Reylo is canon y'all

BEN👏 SHOULD 👏 HAVE 👏 LIVED 👏 GOD 👏 DAMMIT 👏

[nice-worm-deactivated20200906]

reblog the money pigeon for a financially stable future

[secondlina]

I reblog  the money pigeon because I love him.

[certifieddudette]

My luck levels have been rigged since the new year started and it seems to be infectious… reblogging for yall’s sake

[dangermousie]

Like Georgians, Jacobites and some of the most awesome romance novels? A Patricia Veryan pusher post

I have just discovered that Patricia Veryan, a writer of romance novels set in Georgian and Regency time, has had the bulk of her books reissued on kindle.

So this is a giant pusher post.

Who is Patricia Veryan, you may ask. She was a British writer of romance novels who was old school enough to belong to the style of Georgette Heyer and Jeffery Farnol (who deserves his own pusher post), instead of the newer but now old “bodice ripper, rapey” school like Woodiwiss, Rogers et al. Her novels have plots, no sex scenes and are swoonily, amazingly romantic. She also did her research and they feel like true period novels, not modern people in period clothes prancing about.

They are full of swashbuckling, angsty heroes with awful families, strong heroines fighting off villains, conspiracies unmasked, swords at dawn, tons of hero torture and gorgeousness. Does it sound good? It should.

As I mentioned above, she wrote both regencies and Georgians, but I am gonna talk about the latter series today, because they are all on kindle. Her two Georgian series are The Golden Chronicles (set in the aftermath of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s 1745 uprising) and Tales of the Jeweled Men (ditto). TGC follow the supposed treasure that Bonnie Prince Charlie amassed to help his Rebellion, which disappears, and which now the good guys are trying to get to the donors and bad guys want for themselves. There are six books in the series (though there are two earlier books, Mistress of Willowale and The Wicked Widow, which tie into it too. MoW is not available on kindle but TWW is and is a delightful Georgian romp with a rakish, cynical hero who ends up adoring the spunky, cheerful, pragmatic heroine. I am rereading it RN). * Practice to Deceive - Penelope Montgomery always meant to marry Quentin Chandler but he went off and joined the Jacobite rebellion and her family died and she’s stuck with her awful aunt and uncle. Quentin resurfaces when he comes to her for assistance but he gets captured by her psycho family and tortured for info about the treasure. Penelope rescues him and they go on the run. I loooove this book. Penny is not flighty or dim or anything but calm, a little reserved, very ladylike, yet awesome. And I have a crush on charming, funny, h/c magnet Quentin. My fave Veryan character, Roland Mathieson, first appears in this one as the bad guy’s henchman who kinda wants Penelope. * Journey to Enchantment - the hero of this one is Penelope’s brother Geoffrey and heroine a Scottish gal Prudence McTavish. I remember liking it OK (short version - Geoffrey is Jacobite Scarlet Pimpernel) but was not particularly in love. * The Tyrant - love this one. Phoebe Ramsay ends up being stuck in an engagement to Meredith Carruthers as a cover for some Jacobite-related smuggling. I love both fashionable, fun Phoebe and cool, common-sense, angstmuffin Mededith (we are introduced to the first but not the last of Veryan’s horrific parents in this one - I am not sure whether I hate his father or his mother more) and we see more of Roland who actually ends up helping the lead couple, in a very ironic, standoffish way, while sneaking bad guy bits now and then. * Love Alters Not - super super super obsession. Dimity Cranford, in order to lead soldiers away from an injured Jacobite family friend, ends up in all sorts of complicated embroglios which ultimately lead her pretending to be someone else entirely, that someone a woman trying to disposess Sir Anthony Farrar, an English army captain in the late Rebellion, who has been ostracized by everyone for running at the battle of Prestopans, leading to the rout of his unit and *da-dun* making Dimity’s brother crippled. So much angst and hurt/comfort and awesomeness, you have NO idea. I think Dimity/Anthony are my favorite Veryan OTP which is saying a huge huge deal. Also, I believe I was gibbering and screaming at my book during Anthony’s trial. Roland appears again and this is the book I fell for him in - he’s sort of Anthony’s friend and is thoroughly delicious. * Cherished Enemy - follows Robert McTavish (Prudence’s brother) and Rosamond Albritton, sister of a recurring character. Tbh, it’s my least fave in the series, though I don’t hate it or anything, so I don’t remember it much. * The Dedicated Villain - LOOOOOOVE! Roland gets a book! And what a book! Roland is on the hunt for the Jacobite treasure, comes across a troupe of actors (or are they?), which includes the tiny (short ladies represent!) but fierce and awesome Fiona Bradford - will he actually change his mind about his obsession? The Dedicated Villain is my favorite of her Georgians (well, that, and Love Alters Not are probably tied). I mean, Roland and Fiona! This series actually manages to do a convincing job of moving Roland from villain to antihero to hero with me buying the transition; also it explains why he starts out the way he does without making it a full excuse. TDV is also one of the very few books that maxed out my hurt/comfort love - PV never really went much for h/c of the physical as opposed to emotional sort in general but Roland’s torture scenes in TDV are beyond brutal, I was kinda reading through my fingers and bawling (one of my vivid memories is being high school age, sitting under a tree during the very hot summer, reading that stuff and sniffling). But oddly, it didn’t feel gratuitous because it was sort of karma for some of the stuff he did, especially to Quentin in Practice to Deceive (though what happened to him was miles worse than what happened to Quentin). And props to Veryan for having the guts to give him permanent damage. Jeweled Men follows a nefarious conspiracy to take over certain strategic properties to stage an invasion and a bunch of sexay aristocrats who stumble on the plot and decide to fight it (think 18th century Pimpernel). * Time’s Fool - follows Gideon Rossiter, a discharged officer who’s just returned from the Continent, and his attempts to figure out why his family’s properties and wealth imploded. Heroine is Naomi Lutonville, Gideon’s erstwhile fiancee. I normally wouldn’t like Naomi - she’s high-maintenance and dramatic, but I adore her to bits. I ship them like crazy, too. * Had We Never Loved - my first Veryan! Clearly, I was impressed. Horatio Glendenning (remember Jacobite family friend in Love Alters Not? That’s him) fought for Bonnie Prince Charlie so his future is not so good. His OTP is a feisty gypsy, Amy Consett, who is NOT discovered to be a Duke’s daughter in disguise or anything. It’s a lovely lovely book and they are a lovely lovely OTP. * Ask Me No Questions - Quentin’s staid older brother Gordon gets his own books. There are all sorts of machinations, but this is not a huge favorite. Gordon and Ruth Allington are nice people but give me Penny and Quentin’s humor and reckless courage any day. If you like nice and mature leads though, this one is for you. * A Shadow’s Bliss - like amnesia? This book is for you. Ruth’s amnesiac bro Jonathan tries to solve the mystery of a shipwreck he was involved in blah blah heroine is Jennifer Britewell and I literally remember nothing about her. Or Jonathan, for that matter, other than he has amnesia. The reason to read this book is the recurring characters of August Falcon, Jamie Morris, and Gwendolyn Rossiter. I read Jeweled Men as if was coming out and remember devouring each book for even the slightest hint of progress between cynical, cutting August and smart, unimpressed Gwendolyn - they are one of my fave Veryan OTPs, together with Dimity/Anthony, Roland/Fiona, and Mitchell/Charity from Sanguinet books. * Never Doubt I Love - Dimity’s bro finds love. Once again, I was in it for finding out what makes August tick, Jamie’s adoration of August’s sis Katrina, and Gwen and August’s sexy sparkle. It’s a good book on its own merits though and has a hero with a disability, which was unusual at the time. * The Mandarin of Mayfair - EEEE! EEEEE! I still remember pre-ordering this book and rolling in mad glee (hyperbole. Or is it?) August and Gwen get their own book, plus the conspiracy gets finally unmasked, there is kissing and hurt/comfort and gals being the ones to propose. The OTP is beyond amazing - August is so smart and lethal and functional despite his major issues arising out of the fact that as ¼ Chinese he’s looked down as a mongrel by “polite” society (I love that Veryan’s heroes never wallow), Gwendolyn is full of common-sense and rescues him from prisons and bad guys and won’t let anyone bash him (himself included, but also their friends, which turn on him for spoilery reasons. I still have residual rage about it. Katrina, you are the worst sister ever and dead to me!) I think the ending is a little pat to resolve the very real issues he has with marrying Gwendolyn and dragging her into his life, but at that point they’ve been through so much hell, I didn’t even care.

My favorite OTPs in her Georgian series are are four-way time between ladylike Penelope x incorrigible adventurer Quentin in PtD, tormented and self-abasing Anthony and fearless Dimity in LAN, reformed villain Roland x not really an actress Fiona in TDV, and deadly and messed up August x fearless and clever Gwen (btw, Gwen is a heroine with a disability, which, once again, was an unusual thing at the time.)   Worst father award goes to Roland’s father (die in a fire, please!) and worst mother is either August’s or Meredith’s. Coolest family is either Dimity’s or Horatio’s. Favorite brother-sister pair are Gwen and Gideon Rossiters.

Basically, you should go read them yesterday!

PS Disclaimer. I used to run a Veryan listserve in the really old days. So I am biased. But she is a rare author I am rereading 20 years later and still love.

PPS If you are a Veryan fan, come talk to me!

[rubyjones]

Create your own book cover - without generative 'AI' | Ruby Jones

Get more from Ruby Jones on Patreon

Too many writers are using generative 'AI' to make their book covers, so I've written a guide on how to make your own cover for free or cheap without turning to a machine.

If you can't afford to pay an artist, you CAN make your own!

I hope this is a helpful overview that covers the basics and points to some free resources.

[rhube]

I annoyed my cat by writing this and not playing with her; you might find it useful?

[copperbadge]

This is a fantastic guide not only to the technical aspect of cover design but the aesthetic aspect as well!

[naamahdarling]

This is GREAT STUFF. Highly recommend! Exactly the techniques I have used on covers in the past, and they look great!

[crowlion]

The Gaang's hands (with Team Azula and Yue) + headcanons

This series was inspired by @thyinum's Avatar's Hands series!

[frodo-sam]

Frodo…I swore to protect you.

[positively-emerald]

#lotr#sometimes I think about how real authority - real kingship especially - is at heart service and submission#and how Aragon spends his life (ranger or king or friend) serving others#kneeling before them#affirming the kingship of other kings EVEN THOUGH he sometimes outkings them!!#and the moment of his greatest authority is really a submission of his will to his vocation#when I say I sometimes think about this#I mean easily 2-3 times a week (via byjovimbeinghumble)

[zombeesknees]

#aragorn didn’t go to the hollywood school of ‘need is love’  #he went to the terrence rattigan school of ‘duty is love’  #duty as a positive and willingly-perfomed service  #not without sacrifice but without doubt

[ranmagender]

PSA for Switch owners

The latest 11.0 update means that Google Analytics is a thing on the switch and turned on. What that means is that Nintendo has a deal with Google to share with them your data for advertisement purposes.

To turn it off

go to the eShop

go to your profile where your funds and account info is

go down to the bottom of the page

there you will see “Google Analytics Preferences”

select the Change

select “Don’t Share”

Please spread the word. Really shitty of Nintendo to just quietly start allowing Google to spy on users for advertising.

[what-even-is-thiss]

You know the Grimm version of Snow White makes more sense than most versions if only because in that version Snow White was like 7 years old.

[what-even-is-thiss]

Like imagine you find a 7 year old in the woods and she’s like my mom is gonna kill me because I’m prettier than her and she’s not kidding. You know this queen is that sort of person. So you and your roommates adopt the kid and tell her don’t talk to strangers. And she keeps talking to strangers and getting poison combs stuck in her hair and whatnot.

Like yeah that’s kinda stupid but also she’s seven. She likes apples.

[what-even-is-thiss]

Also imagine it from the hunter’s perspective. The queen tells you this bitch is prettier than me I need you to take her out in the woods and kill her. And then you see who you’re supposed to kill and it’s a 2nd grader. Like how are you supposed to react to that sort of situation? Kill a human child? No. Because you’re not a brainless evil minion you’re just some guy dealing with a cartoonishly evil monarch. Of course you let her go.

[what-even-is-thiss]

Bad look for the Prince of course. Even if she did age while she was in that glass case. He saw a dead woman and just decided to keep her. And once she stopped being dead he was like we’re married now

He did cause the evil queen to dance to death in red hot shoes though. That was kinda cool.

[thedupshadove]

With the acknowledgement that I'm grasping at straws, is it ever directly confirmed that the Prince wasn't also 7?

[thedupshadove]

See, I think that still works.

You are the guardsman assigned to protect the eight-year-old Prince. You are currently in the middle of the forest because he absolutely had his heart set on "going hunting", and the royal second-grader should definitely not be traipsing around the woods on his own. You let him go a little on ahead and he comes running back talking about how there's a dead girl in the clearing and there's no-one else around and he wants to take her home because she's really pretty, Hans, and she's all alone!

You let him drag you to said clearing and okay, that is one angelic-looking dead child alright, and on the one hand the quality of her clothes and the craftsmanship on the coffin (who builds a see-through coffin?) speak to potential Consequences if you simply carry her off, but also for the amount of vines that have grown on the coffin she looks extraordinarily un-decayed, so you should probably get the court alchemist's opinion on that, and there's no way he's going to come all the way out here in his embroidered velvet curly-shoes. And also this kid is technically assigned by God as your natural superior, or something.

So fine. You hoist the coffin onto your shoulder (it's not like the Prince can do it. He's eight.) and head back toward the castle, Prince chattering blithely all the way. And then you turn your ankle on a rock and suddenly there's a thump and a cough and a lot of shouting from inside the coffin and you have now become a key player in a tense political incident with the next kingdom over.

You should probably ask for a raise.

[bitchesgetriches]

We are in favor of just about any fairy tale ending with "you should probably ask for a raise."

[philliplight]

“Fear not, for behold, I tell you good tidings of great joy which will be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior, tis Christ the Lord. And this should be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger…Glory to God in the highest, and good will towards men”

Merry Christmas everyone :)

[penny-anna]

Can I please ask for your top five theories on why the Ringwraiths become so much more powerful over the course of the LotR trilogy? By the end of the books a single Ringwraith holds an army of 6000 men in paralysing dread from a height of a mile, they're dismaying hosts of men, etc. And in the beginning, they're easily defeated by "jumping behind a tree," "pretending to be in a different room," "getting on a little boat," "man with a stick on fire," etc.

hmm ok

1) their power depends on how physically close they are to sauron/mordor

2) they consciously weren’t unleashing their full power early in Fellowship bcos it didn’t seem worth it when they were just dealing w hobbits

3) they just woke up from a REALLY long nap and it takes them a while to fully come ‘online’

4) their power just waxes & wanes sometimes

5) hobbits are their One Weakness 

[elodieunderglass]

YES okay adding more

6) they have essentially no bodily power - in addition to their sight, their abilities are also mostly derived from their mounts, so when they were on basically-dragons, one of them could force an entire military city to its knees just by flying over it; mounted on horses,they were Quite Intimidating in Bree, and eight of them gave Glorfindel a run for his money; on foot they could be defeated by Farmer Maggot's barking dog

7.) They kindly levelled up as the heroes did so it would be fair

8.) Sauron explicitly gains power throughout the series and possibly has more to share with his minions

9) the Shire exerts a dampening effect on all attempts at majesty... genius new theory in which the Ring is nearly harmless, Gandalf known mostly for his fireworks, the Witch-King of Angmar is reduced to interrupting tea parties, etc because the land is just not very magical at all

10) Bilbo wrote the first book and a half and could not resist making chase scenes into slapstick comedy, Frodo wrote the rest and didn't even bother trying to hide his moods

[elanorpam]

I'm pretty sure the wraiths were laying low because the Shire was constantly watched by the Rangers, of which there were far more than nine, each of whom was a Diet Aragorn also something something tom bombadil, yeah

[botanikablue]

I like theory 9. It also has implications on why hobbits in general have an odd take on things with no obvious purpose, aka manthoms. It becomes a giant game of hot potato to avoid getting cursed.

All of which could be attributed to the nearness of Tom ‘Anti-materialism’ Bombadil.

[elodieunderglass]

At the beginning of The Hobbit when Bilbo recognises Gandalf as "Gandalf who gave the Old Took a pair of diamond cufflinks that only come off when they're ordered" (and are never referenced again despite being a fairly startling item, in a universe where intelligent jewelery is something to be highly suspicious of). In the framework of theory 9, these cufflinks could be immensely powerful items - haunted, precious gems that obey the will of their owner! - who have an ENTIRE series worth of their own lore, which were recovered during the hinted-at adventure of the unrepentant Gandalf and The Remarkable Belladonna Took, and delivered to a place of perfect safekeeping, where they would never cause any problems at all. The Old Took just has magic diamonds what of it? And just like Mad Baggins became a local fairy tale and Frodo never received recognition in his homeland, we will never ever ever know what exactly happened there.

[earhartsease]

If I might suggest

11) Sauron's connection to the Ringwraiths is like wifi, and the signal in the Shire is like half a bar because it's bloody far and there are mountains in the way, and the rings at Imladris and Lothlórien (and on Gandalf) are like strings of Elven fairy lights that interfere with the wifi signal - so the Ringwraiths' awful wailing screams heard in the journey from the Shire are them unsuccessfully trying dial-up modem

[elodieunderglass]

Hnnnnnnng every single one of these takes is so GOOD

Galadriel: you're back early

Gandalf, loading gun: bag end is a Faraday cage

[elodieunderglass]

Reblogging to link

[sailor-hobbiton]

I love the idea that the Shire is full of random magical objects that have been reduced to junk by the anti-magic lands, now passed around as useless mathoms.

OR the magical items are just as magical and manipulative, hobbits are Just That Resistant to corruptions.

[elodieunderglass]

A visitor to The Mathom-House at Michel Delving being like. sorry. Hello. Are those the lost silmarils. That mithril corselet is worth more than your national GDP. I thought the remaining four dwarf rings were eaten by dragons? Is this not historically curséd dragon treasure that has over long ages absorbed all the malice and greed of the wyrm?

And the hobbit who opens the museum for visitors is like, um, sorry, we don’t actually catalogue most of this stuff apart from noting who left it here, it’s mostly just here to avoid the political difficulties inherent in regifting birthday presents on too short a cycle? Like people get mad if they instantly get back the same present they gave, or if one appears too many years in a row.

The visitor, nodding goes: Is that a fucking palantir

- oh the garden sphere. nobody likes getting that one. It looks like a nice garden sphere but it screams when birds land on it. Do you want it

[daincrediblegg]

OK THIS IS NOT A FUCKING DRILL EVERYONE FUCKING REPEAT AFTER ME. THIS IS WHAT YOU WILL DO WHEN YOU WATCH MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL THIS YEAR:

You will navigate to the page on disney plus (and it has to be here. Unless someone has actually uploaded the REAL movie anywhere else you cannot get it elsewhere)

BUT YOU WILL NOT HIT PLAY. You won’t do it. Because it’s NOT THE REAL VERSION OF THE FILM AND DISNEY IS FUCKING LYING TO YOU AS IT ALWAYS DOES

You will scroll down HERE. To EXTRAS instead. You MUST GO HERE. This is non -negotiable

THEN YOU WILL SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE EXTRAS AND YOU WILL THEN HIT PLAY ON THIS BAD BOY: THE FULL LENGTH VERSION

And you will watch it. And you will thank me for having been so blind and led astray by that stupid fucking mouse. You’re welcome.

[daincrediblegg]

ok children gather 'round because all of these kindof have the same answer and I am way too passionate about this subject and the history behind it that I physically cannot remain silent about it

So if you were a 90's kid like me, you grew up with this film on VHS. if you were also like me, then you probably remember it very differently from how it was released recently both in blu-ray and on streamer formats and probably were freaking out thinking this was some kind of mandela effect for years: and THIS IS BECAUSE. THERE IS A CRUCIAL SCENE MISSING. AND LITERALLY I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH. THE TWO MINUTES CUT KINDOF CHANGE THE EMOTIONAL IMPACT OF THE WHOLE MOVIE??? and allow me to explain why.

That video above it the Deleted Song "When Love is Gone" was ONLY EVER featured on the VHS release of The Muppet Christmas Carol that came out through the 90's. Why? because initially, some uppity disney executive market tested it and went "kids are gonna get antsy with that and not like it" so they cut it then for the theatrical release, but then Brian Henson (director, son of JIM) somehow managed to get it into the VHS cut of the film. Kinda went rogue about it if memory serves. Now, as a child, this was kindof... a huge part of the movie for me? like I remember listening to it and crying a bit as a kid because this one song is just... so emotional? like seriously. other than the fact that it's being sung by Meredith Braun (who at one point played Eponine in Les Mis, and you gotta have some SERIOUS pipes to do that) AND Michael Cain, and it's a love song in a way, like it's very clear that she still cares for Ebenezer but she recognizes that her love for him is different than his love for her and she has to leave him, meanwhile THE MAN IS BEHIND HER CRYING AND SHE DOESN'T EVEN SEE HIM AND CLEARLY IT'S THE BIGGEST REGRET HE HAS And honestly? That's a HUGE part of what made it stand out for me as a child. Like. The muppets themselves were all fun and good but then you have this song for a second... and it really feels true to the dickensian spirit guiding the whole film, and it's what's made it to me the most true to form adaptation of his yet. It's phenomenal. And this dumbass disney exec said "it's too adult emotional for the kids" (an argument that always has and will always continue to be completely fucking stupid).

So then what happened? why didn't they put it in the DVD and Blu Ray releases that have come out throughout the years? Well, literally DISNEY LOST THE FOOTAGE. APPARENTLY. so when they went to restore it and reformat it for those releases AND THEN SUBSEQUENTLY for the streamer release, it was literally missing. and Brian Henson has been asking them to look for YEARS. FINALLY they found it back in 2020, and then only last year did they upload the fully restored version that you see me ranting and raving about.

"But Egg", you ask, "why does this matter? What does this small 2 minute sequence change about this movie SO MUCH that it merits a huge ass post about it that is making people confused?"

Because let me tell you friends. Belle does not seem very significant and kindof pointless to flashback to without that song. It's like ok. she's there. She tells Ebenezer she's breaking up with him. and then... THE MUPPETS CRY ABOUT IT??? and that's it. That's all you get. you don't get any of the sense of how deeply this affected this guy- the LITERAL PROTAGONIST THAT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO CARE ABOUT. And it's all because, again, say it with me folks: the dipshit disney executive said "It's Too Emotional For Children".

Not ONLY that. But THIS SONG IS LITERALLY THE REPRISE THEY SING AT THE END OF THE FILM. WHICH. LET ME TELL YOU. IT'S FUCKING WEIRD FOR THAT TO LITERALLY COME OUT OF NOWHERE COMPLETELY LEFT FIELD AS A NEW SONG AT THE END. Like it makes no sense. ok sappy sentimental "the love we found" all right. BUT REMEMBER. THE ORIGINAL LYRIC IS "LOVE IS GONE". IT'S SYMMETRY. IT'S POETRY. IT'S FUCKING VITAL. An the movie is good as it is but literally trust me this makes it infinitely better when you see it as a whole. Please. Just trust me on this. Thank you and goodnight. oh yeah and here's a decent article that talks about it and that shall serve as my source for a lot of this

you're welcome

[byebyebriar]

It cannot be overstated how important this song is. It is what kicks off Scrooges whole character development.

It is what moves him to consider just what his stinginess has cost him. Belle spends two whole minutes going on how their relationship could have worked if only Scrooge hadn’t been so focused on money. It is important that she once loved him. It is important that the breakdown in their relationship wasn’t destined, but was a direct result of Scrooges actions. It is important to spell out to kids that you can kill love by your actions and it is well within the right of your partner to walk away from you.

And that last bit is rare! Love Conquers All is such an ingrained trope in children’s media. The Muppets Christmas Carol goes “no, it is actually okay to walk away from a man who consistently breaks his promises and moves the goalposts on marriage.” The film completely sides with Belle here.

That’s why Rizzo is crying! It’s why Scrooge is crying! Meredith Braun wrings you out for two straight minutes so gently that you can’t even be angry about it! Scrooge certainly can’t. He can’t summon his sarcasm, his distain, his anger. All he can do is weep. THIS song is what truly prepares him for the Ghost of Christmas Present.

AND THEY CUT IT

[adventures-in-a-world-of-fiction]

It's a duet. It's a duet between Belle and old Scrooge because young Scrooge isn't joining in. Young Scrooge doesn't recognise what he's lost but old Scrooge does, so when Belle sings about how it was almost love, almost always, old Scrooge sings with her.

When people talk about what makes songs in good musicals effective, one of the key things is to have key emotional moments/changes happen with song. At the point when the emotions are strongest, the characters burst into song. This song was written to be that - a key, emotional turning point for Scrooge - and it was replaced with... nothing.

When you have the exchange with the spirit where Scrooge is angry she's showing him these things and she tells him, "That they are what they are, do not blame me," it hits a whole lot harder when he's just been singing a lament with his lost love.

This song is not as fun and engaging as any of the others. I remember it as "the boring one" from when I watched this film as a kid, but it's a key moment for character development.

[illusionremember]

[beggars-opera]

I don’t know if I can contain my “The Muppet Christmas Carol has better costume design than most Oscar-nominated period dramas” rant until after Thanksgiving you guys, I have…so many Thoughts

[beggars-opera]

Ok, buckle up kids.

Basically they did not have to go as hard as they did here. A Christmas Carol covers 60 years of fashion through flashbacks and they still manage to do nearly everything right. 

I’m mainly going to be talking about the human actors here because it’s harder to judge Muppet costumes proportionally, but those costumes are still on point 90% of the time.

First off, A Christmas Carol was published in 1843, and anyone who knows me knows I love the absolute train wreck that was mid-19th century men’s fashion. Do you like plaid? GOOD, BECAUSE IT’S ALL PLAID. Mixed with whatever else your little Victorian heart desires, color schemes be damned. Go wild.

This of course means I absolutely love Fred.

This outfit is hideous and it is also 1000% on point.

We also get to see him in a different outfit the next day, along with his wife and some friends.

First off, MORE PLAID, good for you. Second, I can literally find near-identical images of both these ladies’ dresses just by googling “1843 fashion plate”, I shit you not. To the damned year.

A good part of the story involves travelling through Scrooge’s life, so we get to see the costumes varying wildly over the course of several scenes. This was a time when styles were changing rapidly, and you had to keep up if you wanted to be fashionable and keep up appearances. Fashion changed so fast that you can often pinpoint an outfit to within a year or two like the ones above. 

First, we go to Scrooge’s childhood school. Given the timeline that’s normally put forward Michael Caine is definitely not old enough to play Scrooge, but ignore that for now. Let’s say if Scrooge is 75ish in 1843, it’s about 1783 when we see him leaving school and going off to be an apprentice. We actually see a few years of Little Scrooge fashion, but it’s fairly standard stuff. Scrooge doesn’t have a super childhood and his clothing is pretty plain, but it’s totally on par for the time. Why this haircut though? It makes me sad.

Then we jump ahead a few years and it’s about 1789. The whole group is attending the Fozziwig Christmas party and have gotten tarted up like they’re about the storm the Bastille, including Gonzo and Rizzo.

Again, they look absolutely ridiculous and it is absolutely accurate. 

Now, this is super ostentatious and a lot of people would have considered it way too French for their taste in this time period. But it definitely did happen (I’ve seen stripey bubblegum pink menswear in person) and like. It’s the Muppets. So, Rule of Funny.

Scrooge and Belle are dressed way closer to average Londoners of the time, and it’s worth noting that both are supposed to be somewhat poor. Fozzy pays everyone well but Lil’ Scrooge is still a skinflint and Belle is just getting by. They’re both looking darn good but their clothes are much more understated than everyone else’s and maybe even on the verge of out of style. 

Even their hair is pretty good. Including his. Also, holy shit does this guy look like he could be a young Michael Caine. Like, he doesn’t actually look how Michael Caine looked when he was that age, but if I didn’t know that I would totally buy it. Wow.

Then we jump ahead another ten to twelve years or so. This is the period I know the least about, especially when it comes to outerwear, so Jane Austen stans please comment. I don’t think it looks too bad though.

Here’s a couple of fashion plates from 1801 and 1803 for comparison.

I’d also like to point out that there is a wide variety of costumes based on social class that we get to see in the 1843 “present” that you wouldn’t really notice. So while the Scrooge family that’s doing alright for itself is wearing the latest looks, the rest of the town is not. A few of the women in the crowd dancing around Scrooge during “It Feels Like Christmas” are wearing dresses a couple of years out of date. Not too far, but you can see some looks from the tail end of the 1830s before women started shrink-wrapping their sleeves onto their arms.

You can see something similar to these outfits from 1839 in the crowd.

Contrast this with Mrs. Cratchit, who is living in poverty and has put on her absolute best dress for Christmas; it’s silk but it’s ten years out of style. 

This would have been the height of fashion in the early-mid 1830s.

And that’s important for making a world look real. Fashion was super important back then, but even so average people weren’t necessarily chucking their clothing out every year to keep up with the latest fashions unless they could really afford to. You would get there eventually, but you don’t want everyone in your universe, rich and poor, to look like they just stepped out of the latest fashion magazine. 

It’s absolutely astonishing to me that they put so much effort into this. I don’t tend to go down the rabbit hole of nitpicking historical costumes in movies as much as some, but when a movie that you never expected does it very right it just throws me for a loop. 

Was everything perfect? No, I don’t think any movie is. But this is the damn Muppets. They were under no obligation to do this. Add to that the fact that it’s one of the more accurate renditions of the story, to the point of including a ton of the original dialogue, both through the characters and through the narration, and they just created a masterpiece. 

[taraljc]

this entire post is absolutely delightful in every way

[rongzhi]

English added by me :)

[that-house]

[alexaloraetheris]

Hollywood WISHES it could create this much narrative tension.

[thefingerfuckingfemalefury]

#all human nature is here#stealth#support#treachery

A TENSE EPIC

[beyonce-knowles-carter]

22 YEARS AGO ON DECEMBER 18, 1998 - DREAMWORKS ANIMATION RELEASED “THE PRINCE OF EGYPT”

Because DreamWorks was concerned about theological accuracy, they decided to call in Biblical scholars, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim theologians, and Arab American leaders to help the film be more accurate and faithful to the original story. After previewing the developing film, all these leaders noted that the studio executives listened and responded to their ideas, and praised the studio for reaching out for comment from outside sources.

The animation team for The Prince of Egypt included 350 artists from 34 different nations. Careful consideration was given to depicting the ethnicities of the ancient Egyptians, Hebrews, and Nubians properly.

Both character design and art direction worked to set a definite distinction between the symmetrical, more angular look of the Egyptians versus the more organic, natural look of the Hebrews and their related environments. The backgrounds department, headed by supervisors Paul Lasaine and Ron Lukas, oversaw a team of artists who were responsible for painting the sets/backdrops from the layouts. Within the film, approximately 934 hand-painted backgrounds were created.

THE PRINCE OF EGYPT (1998)

[cute-catts]

Sound on, she is soooo sweet 🥰😻😻

[maria-rosa-mystica-deactivated2]

It's that time of year again when everyone's gonna celebrate a birthday while conveniently ignoring the birthday boy.

[maria-rosa-mystica-deactivated2]

Reblog so that the Birthday Boy gets the attention He deserves

[kazoosandfannypacks]

Samwise Gamgee is the ultimate icon for friends of people with disability imo. I can't take your arthritis for the day, but I can walk behind you up the stairs and make your coffee. I can't take your adhd while you're working on this assignment, but I can help you stay on task. I can't take your depression upon myself for a bit, but I can come over to your house and help clean your room and listen to you. No, I can't absorb some of your memory loss issues, but I can remind you of things and save you a seat when you're running late. Yes, I know it's a lot, and yes, I know it's a heavy burden to bear, and no, I can't carry it for you. But I can carry you.