#also the costumes are WILD up close the detail

[maybeimamuppet]

i also got to meet kristen smith davis!!!! and she was so lovely!!

[afairytalestray]

OK so on Saturday I got to go to Milan to see the Cats Il Sistina tour and HOLY GOD IT WAS AWESOME. I'm glad I studied the character designs in advance because a lot of the costumes are really different. I'm not typically a huge fan of nonreplicas but Il Sistina may well change that!

I've compiled my thoughts on the show here! Nb, I do not speak Italian so I'm not sure how close to the original lyrics the translation is 😅

There were no green goggles, but the Cats did come in through the audience. I had an aisle seat and Cassandra walked right past me! She was right there and so beautiful omg.

I've gotta get in right at the start that Simone Ragozzino is my new all-time favourite Mungojerrie. The most ever! A little guy. He got most of the acrobatics that Tumblebrutus usually does - apparently Simone used to be an acrobat/gymnast so that makes sense. He and Rumpleteazer were sufficiently chaotic but also clearly valued and beloved members of the tribe. Idk man Simone just got it. Tumble-jerrie ftw. 

The cathedral from "round the cathedral" was changed to a Colosseum reference which I loved 😍

I'm obsessed with Demeter’s makeup from this tour actually. I'm personally not the biggest fan of cryptid-style makeup and looks in Cats in general, but I feel like Deme was balancing just on the edge and it really worked and I loved it. Maybe it was Viviana Salvo's acting as well - she was fabulous at toeing that line between stunning and unnerving!

Tugger and Munkustrap were super close! Munk was less annoyed by Tugger’s antics than normal and they did this thing at one point where Tugger was holding onto Munk who leant fully backwards off the edge of the stage - it was like a trust exercise and I was a fan. Their rendition of Old Deuteronomy was lovely and their voices worked so good together! Tugger was definitely Munkustrap’s second in command of the tribe. I wish Tugger was a bit more Tugger in appearance, he seemed very yellow with not a lot of detail on his costume, but the personality was hundo p present and accounted for. He did the "bite is worse than your bark" line in Jellicle Songs and legit barked at the end.

Jennyanydots was fabulous! Instead of a big coat she literally wore a giant ball of wool, and one of the props was giant knitting needles and the start of what might have been a giant scarf - it took 6 of the Cats to carry it. It actually worked super well for Milan, which is known for fashion and fabrics - there's even a giant sewing needle sculpture outside Cadorna Station! It was probably a happy coincidence but I enjoyed it!

Victoria's role was changed quite a bit, her solo was totally different and the pas de deux was gone. There also kinda just... wasn't the big small first touch Vic and Grizabella moment, which I was sad about, but if Griz's big moment wasn't "TOUCH MEEEEEE" in the translation, I'm not so bothered by it. I wish Vic had a bit bigger of a role because I love her, but she was killing it whenever she was on stage.

We are all stan pink Jemima, she had such a lovely voice too. Her and Alonzo were playing with a tennis ball during the interval and it was adorable.

My beloved Coricopat and Tantomile were lying in the Mouth of Truth prop after Moments of Happiness; they had their usual role of translating Old Doots through Jemima so I thought their placement here was deliberate! They weren't always fully in sync which I kinda liked, it was like they were allowed to be their own characters rather than just "the twins". I definitely got the impression that Tantomile was the older sister which hella backs up my hcs about her!

Gus was absolutely WILD. He comes in after Jellylorum has done her whole first part of the song in this raggedy old tradiotional Sherlock Holmes-style beige plaid coat instead of being there but kinda out of it the whole time. At first he wasnt keen on replaying any of his roles, but then all the others were like please please please and he relented. I think they were calling him (or his role) Romero? Idk if that's an Italian reference I just don't get? They did Pekes and Pollicles (one of the above had been changed to chihuahuas!) and then the bold Rumpus/Romero appeared... in a red satin bath robe and holding a sabre??? I need to look up this reference! Dude didn't just intimidate the pollicles, he straight up cut a couple of them down with his sword! Grandpa woke up and chose violence 😂

There was no trash train in Skimbleshanks 😭😭 there were giant glowstick things that changed colours though. Skimble and Bustopher were played by the same actor which is a combo I haven't seen before. Skimble was definitely still everyone's favourite train dad, all the characters were totally hyped for his song. HE DID TAP LIKE IN 2019. It was really cool how they did it, all the music stopped and he started a call and response tap dance with some of the other characters. The background showed an animated video of going through a train tunnel, like from the perspective of a train driver! The tap was gradually speeding up and became the sound effects of a train setting off and moving through the tunnel. I'm not explaining this super well but it was SO cool.

The Macavity Fight was quite different. There wasn't him disguised as Old Deuteronomy and then unmasked. What happened was he showed up and caused some shenanigans and then disappeared. There were about 4 of him around, so it looked like he was teleporting around the stage and audience! Bombalurina and Demeter performed his song which was absolutely fantastic (seriously how do these actresses actually manage to dance like that and sing at the same time?? Goddesses), after that he showed up again and the full cast was involved in the fight. Munkustrap still got the good choreography, but the whole tribe was involved trying to protect Old Deuteronomy. Tugger was definitely a protector in this production, he was very involved. Jerrie got KO'd a good few times, and Macavity absolutely destroyed poor Jenny! It felt like all of them were trying to protect their family and I really liked that. Despite that, Macavity was still able to win and successfully kidnap Old Doots!

"Mungojerrie, RUMPLETEAZER, Griddlebone" they let my girl do crime again!

Mistoffelees and Quaxo were besties, and Misto was REALLY enjoying Tugger's song I'm just saying. Delighted to announce Il Sistina Misto was a fruity little guy. He didn't get the terrible bore line, sad face, that went to Quaxo, but tbh idk how they translated that so it could be totally different! At one point Alonzo was holding him back at the start of Tugger’s song! We then saw a sponge-like Misto who picked up behaviours from the others around him, like he wasn't too sure of himself. This is actually one of my favourite Misto hcs so i was so chuffed to see it so clearly. He then helped Alonzo rein George (at least I think it was George!) in from going mental fanboy at Tugger. He was originally curious about Griz but then adjusted to hissing upon seeing the others. This fully went forward into his song. They did some big choreo changes. It was significantly less dance-heavy than traditional Misto performances and had a stronger focus on him being magic. There was a levitating box that they spent a lot of time with - Magician's Assistant Cass got in, but then she didn't disappear? She just popped back out again after the box had been rotated a few times. Some of the Kittens were waving their hands under the box to prove there was nothing holding it up and looking amazed which was adorable though. There was also a bit where Misto put some cards into a hat, the hat got passed down a line of Cats and then at the end they just sort of flew out? Like idk maybe they changed the lyrics where they're describing different magic tricks and it all makes sense! I THOUGHT THE CONJURING TURNS WERE GONE, but they were just moved to the very end of the song and cut down quite a bit.

Ok BUT LISTEN, à la 2019, the poor boy tried and failed twice to bring back Old Deuteronomy and then just sort of flopped in the corner all defeated but then BOYFRIEND TUGGER HELD HIS HANDS AND GOT RIGHT UP CLOSE AND WAS LIKE I BELIEVE IN YOU BABE and omg for real those actors knew EXACTLY what they were doing Tuggoff nation RISE. I'm always a red-sheet-turned-cape stan but I can definitely get behind the sparkly tail coat and playing card bowtie. He also had this handkerchief that he threw up in the air and it became a magic wand. I have no idea how and it was very silly so obviously I loved it. Although I wasn't massively into the choreo changes (ballet dancer Misto 5eva), Pierpaolo Scida was a magnificent Misto and I adored him - he was so cute! The little background actions and looks he did were so in character with how he interpreted Misto! Also he was beautiful you can't change my mind.

Malika was such an intense Grizabella - 10/10. She was proud but so vulnerable. She walked right past me when she first came in and lads, she did the whole show in these massive stilettos - absolute queen. At one point it literally rained on her on stage! During her first Memory, Old Deut was really watching her, and at the end of it he approached her, but she ran off when she saw him. I thought it was a super cool character moment, like she knew she wanted to be accepted, but wasn't quite ready for it. Even after the big Memory and Old Deuteronomy declared her the Jellicle Choice, Victoria approached her, but she was still too scared to let her, and it was Jemima who finally was able to reach her and bring her in. At the end she just kinda disappeared off stage - there were no flying tyres or magic stairs in the circus tent!

During the bit after the bows some of the cats were out in the audience and Tugger scared the absolute crap out of this one woman by poking his head in between her and the person sitting next to her. Iconic. Also during the latter part of the interval the audience was allowed to come up to the edge of the stage where some of the actors were goofing about in character. This mf pretended to cough up a hairball and now I have it on video. I also got some close ups of Teazer and the beautiful Bomba!

The Italian Junkyard was fabulous! It was mostly roman landmarks like Piazza Navona and Bocca della Verità, but there was also Michelangelo's David (which I'm pretty sure is in Florence) above the orchestra! There was also a giant marble foot, an Italian-style water fountain, and a broken column. My favourite prop was the bench, it's elevated at the back left of the stage and the cast were using it like a slide to enter the stage! Also it seemed to be Misto’s preferred location to lounge.

In conclusion, I will never get over this.

[fibula-rasa]

Cosplay the Classics: Nazimova in Salomé (1922)—Part 1

My cosplay of Nazimova as Salomé

The Importance of Being Peter: Nazimova’s Take on Wilde

With over two decades of professional acting experience behind her (six on the “shadow stage” of silent cinema), Alla Nazimova went independent. She was one of the highest paid stars in Hollywood at the start of 1922 when her contract with Metro ended. Almost exclusively using her own savings, Nazimova founded a new production company and immediately got to work on two films that reflected both a deep understanding of her own fan base and a faith in the American filmgoer’s appreciation for art.

Discourse around these films and their productions that have emerged in the century since their release are often peppered with over-simplifications or a lack of perspective. Focus is understandably placed on Salomé, as her first project, A Doll’s House (1922), has not survived. In part one of this series, I plan to contextualize Nazimova’s decision to commit Wilde’s drama to celluloid and examine the details of the adaptation. Then, in part two, I will cover how Salomé (and A Doll’s House) fits into the industry trends and the emergent studio system in the early 1920s.

While the full essay and more photos are available below the jump, you may find it easier to read (formatting-wise) on the wordpress site. Either way, I hope you enjoy the read!

Wilde’s Salomé: The Basics

Salomé was a one-act drama written by Oscar Wilde. In a creative challenge to himself, Salomé was one of Wilde’s first plays and he chose to write in French, which he did not have as complete a mastery of as of English. Wilde was directly inspired by the Flaubert story “Herodias,” which was, in turn, inspired by the short story which appears twice in the New Testament. The play was later translated into English and published with illustrations by artist Aubrey Beardsley. Wilde’s play was the basis of the opera of the same name by Richard Strauss. While both the opera and the play had been staged numerous times across Europe and in New York before Nazimova’s adaptation, Strauss’ opera was the main reference point for the story in the popular imagination of the time. The success of Strauss’ opera led to the popularization of the Dance of the Seven Veils and the accepted interpretation of the character as a classic femme fatale.

My cosplay of Nazimova as Salomé

Nazimova’s Salomé: The Basics

When Nazimova announced her production of Salomé, she did so assured that she and Natacha Rambova, her art director, had a unique and creatively compelling interpretation of the story to warrant adaptation. Nazimova was not only the star and producer of Salomé, she adapted it from its source herself under her pen name Peter M. Winters. (Cheekily, contemporary interviews and profiles joke that “Peter” is one of her common nicknames.) Charles Bryant, credited as director, was as much the director of the film as he was Nazimova’s husband, which is to say, he is not known to have contributed much at all. It’s now accepted fact that Bryant acted as a professional beard (Bryant and Nazimova were also never legally married). The choice to credit Bryant was to offset the heat Nazimova was getting in the press at the time for “taking on too much.” Having Bryant’s name in the credits was a protective measure. Charles Van Enger was a talented, up-and-coming cinematographer who had been recommended to Nazimova following the inadequate cinematography of her Metro films.

Rambova was in charge of the art direction, set designs, costumes, and makeup. Nazimova and Rambova had become close artistic collaborators after Nazimova hired Rambova to design the fantasy sequence for her film Billions (1920, presumed lost). [You can learn more about Rambova’s career here.] Both women valued their work above all else. Both were convinced that film could be art. Both had the gumption to believe that they could make a lasting mark on cinema’s recognition as a legitimate medium of artistic expression.* (Spoiler: even though Salomé was not an unqualified box-office success, they were right.)

Photo of the Salomé crew from Exhibitors Herald, 29 April 1922. Original caption: Nazimova ordered this picture taken that she might be reminded of the real pleasure encountered in every stage of the production of “Salome.” Top, left to right: Monroe Bennett, laboratory; Charles Bryant, director; Mildred Early, secretary; John DePalma, assistant director. Second row: Sam Zimbalist, cutter; Natacha Rambova, art director; Charles J. Van Enger, cameraman; the star; R. W. McFarland, manager. Front row: Neal Jack, electrician; Paul Ivano, cameraman; Lewis Wilson, cameraman.

Nazimova’s independence was at least partly spurred on by feeling creatively bereft from her work at Metro. In a 1926 interview with Adela Rogers St. Johns, Nazimova said:

“You asked me why I made ‘Salome.’ Well—’Salome’ was a purgative. […] It seems impossible now that I should ever have been asked to play such parts as ‘The Heart of a Child’ and ‘Billions.’ But I was. And instead of saying, ‘No. I will not play such trash. I will not play roles so wholely [sic] unsuited to me in every way,’ I went on and played them because of my contract, and they ruined me. “WORSE than that, they [made] me sick with myself. So I did ‘Salome’ as a purgative. I wanted something so different, so fanciful, so artistic, that it would take the taste out of my mouth. ‘Salome’ was my protest against cheap realism. Maybe it was a mistake. But—I had to do it. It was not a mistake for me, myself.”

Given that Nazimova now had full creative freedom, outside of the confines of the Hollywood film factory, why were A Doll’s House and Salomé the first works she gravitated towards?

Initially, Nazimova had conceived of a “repertoire” concept for her productions: one shorter production (A Doll’s House) and one feature-length production (Salomé), which could be distributed and exhibited together. Once production was underway for ADH, Nazimova instead chose to make it a feature. The reasons for this decision that I found in contemporary sources are purely creative, but I don’t think it’s too much of a presumption that this may have been a financial choice, as profits from ADH (which unfortunately wouldn’t materialize—more on that in part two!) could have been cycled into Salomé’s production.

Ibsen was not popular source material for the silent screen, but Nazimova’s name and career was forever tied to the playwright as she is considered the actress who brought Ibsen to the US. (Minnie Maddern Fiske starred in a production of Hedda Gabbler in the US before Nazimova, however it failed to raise the profile of the writer.) Nazimova’s stage productions of Ibsen’s work proved that there was an audience for it in the US—both in New York and on tour. Superficially, ADH might seem like a risky proposition, but Nazimova had good reason to believe it had both artistic and box office potential. (Again, I’ll delve into why it might not have found its audience in part two.)

Nazimova as Nora in A Doll’s House

Though ADH is now lost, we know from surviving materials that Nazimova understood that by 1922 The New Woman archetype was already becoming passé to the post-war/post-pandemic generation of young women. Nazimova endeavored to translate the play in a way that would resonate with 1920s American womanhood. (How well she succeeded is lost to time unless we are lucky enough to recover a copy of the film.) Likewise, Nazimova approached her adaptation of Salomé with a keen eye for the concerns of modern independent women.

——— ——— ———

*Incidentally, both women also had a personal connection to Wilde. Nazimova was a close friend and colleague of Elizabeth Marbury, who worked as Wilde’s agent. Rambova spent summers at her aunt’s (Elsie de Wolfe) villa in France where she lived with her longtime partner, Marbury.

My cosplay of Nazimova as Salomé

The Adolescence of Salome

In the decade following the end of the First World War, there was a great cultural shift for women in America, who experienced and pursued greater independence in society—particularly young and/or unmarried women. This quality was emblematized in the Flappers and the Jazz Babies, but even women who didn’t participate in these subcultures lived lifestyles removed from “home and family” ideals of the past. The lifestyle change was mirrored aesthetically. As Frederick Lewis Allen describes in Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920s:

“These changes in fashion—the short skirt, the boyish form, the straight, long-waisted dresses, the frank use of paint—were signs of a real change in the American feminine ideal (as well, perhaps, as in men’s idea of what was the feminine ideal). […] the quest of slenderness, the flattening of the breasts, the vogue of short skirts (even when short skirts still suggested the appearance of a little girl), the juvenile effect of the long waist,—all were signs that, consciously or unconsciously, the women of this decade worshiped not merely youth, but unripened youth […] Youth was their pattern, but not youthful innocence: the adolescent whom they imitated was a hard-boiled adolescent, who thought not in terms of romantic love, but in terms of sex, and who made herself desirable not by that sly art that conceals art, but frankly and openly.”*

Allen’s summary of youthful womanhood in the 1920s resounds so clearly in the character design and performance of Nazimova’s Salomé, it’s apparent that she and Rambova were thoroughly informed by contemporary trends around young/independent women. Belén Ruiz Garrido puts it succinctly in her great essay on the film “Besare tu boca, Iokanaan. Arte y experiencia cinematografica en Salomé de Alla Nazimova:”

“Las concomitancias con la flapper o la it girl de los felices años veinte son evidentes. Se muestra mimosa, pero su seducción es como un juego de niña. / The similarities with the flapper or the it girl of the roaring twenties are obvious. She performs affection, but her seduction is like child’s play.” (translation mine)

Nazimova was also fully conscious that her fanbase was predominantly female and that she held significant appeal for younger women. From the moment she signed her first American theatrical contract with Lee Shubert, Nazimova’s status as a queer idol was already being established.

“The women… were enthusiastic about [Nazimova]… [At the hotel, the] ladies’ entrance was always crowded with women waiting for her to return from the theatre. It is much better that she should be exclusive and meet no one if possible. They regard her as a mystery. And there are other damned good reasons besides this one.”  – citation: A. H. Canby to Lee Shubert, December 29, 1908**

While women, particularly middle-class women, were emerging as a prominent consumer group in the US, Nazimova’s popularity peaked on stage and on screen. Arriving in Hollywood, Nazimova also continued her trend of surrounding herself socially and professionally with other queer women. Profiles and interviews of Nazimova in the Hollywood press often contained coded language about her queerness as a wink and nudge, usually but not always accompanied by mention of her “husband” Charles Bryant.

This well-developed understanding of her primary fanbase led her to break from popular presentations of the character as an embodiment of monstrous feminine sensuality. Instead, Nazimova chose to present the character as an adolescent. While Nazimova was the first to put this read on the character on film, Marcella Craft chose an adolescent interpretation in a production Strauss’ opera in Munich and Hedwig Reicher was a teenager when she assayed the role and played it accordingly (also in Germany). (Maybe not insignificantly, Reicher was also working in Hollywood at the time of Salomé’s production.)***

This is the American pop culture landscape we’re talking about here, so of course women’s independence was rapidly codified for capitalization. Young women were moralized at for not conforming to traditional gender roles while simultaneously being framed as sexually desirable in order to sell consumer goods (including motion pictures!). The American way. It’s hard to not see social commentary in Nazimova’s reworking of this icon of wanton femininity for a new generation.

This isn’t to suggest that Nazimova’s Salomé glorifies the character, but rather that making Salomé a teen adds layers of complexity to the production. Considering it in conversation with her predecessors, Salomé isn’t even named in the New Testament stories. Flaubert built out the character with 19th century concerns in mind (though his story is more about Herod & Herodias) and Wilde shifted even more focus to Salomé. Nazimova continued that trend with her version of Salomé—an impetuous child too young and ill-equipped to constructively deal with the horrible environment she was brought up in. (Might that resonate with a generation of young people disillusioned by a World War and a pandemic?)

As Nazimova/Peter wrote in the opening intertitles to the film:

“It is at this point that the drama opens, revealing Salome who yet remains an uncontaminated blossom in a wilderness of evil.

“Though still innocent, Salome is a true daughter of her day, heiress to its passions and its cruelties. She kills the thing she loves; she loves the thing she kills, yet in her soul there shines the glimmer of the Light and she sets forth gladly into the Unknown to solve the puzzle of her own words——”

My cosplay of Nazimova as Salomé

As Salomé was an experiment in pantomime for screen acting, it’s worthwhile to look at how Nazimova embodies this image of youth in her performance. In the first scenes, Salomé’s facial expressions are pouty and her movements like a bored child’s. Her wig emphasizes every movement she makes with a flurry of pearls and creates a neotenous silhouette for the character. When denied access to Jokanaan, her facial expressions are imperious, but the imperiousness of a spoiled child. She swings on the bars imprisoning Jokanaan as if they are a jungle gym. As she “charms” Narraboth, her expressions and body language shift toward a scheming energy with barely concealed artifice, displaying a distinct lack of sophistication—like she’s trying to angle a second serving of ice cream not exacting a favor of a servant that could cost his life.

Perhaps most crucially, Salomé’s adolescence emphasizes the inappropriateness of men’s gaze upon her. Wilde’s drama is built around rhythmic repetition in the dialogue—a key repetition being the act of looking. Though the play is only one act, some form of “regarder” in relation to Salomé is repeated nineteen times—most often in some form of “don’t look at her” or “you shouldn’t look at her that way.” As Salomé is a silent film, to repeat this in intertitles nineteen times in intertitles would be absurd. Throughout the film, frequent close ups are strategically employed to visually recreate the rhythmic emphasis on gazing. (The purpose of this device seems to have been lost on one reviewer for Exhibitors Herald who said in his review: ”too many close ups.”) Additionally, the motif is foregrounded by front-loading the mentions of looking. As soon as the opening narration ends, we’re introduced to Herod behaving lecherously toward Salomé and Herodias telling him not to look at her. The perversity of Herod is amplified here because Salomé is not only his niece and his step-daughter, but also a child. This scene is followed by Narraboth and the page having a similar interaction, albeit with a different tone.

As Nazimova put it herself in a profile in Close-Up magazine:

“The men about her are obnoxious; they cannot even look upon her decently. She loathes them all. Even the Syrian [Narraboth] whose approach is of all the most respectful and decorous, is of his times and his love is tempered with the alloy of lust.”

In the film, Salomé’s rage against Herod is justified, and her rage against Jokanaan is a raw confusion of emotions—she doesn’t have the capacity to act constructively. When the first unfortunate man commits suicide over her, she barely takes notice, establishing Salome’s blasé attitude toward death. When the second man takes his life this time directly in front of her, Salomé only notices after almost tripping on his body. Her response is giving the body an annoyed kick for tripping her! The key phrase of the drama is “The mystery of love is greater than the mystery of death.” Salomé is surrounded by death, enveloped by it, but love (of any kind) is unknown to her until Jokanaan. So, when her love of Jokanaan is rebuked, she reverts to the only response that has been nurtured into her: death.

Nazimova’s Salomé is a perfect surviving example of a quality of her acting described in an uncredited review of Nazimova’s theatrical work:

“If the actress you’re seeing knows what she’s saying but you don’t, it’s Mrs. [Minnie Maddern] Fiske. But if the actress doesn’t know what she is saying and you do, it’s Alla Nazimova.”****

We as viewers understand what Salomé is going through, but she is being psychologically buffeted by fate and circumstance without ever comprehending the nature of it. The tumultuous feelings brought on by Salomé’s first brush with the spiritual (rather than the sexual), launches her into an accelerated ripening of her cruelty. This is masterfully communicated by Nazimova through facial expression and body language and accentuated by Rambova’s costuming.

As Herman Weinberg put it in his essay “The Function of the Actor:”

“The true film crystalizes action for us. ‘To see eternity in a grain of sand,’ the poet said. ‘To see a life cycle in an hour and a half’ is the modern screen parallel.”

Because of the emotional scale of Nazimova’s performance in Salomé, it has been variously described as “bizarre” or “grotesque”—though not always said derogatorily. That’s on point, as Nazimova’s performance is only one expression of her protest against realism in the film.

——— ——— ———

*If you’re interested in the 1920s at all, I highly recommend Allen’s book. The section this quote is from has a detailed survey of changes in American women’s lifestyles throughout the 1920s.

**as quoted in “Alla Nazimova: ‘The Witch of Makeup’” by Robert A. Schanke

***Gavin Lambert’s biography of Nazimova intimates that she referenced the 1917 Tairov production of Wilde’s Salomé, which she reportedly had a detailed description of. Reading about the production for myself in Mark Slonim’s Russian Theatre: from the Empire to the Soviets, I’m not sure what precisely she would have drawn from this production. It doesn’t seem to have much in common with the ‘22 film at all. That said, in a 1923 interview with Malcolm H. Oettinger in Picture-Play Magazine, Nazimova admits that in preparing for the film, she compiled a large scrapbook of previous productions and artistic interpretations of the story and character. Unfortunately, though Lambert clearly did voluminous research for his biography, his presentation and interpretation leaves a lot to be desired. Most of the things I tried to verify or try to find more information on from the book proved to be misrepresentations or were factually incorrect. So, I’m avoiding quoting Lambert without verification, unless what I’m citing is directly taken from a primary source; like a quote from Nazimova’s correspondence.

****quotation is from an uncredited clipping held by the Nazimova archive in Columbus, Georgia as quoted in Gavin Lambert’s biography

Illustration of Nazimova as Salomé by F. Corral from The Story World, March 1923

Nazimova and Rambova’s Modernist Phantasy

The assurance that Rambova and Nazimova felt that they had something new to bring to Salomé was obviously not solely founded in a character interpretation updated for the screen and for the decade. The two crafted a singular work born of pastiche in a manner that genuinely had not been done before in the American film industry. It’s often repeated that Salomé is America’s first art film. This may have its origin in promotional materials* made for the initial release of the film. Before the film’s official release, Bryant, Nazimova, and Paul Ivano (assistant camera & Nazimova’s on-again-off-again lover) arranged preview screenings and a few reviews from those screenings mention in some form that Salomé was a direct retort to the notion that art cannot be made with a camera.

What constituted the Nazimova/Rambova strategy to elevate film to the status of art? Both women had around six years of experience working in film (twelve collectively), but both came from a live performance background—theatrical acting and ballet respectively. Salomé is a film based on a stage play (though not strictly based on any one production of that play). Salomé inherits its symbology (first and foremost the moon) from its source material, but the filmmakers found creative ways of communicating and remixing symbols for the camera. The art design is inspired by Aubrey Beardsley’s illustrations for a printed edition of the play, though Rambova pulled more broadly from art-nouveau to devise designs that are in no way unoriginal.

As for the much discussed Dance of the Seven Veils, in my opinion, Nazimova’s execution is inspired by the dance described in Flaubert’s “Herodias” rather than a previous live performance.

“Again the dancer paused; then, like a flash, she threw herself upon the palms of her hands, while her feet rose straight up into the air. In this bizarre pose she moved about upon the floor like a gigantic beetle; then stood motionless.

“The nape of her neck formed a right angle with her vertebrae. The full silken skirts of pale hues that enveloped her limbs when she stood erect, now fell to her shoulders and surrounded her face like a rainbow. Her lips were tinted a deep crimson, her arched eyebrows were black as jet, her glowing eyes had an almost terrible radiance; and the tiny drops of perspiration on her forehead looked like dew upon white marble.”

Clearly, I’m not implying that what’s described above is exactly what we see on screen. My thought instead is that Nazimova may have drawn inspiration for the dance to be provocative in an uncanny way instead of provocative in a conventionally sensuous way. What we do see on screen is a distinct lack of practiced sensuality and an element of menace. The former comes both from Salomé’s youthfulness and from the logic that, as Salomé has already gotten Herod to give her his word in front of dignitaries, there’s no need for seduction. The latter is brought on by the expression of Salomé’s fractured emotional state and feelings about Herod. In execution, the use of close-ups again serves a major purpose. Intercutting close-up reactions from those gathered at the court provides a crescendo to the motif of looking, which is then pivotally reversed in the kiss scene. Cutting to close-ups of Salomé’s face accents the ecstatic and maniacal quality of the dance. Together this variation of shots creates an effect that could only work on film.

Salomé has a significant appreciation for its non-cinematic antecedents, but filtered through the prism of Nazimova’s and Rambova’s own creative strengths and sensibilities—a melding of theater and graphic art into something not only fresh but also totally cinematic.

It speaks to their filmmaking skill that all of these ideas and influences do in fact come together as a cohesive yet wholly unconventional film. Some critics of Salomé (both contemporary and modern) will cite vague notions of theatricality, or state that the film is only a series of tableaux, or that the limited sets don’t depart enough from a stage presentation. Art is in the eye of the beholder, but I think whether those specific elements preclude Salomé from being cinematic is a matter of perspective.

The oversized, stylized nature of Salomé’ssets might at first register as theatrical, but those same sets also serve to amp up the anti-real nature of the film. It’s uncharitable to Rambova to suggest that this artificiality was not a conscious artistic decision. If you have seen the sequences she designed with Mitchell Leisen for De Mille’s Forbidden Fruit (1921) then you have seen her demonstrated understanding of how designs register on camera. The gorgeously executed lighting effects in Salomé that are employed to to sublimate tone shifts could feasibly be recreated in a theatrical setting, here, filtered through the camera of Van Enger, register as thoroughly cinematic.

To once again quote “The Function of the Actor” by Weinberg:

“In nine movies out of ten (most particularly those emanating from the film factories of Hollywood), the actors stand around and talk to each other, relieved only by periodic bursts of someone going in or out of a doorway. (Sixty percent of the action in the average Hollywood movie consists of people going in and out of doors.) […] 

“The actor going through a doorway may be a necessary device on the stage, to get him on and off. But Pudovkin has made a neat distinction between the realities of stage and screen: ‘The film assembles the elements of reality to build from them a new reality proper to itself; and the laws of time and space that, in sets and footage of the stage are fixed and fast, are in the film entirely altered.’ On the stage, that is, an event seems to occur in the same length of time it would occupy in life. On the screen, however, the camera records only the significant parts of the event, and so the filmic time is shorter than the real time of the event.”

Weinberg cites Pudovkin in an amusing but illustrative way here. People may throw “overly theatrical” or “stagey” casually, but more often than not the distinction between theatrical/cinematic comes down to how space and time is traversed. Even if the base material, a narrative drama for example, is shared between stage and screen, there should be a thoughtful construction of geography and chronology. Could Salomé have played more creatively with space? Perhaps. But, for a film made in early 1922, its creative geography isn’t all that uninventive. The majority of the action in Salomé takes place exclusively on one set, so it does rely a lot on the types of comings and goings that Weinberg identifies with theatre. That said, there are some comings and goings that forcefully pull the audience away from the feeling of stagey-ness. The most consequential occurs in the scene with the first suicide, which I previously mentioned in the context of developing Salomé‘s character and environment. The man runs to the ledge of the courtyard, beholds the moon, and leaps. Cut to a wide, back-lit shot of the figure plunging to nowhere, establishing that the city above the clouds depicted in the art titles and opening credits is the actual physical location that film is taking place in. It’s a genuinely startling moment in the film and Salomé’s most evocative use of creative geography.

The majority of legitimate critical appraisal at the time of Salomé’s release recognize it as an achievement in film art, even highlighting artsiness as a potential selling point. As art cinemas started popping up in the US, Salomé stayed in circulation. Appreciation grew. Legends emerged around its production. And, now one hundred years later, it’s safe to say that Salomé has earned and kept its place as a fixture of the history of film art. As we are lucky enough to have the complete film to watch, assess, reassess, and debate its qualities as a work of cinematic art, I’m positive that conversation on Salomé will continue. 

So, if Salomé was appreciated in its time, why did it ruin and bankrupt Nazimova? What was going on in the American film industry at the time? Find out in part two!

“If we have made something fine, something lasting, it is enough. The commercial end of it does not interest me at all. I hate it. This I do know: we must live, and I must live well. I have suffered—enough. Never again shall I suffer. But most of all am I concerned in creating something that will lift us all above this petty level of earthly things. My work is my god. I want to build what I know is fine, what I feel calling for expression. I must be true to my ideals—” — Nazimova on Salomé quoted in “The Complete Artiste” by Malcolm Oettinger

——— ——— ———

*As of the time of writing, I haven’t been able to track down a complete copy for the campaign book for the film, so I’m relying on fragments, quotes, and second-hand references to its content.

——— ——— ———

☕Appreciate my work? Buy me a coffee! ☕

——— ——— ———

Bibliography/Further Reading

(This isn’t an exhaustive list, but covers what’s most relevant to the essay above!)

Salomé by Oscar Wilde [French/English]

“Herodias” by Gustave Flaubert [English]

Cosplay the Classics: Natacha Rambova

Lost, but Not Forgotten: A Doll’s House (1922)

“Temperament? Certainly, says Nazimova” by Adela Rogers St. Johns in Photoplay, October 1926

“Newspaper Opinions” in The Film Daily, 3 January 1923

“Splendid Production Values But No Kick in Nazimova’s “Salome” in The Film Daily, 7 January 1923

“SALOME” in The Story World, March 1923

“SALOME’ —Class AA” from Screen Opinions, 15 February 1923

“The Complete Artiste” by Malcolm H. Oettinger in Picture-Play Magazine, April 1923

“Famous Salomes” by Willard H. Wright in Motion Picture Classic, October 1922

“Nazimova’s ‘Salome’” by Walter Anthony in Closeup, 5 January 1923

“Alla Nazimova: ‘The Witch of Makeup’” by Robert A. Schanke in Passing Performances: Queer Readings of Leading Players in American Theater History

“Besare tu boca, Iokanaan. Arte y experiencia cinematografica en Salome de Alla Nazimova” by Belén Ruiz Garrido (Wish I had read this at the beginning of my research and writing instead of near the end as it touches upon a few of the same points as my essay! Highly recommended!)

“The Function of the Actor” by Herman Weinberg

“‘Out Salomeing Salome’: Dance, The New Woman, and Fan Magazine Orientalism” by Gaylyn Studlar in Visions of the East: Orientalism in Film

Nazimova: A Biography by Gavin Lambert (Note: I do not recommend this without caveat even though it’s the only monograph biography of Nazimova. Lambert did a commendable amount of research but his presentation of that research is ruined by misrepresentations, factual errors, and a general tendency to make unfounded assumptions about Nazimova’s motivations and personal feelings.)

Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920s by Frederick Lewis Allen

Russian Theatre: from the Empire to the Soviets by Mark Slonim

[theeverlovingcaretaker]

Hello! Your first fic was really great!

Could I get an imposter reader? (Cookie run kingdom)

Reader likes to make/wear costumes of their favorite video game characters, but before they were transported they were wearing a Crucible knight armor. But when they got transported, their armor/weapon changed instead of cardboard and other art materials it turned into actual metal. The cookies/ (if they could look back at reader somehow) always thought the costumes were just other bakers/gods, they saw the crucible knight as a god of battle/war as it looked like that, the cookies most of the time pray to this god to bring them victory.

You can take it from here, I don't want to ramble as this will be so long.

Have a great day!

A knight in not so shining armor

Sacrk x imposter!cosplayer!reader

The phrase ‘cosplaying is a dangerous hobby’ is something you’ve never heard people say, but if you told people about this, they probably would start saying it.

A/N: Thank you very much for reading it! I may or may not have. Went a little wild with this one… also cara supremacy <3

For as long as you can remember, you’ve loved cosplaying. Taking cardboard boxes and some scissors and cutting out the heads of your favorite characters, and then acting like that character. You loved it.

Little did you know, the cookies were aware of your hobby. Thing is, they weren’t exactly aware of the concept of ‘cosplaying’. So whenever they saw you in a different costume, acting like a different character, they thought it was someone completely different. There were quite a few that they knew of- of course, the standard you, the most lovely Caretaker. They saw you as a symbol of love and peace. Your Crucible Knight cosplay was known as simply the Knight, and was seen as a symbol of war and death.

If you’d known that, perhaps you wouldn’t have been as confused. Finding yourself in the Cookie world with your Crucible Knight cosplay hadn’t been your evening plan, but as you realized your cosplay had been made out of actual metals, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

You remember the very first thing that happened here, when you had grown near the Cookie Kingdom. You saw a playground, many children cookies playing on it. Pancake suddenly fell from the playset, and you ran over to check on him. “Are you alright, Pancake?” You asked, concerned. Pancake looked up at you, and he screamed. “It’s the Knight!” Suddenly, everyone was running away from you, and all you wanted to do was make sure Pancake was okay. And in a mere moment, you were being chased away from the kingdom by what you thought might’ve been the entire army. “You will not bring down our kingdom, Knight!” “It was you who made the Caretaker disappear, wasn’t it?! That’s why we haven’t seen them!”

You ran, and nearly any cookie you ran into would scream for whatever calvary was nearby, and the chase would start again. It wasn’t until you had reached the Dark Cacao Kingdom that you felt a slight bit of safety. Most cookies were inside the walls of the kingdom, and no way were you going inside. Surprisingly, outside wasn’t that bad, because even if you were in a raging blizzard you never felt that cold. You made yourself a comfortable camp close to the woods, out of the way of any watcher patrol paths and near a easy escape if you were caught. For a short while, you had a semblance of peace.

But of course, good things don’t last forever.

You had been hunched over your campfire, the metal of your armor trapping the warmth inside and keeping your dough warm. Suddenly, you heard a loud scream. It was foolish, but before you could think grabbed your blade and ran to the source. You found the source to be some cookie attacked by a massive snow lion, whom you couldn’t make the detail out of. You plunged your blade into the snow lion’s back, and it let out a loud roar before shaking you off and running back into the woods.

“Thank you, I usually don’t get overwhelmed by something such as a snow lio- huh?” You turned around to notice the one being attacked was none other than the First Watcher Caramel Arrow Cookie. Her eyes widened. “Y-you’re the Knight!” Before she could continue, you interrupted her. “Please Caramel Arrow, I don’t wanna hurt you, I don’t even know why everyone calls me that!”

“…You don’t?” She asked, confused. “You’re one of the multiple beings from beyond this world- along with the infamous Caretaker. There’s also the Bard, the Painter, the-” You started laughing, and she stopped. She just seemed more confused. “What’s so funny?” She tried to sound intimidating, you could tell, but her confusion stopped her from doing so. “I never thought that cosplaying would nearly get me killed. It’s so ridiculous! I wouldn’t believe it if I wasn’t here!”

“That laughter…” Caramel Arrow trailed off. “It sounds… so warm. Such behavior doesn’t make sense for the Knight…” She then turned her gaze towards you again. “Say- what is your name?” She asked. “It’s Y/N.” You responded, and her eyes widened. “I-It can’t be- is it really you? Caretaker?”

“…Huh??? First, everyone calls me the Knight, and now here you are calling me the Caretaker??” You felt like your head was about to fall off your shoulders from how much was being put in. “Of course. Only the Caretaker bares the name Y/N. That is what everyone says, anyways.” Caramel Arrow nodded with a smile. “Although… why, are you wearing the Knight’s armor?” After a brief explanation to her about the concept of cosplaying, she suddenly felt mortified. “Caretaker…”

“Please, just call me Y/N. No need for the formalities.” You corrected. “Of course. Y/N, there’s been a grave misunderstanding… between all of us.” Her eyes turned sad, as she gently held your armored hand. “I wish to correct this. Please, allow me to stay at your side, at least until the truth comes to light.”

You certainly wouldn’t say no to a new ally.

[flightyalrighty]

tiniest detail ever but sonics hand on the third panel of ch2pg1 is amazing, with the blood spiralling off. the sense of motion is great

Hi! Thank you so much for sending this! It was really lovely to read! Thank you so much for reading Infested. I'm so happy to entertain in this space. :]

I'm an individual with pretty bad anxiety, and it's because of that anxiety that I don't really get to enjoy horror media. Usually. Games and movies? That's a no-go. That's got jumpscares in it. I can't do jumpscares. Same goes for haunt attractions. It's so frustrating because I love the costumes and I love the sets and I love animatronics and graaahhh why does my brain have to be Like This, y'feel me? All I can handle are novels and comics. And boy do I handle em. [WARNING: HUGE RAMBLE UNDER CUT]

But lil ol' me, I'm still a someone who's got that yearning in their bones for horror, and I wanna see it done with extra love and care. Every year I rake through youtube for walking tours of TransWorld's (like Transylvania) Horror convention. I take a peek at what haunters are cooking up sometimes. I get excited for Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios, despite never being there in person once.

But I'm also someone who looks at over at Disney. Their experiences are very were once super high quality.

I want so badly so see how Disney can handle a horror animatronic. Have you seen their yeti? It gets pretty damn close to that vibe when it works. Isn't it wild that a company that doesn't do horror at all can be so freakin good at it because they've got the skills and resources they need for it?

That's kinda a tangent tho, ain't it? It used to be a longer tangent and then I realized this had nothing to do with making a scary comic about Sonic. Whoops.

Well okay, it KINDA did. I think Sonic is fully capable of successfully dabbling in all kindsa genres, much like Disney is used to be. Racing, fighting, rpg, party games, action shooters if we count Shadow The Hedgehog (2005) as that... So much potential. That franchise is so malleable.

So, bringing it back to the original thought here. Hi. Hello. I'm a professional cartoonist. I have a small published comic and everything. Worked with some cool people before that. I also love horror, and I especially love Sonic. I've loved Sonic since 2003. I know the series like the back of my hand.

So now I'm using my skills for evil, and making Infested for myself and for all of you.

These were some really disorganized thoughts but I hope I got across my general feelings here. I love Sonic and I love horror and so I'm making a Sonic Horror and also I have a degree in making comics so it's a Sonic Horror Comic, bada bing bada boom.

Thank you for sending this! :D

[koskela-knights]

Sometimes I can be really fed up with the slander and mischaracterization of the Koskelas. That and how people seem to (mis)remember everything about them. Yeah, in the long run, they sadly didn't play a relevant role and probably are considered minor characters to most people but some takes I've seen are just wild af.

And oddly, they seem to be the only characters who are both so invisible/not cared about and getting the wildest takes at the same time. Astonishing, really

A non-exhaustive list so far of takes and just basic things people forget/misremember/didn't catch:

They're being called hillbillies

They're being called hillbillies and that they'd vote right-wing (plz, they're anti-government and anti-authority af. Additionally I feel if they were bigoted and close-minded as the person implied, they would not have rented a trailer to Saga)

They're called stupid, middle-class adults trying to be a neighbourhood watch

They're called incompetent (are we gonna ignore they almost singlehandedly managed to keep Watery and Bright Falls safer thanks to their Cult???? Hello? The FBC literally put Scratch in a time-out-box and their agents got slaughtered left and right. Also, I'd like people who accuse them to try the same: juggle economic collapse in your town, having multiple jobs with supernatural dread and horrors and see how well they fare. The physical and mental toll that these things take are heavily heavily understated and overlooked.

Jaakko is a dad. (This can be found through the e-mails from Charlie & Charline to Uncle Ilmo, the thermos costume people talking about their dad, Ilmo calling Jaakko a stay-at-home-dad if you never talked to Ilmo at the monitoring station. It's hinted at Jaakko saying that family comes first in the profiling section with Saga

Ilmo is greedy (there was 1 negative review stating this. Honestly, if he rly was greedy he wouldn't "yeet" Saga's trailer rent like that. And while CW might be overpriced on some fronts, so are many amusement parks and clearly, Watery is suffering economically. They arent' exactly swimming in money lmao so ofc they try to do anything to uplift their town)

Jaakko absolutely hated being in the commercials and was lazy in them (at first glance perhaps, but you see subtle hints and smiles and laughs from him on many occasions proving the opposite. yeah, he might not be as into it as Ilmo but he must've enjoyed it enough to still star in it)

They're morally evil as seen in the concept art. (when I asked the person about where they got that claim, they ended up admitting it was from a dream lmao)

They're members of the Cult, the leaders even. This might feel obvious but apparently it isn't. Rose isn't the only one hunting down Taken. The Cult did it too. It was their main goal and they were the very reason Saga and Casey came to BF in the first case becos of their 'murder rituals'.

Alan wrote them to be good. (Honestly, I'm tired of the takes that Alan wrote everyone and everyone's personality. It completely robs every character of any agency or wit they have)

Echo Ilmo is the same Ilmo we see in Watery. (As far as I'm concerned, Echo Ilmo or 'the Cultist' died in the echoes.)

Ilmari is straight-up Ilmo. (While there's a manuscript detailing that the Dark Presence tried to turn Ilmo and Jaakko into Ilmari and Jaakoppi, doesn't mean they're the same person.)

YY Ilmari's personality being taken at face value. (If people even remember this character at all, people think that's the only version/personality of him. I'd say that YY is a biased piece of work becos of Seine/Zane is an unreliable narrator/director. Also on the Huotari Well it's explicitly stated that the Historical Ilmari said he was possessed by the Näkki. This can be up for interpretation of course. But I doubt he'd be exactly the same as the Ilmari we see in YY.)

People straight up forget that Scratch's cool jacket belongs to Jaakko. And even the devs went as far as to just completely remove the kalevala knights' logo from the jacket and the club's existence in the DLC

They're bikers. They're literally part of the Kalevala Knights Motorcycle Club. Again, yeeted out of existence with the DLC

People dunking on Coffee World. (Well, yeah clearly the park has seen better days. But again, if we consider what is happening around town and Bright Falls, the economic decline... it's tough out there and the Koskelas are trying their best with the terrible hand they've been dealt. And all things considered, they're doing pretty okay)

Ilmari Huotari erasure. In fan art, fanfic and fan vids he is often completely left out while he might have had the longest interaction with Kesä of all. He was literally the third listed actor in it. Yet absolutely forgotten.

[fourseasonsfigs]

Taolin Forest Wen Kexing (Handcrafted)

This beautiful figure showed up on the artist's Xianyu page as an immediately available in-stock piece, and I pounced on it. You can tell by my profile pic how much I like this costume, after all!

The artist works in ultralight clay, which has been a new medium to me, and so far I've been impressed. It is very light (as the name suggests!) and appears to be extremely flexible. I was initially very worried about her figures breaking in transport, as they all have very delicate thin little details, but everything seems surprisingly sturdy. It bends, but doesn't deform, and doesn't seem to break with careful treatment. I do baby my figs, but shipping / customs is always a wild card.

For something like this, I would normally absolutely air column wrap it to protect it from crushing damage. I don't worry about the fig breaking parts off - I worry about it getting squished! If this fig got crushed it would certainly destroy it, given all the thin, flat loops of clay making up most of this figure.

But, I didn't have to, because the artist packed it in a rigid styrofoam cooler box. This is of course deadly on the shipping fees, especially since my warehouse flags the wooden base as air freight only. But, the only thing worse than paying volumetric air freight charges is getting a crushed figure, so what can you do?

I too am deeply disappointed by my lack of quality unboxing photos. Why did I not remove this top layer of bubble wrap? NOBODY KNOWS.

This is an extremely tall figure, by far my largest figure by a wide margin. The full size, including base, is 27 cm, of which 2cm is the base. This makes the figure itself about 10 inches high for us Americans.

The fan is not clay but paper, which was a nice surprise. I would have been fine either way, but I like the paper. I'm also very appreciative that the artist included it in this rigid plastic box so keep it from getting squished inside the protective cooler. Box. Protective box.

Here he is without the fan. He's gorgeous! You can really see the detail on his belt and his long, elegant fingers.

In fact, here's a closeup of those hands and the beautiful detail on the belt. His fingers may look even a bit longer than you might expect, but that's because they need to hold the fan. You can even see the slight indent for the fingernails. This artist is just amazing. She says she puts her whole heart into crafting these figures, and you can tell.

Holding the fan as so. If you don't think I wasn't a little stressed out carefully wedging the fan in between those beautiful fingers, you have somehow (incredibly) missed all the other cases of my fig related anxiety on this blog. I'm not even a high stress person! Normally.

Alright, let's spin this beauty around, shall we?

My camera decided to focus on many things, but Wen Kexing's perfect face was not always one of them. So we'll get some closeups. But first, let's do our bottoms-up and top-down pics:

Please do note the beauty mark on the middle finger of his right hand!

For size comparison, here's Wen Kexing with his OG official fig counterpart:

You can definitely see what I mean by how big this fig is! Maybe I should call it a statue instead of a fig.

Alright, time for our close ups.

Just beautiful. I'll need to commission a matching A-Xu in the Taolin forest costume so I can have them heading off to Siji Manor.

This figure was an incredible price - less than $50 USD. An absolute bargain. I can't even imagine the time that went into this. This was less expensive than other individual figures or pairs of this size, so perhaps I just got lucky with the artist clearing space.

I had really wanted semi-realistic figures like this when Word of Honor was released and I watched it for the first time, so getting this now makes me really happy. The artist also had a snowy mountain set that I picked up around the same time, which should be arriving here relatively shortly. Please look forward to it! I can't wait myself.

Material: Ultra-light clay

Fig Count: 386

Scene Count: 26

Rating: Pure artistry

[link back to Master Fig Index for more posts]

[princess-of-the-corner]

In regards to Miraculous Gaang animals:

-Sokka: I was thinking just Captain Beetle, especially since it sounds vaguely close to Captain Boomerang, which is an appropriate title for Sokka but also not because it's also the name of a DC villain who killed Tim Drake's dad (and it doesn't have ladybug theming). I definitely think use Captain though, because I am now attached to Sokka having Cap as a nickname.

-Katara: So there are actually several species of big cats that like and excel in the water. One of them is the jaguar, and black jaguars do exist. Jaguars also have lots of night and water symbolism associated with them. I'm not the best with names, but I think Midnight Jaguar, Black Jaguar, Painted Jaguar, or maybe Inky Jaguar could all work for her. (Also, look up fishing cats. They're useless for this au because they don't come in black, but they're a cross between otters and bobcats and they're insane).

-Suki: ML got it right here actually because very many species of vipers are blue or teal, so I'd stick with that. For some reason my brain is getting stuck on Viperious (instead of imperious), but some other half baked options could he Velvet Viper, Silk Viper, or Vypertime (instead of hypertime),

-Zuko: Seriyu is the blue dragon spirit of Japan that represents the east and springtime. Spring represents new beginnings which is fitting for Zuko, and could provide a fun connection/contrast with Iroh's whole Dragon of the West thing. Otherwise I got nothing.

-Toph: I like the Blind Tiger too much to come up with anything else, lol. My brain said "yup that's perfect the naming machine is now off for her." Sorry if you were hoping for more options.

-Azula: I think her blue flames are significant, so I think basing her off an arctic fox, a silver fox, a blue morph fox, or maybe even a cross fox. Actually, yeah screw it, cross fox Azula. Duality, being split between red and dark gray/blue coloring as she's conflicted with her loyalty to Ozai/the fire nation and her own unique individual wants and needs. Being part blue connects her to Blue Dragon!Zuko too. I'm thinking that her costume is similar to the one in the show but if it was more flowy and elegant and less armory and intimidating. So like, the layered panels thing she has going on can stay, but more thick cloth traveling layers and less rigid armor. Instead of the big leather flaps she has like a poncho or a shawl. She's already got the cross fox coloring motif of big black middle panel and red side panels, and we obviously have to add her skirt tunic being pulled back into a coat tail. Keep the loose pants and the pointed boots for the theatre vibes. I'm thinking her mask is sort of like a masquerade/theatrical fox mask that covers the whole top half of her face and has fox ears but leaves the bottom open. Names. . .uh? Yeah I'm bad with these. Vixen?

-Yue: Also nothing, so sorry.

-Jin: Homegirl appears in one episode, we can go hog wild with her (pun intended) and do whatever we want. I'm thinking basing her off a wild boar and not a farm pig. I want her whole "chipper jubilant" hero thing to be more "Feral joy that one gets from running through an open windy feild at night and screaming at the top of their lungs." I like the idea of keeping her spiky, messy, wild hair in her costume. Like, let that go nuts. Pigella also has ballet inspo, so I think Jin should get, like, festival revelry dancing inspired costume and makeup, but also in more muted earthy tones. Names. . .maybe Babirusa? Type of Indonesian wild boar. My only other ideas are just straight up using Wild Hog or Hogwild.

-Ty Lee: I like the idea of her costume being very circus themed. Like, she looks like a trapeze artist. Lots of glitter and "look at me" kind of details on her costume. Tight, but with just enough loose flowing bits to look cool when it moves around. You could even keep the crown thing because my girl is a queen after all. I think we name her something like Sticky Sweet, Sweet Stinger, or Honey Stinger. Something that emphasizes the "looks like a cinnamon roll, could kill you" thing she has.

-Mai: Hear me out---rat instead of mouse. Mai is always down to pick a fight and is a lot meaner than your average mouse, and this way, her costume could have, like bandit/thug inspiration and she could just look so menacing. The only names that come to mind are Rat-Attack-Tat, which doesn't exactly roll of the tongue or Swarm, which brings more bug than rat.

Also. Eagle!Jet because Freedom Fighters and also Jet with guns sounds like a dangerous and amazing combination. That's it.

Anyway, I gotta go find everything on the Avatar!Ty Lee AU now because I didn't know you had that and HELL YEAH!

Oh! Okay so!

I love the Captain name for Sokka. Also I am double laughing at the Captain Boomerang reference because I have heard him called 'discount Sokka' once before. May have to hammer out the exact ladybug reference with it. A previous ask mentioned Harmonia and Harlequin.

Jaguar is perfect for Katara. I think I gotta go with Painted Jaguar because gotta love the reference.

Something viper themed is good, but I'm not sure exactly what. Vipertime makes me laugh but idk if it fits.

Seiryu is great actually.

Blind Tiger is also perfect lmao.

Okay so Azula! So like. Technically this is a no Bending au. Or else there'd be too much going on to have both atla's plots and the au's. So there's no reason to have a fire theme. BUT. I can't resist bringing back the wordplay that is Vulpyro.

rip Yue I got nothing either.

'looks like a cinnamon roll but will kill you' is the best description of Ty Lee. So yeah one of those Honey Stinger ones is great!

Rat time!! I like it. No idea on names.

Jet with the Eagle is a terrifying but perfect combination. Not sure what his plot will be in this au considering how different the plot is? Like obvs I want to parrallel ATLA's plots but I think a lot of him is hard to translate.

[cerame]

Artisan’s and Archer’s designs

So a little bit ago, I got a compliment on the two designs of Echoes of Courage I'm proudest of. I do love all these characters, but these two took a bit more creativity on my part, so I'm going to explain them because I am a sucker for design. I will try to remember as many of my own details as I can, but no promises.

Let's explain Archer first.

Behold, the most recent Link! Breath of the Wild took a departure from the classic green, so I kept with that and made his tunic the main splotch of color on him. The browns and monotone colors are subdued in comparison so that the blue can have the spotlight.

In regards to the tunic itself, botw and totk both have significant influence from traditional Japanese culture, as seen with the sheikah taking on a more japanese fashion sense and the dragons being eastern instead of european shaped, so I kept that with the design of his shirt. His tunic was originally the shape it was in botw, but after the calamity, it sustained such damage that Impa was only able to save some parts of the tunic. Using those parts, she repaired it as best she could, but Archer took a liking to Kakariko fashion anyway, so he's perfectly happy with it. In addition, with the looser fashion of the ancient clothes, I changed his belt to a more ribbony shape.

Thinking about how his shirt might have worked during botw. Perhaps he wore it as a haori, or maybe it was damaged, of a shorter cut, etc. and his Zelda made him the current one. Nothing is concrete about that yet, and I think it would be neat if it was different than it is post-totk.

The turtleneck and the leather armor from the new tunic in totk is incredibly charming to me, so I naturally had to keep it, but in order to show it off practically over the tunic I'd decided on, his sleeve got pulled down. I also designed him before totk came out but after the first trailer came out, and from the trailers, we could all tell that something was going to happen to his arm. I had no idea what purpose it would serve or how Link would end up by the end of the game, so I kept his arm covered up but outside his shirt. Turned out to be a good call.

As for his hair, I loved seeing his hair down so often in totk. It feels all free and wild and soft, so I kept it, except it felt a bit impractical to have it hanging all around him like that, so I did a half-bun. He gets to keep his hair down while tying it out of his face. This also lends itself further to eastern style inspiration.

A note on the smaller details: he does wear his amber earrings, and he's got scars across his body.

Now, we have Artisan.

It was a bit more difficult to figure out Artisan at first. I took inspiration from as many links meet aus as I could find, but everything for him is so varied, and while it's fun, it does make it difficult to nail down what does work. Unlike with Archer, I had no real direction in the beginning, so I searched for what made him unique as a Link. I also went back to the original ideas of character design, the most prominent being outlines and silhouettes. I'm still a bit iffy on his silhouette, but overall, he works.

First, the albw aspects: His bracelet from Ravio went inactive after the rifts between Lorule and Hyrule closed, but he still wears it. It's becoming comforting to him. As for the clasp on his cloak, it is absolutely the two triforces, and he got it custom-made in Hytopia. His pegasus boots are also from albw, and since Collector and Forge both had their unique pegasus boots, I had to come up with something just as striking for Artisan..... and then, I looked upon none other than the Zelda cartoon of olde, and I decided that Artisan would absolutely wear over-knee boots. So that's what he got.

Now, his triforce heroes parts. I know the green one is player one and all that jazz, but I wanted to see if I could do something not-green, just like Archer or even Piper. The sword suit in the costume catalogue stood out, and not just because the red link is wearing it in the official art. It's more tame than most other choices, and it's casually royal, which is a strange flavor of style, but I discovered after significant experimentation that when you pair it (or the idea of it) with poofy bardic sleeves (yellow, courtesy of albw's blue tunic) and gloves, it takes on an almost roguish look while maintaining the fancier feel. Also, when I lined him up next to Collector and Scout, I found that their colors together were red, blue, then green, and I couldn't not keep him blue after realizing that.

Notes: his cloak is still a bit weird to me, but I've gotten too used to it. Hytopia pushes the boundaries of fashion anyhow, so he can do whatever he likes. His hair is dyed because that's just fun, and it's braided because everyone else in this AU has short hair or a ponytail, and I wanted him to feel more well-groomed than everyone else. He gets to take care of it, and he has gotten hair care advice from Princess Styla. I didn't originally intend for this effect, but the pale outlines of white and gold on his clothing really make his outline pop. The consecutive dark colors of his tunic, pants, and boots would not work without those lines. His eyes are, in fact, purple! Ravio, in turn, has green eyes. I did doubt the choice of yellow sleeves at first, since it's not exactly the secondary color of my choice, but I went with it, and I was pleasantly surprised to see it work so well. Perhaps it was the yellow of his hair and the golden accents, but I am very pleased with it. He only comes a century or so after Collector, so I had to pick a tunic shape that could hold similarities between the two of them, which is why the collar of their outer layer is the same for both of them.

Archive

[ilovespec]

Even a rotten heart can love..

| Yandere FEM ! Drug lord × FEM ! reader. | part 2

WARNING !!!!!! : mention of drug sales , mention of intent to kill , fight , attempt , non - con touching , possessive behavior , YANDERE DRUG FUCKING LORD , yandere and reader are female here, their pronouns are she/her. FIGHT BETWEEN GANG MEMBERS YAYYYYY

Part 1

Description of character

In about a few weeks... Months...? of being in this place, you could finally leave Ricarda's room! But of course, under the supervision of Kristina and Gaetana. But, only Gaetana is looking after you. In most cases, Kristina tries to touch you or harm you in some way. But with less enthusiasm than in the first weeks (since her bruises and ribs, and a couple of bones still haven't healed after a "preventive conversation" with Ricarda). And speaking of Ricarda... lately, she's been spending less time in the house. But she "redeemed" that in front of you with gifts, and EVEN MORE physical contact. But much more than that...And today, she told you about an upcoming "partnership meeting" with the leader of another gang. And it was only after a long conversation that you found out some details about her gang. She is the head of the gang - "Unbridled City". Her nickname is crocodile. Gaetana's nickname is the fire ant, and Kristina's nickname is the python. There are 4 gangs in total. "Unbridled City" (Ricarda's gang), "Creepy Mountains", "The Wild Sea" and "Dangerous Forests". But recently, the "Wild Sea" has COMPLETELY destroyed the "Dangerous Forests", for unknown reasons. According to Ricarda, she will soon go to a meeting with the leader and associates of the "Wild Sea gang" ... They are also called "Megaladon", "piranha" and "dolphin".... This meeting will be interesting..

ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ

You look at yourself in the mirror, embarrassed... You're wearing a beautiful, calf-length bardic dress..You started violently ! Feeling two powerful arms wrapped around your waist , and a low voice softly whispered in your ear

- Ricarda : Are you ready, meine Süsse?

You see in the mirror how her hands are fastening a ruby necklace around your neck... And on the ruby it says "The one on whom this necklace hangs is the property of the crocodile of the unbridled city.".. You blush a little at this, but Ricarda just smiles softly and straightens up. Today, instead of her usual suit, she is wearing a red tuxedo.. As red as blood. Her black, graying hair is pulled back in a small ponytail , and a pair of half-gray strands have come out of this tail. There was a knock on the door and Kristina and Gaetana entered the room. They're wearing suits too. Gaetana costume - has a dark shade of cheerful. And Kristina's costume, it's not even a costume, but just an ornate red turtleneck, a dark red jacket and black trousers.

- Kristina: do we have to wear this...?

In response to this, she got kicked in the ass by Gaetana.

- Gaetana : Kristina! You wouldn't complain, but would make a compliment (your name) . Do you see how beautiful she looks? Although she's always like this..

You smile back softly and thank her, and Gaetana only smiles back at you faintly. And then Ricard speaks up.

- Ricarda: Well... We have to go, guys!

You go outside and the sunlight blinds you... The smell of nature... The smell of freedom. For a moment, you had the idea of escaping...! But you realized that in the first millisecond when you jerk in the other direction, they will immediately stop you... That's why you humbly sat down next to Ricarda and Gaetana in a parked car. And Gaetana shielded you from Kristina so that she wouldn't do anything for which she would then be "calmly scolded" by Ricarda.

ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ

After about 20 minutes, you finally arrived... It was a bar. But it was closed... By the look of it. Your four got out of the car, and Ricarda typed a strange "code" on the door. And it opened... You all entered the room, and finally saw the head and associates of the head of the gang - "The wild sea" ...

ᕙ(⇀‸↼")ᕗ

The head of this gang is a tall and seemingly adult woman, she has rather creepy facial features, slightly tanned skin, blonde hair with light strands and turquoise eyes. She has a couple of scars on her face and some piercings... And how is it clear that this is the leader? Ricarda immediately approached her, and after shaking her hand, they began to talk about something.. You couldn't make out what they were talking about , of course , but you heard fragments ... And you realized that they were discussing the export of drugs to other cities and possibly states, the elimination of bad "chemists" and just not very good workers, and how to raise the efficiency of their subordinates..

ᕙ(⇀‸↼")ᕗ

And the close people of the head of "The wild sea", these are also two girls.. The first girl, with Asian appearance and pale skin... There are several rather large scars on her face, she has long black hair and dark eyes... And she immediately went to chat with Kristina. No matter how it was expected.

- ??? - Hey... Sorry, can we chat, yeah...?

You turned around... It was the second of the people close to you already understand who the hell. She is a rather tall girl, she has tanned skin , blue eyes, dark brown hair, soft facial features and a scar extending from the left corner of her mouth and on her left eyebrow. You nod gently and start chatting with her. But after a couple of minutes, you hear a loud scream, like from that creepy Asian girl

"HEY, PRETTY GIRL, CATCH!!!"

And a glass is flying towards your head....! You try to dodge in shock, but your new friend BREAKS THIS GLASS WITH ONE PUNCH AND RUSHES AT THIS ASIAN GIRL!!! And Kristina and Gaetana jumped into the center of the fight, shouting "YYAYYYYY FIGHT", and the leader of that gang, your lover and you are watching this... As a result, the leaders of both gangs grabbed their inadequates and went out, and you humbly followed your beloved..

Biggggg thanks for reading this silly part , part number three will be realized tomorrow , today I'm already too lazy and I have to get up for school at 6:00 , good night / evening / afternoon / morning >3<

[the-s1lly-corner]

I don't know if anyone has asked for this yet, but can we have a Nutcracker (preferably male) reader and/or ballerina (Preferably female) reader being besties and just doing little performances for everyone in the circus. This can either be romantic or platonic Reader(s) x TADC, I don't mind! Go crazy with it! Go wild! I love to read ur headcanons and stuff so much man/pos

Gangle, Kinger, Jax, Caine x reader who hosts shows!

two things! i couldnt decide on the gender of the reader so you can read it as both or either </3 other thing, i still dont take reqs for the entire cast (nothing against you this is a blog wide rule/character limit) so i went ahead and ran the request through a wheel to randomly select characters with that said, i hope you enjoy!

CAINE:

i think, given that hes the circus ringmaster of the circus as well as generally being in control of things thanks to his status of an ai, he tends to host your shows... might even make the other circus members watch. whether you want to read this as platonic or romantic, he just does it because he wants to support you and allow your talent to be seen...! though he might get rather.... loud about it. ive said it so many times but im ready to say it again, he would be your number one fan and hes going to be very clear about it. probably throws roses to the stage for you when youre done with your performance... cheers and claps the loudest... hell, if youre comfortable with it, he might just wear a shirt with your name and face on it..! truly your number 1 fan

JAX:

i think if this is platonic, depending on how close you guys are he might try to disrupt the show by being a jackass. generally being annoying and trying to get a reaction out of you... though i dont think he would do this if you guys are actually. close or good friends and/or dating... now practice? thats something else... definitely a case of him being able to see that you enjoy what you do and you have passion and dedicate himself so he might just try to contain himself and his need to be an asshole and cause havoc.. i think if asked what he thought he would seem a little neutral about it, hes not going to praise you excessively or be mean.. jax doesnt seem like the type to gush over someone or something no matter how much he liked it.. best youd get out of him is a "good job,".. definitely one that hinges off of how close you guys are and how much respect and boundaries are set up between you two

KINGER:

i think he might be a toned down caine, looks like he would give you a rose after your performance.. though if youre not a flower person i think he would swap the rose out for something else. while caine might be barely containing his excitement throughout your performance, kinger is much more likely to be able to sit still and quiet... although still very much consumed by you, perhaps even sitting on the edge of his seat in an attempt to get a better look at you. i think he would notice a lot of smaller details and stuff you put in your shows, such as costumes or decoration, too... maybe its self projection, but i think he bounces between being clueless to having a really really keen eye when it comes to things... also the fact i love the hc of "clueless/chaotic/commonly zoned out character noticing something vital or making a smart point for a moment before reverting back to status quo" is one of my favorite tropes.... loves watching you practice

GANGLE:

i think she might actually help you with costumes and stage decorations! sure her thing is mostly art and you might have to recruit the help of ragatha for some things but i think gangle would be more than willing to help you out... plus it gives her something to do, and it means spending time with you! and thats always nice! very receptive to the stuff you have to say but i think she might try to offer some alternatives to make things visually look more appealing... as for actual performances i think she would love them! she strikes me as a theatre kid, and your sort of thing is adjacent i think... might gush to you about the show and how you did, though its often that she might trail off and become sheepish if she feels she was getting too into her ramble.. generally very sweet, though, but due to her shyness shes not going to do more than the rest of the crowd (throwing flowers, clapping louder than everyone else, ect ect ect)

[shelbeanie]

I let myself go wild while remaking my Collector cosplay! Thank you so much @DanaTerrace and your team, I had so much fun over analyzing all the little details in the show to try and incorporate into this!

I’m also going go to do a breakdown the 60 hours of work over 2 weeks that went into it because I had to speed up everything! My initial design. I ended up changing the design in one side to mimic the grain pattern on the other side, but all of the little details and the color shift are high key my favorites parts

I was dead set on the fabric shifting between Navy/Plum and Silver/lilac. I’m fairly certain I willed these fabrics into existence because they were almost impossible to find. I had a back up plan of navy and silver velvet if it didn’t work out, which I will likely still make

I wanted to add texture to the costume. Little details you wouldn’t notice at a distance but up close you could see all of the tiny hidden intricate details. My initial design was a quilted pattern but it priced very hard to digitize. I wanted to maximize the space I could cover while mimimizing the time spent so I created a second design. That one was further simplified down to save time. Each pattern piece has 15 panels, 25 min each

The alternate side was originally supposed to have diamonds on it, but those proved difficult to digitize and difficult to line up, they just didn’t look as good as I had hoped. I redesigned it so that the lines imitates the grain of the dark purple/crossed the grain. Much better

I also has to trim all of the strings to clean it up and trim the backing. Next time I do something like this I will use water soluble backing. This side had 15-20 panels (I lost count) at 25 min each with 3 bridging patches to help make the pattern look natural.

The sleeves have 6 designs per sleeve and the zigzag design. I wanted the zig zags to be interlocking titan skulls, each one took 7 min (11 per sleeve). There are 3 different moons with a collector hidden in each. The suns are the sign of the huntsman. Each sun/moon took 30 min. I also added the titans from the title card boarder to my collar

The hat dot/constellations are in the opening. I had to add a couple more by hand to fill in blank spaces. The hat is lined and the lining/boarder are attached via a satin stitch. I finished most edges with a satin stitch.

I have hit my limit on pictures but I’m not finished, so I am going to have to do a follow up post with the rest of the details, check the reposts for it!

[daeyeol4you]

The Chay Rewatch Ep 8

Ep 1 & 2, Ep 3, Ep 4, Ep 5, Ep 6, Ep 7

Ep 8 - Chay flies his red flag

Okay this one has nothing to do with ep 8 but rather a thing about ep 7’s Chay Outfit I just realized!

Chay’s shirt said Vendredi which means Friday in French. Well, when else have we connected Chay to Fridays? It's so blink and you miss it! In ep 4, Kim sings “Your laughter that makes me feel like it’s Friday” as Chay watches on from the crowd. I’ve already gone into how this song foreshadows the KimChay relationship and Kim’s inevitable heartbreak-induced songwriting, but that shirt being a direct callback to that song is so intense to me! (I also was totally not rewatching that ep at 2 am that is so not relevent)

Chay’s shirts are such a treasure trove I’m obsessed, costuming I am your biggest fan

Time: 18:55 – 20:59 – Kim Take Up Coloring

I want to know the point of these maps so bad, are they territory lines or areas Kim can go without running into Chay (since he’s in his first ignore his own feelings and Chay era)

Kim also has an old-fashioned gramophone and records, which is definitely something he and Chay bonded over during their many not-dates

Kim’s outfit: A blue, gray, and black colorblock overshirt with a plain white shirt underneath as well as his silver jewelry, this time with a corded silver chain that I adore.

The pictures they chose for the parents’ photos make them seem like socialites

The way I always forget we get the dad’s name too. Chayapat, wild

“Do you watch too many movies?” – you say just before you blurt out the most telenovela plot idea ever of the mom being your father’s mistress

I wonder how much Kim thought about that, the idea that Porsche & Chay could be his father’s kids. Maybe that’s another reason for Kim to start ignoring Chay. He knows he’s falling for Chay, but he’s trying to keep his feelings from developing further until he knows

I don’t like the pseudo-incest plotline that comes in later on, mainly because we’d already seen KinnPorsche fuck nasty a billion times, but also because there’s no setup outside of this one comment from Kim. If they really wanted to commit pseudo-incest, there needs to be a much more intricate setup

Does Kim really want to move on from investigating Porsche? Or does he just want to run away from his feelings for Chay?

Okay the phone call – I’m 99% sure that’s Chay calling, especially since we know Chay asks why Kim’s dodging his calls. I compared the Thai spelling of his name to the name on the phone, and I think it's similar. Who else would Kim be ignoring like that?

Kim looks pissed when he goes back to his coloring. Mad at himself for developing feelings for Chay? Mad at himself for ignoring Chay? Emotional constipation in general?

Time: 35:40 – 38:12 – Chay pulls a Kim

I have so many questions about how Chay found Kim’s apartment. Kim most certainly did not bring him there, so Chay had to do some stalking. His excuse that he asked a friend is so paper thin. Kim would never bring a friend home, and which one would Chay ask?

He probably already knew from his Wik obsession but knew that going there was a big no. Now tho? He has an excuse to show up at Kim’s unannounced like Kim did to him

The MC friend doesn’t seem close to Kim, judging by how when Kim actually rolls up to class, he gives him the news about Chay he could have texted meaning he doesn’t know how to contact Kim or just isn’t close enough to do so. The rehearsal space friend is more plausible, but I digress

KimChay really is Stalker for Stalker

Kim’s Outfit: A really cute pumpkin-colored jacket with a black shirt and pants combo. I really like his black leather boots. They seem way more function than fashion. A new silver chain but his usual rings and earrings I think

Chay’s Outfit: another plaid shirt look that so works for him. I like to call this Chay’s angel look. He’s in a cream-colored plaid shirt with faint blue and orangish details as well as a white shirt. White Converse too. His silver pendant has some kind of design but I can’t tell what.

The lighting and set really paint Chay as the light and Kim as the dark. You’ve got Kim whose legs blend into the dark colors of the foyer and then Chay who stands as a bright beacon in the street under the sun. He’s not involved in the mafia yet, so he remains a bright, unrestrained light.

Chay’s cute little stance as he bamboozles Kim (& he def bamboozles Kim). He’s just so excited to see his target- sorry his crush!

I love the emotions Kim inadvertently shows during this scene. He’s so cold, but you can tell he’s so caught off guard by Chay and his genuine feelings, and he’s so heart eyes about Chay’s red flags. He’s still being a dick trying to brush Chay off, but you also see his hard-shell cracking

Chay you are so accidentally freaky I love you

Chay, to me, is so powerful. He sees the brush off Kim is trying to give him, but he stands his ground. He’s no people pleaser, and I don’t think he’s doing this to keep Kim’s romantic attention. He’s fully aware of the opportunity being tutored by someone like Kim is, because he’s a kid that always had to scrape by. Letting this go without a fight, without doing everything he could to keep it is not something he’s hardwired to do

Chay’s really funny – the guitar stand bit made me giggle (him being funny, hopeful, or happy often is mislabeled as him being childish or naïve but I digress y’all know my thoughts on that)

I’m sorry but the name on the sign behind Chay being ‘The Mystery,’ no wonder Kim lives there

Chay’s so talented, raw but talented. Clean up the song a bit, give him some vocal training, and you’ll have a really catchy song and probably will do numbers online

Excuse you Mr. Security guard man! Can you not see he’s trying to serenade someone! Also why choose now to interrupt and not at the beginning? Bro decided to give him a chance at least lol

And now he places the ball in Kim’s court. Chay may be a touch obsessive and freaky, but he knows what lines he can and can’t cross. Asking Kim to tell him what he thinks and immediately leaving gives Kim space as well as leaving an open dialogue

Kim’s face as Chay walks away shows how conflicted he feels. He is aware that he’s developing feelings for Chay, but he’s also doubly aware that something fishy is going on within his family. He has so much conflict because Kim’s not an emotional person. He cares about his brothers (and that’s from a distance), and he’s suspicious of his father that’s it. Kim has to grow as a person if he wants to love Chay

Overall Chay Rating (Chrating): A

This ep has my favorite Chay and Kim outfits I won’t lie. I love how they (on purpose or not) match the set as well as who these two characters are at this point in time. Chay is still completely unaware of the mafia so he stays in the light while Kim is entrenching himself in his family’s secrets and trying to push Chay away leaving him in the dark. Chay also shows how much of a fighter he is. He's a strong independent character! He's emotionally mature and capable of making his own decisions! He isn’t going to let Kim slink away without at least being able to say he did everything he could. He’s letting them either end on a completed note for Chay or continue to grow closer if that’s what Kim wants. Chay always allows others to have a choice in what they do next, we’ve seen this with Chay backing down after Kim seems uncomfortable & here where Chay leaves without making Kim answer him before he’s ready. This episode also begins to drop hints that Nampueng is more important to Korn than previously thought. Damn, I wish the Kimspiracy Board had actually had a real hold on the plot instead of being inevitably useless and forgotten.

[deepdreamnights]

Vibrant Outrage

This is the new vibe.

-

Free-to-Use character portraits and fashion inspiration made in Midjourney V4. Tag yourself as you desire, details on the process under the fold.

Much like the dinofolk, there are minor edits, mostly to fix color and tone balance, incomplete borders, etc.

Prompts were mostly variations of:

painting of a person wearing a costume, by Fujiwara Nobuzane and Sharon Knettell, tumblr, pop art, 80s color scheme, <celebrity here*>, no background, neon hooves, zig zag, star, curvy accentuated figure, very fashionable, with shoulder pads, banner, kitsch fashion, synthetic fur, born this way, young idol, new wave chaos, very dynamic, starry, fashion icon, image

Long time followers may notice that's not quite my normal prompting style. That's because this was an experiment with using Clip Interrogator 2, an image-to-prompt AI process.

It's still early days and isn't terribly accurate beyond vibes, which is fine for my process. It's like the early days of google translate, where you could get wild, strange stuff by passing a text between multiple languages. relatively easily.

It also fills in nicely for image prompting, since its basically the same process but converts the token language back into a prompt rather than leaving it tokens. This allows for editing, and also helps get around Midjourney's hair-trigger NSFW filtering, which often finds leotards and legwarmers downright obscene.

Given the nature of the above pics, it shouldn't be hard to guess what I started with.

Sharon Knettell's work is right there with Earl Norem and Hector Garrido in downright iconic 1980s toy package art, her Jem work has beautifully subtle shading that makes everything look half-real, half-fashion sketch. I wanted to see what the AI made of it.

The solo Pizzazz (I think) produced this:

a close up of a person wearing a costume, by Fujiwara Nobuzane, tumblr, pop art, 80s color scheme, kylie minogue, neon hooves, zig zag, star, very fashionable, with shoulder pads, banner, kitsch fashion, kermit, synthetic fur, born this way, young idol, very dynamic, starry, fashion icon, image

Which I modified in various stages and combinations. Blending with my own phrasing, chunks from other CI2-derived prompts, and changing references associated with color and celebrity. You'll note that it didn't identify Knettell. This isn't uncommon with CI2, it picks up on "vibes" more than specifics because that's how the AIs work. the mix of influences of Fujiwara Nobuzane, tumblr, pop art, and every other part of the prompt blend and iterate off each other to create something new.

Early results were too cartoony in a traditional 1960s comic book fashion until I blended the intent (Knettell) with the guess (Nobuzane and the rest), which still produced a lot of wild offshoots. A more comic-booky set of these gals is coming, to be sure.

[sakumasmut]

Hello!!! I enjoyed your writing a lot🥰 Can I request a breeding kink with Jun (in his hyena outfit) and fem!reader? Thank you very much🥺💕

Hyena Outfit!Jun Sazanami x Fem!Reader

tags/warnings: cosplay, clothed sex (naked reader, clothed Jun), mating press, breeding, light primal play

ao3

The way Jun looked in his striped hyena costume was much more alluring than he gave himself credit for. To think he actually dressed like that, showing off toned abs and tan skin, and even performing on stage in it. He looked smoking hot in it, even more than he did without anything on.

Jun was surprised at your request for him to wear the outfit for more private purposes, but didn’t question it and took it from the costume department. You hoped they were going to thoroughly dry-clean it after tonight—it was going to need the washing. Your legs were pressed next to your head and into the mattress, hips lifted into the air by his gloved hands as he rutted into you at a brutal pace from above, slapping his hips against your cunt. His cock drove into you easily, gravity doing the work for him as your walls clamped around it each time his dick slid back in.

Squeals left your mouth in waves, unable to control yourself and not feeling the need to. Jun’s outfit looked like a ferocious animal, so you were more than happy to let him pounce on you like one. He was the predator, a hungry carnivore that wanted nothing more to eat you up. You were the prey—naked, trembling, and ready to be torn apart.

Your eyes kept wandering from his concentrated face towards his decorated arms and chest, lovingly taking in all the details of the accessories and makeup he asked the staff to put on him as well. His clothes showed off his already gorgeous body; the breast plate that made a small clinking noise whenever he moved up and down, the red vest that was cut so low that his sweating chest was visible to you, the striped collar clicked into place below his chin, and the sash that was barely hanging onto his hips, the fabric brushing against your skin each time he bottomed out—they all increased your arousal tenfold. To think he’d go to all that effort, just to satisfy one of your bedroom fantasies; Jun was a dream come true.

“Man, you really like the outfit, huh?” Jun chuckled, noticing your staring. “Didn’t think you were into this stuff.”

You blushed, looking up at him and noticing the way his ear headband had dislodged slightly from his hair, so that it was tilted towards the right. He needed to stop being so darn cute!

“I-I just think it suits you! The tail and ears are cute too!”

“Cute?”

He raised an eyebrow as he also raised his hips, suddenly slamming into you so hard you felt his tip press against your cervix. You cried out loudly, walls clenching even tighter.

“I-I meant sexy! You look super hot!”

“That’s right, I’m a sexy and cool predator of the wild.” He lifted himself up to pull his cock out of you, letting his tip just barely touch your dripping entrance.

“Now let's make you this hyena’s mate.”

His grip on your hips tightened as he slammed into you again. Any complaints you had were literally fucked out of your thoughts in favor of screaming his name. It didn’t matter if the mating press was starting to make your joints ache, nor did it matter that your stomach lurched each time he dick pressed against the entrance to your womb, so close to fertilizing your eggs. All that matter was that he was fucking you, and doing an amazing job at it.

“Like that?” Jun grunted, “Like it when my cock is deep inside you?”

“Y-Yes! I love it!”

“Good, ‘cause it’s gonna go in real deep when I pump my load into you, and you’ll take it all like a good mate, won't cha?”

“Yes!” You cried out. “Give it all to me!”

Jun sped up, his thrusts getting harder and faster. Your voice went hoarse from how vocal you were being, but even the smallest of whimpers from your throat were pushing him towards the edge. Your body shuddered, and a loud cry left your lips as your climax rocked your body, pussy clenching tightly around his length to milk it. His cock obliged, and Jun grunted as he came deep inside you. His seed unloading inside you sent a warm tingle all over your skin as it filled your womb up and painted it white.

You breathed heavily, coming down from your high and quickly realizing that without the pleasure masking it, the pain from having your body essentially folded in half was catching up. You tried to squirm in discomfort, but Jun didn’t move from his position, nor did he let go of you, keeping his cock inside as you felt his seed swimming inside you. It felt like your guts were being rearranged.

“Mm, you were great, /name/.” He gave you a toothy grin, “But you’re gonna have to stay like this for a while longer, can’t let anything leak out.”

“But you’re not even hard anymore!” You complained, and Jun smirked.

“Oh, that can be fixed real quick.”

Jun had a dangerous glint in his eyes as his grip returned to your hips, keeping your legs propped up as he began to shallowly thrust into you. You couldn’t help but whine, especially when you felt his member beginning to harden once again.

“A-Are we not finished?”

“Oh I’m far from done with you.” He cooed. “I need to fuck my cum in deeper and deeper. We’re not stopping ‘till you’re overflowing with my sperm.”

[pardi-real]

Butler's Halloween / Chapter 8 - Making Sweets

Prev | All | Next

[Devil's Palace, Kitchen]

One day, before the costume party at the mansion was about to take place, I stopped by the kitchen...

I found Lono, Nac, and Fennesz were discussing something there.

> "I wonder what they're talking about?"

Lono: "Halloween is all about sweets, isn't it! I'm sure the party-goers are expecting delicious treats as well. Let's make lots of delicious sweets to meet everyone's expectations!"

Nac: "Yes, you're right, Lono. Unfortunately, our budget is limited this time, so.... We cannot spend much on ingredients. Please don't forget that…"

Fennesz: "Oh, then... How about pumpkin scones? When we made the pumpkin lanterns, we had a lot of leftovers, didn't we?"

Lono: "Oh, right! We still have some pumpkins left. If we use that, we should be able to save a lot of money."

Nac: "I see, I see… There was that method as well."

Fennesz: "But… I'm not sure if a party with only pumpkin scones would be good enough...?"

Lono: "Hmmm… yeah. We need to secure other ingredients first..."

*Close-up* Nac: "Oh? My lord, you are here."

> "Seems like you guys are struggling."

Nac: "Yes… As a matter of fact, indeed we are.  We have spent too much on costumes and decorations, so we'd like to keep the ingredients cost as low as possible, but… We're still not willing to compromise on ensuring everyone's satisfaction when it comes to the party."

Lono: "Yes, exactly.  It would be better to have not only scones, but also Mont Blanc–.... Hmm? Mont Blanc…? Right… I forgot all about it."

Fennesz: "Huh? What is it Lono?"

Lono: "Chestnuts! It's the chestnuts! I know a place in the forest where we can pick delicious chestnuts. All the forests around here are on the Devil's Palace property. If we use those chestnuts, we can save a lot of money, don't you think?"

Fennesz: "I see… there was that method too."

Nac: "Nice idea, Lono! Let's go get some chestnuts right away."

> "Let me help"

Nac: "What? You would… my lord?"

> "Because I want to help you too"

Nac: "Fufu… Thank you very much.  I would not normally bother you, but.... To be honest... The more help we can get now, the better. I will take you at your word… and ask for your help, my lord."

> "Yeah, leave it to me"

[Forest around Devil's Palace]

As we entered the forest near the mansion... The area was completely red with autumn leaves. It was a different kind of beauty from the forests we are used to see.

> "So pretty…"

Nac: "Yes, it really is beautiful. Just seeing this view makes it worth coming."

Lono: "My lord, please take our hands when you walk so you don't fall down. It would be dangerous if you were to slip or fall."

Fennesz: "That's right. You never know what's on the ground, hidden in the fallen leaves… Oh, it's a pinkmottle woodwax!"

> "Fennesz?"

Fennesz, who seems to have found a mushroom, crouches happily on the ground.

Fennesz: "Wow~ I didn't know it grew in such a place. Fufu. They're slightly bitter, but that's what gives it a mature flavor…"

> "You really know a lot about mushrooms"

Fennesz: "Oh, I'm sorry… When I find mushrooms, I get carried away. It can't be used for sweets, but... since we're here, let's harvest these too. It's a good way to save money on food."

> "You're right"

Nac: "Fufu… Thank you as always, Mr. Fennesz. Every year around this time, thanks to the mushrooms you gather, the finances of the mansion receive strong support."

Fennesz: "R-really? Well, it's kind of a hobby of mine... Oh, right. There should be some parasol mushrooms and larch boletes growing wild a little further down the road… I'll pick those up later, too."

Lono: "What... How do you know that? I'm familiar with the food in this forest… and yet I don't know where the mushrooms are."

Fennesz: "Yeah, about that… The truth is, I've been keeping records  ever since I came to this mansion. I keep track of the topography of the mountains, and when and where the mushrooms grow… I try to be as detailed as possible."

Lono: "F-for real? That's awesome…"

> "How meticulous"

Nac: "Yes, indeed. As expected of Mr. Fennesz."

Fennesz: "No, it's not that big of a deal. When I first came here, I was... well, I was simply desperate. I mean, Haures and Boschi, who were my age, had always been stronger than me. Since I couldn't defeat them in battle... I had to find other ways to contribute to the mansion. This mushroom note is one of them."

Nac: "I see... So you have been searching for your own way to be of service to everyone. That's wonderful...! We should learn from your attitude."

Lono: "That's right.  I also receive strong support, thanks to Mr. Fennesz! You bring me mushrooms that I can't buy in the market… You also tell me 'how to cook these mushrooms and how delicious they are'. You teach me things that I don't know."

Fennesz: "Th-thank you. I'm glad to hear you say that. But right back at you, Lono… Thank you for always making delicious food for us."

Lono: "No problem! I've always liked cooking."

Fennesz: "But... Isn't it hard to plan a menu for everyone every day? And in Lono's case, you make more than 10 servings for every meal. If I were in charge of cooking, I'd have been exhausted by now."

> "Yes, it does sound like a lot of work"

Lono: "Hehe… Well, it's pain in the neck sometimes, but… when people eat my cooking and tell me, 'it's delicious' It makes me happy… and makes me 'want to cook' again. I think 'I need to make even tastier food' for you guys."

Nac: "Fufu… I really have to thank you, Lono. For someone like me who doesn't like meat...  Every time, you take that into consideration and always prepare such delicious dishes."

Lono: "Don't worry about it, Mr. Nac. This is my job. Every butler is unique. I know not only what they like and dislike, but also what they prefer. I make adjustments to make it easier for each of them to eat.

For example, Mr. Lamli prefers a stronger flavor, Mr. Boschi likes his meat medium-rare,  and Mr. Fennesz likes his bread hard… Mr. Nac, on the other hand, prefers soft bread, right?"

Fennesz: "Huh? Y-yes... That's true. I feel like I eat more when I chew a lot."

Nac: "As for me... I've been used to soft bread for as long as I can remember. So, I was surprised...  Did you intentionally change the texture of each piece of bread?"

Lono: "Hehe, that's right! If you like, try exchanging your bread next time. The texture should be very different."

> "That's very thoughtful of you"

Lono: "No, no, no! It's no big deal."

Fennesz: "But it is a big deal, Lono."

Nac: "Yes, it is. It's no longer a Devil's Palace meal without you, Lono."

Fennesz: "I'll have to learn from him… Do you keep notes of everyone's preferences? I'd like to see it if you don't mind…"

Lono: "Huh? No, I didn't actually make any notes for that…"

Fennesz: "Huh...? So you remember them all then? You can remember the detailed preferences of 13 people... You have an amazing memory."

Lono: "No, no. It's nothing compared to your memory, Mr. Fennesz. But, well... If it's something I'm interested in, it's not hard to remember. So I remember all of your preferences once I hear them."

> "Thank you, Lono"

Lono: "Hehe. It's my duty as your butler. Whoops! I shouldn't have been talking for so long. We're almost there. Let's harvest a lot and start baking!"

> "Alright!"

After that... With Lono's guidance, we found the chestnut trees.  We gathered as many chestnuts as we could and returned to the mansion.

Prev | All | Next