#my god i hate them so much

[danhowellz]

and on today's episode of "dan and phil give me chest pains"

[anotherpapercut]

the ACLU and Missouri library association sued the state over proposed censorship laws so they're retaliating by cutting our budget by $4.5mil 🙃

[cuddlytogas]

So I accidentally almost got into an argument on Twitter, and now I'm thinking about bad historical costuming tropes. Specifically, Action Hero Leather Pants.

See, I was light-heartedly pointing out the inaccuracies of the costumes in Black Sails, and someone came out of the woodwork to defend the show. The misunderstanding was that they thought I was dismissing the show just for its costumes, which I wasn't - I was simply pointing out that it can't entirely care about material history (meaning specifically physical objects/culture) if it treats its clothes like that.

But this person was slightly offended on behalf of their show - especially, quote, "And from a fan of OFMD, no less!" Which got me thinking - it's true! I can abide a lot more historical costuming inaccuracy from Our Flag than I can Black Sails or Vikings. And I don't think it's just because one has my blorbos in it. But really, when it comes down to it...

What is the difference between this and this?

Here's the thing. Leather pants in period dramas isn't new. You've got your Vikings, Tudors, Outlander, Pirates of the Caribbean, Once Upon a Time, Will, The Musketeers, even Shakespeare in Love - they love to shove people in leather and call it a day. But where does this come from?

Obviously we have the modern connotations. Modern leather clothes developed in a few subcultures: cowboys drew on Native American clothing. (Allegedly. This is a little beyond my purview, I haven't seen any solid evidence, and it sounds like the kind of fact that people repeat a lot but is based on an assumption. I wouldn't know, though.) Leather was used in some WWI and II uniforms.

But the big boom came in the mid-C20th in motorcycle, punk/goth, and gay subcultures, all intertwined with each other and the above. Motorcyclists wear leather as practical protective gear, and it gets picked up by rock and punk artists as a symbol of counterculture, and transferred to movie designs. It gets wrapped up in gay and kink communities, with even more countercultural and taboo meanings. By the late C20th, leather has entered mainstream fashion, but it still carries those references to goths, punks, BDSM, and motorbike gangs, to James Dean, Marlon Brando, and Mick Jagger. This is whence we get our Spikes and Dave Listers in 1980s/90s media, bad boys and working-class punks.

And some of the above "historical" design choices clearly build on these meanings. William Shakespeare is dressed in a black leather doublet to evoke the swaggering bad boy artist heartthrob, probably down on his luck. So is Kit Marlowe.

But the associations get a little fuzzier after that. Hook, with his eyeliner and jewellery, sure. King Henry, yeah, I see it. It's hideously ahistorical, but sure. But what about Jamie and Will and Ragnar, in their browns and shabby, battle-ready chic? Well, here we get the other strain of Bad Period Drama Leather.

See, designers like to point to history, but it's just not true. Leather armour, especially in the western/European world, is very, very rare, and not just because it decays faster than metal. (Yes, even in ancient Greece/Rome, despite many articles claiming that as the start of the leather armour trend!) It simply wasn't used a lot, because it's frankly useless at defending the body compared to metal. Leather was used as a backing for some splint armour pieces, and for belts, sheathes, and buckles, but it simply wasn't worn like the costumes above. It's heavy, uncomfortable, and hard to repair - it's simply not practical for a garment when you have perfectly comfortable, insulating, and widely available linen, wool, and cotton!

As far as I can see, the real influence on leather in period dramas is fantasy. Fantasy media has proliferated the idea of leather armour as the lightweight choice for rangers, elves, and rogues, a natural, quiet, flexible material, less flashy or restrictive than metal. And it is cheaper for a costume department to make, and easier for an actor to wear on set. It's in Dungeons and Dragons and Lord of the Rings, King Arthur, Runescape, and World of Warcraft.

And I think this is how we get to characters like Ragnar and Vane. This idea of leather as practical gear and light armour, it's fantasy, but it has this lineage, behind which sits cowboy chaps and bomber/flight jackets. It's usually brown compared to the punk bad boy's black, less shiny, and more often piecemeal or decorated. In fact, there's a great distinction between the two Period Leather Modes within the same piece of media: Robin Hood (2006)! Compare the brooding, fascist-coded villain Guy of Gisborne with the shabby, bow-wielding, forest-dwelling Robin:

So, back to the original question: What's the difference between Charles Vane in Black Sails, and Edward Teach in Our Flag Means Death?

Simply put, it's intention. There is nothing intentional about Vane's leather in Black Sails. It's not the only leather in the show, and it only says what all shabby period leather says, relying on the same tropes as fantasy armour: he's a bad boy and a fighter in workaday leather, poor, flexible, and practical. None of these connotations are based in reality or history, and they've been done countless times before. It's boring design, neither historically accurate nor particularly creative, but much the same as all the other shabby chic fighters on our screens. He has a broad lineage in Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean and such, but that's it.

In Our Flag, however, the lineage is much, much more intentional. Ed is a direct homage to Mad Max, the costuming in which is both practical (Max is an ex-cop and road warrior), and draws on punk and kink designs to evoke a counterculture gone mad to the point of social breakdown, exploiting the thrill of the taboo to frighten and titillate the audience.

In particular, Ed is styled after Max in the second movie, having lost his family, been badly injured, and watched the world turn into an apocalypse. He's a broken man, withdrawn, violent, and deliberately cutting himself off from others to avoid getting hurt again. The plot of Mad Max 2 is him learning to open up and help others, making himself vulnerable to more loss, but more human in the process.

This ties directly into the themes of Our Flag - it's a deliberate intertext. Ed's emotional journey is also one from isolation and pain to vulnerability, community, and love. Mad Max (intentionally and unintentionally) explores themes of masculinity, violence, and power, while Max has become simplified in the popular imagination as a stoic, badass action hero rather than the more complex character he is, struggling with loss and humanity. Similarly, Our Flag explores masculinity, both textually (Stede is trying to build a less abusive pirate culture) and metatextually (the show champions complex, banal, and tender masculinities, especially when we're used to only seeing pirates in either gritty action movies or childish comedies).

Our Flag also draws on the specific countercultures of motorcycles, rockers, and gay/BDSM culture in its design and themes. Naturally, in such a queer show, one can't help but make the connection between leather pirates and leather daddies, and the design certainly nods at this, with its vests and studs. I always think about this guy, with his flat cap so reminiscient of gay leather fashions.

More overtly, though, Blackbeard and his crew are styled as both violent gangsters and countercultural rockstars. They rove the seas like a bikie gang, free and violent, and are seen as icons, bad boys and celebrities. Other pirates revere Blackbeard and wish they could be on his crew, while civilians are awed by his reputation, desperate for juicy, gory details.

This isn't all of why I like the costuming in Our Flag Means Death (especially season 1). Stede's outfits are by no means accurate, but they're a lot more accurate than most pirate media, and they're bright and colourful, with accurate and delightful silks, lace, velvets, and brocades, and lovely, puffy skirts on his jackets. Many of the Revenge crew wear recognisable sailor's trousers, and practical but bright, varied gear that easily conveys personality and flair. There is a surprising dedication to little details, like changing Ed's trousers to fall-fronts for a historical feel, Izzy's puffy sleeves, the handmade fringe on Lucius's red jacket, or the increasing absurdity of navy uniform cuffs between Nigel and Chauncey.

A really big one is the fact that they don't shy away from historical footwear! In almost every example above, we see the period drama's obsession with putting men in skinny jeans and bucket-top boots, but not only does Stede wear his little red-heeled shoes with stockings, but most of his crew, and the ordinary people of Barbados, wear low boots or pumps, and even rough, masculine characters like Pete wear knee breeches and bright colours. It's inaccurate, but at least it's a new kind of inaccuracy, that builds much more on actual historical fashions, and eschews the shortcuts of other, grittier period dramas in favour of colour and personality.

But also. At least it fucking says something with its leather.

[tarufai]

[chrisbangs]

BANG CHAN — Special MC KCON LA DAY 3 (230821)

[constarlations]

🍊 Big Sis Nemona 🍊

my favorite Unovan/Latina Pokémon trainer ever created

Twitter Link

[c-hrona]

Pietà

[asleep-kat]

I have a problem 🥲

[defectiveferalfreak]

i rediscovered @nicktoonsunite and @choraa ‘s art like wowie did they inspire me to dip my toes into NUverse??

also i cant believe Dib and Zim basically waltzed into NU:GoD, like WHATS UP B*TCHS WE  GONNA HELP WHETHER U WANT IT OR NOT like can u believe that lol

[rottengurlz]

toxic yuri vampires you will always be famous to me

[von-karmas-a-bitch]

[coddda]

thinking about L Change the WorLd vs DN Anime parallels again so here's a thoughtdump (basically just an extension of this because I do have more in-depth thoughts about these)

Just. The contrast between how they each react to the other's death. Ough.

When L dies Light is, frankly, a pathetic mess about it. I mean the funeral scene speaks volumes on its own but it's also about how despite the hatred and utter spite Light has there's also that almost petty respect he has for L when he meets Near, how pissed he is at this dude for basically being a "mockery" to L's legacy. It's contradictory. He hates this guy, he'll gloat about the man's death to his own grave, he'll stare off into space and still see his face, he respects him more than he did anyone else, it's a fucking mess.

Meanwhile in LCtW L is openly sentimental about Light's death from the start. Where Light was Coping and Seething while trying to destroy what's left of L's legacy L decides to keep Light's watch (a useless, broken watch, which is really just another one of Light's murder weapons) not out of spite or pettiness or a sign of victory but just for remembrance. He Knows that he was Kira, it's something that only a handful of other people know, just him and the taskforce, and he talks about Kira with some other people in the novel, about what he did, but he still remembers him and mentions him first and foremost as a friend. His only friend, even.

It's about the way they remember each other when they're about to die (if we're taking the anime version of death note at least)

Like, Light goes into the Yellow Box Warehouse thinking that this is it, this is where he'll finally destroy any trace of L that's left. His successors, his task force, destroy his name and title, destroy his role as a false detective and simply Be Kira but he ends up failing anyway. When he firsts realizes he's lost, he's flailing and panicking and running, and while he's running all he really has his regret. When he's laying on the stairs and after Ryuk writes his name, while the credits are rolling, he looks pained when they show the close up shots of his face. But in the last few scenes after they reveal the vision of L that subtly changes. He doesn't struggle in the last few seconds like every other character that dies in the show, or even the way he did in the manga, he just closes his eyes while seeing L stare back at him. In contrast to the way that he dies in the manga Light's death here could almost be interpreted as peaceful. Hell, the way he looks during the close-up shot of his eye is almost calm.

("That was like. The last 1/1000th of Light's life and it was spent on L lmao" - One of my irls)

Meanwhile L is (for the mostpart) far more accepting of his fate from the get-go. There's nothing left that he could take from Light, everything he'd built up as Kira was already being dismantled anyway, but even then L doesn't think illy of him at all. If anything he finds himself regretting the fact that he couldn't make Light see where he'd gone wrong, I think it's pretty fair to assume that he wished that Light didn't have to die at all (but L's still dying no matter what. so,).

And on his Final day alive he still decides to take the time out of his last day to go to the Yagami household and pay his respects to Light. Even in his literal last minutes alive he thinks of Light welcomingly. When he addresses him that last time it isn't as Kira, and he almost never goes out of his way to think of what he did as Kira unless someone else brings it up, instead he just thinks of Light, his friend that he hopes to see again. It's crazy.

It's This Shit (yes I put this in the first post but shh)

Fucking. L thinking of Light and Mu in his last moments and dying peacefully vs Light seeing L as he realizes he's going to die and dying in the most peaceful way he ever does in literally any adaptation of Death Note

It's about the way that they're both portrayed seeing the other's 'ghost'. I hate everything by the way.

It's about how they both feel lost in a sense after the other is gone, when they're finally unrivalled.

It's about the fact that L points out at the beginning of the series that he can tell that both he and Kira are childish and hate to lose, but at the end of the anime Light has to come face-to-face with the realization that he was still defeated by L, and in LCtW L concedes that, yes, he did ultimately fail to catch Kira, and was still defeated by him in a sense.

Just. Holds head in hands.

It's Light destroying anything L had left, still trying his hardest to do so until his own downfall vs L making the conscious effort to preserve the memory of who Light was (who he really was, because only the taskforce knows he was Kira, not even Misa or Light's family) and choosing to remember him even in his last moments. It's Light fucking cackling and gloating at his own victory at L's own grave vs. L having Light's broken watch around his own wrist for safekeeping vs. Light believing that Near will never live up to or replace L as the world's greatest detective vs. L still referring to Light as "his only friend" when talking about him to others. It's about L already coming to terms with his death and welcoming the world of nothingness with Light vs Light running at the end of his life still thinking he can defeat L, before seeing him after Ryuk finally writes his name in the Death Note. Idk the contrast is just. Holds head in hands. Like the fuck is wrong with both of them.

You know, the plot of LCtW takes place over the course of 23 days and starts in a short period after Light's death. In canon DN there is a 5-year timeskip after a short period after L's death, with little information about it other than Light joining the NPA. There's no flashbacks/forwards or anything that really happens like, at all during this time either, the story just fast forwards to Mello and Near making their moves. L spends 23 days solving his final case, reminisces about Light a few times along the way, sometimes fondly, sometimes painfully, pays respects to him, then dies peacefully. Light spends 5 years-- 1,826 days uh.... Living. I guess? Except there's nothing of any note about it, by the looks of it. Not a single interesting enough thing- except a footnote about Light joining the NPA, which he was going to do anyway, and another about Kira's increased killings, which is to be expected -for the reader to know about. That's 79 times the length of the plot of LCtW, and you know what Light Yagami probably spent the majority of that time. Bored. L is described as "lost and unfocused" when he defeats Kira, as he is finally, definitively unrivaled. Light becomes the "God of the New World", and what then? He won but there's no challenge left. There's this sequence in LCtW where L rapidfire solves a bunch of cases from all over the world, yet he hardly seems to care about it at all, he just marks them done and then moves on like none of it meant a thing. Just. Yeah. orz these guys are Miserable do you get what I mean

I fucking hate them. And they're like this in every fucking universe (Don't get me Started on the jdrama). Thank you LCtW for ruining my life :thumbsup:

[daigah]

Captain Atom picking up Jaime ☺☺☺

Justice League: Generation Lost #22

[beanghostprincess]

They're choosing their numbers for their polycule

[peri-peri-sauce]

Uhm... I have questions... Is that Jere on the right? 😭

[lazycranberrydoodles]

woe mundane monopoly headcanons be upon ye

follow for more of modern au hua cheng’s outfits