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bluelockednyx · 2 years

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Isagirin meta part 3

Part 1, talking about Isagi’s first meeting and match with Rin here.

Part 2, covering the rest of the Second Selection Arc, up till Rin choosing Isagi to move ahead with Aryu and co., here.

Part 3 covers the post-Second Selection Arc chapters, beginning from the 5-man team formation, to the vs World team, and the first Blue Lock Eleven try out match, with Isagi in Team A vs Chigiri in Team B.

C87-93, vs World 5

Isagi’s reeling from just barely losing the game earlier, and then from being chosen. He’s also subdued over the sensation of losing, and then being chosen by someone else, reinforcing the notion of how Isagi wants to be the one doing the choosing. While he connects with Bachira, seeing his maturity and also becoming motivated to grow stronger by himself, he then asks Rin about how he made that final goal. Rin informs him that it’s ‘luck’. Ego further explains about the mechanism of ‘luck’ in the context of the series. Luck forms through a series of coincidences and happenings, and only those who are prepared to grasp it when it comes around, i.e. when Rin sped up to chase after Isagi and Bachira, instead of stopping or slowing down like the others, he gambled on the chance that Isagi would 1) successfully block Bachira and 2) would not gain possession of the ball.

Rin agrees with Ego's explanation, then adds that he had a different option: to not score. He made that goal to accept that he had lost to Isagi then, because he couldn’t foresee Bachira’s awakening/read Bachira’s moves, then failed to take advantage of it while Isagi had successfully countered it. Again, this is another facet of Rin that Isagi admires, acknowledges, and tries to learn from. They later learn of their upcoming match against world-class strikers, and while resting, Isagi notices that Rin is missing. He joins Rin in stretching exercises, and learns more about Rin’s motivation to beat Sae.

“Yeah, I get the feeling that if I chase you, I’ll get stronger… Rin, I see you as my rival.”

We can see that Rin is clearly surprised/affected/touched by this, even though he later says that he thinks nothing of Isagi. The fires of rivalry are stoked, yoga shenanigans ensue, and Rin gets pissed that Isagi falls on top of him.

Rin, you dramatic little bitch

Everyone’s excited to face off against the world-class players. The world-class players range from dismissive to neutral towards them (though let's face it, the only polite guy is Julien), until the Bachira-Rin combo scores a goal.

Look at how hyped he is, one of the prettiest panels of Isagi in the entire series and it's him being stupid in love with his rival and best friend

Isagi is impressed with the Bachira-Rin combo. Bachira, in turn, remarks that Rin’s gotten better with Isagi around. But they’re still outclassed, the World 5 blazing past them 4-1. The only one who’s still fighting to win is Rin. Later, Leonardo faces off with Rin in a 1-on-1. He past Rin easily, and that whole ass line he uses is a straight up sexual innuendo about Rin

which is

again

a first

(here, in its full glory and for your perusal)

(so I guess what I’m saying is, if by this point you haven’t figured out that the author has a secret favourite, then I really have to tell you, the author clearly has a favourite)

The world team trounces the quintuplet, and as they collapse, exhausted, Isagi’s concerned about Rin, who is singularly furious and frustrated over the loss. He also acknowledges that Rin was the only one of the five of them who was truly trying to win the game at all. It’s also because of this moment, that Isagi once again changes his perception of Rin. Rin is no longer simply a rival to Isagi; he’s a goal, a measure for his own skills.

‘The day I win against you, is the day I’ll be able to stand on the world’s stage… From my front row view of you, I will rise above you to become the best in the world!’

C93

We get another slow chapter for C93, but its certainly cute. Rin gets bonding time (against his will) with his teammates, who are all likely older than he is, and lands in the role of tutor (against his will again), lol.

I think what makes this even funnier is that Rin’s the youngest out of all of them. Academic high-achiever Itoshi Rin, everyone!

C94-112 (Blue Lock Eleven tryouts)

What’s surprising to me is that Rin and co. were the first to clear the second selection, but I suppose in the background there were many players who waffled over making teams and setting up matches in both the 3-man and 4-man teams, as shown when Aryu and Tokimitsu were having trouble fixing up matches for the 4v4. Nagi and the rest come in second. As the others file in, Chigiri and Nagi are worried for the last team – and the two people they’re closest to in Blue Lock, Kunigami and Reo. Then comes the clincher – Reo is in, but in place of Kunigami, it’s Shidou who makes it to the top.

After breaking up the fight that Shidou tried to start, Ego informs them about the upcoming match against Japan’s U20, and tells them that Sae will be participating in the match. He then proceeds to inform them about the rush-patch team they’ll be making, centering around the 6 chosen players: Rin, Shidou, Karasu, Otoya, Yukimiya and Nagi. The remaining players now have to choose: who they want to team up with, who they can assert and coexist with in a team, and also, who can be their stepping stone to surpass.

Over a meal, Bachira deduces who Isagi would team up with – Rin, or Nagi. As Isagi stays up watching videos to try and come to a decision, Reo comes up to join him, expressing his worries about Nagi becoming out of reach, and that he doesn’t know if he’ll get the chance to play with Nagi again. Isagi empathises with Reo and says that it’s the same for him, except his target isn’t Nagi: it’s Rin.

"The person I want to be beside right now, is you, Rin! ... Reo, thank you. I've found my resolve, thanks to you. I'm going to prove... that the path I've chosen for myself isn't wrong!

Once again, this is a repetition of another important part of Isagi's relationship with Reo in-story. As I outlined in part 2, after Isagi-Nagi-Barou team wins against Kunigami-Chigiri-Reo, Isagi tells Reo that he should become someone who can choose. Here, Isagi walks the talk and chooses who he wants, instead of letting the person he wants choose him. And now, he wants to prove that the path he’s chosen, aka choosing to pursue his rivalry with Rin – and to an extent, chasing after Rin himself, isn’t wrong.

Team A vs Team B (C97-C104)

Isagi gets chosen for the first match, and ruminates on how his current team up with Hiori and Nanase are the most comfortable he’s had so far in Blue Lock, complete with shoujo-ish effects as they laugh together. The game heats up with Shidou’s insane goal, then Karasu marks Isagi early on in the match, and Isagi’s forced to realize that he lacks the skill to beat Karasu one-on-one.

Bonus: Shidou’s so excited over a crow and a ninja combo, lmao.

Rin and Shidou��s inability to work together, unlike Karasu and Otoya + Chigiri later on, causes problems for their team. They fall behind to a critical 2-4 with Team B in the lead. Isagi manages to get the ball, and passes to Shidou, who scores when Isagi expects a combo, and brings Team A to 3 goals. Isagi momentarily berates himself for thinking that Shidou would have cooperated with him, and they restart the game quickly. Isagi is still marked by Karasu, and is unable to shake him. Then Rin cuts in to free up Isagi from Karasu.

Karasu’s lines here?

‘Oh, I hate this. What’s yours is mine and what’s mine is mine’ mentality.’

I don't know how the JP audience perceives this, but this is a pretty suggestive line to me when translated, and in my experience that 'what's yours is mine and what's mine is mine' normally gets applied to 1) couples or 2) siblings in a family who have to/made to share a bunch of stuff (cultural differences may vary, with this one, but *waves shipping goggles*)

While Rin is occupied with his 1-on-1 against Karasu, Isagi rushes in and steals the ball. Very nice teamwork from the pair here, though Rin at this point in time, probably lowkey hates him for it (lol).

With Nanase and Hiori, Isagi breaks through the midfield, but is one step short of receiving Hiori’s pass. Rin covers for his miss and makes the shot, bringing the game to 4-4.

Karasu makes this point after Rin scores a second goal. It’s a pattern now, for these two. Rin starts a change. Isagi responds in kind, elevating the overall play and raising the level of the match.

Karasu and Otoya break through, but Shidou successfully intercepts a pass to Chigiri. Nanase picks it up, passing immediately to Isagi. Excluding Shidou, the members of Team A break through the field, with Rin,Nanase and Isagi forming a triangle. Rin makes the call to push through faster, and they get the ball to Hiori.

Team A wins narrowly, after Isagi takes into account Hiori’s advice. He ‘moves by reflex’ and bursts in between Rin and Shidou and scores the final goal. While Nanase, Hiori and Shidou congratulate Isagi on his goal, Rin is sore about losing the shot to Isagi.

We can actually see Isagi being somewhat upset at Rin’s reaction here. If Isagi’s silence isn’t a big enough clue, the blackened background sure is. Shidou comes up to defend him from Rin, rightfully calling out Rin’s arrogance and poor sportsmanship, and the pair immediately gets into a fight.

Later on, we also see that Isagi acknowledges Rin’s point here, as he, Nanase and Hiori go over what happened in the AV room. He’s not sure what happened, and how he got that goal, until Hiori explains his advice, comparing it to a tetris game.

Bonus: Poor Isagi getting choked by Shidou, while the others separate these two idiots.

We head into the next match, a Team A vs Team C matchup.

Team A vs Team C

There’s not much here, as the focus is mainly on Reo and Nagi’s friendship, but I am picking out some little fun moments.

We have the second person to nickname Rin based on his eyelashes, Shidou. The chibis of these two are cute! We also learn that Rin is petty enough to hold grudges, even in-match (lmao)

Team C scores first with Nagi x Yukimiya’s combo. Shidou continues on his crusade of giving Rin nicknames, choosing to adopt RinRin, which is even more cutesy and overly affectionate (though in his case, it’s mocking) than Bachira’s previous Rin-chan.

Despite Reo’s new ability/use of his dexterity, Team C still loses soundly to Team A. Nagi comes to talk to Reo, who knows that his skill still isn’t enough. He’s taken Isagi’s words to heart – he wants to become someone that Nagi wants to chase after.

I think that this point is where Rin truly begins to supplant Bachira as the deuteragonist of Blue Lock. We are not given any insight or views of Bachira’s matches or his plays in them, and other than Isagi’s own match, and Reo’s, whose POV we get, the character whom the narrative focuses on is Rin. I understand it’s hard to juggle a weekly manga with such a huge cast of characters, as Blue Lock does, but I think the lack of Bachira is quite telling that his narrative importance has decreased. Isagi’s focus, and by extension, the narrative, for a long while now, has been more focused on Rin.

In the formation of the team to go up against Japan’s U20, Ego spells it out. The team is centered around Rin. Of all the players in Blue Lock who can bring out the best in Rin’s plays, the ‘ideal partner to Itoshi Rin’, is Isagi.

This is canon, y’all. And spoken, no less, by the very character who thus far, is the closest to an in-series omniscient narrator.

This panel of Rin and Shidou having no chemistry at all is so fucking funny. Shooting down the ship in canon, just in case shippers get any ideas, lmao.

Ego then tells them about Sae’s participation in the U20 match, and that he chose Shidou to play with out of all the members of Blue Lock present. Rin’s reaction to finding out that Sae chose Shidou to play with is fun – complete fury. Ego moves on to break down Rin and Shidou’s playstyles: Rin involves his surroundings and synergizes with them, Shidou’s is very much self-sufficient, even going so far as to say it comes down to who made the right choice between him and Sae will decide the outcome of the match, and thus Blue Lock’s continued survival. Rin, on the other hand, reasserts that the match is a stepping stone for him to become the best in the world, which the others echo.

While Sae and Shidou meet the U20 team, Blue Lock begins their training camp. During their break, Isagi mulls over the importance of ‘breaking through’ the U20’s defense, per Bachira’s words, then surmising that he doesn’t have the power to do that. He then comes across Rin still training. while they’re supposed to be on break.

[It’s fun how the narrative arranges that Isagi’s questions for breaking through the U20 defense, and to master his newfound ability via the flow trance, brought him to Rin.]

Isagi pops inside the training room and tells Rin to take a break. He’s surprised at Rin’s ferocious single-mindedness, and coaxes Rin into a short break by handing him a water bottle.

[Also fun how Isagi just happened to be carrying two water bottles for whatever reason, conveniently being able to offer one to Rin.]

Rin rebuffs him at first, but Isagi doesn’t take his shit, adjusting his words and attitude into one that Rin is more palatable to. Then as he walks away, he thinks this:

‘I’ve… never seen Rin look like that before. I want to win along with him…’

Isagi doesn’t simply want to win. He wants to win along with Rin.

C112

The U20 and Blue Lock teams walk out onto the field. Rin glares at Sae, who ignores him, while Aiku wishes Isagi good luck. Isagi grows nervous, and Rin perceptively realizes it, smacking him on the back to get him out of his head.

"Let's go, Isagi."

"Yeah!"

And that's all for part 3!

There’s a lot less analysis for this part, as it’s mostly about Isagi’s increasing focus on Rin, as well as his and Rin’s growing rivalry/friendship. In this arc, Rin's character is further rounded out, and we get a hint of the depth of his obsession with defeating Sae.

Compared to part 2, where Isagi was more hung up on Rin’s sheer skill, in this part we see Isagi’s respect for Rin evolve further, into a much deeper respect for Rin’s mindset and relentless drive to win, even in a situation where he was severely outclassed by the World 5 team. The Blue Lock Eleven tryouts and his conversation with Reo is a nice moment of foiling, parallels and reinforcement of the series narrative theme.

Isagi directly compares himself to Reo – he’s afraid of not being able to play with Rin again, but he’s also afraid that the gap between him and Rin will keep growing to the point where Rin is beyond his reach, which, from a shipping perspective, is pretty damning in my opinion, because the NagiReo ship is, next to the Bachisagi ship, probably the best established one in terms of narrative themes and characterisation both, with Reo being almost all Nagi at this point in time. Besides that, with the top 6 players announced + Bachira, we clearly see that Isagi is still lagging behind his peers when it comes to plain old football skill.

Besides that, Isagi too, becomes more involved and concerned about Rin’s issues with Sae, although he’s still scratching the surface with Rin about that, and it’s clear that he’s more than a little disconcerted by Rin’s obsession with beating Sae. It’s also fascinating to see him actively include Rin in his wishes with regards to the U20 game – specifically to win along with Rin, which is an extension of his initial wish in the Second Selection Arc, that he wants Rin.

On Rin’s part, he’s thawing out towards Isagi, surely but slowly. Beginning with his semi-allowance of Isagi to do yoga with him in the training room, and later his response to Isagi’s declaration of rivalry, then the way he works together with Isagi up until it becomes clear that Isagi can’t defeat Karasu one-on-one, and at that point. Even then, he doesn’t discard Isagi completely, choosing instead to free up Isagi from Karasu and face off against Karasu himself. Although he does wind up pissed at Isagi for stealing the thunder and the final goal and speaking rather cruelly about him, neither he nor Isagi escalates the issue further. We also learn that Rin has some problems: he is utterly unable to work with Shidou, someone whose skill is almost on par with him in Blue Lock, and he cannot healthily acknowledge that Isagi had defeated him in that last shot.

Update: Part 4 will cover the first half of the U20 match, and there are a lot of nice moments coming up.

#blue lock #bllk #Isagi Yoichi #Itoshi Rin #Isagirin #Rinsagi #isagirin meta part 3 #rinsagi meta part 3 #otp: heart stolen by his beautiful parable

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jolyneswife-anime-reviews · 2 years

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The quintessential quintuplets anime review

Spoilers for the quintessential quintuplets

Genre: slice of life, romance, harem, high school

Where I watched it: Funimation

Characterisation: 7/10 (Like a lot of aspects of this series, the characterisation was almost there, but not quite. All the sisters are given distinct personalities, with different talents, ambitions and mannerisms, so their characters were reasonably well developed. They had their own interests and strengths, which made the show a lot more interesting. However, it annoyed me that they were all so needlessly dense in some respects, even when they worked incredibly hard- it was slightly demoralizing to watch, as I was really rooting for them to do well in school. This point mainly applies to Yotsuba, who’s a very sweet girl, but her lack of intelligence (and the way it tries to be funny and miserably fails) was genuinely annoying. Personally, I disliked the protagonist, Futaro- not only did he lack a proper personality and character development, which made him a boring protagonist, but the traits which were unique to him weren’t exactly pleasant. He is constantly shown believing he’s better than others due to his high grades, and he always alludes to the quints being intellectually lacking, sometimes literally calling them stupid, because they struggle at school. Most side characters were fairly unremarkable, and the cast is fairly small, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.)

Setting: 7/10 (I like the idea of the quints sharing one house and living alone- it illustrated the kind of family life they had, as well as driving home the point that, despite being very close, they were very different personality wise. The best feature of the setting is the house that the quints move into during the second part of the anime after deciding to become independent from their father- it adds a “rich girls become independent from their father and finding their own path in life” feel, which made me really root for them and want to see them succeed. The grandeur of their former house contrasts that of the smaller house they now share, and it also highlights the financial difference between them and Uesugi’s humble family when we see his house. The high school they go to serves as quite a good setting, catering to the plot well, and, during the school trip to the mountains, setting was also used well to create a sense of adventure and excitement as potential romances, as well as problems, developed and spiralled.)

Art style: 8.5/10 (This anime has really stunning graphics- the characters are drawn in a very attractive style with colour pallets which reflect their personality and are equally pleasing. Settings are drawn with the same amount of care and attention to detail, so overall, the series has high quality visuals.)

Plot: 4.5/10 (The plot is pretty lacking on all fronts- it lacks an element to make it engaging and hook viewers, because the anime is so casual that there’s very little to actually become invested in. It felt like not much progress was being made towards a climax or resolution; most of the anime had very little actual plot to it. At the end, everything sort of happens at once, which feels incredibly rushed, and it means that, at least in my opinion, Uesugi’s relationship with the girls were poorly developed before everyone jumped in, so the idea of those relationships was a lot less impactful. The ending was definitely the lowest point, as there was a huge time skip to the wedding of Futaro and one of the sisters (probably Yotsuba) which, you could argue, was fitting, because they met all those years ago and Yotsuba became Futaro’s first love, leading to him changing from a “bad boy” to a hard working “nerd”. Uesugi doesn’t recognise Yotsuba in the modern timeline, but one could argue this still makes for a fitting ending, because it is clear that Uesugi is still deeply affected by his first love. However, this doesn’t take away from how rushed everything was- none of the relationships (not even the one with Yotsuba) were properly developed, so things just kind of went from 0 to 100 without any kind of bonding or story behind it. There are also a few plot holes- we never find out who Rena is, we merely know she’s a persona taken on by one of the quints to be a fictional version of his childhood crush, but this part of the story is never explained or developed. It also annoyed me that everyone had to fall for Uesugi of all people, because f how badly developed his personality was and how arrogant and unlikeable he was as a person. However, there were quite a few twists and it was definitely not predictable. Another aspect of the plot which was delivered quite well was the girls’ improvement at school over time, as they keep studying and working. )

Addictiveness: 5/10 (Because it lacked a proper, dynamic plot, the anime had nothing which kept me hooked or engaged. There were no intriguing elements, and I never found myself becoming very invested in either characters or plot.)

Originality: 6.5/10 (Despite being poorly executed, the plot definitely isn’t a cliche- it is full of twists and has a wealth of aspects I’ve never seen anywhere else. The anime messes around with slow burn and harem aspects, disguises (this is a recurring motif in the anime, as the quints often dress up as each other when needed) as well as financial issues, student lifestyles and different, well established relationship tropes to create something unique, even if it’s not your taste.)

Comfort: 6.5/10 (The anime is relaxed and light hearted, as well as quite hopeful in tone as the girls strive to do well and forge their own paths in life. Despite this, it isn’t necessarily comforting, as it usually lacked the warmth necessary for that, and the highs were often placed alongside lows or events that were simply unremarkable.)

Philosophy: 4.5/10 (The plot lacks complexity and depth, as do many of the characters, so nothing about the anime really made me think- there’s no sort of message or idea for viewers to think about.)

Consistency: 6/10 (The quality stays consistent throughout most of the anime, but it takes a nosedive with the incredibly rushed and poorly developed ending.)

The plot

Futaro Uesugi is a top student who works part time as a tutor, making money to help support his family, who struggle financially. One day, he’s offered a job which pays over 5 times the normal rate. When he goes to the address provided for the first lesson, it becomes clear why- he’s tutoring the quintuplets who just transferred to his school from a prestigious one. The girls are very dismissive of Uesugi at first, and don’t want to go along with his plan to study despite their failing grades, so his job becomes pretty difficult. The quints are constantly all over the place, denying him and doing anything but studying. Even Itsuki, whose dedication to her studies is clear from the beginning, hates the idea of being tutored by him and goes off for solo sessions. However, as he begins to learn more about the girls as individuals and discovers things about their interests, personalities and ambitions, Uesugi gradually starts to earn their trust and get them to follow instructions. The first instance of this is with Miku, who’s shy and quiet, but secretly obsessed with history. Upon discovering this, Uesugi studies as much history as he can so Miku can feel understood. Slowly but surely (and with a lot of bumps along the way) the others follow suit, getting used to Uesugi’s presence in their life and starting to view him as more than just a friend or a tutor. As time passes and the girls grow increasingly aware of their feeling for Uesugi, it becomes clear that the nature of their relationship with him is taking a huge shift as a a competition for who gets to be with him starts, gradually building up to confessions and even more confusion, with Uesugi learning several things about emotions and love on the way.

Masterlist

#itsuki nakano #miku nakano #nino nakano #ichka nakano #yotsuba nakano #futaro uesugi #raiha uesugi #the quintessential quintuplets #the quintessential quintuplets review #the quintessential quintuplets anime review #harem anime #romance anime #slice of life anime #high school anime #jolyneswifeanimereviews #anime and manga #anime recommendation #anime reccs #anime fandom

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taruruchi · 2 years

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The Joyful Optimist, Elpys Feinsince

“Why am I so excited? Well, I just made a new friend! Namely you! Wanna hang out after classes?”

Profile

full name: elpys feinsince (EL-pis FEYN-since)

nicknames: ellie

gender: female

species: fae

eye color: titanium yellow

hair color: sweet corn

affiliation: night raven college

family: father (deceased), mother (deceased), four sisters

likes: anything bright, people's smiles, sunshine, cartwheeling

dislikes: anything gloomy, making people upset, negativity

unique magic: brighten up the room - by using this, elpys can make everyone in the room forget what they were thinking about and put them in a good mood. using it transfers the negative thoughts to her and it accumulates a lot of blot.

personality: elpys has a very sunny demeanor, bearing a smile wherever she goes. she's always joyful and tends to push away any other emotion, making her somewhat oblivious to the sad parts of things. though as cheerful as she can be, she'll have moments when she's upset, but she doesn't want anyone to be upset too so she hides somewhere. when others are feeling down, she'll do her best to lighten the mood! she wants to see them smile!

Night Raven College

dorm: heartslabyul

grade: sophomore/2-D

birthday: june 14

age: 17

height: 168 cm

dominant hand: left

homeland: ???

hobbies: climbing through the windows of other dorms to visit her friends, attempting to cook with nemis, playing the ukulele, gymnastics

club: light music club

best subject: defense magic

pet peeves: being forced into sad situations

favorite food: candy

least favorite food: broccoli

talent: making people happy

Notable Relationships

Behind That Smile - Elpys Feinsince + Cater Diamond

. They first met on Elpys's first day of classes, Cater offering to give her a tour of the school. As cheerful and energetic extroverts, they got along easily! Cater is one of the people Elpys goes to when she's feeling down since they're in the same dorm and she trusts him.

Too Much Brightness! - Elpys Feinsince + Kalim Al-Asim

. These two are the most cheerful second years you've ever seen. When you pair them together, it's like two walking balls of sunshine. Elpys occasionally visits Scarabia to see Deima but when her sister is busy, she instead spends time with Kalim! During these times, Scarabia is full of energy.

Avoid At All Costs - Elpys Feinsince + Idia Shroud

. Elpys is definitely on Idia's list of people to avoid. Her personality is too bright and loud for him, he can't deal with that! Elpys once tried to spend time with him but it was evident that he really didn't want to, so she let him go.

➵ OC relationship chart

Fun Facts

She is based on Joy from Inside Out.

Her official MBTI is ESFP.

"Elpys" comes from the Greek spirit of hope, Elpis. "Feinsince" comes from the words "feeling" and "sentiment".

She is the third oldest among her sisters, making her the middle child.

The Feinsince quintuplets lost their parents at a young age. This is why they started living with their grandparents.

She discovered her unique magic when she was younger but she has never told her sisters about it. Her sisters would fight half of the time and she always tried to solve it. Once she discovered her unique magic, she often used it to stop them from arguing further. It's a miracle that she hasn't overblotted yet.

Vignettes

None ➵ For now

– The first and third pictures of Elpys were made with these Picrews: first picture ; third picture –

#☆ taruchi talks ocs 💭#☆ the joyful optimist: elpys feinsince 🎶#☆ oc profile !#NOW ITS JUST NEMIS AND DEIMA LEFT

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allaboardtheindignityexpress · 2 months

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happy birthday flying scotsman you 101 year old son of a fucking bitch wooohoooooo grandpa

to celebrate here's a scotsman design-

tbh i was actually excited for this one. i was too lazy to draw his entire body. i mean, i do have full body refs but they're pretty shit.

UPDATE AS I AM TYPING THIS OUT I FOUND ONE FROM AUGUST THAT I ACTUALLY LIKE

now with that out of the way

🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂

-full name: scotsman nigel ramssey, but doesn't mind scot for short

-height: 9'2". is the tallest man to exist in his universe, and a majority of his fame comes from his gargantuan stature

-sexuality: aroace

-personality: paternal, protective, doting, has an unhealthy interest in trains (why am i saying as if this is a bad thing i suffer from the same thing 💀), knowledgeable, can be stern and grumpy but he's surprisingly gentle when angered. but when scotsman's at home he's a completely different person. he's vulnerable, melancholy, and agonizingly lonely.

🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂

okay, we're gonna get a bit dark here, so be warned.

-scotsman has a chronic fear of anything to do with the medical field. sure, he's an expert when it comes to human biology and can diagnose any type of illness, but his own knowledge of it makes him scared of how complex humans are.

-he hasn't seen henry and gordon in 16 years. most of his relatives are dead, and he's one of only 6̶ 5 family members left. he feels like he's going to die soon because of his age.

-he was famous from birth for being the son of a popular scat singer, being a part of a set of quintuplets (the other four died in a shooting), for being the largest baby in england to survive, and for having all sorts of medical abnormalities. as time progressed, he began to quickly loathe his fame as he constantly had cameras shoved in his face every time he went out in public, and he had to face both exploitation and harassment from the media. he lives in an ordinary neighborhood because he so longs to feel like a normal human being.

okay with all that bad stuff outta the way-

-he's a great artist, both musically and visually. he loves making mandalas, and loves to play classical pieces of beethoven's on a piano even though his preferred instrument is the harpsichord.

-he's also a great cook. it'll always be his pleasure to make something like a soup or biscuits for a fellow friend of his.

-scotsman can be a hard worker as well. even though he's only supposed to work for 8 hours, he works for 12 as he helps the newcomers at the locomotive works repair and build engines.

-lovee teasing gordon and henry about how they're his 'little brothers.' he got a kick out of it whenever gordon argued that he wasn't since he was indeed shorter AND younger than him.

-surprisingly muscular for his age. can still lift over 2000 pounds.

-driver of the flying scotsman itself. he was actually named after it.

🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂

anyways that's all

happy birthday bitch!!!!

#unic rambles.........AGAIN #happy birthday bitch #TRAINSS!!!!!!#FLYING SCOTSMAN IS A FUCKING MONEYPIT!!!!!!!! BUT I STILL LOVE YOU GRANDPA #ttte scotsman #i am obsessed #therapy? *wheeze* as if

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recentanimenews · 2 years

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REVIEW: The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie Ties Up The Franchise In A Neat Little Bow

Since The Quintessential Quintuplets TV anime began, one lingering question has towered over the franchise: Which Nakano sister does Fuutaro Uesugi marry? While manga readers got that conclusion when the manga ended in 2020, anime-only fans have been left waiting at the altar for the answer — until now.

The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie opened in Japanese theaters last Friday, capping off the franchise with all the answers left hanging at the end of Season 2 and even flashing forward to the wedding and how it goes down. Though, this review will not be spoiling who the bride is. That’s too mean.

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Fuutaro and the Quintuplets’ story unequivocally ends with The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie. This may surprise some fans who know the plot of Negi Haruba’s original manga, of which this is adapted from.

The second season of the TV anime ends with the Sister’s War arc, but the film begins at the School Festival, leaving a stretch of the story left unsaid. The School Festival arc, or as it should be called, the arc of many confessions, takes an interesting path — instead of focusing on Fuutaro’s relationship with the girls, it’s the girls' relationship with him and the end of their stories. This is achieved by giving each Quin a section of the film to themselves, which intertwines with each other's stories, building up some mysteries along the way that have payoffs in another Nakano plot.

RELATED: Which Quintessential Quintuplet Is Your Perfect Match?

Some of these stories are much stronger than others. Nino’s and Itsuki’s deal less with the festival itself and are more personal to them, which leaves more of an impression. Yotsuba’s and Miku’s are nice but don’t have the same impact. This isn’t helped by the fact that parts of the story feel rushed, including part of the ending which could have simmered a little longer and let the audience get acquainted with the new Uesugi couple.

Lest at the end of the film, it felt as if nothing had changed in the relationship dynamic between all of the Nakano sisters and Fuutaro even though he was now married to one of them. Though, I feel Fuutaro understands this too. The poor man didn’t just marry one of the Quins, he married all of them.

After what looked like an awful production process on the second season of The Quintessential Quintuplets, which is understandable as it was during the first year of COVID-19, the anime film looks like a step up — though only in regard to production.

The animation itself is nice, but not overly interesting. There are little stand-out moments that wow’d on the big screen and would have been fine on a smaller TV screen. I can count only one aspect of the entire film where being in a theater helped elevate the movie — the music.

Composed and mixed by Hanae Nakamura and Miki Sakurai, who return from the TV anime season, the surround sound music is used to a great extent to heighten the climactic moments of each of the five girls' stories, and again during the theme song that plays over the ending credits sung by the voice actors of each girl (each has their own sub-channel in their solo parts).

RELATED: Which Quintessential Quintuplet Are You?

For long-time fans of The Quintessential Quintuplets, the movie puts to screen some of the most hyped moments of the series – though they probably would have worked just as well on TV. For those on the fence though? There’s little to be excited about in this continuation and the rushed plots probably won’t sway anyone.

As one of those previously mentioned long-time fans, I adored The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie and am excited to see anime-only fans react to who the bride is — I was a little surprised, but appreciate the choice nonetheless.

The theater I went to in Tokyo was overflowing with The Quintessential Quintuplets fans and iconography, including a huge poster outside the theater and standees of all the Nakanos in their wedding dresses — though not saying who actually wears the wedding dress in the film! Very clever!

(Photo: Daryl Harding)

The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie was released in Japanese theaters on May 20. There’s no word yet on an international release. Both the first and the season seasons of The Quintessential Quintuplets TV anime are streaming right here on Crunchyroll.

Daryl Harding is a Japan Correspondent for Crunchyroll News. He also runs a YouTube channel about Japan stuff called TheDoctorDazza, tweets at @DoctorDazza, and posts photos of his travels on Instagram.

By: Daryl Harding

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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fallout-drabbles-n-stuff · 3 years

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What would Shaun (father)’s reaction be to his mother being pregnant (quintuplets) with one of her companions’ children? The partner and the Sole are thinking of getting married too.

(Assuming this is the male companions-)

Danse:

Father-

"You..you don't even understand how bad this is..do you? Not only does this..this thing think it's a part of our greatest threat, but it's a machine! Mother, have you no care? How..how did this even happen..I didn't even think these things could reproduce..*sigh*."

•He greatly disapproves. Danse, no matter what state he is in..even if he is magically reprogrammed- will never be considered "good enough" in Father's eyes. He is a synth. Property. It's a bad look as future director to have messed up and reproduced so abundantly with institute property.

Shaun-

"Mom..are you gonna be alright? Maybe me and Dad can find a way to make your power armour really big- wait, I didn't mean for that come off that way! It's just..five?! In there?! You need to be safe.."

•Danse will have to probably give Shaun a new project to tinker with alongside him just to get him not to blow a gasket.

Deacon:

Father-

"I suggest you cut all ties with him..immediately."

•Father is still pissed, but at least it isn't the product of a synth and you..

•With deacon being a part of the Railroad, there is too big of a risk of The Institue being compromised. He'll make you choose between the two..

Shaun-

"You aren't actually gonna let Da name my brothers..sisters..or both..all those dumb names he said, right?"

•Genuine concern. Deacon had (hopefully) playfully said he was going to name all the expected babies after Shaun..just with creative ways to spell it..that way they could be S6.

Gage:

Father-

"I suggest you remove yourself from that filth and raise the children safely here..there's no telling what that trash you consider to be a partner would do. He may just as well sell them for the right amount of caps.."

•He understandably has no love for Gage...

Shaun-

"I can't wait!"

Hancock:

Father-

"This is..this is not funny, mother. Who is the real father? Surely a beast such as your..companion..couldn't possibly reproduce with a human..right? Youre..Youre not kidding..I..I need to contact a couple advisors.."

•Suspect being the subject of many more experiments...oh well, the name of science means everything..

Shaun-

"No kidding? That's great news! No more adventuring though, hm? Oh well, I'm sure I can get kleo to get me some scrap!"

•still concerned..but trusts in Hancock to make sure Youre alright.

Macready:

Father-

"There isn't any better matches for you, mother? *sigh* Very well..I suppose your wastelander will have to do.."

•Disappointed yet still astonished at how many children you managed to conceive. Those of which who were exposed to high levels of radiation were hard pressed to even have one child of they were lucky..so how you and Macready managed to have so many..wow.

Shaun-

"No way! me and Duncan can be supreme leaders! With that many on the way..we can have our own platoon! This is awesome!"

•Watch them.

Maxson:

Father-

"I..I had such great hopes for you. You've betrayed us all the very second you laid with that monster..you are banished.."

•Father sees this as the ultimate betrayal in his eyes. Maxson was the figurehead of potentially the most dangerous force to unravel all the progress he devoted his life to making..and he isn't wrong.

•For you to not only be considering being married to him, but to also bear his children..you've destroyed everything. There is no place for you in The Institute. You may be his mother, but that never mattered much anyways..and he has people he must protect as well.

Shaun-

"Heh, think I can be Paladin one day and have all my brothers and sisters under my command? That would be so cool!!"

•Shaun seriously thinks such a thing is attainable.

Preston:

Father-

"I..I'm not sure how you wish for me to react. The wasteland is no place for you to be venturing in this state..is..is there anyway your fiancé would be inclined to be stationed here in the safety of our home? Know this isn't something I'd usually consider..but given the circumstances, I hope this 'Preston' will be open to considering.."

•Probably your best bet.

•Still very concerned as to how you ended up with so many children in one go. You'll be regularly visiting the doctors.

Shaun-

"Mama, does this mean that you and papa won't be out helping settlements for a while?"

•He of course, asks this just to joke around..but he can't help but show his excitement at the idea of his parents finally being home for a while.

X6-88:

Father-

"A courser? I..i need to talk to some of the people in robotics..they shouldn't be able to reproduce- much less at such with such high potency.."

•Doesn't even consider your desire to be wed to X6..

•Disapproves of this union greatly.

Shaun-

"You and X?? Ewwww."

#fallout 4 #fallout #paladin danse #fo4 companions #fallout companions #danse #fallout shitpost #elder maxson #deacon #father is an asshole

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merry-kuroo · 2 years

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Top 10 Anime (2021 Season)

This year has been amazing and beyond stressful. While making this list, I could pinpoint what shows I was watching while I was in graduate school in Wales, and what I was watching when I came back to the U.S. to work on my dissertation. Because of stress, I actually suffered from anime burn out and I dropped a lot of anime I started (If you’re curious about what animes I dropped from this season, send me a ask and I’ll let you know haha).

But despite how tumultuous this year has been, I was still able to watch some incredible shows. Not to be over dramatic, but some of these shows saved me while I was in lock down from January to April. It gave me something to look forward to each week, and I really needed that when everything was so uncertain and I was alone in my flat.

Alright, let’s get to it!!

1.) 86

86 blew me away. I was looking for an anime similar to Gundam: IBO and I found it. I loved everything about this show. 86 Part 2 was even better than the first part (imo). It’s a shame that we have to wait until March to get the final two episodes 🥲 But this was still a great show overall. I highly recommend if you love military/mecha anime ☺

2.) The Quintessential Quintuplets

This was the anime I was most excited for! 🥰 I love this anime so much. I loved the character arcs Nino, Ichika, and Miku went through this season. Yotsuba and Itsuki still did their best to support Futaro this season. It had some great moments between the girls and Futaro. The opening and ending songs for this season were beautiful as well.

Nino definitely stole the season for me, but I’m glad that Miku and Futaro got to have their moment towards the end of the season. I was disappointed in Ichika this season, especially since I rooted for her season 1. The scene where Futaro confronts her was one of my favorites.

All the drama this season was great.

I wish we were getting a third season instead of a movie...but the movie will be two hours long so that should hopefully be enough to cover the rest of the manga.

3.) Jobless Reincarnation

I was honestly not expecting to enjoy this anime because I had heard negative things about it.

I’m so glad I didn’t let those deter me from watching it. I absolutely loved the world building, the animation, music, and the story. Even Rudeus had his moments as he started to change and take more action in his life and help people instead of being afraid and staying inside. Season Two’s ending really resonated with me because Rudy finally did something he couldn’t do in his past life...make himself move forward. He now has a new purpose.

I was hoping Rudy, Eris, and Ruijerd could travel for a bit longer...and I want to learn more about Orsted! I hope a new season is announced soon because I want to see how Rudy rescues his Mom and continues to grow (as a person and as a Mage). But considering how invested I am in this series now, I may just pick up the light novels instead.

BTW, it’s pretty cool that they made a new studio just to adapt this show!

4.) World Trigger Season 2 & 3

World Trigger is so underrated...😔 it’s definitely one of the best animes I’ve watched this year. I just find the concept of it really unique and all of the characters (main and side) all have their moment in the spotlight.

Toei Animation really brought their A-game for Season 2 and 3! The changes they implemented were really good, and it made me enjoy the show even more.

I highly recommend watching this show! It’s really cool!!

5.) Demon Slayer: Mugen Train

A week after I came back from Wales I decided to see Mugen Train before it left theaters for good. The last movie I’d seen in theaters was Weathering With You in January 2020, so I really wanted to see this one and feel a sense of normalcy just for a couple of hours.

It was an amazing experience seeing it in theaters, and I was tempted to go see it again. Tanjiro’s speech to Akaza at the end of the movie and Lisa’s song Homura gave me chills.

I don’t know how the TV version of Mugen Train compared to the movie, but it was still enough for me :)

6.) Komi Can't Communicate

I honestly wasn’t too interested in watching this, but after seeing a few clips on YouTube I decided to give this show a chance. It was better than what I thought it’d be.

Komi Can’t Communicate is silly and over the top at times, and that’s how some anime should be xD

7.) The Case Study of Vanitas

I watched Pandora Hearts back in 2009 and immediately fell in love with the story and characters 🥰 (My goal is to read the manga in 2022 so I can finally find out what happens next!). I had no idea Jun Mochizuki made another series, so I was super excited to check it out.

Of course, I fell in love with the story and characters here too. The opening and ending songs are amazing, and I found myself completely invested in Vanitas and Noe. There’s so much I still want to know!! I’m very excited for season 2 in January!

8.) To Your Eternity

Now why the hell did I think this was going to be a cute adventure anime???? 😭😭

I don’t really have anything else to say except that if you love amazing characters that are put through the worse situations imaginable that leave you feeling sad after watching...then go right ahead and watch this. Haha, in all seriousness, it does provide some good messages about life and seeing the Orb slowly become human was really cool too.

I actually haven’t finished this anime yet. . It was really hitting me in the feels and I just knew I needed a break lmaooo 🥲

9.) Tokyo Revengers

*sigh* I love and hate this anime 😂😂 Takemichi annoyed me, Kisaki is a fucking demon...but the time traveling aspect of Tokyo Revengers was cool and I loved the new mysteries that were set up for each arc.

I just feel like Takemichi should’ve just stayed in the past to make sure nothing else bad happens. Because every time he came back to the future, something went wrong!!!!

Despite my beef with this show, I still enjoyed watching this and it definitely helped me get through my final weeks of graduate school and writing my dissertation. I’m looking forward to season 2 ^_^

10.) Attack on Titan Season 4 Part 1

My favorite anime came back! This season was good, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as Seasons 1-3. The story has gone in a new direction, and the stakes are even higher now. I will admit that I wished WIT Studio could’ve stayed on. It took me a while to get used to how different the anime looked...and I complained about the CGI a bit too xD

The new opening was really cool and I didn’t skip it once lol.

But despite all of that, AOT offered me a nice reprieve on Sunday nights from homework and it helped me get through those first weeks of being in lockdown again.

I cannot wait for Part 2!

Thanks for reading!! I can't wait to see what new anime 2022 has in store for us!! I hope I don't have burn out again 😫

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greatbigbellies · 3 years

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Another continuation of THESE TWO stories. In part three, Leo finds himself even MORE pregnant than last time. Will he still fit in his living room? Find out! Contains allusions to sex, (basically) rapid preg, hyperpregnancy, weight gain, and belly worship. Enjoy!

Leo looked himself over in his full length mirror, in awe at just how much his body had changed over the last two and a half years. It had been about six months since he had successfully delivered he and Marko’s 50 beautiful kids, and as much as his body had recovered, it had also changed as well. His chest was noticeably larger, but even more so was his hips, widened by his extraordinary pregnancy. Some of the pregnancy weight had stuck too, giving him much thicker thighs and a squishier booty. Overall, he was significantly more pear shaped than when he’d started, and overall, he was okay with that. Marko certainly didn’t mind…

Leo smirked. “I can feel you staring,” he said, able to sense when Marko was ogling him. Marko stepped through te door with a playful sigh, “I still don’t know how you do that. I didn’t make a sound!” he said, stepping up next to Leo, pulling him in by his waist. Marko kissed the top of Leo’s head, causing Leo to smooch him on the cheek, in turn. “What’s going through your mind hon? You’ve been checking yourself out in the mirror for almost ten minutes now,” asked Marko. Leo sighed, “I dunno babe… I’m just… is it weird that I really, REALLY miss being pregnant?” he asked.

Marko shook his head, placing a hand on Leo’s flat, empty tummy. “You carried those little guys for two years, you kinda got used to it…” he smiled, “Besides, we both really enjoyed ourselves with it...” Their gazes met in a loving, slightly charged eye contact, and Leo began picking up on the signals Marko was sending. “Would you… be up for doing it again?” Marko finally asked. Leo’s mouth curled into a mischievous grin, “Only if we can go bigger this time?” he asked. Now it was Marko’s turn to smile, “Like… time and a half?” he asked. Leo shook his head, “Bigger,” “...double?” “A LOT bigger,” Markos eyes went wide.

“Babe you were full of 50 last time, how much bigger do you want to go!?” asked Marko incredulously. “Why don’t we set ourselves up with fertility treatments, and see where life takes us? Numbers and quotas aren’t sexy, chance is sexy,” Marko’s breath grew a little shaky, “Are you sure you can handle going bigger this time?” Leo smiled, “I’m excited to push my boundaries!” he replied.

Marko pulled him in for a deep kiss, “Your ambition is also sexy,” he whispered. Leo stood on his tiptoes and whispered back into Marko’s ear, “Then what say you we get to work tonight?” he offered. Marko scooped him up in his strong arms, carrying him bride style and turning toward their bed, “I thought you’d never ask!”

And get to work they did. Frequent trips to the local fertility clinic and regular “sessions” in bed quickly showed that Leo’s ability to conceive mid-pregnancy had not waned, but actually increased, much to the surprise of medical experts everywhere. As the two experimented, hey found that Leo was growing SO pregnant that one could actually see him slowly grow larger by the second after the couple had fooled around, a fact Leo would take some time to adjust to…

2 months later

“Are you sure you don’t want to just… email the guy?” asked Marko, a little worriedly, in the drivers seat of the couple’s van. “I want to at least attend ONE class in person, even if I’m too big for the desks!” replied Leo from the passengers seat, squeezed between the back of the chair and the glove compartment. His belly, while still in the first trimester, had ballooned to look quintuplet heavy, and that was a conservative estimate. In order to maintain some modesty at his size, he wore a sleek, black, belly support belt, which covered his underbelly. Over that were dress slacks, which paired well with his maternity button-up dress shirt. The shirt only BARELY reached to the hem of the support belt, but overall, he looked sharp, and it was clear an attempt was made.

“I know you want to take some classes and eventually earn a degree, but… aren’t you making it a little hard for yourself like this?” asked Marko. Leo shook his head, “Naw hon, it’s all part of my master plan. See, I waddle in like THIS,” he gave his belly a hearty pat, “and gain instant sympathy, then I tell the instructor I’m growing too large to get around, and he’ll switch me to his online course, AND grade everything I do with a curve! Because clearly the tired, hugely pregnant guy is doing his best!” Leo grinned a troublesome grin, “meanwhile I’m stuffing my face, getting foot rubs, and half-assing all of my assignments for easy college credits!” Marko shook his head, a little exasperated. “You’re such a little slytherin,” he said, getting out of the car.

He circled around and opened the door for Leo, helping him get to his feet. He gave him a little smooch on the head for luck, “You don’t think our little escapade before you got dressed for this is going to be a problem, do you?” he asked. Leo shrugged, “more belly, more sympathy,” he replied with a little smirk, before turning to waddle away. Marko turned on his heel, and shifted back into the divers seat. He wondered if Leo could make it through the whole class. “He’s grown to love the attention though,” he said to himself, “So maybe he’ll be okay…”

Leo DID love the attention. Compared to his outing at the mall so very long ago, the pregnant man had come to revel in the stares he received. Sure, some were stares of confusion, but more so there were stares of admiration, and curiosity. In some rarer cases, he even noticed a couple stares of jealousy, and a little lust. Leo knew full well that Marko wasn’t the only person into sizable midriffs, he just wasn’t expecting to see so many others. And he could certainly tell who was who in this case. The stolen glances and subdued blushes were all the proof he needed.

When he reached the classroom and stepped through the door, his sizable belly entered before the rest of him, and immediately he was the center of attention. The space was set up like a theatre, with rows of seats lined up, bolted to the floor, with little folding desks built into the arm rests. Cautiously, Leo made his way down the shallow steps toward a middle row, his tummy blocking his view of his feet, making each step a little more treacherous than he liked. He squeezed into a spot toward the right side of the room, close to the door so he could leave easily.

Leo’s wide hips and ass meant he filled the WHOLE seat, with a little overflow, and the front of his tummy brushed against the back of the seat in front of him. He was really starting to feel his size. The other students were clearly trying to be polite, but it wasn’t a secret they were all eyeing him, all secretly wondering if he’d go into labor right then and there. If only they knew… thought Leo with a smirk.

He tried unfolding the desk to write on, but… his oversized belly just got in the way. He tried everything short of brute force to try to get it to unfold for use, but alas, he took up too much space. He shrugged, and grabbed his notebook from his bag, resigned to use his belly shelf as a table. That was when he felt something shift deep within his body. “Oh no,” he whispered.

He’d started growing again. Marko had been right.

Leo realized that maybe sex right before class wasn’t such a great idea, but it was too late now. Leo felt his button up shirt grow increasingly tight, and the stitches on his slacks and belly belt strain as his body stretched for new occupants. He fought against the friction of is own thighs against the arm rests as he tried to get up, the slowly increasing weight of his belly not doing him any favors. He felt something rip, and jerked up rapidly in response, which just caused a button on his shirt to pop off. PING! It bounced off of the whiteboard, and Leo felt a blush of embarrassment roll across his face.

Everyone was actively staring now, and Leo needed to vacate, quickly. Turning with a wide breadth, he started waddling back up the steps. PING! Another button popped off as his belly belt rode down, exposing more of his bare, pale tummy. He threw his notebook back in his bag and dug for his phone, needing to get ahold of Marko. He could feel his pregnant belly slowly stretch itself bigger, and for the first time, Leo wondered if they overdid it on the fertility drugs.

He burst through the door with surprising speed for a man in his condition, and finally found his cell. Speed dialing Marko, he heard his belly belt pop a little with each step, the elastic failing as he continued to grow. “C’mon, c’mon, pick up!” he pleaded. Leo felt his belly start to widen out, and realized that his belly belt was just growing too tight to be safe. Taking a deep breath, he yanked the belt down, causing his huge and heavy tummy to flop downward form the lack of support.

“Hello? Is everything okay?” Marko finally picked up. “No! This was a mistake! I started growing in class and I’m too big for everything now! Come pick me up!” Leo hissed into the receiver, trying not to make any more of a scene. “Alright, just, go to where I dropped you off, I’ll be right there!” Leo hung up and began waddling toward the exit, his tummy swaying a little more with each heavy step. He could feel his weight increasing as he moved, and swore his midriff wasn’t the only thing swelling up.

He left the college building just in time to watch Marko pull up, getting out to open the car door for his poor husband. Marko’s eyes grew wide when he saw how much Leo had grown in such a short span of time. He ran to meet him halfway and help Leo back to the van. Right as Leo sat down fully, he felt his slacks split open at the seams on the side, letting out a resounding RRRRRIIIP! As his thighs became exposed. Marko quickly shut the door to preserve any privacy Leo still had, and scurried back to the drivers side, hopping in and driving away.

Leo’s hands covered his face as his cheeks burned with a vibrant blush. He couldn’t believe he’d let that happen. “Are… you okay hon?” asked Marko. Leo nodded, his hands not leaving his face. “Yeah… I’m just going to switch to online classes and never show my face there again. It’s fine,” he whimpered. Marko felt bad for him, that had to be embarrassing. “Would… some ice cream make you feel better?” he offered. Leo slid his hands down, giving Marko the cutest look. “A gallon of sherbet would be nice…” he replied. Marko smirked, “...and some tummy rubs while you eat it?” he sweetened the deal.

“Mhmmm…” “...and… maybe a little more than just a tummy rub?” Marko offered. Leo smiled for the first time since he got in the car. “You know that’s what got us into this mess,” said Leo. “I know… but we’re out of this mess, and you said it yourself, you’re going to switch to online right away. What’s the harm?” Leo, without breaking eye contact, firmly gripped the sides of his shirt, and pulled them apart, popping the rest of the buttons. “You just wanna get your hands on this tummy, don’t’cha?” he teased. Marko turned bright red, and sped up the car. He had ice cream to get.

5 months later

“You think it was a bit much to rent out an entire theatre for just us?” asked Leo, his massive, gravid form slowly squeezing through the double doors. “Not at all, we’re sneaking in 95 extra people, I’d say we’re getting our money’s worth!” joked Marko, helping Leo navigate the tight confines of the wide movie theatre halls. Leo’s belly, now the size of a small car, was supported by a makeshift frame with rotatable wheels, with a soft pillowy top to make it more comfortable. It creaked under the massive weight of Leo’s pregnant belly, which audibly sloshed with amniotic fluid. Thankfully, the ramp down to the center seats was wide, though Leo could still feel the walls brush against the sides of his tummy.

“Alright, gonna turn you left now,” warned Marko as he walked to the side of Leo’s belly, squeezing between it and the wall. With more grunting than he was proud of, he turned Leo 90 degrees to the side, meaning he could now move forward down to their spot, smack in the center of the empty theatre, the perfect view. “I’m not TOO pregnant, am I?” asked Leo, seeing how out of breath Marko was after the effort. “Nonsense -HUFF- honey, in fact, I intend to make you -HUFF- even more so tonight!” he teased in response.

Leo’s footfalls were slow, but heavy, as his gravid body had swelled pretty much everywhere but his face. His ass and hips were wide enough for two seats, and his breasts had expanded considerably in order to ramp up milk production for later. Really, even with his mammoth midriff, he was still a sight to behold. After what felt like ages, they had finally reached the center-most seats. Leo noticed an extra wide one had been installed at a 90 degree angle, allowing him to sit comfortably and watch the film without being blocked by his belly.

“How did you pull this off?” Asked Leo. Marko winked. “I have my ways,” he answered. Leo slowly lowered himself into the seat, the soft cushions feeling good on his aching, pregnant body. He sighed in relief, happy to get off of his feet, and just reveled in being pampered by his husband to the point of theatre remodeling. He felt special. “This whole experience would really go well with some carmel corn… OH or some red vines!” Leo began feeling the pangs of pregnancy cravings.

Marko’s proud smile grew into a smug grin as he slid past Leo’s gargantuan belly, shuffling around in some bags. “What’s you doing hon?” asked Leo. Marko quickly made his way back to a place Leo could reach, before handing him a bag of caramel corn, and a drum of red vines. “I had a feeling you would want these,” Leo took the candy and gestured for Marko to lean forward, which he did, before placing a playful little peck of a kiss on his nose. “You’re adorable. Now sit down, the lights are dimming!

Marko took his seat next to his massive husband, a hand idly resting on the pregnant belly as the lights went out and the film began, kicking off a lovely evening.

8 months later

Leo was glad they had such an open floor plan in their house. Not only did it add a lot of brightness to the space, but it gave him a place within the house where he could FIT. Now carrying somewhere in the neighborhood of 270 to 300 babies, the doctors aren’t sure on specifics, his astoundingly large belly had the volume of a city bus, though retained a vaguely orbular shape. He’d been immobile for a while now, though aside from some cabin fever, Marko was able to provide everything he needed to be happy. Marko was now a stellar cook, and was great at getting what Leo wanted before the man even had to ask for it.

Right now though, Marko was relaxing, playing on his switch and lounging, where else, but atop Leo’s gigantic belly. At this point the widened apex of tummy skin was less of a shelf and more of a mattress, and the large curve of skin was so warm and inviting to Marko. He’d seen every inch of this belly countless times, but he as still amazed at it. Marko’s nightly cocoa butter rubs had been doing their job, as Leo didn’t have a single stretchmark on his person, even when carrying around 300 babies.

“How’s you town coming?” asked Leo, resting on the couch. His butt took up two cushions, and was now wide enough that it would impede passage through doorways if his tummy didn’t do that already. “Really good! I just got Audie to move in! And my garden looks so cute!” Leo pursed his lips in thought, “Which one is Audie? Is she the fox one?” he asked. “I mean… she’s ‘supposed’ to be a wolf but she looks like a fox…” replied Marko. He gently sat up, scooting to the left broadside of Leo’s tummy, and sliding down, nintendo switch in hand. He landed with a solid THUNK and walked over to Leo’s side. “You know that’s got to be hell on your knees,” advised Leo. Marko shrugged, “You’re not wrong, but like… it’s so fun to do that,”

Leo jokingly rolled his eyes and looked at the handheld screen, taking in Marko’s painstakingly curated garden. “Are those… trans pride colors?” asked Leo, pointing to a strip of blue, pink, and white along the right side of the flower beds. Marko grinned. “Yeah, that section is for you! And if you count, I have 52 total flowers in place, two for us, and 50 for the kids!” The pair smiled warmly. “You’re going to need a MUCH bigger garden here in about a week…” said Leo, his hands resting on his massive boobs, pushed to the sides by his even more massive tummy.

“Oh don’t worry, I’ve already started stockpiling more...” Marko trailed off. “Something on your mind, honey?” asked Leo. Marko shook his head slowly, before changing his tune. “I’m just… really, REALLY, going to miss this tummy of yours. And I’m trying to think of how to make the most of these last few days without seeming too needy, y’know?” he explained. Leo sighed and smiled. “Honey you’re NOT needy for wanting some extra tummy time before I pop. If anything I’M the needy one in this relationship. You do all the work! I just sit here and gestate!” Marko blushed. “I mean yeah but being pregnant is work in and of itself, especially THIS pregnant! Like I don’t want to do anything you aren’t comfortable with,” Leo placed a hand on Marko’s shoulder. He would have used both hands, but he couldn’t reach past his own chest.

“Marko. My love. You have my full, complete, and enthusiastic permission do to whatever you would like to with my belly, for the next seven days. Whether is be painting again, massaging, dressing up, touching, lotioning… whatever. Go absolutely nuts babe. Consider it a gift for taking such good care of me!” said Leo. Marko’s eyes glittered and cheeks flushed bright red at the possibilities. He giddily bounced in place, “Are you sure?! You can rescind that offer at any point, it’s okay!” Marko said in a fast, excited tempo. Leo nodded. “I know, but I don’t plan to. This is your week babe, starting right now!”

The first thing Marko did was plant a firm, deep kiss onto Leo’s lips, which Leo leaned into passionately in turn. “You’re the best babe!” Marko said, bolting around to the front of Leo’s gargantuan belly. “What are you doing?” laughed Leo, having to shout so his voice would carry to the far end of his tum. “This!” Marko pressed his whole body into Leo’s belly, his hand working its way to his popped navel. He began rubbing tiny circles around it, occasionally stopping to poke it. Leo was sensitive there, and Marko knew it.

At the same time, he began planting kisses of increasing duration over Leo’s taught skin, which riled up some movement from inside. “Oohhh, they seem to like that…” said Leo. “do you?” asked Marko. Leo paused, “...Yeah,” Marko began alternating between kissing and licking Leo’s distended, hyperpregnant midriff, eliciting groans and coos of pleasure from Leo. Marko then did something he never had before, and left a delightful little hickey on the aft of Leo’s tummy. He stopped, waiting for a response. A few long seconds passed before Leo asked “did you just… give me a hickey?” Marko blushed so hard you could hear it in his voice. “Maybe… I won’t do it again if you don’t want me to. I know you pride yourself on your blemishless tumm-” “Do it again,”

Now Marko paused. “You sure? Cause I’m gonna get really into it…” “That felt like nothing I’ve ever had before. Please do it again,” Leo responded. Marko didn’t hesitate to fulfill his request, and left three more in semi-rapid succession, before retuning to kissing and affectionately worshipping the belly. It was going to be a good week for Marko.

#commissions #writing #not bellies #anonymous

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ohmykhr · 3 years

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Oh okay where do I start? I was thinking something like Xanxus and his very pretty s/o getting pregnant and varia + ninths reaction to that and when the s/o goes with lussuria to check the gender of the baby they find a surprise. They go home and the varia are home and xanxus goes “so was I right (about it being a boy)” and s/o laughs nervously and goes “ you might be a bit too right” and everyone just standing there not understand until she goes, well it’s boy alright FIVE of them. I would love to see varia’s reaction especially xanxus. I would love it if you could squeeze the ninth in there too 😂

Before i forgot to include this part but I love how you still interact with ppl asking asks and such, most blogs just answer what the requests say. Soo yeah I love that about this blog and hope it stays like this. Sorry this is soo long tho hehe 😅

Thank you so much for your nice words, I really appreciate them! And thanks for supporting this blog and requesting :) Since this is a s/o request, I’m going to do this as headcanons, sorry if they are a bit all over the place, lol.

Having a child would already be a great deal for Xanxus since he had a complicated relationship with his biological mother and Ninth. He would wonder whether or not he is fit to be a parent or if the whole domestic life is his thing. This doesn’t mean he doesn’t want the child, it’s simply a lot for him to process but as he talks about it with his s/o who would be encouraging about it, he would feel more excited for their future with an addition to their family.

Now, when he hears they are having five babies instead of one, Xanxus would (rightfully) panic a bit. He doesn’t show it, though. He would seem as cool as ever, expression barely changing, but inside he would be doubtful whether they are ready for such a big responsibility and how they will get through not one but five babies. Xanxus would also be concerned about his s/o’s health as it’s no easy task to give birth to so many babies at once - it’s not only dangerous to them but to the babies as well. He would insist on visiting the doctors regularly so they can keep a close eye on the babies’ health.

After the initial shock, Xanxus would do his best to get them prepared for the quintuplets - they have to have so many things ready before the babies come. Surprisingly enough, Xanxus would make sure his s/o doesn’t have to do a lot of things on their own, especially towards the end of their pregnancy.

The Varia would find the situation pretty hilarious at first, actually. These people thrive from chaos and laugh at each other’s misery but in a found family love way. Levi would probably shed a tear just thinking about FIVE tiny Xanxus babies and is weirdly enthusiastic about the whole ordeal. Squalo would slap Xanxus on the back and wish him good luck with the biggest shit-eating grin on his face - the Varia boss has put him through so much shit in the years they have worked together so this is a happy moment for him. Lussuria would make sure the couple is well prepared for the babies and would become their personal stylist, filling the closets with matching baby outfits. Bel would think it’s absolutely hilarious and Fran would wonder if they have a fake doctor since they didn’t say anything about five heartbeats during the first ultrasound. He would also add fuel to the fire by coming up with horror scenarios about giving birth and having a child, much to Xanxus’ dismay. Mammon would be the only sensible enough to be concerned about their boss since he isn’t exactly known for his nurturing nature or patience. (Plus, taking care of five babies is going to be really expensive.)

Ninth would probably be the last one to know and even then he doesn’t hear about it from Xanxus but through rumors. He would try to contact Xanxus, maybe try to mend their relationship but Xanxus most likely would ignore the attempts.

#khr #varia #headcanons #s/o request #Anonymous

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sytycdinternational · 3 years

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Eurovision 2021 Semi-final #1 Review

Strongest Semi-Final ever since I started watching this show. I’m fully prepared to lose faves.

1. The Roop - Discoteque - Lithuania 🇱🇹: Singing “There’ noone here, I feel safe to dance alone” in front of millions of viewers perfectly illustrates our current state of mass surveillance, change my mind. There were no major changes to their performance at the national final (why would there be when the underlying concept got them a record win at Pabandom iš naujo!), but the bigger stage definitely added another (violet/pinkish) dimension to it. I wouldn’t mind at all if the checkered flag background image forshadowed their win this year.

2. Ana Soklič - Amen - Slovenia 🇸🇮: Ana’s performance sucked me in like the black hole on the background screen at the start. Great gestures to enhance a rather static show and the staging, just wow. One half of planet earth on screen reflected on the floor, the big bang bursting beneath her feet at the climax, it was simply a presentation of galactic dimensions. I do wish her pronounciation was clearer, since every time I was tempted to sing along her words seemed to devolve into gibberish in my ears.

3. Manizha - Russian Woman - Russia 🇷🇺: DON’T BE AFRAID, DON’T BE AFRAID, DON’T BE AFRAID! OF MANIZHA TAKING THE WIN!!! Cause that’s where she’s headed for! That. Was. So. MINDBLOWING. It truly exceeded all my expectations. The charisma, the drive, the vocals, holy shit. I was close to bursting out in tears during the folklorish chanting segment. Like, there was just something swelling up in me that’s hard to describe. All while I’m head-banging like crazy. Perfect execution starting with the patchwork fabrics and clay art in the postcard melting my heart. Ana really had bad luck being stuck between two crazy (good) entries lol.

4. Tusse - Voices - Sweden 🇸🇪: It seemed like Tusse was caught in a permanent state of crouching. Tbh I was warming up to the song, but then the key change happened and I just went nope. I think the song would have benefitted from incorporating the harmonica element at the start more.

5. Montaigne - Technicolour - Australia 🇦🇺: The dancing condoms from Lena’s 2011 entry for Germany made an unexpected comeback. I feel so bad for Montaigne, especially now that it’s become apparent what a drawback not being able to perform on the real stage really is. Also, that “technicolor” effect every few moments did nothing but harm the entry.

6. Vasil - Here I Stand - North Macedonia 🇲🇰: Vasil seems to like rock-climbing, that interesting to know. It could not, however, prepare me for the disarmingly sincere performance that Vasil gave us. Nothing he’s singing is ground-breaking at all, but it’s the sum of its parts that makes it so special for me. How could I not fall for someone who’s dedicating a song to his lover in front of all of Europe.

OMG I first thought Nikkie told Montaigne to stay away, instead of awake lmao.

7. Lesley Roy - Maps - Ireland 🇮🇪: I thought Jendrik’s entry was the most kindergarten-y entry this year, but clearly I was wrong. I think Lesley bit off more than she could chew. Poor thing was so visibly nervous I was almost having a nervous breakdown from all the anxious energy she was giving off. Also, was she crying at the end??

8. Elena Tsagrinou - El Diablo - Cyprus 🇨🇾: Tomboy Elena is not what I expected from the postcard. Hmm, some of the more questionable lyrics (taco, tamale...) suddenly became a lot more difficult to ignore. Still, surprisingly strong vocals for how much Elena is moving around, so major props for that6. Elena Tsagrinou - El Diablo - Cyprus 🇨🇾: Tomboy Elena is not what I expected from the postcard. Hmm, some of the more questionable lyrics (taco, tamale...) suddenly became a lot more difficult to ignore. Still, surprisingly strong vocals for how much Elena is moving around, so major props for that.

9. TIX - Fallen Angel - Norway 🇳🇴: The song gains another dimension when taking Efentix into account, doesn’t it... For some reason I don’t think this song got elevated by the new stage at all.

10. Albina - Tick-Tock - Croatia 🇭🇷: I feel like accidently stumbled into a showing of the Starlight Express musical. I think I know what they were going for with the outfits but they made me go more aww than oof. Still fierce. In an endearing way. Which works btw. Also, some nice ideas like turning Albina into a quintuplet and her dancers raising her up above their heads. Damn, her being all excited to be on stage at the end was super cute.

11. Hooverphonic - The Wrong Place - Belgium 🇧🇪: I think I’d have preferred an even darker song if that’s the attire they wanted to go for. In the end I really think they were in the wrong place.

12. Eden Alene - Set Me Free - Israel 🇮🇱: I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an unnecessary outfit change. I really like how Eden went for a warmer tone for the beginning before turning up the sass. I love what she did with her hair. Queen vibes. Also, my favorite dance choreography so far, the guys can get it.

13. ROXEN - Amnesia - Romania 🇷🇴: It really feels like she’s lost herself, including her voice. Okay, that was mean. Dancing while executing such an intricate stage choreography can’t be easy. Still, I think Finland got upstaged when it comes to edge factor. I was not sure, but then the font on screen last-minute basically confirmed it.

14. Efendi - Mata Hari - Azerbaijan 🇦🇿: It’s official, the true successor of “Fuego” has emerged. Elena who? Albina who? Efendi slays them all. All hail the snake goddess from the orient who ensnared millions of men in her pit this very night. Whoever came up with the ring-around-the-rosy circle dance is a god damn genius. So many circle elemnts too like the revolving flower pattern on the floor, the golden pear and the revolving fireball of doom turning into an all-seeing eye at the end. I’m positively hypnotized.

15. Go_A - SHUM - Ukraine 🇺🇦: Kateryna’s piercing eyes stare right into my soul. Not sure if I’m in the mood for some winter vibes but interesting cyber-druid look. Is that what people mean by technopagans?

16. Destiny - Je Me Casse - Malta 🇲🇹: I’ll definitely add this catchphrase to my dictionary.

Ranking: Obsessing over #1-2, adore #3-6, really like #6-10

Manizha - Russian Woman - Russia 🇷🇺

Efendi - Mata Hari - Azerbaijan 🇦🇿

The Roop - Discoteque - Lithuania 🇱🇹

Go_A - SHUM - Ukraine 🇺🇦

Vasil - Here I Stand - North Macedonia 🇲🇰

Albina - Tick-Tock - Croatia 🇭🇷

Eden Alene - Set Me Free - Israel 🇮🇱

Destiny - Je Me Casse - Malta 🇲🇹

Elena Tsagrinou - El Diablo - Cyprus 🇨🇾

Ana Soklič - Amen - Slovenia 🇸🇮

Montaigne - Technicolour - Australia 🇦🇺:

Tusse - Voices - Sweden 🇸🇪

ROXEN - Amnesia - Romania 🇷🇴:

Hooverphonic - The Wrong Place - Belgium 🇧🇪:

TIX - Fallen Angel - Norway 🇳🇴

Lesley Roy - Maps - Ireland 🇮🇪

Prediction of who’s not going to the finale:

Australia

Belgium

North Macedonia

Romania

Ireland

Slovenia

Nikkie dragging past Eurovision entires lmaoooo. The audacity. And of course they had to put Duncan’s ass shot into the promotion video I’m diiiieing. I don’t know what a double platinum disc is but I didn’t think someone would get it randomly handed to without pre-announcement.

Aaaand I was right except for Croatia instead of Belgium. Damn, that kinda hurts. But in terms of staging it had the least effective staging among the many bops in this semi-final so it makes sense in retrospect.

#Eurovision #ESC2021 #Eurovision 2021 #Efendi #Manizha #The Roop #Go_A #Vasil #rankings #text

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thisizaraisu · 3 years

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Winter 2021 Superlatives

I know Horimiya isn’t done yet but I’m still gonna do this while I have some time.

Before I start, the shows I actually watched this season: -Horimiya -Jaku Chara Tomozaki-kun -Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 -Promised Neverland Season 2 -Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2 -Redo of Healer -Tatoeba Last Dungeon -Tenkuu Shinpan -Urasekai Picnic -Wonder Egg Priority -Yuru Camp Season 2

And now on to the awards!

Best OP: Seize the Day (Yuru Camp Season 2)

Many of the anime from this season had some great OPs. Most people point to Vivid Vice as being the best but one thing that really holds it back for me is the final shot of Itadori using the Black Flash looks like it came from fucking Ex-Arm. Urasekai Picnic, Horimiya, and hell even TENKUU SHINPAN had great openings. But Seize the Day is the one in the entire set that had me grinning ear to ear every time it played. It’s jazzy, comfy, and fun, and just like every other piece of music in the entirety of Yuru Camp it is a vibe and a half. I saw a list on YouTube ranking every OP from this season and it had Seize The Day at #30... I promptly disliked that video.

Best ED: You & Me (Urasekai Picnic)

Unlike Best OP, this one wasn’t even CLOSE. You & Me is just a beautiful song and a perfect vibe that I’ve listened to time and time again. After Jujutsu Kaisen completely shit the bed, changing the perfection of Lost in Paradise to something much more generic, there was really no competition.

Best Boy: Gojo Satoru (Jujutsu Kaisen)

How Gojo didn’t win this award at the actual Crunchyroll Awards is beyond me. Anyone who’s seen Jujutsu Kaisen knows why Gojo deserves this award, no contest.

Worst Boy: Bullet (Redo of Healer)

Need I say anything? I would not wanna be alone in a room with this man.

Best Girl: Fuuka Kikuchi (Jaku Chara Tomozaki-kun)

There were plenty of good choices here. Every girl in Horimiya not named Yoshikawa was a contender, Yuru Camp is full of great girls, Mayuko was my favorite part of Tenkuu Shinpan, Nino actually got some character to her this season and Yotsuba is Yotsuba. That being said, the definitive Best Girl in my opinion is Kikuchi. Every interaction Tomozaki has with her just gave me pure joy. Timid characters don’t always do it for me but her underlying passions for reading, writing and Tomozaki shine through immediately, and she’s just so goddamn cute man. I’m really glad Tomozaki-kun wasn’t a harem because it’s obvious from the get-go who his best choice is.

Worst Girl: Yuki Yoshikawa (Horimiya)

Welcome to Emotional Manipulators ‘R Us, today we have a 2-for-1 special as Yoshikawa destroys the potential love life of TWO of her classmates with her little pretend-boyfriend game she plays with Ishikawa, breaking Sakura’s heart in the process. Good god what a little bitch. My only solace from this character is that she has yet to get what she actually wants and my god I hope it stays that way.

Best Episode: TIE: Nonstandard (Jujutsu Kaisen) and Accomplices (ALSO Jujutsu Kaisen)

HOLY SHIT. That’s ONE way to get me into shonen anime, I guess. Jujutsu Kaisen is just incredible. At the beginning I really wasn’t sure how I would end up feeling about it but now that it’s set everything up and shown just how incredible its animation can be, I’ve become completely sold on it, and this was in large part because of both of these episodes. Itadori & Toudou vs Hanami and Itadori & Nobura vs Eso & Kechizu are just two incredible fight scenes, to the point where I genuinely don’t know how to pick a favorite here. So for what I think is the first time ever, we have a TIE on our hands.

Worst Episode: Until the Snow Falls (Horimiya)

Don’t get me wrong, I like Horimiya a lot, but everything I just said about Yoshikawa applies here. Her actions are genuinely appalling and the only consequences she suffers are that the status quo is maintained. There was nothing about this episode I liked in spite of the rest of the series honestly being incredible.

Best Scene: Keyarga Breaks Flare’s Fingers (Redo of Healer)

No this is not an April Fool’s Day joke. This scene still shakes me no matter how many times I watch it. The grotesque visuals, the malicious pleasure spread across Keyarga’s face, and Flare’s voice acting perfectly framing the horror of her current situation, and it’s all capped off with Keyarga healing her hands only to start from the beginning again. This scene is what got me to watch through the entirety of Redo of Healer after going back and forth on the idea, and NO THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE WHAT IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWS.

Biggest Surprise: Tatoeba Last Dungeon

THIS IS WHAT KUMA KUMA KUMA BEAR SHOULD HAVE BEEN. I love how Last Dungeon refuses to take itself seriously without being annoying. Lloyd honestly has legitimate reason to believe he’s not strong enough (for crying out loud, the kid grew up in a village full of people similar to him and the kingdom didn’t let him pass the military exam). I was afraid the show would be carried by Marie at first but god damn EVERYONE is hilarious. It’s not QUITE on the level of Bofuri but it’s just a couple steps below, and it was still a show I was excited to watch every Monday.

Biggest Disappointment: Promised Neverland Season 2

I haven’t even read the Promised Neverland manga and I could STILL feel nothing but disappointment after the show’s conclusion. I don’t know what was anime-original and what came from the manga, but absolutely everything felt rushed past the first episode. The first season is still easily one of the best anime I’ve ever watched and I was SO excited for the follow-up, only for it to have NONE of the quality of the first season.

Anime of the Season: Wonder Egg Priority

Wonder Egg Priority is probably the best anime-original I’ve ever seen... it’s not my favorite, Anohana still holds that distinction, but there is one thing WEP has over its competition: I’ve never watched an anime original and thought “We might have a full-on franchise on our hands.” The show seems like it’s reaching the end but I think I had that thought around episode 7. Every character is fully fleshed-out with with distinct personalities that occasionally clash as they aim for their common goal. It’s a depressing, surreal show but in a strange sort of way it’s just beautiful, like Ai’s heterochromia. I’m still sort of hoping this does find a way to become a full franchise because I’d love more of these characters in my life.

#anime #anime review #winter 2021

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thecostumeplot · 3 years

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Episode 15: What Happened to Monday & Tron: Legacy

Please consult these Instagram slideshows for accompanying images: What Happened to Monday Tron: Legacy

Sarah and Jojo: Welcome to the costume plot. Jojo Siu I'm Jojo Siu Sarah Timm 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 Siu 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 Siu Hello, and welcome back. Sarah Timm Welcome back to the costume plot. Jojo Siu Second episode of the day. Sarah Timm We record these back to back so it's been two weeks for you guys, but it's been about five minutes for us Jojo Siu It's weird to think about that. Sarah Timm A little bit, huh? How's the future? Is it fun? Jojo Siu I know. Tell us. Tell us all about it. Sarah Timm Is Coronavirus over? Jojo Siu Finally. Oh man. Oh, yeah. Did you get your vaccine? Sarah Timm I did! Yeah. And by the time this episode comes out, I will be fully vaccinated meaning that the two weeks will have passed. I got it on the 29th of March. Jojo Siu Woohoo! I'm super excited. So excited! Then we'll both be fully vaccinated. Sarah Timm Yeah Jojo Siu And we can actually have a hang out! Without masks! Sarah Timm Imagine that. I know. Our friend Ramsey has gotten his vaccine and his boyfriend has, and we're planning to have dinner parties. And we're just so excited to finally DO stuff. Jojo Siu I know. I'm very excited. Matt's supposed to get his on Friday. Sarah Timm Exciting. Jojo Siu Yeah. All right. Well, I will I will get us started on our our next episode, Sarah Timm What's our theme today? Jojo Siu This one is not as scary as I last episode. Sci-fi is a little less creepy for me. Although, you know, it is also something very near and dear to us in the future. So that COULD be scary. Sarah Timm Sometimes, Sci-fi is scary. Jojo Siu It's true. But I'm very excited to talk about this movie. It's something that I watched a long time ago. And I will say the storyline is probably not the most new or interesting for a sci fi kind of thriller. But I also really just love the actors that are in this movie. And it's a pretty big all-star cast. So I will get started. Let me share my screen. Okay, so I will be covering the movie "What Happened to Monday. And this movie, it's probably not as well known. But again, it's something that I've really come to enjoy. And it's a very fun movie. So if you're looking for something kind of, I don't want to say on the lighter side. I guess there's some light parts of it, but it is kind of a darker movie. It's directed by Tommy Wirkola, who wrote and directed "Dead Snow" as well as "Dead Snow 2". You probably know him the best from the new "Hansel and Gretel" movie. So he did that action "Hansel and Gretel" . And then he also did--I wrote this down because no one knows what it is--but it's "Kill Buljo" which is a parody of "Kill Bill". Oh, and apparently, there's also a sequel for that. So I thought that was funny that, you know, that was on his list of things. So he hasn't done a ton of work. But the few things he's done--it looks like they were more in the sci-fi genre. So he tends to kind of lean towards that. And then the costume designer for this was Oana Paunescu. I hope I'm saying that correctly. She did several versions of "Dragonheart". And then she was also the wardrobe supervisor for a show called "Mirrors". And then she also did "Seed of Chucky", which is probably the one that most people know. But yeah, so this was an interesting kind of adventure for her, she talks a little bit about how she really had to figure out how to dress seven versions of the same person. And I should probably go back and tell you what the premise of the story is. So the idea is that we are in a kind of not-so-distant in the future. The setting is 2043. And I don't know what city it's supposed to be, because again, this is in the future. I think it's supposed to be kind of a representative of any urban city setting. But it's the idea that at this point, they've been doing all of these things to kind of solve all the environmental problems that we've had, that have been created by you know, world global warming and all those other things. But in order to do that, it's actually created a new defect, where humans when they get pregnant, are actually coming out with multiple births. So people regularly will have septuplets or you know, quintuplets or whatever. So basically this idea of overpopulation has now happened. And so in order to control that, the character Glenn Close, who is not necessarily a councilwoman but she's kind of representing this new age of science, where she is fighting for putting all the siblings or having one child in each family that exists in the world and then having all the rest of her siblings or his siblings put into cryogenic sleep until sometime in the future. So that's their way of kind of controlling the population and trying to keep that in control. And so of course, that means that you know, every sibling is supposed to be put into cryogenic sleep, but of course there is the main character is played by Noomi Rapace. Is that how you say her name? Sarah Timm I think it's "Rapas". I'm not 100% sure. Jojo Siu Noomi Rapace, who is infamously known for "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Sarah Timm The Swedish one, not the American one. Jojo Siu Yeah, yes, Sarah Timm She's so good in that, Jojo Siu Yes, very good in that one. But she plays our leading lady. So basically, her mother died in childbirth, giving birth to her and her six other siblings. And Karen Settman is the name of the mother. And so the grandfather, father of this mother, who gave birth to these sevenchildren, he decides discreetly, he finds a hospital where she's allowed to deliver them safely and ends up keeping them. And so the grandfather ends up coming up with this whole system. Where because there's seven of them, he names each of the kids after a day of the week. And so he trains them and basically protects them, and actually builds a whole space custom made for them. So he teaches them to go out each day of their week, and only go out, but always as Karen Settman. So each of them has their persona inside the house. But when they leave the house, they are always representing one only child--Karen Settman. Sarah Timm So they each have their own day of the week where they get to leave the house. Jojo Siu Yeah, exactly. But you know, one of the things too, is that the grandfather recognizes that this is a very dangerous world. They actually COULD be taken by the police, and he doesn't want them to be put into cryogenic sleep, he wants them to be able to grow up together. But of course, because of that, he has to train them to realize that whatever happens to one of them outside on the streets, has to happen to all of them, because they all have to be Karen Settman--the ONE Karen Settman. So they kind of lose their own identity. He talks about them being able to be themselves at the house. And there's a lot of flashbacks to him, training them as kids. And what happens if they can't have two of them out on the street at the same time in case someone sees a second twin, or suddenly realizes they have seven of them in the same house. And then he also builds in basically a cry of a panic room. And has them train what'll happen in case the government comes to the door and they have to hide. Sarah Timm Wow. Jojo Siu So basically, that is the the starting premise of this story. And of course, we show the flashbacks of how they came to this place. But then the movie starts off with Sunday returning home. And she is basically you know, she's she's lived her life, she's come back from work. And they have a very specific dress for what she looks like everyday when she goes to work. And then when she comes back to her very kind of shoddy looking hotel, you finally realize she's got six other siblings and their practice is, at the end of every day, that she introduces, or sorry, they all have bracelets where they check in to each of the locations. And it actually--the bracelet goes to the government and tells them this is a one child only. So there's a lot of things that you know, the grandfather has clearly done to tamper with all of this technology that's in the future to make sure they're safe. So the movie is called "What Happened to Monday?" Because on Monday, "Monday" goes out she has this big presentation where she's supposed to get promoted at work. And she goes and is very worried about her job on Monday. And then she suddenly goes missing. Sarah Timm Oh! Jojo Siu ...and shortly before she goes missing, you find out that one of her co-workers is kind of threatening her and says "I know. I know your secret. You better. You better listen to me. You better give ME the promotion so that you don't get ousted" Sarah Timm Right. Jojo Siu And then she just disappears so she never comes home. The rest of the sisters don't know what's happened. And that's kind of where we start the movie. So let me move on to our costumes. Sarah Timm Oh, wow. Jojo Siu So I'm going to start actually breaking this down by character because I've given you quite a lot of backstory. So I'm not going to necessarily go throughout the movie because they mostly stay in very similar costumes pretty much throughout the entire story. And again, this takes place pretty much over a week, because we go through each of the days. This is just a quick, quick close up of Glenn Close, I wanted to focus very briefly on all of her costumes. Because she, at least in this picture, she reminds me a lot of Margaret Thatcher. Sarah Timm Yes. Jojo Siu And sort of the new age of the future. She's kind of trying this changing of a lot of what's happening and trying to really do good for, for controlling this overpopulation problem. And so she's kind of the face of, of this overpopulation. It's called the... Collection--I should know this--Collection something Bureaucy. But it's called CAB for short. So she runs CAB. And basically, they're the people that collect the siblings, if they find out there are more than one. Sarah Timm This hair. Jojo Siu I know, it's crazy. Her hair isn't like that the whole time. That's just the introduction, we see her in at the very beginning of the movie. So then we go to the second image of her and this is when she's in her facility. So in the CAB facilities, and you see her kind of peeping into a room full of children. And these are children that they've collected, when they found out they were siblings of other parents. So she, she looks in the room, and it's just this group of small kids that are kind of playing around. And so she keeps talking about, "they're not going to be in pain, it'll be great." And so this--I just wanted to focus on how beautiful this coat is. She's in a lot of like blues and greens throughout the movie, kind of very earthy tones, which is very ironic, because she's kind of she's actually kind of our villain until the very end. But I love how clean cut her look is. And again, very, very, like Prime Minister; a very "Margaret Thatcher" look. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu And then this is the final scene. So this is actually towards the end of the movie when she's about to run for council woman. So BIG SPOILER alert, you find out that she has not been cryogenically freezing any of these siblings. She puts them into this pod, and then gives them a shot to basically, either put them to sleep or make them unconscious or whatever the series is, and then they actually get burned to death. So they all get incinerated. So you find out that she's actually just been killing all of these siblings. Sarah Timm I mean, that's not surprising. But the mess is..... Jojo Siu Right, right. Right, exactly. So, you know, you find out that she has been lying about all this stuff, she has been the face of this cryogenic, you know, CAB thing for so long. And so she is trying to run for counselor. And she's made this deal with one of the sisters to let her live in order to help her. To give her a huge donation basically to become council woman. So this is that final scene where she's talking to the sister. And this is also just a quick show of whatall of the Karen segments were when they go to work. So this is the typical outfit, every single one of them has the same exact clothing, they wear their hair exactly the same way. And you'll see kind of when we go to some of the other characters, how different they are when they're back at home. But this is kind of the image. And Monday was the first one that was born out of the seven. So she is the one that kind of starts the week. And so, when she disappears, her outfit actually is the closest to what she wears inside the house in addition to outside the house. So I wanted to kind of show that, because that's basically what you see most of them in when they're out on the street. Okay, moving on. So this is just a quick family shot. And you can see how different each of the different family members are. Sunday is actually right at the end of the table Monday you see here is right on the...kind of right of center. And she you can see here she's got green on, but it's actually the same exact silhouette as the blue blazer that she's wearing in the previous scene. This one is Saturday, so she's kind of the party girl. Sarah Timm Basic, 'cause she's Saturday! Jojo Siu Exactly, exactly. And I'll talk a little bit more about how the costume designer decided to break up the days of the week too. Friday is right here so she's kind of got the beanie and the plaid flannel. Thursday is sort of our tomboy, skater girl, so she's kind of the one that always questions the system; doesn't understand why they have to do this; feels like she wants to break out and always wants to have her own voice. Wednesday is our kind of athletic gym rat. So she is the one that's always working out and you know, doing stuff, and then you can't really see your face, but we'll we'll get some close ups on her later. But Tuesday is kind of our hippie pot smoking nerd. So she's the one that's always smoking and always whatever--very chill. She's also the only one with red hair out of the... Sarah Timm Oh. Jojo Siu Seven of them. Okay, moving on. So just another quick shot, this is just what she's wearing all the time when she goes out. So she's got that dress underneath with the blue, but then she always has this blue trench coat that she wears on top. And you see her in that all the time--she's always in the same earrings. So there's a whole scene where they have almost like a technology grid, and it actually will take a look at all the blemishes on their face to make sure that they look exactly the same. Sarah Timm Fancy! Jojo Siu ...whenever they go out, which is so crazy. So you have acne "here", or you're a little red "here", or your eyes are really red today or whatever it is. And then it helps them kind of figure out what they need to make up or cover up in order to look exactly the same. So again, this look is very, very contrived, every single one of them has to look exactly the same when they leave the house. The other big part is they have to tell each other what's happened in the day. Because if there's anything any conversations they had with another, you know, coworker, or they have to be consistent, they need to know exactly what the conversations were about, and all of that. So that part of their bracelet is that they actually have a little camera in there to kind of walk them through what's happened throughout the day. And Friday, who's the tech geek is the one that kind of helps them figure out all of that. Sarah Timm I was thinking how hard it would be to only get to go to work once a week and have to pretend like you've been there the whole time. That's a lot of work to keep up with! Jojo Siu It is. SO much. And I think you know, they all start kind of feeling that eventually, because they've been growing up in this system for so long. So losing that individuality anywhere outside the house can be really hard. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu So it was really hard to find pictures of of these costumes. So I pulled up all of these posters. So there actually won't be as many pictures for this one, Sarah, you'll be very excited. But I wanted to kind of just go through some of the costume designers' notes on what each of the days meant for her. So like we talked a little bit about Monday. So for her "Monday would wear something a little bit softer in color, and you wouldn't necessarily think that she's softer because of what her character does." And again, SPOILER alert, Monday actually sells her siblings out in order to try and stay alive. And she has good reasons at the end of the movie, but the way that it's portrayed in this movie, it makes it seem like she's the villain. When you find out at the very end that she's actually fallen in love with one of the CAB officers, who doesn't know that she's a sibling, but he and her basically have been together for months. She finally decides that she wants to just be free of this life and doesn't want to have siblings. And she's also pregnant with twins. So, in order to protect her twins, she signs this, you know agreement with Kaman who is played by Glenn Close. And so, in order to give her that huge donation to become the Councilwoman, she will be protected, her kids will be protected, and not taken. And so, in addition to that, she has to obviously reveal that she is one of seven, Sarah: Right. So they basically the the rest of the movie is Glenn Close and all of the agents that she sends to try and kill the rest of them. Because the fact that seven siblings have existed and have escaped her notice and not gone into cryogenic sleep, is really bad for her reputation. So rather than trying to like suddenly throw them into cryogenic sleep and make it okay, she just opts to send people to kill them. So, of course, when Monday disappears, then Tuesday tries to go in, but has no recollection of what's happened the day before because she wasn't there. And so she gets she's the first one to kind of get taken by CAB. And so, everything after that kind of trickles after that. So Mondays, you know, we talked about that--Tuesday comes after a Monday. So she said, "which means for example, you may need to smoke more." 'Cause Monday's always the hardest. She said Wednesday, "you're realizing you smoke too much and you have to work out." So again Wednesday, it's like our gym rats. On Thursday, she said "we reboot ourselves". So you find out it for this version of Thursday. She's almost kind of like the Butch femme. So she's always in black t-shirts or white t-shirts and skinny jeans and black combat boots and she's got the short pixie cut. So she's kind of our leading lady out of the seven, if you can really call it, that besides Monday, but she's the one that kind of leads the rest of the sisters in trying to find Monday and save everyone. So Thursday is the reboot day and then Friday. She said "Maybe we choose to study more". So again, Friday is our kind of tech nerd/geek nerd. And then Saturday, "Let's drink" and Sunday: "We choose to behave and go to church". So Sunday is actually the first one that dies. Sorry, SPOILER ALERT. But she also is the one that they talk about, that has to believe. She was always the believer, she always believed in better, she always believed in, you know, better hope for the future. And she's also always dressed in these kind of cardigans and sort of Sunday church dresses. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu And so again, very--on the surface--very perfect and hopeful in her dress and in her costume. So when we first see her in the first scene with the sisters, she's always in these like floral prints, which I really love too. And I think the costume designer actually, I think she was the only one in really a print, everyone else was in kind of more geometric blocks or, or just plain tees. So the fact that Sunday is always our very floral and kind of natural and organic prints, this idea that she's sort of the the hopeful one. And I think that's reflected in her costume. So Monday, again, you know, this was really the only other close up that I could find where we don't see her in the blue, because again, the rest of the movie, she's pretty much missing. And at the very end, we'll see a picture of her back in kind of like a version of the dress that she normally wears. But the way that they differentiated is the costume designer blocked off different parts of the costume, which I really loved. But again, she's she's always kind of in the same type of silhouette each time, even when she's at home. So always this idea of needing to look perfect, always being perfect. And she talks a lot about that. She's the one that's the oldest. So she always sets the example for everyone else. Sarah Timm Right. Jojo Siu This is another picture. And again, this is sort of the way that they differentiated, you know, Monday from Thursday later on, because Thursday also ends up in a dress very similar to this, but the different cut outs is how the costume designer was able to show difference. So, I think Thursday doesn't have the pink on top, it's just the the darker pink and fuchsia on the sides. Alright, so this is Tuesday. So again, kind of the very hippie dress, she's got a lot of off-the-shoulder kind of baggy sweaters, she's always wearing sort of the hippy skirts. It's a very boho look. And again, she always wears a ton of bracelets and a ton of rings. And her hair is always in two pigtails. And she's, again, the only one with red hair. Yeah, so this is just another kind of close-up picture of that soft draped sweater that she has. Okay, so Wednesday, again, is our workout girl, she's always in a black hoodie, and some sort of sports bra, and sweat pants. Most of her scenes are her jogging, or punching a punching bag in the apartment. And when she goes out, so this is after they found out that Tuesday has been taken. Tuesday's eye has been sent back to the house with... Sarah Timm Oh Jojo Siu ...agents to kill them. And so Wednesday is the first one who goes out on Wednesday and tries to escape in order to find out more information because this is when they find out that the co worker has some sort of blackmail on them. So she goes to try and find out what's happened. And of course, she's being chased around the city at this point. Because she knows that they're after her. A lot of agents have been sent after her to try and kill her. And so the other three sisters--it's Tuesday, Friday and Thursday--the tech nerd at home is basically helping her figure out where to go, how to escape all of this stuff. And she gets so close to escaping and she ends up obviously getting killed, but it's the saddest way to get killed. So all of it, of course is very athletic. She gets the most athletic time because you know, she's working out all the time. So she does the most punching and running. Sarah Timm You would think that if they have to make sure that they havethe same zits and stuff that one of them working out more than the others would be an issue. Jojo Siu Yeah, exactly. Sarah Timm Why does she have a bicep? Jojo Siu Yeah. The dress does hide a lot of their outfit. Sarah Timm I guess she's not in a midriff top when she goes to work. Jojo Siu Exactly. Most of the shape is hidden. But yeah, it's mostly face shape. You know, obviously after this scene, when she goes out on her day, she's kind of gone off the deep end. She's like, "I'm not even going to bother wearing the dress anymore", because she's got so gotten cut up at this point. They've somehow defeated the first round of agents. So her coming into this is just, "I just need to find out what's happened". And so she's kind of gone out and gone rogue a little bit. But at this point, they also know CAB realizes that there are seven of them and is trying to kill them. Sarah Timm Right. Jojo Siu So she's kind of the first one out there. So this is just some other running shots. But again, you can see she's just, you know, her athletic day, I guess, of her just running everywhere. And there's another one. Again, just kind of showing all the T-shirts and hoodies that she wears. Alright, so Thursday, again, very much the rebel. They show some flashback scenes of her when she is a child. And she's the first one that actually kind of messes up the system. And she talks a lot about that when she kind of confronts Monday at the very end. But there's a big scene where, as a child, she actually escapes. When it's someone else's day, she goes out andskateboards, and then comes back after the dad has realized she's gone missing. She's out there and everyone else has returned. And she comes back with her finger hanging off because she got into a skateboarding accident. And so of course, because her fingers cut, hanging off, the grandfather ends up having to cut all the other siblings fingers off. So there's this whole like, you know, this big scene just talking about the seriousness of like, Whatever happens to one of you has to happen to everybody. And she's always the one that's like, :I want to get out of the system. Why are we doing this? None of us are living a real life". Sarah Timm Right. Jojo Siu But she is also the one that ends up...I thought I had more pictures of her. Unfortunately, I don't. There were very few pictures of her, but again, she's always the one in black. A lot of tech gear. And when I say tech gear, I mean theater tech wear: black t-shirt, black pants, black combat boots. Sarah Timm like she's a stagehand. Jojo Siu Yeah, exactly. So then Friday is our--like I said--tech geek nerd. And she's always in these kind of oversized sweaters or oversized flannels, and everything is very hidden about her. And she's she basically is the tech geek that gets everyone, you know, where they need to go at the very end. And she and Friday do end up lasting kind of the longest. Until Thursday finally escapes. So sorry, Thursday is our Pixie girl. And then she finally, in order to let Thursday escape, she actually sacrifices herself at the very end, which is really sad. But she talks about how she needed this family. "I'm not like the rest of you. You guys are all independent, and you could do your own thing. But I never thrived without you. And like I wouldn't survive without you". So she decides to sacrifice herself instead. And takes out some of the CAB agents with her. And then we get to Saturday. Sarah Timm I love her hair! Jojo Siu So cute. So Saturday--She's always kind of a schmoozer. So whenever she's at work, she's the one that's really great at networking. She's really great at going to parties. They have this whole thing in the very beginning where she comes back and pukes in one of the buckets and so the guy at the front desk is like, "how do you do it? You were puking yesterday, and today, you look so fresh". And that was Sunday walking out. Sarah Timm Right. Jojo Siu And so of course, it was this idea that she also didn't share all the information with everybody. But you actually find out that even though she talks big about sleeping with everyone, she actually is a virgin, because you find out she runs into the guy that Monday is in love with and has been sleeping with for months. And she doesn't realize that he doesn't know it's not her or that it's not "Monday". So she tries to also find out information about what's happened to "Monday" by pretending to be "Monday" from within. So anyways, it's this whole thing where all the sisters sacrifice for one another, which I just thought was really interesting. But again, she's always in some kind of pink hoodie or really bright red kind of bra or bralette and some kind of jeans. This is one of the last scenes and you can see here, this is Thursday, and this is Monday. And so this is where you find out that Monday has basically betrayed all of them. Thursday is trying to save everyone and get her out. But you find out that, obviously, she has signed off this contract to basically protect her babies. Okay, and then just a couple other shots. You can kind of see here again Thursday, she's always in black. She's also got a black hoodie, very similar to Wednesday. And then you can see the yellow kind of oversized cardigan, and the really bland colors on Friday. And then the pink, and she's always wearing some sort of denim and the red bra for Saturday. And then I believe this was the last one that I pulled, but I wanted to pull the last little quick image of the grandpa and then one of the kids when they're doing the training at the very beginning. And I just wanted to pull this image because again when they got into the street--so this is the first day that he finally lets the first kid go out into the street. So prior to this, he hasn't let any of them leave the house. Sarah Timm Wow. Jojo Siu They've all been confined to the home to try and learn, you know, what their skills are. And also make sure that, you know, they understand the system; that they only can go out one day at a time. And it's funny to me that they're still wearing that dark blue blazer. This idea that they belong to the masses. And I think that was something that the costume designer talked about, too, you know, "I picked a color that kind of blended into the mass and didn't stand out because they needed to kind of disappear. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu And also the fact that Willem DaFoe was in grandpa's comfort wear. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu In all grays. So interestingly enough, when he's training them, there's quite a few shots with him in actually more vibrant colors. And at one point, he's actually wearing that yellow sweater that Friday's wearing, which I thought was really lovely. Sarah Timm That's cute. Jojo Siu But, you know, the rest of the time he's wearing these blacks and grays. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu And you don't really ever find out what's happening to him either. So it's a little sad, but you know, they don't really go further into that side story. I think that was the last of it. So again, not too many photos for this one. But I just, you know, how do you make seven different characters with the same actress? And how do you make them all look different enough and have their own character? I mean, Noomi is pretty amazing. She was basically acting against herself for most of it. And she mentioned that this was one of the hardest products she's ever done, because she didn't have other actors to work off of or to bounce ideas off. She had to create who that other actor was going to be. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu And that carried over, I think, into her conversations with a costume designer as well, right? Sarah Timm They probably use--lots of times when they're doing stuff like that they use like a body double, but it's not someone who's going to be acting and giving you the same energy that a fellow actor would give you. Jojo Siu Right, right. Yeah. And they did us a couple body doubles. But I think, you know, it definitely was like, "I had to figure out who all those characters were". And I think she said she actually secluded herself for five or six months, so that she could get into the headspace of who these characters were. She was like, "it was really hard because I couldn't talk to anybody for five or six months". And I was like... Sarah Timm Commitment. Jojo Siu "That's worse than quarantine! Sarah Timm I feel like we always hear about famous male actors who goes super method. Why aren't we talking about Noomi Rapace? Clearly she's... Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm Super method. She's committed. Wow. Jojo Siu But yeah, and you definitely see how different the little ticks are in each of her characters, even for this movie. So yes, I would highly suggest it. Again, the story plot--there's a lot of plot holes. So I think that's what a lot of critics have said about this movie. And again, it is very close to whatever the episode of "Black Mirror" was... Sarah Timm I was thinking it sounds like "Orphan Black". Jojo Siu Maybe that's what it is. Maybe they meant "Orphan Black". I could have...misquoted that. Sarah Timm "I've seen "Black Mirror", but it's been a long time since I've seen certain episodes. So it might be an older one that I don't remember. Jojo Siu Yeah, that's true. Sarah Timm Orphan Black is the one where Tatiana Maslany plays clones. Jojo Siu Oh, yes, then that's the one. Sorry, I misquoted that. So it's definitely "Orphan Black". But yeah, I know, they took it off with some other idea because that was one of the big criticisms that they got. They were like, "well, it's nothing new. And the storyline is kind of unfinished." Sarah Timm Interesting. Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm Interesting concept. Jojo Siu Yeah. Yeah. It was definitely one of those movies that I kind of stumbled across and then I was like pleasantly surprised. Sarah Timm Cool. Well, great job! Jojo Siu Thank you! Sarah Timm Okay, are we ready for me? This was a request--my movie that I'm covering. My dear friend Christie messaged us and requested this movie, I think, over Instagram. I'm covering "Tron: Legacy", which is a movie I hadn't seen since it came out. And I forgot how fun it is. It's very fun. So, a little bit of background. It's this is a Disney movie. So take with that what you will. It's directed by Joseph Kosinski. And this movie is his directorial debut, which blew my brains. I could not believe that this high budget and big of a movie was somebody's directorial debut. And I I did a little googling because I was like, How on earth did he get the job, then... Jojo Siu Yeah! Sarah Timm ...if he's never directed anything? so I found a New York TimesNew York Times article that says, and this is a direct quote, "it sounds corny, but it all started back in 2007, with one guy who believed in him--Shawn Bailey, a Disney producer, who was trying to figure out how to reinvent Tron. Mr. Bailey had heard through the Hollywood grapevine about a director of commercials, which is Joseph Kosinski, who had an unusual visual style." And the article kind of went into how this happens sometimes with really big studios; they'll give a big budget movie to somebody who has only done a few commercials. And some people think it's because a first time director will be easier to control by a big studio, you know. A bigger name will come in with an artistic vision and be like, "Well, I'm not conforming to your corporate Disney whatever. I'm going to do what I want." But then also, like, the more optimistic view of that is, it doesn't matter, your resume if you have the right vision and the right, you know, artistic gumption to go and get it. But I will say that, like, I don't think that if he This might sound cynical, but I think that like, especially in 2010, when this movie came out, I don't think if he were non white, and not a man that he would have gotten this big of a chance. Jojo Siu Agreed. Sad, but true. Sarah Timm Yeah. When I've heard of that kind of thing happening, where it's like, oh, my god, he's only directed five music videos. And they gave him a superhero movies indirect like it's usually a white man that they're talking about, unfortunately. So yeah, that was an interesting thing to learn. Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm Yeah. The costumes were co-designed. So two people--Christine...Christine, Bieselin Clark. I'm just gonna say that's how you pronounce that, who has worked on "Star Trek Picard", "Maze Runner" and "Ender's Game". And then the other designer is Michael Wilkinson, whose name you might recognize because he did "Jingle Jangle". Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm So he's done a lot of Zack Snyder's like "Justice League" franchise movies, "Aladdin", "300" and "Garden State". Jojo Siu "Oh Garden State". I haven't seen that movie in so long. Sarah Timm That's a good one. So yeah, interesting. I think it kind of makes sense that like two people do the costumes. This is it's, it seems like a very collaborative design these costumes, because like, the visual style of the movie is so distinct that like the production design, and the costume design, and the special effects are all kind of hand-in-hand. So it's a real team effort. It seems just, that's just my view of it. So let's begin. This is... Yay! ...the beginning of the movie. Oh, I will say I have not seen the first "Tron". So Neither have I. So one of my first notes was, "I need someone to explain to me what the grid is, because I still don't quite really know." I don't know. Jojo Siu I am probably just as lost as you are. So I don't know that I'd be much help. Sarah Timm It's a virtual reality space. That's what I've, that's as far as I got. It's like a computer--digitized--but it's like a world you can enter, but it's in the computer. Jojo Siu That was a very good explanation, Sarah. Sarah Timm Thanks so much. So this is the opening. Basically, the basic plot is: Jeff Bridges who's in the first "Tron" was the founder of this, sort of, tech company. But he went missing in 1989. And his son is now technically the head of the company, but isn't involved at all, I think, and he's kind of like a rebel guy, he doesn't care about the company. And it seems like these people--the suits--are interested in making money and exploiting the technology. Whereas Jeff Bridges--his character, Flynn--was interested in open source software and making it available for everybody and sharing it. So that's kind of where we come in, is in this board meeting, where they're gonna release this program, I don't know, whatever computer thing. Jojo Siu We are so not sci-fi, tech nerds, Sarah Timm Computer thing, great. Jojo Siu Whatever that is. Sarah Timm So I this boardroom scene is interesting to me, because they're all wearing the same color, which is sort of like a slate gray, black. And it's funny to me, because, you would think that we would really want to differentiate this world--the real world--from the grid that we enter later, but the color scheme is kind of the same, which is kind of funny. And interesting that the corporate world doesn't look that different from the sci-fi computer world. I didn't realize that I would sound so dumb describing this movie. Jojo Siu It's okay, you and me both. I was like, I can't help you with any of those technology terms. Sarah Timm It doesn't really matter to my understanding, like costumes, I think, right? I don't feel too bad about it. Okay, so this is actually Killian Murphy who I was like, Killian Murphy's in this movie? Jojo Siu Jojo: I almost didn't recognize him. Sarah Timm Apparently he's uncredited, this is an uncredited cameo appearance. Yeah! Jojo Siu Uncredited? Sarah Timm I know Jojo Siu Did HE put that in or did someone else? Sarah Timm Did he wander by the set one day? How did this come about? He was just like walking by in the scene and said "Okay, I'll be that dude." But this look is interesting because he looks different from everybody else because he's like the young, hotshot guy. And this already looks very dated to me, even though it's only 10 years old, and I think it's the hair. Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm It's very floppy Jojo Siu I was gonna say it's that very wind swept look for guys Sarah Timm Yeah. That sort of Justin Bieber, Zac Efron, late 2000s...*hand motion* Jojo Siu I love how THIS is, ...This is the hands motion Hand motion over the forehead to portray the bangs. Sarah Timm Yeah. And you can tell he's so cool because he's not wearing a blazer, unlike everyone else. He's so cool. Jojo Siu Less layers, equals cool. Sarah Timm My arms are out so I'm cool. Moving on. So, this is Alan and apparently he's in the first "Tron" as well. So he was like Flynn's right hand man, kind of guy. And he comes to Sam the son with his pager and he's like "I got a page from your dad". And it's like, what? First of all, you got a page in 2010? Okay. And I like his look because he's bringing with him sort of the old school, into the modern day, sort of like a rumpled trench coat, almost film noir because his collars up a little bit, Detective-y sort of land he brings an air of mystery right? Because he's like, "I got a page from your dad who's been missing since 1989. You should go to the arcade to see where the signal's coming from or whatever. So he basically gets the plot going, and I like that the person with the mystery looks like a Noir detective. I think that's kind of a fun little touch. Jojo Siu Yeah it was a lot of Noir in this movie, and I don't think I thought about that until you said that. Sarah Timm I think, yeah, ...is sci fi noir a thing because that could be Jojo Siu ...It could be, because they definitely bring in elements of that kind of Noir,like 1930s. I think of like the 1930s Film Noir. But yeah, I definitely feel like I don't know that I realized that until I was looking at this picture again. I was like "oh yeah!" Sarah Timm I think he is the most Noir out of the characters for sure. Jojo Siu Trench coat definitely says that, Sarah Timm Yes, yes. And I also like how he's less corporate, you know, but he's sort of--I don't know what color exactly this trench coat is; it looks brown in this picture, I'm not sure if it is--He looks a little bit earthier, you know, so he's not the corporate greed machine that everybody else at the company is. He's still got the original vision in his heart. Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm so this is Sam, the son, before he goes into the grid. This is his everyday look. And I, I like it. I think it's a little bit generic, it's a little bit like Disney version of a bad boy. Which makes sense because it's a Disney movie. Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm I wrote in my notes that I think if this movie was made today this outfit would have more personality than it does in this. I like the aging of the jacket, maybe it was his dad's, you know. It's old, but otherwise, he's just kind of wearing jeans and a hoodie and I feel like he could have something, you know, a little bit of pattern. Jojo Siu Yeah Sarah Timm ...little bit more texture to kind of, because I really don't know anything about him still after watching. Jojo Siu Right Sarah Timm he doesn't have that much of a personality to speak of. So, I think he... Jojo Siu Does he wear this the whole time? Sarah Timm He wears it for the whole opening scene, but once it gets into the grid they put him into a light suit. Jojo Siu Right, right. Okay. Sarah Timm So this is all we get to see of like his own wardrobe. So Jojo Siu yeah, Sarah Timm This is it? And later in this shot, he's in the front right here. It's blurry, but he's just wearing a gray t shirt and I'm like, Jojo Siu very indistinct Sarah Timm You couldn't at least do like what transformers did and Shia LaBeouf was wearing like a "Strokes" t-shirt. Like it couldn't even be like a Rolling Stones t-shirt or something. It had to just be a solid gray--that makes me sad. Jojo Siu I wonder how much of this was budget too though, although it's...you know, it's Disney, so I don't really know. Because I know sometimes with other brand names, you have to be really careful that you're not stuck with a copyright but it's Disney. So you think they'd have a lot more budget Sarah Timm A stripe? or a Plaid? Jojo Siu Yeah, some kind of pattern. Sarah Timm A color? I don't know, maybe it's to communic-I mean, he's supposed to be like the rebel though, so hhe shouldn't fit in with the nondescript corporate-ness and he lives in this cool, under the bridge, apartment thing. So I think he could be cooler, his outfit could be cooler. That's all. Okay, so here we are in the grid. Welcome, Jojo Siu So different. Sarah Timm So this is him. He basically enters the grid by accident and then just kind of gets ferried along to different places and things happen to him and he's not he has no agency things are justbeing done to him. So this is them getting him ready to compete in some sort of games against other things on the light cycles and stuff. These characters--these female characters are called "sirens", which I was like, of course they are. Sure, Jojo Siu yeah. Sarah Timm And they basically are in charge of outfitting him for, for the games, and I feel a bit conflicted about the female characters in this movie, because they seem pretty over-sexualized in their appearance. But I had to remind myself that like this digital world was made by a man in the 80s, technically. So like... Jojo Siu Right Sarah Timm ...if it's all this one guy his vision, and he's just a straight dude in the 80s Of course he's like "well, the girls and it all have to be super sexy, you know" Jojo Siu Right, right. Sarah Timm I don't know, I don't I'm still not sure how I feel about it because I was just like, why? what? You know, you can kind of see on the right here, this little shell thing. They basically come out of these little holes in the wall. And this little door closes over them and theyhibernate, until it's time again, and the shell that closes over them, has boobs on it, it's like molded to look like a lady's body. Jojo Siu Yeah Sarah Timm So it's things like that was like did we have to do that I don't think we did. Jojo Siu That part was unnecessary. Sarah Timm And even their, their outfits so they're unitard, you can see on this second-from-the-right girl. It has the outline of almost bikini underwear, and none of the men's costumes have an outline. Jojo Siu Right, right. Sarah Timm So it's...And then they're wearing these high heels and it's like why would that be a thing? Why do they need high heels? Is it because Flynn designed this world and was like, "the gotta be hot." I don't know. Jojo Siu Yeah, yeah, exactly. The 80s. Sarah Timm Yeah I mean it's is it like is it supposed to be like the 80s vision of a future and if so then yeah it makes sense. Jojo Siu Right. Sarah Timm And I have a shot of the high heeled too, which is very interesting--has a bar thing on it. Jojo Siu Yeah, it's crazy because I think on the one on the right it looks shorter, and then on the one on the left, it looks taller, and I don't understand. Yeah, 'cause her... yeah her heels are shorter! Sarah Timm Also hers looks like it doesn't have the... Jojo Siu Doesn't have the bar. Sarah Timm It doesn't look like the same girl... Jojo Siu Yeah, Sarah Timm That's weird. Maybe she was taller than the other one? Maybe they had to make them all the same height. And they were like nobody... Jojo Siu Oh yeah. Like at least in the image, they needed to look the same height. Sarah Timm Yeah, because I think they're supposed to be...you know, they're digitized, they're not real humans. They're digitized right programs or whatever they're called. So... Jojo Siu right, Sarah Timm they had to be the same. But, yeah, maybe that was to make them all the same height. Because that girl comes back later, she has a speaking role. Jojo Siu Oh, okay. Sarah Timm I don't know. Yeah. Interesting. Jojo Siu Interesting. Sarah Timm So here's Sam and his life suit, I have a couple shots of it. It's cool. These, I think that these costumes are very successful these light suits. It doesn't look new to us now, but I remember in 2010 thinking like how cool and futuristic it looked. Jojo Siu Yeah, I remember that too. Sarah Timm And I have some information about how they were made because I was like... Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm Is the light, practical? And the answer is yes! Which blew my mind! Jojo Siu So cool! Sarah Timm All the light on all the costumes is practical. It's real; it's not added in CG. Yeah, Jojo Siu I love that it's like. Sarah Timm So I watched... Jojo Siu Was it like E-L wire? Sarah Timm Well I'll read to you! I watched some YouTube videos and I'll link the YouTube video that I watched because it's really interesting to see them sort of like building them, they had a couple shots of their shop. So, this is from Wikipedia, "the skin-tight suits are reminiscent of the outfits worn by the actors in the original film. They designed the lighting costumes, which used electro-luminescent lamps, derived from a flexible polymer film, and featured hexagonal patterns, the lights pass through the suit via light tape, says something about lamination and phosphorus I don't understand. To make it a different color, they put different colors of vinyl. Prior to lamination, so apparently... this kind of...I thought about this too was, nowadays you can get fiber optic fabric and lights can basically be fabric now, which is amazing. But in 2010, flexible light that you could use in costumes was a really new idea, so they basically....it was a very new invention and they had to kind of just like figure it out as they went along, because they didn't Jojo Siu Yeah Sarah Timm they were talking in this behind the scenes thing about how they didn't know how they would make flexible lights and I was like, don't they make strips that you can put on whatever? And then I was like... Jojo Siu Yeah I was gonna say, LED tape is very available now. Sarah Timm Yeah, so that must be, you know like within the last 10 years that that has been so common and easy to get. So, it was just fascinating to me I was just thinking this is great! Jojo Siu Leave it up to Disney to be the first ones to figure it out though! Sarah Timm right. So, these suits were kind of like a collaboration between the special effects department and the costuming department, because, the shell part, especially the torsos, they're made out of foam latex, so they're basically sculpted. If you've ever watched "Face Off" the special effects makeup show where they sculpt, and then they mold foam latex, it's basically like that, where you pour it into a mold and peel it out and it's one piece, you know, and then they applied the lights and stuff, and then they would have fabric Jojo Siu Wow Sarah Timm ...suits underneath. I know can you believe? Jojo Siu So many layers! Sarah Timm Yes! Jojo Siu It's why you gotta have a big budget for this movie! Sarah Timm Good segue, because the blonde lady from that siren scene, who talks about her. Her character's name is Gem. She said, it showed her sort of getting dressed and she said that there was, they're basically wearing four layers, so their first layer is foundation garments so the women would be in sort of like a waist cincher and you know Spanx and stuff to hold you in. And then there was a, just a body suit over that. And then there was the electronics layer, and then there was sort of like a latex-y outer layer that felt sort of like balloon rubber, apparently on hers, and the sirens. Jojo Siu So....they're giant....condoms? Sarah Timm Well, it showed what behind-the-scenes and one of them was getting wiped down. Somebody was shining it with a cloth. Jojo Siu Oh gosh, that just sounds so crazy. I mean these look phenomenal, they don't look like they're wearing four layers of clothing, right. I can't imagine what that feels like. Sarah Timm I mean Beyonce literally wears three layers of tights doesn't she? So, you do you have to. Jojo Siu True, true. Sarah Timm So yeah! Jojo Siu That's funny. Sarah Timm I mean, it literally blew my mind to watch that. I would encourage everybody to watch the video. And the other important thing is that this is a digital world, so the clothes don't exist in a real way so they had to think about what clothes would look like if they weren't made like clothes. How does...What do clothes look like if they haven't been sewn together? If they've just been Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm Created out of... Just been created out of pixels. Pixels...Yeah, so they tried to hide seams. There was no visible closures, no buttons and zippers, stuff like that, because, as you can see in the picture with the sirens it just materializes on to him, you know. He doesn't need to step into it, in the movie. Just...It's super fascinating. I learned a lot, Jojo Siu So cool. Sarah Timm ...On this, Jojo Siu I mean this is why we all thought it was so exciting when we saw this movie because it was just, it really was nothing we had ever seen. Sarah Timm Yes, yeah. Jojo Siu So yeah, it's pretty cool. Sarah Timm Yeah, I think cynically I was like well it's all probably CG, you know. And then I watched it and I was, I felt, you know, I felt so much excitement and wonder, like it wasn't just digital. So, moving on. Jojo Siu Sorry I side-tracked us. Sarah Timm This is "Clue". Yeah Clue, which is like a version of Jeff Bridges, but it's like a computer that just looks like him and I pulled this because I hate the young face that they did. It.... Even now... Jojo Siu It's sooo creepy. Sarah Timm Yes, it looks like a SIM and even now, when they do the aging down digitally, I've never seen that and been like, "well that's convincing and not creepy". It's ALWAYS creepy to me. So I pulled that just so everybody else can be creeped out as well together. I love this outfit, it's very Kylo Ren, Darth Vader, but Tron version it's like a cool asymmetrical cloak with...and he has yellow light, and I think that the colors of light had something to do with their ranks, you know. I didn't, super look into what was what. But you know, the regular programs have just white and then he and his right-hand man over here kind of have different colors. And then I got this of it on display, so that we can kind of see more what it looks like. Jojo Siu Yeah, I was curious was the other side of that jacket looked like. Sarah Timm Yeah, and it's funny because it looks... Jojo Siu It's so crazy it looks like paper. Sarah Timm I know it looks a little bit cheesy just, you know, it looks like masking tape or something. Jojo Siu Right, Sarah Timm but in the in the movie, it looks so rad, Jojo Siu so crazy. Sarah Timm Yeah, I want to wear one. Jojo Siu I know. Disney can you rent out some of your Tron outfits so that we can just have a dress up day? Sarah Timm Can I borrow it um....real quick, real quick, just like five minutes. Jojo Siu I just need like a selfie andthen and then I'll be good. Sarah Timm Did I read anything else I don't think I did. I just wrote he looks very evil. There's something about a long black coat that looks pretty evil. So this is Cora played by Olivia Wilde. Jojo Siu She's so pretty. Sarah Timm She's one of like, you know, five women that we see. Those are my feelings on that. She's one of two who speaks. Jojo Siu Let's pause and hesitate... for a moment of silence, Sarah Timm and I feel kind of the same about her as I do about the sexy siren girls, which is like...Yes, her outfit looks really good--she looks great--but did it have to be...you would think in a future world where gender doesn't really matter that outfits between men and women would look more similar, but like I said, if Flynn invented it, and he was a straight man and he wants to see sexy women then the women look sexy. So, here's the classic shot of her on the weird couch thing. And of course she's in a high heel. She has, you know what, what else do we expect? And then she has a cold shoulder and nobody else has a shoulder cut out. So I thought that was interesting. Jojo Siu Yeah, some differences. Sarah Timm I like her hair a lot, too. Jojo Siu I like the asymmetrical being. Sarah Timm Yeah, I think that haircut is really cute. And interestingly, she and Gem--the other woman--both wear really heavy, black eye makeup. And this is another thing, where if they made a "Tron" today, I think more of the men would be in makeup too, 'cause I think that today we're more free and open with gender expression in a way where, I think if we were inventing a cool sci-fi world where there was cool makeup, it would be on all genders of people, not just women. Jojo Siu It makes me think of...well, just because you were saying that, I was thinking of Aqua Man, because, he wears so much eye make-up. Sarah Timm I've heard that that's a fun sort of like campy movie. Jojo Siu It is...it...the storyline is like, whatever. I wouldn't watch it from that but, he's definitely got some dark eye makeup. It's very Egyptian-looking almost, 'cause he's got like the Kohl, you know, kind of outline of the eye. Sarah Timm Well Jason Momoa--him in a smoky eye , I'll take that all day long. Jojo Siu Yeah, it looks very good on him. But yeah, it made me think of that when you said, it's more acceptable across genders, Sarah Timm Yeah, yeah, I mean, I'm going to talk about Michael Sheen...well....no...in a second. When he wears makeup, but h e's also sort of like a flamboyant character so it's sort of, she was in this movie. Yeah, he's really good too. So this is Gem, the siren from before. And she kind of comes along to sort of help him get to his next destination or whatever and talk to the people he needs to talk to, to help his dad escape. Because he does find his dad, inside the grid. I feel like the details of the plot are not that important. We, you know Jojo Siu I don't remember much of this plot from this movie. Sarah Timm The plot is we're in the grid and we got to get out. That's basically it. Jojo Siu Yep. Sarah Timm I love. So where...did I pull--Yes. So this is how we see her approaching. She has this really cool clear umbrella. And this feels like a very direct "Blade Runner" reference for me, which I have not seen, but I know that they have light-up umbrellas in it. I know that It's been a very long time. We watched Blade Runner, at school. And I haven't seen the new one. But the old one messed me up so bad that I was like I don't know if I want to see the new one. It's just one of those--it's like--I don't know you feel very unsettled but in like a different way than a horror movie, you know what I mean. But yes, that was one of those movies that I walked out of that room being like, "I feel like my soul has been sucked from my body" Wow! I've seen some like feminist critique of it so it hasn't made me super excited to watch it just because I like watching feminist movies but I feel like as a reference point, it's kind of an important thing to know, you know to be familiar with. Jojo Siu yeah, there's a lot of film references that go back to Blade Runner. Yeah, which is why it was such a big deal, but yeah, it... Sarah Timm right Jojo Siu it makes you very sad at the very end. Sarah Timm I believe it. Jojo Siu 'Cause...everything is just sad in that movie. Sarah Timm Yeah, we'll get around to it eventually. Yeah so... Jojo Siu Maybe we'll make a movie night at that one. Sarah Timm That coud be fun! And then we can cover it... Jojo Siu If I watched it with someone else, maybe I would have like a redeeming something or other for that movie. Sarah Timm It would be one to watch it together as an activity for the podcast and then think about it. Jojo Siu yeah, absolutely. Sarah Timm Imagine. Jojo Siu Future podcast episode. Sarah Timm Future plans. Yeah so that that's...even though I haven't seen it, I know about the umbrella and the rain and Blade Runner so that feels like a little nod, a little homage. Yeah. And then she has this clear sort of rainbow thing which I thought was interesting, it's fun to see the play of light coming through it. And then there's her with her little bikini outline on her unitard Jojo Siu Of course. Sarah Timm Yeah. This is Michael Sheen. Jojo Siu Yes, I forgot about that. Now I remember his character. Sarah Timm Yeah, so his character name is Zeus, and he's kind of...He's a bad guy. He ends up being a bad guy, but at first we don't know he's a bad guy and he's kind of just at this party, at this sort of nightclub thing, where there's a Daft Punk cameo--very fun because they did the soundtrack--and he said that his character is sort of inspired by the MC from cabaret, or Dr Frankenfurter Jojo Siu I can see that. Sarah Timm Yeah, a little bit David Bowie, sort of flamboyant glam rock, sort of, circus-y guy, and I like how his outfit is obviously in the same world as everybody else's, but it's not exactly the same. He's got a unitard, but it's not as skin tight as everybody else's. It kind of looks more like what we know of as a tail coat. Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm And see, like right there, it's got...It does have tails and then he's sort of wearing a flair. And a bit of a heel too, which is fun. Jojo Siu It's a little 1970s. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu But in.... Sarah Timm A little Ziggy Stardust, action. Jojo Siu Tech white. Sarah Timm Yeah. So I thought that was cool and apparently he could not really sit in his costume, which is interesting to me because it doesn't look like it's made out of something he couldn't sit in. Jojo Siu Skin tight. Sarah Timm But what do I know. Jojo Siu Right. Sarah Timm And then he has this lightup cane, which is really fun. It's, you can see right here, it's clear, and then it lights up and then he shoots lasers with it, which is kind of cool. So then this is a shot of his face, so you can see his got these crazy contacts and makeup and then, you know everybody is really pale, because there's a whole plot point with Cora where she's like, "what does the sun look like," you know, "I want to see the sun." Right, so they're all pale, Jojo Siu They don't know what it looks like. Sarah Timm They dont' know what the sun is. And then, this is my last costume I want to talk about. This is Flynn. So, I didn't talk about him much because I had to kind of edit myself down, I had too many pictures, but the costume designer said that he is more organic, whereas he's against this very tech non-organic backdrop. Everybody else looks very sci-fi and futuristic, and he looks a little bit earthier, and they said, "Eastern influence" I think and I can tell, kind of, because in this shot, this garment scene looks Asian, so that's interesting. Jojo Siu The double layering of the crossed...cross-body robe as well. Sarah Timm Yeah, but I love this cloak. So this cloak is just kind of a hooded cloak, but it has this facing of the light strip. So a facing is on the inside for those who don't know, it's sort of like this strip of fabric that folds to the inside of your garment. So here's a shot of just you know, with the hood so when he has his hood up, it just lights his face and I just think it's so freakin cool. I want one. Jojo Siu I feel like...there was a project that I wanted to do way back when, where I wanted a hood with just the inside lit up. Oh it was for "Into the Woods". Sarah Timm Oh. Jojo Siu I was trying to create a hood for for my witch that just had lights on the inside, and I wasn't even thinking about this, but now that I think about it I was like, "oh, maybe that's what I got the inspiration from." Sarah Timm I mean, it's a new idea, but it's not. I really love Disneyland parades, and I love when a light for the actor's face is incorporated into their costume so if it's a nighttime parade like the "Electrical Parade", or "Paint the night", the fairies will have a little antenna, and then the antenna have tiny little spotlights so that you can see the performers face at night. I love something like that that is very...it's practical. It has a function, but it's also really cool looking. Jojo Siu Yeah, that's like intentional, they make it look like it's part of it. Sarah Timm Yeah, it's part of the costume but it also serves a purpose and it just looks really rad, so it's like, ding ding ding you got all the things you need. Jojo Siu Yep! Exactly. Sarah Timm And then this coat has sort of a split. It has different panels and all of them are sort of outlined in it, so when he swishes around, you can see the light fans out, and it just looks really rad. Jojo Siu That part is really cool. I mean, the hood too, is very cool, but I like that he's got all the, all the edges kind of lit up. Sarah Timm I saw it and I was just like, *gasp! Jojo Siu So cool! Sarah Timm Let's see. Did I say anything else about...I think I pretty much covered everything. Yeah, I did. It was fun to watch this movie and like I said the plot: I didn't really pay super attention to it and I was just like "okay we're in the grid, we got to get out of the grid, I'll just look now at the costumes. It's a fun, you know sci-fi adventure sort of movie and that tidbit about the light on all the costumes being practical really made me have a new respect for it. Jojo Siu Yeah, for sure. It shows you a lot, I mean it's, it's different. It doesn't mean that CGI isn't also a lot of work but it's, it's different when you know that it's actually working on the costume, built into the process, as opposed to an after effect. Sarah Timm Yes, and I respect CGI artists so much. I saw this whole Twitter thread recently about how so many directors nowadays are using it as a point of pride to use less CG and act like they're not using CG, where in reality like CG can be used for anything from getting rid of pit stains, to fixing the color or something so acting like movies don't have CG when they do is kind of insulting to the artists who spend hours doing their work. So, I do respect CGI artists and obviously this movie has a ton of that in it. Jojo Siu Right. Sarah Timm But it is really exciting to know that there were other art types of artists who got to innovate and collaborate on this sort of new technology that ended up being used for the movie. Jojo Siu Yeah! Super exciting, and we should celebrate all that! Sarah Timm Yes, yeah, I mean everybody's role in the movie is really important, you know, down to the down to the grips and the PA's and stuff. Jojo Siu Absolutely! Sarah Timm That's the beauty of entertainment, is it really is always a group effort. Jojo Siu Yep, very true. Sarah Timm Yeah, so that's "Tron Legacy". Jojo Siu Yay! So exciting! We picked some good Sci-fi ones. Sarah Timm Yeah, this...this was a fun one! I liked both of these movies that we covered, Jojo Siu I have to rewatch this movie again it's been a while since I've seen it. Sarah Timm I was shook to find out that it is not on Disney plus, and the first one... Jojo Siu Really! Sarah Timm is, and then some animated Tron thing is also on there, and I was like "Excuse me! What?" Jojo Siu Theyr'e still under Disney right? Sarah Timm Yeah, so I watched it with a method I will not discuss. I did watch it. That's just being real there. Jojo Siu Thanks Sarah. Sarah Timm But it's not on Disney plus. I mean, at least it wasn't when I looked. Jojo Siu Yeah. Sarah Timm You know, a few days ago, Jojo Siu Well, maybe someone will hear this podcast and put it on. Sarah Timm Disney plus if you're listening, put it back. Jojo Siu Give us back our Tron Legacy. Sarah Timm People need to see it and look at the costumes! Jojo Siu All right, thank you so much, Sarah. That was so fun. Sarah Timm Thank you Jojo. Jojo Siu I'm glad we covered some fun movies today. Sarah Timm Yeah. Jojo Siu You know, even with the horror movie. Sarah Timm As always, get in touch. Let us know if you agree or disagree with us. Give us feedback, or requests: movies or TV shows or theater pieces, or even something else. I don't know SNL sketches, music videos, anything you Jojo Siu Yeah Sarah Timm want us to talk about, let us know. I know eventually we'll cover some non-traditional things I'm excited. Hopefully we'll have time, yeah, to record another bonus episode soon. And maybe Jojo Siu Yeah, definitely. Sarah Timm we can do a smaller something, because I definitely would love the opportunity to talk about BTS. Jojo Siu Always! Always, Sarah, I expected nothing less. Sarah Timm Thank you so much. Jojo Siu Oh yes. Yeah, please, keep writing us and keep reviewing us and keep spreading the word to your friends, we are nothing without our listeners. So we love having people chime in and give us comments and notes and just tell us more information because we're always learning. Sarah Timm Oh yeah, that's that's the whole, the fun part of this and also I say this to my friends and people who listen all the time. I'm like, I think we have something really good, and there is an audience for this, we just need to find them. So if you have people in your life who you think would enjoy this podcast, please share it with them. Jojo Siu Yes. Sarah Timm Get us into their ear holes. We would really appreciate it. Jojo Siu Absolutely. Thanks again, and we look forward to talking with you guys in two weeks. Sarah Timm Yep, see you then. Bye. Jojo Siu Bye. Sarah Timm Oh, I guess I can stop sharing my screen.

[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.

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untapanimedraw · 3 years

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Ok, lets talk the Winter 2021 anime season

Dear god, there are so many shows airing. A ton of sequels, and a decent amount of new shows. I think I’ll actually break down what I’m interested in watching into two parts, sequels and new. Lets get started.

Watching:

Sequels

Jujutsu Kaisen - This is technically a continuation rather than a sequel, but the spirit is the same. This was my choice for favorite anime of the season fall 2020 so this continuation has me pretty hyped.

Black Clover - Still continuing. The manga had a 6 month time skip and the anime did some anime only stories with the author’s direction to cover that time period and now it’s caught up to that time skip. Shit is about to go down and I am stoked.

Attack On Titan: Final Season - So this started airing in December which makes for a strange airing schedule, but it’s technically continuing from the fall season into the winter season. Anyway, it is fucking fantastic and this week’s episode left us on a major cliff-hanger for 2 weeks.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime S2P1 - Ok, so first... HOLY FUCK I’M SO EXCITED FOR THIS SEASON, IT’S GOING TO BE AMAZING. Second, yes this is part 1. Thanks to covid there are some longer running seasons that are being split up to accommodate the production schedule. So this part 1 is airing in winter, then in the spring the 4-koma comedy re-telling is airing, and then in summer part 2 of this season 2 will air. it’s annoying, but 3 continuous season of slime is a welcome thing.

Re:Zero S2P2 - Alright, so this is the second half of summer 2020′s season 2 part 1. I have high expectations considering what we’ve already been given.

Dr. Stone: Stone Wars (S2) - HOLY FUCK I’M SO FUCKING EXCITED FOR THIS SHOW, I LOVED THE FIRST SEASON AND AM READING THE MANGA AND OMG I CANNOT WAIT FOR MORE.

The Promised Neverland S2 - More of the promised neverland. I’ve heard that this season will go even harder than the first season and Emma will prove even more why she’s best girl, so bring it on.

The Quintessential Quintuplets S2 - A second season of a decent harem show? Bring it on.

Log Horizon S3 - So I didn’t watch this when the first 2 seasons aired years ago, 6 I think actually. That said it’s always been on my PTW list and when I heard season 3 was going to air I decided that now was the time to catch up; and wow am I glad I did. I binged the first 2 seasons over the last 3 weeks and I am so fucking invested now. I cannot wait for this next season.

Higurashi GOU - this is continuing from last season and I’ll keep watching it, though I’m still not quite sure how to evaluate it.

Yuru Camp S2 - WOOHOO!!!!! This was the chillest of chill shows that aired winter 2018 and I absolutely loved it. I’m so excited for this next season for more camping and adorable girls being chill.

World Trigger S2 - So I was under the impression that there were already 2 seasons of this show, I watched most of it I think but it’s been so long I don’t really remember much. But this is being called season 2... so either this is retconning the previous season 2 or that was really just 1 big season despite the notation on some websites. Also a S3 has already been announced so I need to hurry up and rewatch this before the new season airs. But with 73 episodes that might take a bit of time.

Armor Shop for Ladies and Gentlemen S2 - This is a sequel to the short anime of the same name. If you like it, you like it.

New

Cells at Work S2 - Ok, technically this is a sequel, but I’m including it here because of something cool that’s happening with the next title.

Cells at Work: Black - Why yes, this is a different Cells at Work title. This is based on the spin-off manga of the same title that gender swaps the cells from the main series and covers their work inside an extremely unhealthy body. This is going to be a grittier, bloodier, and bleaker show than the main one and in a fun airing scheduling event, they will be airing back to back. I’m quite excited for the both of these.

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation - OMG I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS IS GETTING AN ADAPTATION! SADLY IT’S A SPLIT COUR SO THIS IS THE FIRST HALF OF SEASON 1 AND THE SECOND HALF WILL AIR LATER PROBABLY IN THE SUMMER. BUT THAT’S OK BECAUSE EVERYTHING I HAVE SEEN ABOUT THIS SO FAR TELLS ME THIS WILL BE A PRETTY DAMN FAITHFUL ADAPTATION AND IT IS GOING TO BE FANTASTIC.

Horimiya - I’ve heard many good things about this romance show and am looking forward to it.

Redo of Healer - Ok, here we go. This is going to be the outrage anime of the season. That is, if it is actually watched by people. It’s also getting 3 different levels of censoring so uh, I’ll have to check for the proper versions when it airs.

So I’m a Spider, So What? - Ok, so funny story. I’d been hearing about this manga for a while so I decided to dive into it a few months back. As I read it, I thought it was pretty funny but I wondered if the anime adaptation would be great for a comedy manga about a reincarnated girl into a spider’s body. Then about 3 weeks ago, I realized I was reading the comedy spin-off instead of the main story. That said I’m still quite excited to see this adapted and I’ll get the manga after then anime is done.

The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter - Hella ecchi, actually pretty fun manga. I’m looking forward to this adaptation.

Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies moved to a started town - Hopefully this will be as fun as the manga was. Here’s a better synopsis than the Livechart one - Lloyd is the weakest person in his remote village but his dream is to become a soldier in the big city. So he moves to the city and strives to make his dream come true. However in a twist, it turns out that the remote village Lloyd came from is the retirement town for all the world’s strongest heroes and they are all massively overpowered, so when he gets to the city he’s stupidly OP but it doesn’t quite click for him. Shenanigans ensue. It’s fun and I’m looking forward to this adaptation.

Bottom-tier Character Tomozaki - This is supposed to be not quite as good a romance as Horimiya this season, but still decent. If that is the comedy romance this is the drama romance show and hopefully it’ll be good.

Kemono Jihen - Mystery, supernatural, Yokai. I’m intrigued in this show and hope it’s decent.

Otherside Picnic - Shoujo Ai, Sci-Fi, I’m sold.

Hortensia SAGA - This is based on a game, but I’ve heard that the story and scope are actually quite good and the PV actually looks quite good so I’m definitely gonna check this one out.

SK8 the Infinity - Ok, so my first impression of this was nah, I’ll pass. But then I saw the PV and saw it was being animated by BONES and my impression changed to Ok I have to at least give it a couple episodes.

2.43 Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team - So this is supposed to be Haikyuu except lots more drama and less gameplay. It will really have to pull me in in order to get me to not think boring Haikyuu when I watch it. I’ll give it a couple episodes.

Dr. Ramune -Mysterious Disease Specialist- - Doctor heals people from Yokai or something like that. The tags look interesting as do the character designs. I’ll check it out.

Back Arrow - Fantasy setting but BOOM... Mecha! That premise at least demands a couple episodes of my attention.

Heaven’s Design Team - Here’s my chill comedy SOL show of the season. The premise is Heaven has a design team that creates/created all the animals. I’m very excited to see the shenanigans.

Gekidol - Idols and stage acting. After watching the new Love Live last season I’m in the mood for some idol stuff. But most interesting to me is the next show on this list.

Alice in Deadly School - It’s not currently known whether this will be a full series or an OVA or some other thing, but this is an anime of the stage play that is being put on in Gekidol. The same VAs in Gekidol that play the characters in this play are voicing the characters for this anime production. And I just think this whole setup is neat and am very interested to see it play out (pun fully intended).

Idoly Pride - This seems to be a more straight-forward idol show which I’m going to check out.

Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san - Girl doesn’t quite cut it to do the thing she and her friend came to do, but she found that she can cook so uses her cooking for support her friends. SOL, lets go.

Wave!! Surfing Yappe!! - Surfing show, the animation will make or break this show so we will see how it turns out.

Wow, that is a lot of shows, lets add them up.

13 sequels and continuations

22 new shows

35 total. I kinda hope some of these suck cause HOT DAMN, that’s a lot of shows.

#anime #winter 2021

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entertainment · 4 years

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Entertainment Spotlight: Brooke Lewis Bellas

Brooke Lewis Bellas can currently be seen in the film The Mourning. She also brought her talent to the role of Pam Deluca in the comedy ½ New Year, about a tight-knit group of friends letting loose at their annual Half New Year Party. Brooke is a veteran of the horror genre and is returning to those roots with a role in the upcoming zombie film set in 1950’s Hollywood, The Day of The Living Dead. Her other film credits include the critically-acclaimed films Psycho Therapy, iMurders, and Sinatra Club, opposite Danny Nucci. Brooke’s TV credits include Fox’s Quintuplets. She will next be seen in the steaming series Red Rooms, which she also produced. Alongside her acting work, Brooke is a life coach and author of Coaching From A Professed Hot Mess, is a Celebrity Ambassador for the Breaking The Chains Foundation, participates in LA Mission Feed The Homeless, and is a staunch LGBTQ and AIDS Activist.

You have worked extensively in the horror genre—what is it that draws you to that particular genre?

I have always embraced my inner detective and have loved solving mysteries. No wonder I have been a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock and Brian De Palma most of my life! I was also obsessed with vampires as a young girl and loved the ‘80s horror films when I was growing up. I have always been drawn to the darkness, unknown, mystery and escapism that horror offers. I also love how the horror genre embraces women of all body types (and curves) and offers strong roles for women!

If you could, is there anything that you would want to change about the horror genre?

If I could change anything about the horror genre, it would be the mainstream and public perception. Horror is often perceived as B-movie quality, evil, cultish, or less respectful than comedy or other genres, and that can be a false perception. There are many mainstream movies that we have all loved throughout the history of cinema and these are the type of horror genre films that I grew up watching. I have never been a fan of gratuitous horror and I could reference my favorites, from Alfred Hitchcock to Agatha Christie to Stephen King to Brian De Palma to the current thrillers and mainstream entertainment brought to us by Blumhouse or Jordan Peele, that are timeless. I wish people would understand how smart some of these screenplays are, the subtext of the stories being told. I wish the judgment and stigma of a lot of horror would be removed.

What would you say makes for a good scene partner?

I have been fortunate to act opposite some veteran greats and brilliantly talented actors, and I would, humbly, say that the most important components that make for a good scene partner are generosity, vulnerability, and openness—a partnership in which we listen and support each other. I have worked for over 20 years as an actress in this crazy industry, and there is little I have not experienced. I cannot say that working opposite the most “talented” or trained actors have necessarily been the best scene partner experiences for me. But working opposite generous actors who give and who support you, as you do for them, and you become like a well-oiled machine where the parts work better together...those actors who want you to succeed, who want to bring out the best in you, and you and them, a give and take—that is when movie magic is created!

1/2 New Year is a comedy, so can you tell us what drew you to the project? Can you tell us a little bit about the role of Pam?

½ New Year is an indie film with heart about a group of young people in their 20s who come to Hollywood, not necessarily for the entertainment industry but to live the life…live their best life…live their dreams…live that excitement that we all grow up seeing in movies, and yet, it is not always that simple. And, it is not always that glamorous or fun. We see how these relationships and people are glued together. I think the tagline sums it up best: "Friends are the family you get to choose." So, it is about a group of friends that go through the ups and downs of young life in Hollywood, and they learn that all you really have is love and friendship. I play Pam DeLuca, the big sister of Reed DeLuca (Drew McAnany). The film displays how sometimes we have family out here that is far away from our biological family, and it is what we go through, and the support we need to get from the worst of times to the best of times. It is very 80’s throwback and I think that's what I love so much about it. I met our star, writer, and producer, Drew McAnany, in Hollywood over ten years ago. Drew originally started out hosting in LA, and he was working at E! Entertainment when he interviewed me on the red carpet. He asked me about Philly, and we quickly bonded during that meeting, so he really became like a little brother to me. Like so many young actors in Hollywood, Drew was fighting to get a break for himself as an actor, so he created ½ New Year as a vehicle for himself to star in. He also wrote the role of his big sister, Pam DeLuca (from Philly), for me to act in. We had worked through a few years of table reads and different directors and producers, then Georgia Menides jumped on board, did the re-write on the script, then became the producer who made it happen. Along with producer Zach Block, they hired Tom Morash as our director to creatively guide this project.

I am honored and grateful to have had Pam DeLuca written specifically for me. I think that is something every actor and actress wants in their career. Pam is in her 30’s, and a bit older than her brother Reed and his friends. They are Italian from South Philly, so they argue, but are very close. Pam is part of the gang, but she is like the "mother hen" to them. Her journey is about protecting her brother and giving guiding advice to the girls they hang out with, including the gorgeous leads, played by Bo Youngblood, Shanley Caswell, and Rebecca Vinagro. She also likes to have flings with Reed's young, handsome buddies, including Marty (played by Jermain Alverez Martin). Pam is an on-screen example of what we go through in "Hollywood life”: She is single and all about her career, she loves to party and doesn't want to grow up! The film released in the USA on all TV On Demand and has just been released on Amazon Prime and Tubi TV.

What’s the funniest/weirdest thing that’s ever happened to you on a film?

Oh, I have had many! I truly feel that being an actor and producer in the independent film world involves a whole other level of funny and weird experiences! When you do not have big budgets to deal with, you have to get creative in other ways. So, one funny story that I would love to share was my experience of being one of the producers on a film titled Sinatra Club, that I was fortunate to get to act in, opposite Danny Nucci from Titanic, Jason Gedrick from Iron Eagle, Ellen Hollman from Spartacus, Michael Nouri from Flashdance, and the list goes on and on, with an incredible cast of talent we assembled. And, what was so cool was I found the script in 2004, we filmed in 2009, and it was distributed in 2011, so it was a very long and challenging development period for an indie project, but one of the wildest memories I have was the fact that the story is based on a true story about the night John Gotti became John Gotti, so for all of the mobster history and movie buffs who are reading this, I was so fortunate to be a part of history in the making with this film. This film is based on Sal ‘Ubatz’ Polisi who went into the witness protection program for releasing information on John Gotti and his crew, and when he came out of the witness protection he wrote the story of his life in the Mafia. It was so wild to work on a project for so many years where we would literally meet at 10 o’clock, 11 o’clock, 12 o’clock at night in privacy and secrecy at the Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City, California, in hotel suites and we would hold our production meetings there!

You actively support many varied causes, how did you get involved in activism?

I was born with a philanthropist's heart and have always been a supporter of giving back in whatever way we can. I was spearheading events in college to run around Philadelphia and feed the homeless with my sorority sisters. Now, I am so grateful to have whatever little “celebrity” status or recognition I have that can help make a difference. I feel blessed and responsible to give back through my artistic endeavors and through my work. I am a believer in activism and I typically work with numerous charities at a time. I am a celebrity ambassador for the Breaking the Chains Foundation that cultivates healing through art for those who have experienced eating disorders, self-esteem issues, and body image issues. I am active in charity work with the Los Angeles Mission on Skid Row and helping to feed the homeless. I have been active in several Breast Cancer charities and events, as I have lost people whom I loved to breast cancer over the years. I have also been active in quite a few charities and philanthropies to support AIDS research. I authored and have donated my book, titled Ms. Vampy’s Teen Tawk: There’s A Lotta Power In Ya Choices, to support teen girls. And, in giving back to the world, I find that it brings so much fulfillment and gratitude to my own heart.

What does your allyship mean to you?

My allyship means everything to me, both personally and professionally. My empathic heart has always been wired to help others. I do not perceive myself as a person with power or fame, but I am incredibly grateful that I have been afforded the opportunities throughout my career to give back, to take a stand, and to help those who have been marginalized in some way. I am a proud philanthropist and activist, and I feel it is my duty to serve. Throughout my life, I have often felt misunderstood or that I did not belong, and I have dealt with my own challenges and struggles, so I am known to “fight for the underdog” and support those in need.

You are a certified life coach, what’s the best advice you have ever received, and, in your opinion, the best advice you’ve ever given to somebody?

As an actress and life coach, I am a huge proponent of having a strong support system of professionals in my stable. I feel that all creatives and health professionals should have their own support system and professionals to turn to. At the end of the day, I have received such incredible advice from my professionals—my life coach of many years, Lori Bertazzon, and my actress empowerment coach, Michelle Colt. One of my favorite pieces of advice that Lori Bertazzon has given me occurred a few years back when she supported me in creating my own set of personal commandments at the beginning of the year. These are commandments that I consistently refer back to, that help to empower me and help to create breakthroughs when I am having breakdowns in my life or career. Michelle Colt has also given me unbelievable advice and support in her workshops to strengthen my soul as an actress, and I have to reference a recent funny one because I love it so, and she knows me so well: our mantra, “No more shenanigans!”. It is something that I hold near and dear to my heart daily.

Humbly, I think the best advice I have given over the years was born from my Ms. Vampy web series for teen girls, where I created a catchphrase that I cherish: “When faced with fear, dig deep inside, find your inner Vamp, and… Vamp It Out!”. To this day, my now-adult cast will send me messages that they used this catchphrase. I use it as an adult (you do not have to be a teenage girl to appreciate it) and when I am fearful or trying to have a breakthrough, I dig deep inside and I Vamp It Out! My other favorite catchphrase advice was so powerful for me, I actually named my life coaching business after it: “Be You… And, Be Fearless!”

Has your training as a life coach ever helped you to prepare for a role/project? How?

I really love this question, because one may think that different careers or skill sets cannot help the other, but I have found that my training as a board-certified life coach has helped me tremendously to prepare for a role or project in a few ways. First, I am now very mindful and aware of the “mind chatter” and I am more able to catch myself in it. When I enter a space of fear or anxiety, I am able to coach myself off the ledge. Even more compelling, is that when I went to school at the Life Purpose Institute to become a board-certified life coach, I learned early on that a very important component of life coaching is “listening without an agenda”. This has helped me exponentially as an actress, because when you are acting and you're truly in the moment, you need to be listening without an agenda, as well. A true response should come from your instincts and that is so wild to me because now I am able to catch myself when I am preparing for a project and I am anticipating what the character will say to me next, and I can catch myself listening with an agenda of what they will say, and I know that I'm not in the moment as an actress.

How can mental well-being and self-care help to sustain activism/advocacy/allyship?

I cannot stress enough how strongly I believe that mental well-being and self-care can help to sustain activism/advocacy/allyship and our own personal strength—mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I actually speak about this in my book Coaching From A Professed Hot Mess: “When you give to yourself and allow yourself to replenish, you have so much more to give to others and will feel so much stronger inside.” I am still working on this, diligently, but when we learn to take care of ourselves and focus on our mental, spiritual, and emotional strength, we understand what it means to feel and give from our hearts. We become inspired to give back and to support people, causes, and have a passion, purpose, and mission, outside of ourselves.

What can you tell us about your latest projects The Second Age of Aquarius, Stripped, The Mourning, and Red Rooms?

At a time when the world is upside down and we do not really know where our next jobs will come from, I feel very blessed that I had acted in, and produced, a few projects that wrapped prior to COVID-19. My Psycho Therapy (Amazon Prime) film director, Staci Layne Wilson, wrote a film with Darren Gordon Smith (Repo! The Genetic Opera). Those two are so crazy talented. It is a fun indie gem. I don’t want to give any spoilers, but it’s The Second Age of Aquarius. It is a comedy, with a little bit of a Sci-Fi twist and a lot of music. It’s really sweet and clever. I’m an Executive Producer and I act in it. I play Tawny Stevens. She’s a young mom, stuck in the eighties, as an eighties, New Jersey, rocker mom. Wait until you see my hair, my make-up, and my leopard pants. I did the Jersey accent. I can’t wait for the film to come out! We also wrapped a TV pilot Stripped. It is a Comedy/Drama. It is a TV pilot that was written and directed by Marc Clebanoff, who also directed the film The Mourning, which stars Michael Walton, Louis Mandylor, Dominique Swain, and Larry Hankin. I was both an actress and a co-producer. The Mourning is a cool Sci-Fi/Love Story that just released on the new Tubi TV streaming channel. Stripped was a passion project. I was also one of the producers with Marc and Frank Krueger (also stars in it). I played Jules, the publicist to the star, Chris Cameron, played by Casper Van Dien. It was created by Mark Clebanoff and late actor, Kristoff St. John. They had created the concept before he passed on, which is such a sad situation, but Marc wanted to carry on his legacy, and he did, and we did. It is such an incredible cast, and series, we are all proud of. Lastly, at the start of COVID-19, my creative instinct kicked in and I knew I had to create to stay somewhat “sane”, so I spent most of the quarantine producing and filming a virtual streaming series. Red Rooms was conceived and completed out of “isolation inspiration”! Joshua Butler and I had been in development on a project and had been reminiscing about our favorite industry days of yesteryear when we met on the horror film circuit. I had already been a superfan of Joshua’s work for years. In 2019, we shot a proof of concept for our project, which paid homage to his hugely successful film VLOG (2008) from the producers of SAW, which went on to become a hit TV series. When COVID-19 hit Hollywood and we were all in isolation, I called for a production meeting, then suggested we use the footage we shot and attempt to experiment by filming each character virtually from their homes. Red Rooms stars horror film and TV veterans Brooke Lewis Bellas (iMurders), David Alpay (The Vampire Diaries), Suze Lanier-Bramlett (The Hills Have Eyes), Ricky Dean Logan (Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare), and Noah Blake (Teen Witch). We are currently working on post-production and cannot wait to see where we end up!

Thanks for taking the time, Brooke!

Photographer: Birdie Thompson | Hair and Makeup: Allison Noelle

#spotlight #entertainment spotlight #brooke lewis bellas

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