#this is just gorgeous. thank you. <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[cursedfortune]

so @kazeofthemagun spoils me. i'm going to go in order she sent them in out convo because. goddamn. quen did amazing.

so i sent caps from c///ode v///ein i did of mortem and she made spoopy mortem - nighttime spook with her reflecting eyes too. wtf. madwoman.

she got crazier.

decided to edit mortem's nose cause we were talking on it to be more accurate.

but apparently that wasn't enough cause she came for my soul (which she already has).

and GAVE HER MORTEM'S ANGLED NOSE AND I'M SOBBING

now i'm going to lay down and hold this and look at it forever.

[cuddlytogas]

So I accidentally almost got into an argument on Twitter, and now I'm thinking about bad historical costuming tropes. Specifically, Action Hero Leather Pants.

See, I was light-heartedly pointing out the inaccuracies of the costumes in Black Sails, and someone came out of the woodwork to defend the show. The misunderstanding was that they thought I was dismissing the show just for its costumes, which I wasn't - I was simply pointing out that it can't entirely care about material history (meaning specifically physical objects/culture) if it treats its clothes like that.

But this person was slightly offended on behalf of their show - especially, quote, "And from a fan of OFMD, no less!" Which got me thinking - it's true! I can abide a lot more historical costuming inaccuracy from Our Flag than I can Black Sails or Vikings. And I don't think it's just because one has my blorbos in it. But really, when it comes down to it...

What is the difference between this and this?

Here's the thing. Leather pants in period dramas isn't new. You've got your Vikings, Tudors, Outlander, Pirates of the Caribbean, Once Upon a Time, Will, The Musketeers, even Shakespeare in Love - they love to shove people in leather and call it a day. But where does this come from?

Obviously we have the modern connotations. Modern leather clothes developed in a few subcultures: cowboys drew on Native American clothing. (Allegedly. This is a little beyond my purview, I haven't seen any solid evidence, and it sounds like the kind of fact that people repeat a lot but is based on an assumption. I wouldn't know, though.) Leather was used in some WWI and II uniforms.

But the big boom came in the mid-C20th in motorcycle, punk/goth, and gay subcultures, all intertwined with each other and the above. Motorcyclists wear leather as practical protective gear, and it gets picked up by rock and punk artists as a symbol of counterculture, and transferred to movie designs. It gets wrapped up in gay and kink communities, with even more countercultural and taboo meanings. By the late C20th, leather has entered mainstream fashion, but it still carries those references to goths, punks, BDSM, and motorbike gangs, to James Dean, Marlon Brando, and Mick Jagger. This is whence we get our Spikes and Dave Listers in 1980s/90s media, bad boys and working-class punks.

And some of the above "historical" design choices clearly build on these meanings. William Shakespeare is dressed in a black leather doublet to evoke the swaggering bad boy artist heartthrob, probably down on his luck. So is Kit Marlowe.

But the associations get a little fuzzier after that. Hook, with his eyeliner and jewellery, sure. King Henry, yeah, I see it. It's hideously ahistorical, but sure. But what about Jamie and Will and Ragnar, in their browns and shabby, battle-ready chic? Well, here we get the other strain of Bad Period Drama Leather.

See, designers like to point to history, but it's just not true. Leather armour, especially in the western/European world, is very, very rare, and not just because it decays faster than metal. (Yes, even in ancient Greece/Rome, despite many articles claiming that as the start of the leather armour trend!) It simply wasn't used a lot, because it's frankly useless at defending the body compared to metal. Leather was used as a backing for some splint armour pieces, and for belts, sheathes, and buckles, but it simply wasn't worn like the costumes above. It's heavy, uncomfortable, and hard to repair - it's simply not practical for a garment when you have perfectly comfortable, insulating, and widely available linen, wool, and cotton!

As far as I can see, the real influence on leather in period dramas is fantasy. Fantasy media has proliferated the idea of leather armour as the lightweight choice for rangers, elves, and rogues, a natural, quiet, flexible material, less flashy or restrictive than metal. And it is cheaper for a costume department to make, and easier for an actor to wear on set. It's in Dungeons and Dragons and Lord of the Rings, King Arthur, Runescape, and World of Warcraft.

And I think this is how we get to characters like Ragnar and Vane. This idea of leather as practical gear and light armour, it's fantasy, but it has this lineage, behind which sits cowboy chaps and bomber/flight jackets. It's usually brown compared to the punk bad boy's black, less shiny, and more often piecemeal or decorated. In fact, there's a great distinction between the two Period Leather Modes within the same piece of media: Robin Hood (2006)! Compare the brooding, fascist-coded villain Guy of Gisborne with the shabby, bow-wielding, forest-dwelling Robin:

So, back to the original question: What's the difference between Charles Vane in Black Sails, and Edward Teach in Our Flag Means Death?

Simply put, it's intention. There is nothing intentional about Vane's leather in Black Sails. It's not the only leather in the show, and it only says what all shabby period leather says, relying on the same tropes as fantasy armour: he's a bad boy and a fighter in workaday leather, poor, flexible, and practical. None of these connotations are based in reality or history, and they've been done countless times before. It's boring design, neither historically accurate nor particularly creative, but much the same as all the other shabby chic fighters on our screens. He has a broad lineage in Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean and such, but that's it.

In Our Flag, however, the lineage is much, much more intentional. Ed is a direct homage to Mad Max, the costuming in which is both practical (Max is an ex-cop and road warrior), and draws on punk and kink designs to evoke a counterculture gone mad to the point of social breakdown, exploiting the thrill of the taboo to frighten and titillate the audience.

In particular, Ed is styled after Max in the second movie, having lost his family, been badly injured, and watched the world turn into an apocalypse. He's a broken man, withdrawn, violent, and deliberately cutting himself off from others to avoid getting hurt again. The plot of Mad Max 2 is him learning to open up and help others, making himself vulnerable to more loss, but more human in the process.

This ties directly into the themes of Our Flag - it's a deliberate intertext. Ed's emotional journey is also one from isolation and pain to vulnerability, community, and love. Mad Max (intentionally and unintentionally) explores themes of masculinity, violence, and power, while Max has become simplified in the popular imagination as a stoic, badass action hero rather than the more complex character he is, struggling with loss and humanity. Similarly, Our Flag explores masculinity, both textually (Stede is trying to build a less abusive pirate culture) and metatextually (the show champions complex, banal, and tender masculinities, especially when we're used to only seeing pirates in either gritty action movies or childish comedies).

Our Flag also draws on the specific countercultures of motorcycles, rockers, and gay/BDSM culture in its design and themes. Naturally, in such a queer show, one can't help but make the connection between leather pirates and leather daddies, and the design certainly nods at this, with its vests and studs. I always think about this guy, with his flat cap so reminiscient of gay leather fashions.

More overtly, though, Blackbeard and his crew are styled as both violent gangsters and countercultural rockstars. They rove the seas like a bikie gang, free and violent, and are seen as icons, bad boys and celebrities. Other pirates revere Blackbeard and wish they could be on his crew, while civilians are awed by his reputation, desperate for juicy, gory details.

This isn't all of why I like the costuming in Our Flag Means Death (especially season 1). Stede's outfits are by no means accurate, but they're a lot more accurate than most pirate media, and they're bright and colourful, with accurate and delightful silks, lace, velvets, and brocades, and lovely, puffy skirts on his jackets. Many of the Revenge crew wear recognisable sailor's trousers, and practical but bright, varied gear that easily conveys personality and flair. There is a surprising dedication to little details, like changing Ed's trousers to fall-fronts for a historical feel, Izzy's puffy sleeves, the handmade fringe on Lucius's red jacket, or the increasing absurdity of navy uniform cuffs between Nigel and Chauncey.

A really big one is the fact that they don't shy away from historical footwear! In almost every example above, we see the period drama's obsession with putting men in skinny jeans and bucket-top boots, but not only does Stede wear his little red-heeled shoes with stockings, but most of his crew, and the ordinary people of Barbados, wear low boots or pumps, and even rough, masculine characters like Pete wear knee breeches and bright colours. It's inaccurate, but at least it's a new kind of inaccuracy, that builds much more on actual historical fashions, and eschews the shortcuts of other, grittier period dramas in favour of colour and personality.

But also. At least it fucking says something with its leather.

[cametotheshowinsd]

August slipped away into a moment in time; August, Taylor Swift

[serafimo]

Whence comes this melody constantly flowing? Is it rejoicing or merely hallooing? Are you discussing, or fussing, or simply dreaming?

MARIA BILBAO as JOHANNA BARKER in the 2023 revival of SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET. @theriddletrades' master.

[valewritessss]

One thing no one could never ever make me insecure about again is my stretch marks. Like, it’s natural art on my skin that’s so cool

[the-elder-polls]

The person who did the art for the official Skyrim Tarot cards is active on tumblr. You might be able to ask her about the symbolism intended behind each card, or if Bethesda made the choices about it. Her blog is called Bunabi.

Please excuse me if you already know this but also be aware that she might see the hate I guess haha.

This is not intended to be rude at all also :)

oh, i love her art, i think the cards are gorgeous! i just really dislike the card symbolism which i doubt was her choosing. even if it was though, people are allowed to disagree

[imaginaryanon]

does con o'neill even know his portrayal of izzy hands, s1 and s2 both, has changed my fucking life. does he know. i need him to know that

[cordiallyfuturedwight]

2023 gifmaker / cc wrapped! i was tagged by absolute INSPIRATIONS (@raplinenthusiasts & @jkvjimin & @starcatching) to choose my top 10 out of my own creations this year, i have linked to my choices below! 1. jin's 2023 birthday set (my favorite, and luckily y’all liked it too :’)) 2. my time (mots:one d1 & d2) (i didn’t know what i was getting myself into but i made one overlay and the movements matched up perfectly so i was like let’s see if i can do this a couple more times…..) 3. yoonjin - they were roommates / yoonjin - letter ver. (as someone already said, comps are some of the least rewarding sets to make on here but i’ll go to bat for my roomies) 4. cypher 3 - agust d solo ver. (my homage to thee™️ rapline song) 5. run bts - netflix ver. (this was so much work and i do like how it ended up thankfully even if i had to cut out a lot of frames i wanted to keep in for the one of jungkook dancing around 😭) 6. bangtan boys in cardigans (my sweater sets…. if you get it you get it i guess) 7. just dance hobi / ego hobi (HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CHOOSE ONE?) 8. indigo 9. agust d - daechwita/ haegeum 10. your bias + your favorite color (this was just so much fun to put together) bonus 1.... moon jin (some of my first experimentation with typography!!!) bonus 2.......... favorite kpop releases of the first half of 2023 (this one was just for me really but i love playing with templates that folks put out there, it’s nice inspiration) i'll tag @heybaetae @kth1 @kimtaegis @kimseokjinn @fireworksgalaxy @rjshope @magicshop @spicyclematis @jung-koook @jinstronaut @bladesrunner @btsiu @taee and any others, please feel free to tag me! i wanna see your choices!!

[yumenari]

hi hello... I want to know if any of my oomfies here happen to know/like Path to Nowhere... I may have fallen into this pit 🫶

[kaidanalenkosprmanager]

THE BEST OF PRIORITY: TUCHANKA (PART 1)

Featuring: Cmdr. Sophie Shepard, Urdnot Wrex, and Urdnot Bakara With: Dr. Mordin Solus, Primarch Adrien Victus, Dalatrass Linron, Urdnot Wreav, and Comm. Specialist Samantha Traynor This will be the defining moment of Krogan history... Mass Effect 3: Legendary Edition (2021)

[rosurie]

juuuuust 👀

i’ddowhateveryouwant-

[thesilverlock]

Thank you very incredibly much @cyberslasharpie for the amazing Duel Links sprites of my boi! 🥹🩵✨

[osaemu]

SABRI !! hi its been awhile since i've dropped by <3 how r u doing? i hope you've been well (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶) i've got sumn to show u as you are a dazai lover, look !! i drew dazai's stage actor last night after doing sumn notes in anatomy and physio hihi

NIKI HI !! omg ur right it's been a while :,) i'm mostly doing good, but i have a pretty important event on the weekend so i'm a bit stressed about that ... but when i tell u my jaw DROPPED when i saw ur art style. IT'S SO ...... i can't even think of an adjective to describe how gorgeous ur art is I WANNA EAT IT (not just bc it's dazai LMAO)

[httpiastri]

i just got to randomly pass by to say that the post about popstar!reader is currently living rent free in my mind omfg the things I would do to see paul acting all weird and dumb around someone and even him not recognizing himself getting all embarrassed when his alone and starts going back through everything he said thinking how bad that sounded

that big ass man whose body looks literally like a fridge blushing and not knowing how to act JESUS

sameee it's been on my mind all day 😩 but omg omg omg bestie!! i would kill to see paul like that. tripping over his own feet because he's too distracted looking at her pretty smile, suddenly just barely being able to form coherent sentences when she's listening, and just smiling and laughing at her jokes that aren't actually even that funny....

and at night, paul overthinking and overanalyzing every little thing that happened when he was around her...

"did i really say 'have a good day' instead of 'have a great day'?"

"shit, the way i offered my last piece of gum to her, i'm SO obvious! i'm so clingy!!"

"when she touched my shoulder like that... it must've been a friendly thing... she just needed help to catch her balance again..."

but also him not noticing that he's staring blatantly at her when they're doing some kind of work-thing, but snapping out of it when someone else elbows his side and he jerks back to life, blushing like crazy because... did i actually just stare at her for a full minute....

[qeyond]

happy valentine’s day!

IM GONNA CRY THIS IS THE CUTEST THING IN THE WORLD WAAAHHH ; O ; !!!

Thank you so much oh my gooooooddddd 💕💕💕💕 Happy Valentine's Day!!!

YALL LOOK AT HIIIIMMMM 🥺💕

[recareels]

alhaitham in a traditional kurta!! thank you clari for reblogging that i have been fed!! only thing i can think ab now is him comin back from an event dressed up in his kurta, pissed bc all he wanted to do was spend time wit u at home, having a lazy evening. but those scholars at the event fueled the flame building up inside him even more so he comes home and fcks u so rough taking all his anger and frustration out on u, not even bothered to take off his beautiful outfit!! ^.^

it’s such a gorgeous piece of art and i am in love with that artist’s style!!! they drew alhaitham so beautifully <33 i also LOVE his earrings in that piece!!! so so so pretty

AH anon!!!!! (*ﾉωﾉ) what a sexy idea!! i would be so nervous tho LMAO, i’d be like nooo Daddy your gorgeous outfit!!! what if we ruin it!!! >.< like imagine staining something so beautiful with your messy arousal??? :(( or accidentally damaging the intricate embroidery with your nails??? :(( i think i would cry AHAHA like genuinely!!! alhaitham strikes me as the type to not care much about his clothing, even stunning formal pieces that are closer to works of art than mere articles of clothing, but *i* would be so upset if we wrecked it in any way >.< especially in a moment of fervour and passion where all you can think about is inhaling the other person, with all of your senses sharply honed on them and desperate desire dousing your brain!! because you wouldn’t even notice how rough you’re being until it’s much too late and the damage is done!! that outfit is way way waaay too pretty to fuck in (even if he does look breathtaking in it (*ﾉωﾉ)ᵉᵉᵏ)—though whether or not he’d actually listen to us and take our concerns into account is an entirely different story, especially if he’s all riled up from spending an evening with stuffy scholars who think they’re more intelligent and important than they actually are.

anyway :3 bonus points if this is professor alhaitham :3