#these teams are part vibes and aesthetics and part practical

[purplecatghostposts]

Playing around with Pokémon Teams for the Marble Hornets characters because I’m combining my interests and keeping the ones I believe were mentioned in a livestream? (Jay with Furret and Alex with Cyndaquil? Is that right?)

And a surprise to no one, I’m going ham with Hoody!Brian specifically.

It would be SO SO easy to make almost the entirety of his team ghost type but I’m spreading it out a little. I’m giving him a lot of Pokémon you would probably find in abandoned buildings (Joltik, Aron, Duskull) so far because it just fits so well. Most of his team evolves at least once because he has a lot of time to train them. He aims to beat Alex and it never feels like enough.

I gave him an Oddish/Gloom that eventually evolves into a Vileplume because him having a grass type Pre-MH feels very fitting for him but it eventually evolving into a Pokémon that’s best known for its overwhelming toxins because he wants to use it against Alex… yeah.

Speaking of, Alex also has a Lycanroc. It’s Rocky. Rocky gets stuck in Lycanroc’s Midnight Form after an incident with the Operator. Also Alex’s Cyndaquil commits a lot of canonical arson.

I definitely want Tim to end up with one of Brian’s Pre-MH pokemon and I might also give him a Cubone that eventually evolves into a Marowak because I feel like he’d take care of it well.

Jay is getting a Flaafy that eventually evolves into Ampharos who helps charge his laptop and is his flashlight in dark places.

Not sure if I’ll fully give Skully a team but if I do, Dusknoir is absolutely going on it.

Still deciding on the rest but you get the idea!!

[isa-ghost]

Do you have any headcanons as far as Philza and BBHs' relationship? I've enjoyed thinking about that because I think it's one of the few relationships on Philza's side that's actually a bit more complicated? But also Philza saying that BBH wouldn't lie is the funniest thing ever.

Or if no headcanons about Philza and BBH specifically what about Philza, Bad, and Cellbit as a trio in charge of the order because I really loved that

OOOH this is gonna be an interesting challenge because I don't watch a lot of Bad :0!

qPhil headcanons masterlist

Obligatory they're both thousands of years old mention. There's some things they can talk about and relate on that no one else on the island can. MAYBE Foolish, but Foolish tends to just focus on the present and vibe. Phil and Bad though, in the right conditions, they could and will have deep conversations about the past and their experiences.

On that note holy fucking shit these two would be terrifying teamed up together. If the Feds ever do something harmful or permanent to the eggs, god help them when these two decide they're armed enough and hatch a plan. They'll rain hell on the entire island and then some. And every other parent will be more than willing to join them. Do Not Piss Off The Immortal Murder Dads.

Phil could tell clearly that Bad is part demon. Finding out he was part reaper was a surprise. Honestly with how much of a lil trickster Bad is, Phil is surprised he isn't part Fae or something.

Phil takes one look at how Bad goes "no idea what you're talking about, nothing happened :D" about stuff like him Literally Dying and is like [uncanny Mr Incredible] "at least I'm not that bad." Phil just (very poorly) hides things and says he's fine. He doesn't straight up deny anything happened (and couldn't convincingly act like nothing is wrong the way Bad can if he tried)

Missa is a reaper. Bad is a reaper. Phil wants to see them talk about reaper things together. Or see them both in action. He himself can also carry small conversations about it since he's learned so much through osmosis :D

Actually that's kinda why Phil feared Bad so much during Purgatory. That was him in action. And he never wants to be on an opposing side of it again.

He doesn't resent Bad for Purgatory btw he just jokes like it sometimes. Same as with Tubbo (or anyone else for that matter), he blames the Watcher for trying to destroy their friendships.

Has straight up looked Bad in the eyes like "are you aware you are raising the most terrifying egg. Are you." He genuinely thinks if Dapper wanted to, he could kill Phil in his sleep. Every time he sees Dapper, he's learned something new and insane.

Tbh Phil sometimes envies how full of whimsy Bad is. He's seen infinitely more horrors than Phil for sure, yet he always ironically seems like a little ball of sunshine despite being a literal shadow lookin demon. What The Fuck is this man's secret to staying so silly.

Phil is endlessly fascinated by the extent to which Bad can come up with more and new protections for the eggs. He thinks of stuff not even remotely on Phil's radar. See, Phil's a safety expert as a survivalist, but most of his skills involve using what's around you and your wits, because survival is largely about relying only on yourself because you rarely have any other choice. Bad on the other hand will not hesitate to seek out new tech, other people, or tinker and experiment until he discovers new ways to use anything and everything he can get his hands on. Phil admires how intuitive he is.

Also Bad is really good at making bases and Phil enjoys seeing how balanced the aesthetics and practical parts are. Bad can make something look cozy and lavish as hell while also putting like a billion farms and gadgets into it.

I wonder how a conversation about possession would go. :) Surely Bad has some insight on it as a demon?

Something about how the two of them have arguably the most horrific egg death nightmares. I don't know where to go with this but goddamn would Crows and Ghosties be feasting.

Actually wait shut up, I just realized something kinda cute. In the same way Phil can talk to birds (particularly crows ofc), Bad can talk to the dead/undead (particularly ghosts). Imagine the sillies that could come out of that. It's said that animals can see the dead, what if Phil's murder conspires with the ghosts that follow Bad around ;D

The moment Phil would use his wings if they were healed, Bad would clock that he's the Angel of Death. I'm not sure he saw Phil flying during Purgatory, but if he did, he knows. And that would lead to many interesting conversations. :)

[non-bee-knees]

HEYO because I can

why I think the Team Star crew originally got bullied:

Starting with:

Atticus: Neurodivergent (specifically Autism). This guy is so incredibly passionate about his samurai thing, and fashion [screams special interest]. He also keeps his face covered, even though we see it in flashbacks - me thinks this is a sensory thing

Eri: we already know that she was picked on by Carmen out of jealousy, because when Eri started, she was considered pretty and funny and well liked, right? So what could Carmen have used against her? Her build. Eri is tall, and has a strong build - this makes her appear more masculine, and thus makes a target for bullying [in the whole ‘how can she be pretty when she’s so boyish’ kinda way]

Ortega: he’s got flair for fairy types and clearly he’s got a whole aesthetic thing going on. Paired with his ‘I’ll say and do what I want, just try and stop me’ nature, and you better believe this kid was bullied for being ‘gay’.

Mela: She seems like a normal enough kid, and I think she would have suffered a lot from being purposefully left out of things, because of her nature. True to her favoured typing, she has a very aggressive and loud nature. That hasn’t made her mean or rude in any way, she’s just passionate. Unfortunately when people are too passionate about things now a days they get laughed at behind their backs and left out of things [as I write this I’m realising she could also be autistic •_•]

Giacomo: [beware this is the most headcannoned part of this because I latched onto this silly child INSTANTLY] Neurodivergent (specifically ADHD). Out of the lot he defo gives the most ‘bad kid’ vibes, in the sense where he would have gotten below average/barely average grades, would have trouble paying attention in class, brought his music everywhere and got in trouble for it, the whole jam. Unfortunately in a lot of cases, this all translates to undiagnosed ADHD with unmet needs. He would have probably been picked up by some actually Bad Kids at some point, but the once they realised he was actually nice, he would have gotten ditched. Giacomo is a genuinely sweet kid, he’s just not got the support he needs

Why his eyes like that??

Penny: 1) she’s a quiet kid, and as we find out, she’s got a quick tongue. Most likely people just kinda avoided her

2) she’s trans [I adore this headcanon]. Her writing, the whole ‘being who you are’ narrative, she the ‘new girl’ (we find out she left for a year and a bit, only to come back and no one seems to recognise her??), her Pokémon’s are all eeveelutions, a Pokemon based around the idea of adapting; on top of that her main is Sylveon, a Pokemon practically claimed by the trans community, and finally someone pointed out her hoodie, which is baggie and oversized, aka a ‘dysphoria hoodie’

ANYWAYS these are all headcannons, tho I do take most of the info from the games themselves

[jewishregulus]

wait no i need to hear more about jewish regulus pleaseeee, enough with the catholic guilt

i think people always default to catholic imagery and aesthetics in media bc they think it is a safe religion to play with and or just view it as like a default option which really hurts my soul . this isn’t particularly regulus related but like jewish vampires jewish southern gothic etc etc all have such huge potential . and it feels really disingenuous everytime i read abt just how aesthetic and cool catholicism or whatever is …. i’m sorry but judaism has just as much media potential: people simply don’t care enough to represent us . this is why these violent delights (pauljulian book not the other one) will always win . i feel like many gay dark academia books fall back on like religious guilt (catholic edition) that it was such a refreshing read to see it not only explored w jewish people but patrilineal jewish people as well. truly my favorite book ever for this reason

focusing on regulus now : i view regulus as a very religious person : i think he has a positive relationship with religion and the concept that there is something out there that loves him no matter what: that the unconditional love he craves does exist , and he doesn’t need to do anything to work for it . i really think finds joy in more mystical elements of judaism as he grows , i think he’d wear a evil eye and a kabbalah bracelet and just genuinely feel at ease practicing jewish magic . i think his favorite holiday would be yom kippur bc of the sheer joy he feels being so connected to hashem. and being able to reflect and atone for what he is done and receive forgiveness would be very healing for him! i think religion is a main difference for sirius and regulus, as i hc sirius to not be religious, but their culture is connecting them. sirius may not be religious but he IS jewish, and their practices and beliefs still float through them. judaism is not just a religion but a family almost . i feel deeply connected to jewish strangers knowing we have this cultural connection. i think regulus would feel that way too!! plus i think the black family would be very ashamed of their identity, and attempt to hide it out of fear in a similar way wizards hide their identities bc they fear muggles. i think regulus learning to embrace his identity is very key to him healing from the black family. i think he can make some mean latkes and matzah ball soup and he doesn’t play around abt his bagels . i think he’s a gefilte fish liker!!!! sorry!! he’s on team applesauce on latkes and he thinks if you use sour cream you should die . sirius uses sour cream. he’s got a jewish american princess vibe . he’s my cousin i love him to death!! plus i think there is something to be said abt tattoos being normally frowned upon in jewish culture and regulus taking the dark mark . a sacrifice to his identity put upon him by his parents who already wish to hide and erase this part of their family out of shame and fear . (not saying his parents forced him to take the mark this is just not the post where i analyze regulus taking the mark and his parents role in it.)

ps. this is also why i hc regulus’ favorite color as purple, bc purple often symbolizes redemption/atonement in jewish culture !!

[archeronfilm]

The Fifth Element (1997)

"I don't care, he should have been a butch lesbian."

In case you don't want spoilers, or to hear my long verbose in-detail thoughts on this movie, here's the short and sweet version:

The Fifth Element is raunchy, corny, and campy in all the right ways, and some of the wrong ones. It's far from a perfect movie, but I really enjoyed watching and rewatching it, and I would recommend it! I guess um, 4/5 stars, maybe.

Okay, now let's get serious. I saw the first 15 minutes of this movie while visiting my mother, found it so intriguing that I watched it with a friend, and then watched it again to write this review. Let's get into the meat of it. Spoilers for a 30 year old movie ahead.

Word Count: 6,082

Okay, The Fifth Element (1997), dir. Luc Besson, is a sci-fi comedy starring such greats as Bruce Willis and Gary Oldman, who I've been in love with since I watched Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1990).

We open in Egypt in 1914, in a scene I can only describe as "Mummy-esque." Seriously, this scene came on in my mother's living room and I thought we were watching a yet unseen installation of The Mummy or Indiana Jones. It contains, among other things, an incredibly hammy and not-at-all-subtle dump of exposition. They go out of their way to gravitate back to this wall of runes several times, to make sure you know as much background lore as possible. A later scene renders this odd choice kind of unnecessary, but I'll concede its existence for one key reason-- the Mondoshawan.

The Mondoshawan are the good-guy aliens in this movie, though they're only featured on screen two times, one of them being this scene. Their space ship looms awesomely over this strange Egyptian exposition-temple, and they are a star example of one of the best parts of this movie.

All the effects, or at least as many of them as possible, are practical. Of course, it's a movie made in the 90's, so they would be. But the beautifully clunky and real toddling of these men in alien costumes was a dead-ringer for New Who, and it was incredibly endearing to me. I am a major believer in the power and merit of practical effects and the tragedy of computer generation. And this movie is *swimming* in practical effects. It's a delight.

I will say there's this bit where the leader Mondoshawan is toddling towards this very slowly closing stone door and he doesn't make it through because his very slow waddling is somehow slower than the door is, and I think it was supposed to be semi-serious but I laughed at it. It was just a little ridiculous.

The back half of this first scene feels kind of oddly paced, like it's rushed, which is odd to me considering the scene didn't hold back on dumping as much stuff on me as possible just a few minutes ago. Very strange scene, seems to only have one purpose, which I'll get back to later.

So, flash forward 30 years to something dramatically different in aesthetic and vibe, of course. We're in space. We're gritty, we're militaristic, of course. There's an evil fucking orb of fire flying towards the Earth at top speed. Things aren't looking great.

The president, a man with eyes of a frightening shade, is black! This is not plot relevant, but I find the tendency of movies from this period to feature black presidents far before Obama's term to be really interesting. Is this social commentary? A thoughtful statement about how fantastical the idea of a black man in office is to the average American? I will never know. I really like this character, he's a fun guy. He has more personality than most president characters do, probably due to him being on an awesome spaceship with a team of nodding yes-men in a delightfully Star Trek-esque uniform. I like him a lot. He's my boy.

This is the same scene where we get introduced to Vito Cornelius, a priest who appears to be Catholic because he does the sign of the cross later in the movie, even though I definitely assumed he was some weird member of the church of the Fifth Element or something.

Cornelius is here to suggest that the ball of fire is sentient and evil, and that the president shouldn't shoot it with missiles, because it's so sentient and evil that it'll get even sentienter and eviler. Of course, the president disregards this warning, because that's what movie presidents do to random old men in robes.

From this blunder comes one of the many incredibly hard lines in this movie. Where Mr. President tells Staedert, his military commander, "I have a doubt." and Staedert replies "I don't, Mister President" and then presses the fire button on the huge gigantic missiles. It's awesome, only slightly undercut by the fact that it doesn't work and Staedert and his crew get fucking obliterated right after. By the evil sentient ball which shoots out a flare of flames that has an evil spooky skull in it. That's not a joke at all, that seriously happens in this scene. I laughed.

Now we smash cut to Bruce Willis. He's Korben Dallas, this sort of gritty ex-military guy with a very cute cat. I love this cat. She is an adorable, slightly cross eyed white longhair. It's honestly a tragedy and a waste that she was only in like two scenes. She should have been ever-present, fitted with Air Bud esque mouth animation so she could act as Bruce Willis' voice of reason throughout the film.

Korben Dallas is trying to quit smoking. He's a cab driver who's dogshit at driving his cab and is mere seconds away from losing his license. He is, and I quote, "Still stuck on that two-timing slut." He wants a perfect woman. There are about two Chekov's guns in that last block of text.

He opens his first scene with us in what I can only describe as the sluttiest most hot and sweaty chest binder I've ever seen. And a pair of tight belted leather boots that it really seems like he fell asleep wearing.

And then he gets mugged by a guy, presumably so they can show us how much he knows about guns, and that he has been mugged enough that he now has a secret shelf that is just completely full of guns. Hilarious. I love this bit. It's not even relevant, I just loved it.

Okay so the evil sentient ball of fire. We didn't forget about that. This scene is one that confused me really badly during my rewatch. Here, Cornelius explains in full detail and in much less vague terms than before what the Fifth Element does and why they need it to save Earth from this evil ball of fire. This scene renders most of the in-narrative purpose of the first scene moot. The only reason it now exists (other than some background stuff that could probably have been introduced in a less odd way) is to address a more meta issue, which I'll get to later. But while I was watching it, I couldn't help but think "Well... then what the hell were we doing in the desert with Luke Perry?"

In this scene, we get to see the Mondoshawans again for the final time, so we can introduce the bad guy aliens, the Mangalores. They jack the stones (the elements) from the Mondoshawan ship and blow them up.

I thought this scene was supposed to set up the stereotypical "military incompetent" idea that's often present in this type of sci fi, but the president honestly makes mostly good decisions that don't make him feel like a bumbling idiot once through the entire movie. Honestly, he's kind of cool. I like him.

Okay, now that the Mangalores have been tragically exploded, we get the vehicle towards one of our main characters. Using a saved body part from the Mangalores and some utterly and delighfully made up genetic scienceology, we recreated the perfect genes of some alien into... a skinny white girl with the orangest hair I've ever seen. This scene features one of the only costuming choices in the movie that I truly hate. Leeloo's weird strap undies (and subsequent inability to wear normal pants, but mostly these strap undies?). I just hate it. Why is it here. It's not even that sexy looking. She looks like a ham in an asylum.

The set design in this movie is also delightfully Whovian and Star-Trek-ish. Tinfoil walls, lava lamp type sensibilities. The costumes are camp the set is camp, everything is camp. It's an absolute whale. The costumes the policemen wear while chasing runaway Leeloo are just hilarious. Many fantastic choices made all around, except for those fucking weird underpants.

Some of the sci-fi concepts in this movie FEEL overplayed and hammed up, and then I remember that it was released when a lot of this stuff was new and in-vogue, and it becomes an interesting exercise in perspective. Maybe they were pioneers, what do I know? I'm having an absolute ball.

Okay, so Leeloo falls directly through the roof of Korben Dallas' cab, and before you say anything, I do have many choice words throughout this recap/review about the infamous trope borne of this movie, "Born Sexy Yesterday," and I am aware of its existence. These opinions are sprinkled throughout alongside my others.

So Bruce Willis seems to be a big fan of this strange woman who, especially in this scene, acts very childlike. Korben's interest doesn't really read as creepy in this scene, until later when he randomly assaults her. You know, like a creep would do. I digress.

Leeloo knows how to read Roman lettering, and while I understand this choice in this scene, I do think it doesn't make sense and kills a little bit of world building. Whatever. Language guy complaining about language stuff.

Speaking of world building, there are a lot of worldbuilding things conveyed visually and through dialog in this movie that arent ham-fisted exposition vomit, and I am very fond of them. The hitch inside the rear door of Dallas' cab, saying Leeloo "doesn't have a file," the Fog? That is never explained? This world has some suggestion of richness and intrigue that I love to see from sci-fi. They waste no time painting "THIS IS THE POINT" with big red letters, because it's just setdressing, and I think that ultimately makes these details really sing.

I love the dialog and energy in the high speed chase scene, the vertical train, the Fog??? The way this movie doesn't need to explain itself. Until it does explain itself. Blatantly. And then I get sad.

In a lot of ways, I think this movie's actual plot is the least interesting part of it. More on this later.

It also *really* seems like this movie was sponsored by McDonald's.

A nearly unconscious Leeloo begs Korben Dallas to take her to Cornelius, before passing out with such cartoonish vigor that I originally thought she was kidding.

So Korben takes Leeloo to Cornelius' apartment, getting originally turned away for being mistaken for newlyweds (barf). Instead of knocking again, he just kicks down the door. Cornelius realizes due to a tattoo on her inner wrist that she's the Fifth Element (!) and passes out. Korben places her on the couch.

Now, I don't really understand why Korben Dallas chooses to sexually assault Leeloo by kissing her while she's unconscious in this scene. It not only feels gross, it also feels kind of unprecedented. They've met once, had approximately the amount of chemistry you'd expect, and then she passed out. Maybe in the 90's this felt spontaneous and romantic, but to me it just feels like he did it for no reason. I wish she had actually shot him. Thankfully, her outburst of rage at this momentarily makes her feel a little less like a literal grade-schooler, a much needed respite.

Milla Jovovich does what I think is a pretty good job at keeping her pronunciation of the divine language consistent throughout the scenes where she speaks it. She's Ukranian-American, but I have no idea if she's bilingual or had an accent coach or something. Either way, well done Ms. Jovovich!

Anyway, Cornelius walks in having suddenly changed into these silly ass robes, a great sight gag, and kicks Korben out of the room, but not before he reveals that the words that Leeloo yelled at Korben meant "never without my permission," which really made me wish she had shot him *twice*.

The scene where Korben talks to his friend, Finger, about Leeloo was clearly supposed to be romantic, I'm sure. It actually makes him look like a freak. I hated him for much of this movie.

Now, Back to the Mangalores. The Mangalores are a warrior race who have been hired by the big evil of this movie-- Gary Oldman. For some reason, they decided to make him southern. Not that I'm really complaining, but characters in this movie seem to have accents for no reason, and I really love it.

I love Gary Oldman in this movie. His character, Zorg, is fitted with one of the most ridiculous wardrobes of the entire cast. He has this odd plastic cap on his head, a flaccid mohawk, and the filthiest facial hair possible (a soul patch). He is fucking awesome. I love Zorg.

Spliced between parts of this arms deal, we learn that the stones aren't in the case. Leeloo tells Cornelius that in case they were stolen, the stones were given to someone trusted by the Mondoshawans, but not before changing clothes in front of him and his apprentice. I swear, she does this like three times in this movie.

The cut back to Leeloo in this scene right after Zorg realizes the box is empty is really well done. Effective, funny, punchy. She laughs like a freak, it's great.

There's a bit of dialog Zorg has with his right hand man right after this failed arms deal where he talks about his philosophy around warriors and why he prefers killers. I love this bit. The way he just coldly leaves them with a bomb built into his holy-overkill-gun is hard as shit, and it gives us a nice insight into our villain in the first scene he's in. I like it. I like Zorg.

Speaking of Zorg, we get a proper introduction to him just after. Here is one of the most interesting scenes in this film, where we get some insight about Zorg and Cornelius' respective opinions on life and death.

The interesting thing about this scene is that I kind of agree with Zorg, his saying that death exists to create life for the living, ostensibly feeding the cycle of life and progress. Regardless, he is painted as stupid when Cornelius has to rescue him from choking on a cherry.

And why the hell would you ever put a whole cherry in a glass of water? You're basically asking to choke to death. And Cornelius has a point, why don't you, a guy who has a special button to unearth his bizarre elephantine freak creature from the secret drawer in your desk, have a special robot to smack you on the back when you're choking? *Especially* when you do dumb shit like putting whole pit-in cherries in your glasses of water? Answer me that, Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg.

Actually, I don't know how this bit is supposed to disprove Zorg's point. All it really proves is that people need each other sometimes, which has nothing to do with what Zorg was actually saying to Cornelius here. Now, we could argue that it goes against the way that he executes this philosophy, which is true, being that he is a weird freaky villain who has henchmen, but I don't want to argue that. Because the fact that they have this strange sum-zero philosophical argument where they're ostensibly not even talking to each other is way funnier.

Right after this there's a bit where he sends his right hand man to literally bug the space-oval office. As in, it's a cockroach with a little camera and microphone on it. This bit is super funny. No thematic relevance, I just loved watching the president fucking cream the roach with his shoe while Zorg's henchman writhed in pain from the mic feedback.

The next important scene, by which I mean the next scene, starts with a healthy serving of "Sci-Fi setting that is weird about Asian people." Get behind me, Mr. Kim, this movie doesn't respect you enough.

Anyway, Korben's hilariously young adult-sounding mother calls him on the phone to bitch at him insanely about how he never calls and gives us a key piece of information-- Korben has won an all expenses paid trip to Fhloston Paradise! This coincidentally is where Leeloo told Cornelius the person with the stones was. This contest was actually alluded to on Korben's television in his first scene as well. This movie is very, *very* good at setup-payoff. Lots of domino situations.

Korben professional-improvs his way out of a police confrontation (organized by Zorg) just to get walloped over the head by Cornelius, who intends to steal his tickets so he and Leeloo can save planet Earth. In the process, he also puts his former superior officer in a freezer. Everyone wants Korben's sweet sweet bod in this scene. It's really something.

There's a couple of details about Korben's character and his relationship with Leeloo in this scene that jumped out at me, and I will be addressing them alongside the others of their ilk later in this review.

Cornelius hatches a plan to make his apprentice David impersonate Korben so they can get to Fhloston. It doesn't work, of course, because this movie chose to represent being knocked out the most realistically I've ever seen in a blockbuster flick. Korben is only down for the count for a second or two, which means he caught up with them and pulled some more startlingly effective improvisation out of his ass to get on this flight with Leeloo. It's really remarkable how good this ex military guy is at improv. Get his ass behind a mic. Get Korben on Whose Zorg is it Anyway, and pay me royalties.

I have a note here that just says "Everyone in this movie wears what I can only describe as rave wear. It's pretty hilarious." I have nothing to add. That's accurate.

So they're boarding this flight, right? And here's a real doozy. 1 out of 2 of my impassioned rants on one specific character in this movie who we meet in this scene. Ruby Rhod. Ruby ffffucking Rhod.

I actually *need* to talk about this guy. He is like the Prince of outer space. His scenes where he does his talk show are mesmerizing, zany, all over the place. I felt like I was having a nightmare. He's fascinating, fabulous, flamboyant, some other f word that I'm choosing not to say right now. His use of "green" to mean "good" is just perfect. Korben's completely dodgy and stiff responses are honestly the perfect contrast to Ruby in this scene. They're foils. This scene has captivated me. Ruby prowls around while tiger growling noises play in the background and flirts with this random stewardess ON AIR, inches from her face with the mic separating their mouths, promising to have sex with her later. ON AIR. It's implied that this is a normal thing that is acceptable on his show.

Ruby also has a whole gang of yes men, all of which are only slightly less flamboyantly homosexual than he is, but still feel more explicitly homosexual than Ruby, who has sex with as many women as he can possibly manage, which seems to be many, because every woman who mentions his name in this movie appears to cream their pants if he so much as breathes near them. That girl he flirted with? She moaned and collapsed on the floor right after.

The scene after the show, where Korben Dallas pins Ruby to the wall and threatens him, would have been beautifully compelling if Korben Dallas was a butch lesbian. This is the furthest thing from thoughtful character analysis, I just would have liked it more.

It's implied in the following scene that Ruby has only ever really wanted to fuck aliens before meeting this random stewardess, and we get to watch a very cleverly compiled set of scenes from wildly different locales that all fit together. Ruby having sex with this stewardess, the ship taking off, and Zorg blowing up his right hand man for failing him. They also use the Wilhelm scream in this scene, but given that the movie was made in the late 90's this is par for the course, and is really much more tasteful than usual.

For some reason, rasta(?) music is playing. There is a vaguely rastafarian man in this scene, but only for around 12 seconds. The use of regionally and culturally specific music in this movie that has no bearing on the actual space the characters inhabit is absolutely fascinating to me. There was some music earlier, playing in sci-fi New York, that I swear used a Raga scale. All the music is very good, good job Éric Serra.

After Zorg finishes exploding his frankly very competent right hand man, we get a scene where we discover that he's after the stones because some man he's working for, Mr. Shadow, wants them. Zorg is the main antagonist for most of this movie. Mr. Shadow never comes back again, and we do not need him. All he really serves to do is to make Zorg look more pathetic and give him an excuse to be more desperate when he can't get his hands on the stones, which, while fine, I think the movie could have gotten away with just having Zorg being a dramatic villain who freaks out when he doesn't get his way without this bit. Not egregious, but not really a necessary scene.

Okay, I have a big question. Why is Fhloston paradise Hawaii? It just *is* Hawaii. Did Hawaii escape to a separate planet at some point? Good for them, except that Fhloston is still a crazy tourist spot full of annoying white people, so not really. This is just Super Mega Hell 2 for Hawaiians. The song they sing in the first Fhloston scene is really good, though. Thanks, Éric.

On the topic of Fhloston, I really love the use of color in the set. Given the way the rest of this movie is, it's possible that it's more for visual contrast and not theming, but there is a scene during the opera performance that switches between complements, and the visual contrast is, well, good.

Speaking of the opera, Korben has front row seats, and its 5pm. You know what that means.

It's fucking Ruby Rhod time, baby! Ruby is back in black, in the most fantastic costume in this entire movie. Despite it showing off his entire clavicle (no exaggeration), it manages to get more and more revealing as this scene plays out. This bit where he asks Korben if he's happy with being on Fhloston in his usual over the top, loud, flamboyant way and Korben looks into his eyes, leans into the mic, and says "Thrilled" drolly is a short interaction so packed with sexual tension that I can't even argue for it without just telling you to watch the scene. This is their only interaction that really FEELS like gay sex, and it made my jaw go slack for a couple of seconds, even as the movie immediately moved on to the much more important opera segment.

Speaking of the opera, for real this time, I have one complaint. It's an annoying complaint that nobody ever wants to hear, but I'm saying it anyway because that's what I'm here to do: Diva is *not* singing. Now, maybe in some later movie review we can learn my detailed opinions on live recordings of singing performances in film (short version: I don't think they should happen, and I hate them) my main complaint is mostly that Diva's actress is just not very good at *pretending* to sing, much less opera. She doesn't pretend to breathe, doesn't try to move her mouth with the incredibly strong vibrato (understandable to some extent) but most of all, her mouth shapes just aren't right. I can concretely point to certain mouth shapes and say "that's not the shape her mouth should be when singing that vowel," it's obvious enough that I can do that. Granted, I have some experience in singing on stage, so maybe that's just my personal annoying musician experience speaking, but it was really noticeable to me. Okay, annoying complaint over, now I can say nice things

This opera, Lucia di Lammermoor with a poppy remix track towards the end, is ridiculously well performed. Diva's vocalist, Inva Mula, does a stunning job at both the formal and informal portions of this song. It's actually amazing how little of her voice had to be computer edited to sound more "alien," it's only done like twice in the portion that it's done at all, and the rest is pretty clearly just her. She really knocks it out of the park here.

The movie does something interesting here that I really enjoyed, where they periodically show us different characters reactions to this opera. Mostly Korben and Leeloo. I want to focus on Korben, who looks at Diva like this is the first time he's ever been moved in his life. Seriously, his eyes are wet and shining with unshed tears and I really mean that. Right when we get this poignant reaction out of Korben, the pop track starts playing and the somber moment abruptly ends, which is kind of what it's like watching this movie, or clicking on a Read More and discovering a film review that is easily over 5k words.

This movie has a great penchant for match cuts. Actually, most of the transition and shot choices made in this movie are really top of the line. They're all punchy, sharp, playful, to the point. Fantastic cinematographic choices, guys.

Diva finishes her performance right after Leeloo finishes fighting Zorg by getting shot at while up in an air duct. The opera is then laid siege by the Mangalores, who brutally murder Diva. This is sad for me, because I wanted her and Leeloo to be friends, and for Korben Dallas, who just felt the strongest emotion he's ever experienced thanks to her.

Ruby, of course, continues reporting on his talk show throughout the assault, because he's a goddamn professional. He also spends the next scene and a half shrieking in fear.

The reveal that the stones are literally inside Diva's body not only makes me watch one of the more disgusting scenes in this movie, it also makes me wonder-- Was Leeloo just supposed to kill her? Also, how did they get in there? Many questions and no answers, because we aren't here to fuck around.

While Diva is giving Korben this weird spiel about how Leeloo needs him and his love to survive, there's this brief cut to Leeloo, bleeding in the air vent. This cut is an absolute pang to the gut. She sits, curled up, alone, sobbing painfully with a bullet wound in her leg. She looks small, helpless, childlike in this brief scene. It was so impactful to me that it just made me angry about the way Korben and Leeloo's relationship in this movie is executed. This is another "get back to it later" thing.

For the rest of this "getting shot up by Mangalores" scene, Ruby Rhod is cowering and sniffling and screaming for Korben to help him. It's honestly like this for the rest of the movie. They're just friends now. It's awesome. I love this guy. He accidentally shoots a guy in the head and then asks Korben "You think he'll be okay?" He's the best character in this movie.

We get one of Korben's final fantastic moments of improv in this scene. It's around this point, during the "negotiation" scene, that I realized that the problem with this movie is that the best parts of it are the parts that aren't about the two characters who I'm supposed to care about the relationship between.

This scene, where Korben gets in a fighter jet, says it's just like driving a cab (a contrast from his conversation with Finger in his first scene, where he says driving a cab is easy because he isn't driving a jet) and then blows a fucking hole in the airlock and guns it out of the Fhloston ship, is so fucking cool. I'm a very simple man. It was awesome. One question, does Korben have some kind of allergy to reminding people to put seatbelts on? This is the second time he's just allowed his passengers to fly around the cabin while he drives recklessly.

Ruby's show ends at 7pm, when he tiredly proclaims that it's the best show he's ever done. I was thinking the same thing. In fact, Mr. Rhod, I really think you should hire Korben. There, now he has a new job.

Right here is where I'm going to address one of my main points (gripes) about this movie. Yes, I know, over 5k words in.

This part of the scene, where Leeloo has her weird crisis of faith about the evil of the human race, learns about war and concludes that humans aren't worth saving, falls flat to me. Sure, it feels over-played, but ultimately the problem is just that it's not done well, much like the rest of her characterization. Leeloo's depiction as being naive and childlike, which honestly only holds because she doesn't really speak fluent English, holds back her character because of the movies comphet insistence that her and Korben be romantically involved. A narrative where Leeloo, naive and unfamiliar, Leeloo, who needs other people, who sobs painfully alone in an airvent, who needs to be dried off with a towel after getting soaked with water, is actually a child, would be more compelling. And her not being able to reconcile with the evils of humanity would also have felt more convincing if she was literally a child. Like, of *course* she can't see the situation with any nuance, she's a kid. A narrative where Leeloo and Korben's dynamic is more familial would be more interesting, and honestly the way she's characterized already lends itself so perfectly to this narrative that there were points where I got actually upset that the movie refused to go that direction.

I'll go ahead and talk about Korben's character here as well. Korben is a refreshing detraction from the classic grizzled tough guy trope that we tend to see in action movies. Whether this is a result of 90's zeitgeist or just the writer's own preferences, I don't know, but I noticed it. I was expecting Korben Dallas to be a sort of obnoxious, emotionally stunted brick wall of a guy-- but he isn't, really. Korben is quick on his feet, improvisational, messy, and sure he's genius with a gun, but he's also *nice*. He's nice in a distinctly not "Grizzled emotionally stunted guy" way. When he accidentally gets Leeloo soaking wet, he gets her a towel at warp speed, apologizes up and down in a much softer tone than he ever uses for anything else. I thought at first "of course, because he likes her," but then-- Then! When he discovers that he's accidentally plastic-wrapped Cornelius, he rips the plastic and apologizes-- in the same sort of tone. He adapts his approach to the Mangalore barrage in the cruise ship to Ruby Rhod, never complains about Ruby being a nuisance or being in his way, just brings him along and asks him to help out. I honestly really like Korben Dallas. Which is why, upon reflecting on earlier scenes in this movie, it really irritates me that he just kisses Leeloo for no reason, or even that he's in love with her at all.

That scene I mentioned, where Korben dries her off, or even as early as the cab scene where she's talking animatedly to him in the divine language and we get the "bada boom" dialog, just oozes a kind of gentleness and care that doesn't speak satisfactorily to romance or sex. Leeloo, this childlike character, and Korben, this gentle man who happens to be great with guns, don't feel like husband and wife. They don't feel like sexual partners. He feels like her father. That moment with the shower soured the rest of their dynamic for me during my rewatch, because I kept thinking about how much better it could be. That dynamic, as I've already said, would have been deeply compelling, especially given the final reveal of the movie.

Now that we've escaped Fhloston, we've headed back to the temple in Egypt. This is that meta function of the first scene I said I'd address-- without it, there is no sense of a sort of circular journey the film takes. The film establishing this temple *is* important, because otherwise this scene where we return to it just wouldn't land as well. That said, I do still think the first scene is a little odd and clunky. Then again, so is much of this movie, and it's still a good scene.

Our characters spend a frustratingly long time decoding a "riddle" that Leeloo tells Korben, one which was so simple that I was yelling at my laptop the first time I watched it. We get another very gratifying and subtle payoff from an earlier scene where we see Korben has only one match left, which he needs for the fire stone. Earlier, we see him subtly take his penultimate match from the box. This movie's Chekov game is crazy.

Much like this review, Leeloo says something that feels deeply substantial nearly 2 hours into a 2 hour long movie. She says "I don't know love. I was made to protect, not to love. There is no use for me other than this."

This line is so compelling to me. It's the most CHARACTER I've seen from her in the whole movie, and its 2 hours in. We do not get to explore it.

You might have noticed, based on this line, what the Fifth Element actually is. What Leeloo needs in order to activate her Element and shoot the big fuckoff laser into the evil fire ball.

Its ~Love~.

This is, of course, ridiculously corny and requires them to kiss nasty on the mouth for longer than I would have liked to see (Of course, I would have like to not see it at all).

I don't actually mind this conclusion or the theming. It's silly, but so is the whole movie. But you might, like me, see an issue here.

If we had approached this movie the way I so desperately craved, made their dynamic more familial, made Leeloo a child and given Korben a new weird alien daughter, this conclusion would have been leagues more powerful.

Not only would it be a unique approach to what is usually a very hetero and sexual genre, it would have given a much more gratifying conclusion to Korben's character arc. At the beginning of his arc, Korben talks about how he's looking for a perfect woman after his wife left him. In the movie, Korben just... *gets* the perfect woman. He gets exactly what he wanted and he learns nothing. If Korben instead had to reckon with this new facet of his life and identity, had to reconcile with being thrust into quasi-fatherhood, he might actually have deigned to, you know, *develop* as a character. He would have *learned* something. I'm not saying every single character in the movie has to learn something, but the main goddamn character probably should, right?

But since it's an ~adult movie~ for ~grown ups~, we can't tell compelling family narratives, and the movie has to end with them having sex in a reactor pod. I hate that. I hated that conclusion and my least favorite part of this movie was its main conceit, which was genuinely tragic given how enjoyable I found the rest of the film.

So, I'll leave you with this.

The Fifth Element (1997) is a *good* movie. It's incredibly fun, zany, raunchy, and lively. The music is very good, the costuming and set design is whimsical and fantastic. It's a little weird about Asians. It birthed one of the worst cinema tropes ever invented, and it didn't even have to, because the movie would have been really, deeply beautiful if it hadn't.

And Korben Dallas should have been a butch lesbian.

Actually, I'll leave you by saying that the song that plays in the credits of this movie is really good. "Little Light of Love," it's called. I'm going to link it so you can experience it, too.

[datrb]

afternoon boss

I got a few questions regarding your CG designs (get as nitty gritty and as detailed as you want lmao)

Firstly i notice you use a lot of turtleneck (or turtleneck-like) designs when it comes to clothes for the CG. Any particular reason why? or do you just have a preference for turtlenecks?

Second off, p e l o

When it comes to designing characters I'm a bit of a hair nutjob and i like to believe that hair reflects the personality of a person. Obviously, the colored streaks in their hair are a given, but besides from those, is there any reason you picked the hairstyles you did for the CG? Anything based on personality or purely for aesthetics?

(also ig this is a follow up question but do you ever plan on doing summer clothes for the gang what with the season coming up?)

CG hair headcannons

Oh, Anon, you have no idea what you have brought upon yourself... I swear, when it comes to the designs i become the ultimate yap lord, so brace yourself.

I'll cut this post right here because my blog is already cluttered enough with my yapping.

Okay. First things first, the turtlenecks... Imma be entirely honest, i didn't even notice it myself until you pointed this out, but yeah. They indeed do almost all have some type of a turtleneck or turtleneck adjacent thing as the base layer.

I don't have an actual reason aside, maybe, the fact that turtleneck is really a no-brainer type of base layer and, well, i do actually wear then quite a lot irl, so that might play a role as well. (Hell, i am literally wearing one as i am writing this post)

HOWEVER, among them there is one who has a proper reason for that to be a part of his design. That character being Second. More observant probably would've already noticed and heard me mention it, but all mainline hollowheads have this zip-up type of thing as their base layer. Victim, Chosen and Second all have this same exact thing. Only difference being the sleeves or lack there of. That one's intentional. Others... I was just a bit lazy and, well, i will probably change those since i am working on doing some changes to their designs.

But yeah the HAIR hehehehe, oh i can detail their hair routine down to the amount of product they use, so you better get yourself somethin' to eat, because we're here for a while.

But before we dive into it, i wanna note that the coloured streaks aren't "a given" if i wanted, i could've gotten along perfectly fine without them at all. But i actually made a set of "rules" for designs in my interpretation. And one of those rules dubs "Every stick has at least one streak of hair of their respective colour. Rest of the hair can be any colour." This applies to literally all of my designs. King, Victim, Dark, even mercenaries. It's a rule that i cannot break.

Also, i will touch on other characters as well because, well, i finally got a chance to and at least King is an especially interesting case in that regard.

I'll do in a list format because it'll just be easier.

TSC (Second) - Second has very soft and FLUFFY hair. It's straight, rather thin, but very fluffy. There honesty is no proper reason behind his hairstyle other than "general vibes" and "what hairstyle would give off an early teen vibe?".

Red - Red's hair is a bit wavy, but it's practically unnoticeable, it's rather soft, but doesn't seem like it due to it being rather thick. I gave him this little ponytail, because i wanted to incorporate the yellow team's headband into his design, but thought putting it on the head would be too basic, so why the hell not. Also, this ponytail helps balance the "animal lover" and "highschool football team" vibes.

Yellow(why does Tumblr not have yellow colour for text??) - Yellow has hard, thick and almost uncontrollable hair. No wonder the moment he got the goggles he started using them as a hair band to keep it at least somewhat in check. For Yellow i tried to go for a "math student" vibe, but it eventually turned to the more "that one engineer that built a time machine in his garage" type of thing. Oh and also by doing that i was trying to avoid the "karen" hair he had originally. I still can't look at his old ref sheet with a straight face.

Green - Green most definitely straightens his hair and styles it a versy specific way. You cannot convince me otherwise. His hair is thick and almost curly, but it's also very soft. For his hairstyle i wanted to give him more of a DJ vibe, which would bean some crazy hairstyle. This one seemed like a good blend of something a stereotypical "speedster" character would have as well as something you would see at a 2010's rave party.

Blue - Blue has thick, almost curly hair that likely really doesn't like to be styled at all. It just has a mind of its own and you can't tell it what to do. Pretty much like Yellow's, honestly, except here you have curls and not just a paintbrush. Blue's hairstyle came from my wish to give his otherwise almost cottagecore type design this little sprinkle of madness. And what's better way than to give him uncontrollable curls, am i right?

Purple - Purple has curls. His hair is soft, a bit fluffy and rather thick. Purple having long hair is widely accepted that it's basically fanon at this point, i don't think i need to explain my decisions here. I do think that he has an undercut tho, because i believe him to have A LOT of hair. And, speaking from experience, it gets very hot.

King - King i believe to have rather thin, soft and perfectly straigh hair that would not be able to hold shape if you tried. I decided to give him long hair because i HC his wife to be dead, so it would make sense for him to start growing it out as a way to remember her (he literally wears it the same way she used to. At least after the redemtion. Before that it's too messy). Also, i believe his hair to have lost a fair share of colour due to stress, making it almost grey.

TCO(Chosen) - Chosen has the same hair type as Second BUT his is not as fluffy because it's not as well-maintained. They also share hairstyles, except Chosen's longer, as he didn't really have much options in terms of how to cut it. This one was intentional and while designing Chosen i unironically only had one directive: "Make Second, but old and edgy." I think i delivered.

Victim - I already mentioned that Victim's entire appearance was heavily influenced by my friend who suggested him looking like a ninja in the first place, and that also applied to his hair. Although, now i stepped away from it, but one can never go wrong with a "slick, sassy and extremely cunning villain". Victim's hair silky smooth and is extremely soft. And much like his workers, basically never goes out of line.

TDL(Dark) - I believe Dark to actually have quite hard but rather thin hair. It's very spiky when not tended to. He actually has the most hairstyles among all of my designs, standing toe to toe with King, for whom i have 4 hairstyle designs. His AvA5 appearance (the most commonly drawn slick back) actually came from the most stereotypical cartoon-ish villains. The design i ended up giving him was not intended as Dark it was just a random sassy looking character i drew as practice while working on overall artstyle for my human designs. But then i looked at him, made a few minor adjustments and there he was.

So yeah. I believe that's the most important ones. Lemme know if you wanna hear more, i'll make sure to also provide examples next time, because i am actually writing this on the go, so i don't really have access to my laptop.

I actually thought very little about WHY they would wear a certain hairstyle other than "it fits their vibe" which imo is usually the exact way people go about their hair, so it does kinda fit. (At least that's the way i go about my hair...)

[saibug1022]

Ranking My MCs on How Likely They Would Be Adopted by Batman

Not a single person has ever asked for this. However, I have seen so much batfam stuff on my dash it's been living rent free

Val Ebony (ILITW) If you told me Val moved to Gotham and was a vigilante for a few years and then moved back right before ILITW I think I would believe you. This man has the whole package: dark hair (his hair is brown underneath all the dye), tragic backstory, shitty parents, even shittier bio dad who's also a villain, homicidal rage, he even died! But overall what got him to the top is just because of how well he fits with the Gotham and the Bats' vibes and aesthetics. Like it just feels right.

Eros Blackwell (Immortal Desires) Batman would have showed up in Crimson Beech to try to recruit Eros only for Eros to explain they do in fact still have a mom *who is on thin ice with me rn). However. They still get REALLY close, especially when they find out Gotham is on a ley line. I'm tempted to say Eros, Cas, and Gabe fuck off to Gotham after ID 2

August Rose (Crimes of Passion) So August's backstory is that they grow up most likely without their mom, and then their dad is mysteriously murdered. August tries to solve it themself but fails and instead becomes a detective to solve other crimes and hopefully find justice for other people. They're gruff, badass, and too damn clever. They were definitely Robin. Hell they could be Batman for all we know and it just wasn't mentioned in CoP

Magnus Bishop (Laws of Attraction/Into the Windverse) While slightly less likely only because he becomes a lawyer instead of some sort of detective or hero. However, he absolutely has the potential. His parents were murdered when he was young, he was tormented at school and betrayed by his friends, he was neglected by his foster mother and separated from his sister, all before he turns 18. He even gets super powers eventually. He has the determination, the ambition, and hell the whole reason he became a lawyer was to defend people from the systems that beat him down his whole life.

Asterin Nightbloom (BOLAS) I mean Asterin is pretty obvious, he's like the quintessential hero. Dead parents (twice), super skilled, heart of gold, etc etc. He's practically born to be a hero and I think he'd be such a good bat. Maybe not a Robin unless it's just for a few years before becoming his own hero

Leon Vance (It Lives Beneath) The main reason Leon is so high up is because he is so fucking capable. That's what the bats are known for among other heros. And of course there's his classic bat backstory. He's a badass, he unearths a CULT, has a cool and unique signature weapon, forms his own team and even has a super hero suit. Best part, he looks good the whole time.

Damian Stone (Murder at Homecoming) There's the obvious stuff like being a genius, a detective, unsolved mystery haunting the narrative, solving a murder, looking good doing it, socially awkward, etc etc, but I also have to add that I literally named them after Damian Wayne. In fact their name was originally gonna be Tim after Time Drake but Damian sounded better. However, they do suffer in the rankings seeing as they have both of their parents, both of which are also very good parents.

Callum Wayland (Hero) Listen, Callum would be a great DC hero but in terms of Batman relations I don't think he'd be adopted. Unfortunately for him the Super Family parallels are just too hard to ignore. However I could see him being a Bat's emotional support Super so they'd see each other a lot and I think Bruce would be begrudgingly fond of him when he finds out Callum punched a corrupt rich guy into the stratosphere.

Castor Athantis (It Lives Within) Castor has all the makings of a PHENOMENAL DC superhero but again I just don't see them as a bat. They have too much of a mystical connection. They're more likely to run ith someone like Constantine. I'm sure they'd be associated, I could definitely see Castor joining Justice League Dark, but that's it

Emrys (The Cursed Heart) Emrys will fight for people but it's not something they're really going to pursue. They have the backstory for it, don't get me wrong, but going out and punching bad guys just isn't really their thing. In a modern au they might be some sort of friend of Bruce's and a Batman ally but they wouldn't be a hero.

Julian Athantis (It Lives Within) Julian is just as good a candidate as Castor, down to mystical powers. But Julian would only be a hero to help Castor, if he was one at all. He just wouldn't have his heart in it. He'd show up, help other heroes, and I could definitely see his and Lincoln's apartment being open to be used as a safe house, but he just doesn't want to be a hero. Not as in he's just not interested, more as in he actively does not want to be a hero.

Taylor McKenzie (Endless Summer) Taylor is in a similar boat as Julian where he doesn't really want to be a hero. He'll show up to big planet-threatening shit but otherwise he just wants to go to college and love his friends and husband. I could see the Justice League, Batman especially, keeping tabs on him so they'd know each other but that's about it. More likely Taylor would just go create problems for Dr. Fate when he's bored and then go back to minding his business.

Apollo Solaris (The Elementalists) Apollo really fits the hero archetype. However. I think if he stepped foot in Gotham city he'd explode. Or maybe Gotham would. They just clash so severely that even if he did meet Batman for whatever reason they'd hate each other.

Mattheo Lazarin (Bloodbound) Listen. Mattheo has enough on his plate being the Bloodkeeper and dealing with vampire shit. He doesn't have time to care or be a hero.

[cinemaocd]

Jenny's ongoing list of films watched 2024

February

January list, here.

Inland Empire (2006)*** It took three attempts to get through this long, confusing film. Like Mulholland Drive or the Season Three of Twin Peaks, Lynch films improve on repeat viewings even if meaning remains elusive. That is part of the joy-- sometimes you just vibe with it.

Death of Stalin (2017)**** One of my favorite films of the last two decades. A harried farce with the bloody-mindedness of Macbeth. Like the Scottish Play, we know how its going to come out, but the fun is in watching the articulate villain, played with delicious malice by Simon Russell Beale being outdone by a team of bumbling, petty bureaucrats and one very bad ass soldier. The Boyfriend (1970)*** Ken Russell's surreal tribute to the burlesque musical genre makes the most of its setting in the 1920s by putting his star Twiggy in iconic psychadelic reiterations of the flapper dress. If you opine the fact that drop waist dresses come back into style every 15 years or so, then this movie is as much to blame as anything. Poor Things (2023)*** Emma Stone gives a wild and convincing physical performance as Bella, a baby's brain in the body of her dead mother and Mark Ruffalo as typical 19th Century Rake Getting His Comeupance iscasting I didn't know I needed. I loved the yearning Godwin (Willem Defoe in truly amazing Frankenstein's monster makeup) and though I haven't read the book, I was drawn into the grotesque, ai generated world of the film. The aesthetics of this movie are as engrossing as the story and characters. Adventures of a Dentist (1965)** The Soviet version of the live action Disney comedies of the 70s, where a humble person is given magical power. Here a dentist is given extraordinary, almost magical abilities to perform dentistry without pain. He becomes a celebrity and his fall from grace involves him giving in to the decadent trappings of being a popular dentist. The humor has a darker edge than Disney though I wouldn't go so far as to call it a black comedy. Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (1973)** This Spike Milligan film plays like a double episode of Dad's Army, not least because of the presence of Arthur Lowe who plays practically the same character here as he does on the tv show. That is not the end of the world however and this is easy to like farce with Milligan's ascerbic, anti-authoritarian bent that is grittier than anything on the sitcom. The Master (2012)** I had high hopes for this, one of Phillip Seymour Hoffman's final films and his last collaboration with director Paul Thomas Anderson is loosely based on the origin story of Scientology. Joaquin Phoenix plays a shell shocked veteran who drifts into the path of the cult leader played by Hoffman. Amy Adams gives a chilling performance as his much younger, controlling wife who is the real power behind the cult. I think I would have an easier time with this film if Anderson hadn't gone around giving interviews saying that Scientology and it's founder L. Ron Hubbard had "helped a lot of people." Of course, this is PTA and Phoenix's character isn't helped at all and he makes the cult worse by being a violent enforcer for the leader's enemies. The levels of whitewashing involved in making a deeply misogynistic cult into a secret matriarchy is just...ugh. However, the homoerotic tension between Hoffman and Phoenix makes the film worth looking out. Murder of Quality (1991)** Made for TV adaptation of John Le Carre's second novel. Denholm Elliott plays Smiley as more doddering and anti-social than Alec Guinness' iconic version of the character. This early Smiley story is more a traditional English village murder mystery, ala Miss Marple, with Glenda Jackson playing Ailsa, Smiley's war buddy that runs a women's magazine. Christian Bale plays one of the students at an elite prep school that forms the economic backbone of the town. Le Carre is merciless in his portrayal of the toxic, petty characters, the wealthy and wannabe wealthy swamp dwellers who run rings around the local constabulary until Smilley steps in and withstands their slings and arrows long enough to solve the case.

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)*** Sometimes you sit down to watch a movie with such low expectations that you are pleasantly surprised that it doesn't totally suck. The excitement of things not being as bad as you feared can blot out some of a movie's excesses. At the end of the day this is Billy Wilder, physically incapable of creating a boring movie throwing the whole bag of tricks at this faux biography of Holmes starring Robert Stephens and Colin Blakely. There's farce and physical comedy, verbal gymnastics and exotic locations. Holmes' possible homosexuality is tastefully hinted at and attempts to create a sensationalist account of his drug use, amount to little before the mystery gets rolling. One of the big delights is Christopher Lee as Mycroft whose scenes with Robert Stephens are bitchy queen pissing contests. Genevieve Page does a turn as a would be damsel in distress who turns out to be a worthy opponent to Holmes similar to Irene Adler.

Irma La Duce (1963)*** For some reason between this and Poor Things I ended up watching two movies about Parisian brothels this month. Billy Wilder based this pastiche of 1950s travelogue adventure films like To Catch a Thief and Charade on a French stage play. A strange attempt to weld the success of the Apartment with Some Like it Hot, reconfiguring a Marilyn Monroe vehicle as a reunion of Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine. Like the Apartment, Irma LaDuce is tinged with melancholy while avoiding a lot of the cliches about sex work that wind up dating so many films on this topic. The main complaint I have about Irma LaDuce s that it's about 45 minutes too long, a common complaint about many films of this period. (Damn Lawrence of Arabia and all who sail in her).

Witness for the Prosecution (1982)*** A made for tv adaptation of the classic courtroom drama, which credits Billy Wilder's screenplay of his film version. Ralph Richardson and Deborah Kerr star in this remake and honestly their chemistry is just off the charts and we're left to wonder how they never managed to make a film together before. Wendy Hiller, Diana Rigg and Beau Bridges round out the amazing cast. Lacks the tension and edge of Wilder's film but I'm having too much fun with Ralph to care.

The Major and the Minor (1942)**: Billy Wilder's first film as writer and director has some of the hallmarks of his later, greater works: farce, trains, mistaken identity, and queer themes in the form of a lesbian coded sister of Ginger Roger's romantic rival. That all the fuss is about fairly bland Ray Milland is easy enough to overlook as Wilder makes the film about toying with Rogers image as sophisticated, sexy, dancer. Typical Wilder inside jokes about the film industry abound, such as a craze for Veronica Lake hairdos among the tween set and swipes at Hollywood actors like Charles Boyer Rogers' childish masquerade to avoid paying full adult fare is preceded by a series of calamities where she's pursued and objectified by a lot of nasty older men. Hoping to escape their advances as well as the ignominity of turnstyle jumping, she maintains the charade through a long weekend with a lot of handsy tween boys until Milland's fiancee is discredited as a controlling social climber. There is a bizarre side track into her home town where Rogers also impersonates her mother before revealing her grown adult self to Milland. No one ever accused Billy Wilder of being restrained I guess.

The Children's Hour (1961)**** This classic of queer cinema was necessarily a scorched earth tragedy at the time of its release. William Wyler's dreamy, restless camera drags you into the warm, cozy life of this female partnership between Shirley Maclaine and Audrey Hepburn that seemingly has the potential to be a romantic partnership. When nasty gossips and spoiled children start a rumor that they are a couple, the scandal destroys their business and standing in the community. Terrorized by the homophobic townspeople, they are eventually "cleared" of the crime of being gay for each other, just when Maclaine's character comes to the brutal realization that she really is in love with Audrey Hepburn's character. It's hard to watch her grief and shame as she admits that the bullies have discovered a truth about her that she didn't know herself. A fact so many queer people can find relatable. The film is based on a play by Lilian Hellman which used the topic of homosexuality to expose the cruelty of female narcissists who bully their way into power. There is much in common with Hellman's The Little Foxes in that way, but the film, perhaps owing to Wyler's inherent romanticism has more of a Romeo and Juliet quality than the play. One feels that Audrey Hepburn has perhaps realized the truth in the lie, just a few moments too late.

Sweet Charity (1969)*** Directed by Bob Fosse, starring Shirley MacLaine and Sammy Davis Jr and Chita Rivera this classic musical combines the best of Fossee's signature choreography, sixties pop show tunes and the psychadelic aesthetics of the late 60s. This and the Boyfriend have a lot in common, though I think the music in Sweet Charity is more solid and the contemporary setting makes it a tad edgier. MacLaine plays yet another flavor of sex worker, a dancehall hostess and paid companion who seeks to be elevated out of her life into respectability through marriage. The fiancee here is uptight and lacking in appeal and when he finally just flakes out in the final reel it's no great loss to the film.

Thief (1981)** Atypical heist film starring James Caan and Jim Belushi, directed by Miama Vice creator Michael Mann. You can see the beginnings of that iconic 80s TV show, in this movie which favors long scenes of action being edited to music with sparse dialog. Caan squares off against Tom Signorelli a local mob boss who dares to threaten Caan's wife played by Tuesday Weld.

[squadrah]

hi again! I was thinking about some Prosciutto HCs recently and wanted to know your opinion on the hcs about him being into vintage styles or 1950s classic hollywood or noir ish etc its kind of like the smoking HCs where it's not canon but there's a vibe so I was curious about how you think it fits him! (or not if you have a specific aesthetic or style you'd think he enjoys I'd love to know about that too!)

Hi, welcome back!

I don't think I've seen much of these headcanons, actually, but I like the sound of them! I'm not partial to the smoking headcanons and only begrudgingly acknowledge them because it's not shown in the manga or anime, but the vast majority of fanwork seems to take it for granted. I'm more partial to him being only an occasional social smoker and for the most part straight edge, just because it feels more interesting to me to have someone who is facing the horrors as they are (and being a sort of horror himself). But I like the idea of the classic styles being associated, because there is something so polished and practical about the man, truly! Prosciutto has by far the most down-to-earth attire of La Squadra, which suggests that he appreciates what has already proven to work. I especially liked the mention of noir, because I feel like he both has an air of classic mystery (gritty or otherwise) and a taste for it. The way he walks Pesci through the discovery of Coco Jumbo and Team Buccellati is almost like Sherlock Holmes sharing his observations and deductions with Dr. Watson, which is very neat to me.

This is all a little jumbled because it is late enough over here, but the short answer is yes, I like the idea of him being into the classics and vintage fashion and noir. If Araki had made him a female character instead, she would have probably had a typical femme fatale look about her... much to think about...

[moodliving]

Transform Your Sydney Home with MoodLiving: Expert Tips for Stunning Interior Design

Welcome to MoodLiving, where your dream home becomes a reality. As Sydney's premier interior design resource, we're here to guide you through the process of transforming your living space into a sanctuary of style and comfort. Whether you're moving into a new home, renovating your current space, or simply seeking a refresh, our expert tips and inspiration will help you create a stunning interior that reflects your unique taste and lifestyle.

1. Embrace Sydney's Coastal Vibes

Sydney is renowned for its beautiful beaches and laid-back coastal lifestyle. Bring that relaxed, beachy feel into your home with a palette of soft blues, sandy neutrals, and crisp whites. Incorporate natural materials like rattan, jute, and driftwood to enhance the coastal aesthetic. Large windows and open spaces will allow natural light to flood your rooms, creating a bright and airy atmosphere reminiscent of Sydney’s stunning shoreline.

2. Mix Modern and Heritage Elements

Sydney’s rich history and contemporary vibrancy offer a unique blend of old and new. Reflect this in your home by combining modern furnishings with heritage pieces. Think sleek, minimalist furniture paired with vintage accessories or architectural details. This fusion creates a dynamic and layered look that pays homage to Sydney’s diverse architectural landscape.

3. Utilize Outdoor Spaces

Sydney’s temperate climate makes outdoor living an integral part of home life. Extend your interior design to your outdoor areas by creating stylish and functional spaces for entertaining and relaxation. Consider adding a chic outdoor dining set, cozy lounge chairs, and lush greenery to create a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor living.

4. Create a Statement with Art

Art plays a crucial role in defining your home's character. Sydney’s vibrant art scene offers endless opportunities to find unique pieces that speak to you. Whether you prefer contemporary art, Aboriginal pieces, or photography, select artwork that complements your color scheme and enhances the overall aesthetic of your space. Don’t be afraid to go bold – a statement piece can become a focal point and conversation starter.

5. Prioritize Comfort and Functionality

A beautiful home should also be a comfortable one. Choose furniture and decor that not only looks good but also meets your practical needs. In living rooms, opt for plush sofas and cozy rugs that invite relaxation. In kitchens and bathrooms, consider innovative storage solutions to keep the space organized and functional. Balance style and practicality to create a home that serves as a haven for you and your family.

6. Personalize Your Space

Your home should be a reflection of your personality and experiences. Incorporate personal touches such as family heirlooms, travel souvenirs, and custom-made items to add warmth and individuality to your space. These personal elements tell your story and make your home uniquely yours.

7. Stay Sustainable

Sustainability is increasingly important in modern interior design. Opt for eco-friendly materials and energy-efficient appliances to reduce your environmental footprint. Consider upcycling vintage furniture or investing in pieces from local artisans who use sustainable practices. A green approach not only benefits the planet but also brings a sense of purpose and mindfulness to your home design.

Discover the MoodLiving Difference

At MoodLiving, we believe that interior design should be accessible and enjoyable for everyone. Our expert team is dedicated to helping you navigate the latest trends and timeless styles to create a home that truly resonates with you. Explore our blog for more tips, inspiration, and resources tailored to the unique charm of Sydney living.

[sang8262]

Random JP Headcanons (SFW, hobbies and lifestyle edition)

Likes doing the laundry and ironing his clothes himself when he can. Cybele likes it too: he loves sleeping on the fresh, warm pile of clothes.

Knows a dedicated tailor through Shadaloo (maybe a team of them), who makes sure to provide JP with the right outfit for the job.

Appearances and fashion are important when deceiving people, so he takes the time to research and wear clothes that will get him the respect or response he needs.

(Such as the Nayshalli-esque suit from the comics, and robes from arcade mode he wears while in the midst of executing his plan for the tournament, but once it's over, he changes into something following his personal tastes a la Alt Costume 2).

Probably knows how to cook, but more often eats at local restaurants and such. Not only does it taste better and saves him the effort of preparing a whole meal, they double as building rapport with business owners, or places to host importat guests for lunch/dinner.

Part of him really does enjoy travelling the world, learning about, and bonding with the people he's plotting to use for his own gain. He just doesn't care quite enough to feel bad for them.

He loves dissecting what makes people tick and finding the exact ways to manipulate or take advantage of their desires, weakness, and habits. It's much like a game for him, to see what he can do and how far he can take it, but still get away without conseauences. Reminds me of a certain attorney one must better call.

Doesn't like sleep because it's a waste of time. That said, makes sure to sleep, but just enough to not be tired, less he make the wrong decision in exhaustion.

Takes short naps with Cybele curled up in his lap. But Cybele, too, doesn't stay still for long, and they both get back to their lives soon enough.

Somewhat of an insomniac. He'd rather stay awake in bed thinking of the next stage of his plans, the logistics of his current one, or whether he made sure to feed Cybele today.

Definitely a workaholic, he's constantly working on some nefarious plan or another, keeping himself busy and his schedule full. I'm sure he spends a lot of time just dedicated to covering his tracks, and making sure his schemes are watertight to prevent any in the first place.

In an interview with devs, they said his theme is inspired to be something JP himself would be listening to as he thinks of his next move. So he definitely enjoys having music playing in the background while he works.

Enjoys various orchestral pieces, or operas, ballet, the works. Based on his win quotes for Manon ("Ballet is truly one of humanitiy's greatest achievements.") and Zangief ("Seeing you, I can't help but recall Mosolov's Iron Foundry, tovarisch."), I'm opting for the easy route and nominating Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev as some of his favorites.

I'd go into more detail about which composers or ballets he'd like, but I don't know enough about music to go too deep. That said, I swear parts of his theme are references to . something. They just sound so familiar...

Likes chess puzzles... but I'm personally not a fan of their decision to make this his canon. It seems so obvious and typical for the "evil puppet master pulling the strings behind the curtains" kinda badguy y'know?

I much rather enjoy his connection with playing cards, as if they wanted to go for a 'safe' hobby for his manipulator/ deceiver type character, poker would make a lot of sense. Chess just seems forced in there, whereas he has visual connections to playing cards with his overall design, font for his name, World Tour moment with the Antique Playing Cards gift, etc.

My hc though, would be pool/ billiards. It fits the dapper, gentlemanly aesthetic he has going on, and he wields a cane, invoking pool cue energy. He'd like practicing and perfecting those crazy trick shots. Plus, Venom from Guilty Gear: it's the ranged, purple energy, tricky type character vibes.

He says in his World Tour conversations that he doesn't keep up to date with the latest news or gossip too well... which is a blatant lie.

His entire recent plot against Ken and Nayshall hinged on using social media virality, sensationalistic news reports, and manipulating public opinion through conspiracy and entertainment: and there's no way he pulled this off by being ignortant to what the audience craves, or what the internet likes to consume.

Plus he was an accountant/ financial advisor with a keen interest in human psychology, the economy, sociology, morality, and culture. He most definitely keeps a close eye on the latest trends or world wide news, out of genuine curiosity and fascination in people, if not out of necessity to make his schemes work right.

[galactic-glossolalia]

Completely random td23 headcanons! These have nothing to do with plot and are based entirely on vibes. So if you haven't caught up on the new seasons these are still totally fine to read :D!

-Priya doesn't like most scented products and only uses soaps with very gentle, mildly sweet smells

-Millie is working on her driver's license but she's anxious about it. She prefers to practice with professional instructors over her parents

-Bowie is canonically good at basketball, but his true favorite sport is volleyball. However, his school doesn't have a volleyball team.

-Wayne loves eating challenges, especially ones with extremely spicy food

-Raj is a laser tag legend. He and Wayne have gone together since childhood. Raj is the more strategic of the two and usually lasts longer in matches.

-Julia has seasonal allergies that pop up in springtime. She doesn't show her face as much online because of it

-MK only wears oversized jackets and likes to get them from the men's department because the pockets are so much bigger

-Damien is neither a dog person nor a cat person. He is a fish person

-Scary Girl has an old porcelain doll collection. She truly believes they're haunted and that's why she favors them.

-Zee loves orange soda, but not real oranges. His favorite non-soda drink is fruit punch.

-Chase spends a LOT of money on hair gel

-Emma had an aesthetic blog before she met Chase. It was mainly just cute pictures of animals and pretty nature scenes. She still posts to it now, but not as much.

-Ripper applied to the show because he saw how gross it could get and really wanted to be a part of that.

-Axel does kickboxing. She first signed up to be prepared for zombies but now it's mostly just fun for her. It's her enrichment

-Nichelle doesn't wear designer brands, purely because she doesn't like their products.

-Caleb knows how to sew. He's had to have his clothes tailored a lot, so he figured he might as well learn to do it himself.

That's it lol I know they're silly but I love doing things like these, I think even the least important trivia can still say a lot about a character

[liquidstar]

alright! for the first of the little guys, we shall deploy the first designed. his whole powerset is built around energy. more specifically electricity, being able to conduct power into what equipment he had and getting some level of modification to handle the current that has become routine. while sure, arguably the strongest in a head to head fight, the one thing he cannot do is be quiet. his weapon of choice is a spear, built to interface with electric power and conduct it just as he does.

secondly, we have one who's... practically the opposite. a little guy who's speciality is information gathering, and thus has the power to make holes in things. not direct "door where there was before" but like, a hidey hole to observe in secret. or hide everyone else. while for the most part these are empty bubbles in a wall or floor, one of them works as a small room to relax in. his weapon is another spear, this time built for screwing into things, and all the damage getting a spear screwed in entails.

thirdly, the girl of the team, her power is that she's really... really fucking quiet. to the point its up in the air if she can make noise while talking. this is an immense benefit, for the role of an assassin she's taken to, and also sneaking up on the others because they're up at 3am again. her weapon of choice is a knife, specifically designed to cut bone without getting dull, makes it easier to not get caught.

and the final little guy... their ability is being autistically good at making things, no ifs or buts about it this NB is no fighter, but is responsible for everyone else's equipment. there's a joke about them being the ultimate blacksmith with how effective everything they touch is. while they don't have a "weapon" their workshop could function as it, again, nothing more to add than being designed purely for making things.

HIII ANON im back home now so i can get back to you. i hope you still see this even if im replying late!

i really really like the first ones power! control over energy is awesome and i love how that specifically manifests as electricity. the visual of having a spear as like a lightning rod for electricity powers is also just such a cool one. i did a similar thing w an oc a while back, w a split just for aesthetics. the Rule Of Cool. i think its a great power for THE fighter of the team to have too, it works really well as something strong and... well, flashy, for the one thats in the shadows the least. a super fitting power.

big fan of the holes power too, its so creative? it reminded me of this clip. this is hole guy to me. genuinely though its a really cool power and not one i wouldve thought of myself. i think this COULD totally have combative applications if he happened to be caught up in a fight, even though thats not his specialty. like using the holes to trip up or trap an opponent, though this would probably only work for so long. i like that he also shares a weapon type with energy guy, it like sets up a cool little parallel to contrast their powers. i dont know if theyre meant to be foils at all but it gives that sort of vibe! so maybe :p i can see it being a leader/lancer situation (even though this is not a 5 man band)

but yessss the girl of the team. upon reading her power i thought to myself that she and hole guy make a really good combo, based on powers alone at least (if their personalities clash, different story!). because theyre both basically types that work from the shadows. but her being an assassin gives her that extra edge- unlike him she's like, actually proactive. she's not passively listening and gathering intel she is getting out there and murderkilling. we love a girlboss for that. i think a knife is a super fitting weapon too because its both subtle (in a way that a large sword or loud gun isnt) and also, yeah, very deadly! especially when you say its MADE to cut through bone. thats hardcore i love her for that.

i love the final little guy though, im a huge fan of characters who are the designated gizmo makers lol. i always find that role interesting because its about supporting the others from the sidelines, similar to healers, but instead of helping them After they get hurt you have to help them.. Not get hurt. make the best things for them possible, and in order to do that you usually have to know them and their abilities very very well! How would they mess up? What do they need help with? How would this aid their abilities? Is it really a good idea to give a superweapon to this reckless jackass? All important questions this trope of character has to ask themselves. With all that in mind though, I'm assuming this Specific character created the weapons for all the others, since they seem very tailor made to them! Details like a spears MADE to conduct electricity, or screw into things, or a knife MADE to cut into bone... sounds like they did in fact MAKE them!

overall i can totally imagine all sorts of different ways these characters and their powers would interact with each other and i think theyre all really cool!!! of course a lot of my guesses might be way off, and i think thats okay because theres so many other cool directions to take them too. for that is the beauty of ocs, you get to steer the ship! <3

[luxyhomeinteriors]

How Our Interior Designs Bring Your Vision to Life

Understanding Your Unique Vision :

Every successful project starts with a conversation. Our first step is understanding your ideas, lifestyle, and personal preferences. Whether you want a modern minimalist look, a cozy rustic vibe, or a luxurious classic aesthetic, we take the time to learn what makes you feel at home. This deep dive allows us to gather insights into your taste, ensuring the final design aligns perfectly with your personality and requirements. We also emphasize understanding the practical side your daily routine, the flow of activities in the space, and the functionality you seek. A well-designed space should enhance your life, so our initial consultation is an open forum to discuss both the look and feel you’re after.

2. Collaborative Design Process :

Designing your perfect space is a collaborative journey. After understanding your vision, we proceed to the planning phase, where we combine your ideas with our expertise. Our designers create initial sketches, mood boards, and concepts that lay the foundation for the project. We welcome feedback and adjustments at each step to ensure your vision is thoroughly reflected in the design. You'll also be introduced to a variety of materials, color schemes, and textures that match your style preferences. Together, we refine the design to make it uniquely yours and perfectly suited to your lifestyle.

3. Custom Solutions Tailored to Your Needs :

We understand that each space comes with unique requirements and challenges. From architectural limitations to specific storage needs, our team creates custom solutions to optimize every inch of space. Whether it’s a modular kitchen for convenience, a bespoke bedroom layout, or an office that maximizes productivity, we use innovative designs and smart furnishings to overcome challenges. For instance, if you’re interested in kitchen interior design, our team will work closely with you to create an ergonomic layout with high-quality materials that are both beautiful and easy to maintain. Every room we design whether it’s the bedroom, pooja room, or office space carries this same level of personalization, where even the most complex needs find creative, functional solutions.

4. Attention to Detail :

The difference between a good design and a truly exceptional one often comes down to the details. We focus on these nuances, ensuring that every element meets the highest quality standards. Our designers thoughtfully choose each aspect from furniture and lighting to wall colors and decor carefully aligning every detail with the space's theme and functionality. We also prioritize sustainable materials and energy efficient lighting, creating designs that are not only stunning but environmentally conscious. These thoughtful touches bring warmth and character to your space, making it both unique and timeless.

5. Seamless Project Management and Execution :

To make your idea a reality, we manage every part of the project with professional skill. From the planning and budgeting phases to the final implementation, we make certain that every element is carefully controlled. Our staff works together with talented artisans, contractors, and suppliers to achieve outcomes that surpass expectations. We attempt to make the process as seamless as possible by keeping you informed at every level, enabling you to see your ideal space come to life without the burden of managing several suppliers or worrying about deadlines.

6. Innovative Use of Technology :

We use modern technology into our design process to present you with a virtual glimpse of your area. 3D rendering and virtual reality walkthroughs allow you to experience the appearance and feel of your interiors before the construction starts. This technology not only provides clarity, but also allows you to make changes and see other layouts, colors, and textures. This immersive experience helps eliminate guesswork and ensures that the final design will be exactly what you envisioned or better. It’s one of the many ways we strive to make our services both advanced and user-friendly.

7. Adapting to Evolving Trends and Personal Styles :

Interior design is a dynamic field, and we’re always expanding our knowledge to deliver the latest trends and inspirations. From the modern charm of biophilic designs to the sophistication of vintage decor and the practicality of smart home integration, we embrace new elements that elevate your space and reflect current styles. Nevertheless, our core commitment is to your unique preferences and vision, ensuring that the space feels timeless and genuinely yours.

8. Focus on Longevity and Quality :

A thoughtfully designed space should be built to last. We meticulously choose top-quality materials and finishes to ensure both durability and easy maintenance. From selecting resilient kitchen countertops to choosing stain-resistant fabrics, we focus on options that will maintain their beauty and functionality over the years. Our dedication to quality means every element furniture, fixtures, and more is chosen not only for its aesthetic appeal but also for its enduring value. This emphasis on longevity ensures your space stays functional, visually appealing, and aligned with your vision for the future.

9. Building Lasting Client Relationships :

We don’t see interior design as a one-time transaction but as the start of a lasting relationship. We value your trust and aim to provide ongoing support even after the project is complete. Whether you need help adjusting decor, making seasonal updates, or planning new renovations down the line, we’re here to assist you in maintaining the beauty and functionality of your space. Our clients often become long-term partners, relying on us to keep their interiors fresh, relevant, and aligned with their evolving lifestyles.

10. Your Dream Space, Brought to Life :

Our ultimate goal is to create a space that resonates with you on every level visually, functionally, and emotionally. With our holistic approach, innovative designs, and client-focused process, we transform empty spaces into living experiences. We are reliable Home Interior Designers in Chennai, we’re visionaries who help bring your dream home or workspace to life.

Read More...

[paragonrobits]

so in my main original setting, one idea i keep drifting towards concerns roughly three groups of characters who are each their own faction, with a specific territory (either areas they generally like or a specific territory, or both if you get into weird self-contained worlds within a given region premise), certain agendas they pursue and a huge cast of followers, soldiers and allies. the initial idea was that teams of adventurers like them can be rivals or allies depending purely on context, and these ones in particular are friendly but over time, its started to feel more like

they're one big group. story ideas have focused on them all eventually forming an alliance of the Good Guy groups by the standards of the story, similar to the Shield of Civilization mechanic in Total War Warhammer where the factions that value the world's survival and are not worst than True Neutral in alignment terms (including the Lizardmen, the High Elves, Grand Cathay, the Empire, Brettonia, the Dwarfen Kingdoms, and Kislev) but as a long term and permanent alliance of nations that cooperates and comes into conflict with big villain groups

functionally, still adventuring teams but on a huge scale, allowing for things such as military actions, wide-scale campaigns against monsters and political intrigue without getting into iffy stuff like questions of imperialism (long story short but due to the world being deeply magical and procedurally generated as you go out, there's very little reason to conquer except for power because you can get more territory just by wandering outwards)

so in practice, they, and others who might pop up, are all part of the same big meta-group. There's an upcoming fighting game called Knock Off, I think and the general aesthetic of the characters maps to the ideas i might have in mind here:

they all have a science fantasy look with magitech and a use of modifying their bodies and spirits to gain new abilities, with a focus on a vaguely transhumanist concept of 'turning yourself into a walking tank is just so GODDAMN COOL', with such technologies being both biological and cyborg-ish, drawing on a mix of big bulky and squarish mechanical designs (huge wires and cables that clip on, cartridges instead of discs or chips, a mix of cassette futurism and more) and strangely biological-emulating mechanisms

the three factions figured out so far include:

The OC Squad: the main characters of the setting in my stories, and so far do not have a canonical team name (I'm thinking something like... Gremlins, drawing on their themes of alchemic refinement and chaotic mutation, maybe with themes of rot or decay played positively??). A chaotic and bizarre band of punk rock heroes causing problems on purpose, challenging tyrants and undergoing adventure. they make heavy use of necromancy and powers that draw upon soul energy and bargains with the natural spirits. Their powers have a focus on transformation, defense and whimsical/wacky powers that are generally pretty weird.

Inspirations include Brutal Legend (Ironheade, specifically), superheros settings, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Final Fantasy 6/7/10, the Borderlands series (Vault Hunters and Psychos, generally), X-Men and the Doom Patrol, and Warcraft's Horde (under Thrall).

Generally prefer swamps, wetlands and similar environments. Large populations of reptille beastfolk (turtles, alligators), cat beastfolk, sapient robots, mutated animals and anamalous beings in general. Goblins, pig-beast folk, and others. Chaotic Good by default.

The Cutie Squad: A group of charming, non-threatening and helpful characters generally inspired by toyetic cartoons and series such as magical girls, monster trainer series, game/sport manga and anime. They tend to have very niche powers focused on their particular expertise, or emulating magical power sets they like with technology and magical tricks out of sheer fondness for the vibe, and using clever techniques to outperform stronger but less flexible opponents.

they tend to favor forests, riversides, and grasslands. Their populations include bird folk (generally small insectivores and hummingbirds), MLP-inspired pony beastfolk, cutesy robots that were originally made as living toys, ACTUAL living toys, imaginary friends that became their own entity, talking pets and animate ink-blob things.

The Power Metal Kings: A power metal-inspired team of heroes focused on long term empire-building and restoring order, and generally care more about helping people, defeating warlords and ambitious tyrants, forming the core of this alliance. They're mostly based on toyetic action series of the 80s and other series; inspirations include Transformers, He-Man, Netflix She-Ra, Thundercats and others, Warcraft's Alliance as well as high fantasy in general. Later inspirations in the future could include Warhammer's Grand Cathay, the Tau and others. High fantasy inspirations include dwarves and elves (generally dark elves).

They tend to favor mountains and nearby regions to them. (This might mean I should look at cultures that historically lived in such places for inspiration and character concepts.) Their populations often include small but growing populations of surviving humans, eagle-folk, wolf beastfolk, unusual dwarf and elf-inspired concepts, fox beastfolk, freed sapient robots, snake beastfolk, and monster boys/girls/nonbinary of many different kinds.

Ghoul Crew: a new faction recently devised as the founders of a nation of a Hammer Horror/Universal Horror themed land of monsters; imagine a place ruled by vampires, councils of werewolves, with populations of respected Frankenstein-ish cyborg homunculi and Creature from the Black Lagoon fishmen as common people, and you get the idea. They're among the more noble on an organizational level, happening to have a spooky vibe. This particular group is lead by a currently unfinished vampire lady and the other members would also serve as representaives of their respective peoples, building a place they can all call home.

They favor forested mountains, colder climates in general and lots of fog and rain. Their populations include vampires, werebeasts, homunculi, fishfolk and creatures often associated with darkness, scavenging and are considered Bad despite just being animals. Flies, bats, vultures and worms are common beastfolk, for instance. Necromancy is very common here, and mad scienst wonders are almost ubiquotious, and associated with higher status.

[gizopedia]

Introduction Here we go again—another flagship launch, another potential game-changer. But this time, Vivo’s X200 Series seems like it’s packing more than just buzz. The series brings a notable shift, something fans and critics alike will notice: moving away from curved displays to flatter, sleeker panels. Now, you might wonder—why this change? Isn’t the curved display all the rage? Well, turns out, that sometimes simpler is better. The shift to a flatter screen isn’t just a design tweak, it's meant to enhance the user experience. Think about it—no more accidental touches, just a more immersive, usable space. It might just be the perfect balance between futuristic design and functionality. Design and Display Speaking of that flatter design, it’s like Vivo has taken a step back to go forward. The Vivo X200 Series has this ultra-modern, minimalist feel, where form meets function. The flatter panels are not only a bold aesthetic move but also practical. Ever tried holding a phone with curved edges for hours? Feels a bit like juggling. The flatter display makes it easier to grip, less prone to damage, and surprisingly, gives the device a sturdier vibe. Let’s not even get started on the visuals—those panels deliver crisp images, making everything from streaming to gaming look jaw-dropping. It’s almost like they found the sweet spot between elegance and everyday usability. Battery Life and Performance So, how’s the battery? Well, let’s say Vivo didn’t hold back on juice with the X200 Series. These phones are built to last, like actually last, even for those who can’t put their phone down. With improved battery capacity, these devices are more than just a pretty face. Whether you're spree, watching a series, gaming on the go, or juggling a million apps, you won't find yourself scrambling for a charger. But what’s the point of all that battery if the phone doesn’t deliver on performance, right? Thankfully, Vivo nailed that part too. These phones are smooth, responsive, and powerful, making everyday tasks feel like a breeze. Long days, heavy usage—doesn’t matter, this series is built to keep up. Camera Technology Now, let’s talk cameras. If you’re serious about phone photography, you’ll want to hear this. Vivo has teamed up with Zeiss—yeah, that Zeiss, the big name in optics—to take mobile photography up a notch. You’ll immediately notice a difference, especially in low-light scenarios. It's almost like having a professional camera in your pocket. The clarity, the detail, even in the trickiest lighting conditions, it’s all there. From stunning portraits to wide-angle shots, the X200 Series cameras have you covered. What’s wild is how easy it is to snap a shot that looks like it belongs in a gallery. This is more than just a phone camera; it’s practically a statement piece for photography lovers. Software and User Experience Alright, so how does the software feel? In one word—seamless. The X200 Series isn’t just about flashy hardware; it’s also about making your day-to-day use as easy and intuitive as possible. Funtouch OS, Vivo’s custom UI, is snappy, clean, and packed with little touches that make navigating a joy. It's one of those rare systems that feels like it's working with you, not against you. Swipe here, tap there, and everything just flows. Customizations are there if you want them, but out-of-the-box, it’s ready to go. Pair this with the hardware, and you’re looking at an overall experience that’s hard to beat. It's all about that harmony between the inside and out. Connectivity and Features What about connectivity? Well, if you're thinking of upgrading to the X200, you'll be future-proofed. These phones come with full 5G support, ensuring you're getting the best speeds wherever 5G is available. But it’s not just about the data speeds. This series has all the modern features you’d expect from a high-end device. Think dual SIM support, faster charging options, and a set of speakers that’ll make you rethink using your Bluetooth ones.

It's built for today’s fast-paced, always-on world. Whether you’re a tech-head or just someone who wants a reliable device, Vivo made sure the X200 ticks all the right boxes. Comparison with Competitors Alright, so how does it stack up against the competition? When you throw it into the ring with the likes of Samsung and Xiaomi, the Vivo X200 holds its own. The camera collaboration with Zeiss gives it a clear edge, especially for anyone serious about mobile photography. Battery life is another major win here, something that’ll keep you going longer than most other flagship models. Sure, other brands have some slick designs and fancy features, but Vivo seems to strike a balance between performance and practicality. While other phones might wow you with gimmicks, the X200’s focus on actual, useful improvements makes it stand out in a cluttered market. Vivo X200 Pro Specs SpecificationDetailsDisplay6.78 inches LTPO AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1260 x 2800 pixels, peak brightness 4500 nitsProcessorMediaTek Dimensity 9400, 3nm architectureRAM/Storage256GB/12GB RAM, 512GB/16GB RAM, or 1TB/16GB RAM (UFS 4.0)Operating SystemAndroid 15 with OriginOS 5Main CameraTriple: 50MP (wide) + 200MP (periscope telephoto, 3.7x optical zoom) + 50MP (ultrawide); Zeiss optics, OIS, laser AFSelfie Camera32MP ultrawideBattery6000mAh, 90W wired charging, 30W wireless charging, reverse chargingConnectivity5G, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, USB Type-C 3.2, Satellite connectivity (optional)BuildGlass front and back, aluminum alloy frame, IP68/IP69 dust and water resistanceColorsBlue, Black, White, TitaniumOther FeaturesStereo speakers, 24-bit/192kHz audio, fingerprint sensor (under display), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, color spectrum sensors Pricing and Availability The Vivo X200 Series is hitting the market with a competitive price tag, designed to tempt anyone eyeing a flagship but not wanting to break the bank. It’s available in several regions, and Vivo has been quick to sweeten the deal with some early-bird promotions. Whether you’re in Asia, Europe, or beyond, you won’t have to wait too long to get your hands on one of these devices. And considering the specs and features, it’s pretty clear that Vivo wants to dominate the mid-to-high-end space without pushing into super-premium pricing territory. Conclusion To wrap it all up, the Vivo X200 Series is more than just a flashy new release. It’s a thoughtful, well-rounded phone that packs real improvements where they matter. Whether it’s the refined design, the powerhouse battery, or the photography chops thanks to Zeiss, Vivo is making a serious play for your attention. And guess what? It works. This series might not just be another option; it could be the best one out there right now. vivo x200 pro release date The Vivo X200 Pro is set to be released on October 19, 2024. This marks its official launch after being announced in mid-October 2024