#shes too young and too thin also imo

[jessiescock]

I do NOT like Melissa McCarty as ursula. She cant sing, she doesnt serve ANY cunt. Plus they made her look very bad but that's not her fault i guess. But idk who else could have been considered for the part bc Disney only wants to hire already famous actors and there's. not exactly an abundance of famous fat women in hollywood

[vodika-vibes]

Hey! I know he's a bit of a rare clone, but would you consider writing for maze? he's from the repcomm books and is endearingly (Imo) professional and surly 👉👈

Not That Hard

Summary: When one story ends, another one begins. Maze, formerly a Republic Soldier, is now a bounty hunter. He’s used to things being orderly, everything has a place, and everything should be in its place. So when he ends up locked in a small cell with the woman he’s been searching for, a woman who’s been missing for three weeks, he knows that everything is about to be turned on its head.

Pairing: Pre Maze (Alpha-26) x F!Reader

Word Count: 1722

Warnings: None

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni @imabeautifulbutterfly

A/N: So, I've never written Maze before, but I'm always happy to write any of the Alphas, or any star wars character. His page on Wookieepedia wasn't the best, but I did the best I could. I hope you like it! Also, I've been watching a lot of Numb3rs, so that's where the basic idea of this came from.

Maze leans back against the stone wall, his gaze drifting from the woman sleeping on the singular cot in the cell to the door, and then back again. He’s glad that she’s asleep. He wasn’t sure that she would fall asleep, honestly.

He leans over and tugs the thin blanket a little higher over her shoulders. The blanket won’t do much to keep the cold out, it’s too thin, but it’s enough that she can sleep.

Three weeks ago the University of Theeds reached out to him, telling him that one of their Teachers had gone missing. They said to him that someone had broken into her home, torn the place to pieces, and taken her.

The University hired him to find her since he was something of an expert on finding people.

The fact that she’s alive is a damned miracle, in his opinion. After three weeks, statistics indicate that he should have found her in a ditch somewhere.

He’s never been so glad to be wrong in his life.

Still, the fact that they haven’t killed her suggests that they want something from her. Maze shifts so that he’s sitting on the cot beside her, tired of sitting on the ground.

He needs to think.

Why would someone want a University Professor?

Absently, Maze brushes a strand of hair off her face as he thinks about what he knows about her.

She’s young, barely brushing 25 years old. She’s an only child. Her mom died from heart disease when she was a child, her dad recently retired to a lake house. There’s no other family.

She’s single, and her only friends are people who work at the University with her. Honestly, it sounds like a lonely life to him, but according to her colleagues and friends, she’s seemed lonely or unhappy.

He can respect that.

Maze’s eyes snap to her face as she releases a quiet noise and shifts on the cot, seemingly to curl into his warmth while also opening her eyes. “You should go back to sleep, Professor. It’s early.” He says quietly.

She sighs and shakes her head, “No point. They’re going to be coming soon.” Slowly, she sits up and shifts so she’s able to press her face against his shoulder. 

“What do they want?” Maze asks, mentally kicking himself for not asking her earlier. But then, her injuries were pretty severe. It makes sense that he would put that aside.

“I’m a Bio-Engineer.” She replies tiredly, “They want me to tell them how to break into BioGen.”

“Why?”

“BioGen’s biggest thing is weaponizing viruses.”

Maze stiffens and his gaze snaps to her face, “BioWeapons are illegal. Even in the Empire.”

“They weaponize them so that they can try and develop cures for them. It’s all legal and above board.” She reassures, “Even in the Empire.”

“Why’d you leave?”

“A Tenured Professorship at the University of Theeds is a great honor, not to mention it pays very well.” She replies, “It made sense, career-wise.”

“Only there’s a lot less security at the University compared to a Biomedical facility.”

She huffs out a laugh, “Yeah, there is that.” She shifts her head slightly, “But this has never happened before. Ever. People leave BioGen all of the time.”

“And you’re the first one kidnapped?”

“That I know of.”

There are heavy footsteps from the hall and Maze shifts so that his body is shielding hers. The door slams open and three men step into the room.

They’re not big men, if Maze were to stand, he’d tower over them. It burns him up that he allowed men like them to capture him so he would be able to find the professor. 

“Professor,” One of the men stalks towards Maze, and he feels her shrink down behind him, “Come on, girl. Are we really going to do this? All you gotta do is give us the information, and then you’ll both go free.”

“Don’t lie. We all know that the moment she tells you what you want to know, you’ll kill her.” Maze growls out.

The man laughs, “Well, it’ll be a quick death, rather than this slow, dragged-out death.”

Behind him, the Professor trembles. 

“Is this all of you? Just three men?”

“We still caught you, clone.” One of the other men sneers, “Grab the Professor—”

The first man reaches to grab the Professor, only for Maze to move, swiftly breaking the man’s arm, and slamming his head against the wall, causing him to crumple to the floor.

“Get low, Professor.” Maze orders as he stands and advances on the two remaining men. He doesn’t wait to see if she’s following his direction, as he suddenly has two furious men to contend with.

Unfortunately for them, he’s an Alpha Class clone, and they’re unarmed.

The fight can’t even be called a proper fight. The two remaining kidnappers go down with several well-placed hits, and Maze tosses them into the cell while motioning for the Professor to join him.

“We’re leaving,” Maze says to the woman as he holds his hand out for her.

Nervously she nods and takes his hand, “Where are we going?”

“Well, it was the University who hired me.” Maze replies as he peeks into the hall, and then leads her out of the cell as soon as he notes that it’s safe.

“Um—”

Maze stops and looks at her, “What’s wrong?”

“Just…did they seem smart enough to come up with this on their own?”

Maze stares at her for a long time, and then he sighs, “No. They didn’t.” He’s quiet for a moment, “Alright, there must be something here to indicate who hired them. Follow me.”

Maze leads abruptly turns down a side hallway and leads her into a much larger room. There are computers, though they seem largely untouched. It looks like the kidnappers were more concerned with the games that were playing on the four holos lined up next to each other than the computers.

There are three couches, each other them surrounded by empty bottles and empty pizza boxes. 

“Well,” Maze notes as he steps around a pile of trash, “Criminal Genuises they are not.”

The Professor peers at a holo-board next to the couches, “It looks like they have a gambling problem.”

“Lucky for us. It means they probably didn’t delete anything.” Maze walks over to the computers, “Stay close, Professor.”

“Ah…Sorry.” She hurries to his side and peeks around him at the monitors.

Maze flashes a small smile at her and then focuses on the computers. “Hey, Professor?”

“Yes?”

“How’d they grab you?”

“I was heading home from a day of classes, and they ran me off the road.” She replies.

“You were driving yourself.”

“Yeah.”

“Does anyone know your route home?”

“I mean, there’s only one road off of the main campus,” She replies, “But I generally don’t know what route I’m taking home until I get in the car. It depends on the traffic and if I need to go grocery shopping.”

“And you didn’t tell anyone your plans for the evening when you were taken?” Maze asks as he scans something on the screen.

“No. No one.”

“It looks like our violent friends were hired by Levi Kelley. At least, that’s who paid them.”

“Levi Kelley?”

“You know him?”

“Yeah, he’s the head of the Biology Department at the University. I thought you said the University hired you?”

“Yeah, the Dean hired me. This Levi person, is he your supervisor?”

“No. I mean, he thinks that he is, but we’re on the same level.”

“Are you friends?”

“I’ve always been a bit…ambivalent towards him. He’s a good teacher, but he’s kind of a terrible person. Racist, sexist, the whole shebang.” 

“And he works at a University?”

“He’s a very good teacher. But he lost his tenure last year.”

“For what?”

“Academic misconduct, according to the rumors.” She leans against his side, exhausted, “The only person who knows the truth would be the Dean.”

“So it’s revenge.” Maze murmurs, “Use you to get an incurable virus, and release it on the school. Did you tell them anything?”

“No, I didn’t. I wouldn’t.”

“They tortured you, Professor. No one would blame you if you did.”

“I’m telling you, I didn’t. I left Biogen two years ago, Maze. I don’t remember any passwords or door codes. And they removed my biometrics from their system on my last day. I swear it.”

“Okay.” Maze lightly pushes some of her hair out of her face, “So they need someone else, a current employee.”

“Yeah, it’s the only way to get inside.”

“Alright. Let’s get out of here and alert the authorities. And get you some medical attention.”

“Yes please.”

Maze lightly presses his hand against the small of her back, guiding her towards the door, “I have one more question, Professor.”

“Go ahead?”

“When my brothers and I were decanted, we were given enhanced aging.”

“Yes, it was the only way for the Kaminoans to get a viable army in 10 years.” She replies.

“Yeah, you think you can reverse it?”

“Reverse it?” She repeats, sounding more thoughtful than surprised. Maze watches as she absently scratches at a deep gash on her cheek, “I don’t know about reversing it,” She finally says, “but I might be able to cure it. With enough blood samples.”

“Really?”

“Well sure, it’s not that hard. It’s just gene manipulation.” She frowns at him thoughtfully, “Look, all the information I need is here,” she lightly taps his chest, “The more of your brothers I can get blood samples from, the easier it’ll be to make a cure.”

“Can you do it at the University while also teaching?”

“I mean, sure. But the University of Theeds is funded by the Emperor. I’m guessing you don’t want the Empire to know about it.”

“No, I don’t.” Maze replies.

She’s quiet for a moment, “Find me a place to work, off of Naboo, and I can help you.”

“If you can cure this, I might just kiss you,” Maze says with a sly smile.

Her face heats and she won’t look at him, “Well, that seems a bit excessive,” She mumbles.

She squeaks when he lightly drapes his arm over her shoulder and tugs her against his side, “No. It isn’t. Come on, Professor. Let’s get you safe.”

[saltedriceball]

How I imagine the Mystreet characters

Because they’re block-shaped in the show, but my 12 yr old ass imagined them as real people. 🕺

* I mainly kept up with Aphmau when I was 10-12 years old, I fully stopped watching after Mystreet 5 *

* I didn’t watch MCD 🙊 *

*this is mostly PDH (my fav, I was 12)*

Aphmau

It’s just Jess.

Kawaii Chan

Like average height

5’4” ish

Thick thighs save lives

Whole wardrobe is baby pink and white

Idk grown me thinks she was a cam girl (in Mystreet, not Phoenix Drop ✋)

And she made bank too

She’s not very athletic, but she’s just like blessed proportion-wise

Pale, but not as much as portrayed

Idk I always thought she’d actually be Japanese since she uses Japanese terms

Pin straight hair she curls only at the bottom

Like ribbon

Katelyn

Quite tall

5’9”ish

Muscular but in like a

~she’s a runner she’s a track star~

Type of way

She just looks athletic

Flat though

Paler than KC

Her hair is wavy-curly naturally

She kinda lets it just flow or it’s in a ponytail

Zane

Quite chubby

Idk how anyone watched that show and thought

*man who despises the outdoors, hates exercise, and enjoys sweet things*

“Must be tall and skinny”

The fan art I viewed in middle school legit surprised me.

He was definitely super duper skinny in high school

Adolescent metabolism and all

He is definitely like 5’8”

He is very pale

Does indeed burn almost immediately in the sun

Has an emo boy hair cut

Like Anthony from Smosh way back in the day

He also has piercings: lip, ears (multiple), septum, eyebrow)

Also has tattoos

Freckled, especially on his body

He has random scars from injuries growing up

Inflicted by his brothers

Mostly Garroth

Garroth

Muscular

But also quite chubby

Just kinda in the middle

Like 6’

Overall just a big guy

Just looks like he gives good hugs

He also has a beard

Not a big floofy one

But it’s there

He looks very Northern European idk

Has a lot of arm hair, and it’s very blond

So you don’t see it until up close

Also pale

And very freckled

Also wears a watch

And his outfit is the most average outfit for a man

Khaki shorts, a white tee, a plaid button up unbuttoned, a watch, and sneakers

This outfit could be spotted on an elementary schooler’s spring picture day

Or on my literal father 👨🏻

His hair is quite curly

Not in a spiral curl, but more of a wavy-curly way

Laurance

This man is brown imo

Very tall

Like 6’3”

Super skinny

To where he looks even taller than he is

Just built like that ya know

His hair is a pony tail as an adult

But it was in a Superman sort of curly situation in high achool

I get the vibe he likes being outside

Doesn’t work out, but loves a good hotgirlwalk

Aaron

A little more like the common fan art of 2016

Tall, but only like 5’10”

Absolute beefcake of a guy

But also like has some body fat

He is not rock hard, but you can see his muscles

I imagine he has thick thighs

Fat ass too

But that’s just how his body fat distributes, so like yeah he has visible abs

Idk that’s all I’ve got

There was enough consistent fanart in my atmosphere at the time that that’s how I imagine him

Dante

Never thought too hard about him

His hair is definitely curly

More than Garroths

He has especially big eyes

He’s like lean muscular

Just very average white guy

Like 5’11”

Looks young for his age

Michi

Absolute 2014 tumblr girly

Owns something with galaxy print

Very thin

With tig ole bitties

Wears thigh high socks, mini skirts, and tank tops with sweaters

Has the swoopy bangs of the era

Poses in up angle selfies like 🙂

So her head looks like a raindrop in the photo

Edits her ig photos to look more aesthetic

Teony

Tall

Girl next door

Well done, natural make up

Straightened hair

Smiling a lot

Even if it’s fake

Idk her character that well

Never thought too hard about it

But she’s like supermodel pretty

Ein

I only remember high school him

But he was like

Young guy skinny

Like you could see he had arm muscles in a tank top

In an old 5SOS type of way

His head is actually boxy shaped

Like 5’11”

White

Never thought too hard about adult Ein

Lucinda

White

Her hair is dyed with spells

It’s styled well, in a Jessica rabbit hairstyle

It’s curled

Body shaped like a coke bottle

Hourglass for days

She’s just hot

Gene

Hi why was this cast so white washed

White

His hair is not naturally black

It’s like medium brown

It’s also straight but he gets it permed

Wears eyeliner

Lots of bracelets and piercings

Tall guy like 6’1”

Cadenza

She spends a lot of money dying her hair that color

White

Tall like 5’10”

Her dress is floor length

And loose

Could command a room

Guy

Barbie doll

Hi Ken

Built like an upside down isosceles triangle

Muscular

Back muscles for days

Looks like he could do triathlons in Ancient Greece

Like 6’5”

This man is good to look at

Ivy

Michi but pink

Jeffory

The most golden retriever man you could imagine

Like 6’3”

Athletic muscular

Melissa

The most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen

Tall like 5’11”

Long legs

Nicole

Don’t know don’t care

Miscellaneous really

Wasn’t in the show enough

Reese

Nick Bean dyed pink

Vylad

Drake Bell in his Drake and Josh era precisely

No more no less

Except he always has a scarf even if it’s hot out

Sylvanna

Aphmau, tall

Zianna

Button nose

A really petite lady

Her hair is black but with gray sprinkled in

The most smiley lady you ever did see

Mother gothel if you breathed life back into her

Hot

Kai

Forgot about him for a sec

Ok gears turning

Tall

Very calm energy

Redhead

Idk he wasn’t that relevant for me

Jenny

Also in the 2014 tumblr girly category

But a little more Bethany Mota with it

A little less galaxy print

A little more Jennxpenn vibes

Wears hella eyeliner

Her outfit is black cutoff jean shorts, an oversized shirt so you can see her white tank top underneath

Her hair is naturally that light

Wears converse only

[infinite8revisions]

Marius de Romanus

This is gonna be a long 'en!

Warning: This post contains criticisms of Marius.

Warning: This post contains discussions of grooming and abuse.

Ahhh, Marius de Romanus! Everyone's favorite master of exposition! The harborer of "Those that must be kept" and one of the Ancients! Don't let his knowledge and aristocratic airs fool you! Marius is still...I want to say human...but let's go with...imperfect! Bro still gotta put his shoes on one at a time is my point. Let's break down some of his traits. I've got a few adjectives that I think fit pretty well.

Narcissistic, Pretentious, and Pedophilic.

I'll explain, but first, 3 things!

1. There aren't any official book-accurate portrayals of Marius (yet) so we're going to have to deal with the short dark haired Marius from the "Queen Of The Damned" movie (which portrayed his personality well imo). Honestly, I thought about using pics of Lucius Malfoy for a split second! I mean he's a pretty close fit! LMAO!!

"He was a tall fair creature whose yellow hair was almost white. He had hard blue eyes, and a delicate face, covered with a thin layer of blood and ash to make him look more human to the mortal eye....He had large hands but they were slender and the fingers were fine."-Thorne: Blood and Gold

Above: Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy.

2. Sorry in advance about all the quotes! It's just that Marius does a damn good job of making my points for me! I'm over here re-reading sections like-

3. Bit of a disclaimer here. Criticizing a character does NOT mean you don't like that character or the role they play in the story. I'm not sure why, but with Marius specifically, people can get a bit defensive about him. So this is the final warning: Not everything said in this post will be positive.

Now, where to begin with this man? Probably with the elephant in the room and the most severe of allegations. Pedophile.

Many people (including myself) call Marius a groomer. Sometimes there is pushback on this with people saying that while some of his relationships are viewed as inappropriate today, they were fine during the time. They also state that Marius is not a groomer, just someone who fell in love. I want to make it known that Marius himself admits to consciously grooming Amadeo (Armand).

"Never before had I wanted such a thing, to make a blood drinker for my own companionship, indeed to educate a mortal youth for this very purpose, and to groom him expertly that he might be the finest choice." Blood and Gold: Chapter 19

I debated on using the words pedophile, hebephile, and ephebophile when referring to Marius, but there's definitely a pattern. The fact is, when it comes to his romantic partners, his infatuation and lust for them frequently start around the ages 10-19. This is true of Amadeo, Lydia (Pandora), and Bianca. Let's take a look-

Above- Armand and Pandora: Queen Of The Damned (2002)

"Hebephilia is the sexual interest by adults in pubescent children who are in early adolescence, typically ages 11–15."

Marius claims that Amadeo was "no older than 15" when he rescues him, but I have to note that during their first sexual encounter soon after, Amadeo recounts that he "was too young for a wet pleasure" (The Vampire Armand: Chapter 3). This could still mean he was 15 and a later bloomer, but in general, it suggests (and I believe) he was probably younger.

Marius also insinuates that Amadeo was the only one of his boys with who he had a physical relationship, but I don't know how much I believe that. Especially considering he knew of the sexual play that went on between the boys at the palazzo.

Above: The Musicians Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) Italian 1597

"Pedophilia is defined as a sexual interest by adults in prepubescent children.(This word is often used as an overarching term for an adult who has attraction to anyone under legal age.)"

For Pandora, Marius asks her father for her betrothal when he is 25 and she is 10, and again when he is 30 and she is 15. Of course, they don't end up together until she is older, not because of him, but because her father forbade it.

"Now to the specific recollection. I was ten years old,..." "I can calculate that he was only twenty-five. But I’m not certain." "He lingered. “Goodbye, little Lydia,” he said. He then spoke under his breath to my Father, and I heard my Father say: “You are out of your mind!”My Father turned his back on Marius, who gave me a sad smile and disappeared. “What did he mean? What happened?” I asked my Father. “What’s the matter?” “Listen, Lydia,” said my Father. “Have you in all your readings come across the word ‘betrothed’?” “Yes, Father, of course.” “Well, that sort of wanderer and dreamer likes nothing better than to betroth himself to a young girl of ten because it means she is not old enough to marry and he has years of freedom, without the censure of the Emperor. They do it all the time.”" Pandora: Chapter 2

"Ephebophilia is the sexual interest by adults in pubescent mid-to-late adolescents typically ages 15-19."

Lastly, Bianca is kind of an exception. He meets her when she is 19ish (Blood and Gold: Chapter 18) and, by most cultural standards (then and now), technically an adult. He held a fascination with Bianca much like Amadeo, but she was too old and tainted for him to groom. Sounds harsh and unbelievable doesn't it? This is what Marius had to say

Note: Marius is talking out loud to himself here. He's speaking as if he is talking to Amadeo, but Amadeo is not there.

"Except she was already a young woman when I came upon her," I responded, "educated and forced into life, indeed a murderess; yes, indeed, a murderess, a child woman guilty of dreadful crimes. And you, you were a helpless child. I could mold you and change you, all of which I've done." Blood and Gold: Chapter 19

Sounds like a lot of those toxic podcasters doesn't he? You need someone pure, young, and naïve to turn into who you want. Because it's not about loving them for who they are, it's about creating a companion to serve your needs. If they ever stop meeting those needs, you can throw them away and try again. -_- That's a convo for another day.

Above: Painting by Sandro Botticelli whose artwork was the inspiration for Armand's appearance.

On to the claim of Narcissism: Marius has a severe need to be needed. This theme is present throughout his relationships, romantic and otherwise.

Saying Marius wants to be worshiped may be a bit much, but I'm gonna say it anyway. At first, I shied away from calling him a narcissist at all (because it's such a buzzword now), but when really thinking about it...yeh, he's pretentious and narcissistic. The things he does, even the (seemingly) altruistic things, always lead back to Marius the heart of it. He loves to be seen as the grand benefactor. We see this in the parties he threw in Rome, with the boys in Venice, with Pandora, Amadeo, Bianca, and even Lestat. That man is an egoist with the need to be in control.

Above: Marius and Lestat- Queen of The Damned (2002)

Looking at his relationships, most of them have required the other to be submissive or subservient to him. He needs the power dynamic of teacher/student, master/slave, father/child etc. If he doesn't have it, fights start and relationships fall apart. Once he feels truly challenged (not taunted or teased as Amadeo would do) he runs or abandons. The moment Pandora became his equal, he abandoned her. The moment Bianca scolded him, he told her to pack her things.

Yes he sees it, and he's totally jelly! Above: Akasha talking to the ancient ones: Queen Of The Damned (2002)

I mean she (calmly) told him about himself ONCE (which he agreed with but couldn't handle hearing from someone else), so he abandons her in a random castle! Of course, he didn't leave her for long, he always feels regret and wants to reconcile these relationships, and it's always too late.

Even among other vampires such as Mael and Avicus, Marius still played the role of the superior, the all-knowing, the hero. This is where we see more of his pretentious side. Truthfully, Marius didn't know too much more than either of them, but you wouldn't know it by talking to him. When he figures something out, he's fit to burst at being the exposition piece for everyone.

You know what? That's really not fair.

Reading that back I want to give Marius some grace. Given the times, his mortal life, and subsequent thrusting into vampirism, some of what I call "pretentious" is more so him just trying to help. People have always expected a lot from Marius, so it is only natural that he begins to give excessively. He loves to teach and that's not a bad thing. I mean the man was a chronicler and scholar before his "death"! To say that he played the role of the superior, the all-knowing, the hero isn't totally untrue, but it is slightly misleading. TO BE FAIR...people treat him that way. Mael and Avicus come to Marius for help. They ask him questions, and he tries to help and do what's right. They looked to him on their own, not because Marius wanted them to. Okay, I've convinced myself, I recant "pretentious." I think I just wanted a third word and it really doesn't fit.

Above: Marius- Queen of The Damned (2002)

On that note however, don't tell this man ANYTHING you don't want errbody else knowing! He's a bad secret keeper! If I had a dollar every time a Marius secret got out...I could get lunch at least! Like bruh, shush! Loose lips sink ships and you've sunken an entire fleet!

Back to him needing to be the superior in his relationships. An exception is The Scared Parents. He does bow down and worship them, but it's still consistent with what I've observed, that it comes back to him. When breaking down the (silent) relationship with Akasha and Enkil, I noted 2 main reasons for his dedication-

1. He doesn't want to die.

"How could I continue to harbor these beings who might menace it? But I didn't want to die. No, I have never really wanted to die. And so I did not destroy the King and the Queen. I continued to care for them, to shower them with the symbols of worship." Blood and Gold: Chapter 34

2. Say it with me now, HE NEEDS TO BE NEEDED.

In his mind, they need him, but realistically they don't. My mans gave himself the ultimate task. After Akasha asked for help he could have holed them up somewhere and f**ked off, maybe checking on them every 50 to 100 years (In fact, he does do that unintentionally at one point). I'm so sure they would have been alright, and if not they certainly could have called out to someone themselves.

Actually, if not for Marius and his need to be "useful", Akasha may have never woken and gone on her rampage. Think about it, he's the one who woke Lestat, he's the one who compulsively told him everything and took him to Akasha, and he bought her the TV that allowed her to hear Lestat's music and develop (some of) her extremist views.

Above: Lestat before and after drinking Akasha's blood for the first time-Queen of The Damned (2002)

TO BE FAIR (again), she is connected to every vampire, so even without Marius she could still see all and may have decided to get up at any time for any reason. However, in this reality, it's Marius and his friggin need to be needed.

Taking a closer look at his dysfunctional relationships, This is him talking to Pandora. Mind you, he hasn't seen her in more than a hundred years (because he took the parents and ghosted her after a fight). She created a fledgling (Arjun) to be her companion and protect her. He serves her with love and admiration, but upon first hearing of him, Marius IMMEDIATELY assumes she is being controlled and is a slave to him (projection much?). This is part of their conversation upon reuniting. He's horribly dismissive, controlling, and narcissistic.

(Pandora states) "Oh, you are so angry and it is so like our quarrels of old." "No, it's not!" I declared. "It's nothing like our quarrels of old because it's about nothing. Now I'm taking you from here. I'm taking you to my palace, and I shall deal with Arjun as best as I can afterwards." "You can't do such a thing," she said sharply. "Marius, I've been with him for hundreds of years. You think you can simply come between us?" "I want you, Pandora. I shall settle for nothing else. And if such a time comes that you want to leave me - ." "Yes, and what if it does come," she said angrily, "then what shall I do when there is no Arjun on account of you!" "....As soon as I had her in the carriage, I kissed her wantonly as mortals kiss and wanted to sink my teeth into her throat but she forbade it. "Let me have that intimacy!" I begged. "For the love of Heaven, Pandora, it's Marius who is speaking to you. Listen to me. Let us share blood and blood." "Oh, you are so violent in your temper," she said in a whisper. "Can't you guess what reduces me to this abominable weakness?" "No," I said. "I know only I love you with my whole heart. I've found you again and I'll do anything to keep you." Her eyes remained fixed on the palace. "Even give up the female companion," she asked, "who is inside this very house waiting for you?" I didn't answer. "I saw her at the ball," she said, her eyes glassy, her voice quivering. "I saw her and knew what she was, quite powerful, quite graceful. I never guessed she was your lover. But now I know that she is. I can hear her inside. I can hear her hopes and dreams and how they are pinned on you." "Stop it, Pandora. It isn't necessary that I give her up. We are not mortals! We can live together."

Oh! so SHE has to give up her fledgling and protector for you, but "it isn't necessary" for YOU to give up Bianca?

He does eventually say that he'll leave Bianca for her, but Pandora stands strong saying Marius hasn't changed and leaves with Arjun. Then Bianca (who heard everything) is like..."sooo you lied about the reason we came here AND you were ready to throw me away for the second time? But now that she's dumped you you'll stay right? NAH son!!"

Moving back to Marius' relationship with Amadeo. When I read his account of things vs. Marius', it made me hurt for Amadeo. Knowing that he was saved to be further used. To know he gave his complete and total love, devotion, and life to someone who merely saw him as a clean slate. To realize that Marius' obsession with Botticelli and painting played a role as well. Marius saw Amadeo's paintings in his mind before buying him and wished to have that talent at his disposal. To possess it the way he could not do with Botticelli.

"He had once been a painter, this bruised and young one. The face of Christ had been his work. He had once mixed the egg yolk and the pigment just as I mixed them." Blood and Gold:Chapter 18

"...he knew the magic of the color spread upon the wooden panel. He would remember; he would remember a time when he cared about nothing else." Blood and Gold:Chapter 19

"As we sat down to supper, Riccardo explained that Amadeo could paint nothing. Indeed, Amadeo was afraid of the brushes and the pots of paint" Blood and Gold:Chapter 19

Marius tried to get Amadeo to remember, even though it was clear he couldn't and (to an extent) didn't want to remember. But that wasn't what Marius wanted, so he persisted despite that, pushing Amadeo again and again.

"Meanwhile, Amadeo recovered nothing of his memory. He could not paint, he could not touch the brushes. It was as if the colors, when raw, burnt his eyes." Blood and Gold:Chapter 19

and again

"But I want you to remember," I said to him suddenly in his Russian tongue. It was a shock to him but he didn't understand it. "Amadeo," I said in the Venetian dialect, "think back to the time before you came here. Think back, Amadeo. What was your world then?" A flush came to his cheeks. He was miserable. It was as if I'd beaten him. Riccardo reached out for him with a consoling hand. "Master," he said, "it's too hard for him." Blood and Gold:Chapter 19

and again

"Bundling him like a child I took him into a Venetian church to see the wondrous paintings of robust and natural figures that had been done in these last few years. But I could see now it was hopeless. His mind would never be opened, never truly changed. I brought him home, and laid him down on the pillows once more." Blood and Gold:Chapter 19

"His had been a punitive world of austere devotion. Painting for him had been joyless. And indeed all of life itself in far-away Russia had been so rigorous that he could not give himself over to the pleasure that awaited him now at every turn. Beset by the memories, yet not understanding them, he was moving slowly towards death." -Blood and Gold:Chapter 19

then he finally admits it...to himself anyway.

Note: this is a party of the quote before. Marius is talking out loud to himself. Amadeo is not there.

"It's true, I thought you were a painter," I continued, "that you had the gift for painting, and I know that it's still in you, and that did sway me, too." Blood and Gold:Chapter 19

It opens another conversation about the effects of grooming and fetishization on its victims, but I won't get into it here.

Now, I understand the relationship between Amadeo and Marius changed over time. While Marius' initial intentions were self-centeredness shrouded in mercy, he did grow to love Amadeo. So much so that he regularly fought with and frustrated himself over whether to turn him at all, knowing what hardships would lie ahead and not wanting to subject him to it...Nah! I can't give him a break here! I tried, but abuse is abuse regardless of whether it takes place in a shady cell below a brothel or in a beautiful palazzo while showering the victim with gifts. What was done was done, and it matters not whether Marius did things out of love or if Amadeo loved him. A willing victim is still a victim and I HATE it when people discount abuse and trauma simply because of its setting or the victim's participation. Don't even get me started Marius sending Amadeo to the brothels...

Amadeo/Armand never recovers from his abuse/trauma, that much is clear. Not the abuse he suffered in his homeland, with Marius, or with Santino's coven, and no one would expect him to. He went through a lot in his mortal life and he hadn't even reached 18 (in the books).

I intended to go on about Marius and how societal expectations and his mortal life play into his vampiric one, but this post is long enough and I KNOW it's going to cause me to jump to several other topics soooo to conclude...Marius got issues ya'll!

That's going to do it for this post. Marius is definitely one of the more controversial Vampires in the VC. At least of the ones who have biographies. I'd say Armand is a close second. Honesty, I might even put Armand above Marius if not for the grooming and child love. But again, that's a post for another day.

I you read this far, YOU THE GOAT!!

[farasen]

DWK but it's slavic folk (P.1)

Woodscream inspired me to do some folk stuff, so have it.

I did 5 characters for now, I'll do the rest a bit later, cuz it's late and I have classes tommorow (or well... today actually)

Vanessa

She'd be Poludnitsa, aka Lady Midday. A spirit that appears during midday in the fields. It was forbidden to work during that time, and if one wes found breaking the rule - Poludnitsa could cut their head off or tickle to death. She also stole little children that were left unsupervised by their mothers.

There was good side to her too - she was guarding the harvest and brought fertility.

She could appear as a beutiful tall woman or an ugly old lady with a scythe, sickle or shears in a white dress.

Besically personification of midday and heatstroke.

Leon and Marlon

They'd be Volkolaks. Which is basically the same thing as werewolves. I don't think I really need to explain what's up with them.

My headcanon is that they were cursed and now have to live on the outskirts of the village if not in the forest.

Markus

Utopiec/Topielec - a spirit of water, souls of humans that died by drowning. They drag people into swamps and lakes. They have the appearance of tall, very thin people with slippery green skin, a large head and dark hair.

Jojo

CW for a little gore???

Imo he'd be Mavka. Although they're typically depicted as woman with long green/blue hair who lure men to their deaths, they can be both genders. According to popular beliefs, young children who die without baptism become Mavkas. Usually found on the swamps.

They also have a hole on their backs, exposing their insides, including the heart that isn't beating.

Honestly Jojo here looks almost nothing like them but oh well.

[unheardopinions]

oka okay so. im going as orpheus for halloween so i thought yk why not lets listen through the cast recording tonight and. i reached his kiss, the riot and yk i've always been a big fan of it. underrated imo but i love the delivery of it, whenever i hear it recorded or live the hades always does great. buT i esp love the cast recording bc of this one specific moment at the end where hades takes this one, ragged breath in between the last lines (and doubt comes / doubt comes in) like YES an incredibly vulnerable moment from this literal brick wall of a character i love to see it you love to see it.

BUT. ON THIS LISTEN THROUGH. i can't believe it took me this fucking long to realize BUT I REALIZED

that sigh isn't from the burden of making such a hard decision or pain from having to give into the pleas of his wife or whatever. he's hesitant and pained and dare i say nervous BECAUSE HE FUCKING RELATES TO ORPHEUS. he sees himself in orpheus, he sees his younger self, what he used to be, in orpheus, and that's why he's scared. because he knows what young love is like. he knows very well what it feels like. but he also knows what young love eventually turns into.

so much of the song is not just about orpheus, but about hades's life as well anD I CAN'T BELIEVE I JUST NOTICED SO I AM GOING SO INSANE OVER THE LYRICS NOW

but let there be some term to be agreed upon = love must have its barriers, its roadblocks. something must get in the way of true love. demeter HATED persephone's and hades's relationship. they were forced to live under the condition of only being able to see each other for half of the year

she's out of sight, he's out of his mind = once again being forced to see each other for only half of the year. when persephone is out of sight, hades goes mad, wondering if she'll return the following year, turning hadestown into a maze of factories just to give himself something to do, something to prove to persephone that he is worth keeping around

nothing makes a man so bold as a woman's smile = (in common versions of the myth) hades kidnaps persephone bc of how beatiful she is so. bit of a bold move i'd say

but all alone his blood runs thin = when blood runs thin you get cold easily, so you always look for warmth and try to stay as warm as possible. *gestures wildly at above statement of hades going mad and churning out factories, factories and plants that make hadestown 'way too hot', something abt being so freezing cold that no matter how much you turn up the heat, no matter how much you sweat and grind and work and work, there is chill in your bones*

AND DOUBT COMES. DOUBT COMES IN. = how would hades know that? is he talking about the natural flaws of man, of how humans always work? maybe, but if anything he's FUCKING PROJECTING. HE KNOWS FROM EXPERIENCE.

hades knows what it's like to be in orpheus's position. he knows exactly what it's fucking like to be so in love but forced to be separate. he knows the doubt that comes in on a stupidly personal level. hell, they directly consulted with him on what to do on this issue. he knows that no matter how much love you have for a person, not being able to see them, hear them, feel them, can fuck you up. that is how the world is. but maybe not always. maybe, maybe it will turn out this time. because something about orpheus. about seeing the reflection of hades's past, of the man hades once was. something about orpheus gave hades the ability to see how the world could be. in spite of the way that it is.

GOOD NIGHT BROTHERS. GOOD FUCKING NIGHT.

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

The use of metaphors for the bridge of Clara Bow still makes me stop in my tracks.

Beauty is a beast that roars Down on all fours Demanding "more" Only when your girlish glow Flickers just so Do they let you know It's hell on earth to be heavenly Them's the breaks They don't come gently

is just such a stunning way to put the weight that female celebrities feel to maintain their beauty and how if they accept aging is the only time that they can discuss how horrid it is to try to look 25 forever. (The outro of Clara Bow is another jaw dropper IMO).

I looooooooooooove Clara Bow for all these reasons and more, anon! I feel like I'm not smart enough to accurately discuss how much I love it, actually.

Taylor's broached this topics gingerly in past songs (Nothing New, Castles Crumbling, Never Grow Up, Right Where You Left Me, arguably Dear Reader and YOYOK to an extent, etc.) but I think this is probably the first time she's been that explicit about it in the music from this perspective.

One image I have of it is like the role-reversal of a circus ring. Instead of the ringmaster controlling the caged beast, forcing the animal whose spirit it's broken to do perform, the wild, untamed beast is threatening the ringmaster to keep up or else it will be eaten, risking itself more and more for the pleasure of the audience members. (Not sure why that's the first thing that sprung to mind when I heard it.)

Just the idea that this giant, threatening being is constantly at a woman's back, inching closer and closer to destroying her, roaring with ferocity as they try to outrun the threat... It's a lot. (I know people also have other interpretations of the line but I'm not getting into that.) And again it's a classic Taylor line that melds different concepts together because you've got the musing on beauty (like beauty is in the eye of the beholder) and the beast roaring (e.g. the metaphor for the impossible demands of the industry) and then fusing it together with "Beauty is a beast that roars" as a twist on "Beauty and the Beast," in which the Beast traps Belle in the castle but wins her over with his promises and his change of heart. (It scratches the same kind of itch as "shotgun shot in the dark" and the like.) Funnily enough, the picture of Beast from the movie is the first thing I thought of when I heard "a beast that roars on all fours".

Taylor long downplayed the pressures of the industry on women in this way until she started opening up about her eating disorder in Miss Americana, and this in some ways delves deeper into it in tiptoeing into the psychological impact of ~everything~. But it reminds me of that one scene in the movie where she's talking about how, to paraphrase, if you're thin they criticize you for not having an ass, but if you have an ass they criticize you for being too curvy, and it's all impossible to navigate.

What "Clara Bow" sings about is even more existential than that I think (not to downplay the severity of it by any means though). It's not just like, beauty as in appearance, it's everything-- it's the girlish naivety and obedience, but not so much that you don't have just enough ~charisma~ to capture the male gaze. And the machine of the industry can determine when you have it and when you've lost it, and you largely have no control over it. And if you dare to question it or step outside those bounds, you will be discarded as quickly as you were anointed. Before you know it, your time is up, and the next you is up to bat, and your value to society is effectively wiped out. But you won't know until it's already happened.

So these women twist and turn themselves their entire young adulthood to capture "it" in the hopes that it will assure their acceptance and legacy, at great harm to themselves because everyone else before them has done it too, only to find out the hard way that none of it mattered because they will be forgotten and replaced and completely broken just as they had done to those that came before them, even if they didn't realize it at the time.

The outro makes me feral too ngl.

[realcatalina]

Meynnart Wewyck-Part 7: different faces of lady Margaret

In part 1 I have introduced you to painting of lady Margaret Beaufort done in early 1510s, which was the very first painting atributed to Wewyck and lead to atribution to other portraits to him. And now we have more news about it!

The painting underwent conservation and t's hard to believe it is even same portrait. On left prior to conservation, on right after conservation was fully finished:

(Photos by Hamilton Kerr Institute)

Conservators found evidence of at least ‘four campaigns’ of extensive overpainting!

Including entirely overpainted/altered face -on left after cleaning:

I was right about thinning of layers within the face, but I thought the nose was moved by the original artist. But now we know thinning of layers was revealing the original nose.

Prior to conservation:

The picture bellow is mid conservation(also by Hamilton Kerr institude), after the heavy overpainting and grime was removed....and it's so different!

And certainly there is lot of paint loss...but they manged to fix it.

The painting is currently on display in National Portrait Gallery. (It's loaned there for 3 years!) Fully restored.

I don't have HD image of that yet:-( . (Still my issues with NPG's webpage.) But i think they will appear online soon, but by now we have to rely on images by those who visited NPG. Best I could find was by twitter user @RosieLe60545528:

And I am innerly sighting in relief because the 'gable hood' is same and I don't have to redo my post about it. (Thank God!)

And may I just say...her son was like mirror image of her.

I think his nose might have had bit of raise on it and hers didn't, but then it could be just the angle. Really strong resemblence between mother and son, and probably not just due to same artist.

But back to lady Margaret alone.

I have 2nd candidate on her portrait by Meynnart Wewyck.

Portrait of Lady Margaret Beaufort Christ's College, University of Cambridge:

Have you ever noticed how many depictions of lady Margaret Beaufort feature her holding a book? I have. And I took it upon myself to try to find the missing painting by Wewyck of lady Margaret, the one featured in reccords. Imo so many portrait copies holding a book, might suggest there was once original where she indeed held it.

And this is my candidate. And part of reason is the plainess of the 'gable hood'. I previously did post about how that stripy pattern on lady Margaret's frontlets is wrong. It’s supposed to be plain linnen-that is the historically accurate detail.

And the painting above has both of these, book and plain linnen frontlets.

Another important detail, which in most photos you can't see at all is the background. It's once again that damask fabric. This copy shows it nicely:

But original is too dark, you really need to focus on it in closeup:

Furthermore the features of lady are better match to Henry VII's than the already atributed painting of lady Margaret:

(And even has same raise of nose.)

It's just not so obvious, unless you retouch the painting as I did:

I really think that if this painting is cleaned and restored, the experts might find is by Wewyck. (If it is a copy, then it is damn good one!)

I am not saying it's necessarily done from life, but it looks very similiar to those we already seen atributed to him.

And lots of similiarity with features of Henry VIII too:

Hence given Henry VIII was fairly handsome as young man, it's likely lady Margaret was quite good-looking woman while young.

Also both portraits don't show her with significant wrinkles, despite being nearly 60, when Wewyck started to work for royal family(his first mention is from 1502).

There is another thing worth of mentioning.

This painting is located in Christ College in Cambridge.

We don't know when exactly it got there. But there is an intriguing possibility. Missing portrait of lady Margaret found in records was comissioned in 1506. Lady Margaret gave Christ College funds in 1505, just one year prior. Maybe...and it is big maybe...

Maybe all along this portrait was intended for Cambridge to comemorate her patronage.

Or they simply bought it later on, saving it from uncertain fate of many Tudor portraits. But if it is the first option, then it is the older painting...and done from life!

Additionally there is 3rd painting which looks very much like Lady Margaret's large portrait after restoration.

(sorry this is the best photo of it which i could find)

It is currently hanging in Manchester Grammar school, which was founded in 1515, but it was only donated to them in 1908.

Who knows? Maybe it is a an early copy...or maybe not.

I hope you have enjoyed this. And write to me in comments what you think.

[idkwhatimdoingbutslay]

Ok so it’s been awhile since I’ve finished dear, hello… — one of my fav fics I’ve written and am currently writing a sequel for — and I’ve always wanted to reveal my notes for it but there’s just… so many lmao. Long fics really just accumulate random notes everywhere like crazy and none of mine are coherent or pleasant to read. Eventually, I’ll actually organize them and explain my thought process, but for now, I’m gonna reveal Vi’s ORIGINAL letter that Cait wrote for her since hers was actually going to be revealed first until I changed my mind….. for suspense 🤭…….. and then rewrote it once the time to actually reveal came.  

It’s not crazy different but it’s different enough and, of course, stories change as we write so it didn’t feel too accurate anymore. Let’s compare and contrast with the newer letter and the letter it was inspired by in the original book 😫

LETTER FROM THE BOOKS FOR CONTINUED REFERENCE:

FIRST: THE ACTUAL LETTER USED

OK SO THIS IS THE ONE THAT WAS ACTUALLY USED. It drew a LOT more direct inspiration from the original letter in the books, which was my goal in writing it. The focus and theme of all the reasons Caitlyn SHOULD hate Vi is highlighted so much more and a lot more in your face. I think it’s pretty solid, maybe a little clunky and drawn out, but solid nonetheless. I do believe that in both version, Vi’s letter is the longest out of ALL of the letters, which is like….. Caitlyn was sniffing that copium really hard.

I took some of my fav lines from the original letter I wrote [thin line motif] and kinda threw it in here, so, again, it does make it read as clunky imo.

I really like my mentions of classic pieces of media because that’s a thing that pops up throughout the fic of Caitlyn trying to understand her own wants and needs as well as drawing out the wants and needs in media and comparing and contrasting. Cait’s whole arc was about accepting the whimsy and the fun and the ‘childish’, it was about letting go and appreciating the love letters for what they are, so the little added thing of not dismissing media that portrays that was pretty effective I think. Especially since it carries on, Caitlyn growing to hate them the more she experiences heartbreak, and even MORE after the worst of them all (VI!!!!)

OKAY SO THE ORIGINAL ONE I WROTE:

Just to clarify: Pink text means I’m unsure whether or not to include and will come back to it during editing.

Fics really do just grow a head of their own when giving the chance right? Because I wrote this one first for chapter… four or six (I think? I don’t remember lol) but decided to let it be the final letter revealed for the suspense and so when Caitlyn writes Vi her new letter, the readers get to directly experience the stark difference between the two. Once I got to the point of actually revealing Vi’s letter… so many things had changed. Caitlyn’s arc was so much more fleshed out (it was revealed in the last chapter so hopefully lmao), and her storylines with both Corina (EWWWWW) and Cassandra were wrapping up, so I had a much clearer vision when rewriting it in comparison to this.

This one also didn’t follow the theme of “why I’m supposed to hate you” as much, I don’t think. It was kind of all of the place and felt much too wordy and inaccurate after everything that had changed. BUT, I think the fluidity in this one is better because this is where I came up with the better lines that I feel I kinda just threw into the released version.

OVERALL CRITIQUE FOR BOTH OF THEM:

wayyyyy too overwritten. What I can appreciate about the letters in the book that this is based on is that you can TELL that the main character wrote them when she was young. I didn’t really take that into account when writing all the letters because I, of course, write a certain way with a specific tone in this fic. BUT, to counter that, Caitlyn was over-trained, if that makes sense? Her writing would never be super juvenile because of how she was raised, BUT AGAIN, she was still a melodramatic kid writing love letters!!!! I think I just used grown up Caitlyn’s voice in these letters too much without taking into account her age when writing, even if I did add a few silly vibes for fun.

at least for Vi’s, Caitlyn was over the whole firey fairy tale vibes once it got to her turn, so of course she would be more reserved and matter of a fact while writing Vi’s? But like… Jayce’s letter? I should’ve purposefully put spelling mistakes in it lmao.

I like that it’s pretty obvious in both versions that this is the last letter Caitlyn wrote. Vi breaking her heart was too much for her to take, so this was the end. Vi didn’t even get a greeting in the beginning, using a full name that feels foreign to even Vi herself, she only got a goodbye in the end.

COMPARING TO CAIT’S NEW AND IMPROVED LETTER SHE READ TO VI

SO RIGHT OFF THE BAT: “Hello Vi” (a kind greeting using Vi’s preferred name!!!) to “I hope this isn’t goodbye” AHH I LOVE THAT! Especially since the title of the fic starts with Hello and ends with Goodbye like YESSS, I ate that lil one thing!

Love the carried on theme of this letter and it ties a lot more directly to the actual og letter I used with the theme of picking out all the reasons why Caitlyn doesn’t hate Vi at all. Caitlyn finally accepting how down bad she is for this girl, like how down bad the main characters are in those movies and books she ‘hates’, is just golden. Writing Vi a love letter because she deserves it is just golden.

The whole finishing it off with a final “I love you” just feels so right. Before, Caitlyn hated how much she loved Vi and now she loves loving her!!!! Even if she didn’t get to say the words “I love you” cuz Vi wasn’t ready to hear them, I still think it’s a great way to wrap up the whole thing :)

I’m lowkey kind of insane about this fic so like a ton of rambling here lol but this is so fun!! More notes to come eventually. Hopefully. Probably some abandoned/failed plot line stuff. :) OK THATS IT

[marciabrady]

May I ask why you dont like the 2015 live action cinderella?

I have answered this question before here, here, and here.

My main issues are:

The creative cast of 2015 outright condemning the 1950 film and admitting that none of them had ever been fans of the original growing up (which is painfully obvious given how much they misunderstood the story). I think a lot of them leaned into a lot of really problematic rhetoric regarding victim shaming in general. I think this was so harmful, because despite the fact that many people perceive the original Cinderella to be a victim, she really wasn't (if she would've been, that's fine, but the fact is that she wasn't and a lot of people perceive her as one anyone and I think it opens a HUGE can of worms). Lily's though was without a doubt more passive, less individual, and just didn't have substance to her imo.

They wiped away all of Cinderella's spirit and spunk and energy and made her a bland "smile and stare" soldier. She also falls into the Belle trap a lot for me. You all know I don't like Belle, and I just always get irritated that someone who's supposedly so intelligent in every way suffers at communicating effectively and Lily's character falls into that trap too imo. Plus, she's just not human to me or realistic.

I hate the saying "have courage and be kind."

The aesthetic is gaudy, I don't like the voices in this film, and all the stylistic choices are unsettling to me.

I don't like the way any of the characterizations are written and performed. Lady Tremaine was cold and calculating in the animated, while Cate Blanchett is cackling at the top of her lungs in a fashion nova cheetah print bathrobe...

What I liked about the original was the variety in designs, but this production was hellbent on "fixing" the beauty standards...by making the Fairy Godmother, Lady Tremaine, and the stepsisters all abide by it??? They're all thin, conventionally attractive young white women and are dressed in a way that's meant to be flattering to each. I think they were trying to flip the trope on its head like "look, the stepmother can be beautiful too! So can the stepsisters" but they achieved the inverse here and seemingly glorified eurocentric beauty standards by having every character look the exact same (meanwhile the opposite is true for the men in this film; who would say the King and Grand Duke or Prince looked the same?).

I genuinely find Lily James unstomachable. I don't like any of the live action actresses, but Lily is probably the worst to me, personally.

A lot of people prefer this one and a lot of the Cinderella content we get leans more heavily into this version (sadly). Also, I just think it's leading to more and more people misunderstanding the original Cinderella by thinking she's like Lily's, which is very off (I never would've liked Cinderella if I experienced her as Lily's).

This is not just one of my least favorite interpretations of Cinderella, it's one of my least favorite movies in general.

[tallysgreatestfan]

Dystopia made in Germany - damn yeah!

Finally came around to watch «Paradise» on Netflix, a dystopia with a somewhat similar concept as Time’s Out, in that poor people can spend years of their life time in exchange for money, and rich people gain life time in exchange for money.

German actor Kostja Ullmann plays the main character, who works as a salesman for the time exchange company Aeon, but finds himself on the other side as his wife is forced to "donate" fourty years of her life.

First of all: Americans will never understand just how exciting and in a sense freeing it is to see their country represented in genre media. This is, without joking, the first dystopian movie I ever saw that took place in Germany. It is such a cool feeling to see this futuristic city, but the signs are in German, not English. It is somehow a completely different kind of immersion.

(And remember, Germany is still part of the global west and an industrial nation, for people from the global south this must be even much much worse)

Also, I was somewhat worried for the upcoming Uglies movie (=relatively old Young Adult Dystopia about a seemingly Utopian world in which differences between all humans are obliterated by a mandatory beauty surgery) if Netflix could pull off the CGI and practical effects for this utterly futuristic world, and judging by this movie, they luckily could. The buildings look real, the interior design looks real. It is, to be honest, not quite as far as it would need to be for Uglies, but it works.

IMO it takes the allegory of how capitalism quite literally steals lifetime from the poor a bit further than Time’s Out, as here this procedure isn’t mandatory in most cases, but poor people still do it, because that just is how the fucked up capitalist system forces them to do.

Some of the names are a bit corny, like “Adam” for the resistance group, or “Lazarus” for the secret cemetery, but damn, I absolutely love the leader of the resistance movement being called Lillith.

It is only relatively understated, but I do like that this movie dares to go into criticizing how Europe, especially Europes borders, treat refugees. Europeans always have this air of being the most moral and just, and I consider myself guilty of that too, sometimes – but we’re not. Absolutely not.

I like the music though. Dark electronic tunes, mixed with more contemporary pop or rock occasionally. It is not outstanding, but it is good and it underlines the emotions and themes.

Spoilers under the cut:

I really love that the main characters wife, upon feeling on her own body just how draconic this “donation” process is, refuses to force someone else to experience this, even if it’s a rich person who took the donations dozenths of time already, and only complies because there are no other possibilities.

The boss henchwoman of Aeon (haven’t caught her name) has such an amazing charisma and totally commands every scene she is in. Doesn’t help that she also has a fairly unique face. I really hope for her that she gets big; that she becomes Germanys next big action heroine or something.

The short scenery with the wind turbines and the sea and the ship, wow. That looked so futuristic and alien totally set the scenes. The atmosphere of that!

The conflict with the young women they captured possibly being the CEOs daughter instead of the CEO herself is quite the interesting idea. No matter how it will end up, what will be true, it definitely is an good story choice.

Ooh, and now the dystopian resistance movement enters the scene. I love how the no nonsense scarred resistance leader is a woman here. A white woman, and its pretty, thin line scars, but still.

I love how claustrophobic and chaotic the scene with the main character trying to navigate through the battle Aeon vs rebels is. Other than him not getting seriously injured it feels very realistic and raw.

The music of the escape scene gave me goosebumps. There is just something so raw and eerie and sad and loss of innocence about it.

The moment of violence between the CEOs daughter after she tries to blackmail the main character and Helena, and Helena was refreshing in a way. Can’t even fully say why, but I guess its because in most movies, eruptions of brutality between previously peaceful characters only happen between two men.

Didn’t expect that Helena would loose her morality and panic in the end. Not quite sure if I believe it yet.

Damn yeah the moment where the cool henchwoman (Kaya) finally grows some morals and leaves!

At the end, and now I can definitely say that I don’t like the twist with Helena. Especially for the sake of a pregnancy of all things. Might just be happily childfree queer me, but I think I will never understand how people are willing to risk absolutely everything for that. It is also pretty gross to say a woman wishes that so much that she looses her morality.

But I do like that this has an unhappy end, like Fahrenheit 451 or Brave New World, and the fight of the normal people against cooperations seems almost impossible, but yet they still have to try, because it’s the moral thing to do

[crapcafe]

hearing people talking about cooking is always such an interesting topic and i'm gonna take a min to ramble about it. i learned how to cook (eggs and pasta mostly) as a kid from my mom because she learned to cook at a young age as well and she would also be gone on work trips pretty often. later on in life i worked in restaurant kitchens as a kitchen manager and a line cook. i've even had the displeasure of working alongside new hire line cooks that don't fucking know how to cook but figure that they can still do the job (they could not)

some things just become intuitive so it's hard for me to remember exactly what i needed to focus on learning and what did just come naturally from the start, but a lot of it relates to just general science/chemistry knowledge. denser items will take longer to cook than less dense things (potatoes take forfuckingever but sliced button mushrooms take like a minute or two), high heat makes things cook way faster so liquids will boil off sooner, dense items will sear/burn quicker, and thin/small things will just burn. some professional cooks don't even know this based on the amount of times i've had to talk coworkers out of turning the fryer temp higher because things were taking a long time to cook (this is a great way to get a nice crispy skin on some shit that's still frozen in the middle)

there's a lot of learning how to read recipes. abbreviations (sometimes tablespoon is T or tb or TBSP or Tbs), how to adjust amounts if you need more or less of something, looking up substitutions for things (if you don't have milk but need to make a cream sauce, using applesauce instead of oil or butter or eggs in some baking recipes, etc). its definitely a skill to know how to read some recipes, and coming in with your own knowledge is great, but it's another instance of "you need to learn the rules to know how to break them." this is how you get the screenshots of ppl substituting kale in their banana cookie recipes and then wondering why they suck

thinking of foods in terms of nutritional value can also be helpful. if you have tortilla chips and salsa youre technically getting some vegetables in you. frozen and dried fruits and veggies are still fruits and veggies. rice and beans is grains and protein. miso soup with tofu and spinach is lots of protein and iron. romaine salad with balsamic vin, olive oil, feta, and tomatoes is some vitamins and fats and calcium but without grains and fiber it wont give you too much energy so have some bread or something with it. moving away from processed food will make you feel better. apple slice and peanut butter is my new depression meal bc it makes me feel more alive than shredded cheese from the bag and you can feel like a roman emperor a bit.

if you're just starting out learning how to cook: try to keep it simple with starch + veggie + protein (veggie pasta is a staple classic, roast some stuff and toss it with pasta and garlic and olive oil), find something with just a handful of ingredients that you actually want to eat. the act of cooking can be fun but not everyone thinks its fun, so at least make sure you'll want to eat the final product. if there's any sauces you really like try to keep some on hand. gochujang+soy sauce+sesame oil+sugar+broth can be really good in a stir fry, and basically all of those things will last a long time.

anyway theres a lot of text about cooking. theres a reason i stayed working in kitchens for almost 5 years despite how shit working in kitchens is. i like food and cooking. its one of the few things humans have been doing for a bajillion years and its necessary to live a healthy life and if you can find some fun and peace in the process then thats even better. theres no shame in not knowing how to cook but there is shame in refusing to try and learn imo

insert senshi page about eating well and exercising regularly to live a healthy life

[salamanderinspace]

So there's this episode of Netflix's "Easy," which is a series of disconnected stories with a very lit fiction vibe. There's this episode called "Art and Life," starring Marc Maron, who I like even though he always plays a really difficult old boomer guy. In this show he plays an aging comic book artist who is losing his audience. He just wrote a new book called "Obscurity" and he's feeling very irrelevant. His two ex wives left him - it's implied that they felt violated that he talked about them in his work. That they felt their privacy was violated.

Then he meets this young woman, an art grad student, who he's very dismissive of, but she hooks up with him. While he's sleeping she takes a photo of them together and she ends up using it in her art show. He goes, he sees the work, he loses it in rage--because he feels violated. And she's like "well, it's the same thing you do." And he's like "no it's not."

(The show doesn't weigh in on this argument, but IMO it absolutely is the same thing. And IMO it's human and necessary to tell our stories, even if other people don't like them or how they represent the world.)

They have this big argument in public and the video of it goes viral. And it … solves his problem. His obscurity problem. Now everyone wants to come to his readings. And she comes, this young grad student, and they have a slightly more civil discourse there. The episode ends with him saying he was embarrassed of how he acted but that it turned out ok because he's been selling books.

It's interesting because you don't see that story too often - someone being emotionally genuine in a way that hurts people, and then they have a happy ending. The interesting thing to me is that this young girl, she maintained such grace when her work was being attacked. I think because she viewed the discourse as part of the work, too. And I relate to that, but I also don't know if I could maintain that kind of distance 24/7. Marc Maron's character doesn't.

IDK! It's easy to be confident and stand up for your right to speak when you're young and thin and pretty, and everyone is listening. Maybe that's why the show is called "Easy."

[papirouge]

akari takeuchi is so beautiful, like she has this round face and sometimes has the appearance of being a lil chubby yet she's really popular among her groupmates. I love how she looks with very short hair too.

japanese people in general seem to be pretty fixated on thinness. in remember when morning mmusume got popular and people talked about kago ai and tsuji nozomi and they refered to tsuji as "the chubby one", even though she was only slightly bigger than kago.

i dont know if you ever keep up with momusu or if you ever cared about it, but once they had this member who was actually overweight (susuki kanon), and she was constantly mocked by fans, the public, and apparently teased by management and team members. obviously she did not pass the audition when she was overweight; she mentioned later that she went through an extreme diet to appear skinny at the audtions, but that she'd been chubby all her life.

but i think koreans are even more extreme with their beauty standards. like, you can see korean idols tend to be skinnier than jpop ones, i think the girls even lose their periods or have very irregular ones. i remember when kpop started gettinf global recognition, sometimes kpoppers would post on certain j-artists youtube videos just to compare them to korean ones, and I remember checking the comments in this perfume video and kpoppers were literally saying they had fat legs. like the girls from perfume (and not, it was not when achan was a lil chubby in their early years)

Anon I do "care" about those things bc I've been a jpop head for a longer time that I will ever admit 😭

Akari has always been a favorite of my mine 🩵 And yeah her face is sooo cute!! She definitely stood out because she was chubbier but imo that's a good thing bc idol are sooo interchangeable. Unless your very pretty or very talented (dance, singing) being a bit different can be an asset if well played.

Imo I think thame difference with Kanon is that Akari seemed confident and it gave her the charisma and appeal that fan like. Kanon was maybe too young and insecure and fans caught it and it made them uninterested and disrespectful for her performance...

And yeah, Japan is obsessed with skinniness, water is wet lol

I've always be intrigued by the fetishistic way of considering beauty. For example they will hyperfixate on features that a supposed "attractive" such as a small face, high nose brige, big eyes, etc and literally dismiss every thing else to the point it's getting ridiculous at times. Someone would be pretty but because they have a very small face they'll be elevated as an absolute staple of beauty.

I lurk a lot on girlchannel and every 2-3 days there are threads dedicated to rave on beautiful people... I remember one thread dedicated to rave on Erika Toda arms skinniness when she played Misa Amane in the Death Note movie 😭

This fetishization of beauty that's also why they will get plastic surgery to get features they consider objectively pretty without considering the harmony with the rest of the face, such as a high nose brige but since the rest of their face will remain unchanged the balance of their full face is so weird. East Asian tend to have a large face so I think them ps'ing their nose to be as small as possible makes them look so weird and uncanny 🥴

Kpoppers are mentally ill so I'm not surprised they don't have any idea what a normal human being looks like.

Perfume gals have perfect legs - they literally made the whole 'VOICE' single cover out of it 💀

It's not really that Achan is "chubby" it's that she has wide hips which is considered unattractive in Japan. That's why in their outfits coding, she's the one to wear clothing who are ample/lose in that area, while Nocchi is the 'boyish' one (short hair + pants/shorts) and Kashiyuka is the one wearing the shorter & more skimpy outfit version. Here's another example for their JPN album visuals

Arguing that these women would be in any way fat is insane. That's how I know kpop fans have brainrot.

Whenever I stumble on kpop MV gif my eyes itch at the amount of filters used... Kpop idols are routinely abused and mistreated but these idiots will keep stanning. I've always found ironic how people have no problem acknowledging that what we consume has political consequences and won't shut up about H&M and Shein mistreatment of their employees + their business model damaging effects on their environment but will keep lining the pockets of Kpop artists agencies doing the same 💀

Both Japan and Korean are fucked up with their Beauty standards but Japan still has the kawaii card that allows someone to still be considered appealing despite not being conventionally attractive. I think Ai Kago and Tsuji Nozomi totally belong in that category. That being said, kawaiiness can also be artificial considering that Nozomi did plastic surgery on her eyes to make them look twice bigger + obsessive use of light color lenses (look at the pics of her marriage before she got the procedure💀). Kyary is also infamous for revamping her face (namidabukuro + eyelid lift)

And let's no forget Tsubasa Masuwaka who's jumped on the kawaii bandwagon after the end of the heisei/gyaru era and has been doctoring like mad her pics ever since...

[butchhazard]

Nah you're right, I've seen a lot of similarities between fat activists and TRAs. There are many fat activists not only spreading misinformation but also straight up posting fetishist content like shaking and grabbing their bellies on tiktok. Which you wouldn't notice its a fetish thing normally so doing that shit on an app full of kids? I dont believe youre advocating for the supposed rights of fat people if you're making content for the deprived fetishes of your male audience. It benefits you economically to make the most outrageous claims about being fat bc it attracts men to your OF. I dont doubt a lot of what you see its ragebait for that reason.

Literally… it’s really disturbing imagining a young girl finding this community online after experiencing bullying and harassment for being overweight & finally thinking she’s found acceptance… meanwhile she’s actually being groomed into starting a self-harming OF filled with fat fetish content… 

I’ve witnessed too many women start posting this content in the name of “empowerment” and “fat people are allowed to feel sexy too.” Meanwhile some man is cumming to the idea of you being so heavy you’re completely immobile to the point where you can’t even get out of bed and rely on him for absolutely everything. This movement *is* dangerous to women. And the fetish aspect is there by design, the original NAAFA was started in 1969 by a “fat admirer” who legit just wanted to be around BBW. Just like TIFs these insecure women are very easy targets for manipulative men. 

I think feminists are scared to address the issue bc there’s so much morality tied to our appearances/weight/etc and the idea of normalizing diverse body types outside the rail-thin model norm is obviously a good one! But stuffing yourself to the point of 300lbs and immobility is not a “celebration of diversity” and it’s insane to think of it as one. Andrea Dworkin (who died young from an enlarged heart) said that self defense for women begins at the cessation of self-harm and imo that includes respecting yourself enough to actually care about your physical health. Especially in a world where women’s health is neglected, understudied, and barely a concern. More feminists need to be promoting these ideas WHILE endorsing body neutrality and acceptance bc otherwise these women are going to continue to be led astray by fetishists in sheep’s clothing. The only mainstream “critique” of fat positivity/HAES are people bullying and harassing these women for being fat. Like of course they’re going to be more attracted to the crowd of people preaching your belly is sexy…

[ireallyamabear]

ok, elementary season 6 part 2: was I totally wrong about this season? it's really not bad! i think that one awful episode was the only thing i remembered ...

thoughts on eps 7 to 17, only minimal spoilers:

episode 7: Sober Companions

Excellent episode, the dread is real. Michael is a little bit of a caricature of a serial killer, but I think it works. this was of course not one of the usual cases, so it stands out. very good!!

episode 8: Sand trap

back to business as usual. Sherlock is healed etc etc. The case starts out pretty memorable (the body in the concrete) … highlight of the episode is the Gay cameo imo. I swear so many Elementary episode feel like the writer read the top posts on r/all and made a case out of it, here it’s the sand mafia. pretty good!!

episode 9: nobody lives forever

ok, and in this case the writers are predicting what will trend on social media… the whole story about taking blood from young people to stave of aging. The whole case is pretty thin, though, and they have the b-plot with Alfredo (good to see him!) to fill up time. which is much better. there’s a pretty emotional gut punch in the end (no spoilers) which actually made me very sad. all in all, B minus for the case. there have been much better cases in the scientific/research world.

episode 10: The adventure of the Ersatz Sobekneferu

meh. the case was okay i guess… ill spoil this one: i kind of think it’s boring if the first suspect turns out to be the murderer in the end, and everything in between is just window dressing. also…. in the whole episode about art forgery they don’t mention Moriarty once? even though that’s such a big part of her character? and then they do mention her at the end of the episode anyway for that other plot? why not have Sherlock be like… “she’s been on my mind” or something. mhm. glad that Morland is back, though.

episode 11: You've come a long way

pretty good case, again. until … they focused so long on that secretary that it was clear she was the murderer like halfway through the episode. so that was a dud. And then the whole Moriarty storyline… it’s so clear that they couldn’t get Natalie Dormer for these episodes so they just talk about her. And tbh they did such a good job with the Michael storyline in the first part of the season that now this other storyline is almost annoying! they are doing too much.

episode 12: Meet your maker

they made johnny lee miller say “pay pigs” lol this case was really good! very interesting set up, different stages that they made easy to follow, and no obvious rehash of stuff they’ve done before. and the b-plot around Marcus is really nicely tied in. did I mention I love Marcus?

episode 13: Breathe

another front-page-of-reddit case. the construction of the case was a bit flimsy tbh. it’s kind of weird that the guy was gonna kill himself to frame the pharma dude. really? otherwise, no complaints, but kind of forgettable.

episode 14: Through the fog

lockdown because of bomb threats is one of my favourite tropes. very good episode!

episode 15: How to get a Head

okay this was also a very good case??? wild ride, loved the union stuff! was i totally wrong about this season???

episode 16: Uncanny Valley of the dolls

they made lucy liu say “the sex doll could be witness to a murder”. the case is very meh. reminds me of the one with the ai doll… these kind of “future tech” scripts are always so stupid. this is a low point of the season, for sure, second worst episode by far. But every other season has two or three duds, so ...

episode 17: The Worms Crawl In, The Worms Crawl Out (great title)

middling case i would say. there’s a different post about all of these future tech cases of Elementary in here somewhere, but i’m not writing that today. Michael is back baby!!!!! the pacing of the season is a bit off. even at two or three episodes a day it feels like an eternity since that storyline last came up. I wish they’d had some scenes in the in between episodes where Watson and Sherlock work on the case.