#stylistic parody

[cthulu-in-a-ballgown]

My attempt at a stylistic parody of Will Wood lyrics:

My last paradigm blamed and sued for alimony

Now the breakdown of free will’s just a synapse away

Bound to my 5ht receptors in holy matrimony

Don’t divorce me baby, I swear I can’t change!

Lashed to the moon by sixty million miles of DNA

Simply existing was the only decision I ever made

If a butterfly flaps its wings, don’t blame the guns

If I say I’ll quit soon, it’s pelopsia

My action patterns are fixed, can’t be fixed

And giving up lithium’s a small price to pay

Reinforcements keep forcing me to be (f) skinned

An acid test for my self-restraint

(Just a few more trials, it’s scientifically rigorous!)

Lashed to the moon by sixty million miles of DNA

Simply existing was the only decision I ever made

If a butterfly flaps its wings, don’t blame the guns

If I say I’ll quit soon, it’s pelopsia

Hands bloody, hear the thud as the ego fell, run to unmask it

Just to find it’s my dignity

Lab coated id, superego on a slab, waking up screaming 

For propriety

Agonists and antagonists, they’re all the fucking same!

Latin roots don’t lie, they’ll just bring conflict and pain!

Lashed to the moon by sixty million miles of DNA

Simply existing was the only decision I ever made

If a butterfly flaps its wings, don’t blame the guns

If I say I’ll quit soon, it’s pelopsia

It’s pelopsia 

Ah!

Ah!

Ah!

It’s pelopsia!

[rottakone]

Alright so cold take, the Minecraft Movie looks fucking horrendous. It looks like a parody or an advert, not an actual movie people would want to make or watch.

Many others have said the same thing, but why the fuck isn't it an animated movie?? There are so many beautiful fucking art pieces made by fans or just look at the official Minecraft concept art!!

The world of Minecraft is so pretty and you could have so much artistic freedom to make a really fucking cool stylistic animated movie!!

But no.. We get white zionist Steve and in general just an irl cast for some reason, and ugly ass CGI.

Why can't it follow the minimal story Minecraft already has? The main character, whether it be Steve or someone else, wakes up with no explanation as to how they got there, and they juat have to survive. Minecraft has all these mysteries baked into the different worlds and structures, it would be so cool to have the movie explore them in some way!

I'm assuming this movie will just be "Hey, I'm white zionist Steve and I'll help you guys get back to your world" and the main content of the movie is gonna be the group of people experiencing Minecraft things, that we've already seen and know everything about, for the first time.

Idk man. I think people should boycott the movie because of the zionist in the main role and I don't think that'll be too difficult. Thanks if you read the whole thing <3

[ask-whitepearl-and-steven]

Do you think this comic would still be enjoyable for someone with zero knowledge of the original show? I'm sure they would miss some Easter eggs but even still I would hope so just because of how good of a quality the art and writing is as a stand alone story - genuinely asking for a friend

I always struggle to answer this question, because I legitimately don't know. My writing of this comic is heavily dependent on my knowledge of the base story. I reference it as much as I can (stylistically, morally, thematically) quite a bit! It's essentially just a parody, but slightly darker instead of funnier.

That being said, I HAVE actually received word that some people read this story without having watched the original SU and still managed to somewhat enjoy it. There's also this poll I ran once upon a time:

According to this, about 30-35 people are just here....hanging out. Without having once watched SU.

[bunnyinatree]

Ryuk: Hey, where are you going?  Get back here and kill each other! 💀

[Image ID: A three-page comic of Light and L parodying this scene from “The Fry Cook Games” in Spongebob.  On the first page, Light and L are fighting, grabbing onto each other’s shirts and aiming punches/kicks, despite the chain that connects them.  Light is saying, “I don’t like you!”  L is saying, “I don’t like you more!”  Light replies, “I never liked you!”  And L says back, “I a thousand times never liked you!”  Then, there’s a close-up on both of their faces, and Light shouts, “Blue!” while L shouts, “Red!”  The bottom of the page is dedicated to a spiky text bubble that reads “RIIIIP”!  The second page features Light and L staring at one another in shock, against a yellow background with a white lightning bolt through it.  Their shirts have been ripped off completely, and Light, who is stylistically colored all in red, is wearing a blue chest binder, while L, who is stylistically colored in all blue, is wearing a red chest binder.  There is an ellipsis above both of their heads.  On the top of the third and final page are close-ups of Light and L’s faces.  Light looks like the pleading eyes emoji as he says, “...Red?” and L says, “Blue..?”  They are both blushing.  The comic ends with Light and L embracing, still in handcuffs, with the speech bubble, “You DO care!” beneath them.  End image ID.]

Bonus:

[Image ID: A digital drawing with two panels.  The top panel is a thin close-up on L’s face.  His hair is wet with rainwater, and he’s saying, “Forget the Kira investigation.  This is PERSONAL.”  “Personal” is written in all caps and is underlined twice.  The second panel, which takes up the majority of the page, is a redraw of the iconic foot scene from the anime.  Light is sitting on a stairwell, watching L dry off his feet with a towel.  This is also a reference to the “Fry Cook Games” clip linked above.  Unlike the three-page comic above, this drawing is colored more realistically.  Light’s hair is brown, not red; L’s skin isn’t blue-tinted, etc.  End image ID.]

[mysweeetbucky]

Bucky Thunderbolts look

I'm sorry to say this and I'm saying this with a very heavy heart that this look is really horrible like it's really terrible and I hate Marvel so much for ruining a perfectly gorgeous man. TFATWS Look of Bucky was the best, the hottest and absolutely perfect but all other looks before that were gorgeous too especially CATFA and CATWS. The goatee just adds insult to the injury. I'll probably get hate for this but I needed to get this off my chest and before any of you says it's because Seb is ageing, NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT. Seb is ageing like fine wine and is gorgeous in all his recent appearances be it the MET Gala or the SDCC or the award shows. Marvel stylists are just stoned or smth idk Yelena's hairstyle is pretty bad too. One of my friend said all the characters look like parody and I couldn't agree more.

[pinetreegoblin]

I have a silly and indulgent Very Important People fan theory:

Very Important People!Vic Michaelis is extremely insecure and lonely as shown by their dialogue throughout many of the currently released episodes. They seem down on their luck and frustrated by their lot in life especially in their career and their personal connections. They seem like the perfect character to go through a classic “self growth through a journey of meeting crazy characters” plot. 

Each of the characters seem like out of this world caricatures of people they could meet out in the world, and some (like Denzel and Vic’s Grandma), seem like representations of those in her actual life (I also have a fun theory that the dolls were her childhood dolls). Many of the characters themselves point out that Vic seems to be down on their luck and unhappy, and in some way preventing themselves from happiness. Off the top of my head, Vic has referred to their father being murdered, a divorce from their husband, and struggling to get a “real reporting career.” 

If I had to construct a story of how they got to this point I would say the death of their father pushed VIP!Vic into grief induced isolation and loneliness, which inhibited their personal connections as they were stuck in survival mode. The murder of their father inspired them to become a reporter, as an attempt to help other victims of violent crime, but they are struggling to find a foothold. Their unbridled grief and obsession with retribution for their father has put a strain on their marriage and their partner asks for a divorce. Maybe in their exasperation and the chaos of life they are spurred to follow a lead they have no business or jurisdiction to follow and they end up injured. It is in this injury they are experiencing this hallucinogenic state.

The VIP set itself feels very cultivated and its “old-fashioned” eclectic style gives it a vibe of a surreal manufactured reality. Each episode starts with Vic idly messing with some aspect of the set, before realizing the camera is on and putting on the reporter mask. In my memory, none of the people “on set” ever say anything, besides Vic and the interviewee, even when Vic audibly asks them questions. Additionally the cutting off to infomercials gives an uncanny feeling of parody, someone concocting the stereotypical formula of a show. Finally, there are the moments where there is an abrupt cut to a transition card from a more intense scene, almost to redirect the emotional plot. Overall, it has given me a kinda WandaVision vibe of a dreamlike state manufactured in VIP!Vics head in order to address their loneliness and disillusionment with life.

The closing question especially points towards this specific idea of VIP!Vic being stuck in this fugue state looking for answers: “What is the meaning of life?” This is both impactful if we go with the idea she is injured and experiencing this all in an unconscious state (almost "deciding" whether to wake up) as well as just in them searching for the next direction to go in their frozen life. What is the meaning of life amidst grief, loneliness, fear, and unfair circumstances? How can Vic find meaning? In creating this dreamlike fabrication, VIP!Vic is trying to recover and find a version of themselves who can live a more fulfilling life as they let go of the past which has held them back. “Remember to always be yourself, unless you'd rather be somone else” 

TLDR: Vic Michalis is having some sort of surreal, unconscious dream where crazy characters are attempting to help them heal from their father's death, their fucked up social situations, and to find meaning and happiness in their life. Through the interviewees eccentricities they teach Vic their personal meanings of life so Vic can find their own.

(This is all just to be silly, I know a lot of it is just stylistic choices of the show and the nature of the type of show it is, but I just love the show a lot and this little theory came to me)

[ozzgin]

I think you're genuinely a really good writer! Have you ever considered writing a whole book?

That’s very nice of you, anon! I can’t say it hasn’t crossed my mind, but I’m rather doubtful as to whether people would truly enjoy my style of, uh, storytelling.

To give you a little context, I have participated in and won multiple writing competitions, but most of the time it involved analytical and/or scientific essays. I think I have a pretty sterile and sarcastic vocabulary, certainly not the intricate stylistic wording I often see in popular book snippets. It’s a less fancy, less intellectual Infinite Jest kind of approach.

I don’t know, maybe one day I could compile most little stories and doodles in the form of an erotic romance parody, where the protagonist is a bald, blank slate named Self-Insert Jane or something. Some absurd, ridiculous, yet slightly horny adventure to satiate the minds of similarly deranged people.

[vanajinn]

When I was in Copenhagen, I discovered the 'Irma girl,' the mascot for the now no-longer-operational Danish supermarket chain Irma. Her design over the years is very striking and cute, so I thought she had similarities with a certain character...

[ID: Four digital drawings arranged in a square with a blue background. Three of the drawings depict Cirno from Touhou Project in a stylistic parody of the Irma mascot. The mascot is a full-body simplistic depiction of a little girl to the side, wearing a dress blowing to the left and holding a basket in hand, with white oulines. Each of the drawings is rendered more and more minimalist to reflect the changing design evolution of society. end ID]

[theygotlost]

here are the questions *I* would ask Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick if I could. if they've answered any of these already please let me know

what are some of your inspirations, aside from the ones you're obviously parodying like Johnny Quest and GI Joe?

what did your process for creating characters look like? did your character designs go through a lot of revisions or did you usually go with your initial concept?

with a notoriously lean voice cast, how did you determine who should voice which character?

where there any unscripted or improvised moments from a cast member, including yourself, that made it to an episode?

the transition from season 3 to season 4 marks a tonal shift toward more emotional depth, character-driven episodes, and narrative continuity. by your own admission, continuity made writing the show more difficult. what made you decide on this shift?

how often were the two of you in disagreement about each other's writing or what direction the show should take?

the worldbuilding with the Guild of Calamitous Intent, the Council of Thirteen, the OSI, and SPHINX is kind of a tangled mess. did you ever have problems keeping your own lore straight?

at what point in the show's run did you decide on the truth of Hank and Dean's parentage? was that an idea you had for a while, or did you only come up with it while writing the movie?

the exact location of the Venture Compound was kept ambiguous until the movie revealed it was in Colorado for some reason. was it always supposed to be in Colorado? and why? actually that doesnt really matter but i feel like im losing my mind

to what extent did reception from the fanbase influence your writing over the course of the show?

what's your favorite idea or scene that DIDN'T make it into the final cut?

most adult animation is done with puppet rigging to save time and money. aside from the Shallow Gravy special (which you explained you resorted to puppet animation for because you did it all in-house on a short turnaround), The Venture Bros is animated traditionally for the most part. was this a stylistic choice or a logistical one?

like many shows of its type, The Venture Bros has been criticized for content that has "aged poorly", some of which you've tried to correct over the show's run. with your current perspective, what would you go back and do differently from the start? since time machines don't exist, how would you address these criticisms in the future given the opportunity?

what was the most fun part of working on the show for you?

what part of The Venture Bros are you proudest of?

[ghosty-schnibibit]

alright, so, now that i am not an incandescent ball of fury:

i was extremely disappointed with go2 and downright angry about the way it concluded. i've already read some excellent posts by other lovely people that articulate some of my grievances really well (which sadly i can't link here or the site will eat this post entirely) but i want to add my own to the pile. if you enjoyed the season then more power to you, but i very much did not.

after this post i won't be complaining about s2 again or really posting anything about it at all, positive or negative, and will probably just block the tag entirely. like i said in my much shorter vent post last night, i just want to get all of my negativity out in one go and then pretend it doesn't exist. with that out of the way:

the pacing was terrible. the plot went in circles around itself and the mystery was handled so poorly that it somehow managed to be too convoluted and too simple at the same time. we spent five entire episodes wondering what was going on only to have it resolved by an exposition dump of about five minutes. the mini-sodes ground multiple episodes to a halt and squandered the majority of the season's runtime on pointless fanservice that cheapened some of the previous season's most emotional moments, runtime that could have been better spent setting up the gabriel mystery or developing literally any of the new characters introduced. speaking of which,

the new characters were pointless. nina and maggie were given no characterization beyond being pale expies of az and crowley, and the fact that a substantial part of the b-plot revolved around them makes this even more apparent. i do not remember the name of the angel pretending to be a constable and i don't care enough about them to look it up, they had literally no plot significance whatsoever. same goes for the processing demon from the third episode. the flip with jax from being a somewhat neutral character to a big bad in a party city wig felt like a failed attempt to recapture some of what made hastur and ligur work in the previous series.

gabriel and beelzabub. their relationship was unbelievable and clashed so heavily with their previous characterizations. i called it from the first episode and dreaded its conclusion right up to the finale. they feel like an ill-thought parody of ineffable husbands pulled out of an enemies-to-lovers crackfic. every romantic moment in the last episode was insipid and cloying, and them getting a consequence free happy ending retroactively cheapened the stakes of the previous season. it honestly felt like the writers just wanted to mash their dolls together.

aziraphale's character was assassinated and crowley was basically just there to play the hits. both of them were flanderized to the moon and back, but poor aziraphale got the worst of it. all of his character development from the previous season was thrown out the window in order to give us the big angsty conclusion set-up for a third season. they were both utterly flattened and i feel so bad for michael and david, they were clearly doing the best with what they were given but what they were given was just plain bad.

most of the humor and warmth from the book and the previous season were just… gone. no narrator, only one or two comedic asides from the title cards, a total of maybe three minutes of queen music across the whole thing (and most of that a piano cover), and a whole lot of little stylistic touches that went by the wayside and left the world feeling a bit hollow. also the comedy in this season was much more reliant on a "hey, aren't the characters acting so silly right now? aren't they failing at looking/acting normal? isn't that funny?" style of humor than on the wit and subtle satire of the first.

it was nothing but set up for a third season. learning this after finishing the season did not make me feel better about any of it, but it does explain a bit why it felt like all set up and no pay off. i have zero confidence about the ship being righted in a potential s3 that we likely will not see for many years (if at all, i'm already hearing murmurs about the show getting axed).

so that's basically it. i'll reiterate that if you enjoyed this season then i have no beef with you; your opinions are your own and, while i have no desire to have a dialogue about them, i respect them. but the original good omens book was very personally meaningful to me, as was its adaptation in s1, and this poorly thought out continuation has disappointed and saddened me to the point that i feel like i don't want to engage with the fandom in its wake.

[gust-jar-simulator]

Saw a thumbnail calling Ghirahim the "creepiest Zelda boss" and. First of all, no. Numerous other bosses have him beat on both body horror AND interpersonal drama. Ghirahim is functionally more of a rival, and also mostly using Link against his will as a stress toy/rubber duck style therapist, he doesn't really fully commit to taking the kid gloves off until about a minute before he gets defeated.

But! I digress.

Calling Ghirahim the creepiest boss relies on, whether the viewer realizes or not, recognizing Ghirahim's mannerisms and behavior as disturbing. And yeah he does some disturbing stuff. But thematically he was, as far as I can tell, intentionally designed by the devs to use queer behavior to trigger repulsion in the player, and I think that HAS to be acknowledged before you commit wholesale to just calling him Creepy.

He does do creepy shit. But they decided to convey that creepiness through some very unfortunately queer design. And he's not even actually queer, so it reads as this... gutless, sourceless, mismatched parody, where what should be backing up this threat is some sort of genuine want, whatever that might be, and there's none whatsoever. He's a peacock flashing his feathers but for pure threat reasons.

I do like the idea of a living weapon learning about politeness and manners and the kind of body language that flesh-and-blood beings would find threatening, and I could make some headcanon assumptions about that, but we really have no information on why he behaves the way he does so we just have to take it at face value. Ghirahim postures and poses and soliloquizes but exhibits no genuine desire until, I think, those couple of minutes at the very end of the game.

It's really hard for me to be genuinely scared of him because there's just nothing behind his threatening gestures. Like yeah damn sticking your tongue in my ear is kind of rude, and summoning monsters to kick my ass is annoying, but it's also not really outside the expected patterns. SkSw Link has a bully (Groose) and kicks demon ass anytime he's on the surface. And, sometimes, Ghirahim is there voguing and bitching about his love life job, beating me to my goals.

If you mean specifically boss battles, though, then the final fight against him is definitely one of my favorites because you see an incredible amount of character development for him, direct acknowledgement of Link as something powerful and terrifying, and also the visuals/setting are really fucking cool. To some extent I think you can ONLY fully understand Ghirahim as a character after that boss battle, because that's the only time it's actually genuine and personal for him.

We all know, of course, that the actual scariest things in Skyward Sword are the sacred trials.

Tl;dr Ghirahim isn't actually scary until the last minute because the only serious threat he poses either physically or psychologically is Summon Thing, Stab Link, Spill Tea, and Kidnap Princess, two of which are par for the course, one of which is a nonissue, and one of which we are actively trying to solve. Most of his stylistic scare factor is just him behaving like a dramatic gay queen. The sacred trial guardians are 100% scarier.

[a-rum-of-ones-own]

Hi!!!

I’m currently reading A Cosmology of Blacks, Malfoys, and Assorted Individuals and just wanted to express how much I love this fic!!! Your writing style is so profoundly passionate and evocative. The way you describe the emotions and inner workings of Draco, his observations and interactions with others, and blend sensory details with atmospheric elements is so poetically done—I seriously can’t deal.

What spurred me to write this was the opening of Chapter 19:

“With their ancient, bony hands, they’d passed her golden bowls filled with brew of black cohosh. Narcissa, panting in the heated darkness of the room she was confined in, had gulped them down, red-dark liquid dripping down her chin and staining the near-translucent smocking of her nightgown.

Winds had battered against the curtained windows. The approach of an early summer storm. The air had been sweltering, hot, over-heavy with lightning that had not yet discharged.”

LIKE UGH…MINDBOGGLINGLY BEAUTIFUL. SERIOUSLY. It’s so viscerally described that I feel like I’m transported right into the room.

I’m trying to consciously pace myself through the remaining chapters because I don’t want to catch up ;( but could you recommend some books that inspired you to write this fic, or even books that influenced your writing? I would be eternally grateful (high-key already am just for the existence of this fic).

I am so thankful to have stumbled upon this gem. You are sosososo talented; I am truly in awe and can’t wait to read more of your work! xxx

Heeey! Thank you so, SO much! I had so much fun writing that scene with the midwives - I cannot resist including scary old ladies and weird little arcane rituals of womanhood in everything I write, lol. I'm a total sucker for it. Give me a scary old woman who may or may not be a morally grey agent of The Dark And Mysterious Powers of the Great Beyond, and I'm sold.

YES, I do have book recs! Fic-writing is, for me, an opportunity for total stylistic self-indulgence, and there are absolutely influences! In general, Cosmology takes a LOT of influence from gothic writing. That entire theme of a house/manor/castle as a pseudo-living thing, the curses of our ancestors coming back to haunt us, ghosts of the past (both in literal and non-literal form), that's all just plain gothic, and I LOVE writing and reading that sort of stuff. Jane Austen's first novel, Northanger Abbey, is a fantastic gothic novel and/or gothic parody, and it's a shame it's not read more widely. It's definitely her first - it's not as absolutely refined as the big names like Pride and Prejudice etc - but it's the one I love the most. There's a proper mystery plot, a cursed house, a romance, a haunting - it's just great.

If you're not a Jane Austen girlie, a HUGE influence for me is Donna Tartt, especially The Secret History and The Goldfinch. If you're into that ornate, atmospheric, scene-setting writing, both will be right up your alley - The Secret History has a bit more of it (and is, imo, the better one to start out with), but they're both just amazing. One day, I want to be able to write like Donna Tartt does. She's the OG, she's the GOAT, she's perfect, she's probably my favourite contemporary author.

Also: Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House. It's one of my absolute favourite books, but (warning!) it's not literary fiction or romance, it's very much the story of a haunting. If you're absolutely not into horror, stay clear. Similarly, The Perfume by Patrick Süßkind is BEAUTIFUL, but absolutely not a romance. I've only read it in the original and can't vouch for any translations into English, but judging by the reviews, the sheer VibesTM seem to come across even in translation. The original is one of the best books I've ever read, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking for something truly unique. I've also recently read V.C. Andrew's Flowers in the Attic for the first time, and found it really good in that gothic sense, but mind ALL the trigger warnings on that one. I don't deal well with graphic depictions of more realistic violence/abuse, especially if it involves kids (stylised/fantastical and implicit violence is fine, but anything that reads too 'real' and 'logically possible irl' doesn't agree with my stomach), and it's got some of that. I skipped a page or two, but still found it a prime example of Southern Gothic.

Thank you so so much again! I hope to get the next chapter of Cosmology out soon!

[ahmedmootaz]

If Ayin did distort, what kind of abilities would he have?

Dear Anonymous,

Good question! I've thought about it a lot, and I think that Ayin's Distortion would be mostly influenced by the traumas he endured, just as the Ensemble's members were all influenced by their most traumatic events;

Jae-Heon was influenced by how his son was run over by a road-roller and how his puppet was then destroyed by Roland, thus turning into a puppet-master and, subsequently, into an amalgamation of various different creatures, just like his puppets he made for Argalia.

Greta was influenced by how her fellow Eight-Chefs ate themselves and pushed themselves to the limit in the search for new tastes and flavours; her hunger and desire manifested in the form of a famished shark with many, many mouths in order to eat as much as she wanted.

And so on and so forth. If we were to follow the same formula for Ayin, I'd think that the events that marked/traumatised him the most had to be the Old Lab's raid by Garion, the Smoke War, and the loss of Carmen, so I believe his Distortion would have some form of connection to all three of these events.

Not to mention that, personally, I think Ayin was just a few wrong/right turns away in life from being the perfect Arbiter, and seeing how X manifested into a sick parody of an Arbiter himself, I'd think Ayin's Distortion would be quite similar, although with a few twists here and there.

For starters, I believe that his Arbiter gear would be more white-and-red instead of the standard and iconic gold-and-black issued to most Arbiters, mostly for the sake of artistic choices on my end, but also because I believe a Distortion would attempt to be different from the main enforcers of the City's order, as Carmen explicitly stated that, after she herself became the Voice of the Distortion, she was attempting to free the people from the City's cycle in her own, twisted way. As such, I believe she would help draw out a form that is at least visually distinct from Arbiters for her beloved Yinnie, of all people, seeing how he deserves that little pleasure the most, which is my explanation for how I'd explain this stylistic choice for Ayin while X's Distortion is a regular Arbiter outfit.

As for abilities, I'd personally assume they would be similar to what X possesses, to some degree, with typical Arbiter powers being the 'norm' for Ayin's Distortion, but I'd also assume that seeing how his trauma extends far beyond that of most of the PM characters we got to see so far, he'd also be able to tap into powers specifically from his time in the Smoke War. For example, I assume that he would be able to concentrate his powers to summon inter-dimensional portals like those used in the War, or perhaps even utilise the Smoke itself as one of his abilities to weaken opponents at the cost of it also adversely affecting him.

But I think what would also make him even more of a force to be reckoned with would be his relation to Abnormalities. I'm sure that he would resonate with quite a few Abnormality powers which Carmen would happily draw from him to make him into a bit of a indestructible force, although I'm not exactly sure on what Abnormality powers he would have access to, but one thing I am certain of is that he would without a doubt be able to manipulate blood to some extent or perhaps even mess with one's central nervous system, as an homage to his trauma with regards to Carmen. Perhaps he causes hallucinations or causes one's own mind to start attacking itself?

I think his biggest weakness would be his willingness to fight against his Distortion, it's just that he will need a lot of outside help to even have a chance at managing to ward off the Distortion, seeing how he's so full of repressed sentiments and emotions, and all of them bursting out as he Distorts would have quite the catastrophic consequences.

This was a really fun ask, and so I thank you, Anon, for providing me with it! I don't know if I can apply them somewhere soon, but this was quite fun to think of! As always, take care, stay safe, and see ya'!

[livgr3]

Fairy Tale Musicals: Little Shop of Horrors (1981) dir. Frank Oz

Little Shop of Horrors has a somewhat lengthy history of multiple adaptations. The first iteration of the story was the 1960 film The Little Shop of Horrors, with a screenplay inspired by science fiction stories of the 1950s. Then, the movie was adapted into an off-Broadway musical in 1982. In 1986, the popular musical was adapted into the high camp, soon to be cult-classic movie musical Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Frank Oz, whose experience in creating and puppeteering The Muppets would lend itself to Little Shop's impressive Audrey II puppets.

Three teen girls who live on Skid Row, Crystal, Ronette, and Chiffon, introduce and narrate the events of the film.

Seymour and Audrey are both struggling to make ends meet, and work at Mr. Mushnik's failing flower shop on Skid Row. Seymour, who has a hobby of collecting exotic plants, brings a mysterious plant to the shop, Audrey II, which draws in customers and gives the shop a fighting chance at staying in business. As the plant begins to make Seymour more popular and successful, he discovers that the only thing that he can feed the plant to make it grow is human blood. (Also it can talk and sing.) Meanwhile, Audrey's abusively masochistic dentist boyfriend Orin becomes more and more insidious towards her, making him into the perfect candidate for Audrey II's first victim...

Aesthetic Markers of Class, Race, and "Bootstraps" Myths Through Song

Though Oz's film is still set in the 1960s when its source film was made and generally parodies conventions of '60s B-movies, it is clearly influenced by the politics of the 1980s, when it was made. I will read Oz's Little Shop alongside two specific events: The Reagan Administration and the Second-wave Feminist movement.

Let's close read the musical number "Skid Row" to see how formal and stylistic elements enhance racial difference and enforce the "Pull yourself up by the bootstraps" rhetoric that became popular during the Reagan era as a way to justify and distract from the growing economic disparities in America.

Though the three narrators provide a segue into the song by exclaiming that there is no chance of "bettering ourselves" on Skid Row, Audrey and Seymour end the song determined to get out of their situations. They are notably the only two people in this ensemble number to sing about getting out of Skid Row, looking up towards the sky as the song ends while the rest of the cast looks down. Several other stylistic markers set Audrey and Seymour apart throughout the song, such as the bright lighting on only them, their brighter clothes/hair in comparison to everyone else's dull attire, and even the slower tempo and more gentle style of singing during their verses.

While Seymour and Audrey's economic status makes them "Othered" protagonists (much like Eliza Dolittle in Ray's analysis of My Fair Lady), the formal elements of this number serve to further Otherize people of color. It is important to consider Seymour and Audrey's whiteness in comparison to the ensemble, which consists of many Black performers. With these two white characters as the only ones to sing about wanting to get out of Skid Row while the others do not, the film contributes racist capitalist narratives that one's economic status is a "choice." This is further supported by the fact that the rest of the ensemble of this number rarely shows up throughout the rest of the film. Their only purpose is to foil the protagonists' strife, making the audience feel as though they are rooting for the "little guy" or the "Other" at the expense of another, racialized Other.

However, the narrative that continues after this song seems to subvert and rework this very same myth of finding economic success through the exploitation of The Other.

After finding out that Audrey II feeds on human flesh and blood, the meek and good-natured Seymour struggles to see anyone as "deserving" of death. That is, until Audrey II directs him towards Audrey's abusive boyfriend Orin. Fast forward a bit, and Seymour later feeds his boss, Mr. Mushnik, to Audrey II. The death of both these characters promote Audrey II's growth, which increases the attention it gets from the media and therefore brings Seymour more wealth.

Since the film dips into conventions of Sci-Fi and monster movies, it is expected that those who are killed for financial gain are bodies which have been marked as disposable or lesser. However, the victims in this film, a horribly misogynistic man with a good career and a boss who disregards the well-being of his workers, could easily be construed as heroes in other films. In this film, Seymour and Audrey II flip the narrative of violent exploitation, fighting against oppressive figures in order to succeed in the very capitalist system which they help promote.

Complicating Femininity Through Race and Class

 Ray writes of My Fair Lady as indicating what it means to properly "be" a woman through a rags to riches transformation. Little Shop sets up the perfect foundation for such a transformation to occur to Audrey, who defies any notions of demure, proper womanhood with her "trashy" style and nasally voice. This physical transformation never happens, though, and Audrey's femininity or womanhood are never in question.

Instead, Audrey undergoes an internal transformation through the film's exploration of domestic abuse, which seems to be informed by a heightened awareness of the issue thanks to the advancements of the Second Wave Feminist movement. I find that the film handles this issue surprisingly well, with Audrey experiencing symptoms of abuse in a way that is very realistic, and she is never treated as a source of blame for the abuse Orin subjects her to. When Orin's death frees her of her circumstances, she regains a sense of autonomy and self-confidence.

Audrey's "I want" song, "Somewhere That's Green," also handles contentious aspects of womanhood in a way which considers economic class. In this song, Audrey sings that her biggest dream in life is to live in a comfortable suburban home married to Seymour. While the Second Wave Feminist movement fought against the designation of women as housewives, such a lifestyle would be a privilege to Audrey in her current economic state.

However, the film's three narrators are not given the same complex characterization. Ray writes of the "transgressive inner voice" of female musical protagonists as something progressive and empowering. The three narrators in Little Shop are basically only their voices (and they out-sing everyone else in the cast tbh), existing as an omnipotent presence that is only partially connected to the world of the film. Though the film definitely showcases their vocal talent and charm, they are reduced to an accessory with the sole purpose of narrating white stories.

Two Endings

The film's original ending followed the ending of the stage musical. In this version, Audrey II kills both Audrey and Seymour. Businessmen take cuttings of Audrey II and sell it across the country, accidentally creating an army of Audrey IIs that take over the US.

After two test screenings which left audiences uncomfortable and speechless, Oz filmed a new ending before the wider release of the film. In this new conclusion, Audrey and Seymour survive, kill Audrey II and live happily ever after.

Discussion Questions!

Does camp and the tone of movie musicals make it easier to include anti-capitalist themes and narrative points? Might the film have been made and widely released if the same themes were conveyed in a more "serious" manner?

What is the significance of Audrey II being a plant, as opposed to another kind of being? Could there be an environmentalist reading of the film?

Why do you think the darker ending was successful in the stage musical, but made audiences of the film adaptation uncomfortable? Do stage plays and films evoke different expectations?

What do you make of the second ending and the role of happy endings more generally - can they evoke a sense of hope, or are they an unrealistic distraction from real issues?

[bluef00t]

Do you have any comic recommendations for stories about pulpy-like heroes in fantastical adventures, a la Atomic Robo or Hellboy?

Those ARE my two big recs, which makes this difficult! Golden age pulp's unpredictable spikes of bigotry makes it hard to suggest to strangers as light reading, while modern pulp pastiches can feel overly self-conscious or just hollow to me (while continuing to import all the same old xenophobia.)

With those critiques in mind, though, I can name some more names.

Tom Strong is a 1999 creation by Alan Moore(!) It's not entirely free of... Moore-isms, but it's deeply sincere: no cruel twist awaits his science-action family or their casually fantastical alt-history.

Tintin is still translated and reprinted worldwide for a reason. IMO you won't find a more solid combo of research, jokes, action, and artwork in any other genuine vintage comic series. However, being written in the 30s-60s does show around the edges.

The Spirit, by comics legend Will Eisner, also dates back to the 40s. Post-Eisner, his legacy still pushes creators to get fun and experimental with format and storytelling. The role of racial caricature in the series history is a little harder to work around.

2000s Agents of Atlas is a team of '50s Timely/Marvel heroes. I have frustrations with its yellow peril "deconstruction" but do love the lineup: a secret agent, talking gorilla, Atlantean princess, Greek goddess, humanoid alien, and killer robot walk into a bar...

The Rocketeer is a popular throwback to the 30s that I find too mired in cardboard nostalgia to reach its full potential, but it's had some genuinely fun installments (and a movie!) so it's worth a look.

Sam & Max are mostly known for the point and click games, but they started out as comics parodying pulp adventure and I love their relentless cheesiness so I'm putting them here.

I also, as always, suggest exploring Franco-Belgian comics. (I think Spirou & Fantasio has decent English translations these days). The tone and formatting will be different; I tend to prefer BDs' longer "episode" length, higher density of physical comedy and puns, and more everyman characters.

And I'm always on the lookout for graphic novels which seem cool. Bone (which is honestly a very European series, stylistically), Bad Island, and Rapunzel's Revenge (+ sequel Calamity Jack) are some favorite one-off fantastical adventures I've picked up at my local library. Mostly from the kids or teens section.

[houkagokappa]

The Yuri Manga Post

From when I first came across yuri manga a decade ago, followed by a long break from it due to the excruciating longing I’d experience reading about girls loving girls while not experiencing it myself, I’d been wanting to get back to reading yuri manga again. The loneliness hasn’t gone anywhere, but my love towards girls and girls loving girls has remained, and I’ve wanted to take part in it once more.

What got me started was Hanamonogatari by schwinn. People were hyping it up on twitter as old woman yuri, and not just yuri involving a grown adult, but an actual grandmother. So far only 2 chapters have been translated, so I don’t have a whole lot to say about the series. It’s a nice change of pace to read about someone in their 60′s, and it’s wholesome to see how they discover make-up as a new hobby and the salesperson as a new romantic interest. Life doesn’t end after your 20′s, y’all!

This inspired me to check out what else is popular these days, and one of the first works I saw recommended was Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete by Akihiro Ononaka, which is the polar-opposite to Hanamonogatari. It’s about a young girl who adores magical girls, but ends up becoming a villain forced to fight them. Her new alter-ego is sadistic and enjoys teasing and torturing her opponents. The manga feels like a combination of Douman Seiman’s works and Kill la Kill, the way it’s stylized with high contrasts and contains plenty of wacky, sexy comedy that takes things just a little too far for comfort. Personally I love it. It’s not a manga for everyone, and I wish it would start wrapping up soon after 9 volumes, before it starts repeating itself too much. It’s been one of the most refreshing manga I’ve read in a while, a funny parody with an amazing artstyle, even if it also contains some... questionable scenes.

Looking at more conventional works, I picked up Ki ni Natteru Hito ga Otoko ja Nakatta by Agu. It’s about a high school girl who falls for a guy as they bond over similar tastes in music, but as the title suggests, it turns out the guy’s actually a girl and her classmate (disguised in her casual/alternative style). The manga releases on twitter, and it’s been a fun exercise for me to keep up with it in Japanese. The twitter releases have also allowed Agu to use some colour, adding lime green to the traditional black and white, which makes the manga stand out and look really cool. The art itself is great too, both girls are super cute with their own distinctive styles. I like seeing how their relationship develops and I’m glad that it doesn’t dwell on the initial misunderstanding for too long. I will say that it’s a shame to be caught up with the story, since each weekly update is only 4 pages long and I’d rather read this in one go.

Next, I picked up Kakeochi Girl by Battan, since it was recent and renowned, with gorgeous covers. It’s about a woman who runs into her old high school sweetheart again after 10 years. While she never got over her, her old lover is now about to get married to a man, and have his baby. I wasn’t a huge fan of this manga. I thought it was sad how the main girl hadn’t been able to move on and felt stuck with her life for so long, while her romantic interest was stuck making bad decisions. I also didn’t like how the husband was portrayed as a villain of comical proportions. I think there’s value to the story which explores what comphet does to a woman, but it’s not something I care to read about when men become too central to the story. I also have conflicting feelings about the art. The covers, illustrations and some pages were absolutely gorgeous, and I love how Battan portrays different feelings, especially whenever something’s a little scary, but exciting, with tingles and sparks, but I’m not a huge fan of her style when it comes to the eyes and other facial features, which is a stylistic choice for her and a personal preference of mine.

I gave Battan another chance with Ane no Yuujin, since I couldn’t resist the enthralling, sensual cover. I liked it better than Kakeochi Girl, and it helped me appreciate the art more, thanks to her excellent portrayal of longing and joy. I was about to say that I liked the characters better too, but now that I think about it, I’m not sure I did. I think the fact that this was much shorter and focused on more characters masked it for me. I don’t think Battan’s works are for me, but I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who do love them for good reason!

I continued my yuri journey with another work I’d seen and heard much about, Sayonara Rose Garden by Dr. Pepperco. It’s about a Japanese maid who works for an English noblewoman, set in England in the early 1900′s. My first impression was that Dr. Pepperco is a genius for this setting and combination of aesthetics, with the Japanese maid dressing in kimono off-duty (!!!). The manga is beautifully drawn, and I enjoyed both main characters, but unfortunately a man had to get between them as well. It makes sense considering the setting, but it’s still not something I enjoy reading about, so my initial excitement was dulled out after the first volume. Overall it was a good read with great art, but because of my high expectations and slight disappointment, it didn’t end up as a favourite of mine.

After getting worried about not finding any more good yuri to read, I was happy to discover Ikemen Girl to Hakoiri Musume by Mochi au Lait and majoccoid. It’s another manga where one girl mistakes her classmate for a man and falls for them. Here the girl confesses right at the start, the other one accepts as a joke, and they end up dating while the misunderstandings are still at play. The girl who was mistaken for a man is incredibly sympathetic and a whole mood (TM), while her girlfriend is super bubbly and sweet. The manga is light-hearted and funny, and I wish I could find something similar to this, since it’s been one of my favorites.

Next up I read Yuunagi Marbled and Kimi Koi Limit by Momono Moto. Yuunagi Marbled was a tad bit on the edgy side, but still an okay read. Kimi Koi Limit had a real mess of a main character, which I enjoyed immensely, since I’ve been looking for something like that in yuri works. After all these stories about women who suddenly end up in lesbian relationships, or who have to hide the fact they want to be in them, it was refreshing to read about women who were open and assertive about their interests. I can’t say either of these works left a strong impression on me beyond that, but I found the girls cute and they were easy enough to read.

Then I went on to read Papa no Sexy Doll by Kajikawa Gaku. Look. The title is questionable. And the manga is indeed about a girl and her dad both having some sort of relationship with an android to get over the loss of the girls’ mother. I checked it out because I read something else by the same author, which left me curious about what else they’d done. Then I wanted to check what Papa no Sexy Doll could possibly be about, since it wasn’t marked as r-18. It was a pleasant surprise to see that it was yuri, and I actually got attached to the main character, who’s a young girl going through a rough patch with her crush/girlfriend and seeking solace (not necessarily sexual, but also that kind of comfort) from the titular doll. There are only a few chapters out and it’s still ongoing, but so far it’s been a nice story about loss and the pains of growing up. I can’t recommend it for everyone, but it’s been a pleasant surprise for sure.      

To continue with more questionable works, I was excited to give Kyou wa Kanojo ga Inai kara by Iwami Kiyoko a try, based on the gorgeous art and a powerful line I randomly came across and had to fish out the source for. Like the title suggests, it’s about a girl in a lesbian relationship, but said girlfriend is still in the closet afraid to show any sort of affection towards her in public. Furthermore, she keeps ignoring her in favour of club activities, which leaves our main girl sad and lonely. A third girl shows up, and with a few pushes, the main girl starts two-timing her girlfriend. I love how horrible the girls are, and how easy it is to see what drove them to be the way they are. The art is to die for, and although I can’t recommend such a controversial topic to everyone, it’s been one of my favorites. The manga is still ongoing, with 4 volumes currently, and things are heating up!

After reading all these popular and currently talked-about series, and not finding that much more looking though what’s popular, I discovered the greatness of Interest Stacks on MAL. There were a few collections with titles and covers that looked intriguing, and I started reading older works, with the oldest being Maya no Souretsu by Ichijo Yukari, published in 1972. I love the 70′s shoujo manga style, and the story was a tragic wild-ride about loss and revenge.

From there I kinda fell down the rabbit hole that was 90′s josei. Some of the yuri works I read were Love Vibes and Sheets no Sukima by Erica Sakurazawa. They are both about messy relationships that involve a lot of sex and cheating, and while love between women was central for both, there was more action between women and men. Because I read other josei works from the same era before these two, I came in thinking it was cool to see women be active and forward, so I didn’t mind it, but I do think Sheets no Sukima in particular suffered from not developing the relationship between the two women further. The ending was incredibly unsatisfying and abrupt, even if it could be seen as realistic and tragic in a way I usually love, because it reflects how uncertain and unsatisfying real life can be. I definitely preferred Love Vibes out of the two, where the feelings were more clear and reciprocated. Both works had a charming artstyle, and the girls were cute so it was nice reading them.

Back to the present day, although ready to take a journey into the past, I continued with Yume no Hashibashi by Sudou Yumi. It’s about two women in their mid-80′s who have been in love with each other since they were 14/15, but unable to be with each other due to various societal reasons. The manga starts with them in their old age and progresses backwards in time, with each chapter giving us a small glimpse of the choices they made and the feelings they had throughout different periods in their lives. It’s quite an interesting structure, and I loved seeing what drove the characters to make the decisions they did, when I already knew what they would lead to, and to see what prevented them from choosing to be with each other throughout the years. I wasn’t sure what to think of it based on the first two chapters, but I was crying as I reached the end. It was tragic, yet beautiful, and what hurts the most is how there are people out there who have gone through similar experiences. This was another favourite of mine and I highly recommend it, with the warning that it’s a heartbreaking read. I’d love to read more yuri by this mangaka, but unfortunately I couldn’t find much else.

Following these, I read Nettai Shoujo by Yoshitomi Akihito. I picked it up after reading Balance Policy, also by him, thanks to the nice cover art. Balance Policy contained some yuri as well, which would ordinarily be a nice bonus, except here it was paired with some of the most absurd ideas of how women work I’ve come across in a long time (weird stuff about periods etc.). Along with some other choices, it was quite obvious it was written by a man. I don’t think gender should prevent you from writing whatever, and I can even appreciate yuri that’s created for the male gaze, but oh man does it hurt when it’s combined with bad writing. Both Balance Policy and Nettai Shoujo got me though, since they depict summer in the countryside, which is one of my biggest weaknesses when it comes to manga settings, especially paired with queer themes. Nettai Shoujo is a collection of shorts around that theme, and it delivers, save for a couple instances where you can clearly tell it was written by a man, and a few “but I’m a girl” lines, which I didn’t know I’d come to dislike as much as I now do. In their defence, it was written in 2007, so I can’t be too mad about it.

It was only after reading Nettai Shoujo that I realised Yoshitomi Akihito is the man behind Blue Drop. I’ve read one or two installations from the series and I’ve always wanted to read through them all, so I’m now stuck in this weird love-hate relationship with Yoshitomi Akihito and his works. I’ve gotten quite busy, so I haven’t had the time to read more than the first (original) volume so far. I love the art and the sci-fi setting of lesbian aliens taking over Earth, but it feels aged and contains gratuitous fanservice, which I don’t enjoy. The girls are either undressing themselves at weird moments, too often, or it’s done to them in a way which feels exploitative. I’ll read and reread the rest of Blue Drop, and I’ll probably check out the anime too, but for now, I no longer have the time. Pride month is coming to an end too, so this shall be it for my big yuri manga review.

Thank you for taking the time to read any or all of this!

I hope you’ve been able to read some good yuri as well, and if you have any recommendations I’m happy to receive them!