#My jojo blog started with the help of a (now) friend who just had super supportive tags and it made me wanna make a whole space for it! Bc

[hajihiko]

like 70% of my Posting origin story is just "I need someone to be talking about (x). If I draw (x) maybe people will at least acknowledge (x) in their tags or somesuch. *it happens* OMG WAIT OK I ALSO HAVE THOUGHTS ON (Y&Z&Q)--"

[modestcatholiclife]

Mid-Lent Reflections

So I'm hoping that today's post will be a little bit different. I've been thinking a lot about this blog and I realised that I've been treating it like an obligation rather than a voluntary personal project.

Since I began converting to Catholicism, things have become rather complication for me. I'm changing as a person and feel very disconnected from my friends, who are all secular, as a result. Additionally, I haven't had a great deal of success in making Catholic friends just yet so I honestly feel quite lonely. During these times, I'm so grateful to God for my lovely fiance who has been the pinnacle of support during this struggle. So this blog gives me an opportunity to talk about those things that I'd like to talk about with friends and potentially connect with people online.

I'd like to try and be a bit more personal and engaging with these posts but I believe that is something I'll find with time. For now, I'll share what I can with you.

Well, right now I'm sick. Nothing serious, I just have a stuffy nose and am very fatigued. I've had to cancel some appointments and interviews and haven't been very productive these past couple of days as a result, which is completely understandable. What's less understandable, though, is that I've honestly been really letting myself down with my Lenten fasts. I haven't been consistent with them at all and the only one I can say that I haven't broken is my fast from meat. I've been on social media almost non-stop and it's been awful. I usually have a block on my phone that keeps me out of most apps from 8pm-9am but I haven't been using it lately. I've been so unproductive for weeks now and have done little to no cleaning around the apartment. It's getting pretty bad here and I'm disappointed in myself. I was hoping to get back onto things this week but of course, now I'm sick. My prayer life has been almost nonexistent. I'm not going to continue, it's not helpful for me to engage in excessive negative self-talk and I should be directing my focus towards improvement, not despondency.

On a more positive note, my early childcare traineeship interviews went incredibly well! So well, in fact, that I was offered the traineeship on the spot during my first interview! I have the contract with me, that I will be signing and returning tomorrow (assuming I'm not still sick) and I'll be starting the job two weeks from today! I've already handed in my letter of resignation to my current job and am looking forward to this new chapter of my life.

I also went to Great Vespers on Saturday night with my lovely fiance. We've just passed the Veneration of the Holy Cross so I have included photos of the Cross from St. Andrew's after Great Vespers on Saturday and St. Volodymyr's after Divine Liturgy on Sunday. This was only my second time attending Great Vespers. I sat near the choir and did my best to participate. Hopefully if I work hard enough, I might be able to join the choir one day.

Lastly, yesterday I spent the day resting and watching movies and anime with my fiance. We watched the first episode of part six of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. So far, I'm not loving it. This is the first part with a female main character and it shows. I don't appreciate how overly sexualised Jolyne is immediately. I'll keep watching it at some point but right now, I'm not super interested. I just watched Chicago for the first time and watching another piece of media about women in prison (even if they aren't there for long) is not capturing my interest. My fiance showed me an episode of an old anime he used to like so I showed him an episode of Ouran High School Host Club, which I watched back in year 7, and he liked it so much we watched a second episode! We also watched Mad Max: Fury Road together. Later on, we watched Josie and the Pussycats, which he highly enjoyed and I would highly recommend.

[wri0thesley]

many many anons under the cut bc i didn’t want anyone to feel like i was ignoring them and i wanted to respond to u all! warning for small text too, it was so long i wanted to make it look smaller fgbnjkgkjn

Anonymous asked: NAT... you can write WHATEVER you want! It's your blog, and I hope that rude anons can learn to respect that. I used to be on your blog just for jjba content too, so when you started getting into jjk I was indifferent but eventually you dragged me into jjk so hard!! I already like bnha, so seeing you write for it only made me happier! I hope that you continue to write whatever make YOU happy:) ❤and yes, longer fics certainly doesnt mean it's better, quality over quantity

ahh i’m happy that you are here for all three!! i always feel so accomplished when someone is like ‘your constant screaming made me think about jjk <3′. all three of the fandoms are fairly popular and i tag everything v carefully so i hope people who do use the filtering find that useful!!! 

Anonymous asked: Goodness gracious. People really be out there thinking they're entitled to dictating what kind of content you should be making

i think part of it might be that i do take requests so people feel like they have like . . . a certain right to certain kinds of my content? i take requests mostly bc they keep me motivated, i like making content for ppl who cant find what they want bc i’ve Been There, but maybe people think i am a pushover? idk i am just trying to have a good time!!!

Anonymous asked: Hi. I only started following you a few days ago but please ignore that rude anon. People are so fucking entitled towards writers it's insane. I recently had someone throw a fit for "spoiling" something in my fanfic, even though the fic was about a manga-exclusive character, so what did they expect?? Overall I've really enjoyed your writing so random assholes coming to guilt you is just a shitty thing that happens. Keep going with what you wanna do.

ah gosh anon i’m sorry about that :(. i’m always super careful tagging spoilers and stuff but like, if someone clicks on a fic about say, naoya or the steel ball run boys and is mad that i spoil something they havent found out yet . . . yeah thats on them fgbnkjgfkjn

Anonymous asked: That...that anon had the nerve to say "we". The fuck?! No no no anon, YOU'RE the only one talking and you're just talking for yourself, don't you dare try and lump us other anons/followers up with you to make yourself look like you're right. We love you nat and we appreciate you. It's your blog, you're allowed to write about whoever and whatever. This brain dead anon just needs to either go read someone else if they're that salty or write their own stuff if they're that impatient.

gosh i WISH some of my mad anons would just write their own stuff honestly. idk if this anon thought they were talking for everybody but i guess they expected anons to agree with them and not be mad at them. i appreciate u anon ;_;

Anonymous asked: Just want to say that ily and you’re one of the best jojo fanfic writers in my opinion 💗 I don’t think you’re half assing jojo fics and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with you being multi fandom. A lot of jojo blogs have started posting about jjk so it’s not as if you’re the only one. I’m not sure why you get hate like this but I think it’s just because you’re one of the popular writers and that makes people bitter for whatever reason. Keep being you and posting about the things that make you happy 💕

honestly after so long writing for jojo - i’ve written well over 200 jojo reader insert fics - sometimes it feels like i’m retreading stuff, and that’s when i take a break bc i dont wanna half-ass stuff!!! i love all of my fellow jojo friends who are posting about jjk too, i appreciate them <3. 

Anonymous asked: Hey my dude, ur writing has really grown since the jojo days and its better and awesome seeing u become happier to branch off and write in different fandoms 🤌🤌 those stupid anons are just boring farts that couldnt be bothered making their own content 😤😤 is it possible to block them to ease ur mind?

hello anon!! i run a statcounter for IPs but it doesnt always work for ppl who access through the tumblr app, i don’t think; a lot of the anon hate i get i just use the ‘block’ option, but last night got to me because i’ve been getting that kind of writer a lot which is . . . a bad look for the jojo fandom who are, as a whole from the ones i’ve interacted with, lovely!!! <3

Anonymous asked: People often forget, the person behind art or writing, is just another regular fan. You deserve to be happy with what you create and we should be thankful you share your talent with us. You also have right to change your main interests, and it's very normal thing. Jojo is one of the MANY things that you write for and all you get from that is a like or share. Its not your job. It's your fun thing to do, in spare time. You haven't betrayed anybody. That person was just rude, selfish and bored.

i am just a person doing my best!!! anime fanfic is one of many interests i have and i already devote a lot of time to it honestly, i love when people tell me they’ve enjoyed something i made bc it makes it feel worthwhile but equally it gets to me a lot when people are rude because i am usually trying my hardest. 

Anonymous asked: Bro that jjba anon... the entitlement🤮 Fam, you write whatever you want to write😤 -Saturday

dfnjbkjnkgf i find most fic readers are NOT entitled at all and are just grateful but when they are . . . oof. 

Anonymous asked: It's funny how people throw "we got you popular" and they think you start apologize and cry. Your writing and passion made you gain few numbers on a follow counter, nothing more. I think I'm too old for stuff like this, we are nothing more, but +1 on a number scale. You ow us nothing, we ow you nothing. Popular... Funny word. You just write for fun of it, fake scenarios about someone's manga characters. It's not that deep. Have fun and don't listen to people like this. I knew it's not that easy, but they are really not that important as they think they are.

extremely fun fact for people who think ‘popularity’ is important to me: i would 100% rather have 10 people who regularly comment, reblog my fics with tags and interact with me than 100 people who read my fic and either leave a like or simply move on. i think this is true for the VAST MAJORITY of writers tbh. i’m glad that people think i am a ‘popular’ blog (i am not in the grand scheme of things, one of my ex-best friends used to run a kpop reader insert blog with like 30,000 followers) bc it gives me an ego boost lmao, but i really just want people to read and enjoy the stuff i write!!! 

Anonymous asked: I followed you a while ago for jojo and when my friends started getting into jjk i was like...eh sounds like work...but now that I see you writing for it I feel really motivated to get into it!!! I really enjoy your writing and I want to be able to read the new stuff too!

ah anon i really hope you like it!!! it’s only one season rn if u wanna watch the anime and there isn’t too much of the manga to catch up on either but it is a lot of fun and it’s nice to be in a fandom that’s like, excited about a new chapter and new plot developments every week!

Anonymous asked: Pls dont reply if u dont want to! <3 I'm not sure if this will be of any help to you or not but this is the kind of thing that often helps me and is the only way I know to try comfort others so I wanted to give it a go~

Now im not gonna say 'dont feel bad pls' bc I know that's not really useful but what I do think is useful is just discussing why that anon and many others feel the need to respond that way. As someone who follows a lot of writing blogs myself and have done for a long time, i've seen my handful of favourite writers come and go for different reasons, lose motivation for a while, gain motivation for a while, go from multi to single fandom, or single fandom to multi. Often times as a reader it can be upsetting when things change but it's also important as a reader to understand that some things aren't in anyone's control, I can't control what my favourite writers become a fan of or lose interest of, I can't control things in their personal lives that may motivate or demotivate them to write, but what I can do is support them as long as they're active, and if they move on to do things i'm no longer interested in or i'm the one that changed interests, rather than being upset that they're evolving to do other things or that they're not evolving with me, I think it's important that I still feel thankful for the works that I enjoyed while we were still on the same page and this is how I personally deal with those negative feelings. I think the anons that lash out at you probably just dont know what to do with themselves, maybe they got attached to your works while you were still only a jjba blog and now that you're evolving they're upset, while I understand how they feel, they're going the completely wrong way about it. I've learned to take these things and turn them into something positive for myself or at least something bittersweet that I can move on from but the anons that lash out at you for whatever reason probably haven't learned this yet. Maybe it's because i've moved on and changed interests a lot myself that I know how these things go for both writers and readers but those anons maybe haven't experienced this as much so they dont know what to do with themselves other than complain that you've changed and throw insults at you in an attempt to get you to revert back. None of this is because of the quality of your writing like they want you to believe, it's literally just because you've evolved and while some of your old followers might not like the new content for no reason other than it not being their cup of tea, it's definitely not regressed at all. You are pumping out a lot of content right now but every single thing i've read has just been better than the last. Things that really stand out to me is how well you get characterisation down to a T and all of your dialogue is just on point and from the pov of a reader I think those things seem the hardest to get right so I am such a huge fan of your stuff at the moment and I can tell you're really putting so much thought and care into each and every fic no matter how fast you're producing it, I think the fact that you're also proud of what you're writing at the moment really shines through as well and I just adore the passion that radiates from every completed request as well as in the responses for the subsequent thirsts resulting from these works that appear in your ask box later (I know i've sent quite a few by now~)

Just to be clear i'm not defending those anons in any way, while I can understand what they might be feeling/why they're reacting in the way they are I still believe it's just so immature to be hateful online point blank. Even during a time where I still got upset with writers if they started doing something else I still never targeted that negativity directly to the writer and sending rude or hateful comments whether on anon or not never something i'd stooped low enough to do even when I still had an immature way of thinking, however, I hope that it might make it a little easier to brush them off if we try and understand what they're really upset about, and that they're just putting the blame for their negative feelings onto the wrong thing rather than coming to terms with change themselves.

hello anon!! i appreciate the long message. i do feel bad for people who have no interest in what i’m currently producing and i get that they feel upset about it; i’ve watched a lot of fellow jojo writers move on completely or just stop posting, honestly. this kind of thing is why i was so intense about asking people if it would be better if i made a separate blog but the resounding answer seemed to be ‘i’m just vibing with whatever happens and i’ll block tags as needed’. 

i often return to works by my favourite reader-insert writers who no longer write for the fandoms i like (and i read stuff bc it sounds interesting or i trust the person who writes it), but change can be difficult and i guess at this point i’ve - whether u like me or not lmao - been a fixture in jojo reader-insert tumblr for a While so it’s probably kind of jarring. 

anyway i really appreciate you and the nice words! <3 

Anonymous asked: hi nat! I just wanted to pop in and say that regardless of what fandom you write for, the love and care you pour into your writing and into interacting with followers who care about your work as well is really obvious. you're doing this for FREE and people should appreciate what you've given us so far, since ultimately this blog should be for you, whatever that means to you at any point in time. it's ok to jump fandoms! the important thing is that you feel good about what you're producing and that it makes you happy. everyone else is just a bonus - but, seeing you on my dash certainly makes me happy : ) I hope you feel better soon!

thank you anon! i’m feeling much better and happier today. birthdays are very difficult for me (i did not think i’d be alive at eighteen, much less 25!) so this event is definitely kind of a way for me to concentrate on something else, and i’m a little bit extra sensitive atm. i appreciate you so much, thank you for the kind words!!! <3

Anonymous asked: Hello! I just wanted to say, write what YOU want and make YOUR writings as long as you'd like. 💖 To the anon who is like "We mAdE yOu FaMoUs dOnt HalF asS iT" stfu, let people do what they wanna do. If you think they half do it, write something better and longer you asshat.

this is an open invitiation to that anon to send me a link to their writing blog and i’ll hype them up i promise <3 

Anonymous asked: nat i'm so so sorry about that ask please know that your older followers don't share the same opinion :( sometimes people forget about the living, breathing person behind the screen smh. you are not a machine. you absolutely should not restrict yourself to posting about one fandom forever. yes, we're first pulled in by your amazing content, but we stay for your wonderful personality and work ethic. please just keep being you, taking up projects you feel comfy with! <333 bless u

ahh thank u anon! unfortunately i actually am a writing robot, i’m sorry u had to find out this way. my jojo chip has been removed, please send it back so i can continue to not half-ass my jojo work. fgnjkbgjkfn thank you so much angel!!! i appreciate you ;_;.

Anonymous asked: i don’t think it’s fair for other people to say shit about what you choose to write about because on tumblr and other writing platforms, writers are constantly developing how they write and the fandoms that they write for. it’s not fair for someone to criticize that “you don’t care about jjba blah blah blah” because you can enjoy new shows/manga. and like you said you’ve grown so much!! proud of you nat and im glad that ive been able to read your works (sincerely other nat)

i am STILL waiting for you to come and fight me other nat fgnjkbnf. it’s nice to be enjoying different things! i am constantly learning new things and reading new works and making new friends and improving and i think that’s important. i do care about jjba - a lot! but i can care about other things too! <3 

Anonymous asked: I may not be one of your oldest followers, but i've been here for almost 3 years. Yes, i started following u for ur jojo content, but let me tell u, ur newfound motivation and enthusiam for other fandoms was honestly contagiuos for me. And i say this as a person who finds very difficult to move from one interest to another. Jojo is great, but so are other fandoms. Please don't let some faceless scum rob u that motivation. This is ur blog and u r always free to write whatever u want.

honestly, i have been there! i am autistic and i have special interests and watching other people move on to stuff i’m not vibing with has made me sad in the past, but i want people to be happy more than anything and sometimes that means new things and change! <3 

Anonymous asked: Hi Nat! I saw that rude anon message & I just wanted to pop in & say that they're wrong. You're not betraying anyone & you should write whatever it is you want to write. I followed you for jojo & I'm not familiar with the other fandoms that you write for, but personally it makes me SO happy to see you enjoying new things! It's always good to find joy wherever you can, so keep writing what you're interested in. There a lot of ppl who want to see you happy and healthy <3

honestly the idea of it being a GRAND BETRAYAL is so funny, i am just writing anime fanfic here and thriving!!! tysm anon! <3

Anonymous asked: Those anons can piss off! They have no right to judge how long or how short your writing is. If they want longer content write it their damn selves. I think your writing has improved wonderfully and I originally followed for Jojo and I'm enjoying all the content period. I don't even watch jujutsu ( not my cup of tea personally) but I love seeing the creativity and the interactions. You write what makes you happy Nat and that's on that! You don't owe anybody anything! I know how hard writing is and when your consuming new content it's hard to make content for something else. That doesn't mean you don't like it any more your just doing something different for a while. Love you and your content and I'm enjoying the love your putting into your content whether long or short. ♥♥💕 Sending love your way!

honestly my idea of ‘short content’ is still over 1k words, i’m not good at reeling myself in! i guess it’s bc they see like, 1.5k jojo fic versus 5k jjk fic but it’s not that i didn’t enjoy the first fic, just that the point and the story came a lot quicker and so did the natural end! thank you anon, i appreciate you ;_; 

Anonymous asked: Hello! Just wanted to let your know that I think your writing is awesome, and that you should write for whoever and for whatever you want to! You dont have to stay loyal to one fandom or anything, and your followers shouldn't expect that from you! It's not like they are paying you to write, you are doing this for free, and because you enjoy it and it makes you happy! If they dont like your stuff, they dont have to follow you, they can go to other blogs that cater to their taste, and they definitely don't need to be sending you such hurtful comments, and they dont get to make you feel sad about your writing! Just because they followed you during your earlier stages of writing, doesn't mean you owe them some type of loyalty or compensation! You can write literally whatever you want as long as it makes you happy! That's what your hobby and your blog are for! I hope you know that alot of your followers love your work and think that you are an amazing writer and are down to support the work that makes you happiest! 💖💖

ahh thank you so much anon!!! i am always so bowled over by how many people are nice to me when something like this happens, i am sending you my love <3

Anonymous asked: don’t listen to them!! we love you as a writer no matter what you write, because you’re a good person and a talented writer!! you shouldn’t have to change what you write to please a bitter person, and if they only want jjba, they can go to another blog instead of bringing you down. you’re doing amazing and they should be thankful you grace us with your talents!!

to be totally honest, if i was half-assing or not vibing with content i was making i just. wouldn’t post it. like you’d be able to TELL when i was half-assing stuff just to get words out (source: i have re-read my own nanowrimo works). there are lots of great jjba blogs who could do with more followers n interaction!!! i hope they do find them and i hope they’re nice to them :(. 

Anonymous asked: Please don’t pay attention to that anon. People only have that confidence when they have anon turned on. Them looking through your blog despite feeling that way is peak fan behavior and speaks to how addicting your writing is. Naturally, you can’t please everyone and there will be people who are irrational and feel entitled to tell you what to do or what to write no matter what. Trust me when I say they’re a small minority and are more likely probably passing viewers rather than regulars. I check your blog about three or more times a day because I love reading not just your fics but also your takes, banter with other anons, or even random updates. Brainrot posts? LOVE TO SEE IT!!! Desk update? AMAZING!!! With that being said, don’t feel pressured to continue pushing out content for others. Write what makes you happy! You’ve been writing for JJBA for 4 years and it’s completely normal + healthy to get into new media. I’m not sure if it would mean much, but your love for JJK has gotten me excited to start it too!!

anon i really hope you enjoy it!!! sometimes these anons remember stuff i’ve posted and said better than i do tbh, i am living in their heads rent free i guess! 

Anonymous asked: I've been following you for a couple of years and honestly it would always be a joy to see when you posted. Your writing has improved and I'm very happy you're enjoying yourself ! I know it hurts hearing and seeing stuff like that but I'm happy you're here. I'm honestly blessed everytime you post. Your writing is phenomenal. I love reading it even if its characters that I dont care for. You capture their essences so well and weave an amazing tale within the prompts and whatnot. You're amazing nat!

wehh thank you so much!!! re: the improvement, i really don’t feel like it has and then i re-read something i wrote when i first started and i’m like oh my god maybe it has. did i really write about jotaro acting like that. 

Anonymous asked: Hi Nat. I recently became a follower of yours and I'm really saddened to see you get hate. You seem like a genuinely sweet person with amazing talent! I'm a writer myself and, unfortunately, get the same kind of comments. And when you get those comments, it doesn't leave you feeling motivated. People need to understand that people can and will, at times, grow out of fandoms. (1 Not just that but you're doing all of this for free. Again, I'm sorry you got such a comment. But please know that I'm proud of how far you've come. I'm proud that you're living a life that makes you happy. And no matter what fandom you may find yourself in next, I will always enjoy your writing. Take care of yourself. (2 end

HELLO NEW FOLLOWER I LOVE YOU (i get a lot more a day now than i used to and i feel guilty about not being able to look through so many blogs but i do try and follow back other writers for my fandoms!! ;_;). i’m sorry you get the same kind of comments! i’m always just happy to see people i like enjoying new things, even if i have no interest in it (hello to all of my mutuals who write for hunter x hunter and haikyuu, not interested but i’m sure you’re having a great time and i support you!!!). 

Anonymous asked: I'm sure you're getting a barrage of supportive messages now (at least I hope so) but I figured I'd add my voice, because I'm a longtime follower. Your writing is, and always has been, wonderful. I've been so happy to see you and Haz get to a place that works for you both. Idk if it's obvious for everyone, but you seem like you're emotionally in a pretty good place most of the time these days, and it makes me really happy to see that. I followed years ago for JJBA content, but I stayed because regardless of what content you put out, I find your wit delightful. And I'll stick around even if you move fandoms entirely, because whatever content or editorializing you produce is going to be worth reading, regardless of what it's for.

ahh, anon!! thank you for sticking around so long, sorry if you’re old enough to have been around the vore and jorts and spider rohan fiascos! <3 i am definitely a lot more stable than i have been and - barring the Pandemic Related Mental Health Issues - happier! i’m glad that it’s noticeable! <3

Anonymous asked: It actually makes me mad how entitled some people are. Nat, you're not a content creating machine and those who expect you to be are not worth wasting a thought on. Your love for something is not measured in word counts and for you to write every day without getting burned out in the slightest you really must have a burning passion and huge dedication to your craft. If others decide to send hate then allow me to send admiration because I can feel your love and hard work in each post you make!

i try and write every day bc it’s super good for my little ocd/autistic brain to have routines and distract itself, so i’m glad other people can enjoy them because that makes me motivated to carry on! like, i write for myself mostly bc the content i want i sometimes get find, but filling requests and writing for other people also leaves me with happy warm fuzzies too! i appreciate you!! <3 

Anonymous asked: If people only care about your writing for the jojo porn that’s on THEM, not you. Your writing was amazing when I followed about a year ago, and it’s only gotten better and will continue to get better! I think it really comes through when you enjoy what you’re writing and it adds a whole other layer of worth to it, because not only are you making free content but you LIKE that content and we can all gush about it together!!! More than just fans, I think you’ve created a community here and we don’t just stick around to read smut, I promise you that. -Reronon

i do miss having a discord community bc it was nice to talk to everyone in real time but it was hard work, i am glad that people feel like they can just come into my askbox and gush! i’m not very friendly in real life and people tend to think i am cold and stuck up so i work very hard to try and seem friendly and approachable online, which is much easier for me because i get to think and re-draft before i type! <3 

Anonymous asked: Hi Nat! I’m sure you’re getting a lot of messages like this right now but I just wanted to say for what it’s worth that, as a person who originally followed you for jjba content and hasn’t watched/read any of the other series you’re currently writing for, I’m honestly still along for the ride. This is your blog and you’re allowed to do what you want with it and put out what content you feel like writing. Sometimes??? People acquire new interests??????? Shocking! I know absolutely nothing about jjk or bnha but out of curiosity still read some of your posts about them and even though I might not Get It, I still enjoy them because I think you’re a very talented writer! Honestly, as long as you’re still writing, I’m still down to clown, and whenever you take breaks (which are important!) I’ll still be waiting for your return or supporting and respecting your decision to stay away longer. Don’t let the entitled assholes get you down. Utilize YOUR blog and YOUR space however YOU choose. Your talent and kindness speak for themselves. Love you!!! ❤️❤️❤️

anon i care about you and i am so appreciative of you and everyone for sending me such nice messages! i am running out of ways to say it but it’s true, it really does mean a lot to me ;_; <3

[photolover82]

The Masked Singer Season 5 Episode 5 Recap: Group B Finals ft a plot twist (Commentary & Guesses)

Hi everyone! Welcome (or welcome back) to Ana’s Masked Singer recap, where I, Ana, recap every episode of The Masked Singer. So, this week, we are back to Group B with yet another wildcard and it is the last time we are gonna see the groups on their own since after Group A’s final, we got the Super Eight (yup, it’s 8 this time... much better still than last season’s format). Anyways, let’s get into it (this is gonna be super repetitive from last week guess wise but I am gonna try to keep it interesting and fresh for you guys, don’t you worry):

Alright, so usually I would save the wildcard for the end as like a surprise, but since the wildcard got eliminated, let’s introduce (and say goodbye to at the same time) to the:

Bulldog!! 🐶

Commentary: Ok, he sang Candy Girl by New Edition (which is really funny and ironic for a whole other thing, I’ll explain in a moment I swear) and um how do I say this nicely?... he’s a great dancer, but the singing is, what Randy Jackson would say, “a no from me dawg.” (Get it? Dawg.. bc the bullDOG... oh ok I will stop now). Anyways, yeah no, he was not good, I kind of expected this to happen honestly, so I am not surprised nor disappointed by any means. However, the person under this mask kinda did surprise me lol... even tho I kind of saw this coming.

He was revealed to be, in the biggest plot twist of the century, no voting, just Neicy Nash picking it:

*SURPRISE SHAWTY*

Nick Cannon, our very own host and Ken’s “daddy*”

*which is ironic because he legit just announced he was gonna have another baby

Ok, ok, did I get this right on my own? Nope, but Twitter helped me out so thank you Twitter. I did officially guess him before he was unmasked (but that’s because I had no other guesses sooo can I really count this a win? Hmmm... TBD... you guys let me know). Anyways, BOOM PLOT TWIST BABY, he’s back! Just in case you guys didn’t know (I don’t really talk about the judges or the host here because I watch for the contestants not for them and it would make this already long blog longer and we don’t want that): Nick had COVID so he couldn’t host the first few episodes of the show, but now he’s better and BOOM he’s the host again... Neicy Nash was taking over for him and now he’s back! So yeah this was just a transition for him to be back on the show, but like imma be honest: he might have been married to Mariah Carey but he don’t got any pipes like her, but he’s a good host so he should stick to that.

Anyways, NEXTTTT, let’s talk about the remaining 4 (which are legit the same freaking ones from last week):

1. Black Swan 🖤🦢

Commentary: So she sang Whitney Houston's How Will I Know and I swear she gets better and better each week like she murdered this song, it was absolutely amazing, my favorite performance of the night hands down. I really love Black Swan, she has one of the best voices on the show and I think either her or Robopine could win the entire season tbh.

I think this has to be (tripling down/final answer/insert buzzer sound here):

Jojo

Reasoning/Clues:

10-10-10= She has appeared on multiple singing competition shows (she did a lot of those shows as a kid), she was on America’s Most Talented Kids and was a guest judge on celebrity X Factor

Montana= get this... if you are around my age, this will surprise you. Did you guys know that Jojo was the original person that the producers of Hannah Montana wanted to play Hannah but she turned it down because she wanted to focus on her music

In her physical clue, she talks about a female singer who passed away at a young age that she was friends with= she was referring to fellow R&B singer Aaliyah

2. Crab 🦀

Commentary: He sang Give it to Me Baby by Rick James and it was a very strong performance, it almost took me aback the song choice. I didn’t expect him to go that hard in the beginning, the hip thrusts were a bit uncomfortable for me and he can’t dance for shit (I am sure it’s because he’s a bit older, not faulting him by any means), but it was really strong vocally speaking. He did actually loose his breathe and started hyperventilating under the mask and had to take a break to cool down (literally, because he was burning up under there), which honestly I hope he’s ok, I am not sure if he’s gonna last that long because of that hyperventilating (remember Mickey Rourke?), but tbh it would have been so unfair for him to go because he did an amazing job and I enjoyed his performance. He got soul.... crab’s got soul.

This has got to be (doubling down, like omg even the picture matches w the body type and everything, I am onto something here):

Bobby Brown

Reasoning/Clues:

Mom kept him in the straight and narrow and taught him how to cook= well, he has spoke about how his mother has gotten him away from the gangs and trouble around his neighborhood and into cooking (he even has a food line, hence the Mac and cheese), which also made him take up singing and thus his band New Edition (remember how I said Nick singing Candygirl by New Edition was ironic? Well this is why... because crab is Bobby Brown aka one of the members.... also Black Swan sang his ex wife’s song so yeah this can’t get any more ironic) was formed

Big Ben= Initals, BB aka Bobby Brown and also he had a show in 2005 called Being Bobby Brown and one of the episodes “Bobby Does London” he goes to London

Ribs= he has a line of BBQ sauces and seasonings called Bobby Brown Foods

3. Piglet 🐷

Commentary: This time, he went a bit softer with the song choice which I feel compliments his voice better, with 7 Years by Lukas Graham, which made Jenny, who apparently hasn’t listened to this song before (wtf Jenny, this song was all over the radio in like 2017 and you are like a radio host hun), cry. I mean it was really amazing and ballads actually suit him a lot more than super upbeat songs like last week’s Andy Grammar song and I really enjoyed it, I’ve heard that song a million times so no I didn’t cry but I still loved it. I do think Piglet will go super far, my guess is he will make it to semifinals.

I am a 100%, tripling down sure that this is:

Nick Lachey

Reasoning/Clues:

Genie Lamp= He did a cover of Aladdin’s A Whole New World with his ex Jessica Simpson on Disney Mania 3

The “spider” who made him a family man= referring to Vanessa Lachey, it was supposed to be this whole Charlotte’s Web thing not really referring anything specific about her that she’s a spider, she could have been another pig for all we care

Dog Tags= in the physical clue, there are 3 dog tags, which he has been seen wearing (you can Google those pics) and they represent his 3 kids which his wife gave him before they had their third kid, Phoenix (btw there’s a P on the bottom dog tag shown)

4. Chameleon

Commentary: Ok so he rapped again but this time the song was Hip Hop by Dead Prez (which I have felt like I have heard but I have no idea where) and I usually hate rappers on this show, but like he’s legit. What I mean by that is like he’s an actual rapper (well Bow Wow was too... but Bow Wow only went as far as he did because of his dancing, Chameleon is just pure rap talent) and his flow is insane. I am not a rap fan whatsoever but I can appreciate good rapping and that was good rapping, actually it was great rapping. Sure, he’s the weakest link of the four but he’s also the coolest one could argue.

Mark my words, this is as I said the last 2 types, again tripling down:

Wiz Khalifa

Reasoning/Clues:

His little Chameleon/lizard= he has an 8 year old son named Sebastian (he also says Cam in the package which is his real name... by him I mean Wiz.... his real name is Cameron)

Martial Arts= the dude likes Martial Arts and has been trained in it and Jiu Jitsu, he has mentioned it in interviews, has been spotted training in gyms, it’s no secret at this point that he likes that stuff

Hot wings= he has a wings place called HotBox by Wiz and he was also on Hot Ones (for those unfamiliar, it’s a YouTube show where celebs eat 10 super spicy chicken wings while answering questions) idk if that counts but I am also gonna say it

So that’s it, guys! I hope you enjoyed! Follow me on Twitter because I do live tweet the show, it’s the same username as here @photolover82 and I do some of these in video form on Tik Tok too if you wanna follow, it’s photolover820 (close enough lol). So yeah, see you guys in the next one! Byeeee! 👋🏼👋🏼

[nada-para-siempre]

Human destinations

Last year was beyond belief, incredible and full of changes for everyone; Covid happened, I self-published my first cookbook ("Menú Covid 19: recipes shared in viral times"), our African trip was aborted but I started a journey alone -without the one who had been my partner since the beginning of this blog-; furthermore, I traveled through myself and visited what I like to call: human destinations.

It all began in March 2021, when I started contacting my friends around the world to ask them for help with my new personal project: a universal cookbook to survive the quarantine. One of the criteria for selecting the book's contributors was that they should be nomads like myself, travellers and immigrants who cross borders just like the damn virus.

Being locked up in the Cajón del Maipo (literally a stone box embedded in the Andes mountain near Santiago), I had the opportunity to revive journeys and stories by video or WhatsApp calls with the crazy characters of my book. Among them was my Turkish friend Burhan, who shared his delicious köfte recipe (super tasty meat balls, seasoned with whatever spices you have on hand and fried. One of the most beloved dishes in his country). 

I met Burhan virtually when he contacted me for “creative” reasons about 8 years ago and then in person when I visited Berlin for the first time. Dieser super nette Typ took me to my first parties in that city and showed me how was living as an artist there. I got to know his workshop shared with other artists and he offered me any help I needed. In total I must have met him about three times during those 10 amazing days I spent in Berlin.  Over the years we communicated a couple times, but when I contacted him to ask him for his recipe it was like we were friends. We were friends. We are friends. Sometimes it happens that way with people; you see them three times (twice in a dark dungeon), and there is a click.  

When I told him about my failed plan to go to Africa, about my break-up, about my desire to travel around Europe and to find my destiny there, he offered me his sofa in the sunny city of Barcelona, in the really sunny Plaza del Sol (where he lives now). And BOOOM!, suddenly I had a first stop on my route of people. 

From here on - and since the tarot reading of my sister Vale - everything unfolded magically and naturally. The universe led me to the precise human places where I needed to be at any given moment. I traveled alone but always with the best possible company. 

Burhan, Andreas (his charming Norwegian flatmate) and Ninja (the fluffy and elusive cat) welcomed me into their home and made my life happy when it could have been not so happy, difficult or maybe sad. Once again, Burhi showed me the city, its sunsets, took me to the sea for the first time in months and we talked non-stop about our lives, about his childhood in Eskişehir and mine in Santiago, about our parents, art, music, philosophy, angels and demons as we drew until it became daylight every time. He assisted me in buying my first watercolours and motivated me to become an artist (I’m working on it :) and I tried the köfte in its original version! He open his house to me because himself had been many times in a half-precarious situation where he received a friendly hand. Having moved from Turkey to Zaragoza, then to Berlin and then to Barcelona he knows what it is like to have a new start. And I, a lost soul, was open to hear about these experiences. 

I remember the refreshing feeling of taking an ice-cold shower at his flat and feeling that everything was about to begin. Looking out of the small bathroom window, at the rooftops, the orange sunset, as I cooled off and smiled, so happy to be there. 

This journey started exactly a year ago, in July 2020, and it went like this: I went to Sandramandra in Costa Brava and Montpellier; Pavinito in Normandy on a mind-blowing roadtrip through Gotic cathedrals to bunkers blocks to his family in Mayenne; Julie and Cotipoti in Paris; Lea and their adorable flatmates in Basel, the bike rides, the architecture, the jump into the Rhein and Zumthor greener than anything; crazy Antonio and his CircoFreak in Cagliari: Mauro, Anita, Luca, Alessandro, Rosa, Omar; the other Mauro and his family in Bari Sardo (I ate olives with fork and knife, something never seen by Italians before); mein neuer Großvater Klaus; Campidarte’s gang with Giorgio, Mario, Linda, Cali, Gustavo, Belén, Roxi, Rika, Fernanda, Sean, Carolrollo, Jacopo; Fabio in the forest; Theo back in Paris. And then, even settled in Barcelona, I kept traveling with my roomies Helo, Natalia y Melo, and the friends of the house, the Colombians, the French; and my old friends Sofi, Manu; and my new friends Bart, Toni, Marco, Bret; the visit of Andrés del Chino; Mon cher Illan, his brothers and cousins and JoJo; back in Berlin, the lovely Caro and Käthe, the adorable Vini and Luca; Selva!; naked Bernhard in the forest; Sabine and Christian, immer in meinem Herzen; Onno, the smoothies and German Lea.

They all let me hover around them and fell in love with their generosity and openness. I travelled through them and they travelled through me. That's the beauty of Couchsurfing and work-away or just crashing your friend’s couch, it's a reciprocal experience of discovery and exchange. And even if you are not physically moving, you are traveling. It's like life opens up new paths, everything connects and you learn things that are sometimes difficult to explain, but perhaps they are the most important ones; the missions of each one and how each one has faced them. The ability to reinvent yourself and your life. Like Roxi and Gustavo. Or dive into a new world, where money doesn't exist, like Cali. Or put all your efforts in learning a new skill to be the best you can possible be, like Illan. You see, everyone is creative in their search for answers. Life is flexible and can bent by the forces of nature, for a virus, for luck, for yourself and your own decisions and for friends who offer you a hand.  All these people have inspired me and helped me to find my own direction, a place called Iguanistan, my final destination :) ♥

[wide-eyed--wonderer]

Hey there! I just found your blog recently and its so good! Would I per chance be able to convince to write a newsies fic where Jack gets sick and the boys (or Davey) have to take care of him? Your work is sooo good, and I honestly think I fell into a little pocket of newsies writers because I seem to have found a lot of you this week lol Its totally fine if you don't want to write it! Thank you so much, and I love your Koi picture!

Hey! First of all welcome! Hope you enjoy our little corner of the Newsies fandom! I certainly love it. Also, thank you so much for this prompt, a had a lot of fun with it and it kinda got a little away from me (it's over 2100 words).  I’ve put the story under a keep reading.

And I love the Koi fish too!

It wasn’t even winter yet, which was why Jack getting sick was such a shock and huge worry for all the newsies. 

It wasn’t unusual for Jack or any of the newsies to get sick in the wintertime, and all the boys usually were able to sell more papes during the season to help cover the board of anyone who couldn’t sell. 

But nobody has any sympathy for Newsies during autumn when the temperatures are milder and the paper headlines are usually less exciting. 

So to say the newsies were worried (and frankly a little scared) when Jack, out of the blue, got sick one September, at a time where paper sales were average at best, and there was no cold weather to excuse the sudden decline in Jack’s health, would be a massive understatement. 

“Al, I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing right now.” Race ranted to his friend. “I’m running myself all over the city trying to sell double the papers to cover Jack’s board as well as mine. And with Jack, all laid up like this with God knows what, I’m supposed to be in charge of all the Newsies too. And we have a union meeting next week. I can’t speak at the union meeting! And I-”

“Race, hey Racer,” Albert Interrupted, “look at me, and take three deep breaths.” Albert exaggerated his breathing, trying to get his best friend to follow. Once he decided Race’s breathing had calmed down, he continued. “First of all, you don’t have to cover Jack’s board all by yourself, split the cost between a couple of us, and that’ll lessen the burden on you.”

“But -”

“I’m not done yet Race. Second of all, all the newsies love you, ‘specially the littlies, you are doing a wonderful job of that so I don't want you to worry about that. And about that union meeting, Davey’s vice president, and he doesn’t have the nickname mouth for nothing. Race, I'm sure he’ll speak if you don’t want to.”

“DAVEY'' Race exclaimed, interrupting whatever Al was planning on saying next. “Al, you’re a genius, if anyone knows how to help Jackie, it’ll be him.” Race ran downstairs to the communal floor where all the newsies were resting in between selling the paper. “Specs! Can you go get Davey, let him know what’s going on with Jack, see if he knows how to help.”

“On it Race!” Specs got up. “Romeo, you wanna come with, say hi to Les?” 

“Ooh yes please!” The younger newsie replied, and the two of them ran out of the lodging house.

Race turned to Albert, and Al could see the fear still present in his best friend's eyes, even if it had been dimmed but the hope that Davey promised. 

“Hey Race,” Al whispered leaning in close to him so none of the other newsies could hear. “Have you seen Jack yet today.”

“I -” 

“Go see him Race. Jackie always makes you feel better. I’ll watch the boys for ya.” Race shot Albert a grateful smile and he shot up the stairs to where Jack was laid.

He stopped out the door to catch his breath before he walked in. Jack was always calm and reassuring when he or the other Newsies were sick, and Race wanted (needed) to be that way for him too.

His resolve was harder to keep up when he walked into the room. 

Jack was laid out on the bed, eyes closed. Jack wasn't exactly tan on a good day, but he was paler than Race ever remembered seeing him. There was a thin sheen of sweat covering his head, which Crutchie was currently dabbing as with a wet cloth. 

And if Jack was asleep, Race figured he really didn’t have to be strong, and let the silent tears fall. 

“You wanna come sit Race?” Crutchie asked softly, patting the space on the bed next to Jack. Race quickly nodded his head and went and sat next to Jack’s feet. 

“Hey there Jackie.” Race sniffed, “you got everyone real worried you know? But don’t you think about the rest of the newsies right now, ok? I got them. You just get better.” Race started running his hand along Jack’s leg in what Race hoped was a soothing motion. 

“How you holding up, Race. ?” Charlie asked, looking at Race, whose eyes were yet to leave Jack's face. 

“I sent Specs and Romeo to get Davey, he’ll be able to help you Jackie.”

“You didn’t answer my question Race.” 

“What do you want me to say Crutch?” Race finally tore his eyes from Jack to look at Crutchie. Allowing Crutchie to get his first real look at Race. 

Race, who even with fresh tears on his face, looked like he’d cried his eyes out overnight because his red-rimmed eyes were surrounded by bags. In short, he looked horrible. There wasn’t much more Crutchie could do for Jack, but there was plenty he could do for Race. 

“You wanna swap places with me?” Crutchie asked, already moving to sit on the bed. Race sat numbly on the edge of the bed, until Jack moaned from the loss of the cool cloth, prompting Race to leap into Crutches old chair and replace the cloth on Jack’s face. 

“Shhh Jackie, it’s okay. We’ve got you. Shhh.” Race soothed, tears subsiding now that he had a way to help Jack.

“Race, that you?” Jack croaked, his eyes flickering open. 

“Yeah, it’s me Jackie.” Race replied, dabbing the cloth on Jack's neck.

“Thank you for looking after me and the boys. I love ya.” Jack finished before his eyes closed again and he returned to sleep. Race’s hand shot for his neck, finding Jack’s steady pulse point and holding his finger there. 

“He’s ok.” Race murmured to himself “he’ll get through this.”

“Breathe, Race,” Crutchie's voice interrupted Race before he could spiral. 

“Why does everyone keep telling me that today?” Race huffed out a small laugh and followed Crutchies instructions. 

“Cause sometimes, your brain moves too fast with too many thoughts and it forgets to tell ya to breathe.” Crutchie shot a small smile at Race, coming up with another idea to help his brother. 

“Hey, you gonna be okay alone with him for a minute?  I needa use the bathroom.” Race nodded, eyes focused back on Jack. 

Slowly Cructhie left the room and went and found Jojo downstairs with the other newsies.

“Heya Crutchie, how’s Jack holding up?” Jojo called once Crutchie was in earshot.

“Jackie-Boy’s doing fine, I was wondering if you and Al could do me a favour actually?”

“Sure. Hey, Al get over here for a minute.” Jojo called to Al, who was entertaining some of the littlies on the other side of the room. 

“Yeah, what’s up guys.” Albert lowered his voice, “how’s Race and Jack holding up?”

“Not much has changed for Jack. He woke up a little when Race came in though.” Crutchie shook his head fondly. “Its Race I’m worried about.”

“Me too,” Albert chimed in, “he looks like he’s falling apart at the seams with worry.”

“He’s trying to become our leader overnight,” Jojo continued, “that coupled with Jack getting sick has not been good for him.”

“I know. That’s why I called you two over.”  He paused, lowering his voice to a whisper, “How do you two feel about taking a walk up to Brooklyn?” 

Whatever Race and Spot had going on in Brooklyn was an open secret between most of the older boys, but there were some newer newsies that didn’t need to be let in on it. 

“Of course,” Albert said nodding his head. “Let’s go, Jojo.”

Satisfied that he’d done all he could for both his brothers at the moment. He headed back up to Jack’s room. 

He walked back in to find that Race hadn’t moved from the chair, although it did look like he’d stopped crying. 

Crutchie wasn’t sure whether to count it as a win or not. 

“I’m back,” he announced softly. Race looked up. “I checked on all the boys while I was out. You’re doing a good job with them.”

“Thanks,” Race sniffed. “I wish there was more I could do…” He trailed off looking at Jack, whipping the cloth along his forehead.

“Everything your doing is helping Jack, Race.” Crutchie put his hand on Race’s knee, causing him to look at him. “Jack is so proud of you, and I bet he can’t wait to tell you when he gets up. And I’m super proud of you too.”

“Thanks, Crutchie.” With that, both boys' eyes returned to Jack’s, and they sat in silence, with Crutchie continuing to rub circles on Race’s leg. 

“Hey boys,” Davey's voice interrupted from the doorway. Eyes travelling over the three brothers lingering on Race before finally landing on Davey.

“Davey,” Race sighed, “can you help?” Race pleaded, causing Davey’s heart to break just a little bit. 

“I’ve got 10 years of experience looking after Sarah and Les, I’m gonna do everything I can.” 

Race flung himself at Davey.

“Thank you,” Race whispered. Davey let him cling a little longer, before carefully pulling away.

“You can stay there Race,” Davey said, pointing to the chair Race had previously been occupying. “I can work from over here,” Davey said, gesturing to the opposite side of the bed. 

Race nodded and sat back in his chair. Crutchie moved to stand behind Race, putting his hand on Races shoulder. Race leaned his head on it. 

“Hey Jackie,” Davey smiled down at his best friend. “Specs told me you weren’t feeling so great, but I think he undersold it.” 

“Dave?” Jack called from the bed, attempting to turn his head toward the sound of Davey’s voice. 

“Yeah Jackie, it’s me. You just lay there and rest, You got the fellas real worried but I’m gonna make sure you get better.”

“Kay Davey, I trust ya.”

Race and Crutchie watched on nervously as Davey did his assessment. Neither boy really knew what Davey was looking for, but it certainly made them feel better than someone they (and Jack) trusted was looking over him.

“Hmm,” Davey muttered to himself, “definitely fever, glands are a little swollen, pulse steady.” Davey frowned. “Hey Crutchie, Race, when was the last time Jack ate?” Race looked up at Crutchie, trying to recall the last time they’d seen Jack eat. 

“Well, we haven’t managed to keep much food in him since he got like this 2 days ago, but the last proper meal was probably when he took Kath out for dinner to Jacobi’s the night before.” Crutchie looked back down at Race, “that sounds right to you Race?”

“Uh. yeah, I think so, I wasn’t really... Um..  around.. that night?”

Davey smiled at the two (younger, if only slightly) newsies. 

“Well, the good news is I think Jacks just got a stomach bug. Should clear out of his system in a couple of days. Meanwhile, I brought this.” Davey pulled a small flask out of his bag and placed it up to Jack’s lips. “Hey Jackie, Imma need you to sit up for a minute and drink this. It’ll help you feel better, promise.”

Jack, who was clearly too weak to say much more than a noncommittal grunt, accepted Davey's offer and took a sip of the drink.

“What’s that Davey?” Race asked.

“Just an old secret family soup recipe. My folks make it for me and my siblings when we get sick. Helps us feel better, and I bet it’ll work wonders on him too.” Davey stopped talking as the church bell rang. “That’s my cue to go boys. I’ll come back tomorrow after school to bring more soup for Jack. In the meantime, you too make sure Jack drinks plenty of water” and with that, Davey got out of his chair and made his way towards the door, only to be stopped by Race, who'd come barreling into him. 

“He’s really gonna be ok?” Race asked his arms tight around Davey's midsection. Crutchie came up behind Race and sandwiched him between himself and Davey, resting his head on Races shoulder.

“Should be, you’re doing an awesome job Race. See you, tomorrow boys.” And with that Davey turned and left the lodging, and Crutchie and race took back up their positions around Jack's bed. 

And later, when Spot came around, neither boy commented when he pulled race onto his lap and rested his fingers in his hair. 

And when Jack woke up two days later, fully better thanks to Davey’s miracle family soup (and time, Davey kept attesting, which Race, Jack and Charlie all protested) he couldn't have been happier to see his two younger brothers, asleep head on each other's laps, hand still firmly clutched around Jack’s.

Let me know what you think. Hopefully, this filled in what you were looking for!

[himboholhorse-moving]

1 2 4 7 8 9 13 18 20 26 27 29 30 32 39 40 41 43/44 45 46 49 51 53 55 56 57 59 63 65 that is. so many dghsdghsdgv I'm sorry I just see an ask meme and go crazy aaaa go stupid aaaa. You can just answer whichever u like from those!! also 69(nice): you seem rly nice and funny from your 🅱️osts and I appreciate u... I hope you can find better irl friends who aren't trash

HDSKFJKS I completely understand but lucky for u I LOVE to talk !!

1) How are you?

Pretty good, actually!! Which is a nice change of pace. I went to Walmart with some friends yesterday and got a few things, baked a family recipe that my friends LOVE, and finally did my laundry (it’s been a couple weeks we love depression and executive dysfunction dfhkjsfd). I went to Cracker Barrel with some friends and earlier and played a 4-way game of Tetris after. :3c

2) Post a picture of yourself.

Here you go !!

4) What is your entire name?

Sierra Alexis and my last name is something constantly misspelled so I’ll give you the name of a historical figure whose name is a letter off from mine: George B. McClellan, to whom I may or may not be related because last name variations are fuckin’ WEIRD.

7) Your zodiac/horoscope and if you think it fits your personality.

I’m a Capricorn sun and moon, and Libra rising !! And from what I’ve read on Twitter from various astrologers, like Milkstrology, I LOVE her, I’d say it’s pretty accurate with my personality!! I like to say Capricorn’s aren’t cold bitches but, I Have A Tendency To Be One !!

8) What did you do on your last birthday?

God what DID I do on my last birthday… it was in January, so like, I SHOULD remember… OH I went to IHOP with my friends !! I share a birthday with another friend and I got a JoJo notebook and something called a Fuggler! They’re stuffed animals more or less but designed to be “ugly.” I got one that looks like Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty because I LOVE Gritty… he’s so fun and funky.

9) What is one thing you’d like to accomplish before your next birthday?

Get all my requests in my inbox over on my writing blog done KJHFDJKSF it’s been a few months and life has been. Hectic to say the least.

13) If you could change your eye color, would you?

There’s so much weird as hell brown-eye-phobia so like… I think blue eyes would be pretty neat. OR PURPLE… give me some unnatural eye colors pls...

18) Do you have any tattoos?

Not yet!! I’m going to get one the next time I go back home for break. :3c And I have a few ideas for other ones!! I wanna get a big-ass “Dragon Age: Origins” tattoo that’s the dragon on the cover on my thigh. I also wanna get a DA2 and “Inquisition” tattoo… and the Joestar birthmark… too many ideas… 

20) Left or right handed?

Right-handed !! I could have been left-handed or ambidextrous if I broke my arm AFTER I started kindergarten, but alas that was before.

26) Something you are working on right now:

This !! But also the script for my next podcast episode that I record on uhhh Monday I think. Should probably figure that one out dsjfjhsf

27) Do you have any “rules” about food?

I answered that in the last ask !!

29) What would you say is your best quality?

I also answered this in the last ask !!

30) What do you think you’re really good at?

Writing, I’d say! And memorizing trivia about the stuff I’m super into. If it’s stuff pertaining to “M*A*S*H” or old movies or TV shows or actors or specific historical events, I will know that shit FOR LIFE. Don’t ask me to do math pls thank u

32) What talent do you wish you’d been born with?

I wish I was able to do stuff with music. That was never really in my blood, despite all the music classes they make you take in elementary school. I just never learned how to memorize or read sheet music. :/ I would have loved to play violin, tho… my friend plays and she says I would have been a good cellist.

39) Do you sleep with a stuffed toy?

YES… have for years. I still have my Care Bear from when I was 5, Gritty as mentioned above, a plush of my school’s mascot, and a little Fugo !! He’s so tiny.

40) What do you think about the most?

Everything and constantly and all at once. But the past really because I can never let stuff go and even the small things I mess up on haunt me forever… Wish that wasn’t the case but it is !!

41) Share two habits:

Biting my nails and having a very specific routine in which I get ready when I wake up. Like, I’ve gotta go brush my hair before I put my important cards in my left pocket, then put on my silver bracelet, then my beaded bracelet, then my earbuds in my right pocket, then put my earrings in. I HAVE to do it in that order…

And other oddities that include, like, if I need to go around something I HAVE to follow the urge to go one way and not the other, lest I feel the need to go back and fix it. And then which foot goes first before I reach a crack in the sidewalk, or up or down a curb, etc.

43) What are your career goals?

If I can just make people happy or get some kind of joy out of the things I do, I’d call that enough. :)

44) What is your ideal career?

Mmm, either a film historian or a film professor !! Preferably at the college I’m at right now but wherever the wind takes me, I’ll go! Or a Twitch streamer or YouTuber, it really depends on my mood jdhfjskf

45) Is your life anything like it was two years ago?

It was pretty much the same !! Freshman year was pretty lively, I didn’t have a job on campus yet though, or my podcast. Everything else is basically the same!

46) Do you replay things that have happened in your head?

CONSTANTLY… good or bad it’ll play back over and over and over again.

49) Do you have any phobias?

HOO BOY, DO I… fear of heights; fear of insects/bugs/arachnids/bees/wasps; I have a strong dislike of the number 13 but I don’t know if it’s a phobia, I just. REALLY hate it; the unknown, more or less what lurks somewhere beyond where I can see. Not so much a fear of the dark with that one, just what could BE in it.

51) Are you allergic to anything? If so, what?

I answered this in my last ask, as well!

53) Ever come close to death?

Two or three times, maybe? Two of them involved what’s called a laryngospasm, typically it can happen when your sick, which is what happened to me both times. Basically your throat just closes up on your for a hot minute and you can’t breathe. The first time I genuinely thought I was going to die (and my dad still sent me to school that day… HOE), the second time I was also sick and was losing/had lost my voice DURING A JOB RETREAT and it happened in the middle of the night so that was funny sitting there gasping for breath in the pitch dark.

At the FIRST retreat I went on for that job, you had to take pictures as part of a scavenger hunt, and the place used to be an old military fort, so there were still the old bunkers there. We had to take one on top of it and I was taking the picture, and it’s a wide shot so I go to take a step back but before I do I look behind me. If I hadn’t I would have fallen a good 10-15 feet down onto solid Civil War-era bunker concrete. I’d consider that being a “close to death” moment because I really could have died!

55) A random fact about yourself:

I have a half-brother !! My sis and I finally found him after her 23andMe results came back (which she decided to do despite us being like THE GOVERNMENT WILL COLLECT OUR DATA) and we didn’t think our mom would be happy she found him but she was !! My sis might reach out and contact him, she just wanted our mom’s permission first to do it.

56) What are three things most people don’t know about you?

Well, that I have a half-brother. I don’t mention it a lot. Aside from y’all on here and my sister, most everyone else doesn’t know I’m nonbinary! Everyone else knows I’m bi though lmao. And that there were times I’d stretch or bend the truth or lie about something just to impress someone else. It’s a… Bad Habit. Another thing is that most people don’t know I like coffee? Like I need to put a shit ton of creamer in with it because I’m a Bitch, but yeah.

57) An unknown fact about your life:

I wouldn’t call this an “unknown” fact but I’d used to go to work with my dad every now and again when he worked at the Home Depot and he was assistant manager. I’d either chill in the back room which was an office he shared with two other guys, or walk around the store with him. I had my own apron, too, which was my name with “Mini Mac” next to it, “Mac” being my dad’s nickname and something easier to say than my last name. I actually helped a few customers out so I wonder if I should have gotten paid for that despite being like, ages 9-13 when I’d go jshfkjd

And I guess I technically tested video games as a kid? Basically, when my dad was stationed at Fort Knox, they’d get demos of video games that hadn’t come out yet to test I suppose? and I still have a few somewhere. He’d hand them off to me and I’d play them so there’s that.

59) Five weird things that you like:

Eating globs of wasabi for no reason.

Scaring my friends also for no reason.

I wouldn’t say using cotton swabs to get wax out of your ears because it feels good is weird, just more medically inadvisable if anything.

When I was younger I’d like to floss really hard because the slight pain from it felt good. Young me was a #Freaque KJHDFJJDHF

I don’t know if being fond of alphabetizing and reorganizing things is considered weird but I LOVE doing that.

63) A quote you try to live by:

“It matters not how strait the gate, / How charged with punishments the scroll; / I am the master of my fate: / I am the captain of my soul.” It’s from the poem “Invictus” and the last two lines are what I’m getting tattooed !!

65) Weird things you do when you’re alone:

Practice the “Lucky Star” dance. I GOT THE LYRICS DOWN… JUST NEED TO DO THE DANCE NOW…

69) Leave me a compliment:

“you seem rly nice and funny from your 🅱️osts and I appreciate u... I hope you can find better irl friends who aren't trash”

Anon pls 🥺 I do my best to be nice but my friend really do test me sometimes... my feelings bounce back n forth like if they do something my feelings can switch to angry or like, hate, and then if they do something nice I’ll like them again. It sucks but ! I just take it one day at a time. Anon I care for u 💜💜💜

[k1ll-ur-vibe]

hey! thanks for visiting my blog.

i’m jade, i’m 20 years old and i live in south wales in the uk. my pronouns are she/her and i am bisexual. i’m single.

i love music, writing, body modification, bdsm, gaming, tv shows, genealogy, true crime and rugby. my favourite music genre is pop-punk and my favourite band is all time low. i love atl to death, they have helped me so much and saved my life. their music means the fucking world to me and i can’t even express just how much i love them. i own multiple copies of their CDs, DVDs and vinyls, and a shit ton of merch. i have seen them 9 times and met them 3 times. they’ve also noticed me a bunch of times and some of the guys have started recognising me at this point which is really cool. i’ve loved them for nearly 7 years and they are such an integral part of my personality and life at this point, it’s unreal. <3 if you’re friends with me, you’re gonna hear about atl every single day and you need to accept that.

other than pop-punk, i love all different genres and have a very varied music taste. some artists other than atl that i love are simple creatures, busted, lights, little mix, mcfly, the maine, marianas trench, jojo, ed sheeran, demi lovato, breathe carolina, cupcakke and hayley kiyoko.

i write songs, play guitar, bass and drums, sing, read music and am experienced in in-studio and live sound engineering. music is my life, it’s what i live and breathe. i currently work in events staff, helping put on concerts and rugby matches which are 2 of the things i love the most.

i write stories online and have had some pretty popular fics before. i write both fan fiction and own universe stories and i take part in nanowrimo every year. most of my stories will go up on quotev and/or mibba. you can view my profiles on those websites here and here. you can view my nanowrimo profile here.

through writing fan fiction, i have met friends who have made my life so much better and become my family. i met 2 of my best friends, dominique and alexandria, on quotev and i wouldn’t change them for the world. <3 i’m finally meeting dominique in march but unfortunately, alexandria and i still have to wait a little longer. but we’ll get there, i know we will. :) i’ve known both of these girls for nearly 7 years and i just love them so much. <3 i can’t wait to finally break the distance with my sisters. :)

i love body modification. i currently have 3 tattoos and pierced ears but i want so, so much more. i currently want 24 more tattoos plus an entire sleeve, 10 more piercings and stretched ears. all the tattoos i have currently are atl related (therapy and skull tattoos on my left arm, plus atl’s signatures on my upper back) and i love them so much. however, the next tattoo i intend to get is non-atl related but i still have plenty more atl-related stuff to get done, including the sleeve (it will be based on my fave album, nothing personal’s artwork). :)

i am highly into bdsm and am a submissive. before the tumblr purge, i had a bdsm blog but now, since i’ve had to delete it, anything that i can get away with will be posted here. some of my kinks include bondage, pain, torture, degradation and humiliation, dd/lg and watersports. i’ve struggled with my sexuality a lot over the years and part of that has been a struggle with accepting that i’m kinky. but i refuse to let it bother me anymore. i am into bdsm and if people don’t like it, that’s their problem. i will be posting bdsm-related things on this blog so if you’re not into that, please don’t follow me. however, i will try my best to tag everything as both bdsm and nsfw so if you are able to block those tags in any way and still want to follow me, please feel free to do so. :)

i love video games and my favourite games are the gta games (my faves are prob gta san andreas and gta5. however, i am currently making my way through gta4 as i didn’t get to play it when it initially came out). i also love tony hawk, sonic, pokemon and the sims. i am currently an xbox player but love playstation and nintendo too. i have fond memories of the gamecube and the ps2 growing up. i’m hoping to play red dead redemption 2 and undertale soon. i think they look awesome and have watched many let’s plays on them. currently playing: gta4, ts4 and pokemon white.

i love tv shows and some of my favourites are the goldbergs, brooklyn nine nine, how i met your mother, friends, stranger things, you, big mouth and the good place. i mostly netflix binge but sometimes will watch live. the only problem is things take a lot longer to come to the uk from the us haha. i used to be a huge fan of sci-fi and i used to blog a lot about supernatural, doctor who and sherlock but have drifted far away from that now (although i still love misha collins and ship destiel/cockles lmao). so if you see one of my old posts, know that i’m not like that anymore. i definitely prefer sitcoms these days but still love a good drama. :)

i love genealogy and have been creating my own family tree since 2015. my 3 favourite genealogy-related tv shows are who do you think you are? (uk version), heir hunters, and long lost family. i love finding out about my family history and what made me, me really. i get that it’s a super nerdy thing to be into but quite frankly, i don’t care haha.

i’m super interested in true crime and the psychology surrounding it. eleanor neale is my favourite youtuber but a close second is georgia marie. i also love buzzfeed unsolved, both true crime and supernatural editions. i frequently binge true crime docu-series on netflix and i really want to study psychology at some point. i just think it’s so fascinating to think about what must have to break in someone’s brain to make them so violent and/or evil.

being welsh, i of course adore rugby. and of course, i root for wales. the venue i work at is the home venue for wales and it makes me so proud. i would love to meet one of the team one day, probably leigh halfpenny specifically. i feel that rugby is just so much better than football and the fanbases tend to be way more accepting of each other. and the game is way more fun to watch. but unfortunately, i don’t think i’ll ever be strong or brave enough to actually play it haha.

i unfortunately struggle with a few illnesses that can sometimes make life a daily battle but i get through it. i have polycystic ovarian syndrome (pcos), which causes irregular periods, cysts on the ovaries, rapid weight gain and difficulty losing weight, hirsutism, male-pattern balding, acne and infertility. i have pretty much every symptom (but i haven’t tried getting pregnant yet so i don’t know about infertility) and it is hell. i also suffer with a few mental illnesses; depression, social anxiety disorder and OCD. i used to self-harm but am now over 5 years clean and i also have attempted suicide in the past but am thankfully not suicidal right now. i take 40 mg fluoxetine daily to manage my mental illnesses and i also see a support worker to help me get out more and build my confidence. i’ve been through both child and adult therapy services in the past. anyone who’s reading this and is struggling too, please stay strong. <3 i promise there are better days out there for you.

i hope you enjoy looking at my blog and that you give me a follow if you want! bye, peeps. <3

[thecostumeplot]

Episode 8: A Very Long Engagement & Parasite

Please consult these Instagram slideshows for accompanying images: A Very Long Engagement Parasite

Both  

Welcome to The Costume Plot.

Jojo

I'm Jojo Siu.

Sarah  

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

Jojo

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

Sarah

Hi, welcome.

Jojo  

Welcome! So we just wanted to give a shout out to all of our new listeners this week. Sarah, you want to tell them a little bit about what you did? [laughs]

Sarah  

Yeah, my favorite fashion blog, Go Fug Yourself, who-- I have been following them for literally like, 10 years, at least. I emailed them. And I was like, "I love you. Could you possibly shout us out?" And they did! They were so kind. And we had a huge spike in listeners. So hello, welcome. We are so happy to have you here.

Jojo  

Yeah!

Sarah  

And we hope you like the show. Because we're really excited that you're here. [laughs]

Jojo  

Yes. And we would be nothing without our listeners. So thank you so much for adding to our numbers. And also just getting to know us a little bit better through this podcast. So, welcome.

Sarah  

Yeah. We've had a couple of Instagram DMs from people who are just really excited to have found us, and I... I said this to my friends, I was like, "I feel like we have something really good. And we just need to find our audience." So like, I hope that we're getting close to finding more people, you know?

Jojo  

Yeah, definitely.

Sarah  

And then another thing just at the top, I wanted to... I had this idea this week, and then Jojo was like, "Yeah, that sounds good." I listen to this other podcast, it's-- I mean, it's called Good Christian Fun. Shout out to them. But they do this thing where to incentivize people to give them reviews, they donate $1 for every review they get on iTunes. So we're going to try that.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

So if you could leave us a review, that'll also help us grow our audience. And then we're going to donate $1 if you do that, and we're going to pick... we haven't decided which charity yet. But it's it's going to be something related to our subject matter. So like, Dress for Success, which is the one that like helps people find wardrobes for... to find careers. Or maybe Equity Fights AIDS, which is like the Broadway Cares foundation that everybody knows about. So yeah!

Jojo  

Yeah, definitely.

Sarah  

Please review us!

Jojo  

Or, if there's... I was gonna say also, if there's people who have charities related to what we talked about, and have an interest in sending money somewhere, please let us know. We'll consider it. And think about it. So yes, please give us reviews.

Sarah  

Yeah, if there's like a theater costume specific, or even film costume specific charity... I don't know what that would be. But yeah, if there's a good cause, a worthy cause you know of, please send it our way.

Jojo  

Mmhmm. It also just gets us knowing what's out there as well. So, always better.

Sarah  

Yeah, yeah. I mean, a lot of theaters are struggling right now. So like, a good cause is always to donate just to a theater. But I don't-- I don't know if we should single one out because like... we're in California...

Jojo  

There's so many.

Sarah  

Yeah. There's so many, like, how do you pick? Yeah.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

I don't know.

Jojo  

Cool. That's so exciting! New year, new things.

Sarah  

New year, new us. [laughs]

Jojo  

I know, in the midst of all the craziness that has happened this week.

Sarah  

Oh, God. Yeah. We hope they we are a little distraction from the craziness... in the world.

Jojo  

Yes. That's what we try to be.

Sarah  

Talking about some pretty dresses. Well, not in the case of my movie this week, but... [both laugh]

Jojo  

I was gonna say, "Mmm... Maybe not!"

Sarah  

So what's theme this week, Jojo?

Jojo  

Yeah, our theme, I'm super excited about. Because Sarah and I decided to do foreign films this week. And this is actually the first time both of us have not seen these movies prior to this week's recording.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

So that's also really exciting. Because, you know, we don't always choose movies that we've seen thousands and thousands of times. Of course, it means we watch it at least a couple times before we talk about it on this podcast.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

But we are not the experts, just remember that this is because we love talking about these movies. And I'm really excited to be talking about a movie that I've heard a lot of good things about and then finally had the chance to see. So this movie that I'm going to be covering is actually called "A Very Long Engagement." It's a French film, which... I actually do watch quite a few foreign films. I watch a lot of Korean films. And I also watched a lot of... I should say, Korean dramas, not really Korean films. [bl] And then I also watch a lot of Bollywood, but this is one of the few French films that I've gotten to see, and it's the same director who did "Amélie," Jean-Pierre Jeunet. He's actually a self taught director who teamed up with a designer-slash-illustrator named Caro, and they together came up with one of their first projects, "Delicatessen." Which was one of their first full length movies. And it actually won four César Awards, which is basically like the French version of the Academy Awards, which is amazing.

Sarah  

Nice.

Jojo  

Obviously, "Amélie" is another one of his that Americans will probably recognize a little bit more. And then he also did "Casanova," which was a TV movie. So it's, you know, most of his films are not going to be as recognized to an American audience unless you study more art films, because he does have a very art film bend. But just the fact that he's come from kind of this self taught direction is pretty amazing. And then our costume designer is Madeline Fontaine. She's most well known for "Jackie," she was nominated for the Academy Award there, but she also won a César Award for Best Costume Design for "A Very Long Engagement." So that was kind of the claim to fame. A little bit of background about the movie, it is actually set in 1917. The director was really fascinated with World War I and did actually three years of research before he even started filming this movie...

Sarah  

Wow!

Jojo  

...which is pretty amazing. He has a very specific and very quirky perspective, which obviously you see that in "Amélie," but it does carry over a little bit into this movie as well, mostly in the way that the characters kind of interact. And also the way he kind of jumps from place to place in the script, which is also very important and very reminiscent of "Amélie." This is obviously a much darker movie because it's about World War II-- World War I, sorry. And there's a lot of like, violence and gore, and body parts being blown up.

Sarah  

Really?

Jojo  

And he really wanted to depict the war as it would have been, and as he-- as, you know, normal people would have experienced it, as opposed to a more glorified... or, I guess, romanticized version of the war. So, so that was one of the things that he talked about wanting to really emphasize in this movie. And I think the costume designer also reflected that pretty well. The movie itself is actually based on an original novel by Sébastien Japrisot. I'm probably saying that wrong as well. [bl] It received a nomination for Best Art Direction, as well as Best Cinematography at the Oscars. Unfortunately, it didn't win either at the Oscars, but it did win, again, several César Awards in France.

Sarah  

It can be very hard for foreign movies to break through to like, regular Oscars that aren't just Best Foreign Film.

Jojo  

Yes, definitely. And it's interesting too, because there's all these comments from people who love this movie, you know, who all rave about how they should have gotten the Oscar awards, and all these other things. And I'm sure there's a lot of other politics involved with that as well. But yes, beautifully stunning movie, there's a lot of... it's a little hard to follow, I will say. That's kind of one of the things that I think was a disadvantage of this movie. Because, and this is also very characteristic of "Amélie," his movies do tend to be very... non-chronological?

Sarah  

Right.

Jojo  

And nothing is like, in order. And you also aren't really told where-- what time period you're in, what location you're in. It's a series of a lot of flashbacks. And it's more about kind of the idea of memory and sort of whether it's Audrey Tatou's memories, or other characters' memories. You're kind of not really ever sure where you're at in the movie. So that was kind of hard to track when I was trying to do costumes and figuring out like, what scene is this? And when is this happening? I almost wish that I had bought the DVD, because apparently there's an extensive hour and a half long documentary about the entire process, including costumes.

Sarah  

Oh my gosh.

Jojo  

So unfortunately, I won't be able to speak to some of that stuff that's on the documentary, but I've been told to go and just watch that. Because apparently it's pretty extensive. But I will talk about the costumes that I covered for this, just because there are still a lot of really beautiful details that I think we can gather just from costume... you know, sort of fact-finding as you're watching.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

Before I go into that, I did want to start with a quote from one of the cinematographers because I think especially in film, costume designers do have to work very hand in hand with cinematographers, because it's all about the image. And the cinematographer is kind of like your art-director-boss, for lack of a better term. Obviously, they're the ones that are looking at the whole entire image, the entire big picture visual of the movie. So one of the things Delbonnel, probably also saying that wrong, said in his quote was... "Delbonnel's richly colored images transport the viewer past realism and into what could be called 'cinematic impressionism.'" Sorry, this was something that was said ABOUT his cinematography.

Sarah  

Mm, okay.

Jojo  

"As the film reaches its emotional conclusion, the viewer is left with an unforgettable patchwork of multi-hued memories." So this was from The American Cinematographer, which is an international journal that follows film and digital production techniques. So I thought that was actually a really accurate portrayal. And we'll see this as we go through the costumes... of, you know, what the cinematography did and how the costumes helped reflect that. Let's see... the other thing that I wanted to mention before I get started, because I'm going to be covering a lot of Audrey Tatou's character's costumes, because she is our main character. And she's really the one that we see the most. One of the things that IndieWire actually wrote about her character was that it's one that gives off "sentimentality and intense emotion," and it's a fine balance between the two. So that's definitely something that, you know... as I was looking through this movie, I was able to look at how the costume designer was able to do that. And I think she did a pretty successful job.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

So the first image we're looking at is actually her in bed. And this is shortly before she's-- obviously, she's heard in the war that her fiancé Manech... so, Audrey Tatou's character's name is Mathilde. And basically the idea is, the story follows her and her fiancé Manech, who has been sent off to war. And he's one of five soldiers who basically tries to get their hand decapacitated--incapacitated, sorry, is the right word--in order to try and prevent... like, to try and escape the torment of war, or the torture of war. However that happens. And it's a series of different stories about how each of them did that. And in the case of her fiancé, he basically lights a cigarette and holds his hand up over the lines and then gets shot in the hand.

Sarah  

Mmm.

Jojo  

So with that, obviously, it's a way for them to try and get home, or get sent home and say, "Okay, this is a war injury." However, it also was a sign of essentially cowardice. So their way of trying to punish them was to basically throw them over the trench lines and leave them on German no man's land, so that the Germans could basically take care of them. So this movie is basically her trying to find any kind of access to Manech, and find him and be reunited with him and find out what's happened to him. So it's a series of her kind of doing this investigative sleuthing by trying to get in contact with all the people that came in contact with her fiancé. So her first outfit is when she is like-- right before she goes to Paris, and that's where she's actually hiring an investigator, she essentially lives out on a farm with her aunt and her uncle. And she also suffers from polio. So like, this character has a lot going on. [laughs]

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

She was born with polio, or I should say she had polio when she was very little. And so she's got this limp that she's always walking around with. And there's a very long and like, really sad and overly dramatic story about how she and Manech met as children, which I'll go into detail more a little bit later. But with this one, I wanted to focus on just the softness and the quality of the colors, because for this particular costume design in general, not only was the cinematography super tight and really limited in color palette, but the costume design was also very much like that. And so you can kind of see here, she's got a lot of earth tones. Most of the movie, Audrey Tatou is actually in essentially browns, beiges, a lot of kind of sepia tones. So it is very much like a memory.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

Which is something I really love. And also a color palette that I actually like to use a lot in my own work. So that was already something that was kind of a favorite. The other thing that we've talked about in the past is obviously texture. You can see on her cardigan here, most of her clothing actually features some kind of either vertical stripe, or some kind of really tiny plaid. It's always a very kind of structured look. And the only times that we ever really see her in color are when she goes into flashbacks of her memories with Manech before he went off to war. So obviously a very, very specific direction with color palette.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

And you can see here, she's got a lot of-- there's that same corduroy with the wale that we talked about last episode. [bl] Only laughing because we can never figure out the best way to explain what "wale" means. But hopefully if you listened to our "Jingle Jangle" episode, you know a wale is now. [laughs]

Sarah  

Hopefully if you had questions, you've just googled it. [bl]

Jojo  

True.

Sarah  

So... once again, we are professionals but we're not necessarily experts. That's why when I tell people about this podcast, I make sure to stress that it's conversational.

Jojo  

Yes, very much so.

Sarah  

We're... we're not what you should be referring to in your research papers, how about that. [bl]

Jojo  

Yes, maybe one day? I don't know. But I do love that there's such a mixture of different textures here, and everything is always very structured and kind of a geometrical line or pattern. There's not... I shouldn't say there's no florals, but it's mostly in the lace work that you see any of the kind of more organic shapes on her. But for the most part, especially when she goes into Paris, we'll see that she definitely changes kind of the silhouette and textures of what she's wearing. But most of the softness that happens when she's in the farmyard is this kind of softer cardigans, a lot of corduroy, you'll see that in her jackets later on as well. And much softer drape, too. So you can see that the cardigan obviously is a much softer garment in general than say, a blazer, or something that's a little more structured. So when she's at home, it's a much softer silhouette. When she goes into Paris, you'll start seeing that change. So I'll move on to the second look. The second look, this is again, still her at home. And it's her writing letters, basically, to the people to try and find out who has information about her fiancé. Who can get her in contact with, basically, the soldier that was in charge of the five defactos... whatever the right word is.

Sarah  

Is it defectors?

Jojo  

Defectors! Yes, thank you. But yeah, so she's writing letters, basically to the investigator to start this investigation and start figuring out who she needs to get in contact with. But one of the things I love about this outfit is because... this actually does show her in a lot of the blouses that are very characteristic of her character. It's a lot of very sheer cottons. But you can see here, the designer really took the time to like, make sure that the embroidery was there. It sounds like they had a really extensive process. Again, because I didn't watch this documentary... it sounds like a lot of it was handmade, or I assume that a lot of it was handmade, because they wanted this to look like they were really living in rural farmland in France.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

And you can see that, not only in the kind of handmade embroidery quality that's on her clothing, but even just the fabric itself, everything is very organic. So I did want to mention that about this particular look. Okay, so now we're on the train, she's going to Paris, and she's trying to find-- she's meeting the investigator, basically the detective that she's going to be hiring to find Manech. And it's not as easy to see here. But this movie is... because it's set in 1917, there's a lot of 1920s. Of course, it's set back a little bit. So it's probably more between 1905-1910 in terms of actual fashion trends. She's obviously from a lower-- I don't want to say "low class," but more mid, probably lower-to-middle class, in terms of...

Sarah  

Yeah, she's not a rich lady.

Exactly. And so in terms of her clothing, you do see a lot of repeats, because it was very, very realistic. They wanted this to be a true representation of how people lived in that time during the war. So you'll see this jacket repeated quite a few times throughout the movie. Interestingly enough, she always has some sort of a brown kind of straw hat. There's this one, which is a little bit of a taller brim and almost looks like almost like a top hat.

Hmm.

Jojo  

But it's not quite a top hat, but it's made out of straw. And she also has decorative pieces on it. But she also has another brown straw hat that is more like a cloche. And it has sort of a flipped-up brim in the front and kind of a dovetail in the back. So it's-- I don't know if it was meant to be two hats, or if it's supposed to be one hat that she kind of restyled for different occasions, because that was also done in the 1920s. So I just wanted to focus on that, because it just shows the versatility of these outfit pieces, because she's obviously wearing them for different occasions.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

But also her focus right now is not to look trendy. She looks nice enough to go into the city. But she's obviously got a much higher priority.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

The interesting thing that's-- and I don't know if I have a closer picture of this jacket. I want to say I do. Yeah, so if you look really close, this is a zoomed in picture. And this is that other hat I was talking about. So it's got that front brim that's kind of flipped up, and then the back is actually left down. So very much like cloches from that time. The other thing you'll notice here in this really big close up, is that that jacket is actually made out of corduroy again. So like, I really feel like the designer used corduroy to define this character.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

That whole idea of that kind of textured rib is very prevalent, and stripe is very prevalent throughout the entire movie.

Sarah  

I love the gloves too.

I know. So many gloves. [laughs] She wears a lot of those kind of lace gloves. It's like this mixture of kind of the hard and the soft, or the delicate.

Yeah.

Jojo  

Which I think defines a lot of that idea of the balance between that sentimentality and that intense emotion that they quoted for her character earlier. I think the costume designer, that was her way of embodying that balance, which I think was really successful. So again, another version of that, or another view of the other hat that she's wearing, but again, it kind of looks like-- it's almost like the brim has changed a little bit. And then obviously, the hat has been pushed back up to the kind of more top hat shape. So again, I'm not sure if this is the same hat or if she just has those two hats that she's wearing between her looks. But again, another really great shot of that corduroy on the jacket. Okay. Oh, and other gloves. This was a big movie for gloves, because the 1920s also, you really wore everything. Like, it was all about wearing all the pieces to go out. You never went out without your gloves and your coat.

Sarah  

Yeah, gloves and hat, too. Like, being in public without a hat was like, "No way." You know?

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

In pretty much every period up until, like, the 60s.

Jojo  

Okay, I'm gonna start with this image first, because-- so Marion Cotillard, who is also a French actress that we know very well in America. She actually plays a very small side character in this movie. But interestingly enough, because there's these five soldiers in this movie, it's not just Audrey Tatou's, you know, love story. There's also these other four soldiers who also have their own kind of love stories. And that's sort of where the side stories kind of branch off. Another reason why this movie is very confusing, because there's just so many characters. But Marion Cotillard is one of the characters who actually is a prostitute in the beginning, and ends up falling in love with one of the other soldiers who gets killed fairly early on. So when she finds out he's killed, of course, she's kind of doing the same thing as Audrey Tatou's character Mathilde, except that she is actually going back and finding revenge on all the characters that have killed her lover.

Sarah  

Ooh.

Jojo  

So she is secretly figuring out who all these people are, and then going around and killing them, kind of starting from the top down.

Sarah  

That's awesome.

Jojo  

So this is one of the scenes where she meets with one of the people that has killed her lover. And she's in this great... it's almost like a long coat from the 1920s. And almost like a riding coat from-- actually probably from more Edwardian era.

Sarah  

Wait, but this isn't the 20s, right? It's World War I.

Jojo  

It's 1917.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

So it's like, right before the 20s.

Sarah  

Yeah, so it kind of bleeds into each other.

Jojo  

Exactly. So you'll see a lot of the kind of-- it's like, leading into the 1920s. But like, the-- it's almost like Edward, late Edwardian.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

But she's got kind of that... it's not quite a cloche, but the hat is kind of entering the cloche shape, it's starting to fit close around the head. I love that she's got this kind of dead bird on the front of her hat, [laughs] because it's very characteristic of this moment in particular. And the big thing that I thought was really phenomenal about this particular outfit is that she actually... well, one, she's got the black lace gloves. She's kind of-- like, she sort of embodies death right now, which is basically what she's kind of doing. She's the harbinger of death for all these people. But she shows up in this dark tunnel, you know, and she meets this guy who basically sees her from a distance and just sees this silhouette of this woman dressed in black. And she's got these black little round, like, moon specs. Or not moon specs, but they're like brown specs.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

And the funny... not "funny." But it's the greatest thing about this is that the specs are actually chained. There's like, chains that actually connect to her belt. And her belt has this little pulley system that basically is linked to this little pistol that sits right at her hip in the beginning. So this is after she has turned the belt to the front.

Sarah  

Cool!

Jojo  

And I caught this, I caught this great screenshot of it because I was like, "I need to show the public how this happened." [bl] Because it just happens so fast. And of course, there's no actual images of this online. But I love that she's basically come up with this huge contraption all on her own of how to connect her glasses. So she-- when she takes off the glasses and pulls on it, it basically pulls the chain and yanks the pistol to fire. And of course, that's how she shoots the guy once he gets within range. [bl] So it's, you know, of course, it's this whole elaborate ruse, and that's the only thing in the scene that you ever see. Again, it's all these short, small scenes that you ever see Marion Cotillard in, and yet she's kind of doing the same thing that Mathilde's character is doing throughout the story, just from opposite sides.

Sarah  

Mmhmm. Wow.

Jojo  

So yes, I didn't talk about her costumes, which I'm a little sad about, but most of her stuff is very over-elaborate. It's very much height of the 1915 era, because she is a prostitute, so she's getting a lot of these kind of hand-me-down clothes. But from, you know, wealthy men who are paying her.

Sarah  

Mmm.

Jojo  

So she is very, very well dressed. And it's not until kind of the end of the movie when they finally capture her, after she's killed all these people and left bodies in her wake, that she finally goes back into a dowdier look, to match in the same sort of sepia tones that Mathilde is.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

Okay. So again, like I mentioned before, really the only time that we see Mathilde's character in color is when she's in these flashbacks with Manech. And even in this one, I wanted to focus a little bit more on kind of the softness and the texture of how the designer really created this character. Everything about Mathilde is very, very homespun, and very homely. And it kind of makes us think more, like, French countryside, as opposed to height of Parisian fashion.

Sarah  

Right.

Jojo  

And they did a really good job of really foiling her with Marion Cotillard's character by doing that. So I just wanted to-- again, most of these costumes are just things that I really enjoyed looking at. [bl]

Sarah  

Yeah, that's fine!

Jojo  

Because also, it was a lot of sweater cardigans that I was like, "I just-- I want to own that, and I want to own that." [bl]

Sarah  

[sing-song] We love cardigaaans.

Jojo  

But yeah, so I love the texture on this and how subtle the colors are, and then kind of, you know, contrasting that with... even Manech is very, you know, I mean, he's obviously dressed very rural class. But just the soft tweed-ness of his jacket, as opposed to sort of this done-up coat, which he wouldn't have been in anyways. But the softness of both of them in this scene really complement each other very well. And it's really, really lovely. There's a lot of film critics who actually compare this movie to "The Notebook" and, like, you can't compare it because it's so much more beautiful! Because like basically, it's kind of like those first ten minutes of "Up."

Sarah  

Oh, God! [laughs]

Jojo  

Basically you see their whole entire, you know, love story within maybe 15 minutes,

Sarah  

And you're like, "Is this a children's movie?! I'm crying!" [bl] Yeah, that.

Jojo  

So this movie, within the first... I mean, this isn't even in the first 15 minutes. This is probably like halfway through, or maybe a third of the way through the movie. But she goes into this flashback, and there's this huge bell tower. And actually, she always goes up to a lighthouse that's in her countryside hometown, to basically look out for if he ever comes back. But this scene in particular-- because they walked to the bell tower quite a bit when they were children. So it's her flashback of him carrying her up the stairs of this bell tower because she's got polio...

Sarah  

Aww.

Jojo  

...on his back! [laughs] It's just them going up to have this romantic moment in privacy with this bell tower.

Sarah  

How sweet.

Jojo  

So yes, really, really tragic, but also really beautifully... beautiful visuals for this movie. So most of these I pulled just because I wanted to continue tracking through all the unity of costumes that I think this costume designer has done really beautifully. So again, going back to that idea of the stripe on her. This is kind of when she's starting to get closer to finding Manech, she's starting to put together hints and clues from all the people that she's now come in contact with. And also, I just I thought this was interesting, because the entire movie, she's looking for this man named Célestin Poux. And that sounds like a horrible last name, but it's spelled P-O-U-X.

[laughs]

And I was like, "I guess that's how you say it." But she ends up finding him finally, which is this guy here with this giant handlebar mustache. And he's basically the guy that... from what I remember, again, this was a very confusing movie with many, many characters. But Célestin is basically the man who kind of like, found Manech and basically kind of passed him on, and was sort of the last one to see him before he disappeared. So he is kind of helping her, when they finally find him, to find out what really happened with Manech. Because there's a lot of back and forth, you're not really sure if he's alive, you don't know if he's died. You want to hope that he is, and then you know, you get something that happens that... maybe he isn't. So there's a lot of back and forth with this movie. It's a very emotional roller coaster, let's just say that. But I love that he's in this kind of light pink. And then she's in this, you know, it's still the same color palette of the sepia with her. But now that she's got some hope, she's let her hair down. Because the other thing in this movie is that she always has her hair kind of braided up. Sort of in, like, the Princess Leia braids.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

Which also makes her look very kind of youthful and a little more countryside, as opposed to this more, for lack of a better term, "let loose," like-- I feel like she's now got hope, she's got a little bit more of a better outlook on whether or not Manech is actually alive. And I think this is sort of where she starts having her turning point of like, "I'm going to find him." So I wanted to do a couple of the shots of her as a child, because I thought the-- I loved the childrenswear in this movie, I really do feel like it is not talked about enough. And we haven't really touched on childrenswear either.

Sarah  

Yeah, we haven't.

Jojo  

But I think the costume designer did a really beautiful job. I love that this dress is actually buttoned in the back, I think that was also pretty common in the 19-- you know, early 1900s. And again, it's that same kind of gingham that we still see in her older clothes, that we tie in with her childrenswear. I also do love that in that previous scene where she's starting to have hope, again, is when she returns to the one braid. And I thought that it was interesting that that's what she also wore as a child.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

So it's kind of this idea of like, "Okay, I'm returning to youth, I believe that he's alive, I have a little more hope," and it's returning to this youthfulness. Same thing with the next outfit I chose for the children. So this is actually not even a real memory from her childhood with him. This was when she first meets him and he invites her to the lighthouse. And so this is her as a child imagining that this is what's going to happen when she gets to the lighthouse. Because there's this whole made-up moment in her head where like, she basically gets to the top of lighthouse and then almost falls over the side. And he grabs her up and does this whole romantic gesture, and this is sort of what happens after he's saved her from falling over the edge.

Sarah  

Aww.

Jojo  

So none of this really happens, it's just in her memory. But I love that the costume designer has still put her in this very romantic color, which also gets carried over later, in the next look where we see her lying on the cliff side. And this is after Manech has basically made his proposal to her. So it's that same idea of that same-- you know, even though that particular memory didn't happen, that feeling of the happiness that she felt in that memory is reflected in her clothing, color-wise and also silhouette-wise.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

So I thought that was really, really lovely. And again, showing how much color psychology can really affect not just the character, but also the audience watching it. Because I think this movie was very much more about the emotions that it was evoking as opposed to the historical... even though there was a lot of historical accuracy. It was less about the historical depiction in terms of chronology, as opposed to the actual emotion of what was happening between these two. Okay, so a couple of the side characters, and I'm going to kind of...

Sarah  

Jodie Foster?!

Jojo  

I know, right? [laughs]

Sarah  

She speaks French?

Jojo  

Yeah, apparently. And actually, she speaks French pretty well in this movie.

Sarah  

Wow!

Jojo  

So she is yet another side character. So she actually is married to one of the other soldiers that was in this group of cowards... defectors. And she has five children with this soldier. And he basically has this whole idea that if he has a sixth child, the military will allow him to go home. Because if you have six children, it's too many children for you to take care of, too many mouths to feed, whatever. So we can't have you in war when so many people are relying on you. So he basically comes up with this idea for his best friend--who is also a soldier in this small group--to sleep with his wife so that she can have this sixth child, because he is actually barren.

Sarah  

Ohh.

Jojo  

So then there's this whole side story where she basically falls in love with the best friend. And so she's like, also hearing about him, because he ends up also dying in the war. So a lot of this is very much like-- she hears all these stories of all these other soldiers around Manech. And then you kind of see glimpses and small snippets of what happens to the women around the war. So in that sense, I feel like, you know, even if you're not looking at the costumes, just the sheer amount of what you're seeing is like... you really are seeing the war from every side, from a very realistic perspective. Of not just the people in the war, and the soldiers that were experiencing such trauma--and all this PTSD from the war--but also the women surrounding them that were trying to support them, or wait for them to come home, or... you know, all the other stuff.

Sarah  

I actually read a book called "The Nightingale" recently that's literally about that. It's about two French sisters during World War II. And it really is just like... I realized that so many war stories focus on the loss of life and the horrible experiences that the men have, which are all very...

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

...of course, relevant and horrible and tragic. But like, the women are fighting their own war back at home, basically.

Jojo  

Absolutely. So this, of course, is Jodie Foster. You know, this is kind of towards the latter half of the movie where Mathilde has finally discovered who this woman is and gotten in contact with her, because she knows she's related to one of the soldiers. And so this woman basically--or Jodie Foster basically--writes her a letter explaining what happened from her perspective, and how she heard about the death of her husband, and the death of her lover. So one of the things I wanted to point out for this particular character is that, you know, she's basically a single mother now, of essentially five children. I don't think they ever actually ended up having a sixth. But just the sheer softness and kind of broken-down quality of her silhouette, and you know, just the clothing that she's wearing. We first see her in a market, like an open marketplace. So then in this particular look, I love that it's this kind of really soft and almost very delicate lace cardigan that she's wearing over top of this. Let's see if I can zoom in. It's basically like a Swiss dot cream blouse. But everything is kind of this sheer, and sort of very vulnerable. And even the neckline is very vulnerable. It's very low, it's very open.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

So I think that was something that I thought the costume designer did really well for her character.

Sarah  

I love big, open, holey knits.

Jojo  

Yeah. [laughs]

Sarah  

I love 'em. I love a knit!

Jojo  

Especially when you can really see the pattern.

Sarah  

Yeah!

Jojo  

Like, you can see the lace on this one. Because sometimes, especially from far away, even if something is really delicate and kind of lacy, you don't always see the detail.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

But I do love that about that. Okay, so for this one, this is one of the first memories where basically it's like the first night that they sleep together. So this is Mathilde and Manech. And I love that the costume designer here has thrown in such a subtle-- again, she's in a stripe, but he's also in a stripe, and they're varying different widths of stripes. But the fact that they kind of match together and that they're in this scene together... not only does it just show their class and their character and who they are, but it also just ties them together very well. And I do also love that the costume designer has continued to use this idea of this very subtle kind of romantic red... in a much more muted color palette, of course. But that you're always seeing some sort of love, or some sort of representation of love, in all of Mathilde's character. Or, sorry, in all of her costumes, and all of her clothes. I do also love that you get to see sort of the more "undressed" of the early 1900's, because I think sometimes... I don't want to say we all assume that everyone wears, like, a full three-piece suit or a two-piece suit. But I love seeing kind of the more dressed-down, like... what is everyone else wearing? What is the everyday look? What are the clothing pieces that are underneath all of the vests jackets, all the other accoutrements, I guess. And also, you know...

Sarah  

I think that's important. Like, a lot of costume history is studying fashion plates, and what was trendy, but it's also important to study, like, what were real people wearing?

Jojo  

Yes.

Sarah  

And like, what was practical at the time, you know.

Jojo  

Yeah, I mean, and when you are dressing a character, you're thinking about what they're wearing underneath, because it is also about like, "Okay, well, when I put on clothes, I don't just suddenly show up in a suit, I have to put on all the layers underneath it."

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

You know, what goes under a suit? I have an undershirt, I have a button up shirt underneath that, then I have the vest, then I have, you know-- or in this case, the suspenders, which... we've talked about this before, but I also just love a really good worn suspender. So...

Sarah  

Oh yes. [laughs]

Jojo  

...both of these clothes just look so lived in. And it really... it just gives you a lot of insight about these characters that, you know, they're not people that are looking for the trendiest, cleanest things and the sleekest outfit. They've lived in these clothes for a long time. And you know, right now, the important thing for them is that they're together, not that they have the most fashionable outfit.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

So yeah, you can definitely-- I feel like sometimes costumes can evoke a feeling as opposed to just telling you what is practical, or what people are actually wearing. And I really loved this shot for that reason.

Sarah  

It's beautiful.

Jojo  

Yeah. Okay. So obviously the final shot of the movie... and huge spoiler, she finds Manech. [laughs]

Sarah  

Yaaaay!

Jojo  

And of course, there's this very bittersweet moment at the end, because he actually has lost his memory.

Sarah  

Ohh.

Jojo  

And one of the things the director has talked about too, is that he wanted to focus on this very real part of the war, that many war heroes--even if they made it back--would have memory loss. Would not even remember the people that they left behind. Which is also just a huge, tragic part of the war. But I love that in this final moment when she comes to see him-- because she finally finds out that he is still alive. So of course everyone in the audience is raving because they're like, "Yes! She finally found him after this incredibly long journey of going through everyone else," and then she comes and finds out that he has amnesia and that he probably won't remember her. And yes, the fact that he is just alive is of course, you know, the happiest thing that she could ever imagine. And so she comes to him in this beautiful cream-- like, it almost looks like an 1900s short coat? I'm not quite sure what the actual garment name is. But it's very traditional. Like, she's got the blouse on underneath that's in sort of a white lace, which I'll show in a couple seconds, the close up of that. And then she's got this pleated kind of 19... probably 1907 skirt. And it's got like, really small pleat tucks in it, which she also uses a lot--the costume designer uses a lot--in a lot of her skirts. And again, to kind of  harken back to the corduroy, that idea of the stripe, she always has some kind of stripe somewhere. And then the coat itself is actually also a cream corduroy.

Sarah  

Really?

Jojo  

So again, this idea of carrying corduroy throughout her costume for the entire movie, I think was really, really well done by the costume designer. And again, such a subtle detail that you would never notice unless you were really looking close, and stopping and starting this movie like I did. But I love that she used that subtle detail to give her that character. The other thing that I wanted to focus on talking about for this particular outfit is that because this is her first time essentially reunioning with... I don't even know if that's a word. [laughs]

Sarah  

Reuniting?

Jojo  

Reuniting, thank you!

Sarah  

I like "reunioning," though, that's fun.

Jojo  

I totally just made up that word. But she basically... this is her first time reuniting with Manech. And so even though he doesn't remember her, it's her chance to show up in this almost bridal gown? Almost as if like, this is their wedding. Like, even if he doesn't remember her. She has hoped now that he's alive after this long time. And so she comes presenting herself to him in this very... I don't want to say "virginal," but it's almost like she's basically kept herself pure for him.

Sarah  

Right.

Jojo  

So I love that she switched to this color, because this is really the only time you ever see her in such a bright array of white. Because obviously she has, you know, cream colored blouses that she wears and pairs with other things. But this is the only time you ever see her pretty much head to toe in white. So just the close up of this.

Sarah  

Ooh!

Jojo  

So yeah, you can kind of see here, it's really subtle, but it's a really small wale corduroy all over her coat. And then she's got this really lovely kind of delicate lace underneath. So I love that that last moment is that... such a huge visual marker of of her kind of reuniting with him, and essentially is their wedding without really being a wedding.

Sarah  

Right.

Jojo  

So... so yeah, that was my take of all the costumes in this movie. Again, I didn't focus too much on the men in this one, mostly because it was a lot of soldiers' wear, and I think that... I don't want to say that that's not important. There's a whole 'nother podcast that can be done about...

Sarah  

Sure.

Jojo  

...you know, costumes in military, because it is so extensive in terms of all the things you need to know to understand the uniforms. The ranking, the hierarchy of what happens in military uniforms.

Sarah  

It's a lot of work, like...

Jojo  

So much.

Sarah  

...that's so much research that you have to do, to even know...

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

...like, what any specific character should be wearing.

Jojo  

Yes, absolutely. Well, and the fact that you know, when you're in-- when you're doing any war movie, it's a lot of distressing.

Sarah  

Yes.

Jojo  

So we talked about distressing last time, the level of distress on these these military costumes, like... I can't even imagine. It must have taken so long. Like, this was I think they said this was a $4.5 billion budget or something like that?

Sarah  

Did you say "billion," with a B?

Jojo  

Yes.

Sarah  

What?! [bl]

Jojo  

I was like...

Sarah  

I don't think so. Maybe euros?

Jojo  

Maybe, I don't know. I mean, it was done... like, I think he contacted Warner Brothers about it.

Sarah  

No one does billion-dollar budgets.

Jojo  

It was just something so incredibly crazy that I was like... I mean with this movie, though, because like, they spent half of the budget just building the entire French Parisian metropolitan scene.

Sarah  

Oh, gosh.

So it's like, it did require quite a lot of money. I don't know if it was in the billions. I'll have to go back and check on that. [Post-episode fact check: the budget of the movie was $51.2 million.] But yeah, I was like, "Oh my gosh, the sheer amount of just things to make this movie is insane."

Yeah.

Jojo  

But yes, I will say one quick thing about the military, all of the scenes in the war. The cinematographer really... you can kind of see there's almost like... so the rest of the movie is kind of in this sepia tone, but most of the war scenes are, you know-- it's sort of a mix of sepia tone. And then all of the costumes--or sorry, all of the military uniforms--are blue, because it's the French Army, but it's this really beautiful almost, like, cornflower blue.

Sarah  

Ooh.

Jojo  

I don't know how to describe that. But I think you know what I'm talking about, Sarah.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

But it's this really beautiful kind of muted blue. That's in contrast with all the brown and earth tones that are around it. So yeah, visually, super stunning movie. I cannot say enough about the production value of this movie, because it was really well done. Like I said, the only thing that was a little hard to follow was just the amount, sheer amount, of characters.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

But yeah, beautiful movie, beautiful costumes. And also just... Audrey Tatou is just a really beautiful actress.

Sarah  

She's lovely.

Jojo  

And also like, Jodie Foster and Marion Cotillard. They picked some really big names for this movie. So...

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

...so yes, if you get a chance to watch it, it's sort of one of those underrated movies. It's not really talked about a lot, but it's really well done.

Sarah  

Love it. Great job.

Thanks!

You're welcome.

Jojo  

I'm excited to hear about your movie.

Sarah  

Me too. Can we take a quick break, 'cause I gotta pee. [short musical sting]

Okay, so I was blown away by this movie.

Jojo  

I still need to see it. So excited.

Sarah  

So this is... I'm covering "Parasite," in case you didn't read the title of the episode. [laughs] It's a Korean film by director Bong Joon Ho. It was released in 2019. And it kind of, you know, made a huge splash when it came out. I'm sure everybody's heard of it. It won Best Picture, right? I'm pretty sure.

Jojo  

I think so. Yeah.

Sarah  

Which is a huge deal for a movie in the language other than English.

Jojo  

Yeah!

Sarah  

And it's... I went into it not knowing, like, anything about it. I knew that it was a commentary on like, wealth inequality and class. And that's about it. So I recommend, I mean, if you haven't seen it, I recommend watching it. I am going to spoil some of it. But I'm going to not-- I'm not going to spoil the very end, I decided. just like, you know, "Murder on the Orient Express," I didn't tell you who done it. So I'm not going to tell you what happens.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

I'm just gonna tell you the lead up. So yeah, the costumes are designed by... I'm so sorry. These are Korean names. I'm gonna do my best. Okay. Choi Se-yeon designed the costumes. I don't know if that is a man or woman, so I'm gonna say "they." Because I couldn't really find any information on them. They don't have, like, a website. And I googled the name Se-yeon and it's unisex. I was like, "well, that's helpful." [bl]

Jojo  

Yeah, sounds about right.

Sarah  

And I couldn't find any interviews with this person, either, about the costumes. I found interviews with Bong Joon Ho about the production design and the costumes kind of together. But this designer has also done other Bong Joon Ho movies, like "Okja," and then just like a bunch of other Korean films.

Jojo  

That's usually how it goes, I think, with with Asian directors, though.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

They sort of have their team especially Korean--like, from Korea--directors.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

They'll work with their team from Korea. So...

Sarah  

That makes sense.

Jojo  

...that's probably why we don't get a lot of news in the press about them.

Sarah  

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And it's about the movie as a whole, I think. I think they're not really all that fussed about featuring, you know... they're a team and it's a unit. So it's about the movie.

Jojo  

Yeah, yeah.

Sarah  

Yeah. So this movie came about, I found this really interesting-- Bong Joon Ho said that actors had been asking him to write a play.

Jojo  

Ooh, interesting.

Sarah  

And so he originally conceived of this as a play. And he said, "The stage is a limited space. I was trying to come up with a story that I can tell with just two homes, one poor and one rich." So that makes sense, it doesn't have a lot of... like, they don't go a lot of places other than just their houses.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

And he described himself as "Very fascinated with the sense of infiltration. When I was in college, I worked as a tutor for a very rich family. And I got this sense that I was spying on the private lives of complete strangers." So that's kind of like where the conception came from. So broadly, sort of, the story is about two families, one rich and one poor. And the poor family basically infiltrates the rich people's home, and it starts with the son. He gets a job tutoring the daughter of the rich family. And then they're like--the rich family's like--"Oh, we need an art tutor for our son." And so he gets his sister in there, but they do it by lying about like, their credentials, they make up college degrees, and they pretend like they're not related to each other. And then they eventually get the dad in as the driver, and then the mom in as the housekeeper, and they get the other people who are working there fired.

Jojo  

Woooow.

Sarah  

And they lie their way into employment basically, because they're super poor, and desperate, and struggling, and they need the money. So they basically con their way into taking these rich people's money, which, like... I had no idea this movie was about that. [laughs] It's so good.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

So yeah, the themes of the movie include wealth disparity, social inequality and imperialism. Like a lot of countries, especially right now, South Korea has a really big gap between the wealthy and the poor. Like in America, you know, it's like the gap just keeps getting bigger. They have really high rates of unemployment. So at the beginning of the movie, the poor family, the Kims, are all unemployed. And then the imperialism and colonialism theme kind of comes in when... because the rich family's son Da-song is obsessed with Indians. American Indians, Native Americans.

Jojo  

Mmm, okay.

Sarah  

So he has like, a teepee. And he plays with all these replicas of Indian stuff. And Bong says, "The Native Americans have a very complicated and long, deep history. But in this family, that story is reduced to a young boy's hobby and decoration. That's what happens in our current time, the context and meaning behind these actual things only exists as the surface level thing." So I thought that was really interesting, too.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

And then the other thing I loved from this interview, that has nothing to do with costumes, or the theme of the movie, is that they built all of these sets from scratch...

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

...including the apartment--and about 16 other facades--in a water tank, so that they could flood them. Because there's a flood scene where like, the water is up to here in their apartment. And so the whole thing was built on a soundstage with a water tank. And I was like, "What!"

Jojo  

Whaaat!

Sarah  

Expensive.

Jojo  

There's so much that I learn about, like, how movies are made behind the scenes when I'm doing these... you know, research.

Sarah  

I know.

Jojo  

Or when I'm... sorry, I can't talk today. When I'm doing research for these.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

And it's like, it's incredible how much you learn about just the process. And like, why films need and require so much money. [laughs]

Sarah  

Yeah! Yeah, yeah. And they built the rich people's mansion too, which is like, so nice looking. Okay, onto the costumes. Okay. So the Kim family, which is our poor family, they're stuck in this sub-basement level apartment. And the coloring and design of the frame... you can tell that Bong Joon Ho is like, really particular and exact. And he works with his team to come up with something very-- like, it really evokes the feeling that he's going for.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

Because the way that it's shot, and how crowded it is, you can see this first picture of them in the bathroom. Like, the frame is so crowded, and everything is very dirty looking, and it looks really damp. And they always are very sweaty when they're in their house. And since sub-basement level apartments flood a lot apparently, in monsoon season and stuff, they're always full of mold. And like, it looks like that, you know?

Yeah.

You can feel the desperation, I think. So then... so you have these-- here are the two siblings, their names are... The son is named Ki-woo, and the daughter's named Ki-jung. Jung? Ki-jung. [bl]

Jojo  

Just smile and nod.

Sarah  

I'm sorry. Ahh... you would think, as a lover of k-pop, I would have gotten better at Korean names, but I have not.

Jojo  

[laughs]

Sarah  

Yeah, so you can see they are wearing loungewear. Lots of times in their house, they're wearing short sleeves and shorts because it seems like it's hot and sweaty and sticky in their house.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

And then, this character sweeps in. This is Min. And he sweeps in and gives him the idea. He's like, "Oh, I was this tutor for this family. But you should-- I'm not going to do it anymore. So you should do it." And he is like, such a contrast to Ki-woo because he has this very smart blazer on. And his pants are also kind of cropped at the ankle, you know, really trendy looking. And you can tell, like, Ki-woo was like, "I'm a loser." Like, you can tell that he thinks of himself as a loser, and then Min comes in and he has this thing to aspire to, basically.

Jojo  

Okay.

Sarah  

And then so when Ki-woo goes for his job interview with the rich family, then he basically wears exactly what Min was wearing, which is a blazer and nice pants. But he does keep this, he has this button up shirt that is just like, collarless. It's not a mandarin collar, because I think mandarins stand up further up your neck.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

I think it's just collarless. That's how we say it. That's how I say it. [laughs]

Jojo  

Is it like a henley? It's hard to tell.

Sarah  

Here, I'll zoom in. It's a button up.

Jojo  

Okay.

Sarah  

It just doesn't have a collar. Which I thought was interesting.

Jojo  

Interesting.

Sarah  

So next I'm going to talk about Ki-jung. Gosh darn it. I didn't write down how to pronounce that one. Jung? J-U-N-G.

Jojo  

I find it ironic I chose the French movie and you chose the Korean movie. [bl]

Sarah  

So, it's because... it's so we could have a pronunciation adventure on both of our parts. [laughs]

Jojo  

Yep!

Sarah  

So I love this picture of her. She's really smart, and kind of just, like, doesn't give a crap. And this is her in an internet cafe forging him a certificate from school. And she's smoking a cigarette indoors at an internet cafe. And she just does not give a crap.

Jojo  

NBD.

Sarah  

Yeah. I love-- I LOVE her. She was great. Oh, and I was gonna say, like...this movie has costumes in it, obviously, because all movies do, but I'm kind of just going to talk broadly about the characters, because the specific things they wear are not necessarily as important as just the feeling that they give, because it's contemporary.

Jojo  

Yeah. Right.

Sarah  

So... it's clothes, you know. So this is Mrs. Park. And she is very Western... fashion-y. Like, her clothes look like they come from American stores, or maybe European stores. And that was intentional. Like, she even she gives Ki-woo the name Kevin, and she wants everybody to have American names. And then she says multiple times, she talks about ordering stuff from the US and how that means that it's really good. So she clearly aspires to this sort of American ideal of wealthiness. And you can kind of tell in this, this white outfit that we meet her in. White... I think, to me, a pure white outfit definitely connotes wealth, because white is so hard to keep clean.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

So it's almost like this luxury thing where you're like, "Well, I can afford to wear all white in my house because I'm not doing any housework," you know.

Jojo  

Right.

Sarah  

Yeah. And then this is her housekeeper, who they get fired. And I pulled this that has-- this shot that has both of them in it, so that we can see what she looks like later on when she loses her job. But we'll get to that.

Jojo  

Ooh. [laughs]

Sarah  

Yeah. She looks very different later. So this is also Mrs. Park and they call her "Madam" the whole time, which is interesting.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

And I like this outfit. It's kind of-- sort of like, oh, it's kind of brown. It looked green to me earlier. Kind of greeny-brown, like...

Jojo  

Almost like a greenish-gray though.

Sarah  

Yeah. It's like a gingham check. And I think that this looks very 60s. It looks kind of Jackie O to me.

Yeah.

Here's a shot of the full body. So it's like a little matching set. So cute.

Jojo  

Yeah, very Chanel.

Sarah  

Yeah, Chanel! Maybe it is, I don't know. I couldn't find any interviews, so I don't know specifics. [bl]

Jojo  

"I have no information." [bl]

Sarah  

And then I grabbed this shot of her in her jeans. And you can't really see in this screenshot, but it looked to me, when I was watching the movie, like they had sparkles. Maybe on the back pocket. So this is her dressing to go camping. And it's so funny to me that like, even when she's going into the wilderness, she's wearing very expensive jeans, probably, you know.

Jojo  

[laughs]

Sarah  

And it kind of gave me-- it kind of reminded me of how Marie Antoinette used to dress up as a peasant for fun. You know, like a rich person putting on clothes that look like a poor person, almost, but they're not, 'cause they're very expensive versions of it.

Jojo  

And it's still like, looks like it's well put together.

Sarah  

Yeah, it looks-- the textiles look high quality, you know.

Jojo  

Right.

Sarah  

She probably ordered them from J.Crew or whatever.

Jojo  

Right.

Sarah  

And then also, you can see in these screenshots, just as a direct contrast to the shots of the Kim family in their home, the Park family in their home. It's like a palace. Like, there's-- the frame is empty, kind of, for a lot of the shots. And it just shows you how much space they have, versus the poor people having no space.

Jojo  

Right.

Sarah  

And they're like, living on top of each other. And then in this scene, she's carrying a full Birkin bag. Which... if our listeners don't know, a Birkin bag is a specific purse made by Hermès. And it is a purse that you have to join a waitlist to buy. And it's going to run you at least, like, $40,000. [laughs]

Jojo  

Yep.

Sarah  

Which is insane.

It doesn't even look like you could carry very much in there either.

I know, it's just... it's JUST a purse. [bl] I'm pretty sure this is a Birkin. Yeah, that strap across the front is Birkin-y.

Jojo  

And the scarves on the handles, too.

Sarah  

Oh yeah. Hermès scarves are a thing. Yeah, you're right. It's basically just a status symbol. And it's just-- it's like, another, you know, example of her aspiring to this... basically, rich white lady aesthetic. And this is just her at the grocery store.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

She just took her Birkin bag to the grocery store. [laughs] What's next? Oh...

Jojo  

And also, you're wearing that blazer and those pants to the grocery store too.

Sarah  

I know. And I mean... behind her is Mr. Kim, the dad of the poor family, and he is basically like her...

Jojo  

Like, gofer? [laughs]

Sarah  

Yeah, like he's pushing the cart, he bags the groceries, he drives her home. Like, she might as well not even be there. [laughs] But...

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

So... and then the last Park family thing I have... I didn't really talk about the dad, but the dad kind of fits into the same aesthetic as her. He wears a lot of business wear suits, sort of American-y looking, these are their pajamas. And in the interview, the one specific costume thing that I could find that Bong Joon Ho talked about was their pajamas. Because apparently in Korea, it's not super common to have pajamas that are different from your regular loungewear. So like, around the house, most people would wear just like, you know, sweats and soft shirts and whatever. Loungewear. And then they would sleep in that too. But rich people have pajamas.

Jojo  

Ahh.

Sarah  

So the fact that they have these silky L.L. Bean-looking pajamas is just another way to see their status.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

As Richie Rich, rich, rich people. So let's talk a little bit more about the Kim family. This is them in their apartment. And you can see, just like I said, the crowdedness of the frame. They're all wearing loungewear, you know, soft... like, he's wearing--the son is wearing--basketball shorts, they've got sweats on. And the contrast of them in their own house versus when they get these jobs at the Park family house is pretty stark. So this is Mrs. Kim. And she's you know, she's very clean. I think she even gets her hair cut in the middle of the movie. She's wearing her most elegant ensemble, you know, and then here's her that same day at home eating dinner. She looks very sweaty.

Jojo  

Mmm. Yeah.

Sarah  

And hot.

Jojo  

Yep.

Sarah  

You can tell, there's some movies where you're like, "Oh, every time they they cut the makeup artist was like spritzing them with that fake sweat stuff," you know?

Jojo  

Mmhmm. Like the glycerin?

Sarah  

Yeah. [bl] Just got to look really, really damp. And you can see also that the lighting is so different. The lighting in their apartment is greener, it gives you that sort of under the sea, moldy feeling.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

And then the the rich people house is like, not that.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

It's much warmer. And then here's Ki-jung. She's... she's laughing at me every time I try. [bl] This is her...

Jojo  

It's a good effort though!

Sarah  

I'm trying! I didn't want to just...

Jojo  

I know.

Sarah  

...do the American thing and be like, [pronouncing hard "R"] "Mrs. Park." [bl] 'Cause I know that's not right. But this her before the son-- the rich son's birthday party. And this is... this comes right after their apartment gets flooded. So they have this really traumatic night where they have to... so... I'll explain a little more of the plot. The Park family goes camping. And so the Kim family comes in and are basically just like hanging out in the house, because they're not there.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

Having, like... they're drinking, eating a bunch of food, making a mess. And then the rich family comes home before they're supposed to, so they have to hide. And it's a very stressful scene, and so they escape and it's pouring rain. And then they get home and their apartment is flooding. And there's a scene... I pulled it here. She's sitting on the toilet of their house, in the bathroom, surrounded by flood water, and the sewer is backing up. So like, the toilet is spraying brown... liquid.

Jojo  

Ohhh.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

Gross.

Sarah  

So she did this, and then they had to sleep in a shelter. And then she has to come to the rich people's house the next day and look like this, and pretend like nothing happened. And it's just like, so... heart-wrenching.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

And upsetting. And also what upset me is there's a scene where Mrs. Park is talking about how the rain was such a blessing, because it like, got rid of the pollution from the sky. And she's just so oblivious. Like, the whole theme is that she's oblivious, and spoiler alert, there are people living in her basement. There's a guy living in the basement of her house and she doesn't even know. It's the housekeeper's husband.

Jojo  

Oh my gosh.

Sarah  

So here-- there she is. So this is them. This is her after she gets fired. So remember how I was like, "Here she is before she gets fired"?

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

This is her after. So it's like, he's really illustrating the line between destitution and getting by. And the husband, her husband, is hiding in this house because he's hiding from debt collectors because he's so far in debt.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

So.

Jojo  

So much. So much happening.

Sarah  

This movie is... so good. So then here's them at the birthday party. We just have to pretend everything's fine. So this is her dress that she chooses. And I love it because she really blends in. This is the shot of the party. And she looks like she belongs there, you know, she not sticking out. She doesn't look, like, poor. And she just has to like pretend everything's fine. It's this chiffon... floral print. I think it's really pretty.

Jojo  

Ooh, yeah.

Sarah  

Very feminine.

Jojo  

Gorgeous.

Sarah  

Yeah, very different from everything else she's worn up until this point. The... toilet... oh, I think the last picture I have is just the-- this is Mrs. Park in her closet. Oh, does she have more than one Birkin? Look at that.

Jojo  

Oh my gosh. Yes, she does.

Sarah  

She has three!

Jojo  

One in every color.

Sarah  

She has red, brown, and black. Oh, God.

Jojo  

That's crazy.

Sarah  

I grabbed this shot because the size of this closet is basically like the size of the entire apartment, the Kim's entire apartment. And it's just like another way of illustrating, like, how much space these rich people have and how oblivious they are to the fact that the people who are in their house every day are struggling so, so profoundly.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

Okay, is that it? Yeah. So I'm not going to tell you what happens at the end, you guys will have to watch it. It's on Hulu. The twist came out of nowhere. I had no idea that it was going where it was going.

Jojo  

Wait, it's free on Hulu?

Sarah  

It's on Hulu, if you have Hulu.

Jojo  

Oh, I do have Hulu.

Sarah  

You should watch it!

Jojo  

I have to watch this movie!

Sarah  

Yes! Yeah, like I said, I was blown away by it. And at first I was watching it and I was like, "Uh-oh, this isn't like a costume movie. What am I gonna talk about?" You know?

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

But contemporary movies, you-- it allows you to kind of just like talk about the themes, and how the costumes help illustrate the theme. So I really think the contrast between the scenes in the Kim's apartment and the Park's house are so... they're really good. I don't know how to say it. Like...

Jojo  

I think that's-- it's an inevitable part of costume designing, is that you do have to understand, not just the factual research that comes along with designing a costume for someone. But it's also understanding the emotion. I mean, and I think that that kind of happened with the French movie, too. It's like it was very much more about the emotions that you're kind of feeling when you see those costumes, as opposed to how accurate. I mean, like, yes, the accuracy was still there in terms of what they would have worn and, you know, in your case, what what your characters are wearing. Like, obviously, these are all very realistic people.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

But I think the fine art of being a costume designer also takes into account, how are these pieces--and how is this outfit--going to evoke the idea of the feeling that the director is going for? Which-- that's the harder part, I think, of costume design, is learning how to design for an abstract idea or a concept.

Sarah  

Right.

Jojo  

As opposed to, "I need this literal cardigan," or "I need these literal pants," or "this specific hat."

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

Sometimes it's harder to kind of conceptualize that in an abstract form and figure out how to still do that with costumes.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

Whether that's through color or texture, or, you know, that kind of thing, or even just interacting with other costumes.

Sarah  

Yeah, I think a good way to do that is to ask yourself, "Why is this character wearing what they're wearing?" And kind of start there.

Jojo  

Mmhmm. Yeah.

Sarah  

Also, like, we talk about color a lot. But it's important to know what color does and which colors represent what emotion, subconsciously. I think once you have that sort of foundation of knowledge, it's easier to think about those abstract things. And how...

Jojo  

Yeah, definitely.

Sarah  

...how clothes can be interpreted in certain ways.

Jojo  

It goes back to psychology a lot too, I think psychology is a huge factor in costume designing, because a lot of what we wear, even if we don't think about it, that comes from a psychological reaction to how we've looked at clothes, or how we've appreciated clothes before. So... it's definitely important.

Sarah  

And how we see ourselves, as well.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

How you want to be seen and how you see yourself is a huge part of how you dress the way you dress, you know? Which is...

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

...like in "Parasite," it's very clear, because when they go to these rich peoples' house, they know they need to present themselves as these people that they basically, like, invented. They invent their credentials.

Jojo  

Right, right.

Sarah  

They pretend like they have all these years of experience and all these contacts. And so in order to to look that part, they need to wear the right clothes.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

Because, like, rich people... it goes back to the obliviousness of the rich family. They see a nice outfit, and they hear, "Oh, I have this degree in Art Psychology," or whatever BS that the daughter is coming up with. And they're like, "That sounds great!" And they're fooled, basically, by...

Jojo  

Yeah. Right.

Sarah  

...by the facade.

Jojo  

It's... I mean, it says a lot about our culture too, because I think even in America, the people that are the most cynical or the most suspicious are the people that have endured that hardship, and have been tricked before, and that are desperate. Because we've seen what that looks like. You know, I feel like it's-- I don't want to say all wealthy people are not smart or intelligent, or that all not-wealthy people are super smart or cynical. You know, obviously, there's nuances in all of humanity. But I feel like, you know, people that have to work for that and have gone through the hardship of being tricked or cheated, kind of understand from a different perspective than people who have had things handed to them, that have never had to deal with that hardship.

Sarah  

Yes.

Jojo  

So yeah, it makes a big difference.

Sarah  

Yeah, it's a really different life to not ever have to worry about, like, when your next meal is going to be, or whether you'll have a house next month, you know.

Yeah. Yeah. So crazy.

That got heavy at the end there. [laughs]

Jojo  

I know! Well, it's interesting, too, because it's coming at an appropriate time, because that's what's true nation right now.

Sarah  

It's true! Yeah. So in summary, we should eat the rich.

Jojo  

Everything is timed, it's such a coincidental, and maybe not so coincidental...

Sarah  

Well, yeah, I mean, you know, Bong Joon Ho made this movie not that long ago. And it's, you know, it was only a couple years ago. So it's very relevant.

Jojo  

Yeah. And it's already been happening in Korea. So I'm...

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

I'm sure-- it's a very universal message, which I think is why so many people flocked to this movie so quickly.

Sarah  

Yes. And it's very smartly done too. Like, it-- it has layers to it that you don't immediately realize upon first watch that you kinda have to think about.

Jojo  

Yeah, absolutely.

Sarah  

I loved it. Ten out of ten. Perfect movie. [bl]

Jojo  

I love it. Cool. So that wraps up our foreign film theme of the day.

Sarah  

Yeah!

Jojo  

I'm super excited. Thanks for sharing about that movie. I'm looking forward to seeing it now.

Sarah  

You're so welcome.

Jojo  

And I'm glad to know that it's on Hulu. Unfortunately, my movie is not for free right now.

Sarah  

Aww.

Jojo  

But but you can rent it for very cheap on Amazon Prime.

Sarah  

That's a pretty good deal. That's-- we like that.

Jojo  

Yeah, it's like three bucks to rent it.

Sarah  

Oh, that's not bad at all. Yeah.

Jojo  

All right.

Sarah  

Okay.

Jojo  

That concludes our episode for today. I'm Jojo.

Sarah  

I'm Sarah. Thanks so much for joining us. We hope you enjoyed.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

Please interact with us on social media. Our handles are going to be in the outro. Once again, hi to everybody who's new and we hope you like it.

Jojo  

Yeah. Thanks for joining us.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Both  

Bye!

[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 thecostumeplot@gmail.com.

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.

[wellimhavinga3outof10day]

All right, so @thislifeisawasteland tagged me to answer a bunch of questions that are actually an ask meme, but w/e. (There are kind of Riverdale spoilers in this post? I’m bitter, sue me.) Here we go:

Full name: I’m not really gonna tell you that, so settle for Jessica

Zodiac sign: Taurus

3 Fears: Death, spiders... that I’ll never fall in love?

3 things I love: Chocolate, green tea, & my laptop

4 turns ons: Humour, kindness, bad pick-up lines, goofy smiles

4 turns offs: Racism, homophobia, an annoying voice, a terrible smell in general?

My best friend: Like all of them

Sexual orientation: Bi

My best first date: I’ve only had one first date, so walking around the mall

How tall am I: 5'8"

What do I miss: My friends, knowing Jughead was safe and happy smh

What time was I born: 9:04 a.m.

Favourite colour: Red

Do I have a crush: Not unless we’re counting fictional characters

Favourite quote: *gross sobbing* “It’s like my home.” Nah, I’m kidding, I don’t really have a fave quote

Favourite place: My library

Favourite food: Chocolate

Do I use sarcasm: No, never...

What am I listening to right now: "Leave” by Jojo (lmao, idk why)

First thing I notice in new person: Their hair, tbh

Shoe size: 6 1/2 (yes, I have tiny fucking feet)

Eye colour: Blue

Hair colour: Brown/blonde

Favourite style of clothing: Casual, comfy

Ever done a prank call? Yes and omg worst experience of my life, almost had a panic attack, never again

What colour of underwear I’m wearing now? Pink

Meaning behind my URL: It’s a line from White Collar

Favourite movie: He’s Just Not That Into You (it’s on Netflix now, I’m so excited!!), also Pretty in Pink

Favourite song: Atm, “Prom Queen” by Molly Kate Kestner

Favourite band: ??? idk man

How I feel right now: Pretty good

Someone I love: Jughead Jones (honestly, fight me)

My current relationship status: Single af

My relationship with my parents: It’s good

Favourite holiday: Christmas

Tattoos and piercings? My ears are pierced and I have no tattoos

Tattoos and piercing i want: I kinda want a sternum piercing, and a rose vine tattoo up my side

The reason I joined Tumblr: I was filling out my social media quota before I went to uni

Do I and my last ex hate each other? Well, I didn’t think so but then she made me answer all these questions, so? It’s up in the air ;)

Do I ever get “good morning” or “good night” texts? Nah, never (unless you count my mom checking to see if I’m awake when I’m home alone)

Have I ever kissed the last person you texted? Nope

When did I last hold hands? ...? Fairly recently probably, I hold my mom’s hand all the time.

How long does it take me to get ready in the morning? 20 minutes, maybe?

Have I shaved your legs in the past three days? Nope

Where am I right now? At my desk

If I were drunk & can’t stand, who’s taking care of me? N/A, never been that drunk

Do I like my music loud or at a reasonable level? Reasonable (pretty quiet actually if you ask other people)

Do I live with my Mom and Dad? Yup

Am I excited for anything? Jughead to be loved and cared for and warm and safe, for the love of god.

Do I have someone of the opposite sex I can tell everything to? All right, well “can” and “would” are different words, so technically yes, but I wouldn’t?

How often do I wear a fake smile? Rarely

When was the last time I hugged someone? Last night?

What if the last person I kissed was kissing someone else right in front of me? Eh, might bug me a little, but you go girl. (I mean, as long as it’s not an old man.)

Is there anyone I trust even though I should not? I don’t think so?

What is something I disliked about today? Today just started, buddy. Umm... for some reason my hands are really sweaty? I hate that?

If I could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be? Atm, the cast of Riverdale, but that’ll change in like a month if not a day.

What do I think about most? Probably w/e I’m writing atm.

What’s my strangest talent? ...? I don’t have very minute talents, idk what to tell you. I’m very talented at drinking too much green tea and procrastinating things I actually want to do.

Do I have any strange phobias? Mustard

Do I prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it? Behind, probs.

What was the last lie I told? ...? I lie a lot, idk. I probs lied on here. Kidding, don’t think I have. Umm... I honeslty have no idea. It’s anyone’s guess.

Do I prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online? Both are horrible and probably the worst forms of communication, but I’m gonna go with the phone b/c I have an unnecessary grudge against Skype.

Do I believe in ghosts? How about aliens? Maybe? and yes.

Do I believe in magic? Little magic, sure.

Do I believe in luck? To an extent.

What’s the weather like right now? Sunny, average temp

What was the last book I’ve read? I’m in the middle of Crooked Kingdom right now, but the last book I finished was I’ll Give You The Sun

Do I like the smell of gasoline? Yes

Do I have any nicknames? Yes: Jess, Jessie

What was the worst injury I’ve ever had? I broke my wrist by getting knocked down a hill and landing on concrete.

Do I spend money or save it? Save it.

Can I touch my nose with a tongue? Nope

Is there anything pink in 10 feets from me? Yeah, more things than I expected too, tbh.

Favourite animal? Pigs

What was I doing last night at 12 AM? Talking to Rachael on Tumblr/watching Misfits

What do I think is Satan’s last name is? Claus (yes, I know it said Satan not Santa, but it’s a conspiracy)

What’s a song that always makes me happy when I hear it? I Don’t Wanna Be Sad by Simple Plan

How can you win my heart? Be nice and funny and care about me (honestly giving a shit about me is really all I need, my standards are fucking low as shit)

What would I want to be written on my tombstone? Idk but something kind of weird and maybe a quote I like?

What is my favourite word: Feral

My top 5 blogs on tumblr: Ugh, I don’t want to do this.

If the whole world were listening to me right now, what would I say? “I love you, take care of yourselves.”

Do I have any relatives in jail? I don’t think so...

I accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow me with the super-power of my choice! What is that power? Flight

What would be a question I’d be afraid to tell the truth on? Umm... lots of things, I’m sure.

What is my current desktop picture? It’s a city that Natasha made for a class and it’s super pretty and green.

Had sex? Nope

Bought condoms? Yes, actually

Gotten pregnant? Nope

Failed a class? Nope

Kissed a boy? Nope

Kissed a girl? Yup

Have I ever kissed somebody in the rain? Nope

Had a job? Yes

Left the house without my wallet? All the time

Bullied someone on the internet? I don’t think so, I hope not

Had sex in public? Nope

Played on a sports team? Yes

Smoked weed? No

Did drugs? No

Smoked cigarettes? No

Drank alcohol? Yes

Am I a vegetarian/vegan? No

Been overweight? No

Been underweight? No

Been to a wedding? Yes

Been on the computer for 5 hours straight? Yes

Watched TV for 5 hours straight? Yes

Been outside my home country? Yes

Gotten my heart broken? Eh, probably not

Been to a professional sports game? Yes

Broken a bone? Yes

Cut myself? No

Been to prom? Graduation in Canada, but yes

Been in airplane? Yes

Fly by helicopter? No

What concerts have I been to? So I went to like three in a row a few years ago: One Direction, Marianas Trench and... shit, I thought there were three... it might have been two... oh! Shawn Mendes! (And I’m listening to him right now and I forgot that, lmao)

Had a crush on someone of the same sex? Yes

Learned another language? Kinda

Wore make up? Nope

Lost my virginity before I was 18? Nope

Had oral sex? Nope

Dyed my hair? Yes

Voted in a presidential election? Federal election yes, I’m Canadian

Rode in an ambulance? Nope

Had a surgery? Nope

Met someone famous? Nope

Stalked someone on a social network? I don’t think so

Peed outside? Nope

Been fishing? I have.

Helped with charity? Nope

Been rejected by a crush? Yes

Broken a mirror? Nope

What do I want for my birthday? *laughs* Umm... not a clue. 

How many kids do I want and what will be their names? 4: Marcia, Whit, Eli, & Beth

Was I named after anyone? My middle name is my Oma’s middle name too, but my first name’s not from anywhere

Do I like my handwriting? I used to b/c it was literally flawless when I was younger, but now it’s like a mess, so no.

What was my favourite toy as a child? Should I even remember this? Barbies, probably.

Favourite Tv Show? Atm, Riverdale

Where do I want to live when older? Not a clue. Probably Toronto or Vancouver? Maybe somewhere in Europe. Who knows?

Play any musical instrument? I used to play guitar but I probably can’t remember any of it.

One of my scars, how did I get it? Idk if I have any scars, man. There’s like kind of a scar by my elbow? But how I got it is a mystery.

Favourite pizza toping? Green peppers

Am I afraid of the dark? Nope

Am I afraid of heights? Nope

Have I ever got caught sneaking out or doing anything bad? No, I don’t think so. (I once was caught squirting water in a guy’s face? But he kind of deserved it.)

Have I ever tried my hardest and then gotten disappointed in the end? I don’t think so...?

What I’m really bad at: Figuring out my life

What my greatest achievements are: I once predicted the end of a book, does that count? And my highest post here is almost at five thousand notes?

The meanest thing somebody has ever said to me: "I love you, but sometimes I just don’t like you.” (Honestly, I deserved it, but it was savage af.)

What I’d do if I won in a lottery: Buy a house, buy a lot of fandom merch, invest a bunch... 

What do I like about myself: I’m pretty laidback, I know what I want for the most part, and I try to be a good person.

My closest Tumblr friend: Not this again.

Something I fantasise about my ex: (lmao my first instinct was to put “dying” and that’s not true, my babe, I’m sorry) Honestly? Just having sex, like nothing fancy.

[dailystarplatinum]

We did it.. we made it to the big four digits. I never thought I’d get here, honestly. When I made this blog in May, I never thought I’d get to here. Maybe 2 or 300 followers, at the most?? Never this. 

 Here’s some sappy words to some people, I’ll cut this off because it’s going to be very long. 

 @daily-jojoanimals (I’m putting you at the top in case everything gets too sappy for you) I love your art a lot! The bright colors, the lines... I can’t draw animals for my life, but you? You’re amazing at it! Your blog is great and I hope that it gets more attention because you work really hard on all those drawings!

@dailydiadop nOON WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN… I love you and you’re probably my best friend. I have absolutely no idea where I’d be without you. Probably very very lost and very very confused. I’d also still be trying to figure out who is the best person at making hamburgers (it’s you). Honestly, if it wasn’t for you, I would’ve never gotten into jojo, or at least I would’ve taken longer to find out about it. 

 @dailynonbinaryukako eli I remember when we first started talking and it was kinda awkward but then I was like ‘oh hey I made a blog’ and you were like 'oh hey I should make one too’ and now look at us. You’re a huge nerd and I love talking to you about ocs and memes and my 1000+ year old hawk son and I think our muses need to interact more but you’re probably another big reason for why I’ve stayed in this community so long... I mean heck you’re the reason I joined Daily Discord Hell!

 @dailyhierophantgreen S C R E A M S ILY RAY I can’t believe you looked up to me once… I mean first of all I’m like 5 foot 4 there isn’t much to look up to and second I can’t believe my art is of the quality and skill for someone as amazing as you to look up to it…. anyways you’re an amazing person and I love all of your hierophant doodles and I hope that we can draw more stargreen ship stuff and memes this year! 

 @daily-caesar Adam, you’re hilarious and really nice, and I love all of your Caesar and Torq and Capt doodles (how do you even doodle them so fast??? Ho w)! You always enjoy my Fresh Memes ™, and you always manage to put a smile on my face. 

 @dailysmolnareff  I don’t know if I’ve ever told you this, but you were one of my favorite daily blogs that I was scared and/or unsure of how to interact with. If only my oblivious past self could see us now. You are number one, Cami. Never forget that.

:mon:

 @dailystoneplatinum you’re definitely another huge reason why I’ve been inspired to try so hard with art on this blog and art in general. You’re one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, a huge inspiration, and I also always enjoy talking with you (ah yes one in the morning talks about Jolyne’s stand and how it’s unfair that Pucci got Made in Heaven and Jolyne got silly string with sunglasses). I’m really happy we get to talk, and I hope to see more of your beautiful art!

 @daily-giogio L E A D E R O F M U T E C R E W ok that’s obviously not enough, let me write more I love your Gio art so much it’s just so pretty?? side note Reset Gio’s design is also gorgeous and you just manage to kill me every time I see your art??? You’re also just a really funny person and I love talking with you! Or just listening to the void with you too that’s great as well

 @dailyrobertspeedwagon peri, you’re super sweet and you’ve got great ideas and OCs, and I love all of them! To be honest, you’re much much better at art than I was when I was your age *visibly shudders thinking about old art*… keep up the great work! 

 @weeklyheavendio laVA WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN you deserve a medal for the amount you’ve helped my art style change like I draw something for the reset au and you manage to one up me with amazing art so I draw something else then you make a beautiful giF SO I HAVE TO MAKE AN EVEN BETTER GIF AND IT TOOK SEVERAL HOURS BUT IT WAS WORTH IT AND I LOVE ALL YOUR ART AND YOURE JUST A GREAT PERSON AAAAAA 11/10 would rewrite existence out of possibly canon game history again 

 @dailyshadowdio Cake I can’t believe I was once scared of you with your beautiful art.. I was scared to talk to you and the big wry man himself… Now I know. I know that I must believe in gravy. Always believe in gravy. Gremlin Dio and pretty much all your art gives me life. I don’t know what it is about how you draw Dio, but he just looks??? So good?????? Long story short you’re great cake 

@dailyhamonpires we didn’t talk too much before the space au, but now that we’ve talked more, i’ve really enjoyed seeing you and your art! SOLU is a very sweet goop boy and deserves only the best. Keep up the amazing work!

 @dailyavdol you’re one of the sweetest people I know! Your art style is also super unique and beautiful, and I love seeing different characters in it! Also seeing you and Cami talk is really sweet too :> 

 @marinebiologistjotaro whERE DO I EVEN START You are an absolute blessing. Do you even know how much I love marine life. Like I really love cephalopods the most but all marine life is just really cool and if I wasn’t sure I wanted to do something with animation in the future I’d want to do something with marine biology and so when I found your blog some couple of months ago I died of happiness I’ve also enjoyed all the little inside jokes we’ve made over the past few months. I still miss Barbara… 

@badlydrawnmekandmoney !!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD OCS! GREAT PERSON! It’s always a lot of fun to talk to ya! You put up with all my shitty memes and actually genuinely seem to like them, too!

 @dailyyoungmrskujo *insert good shit meme but in french* I love Jolyne’s mom/Jotaro’s wife, so when I found that someone had taken her character and turned her into a fully capable headstrong young woman, I was so excited! You’re really sweet, and I wish you luck with your new job and I hope we sometime get time to talk (despite timezones >_<). 

 @badlydrawnjotarocean we don’t talk much but I kind of admire you from a distance because you’re pretty cool and I’m also madly in love with Joji from the reset au I mean sweet ocs you got there friend I mean um how much water do you need to quench your thirst

@badlydrawn-p4nareff a quality baguette… a handsome baguette… a good baguette… have I ever said how much I love pol and how good your pol art is I mean sometimes he’s just a piece of string cheese but you still manage to make him look beautiful???? What are your secrets I'm also sorry I'm a huge nerd you probably are wondering why I tagged you right I mean uh I should stop aaaa

@dailypisscop You’re an amazing artist and I’m so happy you like my art! It was a lot of fun seeing your progress on the johnny and gyro print and seeing other things you’ve drawn :>

@notsodailystarplatinum aaaaaAAAAA you’re so cool! I love all of your star doodles and it’s always fun to interact with you and the other star blogs! Also I still can’t believe you drew me

it me bubbles 

@dailyghiaccio we've talked a couple of times, but I absolutely love your art! Keep it up!

@weeklyesidisi (i’m not tagging all 1837472 of your blogs) vince you’re very funny and great and, I’ve really enjoyed talking to you about the space au and other things!

@dailyjosukeandokuyasu !!!!!!!!!!!!! Dude you are great I really love your art and designs a lot, also you definitely put up with all my terrible memes. The only complaint I have is no shiny

@daily-goldexperiencerequiem KICK ME INTO SPACE PLEASE I mean you're super fun tot talk to, and I love your GER art ^_^

@otamer kinda different than a lot of the other blogs here since you aren't a daily/bd blog that does much (yet) but you're super nice and fun to talk to and I know you can make that blog and join us in the deep dark realms of daily discord hell ;D

@badlydrawnkirby !!! 10/10 youRE SUPER GREAT AND YOUVE ALSO CHEERED NOON UP A LOT THANK YOU! 

@dailyyoung-jonathan YOU ARE GREAT OK?? Anyways thank you for taking celeste to the ball and also just for being really nice on kirb’s server. 

@regularlyscheduledjolynemom We talk occasionally, but it’s always fun to talk to you! Thank you for the history jokes :>

@kindofdailyoingo GOOD BLOG BOOD GLOG 10/10 I love your oingos also thank you for always listening to me talk about my hawk son you’re just really fun to talk to and be around and I hope you remember that! 

@poorlydrawnjosephjoestar I always secretly admired your art and your bad spaghetti jokes from afar, but since the space au, it’s been a ton of fun talking to you and the others onboard the Hayloft! (blease don’t kill off jovani)

@dailykakyoin I know you get this a lot but you're one of the reasons (I think you and dailypol maybe?) I started this (haha if you want go find the first ask I sent it was from my main blog it's terrible) and you're such an amazing member of this community! I mean, you answer tons of asks, draw really cute kaks, and you’re just really nice :>

 Here's a big ol pile of people that I'd love to talk to/interact more with and/or am too scared to interact with:

@dailyjonajba | @askdailymiraschon | @dailygwess | @miumiusdailybizarrehell (the unholy trinity is here) (i love you guys) | @daily-jojovillians | @dailyabba | @dailyteenshizuka | @daily-holhorse-and-maybe-boingo | @dailymoodyblues | @badlydrawn-lisalisa | @badlydrawnheartpompadour | @badlydrawn-vinegardoppio | @dailyjoshu | @daily-jouta | @badlydrawnventopolnareff | @poorlydrawnjosukeh | @dailychibimikitaka | @poorly-drawn-fem-koichi | @badlydrawnyuyafungami | @dailybrandio

Once again, thank you!