbed the suit cases from the closet and laid them down on your bed. You began to grab clothing from Bakugou’s side of the closet and placing in the suit cases. It was a familiar feeling. The folding of fabric, the locking away of memories, and the saying of goodbyes. It was all too familiar.

“Did you happen to pack my toothbrush?” asked Katsuki from the bathroom.

“Yeah I have it here.”

Bakugou came out, half dressed in his Hero costume.

“Thanks. Here, mind packing these too?” Bakugou handed you some extra t-shirts of his. You nodded, folding them and setting them in the suit case.

“So, um, did they say how long you’d be away?” You ask quietly. Bakugou sighed, wrapping his arm around you.

“No, they didn’t. Hopefully no more than a month-”

You whipped your head around to look at him with widened eyes.

“A m-month? Katsuki that’s a really long time,” you protested. He huffed, taking his arm off of you.

“I know I know, okay? This isn’t easy for either of us but I don’t have a choice.”

You sat down on the bed, burying your face into the palms of your hands. You promised yourself that you wouldn’t cry but clearly that was easier thought than done.

“Katsuki...”

“Hey, shh, look at me,” Bakugou moved your hands down from your face. He wiped your stray tears.

“I promise it’s gonna go by so fast. I’ll call you as much as I can and even write if I have to. It’s gonna be fine.”

“W-What if something happens? What if you get hurt? Katsuki I don’t know what I would do if-” you couldn’t bring yourself to finish your own sentence.

Instead, you pulled Bakugou towards you. He held you tightly, rubbing your back as he whispered that everything would be okay. You continued to cry into his shoulder, gripping onto the fabric of his Hero costume. You didn’t know when the next time would be when he could hold you like this.

“Nothing is gonna happen. I’m gonna come home in one piece and you’re gonna be here, as perfect as when I left. Okay?”

Bakugou honestly didn’t believe himself, but he had to make it look like he did for your sake. He truely didn’t know if he would be okay. This mission was nothing like he’d ever been on before. Stakes were high, and he worried about you most of all.

“O-Okay.”

You zipped up the suit cases and rolled them to the door. Bakugou laced up his shoes, finally fully dressed and ready to go.

You went back into the bedroom, searching in the dresser for the picture. On every mission, no matter how small, Katsuki has a small photo of you tucked in the left side of the ‘x’ design of his costume. He kept the picture of you right were his heart was.

You snatch the small photo and ran back to Bakugou, who now had his suit cases in hand.

“You almost forgot,” you whispered. Bakugou smiled.

“Thank you baby.”

You carefully slid the photo right were Bakugou wanted it. You looked up at him, again trying not to cry. Bakugou let go of his suit cases, giving you one final hug.

“I’ll be back before you know it. I love you Y/N.”

“Please be safe. I love you too.”

~

In the first few days that Bakugou had been gone, he kept his promise. He called you every day from pay phones, burner phones, or just anything he could while still maintaining yours and his safety. Some days he would call for two minutes, others for two hours. All that mattered was that you heard his breathing on the other side of the line.

As those days turned to weeks, Bakugou’s calls soon declined. You were lucky if you got a one minute call every three days. You knew he was busy, that part was understandable. Still, on the days where he didn’t call, were the nights that you didn’t sleep.

You didn’t leave home unless you had to, for fear that Bakugou would come while you were away. You wanted to be there when he came home. Everyday you stared at the front door, hoping to hear the sound of his keys on the other side. That day never came.

Two months. It had been two months since Bakugou left. You hadn’t received a call from him in a week. You began to get worried, more than before.

You paced back and forth your living room. Your television was on. Always on the news channel. You waited to see if there would be a report on the mission, though unlikely. You peaked at your cellphone every few seconds, praying that it would ring. Praying that Bakugou would be on the other line.

The second you heard the cellphone vibrate, you leaped towards it. With shaky and nervous hands, you clicked ‘answer call’.

“H-Hello?”

“Hello? Y/N?”

Your heart dropped.

“Deku? Deku, is that you?”

“Yes it’s me, I’m sorry for calling you like this-”

“Deku where is Bakugou? Why didn’t he call me?”

The other line went silent.

“Deku answer me.”

“Look Y/N I’m really not supposed to be calling you but I felt you needed to know-”

“Know what? Deku where is Katsuki? I want to talk to Katsuki.”

“Y/N I’m so sorry-”

“Izuku Midoriya where the fuck is Katsuki!?” You shouted into the phone. You heard Deku take a nervous breath in.

“Kacchan is missing.”

You didn’t realize you had dropped the phone until you heard it crack on the floor. Your legs went numb as you fell to your knees. You screamed. You screamed as if someone had just stabbed you in the heart. It honestly felt like you were dying. You wailed into your hands as your forehead was pressed onto the floor.

“Y/N we’re-gonna-find-Kacchan-” Deku’s voice was scratchy on the other line as is signal worsened.

With tear filled vision you attempted to find the phone.

“Deku please please find him-” you cried.

“We-will-”

The line dropped, causing you to lose the call. You clenched onto the phone, before throwing it away from you. You stayed in the fetal position the entire night, drowning in your own tears.

~

Day seventy-two without Katsuki Bakugou.

You sat on your couch, clicking through the television channels. You felt drained, hopeless. You honestly had started getting used to Katsuki being gone, which was worse of all.

Suddenly, you stumbled upon a news channel.

‘BREAKING NEWS! PRO HEROES RETURN AFTER CLOSE TO A THREE MONTH MISSION! FANS GREET THEM AS THEY STEP OFF THE PLANES-’

The second you read the screen, you were grabbing your car keys and driving to the airport.

You ran every red light. You didn’t care. The pit in your stomach was enough to make you determined to get to the airport as soon as possible. You knew exactly where they would be. They used the same landing station after each mission.

You could see the crowd of people with posters and gifts of the Heroes. You watched as Heroes stepped off of the plane. You parked and turned off your car, rushing over as fast as you could.

You dug through the crowd, trying to get to the front. You saw Deku step off the plane but still no sign of Katsuki.

“Katsuki! Katsuki!” You continually shouted his name, hoping to hear a response. As you finally broke through the crowd, you searched and scanned everywhere for him.

“Katsuki...”

Your lips began to quiver again, your hands cupped your cheeks as the world around you spun. You started to think that they never found him.

“Y/N?”

You were too scared to turn around, for fear of disappointment. You shook your head, tears falling from your eyes.

“Oh god please...”

You slowly looked over your shoulder. Standing just a few hundred feet away from you was a beaten and bruised, Katsuki Bakugou.

Never in your life had you ran so fast. You clung onto Bakugou with all your might. You sobbed into his chest, this time tears of relief.

“I thought you died...”

“I promised I would be okay. Did you doubt me?”

Bakugou wiped away your tears, then his.

“I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“Same here. I’m sorry I scared you...”

You shook your head, letting out a small laugh.

“That doesn’t matter now. What matters is that your back home.”

“That’s right. Home.”

•

[MHA taglist: @bibly @big-phat-cat @sapphoscolonoscopy @luluwiie @happyheartsss @lealofsblog @iwaisa @bakugousmymassa @evivn1 @tetsoleil @bokutory @vangoghmusings @moonlightaangel @misszenin @marajillana @sopesmin @alaina-rose13 @shotoful ]

[omar-rudeberg]

Omg I have been loving your Parallel posts and reading your take away from different scenes. Especially the one you did on colour theories!! How did you learn about all the meaning behind tiny details and nuances? And do you really think they had all of those details so intentionally in their minds when they were creating it? Specifically things like Wille always being surrounded by blue (the Queens outfit for his first statement, his scarf, his bed covers etc), and how golds and yellow kind of followed Simon. I also loved what you wrote about character growth with the two parallel of the boys at the windowsill and the two scenes in the music room.

I just think to be able to notice these seemingly insignificant details and take such clear intention from them is amazing insight on your part and it’s been so interesting to read them then go rewatch the series with all that in mind.

I really hope you’ve got more thoughts to write!

I need you to know that first and foremost I am jaw-droppingly surprised that you took the time to pop in with this message, and it’s so thoughtful and considerate !! Thank you so much ?!

My Young Royals Parallels posts are the first seeds of ideas I thought others may possibly be interested in, and the first content I really made, so they’re like my little babies - thank you for treating them with so much TLC !!

Look, in terms of whether or not the show’s creators had every single minute detail that I’ve alluded to in the front of their minds when planning and shooting the series... no. I don’t think so. Some of it I believe was definitely intentional - all the B L U E in the boys’ end of episode 4 sequence? I’d have a hard time believing that was coincidence, especially with the removal of all their blankets and deep blue pillows for the start of episode 5. The Queen I’m on the fence about, as blue has been a Swedish royal colour for a long, long time, but I do think some of Simon’s golden imagery was very planned. Specifically the “We haven’t done anything wrong.” scene, where the blues & golds (or orange & teal, if you follow modern mainstream film critical colour theory) are screaming that they’ve been put there to serve a higher purpose.

Whether the writers / directors / set designers / costumers / cinematographers had all of this planned out to the tiniest detail or not though is, in my mind, irrelevant. I subscribe to the death of the author theory, which I believe I may have alluded to in my post about ‘blue curtains’. Once a piece of Art is released into the world, there is birthed an Audience for the Art. And this Audience is comprised of different perspectives that will reflect the Art back on itself in different ways, always and evermore creating New Art within the initial frame. As a viewer of Young Royals, you fill in the gaps in the story with your own experiences, and connect the dots in your own unique way. Your Young Royals is not My Young Royals, is not anyone else’s. But some of our beliefs, thoughts, ideas about the show may overlap; your ideas may spark ideas of mine; my ideas may feed into yours. The sincerest joy I have known in this Young Royals tumblr space is that there seems to be this inherent respect between different people’s interpretation of the Art, and willingness to engage with different perspectives to greater your own knowledge and depth of understanding of the emotion in the work. This is community. This is storytelling. This is connection.

Now... you wanna know a secret? I’m not really sure how I’ve come to think in these parallel-esque ways. I despised studying Literature in high school. I did a business degree and am currently working in quite a procedure-driven job. I’m not even a fan of too much critically “Good” media - you know, those books & films & tv shows & plays that people tell you to read/watch, because you simply ‘have to’, because they ‘changed the face of xyz’, generally filled with allegories and symbolism out the whazoo?

But I was a prolific reader when I was younger, so maybe that helped? I’ve been making & playing music since before I could spell my own name. And I’ve always had this innate ability to draw in information, synthesise it together and put out a coherent narrative - both with Things and with People / Relationships, so possibly that too? I also have such a passion for the abstract / absurd / impressionist perspective, and this has led me to think about colour, line, mood and metaphor in intricate ways.

But at the end of the day, I’m afraid I don’t have any real answers, my friend. I’m convinced that somehow Young Royals is just zapping secret sauce through our screens into the brains of us all who have been mysteriously, creatively awoken (again) by it’s siren call.

I’m just following the call & diving in deep.

[violetnotez]

HC: Y/N Wears a Revealing Version of their S/O’s hero suit

God it’s been so long since I’ve done headcannons, I miss them so much! These I’m going to keep tame, cause I don’t want them to be toooo spicy!

Also, I didnt iclude Shindo and Shinso, sorry! I realized rather quickly how long these got and didnt want to bog down this post, hope thats okay!

Pairings: Mirio x reader, Tamaki x reader, Bakugo x reader, Kaminari x reader (all characters aged to 18+)

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ

Mirio

It would be a disgrace if I didn’t use this pic

So you had been invited to a photo shoot for a pretty high end boutique to be one of the models

Were you stoked that this extremely prestigious brand wanted you on their front cover? Yes. Were you terrified as hell? Also a fat yes.

Mirio, being the adorable boyfriend he is, was hyping you up for it

“Your going to be amazing sunshine! Ya never know until you try, ya know?”

Even with him being your support, you still felt extremely self conscious

“I don’t know...I’m not a model, I don’t think I can do it-“

“Don’t talk so negatively like that babe! What if I came with you, would that calm your nerves some?”

Your practically melted into him, giving him the biggest hug everrrr

“Oh my god would you? That would make me feel so much better-“

“Of course babe! Wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it!”

So the day of, you came into the photo shoot fresh faced and pale as hell from nerves

They seperated you from Mirio, taking you to the makeup area and clothing area

You entered a room lined with extremely bright makeup stands and racks of clothing, your area in a small corner to the right with a mannequin wearing a certain set of clothes

You finally realized what you were actually modeling-and your mouth dropped

No wonder the asked you to model, being Mirio’s girlfriend-it was a sexy version of his hero suit

It was a skin tight leotard, the number “1000000” scrawled against your chest, a thick red cape draping against the back

Lemon colored glasses and thigh high blue boots completed the look, a huge gulp reverberating from your throat-

How the hell were you going to pull this off? In front of your boyfriend no less-

You pain stakingly got your makeup done and your hair, your strands pooled up like Mirio’s hair in the front and the rest cascading in bed head curls

You finally got the skin tight costume on, looking at yourself in the mirror-you felt nervous but-strangely calm-you didn’t look half bad, actually

A small smile graced your face as you walked out, your heels clicking against the floors as you walked into the photo shoot room

Now the question was where was your-

“Hey sunshine! Whoa, that get up looks great, looks pretty similar to something I wear dontcha think?” He was totally teasing you, his tone playful as he leaned into your blushing face

Suddenly your bravery was gone and you were a nervous wreck-your boyfriend was looking at you with hungry eyes, his orbs gazing over every exposed curve

“Mirio, you don’t have to look at me like that-“ you whined, feeling your cheeks burn bright red

“But I want to look at you like this babe,” he smiled, his voice dropping as he licked his lips- “you look absolutely delicious dressed up like that.”

Tamaki

“Oh cmon Tamaki, please come with us!” You pleaded with your nervous boyfriend, his brows furrowed in fear

It was the middle of October, and you and Neijire were planning to go to an early Halloween party in the middle of town

“I-I wish I could go bunny, I really do, it’s just-“

Tamaki was fiddling with is hands, his inky black hair cascading over his distraught face

He would love to go with you, but the thought of people, and dancing, and dressing up, and oh god what if they made fun of his costume-

You placed a kiss on your boyfriend’s cheek, sending him a reassuring smile

“No worries, Tama, I get it-just stay home and chill, I’ll make sure to come home a little early,”

“Oh-okay,” he obliged, watching you go into the bathroom to get ready

Tanaka decided to do exactly what you asked him to do-he watched some TV, ate some food, anything to calm his nerves as you got ready

After an hour or so, you emerged from the bathroom, walking into the kitchen in your full get up

Your hair was straight, see through yellow glasses covering your eyes. You wore a black leotard, the fabric hugging your curves as a beige cape draped around your thighs. Two purple belt laid against your hips, drawing attention to your plush thighs as your boots clicked around the apartment

Poor Tamaki practically choked on his cereal when you walked in-when you said you were wearing a costume, you didn’t tell him it was his hero suit!

Tamaki walked over a blush erupting over his face, “Y-y/n? W-what are you-wearing?”

You spin around, guilt pooling in your stomach as your eyes met your boyfriends flustered gaze

“I’m sorry Tamaki I should have told you! The party is “hero” themed, so I thought the best suit to wear was yours-do you...want me to take it off?”

Tamaki vigorously shook his head, his cheeks a fiery red

“N-no! Please don’t! Honestly, that’s the last thing I want...” he stuttered his shaking hands resting on your hips and pulling you gently to his chest

You had never seen Tamaki so bold-your eyes widened, your hands placed against his chest

“-but I don’t think you should go to that party tonight”

Bakugo

You ran over to Bakugo, your phone screen containing a pic of a cosplayer dressed up in full Bakugo hero suit, gauntlets and all

You legit shoved it into your boyfriends face, your face beaming- “look how cool this costume is!”

“Tch-Only I can wear my hero suit as well as me,” Bakugo scoffed, going back to eating his ramen

You looked at him distraught and disbelief- “Cmon, Bakugo, you had to admit it’s pretty cool-“

“Cool? He’s a fucking wierd ass nerd, making my hero suit...” Bakugo said under his breath, his eyes now glaring at his phone screen

You placed your hands on your hips- “So if I wore your hero suit, I would be ‘wierd ass nerd’?”

Bakugo chuckled harshly- “Yeah-but you couldn’t wear it, like I said, I’m the only one who can pull it off-“

Ha-if that fucker wanted to play, then you were here to win

You slammed your hands down on the table, your arms encasing a surprised Bakugo in between your arms

You gave him a wicked grin, making Bakugo’s crimson eyes wide with surprise-“Bet bitch.”

Y’all are so mean to each other 😳

You stomped out of the room, your mind now reeling-you had ZERO idea how to make his costume...

You quickly made a call to Mina and Momo, telling them about your predicament-Mina would help you design, and Momo would help make the materials

Both were extremely open to helping you, especially Mina-any attempt to destroy Bakugo’s overly high ego, she was down to do!

But she had a twist to your intial plan- “what if you did a sexy version of him! That’d show him!”

You weren’t exactly sure how that would do anything, but eh why not-if you could make him even more mad, this was the way to do it

Momo was hesitant to make such a lewd outfit, but you quickly reminded her of her revealing hero outfit

-she quickly agreed after that

Mina designed the “suit”-honestly it was just a bra with two orange X’s, bootie shorts with a grenade belt, and green ribbon connecting to the black thigh high boots

You complained to Mina about how uncomfortable the high heel was, which she responded with “Beauty is pain!”

You fought the urge to roll your eyes

How would Bakugo’s suit be complete without the gauntlets! You three had the hardest time with that-deifnitely spent a whole day watching 3 hours worth of cosplay tutorials to make those damn things

But after many hours of snacking, hot glue guns, and screams of annoyance, you three FINALLY had the costume finished-and you couldn’t be happier! It honestly made you feel so cool and powerful...especially those gauntlets-

no wonder why he wore the clunky things, they honestly were fun to wear

You decided to wear the outfit before Bakugo came home one day, your face smug as you waited for him to enter your shared apartment

You finally heard the click of the door, Bakugo wearing his usual baggy pants and shirt he wore when he came home, his shoulder holding his duffel bag full of things

“-Hey”, he welcomed you gruffily, not even noticing your attire

“Hey yourself-“ you replied, a shit eating grin on your face as you walked over to him.

He still wasn’t looking, too busy rummaging through his bag- “Am I still a wierd ass nerd?”

Bakugo looked up, and holy shit was he in for a sight

When you said you would make his hero suit, he didn’t take it that seriosuly- you? Make his suit? Psh like that’d happen

BUT IT HAPPENED

You looked-really good in it too-he deifnitely was appreciating the extra skin that was involved 😳

You smirked at his obvious surprise, his cheeks a fiery red as you did a small spin in the suit- “How does it look?”

Suddenly you felt pressure against your wrists from Bakugo’s hands, your back now against the wall as Bakugo drank you in with his piercing red eyes

Now it was your turn to be surprised-cause crap you didn’t expect that to happen

He was now in control of the situation and he knew it-he gave you a shit eating grin, making your blood feel incredibly warm

“-it looks decent...but I think it would be better on the floor”

Kaminari

“Mina no, I’m not-“

You were in shock, flabbergasted, confused-when did they have a intimates based off of hero suits?

AND WHY THE HELL DID THEY HAVE YOUR BOYFRIENDS SUIT

“MINA YES!” she squealed, giggling as she pulled your size out of the rack

The little outfit was pretty revealing- all it was was a white lacy bralette, with a short black jacket with white lighnting bolt decal and a short black leather skirt to match

It was honestly not your thing-it also just felt wierd to wear something like this-

“Your buying it and that’s that-you needed neccesities and this-“ she shook the outfit in your face, “is a necessity!”

The girl seriosuly shouldn’t be allowed to spend money-she stuffed the outfit in her full bag of clothes, bouncing over to the register as you followed her from behind

“I needed bras Mina, not lingerie!”

Yeah she didn’t listen

You finally got home, trying on your new outfits from your shopping spree when you fell upon the set shoved in your shopping bag

The little pink sneak

You pulled it out-it wouldn’t hurt to try it on, she did buy it for you...

You quickly got into it, admiring your body in the mirror-it was tight alright, but kinda cute in ...the skirt accentuated your legs, the bra was decently comfy, and the jacket pulled the whole thing together and made it a pretty cool yet revealing outfit

Just as you were testing out how much movement you had in the leather jacket,you heard the door open to the bedroom you and your boyfriend shared

“Hey babe, do we have any more toilet-“ Kamianri waltzed in, unknowingly oblivious to the scene before him, until he laid eyes on you

You never thought you saw the man blush harder-his eyes were wide with shock, his cheeks a hot shade of red as sparks of electricity flashed around his body

He obviously didn’t know how to react, and in his flusteredness, he somehow slipped on the floor, landing with a hard thud

“Denki!” You yelled out, scrambling to your ditzy boyfriend, “you okay?”

Kaminari gazed up at you, and holy crap he felt blessed- he had a full view of your exposed cleavage, a grin growing on his face as blood tricked down from his nose

“Oh no, Kami, you got a bloody nose-“ you scrambled to get him a towel, kneeling down to place it against his nose

He quickly swiped the blood away, his hands instead pinning yours against your back

“-Dont worry about that,” he grinned, his eyes a dangerous shade of yellow, “let’s worry about you babygirl...and where you got that little get up,”

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ

Taggings:

@weebartistinc​ @orokayagi​ @leeeah-loooser​ @bakarinnie​ @johnnysactualgf​

[space-blue]

Dune, the mostly spoiler free review.

Spoilers will be under breaks.

Having slept on it (and since I got to bed at 4am I needed that), and having eaten enough sugar to kickstart my brain again, I can now confirm, wholeheartedly, that Dune is a masterpiece.

Hardly a hot take on the internet right now, I know. I'll say this, to start on a low note : Dune's greatest flaw is that the side characters (anyone outside of Jessica and Paul) can be left wanting development. Some non-book readers might struggle to get attached.

The film simply doesn't have time to deliver narrative, mood and emotional characters the way Fellowship of the Rings did, as I often see the film compared to LOTR. Unlike LOTR, Dune has not shot part 2, and it doesn't have enough action beats/plot beats to give you engaging character interactions for 1/3 of the story.

As a result some characters seem to be "seen in passing". Which... Bothered me a little at 3am, but has since faded. My memories turn to Jessica and how incredible Fergusson was. Absolutely show stealing. And Skarsgard!! Yeesh, the Baron Harkonnen does not need more screen time to be intimidating...

All the cast delivers. The visuals, design, costume, photography... It's clear to me everyone involved in this was at the top of their craft and giving it their all for a career turning point of a production. I even struggle to believe book 2 could land such a punch again, I mean, I've rarely been punched in the face this hard by a movie...

I mean, I'm not the type to be into spaceships or anything. I even struggle with models in the Star Wars universe and I published 58 fan fics for that fandom so... And yet in this film, hah... When the Atreides ships are introduced (you see these big transports in the trailer) I was like "No. He didn't... OMG the madlad, he did." — the music, the visuals, the scale... And then there's the thopters, and I was having moments of prescience myself, seeing actual ship/spaceship nerds rise up, foam frothing at the mouth. Modeling thopters and making videos about them for years to come.

The audio was loud, bold. The music alien. The sound mixing done so well I had a snappy thought 2min in, along the lines of "I hope Nolan sits to this film and learns something about sound mixing from this" (don't @ me, I'm still spicy about my viewing of Tenet).

In short, Dune is spectacular. It oozes with mythos and charm, feels lived in, intimidating yet beguiling. The plot is as sound as the book's the visuals are a cinema/SFF fan's wet dream, the acting and production value are stupid crazy, and the only drawback IMO — for non book readers — will be the "in passing" characters (like Raban, Piter, Gurney, Hawat... Who simply don't have the space and time to shine yet) and the ending, which is 100% "INSERT CD 2"

It feels jarring and leaves you begging for more. But book readers probably won't feel the same pang, since we can now close our eyes and image how bonkers part two can be in such visuals.

I've over-heard old french people saying it was super boring and slow and... lol I can't disagree more, but then again the trailer does market an action movie, and the film is not any more action packed than BR2049 was. When the action comes calling it's big, fast... When it isn't, the movie is moody, deliberate, and meticulous.

It won't be for everyone, but if you've so much as "enjoyed" the books, you'll be having the experience of a lifetime.

Before I delve into some mild spoilers I'd like to make a disclaimer: Denis has begged people to see Dune in cinema, and I was thinking "of course, what film maker wouldn't want people in cinema?" but also suspected he might want the numbers in order to get part 2 started.

I owe him an apology for these impure thoughts. You MUST watch Dune in cinema, not for Denis or part 2 (though, come on...), but for YOURSELF. There is not a single home cinema set up that can do justice to this film. It's the definition of why you go to the cinema for. It's epic in scale, it makes you jump at startling moments, it punches and screams at you, and makes you squint at others, and you walk out of there with a sense of having witnessed something like... To me, like Interstellar. Remember seeing that docking sequence scene in the theater and walking out being like "holy shit" ? Well Dune is very much like that. It was made for the big screen, and anything short of IMAX or Dolby ATMOS would be a disservice to both the film and yourself.

I will be seeing it in France the instant it comes out in September. It begs rewatching.

Now for some spoilery thoughts (mild spoilers, and a warning for further spoilers below).

The film takes surprisingly little time to delve on certain topics. Like the spice. Sure you're told it's important, and the economics that drive the story make it feel important, but not nearly as much as I suspected it would be. There is no clunky exposition on the topic (lol no fucking time for that!) no scene where someone shoves spice in your face and goes “oh but blah blah spice must flow”. It’s said in passing and newcomers better hold on to their seat and pay attention.

Sadly though a fair bit of the dialogue was expositional imo, and too little of it over all felt like that heart warming moment between Paul and Leto. It's not a big drawback, but since I enjoy more character driven stories, I regretted the lack of general emotional investment.

On the point of emotions though, I was taken aback by Jamis! The scene of him in the trailers "I'll show you"... creates a sort of very subtle and implied dynamic that was probably one of the biggest heart punch for me, and started driving home how dire Paul's visions can be. I suspect some viewers won't interpret it the way I did though.

THE VOICE WAS SO WELL MADE YOU GUYS!! The thopter escape scene was always a "meh, sure, they get away" moment for me in the books. Good teamwork between Paul and Jessica... But *hearing it* was a completely different business. I was at the edge of my seat, I LOVED IT.

There's also a lot of actual signing in the film! And the Sardaukar don't speak english but a super guthural language. Kind of like making a conlang merging German and the Black Speech of Mordor and giving it to a Danish to speak. Felt very cool.

The shields were just as badass as you think they'll be. The slow impact weapons are just... *chef kiss*

Finally some heavy spoilers on book story details (jihad, Muad'dib, some characters) :

There is no mentions of Jihad, but not because it's avoided. The visions of a fight Paul has are rare, and he mentions them once. At that time he says war or massacre but not Jihad. I didn't notice until I was asked.

He also doesn't chose the name Muad'Dib. If I recall that's right after killing Jamis, but doesn't happen here, even if we see the literal muad'dib in the desert. It's also fine. Those scenes were at the very end, and I felt like slamming newcomers with such a significant moment with alien language at the very end might be a mistake. I'm curious to see how it's handled in part 2 though.

I was looking forward to Piter... His role is uber minor. As much as Hawat's. Like, the Bull that killed Leto's father gets more screen time, funnily enough. There's a heavy imagery around it that's going to fuel many video essays.

[i-watch-too-many-movies]

5 Favorite First Viewings of July 2021

Quick note: Hi everyone, I'm back, things have honestly been getting better for me, and I'm glad to be on this site full of cinephiles, people that are too horny, and cinephiles that are too horny. I'll be more active on here. But anyway, let's talk about some movies.

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) (dir. Russ Meyer)

CW: Abortion mention

What a picture. What a gorgeous, sexy, horrifying slice of what Hollywood and star life can do to a bunch of bright-eyed young people looking for success. Also is a critique of how macho nature can ruin friendships and romantic relationships with total ease. I was obsessed with the scene transitions, like Pet pouring pancake mix onto a plate after the abortion scene, or Kelly singing after someone screams before their murder in the opening scene.

Great, campy flick with exceptional music too.

Deep Cover (1992) (dir. Bill Duke)

Laurence Fishburne plays Russell Stevens, a Cincinnati police officer who hopes to do well by the community, to make a difference. He’s traumatized by the death of his substance-abusing father, and wants to make sure that he can help the people of his own town. He goes undercover on assignment as a drug dealer, where his boss orders him to take down the kingpin. Stevens realizes the police’s own failings while on assignment. The racist abuse he takes from Agent Carver, and the realization that the police department is protecting drug kingpins like Gallegos and Barbossa. Giving drugs to Black kids and Latinx kids so there will be less of them. The cops are no different than the drug kingpins looking to make filthy amounts of money.

Fishburne’s performance is excellent, as Stevens feels he has to maintain a stone face so he doesn’t get caught by Jason or Barbossa or any of his cronies, but also he maintains a stone face to try and hide his emotion, his trauma. But when he gets pissed, Fishburne acts it beautifully, as is when he has to deliver a funny quip to counter Jason’s douchebaggery. And the production design, holy fuck, the sets and the lighting.

A perfect neo-noir for the HW Bush years, arguably one of the most timeless commentaries on the era, as well as the police as a whole.

Fast Five (2011) (dir. Justin Lin)

I was torn between including this or Furious 7, but I ultimately went with Fast Five because it felt like an important turning point in the series, it's a great heist film, and it reached the same chaotic highs and genuinely excellent filmmaking that I had been waiting for since 2 Fast and Tokyo Drift.

Fast Five opens where Fast & 4ious left off. Dom is hauled away to prison on a bus. Mia and Brian drive in their high-tech cars and knock the bus over, helping Dom escape. The title drops. Fast Five. It’s such an intense yet short action scene, and dropping the title immediately after it lets the viewer know that this movie is not fucking around. It’s arguably gonna be more intense and insane than the previous one.

And it is. The filmmakers made the decision to use a lot more practical stunt work for the film, and as a result, it leads to, so far, the best action in the entire series, since 2 Fast and Tokyo Drift. It’s not just how it’s shot or edited, it’s the geography of the locations, the rooftop chase echoes the rooftop chase of Jackie Chan’s masterwork Police Story, particularly the way each character bounces from top to top.

And of course, there’s the silliest moment in the movie, the one that matches the intensity and kineticism of a film like 2 Fast, which is driving the Reyes’ bank vault throughout the street, getting chased by corrupt cops.

I know we make fun of Vin Diesel for saying “family” all the time in these films, but there’s a reason we remember him saying all of these impassioned monologues. Because he’s unbelievably sincere, and has so much love in his heart for every single person in the room. Anytime he delivers a speech to any of them, it’s genuinely heartwarming.

This is the film that finally shows La Familia in their best environment, which is working together, in a movie genre that allows them to work together, which is a heist film. And a great one at that.

Last Days (2005) (dir. Gus Van Sant)

CW: Mention of suicide

Several films have been made about legendary rock artist Kurt Cobain, and for good reason. He is one of the most tragic figures in rock and roll. A tortured genius who has written and performed classic song after classic song with his band Nirvana. He was called the voice of a generation, and helped change the face of mainstream alternative rock music as we know it. But with that fame, and all of those expectations came a worsening depression and further drug abuse, and his eventual death. But most of the films about Kurt Cobain ask one question which gets under my skin way too much:

“Who REEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLY killed Kurt Cobain?”

It was him. He did. And it’s okay, I’m sad too. Thinking that Kurt Cobain was murdered is completely ignoring the depression that he faced. And despite Last Days being more inspired by the death of Cobain rather than actually about it, it feels much more honest than the conspiracy documentaries on his death, wanting to leech off of his dead body.

This is the last installment of Gus Van Sant’s “Death Trilogy”, the previous two installments being Gerry (2001), and Elephant (2003). While I have not seen Gerry, I have seen Elephant though, and love that film for its minimalist, raw nature, and its boldness for not romanticizing the school shooter or the lives they had taken. Last Days falls into that trap once, as I don’t agree with the shot of Blake’s soul climbing up a ladder, that always struck me as cheesy in a film that is anything but.

Last Days is similar to Elephant in terms of the way it is filmed. Its usage of long takes, and still shots of characters doing various things, such as Blake playing his guitar behind a drum set. The way these moments are shot is similar to a Chantal Akerman film, particularly Jeanne Dielman. Where the acts of the mundane are the stars of the film. Blake wanders around an empty house, and the viewer can feel the pain, not just through Michael Pitt’s acting, but from the house itself. Its decay, its paint peeling from the walls, from the soft glow of the lamp that lights his face.

I say this is the most honest film about Kurt Cobain, because, despite the characters technically being fictional (the main character who looks, walks, and acts like Cobain is named Blake), this film focuses on the mental state of a person before they eventually take their own life. They’re still working, still making music, still trying to talk to friends and bandmates, but the depression lingers on. Not once does this film try to make you believe that someone else killed him, because you can see the signs of his own suicide taking place just through the film’s excellent cinematography by Harris Savides, showing his mental state only growing worse through the production design.

And it’s empathetic with him. There’s no judgement for leaving rehab, there’s no finger-wagging at him or the people he was with, there’s just a silent prayer at the end of the film, hoping that he is in a better place than he was.

Sometimes you don’t need to show every event that led you to where you are, all you can show is the moment, which also makes this better than most biopics as well, as it never feels messy or muddled, just showing one moment of Blake/Kurt’s life.

I really loved this film, and I’ll be writing about it in full soon.

The Village (2004) (dir. M. Night Shyamalan)

The Cracked.com/Channel Awesome audience stuck in 2012 will tell you that this was the beginning of the end for Shyamalan. That this was when people stopped taking him seriously, that this was when he became more of a punchline because of his twist endings.

But why?

The Village was released in 2004, deep in the Bush administration, during the early stages of the Iraq War. The leaders of the time were talking about imaginary boogeymen, terrorists that would attack the civilians if they could. Because of 9/11, politicians could get away with these false ideas with the majority of Americans fully believing them. The boogeymen in The Village are “The People We Don’t Speak Of”, monsters attracted by the color red. Yet we find out that they are all costumes made by the Elders of the land, designed to prevent people from going outside the land. They rule by fear disguised as love. They’ve gone through their own traumas through the deaths of their family members, but they’ve decided to completely abandon the lives that they’ve had and have their children living lies.

9/11 impacted American life by teaching citizens to live primarily by fear, to not trust anyone but their own people. And yet, post-9/11, all that increased was not “coming together”, but hate crimes against South Asian people. The rage white Americans had felt led to conservative politicians pushing fear-mongering agendas, and said white Americans blindly accepted. The outside world was progressing, but too many people were fine with living with further conservative politics only regressing American life further and further back, all for the illusion of safety. Meanwhile, the only threats to them were not the brown citizens outside of America they were so afraid of, but the white elders, the white politicians.

The Village explores these fears so eloquently, all while having a terrifying atmosphere, an enchanting score, and brilliant sound design. I enjoyed this movie very much.

Other viewings I enjoyed:

Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996) (dir. Mike Judge) (re-watch)

Blow Out (1981) (dir. Brian de Palma) (re-watch)

Clueless (1995) (dir. Amy Heckerling) (re-watch)

Furious 7 (2015) (dir. James Wan)

The Long Goodbye (1973) (dir. Robert Altman)

Lupin III: The First (2019) (dir. Takashi Yamazaki)

Unbreakable (2000) (dir. M. Night Shyamalan) (re-watch)

Velvet Goldmine (1998) (dir. Todd Haynes)

The Visit (2015) (dir. M. Night Shyamalan)