#it's cool that you like old movies and non-hollywood movies

[swannkings]

gonna need some people to stop associating an individual's intelligence and ethics with the type of movies or books or television or music they enjoy, and maybe just fucking block people instead of proudly showcasing a superiority complex

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Katharine Hepburn (Bringing Up Baby, The Philadelphia Story, The African Queen)—(I hope someone else submits real propaganda but just in case they don't:) Cries. Screams. Wails. The woman who singlehandedly made me realize I was bi. A real "do i want to look like her. be her. or be with her.' crisis, where the answer was all three. Holy shit please all three.

Diahann Carroll (Paris Blues, Carmen Jones, Porgy and Bess)— Face of an angel. She had the range. She brought chemistry with every romance she portrayed. She also had a great fashion sense, and was so pretty Mattel made a doll based off of her.

This is round 6 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Diahann Carroll:

Another groundbreaking black actress, although she might be better remembered for her television roles. She was also an activist and worked with charities to support women in need.

here she is hanging out with shadow prince anthony perkins :3

Katharine Hepburn propaganda:

I'm sure one million people will submit her as an iconic Hollywood star but that iconicness might lead people to forget just how insanely hot she was like she had it ALL she was skilled she was funny she was smart she was beautiful AND she was likely bisexual

The single word I would use to explain Katherine Hepburn's appeal is *range*. In her acting career, that meant covering all the ground between lush period dramas and the comedies she did with Carey Grant and Spencer Tracey. In terms of hotness, it meant an uncanny ability to bring anything from a Dietrich-esque androgyny to some of the best Classic Hollywood Glamour you will ever see.

Katharine hep was so cool. The VIBES, the INDEPENDENCE,,, living life on her own terms.

she just had this.... bearing to her, this power. she could be funny, even silly (like in bringing up baby) but also so regal and elegant. she was nobody's fool and dear GOD that's so hot

Fancam link

She’s not only stunningly gorgeous (those eyes that pierce your soul! a jawline you could cut glass with!) but her delivery and physical presence in roles gives off confidence and authority in such a sexy way (truly the biggest dick energy of Old Hollywood). Her fiery energy in The Philadelphia Story? Unmatched.

God she's. She's so hot y'all. She has the range!!!!! Funny and dramatic and lovely

She IS the transatlantic accent. Classically gorgeous and such a strong personality.

She's literally one of the funniest women to ever live! She goes shot for shot with Cary Grant in Philadelphia Story and we damn well love her for it! She's the most annoying creature to ever live in Bringing Up Baby but she's so insane and funny that we simply cannot help but fall in love with her (and root for her to give Grant an aneurysm!)

i know she's accounted for but i really want to be sure someone has submitted the scene in bringing up baby where she's pretending to be a gangster

She simply stuns onscreen; you cannot do anything but be captivated by her presence. Also a non-gender-conforming icon and mild tumblr celebrity by virtue of that one picture from The Warrior's Husband (stage play).

Katharine Hepburn was out here casually changing the lives of young butch lesbians with her gender swag! She wore pants even when people said she shouldn’t, she refused to marry or have kids, and she wore menswear in at LEAST one movie!

If I start thinking about her face for too long I will cry she is so so hot. Katherine is so charismatic and charming in everything she appears in - watch her adopt a leopard and fall in love with her. Also she has the biggest dick energy ever (she and her pal Lauren Bacall share that accolade). Also had an incredibly long and varied career from screw ball comedies to serious dramas - she’s a queen of the screen and I adore her.

Someone's got to mention it, but she's won the most Oscars out of any performer and is largely considered one of the greatest actresses ever. She's got an incredible voice, an incredible presence, and she absolutely steals every scene she's in. She was private person and deemed standoffish and unapproachable, but she was also profoundly concerned for people's rights and was an outspoken supporter of abortion access. Finally, the Katharine Hepburn slacks look is just iconic. I mean look at her.

This woman. I have been obsessed with her for years. I know the urban legend is a popular one at this point of her walking around set in her underwear when her pants were stolen and she was left with only a skirt, but the pants thing is honestly enough for her to be the hottest in the room in my book. She refused to wear anything else at a time when the public in general and especially the studios did not like that. She was independent, stubborn, and so so very capable. Competency kink anyone? Also, if you want one final way that Katharine's entire life was saying "fuck you" to the establishment, it started young! Her mother took her to suffrage events, and she never got rid of that attitude of justice. I feel like I have barely scratched the surface of all the ways she was such a badass that I'm turning into a rambling mess instead.

[sirfrogsworth]

Let's talk about vintage lenses.

Here is your cool samurai show with modern lenses.

Here is your cool samurai show with vintage lenses.

Hollywood is no stranger to fads.

We are currently in the middle of a "make everything too dark" fad. But that fad is starting to overlap with "let's use really old lenses on ridiculously high resolution cameras."

This is Zack Snyder with a Red Monstro 8K camera.

He is using a "rehoused" vintage 50mm f/0.95 Canon "Dream Lens" which was first manufactured in 1961.

This old lens is put inside a fancy new body that can fit onto modern cameras.

Which means Zack is getting nowhere near 8K worth of detail. These lenses are not even close to being sharp. Which is fine. I think the obsession with detail can get a bit silly and sometimes things can be "too sharp."

But it is a funny juxtaposition.

The dream lens is a cool lens. It has character. It has certain aberrations and defects that can actually be beneficial to making a cool photograph. It's a bit like vinyl records for photography.

[ Peter Thoeny ]

It has vignetting and distortion and a very strange swirly background blur.

[ Gabriel Binder ]

Optical engineers have been spending the last 60 years trying to eliminate these defects. And I sometimes wonder if they are confused by this fad.

"I WORKED 70 HOURS PER WEEK TO GET PERFECT CORNER SHARPNESS!"

And whether you prefer to work with a perfect optic or a vintage one... it is a valid aesthetic decision either way. I think vintage glass can really suit candid natural light photography. You can almost get abstract with these lenses.

[ Peter Theony ]

Personally I like to start with as close to perfect as possible and then add the character in later. That way I can dial in the effect and tweak how much of it I want. But even with modern image editing tools, some of these aberrations are difficult to recreate authentically.

That said, it can be very easy for the "character" of these lenses to become distracting. And just like when someone first finds the lens flares in Photoshop, it can be easy for people to overdo things.

Zack Snyder decided to be his own cameraman and used only vintage glass in his recent movies and it has led to some complaints about the imagery.

I mean, Zack Snyder overdoing something? I can't even imagine it.

Non camera people felt Army of the Dead was blurry and a bit weird but they couldn't quite explain why it felt that way.

The dream lens has a very wide aperture and it lets in a lot of light. But it also has a very very shallow depth of field. Which means it is very difficult to nail focus.

[ Peter Thoeny ]

Her near eye is in focus and her far eye is soft. You literally can't get an entire face in focus.

There is no reason you have to use the dream lens at f/0.95 at all times. But just like those irresistible lens flares, Zack couldn't help himself.

Here is a blueprint that you can't really see.

Extreme close ups of faces without autofocus at f/0.95 is nearly impossible to pull critical focus on.

Looks like Zack nailed the area just above the eyebrow here.

Let's try to find the point of focus in this one.

Ummmm... she is just... blurry. Missed focus completely.

But Zack isn't the only one going vintage. I've been seeing this a lot recently.

Shogun is a beautiful show. And for the most part, I really enjoyed the cinematography. But they went the vintage lens route and it kept going from gorgeous to "I can't not see it" distracting. And perhaps because I am familiar with these lens defects I am more prone to noticing. But I do think it hurt the imagery in a few spots.

Vingetting is a darkening of the corners of the frame.

Light rays in the corners are much harder to control. A lot of modern lenses still have this problem, but they create software corrections to eliminate the issue. Some cameras do it automatically as you are recording the image.

Vintage lenses were built before lens corrections where a thing—before software was a thing. So you either have to live with them, try to remove them with VFX, or crop into your image and lose some resolution.

It's possible this is the aesthetic they wanted. They felt the vignetting added something to the image. But I just found my eyes darting to the corners and not focusing on the composition.

And then you have distortion.

In this case, barrel distortion.

This is mostly prominent in wide angle lenses. In order to get that wider field of view the lens has to accept light from some very steep angles. And that can be quite difficult to correct. So you kind have to sacrifice any straight lines.

And sometimes this was a positive contribution to the image.

I thought the curved lines matched the way they were sitting here.

But most of the time I just felt like I was looking at feudal Japan through a fish's eye.

It's a bit more tolerable as a still, but when all of these verticals are bowing in motion, I start to feel like I am developing tunnel vision.

I love that this is a tool that is available. Rehousing lenses is a really neat process and I'm glad this old glass is getting new life.

This documentary shows how lens rehousing is done and is quite fascinating if you are in to that sort of thing.

But I think we are in a "too much of a good thing" phase when it comes to these lenses. I think a balance between old and new can be found.

And I also think maybe Zack should see what f/2.8 looks like. He might like having more than an eyebrow in focus.

[jesncin]

adding onto the conversation about Xanthe Zhou's outfit...

as another chinese-american, I see a lot of clothing that claims to be "inspired" but all it does is make western clothes in silk brocade or remake the same red qipao or tangzhuang people wear in old kung fu movies.

it's frustrating to see only those takes on traditional clothes when there are so many things to choose from! chinese history is expansive, to put it lightly, and even us ABCs have access to a range of traditional clothing.

my specific issue with Xanthe's is that, to me, it's just a reskinned version of Mulan's casual clothes in Wreck-It Ralph 2 (from 2018, while I'm p sure Xanthe debuted in 2023).

technically they have an undershirt with the mandarin collar, but it feels like almost an afterthought. it doesn't even differentiate itself with the slanted neck opening that goes to the side (idk what to call it, examples below from an article on hakka clothing)

the writer, Alyssa Wong, is chinese-american (as is one of the editors), and the penciler, Haining, is taiwanese, but that doesn't automatically make their work un-critiquable representation.

I don't doubt that it resonates with some people - my issue is that it's an incredibly safe design, one that doesn't introduce anything new to western audiences. the clothes they wear while hero-ing can be anything, and that's what the creative team chose?

I have other feelings about the fact that they chose to make Xanthe have spiritual powers, which feels like it is not helping the "Chinese people are a mystical kung fu people" stereotype in the US, (especially given how few chinese-americans are given their own comic run at dc), but I digress.

Yes to all of this!! I get why people like Xanthe's fashion as a character design, but in terms of creative innovation and a design that informs a character's narrative,,,Xanthe's clothes look more like an easy way to cosplay the character over anything else :I like you said, we've got this after-thought yellow mandarin collar and a bomber jacket with motif on it. It's giving "clunky way of combining traditional and modern". I even made the Wreck It Ralph Mulan outfit comparison too because it really isn't new!! It's such a mainstream safe look that Disney put Mulan in it. Not even a hanfu for Xanthe? Aiyah

Indeed! Spirit World has an majority-asian team of creatives and hey it's cool to see an entire creative team with their names written out in hanzi in the credits but that doesn't guarantee an infallible piece of fiction free of criticism. Including the representation. Especially when it comes to inter-community critique, we're more than allowed to be critical of the creative choices on display.

Exactly!! "Safe" is the key word when describing Xanthe and Spirit World. Like it's not outwardly horrible and offensive design (or story), but it's also not saying anything either other than bland "cool". Xanthe's in generic jeans for H'ronmeer's sake. The most fashion-safe statement of all time. For your non-binary Chinese character? Come on. Even Cass got a better outfit in Spirit World >_>

I agree on the whole Spiritual powers thing actually! If they're pairing Xanthe with Johnstantine, I wish they pulled more from Vertigo Hellblazer's approach to the occult and spiritualism. My friends here are practicing shamans, and I think having a Hellblazer approach to the stuff they go through would be so neat. But instead we got. Fighting spirits and demons in fantasy-spirit land with a giant sword spectacle. Like part of why I find the giant sword exhaustively trite is because it's just a signifier for folks to see a cool anime-looking weapon and see how it works in Hollywood-fu fight scenes. It has no deep storytelling purpose other than to look cool. Spectacle seems to topple the grounded reality of Chinese spiritualism here.

Generally I feel like Xanthe suffers the "Superhero first, secret identity second" problem- where the creatives were so focused on what would make a cool superhero that they let the interiors of Xanthe's life and culture fall by the wayside. We don't get to know how Xanthe came to terms with their culture as a Chinese American, or how that intersects with being non-binary. Or even how they choose to express that with the clothes they wear. Just look at the cool fight scenes.

[artist-issues]

Could you rank the album Blurryface and explain your rankings, please? Thanks and have a blessed day!

my brain

yay

Listen readers, if you like my posts about Disney movies & classic books & Old Hollywood or whatever, or if we’ve ever crawled into a story together and deepened our perspective on that story in one of my posts, but you’ve never cared about twenty one pilots, just trust me and read a little bit of this post. I want to show you something so good.

This is my favorite question in a long time. But you have the key to the obsession-corner of my brain, and you let yourself in, so this is a BIG rambling post, and you brought this upon yourself, and I’m very glad

Okay! I’m going to rank it concept-wise. As in, I’m going to rank it based on how in-depth and well-thought-out and excellently-communicated the ideas in the songs’ lyrics are. Because I don’t know anything about music—so any part of the rankings that are affected by something musical are that way because of personal preference, not because I know what I’m talking about. I recommend taking it slow, every one could be its own post because I suck at being succinct. 🙄

14. Lane Boy

I’m not going to defend myself, something had to go last, and everybody knows I’d rather listen to Lane Boy than any non-twenty-one-pilots song, and I think it blows any secular non-twenty-one-pilots song out of the water. So there. But it’s last on the list just because I think the concepts in the song don’t have as much brain-dissecting meat, and eternal value, as the other songs on the album. Other songs are about how we compartmentalize our issues, or they’re about mankind’s messed up state, or they’re about the dichotomy of fear and love.

And then this song is basically just about how twenty one pilots goes where they want to, musically, and doesn’t bow to the music industry or the patterns of what’s popular. But they’re tempted to. And that makes perfect sense, because on an album where he’s fighting his insecurities, being insecure about what “The Audience” thinks of you fits on the list.

I think the best part of the song is the lyric “don’t trust a perfect person and don’t trust a song that’s flawless.” From what I observe about Tyler Joseph, he actually does care whether or not a song, or a performance, is as good as it can possibly be. That’s super clear. But what’s also clear is that he believes in singing about something real, especially real flaws he has, so that other people can relate and use the information. So I don’t think he’s saying “don’t trust a perfect person and don’t trust a song that has no technical issues and couldn’t be any better.” I think he’s saying, “don’t trust a person who claims to be perfect, or their vague meaningless songs that don’t reveal their flaws.” (You know, when we gonna stop with it / lyrics that mean nothing, we were gifted with thought-type stuff.)

Which is still pretty deep, in a song that on the surface is saying “I know the music industry and genre-fans have expectations but I do what I want.”

Side note: I love the aesthetics of the music video and the “tempted by control, controlled by temptation” voiceover they used to do for the concerts with this song. The whole idea that Fame and Success have to be in hazmat suits, with gas masks on, is awesome. I don’t care if the concept is “Fame and Success can’t even deal with us, and all the insecurity we talk about in our songs,” or “Fame and Success are always interacting with songs that are rotting, dead, already on their way out of relevance.” It works either way. It’s cool either way.

But let’s just be real. It stabs me in the heart every time he sings the line, “if it wasn’t for this music I don’t know how I would’ve fought this.”

Like. Really? You don’t? If it wasn’t for music, you don’t know how you would’ve fought the dark thoughts? There’s nothing else you can think of, nothing else that specifically works against dark thoughts, that you might want to clue people in on? In a song that’s about not making decisions motivated by remaining popular, you’re going to point them to your own music as the only weapon you know of which works?

When you set yourself up to tell them that Jesus Christ is the hope that lasts eternally, not just moment-to-moment? When you could’ve said that you know a an everlasting Light in times of darkness? No?

So this one gets skipped more often than the others, and I know for a fact it’s because even subconsciously I don’t want to hear that line. I hope I’m wrong about it. I bet I am. I don’t think he meant all that. I think he was looking for a way to conclude that “I know about pain and darkness and that’s what should be in songs” thought, in a way that rhymed and sounded good. But still.

12. Tear in My Heart

(note: the list got out of order here because tumblr’s post editor is the worst and I couldn’t fix it. but Tear in My heart is ranked one higher than Stressed Out, that’s all you need to know.)

I like it when Tyler Joseph picks a concept that’s simple and then reminds everybody how true it is by talking about it like he does with Tear in My Heart. “Love hurts.” That’s a simple concept. “Yeah okay we know.” But in this song I listen to it and I want to be like “No, do you get it, love, giving all of who you are, even the messed up parts, to somebody and letting them do whatever they want with that, hurts. Not just because you’re afraid they’ll reject you—but because you’re afraid they won’t reject you, you’re afraid they’ll stay, which is harder and demands more of you, and you’re afraid they’ll see you, and change you.” Yes, change. For the better.

That’s the point of the music video. He’s looking around at everybody but he can’t see them clearly, everything warps around when he tries to meet their eyes. But not with his wife (then fiancée, I guess.) They see each other clearly. And then she beats the Blurryface out of him. Because that’s what real love does. It doesn’t ignore your flaws or accept your flaws. It sacrifices to help you grow out of your flaws. And that hurts! That’s uncomfortable! That’s Eustace getting un-dragoned in The Chronicles of Narnia.

But it’s also the best thing for the loved one. And! He introduces the whole idea with “sometimes you gotta bleed to know / that you’re alive and have a soul.” When you’re just in your comfort zone, even if it’s a bad place, you go numb. It’s scary to propose to somebody, or show them who you really are, or tell them how you really feel, but the good that comes with it is exhilarating.

And he uses the words, “she’s the tear in my heart,” which, if you dissect that: the medical term is SCAD, and the result of a tear in the heart are basically anywhere from irregular heartbeat (heart skipping a beat. aww. they’re in love and stuff.) to heart attack, (she has the power to bring him to a jarring halt) to slowed heartbeat. (She can also calm him down.) Even a more zoomed-out idea of the lyric, where you just picture what happens when you cut a tear in a heart, is a great metaphor in this context: blood gets out. It was safe and nobody knew what he was feeling. Now what’s inside his heart is finally visible. Because of her.

One more, one more! “She’s a butcher with a smile.” I love that he said ‘butcher.’ A butcher’s whole job is to follow a plan, and neatly organize, arrange, sort, the meat. From what I understand, a butcher typically follows the muscle routes that are already there. It’s not mad hacking and wanton destruction; it’s thought out. There’s a purpose. There’s even usually a plan, a map they’re following. He could’ve said “she’s a cutthroat,’” or “killer” or even “cutter.” But when there was nothing on the page, he chose to put “butcher, carver.” Purposeful cuts.

And he keeps it on-theme, with the album. Because like I said, the whole album of Blurryface is about insecurity—but it’s about fighting insecurity, and the number-one weapon he uses is putting that insecurity on display. Shining a spotlight on it. Because when you’re insecure about something you try to cover that up. You try to compensate for it, direct attention away from whatever you can;t control. Letting everyone see the thing you’re insecure about is hard and you feel exposed, but that action is actually the reverse of insecurity. Doing so with his wife is the best.

13. Stressed Out

This one is this far down because it’s about wishing for the comfort of simple, nostalgic things when in reality you’re freaked out about the future and the present. And that’s a really relatable concept, for a song, and it’s not super deep. We all do it. But it’s still on-theme, which is what makes the song feel deeper.

I like to get lost in the past because it’s what I know. (And the opposite of shat I know/what I can control is? Insecurity.)

If I have to choose between a difficult adventure in the present, or a painful memory to over-analyze, I’m always going to reach for the painful memory even though it’s a sucky headspace, and nothing new and helpful is likely to come of it. Why? Because I know what happens in that reel in my head. I feel control over it just by knowing what happens. But I don’t feel that control when I spin myself out imaging what could happen, and all the things I can’t control, in the present or the future.

Yeah, I’d rather go back and wax nostalgic for the days I played outside with my siblings, or the houses we used to live in, then think about how rent is due in a couple of weeks or how I might never get to have the career everybody expects me to have. So it’s very relatable.

The thing I don’t like about this one is that it doesn’t have that hopeful note in it that I like in twenty one pilots. It kind of goes, “yeah, wish we could turn back time, but everyone tells us to quit dreaming and make money, and it sucks.” And…that’s it. In the song, itself, there’s no hopeful conclusion. Versus in Tear in My Heart, at least he’s feeling like he has a soul and he’s “higher” than he’s ever been, and the butcher is smiling. At least in Fairly Local, there’s, “I’m not evil to the core / what I shouldn’t do I will fight.” But not in Stressed Out. Stressed Out leaves you dissatisfied, and maybe that’s the point.

11. We Don’t Believe What’s On TV

I love the progression of the ideas in this song (because it does come right after Polarize;) he’s actually taken a hard step. He’s not just standing at a crossroads between decisions, being insecure and never moving. The lyrics are “I need to know that when I fail, you’ll still be here.” He can’t fail if he’s not trying. So I like that the song has such a happy beat, and it’s the first one on the record (unless you count Heavydirtysoul) where he’s not just thinking about being insecure or what to do—he’s committing to doing something.

And then I find the song super relatable. The thing about having a dream is that when you chase it you risk a lot. You risk money, you risk time. You risk your emotions, obviously. So anyone close to you is going to notice you’re chasing after something. It’ll become part of your identity. Like me, proclaiming that I was going to work for Disney for years. If you fail, what do you say to all the people who knew you were shooting for that goal? How will they see you? As a quitter? As a failure? Are they going to feel sorry for you? Maybe it’ll be hard to talk about the things you used to talk about—and then they don’t know what else to make small-talk about. Not only your big direction in life is gone, but now something as comfortable as talking with friends is suddenly affected. And from there it’s easy to go, “wait, who am I without that dream I was going after?”

So the lines “what if my dream does not happen? / would I just change what I’ve told my friends? / don’t wanna know who I would be / when I wake up from a dreamer’s sleep” are spot-on. And they uncover the unattractive side of having a dream: the side where you fail and lose and feel like you don’t know who you are without it, so maybe you cover it up by “changing” the dream, or acting like you never really wanted that anyway, or act like you’ve found something new, to cover the loss.

But I also love the fact that the song is about how superficial things aren’t really what matter—your “dream” isn’t who you are. And the people who really love you and care about you know that, so when the dream goes away, they’ll stick around. Just like how Tyler says he doesn’t care about what’s superficial about them: “I don’t care what’s in your hair, I just want to know what’s on your mind.”

Fun fact: when I bring twenty one pilots up for any reason my father responds with “yeah-yeah-yeah” by default.

10. Ride

Ride is only higher than WDBWOTV because of the rapping verses. And not because it’s the one twenty one pilots song my father allows me to play when I’m in the car with him.

This feels a little repetitive, but I like Ride because it’s what twenty one pilots is about. They’re all about thinking carefully about what’s going on in your head and then making a decision to live for something. (I wish they’d come out and say that “something” is God, but whatever.) Ride is all about that. Living rather than dying is hard, especially when it means living, not coming up with meaningless extreme scenarios where you can imagine dying for someone, or staying happy all the time, or conquering your foes. It just means taking your time, and as life rides along, being careful to live for something day by day. Then again, it is a song that’s still just about thinking about what to do, instead of doing it.

9. The Judge

I think this is one of the clearest allusions to the Gospel Tyler Joseph ever makes, and I love the way he makes it. First off, that by saying he can’t tell if the song is about himself or the devil, he’s acknowledging that he, on a sinful level, is just as worthy of condemnation as the Devil.

That’s why he says, “found my way, right time, wrong place, as I pled my case.” You plead your case, in front of THE Judge, when you’re dead. So it’s the right time—everybody has a date on the calendar when they’re going to die, they just don’t know what it is yet. But it’s the wrong place—he’s in front of God, and he doesn’t deserve to be, any more than the Devil. But that’s why he’s pleading his case by freely admitting his soul matches Hell, not Heaven, so all that’s left is to beg that The Judge be merciful.

I like the mood of the second verse, where it feels like he starts describing what’s going on ‘three lights are lit but the fourth one’s out / I can tell cuz it’s a big darker than the last night’s bout,” etc., but then when he gets to “but I’m not good with directions” he speeds his flow up and sounds like he’s getting panicky. He’s giving excuses for why he’s lost—well why? Because he’s bad at directions. Listening to what he’s told to do, and then following through. And then just admitting that one flaw as an explanation for why he’s lost leads to admitting other flaws, at random, like he can’t stop himself: “I’m a pro at imperfections and I’m best friends with my doubt.”

I personally think, because of the context, that the three lights which are lit, but the fourth one that is out, are representative of Tyler not being clear about his faith. I think it’s an allusion to Peter, denying Christ 3 times (like Tyler already alluded to in Ode to Sleep.) But in Ode to Sleep, Tyler follows up the line about 4-denials with “metaphorically I’m a whore.” My take is, he’s only a whore metaphorically—because in Christ, he’s a new creation. But he keeps talking like he isn’t, worrying over his relationship with God and whether or not he’s really saved. Maybe because he struggles with doubting God keeps His promises, maybe because he struggles with doubting God is real, maybe both.

And after all, what was Peter doing when he denied Christ? He was denying specifically that he knew Christ. That he was in a relationship with Him, that he followed Christ. Peter was basically saying over and over, “I’m not a disciple of Christ. I’m not! I don’t know him!” to the people who ask. But it wasn’t true. Peter was Christ’s disciple; Christ chose him, and that’s what made the denial so hurtful.

So I think the lights going out, one by one, and he can tell that a season of that doubt is coming on, are his cue to leave. Get out of there, that place where darkness is creeping up, and go somewhere sunnier. But he can’t get there, because he’s not good at directions, and then he kind of spirals and goes back into the chorus realizing he never had any right to be “Christ’s disciple” in the first place, that’s true, and his only hope is the mercy of The Judge. Which is great, not something to despair over. Because The Judge is merciful.

But the cool part is there’s still an element of “insecurities” in there, distracting him from what would ultimately be a good place. It’s good to realize you’ve got nothing, and to realize that if you could wriggle out of God’s embrace, you would do it every time. Because then you realize all over again that He is merciful and He loves you, and you’re secure because it’s all based on His strength. So that particular cycle is good—when it ends with that realization. But instead, he’s getting hung up, not on “what will God think of me when He realizes (even though He knew it all along) that I’m unworthy?” but on “what will everyone outside my house think of me when they realize I’m unworthy?”

And when that happens, when you’re focused not on what God thinks of you, but on what others think of you, because of your insecurities, you can satisfy yourself, not with God’s love, but with pulling the wool over other people’s eyes. Maybe the people outside your house see the real, unworthy you—but you can cover that up. You can fool them. You can compensate for those insecurities, front, be fake. God always sees you clearly, but the people around you can be fooled into thinking you’re an okay person, and you have your act together. So his insecurities, Blurryface, is hijacking the cycle that would’ve led him to rely on The Judge and making him chase after the opinion of his peers, instead.

Instead of focusing on who God is, which is the hope in everything, Blurryface gets him to focus on who he is—whether that leads him to a revel or despair, doesn’t matter, as long as he’s not focusing on who God is.

I love this song.

8. Hometown

”My shadow tilts its head at me

Spirits in the dark are waiting

I will let the wind go quietly,

I will let the wind go quietly.” <- Those are some of my favorite lyrics ever. Ever ever. Why would a shadow tilt its head at you? Because it’s creepy interesting imagery, yeah, but also, because it’s puzzled. But it’s your shadow. So you’re looking at it like you’re puzzled, too, because shadows don’t move independently; either the light source is moving, or you are.

So the character Blurryface is puzzled because he’s trying to figure Tyler Joseph out—like Tyler is trying to figure him out—and/or because the light is on the move. What light is mentioned in this song? The sun. Which, in all their other songs, is representative of God or the kingdom of God.

Either way, all the insecurities and flaws and doubt that Blurryface embodies doesn’t understand God, or actions made in faith. So he’s puzzled in this song; because this song is about the songwriter begging God to do for him what he can’t do.

I don’t care. That’s what the song’s about. Tyler Joseph does his clever triple-meaning thing, so you can say that the song is about how people back home in Columbus, Ohio don’t really get twenty one pilots’ deep lore and metaphors, and that’s what the song is about—how people back home still don’t know who they are because they’re least famous among people who know them best—but that doesn’t cover the lyrics about “take me home and show me the sun/Son,” or “bring the fire, my bones will make it grow.” And a faith-based interpretation of the lyrics does.

(I mean, obviously, people can sing the song to themselves and assign whatever meaning they want. That’s fine. That’s how using words works. But I’m saying that what the songwriter meant can be understood by the lyrics he chose in the song—and if it can’t, then he didn’t want to be understood or was bad and making himself clear, and that’s just bad communication/useless artwork. But neither of those explanations are descriptive of Tyler Joseph.)

The first verse is what the songwriter wants to have happen—the place he’s from is dark, it’s without the Sun/Son, he wants to go Home, and he can’t do it without dying to himself, and only God can pull that off.

But the second verse is a call to action, for everyone listening, not just a plea for himself out of what he’s feeling. And that action really does have something to do with the temporal “hometown.” You can grow up hearing about God, one way or another, but eventually, you encounter darkness on your own. You realize you’re messed up, whether anyone else sees it or not. And that’s when you can either be insecure and give up, or you can look for salvation. But at that point, you have to look for salvation in something outside “tradition” and just “what the people around you believe.” You have to find out if any of that is rooted in truth, and then choose to believe it yourself. Whether anyone else, including the people who helped make you who you are, from your hometown, agrees or disagrees.

In Christianese we say “make your faith your own.” Even if you grow up in church there comes a time when you have to decide if that’s what you believe, whether your parents drop the faith or not. But it’s not just a church thing. It’s a universal, worldview thing. Even if you grow up in an atheistic community you have to decide, at some point, if you believe that, as an individual. Be introspective and decide what you believe, what you’re going to live for—the message of the band.

And of course, the language he uses is so overtly Biblical! It’s from Joshua 24. And the context of that passage is, God has finally given the Israelites rest from all their enemies, and Joshua, the faithful one who has led them in their homeland, is telling them that it’s decision time. If they choose to serve God, it’ll cost them everything. They can’t serve God and the pagan, materialistic idols their fathers fell to. It’s one or the other. He knows it’s a huge ask, and an impossible ask, actually, because God is Holy. God has to give you the grace to follow Him (same conclusion Tyler sometimes gets to in The Judge.) Here’s the verse, enough of my yammering:

“If it is evil in your sight to serve Yahweh, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.”

Then later, after the Israelites say that’s what they want to do, they want to serve Yahweh, he repeats,

“So now, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and incline your hearts to Yahweh, the God of Israel.”

And this whole passage is really interesting, because Joshua is telling them to do this in the same place, geographically, that Jacob, their ancestor, hundreds of years before, had commanded his own family to bury false idols in the ground and turn to Yahweh. So when he says “put away,” it’s in reference to that moment; their earliest forefathers had a pattern of chasing after the beliefs and false hopes of the world, and then needing to bury those and follow God instead.

Anyway. This song is awesome because it’s about him coming to, in Christianese: “the end of himself.” The lyrics say that nothing about a human being knows the secret to redeeming souls. Only God knows that; only God can do that. So in an album that’s all about interviewing yourself, fighting the worst parts of you, trying to figure out how to beat Blurryface, Hometown says, “aaaand you can’t. You can’t do it. But God can. You don’t have the secret, you don’t have the playbook. But God does.”

7. Goner

This song is higher than Hometown because I like that when he does something slower and more complex, lyrically, without the same speedy metaphors, it’s just a straight-up war cry.

It is kind of a complicated song, though. I think. Because I can’t decide what exactly he was aiming for. Sometimes I listen to it and I think it’s about the songwriter fighting Blurryface, refusing to give up, and parts of the song could be sung by the hero, while others are answered by the villain, during that fight.

But sometimes I listen to it and I think he’s declaring that the fight is already over, (after all, it’s at the end of the album) but he knows it’s a cycle and he might get dragged back into the doubt that starts it all over again. “I’m a goner.”

Or, sometimes, I listen to it and I think it’s just a recap of everything the album teaches: 1) I’m messed up 2) but I’m not a hopeless case 3) but I’m tempted to hide the messed-up part 4) the only way to fix the messed-up part is to admit it, get it out where everyone can see it 5) but even then I can’t fix it, and they’ll all see I’m unworthy 6) Remembering unconditional love and grace fixes it.

Being “known” is the opposite of what the Blurryface character should want. Because again, insecurity is all about avoiding the things that make you afraid, make you feel out-of-control, and putting up a front like you’re fine. You make decisions based on what you want people to see, out of a desire for control. That’s why he’s called “Blurryface.” You don’t get to see his face. You don’t get to know the real him, because the real him’s messed up, and he can’t let anyone see that.

I think the one interpretation I vaguely settle on when I hear the song is that, if all you ever focus on is how to control everything and pretend you’re not messed-up—if all you ever put on is that “blurry face” mask—pretty soon you convince yourself, along with everybody else, that that’s who you are. You start to forget the real you. You can’t see your own flaws anymore—but hiding them is still puppetting everything you do, so ironically, they’re in control. Luckily, the people you’ve opened up to (if you ever have) and God, remind you of who you really are. So that humbles you, and saves you, from just being totally fake.

One thing about the actual lyrics. The fact that he says “the ghost of you is close to me” supports all of those above interpretations. Could be the Holy Spirit (you know, “Holy Ghost”) being closest to the singer when he’s “inside out,” being vulnerable, seeing himself for what he really is and admitting it. Could be the character, Blurryface, who’s been defeated but maybe Tyler forgets that, and feels “haunted” by insecurities that should already be harmless if he’d just remember what killed them.

I see some people saying that what he means is, Blurryface is so intertwined as a part of himself that he doesn’t know what would be left of him if all his insecurities died. I think that’s super bleak. But I can see why it would be that. If it is, it doesn’t bode well for Tyler or anyone who agrees. If you’re already at the point where your weaknesses and insecurities are something you identify with, something you think belongs in you, instead of a foreign contaminant that your soul’s antibodies need to purge, then…you’re really forgetting the Gospel. That’s not who you are anymore. It’s as much a part of you as a set of dirty clothes that you took off when you were 4; even if you’re cramming them back on, that doesn’t make them part of who you are.

I also frequently see people saying, “he’s not just asking for God’s help, he’s asking for anybody’s help! He says ‘somebody’ catch my breath!” Right. But then he says, “I wanna be known by you.” And in Kitchen Sink, it’s clear Tyler Joseph doesn’t believe anybody can know him, fully. Also, Anathema. Also, on this album, Not Today, and Message Man. There are too many lyrics where he explains that he doesn’t think anybody can know him—except God, who, in The Judge, and in other twenty one pilots songs, is depicted as the only one who can see all the way down to the bedrock of who Tyler Joseph is. And who all of us are. Hidden insecurities pulling the strings and all. So when he calls for help, he might be willing to accept anybody, but only God is going to be able to deliver, in the very end. (Friends and his wife can help, but in the end.)

Personally I believe the songwriter knows that. Based on the evidence in everything he writes. I don’t know for sure, though.

Anyway. I love that he ended the album with this song. Specifically, it’s not until the very last note that everything is resolved, and sounds like there’s some kind of peace, some kind of vanquishing of Blurryface. Like the fight is definitely taking everything to win. But Blurryface does lose; there is hope; that’s what I like about twenty one pilots.

It’s that Halloween-style “using darkness to show how weak darkness can be.”

6. Not Today

The concepts I’m talking about liking are getting repetitive, but that’s because he comes at the same topic (battling insecurities) from different angles, dropping into the same cycle at different points. But it’s still the same topic, same cycle.

Anyway! I love Not Today because of how awesome the lyrics are in the chorus, in response to the lyrics in the verses.

He keeps the metaphor of a house in there, but those first lyrics: “I just feel I’m better off, staying in the same room I was born in,” have this lie. The room you’re born in could mean you’ve never grown, never taken any chance, you’ve literally never moved from where you started. Especially because he gives a reason for it; he’s seen the world outside, and he doesn’t see what he can do to impact it for the better. <- That part is why I don’t think those lyrics mean “it would be better if I were never born.” Even though the same basic idea, that he thinks he has nothing to offer, is in both interpretations.

But because of that melodic (is that the right word) pause between “I don’t know why” and “I just feel I,” in the opening line, I think you can miss the meaning of the full thought. He’s admitting he feels this way, but he’s not accepting it, necessarily. Because the whole song is a strike back at “Blurryface.” He admits how he feels, but the fact that he starts with “I don’t know why I feel this way” is a clue that he’s examining the feeling, instead of trusting and accepting it as fact. It’s true that he feels that way. But he’s not making it his home. He didn’t even pick the words, “staying in the same home I was born in.” Or unlike in The Judge, he doesn’t use a possessive objective. He doesn’t say “my room I was born in,” not just because it would sound weird, but also because he’s in a headspace where he’s not accepting these feelings at “face” value.

So I love that opening.

Then, in the first chorus, he’s basically talking about how those dark thoughts, those insecurities, aren’t just in his head anymore. They’re out in the open. Where everyone else can see them—yikes, maybe—but he’s focusing on the fact that they’re out where he can see them. Insecurity wants to hide and fake. Getting it out in the open is step 1 in the right direction. Now the lies, the insecurity, can’t get to him the way it used to when he kept it in his mind as if it were something worth entertaining or identifying with.

Then I like that he takes a break in the second chorus to be like, “pay attention to what I’m doing, the sound of the music is happy but the words are not.”

Because he’s feeling like there’s no use in trying—bad thing. But he’s not giving in to that feeling, he’s examining it for weaknesses—good thing. Happening at the same time. Like the happy sounds, but down words, of the song.

Which just makes you feel like you’re watching a battle. Which one is going to win? The good or the bad? Right now they’re both in the picture—what’s going to be the killing blow that knocks one out of the picture?

Then he goes back into the chorus, but this time I think the words have a different meaning, even though they’re the same: he took that aside to address the audience and explain what’s going on. So the lines in the second chorus, “you aren’t seeing my side,” seem like he’s still talking to us, telling the listeners that they haven’t been understanding what’s going on in his head as he fights his insecurities, but now he’s showing them, which is what they needed to wait for: you can’t know what someone’s going through or how they need help till they choose to let you see.

Then there’s the bridge about him fighting someone for testing him. Which I think people mostly take to mean “I’LL KILL YOU BLURRYFACE.” But I don’t think that’s what he’s saying.

I mean it’s fine. That could be why. But I think it kind of misses the fact that a dude who insists, “just because I play the piano doesn’t mean I am not willing to take you down,” is insecure. That’s an insecure thing to say. He thinks people are going to see him as weak. And he just throws out “because I play the piano” as like, an example of what he thinks people are judging him about. And he’ll fight them. But then immediately he’s like “I’m sorry.” And it’s funny, I love that whole lyric, my family always joins in on that part because it’s fun to sing.

But the point, I think, is so smart—he’s back to saying something insecure. He has an outburst about how others see him. Then he says “sorry.” But it’s even an insecure, embarrassed-sounding apology. So this verse transitions out of talking to the listener about what he’s insecure about, into, while he’s at it, worrying about what they think of him—and whoops, that was a Blurryface moment, wasn’t it? He was supposed to be fighting that. He was supposed to be examining it. He just slipped into it again, suddenly, and the mood of the song is an involuntary explosion, like he couldn’t help it. So then the next chorus, the changed one, is more of a confession of being messed-up, all over again. “I’m, I’m out of my mind / I’m not seeing things right / I waste all this time trying to run from you, but I’m, I’m out of my mind.” It’s “I’m out of my mind” in the traditional sense—he’s crazy, as in, he doesn’t see reality, even when he’s looking at himself. And you could take that “I waste all this time trying to run from you” as him trying to run and hide his messed-up self from others—which is a waste, because it’s born of insecurity—or you could take it as him running from God. Of course. Both work, for this moment in the song.

But. I think the chorus is the best part. It sounds like two recordings of Tyler Joseph’s voice is singing this part, so I can see why people think it’s a duel between him and the character Blurryface: he’s singing, “not today, let me rip open the windows—now I dare you to make yourself heard.” If he voices his insecurity, the people who love him will come help. But maybe the character Blurryface is singing that right back to him; “not today, let me rip open the windows—now I dare you to make yourself heard.” As if taunting him with the idea that people who hear the real Tyler Joseph may not accept him; if he’s exposed, he shouldn’t draw any attention to himself.

But for all that effort I put into verbalizing how I’ve seen the take that the chorus is Tyler Joseph and Blurryface fighting each other, I don’t 100% agree with it. Because it doesn’t make sense, based on the well-established idea that Blurryface is insecurity—and insecurity would never do this: “tore the curtains down, windows open now make a sound.”

The whole rest of the album takes the tack that turning yourself inside-out, showing people the real, messed-up you, being open, is exactly what the character Blurryface wouldn’t want. He’d never be saying anything so clear as what’s in the chorus.

I mean. Time out. Not to get too geeky in this already-absurdly-long post. But everything about the character was against that. He’s blurry. You can’t see the real him, his face. He doesn’t even like that he has a name, or has been distinguished from Tyler Joseph in any way. In all those cryptic videos from what I can remember of social media before the album came out, you never saw him, even though he was the one supposedly recording. And the videos made no clear sense, I feel like I remember one being just, like, a dark shot of the woods at night and like breathing or something. In the in-character Twitter posts, he can’t spell—he can’t even type anything that he has to say clearly, because clarity itself is a kind of commitment in communication, it tells people something about you one way or another, and Blurryface doesn’t want anyone to be able to hold him to anything he says.

So no, I don’t think he’s got any part in the chorus. I could be wrong. But I don’t think I am. I think it’s someone from the outside, who knows the fight going on inside Tyler Joseph with Blurryface, breaking in. Ripping the curtains off the rod. Kicking the windows open, letting the light in. Telling him to get it out there in the open. Or, daring the Blurryface character to say his lies out in the open. And I think it’s God. Because again, we already established, nobody else can see inside of Tyler Joseph, in his entirety, except God. But if it is, then Tyler isn’t just getting scooped out of the fight by God’s rescuing hand. He’s joined in the fight, and then told to keep fighting—and tell other people about it. “Heard your voice, ‘there’s no choice’ / tore the curtains down, windows open, now make a noise.”

This song would be higher up if it hit me in the emotions as much as Doubt does. That’s how good it is. It’s the big fight scene, but the character Blurryface loses once the house is torn open.

5. Polarize

GGGGR this is taking too long. But I love all of these songs so much, even if Blurryface isn’t my favorite album, I can’t just say succinct things about it.

There’s this interview I watched with Tyler Joseph way back when I was fresh into high school. I don’t remember the exact timeline, or whether or not this album was out already. But he basically talks through Romans 9 without saying so. He tries to explain to the interviewer that he shouldn’t be “messed up.” That that’s not just him being hard on himself, and oh, we’re all imperfect people. He tries to explain that there’s something broken in everyone, that we want to be better than we’re actually capable of being, and that points to the fact that we were designed to be different, and something went wrong. He tries to really organically explain that, but if I remember correctly the interviewer comes back with like another platitude, and I think the subject gets changed. (If I can find it again in the bowels of the Internet from 2013 or whatever it was I’ll post it. It’s what gripped my teenage brain about this band. And about trying to phrase the Gospel that I’d always heard in a way that made sense to people who have never heard.)

But this song is that. It’s him, trying to explain that he’s noticed the polar opposites of his nature. And he’s trying to decide which parts are which, and why, and where the division starts and ends. The problem is, the only One who can help him divide those clearly is God—and surprise surprise, Tyler Joseph’s trust in God is split, too.

This one is ranked so highly because of that. Because instead of just stopping at “I want to do the right thing, but I can’t, so let’s sort that out, and You help me,” he goes even deeper. “Wait, how do I even depend on You to help me when I can’t even decide if you’re there or not?” It’s Semi-Automatic all over again. It takes a different kind of deep thinking to admit that you can’t even ask for help with absolute certainty.

Polarize might get its own separate post.

4. Fairly Local

Fairly Local is this high on the list partly because of the music video and I’m not ashamed.

It’s the introduction to the character of Blurryface, and look at how he can’t make sustained eye contact. I love that.

I also love that the microphone in the music video is a light bulb. Because it’s the words of the song that are illuminating what’s going on in the songwriter’s head.

The duality is just a preview of Polarize, in the lyrics, but I love his vocalizations. Maybe you expected me to say more higher up on the list, but this is too long already, and the more I like it the more I want to make a separate post, if I ever let my obsession out of the locked-door part of my brain on tumblr again. (look now I’m using twenty one pilots imagery, what have you done?)

3. Doubt

This one is this high because he says “even when I doubt you, I’m no good without You.” And he’s talking about God. I might elaborate on that in a different post. I know how this song feels. Getting lost in trying to trace the paths you’ve already gone down in your brain, until even thinking about God isn’t a lifeline as much as it is a maze, because you’re thinking too much about your part in it, and you’re just left reaching out for Him blindly because you can’t see which direction He’s in anymore, in your own brain. And you need something from the outside to reach in and dig you out of yourself, because there’s nothing trustworthy in here anymore. I know how that feels. This song is Addict With a Pen’s sister.

2. Message Man

This one gets its own post for sure. But the lyrics are better than any other song aside from Heavydirtysoul on this album, I think.

1. Heavydirtysoul

This one is top of the list because 1) I don’t think it can take second place to any song musically on this album, and 2) the lyrics sum up the band. I’ll make a post of its own about this one, too.

Is that disappointing? That I went all the way to the top and didn’t give you a thought-out reason for the number one? Well, now you feel some of the insanity I experience when I listen to this band. “What do you mean, you’re stopping there? You took my hand and led me this far and now I have to stumble around in the dark and figure out the rest myself?”

😈

I really may come back and edit it. I’ll tag you if I do. Or just follow the “my favorite band” tag. Hey, thank you so much for this ask! I know I look way too hyper-fixated, but truthfully, they just came out with the new album. And you have to understand, the people around me can’t stand me saying two words about them, because I’ve talked too much about them. So you’ve become my outlet.

If you made it this far I want to hear your opinions, too! I’d do this for every album, but hopefully you learned not to open this can of worms 😂 because then I never stop talking

[n1ghteeea]

The Real Ghostbusters’ future analysis

Do you guys ever think about how tragic the real ghostbusters’ lives went on to be after they dismantled the group. Cuz I do, maybe even more than necessary, and I’ll go over EACH of them in this post.

Ray

At first he worked in uni, which is okay, but ended up being fired and had to settle for selling old cars while grasping every opportunity to pay off his debt. Ray, the guy who is the most ‘in love with his job’ as stated countless times in the show, is SELLING CARS.

In the “Look Homeward, Ray” episode we see a similar situation with him quitting ghostbusting to work in retail and he was MISERABLE because he is obsessed with his work, I’d even went on to say it’s his hyperfixation with how he forgets about everything at times, including time and other tasks he has (from one ADHD guy to another). And that man is selling old cars. Jesus.

Peter

He went on to Hollywood to sell the idea for the second Ghostbusters movie and has been doing that for SIX YEARS. Six years he was out in LA trying to push it through. To do that you need connections, and I’d imagine that making them is not easy, not even talking about how you need money to survive, and since he never said anything about his job, it is probably like super lame. Again, he LOVED ghostbusting and didn’t want to trade it even for a life of stage and fame (“Banshee Bake a Cherry Pie?”).

In “Take Two” episode we saw that he does not get along with Hollywood people, he has too strong of a moral compass and principles, so I can only imagine how those six years where he NEEDED to interact with them constantly went.

And finally, his father. He has a difficult relationship with him, but it’s easy to see that while he still cares for him, he hates how Jim makes money and would rather die then help him in his ‘projects’. Well guess what. His dad also went on to Hollywood to sell a movie about Ghostbusters. A movie no one clearly wanted, similarly to Peter’s (cuz I believe if his idea was a banger he wouldn’t have spent 6 years pushing it through), so at the end of the day he became like his dad, which is absolutely the worst nightmare of every person with bad parents.

Winston

I would say that Winston is relatively better off than others. He got his pilot’s license and went on to travel, which is cool as hell. However, Winston was the glue of the group. He was always the one saying “we’re a team, we need to stick together no matter what”, which can be seen in maaany eps, the most prominent one is probably “Ghostbuster of The Year”.

And he needed to watch them all drift apart, unable to do anything, and going non-contact because in “Back in The Saddle” they were catching up as if they never talked since they parted ways. That’s wild.

Egon

Last but not least 💪 technically you could say that he doesn’t have it that bad. He still lives in the firehouse, he works as a prof of his own course, right? WRONG ‼️

In the comics that are arguably canon, but logically still make sense, Egon get transported into an empty dimension where everything is normal, except he’s all alone. And this is what he thinks of that.

Bro hates being alone. He needs his friends around even if he doesn’t usually show it. This was his nightmare situation and he lived to experience it in real life. For six years.

When it comes to teaching, cool, but he’s a scientist, not a professor. He was excited and interested in experimenting and discovering, not teaching. Additionally, no one takes his course seriously, he has an average of 3 student per semester, and even they are only there for an easy A. That is depressing.

His life does get better after he creates Extreme Ghostbusters: he’s no longer alone, he’s (kinda) doing what he used to, but even then he still struggles with his self-image and midlife crisis, poor guy :(

Overall

These guys are the epitome of ‘frequently bought together, do not separate’, they cannot be without each other.

In “Look Homeward, Ray” Ray leaves the group thinking he’s not good enough and they do EVERYTHING in their power to bring him back.

In “Cry Uncle” Egon’s uncle Cyrus (god I hate that guy) takes Egon away to help him in his lab and the whole team is at first miserable (sitting around the phone waiting for him to call) and then makes 1500 miles one way to ask him to come back.

In “Egon’s Ghost” even though it’s not the only instance, when Egon gets sucked into limbo they go in for him with a condition of ‘either we get him back in an hour or we all stay here’ like THESE GUYS ARE A FAMILY. I did not see this kind of relationship in the live action movie, but in the show? They aren’t just colleague or buddies, that’s a FAMILY.

Even the fact of separating itself is heartbreaking, and accounting for the fact that neither of them went on to do something exciting (except maybe Winston) it is absolutely devastating. Man.

Even in “Back In The Saddle” they get one (1) successful bust and go ‘hell yeah guys, let’s go back to being Ghostbusters, I think we dropped it off way too early’ like yeah, I’m sure that’s what people with their lives together would say.

TLDR: the old men yaoi angst in the real ghostbusters is real 🎉

[dantegreaves00]

Hell-A Love story part three

Dead Island 2 x FtM Reader

Five years before the zombie outbreak that turned LA into Hell-A, Y/N left his sisters place after an argument with her husband. Now he's back, why even he doesn't know. His sister has new friends who are immune to the virus, and her ex Sam B is back on the scene. After being hurt by LA and Hollywood before can Y/N find a home with his sister again and possibly a lover?

A huge thank you to my good friend @brunos-wife360 for helping me out with this and for allowing me to take inspiration from her Slayer x Reader fics.

Also, Ijust wanted to say

Hello readers, this is my first ever series here on Tumbler, so I'm a little nervous about posting.

I decided to give writing a go as there's not a lot of Dead Island 2 fics on here, let alone FtM reader fics.

As long as you don't fetishise FtM trans people, then I don't care if you are cis (female or male) or if you identify as female. You can read my work as long as you know that 1 am FtM and I write for FtM readers.

Also this chapter contains the following

The T word

And the name us brits call cigarettes

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh I didn't mean to interrupt but Emma is looking for you Michael" Amy said as she shut the door behind her.

"Ok, if you need me Y/N, just yell" Michael said as he got up to go. He hugged me once again before leaving the game room.

"So, you're Emma's brother?" Amy asked as she took a seat next to me.

"Yeah, I'm her younger brother you must be Amy then?"

"Yeah that's me, I overheard you and Emma fighting earlier"

"Yeah and not to sound rude but I don't want to talk about it, I just want to forget everything right now" I said not even bothering to look in Amy's direction.

I felt bad for talking to her that way but I've learnt over the years to never let people close. All they do in the end is hurt me so it's better to keep them at a distance .

"Fuck I need a drink" came a voice as the game room doors open again.

"Oh hey Jacob" Amy said leaving me alone to wallow in self pity.

After a while Amy decided to leave, so it was just me and Jacob left in the game room.

"So you mentioned that you used to do your own stunts?" Jacob asked as he sat next to me with a bottle of wine.

"Yeah, when me and Emma did movies together she had a stunt double, they couldn't find one for me so I ended up doing my own" I said taking the drink he offered me.

"Impressive, I was a stunt man before this so do you have a favourite stunt?" He said taking a sip of his drink.

I took a sip as well before turning to face him "I once had to climb a drain pipe using my belt, that was fun, what about you?"

"I had to jump into a lake once and do some underwater stuff" Jacob replied.

"Cool"

"So, what's wrong?" He asked, a genuine look of concern on his face.

"Me and Emma had a fight" I told him.

"About?"

"Why I left"

"Why did you leave?"

"It's a long story"

"I've got nowhere else to be darling"

"Fine but don't go yapping to the others"

••Flashback••

(Five years ago)

I was sitting on the couch, eating my breakfast that Andrea had made for me. Emma was busy reading the script for her new movie.

Robert had left early to meet with his manager, so it was just the two of us which was nice, it felt like old times.

"Hey Y/N, I was thinking later we could go shopping, maybe get a new rug for living room" Emma said as she sat down next to me.

Suddenly the door swung open and in stomped Robert. The noise of the door violently hitting the wall next to it and Robert’s footsteps was enough to make me jump, making me drop my fork into my food that was sitting on my plate in my lap.

“YOU” he snarled at me with a stare that could kill

I looked at him “What?” I asked confused

"You fucking waste of space, I want you gone"

"Now hold on a minute, what's gotten into you?" Emma asked him as he continued to stomp around.

"That thing has been living in my house rent free for years now, it has to go"

"Oh don't be so ridiculous, non of us pay rent Robert, and besides Y/N and I brought this house years before we got married"

"Oh don't worry sister, if his majesty wants me gone then I'm going" I said as I started to walk towards my bedroom to pack.

"Good, I don't want to live with a trannie fag anyway" Robert said as I walked out of the house.

••End of Flashback••

Jacob looked at me in shock for a moment before pulling me into a hug.

We didn't speak for a while, the hug we shared was enough to convey how we were feeling.

"Shit love, I'm sorry you had to experience that" Jacob said as he pulled away from me to pour us both another drink.

"It's ok, after leaving here I stayed with Michael and then left for New York"

"What did you do in New York?"

"Well after filming Dirty Angel I got really into drag so when I moved to New York I started working in a gay club as a Drag Queen"

••Timeskip••

After a few hours of talking with Jacob about my time in New York and his time being a stock broker, we headed back upstairs to the living room, where Andrea was waiting for us with dinner.

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

Taglist

@gamergirl-06

@morgana-artt

@amdaspoon

[shirefantasies]

Hello! If it’s not too much to ask, could you do a Hobbit/LotR matchup for me???

My name’s Liv, I’m non-binary (they/them, but occasionally she/her or he/him depending on the vibe). I’ve got curly brown hair in an anime boy type hairstyle, hazel eyes, and glasses. I usually end up dressing business casual for work, but I also like flannel shirts and band shirts paired with leggings or jeans. I LOVE reading and getting books (and I work at a library so it absolutely does not help my obsession lol), and I love Studio Ghibli movies and Old Hollywood horror films! I am also obsessed with history and am actually going to grad school for it! I’m typically a bit quiet and tend to really focus in on something, but when I’m comfortable with a person I love to tell them about stuff I really enjoy. I love listening to music, and at present it’s been mainly kpop and rock, and also Ghibli soundtracks. I do have really bad anxiety and depression, and it’s a bit hard to get me out of my head when I’m in a thought spiral. But people have called me sensible in the past when it comes to providing advice about situations other people are experiencing, even though I clam up a lot about my own problems and worry a lot about bothering people and being a burden. I absolutely adore cats and would love to get one someday! I also like collecting crystals and trying out new things to cook (like lately I’ve been trying out Korean and Japanese recipes).

I hope that’s enough to work with! And if not, or if I missed the window, that’s totally cool! Hope you have a good day!

You did not miss the window dear Liv, in fact I was quite excited to get this request because the matchup was so perfect in my mind 🥰 your match is…

Frodo!

Our dear hobbit first lays eyes upon you in the bookshop, of course. You're there poring over a history tome he's never seen touched, straightening your spectacles and flipping the page to the next war account. You peer up, glasses sliding a bit down your nose as your hazel eyes meet Frodo's and you give a small smile. He is so used to encouraging others to take the first step- maybe it's his turn. Approaching you, he asks you what your interest is in that particular history and ends up spending the rest of his time in the shop there with you.

From that he learns you weren’t even there for war histories, merely getting distracted on your quest for a book on identifying crystals from your collection. Helping you find it, Frodo asks if you frequent this town, hoping so for it is right outside the Shire and Bilbo tends to run the odd errand there. Sure enough, that is you home no less, and with a smile the hobbit suggests you might show him around beyond the shop sometime. The shock on your face is quite adorable as you agree and offer to take him to your favorite spot.

Said favorite spot being a nook at the end of the river hidden away behind a collection of wide green trees. “I come here to read,” you tell the hobbit, “if you ever want to join, you can. Just keep it a secret, alright?” You wink and Frodo thinks he might spontaneously combust. Join he does, though, bringing stacks of books from Bag End he thinks you might enjoy. He starts trading you old books for your library job for the stones you find or even goodies you’ve baked up. All of the Shire are positively foaming to meet this infamous Liv and get their hands on some of their exotic treats, but Frodo never gives up your little secrets…

It is behind those very trees where you share your first kiss, Frodo surprising you with a different offering: a rose quartz piece Gandalf had given him some years back. Arching a shy brow, you ask him if he has ever heard the significance of this stone, and flushing, he nods. As if tugged in by a string you two are moving in sync, lips meeting behind the cover of waving branches. Frodo’s hand snakes ever-so-shyly around your waist and you can hardly help smiling into the kiss. Heads may shake as he walks hand in hand with you down Shire lanes, but he’s a Baggins- what else do they expect? The smile of amusement and pride across his face has you shaking your own head, but fondly, lovingly.

After the destruction of the One Ring, Frodo is different. You understand. Both of you know intrinsically the feeling if a spiral, even the look of its onset, and what the other needs. Silence, space, a warm touch, weight, a distraction, an embrace. Whatever the answer, Frodo only cracks a smile in those moments when that sensible caring side of you he loves so much comes out. After all, it is amazing how giving you are especially during your own fights. When darkness is closing in, you are his reminder that there is light and good in the world, just like Sam. When depression takes you, he can only hope his approach is half as good, half as inspiring. Giving up is so tempting, but in the face of a loved one, both of you realize there is hope you cannot yet throw away. Even if it is something small as feeling each other’s lips upon your forehead again or the easy way your limbs tangle as you read together, life is worth fighting for. Frodo may have saved Middle-Earth, but you, Liv, saved him.

Taglist: @lokilover476 @fuckyoumakeart @kilibaggins @mossthebogwitch @ibabblealot @joonies-word @stormchaser819 @pirate-lord-of-narnia | Reply/Ask/Message to join!

[amostexcellentblog]

I have this random little headcanon that Maverick's obsession with planes means he pretty much only watches movies and shows about airplanes and aviation. He doesn't even know he's doing it, he's just watching what interests him. So he's oblivious about a lot of pop culture, but has very strong opinions on anything that involves a plane.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles: Total ripoff, they give the plane top billing, but it's only in the first half hour! You know why they did that, don't you? Because they know nobody would want to watch a movie just called "Trains and Automobiles!"

Air Force One: Now that's a movie! The plane has the title all to itself and is in almost every scene. Plus, Harrison Ford is an actual pilot, usually they cast non-pilots in these roles and it just feels so condescending and inauthentic (Coyote: Ah yes, Pilotface, Hollywood's most shameful casting practice.) Maverick took Bradley to see it 5 times in theaters, and Ice another 4.

His favorite comedy is Airplane!, his favorite 70s disaster movie is Airport, his favorite sitcom is Wings, which drives Slider nuts because "that show takes place in the same continuity as Cheers and Frasier, two of the best sitcoms of all time. It's not even the best show in it's own shared universe, how can it be your favorite?"

Battle Hymn: Maverick watched it on TV at a foster home one day, he would've liked more flight scenes, but something about the swagger Rock Hudson has in his leather bomber jacket, so calm, cool, and confident, just captivates him. He's so effortlessly masculine yet warm and caring, risking everything to save the Korean war orphans, and as an orphan himself the idea of someone so handsome caring about an unwanted kid like him makes him feel strangely warm inside. Years later he will concede that this was his gay awakening, but he resents how after telling people this they always ask him did you know? Like he has a sixth sense for these things. He found out years later with the rest of the world.

A Matter of Life and Death: Not a lot of actual flying but the main character is RAF. He and Bradley stumble upon the fantasy film about a pilot who cheats death after his guardian angel fails to take him to heaven when it's his time, and then has to argue for his life before a court in heaven, to prolong his budding romance. They watch it together shortly after Carole dies, when they need to do something but don't feel like doing anything, so watching an old movie on TV makes sense. By the end, when the pilot's love interest tells the court she'll go in his place because she loves him, he's tearing up. Embarrassed, he glances at Bradley only to see he's crying too and he knows they're both thinking the same thing, that they'd gladly give their own lives if it meant Carole or Goose could be here again. They don't say anything, they just hold each other while they cry together, even after the movie is over.

[christinaroseandrews]

I don't think people know just how bloody influential The Birdcage was. 1996 when the movie came out was not a safe place to be a queer person. Particularly a gender non-conforming queer like Albert. Being queer meant being in the closet. If you are out of the closet you were constantly in danger and because the Hays code while gone was still very much present in filmmaking you never got to see happy queer people. This is the time on television where a woman kissing another woman was considered a big old stunt. Ellen didn't come out as gay until 1997. Buffy the vampire Slayer which featured a queer couple in Willow and Tara didn't come out until 1997 and the queer characterization didn't happen until four seasons later.

As somebody else pointed out, this was the first movie we're seeing gay Joy or queer Joy was really mainstream. And it was mainstream.

And this was right in the prime of the arguments that queer people couldn't raise a family. Particularly gay men. That the children would turn out wrong or be victimized. So by showing that Albert and Armand raised Val to be happy, successful, and--this was important for the time--heterosexual. Because that was also a huge rallying cry for conservative America is that if queer people were allowed to adopt or have children they would raise them to be queer.

Those little gestures that Robin Williams and Nathan Lane are doing, those were hard fought. There was a mandate from the studio that the men couldn't kiss so that little teeny pack in the morning was fought for and slipped under the radar of the studio execs who mandated that they couldn't have that. And by having these little beautiful gestures it just shows how normal the relationship is. How comfortable the two men are with each other. How happy.

And when the American public saw this movie, and the gay people weren't the villains or the bad guys, it started changing perceptions. Slowly, but not as slowly as you would think, Hollywood started including more gay characters. This is where the gay best friend started showing up and while it's cliche now it was absolutely revolutionary at the time. Especially in a studio movie, with a director as big as Mike Nichols and stars as huge as Robin Williams and Gene Hackman and Nathan Lane and Christine baranski.

This movie has a direct line and was often cited when arguing for gay marriage. I would argue that without this movie we wouldn't have gay marriage we wouldn't have the normalization and almost ubiquitous presence of queer people on television and in movies and in books that we have today.

This article from mashable is actually pretty good at conveying how cool this movie is..

If you haven't seen this movie please do so. It is wonderful. It is gentle. It's very 1990s. But it's it been in my list of favorite movies for a long time even with some of the sitcom second hand embarrassment.

Watch this!

My cemetery’s in Key Biscayne. It’s one of the prettiest in the world. The sky is blue, palm trees, rolling hills. The one is Los Copa’s really sh*t. [sigh] What a pain in the ass you are. And it’s true: you’re not young, you’re not new, and you do make people laugh. And me? I’m still with you because you make me laugh. So you know what I got to do? I got to sell my plot in Key Biscayne so I can get one next to you in that shithole Los Copa, so I never miss a laugh. Robin Williams and Nathan Lane as Armand and Albert in The Birdcage (1996) dir. Mike Nichols

[televinita]

Shelves I Am Debating Adding to My Goodreads

(talking random ideas out in a public forum helps me think)

Maps (I would like to remember which books have cool maps inside them!)

Illustrated (for books, mostly children's and vintage, with pencil sketches within the text and similar)

Endpages (we love a book with illustrated endpages) (it would also help remind me which books are Not Good Enough to get as ex-library, whose stickers and tape ruin them)

Mixed/multi-media? (I have a "unique books" shelf that already covers the coolest ones, but stuff like A Good Girl's Guide to Murder that just switches up prose with things like text messages, emails, etc. might be interesting to keep track of too. I'm just not sure exactly what the best term for this is)

Mass Market Genre (cozy mysteries and more generic/Harlequin-type romances, which just aren't quite on par with normal standalones. the recommendation feature is mostly garbage now, but keeping those out of consideration can't hurt)

Romance (genre tag for the standalone contemporary style right now, because I have an "OTP" shelf, but that's specifically for book couples I ship and that doesn't happen for me in all of them, or maybe even most)

Mystery and/or Thriller (actually criminal I don't have this yet, but for a long time I didn't read enough adult fiction so if it wasn't horror or historical I just slapped it all under 'contemporary-adult' (separate from longstanding #1 shelf Contemporary YA) but I should really divide them out)

Ugly Covers (I finally made a Cover Love shelf for the beautiful ones, and I don't usually read books with ugly covers for obvious reasons, but sometimes there's only one edition of a book that came via friend rec and whose summary sounds irresistible, and you don't have a choice. Across The Desert. I want to yell about them)

Hollywood or Celebrities (I finally made a 'music' tag but that covers pretty much any book where the main character is a musician or listens to music; I need one for actors too because I'm starting to read more of those. Celebrity memoirs will stay in the Memoir tag because those are mostly the kind I read anyway)

Film And TV (I have a TV Tie-ins shelf for those kinds of novels specifically, but I also want a place for my nonfiction related to the entertainment industry, a reading category which continues to grow)

Gift Books (this is a category in my book catalog for how I would hypothetically shelve the small and pretty books together; why not make it GR Official)

UK and Ireland (I have an International Setting tag but it never quite felt right applying that to the Isles when it evokes more far-flung lands. On that note, may also need a Canada one) (I HAVE thought about doing one for every state, too, just for data reasons, but the idea of adding up to FIFTY new shelves on one theme seems like it would overwhelm my system)

EDIT:

Movie Cover Accepted (or something like that! Most of the time I'm happy to join in on the movie cover hate bandwagon, but on occasion, I actually like them as much or more than the originals. Specific ones I've seen recently are The Storied Life of A.J. Fikrey, Daisy Jones & The Six, and It Ends With Us. also let's not forget about the random LOTR book I bought because of Viggo Mortensen on the cover...)

Beautiful Buildings (you slap a beautiful old mansion on a cover and I'm 50% more likely to read it. I have a lot of these. I would like to gaze upon them all at once)

Restoration (I ALSO read a lotta books, both fiction and non, about restoring old houses)

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Katharine Hepburn (Bringing Up Baby, The Philadelphia Story, The African Queen)—This woman. I have been obsessed with her for years. I know the urban legend is a popular one at this point of her walking around set in her underwear when her pants were stolen and she was left with only a skirt, but the pants thing is honestly enough for her to be the hottest in the room in my book. She refused to wear anything else at a time when the public in general and especially the studios did not like that. She was independent, stubborn, and so so very capable. Competency kink anyone? Also, if you want one final way that Katharine's entire life was saying "fuck you" to the establishment, it started young! Her mother took her to suffrage events, and she never got rid of that attitude of justice. I feel like I have barely scratched the surface of all the ways she was such a badass that I'm turning into a rambling mess instead.

Gene Tierney (Laura, The Ghost and Mrs Muir, Leave Her to Heaven)— The class, the elegance. The way she walks into frame and immediately all focus is on her. She had a pretty lengthy struggle with mental health that she describes in her book, which I think made her all the more sensitive in portraying characters like in leave her to heaven. Also she dumped JFK so

This is round 4 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Katharine Hepburn propaganda:

I'm sure one million people will submit her as an iconic Hollywood star but that iconicness might lead people to forget just how insanely hot she was like she had it ALL she was skilled she was funny she was smart she was beautiful AND she was likely bisexual

The single word I would use to explain Katherine Hepburn's appeal is *range*. In her acting career, that meant covering all the ground between lush period dramas and the comedies she did with Carey Grant and Spencer Tracey. In terms of hotness, it meant an uncanny ability to bring anything from a Dietrich-esque androgyny to some of the best Classic Hollywood Glamour you will ever see.

Katharine hep was so cool. The VIBES, the INDEPENDENCE,,, living life on her own terms.

she just had this.... bearing to her, this power. she could be funny, even silly (like in bringing up baby) but also so regal and elegant. she was nobody's fool and dear GOD that's so hot

Fancam link

She’s not only stunningly gorgeous (those eyes that pierce your soul! a jawline you could cut glass with!) but her delivery and physical presence in roles gives off confidence and authority in such a sexy way (truly the biggest dick energy of Old Hollywood). Her fiery energy in The Philadelphia Story? Unmatched.

God she's. She's so hot y'all. She has the range!!!!! Funny and dramatic and lovely

She IS the transatlantic accent. Classically gorgeous and such a strong personality.

She's literally one of the funniest women to ever live! She goes shot for shot with Cary Grant in Philadelphia Story and we damn well love her for it! She's the most annoying creature to ever live in Bringing Up Baby but she's so insane and funny that we simply cannot help but fall in love with her (and root for her to give Grant an aneurysm!)

i know she's accounted for but i really want to be sure someone has submitted the scene in bringing up baby where she's pretending to be a gangster

She simply stuns onscreen; you cannot do anything but be captivated by her presence. Also a non-gender-conforming icon and mild tumblr celebrity by virtue of that one picture from The Warrior's Husband (stage play).

Katharine Hepburn was out here casually changing the lives of young butch lesbians with her gender swag! She wore pants even when people said she shouldn’t, she refused to marry or have kids, and she wore menswear in at LEAST one movie!

If I start thinking about her face for too long I will cry she is so so hot. Katherine is so charismatic and charming in everything she appears in - watch her adopt a leopard and fall in love with her. Also she has the biggest dick energy ever (she and her pal Lauren Bacall share that accolade). Also had an incredibly long and varied career from screw ball comedies to serious dramas - she’s a queen of the screen and I adore her.

Someone's got to mention it, but she's won the most Oscars out of any performer and is largely considered one of the greatest actresses ever. She's got an incredible voice, an incredible presence, and she absolutely steals every scene she's in. She was private person and deemed standoffish and unapproachable, but she was also profoundly concerned for people's rights and was an outspoken supporter of abortion access. Finally, the Katharine Hepburn slacks look is just iconic. I mean look at her.

(I hope someone else submits real propaganda but just in case they don't:) Cries. Screams. Wails. The woman who singlehandedly made me realize I was bi. A real "do i want to look like her. be her. or be with her.' crisis, where the answer was all three. Holy shit please all three.

Gene Tierney:

The entire plot of Laura is that a guy has to become completely obsessed with a woman after just seeing her portrait. This only works because Gene was cast in the role. I 10000% believe anyone could fall in love after seeing her face.

Those eyes! Just look at those eyes! She’s at her hottest in Leave Her To Heaven— I literally want her to ruin my life.

Absolute grade-A babe, she is the perfection incarnate.

Gene Tierney was beautiful, poised, intense. I associate her with roles where she was murderous or an intelligent woman being patronized to - like a woman on the edge! As far as I am concerned, she deserved to do whatever she wanted.

She had a slight overbite which was amazingly sexy, and a throaty voice that was very memorable as well. She’s terrific in Laura, which reminds me I should watch it again.

EYES!! Her diabolical acting in Leave Her to Heaven is just perfect, Rosamund Pike definitely took notes for her Gone Girl from her.

Oscar-nominated and simply one of the most beautiful women to ever walk this Earth.

Absolutely stunning. In Leave Her to Heaven, she reaches Rosamund-Pike-in-Gone-Girl levels of “holy fucking shit?!?!?!” She had a fling with JFK in the ‘40s and also dated the exes of Rita Hayworth and Hedy Lamarr (Prince Aly Khan and W. Howard Lee, respectively). Sadly, her daughter was born with a disability (during a time in which there were few good mainstream options for disabled children and their parents), likely because of a fan who was sick with measles and went out of her way to meet Tierney (who was pregnant) anyway. Topical! Sure would be good if people stayed home when they were sick! Anyway, she was also a Republican, which sucks. Laura and Leave Her to Heaven are great viewing though.

[ferida-kahlo]

Heyyyy I loved the way you write Michael berzatto!!! Do you have any hcs of him? I literally take anything lol there’s not much stuff about him 🙏IM STARVING

omg anon that is so nice to hear! thank you dear 💖

i must confess i feel a bit uninspired at the moment, especially after finding out j*n b*rnthal is a z*onist it's been difficult for me to separate the character from the actor. however. mikey is so hot to me in comparison to all other characters played by JB it almost transcends the actor so i will indulge for a bit

i don't have any list of hc or anything but if I must think of a couple off the top of my head i guess:

he listens to a LOT of rap and it's either old school classics or the most trap mumble shit you can imagine. no middle ground. i think most ppl in the fandom think of him as a dad rock kind of guy but i don't see it. that's just what he sings in the shower or when he's drunk

that being said, i remember a quote from JAW about how carmy inherited his love for classics from mikey. he was refering to clothes specifically, but i think mikey got that from watching loads of classic films as a kid bc it was the only tapes his parents had at home, and then ended up actually enjoying them. when he grew up and back when he had the time - when the restaurant hadn't yet consumed his entire life - he would go to special screenings of old hollywood movies every time he could catch them. he also quickly realized it was a great date idea to get girls thinking he had a mysterious side 👀

now the nsfw: i already explored this in my fics but i think he is a very passionate lover even when not in a relationship. he'll gasp and whimper and moan and come at the least sexual kinds of touches, like when he's on top of you and you stroke his cheek while looking him in the eyes and smiling, or as your fingers comb through his hair softly when making out. however, if you do those same gestures in a non-sexual context he will play it cool, as if it's no big deal. the physical closeness and vulnerability in the act of sex works as a sort of catharsis for him, the only small moments when he allows himself to feel loved and cared for

hope this helps sate your thirst anon 😁

[ultramaga]

“the cheap ass Hanna-Barbera animation” That was terrible, to the point the animation company I was in had a boss who would mention it as an example of what not to do.  “ and the same frickin boring ass repeated plot lines” Lots of kids actually want repetition. Plus, the shows would be on briefly once a week where I lived. The binge model we have now couldn’t exist back then. “ it was good that they finally acknowledged Velma as a lesbian” Except she wasn’t. She was a 15 year old girl who didn’t have the wonderful body Daphne did. That’s normal. Lots of women look like her.  So why class her as a lesbian? Because it is a stereotype that lesbians are frumpy? She wasn’t interested in girly stuff, but she was interested in boys. If she was born now, they would have had her tits off in a heartbeat, told her she’s a gay man. She wasn’t. She was a woman who just wasn’t in that top ten percent for looks, but was for brains. Discussion here. https://www.liquisearch.com/velma_dinkley/relationships Basically she’s had a ton of crushes on males, a few actual relationships, one somewhat canon snog with an adult male in the Supernatural crossover episode, and nothing outside of wishful thinking otherwise. 

Reminds me of how a section of the fanbase kept pushing to make the Winchester Brothers gay. They weren’t. There were other characters that were. But still the clamouring came, make them gay, we demand it! Well, Velma is what happens when you alter established characters to try and appeal to the woke fanbase, instead of creating new characters.  As for representation, every wokist seems to think that gay women are the majority. They clearly aren’t, as many a lesbian will tell you. Hell, a bisexual woman I have known all my life spent most of that with men, because there are so many more male partners who are available. But you turn on American TV, and everyone is gay, everyone is black, everyone is left wing. There’s no diversity. Diversity stands for the opposite, apparently. And I think it’s very interesting that the shows made from the distant past are still doing well, because despite the lack of gay characters etc, they told interesting stories and have diverse characters.

A Wokist looks at 12 Angry Men and just sees one person cloned twelve times. A non-Leftist sees 12 very different people. Hollywood is failing because it does the same thing, over and over, and is shocked that the result is the same. Almost all of the TV and movie business now is awful.  Yes, there are exceptions. And what do you notice about them? 

Traditional story telling. 

Luke Skywalker being absolutely cool instead of debased so that a female character looks better.

Raw testosterone on the screen. Men like to see men being men - and so do most women. The big hits lately are really old stories in a lot of ways, with a modern paintjob. Hell, look at how often the old masculine movies get repeated, but watered down because masculinity is toxic now.

And they flop. Huge success?

Yes, I know that scene wasn’t in it, but it should have been. At least after the credits or something. That actress was hot! Ghostbusters. Games, books, tabletop rpgs, comics and cartoons followed.

Failure? Corrected Ghostbusters. 

I’d say Afterlife was a reasonable way to have good male and female characters ... 

Because they created new ones, they didn’t just strip out the masculinity etc of the old. And they had respect for masculinity; it doesn’t have to be beefcake: 

Compare that to She-Ra, He Man et al. The same formula applied every time. Strip out masculinity, make everyone gay, make everyone black if you can. And it fails over and over.

I have no idea if he said that irl, but you get the point. VELMA is a Mean-Spirited Unfunny Series and Has a 7% Fan Rating on Rotten Tomatoes https://geektyrant.com/news/velma-is-a-mean-spirited-unfunny-series-and-has-a-7-fan-rating-on-rotten-tomatoes I think it’s funny that I can’t show screenshots of the parts of Velma I found disgusting. The cockroach sex? It’s like some sort of bad art piece. It just doesn’t seem to end, and it made me feel sick, but not as sick as Velma’s snot production, or the human brains spattered everwhere.  And the nude children? Really? That’s appropriate? WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING? I think they wanted to kill the franchise. I think this was a group of people who hated cartoons, and wanted them dead, and I think they will have classed this as a win. What next, they carpet-bomb the pyramids?

Obsessed with this. It’s so true

[not-souleaterpost]

Sinuhe, the prestige tv anti-hero

Yup, this post will probably be the farthest from anything I am usually known for

So some months ago, while being stuck in the hospital, I didn't have anything better to do than read this book which I somehow got into my possesion. Funnily enough it's author is supposedly the most famous Finish author, and during the 60s there even was a Hollywood movie adaption all the jazz. Yet today it's hard to find anybody online talking about it.

So in a way this is my motivation. Yet what is there to say? Will I repeat the one thing everyone praises of it being so accurate to ancient egypt? (I'm not from Yugioh, so how would I know either way?) That it is a metaphor/retelling of the authors life and experience during the events of two world wars and the rise and fall of empires and emporours? About the cycle of history, that even if how depressing in retrospect seems to be moving, even if it all takes tragedy? - Nah, let's better talk how it reminds me of a prototype of all these grimdark shows with lots of nudity lol.

From Breaking Bad's Walter White who is driven to crime supposedly, while only being a power fantasy for both the viewer and charachter, to the as popular as it is forgoten Game Of Thrones, or even the ever so Classic Sopranos - it's funny to see how all the things were already atleast half a decade old (and probably a lot more, just read the Coun of Montecristo, which may be more relevant to a certain topic so lets just wait for that in a certain video...)

But for examples, we have the narrator figure, a quasi tragic yet at the same time clear figure for the reader to insert and feel powerful - he gets seduced by a beautiful women, get's access to the highest court, has an mystical origin (being a proto-Moses figure, but thats another topic), gets into serious yet allways non-lethal adventures, ending like cartoons with last minute saves and contrivances - his growing mysantrophy and cynicism only making him appear more cool for school.

I think maybe that's what I'm getting at - many "serious" shows today (or maybe ever? Guess I'm actually kinda uncultured so who knows) - seem in a lot of ways more childish than the silliest cartoons - atleast the later do their gags for their own sake, not to get a one up on the people that bullied and spiteted them, which the motivation for most of these shows are.

But what am trying to say? Am I shiting on the book? Nah just on the shows, and even then not really - still like the Sopranos, the only one I truly dislike is Game Of Thrones and am happy that I only saw a few scenes and moments passing by the family tv years ago before it was ok to dislike it. Still one will ask, what my point is? Well I think it is, what actually makes it different from all the anti-hero tv shows afterall?

And I think it's the universal project of trying to get through all history, to give a map of humanitys progress - in both ways of a map of something existing and as a roadmap - to show where and how it all can go.

This is lacking even in the Sopranos, which in the end just stews in it's cynicism and condemns the viewer for even identifieng with the family - "they are killers and bigots, how can you care for them, you don't even the ending" - no end in sight, in all senses, no message for the future or possible resolution - like Walter White dieing in some redneck nazi bunker having removed himself from reality as the only possible solution.

Yes this book also ends in a sad way, but as I said with one in which I saw hope - the burying of his books seems more than just a framing device, but a message, that the future can and was influenced by all his experience, even if it took hundreds and thousands of years.

Even if he buried them to the void, as we all do who post here and other places, without getting any attention, not even hate mail or spam. Maybe it will all be deleted in a few years, maybe some catastrophy will destroy it even if it was backed up by some magic ai computer, yet still one has this absurd hope of what if?

So as the song stops mid scene for the anti hero, maybe it will continue for it's opposite some day as unexpectedly?

Damn.

(Also the book is mostly mundane with no supernatural elements, yet there is a guy whose ability is to just magically stop bleedings, guess I can't escape Soul Eater references lol)

[dangerousconnoisseurdonut]

firstly, when you get this, you have to answer with 5 things you like about yourself publicly, then send this ask to 10 of your favourite followers (non-negotiable, positivity is cool) 🫶🏼✨

5 things I like about myself? Ugh, that's tricky.

I like to think I'm honest about myself in regards to my limitations. For example, I *can* draw, but I need a model to draw from; free style doesn't always look like what I'm hoping to convey. Do I wish I could convey what's in my mind? Absolutely. Am I embarrassed? No, because there are some people who can't draw even with a model in front of them.

I can do Counted Cross Stitch; for those who don't know, there are two types of cross stitch, Counted, and Pattern. Pattern is cross stitch that had the pattern printed onto the parchment; Counted is when you have a pattern, you have the parchment, but they are not one and the same. You literally search for the centre, and begin counting; if your count is off, your pattern will be off.

I try to help people who look tired and could do with a break, even if it's something like doing the dishes even when it's not your turn. Or write a little fic for a friend who's going through a rough patch and could do with a little ray of sunshine.

I like movies that others, for some bizarre reason, say are bad movies. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier - Rottentomatoes critics gave it 22% while audiences gave it 24% but I happen to like it. The Bat with Vincent Price and Agnes Moorehead - critics gave it 14% while audiences were a bit kinder with 49% but my mom and I love it and view it as one of our favourite murder mysteries

Others might see this as being connected to point 4, but I think there is a difference here; I fully admit that I enjoy SciFi/Horror movies from the 50s, 60s, and 80s (70s was a little too weird even for me) that others today call cheesy or they laugh at them. The Deadly Mantis, Creature with the Atom Brain, The Monster that Challenged the World, The Abominable Dr. Phibes (71; sue me), the remake of The Blob, Leviathan, and those are only a few. I get a little upset when people make fun of the old 50s movies and it's spiteful or mocking; like the Gill-Man's suit from Creature from the Black Lagoon when people says it's *obviously* a guy in a rubber suit. That was the best they could do at the time and I happen to like it as Hollywood is getting lazy with CGI instead of doing real monster makeup. It took Jack Pierce 5-6 hours to turn Lon Chaney jr from a man into a werewolf.

Rant done; probably got more than you were looking for!