#in which lauren is NOT the hero of the story >_>

[venusinmyrrh]

You said you love a good fashion doc- do you have any more to recommend?

Designers and tastemakers

Very Ralph (2019). The preeminent American designer of our time, one of the very few who can stand toe to toe with the titans of Paris and Milan. To call Ralph Lauren's work "sportswear" is to call the Sistine Chapel "kind of a big painting".

Halston (2019). Speaking of going head to head with Paris, Halston did it first. Skip Ultrasuede-- this is a much better doc about the king of American 70s disco glam.

McQueen (2018). When people talk about fashion as an art form, chances are they're thinking of Alexander McQueen. Worth watching for the pulse-pounding runway shows alone.

Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist (2018). Obviously you already know about this one, but it's gotta go on any comprehensive list. Without Vivienne Westwood, punk would have been nothing but a handful of noisy assholes.

Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel (2011). My icon, my north star, my personal hero. The empress of taste and high priestess of personal style. Watch this doc whenever you need encouragement to do and wear whatever the hell you want.

The Gospel According to André (2017). Diana Vreeland's protegé and a godfather of style in his own right. If it happened in fashion in the last fifty years, André Leon Talley was there for it.

Lagerfeld Confidential (2007). I have a high tolerance for difficult and unpleasant people as long as I like their work. Your mileage may vary, but Karl Lagerfeld's immaculate, relentless taste cannot be denied.

Institutions and events

The First Monday in May (2016). Witness all the hustle, bustle, savvy, and stress that goes into planning the Met gala!

The September Issue (2009). Same as the above, but for the famous September issue of Vogue. Watch this to learn who Grace Coddington is.

Dior and I (2014). How do haute couture collections get made? In 8 weeks from start to finish, I guess, if you're Raf Simons during his first season at the House of Dior. A documentary and a thriller.

Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's (2013). No matter what other retailers might want you to think, Bergdorf Goodman is the last great department store. A portrait, already halfway to a time capsule, of what luxury shopping used to be.

Peripheral, but may be of interest

Nose (2021). The passionate, delicate art of perfume creation for the House of Dior. The French landscapes where they source their materials will make you swoon.

Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story (2017). As the makeup artist to pretty much every single icon of the 80s and 90s, Kevyn Aucoin invented the image of that era as much as any designer.

Fabergé: A Life of Its Own (2014). Come for the dazzling jewels and sumptuous objets d'art; stay to find out how this illustrious name ended up on hair care products in the 70s.

Crazy About Tiffany's (2016). Another luxury jeweler whose name alone is the stuff dreams are made on.

Bill Cunningham New York (2010). The original street style photographer, since before "street style" was even a thing. A love letter to curiosity, and a testament to the power of taking an interest in the world around us.

Still on my watchlist

Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams (2020). Directed by Luca Guadagnino, which is enough to put this Ferragamo doc at the top of my list.

Advanced Style (2014). Portraits of seven women aged 62-95 with truly fab personal style. Top Letterboxd review is seething about how out of touch they are with the real world, which means I am probably gonna love it.

Suited (2016). A study of gender through clothing in modern culture.

Dries (2017). A year-- and four collections-- in the life of Dries Van Noten, who, interestingly, doesn't see the point of clothes that people can't buy to wear, and so does not do couture.

Yellow is Forbidden (2018). This doc about Guo Pei appears to use her career as a framework to understand the gatekeeping of global culture by the West. Dope as hell, if it can pull it off.

American Style (2019). The political, social, and economic history of America through its fashion. Another one that could be really awesome if done with insight and panache.

Quant (2021). She may share the credit for inventing the miniskirt with two other people, but it cannot be argued that Mary Quant invented 1960s Swinging London. And for that we say thank you Dame Mary.

[maxwell-grant]

I'm seeing several popular react to the Penguin show with "God I wanna see Batman kick his ass in the next movie". Which, for a show about a Batman villain, is probably an indication of succeess

Are you kidding me it fucking rules, there's no "probably" here, the show couldn't possibly have achieved what it set out to do harder.

I've talked with people, as Episode 7 was coming out, that they've managed to strike this perfect balance between making Oz the fun engaging protagonist to watch, and making him a villain that we'll want to face justice, opposite Sofia who tread the line between his Batman Villain arch-nemesis as well as the closest the show has to a hero. The camera loves her, the costume designers and hair stylists love her, the showrunner calls her the hero of the show, production folks who go on the podcast talk about how she was their favorite character to work on, while Oz, the protagonist, only grew darker and more despised and more fucked-up as the weeks passed, as we sit through 8 hours chipping away at all of his fun and charm and wacko comedy antics and motivations and all the scruples and principles that he turns out to have less and less of, that become less and less useful to him, until he butchers them all in the very end along with the heart of the show.

As I saw it around week 6, by the time this thing was over, Sofia would demand to be received with tragic applause and heartbreak and whooping cheers and love, but Oswald would have the children of the world booing and hissing and throwing eggs and tomatoes at him, and then asking him to come back so they can do it again. AND I WAS RIGHT, and also I WILDLY underestimated the degree to which that would be warranted, and I certainly didn't expect that, for the first time in my life, I would be unconditionally and enthusiastically on the same side as everyone who posted that Arkham scene, where Batman picks up Penguin and smashes him against a mirror, as something Battison has to do in the next movie. I couldn't believe what a stab to the heart that last episode was.

I'l get into the specifics of why this worked more on the Episode 8 breakdown and, granted, it's a lot to conciliate still, it's genuinely a strange feeling to be onboard with everyone else who wants Penguin to be flattened and crushed and humiliated, to truly hate him as a loathsome monster for the first time ever even as I love him in so many new fucked-up ways. This is, make no mistake, the good version of the Joker's Asylum one-off, Pain and Prejudice, Bullies, all those modern stories that are ultimately about nothing more than reminding you of a super-duper serious evil bastard this funny little man is, stories I generally just find too dumb and reductive and ugly and tasteless and trying so very damn hard to be scary without working for it. This was Lauren LeFranc slam dunking everyone who's picked up this character since Jason Aaron in 2007, including Jason Aaron himself, and wherever they take him in the next movie, or if they can justify another season of this, they've fully set him up more than ever as a guy we will want to be exploded by the Batmobile, that he not only fully deserves it, but must, be defeated for good.

Beyond impressed, don't think I could have ever anticipated how much I wanted this.

[furorsopher]

shit i think the aides did that aren’t enough to write a whole story abt:

gossiping at 2am, Hamilton gesturing wildly while telling everybody about the shit the marquis and he heard from a drunken french soldier about his general, the the others being like “no way?! 😀” and lafayette and ham simultaneously responding with “YES!”

-

pass notes to each other with the most mundane questions ever but behaving like children while doing so, and doing it so secretively that washington has to have a talk with them not to do that anymore just bc they make such a big deal abt it

-

write very sarcastic and stupid poems abt each other (they actually did that hamilton mentions it in one of his letters)

-

every time laurens reveals he knows another language they make a bet which other ones he knows and it gets so bad they’re threatened to be punished for illegal gambling

-

when washington isn’t available to play the dad, tilghman gets the role (which is most of the time)

-

ham definitely had a little “crush” on the hero achilleus and raved abt him to the others, ending in them annoying him with suggesting that laurens looks similarly enough to achilleus to warrant just as much obsession

-

the end. for now :3

[thebrilliot]

As a straight white cis dude, I find it entirely rude that other straight white cis men are not trying to teach me to love myself and others, and instead are selling me cryptocurrency and superhero stories. Don't give me that fake hero-and-money-glorifying crap. Give me the real stuff, like being a kid of divorced parents and trying to survive high school, or a multi-generational story all about community and family in a mountain town in Colorado, or making an unlikely friend in the big city, or even good romance.

Do you know how good girls have it reading literature written by women for women about real women's struggles? Book stores are alive because of women's literature. They're packed full to the brim with books written by women for other women. They're just writing poetry back and forth to each other! It's beautiful! These women love each other! Meanwhile, the only thing I can find that is written for men is sci-fi and fantasy and geez it's all the same thing. I don't need fantastical anymore. I don't want to spend another 6 hours figuring out the story behind your world. I don't care if it's epic and grand. Give me some good, reality-grounded, relatable stuff.

Here's what I want to happen in pop culture. I want men to say, "let's talk about forgotten people in history and lift each other up and support each other" which is Six the Musical's message to women. Which is way healthier than what men write for men. Don't try to convince me that I should idolize a founding father who pulled himself up by his bootstraps (by marrying into an influential family where both daughters were in love with him - and note that there is no evidence that Angelica Schuyler ever had feelings for Alexander Hamilton - because who else would I want to idolize other than a man whom women find irresistibly attractive) and single-handedly against all odds created the American financial system, cheated on his wife, paid hush money to keep cheating on his wife, then publicly revealed the affair because he would rather be seen as a cheater than a traitor to his country because hOnOr Is So ImPoRtAnT, then got his son and himself killed in two different duels because AGAIN hOnOr Is So ImPoRtAnT. Nowhere in the entire plot of Hamilton did Alexander Hamilton actually do something purely because he cared about someone else. The revolutionary war and every political dispute was fought and won through pride and stubbornness. John Laurens died in a different part of the country. He didn't pause his work to spend time with his family. He didn't abandon honor to protect himself or his family.

I didn't mean for this to be a rant about Hamilton, but it is a great example of the literature and art that men create for other men. Great music, pacing, etc. but riddled with things that keep bothering me about patriarchy. Stop telling me to be a hero that does everything by himself. Just tell me how to be happy and love the people I love! Don't tell me that because I'm average and feel overlooked that there's actually something special about me that makes me some sort of chosen one. That's not real! I already got told enough of those lies in school. I grew up in gifted and talent student programs through grade school and they told me the same thing. "YoU'rE gOiNg To ChAnGe ThE wOrLd." Actually, probably not, but because I'm a good kid and just the right amount of neurodivergent, I'm going to take you seriously and put an unhealthy amount of pressure on myself and also then fail to reach any of my vague and lofty goals, especially because no one is telling boys and men that community is a crucial part of human life, happiness and fulfillment, mental health, change and progress, and personal growth and accomplishment.

Maybe I don't want to change the world, and maybe I don't want to do things all by myself, and maybe I don't want to rely on finding a wife and having children as a way to find or create a community or a support system. Maybe I get fulfillment out of things other than fame and sex. Where are the men who are writing to me as an audience?

Anyway, the patriarchy sucks. Fuck patriarchal messaging. I reject that. Men, be better. Write something worthwhile for once.

[kerink]

okay, so i liked this episode because i spent the last 2 weeks anxious about kevin and/or lauren dying for real at the end of this arc, and the fact they both made it out alive is a major, major part of the relief and happiness i feel. additionally, my theory about kevin spending his childhood in the dow only to move to desert bluffs later was proven correct, and that feels amazing

but after going thru the tags and reading other peoples reactions, i do agree that it's frustrating carlos didn't have a bigger role and that defeating lauren was so easy. i'm really let down that charles didn't play a bigger part in this and that we didn't see what happened to the dow after lauren came after night vale

it just plays into what i've been saying for the last 2-3 years now which is the seasons feel very rushed. before there would be a primary plot that would span the entire season, some cecil-related lore beats, and then each episode would have its own self-contained story. but the last 2 seasons have had so much going on in terms of things to pay attention to, that they both should have spanned 2 seasons each in order for it to feel explored in a satisfying way

i also wish they spent more time developing the core cast. like how carlos has been handled these last two seasons is really irritating. where's our hero of night vale who stuck his nose into everything and always got his hands dirty? i know carlos is avoidant by nature, and the last two major plots have been so deep in his personal history, but all the more reason it's completely unsatisfying not hearing from him at all

[androxys]

I'm back reading Robin and the Making of American Adolescence, and we're officially on the chapter about Carrie Kelley and Stephanie Brown. These quotes are from the chapter introduction, with some notes by me.

"Unlike Dick Grayson, female Robins were never meant to be understood as 'heroes in training' or as the heir apparent to Batman's crusade. Rather, their stories depict fantasies of patriarchal control in which idealized maturity and masculinity are linked through the requisition or punishment of teenage girls' bodies."

O'Connor argues that Carrie Kelley is not as empowering as writers might want you to think in her position as the first woman to be Robin--Kelley largely serves just as the "perfect" foil to Miller's Batman. O'Connor argues that this foil position objectifies Kelley, because this is where her character begins and ends.

"Through the character of Stephanie Brown, creators enact a vicious morality play of what happens to adolescent girls who do not function as perfect foils, who challenge patriarchal order and move 'out of their lane.' Stephanie's characterization as independent and headstrong coupled with her violent, sexualized torture sends the message that adolescent girls who buck the traditional expectations of deference to male authority ought to be punished."

Overall, O'Connor's opening argument is that writers don't use girl Robins to show that girls can be heroes too, but to prop up ideas of masculinity by having Batman be able to tell someone what to do. This is arguably a universal Robin trait--a lot of early Dick was propping up Batman-as-patriarch by having him be young and naive. But while Dick was able to grow and become Nightwing (and eventually Batman) women who are Robin are stuck. And in some cases, such as Stephanie, explicitly punished for not doing whatever Batman-the-patriarch tells her.

Quotes from Robin and the Making of American Adolescence by Lauren O'Connor

[cadmium-free]

Day 10 of 26 with @neopetsdotcom

POISON (1991)

Lauren’s Review

I’m gonna be so real with you guys I did not finish this one and tbh I do not plan to, and as an admirer of Todd Haynes other work, I am so disappointed thst this is how I ended up feeling about this movie. 

Its so unfortunate. Because its an incredibly strong concept! Turning the same tools historically used to push homophobic messaging, such as disease metaphors (especially in the worst of the AIDS epidemic!), b movies, tabloid television, etc etc etc, into explorations of the pervasive evil of homophobia, the ostracism of being queer, fantastic truly! It theoretically SHOULD be a great movie

But. Despite its excellent premise, it is like. Not engaging. Kind of a slog to get through! And Yea considering its subject matter I am not expecting like, some kind of non stop thrill ride, but past the genius of its concept, it just didn’t feel like it was going anywhere further? Perhaps an unfair criticism for someone who didn’t watch til the end but shrug. I have appreciation for its status as groundbreaking queer cinema and I certainly understand why and believe it deserves it, and much love to Todd Haynes, but it just didn’t hit for me!

Awl’s Review

It never really grabbed me, but I think it was doing a lot of interesting little things in each of its three narratives. For me it was at its best when it delved the most into fairytale, which is where it chooses to end. The most grounded seeming story about a boy shooting his abusive father ends in his defense. We cannot judge him, but we judge him. His segment is titled hero.

I enjoyed the dynamics of the story about the two men in prison, you could feel Hayne’s love of Fassbinder’s work really clearly here, but this was also the issue for me. I kept thinking of other films and idly wishing I was watching them instead. I would have enjoyed Fassbinder more. I would have enjoyed a longer old b-movie about disease as allegory. 

But do not let me completely discredit Haynes here: he makes explicit what an old b-movie might not.

[that-left-turn]

I have a feeling "To Find Home, Is To Find Each Other" would have been the promotional line even without Carol. They did everything in their power to sell France as Daryls new home. I had at no point the feeling he was desperate to get back or that he was miserable about his people being gone. The beats of S1 were gone (when he exploded in Lauren's face after the boat was gone). And Carol was clearly NOT a priority. Yes, Laurent was in danger but Carol could've been Maggie or any other character from the CW or Alexandria. "Home became a different meaning", yes, that's what they tried to sell at every turn. Home wasn't any longer in America but France. They just threw Carol in the messed up mix like Maggie in the Leah storyline. Another proof that they didn't expect Melissa in S2 while writing the first two seasons.

There are always a lot of people weighing in on story direction, so it can get muddled up in there. Sometimes studio execs can be meddlesome because they fancy themselves storytellers and since the majority of them aren't creatives—especially not the ones who come from the tech industry—they should stay in their own lane and leave the story to the writers. Having actor EPs (when it's not just a vanity title) is another nightmare because there's always ego involved and usually very little understanding that there's more to the show than what happens to their own character.

At any rate, Carol was forced on the EPs, so that's why she feels like a character that's shoehorned into a preexisting plot. Zabel clearly didn't want to change his plans but as a TV writer, you can never be married to your character arcs or plot twists because everything can change on a dime. In this particular case, the studio acted like an editor, trying to distill what was best for the show. The freshman season didn't work and it's common for shows to get retooled, but TWD Caryl has two big roadblocks. The N/W EPs have priorities that aren't 'producing a great show' while the showrunner has limited creative range and no managerial skills.

The promotional slug turned into "even heroes need saving" to make it less shippy, so it's very unlikely that "to find home, is to find each other" would've been used without Carol's presence. The marketing direction changed during post, when the content shifted away from Caryl, but the final edit looks extremely choppy, so there were choices made at a late stage which were detrimental to the quality of the show. I'm not sure of the reason behind it because during that time, it seemed like Norman was aware that he was standing downwind from the source of the foul smell.

[doamarierose-honoka]

The Penguin Episode 4 Introduces A Deep Cut DC Comics Supervillain

This post contains spoilers for episode four of "The Penguin."

Over its first three episodes, "The Penguin" included several subtle Easter eggs that allude to wider Batman lore. The character of Rex Calabrese, of whom Oz talks so highly in episode one, is a villain from the "Batman" comics, while that same episode gave us a neat spin on Robin's origin story using the show's biggest supporting character. There are even more hidden nods to Bat-history throughout "The Penguin," with names of writers and producers appearing on documents and areas of Gotham named after prominent "Batman" writers of years past.

But on the whole, the show has tried its best to stay away from overt references to the Dark Knight himself. Prior to its debut, showrunner Lauren LeFranc made clear that she was crafting a standalone series that would not rely on Robert Pattinson's hero from "The Batman" in order to sustain itself across eight episodes. So far, that's proven to be true, with "The Penguin" representing a "Sopranos"-style crime thriller that is essentially a character study of the titular rogue.

With episode four, we take a detour from Gotham's gutters to Arkham Asylum by way of an extended flashback that explains how Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti) came to be known as "The Hangman" — itself a moniker taken from the "Long Halloween" comic book arc. During this visit to Gotham's gloomy mental health facility, we get yet another subtle Batman Easter egg, though it's not exactly what many fans were hoping for.

The Penguin set fans up for a big villain reveal

After showing us the real human cost of Riddler's plan from "The Batman" in episode three, "The Penguin" used its fourth episode to flesh out Sofia Falcone's backstory. In the episode, the good-hearted daughter of Mark Strong's crime boss Carmine Falcone is sent to Arkham Asylum after asking too many questions about the death of her own mother and several women around Gotham. This leads her ruthless father — likely the real killer of these women — to frame his daughter for their deaths and have her committed, thereby removing her from public life.

It follows the storyline from episode three, in which we saw that Sofia was behind the invention of a new drug intended to replace the widespread "drops" in Gotham. This new drug, nicknamed "Bliss" by Oz, is made from mushrooms covered in red fungi spores. The reveal that Sofia was behind the creation of this new drug, with its quasi-botanical origins, suggested that, just maybe, "The Penguin" was alluding to the character having met Poison Ivy during her time locked away. All of which meant fans were surely hoping to see this particular Batman villain show up in a future episode, especially one set in say, Arkham Asylum.

However, episode four gave us a good look at Sofia's Arkham experience and unfortunately, Ivy is nowhere to be seen. Instead, "The Penguin" continued the trend of more subtle Batman Easter eggs by introducing us to an inmate named Margaret who occupies the cell directly next to Sofia. This character is actually a little-known DC rogue by the name of Magpie, and interestingly enough, this isn't her first time being depicted in live-action.

The DC villain who shows up in The Penguin episode four

While fans were surely hoping to get a glimpse of Pamela Isley during Sofia Falcone's Arkham stay, there weren't any such major Easter eggs in episode four of "The Penguin." Magpie is really the only notable DC character in this version of Arkham, and she doesn't even last the entire episode, with Sofia eventually caving to the mental pressure of being incarcerated and taking it out on poor old Margaret. Interestingly enough, however, there is a connection between this character and Ivy.

In the comic books, the character was introduced in 1986's "The Man of Steel" #3 as a jewel thief who goes insane. She has been featured in various DC comics ever since, at one point being revealed as Poison Ivy's cellmate at Arkham. Magpie has also appeared in Fox's TV series "Gotham," showing up in season 5 episode "13 Stitches", where she was played by Sarah Schenkkan. This wasn't her only live-action appearance, either. A version of Magpie played by Rachel Matthews actually showed up in "Batwoman," where she also ends up in Arkham Asylum.

Now, we've had our third live-action Magpie in "The Penguin." This iteration of the character tells Sofia that her name is "not Margaret, my stepmom used to call me Margaret." Magpie's real name in the comics is Margaret Pye, confirming that this is almost certainly the Reeves-verse version of the villain. Interestingly enough, her demise in episode four vaguely mirrors her death in the comics, where Magpie is killed by the Tally Man, Orca, the Ventriloquist, and the KGBeast — all villains working for none other than The Penguin.

Why is this arcane DC villain present in this episode? There's no way to be sure, but at one point the character says to Sofia, "I bet there'll be lots of paparazzi at your trial, no one even wrote about mine." With that in mind, perhaps showrunner Lauren LeFranc wanted to give what she saw as an underserved DC character some shine, though she also doesn't hesitate to very swiftly kill her off so who knows. 

Once again, then, "The Penguin" not only eschews the more obvious choice of Batman lore to work into its narrative, it quickly dismisses the one Easter egg it does include, suggesting LeFranc never wavered in her determination to secure "The Penguin" as a story more than capable of standing on its own.

[manic-maniac-man]

MEET THE DESIGNER (pt.3)

GREG LAUREN

PROFILE of THE NEPHEW

"I started to become aware of the existence of heroes when my father and I were talking about who they thought was a hero. I think they mentioned Joe DiMaggio, Cary Grant, and Fred Astaire. But for me, they were active a long time ago. When I listened to my uncle and father's stories, I thought that it was strange to look back only at the past to find a hero. At that time, comics were at their peak, and there were really a lot of different characters. But I thought that heroes who lost a battle or who were depressed after failing a mission were cooler than heroes who fought against the enemy." I see, Greg doesn't draw just any superhero. He only draws lonely heroes that we don't usually see, like Batman drinking coffee alone in a cafe.

"What are those heroes doing these days? What are they like when they're not fighting? I don't want to fight right now. I don't want to wear a Batman suit on any other days. I'm sure they have the same feelings that we have in our daily lives. But I was interested in what heroes look like when they're not acting as heroes."

After that, Greg exhibited clothing objects made from hand-zoned ordinary pieces of paper at Barneys New York in 2010 and Colette in 2011. He held the exhibition "Altermation."

"Everyone has a person or character they admire. For some kids, it's a doctor or an athlete.

In my case, ever since I was a child, my grandfather and I looked up to cool people like Ernest Hemingway, who exuded elegance, intelligence and good taste. For me, who always looked at the clothes they wore, their clothes were more like a symbol of admiration. By wearing the clothes they wore, I might be able to feel like I was them." In other words, Greg promotes the intermingling of reality and imagination.

The sculptures, which are based on jackets, dress shirts, and tuxedos, are made from thin paper, but they have an unusual sense of weight to them that make them seem as if they are made of steel.

Shifting from something to watch to something to wear

Following his "Altermation" exhibition, Greg Lauren held his "Barracks" exhibition in Soho, New York, for one week only in 2011. More than 30 one-of-a-kind clothes and accessories were installed in an industrial space of exposed concrete and exposed electric wires. His creations have evolved from the art-beauty exhibition "Altermation" to wearable real clothes. The trigger for making these clothes was Greg's question to himself: "Why do I like military clothes so much?" Is it a pursuit of masculinity, or an expression of the heroism of the soldier? Greg had already started collecting US Navy jackets, tents, and even duffel bags, but his collection accelerated further for "Barracks."

"Alternation" was created around the theme of "heroes" who are people Greg admires or have perfect personalities. And "Barracks" was held in Soho, New York. The concept was similar, but it was an installation with a completely different approach, expressing the "beauty of imperfection". These one-of-a-kind military clothes were created when Greg started making the clothes after using paint brushes about four months ago.

"It was imperfect that was perfect"

"It was imperfect and accomplished"

Greg Lauren has been working on this since 2004.

A work from the te series.

He was wearing a shirt with the trademark of Superman on it, drinking beer, and wearing a Batman costume.

The rough sketch depicts Greg's ideas of scrutiny and heroism.

[mermaidsirennikita]

Hello! I hope you are having a good weekend, could you recommend HR with the jealousy mini trope? The hero being a jealous idiot, not that it takes the whole book but more like the hero could actually be very vocal about him not liking other men looking/talking at the heroine

Hmmmm this is kind of common, but also something I'll admit I don't think a lot of authors pull off. Not because it's a Bad Thing, but because it often feels shoved into the story as an obligatory "check a box" moment. And I hate a check a box moment, lol.

So, books I think do it well:

Charlotte and The Seductive Spymaster by Grace Callaway. I love this one because the entire premise of the book is that Charlotte and Sebastian were married young, he appeared to die, and it turns out he did in fact fake his death for Reasons. So twelve years later, she's finally beginning to open up to another man, and like. As they're kissing, a literal rock comes flying through a window. It's Sebastian! He's stalking her! (Stalking is Love in romance, and I'm fine with it.) And he's PISSED that this other dude is trying to make moves on his wife, who fully thinks he's dead, because of his own choices lol. There's more jealousy in the book; I wouldn't call it a love triangle, because Charlie doesn't ever really seriously consider the other dude and he in turn is not serious about her... But it is a love triangle in her husband's head.

Stephanie Laurens's Cynster series features generally jealous heroes because they're all alphas (with Conqueror's Blood). I think A Rake's Vow is a good one for this, because Patience is being approached by other men, and Vane is like UM???? BUT WE FUCKED IN THE OUTDOORS MARRY ME??????

Melissa and the Vicar by S.M. LaViolette. Magnus thinks Hugo and Melissa are fucking (albeit because they put on QUITE a show because Melissa has self-loathing issues and wants Magnus to leave; Magnus Will Not Leave because he's OBSESSSED) and is fuming with jealousy. Also: ? I think Hugo actually also has his own jealousy issues in Hugo and The Maiden, as some other guy is vying for his heroine's hand.

For My Lady's Heart by Laura Kinsale. The hero definitely experiences jealousy (and also a "what the fuck" moment) because the heroine is pretending to sleep with her teenage assassin, Allegreto. To be clear, she is not sleeping with the teenage assassin. Also, Allegret is pretending to be castrated but is like "SHE WANTS ME FOR OTHER THIIINGS" and our hero is all "I really wish I hadn't joined this weird traveling band of freaks". Poor Ruck. Flowers from the Storm, another Kinsale, also has a jealous hero who's like "THESE FUCKING QUAKERS ARE TRYING TO TAKE THIS WOMAN I FORCED TO MARRY AWAY FROM ME GODDAMMIT".

Monica McCarty's Highland Guard series has very possessive heroes who tend to be jealous of like. Anyone who gets near their heroines. Which is like? Actually kind of a thing. The Saint actually has the hero watch the heroine marry his best friend at the beginning, and there is much angst about it when Shit Happens.

Seduce Me at Sunrise by Lisa Kleypas. BUT OF COURSE. Julian, the Nice Guy Doctor, is trying to court Win, and Kev refuses to be with her because He'll Kill Her with His Horse Cock, but he WILL absolutely seethe with jealousy if Julian even breathes near her.

Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas. Derek is very jealousy of Sara's wet blanket fiancee. There's an entire scene where he finds out she kissed the fiancee (and mind you, Derek was very much the other man in this situation lol) and he's like "WHAT THE FUCK" and Sara's dad observes this, surmises that Derek and Sara have Done Things, and is all "okaaaaaay so we'll need to get y'all married ASAP".

It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas. Westcliff is, naturally, extremely twitchy and jealous when St. Vincent is doing his whole "let's court Lillian for the evil" thing. And has a whole "i think THE FUCK not" when Sebastian offers for her. Sebastian is also pretty jealous and possessive in Devil in Winter when Evie turns out to have a Hot Guy Buddy in Cam Rohan. Which he should be. Because Cam fucks.

In When the Earl Met His Match by Stacy Reid, the hero takes the heroine's daughter on as his own when she shows up pregnant by another man and in need of a marriage of convenience... and then the biological father of the kid shows up. Our hero is Not Happy.

In The Heiress Hunt, The Lady Gets Lucky, and The Bride Goes Rogue by Joanna Shupe, all of the heroes are super jealous of the Duke of Lockwood--and to be fair? In like, two and half of those situations, Lockwood WAS trying to get with their women. And we love him for it. In The Duke Gets Even, Lockwood is also jealous of this one guy Nellie has fucked recently, and additionally Nellie's cousin, because he does not in fact know that it's her cousin at first. What does kill me is that even in Lockwood's book, the beef is like still real with him and the other guys. They're all so threatened lmao. Which they should be, because Lockwood is hot, and the ULTIMATE example of Gentleman in The Streets, Freak in The Sheets.

Elizabeth Hoyt heroes are usually jealous lol. Winter Makepeace is definitely jealous of the various guys trying to fuck Isabel in Thief of Shadows.

When the Duke Was Wicked by Lorraine Heath features Human Disaster The Duke of Lovingdon being jealous of the guys he's literally trying to set Grace up with.

[birindale]

International Women's Day promo, with transcript & further clips below the cut

ND Stevenson: When I was a little girl, I always loved scifi and fantasy. I looked so hard for the female characters in those stories, and so often they're very hard to find at all. Taking She-Ra and the Princesses of Power into today's era was a dream project for me. It's just like a really cool show.

Child 1: I love Scorpia. She's not afraid to show her inner feelings. She wants to like, cut her hair short. She's also insanely bubbly.

Aimee Carrero, voice of She-Ra/Adora: I didn't grow up with cartoons about… a girl, doing things in the world. It was about a guy and the girls who loved him.

Child 2: Watching She-Ra, it was really powerful to see that women were actually the heroes.

Lauren Ash, voice of Scorpia: So it's important to remind and--and show kids that no matter what you look like--yeah! There's a place for every one of you.

Child 3: It's so cool to have so many different-looking princesses.

Child 4: I like how it's just not boys being hav--being super-strong.

One of the children in an exaggerated voice: Onward! [the children heft toy Swords of Protection and start chasing each other and giggling]

Merit Leighton, voice of Frosta: The cast should be as diverse as real life. And as the world is.

Child 5: I feel like, because I'm not like, a stick--like all the cartoons in most shows. She-Ra inspires me to be, like more confident in myself?

Child 6: When I watch it just makes me, like… I wanna be brave too!

Vella Lovell, voice of Mermista: To see yourself on screen is to have someone say to you, "Your dreams are possible."

Krystal Joy Brown, voice of Netossa: It's time for us to be able to be at the helm of our own stories, and to also not be shy of our power.

Marcus Scribner, voice of Bow: It's super important for girls to see characters like Bow, to let them know that males are out there supporting them.

Child 4, in reaction to something offscreen: Holy mackerel!

Lauren Ash: 'Cause things are changing guys, I don't know if you know that, but it's a really exciting time.

Princess of Power. Everything is power. Princess of Power! It's just like, good to listen to, actually.

Karen Fukuhara, voice of Glimmer: I hope that our show inspires kids to be… anything that they wanna be.

ND Stevenson: This world is a place where all of them can be empowered to fight their own battles, and fight the good fight. And that's what this show is all about.

All 8 Children: For the honor of Grayskull!

--------------------------

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A post shared by DreamWorks She-Ra (@dreamworksshera)

Aimee Carrero clip: It was one of the first times that I could look across the room and see, like, women, not just in creative places of power but in executive places of power. And I think that that's a balance that has been sorely lacking in our industry

--------------------------

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A post shared by ˚✧₊* Merit Leighton ⁎⁺˳✧ (@meritleighton)

Merit Leighton clip: I mean, the show is so diverse, so it's great that they're… that they have cast people that are like their roles, in their roles. And I feel like that's how it should be everywhere.

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Dreamworks also had a page up here with a brief article with the following pdfs:

She-Ra IWD Video Discussion Guide - stimulate important discussion amongst children

My Hero Book - find your inner balanced hero

Labyrinth Game - call upon the strengths and skills of others 

Heroic Support Pyramid Game - strive for greater balance in our world

and some canned stuff on diversity which you can click through to read, idt it needs to be on here. I should note that Balance for Better was the "theme" of International Women's Day that year.

oh! and some shareable pngs of select characters to show people you like women, or balance, or whatever. like, really select characters. only 8 of them. honestly kind of a tragedy bc the comedic potential of Light Hope with a big #BALANCE FOR BETTER cannot be overstated. balance must be restored indeed. here are some links to those:

She-Ra

Perfuma

Mermista

Bow

Glimmer

Spinnerella

Netossa

Frosta

[kittyundercover1]

👋HELLO!!👋

I’m KittyUndercover, but you can call me Kitty or Kit for short.

To sum up my entire existence in three words: I’m a nerd.

I love cartoons, anime, graphic novels, comics, manga, drawing, writing, collecting trading cards (Pokémon, My Little Pony, My Hero Academia, etc) collecting Funko POP figures, you name it!

I’m interested in quite a lot of shows and fandoms which include:

Animaniacs

Blue’s Clues (& You!)

Bluey

Craig of the Creek

Elliott From Earth

Imagination Movers

The Amazing World of Gumball

The Wiggles

Wild Kratts

+ more!

I write OC-related stories as well as x readers from time to time (I don’t do requests for x readers):

The Girl From Virginia (Craig of the Creek)

Wattpad

AO3

Springs and Sunsets (Animaniacs) (Oneshot)

Wattpad

AO3

Broken Base (Elliott From Earth) (Oneshot)

Wattpad

AO3

The O Twins (Odd Squad)

Wattpad

AO3

Four Leaf Clover (Wild Kratts)

Wattpad

AO3

Lavenders and Lilacs (Lachy x Reader) (The Wiggles)

Wattpad

AO3

Concert (Bluey x The Wiggles Crossover)

Wattpad

AO3

My Art/OC Book

Wattpad

Shall we Dance? (Imagination Movers x Reader) (Oneshot)

Wattpad

AO3

The Lone Inventor (PAW Patrol)

Wattpad

AO3

Today (Lachy x Reader) (Oneshot)

Wattpad

AO3

Imagination Movers x Reader Episode Insert

Wattpad

AO3

If you have any questions about my OCs, feel free to ask anytime!

List of my OCs and Personas:

Tammy Fitzgerald (The Amazing World of Gumball

Cammie (The Amazing World of Gumball)

Kaitlyn (The Amazing World of Gumball)

Kix (Animaniacs)

Tinx (Animaniacs)

Pix (Animaniacs)

Jaxson (Animaniacs)

Haven Sharp (Craig of the Creek)

Holden Sharp (Craig of the Creek)

Heaven Sharp (Craig of the Creek)

Gabriel Sharp (Craig of the Creek)

Nebula (Elliott From Earth)

Nevaeh (Human Nebula) (Elliott From Earth)

Era (Elliott From Earth)

Everett “Groundbreaker” (Elliott From Earth)

Clover Hallows (Wild Kratts)

Iris Hallows (Wild Kratts)

Aster Hallows (Wild Kratts)

Oakland (Odd Squad)

Orlando (Odd Squad)

Double Spark Cookie (Cookie Run)

Mya (PAW Patrol)

Marie (Bubble Guppies)

Pomegranate (Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom)

Kit Wiggle (The Wiggles)

Mover Kit (Imagination Movers)

Kallie & Lightbulb (Blue’s Clues (& You!))

Connie (Little Einsteins)

Elizabella Alanis Moreno (Handy Manny)

Julia Matthews (Handy Manny)

Dana Daniels (WordGirl)

Lauren Daniels (WordGirl)

Cadet Kit (The Aquabats)

Cheshire (The Aquabats)

Trixie “Tricksy” Pixie (The Aquabats)

More places to find me online:

AO3 - KittyUndercover1

Art Fight - KittyUndercover

Instagram - kitty.undercover

Spotify - KittyUndercover

TikTok - kittyundercoverr

Wattpad - KittyUndercover1

YouTube - KittyUndercover

Master-link for all my social media accounts to make it simpler if you want.

Thanks for reading!

[ultraericthered]

Anime Update V3 5

Vinland Saga S2 - A large chunk of this episode, I think the majority of it, was kept focused on Gardar's death as he was riding in the back of the wagon driven by his wife while slowly succumbing to a fatal wound Snake gave him, visions of his life and afterlife flashing before him the whole time. Watching it was one of the most surreal and discomforting experiences I've had in a while. I can't describe it all in words, it just left my heart feeling very heavy but at the same time I felt light, like I'd come out the other side of a spiritual ordeal. The man made some horrible mistakes and did not live his life in the best of ways, but watching his soul depart to the afterlife where he's reunited with his dead, still very young son was...it was something.

Hunter x Hunter - Meruem and Komugi playing their Gungi matches continues to steal the show, with Meruem this time attempting to intimidate Komugi with the prospect of betting her life against his body parts, only for what Komugi tells him that make the Ant King apologetic to the point where he just goes and maims himself anyway, so Neferpitou had to be called upon to use their powers to heal the king's wound. This allows for Knov to sneak inside the palace and make preparations for the hunters' attack. There's also this one guy who actually runs the nation who is a creepy, disgusting perv willingly working with the Ants in order to obtain women. Seems he's picked out Palm, who's all set for her own undercover mission.

SHUFFLE! - Kaede got more focus this time, and while she's still kind and sweet and wanting to make sure Rin and his friends are always well taken care of, the increasing presence of the other girls in Rin's life is clearly making her start to feel left out, and there are hints to some unpleasant childhood incident involving her and Rin that Rin probably still can't recall. Kaede catchess a cold but still tries to push herself to not be a burden, but thankfully Sia, Narine, and Asa come over to help her out...to some humorously mixed results.

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works - The epilogue episode for the series focuses on Shirou and Rin about a year later attending this elite academy for mages in London and we just get to see how much closer they've grown and how they're carrying on in their lives. We got two notable last minute introductions of characters who should go on to have prominence elsewhere in this franchise - Shirou's new wealthy benefactor and Rin's archrival, Luviagelita Edelfelt (voiced with a laughably bad and exaggerated sounding British accent by Lauren Landa) who's only here to fawn over Shirou and kick Rin's ass in a wresting fight, and more surprisingly, Lord El Melloi II, known previously as Waver Velvet! One of the best protagonists of Fate Zero grew up to be quite an important, serious-minded and devilishly handsome man and I was so not ready to see him but love that I did!

The ending caps off Shirou and Rin's shared stories, which is what this series was all about from the get-go, and the post-credits just as perfectly caps off Archer's story, as we see him fade away from the Unlimited Blade Works and be replaced by a different Future Shirou, suggesting that Shirou does indeed avoid that particular Bad End.

KonoSuba - How does this show and the antics of its main cast just keep getting funnier? I was floored so many times by this one, with Aqua, due to sheer greed, taking up a mission to purify a lake and ward off gator monsters while inside a cage, which ends up freaking her the fuck out and leaving her with trauma that causes a mental shutdown where she refuses to get out of the cage because the world outside it scares her, and even forgets she's a goddess! (Don't worry, it doesn't take much to snap her out of it!) Then this other Isekai'd hero named Kyouya (voiced by the late, great Billy Kametz) comes in and recognizes Aqua as the goddess who sent him to this world on his own heroic quest, and is completely aghast to see her hanging around the party of a lowlife like Kazuma. Kazuma being Kazuma brings out the worst in this guy, who ordinarily seems more like your traditional Isekai light novel fantasy hero, so he challenges him to a duel where Kazuma steals his sword, threatens his female traveling companions, and then sells the sword off-screen. Kyouya will have damn good reason to feel vengeful if he ever crosses the party again....vengeful like the Headless Horseman demon lord from the previous episode, who comes calling again at the end of this one!

Symphogear XV - Noble Red's attempt to activate the Bracelet of Shem-Ha doesn't go so well, leaving them without a hideout, so the three vampire chicks now need to lay low in a trailer. Yes, really. In another skirmish with S.O.N.G, they reveal they hope to regain their human bodies so that they don't have the constant need for blood to sustain them. Vanessa gets a tracking device planted on her during the battle, but when it's found, she and her friends decide to use it to their advantage, luring the Symphogear wielders to an impressively well-laid out trap battleground where they use their special combo ability to trap the girls in a pyramid-shaped labyrinth that's closing in on them from all sides. But who should pop up to help Hibiki but the spirit of Saint-Germain, still inside her and lending her additional strength! After breaking out, Hibiki extends a hand to reach out to Vanessa...and then the whole thing is revealed to be a triple-cross as Japanese government agents raid the area, set on stopping the missions of both Noble Red and S.O.N.G! Goddamn you, Fudou!

Eureka Seven - Renton re-boards the Gekko but makes it clear to Holland and the others that he's only there to see Eureka again. He picked the worst timing since Eureka's gone off in search of him, putting herself in front of the approaching state army being led to the Gekko by Ray and Charles. While Holland is still a monster and has yet to really come to terms with the harm he's done to both Renton and Eureka, the rest of Gekko State accepts that the two kids need each other and encourage Renton to bail Eureka out of the battle. In the midst of some awesome and intense air battle action, Renton and Eureka are reunited at last, using the Nirvash to create something even stronger than a Seventh Swell, forcing the enemy to retreat. We seem back in business as Renton and Eureka have begun a new relationship, Holland's having some ephiphany about all the things he now has to re-think, and Charles swears he's not keen on giving up.

Gintama - Following half an episode of Shinsengumi antics is a full episode story where one of Otae's colleagues runs into trouble with this bizarre cult run by a con man, so Otae enlists Odd Jobs to retrieve the money that the cult took. And we meet a new mainstay character here, the shaggy-haired, goateed ninja Zenzo Hattori.

[spider-xan]

Speaking of scary, the Lizard in this game is very scary. You could have gone different ways with him, like the ’90s animated show which is a little campier with the lab coat and him talking. Your version is a lot more monstrous and less anthropomorphic. How did you settle on this direction for the character? Ben Arfmann (Narrative Director): There was definitely a lot of enthusiasm from the team to do something that was a little bit more ‘Kaiju’ with Lizard. The scale of it is really fun. Having this big character on screen that feels like it can dominate your hero, but then Pete has the symbiote, so it’s an incredible test of the strength that he’s developed. So I think from pretty early on, there was an idea of scale — a thing that we want to be unique to this character and can be unique to this character that we want. Lauren Mee (Advanced Senior Writer): It’s funny you say that because that reminds me of what you were saying earlier, helping the game is matching like spectacle with like, little personal moments. And the nice thing about Connor [sic] is he’s so grounded, being such a tragic character, so we’re able to explore that a little bit more. It’d be harder to do that if he had on a lab coat. [laughs] You do nod to it, at least, in the demo! Mee: Of course! But another thing that I really like about him and the character is that he also connects to the kind of ‘man in the mask’ struggle that the heroes deal with. In a way, he has his own symbiote, and so there’s a lot of really intense emotional drama with him.

— Insomniac Games breaks down the ambitious, emotional story of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (September 2023)

[jojoblessed365]

5 Things I Loved (and 5 Things I Hated) of Milo Ventimiglia's "The Company You Keep"

Okay, so I'll say this: while I was first excited for Milo's new show, I was kind of turned off by the premiere, and I have watched all the episodes, but the story failed to impress me. So, I'll start with what I liked about the show and what I hated about the show, and all who read this can either DM, reblog, or comment your thoughts, whether you agree or disagree, so here goes:

Likes

1. Milo's character Charlie Nicoletti

Charlie, for me, resonated as a character- he was a guy living a life and wanted more. The fact that he isn't a mid-30s, but rather 40 year old, and wasn't the traditional hero that you'd find, that was extremely neat. The way Milo portrays him is off the charts- I could feel the pain that he felt when he got conned by his fiancee, when he got blindsided by Emma's profession, when he took a big risk and got the expected answer of rejection, having to take snubs from Emma and being wrung to full extent as an asset. So if anything, congrats Milo- your character won a place in my heart.

2. Daphne being a three-dimensional character than just a femme fatale/ Bond villain

Daphne is complicated - but she isn't the cantankerous villain you'd find in most con films, she's a little of Jamie Lee Curtis's Wanda, Lauren Bacall's Slim and Sophie Marceau's Elektra. And that speaks volumes.

3. Leo and Fran Nicoletti/Birdie and Ollie/Sibling dynamics between Emma-David and Charlie-Birdie

The romantic relationship between Leo and Fran, the single mom and daughter dynamic between Birdie and Ollie, and the sibling pairs of Emma-David and Charlie-Birdie were top notch. Knowing and seeing these kinds of relationships in my family onscreen was refreshing and if the show focused on that, it would've been a hit.

The con planning/ avatars

Milo slipping into different characters, hairstyles, costumes and accents- this was a bigger step in comparison to Jack Pearson and this also includes Fran, Leo and Birdie (especially Birdie). So Nicolettis, you've entered the pop culture lexicon (at least for me).

The Nicolettis and the Hills and their respective family dynamics

This had an essence borrowed from This Is Us- it was refreshing two very different families, albeit cut from the same cloth (metaphorically)- a strong marital relationship between the parents (Leo-Fran, Joseph-Grace), supportive and honest older siblings (David and Birdie), and two younger siblings shaped by their respective families (Charlie and Emma).

Hates:

1. #Hilleti (as a relationship)

I have to admit that I wasn't too jazzed up with Charlie and Emma- sure, they were the perfect example of different on paper, but compatible as hell, but the moments between this couple was too little and too fast- episode 1 was fun, episode 2 was the whole "rebound" situation, episode 3 was Emma "fitting in" with the Nicolettis and having that honeymoon phase, episode 4 was Charlie being whammed with Emma's profession but still taking it in stride which shows the peak of his love and episode 5 was the whole "I Love You" debacle which reminded me so painfully of Dean and Rory's first I Love You and the cliffhanger of Charlie coming clean and ending it with an "I Love You too".

2. David and Jennifer

David and Jennifer felt like the epitome of a perfect "killer" (pun intended) relationship- if you take couples like Ella and Pete from Lucifer, Van Pelt and Craig from The Mentalist, David and Jennifer would join the roster.

3. The whole Claire Fox storyline

I'll admit that this was something that disappointed me; it would've been fun to see a more layered red herring than this - 'Nuff said.

4. #Hilleti (as a handler-asset relationship)

This was by far, the most disappointing in the back half of the season- Emma became more unlikable as in episode 6, was Emma starting to become unbearable with her branding the Nicolettis as common criminals and then blatantly telling Charlie that she doesn't like him in the ending, episode 7 was Emma having that double standard of being jealous when Charlie gets close to Daphne, and then pretending that what she and Charlie had was nothing (Last week, you said you loved me - Last week, you were a bartender); episode 8 was again another dose of backhanded comments from Emma that at the point, nothing she could do was redeemable in my eyes, sure bending her rules to release Leo was a great point but that was it, episode 9 was Emma again snidely referring to Charlie protecting Daphne and Charlie finally snapping, episode 10 was them getting (momentarily) together, and having a Varchie moment which made me rolling my eyes, and the ending was like forcing something down my throat- we all know Charlie and Emma will get together, if it had been subtle like Jack and Rebecca's ending in the first season of This is Us, then that would've been more interesting and leaving a little thread that maybe Charlie would be pursuing Daphne.

5. The Maguires

They made me uncomfortable - especially Connor. But the fact that they tied it in a neat ribbon with Patrick's death, made me disappointed.

So what do you think? @kimberly-stocks I would love to know yours. I'm not saying that these are my final thoughts, this is just me with my thoughts on what made TCYK so great but also where it could've improved.