#this is just me appreciating the costume designs for the new movie

[hollowed-theory-hall]

ok so what are some of the changes you would want in the upcoming harry potter hbo series. and since your blog is Harry centric so I'll ask how do you want him to be portrayed in the series ? what traits of him do you think the series makers should shine more light on ?

Okay, I have, like, a list of things I didn't like in the movies and could be improved upon by the show. The list I have here isn't just about things the show could improve, but also things I want to see in the show in general. I think most of my opinions are pretty common, though.

(Also I'm not sure how good the show will be, like, I'm somewhat hopeful, but also very cautious with my expectations. We should start getting casting announcements around in a few months, which could help indicate where this show is going)

Regardless, here's my list of top concerns for the upcoming show:

Harry's character

This is the one you questioned specifically and one that could make or break the show for me. I want Harry's sass and anger, I don't want him to be a self-insert for the audience the way he was in the movies. I want his actual character. The sass, anger, and tenacity that is Harry Potter combined with his kindness, compassion, and sometimes clueless awkwardness. Let him be smart, clever, and talented.

Harry in the books is so much more than "just Expeliarmos" and the fact people could think that about Harry is a legitimate crime against his character the movies committed. Truly character assassination that Harry isn't an exceptional wizard with the world's lowest self-esteem and cheeky attitude.

(Also, for the love of god, give him green eyes, please. Contacts exist for a reason and it'll be a good way to differentiate the new actor from Radcliffe)

2. Ron & Hermione's characters

I could probably just put a "make all characters like in the books" category since this is true for a lot of them.

Specifically for the other two members of the Golden Trio, I want Hermione to have her flaws, and Ron to be smart. He is talented and smart and just as skilled as Harry and Hermione. He isn't the dumb comic relief and I'm so mad the movies made him such. And Hermione isn't a perfect Mary Sue who can do no wrong. Let her put Rita in a jar. Let her show how much she actually appreciates Ron and Harry and their approach to problems, different as it is to hers.

3. Voldemort's everything

I didn't like Voldemort's design, I didn't like his characterization, I didn't like how he spoke, how he walked — none of it felt like Voldemort to me.

I want Voldemort to be scary, not some odd caricature of himself. Give me a Voldemort design that looks scary. Give him the red eyes, and make him look actually skeletal. And let him move elegantly, talk softly. He isn't shouting and throwing tantrums, usually, he is very deliberate in what he says and does.

Also, give him his weird sense of humor. In the books, he makes bad puns ("Wormtail is here to lend a hand"), I like my villains a little campy with bad puns but also terrifying.

4. Dumbledore's everything

Well, honestly, I have no complaints about Dumbledore in the first movie, my problems started after he was recast.

I want Dumbledore to speak softly. I need an actor who could say "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" and make it work. I want an actor who'd smile like he knows things you don't as his eyes fucking twinkle, but could still look intense and even intimidating for the later seasons. I also want him to look whimsical and dress in the most absurd eye-catching robes you've ever seen.

5. On the matter of robes — wizard fashion

I want wizarding fashion. I want long robes, silly hats, colors, and patterns. I want the costume designers on the show to have fun with it. I want them to go wild.

The wizarding world should look whimsical and campy — that's part of the magic. I want it to look like a foreign world. Even the most purebloods of purebloods (like the Blacks) are more like the Addams Family than any serious drama. They have a sense of campiness and whimsy. Let wizards be weird as shit and show it in their dress and interior design (I mean, the Blacks hang house elf heads and have a troll leg umbrella stand, the Ministry of Magic has paper airplanes flying all around, they're weird).

6. About the more filler-y sections of the books

I want all the silly little plots that were removed from the movies. I think some of the more filer-y things add a lot to the books and to the whimsy of being a student at Hogwarts. I want the trio to sneak out Norbert, I want to see Peeves, the deathday party, all of these things that make Hogwarts truly feel like a magic school.

7. Hogwarts Castle

I love the castle of the movies and that of Hogwarts Legacy. Honestly, I think Hogwarts Legacy did a good job of capturing the feeling of the movies castle while making it its own new unique thing. I think the TV show should do something similar and kinda create a Hogwarts castle amalgamation of all previous iterations that would feel familiar and allow them to still use some of the same merchandise but also be new and unique at the same time.

8. Time period

I think this is a pretty common opinion, but I want the muggle clothes and sets to clearly be set in the 1990s. I want the show to be a period piece. I don't want to see smartphones, or modern fashion, or modern cars — none of that.

9. Age-appropriate casting

I'm not the only one who says this, but as great as Allen Rickman was, he was too old for the role. Part of the tragedy of Snape and the Marauders is how young they actually are. I think it'll just be much more heartbreaking if the actors looked as young as they're supposed to be.

(Including James and Lily in the flashbacks!)

10. Worldbuilding & extra scenes

Since it's a TV show and not a book, which opens up more perspective options, I would like to get, maybe, some extended Pottermore facts into the show. Like, to flash out the world in a way the movies didn't.

Additionally, I wouldn't mind if some extra scenes were added to build up characters we don't get as much of in the books and it could serve the plot. Like, as long as the scenes are added in a way which is like 'they might've happened in the books, we just didn't see them cause Harry wasn't there', that sort of thing without subtracting from anything else and without retconning or contradicting anything. Like, with good writers, this could be really well done, I'm just worried about them adding anything because I don't know how much faith I have in the whole project. But it could be cool if done well.

[atlaculture]

Live-Action Promo Pics - Katara

I’ve been hesitant to comment much on the the live-action series, as most of the discourse has revolved around the casting. I’ve already made my ideal ATLA fancast pretty well-known and I don’t feel comfortable harshly critiquing children/teens for not looking like my favorite cartoon characters. At the end of the day, it’s the casting directors that we should hold responsible, not working actors trying to make a living.

However, I have no problem reviewing the costumes--- which I presume were made by industry professionals of adult age. In fact, I’d say the goals of this blog obligate me to give my two cents. So, enjoy my completely subjective take on the promotional costumes:

Katara

What I Liked

Braided hair loopies! This has been fanon for years now, so it’s nice to finally see it done in an official adaption.

They did a good job of translating the wave pattern on Katara’s coat into something more elaborate.

The fur trim is good, although I wish the fluff around her hood was a bit fuller and thicker.

I like her hair beads.

What I Didn’t Care For

It feels like cosplay. Mind you, I love cosplay, but it’s a very different beast from movie costuming. Cosplay is about imitating the 2D designs as closely as possible; movie costuming is about taking the 2D designs and making them functional.

The blue color-coding in the show works for a cartoon, but less so in real life. A coat for a live-action Katara should look like it was made from real animal furs, and synthetic blue fur is just never going to give that effect.

The coat looks too new. It should look more worn, considering this is everyday wear for her.

In general, the coat looks nice but cheaply made. Like it could be a costume you’d buy for Halloween called “Arctic Water Girl”.

Overall, I give it 5 water whips out of 10.

Like what I’m doing? Tips always appreciated, never expected. ^_^

https://ko-fi.com/atlaculture

Click below for links to how I wish her coat looked.

I had a feeling this would be the direction they would take with the Water Tribe, but I still can’t help but feel disappointed. I’ve been spoiled by the better realized interpretations I’ve seen in fanart, with more realistic fur parkas and blue detailing. This is all personal preference, of course, but just take a look at all of the beautiful interpretations of Water Tribe clothing out there:

https://www.tumblr.com/ash-and-starlight/704817804388548608?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/ash-and-starlight/693847558563430400?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/chiptrillino/717611956655325184?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/chiptrillino/698450671239921664?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/chiptrillino/692656226353463296?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/chiptrillino/642057819823243264?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/atlaculture/719418204708061184?source=share

https://www.tumblr.com/bernard-the-rabbit/705601232213049344?source=share

[operafantomet]

How would you rank each non-replica on a scale of creativity/original ideas?

That is a good question with many possible answers! Mostly because there are "good" creative/original ideas and "bad" creative/original ideas out there, and some of the most creative ones may also be the one I dislike the most... For example, if going by creativity and originality alone, Estonia would be very high on the list. But I'm not really loving the production overall, so I wouldn't say it's the best original take on POTO. If that makes sense. But if ranking the productions purely by how different they are and how hard they have worked on not looking like the original, I would say:

ESTONIA: Inter-war setting, rather bleak in its colour scheme and overall design, with one helluva mirror-discoball lair design, leather-coat Phantom, Vivienne Westwood-esque Il Muto, Moulin Rouge-ish Masquerade, 1990s Haute Couture Don Juan... There's so much to say. Definitely original, and not just giving "we had a low budget" vibe.

FINLAND / SWEDEN: 1980s costume vibes, gold mask, rock'n'roll, huge sets, tiny chandelier, gigantic orchestra, for the most actual opera singers in the leads. This one felt odd more than anything. But original? Very much so.

KRISTIANSTAD, SWEDEN: Definitely a production on a budget, but yet checking off all the boxes of what you'd expect of a POTO production. And with some super original ideas for some key scenes - Raoul stumbling around in the falling sets during the Overture, the elegant double staging in the boat scene, the rarities in the Phantom's lair, Red Death crashing through a mirror and later disappearing in mid-air... They had so many cool lil' details going on. In style fairly 1880s, and with a cool horizontal half-mask for the Phantom. I really appreciated this one.

SERBIA: One could maybe argue this was more low-budget than original...? At least the basic black set with few changes and the many low-key costumes didn't feel like the biggest effort out there. But different? Oh definitely.

BULGARIA: Pretty much the same comments as Serbia. However, the Phantom's fruit crown in PONR can never be unseen. Neither can the monkey musical box which seemed to have lost its will to live. Memorable for sure.

ROMANIA / NORWAY / GREECE / TOUR: Whereas the basic drum set was fairly similar to the Restaged Tour, it felt like an original production still. Some independent interpretations of the Palais Garnier (including featuring a huge window as a mirror substitute for Christine), more Edwardian flair of the costume design, and a kick-ass chandelier - grand, fun, and with some cool and independent directing ideas throughout. The idea of never leaving the opera house, for example, was interesting. Very enjoyable overall.

MEDITERRANEAN: Basing nearly the whole set design within a rectangular, turnable box on stage was a neat and cool idea. This, combined with oh-so-Victorian costumes and so many nods to Phantom history, felt original and clever. Also some stunning original visuals, like the Phantom's lair with the Piraniesi-esque labyrinth backdrop. Speaking of original, it probably looked very as expected with its heavy victoriana flair - but to me that's not a negative thing.

POLAND: One could argue this in large was a carbon copy of the 2004 movie. The costumes in particular, but also directing elements like including a sword fight in the Mausoleum scene. But the sets - oh, those beautiful sets! Also a wild chandelier crash.

SYDNEY HARBOUR: A really hard one to rank. The world's first outdoor production (ORIGINAL!), with sets looking like Bjørnson's design on steroids (not as original), with 1860s flair costumes (hello 2004 movie) with a dash of LND Australia (not as original), but then a flying gondola over burning water (ORIGINAL!), a huge cast (very RAH), and performing come rain or sunshine (ORIGINAL!). Something old, something new... But definitely a cool one for the Phantom portfolio!

RESTAGED TOUR: I was a bit in doubt on how to rank this one. I mean, the costume design is in large not new, it's Maria Bjørnson's costumes. But then new set design, new directing and new choreography. With various degrees of success. To me the most original idea is the drum set structure, and also some new magic tricks and added moments. I'm not loving the directing choices, as it makes both the Phantom and Raoul rather unloving candidates for Christine - why would she pick either of them? Also felt too much like a nod to Love Never Dies to appear truly original. So yeah, mostly for the sets.

HUNGARY and CZECH REPUBLIC: Whereas the productions themselves may not look the same, they both feel like two similar takes, to loving interpretations of the original, sticking to the same colour schemes and with a heavy Victorian flair. Directing wise they also feel like the same landscape. I appreciate both a lot, and especially Hungary has some clever ideas going on. I also loved how they picked Palais Garnier as a base - but totally different areas or angles of the Palais Garnier than what Bjørnson did. But if going purely by originality they don't move too far outside the box.

NEW ROMANIAN PRODUCTION: Nearly impossible to rank. AI design with some tweaks, which has resulted in a sort of amalgamated combo of all the non-replica production set design, with a sprinkle of Maria Bjørnson design on top. With some playing-card-odd costumes. Some visuals are stunning, some are very traditional, some are way out there. Yeah, I have no idea how to rank this one.

(and of course this is just my impression of them - have in mind that I've only seen three of them live, and if I see more of them in the future I may feel different about this ranking)

[whyareyoulookingatmelikethat]

[9]: Lights, Camera, Toons!

9th story!!! 10 soon~ This is a request for “KyoufuGaaden”! Thank you so much for requesting! :D

I was just trying to think of ideas and then I was like “Well, Vee and Scraps were the main characters in the game show…we could do that. But they were filming so what if this was a movie? And what if…you were a backstage person? And what if…YOU WERE THE COSTUME DESIGNER WHO MADE ALL THE NEW SKINS?”

I SWEAR my brain EXPLODED WITH HOW MANY IDEAS I HAD. (Human reader as you're much taller than them)

“And…there!”

You finished adjusting the sparkling purple cape on Vee’s shoulders and turned her around to tie it.

“You look great.”

Walking over to the mirror, she smirked at herself and nodded her head appreciatively.

“I do! Thank you.”

“No problem! Now you’d better get out for your show! I’ll take care of the others. I already gave Dandy his costume, so Scraps should be the only one left.”

Vee’s face visibly darkened at the mention of the paper craft toon, but she said nothing. It was funny to see her screen react, though.

“Vee…”

“I know! I know. Don’t hold grudges…”

You let out a sigh and turned back to the dresser to pull out the neatly folded dress.

“I still don’t completely understand why you rig the game shows, but it’s not my business. Nonetheless, let it go, Vee. Be happy for her. She happened to be really lucky.”

You heard a grumble in response to your positive words, and you turned around with the pastel clothes to look back at Vee. Her arms were crossed and she stared at the floor with a scowl. You deadpanned.

“Vee…”

She just ignored you. You kneeled down to look her in the eyes, waving your hand in front of her face.

“Vee.”

“...What?”

“Do you really want to be seen as childish, or are you strong enough to be mature?”

Her eyes widened for a second, but she quickly maintained her composure.

“I- I am not childish! Do not call me that! I am a gameshow host, responsible for the downfall or uprise of my participants. I hold power!”

You chuckled and stood up again to walk over and tie a blue ribbon into a bow for Scraps’ costume. You turned it over in your hands, making sure it looked perfect before you set the whole costume out. Taking the paper cup, you grabbed a white marker and drew dots on it to finish the look.

“So? What do you think Vee?”

…

“The costume is nice, but it’ll look stupid on her.”

“Vee!”

She scurried away faster than you could think of some way to scold her. You let out a long sigh and set the now fully marked cup down.

You swear it was a maze in here with all these racks of clothes…Making your way to the door, you pushed it open and turned a corner to walk down the hallway of rooms. U-001…C-002…Ah! R-004 and R-005!

You rapped on the door, then stood back and waited patiently for one of the two siblings to open it. The toons are so short compared to you, honestly. You had to look down at Scraps as she opened the door.

“Yes? Oh! Hey Y/n!”

“Your costume’s ready, Scraps.”

The gasp she let out and the way she clapped her hands with a bright smile on her face was adorable, and you couldn’t help but find yourself smiling along with her.

“Come on, let’s get back to the dressing room.”

…

“Andddddd this is your outfit! What do you think? …Is it okay?”

“It’s not okay.”

You heard your heart stop.

“IT’S AMAZING!”

...And it started beating again. Faster this time.

“Just look at it! Oh my gosh, you’re amazing Y/n!”

“Aw shucks, well I-HURK!”

She instantly pulled you into the most bone-crushing hug you’ve ever had, and then ran off to the changing rooms giggling all the way.

…

You think your ribs are broken…

[kairiscorner]

Hello! Can I ask for a scenario where Spider-Noir meets the reader who is a Barbie? I LOVED THE NEW BARBIE MOVIE and wanted to know how Spider-Noir would get along with a Barbie reader. I think they would make a nice couple, they are the total Barbenheimer.

You can have them meet in the events of the first movie by making reader Barbie as spider-woman or by having them meet in the spider-noir dimension. As you like, but I would like to emphasize the great color contrast between the dark palette of Noir with the colorful pinks of the Barbie reader.

Crystal ✨💞

HI AGAIN !!! OMG YES PLEASEEEE my barbie brainrot refuses to go and so does my atsv brain rot so...... i hope you like this :DDD

(reblogs are greatly appreciated, it helps get my content out there! if you guys like what you see, please reblog it too <:D)

pretty in pink, great in gray

"oh, and before anything else, there's someone who's running fashionably late. sorry fellas, she had to fix up her makeup and hair, it's a very important priority of hers, as you can see." noir told the others as they looked at him in confusion. soon, their spider senses all turned on as they sensed yet another one of their kind in the room. "oh, well hello, cuties!" exclaimed a cheery voice from above as they heard the faint clacking of stilettos on the ceiling, pretty pink and glittery ones, in fact. they looked up and saw, hanging from the ceiling, a spider woman dressed in hot and light pink. she waved to them, with the others awkwardly waving back at her confused.

the spider woman from above shot out a pretty pink web from her pink webshooter and swung down after doing a somersault in the air and landing on her feet, with one in front of the other as they pointed outwardly in the opposite directions, a bright smile on her face still as she looked at everyone; all of which were thoroughly impressed by her acrobatic capabilities. "can you please adopt me?" gwen whispered underneath her breath as she looked at the woman in front of them intently. the spider woman giggled and walked forward to extend her hand to them all.

"spider barbie, at your service! it's so lovely to meet you all, and you, dear... of course, i will adopt you! would you like to live in my dream house or would you like me to arrange for the construction women back in barbieland to design a house of your choosing?" she asked gwen as gwen held on to miles from both sheer excitement and thoroughly getting weirded out. "did she just say she was barbie, or..." "pretty sure she said she was barbie." miles replied in a manner that showed he was just as stunned as gwen was.

noir moved to the front of their little group and shook barbie's hand first. "nice to meet you, barbie. i'm parker, peter benjamin parker, not to be confused with this guy." noir said as he pointed his thumb at peter b, who folded his arms and shrugged. barbie smiled widely at the monochromatic man as she held his hand tightly and shook it back. "and nice to meet you, peter!" she responded as she noted how dark peter's whole get up was. "i must say, i love the shades you've got going on here. i was considering making a darker outfit for myself, but pink feels more natural for me. i love how you look by the way, it's so... mysterious." she said as peter chuckled and scratched a little at the side of his head. dare he say miss barbara here was flustering him a little with her charisma and cheeriness.

"why, thank you, barbie. i love the abundance of... pink in your costume. very striking, and very powerful, i must say." he said with a slight smile underneath his mask as barbie's smile widened. she thanked peter, and the two went on and on about each other's costumes and quirks that came with them. they were hitting it off so fast, surprisingly. the group was actually questioning if what they were seeing was reality; because even though all of them are quite weird already as mutant spider people (and animal) a real, live, talking and walking barbie was also a mutant spider woman and was getting along well with the dark, brooding, and mysterious version of peter parker?

"so... care to maybe visit my dream house sometime, peter?" barbie offered noir, to which he felt a little flushed in the face at the prospect of visiting the beautiful woman's plastic home. "i... i'd be delighted to, my dear." he responded, to which barbie clasped her hands together in delight. soon, she wrapped her arms around noir, who tensed up a little at the abruptness of the situation, but loved every second of it. "this has got to be the craziest sight i've ever seen in my life." peter b said in tired disbelief as gwen and miles held themselves back from begging barbie to show them more of her pastel pink moves, and with peni and ham teasing them from behind about this new little couple they have in the group. well, not quite couple yet; barbie can be barbie without her ken, or peter--but she can be her own spider barbie with a spider man. it's not spider barbie with her spider man, it's spider barbie and spider man.

a/n: I NEED THE BARBIE MOVIE TO BE STREAMING NOWWWWWWWWWWWWW

tags !! @thecoolerdor @miguelswifey04 @sabcandoit @binibinileonara @luvstarrstruck @k4tsu3 @maxoloqy @fictarian

[eemcintyre]

Surprise Me (Tom Cruise)

I've been pondering on this absolute unit for a while. Please appreciate the amount of time, energy, and NYC restaurant research I had to do, lol

TW- none

Summary- One of your friends, after a poor track record of setting you up on blind dates, gets one more chance and makes the most of it. You meet the date for dinner at an elegant NYC restaurant to discover that your friend has set you up with Tom Cruise.

Y/N was one of those people who had told herself, her whole life, that she would never go on a blind date. No matter how many months or years went by of being single, she had refused to stoop to what she perceived to be such a desperate level. Moreover, she was not actively looking for a relationship, as she was generally happy on her own, living a full life of work, hobbies, travel, and friendship.

However, one lapse- one lonely, alcohol-induced, self-pitying night of self-disclosure with a friend later, and that friend, Nikki, had become obsessed with setting her up. Nikki had arranged a number of dates for her with a number of men, who despite Nikki’s good intentions, mostly turned out to be questionable at best, and occasionally were potential serial killers at worst. Tonight was Nikki’s last chance- she promised that this time would be different and would make up for all of the other terrible evenings and to just trust her. Promises, promises.

Y/N exited the taxi that had taken her to La Grande Boucherie, the restaurant that she and her date had agreed on for the evening. It was an open-air French establishment situated in an alley between two avenues. From across the street where the taxi had dropped her off, she could see fairy lights wrapped around several small trees inside the restaurant, twinkling in the descending dusk.

All she knew about her date, from their text conversations spanning the last few days and the description of Nikki, was that his name was Tom, he was handsome with dark hair, fun and energetic, and that he worked in the filmmaking business. As Y/N lived in New York, it was not at all unusual to run into people in the film industry rather frequently- even she herself had worked in costume design, and currently production design. Although, he and Nikki were both a bit vague when she asked what exactly it was that he did. She figured that meant he was probably one of those “aspiring actors” who really make their living doing guided NYC tours or waiting tables and had a bit part in a B movie once.  

Y/N had never been to La Grande Boucherie before, and it looked a little more high-end than she had anticipated. Elaborate fixtures of spherical lights hung from the vaulted ceiling, and large tropical plants provided a small canopy by one of the walls. Although “Tom” had mentioned that the place was on the elegant side, she almost wondered if she was underdressed, in a simple, mid-length, classic black dress. But she figured the date wouldn’t last a particularly long time anyway.

If tonight’s a disaster, this is the last time you set me up and I swear I’ll key your car in revenge, she texted her friend a final time before slipping her phone into her purse and crossing the busy street. She wondered why she was feeling a bit nervous when she had been on so many unsuccessful dates and her expectations had become so low. No matter how hard she tried to suppress it, it appeared that a miniscule part of her remained hopeful about finding someone. And at this point, she really had no idea what to expect, as this was a much nicer place than where her previous dates had invited her. Though, of course, men with money had just as much potential to be terrible dates as those without, she was terribly curious, and equally intimidated. What had her friend gotten her into this time?

Upon reaching the front of the restaurant, she briefly scanned her reflection in the window, adjusting her purse strap on her shoulder and shrugging. She also took a moment to evaluate the atmosphere of the restaurant up close. Soft jazz music glided through the entryway, and the building smelled of a combination of rich, sizzling French meats and soups, and the luxury perfumes and colognes of the affluent people who dined there. She was not necessarily worried about the dinner being expensive- she made enough money to be able to splurge on something nice from time to time- but doubted that the overall night’s experience would be worth it, no matter how good the meal was.

Her gaze roved over the occupants of each table, but none of them appeared to be the mysterious “Tom,” either not fitting the description or already accompanied by other guests. Luckily, “Tom” had texted her a table number to look for. Approaching the hostess’ podium, Y/N inquired “Hi. Can you point me in the direction of Table 16?”

The hostess answered with a knowing smile that puzzled Y/N. “Good evening. Of course. It’s the one in the far-right corner by that display of pink flowers.”

“Thank you,” Y/N murmured, spotting the table and the back of the head of the man sitting in one of the chairs.

“Enjoy your night, ma’am.”

“You too.”

Y/N crept slowly across the tiled restaurant floor to Table 16, frustrated with herself at how on-edge she was. Feeling like she was being observed by everyone she passed, she almost tripped on a chair leg. Rounding the last corner and reaching her destination, she braced herself to greet “Tom” and finally see what he looked like.

Sitting at the table was a man in a simple black suit and white dress shirt with the first two buttons undone. He had short, dark brown hair, a few strands brushing his forehead, with green eyes that stood out against his pale skin, and a distinctive mole on his left cheek. Y/N froze, momentarily forgetting everything about what she was going to say, where she was, what she was doing there, and how to talk.

From his seat at the table, Tom Cruise grinned and said “Hello.”

“Oh gosh… wait- oh my gosh, you’re…”

“I am,” he grinned wider and shrugged. He was about to say more, when Y/N continued:

“I am so sorry, I- I must be at the wrong table. They told me Table 16 and pointed me this way-” she gestured frantically, feeling her face grow hot.

“Well, you found it,” Tom confirmed, gesturing to the small sign on the tabletop. “This is Table 16.”

“Oh, um, well, he must have texted me the wrong number… I am so, so sorry, this is embarrassing. I was supposed to meet someone here, and…”

“Wait, hold on- is your name Y/N?” Tom inquired, cocking his head to the side.

“…Yes, it is,” she answered slowly, feeling lightheaded.

“Do you know Nikki?” He leaned toward her from his chair. The look on her face was her answer. “I think we’re supposed to go on a date tonight,” he stated matter-of-factly, beckoning to the chair across from him. “Sit down.”

“Oh, there’s got to be a mistake here somewhere…” Y/N said, her stomach performing feats of acrobatics as she stood rooted to her spot.

“You won’t even give me a chance?” he teased, fixing her with puppy-dog eyes. “I thought we got along pretty well over text.”

“No- I mean, it’s not that, I just…” Y/N brought her hands to her head in embarrassment as she stammered, finally managing to move and take a step back from the table. “I’ll be right back; I just need to- I just need to use the restroom- I’ll just be a minute.”

“You will come back, right?” he joked, although his eyes betrayed genuine concern that she was about to make an escape.

“Yes, I’ll be back.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” She spun around and took several rapid steps in the opposite direction of the table before she heard him call out “It’s the other way.”

~

“Wow. I can’t believe you; I mean, what the fu-” Y/N hissed into her phone, holed up in one of the women’s bathroom stalls of La Grande Boucherie.

“-What?” Nikki’s voice sounded from the phone speaker innocently.

“You know exactly what you did-”

“-Are you actually calling me right now to complain about being set up with Tom Cruise? I told you that I was coming in clutch for you this time.”

“What the hell are you trying to do to me?? I am not prepared for this!” She snapped, detecting the footsteps of whoever else had also been in the bathroom as they exited rapidly.

“What do you mean? I’m sure you’re wearing something nice, you always do, and I know you know how to eat…”

“YOU SAID HE WORKED IN THE FILMMAKING BUSINESS, NOT THAT HE’S THE MOST FAMOUS ACTOR IN THE WORLD.”

“Okay, okay, calm down…”

“Why didn’t you tell me??” Y/N groaned, emerging from the stall to examine her hair, makeup, and outfit, which seemed to have gone from “possibly slightly underdressed” to totally inadequate.

“You know you never would have gone if I’d told you. You would have either thought I was trying to prank you or you would have had the aneurysm that you’re having right now.”

“Well, what am I supposed to do?” Y/N snapped defeatedly.

“Act like yourself? Do what you would normally do?” Nikki replied, exasperated. “He was interested in you just off of my description and you guys’ texting.”

A pink tint rose to Y/N’s face. “He was? You’re not just telling me that?”

“Hey, I’m a little crafty, but I’m not evil.”

“…What did he say?”

“He thought it was cool that you’ve done production design and costume work, he liked that you’re kind of outdoorsy… he was interested, okay? Get out there and talk to him instead of talking to me!”

“We are going to have a serious talk about this…” Y/N muttered, straightening the wrinkles in her outfit and heading for the door.

“You can tell me all about it tomorrow. Trust me, I’ll want to know every detail.” Nikki paused. “And you said I’d never set you up with anyone good.” Y/N could hear the triumphant smirk in Nikki’s voice and hung up, rolling her eyes.

“Be calm. He’s just a person. He’s just a guy,” she said to herself as she neared Table 16 once again, relieved to see that Tom still sat there.

“I told you I would come back,” she managed a smile, moving to slide into the other empty chair, when Tom rose from his place to pull it out for her.

“I’m glad you did,” he added, smiling back and looking equally relieved as they finally faced each other at the table. “I ordered us an appetizer and some drinks while you were gone. I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so hopefully it’s all okay…”

“Oh, I’m not picky.” Silence fell briefly, and before it could become too awkward, Y/N decided to address what was certainly weighing heavily on both of them. “So, you and I got off on the wrong foot and I want to apologize. I was just totally caught off-guard…”

“Nikki didn’t tell you?”

“No- well, she knew I never would have gone if I’d known-”

“Do you really hate me that much?” he chuckled. “I mean, I know not all of my movies have been great…”

“Not at all, it’s not that, I just would have been too scared.” Y/N dropped her gaze to her hands, twisted tightly together in her lap.

“Well, it’s normal to be nervous, but come on, I’m not so scary now, am I?” He leaned forward with his elbows on the table, smirking.

Y/N gathered the courage to meet his gaze. “No,” she admitted, with a grin. “I just feel out of place here, in this restaurant, in this whole situation.”

“I think you fit right in,” Tom assured her. “Actually, before our conversation went off the rails earlier, I was going to say that you look stunning.”

“T-thank you, you do too,” she stammered, feeling the blush creeping over her face again, cringing at her reply. He laughed, but it was a good-natured laugh, not seeming to be at her expense.

“Thanks. I tried.”

Y/N finally took a sip of the drink that Tom had ordered for her, a sparkling cocktail that tasted of cranberry and lemon. “This is good,” she nodded.

“I made a good choice?”

“Yes, you did, thank you.”

Soon after, the appetizers arrived- a roasted beet and endive salad. As they started to eat, Tom suggested:

“Now, why don’t we just start the night over? Hi, I’m Tom.”

“I’m Y/N,” she replied, and they both laughed between mouthfuls.

“You mentioned that you do behind-the-scenes work for film projects- what are you working on right now?”

“Oh, just a local documentary thing. Street art and its origins, styles, and cultural significance. Terribly exciting, I know.”

“Of course it is. But you’d rather be doing something else?”

“Like everyone else around here, I have higher aspirations. I know everyone has to work their way up- you know that better than anyone- but I also know that not everyone who puts the work in ends up making it, and it usually just comes down to chance and luck- being in the right place at the right time or knowing the right people. I’m just afraid that my miracle is never gonna happen, y’know?”

“Well, I really believe that if it’s what you’re meant to do, as long as you stay dedicated and a step ahead of everyone else, it’ll happen. We’re just not all on the same timetable. It happened early on for me, but for a lot of other people, they didn’t ‘make it’ until they were in their thirties, forties, hell, fifties…” He took a taste of his own drink- a non-alcoholic cocktail.

“I hope I don’t have to wait that long,” she said, half joking and half serious. “But what projects are you involved in at the moment?”

He obliged to the change in topic. “I have a lot going on with this action-movie satire piece. It’s one of those ones that’s been stuck in development hell for a few years, so there’s just a lot of negotiating back and forth; it gets tedious after a while, but I think we’re finally getting things nailed down. It’s looking like it’ll be a lot of fun once we get past the initial stages.”

During the course of this conversation, they realized that they should begin perusing the menu and decide on their main courses. As she examined the options, Y/N reminded herself that she could afford to spend a bit extra once in a while, yet the prices still managed to stun her. It must have been visible on her face, because Tom said “Order whatever looks good. I’m buying tonight.”

As Y/N opened her mouth to strongly protest, he held up his hand. “Nikki said you’d complain, but you can’t change my mind. It’s been a while since I’ve gone out, I want us to have a good time, and besides, it’s the way I was raised.” He shrugged, folding his hands in front of him on the tabletop. “Don’t worry, I don’t expect anything, and I know you’re capable of paying if I let you, I just want to. Okay?”

~  

When the server appeared with their entrees, the dusk had long since turned to nighttime darkness, allowing the fairy lights and orb ceiling fixtures to bathe all of the restaurant’s occupants in a warm glow. Y/N had ended up deciding on a mushroom ravioli dish, while Tom ordered a filet, and they shared a portion of seafood that he insisted she try. She was surprised to admit that she was feeling remarkably more at-ease.

“I am obsessed with this place,” he said offhandedly, having made it about halfway through his steak.

“I can see why,” Y/N giggled. “So, tell me: what is it you like to do when you’re not sword-fighting people or scaling the sides of buildings?”

Tom laughed, using one hand to smooth his hair back. “On those rare occasions, I like to do things like rock-climb, fly…”

She coughed on her food. “Fly? Oh yeah, that’s right.”

“Or cook, watch sports... I can have fun with both feet on the ground too. I’m down for just about anything.” He cocked an eyebrow. “What do you get into when you’re not designing the aesthetics of local documentaries?”

“Well, I enjoy a good hike or some skating, and I can be a bit arts and crafts-y when I want to. I do some drawing and painting when I’m between big work projects.”

She was amazed at how attentively he listened, and how he didn’t do it just to respond, but to ask questions as well. She was used to enduring her date’s life story without getting more than a few words in edgewise. She reminded herself that his entire job was to be a convincing actor, and so to not become too optimistic or believing of how he appeared. But damn, if it wasn’t difficult the longer they maintained eye contact and sat so closely and laughed with each other amidst the dim, cozy lighting and the soft jazz piano. Maybe she wouldn’t totally eviscerate Nikki after all.

~

After making it to the end of dinner, standing on the street outside, they prepared to part ways.

“You can ride along with me and my driver can drop you off,” he proposed.

“No, that’s extremely sweet of you, but you’ve done more than enough,” Y/N insisted. “You can’t change my mind.” Her eyes gleamed mischievously at him as she referenced their conversation near the beginning of the evening.

“Well, Y/N,” Tom sighed, “I’ve got to admit that tonight was the best time I’ve had in a while. You didn’t think it turned out so bad, right?”

“Not bad at all,” she replied, clutching her coat in both hands as a soft breeze passed.

“Good enough to do it again sometime? Soon?” he asked, eying her expectantly as the two of them shifted awkwardly back and forth on the pavement.

“Oh, I suppose,” she teased, though her expression was beaming. “This is the most fun I’ve had in a while too.”

A limousine pulled up to the curb next to them. She deduced that it was Tom’s aforementioned ride, but he was determined to stay until she flagged down a taxi, uncomfortable with the idea of leaving her on the street alone at night.

“You’ll have to think about what you’d like to do next. Maybe we could go flying,” he joked, as she eventually caught a passing cab driver’s attention.

“Maybe,” she chuckled as she approached the taxi. Tom opened the door for her, and before she slid inside, he placed a hand on her shoulder and murmured “Have a good night. Be safe.”

“Goodbye, Tom,” she slid into the backseat of the cab, smiling at him and then to herself as the cab started on its path to her home. Basking in the feeling of his touch on her shoulder and the slight giddiness that the earlier cocktail afforded, she lost herself in contemplation of the evening’s events, wondering where they might lead.

[kit-the-dreamer]

Day 1: Costumes

Through all these years, I have seen myself spending hours and hours on creating new costumes in LBP1, LBP2, LBPVita and LBP3, with the hope that I would get just the vibe I desire. I find it quite cute tho, ngl. The idea of expressing yourself through a sackperson is so comforting for me...

Today, I can't recall all the costumes that I've made, but I can appreciate the ones that have impacted me the most. Sadly, not all of them are drawn here, but I can make a quick remark (below the cut) of each one of the ones I did draw for this prompt:

1. "Green Wolf": It's my first costume ever, if I recall correctly. When I saw the green cloth with little white flowers, I fell in love with it (Also, my favorite color was green at that moment.) I was also obsessed with wolves, for some reason so I added the tail, although the ears weren't part of the costume until I went through The Savannah levels. Something I really love of this one (aside that it's so beautiful) is that my dad's costume used to be the ''Werewolf'' one, so they kinda matched ^^

2. ''Pink'': When I left behind my obsession with green, I quickly fell for the color pink. It was my new religion. The pink cloth with little decorations looked very good and I believed it matched with the ''Penguin Scarf'' (I think it was called like that). The polka dot dress was very similar to the ''Green Wolf'''s one, so I had nothing to lose by trying it. And it fitted.

3. ""Dragon"": It is no secret for anyone that knows me enough that I am OBSESSED with the HTTYD series. And so my love for dragons began (and it has lasted for all these years). HOWEVER, I found it VERY difficult to make a dragon costume that looked DECENT at the very least, and that was soul-crushing to me ;-;. This specific costume was inspired by the dragon that appears in the level ''LittleBigCrystals'' from LBP Special Edition.

4. ''Catrina'': I liked the movie ''The Book of Life'', specially the design of La Catrina. I had no idea she was actually a thing in mexican culture tho xd. (Me and my ignorance ;-;) Anyway, I decided I needed to make a costume of her on LBP2, and so I did. Funnily enough, when I was younger, I had a time restriction to play on the PlayStation (maximum of 1 hour), and I was SO DETERMINED to make this costume that I spent my only daily hour on it. I was so proud when I finished and found it totally worth it, as it would be ready for me to play using it the next day ;w;

[trans-elrond]

Nik! Did you watch Rebel Moon? How was it?

Yes hello this is my 4 star review of rebel moon on letterboxd.

But first: a professional, somewhat critical review of rebel moon that engages with the film well, especially regarding anti-colonial themes, and isn't just knee-jerk regurgitated Snyder haterism:

And now more of my thoughts: [edit: Oh No, He Went And Talked For 3 Hours About It, Thanks For Coming To My TedTalk:)

No one has a better knack at putting together a cast list SO ATTRACTIVE TO THE BISEXUALS. read it and weep, boys. (Jena Malone is there too but really just for 1 set piece)

...Jena Malone's one (1) scene set piece features her as an alien spider woman with legitimate grievances against the Empire who now wants to kill kids because all her kids were killed. Like, so valid, girl. Also, did I say Jena Malone as an alien spider-woman? And this is just one scene.

Look, if that pitch doesn't hook you, this film may not be for you, and that's okay, but by GOD my people are the people who hear "Jena Malone alien spider woman" and perk up. I love you, freaks.

The cinematography is ace and always will be under Snyder's direction. music by Tom Holkenborg SLAPS. Costuming and design overall is super super strong. (People on this hellsite are always complaining about inadequate, boring as hell sci-fi design and you get RM and you don't appreciate it for what it is. WAKE UP.)

Costume showcase! Second from the right in this photo showing off those sweet sweet sci-fi costume designs is my beloved non-binary they/them revolutionary Milius. CANONICALLY non-binary, let me add. Imagine SW doing that lmaoooooooooooo D*ve Filoni would fuckin keel over and die

Kora! Our tragic female protagonist of color who's over 40, with a dark edgy sexy background. [KIDNAPPED AS A CHILD!! DEAD FAMILY!!! DEAD LOVER!!!!!!! SHE FAILED TO PROTECT HER WARD FROM ASSASSINATION!!!!! SHE IS THE MOST WANTED WOMAN IN THE UNIVERSE!!]

Bitches on tumblr LOVE taking failmen with sad backstories from media and blorbifying them, but the second it's a woman? please. If this was a man people would be writing the filthiest x reader smut you've seen since Mandalorian S1 came out. If this was a man you'd already have seen 20,000 fan drawings of her with her muscles and tits OUT. God where's my Kora fanart.

I personally have no problems with the plot of this movie (part 1 of 2) being "we must collect warriors to fight the evil empire." That's kinda fantasy story 101 and I still love new, varied interpretations of that plot.

If there's not much interconnecting plot because Kora's just gathering fighters, it's kinda like... that's the point, babes, they'll actually get to it in part 2. We're just at the "forming the team" stage. I revel in that part of a fantasy film and I always want it to be longer, so this film is like catnip to me.

Uh, yeah, this is getting long. More under the cut.

Entertainment professional nitpick time! I've seen someone say RM would be better as a TV show to introduce a new character each episode. And I truly don't think that fixes any of the problems this person has with the film, while introducing way more problems. (Who the fuck would go in on an original concept TV show where each episode introduces a new hero. You could not sell that pitch to a studio, ever, and viewers would instantly check out if they didn't like the introduced character of the week, and the same complaints would be made: it’s just a new character intro blah blah blah. This wouldn’t fix anything! It would very much make it worse!)

Me, like every day, through gritted teeth: that's... not... how... tv... works...

Like be realistic for a hot second with me. Television is not "long movie"—it is a different medium with different rules. Yes, the past decade has blurred many lines between TV and film, but they're still different mediums, and when people blur them ("it's a 10-hour movie!") the results often suck ass, because you either lack episodic structure or you lack feature structure. Snyder is a feature filmmaker who has never worked in TV. Whenever features people jump into TV, it's a whole other learning curve! They're usually terrible at it! You want Snyder to have to learn a new medium? You want him to learn 5/6-act TV structure from scratch? You want him to (horrified gasp) lead a writers room? Those are not his strengths, baby. Let him play in his space opera sandbox.

And I'm not done! You want the casting team to have to deal with the headache of getting feature film actors to star in a TV show? (Pay cuts! Longer commitments! TV production timelines!) You want to do that to me, personally, and fuck up the TV landscape some more by going, "Oh, we can basically just make a Longer Feature Film in TV"? Fuck off with that. TV has different production realities and different basic story structures. A [long] film [with two parts] is still a film, in structure and production practicalities.

Truly, Tumblr media studies brains (derogatory) at it again.

To each their own, but again, I think RM's structure is fun because it gives me more of the goodies (badass, varied character intros) for the price of one (2-hour film.) Like... that's the good stuff, that's often the most exhilarating part of a film for me. And contrary to popular belief, it's not intro to intro without rising tension or stakes. It builds tension as it goes because new facets of resistance against the Motherworld are explored in each character's intro scene. New ways they fight back, new worlds on which they fight back. And a ticking time bomb of the King's Gaze (king's gays lol) catching up.

Here, have a trailer bc Tumblr's mad at me for too much text in one block.

...I like the RM characters. I want to spend time with them and see what other zany shenanigans Snyder will have them do. (Alien bar fights! Taming a space gryphon! Lightsaber battle!) I like the side-quest-y, exploratory, space opera sandbox playground nature. It's fun, and like, again, if you don't perk up at the concept of collecting cool characters like action figures, this film may just not be for you.

To me it's a polycule. Like, the most messed up polycule in the whole galaxy, but it's a polycule.

Speaking of: THE CHARACTERS ROCK. Yeah, we're missing some significant character development because Netflix truncated Snyder's 4-hr, R-rated film into a 2-hr PG-13 version (likely to be able to release the 4-hr cut later, drum up new press, and get more eyeballs on the movie in total in a few months.) That's... not really Snyder's fault [even though he claims he's in on the plan... some part of me thinks it was Netflix's idea and not his. Stinks of studio meddling.] And it's not indicative of the quality of the actual film, which I currently see as more of an abridged version of the R-rated film that's gonna come out and fill up some of these story holes.

If people are judging the film for not being the 4-hour version, and then decide not to see the 4-hour version, that's their call, but it's kinda shitty to act like the 2-hr version is all there is. Like it probably wasn't Snyder's call to do a 2-hr cut! He's said that the 4-hr one is a whole different movie. I betcha the common criticisms (not enough character development, just jumps from character intro to character intro without interconnection, lack of structure) will be helped, if not outright solved, by the longer cut.

I think people are also happy to take a Part 1 of a movie if it's, say, Dune, and the source material has another part, so Part 1 is allowed to be fucking boring, whereas people don't give that kind of allowance to original sci-fi movies, WHICH IS A REASON WE DON'T GET ORIGINAL SCI-FI. If you're painting with as huge and cosmic a palette as space opera Rebel Moon, the 4-8 hours total across the 2 four-hour parts is kinda bare minimum for an epic. So... patience is a virtue? Let part 1 have elements of IT'S KIND OF A PROLOGUE?

What's that saying? If you want the rewards of space opera worldbuilding with an ensemble cast, you must submit to the mortifying ordeal of 2 hours of setup. Geez. Enjoy the wacky exposition or get out of the space opera genre.

Yeah, that leads me to the point of people who don't enjoy space opera are getting mad at RM for fulfilling the promises of the genre. You might truly be happier elsewhere. The whole thing is over-the-top, huge-scale MELODRAMA and I thrive on melodrama. If it's too cheesy for you, don't come to space operas!!!!!!!

On that note, people have said RM is too tropey and too Star Wars-y. But like I said. If you don't love the tropes get out of the genre!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you aren't here for bloodier/hornier Star Wars get out of RM!!!!

Another big idea I would be remiss to skip over. RM is an explicitly, deliberately anti-colonial, anti-imperial text—far, far more so than any other mainstream sci-fi currently being released. Well-intentioned liberals love to tout Star Trek/Star Wars as progressive media but they really hedge and defang all their political commentary, especially in their 21st century franchise form—think the SW sequels/shows straight up woobifying K*lo Ren in realtime and the Trek shows that (while fun!) are really often just nostalgia bait.

RM is pretty fucking radical. Its theme basically is Kill Nazis—or in expanded form, something along the lines of "The empire will eat up everything of value in the universe unless it is met with unified armed resistance built on solidarity."

And just look at RM's casting. We're not colorblind here; we're very color-conscious. (That's a rant for another day, but I've really started to despise colorblind casting for its extremely well-intentioned-liberal "we're all the same" mentality. It just winds up erasing.) Anyway: RM features the explicitly American-English-Afrikaans empire vs. the Algerian Amazigh protagonist, Black freedom fighters, Japanese revolutionary... and like. Snyder's always gonna be into Vikings so obviously we have Space Vikings too, whatever. Look at me, I can criticize Snyder too! The Poor Sad Space Vikings are not the strongest part of the film!

...Anyway of course the empire vs. revolution is absolutely kind of Star Wars-y since RM is highkey Snyder's Star Wars, but it goes so much further than SW dreamed (or, perhaps, nightmared). SW's rebels/resistance continually get defanged because they're kind of foundationally space magic/singular hero's quest deals, and modern SW with the exception of Rogue One/Andor is just politically, socially stupid. In contrast, RM is about forming a coalition, without something like the Force to help you out. I could write an essay on the ways RM starts in the same place Star Wars starts but takes its politics so much more seriously, so much further.

While I'd argue "good politics" and "artistic quality" rarely correlate, RM is explicitly and doggedly a text about the colonial empire that exploits, enslaves, abuses, and seeks to utterly control marginalized people groups in its quest for domination—and god, I would LOVE to see a resurgence in very fanged, very angry political sci-fi.

One more aside. Snyder has been rightfully criticized for his earlier works basking in fascist-adjacent, hypermasculine aesthetics; 300 is notably super duper racist in how it depicts savage/monstrous Persians vs. Beautifully Good White Spartans Defending Their Culture. (more on "300 Bad" stored up in my brain if anyone wants THAT rant.) To Snyder's credit, none of his films since 300 have really done that—parts of Batman v Superman and his cut of Justice League purposefully poke fun at it. The hypermasculinity is kinda still there, but it's subsumed in the service of melodrama and mythic-flavored cinema, and it's kinda a staple of the action genre anyway, and if you're gonna criticize Snyder without criticizing EVERY ACTION MOVIE EVER, that's just more regurgitated Snyder haterism.

No one is doing mythic action like Snyder these days. No one has the balls and the command of melodrama & operatic visuals. And it comes clearly from Snyder's background in art & art history because all his shots are jam-packed with symbolism and meaning and allusion. So criticize the film for its weaknesses if you like but geez, if I see another post railing about the lack of CRAFT in RM, I will start biting. ALMOST NO BLOCKBUSTER HAS THIS LEVEL OF CRAFT. It's okay that you don't understand visual storytelling, babygirl, but please don't accuse Snyder of lacking craft.

Sorry, you've triggered Cinema Defense Mechanisms in me, I'm gonna have to sit down for a while after this.

I have more takes. Takes hot enough to fuel the King's Gaze (king's gays lol.) But I'll end with a funny observation: I transed my gender (cheers, shouts, hoorays) just about the time I was getting ready to watch Rebel Moon, and in one shocking, epiphanic moment I turned to my partner and went "Of COURSE I'm a man. I like Zack Snyder." So........... do with that what you will.

[digo3d]

Here's another ask: 1 thing you like + 1 thing you dislike about each TC movie

Almost guaranteed these are gunna end up being more than one thing because I don't know how to shut up but let's see

Beverly Hills Cats:

I like that it's silly and also because it gives Brain more of a spotlight, also it confirmed a few of my lesser headcanons (Spook can play the drums and Brain likes rats) also The Rap for their costumes (specifically Spook's and Brain's they slay) also Spook's voice is very gruff in BHC and so now I have a REAL reason to make his voice a little gravelly/give him a little growl when he talks whenever I read a dialogue from him other than just because I want to

However the PACING OH MY GOD THE PACING 😭 some of the movie just drags and the dialogue feels clunky sometimes, also the visuals look dirty if that makes sense? Everything's a strange color y'know? Also The Rap because it's so poorly composed and it makes me die a little. Also Amy Vandergelt fuck Amy Vandergelt all my homies hate Amy Vandergelt. Also Dibble didn't really feel like Dibble y'know like he was oddly mean and (extra) dense like 😭

Top Cat: The Movie:

I am inherently biased because this is a movie from my childhood I was FUCKING OBSESSED with it and would watch it every day once I got home from school in 4th grade and I still remember a dream I had about it years ago and I'm pretty sure I put Spook into a story I had to write for class 😭 it's how I got into Top Cat in the first place so I hold The Movie very near and dear to my heart anyways I really love that it legitimately feels like Anima Estudios put a lot of love into it and like they made a genuine effort to make it feel like OG even if they fell short. Also THE ARTSTYLE I WOULD FUCKING KILL TO GET A REBOOT IN THE STYLE OF THE MOVIE ARARAR GEOMETRIC ARTSTYLES EATS A BRICK anyways also Trixie, they could never make me hate you Trixie (I need to draw her more) also the robots are funny as fuck for no reason

While I still think people greatly exaggerated how bad the movie was, I can kinda understand where they're coming from because the plot holes are ABYSMAL OMG 💀 also fucking Rob Schneider is Strickland in the British dub which is immediately awful, also not as awful but Dibble doesn't feel nearly as like strict or intimidating as he did before and I think that's mostly because of the voice they gave him, it's very squeaky. Also I feel like Strickland could work as a good antagonist but I feel like they leaned into the 'oh I'm so handsome I'm the prettiest in the world' thing too hard and it just made him feel really annoying and not like an actual threat at all, also naturally the flanderization of Brain (Anima Estudios must've had beef with him or something cos they did him even more dirty in Begins)

Top Cat Begins:

To be completely Frank, to be completely David even, there's really not that much I like about Begins other than Hellcat Spook (naturally). I mean I like Furletta Duchat because she's purdy and Dib's grandmother (Grambo) because she's fucking insane. Chooch's little waddle of a walk. OH I actually REALLY like Mr. Big as a villain. He's an actual threat to T.C. and the gang and his design, voice, and behavior is actually intimidating and probably the best crafted out of any of the new characters in Begins (also his model isn't fugly like most of the rest of them). If a new movie or series ever gets made I hope he makes a return even just as like a minor villain. Also Diedrich Bader voices Bad Dog and that's an inside joke between me and my sister lmao (also I do really like Bad Dog he's an excellent goon)

First things first for things I don't like about Begins, THE MODELS. WHY ARE THEY SO UGLY. WHO'S IDEA WAS THIS. I mean like they could be worse BUT THEY COULD CERTAINLY BE BETTER 😭 I mean I do appreciate them for giving us canon eye colors for the fellas but good fucking lord

Help him 😭

Tbh I'm trying to think of who the worst offender is and tbh it's almost all of them but I will say that Benny and Spook look the best, Fancy isn't ugly but he doesn't really look like Fancy, (same with Dibble) and ig T.C. isn't bad but he's not good. Brain and Chooch though what did they do to my lads. Chooch has gingivitis and lacks fangs (actually all of them lack fangs except for T.C. and Benny which I think is especially offensive) and Brain's model is built in such a way where any mouth movement he makes looks FUCKED UP. Also his eyes are really small and so are his ears and his proportions are generally fucked.

Fun fact I found some like beta promo art for Begins a while ago and Fancy's model is completely different and dare I say he looks better than his official model

Anyways models aside I think this is kind of a dogshit origin story for the gang. Making T.C. and Benny meet Fancy, Chooch, and Brain all at the same time only to not see them for the next 45 minutes was real fuckin lame-o and lazy and they also retconned that whole thing where T.C. and Benny were in Boy Scouts together which I really didn't appreciate. Also could've stood to have moar Spook in the movie instead of him being a deus ex machina and having LESS THAN TEN MINUTES OF SCREENTIME, like shit dawg. Also I always thought it was lame that he was just the pizza guy and not ACTUALLY involved with Mr. Big y'know? Also he's got a bit of a plot hole where he's like 'why should I stick my neck out for you' and then legit like 2 minutes later he's like 'i've been following you around so we can join forces' like ok bro if that was the case you would've just pulled them up and not've done that whole thing where you made it seem like you would've left them there but alright dawg. In my opinion I would've had it where Mr. Big sends out Spook to find them and follow them around after they lose their tracks of them and then when they escape Spook's grasp THEN Mr. Big fucks up Eleanore. Anyways what else. Uhh. Oh I can't tell if they just forgot what Dibble acted like or they tried making him younger in Begins but like. That's not Dibble. Who is that. Also again, Brain flanderization to the extreme and some mischaracterization of Fancy. Anyways I think that's it actually

This turned into a full rant I'm sorry 😭 but yeah I think a remake/revamp of Begins is in order because it's so bad and then BHC isn't bad, just mid at times, and then I've always found The Movie to be charmingly bad despite it's plot holes

[quarantineddreamer]

Hello love 💜 I hope you have a fun and relaxing weekend ahead!

So for the record, I do WANT to watch Andor. I do! I’ve just found my capacity for new shows is incredibly low these days. HOWEVER! We do intend to catch up.

That being said, what are three things you would say to a casual Star Wars enjoyer to convince them to watch Andor before other things?

Hi Gem!! Right back at ya! 💜

And wow I feel like my time has come with this question. (I’ve been training for this lol careful what you wish for! Here’s an essay oops)

1. You don’t have to be a fan of Star Wars to enjoy Andor. You really don’t. You can sit down and watch this show having never seen any Star Wars and still understand everything happening on screen. This is a story that’s powerful and beautiful and relevant and it just so happens to take place in the Star Wars universe 🤷‍♀️

2. The production quality on this show is unreal. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched the show at this point and yet I still find something new to appreciate in every episode each time I rewatch, whether it’s a detail on a costume, or something hidden in the music, or a prop or piece of set. The amount of thought that has gone into every single element of Andor just blows my mind BUT even if that sort of stuff is not your jam (I recognize I nerd out a lot about this given my background in production design) you can still appreciate it as a casual viewer. The world that appears on screen feels incredibly grounded and real.

3. (I’m cheating a little here but:) the acting and the writing. There’s not a single bad actor on the show—and what I mean when I say that is that even the background characters, even the characters with a single line, are incredibly well done. In particular I really love the subtle choices found in a lot of Diego Luna’s performance but I’m kind of obsessed with the whole talented cast tbh. Okay okay and the WRITING. I know some people have found it to be slow but that take just really confuses me. This show builds like nothing I’ve ever watched or read before and it pays off in so many ways that you can enjoy as a single-view and done watcher. Or…if you’re like me you’ll watch it again and again pouring over every little detail 😅

The last thing I’ll say is: oh my god I feel you so much on the new show fatigue. In fact, when Andor first came out I literally had no interest. I was like okay great another Star Wars to go with another marvel to go with another etc etc. But I sat down to watch one episode and the rest is kind of history. It is hands down the best tv show I think I’ve ever watched and better than most movies these days imo.

Anyways! It’s fine I guess!! Pretty cool/decent and I’m Very Normal about it. (If you do decide to watch it, you have to let me know what you think ☺️)

[thenightling]

Beetlejuice the character is probably LGBTQAI+

Unlike Dracula where several modern depictions are canonically confirmed as pansexual (Marvel comics, Dario Argento's Dracula, Frank Wildhorn's Dracula das musical...) Beetlejuice is still an ambiguous character in that nothing about his sexual identity has been officially confirmed. I believe this character Betelgeuse (Pronounced as Beetle Juice) is LGBTQAI+ even though his infatuation with Lydia appears to be heterosexual. Disclaimer: Some of this IS based on stereotyping. I am a gender-nonconforming, panromantic, demisexual so please know I do not mean offense by this. Beetlejuice is not a very politically correct character so he may even appreciate the stereotyping. Here are the clues. 1. According to Tim Burton, himself, he originally wanted Sammy Davis Jr. to play the character of Beetlejuice. Sammy Davis Jr. was openly bisexual in a time when it was not common place to be openly bisexual. And every time he acted, he either played himself, or someone who was at least implied to be bisexual.

2. There is a scene in the first Beetlejuice movie where he kisses Otho on the cheek or at least acts as if he's going to. This may be Bugs Bunny-esque but Otho, the character, is gay, even though it's not out-right said. He has several implied gay traits that were stereotypes of the 1980s such as being an interior designer from New York City.

3. In the Beetlejuice animated series Beetlejuice (Betelgeuse) has a persona named Betty Juice. Though Beetlejuice can turn invisible or shapeshift into virtually anything, he chooses to be a girl to tag along with Lydia and her friends, Bertha and Prudence. He doesn't just do this once or twice. He does it repeatedly. He loves being Betty Juice and is very confident as her. She even has a catchphrase. "Never fear, Betty Juice is here!"

4. Beetlejuice had a song and dance stage show in Universal studios called Beetlejuice's Rock 'n roll Graveyard Review. I know that doesn't necessarily make him queer but just look at this fabulous costumes he magically gives the classic monsters when he enlists them for his rock band.

5. Beetlejuice got his own Broadway musical in which his own mother proves to be an antagonistic threat, he gets a redemption arc annnnd the musical was nominated for eight Tony Awards. That's pretty gay if you ask me. He even does Jazz hands.

6. Beetlejuice French kisses Adam in the Beetlejuice Broadway musical and attempts to seduce both Adam and Barbara and sexually harasses both of them too.

7. He's Italian. :-P Beetlejuice's origin is given in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice confirming that he was a graverobber about six-hundred-years-ago during the Black Death in Italy and his new bride poisoned him on his wedding night, intending to kill him and then feast on his soul for immortality, so before the poison could take effect he hacked her to pieces. During the flashback narration he mentions that he was into some messed up stuff but even he has his limits.

8. All versions of Beetlejuice love a good song and dance number. Confirmed by his reaction to the Maitlands' Banana Boat Song (Day-o) number in the original movie, the song and dance he and Lydia do in the pilot episode of the Beetlejuice animated series (Critter Sitters), and several other episodes, including one with a punk band. Beetlejuice's Rock 'n Roll Graveyard Review Universal Studios stage show, and out-right said in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

9. The original script writer and the producer were both gay. I may add more to this list later.

[filmmarvel]

Thoughts on the Miss Peregrines Home For Peculiar Children Movie Adaptation

This is kind of long and I don’t expect many people to read it, this has just been on my mind and I needed to write it down somewhere.

I’d note that I’m a big fan of the books, I’ve read and own all of them. I’m also definitely a little biased towards the movie as I was a lot younger when it came out so obviously I loved it without any question.

I wanna start by saying that unlike some of my other posts, this won’t be a necessarily analytical review. Instead I want to aim this post towards explaining some of the creative decisions and changes from the source material. But, of course I can’t not provide some brief overall thoughts before I dive into the main point, which will probably sound a lot more appreciative. Frankly I don’t think this movie is very good. To name a few things, I think the majority of the characters lack depth, development, and interest. I also wasn’t a fan of some of the acting, dialogue, or Asa Butterfield’s questionable accent. There were also a number of plot holes, and moments that were explained far better in the book. My favorite thing to say when discussing this movie is that my left brain hates it but my right brain loves it. Now that we’ve gotten through with the analytical stuff, let’s move on to the main point.

Clearly this movie isn’t exactly beloved among the book fans because of all of the changes Tim Burton made to the source material. Emma and Olive’s powers switching and changing the ages to name the biggest ones. As someone who has fond memories of this movie, I’d like to explain my idea about why he made as many changes as he did.

Simply put, it was for the aesthetic. Tim Burton is known for his eccentric and fantastical movies. I believe the book was quite a bit more grounded than this movie- everything from costumes to sets, to (yes) even the character design was a little less fanciful. Clearly, Tim Burton’s vision for this movie was, in a word, whimsical. And oddly enough for Tim Burton, lighthearted. I think pretty much all of the creative decisions he made can be traced back to that goal. Starting with Olive and Emma’s powers. Emma, one of the main characters, had fire powers (and a matching fiery personality) in the books. For this movie, they gave her Olive’s ability to float. She was literally a lighter character. Combining her new power with her flowing outfit and sweet disposition, she made for a more whimsical character. Do I think the book version of Emma is a way better character? Yes. Would I have liked to see her onscreen instead? Absolutely. In fact it would’ve been a dream to see Tim’s campy take on her original character. But did I hate this version? No, I didn’t. This Emma fulfilled the overall aesthetic of the movie. Changing the ages (aging up a few characters like Olive and Enoch, and making the rest younger) made for a far more lighthearted film. Aging up Olive and Enoch provided a chance for a sweet romantic arc, and the crew of younger characters made it feel a lot more family oriented. I think you get the logic here. Same thing goes for any changes to personalities or general character design. This even applies to the ending of the movie. Obviously it was a lot crazier than the ending of the book, but it was more of a spectacle. Skeletons? Cotton Candy? A giant steamship? Pretty wild, and certainly fun to watch. I’m not saying I liked or preferred his version, just that I didn’t hate his vision, and saw where he was coming from. I really do wish his vision had been executed better, as to not prioritize spectacle over storytelling.

Because I started by listing some aspects of the movie that I really disliked, I think I should end this little rant with some details I love. This movie was truly creative. All of the little props and costumes and details are so wonderful and exciting to me, many of which aren’t included in the book. I absolutely adore Miss Peregrine’s character design, her look is incredible, and Eva Green pulled it off so well! Similarly, Emma’s shoes were GORGEOUS. I also really loved what Tim Burton did with Enoch’s dolls. Don’t get me wrong, I love the homunculus in the books, but these creepy, broken, mismatched dolls were really sick. The sets were really gorgeous as well, they’re such a dream. Namely, the house itself was just beautiful, inside and out. It’s so amazing to me that it’s a real location. Of course I also have to mention the impressive topiary sculptures in the yard, they were a really fun touch. Finally, the last thing I’ll mention is the Hollows. Their appearance in this movie was far more sinister than the book, which I thought was super cool. Plus the fact that they ate peoples eyes made them even creepier, I love that kind of stuff!

[mariacallous]

(New York Jewish Week) — In the 1960s, a drag queen named Flawless Sabrina arrived in New York City during a time when drag performances were not only stigmatized in mainstream society, but within LGBTQ circles as well. 

But Flawless Sabrina had a plan: Her welcoming demeanor — which she described as a “bar mitzvah mother” — helped her popularize the art form, and over the next few decades she became one of the country’s first well-known drag performers, a prominent LGBTQ activist and a mentor to young queer New Yorkers. 

The person behind the drag, the activism and the inspiration was Jack Doroshow, a Jewish boy from Philadelphia who organized his first drag pageant in 1959 as a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania.

Doroshow’s death in late 2017, at age 78, prompted writer Elyssa Maxx Goodman to think seriously about how to document the history of drag in New York City, a lifelong passion of hers. After more than five years of work, her debut book, “Glitter and Concrete: A Cultural History of Drag in New York City,” is out this week.

Goodman told the New York Jewish Week that it was her Jewish upbringing that made her particularly attuned to recording the stories of these artists and performers over the last 150 years. 

“One of the things we learn about as Jews from very young is how our stories either were destroyed or faced many attempts at destruction. That’s something that I kind of took with me throughout my life,” Goodman, 34, told the New York Jewish Week. “I wanted to preserve the stories that aren’t being preserved, which is how I approached my relationship to drag history.”

The New York Jewish Week caught up with Goodman ahead of her book’s launch to talk about how her childhood, New York City and her cultural Jewish identity inspired the book.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

What inspired you to write this book?

What pushed me to write this book was that it didn’t exist and it was a book I wanted to read. When the very famous New York drag queen Flawless Sabrina, who was also Jewish, passed away in November 2017, I wanted to make sure that there were no stories that got lost. I started to think about what other books had been written that chronicle the life of drag artists in New York City. There wasn’t a book that was really a written-through history. I knew that these artists deserve that and I wanted to make sure that their stories are remembered. That was definitely the driving force in wanting to do the book.

I first was exposed to drag when I was about 7 years old. I saw the movie “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar” and I was taken with it ever since then. I had grown up watching 1950s movie musicals with my mother, which were these very vibrant technicolor explosions with lots of swirling dresses and beautiful costumes. Drag is a natural extension of that. So for me, at first, it was just another phase of that interest in costume design and glamor. As I got older, I learned more about the very powerful, rebellious nature of drag and how it is a force to be reckoned with on its own, as an art form and as a life force. What can draw you in is the glamour, but as you get older what keeps you there — at least what kept me there — is the appreciation for its spirit of “Glamour as Resistance,” as the artist Justin Vivian Bond says.

How is your Jewish identity or upbringing connected to your interest in drag?

My relationship to Judaism is deeply cultural — that’s the way that I connect to it most strongly. The first people who brought me to a drag show in real life were my parents and throughout my life, they encouraged my interest in drag. 

Everything that we learn about ourselves as a culture, whether it is intentional or not, comes through in creating a book like this, or at least it did for me. We’re taught to question — I arrived at this place because I questioned why the book didn’t exist. Then I just kept asking questions: Where did this come from? Why don’t people know about it? How can I teach it to them? The desire for knowledge and desire for education are all things that I took from Judaism. 

The Jewish drag artists I encountered in the book, among them Jack Doroshow, aka Flawless Sabrina, as well as Harvey Fierstein and a drag king named Buddy Kent all came from backgrounds where, in some way or another, they had to fight to be themselves. In some ways, that was fighting to take up space as a Jewish person and in other ways as a queer person. For all of them, it was both. The book contains selections of stories about making space for yourself in the world and the way that you want to live in it — I think that that is something that a lot of Jews had to reckon with as they came to this country in a multitude of ways.

Why did you choose to focus only on the drag history in New York?

New York is one of the cultural epicenters of the world. Because it holds all these different kinds of cultures, it draws the people who are drawn to that. That includes drag artists. There’s amazing drag in other cities, but New York is the city that I know best and it has a history all its own.

It’s also the place that I have the most personal connection to. I’m from South Florida originally and I went to my first drag shows in South Florida, but the drag histories that I learned growing up came from New York. So I moved to New York in July 2010. My primary motivation for moving to New York was to be a writer and to be able to easily access all of the things that I wanted to write about, and drag certainly was one of them. There were these deep-seated histories that had been a passion of mine for a very long time and I wanted to keep telling those stories and learning those stories. New York was a place where I wanted to make myself a student as well as to share my knowledge.

Drag performing has been a major target of right-wing circles this year — as someone who has been involved with and written about the community, how do you respond to the backlash?

I do see it as an opportunity for people to learn more about it. Like I mentioned, drag has been an art form for thousands of years. It’s at least as old as the history of theater. The people who do it are artists and deserve to be respected in such a way. My hope is that with a book that can show the breadth of drag’s involvement in our culture, it can help show that this is an art form with an extended history that can’t just be suppressed and isn’t going anywhere. The struggles the drag is facing are not new, but that doesn’t mean that it should be devalued as an art form, or as a form of self-expression at all.

[solar-halos]

ballad appreciation post

i’m so happy :D. i’ve watched ballad twice this week. the second time i watched it w my brothers i didn’t have anything to say about it bc i was mostly just on edge about not getting kicked out of the theatre but since i teased a breakup over this Boyfriend was on his best behavior so i actually got to watch the movie without anyone asking a million question a scene. in related news we have another lucy gray truther on our side. here are some of my thoughts

1. tom blyth opening screen …. i still got jumpscared seeing him in the nude

2. the way they pronounce lucy grays name still catches me off guard. i’ve been ignoring the “i” completely and just say “bard” in my head (yk bc she’s The Bard). with that being said i know the mayor was in like 2 scenes but i think he did a really good job picking out lucy grays name he looked crazy

3. hunter schafer is my eyebrow inspo. also i’ve mentioned this before w the bathing suits having a 1920s and 50s vibe but she’s giving 1940s to me. but obviously glamor 1940s not war ridden 1940s

4. watching this w someone who hasn’t read the book is so enjoyable. when lucy gray dropped the snake down mayfairs shirt Boyfriend got SO tense “waitwait did she just try to fuckin murder her??” god forbid women do anything

5. okay sorry but the first time i watched it i was trying not to smile (in a laugh-y way) when lucy grays singing part came on. when i read it i thought that part ate but actually seeing it was so different for some reason. i think this feeling might be amplified if you’ve never read the book bc my sister felt the exact same way she said it was kinda fuckin cringe. idk if it was just bc we were at home or she was just feeling silly but she started singing that one camp rock song that’s like “we can’t back down.” which ok yeah that was kinda lucy grays song in a nutshell but it kinda did piss me off bc the “you can kiss my ass!!!!” part was coming on soon and i was stressing over them missing it. also didnt lucy gray have a full on dance break in the book?? god. they should have kept that in

6. okay that scene where she bowed and d12’s nasty ass coal industry being in the background is still one of my fav scenes. ugh loved it

7. wovey idk what it was this time but when she was like “im rlly good at climbing” i almost burst into tears. guys she’s really good at climbing

8. hunter schafer literally killed this. i’d argue that tigris is just as much of a product of her environment as snow is but i don’t rlly know how to articulate that

9. speaking of the reading vs watching thing i mentioned earlier: it rlly jumped out with grandmaam. idk why but when i was reading it grandmaam was SO scary and intimidating to me but watching her so frail and skinny and slightly senile talk about how lucy gray is a killer just seemed so crazy. especially since we know snow believes her

10. “they’re gonna get bombed aren’t they” wtf i walk into every movie clueless how are ppl straight up predicting entire events. but again w the reading vs watching i was GAGGED when they got bombed in the book but in the movie it seemed weird?? like “get the camera on her” and then it just feels like they’re trying to take up space until the actual bombs land. but whatever im being so bitchy i wasn’t surprised bc i literally knew it was gonna happen

11. “i want coral making my latte” and i want tanner on the grill

12. i think it was tanner, but i rlly liked his outfit. i liked all their outfits actually. i’ve been watching so many reels abt the costume designer explaining her inspo for the costumes (like tigris and her 1940s glamor thing going on)

13. okay seriously why did they cut out the kiss… and then when they actually did kiss why did they have lucy gray pull away at first…… i know francis lawrence saying this was a love story was icky but he did a bad job at portraying that so maybe we were worried for nothing (jk we were worried for all the right reasons bc if i had a nickel for every time someone said “i thought they were gonna get married!” about lucy gray and snow i’d have two nickels. which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice). also not to be a hater but snowbaird fans actually fucking irritate me. like the fans that are like “but what if it was wholesome 🥺🥺” what if lucy gray tried to kill him and he tried to kill her back? what if he managed to track her down and she bit him again? what if they hate each other so much that they’re only together bc they wanna see the other person suffer? what then

14. tbh seeing billy taupe made me feel a bit guilty 😭😭. almost terminated my ao3 acc but i get that feeling every time someone mentions something im obsessed w in a very casual way so it wasn’t rlly that serious. also someone either on tiktok or insta was like “was i the only person who preferred snows curls to his buzz cut?” and i genuinely couldn’t tell if they were joking bc like. everyone prefers snows curls to his buzz cut. even snow prefers his curls to his buzzcut. with that being said billy taupe needed to lose the cap

15. ngl the ballad of lucy gray baird actually did make me cry a bit… lucy gray was only 16 she needed to be on tumblr

16. where’d she get that guitar from tho

17. i wish they would have kept in the tributes death parade. that part was icky

18. okay there was a scene where lucky had a drink and then he flicked something off it and pup (i think that was his name) flinched cos it landed on his neck that was so fucking funny i hate that this was the first time i noticed it

19. okay seriously why did they make dill get poisoned. also that cornocopia scene. hmph

20. the first time i watched it i remembered being really confused why lucky called mizzen Merciless Mizzen. but omg after he tried chasing lucy gray down in that vent i understood that was crazy of him. and it did seem like he was an actual teenager which actually made it more unsettling. i feel like rachel zegler has a baby face (i actually think she was 17 in west side story and she looks the exact same now) but mizzen’s actor sing singing her name was perfect

21. lamina at the beam… didn’t she manage to kill someone in the book??

22. “does this mean we get to go home??” god i wish

23. but also “please lucy i can’t have killed all of them for nothing” i liked that she didn’t call her lucy gray that was a nice touch. but also. what a crazy thing to ask. i wonder if she thought lucy gray would be chill w that

24. take this with a grain of salt i haven’t read the books in so long but when snow snuck up on lucy gray in the meadow didn’t she level her guitar at him and then be like “sorry lol i still have one foot in the arena :P” they should have had her hit him in the face w it

25. the old therebefore still hits. i wish they would have included scenes where snow is shown to genuinely dislike her songs like in the books. in the movies he seems more disinterested in what she’s doing which is still bad but also it doesn’t seem as overt as him literally hating on her for no fuckin reason. which i guess is bc we have no insight into his head, like i think someone pointed out that in the book and movie he cried over sejanus being dead but in the book we know it’s bc he was scared it was gonna be him next but in the movie it just looked like he was sad. which i get it he’s perceived as nice by other people but the audience is not supposed to be other ppl we know what his motives are. im not sure how that’d be solved, cos i guess it would be pretty annoying to have him voice his thoughts and you also don’t wanna spoon feed ur audience but like. idk. seems like something you’d wanna make super clear bc to me it didn’t seem like you were supposed to like / sympathize with him, but the way it was done kinda seemed half baked

26. speaking of that… Boyfriend did not get the memo that snow was fucking crazy. “i thought he was gonna marry lucy gray in d12” WHY? like why would you even think that. were u not paying attention during the hunger games trilogy marathon where would lucy gray fit into that. since my sister thought the exact same thing she tried being like “see? it’s confusing” but it actually isn’t. that’s still a better reaction than my brother he was actually being a fucking weirdo about it cos when snow found lucy grays scarf in the woods and then the snake bit him this mfer went “she tried to kill him” no!!! but i think there might be something to be said about how snow, completely sober, came to the same conclusion as my brother, who was so high he couldn’t even remember who sejanus was

27. okay that’s a lot of sibling lore so atp i think i better end the post. bye

[delicatepoets]

mely!!!!! hi bestie!!!! i wanted to stop by ur inbox to say hi and wish u an amazing day and im hoping u get this weekend off <333 

i HAVE to tell u i finally saw saltburn!!!!! i was going to see priscilla but when i finally finished everything it wasnt playing anymore 😭 and i wanted to actually GO somewhere. u were SO RIGHT!!!!! the plot wasn’t that surprising, but the acting was so good (carrie mulligan and rosamund pike esp made me laugh sm). the style, the setting, the costume design, the music EVERYTHING WAS PERFECT!!!!!!!

LOVE YOUUUUU and ty again for always giving me all the best movie recs 💞💓💓💞💓💞💓💓

h!!!!!!!!!!!! my sweet angel bestie!!!!!!!!!!!!!! god ily so much! 😭 thank you!!!!!!!! i was working like crazy but it just made the holidays a little more special bcs my clients were in such a good mood! 🤭 i hope you had a good couple of days!!!! how was it?! tell me everything!!!!!

(saltburn spoilers below <3)

YEAHHHHHH!!!!!! SALTBURN NATION WE ARE SO UP!!!!!! i have completely immersed myself in everything “saltburn” and every time i rewatch a appreciate a new aspect or i find new things and its just one of those movies!!!!! as for the plot…, yes you are SO RIGHT! but the costumes and the thought that is put into every detail GOD! i want to spend the day in emerald fennells brain…. just one day pls! the acting!!!!!!!! GOD!!!!! everyone played their parts so perfectly! rosamund pike and carrie mulligan and barry keoghan are INCREDIBLE but EVERYONE ELSE KEPT UP AND IT WAS AMAZING TO WATCH! i loved alison oliver as venetia omg! she had some of my FAVORITE scenes !!! like this one!!!!!! OMG I LOVE!!

and archie madekwe as farleigh and of course jacob elordi as felix!!!!!!! everyone played their parts so perfectly!!! the costumes ans music were so true to the time period the story takes place in omg! i love saltburn so much omg i cannot WAIT for you to watch priscilla! i need every single thought you have on it!! i have seen so much about it and i am about to finish the book “elvis and me” which its based off of and its all making more sense so im excited to scream about it w you! (if you can’t find it playing anywhere lmk i will send you a link 🤭)

i love YOU and thank you for giving me all the freedom to scream about it w you! i love discussing movies w you and the fact that it isn’t just surface level stuff but how we got into even lighting and the writing, costumes, music, and framing and all that fun stuff 🤭🤭🤭 I LOVE YOU SO BAD OH MY GOD 💞💘💖💓🫂💘💞💖💓🫂

[mermaidsirennikita]

What’s your opinion on the kind of pop, anachronistic period drama trend?

It’s obviously not new (e.g. Coppola’s Marie Antoinette), but I feel like, post Bridgerton, nearly every new period or costume drama series has a contemporary soundtrack and heavy-handed anachronisms (dialogue, behavior, etc.).

In the past few months, there’s been The Buccaneers and My Lady Jane, with uber spunky, plucky heroines and imo both shows feel so dated and banal now, very 2010s feminism. Like I can’t believe Apple TV adapted Edith Wharton and had her characters twerking at a ball?

I do like it in some cases—The Great works for me in a way My Lady Jane hasn’t, despite both being comedies. And I do like that all the aforementioned shows have done diverse casting. I like that The Great does “color-blind” casting like in theater; I appreciate Bridgerton’s “post-racism” alt-history approach much less. Weirdly, The Buccaneers kind of straddles both, acknowledging race and racism but also not making a big deal of it—why mention it at all then?

I’d love to see a Joe Wright-esque period drama with actors of color and some thoughtful anachronisms (like how Elizabeth wears her hair down), but an original score instead of Olivia Rodrigo. I guess there’s Sandition and Tom Jones, but PBS is so low budget compared to the streamers.

I love it! The majority of the shows (and movies) that have done it I enjoy. Honestly, I wouldn't say that the current trend has much to do with Sofia's Marie Antoinette because it's been so long and because, while I enjoy that movie for what it is, it is very... aesthetic without a lot of interest in the characters and personality. Sofia had very little to say, besides "Marie Antoinette normal teenage girl hence the contemporary references" which even back then was little... Yeah girl. We know?

Whereas I feel these works are often very heavy on referential dialogue, wacky characters, etc.

You could say that something like The Tudors is influential because it presented itself as very modern in its marketing, it didn't truly care about *looking* period (I'd say that My Lady Jane looks more period out of context at points)... But it didn't actively say "I don't give a fuck, we are consciously folding the 21st century in". Which is what makes things different now.

Honestly, to me the clear predecessor to the big trend now is Reign. And I'm not saying that's because the show was this massive hit (it wasn't lol), obviously. But you don't have to be a massive hit to forecast a trend. You just have to be seen by the right people, who may not even like your show! They just like your concept enough to pick from it. Reign incorporated the instrumental covers of modern songs first, Reign didn't give a fuck about period-accurate costumes at ALL (and often compensated by pulling from designers like Alexander McQueen), Reign snarked about history while gleefully doing its own thing.

I disagree with you quite a bit on My Lady Jane. I don't personally find the feminism of the show very OTT--while Jane wants to be an independent and free spirit and not get confined to a specific role, that's really pretty typical for young historical and fantasy heroines. She has to have SOMETHING to fight against. The show has zero issue with creating female characters who are pretty fucked and dimensional, which I think is one of the first signs that a series isn't straw feminist. Mary is a fucking LUNATIC and a horrible person, and though the show makes it clear that most of this really is because of the abuse she suffered at her father's hands, it doesn't excuse her behavior. Jane's mom is delightfully self-centered and avaricious... and she also cares for her daughters, though she's still happy to sacrifice them. And she gets a fun little... semi-romance? He's in love and she likes to fuck, I guess? ADORED her, and it's a really unique role for a middle-aged female character. This is also really the show I've seen present Elizabeth I in the least YOU GO GIRL kind of way. She hasn't had a ton of limelight just yet, but as of now she's kind of... just a girl.

The Buccaneers is very boring and largely about female suffering in the guise of feminism, but I find it sits more on the Bridgerton end of things, in which it dips its toes in anachronism (heavily) without wanting to really get into the fun of it. It's a hook, but it's not something the show really has a lot of wholehearted joy in it, which I found Reign did, as well as The Great, and to a much lesser extent The Serpent Queen. Plus something like Rosaline, a movie that really gets overlooked but has a lot, tonally, in common with My Lady Jane (if not in terms of fantasy).

To me, I like the full-hearted, balls to the wall swing nine times out of ten. I want the contemporary music, and a lot of the time, I'd prefer it to be the actual track itself versus a strings version at this point. I want the snark, I want the asides, I want the good time. The Great has PROBABLY done it best for me at this point. And I will say, to me the music is a big part of it? So an original score without any more modern music wouldn't work for me here. I also don't really need it to be a Joe Wright-esque vibe; if I want that vibe, I would often prefer full sweeping romance.