#i know that technically they got the costumes from some other guy but lemme have my fun

[xomii-ink]

who did u get that cravat from gintoki??

#gintama #gintoki sakata #kagura gintama #shimura shinpachi #hijigin #ginhiji #i know that technically they got the costumes from some other guy but lemme have my fun #i hate drawing gintoki with his hair back?? that's not my boy i dont know this man #this is for my yaoi friday piece <3

[scarlettriot]

Mina Ashido Headcanons!

@jewel116 requested some headcanons of our Alien Queen and I am here to deliver!

Some of these also could be considered BakuSquad HCs, hope that's alright.

I also went ahead and included some Adult Mina and 18+ Mina Headcanons too. Both are below the cut and clearly stated. Warnings are posted at each header mark.

If anyone has any other requests, lemme know!

Basic Mina Headcanons

Warnings: It's as fluffy as her dang hair! (Swearing)

. Most definitely has ADHD! In class, she is constantly tapping her foot on bouncing her leg as a means of trying her best to keep focused.

. Has a collection of shirts that she has designated for sleep and loungewear because she's burned acid holes in them by accident. Sometimes she'll wear them to concerts and shows if the design is cool enough.

. Loves piggyback rides! Frequently will run and jump on the backs of the guys in the BakuSquad. Even Katsuki himself puts up with it after a while.

. While Katsuki is the 'mom' of the squad, Mina is the one everyone goes to when they need comfort. Denki will curl up in her lap after a long day, Eijiro frequently goes to her when his insecurities creep back in, Hanta shows up late at night and they talk in her room about nothing just because he doesn't want to be alone, and Katsuki, well, he shows up to her room, slams the door and complains for a solid half-hour after reading a particularly heartbreaking scene in a manga while she listens to every word and validates his feelings.

. Mina worries far more than people believe she does. Her bubbly, loud, personality usually masks it but she knows when people are lying to her about what's going on in their heads.

. Sitting properly in a chair physically bothers her. She'd much rather be hanging upside down off it.

. She lowkey likes that the boys get protective over her.

. Mina is the type of person who gets A LOT of random thoughts that pop up in her head and one of the few people who actually will engage with the sheer randomness of the ideas is Shoto. Not only does he engage, he comes up with his own! The two can talk for hours.

. Loves hosting 'spa parties' in the common area of the dorms, everyone is welcome to join.

. When road trips happen, she's making the playlists (technically, she and Kyoka switch off).

. Tries teaching Tenya, Izuku, and Shoto how to flirt. After a very embarrassing first hour, Shoto didn't learn a single thing, Izuku was only good at it when paired with Shoto and Tenya... Tenya had her SHOOK! Man has game and she made sure everyone knew!

. Has weekly meetings with Yuga where they drink tea and spill the tea.

. She is so damn ticklish. Hanta was teasing her one day, she warned him to stop, he received an elbow to the face for not listening.

. Tried to grow her hair out once but it didn't grow down... it grew OUT. Mina thought she rocked it, and she totally did but ended up having it cut back down so poor Tsyu could see in class.

. Wakes up early three days a week to practice her hand-to-hand combat with Eijiro. Mina wants to improve her technique and Eijiro needed to work on his mobility, it benefits them both.

. Just Dance is her favorite game, she dominates.

. Easily forms new interests.

. Won't admit it but she gets jealous super easily.

. Will be the first to attempt to throw hands for a friend! I HC she was picked on as a child for looking so different but it never really phased her too badly, she likes looking different but understands that not everyone thinks like she does. So, if someone were to say something about Mezo's facemask, she's stepping in to defend the guy without hesitation.

. Knows every TikTok dance EVER. If a new one comes out, she's mastered it by end of the day and her account is always up to date.

. (Popular idea but important to reinforce) Mina and Eijiro co-founded a club, Horn Buddies, specifically to make Eri feel more welcome. They take her on trips and group outings. The only horned person who's not allowed to join is Pony because she was rude as heck to Mezo.

. Mina gets extra competitive over board games.

. She can ice skate and roller skate like a champ.

. Mina is resilient, dedicated, and passionate. She has goals and the girl will achieve them.

Pro Hero - Adult Mina Headcanons

Warnings - Mentions of alcohol use and swearing

. Gets several tattoos and piercings.

. Starts a roller derby club with most of the girls from 1A.

. Loves going out to the hottest dance clubs just as much as she enjoys staying in and munching on take-out food with friends.

. The Horn Buddies club she formed with Eijiro has now expanded into regular society and both young heroes couldn't be more proud. Together they've formed a foundation that strives to help those with non-flashy, unconventional, or misunderstood quirks feel welcomed and loved.

. Does her best to shop small whenever she can. Mina wants to help her community in as many different ways as possible.

. Becomes a fashion icon for many small, just starting out, alternative clothing lines. They love her look and the standard she sets.

. Goes to fashion and runway shows with Momo on the regular. While Momo prefers buying right off the rack, Mina goes to thrift stores and buys items that are coming back into style.

. Does her best to stay in touch with her classmates. She really cherished the friendships she made and goes the extra mile to make sure everyone stays connected.

. Has told off Shoto's father. Sent the man an anonymous bag of flaming dog shit as well for making his son so damn stressed. Sorry, not sorry.

. As long as she isn't in the middle of a fight, Mina will always stop to take a photo with a fan or sign an autograph. In or out of costume, she doesn't care.

. In high school, Mina's room was always decked out for the holidays. She goes decoration crazy and it is always done well. But, now that she's an adult with that pro hero money and her own place, she's the best house on the block decorated for each and every holiday! Inside and out! Also throws holiday-themed parties.

. Got absolutely trashed with the BakuSquad one night and taught them all how to twerk. By the end of the lesson, she deemed Katsuki was the best of her students.

. Loves to drink. Is a lightweight. Katsuki and Eijiro have carried her home more times than they can count.

NSFW 18+ Mina HC Below - Minors DNI

Warnings: Drinking, rough sex, mentions of orgies, handcuffs, impact play, and praise kinks. Subtle sexual relations with BakuSquad, Jiro, Todoroki, and Ochaco.

. The Queen of stripteases and lap dances.

. If any of her friends are at a party or some event and they need a fake date, Mina is their go-to person. She's handsy. She's flirty. And has no problem with platonic make-outs.

. Always encourages kissing-themed games at parties. Seven Minutes in Heaven, Spin the Bottle, those sorts of games. Mina also loves to play cupid and has rigged a game or two to get people together.

. Has made out with every member of the BakuSquad at least once as well as Kyoka, Shoto, and Ochaco simply because she was curious.

. Has attempted to start an orgy with the BakuSquad before when intoxicated. Still mentions it in passing just in case they change their minds.

. Has gone further with Katsuki and Eijiro though. Maybe both at the same time once or twice or several times...

. Wonderfully filthy dirty talk. Can even make Katsuki blush.

. (A personal favorite of mine that was in a previous post) When they were first years, Eijiro asked innocently enough, to touch her horns. He was gentle but that didn't matter. Our poor girl was so damn flustered! Her face turned red bright, she felt hot, and she had to go take a very cold shower!

. Ei felt terrible about it. It took them both maturing for her to explain exactly why she reacted that way... and then asked him to do it again.

. Is likely to send NSFW texts and photos while people are indeed at work. She is a Pro Hero though so only certain people are allowed to have those photos. A scandal is the last thing she wants.

. Very good at communication and is not afraid to speak her mind about what she wants and needs out of a relationship and her sex life.

. Loud, very loud, very needy.

. Fuzzy handcuffs in every color she can think of and adores impact play.

. Let her know she's doing a good job, Mina responds well to praise.

. Big cuddler after sex. Wants to snuggle into you and more than likely take a nap.

#mha headcanons #bnha headcanons #mha #mina ashido #mina ashido headcanons #mina ashido fluff #bakusquad #bakusquad headcanons #mina ashido smut #katsuki bakugo smut #eijiro kirishima smut #kirishima #bakugo #denki kaminari #hanta sero #shoto todoroki #bakukirimina

[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

ACTION COMICS ANNUAL (2021) fixed the trash fire that was Future State: Superwoman so lemme just RAMBLE about how much I loved it.

Spoilers, obvs.

Folks who read this blog (thank you, but also, my sincere apologies XD) will perhaps recall that I...did not particularly care for the Superwoman book, that came out of Future State.

(Of course, various individuals on twitter have since pointed out that Future State was deliberately set up to be a bad timeline; a future that the current DC books are actively fighting against. So I guess, technically, you could argue that the book was awful on purpose.

Except that, you know, some of the awful stuff was still framed good and inspiring. 

So, okay, but also, no.)

BUT THIS ANNUAL? FIXES EVERY GRIEVANCE I HAVE WITH FUTURE STATE: SUPERWOMAN.

I wasn’t even going into this book with huge expectations for Kara because of Superwoman, but! She’s here! As like, a key component of the House of El!

SHE IS THE LEADER. FOR MANY YEARS, APPARENTLY, WHILE CLARK IS AWAY.

I’m getting ahead of myself.

Backtracking a bit: this book begins with a framing device, featuring a group of Kryptonian refugees that have been introduced recently in Action Comics. 

We’ve got an older guy, Byla, telling a bunch of kids stories about The House of El.

Which is how we get back to the characters introduced in the initial House of El oneshot: Brandon, Theand’r, Ronan, Rowan, etc.

And, to be clear! I was excited for this book, knowing it would be about these guys! And these guys alone! Because they’re very cool! And there’s clearly like, a whole history and mythology just simmering below the surface and MAN. I wish we had a House of El ongoing. XD

They’re all gathered on Sanctuary to attend the wedding of Alura Van-El and Khan.

So FIX NUMBER ONE: The moon sanctuary introduced in Superwoman is no longer home to a bunch of rando jerks; rather, it’s an ACTUAL sanctuary for aliens/folks who need it, AND there are a BUNCH of House of El family members!

PKJ clarified on twitter that the ‘Sanctuary’ is built from Kara’s Fortress of Sanctuary, and that it’s a city that functions a little like Camelot. They grant refuge to all, and the members of the House of El act as a kind of Knights of the Round Table, protecting anyone who needs their help.)

THUS!! The actual dream of Kara’s Fortress is realized, AND she is SURROUNDED by friends, family, and loved ones, as opposed to dying alone. On the moon. With just her dog to keep her company.

Anyways it’s great. We love to see it.

FIX NUMBER TWO: Kara displays an emotion OTHER than barely-suppressed rage, and is genuinely happy to be overseeing this wedding!

Like, there’s no background, simmering animosity towards her cousins. 

Byla even hints at another ‘tale of the House of El’ where Kara and Clark meet again! And presumably get along okay!

FIX NUMBER THREE: The Superwoman mantle is passed down to Theand’r! 

Future State: Superwoman made a big to-do about how the Supergirl name was so singular that Kara never gave it to anyone (which is so STUPID because if your big thesis is how inspiring Kara is as an individual but you say, ‘no one else gets to be Supergirl’ you kinda undermine your own point.)

(Imagine if Into the Spider-Verse spent all that time building up how inspiring Spider-Man is as a hero, and then in an epilogue narrated by Miles, he revealed that no one else ever became ‘Spider-Man’, and that the name died with Peter.)

(That would be DUMB, right?????)

This isn’t passing the Supergirl mantle, but it’s passing the Superwoman mantle, so it’s close! Which, hey. I’ll take it. XD

FIX NUMBER FOUR: Kara actually comes across as the mature, adult leader of the House of El. This ties into the whole ‘she’s not a walking bundle of barely-contained rage’ bit; she’s, like. Graceful and dignified and very clearly no longer a kid/teenager. 

Literal and figurative character growth! WOOOOOOO. 

FIX NUMBER FIVE: There isn’t the gross ‘birthright’/’pure-blooded Kryptonians are stronger/better’ element in play. In fact! Pyrrhos, the bad guy, calls Kara a traitor for allowing the ‘diluting of Clark’s bloodline’ e.g. letting folks who AREN’T Els by blood become part of the fam.  

FIX NUMBER SIX: Kara gets angry at Cyborg Superman (the original one, not her dad) but it never devolves into murderous rage, as it does in Superwoman. She PARDONS him!

Mercy! Sympathy!

AaaaaAAAAhhhhhh love it. LOVE IT.

And so! Nearly every. Major. Complaint I had regarding Superwoman is fixed in this Annual.

*happy sigh*

Some final thoughts on the Annual overall, so as not to make this COMPLETELY about Kara. ...Well. Moreso than I already have, anyway.

The art is solid, though I feel for the artist who had to share the book with Godlewski; it’s not that their art is bad, it’s just that Godlewski is very, VERY good, so his pages look a touch more polished and confident.

That said, the character art throughout? Excellent. This is a cool, varied cast and both artists do a great job with all the designs/costumes etc.

(Well, okay, Kara’s costume looks a little weird at times; I like the costume but I honestly think they should’ve stuck with the costume introduced in Superman of Metropolis, it’s much easier for artists to replicate.)

(But also like. The Superwoman costume looks more stately/’grown-up’ so I get it.) 

I WANT TO SEE MORE OF BRANDON AND HIS KID.

I want to see more of ALL of these characters but you KNOW I found the two of them particularly endearing.

I love that the House of El has a Brainiac!

As is right and good, and should always be!

Overall, SO GLAD the annual allowed us to go on another adventure with these guys, and hope that PKJ has opportunities in the future to weave them in a bit more.

There’s already a cool connection brewing with the new character introduced in Action Comics proper. Thao-La, I think her name is? Can’t wait to see where that goes!

#long post #comic stuff #comics stuff #action comics annual #action comics spoilers #SG post

[warp-space-archive]

In a Hallow’d Hall

The Halloween special crossover no one knew they needed! Enjoy!

Link to the fic HERE!

Rian had just finished adjusting his costume when Toshinori walked in, grinning. He looked his boyfriend over with eyes full of love.

“Hmm… I’m not gonna lie, you look good in that.”

The brunette blushed brightly, pulling the hood up on his All Might onesie and covering his face. He, of course, was being All Might for Halloween. Toshi, clad in grey cargo pants, a black T-shirt, and a galaxy-print scarf, was going as Warp Space.

“Y-you look better as me than I probably do as you.”

The blonde snorted, stepping closer and lifting Rian’s chin. “Nonsense…” He murmured as he gave the shorter man a quick kiss. “You’re adorable… Though I have to admit, I can’t wait to take that off of you later.”

Rian grumbled, patting the taller man’s cheek. “Sure, sure…” Then, with a smile, he said, “You look good in casual clothes, To-san.”

Toshinori chuckled, ghosting a kiss over the brunette’s hand. “So, where did you say we were going? To meet another ‘you’, right?”

The younger man blushed, then grinned. “Yep…” His expression then turned comically serious. “On this night, the veil between worlds is thin, and easily crossed by those with the knowledge and skills to do so. Tonight I shall pull back the curtain and-”

“You’re being very dramatic.” Toshinori said, snickering.

“Pull back the curtain and allow us to reach another realm.” Rian finished, a huge grin threatening to break out on his face. “In all seriousness though, this is the only night our 'timelines’ intersect without fail. It’s a lot harder to cross our powers on other days. Lemme grab the gifts and…”

The older man smiled, watching his counterpart grab his things. The blonde still wasn’t entirely sure this wasn’t a prank, but it was interesting non-the-less. The thought of meeting another ‘Rian’, one similar, but also astonishingly different, had implications he wasn’t sure he wanted to fully consider yet. Although he did have a particular question.

“If this other you also has the same quirk as you, would I also be with him? I mean, would another me be with him?”

Rian hesitated, thinking as he picked up a duffel bag. “Well… Maybe? That ‘me’ is… well, his life’s been a lot different than mine. His world is a lot… darker. He isn’t very talkative, but I know he’s a bit of a… government experiment. That’s why I’m bringing him this food and stuff. He usually needs some cheering up. The stuff they do to him isn’t very nice.”

Toshinori didn’t have any words.

Rian finished double checking the bag’s contents, then smiled. “Alrighty! Ready to go?”

This is normal for him. The retired hero suddenly realized. He’s known about this version of him for so long, that he isn’t fazed by the concept. The fact that he could have been the one being treated horribly… he doesn’t let it register. He doesn’t want to think about himself as being the lucky one.

The blonde forced a broad smile. “Sure, let’s go, love.” He watched as Rian grinned, starting to shoulder the bag, but Toshi quickly stole it from him. “Nope, you just concentrate on getting us there. Keep your eyes on the road!”

The brunette snorted and rolled his eyes. “If you insist…” He held out his hand and closed his eyes for a moment. A feeling of prickly static filled the air, and a thick, out-of-focus portal started to form. It didn’t shimmer like Rian’s usual doorways, and instead seemed to be made of… something. It almost hurt to look at, as whatever made it up seemed to writhe and change. “Don’t stare too hard, you’ll get a headache.”

Toshinori shook his head, then smiled at Rian. “Caught me. Is it supposed to be like that, or…?”

Rian kissed him. “I think so. Since I’m connecting points that are… very, very, very, very far apart. My quirk has a lot to…” He took a step, correcting his balance, and grinned. “It’s a lot of ground to cover.”

“But you are okay?”

“Yeah, Just takes a bit out of me. Ready?”

Rian offered his hand, Toshinori took it, and they stepped through.

“Now, sometimes he doesn’t come right away, and he’s a bit nervous, so don’t worry if he… if he…”

Rian’s words teetered off as he, then Toshinori, stared ahead. Down the corridor, which the blonde could only assume was the ‘form’ this room took, as it bridged the gap between two realities, was a very unlikely sight.

)O(

Across the hall, the other duo watched as some familiar faces walked in.

“That’s them?” asked the hulking form of a… very sinister All Might, nearly doubled over to keep his voice near his partner’s ear. “That small one certainly looks like you, but the stick man next to him is…“ he squinted, continuing to speak quietly. “That almost looks like me over there…“

The younger man, significantly smaller than the ‘Rian’ that just entered the hall, but definitely his body double otherwise, gave a gentle and affirming squeeze on All Smite’s gigantic forearm. That was definitely the person the small young man was expecting.

“Well, he must have… had the same idea you did, my pet. Shall I call them over, or…?”

Rian looked at his escort. The tall, muscular Villain that stood beside him wore his usual, threatening work clothes, with the addition of a green headband adorned with giant googly eyes that threatened to fall off as he bent to speak to the young brunette. Rian then looked down at himself, eyes critical. He’d decided to wear a gag gift his ‘employer’ had gotten for him- a french maid outfit, complete with blue and black striped tights and a set of blue, sparkly cat ears. He decided he was the less scary looking of the two, and lifted his hand to wave at the other Rian.

After a short few seconds of hesitation, that Rian, dressed oddly in what looked like a pair of onesie pajamas, waved back and started walking.

Rian grinned up at Mister Smite, who gave some semblance of a smile back. “Go on, then. I’m right behind you, my pet.”

As the two Rians made their way towards the middle and hugged each other, the villainous All Might and Toshi locked eyes, sizing one another up.

What the hell happened to me over there? I look like a fucking skeleton. The villain thought, red eyes squinting into blue. He came along because he thought meeting another version of his Rian would be interesting, maybe even educational. He didn’t expect that another him would have the same idea.

He was surprised when, after a visible sigh, his frail counterpart began making his way towards the two Rians. Speaking quietly with the other Rian, he left them with the duffel bag he held and made his way towards the more massive man. He straightened as he moved, regaining some of his height, and a more commanding air, until the two men stood feet apart and eye to eye. They glared at one another for what seemed like forever, when a happy sort of yelp filled the room. Startled, they both looked.

The smaller Rian had opened the bag and was gleefully holding a bag of candy, practically vibrating from happy energy. It was a bag of KitKats.

The villain glanced at his counterpart, who had broken eye contact to watch, and was now smiling.

Maybe this would be a safe way to get him talking and get information from him.

“KitKats are my pet’s favorite. Are they your pet’s favorite as well?”

Startled, Toshinori turned his attention back to the larger man. “Pet?”

“Yes. That’s one of the nicknames I call my Rian. I also call him KitKat, and little one… are you and that one merely friends?” He said, snorting at the odd look on the other’s face.

“No, we’re happily dating. Ri-kun actually seems to prefer Reese’s cups…” He said, looking All Might up and down. “You’re… not what I expected.”

“And you aren’t what I expected.“

“What in the world happened to you?”

The bigger blonde sneered. “Are you actually asking me that? You look like a twig. Did you get hit by some sort of quirk that sucked all the muscle from you?”

“No. This is how I always look now.”

The villain stared. “You… You lost One for All?”

“Gave it away, more like. And suffered some bad injuries to boot…” He shrugged. “But I don’t think I’d change a thing. The world’s in good hands, and I have a lot to be grateful for…” He now gave his counterpart a critical look. “You’re a villain, aren’t you?”

A snort. “What gave me away?”

“That’s very similar to an outfit I wore a few times while playing the part of a villain for a class I’m teaching. Well, aside from…” He trailed off, glancing at the headband.

“You’re a teacher?“

“Did I stutter?”

“At least I don’t lose my attitude if I end up looking like you. Yes, I’m a villain.“

“Then Rian is…?”

“Only by proxy, don’t worry your bleeding heart over it. though he’d definitely be wanted by the government regardless of being near me. He is technically a runaway prisoner, a very wanted criminal.“

“What for?”

“…You don’t know? I would have thought yours would have mentioned something. I was told he very nearly went through a similar experience.“

Toshinori glanced over at the two Rians, squaring his shoulders. He’d have to talk to his about this later. But for now…

“Tell me.”

)O(

Meanwhile, the two young brunettes were sitting by the bag, eating candy and gushing about everything that’s happened since their last meaning.

“You mean you’re dating your Mister Smite?“ The other Rian asked almost silently, voice full of awe.

Rian blushed, nodding. “Y-yeah. I just… I mean… Yeah! We’re boyfriends. You mean you and the big guy aren’t…?”

The smaller Rian smiled softly, blushing, his hand on his cheek. “Well… In a way, we might be. But not in so many words…“

“And the outfit, is uh…?”

A soft chuckle. “He got it as a joke, since I clean and cook for him a lot… I didn’t want it to go to waste.”

Rian nodded sagely. Being wasteful is no good, that’s for sure.

“Are you dressed like your boyfriend right now?“

Rian nodded, smiling fondly. “Yeah. For Halloween, we decided to go as one another’s Hero Personas.”

“That’s so cute, Rian!“

“Heheh… thanks, Rian.” The brunettes smiled at each other, then the pajama clad Rian blushed a bit. “Well uh… not to change the subject, but… uhm… I noticed you got your surgery and stuff… are you on hormones too?”

The smaller man nodded. “Mhm. Mister Smite knows people, and he helped. I really do owe him a lot…”

“Is he… I mean, does he treat you okay? You… You don’t call him by name.”

He nodded enthusiastically. “He’s wonderful! He can be so gentle when he wants to, and he’s so supportive, and protecting, and…” he blushed brightly, seeming to think better of something he was about to say, and continued. “He hasn’t told me to call him by name yet. I don’t think he’s ready… He worries a lot, I think, about putting me in danger. So I’m staying patient.”

“He really is a villain, then…?”

A grin. “Maybe to the rest of the world… but to me, he’s a hero. I… I love him, Rian. I’d watch the world burn with him… he saved me, and he believes in me. Maybe that makes me bad, but… I-I mean… He can’t be all bad if he does so much for me, right?”

Rian thought about it a moment, then smiled, stealing a glance at his own lover, who seemed to be in a quiet discussion with his own counterpart. “I definitely don’t think you’re wrong.”

)O(

The two blondes had just finished talking when the smaller Rian trotted up, proudly carrying the duffel bag. The villain smirked as he eyed his pet, while the retired hero seemed to mull something over. He only barely glanced at his boyfriend as he watched his own Rian follow.

“Well, someone seems satisfied. I assume this means it’s time to go?“

The small brunette nodded, smiling, though he also sent a curious glance at Toshi.

“It’s nothing for you to concern yourself over little one… now, shall I carry the candy?“

A suspecting quirk of an eyebrow.

“You doubt my intentions? Well then…“ The villain quickly lunged, grabbing a happily squeaking young brunette, lifting him and the duffel bag up to sit on his shoulder. “Then I’ll just carry you too.“

The other Rian’s mouth twitched up into a smile. He gently squeezed his boyfriend’s hand, and after a moment’s hesitation, he felt Toshi squeeze back.

Before Rian could question it, a massive hand was suddenly in front of him.

“You go by Warp Space, right? Perhaps we’ll meet again some time.“

Rian grinned, shaking the hand, and only a little surprised that the grip wasn’t overwhelming. “Sure. We can try again on another holiday. Christmas is also a pretty easy time for us to cross over like this.”

“Hmm… Noted. Shall we go then, little pet?“

The two Rian’s waved at each other, and then the odd couple was gone, leaving Toshi and Rian alone in the corridor. Rian smiled, turning to talk to his lover, only to find hurt in the piercing blue eyes.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you were nearly… that you were hurt like him?”

Confused, Rian blinked, then realized what the blonde was referring to. “You… You mean the experiments?”

“When you said you were able to accomplish things by pulling in some favors when you were younger, you didn’t say anything about… the Americans experimented on you too?”

“To-san, it wasn’t nearly as bad as-”

“’As bad as what he went through’?” Toshinori, for all the hurt and worry in his features, was gentle as he cupped Rian’s face in his hands. “Ri-kun… Rian… any amount is bad. You shouldn’t compare yourself and the things that happen to you to other people. You’re important, too. And you’re loved. Okay…?”

Rian blushed, nodding slightly. “O-okay… I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you’d be… upset.”

Toshinori shook his head, pulling Rian in for a hug. “No, I’m sorry. And I’m not upset at you, I promise. I’m upset for you. And have a few choice words for those… people you used to work for. I’m just glad you’re here, with me, safe. Lilly too.”

The brunette smiled, kissing the older man’s cheek. “I love being with you. And I’m pretty sure the squirt does too. Thanks Toshi. I mean, you know. For caring enough to be upset.”

The blonde kissed Rian’s forehead and smiled. “I wouldn’t want things any other way. Now let’s go home… I want to help you take off that outfit.”

The younger man blushed, grumbling, and gave Toshi a gentle shove. “Nope. Let go of me. We were having a moment and you ruined it. Don’t even look at me, Yagi.”

Toshinori laughed, pulling Rian closer and kissing him deeply. “I think I know you well enough by now to undress you without looking.”

“Oh my god.” Rian grumbled, opening a portal so they could get home. Toshinori just laughed, loving every moment of teasing his favorite person in the world, who was, unashamedly, starting to laugh just as hard.

#mightspace #smitespace #halloween special #halloween crossover #f/o #mha fanfic #oneshot #the space between us all #tsbua #Toshinori Yagi/Self Insert #All Might/Self Insert #all smite/self insert

[dcarevu]

The Underdwellers

“Rise and shine, Master Leprechaun!”

While Batman The Animated Series is generally considered to be a masterpiece, with some near-perfect episodes making up a lot of it, any show with as many episodes as it has is bound to have some that don’t quite measure up to the rest. A couple pieces of chewed up gum hidden on a floor covered in pillows. The Under-Dwellers is one of those gobs to a lot of people. But what about to Char and I? Well, here’s a game I like to play called It’s Not As Bad As It Gets Credit For. One that I usually play with Spider-Man 3, so let’s give a dark and brooding hero a chance. Well. One that doesn’t have emo hair and an all black suit. SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT

Villain: Sewer King Robin: No Writer: Tom Ruegger (Story), Jules Dennis, Richard Mueller (Teleplay) Director: Frank Paur Animator: Studio Junio Airdate: October 21, 1992 Episode Grade: C

Yup. A C rating. I can hear some of you laughing me off of this website already.

There are very valid reasons for this episode getting the criticism it does. Despite my grade, there are things that I complained about as well. The first scene involving the kids playing chicken on top of the train, for example. First of all, these kids are idiots, and it’s pretty hard for me to maintain the suspension of disbelief here, especially since this part was not overly entertaining. I did like Batman’s line, “You play chicken long enough, you fry” (Char didn’t so much, though) and overall how he handled the children, but other than that, no. The kid getting his ankle stuck is a trope I’ve seen enough times, and of course Batman is going to swoop in last second.

After that scene once we start with our real episode, we have a kid dressed in green running down the streets, stealing a purse from an old lady. She screams and tells the cops that a leprechaun was the culprit. Okay, this is well and good. A bit of comic relief, right? Plus, she’s old. Maybe she’s not as on things as she used to be. But when we get to the part where Batman tries to convince Alfred that it was a leprechaun, that’s where I start rolling my eyes. I mean, this is Batman. The Dark Knight. He sees a kid wearing a green hood. Why the hell would his first thought be that it’s a damn leprechaun? This is probably the most stupid thing I’ve ever seen on this show. I get that this is a world with a psychotic, murderous clown, man-eating plants, and a talking, stalking scarecrow. But this is something I can picture coming from Adam West, and not so much Bruce Wayne, especially when we are supposed to take this episode seriously.

Then later when we cut to under the sewers and see the child slavery in action. When this popped on screen, my internal thoughts were, “Oh no…” This episode was headed downhill quickly. Those of you familiar enough with Batman The Animated Series know that episodes about children is often where the writers just didn’t know what they were doing a lot of the time. We have a certain later episode focused on kids that I already know I’m giving a straight-up F, mark my words. Then we see the villain of the episode, who looks like he should be in a Disney Afternoon special. And I mean, he’s got an eyepatch built into his glasses. Jesus, how corny are we gonna get here?? But luckily from here, things didn’t really get worse to me. They got better. Hence the C. There are things in this episode I hate, then things I really liked.

What are some things I liked? While not 100% awesome, Alfred dealing with Frog, the under-dwelling child Batman finds, is cute. Despite having raised Bruce Wayne and, in a way, Dick Grayson, he insists that with children, he doesn’t know what he’s doing. And you almost believe it, watching him. But Frog is a real shithead, misbehaving in virtually every way possible. Some nice comic relief, because other than that, the episode is pretty dark as usual. Even with the concept of a guy running a sweatshop under the sewer (complete with gators!). I think that this is the main reason that people dismiss the episode. The concept alone. And yeah, I’m kinda surprised that this was Tom Ruegger who wrote the main story. Judging by this episode and the last, I think he’s more of a teleplay guy. The teleplay in this episode is actually pretty decent, though!

Also the animation! For most of the time, it’s the best we have seen so far, if you ask me. Granted, I’m no animation expert, so I can’t talk about technicals, but I loved the way it looked. There was some nice lighting, especially on Batman’s face, and wow, watching Batman fight those alligators! It’s the best fight scene we’ve gotten yet, and it actually looked like I remembered the action scenes from this show looking. Watching them slowly find their fitting when it comes to Batman kicking ass is super interesting. Their more cartoony Tiny Toons background is clear, where real fist fights were certainly not nearly as common (at least not to my memory). Char next to me gasped a couple times watching Batman take on those alligators. I always find it fascinating to watch Batman deal with animals other than humans. The thing with animals is that they aren’t thinking about what they’re doing like humans do. You can’t beat the shit out of them in the same way. The idea is simply to stop them from attacking, and then not going any further. When it comes to giant reptiles that could devour any human, yeah, that does involve some slamming around (admittedly, the one alligator who gets its mouth forced open was something that could have been left out). But I mean, I personally can say that I wouldn’t prefer to reason with them. Maybe compliment their lovely eyes? Yeah, no. And look how well-fed those gators are. What, you think their living so well on garbage people throw in the sewers? No. It was Char who brought this up to me, but y’know what the most likely thing is? Think about it. Gators eat pretty big meals. They eat meat. And the Sewer King was pretty quick to almost feed one of his slaves to them. They’ve probably been feeding on the kids. The ones who disobey too much…maybe the ones who get too old (it’s pretty unclear how this operation has been going on)…either way, yikes, these kids have it bad. I mean, these children are not even allowed to express vocal pain, as we see at the beginning as one of theme slams his shin with the tool he was using. It makes me cringe every time I see it. If Fox had allowed blood, man, lemme tell you, that would have bled.

So while some of the animation was great, for some reason on almost all of the scenes on the streets, it got really bad. Namely, at the beginning and end of the episode. When I started watching, Char and I both noted how it just didn’t look right. I was so afraid that the entire episode would look like this, and it just wasn’t the case. Why we had this discrepancy, I have no idea. Maybe all the damn budget went to the action? It’s the only thing I can think of. The whole episode, as far as I know, was done by the same studio. I’m not familiar with this studio’s work at all, and it really excites me to finally be able to pay attention and compare the work of all these studios who worked with the show. I’ll be going back occasionally to make sure I can comment on other episodes different studios have done occasionally. So if Junio pops up again, I’ll likely mention it. Hopefully their next episode (if there is one) keeps the good quality the entire show.

Most of the rest of the episode was mixed too. The villain was pretty shallow, and just kind of generic evil. On the other hand, Batman getting as pissed as he did and hunting this guy down was awesome. The voices of the children were pretty annoying. On the other hand, most of the children were completely mute (a truly wonderful thing). There were a lot of really corny lines from some of the characters. On the other hand, we had a guy in an even more ridiculous getup than a spooky bat costume yell, “Destroy that costumed freak!” Irony! Yeah, I don’t know guys. When you add in the fact that these children are gonna have some serious PTSD, and this type of thing, while exaggerated and made more accessible for the 7-year-olds, really does happen in the real world. Children are enslaved undoubtedly more than I realize, and more than I even want to know. I wish we had a Batman in real life to destroy these monsters, I truly do. Add all this together, with the fact that I simply didn’t feel the discomfort/displeasure throughout much of the episode, I can’t rate it too harshly. I’m not a professional critic. I’m just a guy with a blog, who makes his own rules. Because of that, yes. A C. I hope that’s fair.

Char’s grade: B

Major firsts: Batmobile’s transforming capabilities, Sewer King, a children-focused episode

Next time: P.O.V.

#batman tas #dcau #batman the animated series #batman #dc animated universe #the underdwellers

[felixthekoala]

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*soft bias tag*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

tagged by: @bangchcn and @changbeanie ily guys <333

So, after popular request, I decided to do this for Jeongin, even though he’s technically not my bias, I’m just scared of Felix rn lol.

(Lemme just warn you I kinda got carried away lol)

*♡  ｡･ﾟﾟ･ 1. Who is your bias?

Felix, but I’m doing this for Jeongin!

*♡ ｡･ﾟﾟ･ 2. What made you notice them?

I’m gonna answer this as what made me first start straying into his lane.  So he’s always been a wrecker of mine because we’re similar and we’re close in age, plus I love his eyes so much and his personality is just so lovable.  Also his singing voice gives me chills.  I just love Jeongin oof.  But he’s really become a huge wrecker for me ever since I went on asc and my friends (who call themselves love detectives XD) were convinced that he had a crush on me, and while I don’t fully believe it bc like that’s impossible esp for me lol, his reactions and stuff were cute and it just made me soft seeing him be so sweet and adorable when interacting with me.  And then I started watching a bunch of videos of him and stuff and I’m even softer for him.  Yeek someone help me.  

*♡ ｡･ﾟﾟ･ 3. What’s your favorite thing about them?

Oof this is hard.  I really love his eyes, but I think the thing I like most about him is his smiley personality.  his smile is so beautiful and I love the fact that he started smiling more when he was told people were scared of him because he looked intimidating.  I actually can relate to that, because when I was in middle school as well, people thought I was mean because I had rbf.   Also I just love his interactions with the other members, especially Seungmin and he’s such an underrated meme like the faces he makes XD  Also the way he literally freezes when he does aegyo is like the cutest thing ever???  Like what’s not to love about him tbh.  But anyway yeah he’s just such a sweetheart and he’s so precious. 

*♡ ｡･ﾟﾟ･ 4. Who would initiate skinship more?

honestly, I’m not sure, because we’ve seen him reject the members countless times, but idk if that’s him trying to maintain his savage maknae image or if he really isn’t comfortable with that sort of thing.  I am a koala though, and I even cuddle anything next to me when I’m sleeping, so I’d probably unintentionally initiate skinship constantly, so probs me?  But like I’ve seen him interacting with Felix on vlives and like Felix one time just leaned back on him and was like playing with his knee and Jeongin actually like lowkey put his hand through Felix’s arm and it was really subtle but sweet and adorable so I feel like he might do like really lowkey stuff like that that he might not realize at first?  Like absent-mindedly putting his hand on my arm or elsewhere and stuff like that.  Idk I just feel like he isn’t as afraid of cooties as he seems but he’s still pretty shy.

*♡ ｡･ﾟﾟ･ 5. Who would hog blankets more?

oof me.  I pull blankets off everyone.  But I can see Jeongin being like one of those grumpy sleepers who fights back so it’d turn into an all-out blanket war with neither of us conscious and we’d wake up with random footprints and bruises on each other XD

*♡ ｡･ﾟﾟ･ 6. Who would be more clingy?

Probs me tbh, unless he was like really whipped for me, but I feel like this boy would try to seem cool or whatever and be like that subtle clingy type, like pretends he doesn’t care but comes up with excuses for his s/o to stay with him.  Like ya know that typical “you should be near me so you don’t die of hypothermia” kinda thing.

*♡ ｡･ﾟﾟ･ 7. Who would say ‘I love you’ first?

honestly, probably him because I’d be so scared of being rejected I’d wait for him to say it first, which might take a while lol.  Watch it be like months of us shying away from saying it but talking about it 

*♡ ｡･ﾟﾟ･  8. Who would be more easily flustered?

Jeongin is a shy floof, so probs him, but like that boy makes my heart race so idk we might be equal...  Like we’d take turns making each other flustered.

“Hey Cait”

“hehe hey Jeongin”

“Hehe u look nice today”

“Hehe u look even better”

*both faces red as tomatoes*

*♡ ｡･ﾟﾟ･ 9. What cuddling position would you two have?

I’m the little spoon all the way.  But like couch cuddling (if he’d permit it lol) I’d def just like curl up with my head on his shoulders and his arm around me cuz that’s like my fav position.  When I sleep, like I’ve said before, I am literally a koala, like anyone or anything that is in bed with me (ask my various friends who have shared a bed with me on school trips lol they have some hilarious stories XD) will end up with all of my limbs (arms and legs) wrapped tightly around them and my head tucked into them.  So I feel like Jeongin is just gonna end up getting used to me falling asleep while with him and wrapping my entire body around him.  who knows?  Maybe he’d eventually find it endearing/enjoyable XD.

*♡ ｡･ﾟﾟ･ 10. Which colours remind you of them and why?

pink, bc both of us really love pink and pink is a soft color just like that soft boy.  Also he said he wants to dye his hair hot pink and I’m actually dyeing my hair rose gold next week so lol we could be the pink 01 liner squad/duo  jkjk idk what im saying lol

*♡ ｡･ﾟﾟ･ 12. Which season would you like to spend with them?

all of them autumn.  Autumn is my favorite season, and plus it’s the season for cozying up by the fire with my favorite autumn scented candles and hot apple cider and I can bake cookies and pies and stuff.  And autumn is also halloween, so we could wear amazing couple costumes and eat a bunch of candy and watch scary movies together (with me ending up in his lap hiding my face in his chest bc I’m the jumpiest person ever).  It’s also the time my family tends to go to Disneyland, so I could go there with him over Thanksgiving while the festival of holidays is going on so we can go on all the special revamped rides and eat a bunch of the special foods and enjoy the ambiance and take a million cute couple photos at different parts of the park and go on California screamin and the Guardians ride a million times and take adorable photos on them as well.  Oof I’m sorry I could go on about all the Autumn things I’d kill to do with Jeongin omg

*♡ ｡･ﾟﾟ･ 13. Who would bake the cookies and who would steal the batter?

I’d bake and he’d steal the batter, but I’d def take a bunch too.  Tbh, it’d end up a full-out batter battle with more batter on our faces/in our hair than in the bowls.  Then we’d just go out for ice cream XD

*♡ ｡･ﾟﾟ･ 14. Which one of you would make bad puns and how would the other react?

I’d make the bad puns and he’d half judge me half laugh shyly bc he thought it was cute?  (this is hypothetical, if he liked me lol just gotta remind y’all i don’t actually think Jeongin thinks I’m cute XD)  

*♡ ｡･ﾟﾟ･ 15. Who would want to adopt 50 dogs and cats?

BOTH OF US  I already have 3 dogs and 2 cats and I’m sure Jeongin would love all of them, but he’d also want one that was like ours so he’d probs get at least another puppy and name it some cute name that’s like an inside joke or something that only we would get.  Or tbh he’d name it a marvel name like Loki bc we’re both geeks like that XD  (one of my cats’ full name is Loki’s Bolt of Chaos, so...)

*♡ ｡･ﾟﾟ･ 16. Which one of you would nearly burn down the kitchen try to microwave a pop tart and who would come to the rescue?

I’d def burn down the kitchen, I’ve already burned myself countless times and set myself and my school’s chem lab on fire...  and Jeongin would come in a panic and try to stop the fire but he’d be clueless how to stop it and end up having to call Chan to help.  Cut to twenty minutes later after all the boys were dragged out of bed by the commotion, glaring at me and Jeongin while Chan lectured us about the dangers of trying to make a snack at 3am while half asleep.

*♡ ｡･ﾟﾟ･ 17. Who likes to lean over tall railings and who pulls them back?

He’d lean over and I’d pull him back because one of the major fears I have is losing things I love over a railing/bridge (ahem my phone, I always have a hulk-like grip on it when on bridges and the like) so I’d be terrified he would fall off and if he didn’t go down immediately I’d probably have a panic attack and end up crying bc like I said that’s like one of my biggest fears and I couldn’t afford to lose him.  Obvs my crying would make him immediately jump down and see what was wrong.  And after that I’d hold his hand tight and make sure he didn’t get within 3 feet of a railing.

*♡ ｡･ﾟﾟ･ 18. What would watching a horror film with them be like?

I feel like we’d both be pretty terrified (tho I’d def be more terrified cuz I’m the jumpiest person ever), and Jeongin would try to seem cool but inside he’d end up being too scared to go to sleep that night and we would just end up staying up and talking and watching comedies and stuff.  Maybe he’d find it cute when I squeaked and jumped during the horror movie??  Idk lol

*♡ ｡･ﾟﾟ･ 19. Who would be the cheesy flirt and who would be the smooth flirt?

I feel like both of us would be the shy flirt.  Like Jeongin is a shy floof and I just spazz out when trying to flirt, so I wouldn’t actually be able to flirt with him until I was more confident with our relationship.  Like I’m okay flirting around people I’m not crazy about, but with Jeongin I’d be super shy and end up tripping over a trashcan and falling on top of it as a result of me trying to look cool in front of him.  (funny story that actually happened to me.  The guy definitely noticed me lol.  And talked to me.  Literally just to ask me if I was okay bc he saw the whole thing including me walking into two walls right before then... yea... and that’s def not the only time I’ve embarrassed myself and spazzed out in front of my crushes...)

*♡ ｡･ﾟﾟ･ 20. Who is more competitve?

Probs me.  But when I like someone I either turn like extremely competitive to look good in front of them or whatever or I do the exact opposite and let them win bc I don’t want them to feel bad or be annoyed by me.  But with Jeongin I can totally see myself getting super competitive with him while baking cookies or something and we like turn it into a contest to see who can make the best cookies and then he tries to sabotage my batter and I try to retaliate and it ends with both of us on the floor covered in flour and chocolate

*♡ ｡･ﾟﾟ･ 21. Who would have to be given constant reminders? (Remember to eat, don’t forget to your keys, etc)

Probably Jeongin, like I’d take care of him whenever and obvs I’d be constantly worried about him, but I feel like he’d nag me for being awake/on my phone at 4:00am and I’m very forgetful and all that lol.  I can see him trying to seem all judgey or savage ahem fact attack Jeongin u guys like “tf are you doing up, we both know you need that beauty sleep” but after a few months of me panicking and thinking he actually meant exactly what he said, I’d realize that’s just Jeongin’s way of showing he cares so I’d start sassing him back and wow I just turned this into a rant/me just droning on about texting Jeongin someone help me

*♡ ｡･ﾟﾟ･ 22. Who sends memes and who sends cute ‘I miss you’ texts at 3am?

I’d def send memes and tbh he would too lol, but if either of us sent like a sweet serious text (esp him), we’d reply with a lovely wholesome meme (esp me).  But tbh once I got comfortable around him (cuz I’d be shy af at first), I’d def just send him a million sweet messages, although tbh I’d more likely call him 24/7 bc I miss him and I’d say it to him over the phone as opposed to through message.

tagging: @doublekn0t  (I made this extra long and detailed just for you def not bc I got carried away in my love for Jeongin heh)  @realstraykids @maaatryoshka @kpop-stole-my-lyfe @minhomygod @straycuties @bangchanmix @bangchant @bangchcn @meatmeinthemiddle-mark @strgaykids @himeaegyo @hey-hey-chan @jiisung @xxstraykids @s0ftminho @busanjeongin@awoojinstan @bangchanstic

#tags #tagged

[toonazcoolforyou]

What We Do In Bram Stoker’s Dracula

alright so i rambled on about this in the Discord buuuut this is a slightly more shiny and cleaner version! :D *enthusiastic single party blower goes off* okay so tbh it’s kiiinnd of gunna be the same thing but just, idk, with a little more information lol. while there’s a few details a bit more ‘set in stone’ plenty is open and i’m seriously flexible with ideas so don’t hesitate throw any suggestions at me~ you can DM me on Discord (it’s Nazcool#8991 if u happen to come across this train wreck and don’t know wtf i’m talking about) if you’re interested and/or have any questions (and if there’s enough of y’all that wanna coordinate maybe we can get a channel up/a group chat or somethin’ & go from there <3)

**if u see that there’s no info for w/e character it just means i literally have no ideas for ‘em so go wild & have fun~**

EDIT 1: I FORGOT THE BRIDES OF DRACULA AAAAHH + other details lol

btw this is a two part ad so bear with me as i try to keep things organized:

Part I.

alright alright alright so like i said think Dracula but with 75% less charm & wit & competence. the characters for the ad will have vibes of satire of something resembling being srs but at the same time they’re just ridiculous & dramatic & just, idk, too much™ at times (maybe even more so than Dracula Dead and Loving It lololol). i’m gunna be playing The Dracula role (he doesn’t have a name yet ssssshhhh but at least i have Luke Evans as his face??? :D :D :| okay cheesy as hell i know i know pls forgive me) but everyone else is open! i’m going with the main few folks for rn but in all honesty if you wanna play another character from Dracula that i don’t have listed pls be my guest?? as for ideas themselves i’m still figuring my guy out so what might be listed for him may change -but i’ll update things so dw about that- & tbh besides a few main details for The Mina Harker character i’m super flexible on everything so just holler at me if ur interested :D

also just ‘cause this might be more silly doesn’t mean there can’t be drama~ & sadness~ & murder~ pls pls gimme all the tragic stuff!!

BTW u can race/gender bend any of the characters in the list tbh lol (i’m doing a gender bend for The Mina Harker + The Jonathan Harker so yeh go for it babes <3 <3 <3)

A L S O, u don’t have to be that well-versed with the book/characters u just need a basic grasp so that the character can be barely influenced by the original one. If u need help with any of this just lemme know i am more than glad to aid u <3

roles:

The Dracula- taken. so hey i’ll be playing The Dracula! I’m still working out how old he is but he’s probably gunna be old old to keep with the #aesthetic of the character (also i wanna have it so that he’s still oblivious to some more 80s day things & he’s that weirdo who dresses in old clothing when not in public). Think between 1800 and 2000 y/o old xD;;; anyway so backstory is still obv. In Progress but really he was probably stupid and got himself turned into a vampire ‘cause he was a gullible fuck & now has to suffer with the consequences -this includes adapting to having pointy sharp teeth, feeding on the living in order to survive, and outliving everyone that u have ever loved :’D he’s totes fine w/ this guys it’s fine. he pretty much struggled for ages & while he likes to exaggerate/romanticize what happened to him it was pretty terrible™ & he has plenty of a fuck up under his belt. over time he got to know other folks + vampires & he adapted but not enough? like he’ll quote you some fancy-ass poem to be elegant~ and he has a pity party every 5 seconds & gets pissy when no one pays attention to him he’s just needlessly #dramatic

somehow, he pissed off a family of vampire hunters who have been going after him ever since??? i haven’t plotted out when this began so it’s open as of rn lololol & it’s The Abraham Van Helsing who is now in charge of hunting him down~ (more info, or rather just ideas, in The Abraham Van Helsing character section)

& now here comes the more complicated section tbh: so i haven’t planned out when this happened yet -i’m torn between sometime just before/after he was turned into a vampire or during WWI big range i know- but he fell in love w/ a man & that man died tragically so he decided to try to be w/ the guy’s kid only for them to die too at some point but not before they had a kid (might be bad luck? might be a curse? who knows *shrug.gif*) so yeah fast forward MANY YEARS & now he’s trying to be with The Mina Harker who is the last(?) possible descendant of his first love. rn they’ve been best friends for 6 yrs w/o The Mina Harker knowing A. that The Dracula is in fact a vampire, B. that he is the descendant of the first man The Dracula loved, & C. that The Dracula is, in fact, in love with him -he just thinks he’s a rad and weird best friend who does weird stuff at weird times of the day. SO YEH that’s his awkward life he’s just trying to be w/ the love of his life piss off other vampires/hunters/supernatural creatures/world pls & ty

he’s also super weird ‘cause he doesn’t wanna turn any of the descendants into vampires??? which makes each death more painful ‘cause he has a code or w/e & it’s becoming more & more tempting w/ each descendant so yaaay for drama~

also! he has a few roommates & there might be a documentary being made about them which is detailed in Part II. of this ad~

The Mina Harker- open. as listed in The Dracula section The Mina Harker is the descendant of the first man The Dracula loved & The Dracula has been pinning for him for the past 6-ish yrs. rn they’re the best of friends & The Mina Harker thinks The Dracula is a totally good guy -he’s a mostly™ good guy *cough*- & super cool but also super odd but he likes him a lot anyway as a best friend lololol. as for the descendants of the first guy honestly that’s pretty open (like The Dracula pretty much loved every guy after that BUT if there was only a female descendant at the time he loved them too even if they weren’t his technical preference ‘cause love > all) but they pretty much died in bad ways??? like it could be mundane bad ways like illness or war or it could be off-the-walls weird like being crushed by an elephant or getting struck by lightning five times idk idk whether it’s just Bad Luck on The Dracula’s part or a curse is open so yeh lmao.

ANYWAY so for personality i was thinking that this descendant is more on the quiet/introverted side??? like he’s super nice to ppl and wants to help but confrontation??? big groups??? talking to ppl a lot??? not his forte he is an awkward bby. while The Dracula & he aren’t exactly the same personality-wise they get along absolutely great which probably is even more tough for The Dracula ‘cause??? he loves him??? & has to protect him from all of the other vampires who probably wanna eat him??? like pls no he wants this guy to live leave him alone *sobs*

there’ll probably be ppl to try to stop The Dracula from pursuing his dreams maybe because they’re dicks but actually probably because The Dracula is a dick & he has a few skeletons in his closet (he dresses them up in costumes for Halloween & nobody's the wiser, except for his roommates ofc) but it’ll just be random and confusing to The Mina Harker ‘cause, yeh, who would hate his bestie???

besides being best friends w/ The Dracula for about 6 yrs, being engaged to The Jonathan Harker (for w/e reason is up to u tho it could be funny that he wanted to fulfill some wish/will that a dying relative had aka them trying to fuck over The Dracula), not knowing that The Dracula is a vampire despite possible signs + ppl maybe hinting/telling him, & woops having no kids of his own & he’s what thirty or forty-something that’s a nail-biter for The Dracula for sure everything about the character’s past is open!

okay so final lame part but i’d absolutely LOVE it if you used Michael Fassbender as the fc ‘cause I <3 him a million times BUT if you really don’t want 2 you don’t have 2 i won’t force u into that decision if you like the idea but wanna use someone else~

The Jonathan Harker- open. an idea i had for this one is that, for whatever reason, she’s engaged to The Mina Harker character & they’re pretty much complete opposites. she’s a nice girl but she just… is too active. a pure extrovert by nature, she’s always going to parties and socializing and dragging The Mina Harker along with her. she loves him with all of her heart it seems though it appears as if she really doesn’t listen to her fiance & enjoys the concept of him rather than who he is actually. The Dracula is pissed off about this and has contemplated her death approximately fifty five times now. probably calls her vapid or w/e while he’s on his pity party couch (yes that’s a thing don’t judge) rofl

The Abraham Van Helsing- open. the idea i have for him is that he is the descendant of the family who have vowed to hunt down The Dracula. kind of awkward because The Dracula just wants to be left the fuck alone (and okay maybe he wants to kill a few peasants in peace but he can’t seem to get what he wants, can he?) but overall the tone is that this guy hates The Dracula. however, times have changed a bit and nowadays he just confronts The Dracula, declares his hatred for the man, and then pretty much just resumes his day. maybe puts garlic in the doorway to a place in order to disrupt The Dracula, switches out regular spoons for silver ones, etc. etc. etc. (honestly, on occasion, he more brings up the fact that The Dracula is in love with a man rather than being a blood-sucking vampire which makes The Dracula go :/. ALSO PLOT POINT if u wanna go this direction but mb actually the reason The Abraham Van Helsing keeps going on about this is because he's trying to push The Dracula away and has feelings for The Mina Harker??? idk idk late-night ideas flooding in here lmao). overall, he just acts like a prick to The Dracula tho The Dracula probably deserves it lololol. it doesn’t help that they live in the same building, which typically causes The Abraham Van Helsing to be locked out on stormy evenings while The Dracula bemoans whatever fate he thinks up at the time on the couch near the entrance.

the fc i have in mind is Jonny Lee Miller ‘cause i really like his appearance in Elementary but tbh if you have anyone else in mind go right ahead!

The Brides of Dracula- (shhhh ignore the fact that i forgot this section initially) so that this is pretty open since there'll probably be at least a few folks The Dracula has turned like the dumbfuck he is lololol. more than likely they have their own lives but they may??? still have contact w/ him??? & while he pretends to not give a fuck about them they're like his kids???? like pester him for money and he'll be all ‘Why??? I just gave you some!!’ but if anyone hates them he'll be all ‘Don't talk to me or my 100 children ever again’ & be defensive. overall he'll still be an asshole to them lololol

i have two vague af ideas just in case u guys are interested:

the first one is that this progeny has an actually good relationship with The Dracula & is always visiting (or mb lives in the same building idk) & is always bringing him presents and nice stuff & mb looks out for The Mina Harker when The Dracula can't (probably helps cover up a lot of crap ‘cause The Dracula is a mess tbh *shrug emoji*).

the second is a progeny obsessed w/ The Dracula & wants to be w/ him forever & doesn't wanna share him w/ any1 else. which a major problem cause??? The Dracula is in love with The Mina Harker??? so mb this progeny wants to sabotage the relationship anyway they can??? & wants The Mina Harker dead???

they can be any ethnicity/gender ‘cause The Dracula doesn't discriminate LOL

Brides:

any #

The Renfield- open.

The Lucy Westenra- open.

The John Seward- open.

The Quincey Morris- open.

The Arthur Holmwood- open.

Part. II

soooo for this part the concept is fairly simple: i wanna have a What We Do In The Shadows sort of plot where my character has a few roommates (preferably 3-5 though the number isn’t in stone yet) and they’re all weird af. not only that but potentially??? they have a documentary being made about them -w/ 80s London aesthetics + technology- due to vampires revealing themselves 2 years prior. it’s still in production which means there’s at least one cameraman around at all times. my character is dreading the time when it’ll be showed on TV because he has been trying to hide the fact that he is a vampire (alright really only to his love interest & best friend he dgaf if anyone else knows). like, think: he enters one of the rooms, minding his own business, & while the camera is technically focused on something else you still see him as he tries to walk backwards as inconspicuous as possible. he can’t deny that he loves the attention, though, so there are points/gunna be points where he’s more featured and may “subtly” try to push aside whichever roommate is around in order to be noticed.

he may or may not threaten the others with death and doom on a daily basis as well over the smallest of things -at this point his roommates know he’s full of shit, tho the crew might not woopsie

ALSO, there's (1) amulet to walk in the sun among all of them (probably his but idk lol) so everyone is always fighting over it rofl he is not happy that he can't be normalish all the time. they probably try to be all fancy but really they're doing rock-paper-scissors or tossing a coin. plans are ruined all the time, ppl are pissed off, good times.

there won’t be any technical ‘inspirations’ for any of the spots from the movie but honestly if ya wanna base your character on one of the wacky vampires go right ahead! everything about the roommates are open & while i prefer them to be vampires due to the aforementioned info but if you have an idea for another species (besides human) lemme know!

**also if u wanna make inspirations for the other characters from the movie besides the roommates 2 be involved w/ them too go right ahead~**

roles:

The Roommates:

(3-5 individuals)

The Crew:

(any # of individuals, at least one-two cameramen)

#justmycharacterthings #really long ad fml #these tags r really only 4 my entertainment #holler @ me babes 4 some drama fun~ #& so it begins #Naz leaving crap out accidentally lololol

[thecostumeplot]

Episode 20: The Birdcage & The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

Please consult these links for accompanying images: The Birdcage: Instagram, Pinterest Priscilla: Instagram, Pinterest

Both  

Welcome to The Costume Plot.

Jojo 

I'm Jojo Siu.

Sarah  

And I’m Sarah Timm. We're professional designers with a passion for costume design and the performing arts. Our podcast does contain spoilers. Accompanying slideshows for each movie are linked in the episode description.

Jojo

We hope you'll join us every other week as we delve into the wonderful world of costume design in The Costume Plot. [music]

Jojo

Hello, hello. And welcome back!

Sarah  

Hi! Welcome back. Nice to have you here.

Jojo  

Yes, definitely. Hopefully you guys have all been doing well since two weeks ago. It feels like an eon ago.

Sarah  

But it also snuck up on us, because we were like...

Jojo  

It did!

Sarah  

..."oh, god, we have to record!"

Jojo  

"Oh yeah, that's this week!" So funny.

Sarah  

We're gonna be more on top of it. It's gonna be great. [both laugh]

Jojo  

I know, we've already tried to schedule for the next recording ahead of time.

Sarah  

Yes. Yes. And we're not doing two today, so we won't get punchy toward the end. [both laugh]

Jojo  

Yes. Which is our norm. 

Sarah  

Yes. Yes, yes, yes.

Jojo  

All right. So Sarah, you want to tell us what our theme is today?

Sarah  

Absolutely. So we're doing a late Pride Month theme, because technically, this is coming out in July. But I think that pride is year round. There doesn't have to just be a month for it. So we we watched a couple of classic gay movies, basically. Yeah. And we're really excited to talk about them, you know, because it's important to.... Well, I personally think I watch a lot of stuff that references both of these movies. So like, it's good to know where those references come from, for sure.

Jojo  

It's so funny. Yeah, I will say I don't necessarily watch stuff that references these. But for my movie, at least, I've heard it referenced in many other ways so often. So I am starting today. 

Sarah  

Yeah!

Jojo  

So I guess I can introduce my movie, I will be covering "The Birdcage," the 1996 version with Nathan Lane and Robin Williams. And actually, this is based on "La Cage aux Folles." I think that's how you say it. I am not French. [laughs]

Sarah  

Sounds great. Oui oui. [laughs]

Jojo  

Which is basically how I heard it, because that's the one that's really well known. It's originally a French-- I believe a French play.

Sarah  

I think so. 

Jojo  

Or a musical? I can't remember if it's French, I have it somewhere in my notes. So I'm sure I'll come across them later. But that's what this was based off of. And the director, Mike Nichols, who was also very famous in his time...

Sarah  

He was very famous, yeah.

Jojo  

I was not as familiar with him. But of course, he was part of an improv stand up comedy act with Elaine May in the 50s and 60s, so they were really big comedy duo. And so he was a pretty big deal when this was made. So when Robin Williams signed on to the project with him, it was also kind of a huge deal for all the actors involved as well. So there's some some cool background information that I found about the movie. And it is actually their 25 year anniversary this year, I believe-- that this movie was made.

Wow, great timing on our part!

I know! I was like, "Oh, that's perfect timing." I think they actually made a bigger deal about it when it was the 20 year anniversary. 

Sarah  

Sure. Yeah.

Jojo  

So like, I didn't necessarily find a ton of articles about the 25th. But I just thought that was interesting. 

Sarah  

Yeah. 

Jojo  

So again, directed by Mike Nichols. He really wanted to do a kind of very American version of "La Cage," so this was kind of his take at that. He's directed "Charlie Wilson's War," "Closer"... he did an "Angels in America" TV miniseries. 

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

And then he's also done some great classics back in the day, like "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" 

Sarah  

Oh, wow. 

Jojo  

In 1966, like, way back when.

Sarah  

Yeah. 

Jojo  

And then in 1970, the original "Catch 22" was also directed by him, and then he also did "The Graduate" in 1967. So...

Sarah  

Is he still alive? 

Jojo  

Ah, you know, that's a good question. I did not check that, which I probably should have. 

Sarah  

Hold on, lemme Google real quick.

Jojo  

But it's kind of crazy... I mean,, again, I didn't necessarily have this kind of previous attachment to Mike Nichols. 

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

But just hearing about all of these movies that I clearly know very well--and are really huge classics--it's pretty amazing, what he's done. And the interesting thing about this movie is that he really wanted to get improv actors, right. So when he hired Robin Williams, and he originally actually was going to hire Steve Martin for the role... 

Sarah  

Oh, wow! 

Jojo  

...that Robin Williams played. 

Sarah  

Oh, wow. 

Jojo  

And then scheduling didn't work out. But he wanted them both to be able to improv whatever they wanted in this movie. 

Sarah  

Cool!

Jojo  

And the only rule he had even, after he got Nathan Lane, as well... it was the same rule. The only big rule he had was that they always had to do at least one take just straight from the script. 

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

And then everything else was just, they could improv whatever they wanted. Which I was like, "That's insane!" Like, I can't even imagine as a-- you know, as someone who's trying to follow a script, especially nowadays you have like a script supervisor, right? 

Sarah  

Oh god, yeah.

Jojo  

If you're improving everything, I can't imagine trying to follow that, when nothing they're saying is in the script. [both laugh] 

Sarah  

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Can you imagine being in a room, though, with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane just improvising a whole movie? 

Jojo  

Oh, my gosh.

Sarah  

I'd be like, "This is the best day of my life," and forget to call "cut." [both laugh]

Jojo  

Yeah, absolutely. I just could listen to them riff all day.

Sarah  

Oh my God. 

Jojo  

The funny thing, too, is this was kind of Nathan Lane's big break too. 

Sarah  

Really?

Jojo  

So when he came on to this movie, there were a couple of interviews I was reading about-- I got really into the research for this, just about the movie itself, not necessarily even about the costumes. 

Sarah  

Yeah. 

Jojo  

But Nathan was like, "I was just so enamored," because you know, he knew he was working with Robin Williams and Mike Nichols. And I was laughing because there were all these quotes about how Robin Williams didn't want to do Nathan Lane's role, because Nathan Lane is again playing the kind of "dressed up as a woman" and very matronly role. Which he was like, "I already did that in 'Mrs. Doubtfire.'" 

Sarah  

Oh, yeah. 

Jojo  

"So I don't really need to do that again." So of course, when he didn't take that role, and Nathan Lane just kind of stepped right into it so naturally, there was a little quote about how the both of them were really insecure about trying to figure out their character and figure out their humor. And I was like, "this is just adorable." I'm just picturing the two of them talking to each other. And then I think there was a quote Nathan Lane said about, like... "we're the most insecure men I've ever met." [both laugh] But yes, it just sounded like a really fun set all around. 

Sarah  

Oh, I'm sure it was.

Jojo  

And then moving on to the costume design. Sorry, that was such a long intro. 

Sarah  

No, you're good.

Jojo  

But this was by Ann Roth, who, of course, anybody in the costume world knows who Ann Roth is. She is...

Sarah  

I don't. [laughs] 

Jojo  

[laughs] Oh, sorry. She one of the oldest costume designers out there. And she's kind of done everything. 

Sarah  

Oh, okay. 

Jojo  

She's the oldest woman to win a competitive Oscar. That was what I wrote recently. 

Sarah  

Cool! 

Jojo  

She actually just won for "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." 

Sarah  

Oh, damn.

Jojo  

Which I also want to cover at some point. 

Sarah  

Yeah. 

Jojo  

She's been working since 1964. So even before Mike Nichols's first movie, which is crazy.

Sarah  

He has passed away, by the way. He passed away in 2014. I looked it up.

Jojo  

Oh, he has? Oh, man. Well, RIP Mike Nichols.

Sarah  

It's amazing that she's still working, though. Wow. 

Jojo  

Yeah, she is still working. It's pretty insane. But she-- one of the things that she is well known for, too, is that she actually was one of the first designers to really pull a lot of vintage stock, like truly vintage stock. 

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

Because I think she has some kind of a quote when she was working back in the day... she was like, "a lot of the West Coast designers at that time were mostly pulling from, you know, from stock--or costume stocks--and things like that. And I had like, authentic vintage pieces that I wanted to put into my clothing." And she says a lot-- and I think a lot of designers nowadays are really sticking to this, as well, of how authentic she wants the character to be. And how informed the character costumes are. She really delves really deep into, where did this costume come from? Is it something that they grabbed from, you know, a high school Goodwill? Where did that... where did that travel from to get to that Goodwill? Like, all the kind of backstory of really creating a character behind a costume was kind of... I wouldn't say she invented it, but she certainly takes a lot of care into thinking about all those details. 

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

So anyways, so she's done "The Girl on the Train" in 2016. I'm kind of moving backwards at this point. She did "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" in 2011, "Julie and Julia" in 2009, "Mamma Mia" in 2008...

Sarah  

Wow. 

Jojo  

..."Stepford wives" in 2004. She also won an Academy Award in 1996 for "The English Patient." And then she was also nominated for the Academy Award for "Talented Mr. Ripley," but she's also done a lot of Broadway theater, she won many, many--and was nominated for many, many--Tonys. She did "The Book of Mormon," she did "Shuffle Along." 

Sarah  

Wow.

Jojo  

She did "Carousel," she won for the show "The Nance," which I don't know very well, but that's another one she's done. 

Sarah  

Yeah, I've never heard of that.

Jojo  

So yeah, so she's got a lot of like, really great credits under her belt.

Sarah  

Amazing!

Jojo  

So yeah, that's why a lot of people know her. She's just this tour de force lady.

Sarah  

Now I do, too. Now I can be like, "Yes, I know who Ann Roth is!" 

Jojo  

[laughs] Yeah, she was one of the names that I just constantly heard. She's, like, really scary to work for, is what I've heard. 

Sarah  

Oooh.

Jojo  

But she's pretty phenomenal. It's kind of like Julie Taymor, but of the costume world. [laughs] 

Sarah  

Oh, yeah. I feel like if you've been working long enough, and you had to kind of fight for your place and fight to have a long career, you kind of have a no-nonsense attitude that can seem really abrasive. And sometimes it is actually abusive. 

Jojo  

Yeah. 

Sarah  

And I don't want to excuse that, but definitely, I do think that-- especially women of a certain age, who had to claw their way...

Jojo  

Oh, true that.

Sarah  

...into that Hollywood career just have an attitude where they have to keep fighting, you know?

Jojo  

Yeah, it's kind of unfortunate, actually. But you know, it makes a lot more sense why they are the way they are. 

Sarah  

Yeah. 

Jojo  

Because they've had to kind of trek through all of that. 

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

So anyways, I surprisingly-- and a little sadly, I did not find a lot of interviews with her about the costumes for this. So I will mostly be talking about how just pretty I think everything is.

Sarah  

Great. [both laugh]

Jojo  

But yes... so I'll give you a quick summary of the plot, for those of you who have not watched this movie. I kind of very briefly stole this off of another website because I didn't think I would be able to do this very well. But Armand Goldman, who is Robin Williams, he runs a successful drag club in South Beach, Miami, and he has a life partner Albert, who's played by Nathan Lane. Nathan Lane is also the star of his club, known by the name of Starina. Not very creative there. But so anyways, that's kind of where the start is. Armand's son Val, who's played by Dan Futterman... I don't know how to say that name either. 

Sarah  

I don't either.

Jojo  

...Is engaged, or gets engaged, to a woman named Barbara who's played by Calista Flockhart, who you might know better as Ally McBeal. 

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

And what ends up following is Armand and Albert's attempts at appearing straight laced--or straight--in order to try and meet Barbara's very conservative parents. The father is a senator, Senator Keeley, and he's played by Gene Hackman. And his wife is Louise Keeley, played by Diane Wiest. So really pretty big all star cast. I don't know if this is where they... well, I know at least Nathan Lane kind of got started here, but the rest of this cast is pretty well known. 

Sarah  

Yeah. 

Jojo  

And one thing that I did write in an interesting quote by Nichols... or sorry, it was by the Gainesville Sun. Which, I don't know where that is, but it said, "Nichols wanted to shoot the movie as much like a play as possible without much editing." So again, it was just so interesting that not only does he have them improv-ing the whole time, but he wants to try and just shoot a straight shot of this movie. So I was like, "Wow, that's pretty amazing." So... anyway.

Sarah  

That's pretty cool, I like that. I like that idea.

Jojo  

Yeah. Agreed. It was a lot of fun to kind of find out more information about that. 

Sarah  

Yeah. 

Jojo  

I had some fun facts, but I'm gonna kind of skip those because I think I want to try to move-- talked so much about this movie already. [both laugh] I wrote a lot of notes because I was just so curious and fascinated about everything behind it.

Sarah  

You have way more research than I have about mine. I watched mine late at night last night, and I was like, "This is good. That's enough info." [both laugh]

Jojo  

So funny. Okay, so I'm gonna start off with-- and I had to filter it out a lot. I was really sad. And I still had more than 10 costumes. So I apologize in advance. [laughs]

Sarah  

Yeah. [laughs]

Jojo  

And I wasn't even able to focus on all of the characters. Because really, even just between Armand and Albert, there's so many costume changes, and they're all so fascinating and fun. So I didn't want to skip on any of them.

Sarah  

Yeah, because we don't have to focus on all of them, you know, but then you go, "Oh, I like this one. I like this one. I like this one, too." And then it becomes very hard to pick.

Jojo  

Pretty much! Okay, so I will start off with the opening scene. And basically we start off right in Armand's... in his club. And they're trying to convince Nathan Lane to get on stage. And he has this whole dramatic breakdown moment where he's like, "I can't go on," and he's sobbing. And he thinks he's ugly, and all of this other stuff. Eventually, they convince him to get on stage. And this is his first Starina costume. So his first performance costume. I just love it. I don't know, there's not much I have to say about it. I'm not even normally a leopard print person, but I just love that he's got this matching leopard print hat plus the muff, which he makes this whole joke about. And then he's got this beautiful kind of glitter, it almost looks like chiffon, just wrapped and draped around him.

Sarah  

I feel like it must be-- it looks like it's a reference to something, but I don't know what it is. You know, with the cowl?

Jojo  

That's kind of how I-- I feel like there were a lot of references in this movie that maybe I'm just too young to, like, get?

Sarah  

Sure. Yeah.

Jojo  

Or I just missed. So I wish that I had caught... I'm sure there are things that I missed, and wish that I had caught more but by itself either way, I just... it's just so fantastic. And I did find... I think this is it. Oh, it's very tiny. I'm really sorry. But this was the full, the whole getup. And there's even a whole joke that he makes about having the tail appear, and he just pulls the tail out of his muff.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

So he's like, "Oh, I caught her by the tail." There's this big joke with that. And even like, the matching leopard boots, I don't know.

Sarah  

I love the boots. And I love that it has a tail.

Jojo  

Just... everything about it. Yes, so much.

Sarah  

So funny.

Jojo  

I need to start doing that with all my muffs. Not that I carry muffs around, but you know, if I did. [laughs]

Sarah  

I got my wardrobe of muffs that I just... one in every color.

Jojo  

My fur muffs. [both laugh] Okay, so moving on. The other character that I very briefly wanted to touch on--again, I did not have enough room to do all of these photos--was Agador. 

Sarah  

I love him. 

Jojo  

And I can't remember the name of the actor that plays him. I forgot to write that down.

Sarah  

Hector someone, right? Is that...

Jojo  

Yes. Hector...

Sarah  

Alon... sa ...

Jojo  

Ansari? No, that's not his last name. Ah. Anyways, they will come back to me at some point. 

Sarah  

Hector... 

Jojo  

I'm gonna look-- I'll look it up.

Sarah  

Alonzo. No, that's not Hector Alonzo... shoot.

Jojo  

What's his name?! 

Sarah  

Hank Azaria!

Jojo  

Hank Azaria. Okay, thanks.

Sarah  

He has the same initials as Hector Alonzo.

Jojo  

I was like, "I know there's a Z..." Oh, okay, that's why.

Sarah  

I get those names confused. Yes, I love him. He's great.

Jojo  

[laughs] But I wanted to pull all of... and again, this is only a few of his looks. Not all of them. But I love that Ann kind of gave him sort of like a Dukes of Hazzard look.

Sarah  

Yes.

Jojo  

Where he's always got the jean cutoffs, and the little crop tops. [laughs] Just that he's got this giant rip in the side of his jeans.

Sarah  

Mmhmm. Basically underwear. 

Jojo  

Showing off his legs. 

Sarah  

Yeah. 

Jojo  

Basically. Yeah, exactly. So I just thought that was kind of funny. It was... you know, it's interesting. There's so many interviews about him and how he felt like he was worried about how he portrayed, you know, the gay Latino population at the time. And I think they were trying to do a sequel, and he refused because he was like, "I just don't think I can represent this culture, or this demographic correctly." 

Sarah  

Wow! 

Jojo  

And this was also-- I think it was this was more recently. 

Sarah  

Right, right, right.

Jojo  

Now that they've had all of these talks about representing the right group.

Sarah  

Well, yeah, because I mean-- this is definitely a conversation we can have about both our movies. It's that like, at the time, being an openly gay person was not really synonymous with being a successful actor. 

Jojo  

Right.

Sarah  

So like, anyone who was gay was usually closeted. So the people who portrayed gay people in media were usually straight, or at least straight-appearing. 

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

And nowadays, people try to cast, you know, queer people to play queer people. And I think that that's generally pretty important, especially since it's hard for gay actors to get jobs. So they should be in those roles.

Jojo  

I think it's very similar to the same conversation we're having about diversity, right? 

Sarah  

Yes.

Jojo  

Like, you know, an Asian person should be playing an Asian, not that we have to stereotype it. But like, I mean, even in these, the straight people are also... these roles are very stereotyped. 

Sarah  

Yeah. 

Jojo  

I mean-- and again, I don't necessarily... I mean, I know people that are homosexual, but not necessarily all of them act like this. 

Sarah  

Right.

Jojo  

So again, there's a lot of misconceptions about this. This is one of the first times they're really putting it out in the open. So, you know, how much of that leeway are they taking? And how much of it is Hollywood trying to create a persona, right? 

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

And, you know, it's the same problem that we're having even today with diverse voices and trying to represent equally all of those voices. 

Sarah  

Totally. And I've heard a lot of people be like, "Oh, well, you know, actors can portray... they're actors. They can, you know, they can dive into whatever role." And it's like, sure, but if it's "give this gay actor a job" or "give this straight actor a job," queer actors have a harder time getting cast. So they should be cast in these roles that are basically FOR them. They're made for other queer people to see themselves on screen. So... yeah, that's... that's it. [laughs]

Jojo  

Yeah. I think that's definitely an age-old argument that I'm sure will continue for a while. [laughs]

Sarah  

Yeah. Yeah. 

Jojo  

All right. Cool.

Sarah  

Anyway! 

Jojo  

Moving on. We went on a very...

Sarah  

It's an important convo! 

Jojo  

...very important tangent, but yes. So this outfit is not necessarily in the movie, but I did want to pull this out because one of the first scenes that Armand is seen in, he's in this Versace, which he wears a lot of. He wears a lot of these kind of Versace shirts, which also is very Miami.

Sarah  

Very Miami, yeah.

Jojo  

So I thought that was really very appropriate. And I think, you know, not necessarily having lived in Miami or having had experienced that, but there is sort of a visual image of that. 

Sarah  

Well, 'cuz... 

Jojo  

...when you think of Miami from this time as well.

Sarah  

Yeah, 'cuz that's where he lived. That's where Versace lived. So...

Jojo  

Right, right.

Sarah  

...especially in the 90s, in the 80s and 90s. It was very Versace all the time. 

Jojo  

Yeah. And same with Dolce and Gabbana, I think?

Sarah  

I don't know. 

Jojo  

Is that correct? I'm not sure. But I know Dolce and Gabbana is also very well represented in this movie, so a lot of their clothes were used. 

Sarah  

Nice.

Jojo  

So again, you know, this idea of Ann Roth really taking realistic things that they want to pull from that area, and from the brands that are nearby. I just thought that was really appropriate. So anyways, I just really liked this shirt. And he-- Robin Williams is often portrayed in this kind of a silhouette, where he's always wearing this very loose open shirt over a white A-shirt. Or for many of you, it used to be called the "wife beater." We do not call it that anymore.

Sarah  

We do not!

Jojo  

We call it an A-shirt. [laughs] So that's what he's wearing most of the time underneath, or sometimes a black t-shirt, or a black A-shirt. 

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

And then he's always got these  really wide kind of... they're almost like palazzo pants? But they're very billowy and it's great watching him just like, run around everywhere and kind of inwardly panic. 'Cuz he's sort of the one that needs to be kind of controlled. 

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

I had this interesting quote from Nichols that said, "what I wanted in our mind was the kind of suppressed hysteria. Someone who could appear perfectly straight and ordinary, but with a little something just under the surface that he can't completely control."

Sarah  

Uh huh. 

Jojo  

"Robin played that brilliantly." So I think that was absolutely accurate. And I just thought that was so funny, that he really is obviously very, very flamboyantly dressed, but he still tries to kind of keep everything under control. Whereas Nathan Lane is kind of overly dramatic, always crying. 

Sarah  

Right. 

Jojo  

Always screaming, you know, so it was just kind of a funny contrast between the two of them. Okay, next one. So I pulled this image, and this is probably the only image I've pulled of the senator-- or sorry, the Keeley family. And the only reason I didn't pull more pictures of them is because most of the movie they are in these pretty conservative, you know, suits. The mom is always in some kind of a conservative suit dress. And then even Calista is-- she's always in these braids, and it's very preppy. There's one scene where she's in, like, a flannel. And I think that's her only time she kind of dresses down. 

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

But the rest of the time, very, very preppy looking until the very end. And so one of the things I wanted to do with this image is just to kind of show the color contrast. Because I think Ann did a really good job of keeping this family--this nuclear family--in a very Earth tone, kind of grays--and some monochrome charcoals and grays--but it was mostly in the gray family. 

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

Or maybe some beige, but that was about it. So like, you don't really see them go anywhere else. And then in contrast, when they arrive in Miami to meet Robin Williams and Nathan Lane, then it's this huge contrast of just colors, patterns, everything.

Sarah  

Yeah, Miami is a very colorful place, just like... on its own.

Jojo  

Yeah. Okay, moving on. So this is all within maybe the first, like, 30 minutes of the movie. [both laugh] So this is why I had such a hard time filtering, but I just love this outfit. Like, again, this is still him kind of not necessarily dressed as Starina, but it's another one of his acts in the performance, and he's supposed to be playing a clown. But I just love that he's got these-- the pink gloves are just like... I just think it's such a great touch. And then the top hat, and he's kind of got this clown... it's almost like a cross between a sailor with the striped vest. 

Sarah  

Yeah. 

Jojo  

Versus like, you know, the traditional clown with the oversized flower and the patches on his jacket. And I also have a full body shot of this.

Sarah  

[laughs] Look at those shoes. 

Jojo  

I just thought it was-- I mean, you never seen his shoes in this movie.

Sarah  

Oh my god.

Jojo  

But I just thought it was so funny that, you know, they have the full look. 

Sarah  

Wow. 

Jojo  

But yes, what a character. I mean, Nathan Lane must have had so much fun with all of these costume changes. 

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

So... not too much to add to that. Yet another Nathan Lane. And this is when they find out Val is is home with them. 

Sarah  

Uh huh.

Jojo  

So he goes out and basically is shopping in the... it's basically this really quick shot of him just walking through the marketplace in Miami. And I just-- I don't know, I just love this whole outfit. Again, there's not much notes that I have for any of these costumes really, except that they're just... they're just so great.

Sarah  

I love how his vibe is kind of... Golden Girls-y? 

Jojo  

Yes, very much so. 

Sarah  

He has a glasses chain and like, a little collared shirt. [both laugh]

Jojo  

It's so cute. Yeah. And then the little bag. And I think these are... I think they're pink, or like a peach color, kind of pant. And in the-- again, I don't know if this is Versace, but it looks very Versace pattern?

Sarah  

The chain. Yeah. 

Jojo  

In terms of-- yeah, the chain, and then the vest. It's kind of a vest. I don't know.

Sarah  

I mean the chain print, the chain print is very Versace.

Jojo  

Yeah, yes. 

Sarah  

Yeah, yeah, yeah. 

Jojo  

So I just-- I just love it. And then this is when he arrives home, and again Agador is just in his little Dukes of Hazzard jean shorts. [laughs] And again, this contrast of the two of them, obviously Robin Williams is still very flamboyant. But he's kind of-- he's got like, it's almost like a... it's not a smoking jacket. I know it's a robe. But it is sort of one of those things where I feel like he feels like the more austere of the two of them.

Sarah  

Sure. 

Jojo  

And Nathan Lane is just kind of like the flighty, always waving his hands everywhere and always saying something in high pitched voices.

Sarah  

But that creates a balance the relationship. Right? You can't both be like that. You need one... 

Jojo  

Yes.

Sarah  

...you need to balance each other out. [laughs]

Jojo  

Absolutely, absolutely. Even just  the little glasses, I think it's just such a great touch, all the little details that she includes on there. 

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

One of the other things that I wrote down, too, is that he's-- Robin Williams is always wearing these three gold chains. And both of them are always wearing a ton of gold rings. So I don't know if-- and again, this is kind of where I feel like I'm not the expert in terms of like, what is culturally appropriate for this group, or this community. But like, all the gold rings that they're wearing, it just felt like a very... I don't know if it was just something associated with their specific club, or just the two of them, or if it was something that is common in Miami in the homosexual community. I don't know. So that was kind of a question, I guess, that I had. 

Sarah  

Yeah, I don't have an answer. I don't know a lot about Miami or gay culture in Miami in the 90s. But if anybody does, feel free to tell us! 

Jojo  

Yeah, definitely. It was just-- it was an interesting choice. I mean, because it definitely worked with their character, but I wasn't sure if that was just a character thing.

Sarah  

I've definitely watched the "American Crime Story" on Gianni Versace. And I feel like he was constantly covered in rings. So maybe it's just like a style thing. A late 80s/early 90s Miami thing of lots of gold jewelry. 

Jojo  

Yeah, definitely, because Nathan also makes a comment about how he takes off all of his rings in order to become the straightlaced, conservative man. 

Sarah  

Yeah. 

Jojo  

So I just, you know, I thought it was it was an interesting question that I had about, you know, the character. But back to the necklaces that-- or the chains that Robin Williams is wearing. It's interesting, because I couldn't figure out what two of them were, but there is one that's clearly a Jewish Star of David, which you don't really... I mean, they don't make any comment on the fact that they're Jewish until, like, the last maybe 10 minutes of movie. 

Sarah  

Interesting. 

Jojo  

But it's, you know... again, it's such a tiny detail. But like, clearly Ann Roth has thought about like, okay, even though he... you know, he doesn't necessarily exude like, "I'm this Jewish," whatever. It's like a little kind of commentary on what's important to him, and that he still wears that as a symbol. 

Sarah  

Right.

Jojo  

So yes, anyways, that I just thought that was interesting. Moving on. Okay, another great Nathan Lane look. [laughs] Again, just prepping for performance. But I also just wanted to pull in, even though this movie was made in in the late 90s, there's definitely a lot of late 80s references and the kind of-- you know, the leotards and the workout gear from the 80s. All of that kind of gets carried over. And again, you know, these are... they're clearly very flamboyant. And they're clearly very comfortable in who they are. But I just thought that it was so interesting that she had set a lot of their costumes in... back in the late 80s. And setting isn't really ever established in this movie. 

Sarah  

Right. 

Jojo  

But I think there's so much more fun prints, and things like that, that are happening in the 80s. So part of me wonders if they were setting it in that time, or if she was just trying to bring back those things, because it was so fashionable and trendy,

Sarah  

I think it's probably carryover. I think that we forget, kind of, because we look at the... we look at the decade as a whole and we say, "Oh, well, these are the hallmarks of this decade." But we kind of forget that a lot of things carry through, you know. It doesn't end at '89 and go into '90 and everybody's like, "we're gonna dress completely differently now." You know, things kind of bleed into each other. So I definitely think that aerobics gear was still happening in the 90s. It was probably just like, different colors, different cuts, kind of thing.

Jojo  

Yeah, definitely. So yes, I just-- again, I just love this look. Not too many notes, like I said, just really fun outfits for Nathan Lane. And just interesting seeing him in this kind of a role, too. I mean, I think he does play a lot of these kinds of roles. But I think it's just fun to see him, you know, really own this character. 

Sarah  

Yeah. 

Jojo  

So there's another-- I think this is the Dolce and Gabbana shirt...

Sarah  

Mmkay. 

Jojo  

...that he's wearing, because I think there's actually... there was some kind of an auction that I found the same image on. And they were like, "there's a label that says 'D&G' on the inside." 

Sarah  

Hmm!

Jojo  

But he's also got these... you can't see it in the picture. But supposedly, they're actually silk yellow-and-green striped pants. 

Sarah  

Ooh.

Jojo  

So like, even though the color doesn't read as bright here, it's just... you know, again, this idea of really bringing in color. And the mix of patterns, I think, is so fun too. And again, still holding to that same silhouette. I think it tells us a lot about Robin Williams's character. And again, it gives us so much about who he is. And yet when he plays the character, because again, there's so many stereotypes about what a homosexual character acts like, and looks like, and all of these things. And I think Robin Williams really made a very balanced acting choice of kind of carrying him a little more subtle.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

As opposed to like, the traditional and stereotypical homosexual man. 

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

So I pulled this image because this is one of the ones that I think was probably my least favorite. And not because I think it didn't add to the comedic factor. Like, I think that part of it was very successful. But this is when they're out on the beach. And it's this picture and, I think, this one.

Sarah  

Hmm. 

Jojo  

This is kind of a better idea of what they're wearing. 

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

But I think I was just a little confused about this. Like, it almost looks like pajamas.

Sarah  

Pajamas, yeah. [laughs] 

Jojo  

And I know, obviously, that is my contemporary look at this matching set. 

Sarah  

I don't know...

Jojo  

But I was also trying to find images of this in the 80s. And I was like, "everyone around them is wearing these..." you know, there's a whole scene at the end where senator Keeley is driving into Miami, and there's all these people rollerblading in little thong bikinis and stuff. 

Sarah  

Yeah. [laughs] 

Jojo  

And I'm like, "who is wearing this to the beach?!" Like...

Sarah  

Just, like, full long sleeved pajamas.

Jojo  

Yeah. And like, even Nathan Lane, I think when I first looked at him, it almost didn't register that the bottoms were white. It almost looked like he was wearing also a matching set of pink gingham and pink on the bottom. 

Sarah  

Huh.

Jojo  

So yeah, I think-- I mean, at least for him, when I see the full suit, it looks a little less weird. Like, he just kind of looks like he's trying to cover himself up at the beach. And maybe this looks a little more like "Miami Vice" or something? Like, he kind of was sort of wearing a suit? 

Sarah  

Yeah, it looks like maybe it's linen, you know, summer weight. But still, on the beach, you would think that they would look like they're on the beach. [laughs]

Jojo  

Right. And like, he's only in this outfit when he's under the umbrella. The rest of the scene, he's just in this. And I'm like... I'm very confused. [laughs]

Sarah  

It just seems like a lot of clothes.

Jojo  

With everything else they're wearing.... Yeah, with everything else they're wearing in the rest of the movie, I think this look for both of them... I was very just kind of thrown off. I was like, "this seems very 'not them.'" 

Sarah  

Yeah. 

Jojo  

So yes. I'd be curious to hear what Roth's thoughts were on this choice. 

Sarah  

Yeah. Me too.

Jojo  

Or like, where these outfits came from. 

Sarah  

Yeah. 

Jojo  

Okay, moving on. So... another great look for the two of them. So halfway through when they basically are trying to meet Senator Keeley and his wife.... So the son Val basically doesn't believe that Nathan can play a straight man, because at first their idea is to have him play the uncle who's just kind of, you know, close...

Sarah  

Right.

Jojo  

...close to the family. And then they just-- they don't think that's gonna work. So Robin Williams--or Armand--ends up deciding to come up with this idea to contact Val's true mother, who was how Val was conceived. 

Sarah  

Right.

Jojo  

And so they try to get her to come for the dinner. There's all kinds of mishaps that happen with that as well, so Nathan Lane ends up dressing up as a woman to play the wife. However, when they go to visit the mother, this is the outfit that they show up in. And I just love that, you know, Nathan Lane's just-- I love the yellow, first of all. I think that that was a really nice touch of tying them together. And I think, again, Ann Roth does this really great thing about being able to tie groups together so you can really associate them together by color. So the fact that, you know, he's got this kind of matching yellow patterned shirt, and then he's got a little tie there. What did I write on my notes? Let's see. I put, "Albert's personality sort of reminds me of a little bit of a 50s/60s housewife." Still very "Golden Girls," I think, with the neckerchief. And even the little hat, and again, the rose-colored glasses. Or... I guess they're not really rose, they're kind of more yellow in this case. 

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

And then kind of comparing that to Armand's very masculine suits, which remind me a lot more of the very quintessential 80s. 

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

So I just think it's so funny that he really does play the part of kind of the traditional housewife to a certain extent, and even when he dresses up as the woman, too. Obviously very opinionated about certain things, but I think he definitely plays the part very well. 

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

So I think this is just another picture. Yeah. So just to show the bottom pants that he wears with this beautiful yellow outfit on top.

Sarah  

I love the yellow.

Jojo  

I do, too. I was like, "I'm not normally a yellow person." But this yellow just looks so great. And I love his little hat too, the little short brimmed hat.

Sarah  

You always say you're not into yellow, and then you always are excited about the yellow looks. [laughs]

Jojo  

I think it's really just-- it's like, there's specific colors of yellow that I really like. Like, I'm really into ochre. 

Sarah  

Yeah. 

Jojo  

And I really like that kind of... it's almost like a buttercup yellow. 

Sarah  

Uh huh. 

Jojo  

Like, those two yellows, I think I'm more okay with. It's like, when you go into neon, that's usually when I'm like, "No thank you." [laughs]

Sarah  

Ooh, I love a neon yellow. I love neon anything. 

Jojo  

[laughs] Yes. Okay. So in contrast, I wanted to show a quick shot of Val. And then Armand when-- you know, when he finally dresses up to look like the straightlaced man. 

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

The sad thing is, they end up taking down all the decorations in their house. They basically take out all the inappropriate statues and artwork and all these things to basically try and make the house look a little more conservative, to try and trick the girl's parents. And this is Nathan Lane, when he's in his suit. [both laugh]

Sarah  

Oh my god.

Jojo  

So this is when he makes the whole joke about removing all the rings. And then, you know, it's so funny because he spent like five minutes trying to figure out how to sit down, because he doesn't know where to put his hands. [laughs] Without looking super femme. 

Sarah  

Yeah. 

Jojo  

And then, of course, Robin Williams asked him about his pink socks. And he was like, "well, I just thought a pop of color would be helpful." [both laugh]

Sarah  

Aww. 

Jojo  

So yes, again, this was obviously-- he did not end up going and showing up like this. But it was just funny that he made this attempt to try and look like a straight man. And then of course, this is his female version, when he finally shows up as... you know, the missus. They pretend their name is Coleman instead of Goldman. 

Sarah  

Uh huh.

Jojo  

So then he comes in as Mrs. Coleman. And it's interesting, because I think when they interview Nathan, he mentioned something about being inspired by Mrs. Bush.

Sarah  

Oh, yeah! 

Jojo  

I just thought that was so funny. It was like, "Yeah, I can see that." 

Sarah  

Yep.

Jojo  

So like, you know, just the way that she's dressed, the pearls. But just the tie--the bow--around the neck. And yet, still a ton of pattern. So... So yes, I just thought this was hilarious, and I think this was just such a great moment, because he kind of just shows up out of nowhere and gives them no warning. Like, they are not expecting him to dress up like this.

Sarah  

Amazing. 

Jojo  

And then Senator Keeley and his whole family is like, totally just... they have no idea. They just totally think he's the wife and don't even bat an eye at the fact that he's dressed up as a woman. Like, they just think he's a woman. [laughs]

Sarah  

Love it!

Jojo  

It's great. Okay. And then the final scenes, there's a couple I just wanted to-- I wanted to show more of the performers in drag in the club, because there is a scene at the beginning where they enter as well. But this last scene I just thought was just so funny. Because this is also how they get the Senator Keeley family to escape. Because right when they're about to say like, "okay, no, we're not going to have you guys get married"... When they find out the ruse is all up, they find out Nathan Lane is actually a man. Val finally--the son--finally stands up and says "this is my mother." Whereas he's kind of a jerk throughout the movie. Because he's constantly like, "you have to change this. You have to be this other person. You have to... you know, you have to get rid of these, you can't do this." And then it's finally at the very end when he takes the wig off and basically says "this is actually my mother." And then Senator Keeley basically is like, "you can't marry my daughter." But then he gets stopped by the paparazzi outside and so, of course, to avoid even more scandal their idea is to dress up the Keeley family as drag queens and basically waltz them out the front door. 

Sarah  

[laughs]

Jojo  

So this is the final performance. I just wanted to show some fun photos for our audience and listeners. They decided to do a black and white theme, but it's also very like "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" kind of incorporated in there as well. There's a lot of glitz. And this-- I just wanted... I don't even know who this is. This is not anybody that shows up anywhere else in the movie. [both laugh] But he just somehow shows up at the very beginning...

Sarah  

That is quite a jacket. 

Jojo  

Sorry, at the.... Yes, I just really like his jacket. And also, I don't know what's going on with these pants. 

Sarah  

I don't either.

Jojo  

He's got like, I can't tell if it's on a side pocket or if that's actually how it closes? Or if this is just giant safety pins, or if he's just got rhinestone right at his crotch? 

Sarah  

Ooh!

Jojo  

Like, I don't know what's going on. But it's a lot. And then of course, all the ladies that you can see, varying levels of very 80s prom dresses, almost. 

Sarah  

Stunning.

Jojo  

With all the glitz and glam. And then the last three shots are just-- this is our Gene Hackman and his drag. [both laugh] He's clearly the most uncomfortable. But it's funny because actually, when they pulled him out in this first shot, I was almost like-- I almost didn't recognize him. I was like, "who... which... who is who is that? Which character is that?" But yeah, so I just thought that was really funny. And then the mom, Dianne Wiest, and each of-- it's funny because then Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, and Val all end up dressing up very gentlemanly. So Nathan Lane is in one of his more masculine looks for the very end, which I find ironic. 

Sarah  

[laughs]

Jojo  

So that they can pair with their drag queen to lead them out. 

Sarah  

Uh huh. 

Jojo  

So he ushers Dianne Wiest out. And then of course Val, at the very end, leads Ally McBeal. I'm gonna keep calling her Ally McBeal. [both laugh] He leads Barbara out in her outfit. And I think she's one of the ones that I was a little bit like, "I'm not..." I feel like they overpowdered her a little bit. Just a little more vampy, scary.

Sarah  

Something looks very severe about it. Yeah.

Jojo  

Yeah, definitely a little more powder and white makeup than I think was necessary, especially since the other two still look very... I don't want to say "normal," but they look a little bit more natural. 

Sarah  

Yeah. 

Jojo  

So it's like, what's going on with this look? Was this an actor choice? 

Sarah  

Huh.

Jojo  

But I do love her dress. I love all the sequins and... 

Sarah  

It's cute. 

Jojo  

And just everything over the top. 

Sarah  

We love a sparkle. 

Jojo  

So yeah, that is my coverage of all the things "Birdcage."

Sarah  

Great job! Yay!

Jojo  

Thank you! Yeah, it was a lot of fun. Like I said, I think the biggest thing that was successful was... Ann Roth really did a good job about separating with color. The different families, and even  the two groups. 

Sarah  

Totally.

Jojo  

Minus Val. I think Val was probably the most normal looking. 

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

And yeah, I'm not gonna lie. I spent a lot of this movie just being angry at Val. 'Cuz he's kind of a jerk. [both laugh]

Sarah  

Well, yeah, it's... yeah, I mean, it's tough because at the time, I guess, it was normal to be ashamed if you came from a family like that. But like, nowadays, we're like, "come on, man." Like, it's your parents. Have some respect. 

Jojo  

So funny. But yes. So... I'm glad they redeemed him at the end. 

Sarah  

Me too. Me too. Okay, let's do it. So I'm very excited to talk about this movie. Oh... come on computer, you can do it. 

Jojo  

[laughs]

Sarah  

Because I had never seen it before. And when I said that at work, there were a lot of gasps in the room. Because it's both an iconic gay movie and an iconic costume movie.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

So this is "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" from 1994.

Jojo  

I also have not seen this movie. So I'm excited.

Sarah  

It's... I went in not knowing what the plot was at all. And it wasn't about what I expected it to be about. 

Jojo  

Ahh, interesting.

Sarah  

'Cuz I saw the costumes and I expected it to be this fantasy thing. And it's not, it's about three drag queens--well, two drag queens and a trans woman--who are on a road trip, basically. 

Jojo  

Ooh, okay.

Sarah  

Like, that's kind of all it's about? The plot is not... like, not a lot happens. They're just on a road trip. That's the whole story. So it's from 1994. Directed by... I don't know if it's "Stephan" or "Stephen" Elliott. Sorry to Mr. Elliott. I don't know which one it is. 

Jojo  

[laughs] That's okay. 

Sarah  

So this is an Australian movie... so I pulled it up, because I have forgotten. Okay. I don't recognize any of his other titles. He did a movie called "Swinging Safari," "A Few Best Men," "Easy Virtue." These sound a little bit like they could be porns, not gonna lie. [both laugh] 

Jojo  

Okay.

Sarah  

I don't think they are. I don't think they are. [laughs] Okay.

Jojo  

Yes, I definitely don't recognize any of them either. So...

Sarah  

Yeah, and I think that Australian... you know, some movies don't make it across to us from Australia or the UK or any other country. 

Jojo  

Right.

Sarah  

Some of them do, but not all of them. So the costumes were by Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardner, they're a little team. Tim Chappel has done some "Masked Singer," a 2006 "Red Riding Hood," and he also just has a lot of credits as not the designer, but just in the costuming department. Or as the assistant, on things like "Miss Congeniality." 

Jojo  

Ooh!

Sarah  

And he is the associate designer on "The Dressmaker," which is a movie I've heard a lot about, it's a Kate Winslet movie. 

Jojo  

Yeah. 

Sarah  

And I have not seen it, but it's on my list. 

Jojo  

I haven't seen that one either. 

Sarah  

And then Lizzy Gardner did "Mission: Impossible 2," "Peter Rabbit," "Hacksaw Ridge"... so she works a lot. 

Jojo  

Yeah. 

Sarah  

And my first picture, actually... depending on how I can squeeze my images, this might not be on the Instagram slideshow. 

Jojo  

Okay. 

Sarah  

But this is Lizzy Gardner at the Oscars when they won. 

Jojo  

Whooooa!

Sarah  

So this movie won Best Costume Design at the Oscars. It is the last contemporary movie to win for the costuming Oscar. And we've talked about this a little bit, I talked about it in my "Roman Holiday" coverage, which is that there used to be a black and white costume design Oscar and a color film one. 

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

And it used to be that the black and white movies were often contemporary. And then the color ones were the big spectacles, the fantasies, the musicals. So when they combined the two in '67, I think, contemporary movies basically stopped winning the Oscar because it's hard for them to compete against big spectacle movies. 

Jojo  

Mmhmm. 

Sarah  

Yeah. So, you know, this was in the 90s. So it's kind of wild to me that no contemporary movie has won since then. 

Jojo  

Right. 

Sarah  

So... anyway, back to this dress she's wearing. 

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

This is... where's my note? Here we go. She gained worldwide attention when she picked up her award wearing an unusual dress consisting of 254 expired American Express gold cards. [laughs] So let's zoom in. 

Jojo  

Oh my god!

Sarah  

Look at that. 

Jojo  

Whaaaat! 

Sarah  

And they originally made this dress for the movie. And then they cut it because American Express was like, "You can't do that," basically.

Jojo  

[laughs] So she wore it to the red carpet instead.

Sarah  

Yes! And after the dress was worn by her, the company saw its marketing potential. And they were keen to showcase the dress throughout its travel offices in the United States. And then it was-- the dress was auctioned off for charity. And the proceeds went to AIDS research. And it has been cited as amongst the worst Oscar gowns of all time, which I think is a load of baloney, because it's great! [both laugh]

Jojo  

That is hilarious. 

Sarah  

Isn't it? 

Jojo  

I mean, it fits her super well. Like, maybe it was if it was on a different body and it didn't look right then it would be a different story. But I feel like...

Sarah  

It looks like a 20s sort of fantasy, just made out of gold cards. I could see maybe shortening it?

Jojo  

Yeah, yeah. 

Sarah  

To make it just...

Jojo  

I was thinking that too. Like a little sheath or something. 

Sarah  

Yeah, to make it just sort of less of a column. But I think it's iconic.

Jojo  

Right. 

Sarah  

And does not deserve to be on any worst dressed lists. Okay...

Jojo  

So funny. So funny. 

Sarah  

So another tidbit is that there's an iconic scene where they are basically... there's like a scene where he's like, "I've always wanted to climb this one rock in full drag." In a showgirl costume, basically. Climb in the Australian outback in drag. 

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

And initially, they tried to get permission to film on Ayres Rock, which has now been renamed to the indigenous name Uluru. But it was rejected by the organizations responsible for the monument, as it would have been in violation of Indigenous Australian religious beliefs. So basically, since it was a queer movie, they were like, "No, no, you can't film on our rock." 

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

So I thought-- I just thought that was kind of interesting. So they had to-- like, in the script, it said... I think it probably said Ayers Rock. And they had to rewrite it to be a different... they filmed... I didn't write down where they filmed instead. But they filmed somewhere else.

Jojo  

Okay. 

Sarah  

So yeah. Okay. 

Jojo  

Interesting. 

Sarah  

Yeah. And it's like, nowadays, if someone did something like that they would get so much heat and flack for rejecting a movie just because it had gay people in it. 

Jojo  

Right, right. 

Sarah  

The budget for the costumes on this movie was $20,000. 

Jojo  

....WHAT?!

Sarah  

Which is... hardly anything. [laughs]

Jojo  

That's nothing! Oh my gosh. 

Sarah  

Yeah. 

Jojo  

That's crazy.

Sarah  

This is a low budget movie. I don't have the numbers for how much the movie itself cost. But it was basically like an Australian indie flick that they didn't expect to blow up as much as it did. 

Jojo  

Right. Right.

Sarah  

So yeah, these costume designers were working with a budget. They were doing basically like dollar store couture. You know, thrifted sort of stuff. 

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

Lots of DIY. 

Jojo  

Well, if they took American Express cards that were expired, I get it.

Sarah  

I know. It's like, okay, so where'd you get all those expired gold cards then? Where do you get those? [both laugh]

Jojo  

Sourcing everyone she knows! [laughs]

Sarah  

Okay. Oh, they later went on to design the stage show. So there is a stage musical of this story. 

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

And they designed the costumes for it, which I think is wonderful. And their costume budget for the stage show was $1 million. [laughs]

Jojo  

That's crazy. I mean, that sounds a lot more closer to normal. [laughs]

Sarah  

Yeah, could not be more different. And then, I actually watched some clips from the stage show. And I was like, "Oh, yeah, this is way more expensive." Like, so many more people are in drag and in huge looks in the stage show. 

Jojo  

Right. 

Sarah  

Okay, what else do I have here before...? Oh, right. Just... I watch a lot of Drag Race. I'm a Drag Race fan. 

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

So I know a bit about drag just from that. And I have seen this movie referenced more times than I can count, and so I knew some of the visual references to it. And I especially was struck by how similar it looks to the HBO show "We're Here," which is like a reality series with three "RuPaul's Drag Race" drag queens, who basically go into small towns, and they sort of do a "Queer Eye" makeover, except they do a drag makeover. And it's sort of like a little docu series. And so a lot of the shots of them basically walking through these small towns-- they literally get off a bus and they walk through small towns in full drag. I did not realize that that is a direct reference to this movie. So I just got really excited. 

Jojo  

Ahhh.

Sarah  

Because I was like, "dang, everyone references this movie!" 

Jojo  

Yeah. 

Sarah  

So yeah, that's my... 

Jojo  

Now it makes sense. 

Sarah  

Yeah, it totally does. Okay, so basically, your basic plot. It's not that complicated. There are three people--two drag queens and a trans woman--who are on a road trip because one of them... whose boy name... his nickname is Tick, but his drag name is Mitzi. He books a show. But what he doesn't tell the other two is that he has a wife, he's technically still married, and he has a son. 

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

So they're basically going to... I did not quite catch some... okay. I don't know if I'm just, like, stupid. But some of the plot details completely went over my head. So I don't know if the wife runs the place that they go to. It's like a club, or like a hotel. 

Jojo  

Okay.

Sarah  

She works there. I know that for sure. Also... the accents. A little bit, sometimes, hard to understand. [both laugh] 

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

I'm very sorry if I get these details wrong. So basically, he tells them sort of after they're already on the road, like, "oh, also, we're going to see my wife and kid" and they're like, "wife and who what now?" So... yeah. And so then along the way, they kind of-- they break down and they meet people in these tiny little Outback towns. They have some incidents with homophobia, a lot of homophobia. 

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

And basically, yeah, it's kind of just like a slice of life, almost, because nothing huge happens. It's just a roadtrip movie. Kind of like "To Wong Foo," which is also about three drag queens on a road trip, but that's an American movie. So... parallels.

Jojo  

Oh, okay.

Sarah  

It came out after this movie.

Jojo  

Interesting. 

Sarah  

Okay, costumes. Let's do it. This is Tick, a.k.a. Mitzi. 

Jojo  

Oh!

Sarah  

Yeah. And this is the quickest shot, which I was like... they made this costume for the smallest little scene. But I had to grab it because I'm obsessed with it. It's a chandelier.

Jojo  

Yeah! Oh, my goodness. 

Sarah  

And this is basically the scene it flashes back to when he finds out that his son is being born. So he's in the hospital. And he's clearly like, come from performing in this costume to go see his son be born. So he's standing in the hospital dressed as a chandelier, which I think is wonderful.

Jojo  

Is that an octopus on his head? 

Sarah  

It looks like... yeah, looks like a face. A face of some kind. And then it goes. 

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

And then I was like, is it touching an actual chandelier on the ceiling? I don't know.

Jojo  

It's so hard to tell! It's pretty amazing.

Sarah  

I LOVE this. Ugh! 

Jojo  

That is insane. 

Sarah  

And it lights up! How did they... how did they make this movie for $20,000, costumes? I don't understand.

Jojo  

Yeah. Seriously.

Sarah  

Did they borrow this from someone? 

Jojo  

I feel like this one alone, cost... that's crazy.

Sarah  

I know. I think a lot of people involved in the movie didn't get very big paychecks either, you know.

Jojo  

Probably.

Sarah  

So like, maybe the cost was a lot of sort of unpaid people who were just working on it because they knew the people and were like, "sure, we'll work on a movie." 

Jojo  

Yeah, or volunteers or something. 

Sarah  

Yeah. Okay. So this is them. I kind of skipped over everything before the road trip, because it's not really all that interesting costume wise.

Jojo  

No worries.

Sarah  

These are the looks that I immediately recognized. I was like, "Yes, I have seen these before." So on the left, we have Mitzi. In the middle is Bernadette, who is the trans woman. On the right is Felicia, I can't remember his boy name because they, like, never say it, but played by Guy Pierce. And then this one in the middle, oh, I forgot...

Jojo  

That's Guy Pierce?!

Sarah  

Yes!

Jojo  

I do not recognize him at all. That's insane.

Sarah  

Here, I have this. That's him. That's Guy Pierce. Isn't that wild?

Jojo  

Whaaat! That-- yeah, I totally did not... did not expect that

Sarah  

Yeah, my sister was like, "I don't know what I know him from," and I was like, "'Mare of Easttown,' the HBO show we JUST watched." [laughs] 

Jojo  

That's awesome.

Sarah  

I can't remember the actor who plays Bernadette's name, but he's a very well known British actor. Apologies to him. 

Jojo  

Okay. 

Sarah  

I don't want to look it up. And then this is Hugo Weaving of "Lord of the Rings."

Jojo  

Oh! Oh my gosh.

Sarah  

...And "V for Vendetta" fame.

Jojo  

I can definitely see that. I can see, it's his cheekbones.

Sarah  

And the brows, he has very angular brows. Yeah.

Jojo  

[laughs] Yeah, yeah yeah. 

Sarah  

So this is them basically in their first sort of like... small town stop. They're going to stay in a hotel. And I think they just decided to dress up just because this is how they live their lives. And they're like...

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

 ..."we won't be stopped from being fabulous." I like that Bernadette is clearly sort of... she dresses very purposefully and is always really made up. And I think she is sort of like old Hollywood glam inspiration. 

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

And yeah, I think if this movie were made today, she would not be played by a cisgender man, I think she would be played by a trans woman. But this is from 1994. So. And then I love this flip flop dress. 

Jojo  

I do, too. I was just looking at that.

Sarah  

They said they made it for $17. [laughs]

Jojo  

I mean, they probably just took old flip flops... 

Sarah  

Yeah, yeah. I have a feeling that they were really scrounging, you know, whatever they could do.

Jojo  

This must have been a fun craft movie, almost.

Sarah  

Yes! 

Jojo  

Because you're essentially stringing together things-- like, found objects almost. 

Sarah  

Right. It looks like they're held together with maybe like a zip tie or something. 

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

This flip flop dress is what you will see recreated a lot. 

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

Like, I just watched Australian Drag Race, "Drag Race Down Under."

Jojo  

Ohhh. 

Sarah  

And there were "Priscilla" references, including one of the queens... they always do a makeover challenge, where they make over-- usually it's a straight man. I can't remember who they made over, honestly, I have the worst memory. But she basically had the flip flop dress and this blue dress, little sort of like... homages to them. And they were very cute.

Jojo  

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Sarah  

And then this wig. I love it. What is it made of? 

Jojo  

Straws? 

Sarah  

Straws? It looks like phone cord or electrical wire?

Jojo  

Oh, yeah. Oh my gosh, I can't. 

Sarah  

I love it.

Jojo  

That looks so crazy. 

Sarah  

I love. Love, love, love. Okay, and then there are several scenes where the bus-- the bus is Priscilla, by the way. I had no idea. [laughs]

Jojo  

Okay.

Sarah  

I just assumed one of them was Priscilla. 

Jojo  

Yeah, I definitely would not have known that.

Sarah  

But Priscilla is the bus. [laughs]

Jojo  

Got it. Got it.

Sarah  

She's a character. 

Jojo  

Thank you for explaining that. [both laugh]

Sarah  

You're welcome. They said that, and I literally was like, "Ohhhh..." I felt kinda dumb. 

Jojo  

Like, all this time I'm expecting a person. 

Sarah  

"Where's Priscilla? Oh, she's the bus." Okay. So basically there's two scenes where Felicia, Guy Pierce's character, is sitting on top of the bus in full drag while the bus is in motion. In these amazing-- so I'm gonna start with sort of the faraway shot. Look at that. 

Jojo  

Whaaat!

Sarah  

Yeah, and then this is sort of like the profile of it. I love it.

Jojo  

Oh my goodness.

Sarah  

I know. Oh, I should-- I'm gonna have to censor that when I put it on the Instagram. It has the F word on it. 

Jojo  

Oh, got it. 

Sarah  

As you can see, the bus gets vandalized by some homophobes. Oops, what did I just click on? Sorry. I'm sorry. Okay, there we go. [both laugh] Ohh, technology. Okay, so then this is what he's wearing as he's...

Jojo  

Oh my goodness.

Sarah  

It's just like a head to toe silver sequin.

Jojo  

Every time I see a new costume, I'm just like, "I can't believe they did this for $20,000!" 

Sarah  

It gets crazier as you go! I even-- I had screencaps of the second, because he does this two times. He does it in a pink look too. Oh, and he's sitting in a giant silver high heel. I don't think I have a picture of that. Oh, there it is. You can see, yeah.

Jojo  

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Sarah  

Giant silver high heel. 

Jojo  

I was trying to figure out what that was around him. That's insane.

Sarah  

Yeah, so he does it in a pink outfit too. I cut it because I had too many pictures. But... I just love. And the scene is like... for no reason, either. It's just for fun.

Jojo  

Right.

Sarah  

He's lip synching to a song. He's just living his best life. 

Jojo  

Oh my gosh. [laughs]

Sarah  

I also really like... so I didn't really pull any of their boy looks, except for him, because I loved his boy wardrobe. This is one of this outfits.

Jojo  

Ooh! Yeah.

Sarah  

This is when he's painting the bus pink. It's like, overalls, but then he rolls it down and... Guy PIerce is extremely hot, like... that really helps. [laughs]

Jojo  

He's got a good body.

Sarah  

Yeah. I just love-- I love the boots and these yellow glasses/goggles. And then the green plaid, I just thought was really fun. 

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

It's almost like he's like, "this is my work outfit," you know? 

Jojo  

Yeah. 

Sarah  

So then they do-- this happens, this is Hugo Weaving's character. [laughs]

Jojo  

Oh my goodness. 

Sarah  

This is them performing. They basically happen upon a bunch of people in the desert who are sort of like camping out, and they perform for them. And then they perform with them. And I think they're Aboriginal people [correction: Sarah should have said "Indigenous". Apologies!] because it kind of... they sing "I Will Survive." And then it sort of mashes that up with sort of a tribal sort of song. 

Jojo  

Okay.

Sarah  

So they're performing together. And this is a wig made out of fake flowers, I think. And it's fantastic. I love it. And then they're wearing these, which are sort of like the other one where I was like, "I recognize this," you know. 

Jojo  

Yeah. 

Sarah  

They're basically jumpsuits and they're bell bottoms, except they're-- the fabric of it is like... at the bottom of the bell bottom, it's stretched around something. And I have a picture of them walking. So you can see.

Jojo  

Yeah. Oh, my goodness. 

Sarah  

I've def-

Jojo  

It's almost like mini hula hoops or something. 

Sarah  

Yes! Yes, yes, it looks... 

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

And it sort of-- it shows the sole of it. And I had a picture of it, but once again, I cut it because I was like, "too many pictures." It's like, flat and sort of like a half circle. So it's like, when they stand together, it makes almost like a circle shape. Their two feet. 

Jojo  

Okay. 

Sarah  

And I really want to know what it looks like on the inside. Like... 

Jojo  

Yeah. 

Sarah  

...I want to know what sort of situation you have to do on the inside of this to...

Jojo  

To make it sit out like that.

Sarah  

Yeah! 

Jojo  

So crazy. 

Sarah  

It's so cool looking, and when-- you know, when they're dancing, it's super effective. 

Jojo  

Yeah. 

Sarah  

In the stage show...

Jojo  

I'm laughing because the flower wig makes me think of the "Midsommar"...

Sarah  

Yeeeeeaaah!

Jojo  

...flower dress that you did-- or, that you were talking about. I was like, "Whoa, it's so weird." [laughs]

Sarah  

That's true. Oh, my gosh, callback. 

Jojo  

Yeah. 

Sarah  

Callback to a previous episode. 

Jojo  

Not quite so scary on this one. 

Sarah  

Right. Right. And then in the stage show, the whole ensemble comes out in these jumpsuits. 

Jojo  

Whoa. 

Sarah  

Yeah. So it's quite a sight, to see a whole ensemble where the people are walking around in these crazy, crazy outfits. 

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

Okay. So this is Cynthia. And I think that we need to have a discussion about her. [both laugh]

Jojo  

Okay. 

Sarah  

Because I learned... I was reading the Wikipedia, and the movie has gotten some heat and some controversy because of this character. She's basically the only character of color. Besides the Aboriginal [Indigenous] people that they talk to. 

Jojo  

Yeah. 

Sarah  

And she is Filipina, I believe. 

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

And she's... I thought at first that she was like a mail-order bride or something. 

Jojo  

Uh huh.

Sarah  

But I think that they-- he meets her somewhere, and they're partying and drunk and then they drunkenly get married. This guy, he's sort of like a... oh, he's a mechanic, I think he works on the bus for them. So that's how they meet him. 

Jojo  

Okay. 

Sarah  

And she's basically portrayed as extremely erratic. She's like, very high and low. Like, she'll be really manic, and then be crying the next second. And she's kind of portrayed as just like a party girl and very weird. And so a lot of people have said that this is a really problematic representation of Filipina women. 

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

And I think that that's probably a very fair criticism. 

Jojo  

Yeah. 

Sarah  

And I read-- on the Wikipedia, it said that the filmmakers were like, "Well, you know, everybody in the movie is a misfit. And we just saw her as another misfit." And it's like, okay, well, if you can't see it, then that's a bit of a problem too. Like, you need to at least be like, "okay, you might be right."

Jojo  

Or at least bring in consultation. 

Sarah  

Yeah. 

Jojo  

I think that's something I've been... you know, I mean, I'm glad we're having this discussion, because that was something that... what was that new reality TV show? It's the one with all the Asian people in it, and I can't remember what it's called.

Sarah  

Oh! Is it the rich one... where they're really really rich? 

Jojo  

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Sarah  

Oh shoot, what's that one called? I didn't watch it. Let me try to Google. 

Jojo  

But again, it's like all these Asian characters are portrayed as these kind of very vapid and sort of... you know, party people that do that do kind of go through all the different emotions. And there was a lot of conversation about, you know, "are we excited that this is how we are being represented as Asians? Or were we excited that we're even getting represented at all? And that we're showing that Asians can play any role, including maybe the not-so-likeable"... Or maybe the more vapid, you know, or stuck up or whatever.

Sarah  

Yeah. So the Netflix show is "Bling Empire."

Jojo  

Yes, thank you.

Sarah  

Yeah, I've seen clips from it. 

Jojo  

I was like, "I know there's a 'bling' somewhere." But yeah, so it is-- that's something that I think I've been... it's been making me kind of re-wrestle with my normal, like, "what do I normally think about Asian representation?" Because like, yes, we aren't represented enough. But also, we don't just want to be represented as the smart Asian or the fetishized Asian, or whatever, you know? Because we don't want to be stereotypes. So that means we should be able to play every role. 

Sarah  

Yeah. 

Jojo  

Just like a white person would be able to play any role. 

Sarah  

Exactly. Yeah. 

Jojo  

So I don't know, I guess that is something that I think I always... I still have a question about. So it makes me wonder, even with this role, that having her show a different side of Asian representation... obviously, if it's something that's not accurate at all, that's a totally different story. But yeah, I guess I mean... not trying to justify, necessarily, what the directors and producers were doing. 

Sarah  

Right. 

Jojo  

But it makes me wonder what the intention behind it was. 

Sarah  

Right. And the other thing that is problematic is... so this is her later, in the bar. 

Jojo  

Mmm. Mmhmm.

Sarah  

And at first her husband is like, "Oh, she's not coming to the show at the bar, because she has problems with alcohol." And then it shows her later, breaking into this locked cabinet in their house. And we're meant to assume that that's where the alcohol is. But it actually turns out to be full of ping pongs... ping pong balls.

Jojo  

[laughs] Okay. 

Sarah  

And then she shows up at the bar in this outfit and starts performing. And it turns out that she's doing a show with the ping pong balls. [both laugh]

Jojo  

Okay.

Sarah  

I think by your face, you might know what I'm saying. We're keeping this a family friendly podcast. 

Jojo  

[laughs]

Sarah  

She does something inappropriate with the ping pong balls. 

Jojo  

[laughs] Uh huh.

Sarah  

So I think that was another part of the criticism, is that like, she's doing this weird exoticized... sideshow, almost. You know? And it turns her into sort of a caricature. 

Jojo  

Right. 

Sarah  

And not a real flesh and blood human. 

Jojo  

Mmhmm. Yeah, I can definitely see that.

Sarah  

But... I do love this outfit. [both laugh] I love her zebra outfit. 

Jojo  

Yes. So funny. 

Sarah  

Yeah. So this pink dress is from when they're at dinner. And the first time we meet her, she's very dressed down. Almost like, you know, she's sort of acclimated to the bush, her Australian outback lifestyle. 

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

But then when she has people over for dinner, she's gonna dress up. And so she wears this very skimpy, little revealing hot pink dress. And this is also sort of meant to communicate to us, like, "Oh, she might be a little bit-- what's up with her?" Like, she might not be normal, or she might be a little... I don't want to say "slutty" because I don't use words like that.

Jojo  

Risque? 

Sarah  

Yeah, risque. You know.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

I feel like the audience is meant to judge her a little bit. And I'm definitely uncomfortable with with that. 

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

'Cuz I saw her and was like, "ooh, she's cool." And then my sister said-- so my sister has seen the stage show. And she said that she does do the ping pong ball number, but it's turned into a whole song. She gets her own song. 

Jojo  

Okay.

Sarah  

And she has way more of a backstory in the musical, apparently. 

Jojo  

Ahhh.

Sarah  

So I think they fleshed her out a little bit more--tried to flesh her out more--and made her less erratic... made her behavior less... yeah, erratic-seeming. I don't wanna say "crazy" 'cuz I don't call people crazy. [laughs] Just dancing around all the words I'm trying not to use. Ah, anyway. Okay, so yeah, those are my thoughts on that. I really like her outfits. So she's got that going for her. 

Jojo  

Yeah. 

Sarah  

When she leaves, she-- so her time in the movie is very short. She basically drives off and leaves him. Which it's like, "yeah, you probably should. He doesn't treat you well." She's wearing a very amazing silver spangled bra.

Jojo  

Oooh. 

Sarah  

Which I also didn't have space for in my pictures. [both laugh] 

Jojo  

Too many photos. 

Sarah  

I know. Maybe I'll throw it up on the Pinterest.

Jojo  

Pinterest board. 

Sarah  

Just add a bunch of bonuses to the Pinterest board. Okay, so all that we have left now is basically sort of the finale. And this is...

Jojo  

Oh my goodness. 

Sarah  

I know. This is their number that they perform at the hotel. They finally arrive, and they perform this number. And at first I thought that it was showing a passage of time, like they were doing the show multiple days. But then at the end of the scene, it's clear that it's the same night. So they do these quick changes that are literally humanly impossible. [both laugh] So it's sort of-- that is sort of a fantasy, where it's like, "oh, and suddenly they're in a different outfit," you know? 

Jojo  

Right. 

Sarah  

These ones...? Not my favorite. They're... you know, they're very campy and fun, just like everything else. But I'm unclear how they relate to each other. 

Jojo  

Right. 

Sarah  

And they're performing, you know...

Jojo  

Kinda looks like a dandelion in the middle.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

But like, crossed with a lion? [both laugh]

Sarah  

A dandy lion. Yeah, yeah, it looks-- it's clearly sort of floral. The theme with the two on the right is floral. But then Mitzi on the left is just wearing a flapper-y... 

Jojo  

Yeah. 

Sarah  

...sort of number. 

Jojo  

Yeah. 

Sarah  

It's a little disjointed. 

Jojo  

RIght.

Sarah  

I like the looks... I mean, I like the yellow one the best. And then the other two are just kind of wacky, but fun. 

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

And then change into these. [laughs] So these are like, ostriches or emus? I don't know. 

Jojo  

Emus, yeah.

Sarah  

Do they have...? It's emus, right, in Australia?

Jojo  

Emus are in Australia. Yes.

Sarah  

So that's amazing. I don't really have much else. 

Jojo  

I also love that they're different colored feathers. [laughs]

Sarah  

Yeah. And it's like the feather of the breast of the bird is their wig. 

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

Very nice. Very nice. They have really fun makeup in this, too. It's very frosty and blue. Love. ...Oh, I was-- I haven't been looking at my notes at all. And I forgot all these things I wanted to say. [laughs]

Jojo  

That's great. No, you're good. 

Sarah  

I want to briefly talk about sort of maybe how drag has evolved and changed since this movie was made. Because, A... obviously these--I think all of these actors are straight--men would not be playing, probably, drag queens in a movie if it was made nowadays. But also, I noticed that a lot of the drag looks are not heavily padded, there's not a lot of like, female illusion that is happening. 

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

You can tell, you can always tell, that they're not "passing" as women. 

Jojo  

Right. 

Sarah  

And I think that drag nowadays... so in my extensive "Drag Race" watching, I've noticed that in the early days of drag race, queens used to get critiqued if they didn't wear a lot of padding, and if they still sort of looked like a boy. 

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

But nowadays, a lot of queens are not padding at all, and they're still... and they're excelling at drag. So it's like, we've gone from extreme to extreme. And then now it's like, they can all sort of coexist.

Jojo  

Right. 

Sarah  

Because some queens really care about looking feminine, and then some kind of don't. So I think that that's really cool. Because like, it creates diversity in drag, you know, and diversity is important in all aspects of life. And all forms of drag should be acceptable forms of drag. So I found it interesting that like... the makeup, too, in this movie is like... it's not fooling you. [laughs] Does that make sense? 

Jojo  

Yeah. Right, right.

Sarah  

And this is pre... you know, I've heard older drag queens be like, "you know, before YouTube, before beauty tutorials, you kind of had to just figure it out on your own or learn from your fellow drag queens, your drag mother or your friends," you know? 

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

So it's like, they were kind of just making it up and going, "Well, this looks good." And ...it did. It looks good! 

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

So that's what I wanted to say. I just found it very interesting that like, it's never... the drag in this movie is not really about looking super feminine. Even though one of them is a trans woman. It's clear that she's being played by a cisgender man who is not on hormones or anything. 

Jojo  

RIght.

Sarah  

So he's still looks very masculine, even though he's playing a woman. So... that's that on that. I felt like that was really a long monologue. [laughs]

Jojo  

That's okay. 

Sarah  

I just really like drag, okay?

Jojo  

I think we both went on very long monologue today. [laughs] 

Sarah  

That's okay. That's good. That means that we're excited to talk. I also feel like when I clock myself, I'm always like... I always feel like I'm talking for a really long time. But lots of times, I could talk longer. So this is me talking longer.

Jojo  

Right. 

Sarah  

Anyway, okay. I only have a few pictures left. Okay, so this is also from the finale number. And this is like, they're lizards. Like, [puts on very bad Australian accent] Australian Outback lizards. [both laugh] That was my accent.

Jojo  

Thank you for that accent. [both laugh]

Sarah  

You're so welcome. So this lizard look is like... it's down, and then they like, put it over their shoulders so that it's like a... you know those lizards that have the crown... 

Jojo  

Oh, yeah, yeah. 

Sarah  

...that sort of puffs up?

Jojo  

Like the old dinosaurs? 

Sarah  

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, exactly like that. 

Jojo  

Yeah. 

Sarah  

So that's what this is. And then I assume that those lizards also have black tongues, because their tongues are painted black. [laughs]

Jojo  

Okay.

Sarah  

Very fun. This is my favorite, coming up here. So this is sort of like a Marie Antoinette homage?

Jojo  

Oooh. 

Sarah  

Light up wig up here, and then a cage crinoline with hardly any skirt over it. I love that. 

Jojo  

Yeah. 

Sarah  

And then they make the Sydney Opera House out of them!

Jojo  

Oh my gosh. 

Sarah  

Isn't that cute?

Jojo  

That is really cute.

Sarah  

So it's like, organza and some sort of hoop thing, and then they're holding it and they're dancing around and then they make this little formation and it's the Opera House. I think that's really fun.

Jojo  

Ohh, so cool. 

Sarah  

So Australian.

Jojo  

Is this a stage that they're on? 

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

Like, what's happening in the background? Okay.

Sarah  

This is at the...

Jojo  

Like, where are they?

Sarah  

...club/hotel that the wife works at, which is where he's booked the gig. 

Jojo  

Okay. Got it. 

Sarah  

Oh, and then basically at the end, she comes-- she and his son come with them back to... I think they're from Sydney. So like, they go back so that he can spend time with his actual son. And then Bernadette, the trans woman, actually stays behind with this guy who was married to Cynthia, but... his name's Bob. But they basically-- it's implied that they're like, going to start a romance and live together and so she stays with him. 

Jojo  

Mmhmm. Okay. 

Sarah  

It was sweet, but I was also kind of like, not really willing to forgive him for how he treated Cynthia.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

'Cuz he was not nice to her. Okay, only a couple more. So this is them finally doing the rock climb in drag. And I pulled these pictures because I love... I think what makes this movie iconic is the juxtaposition of these really extreme showgirl-y, campy drag outfits and the wilderness of the Australian outback. [laughs]

Jojo  

Mmhmm. Yeah.

Sarah  

There's just something so amazing about them in full getup just against, like, red rocks. I just love it. 

Jojo  

Yeah. 

Sarah  

And then here's sort of a close up of those outfits. Very nice. Very nice. 

Jojo  

Oh, my goodness. 

Sarah  

And then I have one last boy look of Guy Pierce's to talk about because I'm obsessed with these pants.

Jojo  

Oh my gosh, those are great. 

Sarah  

Look at them! I would wear these.

Jojo  

They're like leggings. 

Sarah  

Yeah, yeah, they're clearly stretchy. Once again... 

Jojo  

Yeah. 

Sarah  

...his body looking very correct. Love it. 

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

I love his lil' headscarves he wears. Oh, he's wearing a bracelet around his bicep, which I was like... 

Jojo  

Like a cuff?

Sarah  

Yeah, you can kind of see it in this picture right here. It's metal. And it's like, around his bicep. [laughs]

Jojo  

Oh, I see, I see.

Sarah  

Is that it? Yeah.

Jojo  

A fun one to end on.

Sarah  

Yeah. Oh, and I just wrote-- so they... at the end they change into outfits that are like, not as good compared to all the other ones. So it's definitely like, it helps you sort of... it keeps that sort of DIY. Like, clearly these are not rich people, but they love the art of drag. So they're just excited to wear sequins and stuff. I pulled them and then I had to cut them because I just...

Jojo  

Not enough. Not enough space.

Sarah  

...wasn't willing to sacrifice any of these. Exactly. 

Jojo  

Yeah. 

Sarah  

So yeah, that's it. That's "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert."

Both  

Woohoo!

Jojo  

Good job!

Sarah  

Thank you.

Jojo  

Those are some fun costumes for sure. 

Sarah  

It's super fun. And now I'm excited to be like, "Yes, I understand the reference completely," when other people reference it, you know.

Jojo  

Mmhmm. Yeah, I mean, even with "The Birdcage," I'm kind of like, "Oh, now it makes so much more sense." Like, I understand. 

Sarah  

Yes. My favorite part of that movie is when Robin Williams is in the dance rehearsal. And he's like, "Martha Graham, Martha Graham, Fosse, Fosse!" That's the best part. [laughs]

Jojo  

Yeah, that's the one that's, I think, quoted the most too. So I'm always like, "Oh, yeah, that makes a lot more sense." [laughs]

Sarah  

As a dancer, I always just really loved... I appreciate a little dance joke, you know? [laughs]

Jojo  

Yeah. I'm not gonna lie. The whole time. I was watching the movie, all I could think of is like, RIP Robin Williams. Like, why aren't you here anymore?

Sarah  

I know. It's...

Jojo  

Made me very sad. 

Sarah  

It's truly heartbreaking that like, someone who brought--especially people of our generation--so much joy, suffered from depression so much. 

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

And it's just like a real reminder that like, even if someone is really good at comedy, and makes other people laugh, it doesn't mean that inside, they aren't suffering. I think a lot of people who are really funny actually, like...

Jojo  

There's such an inner struggle.

Sarah  

Yeah, yeah. I think that a lot of comedians struggle with mental health stuff. And it's like they use comedy as a coping mechanism, you know? 

Jojo  

Yeah. Scary and sad. But anyways, I did appreciate the movie.

Sarah  

Good! I'm glad you liked it.

Jojo  

Not to end on a sad note. [both laugh] But yes.

Sarah  

My friend Kayla and I, pre COVID times, were trying to get together and have gay movie nights. Just because we're both fans, you know? 

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

And we watched... I think we managed to have two, because we're both really busy. We watched "Mamma Mia," and then we watched "The Birdcage." And we need to reinstate...

Jojo  

Oh, "Mamma Mia."

Sarah  

"Mamma Mia" is so good. 

Jojo  

That's a fun one, too. 

Sarah  

It's-- I mean, it isn't good, but it is. You know what I mean? [both laugh] 

Jojo  

Yeah, yeah. All right. Well, that is our episode for today. 

Sarah  

We did it.

Jojo  

How did we do on time? Oh, we went a little over. 

Sarah  

Yeah, we can cut... I'll, you know...

Jojo  

That's okay. We'll cut some things out. [both laugh]

Sarah  

We'll see what ends up getting cut. Yeah, don't forget to rate and review us. That's how people find us. And we are still donating $1 to Dress for Success for every review we get. And also, if you don't have time to leave a review, you can just hit that five stars and that counts anyway.

Jojo  

Yeah, absolutely. Still a review.

Sarah  

Yeah. So please do that. We appreciate it. 

Jojo  

Definitely. Well, thank you so much for listening. We hope to see you on the next one. 

Sarah  

Yeah. Take care! 

Jojo  

We'll see you soon. 

Sarah  

Okay, bye. 

Jojo  

Bye.

Sarah  

I almost pressed the "leave" button. [laughs]

Jojo  

I did too. I was like, "Oh, end!" [both laugh]

Sarah  

I was like, "BYE, Jojo!" [both laugh]

[OUTRO]

Jojo

Thank you for listening to The Costume Plot! You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @thecostumeplot. If you have a question, comment, or movie suggestion you can email us at [email protected].

Sarah

Our theme music is by Jesse Timm, and our artwork is by Jojo Siu. Please rate and review us wherever you listen to your podcasts.

[lupintyde]

ML’s Love Letter To Horror Movie Fans

I was rewatching Horrificator and Nino’s insistence on filming through a potential tragedy reminded me of that guy from Diary of the Dead, that guy from Cloverfield, etc..  That had me paying closer attention to how much this episode pays homage to Horror/Monster movie tropes. I was cackling so much, I decided to make a post to spread the hilarity.  

A huge thanks goes to TV Tropes, where you can find the description of each stereotype.  You can also click my headers for a direct link to each.  There is an existing list of tropes from this episode that I found halfway through doing my own list.  I couldn’t find an entry for every trope so the ones that are not linked I came up with myself.  Also, I didn’t include every single trope.

Thanks go to Miraculous, les aventures de Ladybug et Chat Noir (aka, Miraculous Ladybug) for gaining even more of my respect and for giving some mad love to us horror fans.  Enjoy!

We’re Making a Horror Movie Inside the Horror Movie

As seen in Diary of the Dead

wherein the dog dies

and Mylène jump scares herself 

Tragic Monster

tbh this happens in EVERY ML ep

Cat Scare

the monster is in the stall behind Marinette

ominous music builds

Mari: hmmm...what’s this pink goo....

Alya: *out of nowhere* MARINETTE!

viewer jumps because OH NO Alya’s warning her about the monst--

oh wait, no...

Alya:  Chloe’s gonna kiss Adrien

Mari:  OH NO THE HORROR!!!!!

Beware of jump scares (or not) after the cut...

Black Dude Dies First

See also Creepy Basement and Ankle Drag

poor Max :(

I mean he took Kim down with him, but still

even though technically Kim was the first

Max is the first we see the monster carry into her den and be egged

Curiosity Killed the Cast

Spoiler: half of these nerds are gonna get it

by “get it”, I mean have to take a long shower after this is over

and have PTSD every time someone sneezes

I Need to Go Iron My Dog

Adrien: I’m gonna go grab my non-existent costume

Nino’s so proud of his bro for thinking of this

like dude, how many times you gonna fall for these?

...at least he got Chat Noir in his film...

and got to put an unintentional trope in his film

The Amateur Filmmaker or “Stop Filming, You Ass!”

As seen in Cloverfield and Diary of the Dead

...speaking of...

the mysterious disappearance of his friends is great for his film, you guys!

Cell Phones Are Useless

it’s amazing how resourceful Chloe can be when she can’t reach Daddy

Also, Nino is so Genre Savvy

Trapped With Monster

so you’re telling me Chat Noir couldn’t have cataclysm’d that crap?

he just poked it and was all “NOPE!  No getting through that!”

Let’s Split Up, Gang

yeah, because that always works out well

Chloe has probs never seen a horror movie

also, Chloe where is your hand

Sabrina doesn’t seem to mind ;)

this leads to...

Absurdly Ineffective Barricade

lemme tell you what you did wrong there

you are only blocking the smallest windows in the room

like that wall is literally all window

and the monster is already in the room

which brings up a good point

WHERE WAS SHE HIDING?!

It’s An Homage! (and not much else)

Oh, the akuma is gooing them up in eggs, ala Alien!

there must be a reason

like maybe she’s using them as scare fuel or--

--not.  There doesn’t seem to be any purpose...

other than to mildly inconvenience Chloe

“I Know You’re In There Somewhere” Fight

See also Even Evil Has Loved Ones and Anti-Climax Boss

one of the few times this works in ML

Alya cannot believe this shit

at least she helped the superheroes 

and she got to see The Big Damn Kiss

though it wasn’t the one she expected

and Nino gets the Your Costume Needs Work ending

Bonus

Creepy Children Singing

the scariest part of the whole episode

ᕕ( ՞ ᗜ ՞ )ᕗ

#Miraculous Ladybug #ml horrificator #adrien agreste #marinette dupain-cheng #chat noir #cat noir #ml ladybug #chloe bourgeois #max kante #nino lahiffe #alya cesaire #alix kubdel #sabrina raincomprix #rose lavillant #juleka couffaine #nathaniel kurtzberg #ivan bruel #mylene haprele #horror movie tropes #miraculous les aventures de ladybug et chat noir #long post is long #homages in ml

[anip-art]

Messenger

Hello! After so so long I’m finally posting another story! This story was co-written with my friend @tomatofox-ship, and beta’ed by @wishfulina and @flautist4ever! Hope you guys enjoy!

AO3          FF.net

USERNAMES (In order of appearance) Lila Rossi: ItsPastaBedtime/WhosThatFoxyLady Chloe Bourgeois: Queen Bourgeois (Admin)/Whatever Chloe's Username Is (Admin) Adrien Agreste: Under Agreste (Co-Admin)/Meow or Never (Co-Admin) Alix Kubdel: LesBeansOnWheels Rose Lavillant: Smells Just as Sweet Nino Lahiffee: DropTheBass Marinette Dupain-Cheng : Bringing DuPAIN/TheOneWhoRisesforMemes Nathanael Kurtzberg: Redheaded Retrospect Max Kante: Max-ium Velocity Sabrina Raincomprix: RainySkies Alya Cesaire: Ladyblogger/All'a'y'all Le Chien Kim: French Dog/Kim-chi Juleka Couffaine: Purple Haired Pansexual Ivan Bruel: RockHard Johnson Mylene Haprele: #whyiseveryonesnameapun

As soon as Nathanael got home from school, he slid into his computer desk and pulled up Skype. The chat was just starting to pick up since this morning, which was fair since they had all been in school. He pulled out his sketchbook, which he had been doodling in during Chemistry, and started talking to his Internet Friends™ while he kept working on one of the designs inside.

When he started doing fashion and design, he hadn’t been thinking of it as fashion design. Fashion design, as most boys his age tended to think, was frilly dresses and girl things. No, he’d stuck his toe in the water by drawing a few costumes for superheroes. Even now, his designs tended to have that flair and extravagance, like something a hero might wear as a civilian. He’d never dare show it to anyone at school--they all thought fashion design was ‘a girl’s job,’ and ‘only gay men would do fashion design.’ Which was preposterous, considering one of the global fashion icons was a very-much-straight (or at least bi or pan, but who knew but him?) man. But he’d stumbled upon this group chat--Central European Time Zone Fashion Club--filled with teens his age talking about fashion. He’d been quiet at first, as usual, but one day daringly sent a few pictures of his superhero costumes. The chat went wild after that, and quickly pulled him into their circle. They were basically the only friends he really had.

He had loved that chat. He loved it even more after Lila Rossi joined. She was a super bold outgoing girl who doesn't take any crap from anyone. She had awesome designs that looked like the stuff that millionaires would wear. Everyone loved her work except Chloe--but she  hates everyone's work. Chloe made it difficult to feel welcome sometimes, but it's impossible to kick the maker of the chat out so they just dealt with it. It was hard for Nathanael at first, but eventually he found her rants about his work hilarious. Most of the time.

ItsPastaBedtime: what’s up French Nerds

ItsPastaBedtime: hon hon hon la baguette

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): oh go back to eating pasta in your gondola

ItsPastaBedtime: yeah sure lemme shove some down your throat first

(Chloe Bourgeois ( Queen Bourgeois ) kicked Lila Rossi ( ItsPastaBedtime ) out of the chat)

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): finally

(Adrien Agreste ( Under Agreste ) added Lila Rossi ( ItsPastaBedtime ) back into the chat)

ItsPastaBedtime: i’m back bitches

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): dammit

LesBeansOnWheels: now now Madame Bourgeois, the daughter of the mayor shouldn’t use that kind of language.

Queen Bourgeois: shut it, Alix

Smells Just As Sweet: can we get along for more than three minutes ever?

DropTheBass: no

Under Agreste (Co-Admin): wow thanks Nino

DropTheBass: just telling it how it is, broham

Bringing DuPAIN: back from school

RedHeadedRetrospect: oh hey same

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): see the name of this group chat?

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): that means we all live in the same time zone

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): therefore, we all get off school at the same time

Max-imum Velocity: well technically

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): quit announcing your back from school or else I’ll kick you

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): shut up Max

Bringing DuPAIN: yeah and Adrien will just add us back

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): ugh you’re right

Under Agreste (Co-Admin): you bet

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): i need someone to be co-admin who’ll lay down the law

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): someone i can trust

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): Sabrina you’re co-admin now

RainySkies: YAY

Ladyblogger: you do realize literally anyone can add people back right

ItsPastaBedtime: I was about to say that

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): shit

LesbeansOnWheels: screenshotted

LesbeansOnWheels: lets see you try to trip me again, Bourgeois

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): doubleshit

French Dog: I leave you guys alone for five minutes

French Dog: and there’s already Discourse

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): go eat your fucking kinchi kim

French Dog changed their name to Kim-chi

Under Agreste (Co-Admin): so did anyone do any actual designing today??

Under Agreste (Co-Admin): because I may or may not have snuck some pics from Father’s photoshoot to show you

Bringing DuPAIN: OOH GIMMIE GIMMIE GIMME

Under Agreste (Co-Admin): but only if someone actually practiced at all today

PurpleHairedPansexual sent five photos

Max-imum Velocity sent two photos

Nathanael sighed and took a deep breath. Everyone else was sharing their work. He took a glance at his sketchbook. None of them were all that great, but he was quite fond of one of his sketches--a suit set that came with a nice cloak. He snapped a photo and sent it before he could convince himself otherwise.

Redheaded Retrospect sent a photo

Bringing DuPAIN sent 10 photos

Under Agreste (Co-Admin): woah mari chill alright I'm sending it

Under Agreste sent 21 photos

Bringing DuPAIN: AAAAA ADRIEN THOSE ARE AWESOME

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): its just what one would expect from THE Gabriel Agreste

ItsPastaBedtime: stfu Chloe he can't hear you stop kissing his ass

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): maybe I just have respect for high quality fashion and their designer unlike some Italians in this chat

DropTheBass: Could you guys chill for once in your life's honesty

Nathanael agreed, they could get out of hand, but he wasn't about to say anything. When those two got to arguing, it was usually best to just stay out of the way.

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): oh my god

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): I just saw all of those designs you sent in and they’re absolutely pitiful

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): I mean just look at Nathanael’s

Bringing DuPAIN: hey shut up, you haven’t sent anything in a month

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): just absolutely trash

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): who would actually wear that anywhere outside of some dumb comic convention

Under Agreste (Co-Admin): um

Under Agreste (Co-Admin): me

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): it looks fake guys i mean come on

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): no one in their right mind would wear something like that in public

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): and that’s the first thing you’ve sent in a week, and that’s what you send?

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): keep at those dumb comics because you clearly won’t get anywhere in fashion

Nathanael sighed, running a hand through his hair as he looked at the computer screen. Another glance at his sketchbook, and all of his fears were found to be true. He‘d drawn five little doodles that day, and had sent the best one out of the bunch, and it wasn’t even that great. It wasn’t practical, and it looked horrible. Too many damn stripes, why did he always go for stripes. And the weird green color was just horrible, all of his designs were horrible. He was about to take a pen and scratch out every single dumb doodle in that book when his computer pinged with yet another notification.

ItsPastaBedtime: stfu Chloe. His design is great and I love it and it looks totally great and maybe the color just needs a small tiny bit of adjusting but it’s freaking beautiful you ignorant musk ox how dare you go on insulting everyone's hard work like that. This chat was supposed to be to support each other while we design, yet here you are trying to bring everyone down. At least we’re working. What have you sent in the past month? Nothing.

RockHard Johnson: that was mean Chloe

ItsPastaBedTime: everyone’s designs have been great. Meanwhile the, what, five you send all look like little triangle dresses that a three year old would draw. You think you’re better than everyone else just because you’re the daughter of the mayor of Paris. Well i’m out of your jurisdiction so your dumb pettiness has no effect on me. You bring others down to make yourself feel better, but all it does is show what a bully you are

RainySkies: whoa whoa whoa Chloe isn’t a bully

ItsPastaBedtime: plus I’ve seen pictures of you online. You wouldn’t know fashion if it jumped from the ceiling and hit you in your pretty little face with a folding chair. Your face is all you’ve got, your face and your father’s dumb political corruption. I haven’t even met you face to face but i can already tell you’re despicable. You suck.

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): yeah well so’s your face

(Chloe Bourgeois ( Queen Bourgeois ) kicked Lila Rossi ( ItsPastaBedtime ) out of the group chat)

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): nobody add her back

To say he was touched by what Lila had done was definitely an understatement. Sure, she and Chloe had fought before, countless times even. But usually, when Chloe started railing on him about his designs and his worth as a fashion designer, people stayed quiet. Maybe a few ‘hey that was mean’ messages, or a weak attempt to change the topic. But no one had gone as far as Lila had just then. Sure, it could be said, she had gone a bit too far. Too far, however, was the most he had ever gotten, and sure felt a lot better than silence, or not far enoughs.

He usually wasn’t one to add people back to the chat. He’d wait for someone else to do it first. Adrien tended to take the task onto himself. If he failed to, and no one else did, he’d usually wait until night to re-invite them. This time, though, as soon as he realized Lila had been booted yet again, he typed the quick command to add her back.

(Nathanael Kurtzberg ( Redheaded Retrospect ) added Lila Rossi ( ItsPastaBedtime ) back to the chat)

Queen Bourgeois (Admin): DAMMIT NATHANAEL

Redheaded Retrospect: thank you

Redheaded Retrospect: for standing up for me

Bringing DuPAIN: yeah go Lila!

After that the conversation kinda simmered down and people left to do homework. Nathanael did most his in class today so he tried to design, but ended up drawing her. He's only seen two pictures of Lila but he still draws her and using it as reference. He wishes he could meet her. Her, Rose, and Juleka were his best and only friends. He's never even seen any of them face to face. On this thought he made a bold move.

He turned back to his computer and started a new conversation. A private conversation between himself and her.

Lila looked away from her homework to see she had three new notifications on her phone, which had caused it to buzz on her desk. Homework could wait a few moments.

Nathanael Kurtzberg ( Redheaded Retrospect ) started a new conversation with you

Nathanael Kurtzberg ( Redheaded Retrospect ) renamed the conversation New Conversation to What DOES the Fox Say?

Redheaded Retrospect: hey. I just wanted to thank you for sticking up for me back in the big chat.

Lila smiled softly and typed back a response.

ItsPastaBedtime : of course. I was sick and tired of her going after you all the time.

Redheaded Retrospect : me specifically?

ItsPastaBedtime ; well, I hate her going after everyone

ItsPastaBedtime : but she seems cruelest to you.Can’t stand it. Not like you ever did anything to her.

ItsPastaBedtime : i think she just doesn’t want to admit your designs are better than hers.

RedHeadedRetrospect: : well that’s debatable, really. Beauty’s in the eye of the beholder

ItsPastaBedtime ; some things are obvious

ItsPastaBedtime : imagine a bright neon green and fluorescent orange jump suit. That’s clearly not a good idea right? Nobody would wear that.

RedHeadedRetrospect: : well, there’s joggers.

Lila let out a laugh at the message. It reminded her of her weird neighbor, who went out every morning, right when people were getting up and getting ready for work, and jogged laps around the neighborhood in fluorescent sweatshirts, sweatpants, gym shorts--she’d never seen him wearing anything that wasn’t an eye-searing color. She was mildly surprised he hadn’t painted his house neon yellow or something. She was pretty sure the only thing holding him back was the neighborhood rules on Exterior Decorations.

ItsPastaBedtime: That’s true. Joggers are a plague to the eyes.

ItsPastaBedtime: Didn’t Gabe come with a sportswear line? If it weren’t so expensive I bet they’d wear that instead.

Redheaded Retrospect: wait oh my god did you just call Gabriel Agreste GABE?!

ItsPastaBedtime: you bet I did. We're besties me and him. Hang all the all time.

Redheaded Retrospect: haha of course.

This is when Nathanael started freaking out. The conversation was awkward and lulling. He wanted to become better friends with Lila or maybe more, but he can barely think of words to say.

ItsPastaBedtime: well, I’ve got homework to do.

ItsPastaBedtime: see you later

Nathanael sighed but typed back his response. He wasn’t sure if she actually had homework, or if she was getting tired of him, and there was really no way of telling.

Redheaded Retrospect: alright, see you

Even after she had finished her homework and eaten dinner with her family, she still couldn’t get that design out of her mind. Nathanael’s design really was amazing, at least she thought so. And she hadn’t announced it to the group yet, but her father was flying to Paris in a few weeks for business and had invited her along. Maybe, with  a few minor color modifications, and cashing in a favor or two with her friend who actually owned a sewing machine…

“Who are you texting?”

Nathanael looked up from his phone and turned to his desk mate. Today it was a nosy girl named Alice, who was currently leaning over to look at where he’d been holding his phone under the table. She had been awfully loud with her question as well--luckily the math teacher was half-deaf, otherwise his phone would have been taken.

“It’s none of your business. And be quiet.” he sighed. She didn’t seem to listen to his request.

“Ooooh do you have a girlfriend, Nathanael?” she asked. Nathanael felt his face heat up.

“None of your business!”

“Does Nathanael have a crushy-crush?!”

“Shut up!” he growled. But it was too late. Mr. Bunting turned around, eyes aflame with fury.

“Alice and Nathanael! Both of you, detention, after school!”

Nathanael groaned and let his head fall onto the desk. He wasn’t getting his phone taken, at least, but now he was stuck at school for an extra hour and a half.

It turned out to be quick and painless. The teacher was just talking, and he was chatting with Lila and the gang. Sharing designs and listening to Chloe's nonsense while Alice read over his shoulder. It was kinda nice. It felt like he belonged.

It was about a week or two later when Lila popped into the group chat with a big announcement

WhosThatFoxyLady: yo guys guess what?

Whatever Chloe’s username is: did you finally decide to quit fashion?

WhosThatFoxyLady: ha you wish

WhosThatFoxyLady: My dad’s coming to Paris for a business trip or some shit next weekend, we’re going to stay for like three or four days

Mr.TomatoHead: oh my god what

TheOneWhoRisesforMemes: oh my god no way you’re coming to Paris?!

All’a’y’all: Girl, we’ve gotta meet up to show you around!

Meow or Never: I’ll see if I can clear up my schedule enough to come see you!

Mr.TomatoHead: oh my god WHAT

#whyiseveryonesnameapun: look like someone’s excited. ; -)

To be fair, Nathanael was excited. He had been dreaming of seeing Lila in person for awhile now, but he’d never thought it would happen until they were much older. Now his wish was coming true, and in a week.

Shit. one week. He had to get his hair cut, pick a good outfit, plan what they would do, oh lord, it was going to be a mess.

Those thoughts were replaced with new ones as soon as they came though, because he realized the likelihood of him seeing her was low. Painfully low. Like might-as-well-not-be-in-the-same-city painful low. Which made it so much more painful. Not only was Lila in the country, she was in the city! Lila, his Lila Rossi was gonna potentially be a walk away. There was only one thing that could fix this. He's just gonna casually message her in a normal way.

Mr.TomatoHead: hey foxy

WhosThatFoxyLady: hello my tomato boy.

WhosThatFoxyLady: we are we today?

Mr.TomatoHead: im great. just wondering where youll be.

WhosThatFoxyLady: in your heart hopefully ;)

WhosThatFoxyLady: you meant in Paris

WhosThatFoxyLady: yeah sorry I have no clue

Mr.TomatoHead: you're always in my heart Lila

She didn't reply after that. They saw each other in group chat but other that they hadn't spoken. Nathanael was miserable , to say the least, panicked thoughts rushing through his head. Had he gone too fast? Had he made things awkward? Gosh, that was no way to confess a crush; over IM, really?! He could do better!

The next day, Marinette and Alya had worked together to create a list of the best places in Paris to visit. They discussed it over the group chat, when and where to meet up so they could all greet Lila and show her their beloved city.

Nathanael breathed a sigh of relief. The two girls, it seemed, had already solved the problem of not being able to see her. Now everyone was discussing gifts to give Lila, so she would remember them and Paris. He mulled over her favorite things in his head. Foxes, the color orange, olives, fashion… what was he going to get her…?

Lila grinned at the group chat as everyone excitedly chatted about where to go and what to bring. She had been hoping she’d be able to see her friends in the city; now it was near guaranteed. Thank God. All that work she’d put into her outfits would have gone to waste otherwise. Especially one she was certainly fond of...

The alarm blared beside him, waking him up with a groan. He ran a hand through his horrendous bed head as he stared at the dark window trying to figure out just why the hell he had set his alarm to wake him so goddamn early in the morning.

Then he remembered. Lila Rossi was probably boarding a flight any moment now, and then she’d be checking into a hotel room and meeting up with them--the entire Fashion Group Chat (or the Meme Green Fashion Team, as Adrien had renamed it)--by the Louvre for a day seeing everything Paris has to offer. He was going to get to meet her-- in person. He’d woken up early so he’d have time to freak out.

After pacing the room and panicking for a full thirty minutes, the sun was rising and he was feeling a bit better. Just a little bit. Enough to focus on doing his hair and grabbing a small breakfast.

Now, the outfit. What would he wear?! He looked good in black and white stripes, but also purple, but also orange?!?! Should he go for casual, formal, preppy, lazy--what was he going to do?! He decided that since none of them know how he normally dresses it wouldn't be weird if he dressed to impress. he looked through his closet for something believably casual, but also would make him look good. He ended up in a weather appropriate blazer jeans combo that wore way too often but whatever he gets compliments on it almost all the time.

Oh God, his nerves were weak as hell today. He’d felt full before, but now he was hungry again, he was burning so much energy through worrying. He was going to need some more toast.

She was listening to her music and sketching out some designs in her sketchbook when her father tapped her shoulder from beside her.

“We’re here, hun,” he said quietly, gesturing to everyone else on the plane gathering their things and getting off. She quickly tossed her things into her carry-on bag and waited until her father was ready, rocking on the balls of her feet. He grinned as he watched her waiting impatiently. “Excited?”

“Yeah, duh, dad! I get to see my friends--and Chloe,” she stuck out her tongue in disgust at the thought of seeing the blonde.

“And that redhead?”

Lila’s cheeks felt like they were on fire when her father waggled his eyebrows at her. “A-And Nathanael--stop looking at me like that!”

“I sure hope you two won’t be up to any trouble while I’m in my business meetings, hm?”

“We’ll be fine, Dad!! We need to check into the hotel now!”

“Well, you’re in quite the hurry,” he said jokingly, but took his briefcase and headed towards the exit.

As soon as they were in the terminal, she sent a text in the group chat.

WhosThatFoxyLady: Guess who just landed in Paris!

Bringing DuPAIN: Oh shit I gotta get ready or I’m gonna be late!

All’a’y’all: But you’re always late.

Bringing DuPAIN: but this is a special occasion!

Lila grinned. Hell yeah, it was a special occasion! Lila Rossi was here to see the sights and kiss redheads--and her hotel already had a view of Paris.

They got their bags and headed out front to catch the shuttle to their hotel. The ride wasn’t long, at least not unbearably so, because her pent-up excitement was making the time fly by.

Nathanael wasn't the first one there; Rose and Kim were already there. It was strange because Kim was was so big it was scary and Rose had the eyes of an anime character. As they got there he noticed those “things” about each of them. Those defining things. Like for Mylene it was her height and colorful hair. Max it was his stereotypical nerd outfit. Ivan was big, bigger than Kim. Sabrina had giant glasses and cute orange hair; the definition of a ginger. Alix had pink hair with one half in a pig tail. Adrien was a model boy, clearly, the damn kid practically glowed. For Chloe most people noticed the hair or the “rich girl” aura but Nathanael was focusing on her weirdly thin lips and her face--she looked like Barbie. Nino’s was his red cap and headphones; he was able to spot him from across the plaza. Juleka was a perfect stereotypical goth. Alya was the definition of “strong independent woman” in the best way. Marinette looked tired like she hadn't gotten a full night's rest in a year. And Lila...

Was wearing his design.

Nathanael’s heart thundered in his chest when he saw the taxi pull up to the plaza, and it damn-near stopped when Lila stepped out, whisking her cape out the car behind her. She’d modified the outfit a little--it was more of an olive-green than the strange lime his color pencil pack had provided him--and had added a pair of brown heels to match. But she looked gorgeous, stunning, amazing…

“Oh my God, Lila! Hi!” Rose squealed, running up.

“Is that Nathan’s design?! You look amazing!” Alya added, following Rose.

“Is that Nathanael's design? Ugh of course you would pick his to wear.” Chloe said, trying to hide a grin as Sabrina shadowed her, openly smiling.

“Good to see you too Chloe.” Lila said. “It's good to see all of you face to face!” She finished as Rose let her go from a hug that Lila pulled her back into as everyone else piled into a giant hug. Some people were crying.

Eventually they let go and started wandering the city all of them saying things about various buildings that they had connections with, sometimes taking breaks because a lot of the girls were in heels. It was perfect except for Nathanael hanging in the back. She wanted to talk to him alone. She needed to talk to him alone. It's all she could really think about that this might be her only chance to see him and he has hardly spoken.

She let herself fall back in the group until she was close, then leaned over. “Hey,” she greeted. Nathanael’s face erupted into a mad blush and he quickly looked away.

“H-Hey,” he stammered out.

“Oh, not as charming in person as you are over text, are you?” she teased. He blushed more before grinning.

“I-I mean, do you want me to be?”

“You’re just… you’re being quiet. For a second I thought you weren’t excited to see--”

“O-Of course I’m excited to see you! I just--I am--I was--well, I’m--shy.”

“I can see,” she said with a giggle. He pouted a moment before hesitating.

“...you really liked that design, didn’t you? To wear it here in the middle of Paris.” he asked quietly, brushing a bit of hair from his eyes. She smiled.

“Of course. I loved it. It may not be Chloe’s style, but her designer wear can be a bit plain. I like my clothes to have a bit of flair, if I weren’t too shy.”

Nathanael laughed a bit. “You? Shy?”

“Hey, I’m not as shy as you are, tomato, but this fox is still a bit shy. I can’t exactly wear a cape and heels to school.” she grinned, flourishing her cape.

“So… it’s what you would wear, if people didn’t judge so much, and you had the money and budget and confidence to do so?”

“...yeah. Like that.”

Nathanael smiles. “Well, this was really a nice surprise. I’m really glad you’re here, foxy.”

“Me too, tomato boy,” she looked up as they reached the Eiffel Tower, smiling as she took the red-head’s hand in her on before kissing him on the cheek. “Me too.”

#anipwritesart #anipwrites art #tomatofox #lila rossi #nathanael kurtzberg #nathaniel kurtzberg #nathanael #ml nathaniel #nathanael miraculous #ML Nathanael #lila ml #ml lila #miraculous ladybug lila #lila rossi miraculous #long distance AU #long distant relationship

[shojo]

Shojo Reviews: Beauty and the Beast (2017)

The full review is under the cut due to the following disclaimers: 1. Spoilers 2. Criticism  3. Criticism from a film major 4. Criticism from a millennial film major who has Very Important Opinions™ 5. It’s long af

Enjoy~

Okay so lemme start off by saying it was.. okay. Like, there wasn’t anything that I specifically hated but there wasn’t anything that I was over the moon for either. Honestly, when the movie was over, all I wanted to do was go home and watch the 1991 animated original. And I know as a critic/analyst that you’re not suppose to compare movies and you’re just suppose to take what’s on the screen as is but, my god, that was extraordinarily difficult. Especially because, you know, it was a freaking remake. 

There seems to be a trend with live action remakes and live action Disney movies in general that they’re too fast. Let me explain. The 1991 Beauty and the Beast was ninety minutes and 2017 was a little over two hours. So how can that be? Because the filmmakers can’t decide if they’re making a remake of Beauty and the Beast or their own movie. Additional scenes, new songs, and twists on character arcs are fine but they take up time and- wait! You gotta do that song and make that reference too and don’t forget to put in those lines cause the audience will love it and omg that reference too but WAIT new plot device and that guy has a personality now so c’mon hurry up with that scene that everyone knows and loves cause we got more stuff to film so boom boom shoot that scene, sing that song, let’s go, next scene, gotta put it the filler, gotta put in this song now, go go go gOG GOGOGOGOGOGOGOGOGO. 

So yeah, the pacing was way too fast even with a longer running time. 

And speaking of the technical aspects of the film, I wanted to touch on the cinematography and visuals before I get to the stuff I really dislike. Obviously, very obviously, this movie is stunning eye candy. The French Baroque swirls and filigree are apparent throughout the film in every way possible, making the detail design a work of art in every frame. (That is except for Belle but we’ll get to her later.) Having all that art history bloom in the aesthetics not only harkens back to the fairytale’s French roots but makes this movie its own thing, ie. not just a remake. I personally would have preferred a lot less CGI but I can’t deny how amazing the objects and castle looked. However, I must pause to make a small plea to Hollywood. 

Dear Hollywood. Please. For the love of god and all that is holy and pure, PLEASE, put your actors in a real costume with real makeup and real prosthetics. Nothing about the Beast’s physical being felt tangible because, shocker, HE WASN’T REALLY THERE. Like, c’mon, at least the costume and then CGI the fur cause something is better than nothing. I really don’t care if it’s more time consuming or your actor doesn’t want to or it costs less to pay some poor overworked and underpaid digital artist, YOU HAVE THE RESOURCES TO OVERCOME ALL OF THOSE OBSTACLES AND MORE YOU HAVE NO EXCUSES. CGI doesn’t make an audience want to reach out and touch the screen, a real human emoting and connecting with said audience does. Best wishes, Shojo. 

Back to the technical stuff. We’ve clarified the beauty of the movie itself, but I was almost constantly distracted by how small the castle and rooms felt. The camera stayed close to the characters, rarely moving back to show the ceiling or sky. The animated movie seemed far more grand and just huge in general with the castle towering in the distance, the ballroom ceiling impossibly high, and the long shots of the village, the fireworks, the bridge, everything. The remake, when it had wide shots, usually had objects, trees, and the like framing the shot, cutting off the “endlessness” of the sky or ceiling. 

And then there was Belle. Oh, Emma. My Hermione. My feminist icon. You’re an okay Belle. You for sure look the part being the gorgeous human being that you are but, boy howdy, was your acting stale and your voice deadpan. I really don’t mean to be so critical but when you’re casting such an iconic role, you need an actress that can live up to that part and Emma just didn’t. She looked bored half the time she was in the castle and interacting with the enchanted objects. Her emotional moments were perfectly fine, great even, but the rest of her performance just fell flat. Her singing voice, like her acting, wasn’t half bad. But, like her acting, she just wasn’t a good fit for the part. 

Overall, Beauty and the Beast suffers from the same torn mindset that every other remake has: to be a remake, or to be our own film. That is the question. And I’ll say it again, there’s nothing abhorrently bad about this movie but there’s a lot to compare, contrast, and analyze, which I looooove. There’s probably another ten pages of things I can discuss but now my hand is cramping so I guess I’m done for now. 

Also Josh Gad is a national treasure. 

#shojo reviews movies #beauty and the beast