#about. vito

[al-luviec]

vito

[d0ttt]

Random ship doodles~

-DOT

[tankgotstuckinthecircusgate]

i want to write a fic abt henry surviving the chop and also not being a rat so fucking bad if you only knew💀

[mothbutcher]

buona sera senorita kiss me goodnight <3

im love u vito

[thesmokinpossum]

The Godfather, Mario Puzo | An Hymn to Childhood, Li-Young Lee | Psalm 139: 14 | The Godfather, Mario Puzo | For your own Good, Leah Horlick | Erou, Maya Phillips | The Godfather, Mario Puzo | Ask Polly | The Hours, Michael Cunningham | FROM THE MAKERS OF "TWO-MOM ENERGY DRINK", IT'S "LET YOUR FATHER DIE" ENERGY DRINK

[totaldrama-showdowns]

[fraudulent-cheese]

what are your lgbt hcs for the gen 2 cast? :o

~ 🌙

oh shit im getting other people's anons in my inbox now huh

I'll go in elimination order for this one! So here we go!

Staci: haven't particularly thought about it. Maybe lesbian or cishet ally. Either way she's cis

Dakota: trans girl HC goes hard ngl. Don't picture her as anything either outside of that so ig transhet?

B: transmasc aroace

Dawn: Non binary (probably uses a micro label) she/it/neos, aroace

Sam: monsterfucker maybe cishet ally too? Or transhet for t4t samkota

Brick: cis bisexual

Anne Maria: cis lesbian.

Mike: lowkey split on either cis or demi boy, bisexual

Chester: he doesn't give a single shit about it, probably cishet ace

Svetlana: Transfem and a lesbian

Vito: cis. Also saw someone say aroallo and you know what yeah

Manitoba: cis pan ace

Mal: agender and aroace. They call him triple A battery

Jo: cis lesbian. Rare case when i don't like any trans hc at all

Scott: cis, and bisexual that is so so deep in the closet it's crazy.

Zoey: probably went from judging people that identified with microlabels to using one herself. Demi girl pan and ace

Lightning: cishet ally. Lightning don't judge! Or bisexual. He doesn't judge either.

Cameron: cis bisexual, he just has enough standards to not date on Reality TV

[nothingenoughao3]

We interrupt our regularly-scheduled Reanimator reblogs to address a very important Godfather-related point made in this post by @frodo-of-the-nine-fingers.

Visual storytelling used to be A Thing in films. Some directors still do it (lookin' at you, Ari Aster, in equal parts terror and admiration), so I'm not arguing that it's totally lost to time, but... kind of, maybe. Compared to what I'm about to discuss, it feels like it's gone.

See, there's this thing about hair. It once was that hair in movies could matter a lot! There were not clauses in contracts requiring that the actors always look fuckable, and so actors sometimes were made to look gross or messy! This is where we get tropes about, say, Shaving The Beard or a Meaningful Haircut. You grew the beard/hair because you were overwhelmed with tragedy and immobilized by grief, torment, and anhedonia. When you were ready to shuck that off, even temporarily, you'd cut off the hair/beard, typically while staring at yourself in a mirror.

Double points if the mirror was the door to a medicine cabinet, so there could be a shot of the camera/you looking into the cabinet as you set the scissors away, then a dramatic click of the mirror closing to reveal you with your new, stern, cleaned-up features. But I digress.

Hair was, in other words, chosen for reasons other than "This hairstyle will make the character visually recognizable when they are a tiny CGI doll puppeted around during the hyperdense finale".

Now we could also probably make a post about the hair of the Corleone women, but in this post, it's just dudes. Sorry for being gay.

First let's look at Vito.

In the first second film, we see Vito as a boy. His hair is loose, slightly parted down the middle. This connotes immaturity, boyishness, and innocence. His hair isn't particularly styled or controlled. That last word will be important for this analysis.

By the time he's an adult, we see that Vito's already adopted the style he'll maintain for the rest of his life.

(i cannot with you robert. how dare you.)

Vito's hair is a simple, but powerful visual metaphor for control. Vito was out of control when he was a small boy, and it cost him his entire family and his safety in his homeland. It nearly cost him his life. No matter how gentle he seems, the truly gentle, childish, boyish Vito is gone forever, and he will never return.

He will keep himself and his family safe, even if he has to fucking kill people to do it.

Vito keeps his hair under the same kind of control he keeps the rest of his life under. The only times we see it out of place are when he's out of control--after he's shot and never really recovers.

Even more so, as seen above, after he loses Sonny.

The Corleone boys' hair also reflects how closely they adhere to the family, but more than that, how closely they are adhering to Vito's personal values. So, for example, Sonny does not have this hairstyle. He's got loose, kind of curly/frizzy hair which is never styled like Vito's.

(god he is devastatingly attractive it is untrue)

Clearly, Sonny's hair reflects his character: he's wild. Untamed. He can be the Don, and he serves very well when he's a wartime Don, but he never really adopts Vito's perspective on life/family management/Donship. We see this in how he doesn't pay much attention during the scenes where Vito's giving favors at Connie's wedding, even though he has at least two daughters and will have to do this ritual himself at least twice. He thinks he'll make his own way--beat up a photographer, bang Lucy--and he won't have to worry about all this crap once Pop turns it all over to him.

Then there's Tom.

(hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhggggggh look at him)

Tom has his hair slicked back from the very first time we see him, and he keeps it that way throughout both films. He is loyal to a fault. Not just to the mafia, but to Vito. When Tom tells Sonny he's as much a son to Vito as him or Mike, nobody argues with him. They all know it's true. And we, the audience, can literally see this loyalty in how Tom presents himself.

Notice, though, that Tom didn't say "I'm as much a son to him as you, Mike, or Fredo"? Yyyyeah.

Fredo starts off with the same kind of style as Michael, a more grown-up version of Vito's childhood hairstyle.

And a clearer shot of Michael because why not this is a Pacino appreciation blog

(their faces have transported me to heaven, free of all sin)

These are more controlled versions of the same hair Vito had as a child. This communicates that Michael and Fredo are not part of the family. They're adults, they brush their hair and use product on it, but they don't style it like men. Despite being a soldier (in Mike's case) or casually involved in the family business (in Fredo's), they're both treated kind of like kids. They have the potential to grow into men, men like their father, but they haven't yet.

Both Fredo and Michael do adopt their father's style at specific points in the narrative, and it's relevant to note when this happens.

When Michael is in Sicily, after making his bones, he still parts his hair. He's still maintaining his separation from his family. Despite him being utterly and totally dependent on his family for survival, given he's being hunted by half of the country.

(to be a bruise on that man's cheek)

It's Apollonia's death that changes everything for him.

But first, hats. Hats are another thing with Michael: he wears them when he's uncomfortable in a social situation, as though he's 'hiding', then takes them off to show he's more relaxed and comfortable. Frex, him wearing his uniform hat when he arrives at the wedding, then doffing it after he's been there a while. Likewise, he wears a hat in Sicily to literally show the audience that he is in hiding. He ditches it once he starts courting Apollonia, because now he's not in hiding--he ratted himself out and he's trying to integrate.

So when Michael meets Kay outside the school, and he's wearing a hat and keeps it on the entire interaction... we know, without being told, that he is telling porkie pies. He is lying. He is hiding in plain sight. More than that, it tells us he's not really comfortable or happy being there. He's doing this because he feels like he should, and not because he wants to.

(Notice, for instance, that when Michael is lying out of his asshole to Carlo about his chances of surviving the next ten minutes? Michael's wearing a hat for that entire scene.)

The other purpose of the hat is to disguise what's going on with Mikey's hair. He starts out with the newsboy cap in Sicily, so we can't see whether he has been fundamentally changed by making his bones. Then we see... no, he hasn't, he's not really that bothered by shooting two dudes. Okay. Then he goes to see Kay post-return and the hat disguises how deeply Apollonia's loss has affected him, until the next scene, where we see...

... oh.

It's still parted. But it's far closer to Vito's traditional hairstyle than before. Far closer. We are shown without being told how profoundly Michael was affected by all of his losses in Sicily (we can definitely include Sonny's death, and the general PTSD of that carbomb was meant for me, along with Apollonia's demise). He is transforming. Corroding into Vito.

Now the next major scene lets us compare Michael's new hair directly with Fredo. Fredo's hair has also changed. From the fluffy semi-parted look from before, we now see him like this:

His hair is slicked back--severely, sharply. However, when added to the rest of his outfit, it looks like he's a parody of Vito. He's trying to hit the same notes, but he's failing miserably. He's too tone-deaf to get the song right. But Michael?

Still very slightly parted, but that boyishness is almost gone.

While Fredo's transformation seems fake, it's more that he never really makes it. However, from this point on, he is involved in family business, the way Pop would have wanted him to be--at a distance, where his clowning does the least damage--so his new Vitoesque hair remains for the rest of Parts 1 and 2.

Is there, then, a specific scene where Michael's hair is unambiguously, entirely slicked back in a Pure Vito? Not with the little knocked part left in the front, as though some vestige of his own personality remained?

Well, yes. There is.

There's so much going on during the Baptism Scene that this understandably is left by the wayside, but we almost never see Michael with his hair exactly like this ever again.

Part 2 shows him with hair that's sometimes parted (when he's doing public-facing stuff) and sometimes slicked back (when he's doing Mobster Stuff). We do see him with this perfectly-slicked back look when he meets Hyman Roth. You know, when he's trying his hardest to project a sense of Vito-ness, of Donitude.

Overall, though, nothing really tops Michael's look in the Baptism Scene. He has fully embraced Vito's life, Vito's philosophy, and Vito's plan for the total destruction of all their enemies. He may be a little bit more Michael later on, but in this specific moment, Michael is Vito.

He is exerting total and complete control over dozens of lives, ending or changing them for the worse across the board.

Because, when he was still young and kind of boyish, he lost his family and his homeland and, very nearly, his own life.

And he will keep his family, The Family, and himself safe, even if he has to kill everyone outside The Family to do it.

[thanks-obillma]

hc time! the body's voice runs in Vito's range naturally. Mike's is pitched up a little bit from being in anxiety mode constantly. Mal makes his voice that deep on purpose bc he thinks it makes him sound cool.

[tdmoonanon]

the system as jerma quotes (part 1?) because i am not ok

Mal: Remember, If you liked that video, follow me on my journey, where I will virtually Kill you! Virtual Murder! Virtual ASMR murder.

Chester: if I was a lizard, I would not be streaming. I'd be lying outside, on a fucking rock, with my eyes closed, for fourteen to fifteen hours a day.

Vito: Jurassic? Jurassthicc? Your ass thicc?

Svetlana: I find my target, he's this guy. I throw a piece of china right in his mouth. Mission accomplished. I can now escape undetected.

Manitoba: I’m gonna prove I’m not a wuss by doing a no sedation colonoscopy

Mike: I think I- did I just- I didn't just do that did I? Did I just click the fucking button to turn the computer off with my toe? I'm gonna be so pissed o-

[arczism]

I was in the process of designing tattoos for my blorbo, but unfortunately, I ended up going overboard with a few sketches and now I have zero fully designed tattoos. So nothing new. 

[ilovebeingt4t]

a (not) little rant about total drama’s portrayal of dissociative identity disorder in ROTI and AS

a few little tidbits before we get into the juice…

-i don’t have DID ! i have a dissociation disorder and i’ve done a lot of research on DID, but that obviously doesn’t mean i know as much as someone in a system would. if i make any mistakes or you want to add/correct anything, please do !

-since there isn’t an official name for the system as a whole, i’m gonna use “mike system” to refer to mike, chester, svetlana, vito, manitoba, and mal as a system

-before anyone says it, i know it’s “just a kids’ show” but it’s a kids’ show i’m insane and not normal about. so i’m very passionate about this. also kids’ shows should still be normal about mental illnesses/disabilities so idc

alright stinkers… let’s get into it

ok ! mike systems DID in ROTI isn’t GOOD representation but it isn’t like. the worst out there compared to some other media. some huge positives are the way the alters have actual triggers, and that everyone in the system IS portrayed as their own person, not just an extension or part of mike. i interpret the “gasp” the body does with switches as a stand in for dissociation (since they couldn’t really have him just sit there and stare into space bc of plot/time reasons) and it’s very easy to assume the role of everyone in the system from their personalities and triggers. the best example of this to me is vito ! vito is a “tough guy” who’s triggered to front by his shirt coming off, it’s easy to put the pieces together and assume his role is a protector who formed due to sexual abuse.

obviously, the use of the outdated term multiple personality disorder, the very quick switches, the fact the writers obviously did not actually research DID and just wanted a silly crazy character, and probably more i’m forgetting rn, are NOT issues to just ignore because of the good stuff. it’s definitely NOT good or super accurate representation by any means, but i don’t think it’s exactly super bad either. it’s iffy but has redeeming qualities to it.

another plus about mike system in ROTI, even though this isn’t really part of the portrayal of DID as a disorder, is that mike has a love interest that isn’t written as a joke. i feel like having mike in a romantic relationship is a BIG positive representation wise. it’s really important to me that even though zoey is confused and weirded out when she didn’t know what was going on, once she found out mike was part of a system she became more understanding and didn’t give up on him. being part of a system doesn’t mean you can’t have a partner, friends, etc and mike being in a wholesome healthy relationship is a nice breath of fresh air compared to other media portraying DID.

NOW. LETS ADDRESS MAL AND ALL STARS. GOOD LORD.

all stars has an issue with watering down characters and making poor plot/character choices in general, and in my opinion it’s the worst with mike system. ROTI had questionable at times but ok DID rep with mike system, which is why it’s so disappointing that AS took the “evil alter” route and whatever the hell the button thing was… bc they were SO close with having ok representation and then they threw it all away for an overdone and harmful stereotype. mike system in ROTI is a MASTERPIECE compared to whatever the hell was going on in AS.

even when you take into account that in a real life system, mal is most similar to the role of a persecutor (an alter who sabotages the body’s relationships and causes harm to the body/other alters as a way to “protect” everyone in their eyes (oops ! i was wrong. a persecutor isn’t always a protector, however they can take the role of a persecutor and protector which is where i got confused. mal is a both a persecutor and protector to me)) which makes SOME of his actions explainable TO AN EXTENT, it’s clear the writers didn’t have that intent and just wanted a spooky evil alter, which is really disappointing. along with the button issue, which is just…. so insane….

i choose to believe for my own sanity that the button was sort of an emergency temporary dormancy button and that chester fr just lied/didn’t know and made something up. but that obviously isn’t canon, and IN CANON the body’s trauma and serious disorder was literally gone because of the PRESS OF A BUTTON and it is absolutely ridiculous. and it’s portrayed as a GOOD THING.

systems are systems because it is the only way the body and brain can maintain stability and live after serious repeated trauma. in a real situation with a system, if there was somehow a way to get rid of alters in literal seconds, the consequences would be ABSOLUTELY DISASTROUS and unstable. obviously, integration and dormancy CAN be a good thing depending on the system, but it is a LOOONG and complicated process and watering it down to the press of a button in your brain is so inappropriate and insensitive. literally why did they do that. it’s just so disappointing to go from what mike system was in roti to what they became in all stars.

sorry u guys i am just passionate about this

[tankgotstuckinthecircusgate]

Another pack of stupid mafia 2 memes

[whatudottu]

When you have 6 5 different people to dress but only one body to style-

Thinking about a Mike Squad redesign... at least for ROTI specifically haha

Their asses are not fashion designers-

In order we have Mike (the two-tone 3/4 sleeve shirt), Chester (old man sweater tied around waist), Svetlana (gymnastics leotard under everything), Manitoba Smith (outback pants which apparently exist), and of course Vito (large button up shirt and cornicello).

[thesmokinpossum]

Some kids come home with a stray cat or dog but Sonny Corleone really just went home with a sickly and highly traumatized orphan and was like 'eh ma and pa, here's your new son :)'

[vg-commentary]

Some interesting tidbits about district assignments

Each underboss starts with one district, their "home" district, if you will. You get to decide which additional districts they get, but there's some assignments that some underbosses might like more than the others.

Southdowns - Vito/Cassandra

Pedestrian chatter indicate it had a large, if almost exclusive Italian presence before.

Vito comments on having a "favorite diner in Southdowns."

If you assign Cassandra to Southdowns, some pedestrians are concerned about the Italians and Haitians not getting along. Some pedestrians say they're getting along.

Cassandra says, "Laundry Machines, cigarettes and stereos. Southdowns knows how to turn a dollar out of everyday items. This is real good for us."

In contrast, Burke doesn't have anything interesting to say.

Barclay Mills - Cassandra

The other two comment on Barclay Mills being garbage, but Cassandra has dreams of revitalizing Barclay Mills. Curiously, Emmanuel says that that's because "she never has to go there."

Vito and Alma admit to having little experience with trains and factories.

Tickfaw Harbor - Cassandra/Vito/Burke

Emmanuel comments on the harbor being good for the marijuana business, and Cassandra likes it for general import/export.

Vito and Alma mention that the harbor would make their smuggling operation easier.

Burke and Nicki seems to be more interested in the car rackets.

Downtown - Cassandra

Burke and Vito seem more focused on the money while Cassandra's top priority is power and City Hall.

There's the usual talk about rising crime if Burke or Vito get the district, but with Cassandra, people comment on protests and clashes with the police.

Frisco Fields

All the underbosses seem to like Frisco Fields as a way to spite the wealthy, white residents there, and they don't seem too disappointed if they don't get the district.

Alma is a bit surprised if you give Frisco Fields to Vito.

Nicki dislikes Frisco Fields. It might be because she was in their ER once.

French Ward - Cassandra/Burke

Cassandra and Emmanuel mentions taking care of the sex workers there.

Burke likes vice and the rackets but Nicki seems more exasperated because of him.

Vito has little experience with the rackets there, but he seems to want to run it. Alma has no desire to run the sex rackets.

There's also some common themes in the chatter around each underboss's assignment.

Vito: Increased Italian presence, crime, protection rackets. People also comment on increased Italian cuisine. Memorable quote: "Guess what's at every crime scene lately in Frisco Fields? Marinara."

Burke: Increased Irish presence, moonshine, robberies.

Cassandra: Increased Haitian and black presence. The commentary is usually just racist remarks, but black pedestrians comment on increased black businesses and diversity.