The Coolture Diaries

We've got books to review, musicals to watch, stuff to rant about

[the-secret-hours]

,,,it’s because we all bitched about jordelia getting an extra pov despite being the main love story while thomastair only got one split scene isn’t it

[justkillthetitan]

I think the criticisms should be more about the lack of development and page time to her queer relationships. This trilogy has the most side queer characters and has two queer relationships and yet one of them turns out very toxic and the other has like two scenes in her latest book that is 500+ pages. What's the point of having so many representation if she gives them little to no time? And I am not only talking about Thomas/Alastair and Kamala/Anna. I am talking about them individually plus Matthew and Charles. I mean, Matthew who got nothing in this book and his problems got addressed in like two occasions but no action takes place. Like it's unreal how little page time they all got? I get it, they are not the main and tbh they are a side-side couples (sadly).

But this is nothing new. Even in TMI, Malec got very little scenes. If it hadn't been for TFTSA plus TDA and TEC I wouldn't be too invested in them as I am because they truly didn't get much page time on canon. And I remember this because after I finished TMI I was confused as to why people hyped up Malec so much when they got so little scenes and focus in canon. (But they got more then Thomastair and I only suspect that's the case because CC already filled the status quo with having six queer characters, two queer relationshio, and a main woman of color who is getting the most page time in TLH then when she did in TMI where almost everyone was white and straight).

And this goes on. CC has a very bad habit of concentrating in the main ship of a trilogy and forget the rest. Think about all her other ships. Simon/Izzy. Gideo/Sophie. Gabriel/Cecily. Christina/Mark/Kieran.

I will recognized that we carry a little of fault. We super hyped whatever little scenes we get, and I think this has make CC think that if she just feeds us the smallest crumos we will just accept them and do what we can with them. Which we have and we have gotten use to developing this relationships further then canon because CC didn't.

Is a shame and a waste of characters. I am more invested in all the side and queer characters in TLH then I am more in James, Cordelia, Lucie, and Jessee. (No hate).

I want to see more of Alstair's journey in redemption and self love. I want to see the struggles he faced with racism (which was mentioned but never showed nor we ever explored that topic in detail) and his emotions regarding the death of his father as well as to see more of hia childhood and what his father's illness did to him.

I want to see Matthew and his journey to forgiveness and see him get helped to cure his alcoholism. I also want to know what he felt like growing up with her mother being a consul and him taking care of Henry. I want to see what kind of struggles he had to overcome before and after coming out to the public.

I want to see Thomas and see his character develop. Get confidence in his body and voice his true opinions and feeling. To be more outspoken and to see him coming out to.

I want to see Anna get some development and stop being an ass at Kamala. I also want to see her point of view on coming out and how it change her life.

I want to see Kamala explored her heritage and follow her journey to get closer to those roots. I want to see her struggles with racism and how being an adopted lesbian woman of color to a white family is like. I want to see her journey to coming out.

Hell. I even want to see Charles and his inner thoughts. His denial to coming out and how that interferes to his wishes of becoming counsil. I also want to see him get development and stop being an ass and to apologized to Alatair and own up to his shit.

But I will most likely not see most of these which is sad as fuck. This became a rant but I don't care. I am not criticizing her free work but the work she was paid to do.

I paid 25 bucks for the book, so no one come at me. I am allow to criticise and rant about it.

(Magnus Banes would never encourage people to demand free work but he would also never side with CC poor treatment of her queer relationships. He would side with proper representation).

[inky-duchess]

I know I'm incredibly late but Happy Hanukkah to all you lovely people.

[thecoolturediariesblog]

I WATCHED THE GLADIATOR MOVIE AND IT WASN’T AS ANNOYING AS I THOUGHT IT COULD BE. (FROM A ROMAN HISTORY JUNKIE) PART 2

Continuing with what was right and what was wrong in this movieee. 

9º THE OBVIOUS LACK OF RESEARCH FOR DETAILS - WRONG.

This had the potential to be very annoying. However, it surprisingly was not that much frequent. Most of the time I would just let it pass. For example, they constantly named the Flavian Amphitheater “The Colosseum”. I would easily ignore that mistake because, let me tell you a secret, not even scholars know how Romans named the amphitheater. It was probably just that, “amphitheater” or maybe even “flavian amphitheater” but that is mostly used in recent studies to allude to the fact that it was built during the Flavian dynasty. So, yeah, I could easily ignore the use of a blatantly medieval name. 

Or … I don’t know, I’ve seen people even complaining about the name of the protagonist, Maximus Decimus Meridius, which, yeah, I get that it’s the most ridiculously stereotypical name for a Roman citizen. And yeah, if they went for authenticity during the Empire period, Maximus really could not have used his praenomen to be referred to, mostly the cognomen, so Meridius. But honestly Roman naming conventions were so bizarre I think fixing on this particular detail is just nitpicking. 

But one thing was so in-your-face inaccurate that it just made me lose the point of the plot many times. And that’s when every character called Maximus … “The Spaniard”. 

SERIOUSLY WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! It was like a slap in the face everytime it was mentioned! It’s that kind of mistake that would be solved with … you know, BASIC RESEARCH. I’M TALKING WIKIPEDIA RESEARCH: “THERE WAS NO SPAIN IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE QUESTION MARK” Is it that unknown, really? Do USA citizens really go thinking there was some France, Spain or Italy during the roman empire?? Please, tell me they don’t. 

I would have simply been happy with people saying he is from Hispania, after that is like the least they would have done. And even then it would have been still wildly wrong since they specify he is from Trujillo, which was in the province of Lusitania, not Hispania. But, c’mon, seriously? Spaniards? It’s moments like those that really made me resent the producers and writers, because they clearly showed how lazy they were in terms of basic documentation. 

Get ready because this one made me almost forget this movie had any flaws. 

8º FLAVIAN AMPHITHEATER ALL THE WAY- YES, YES, A HUNDRED TIMES YES.

I was awestruck with the view of the complete flavian amphitheater and I don’t think I’ll ever express how beautiful it was in the movie. IT IS HUGE. It seems as if the rows of stands never end, it is filled to the brim with an ecstatic crowd screming and slamming their feet like it’s a fucking concert. 

It just made me want to go visit the Amphitheater. But I won’t because I’m responsible. So if I stay at home with a yearning in my heart for breathtaking architecture YOU STAY AT HOME TOO.

FUCK ME GENTLY WITH A CHAINSAW, YES.

[thecoolturediariesblog]

I WATCHED THE GLADIATOR MOVIE AND IT WASN’T AS ANNOYING AS I THOUGHT IT COULD BE. (FROM A ROMAN HISTORY JUNKIE)

So, actually, we have not been posting any reviews on Tumblr for a while, but by God I needed to get this out of my chest. For those who got into this blog earlier, you know that, amongst many things, I am a huuuge nerd of both Greek and Roman history. (I just remembered that I think that as of today I have only spoken of some Greek myths in here).

 I was convinced to watch the movie of Gladiator (2000). And, let me admit something, I already came in there with FEAR. Mostly of myself, because if there’s one thing being a nerd about certain historical periods has given me is being BUTT-CRAZY ANNOYING when movies present many inaccuracies or, like it sadly happens most of the times, they straight-up invent plotline that make no sense. And Gladiator is famous for this.

(Cue to me getting fashbacks to a Philosophy professor who told me the movie Troy was the best adaptation to the Iliad and me thinking WOW, HAVING IN MIND YOU ARE CONSIDERED FIT TO TEACH US GREEK PHILOSOPHY, YOU SURE AS FUCK HAVE ZERO RESPECT FOR GREEK CULTURE LIKE THAT GODAWFUL MOVIE)

Anyway … I saw Gladiator. And you’ll kill me for this but I actually think it is definitely a good movie. Hell, it even got many details right (and many others impossibly wrong) So, I am going to make this review about those things about the Roman empire that really worked for me and those which … well left a very bad taste. 

10º THE BEGINNING - SURPRISINGLY RIGHT!

So, let me get this clear. Despite me LOVING Roman history (especially that of the late Republic and early empire) I have a lot of issues with it … which I didn’t have when I was a teenager. 

Enjoying this particular part of history was some sort of a natural process: I already grew up with ancient greek mythology in its purest state (that is, not fucking Percy Jackson, I didn’t know that novels existed until like, well into my teenage years). So it made sense to just extrapolate the interest of ancient greek society to Romans. Then I also live in a hotspot for Roman archeology and, well, let’s be sincere, Roman history is very weird and very gay and that’s my realm of interest. 

But it wasn’t until I grew up more than I began having a lot of issues with my absolute love for the funky idiots Romans were. Mainly, well, that their politics were imperialistic in the worst sense of the word and they based their whole empire on military expansion. And, yeah, as I grew up, that was surprisingly always addressed as in “Look how great it is that they conquered the entire Mediterranean, life in the Roman world was so civilised and progressive” instead of “Eh … life in the Roman world effectively only didn’t suck … if you were a Roman elite. But if you lived anywhere near the circle of expansion of those bastards you were fucked.”

What does this have anything to do with the beginning of the Gladiator movie?! Well, let’s be sincere, this beginning is scary. 

It shows a battle between the troops of emperor Marcus Aurelius and what I assume is an unspecified germanic tribe. They clearly show the germanic tribes preparing themselves, they are a bunch of people screaming and getting axes, swords and other weapons, dressed in furs. The Roman legions, however, are an astoundingly huge army of men perfectly organised, working as if they were just one unity, their armours shiny as their swords and pilum, equipped with catapults (it’s absurd to throw a catapult in the middle of the forest but I’ll let it pass), effective, quick and lethal. IT IS TERRIFYING. Maximus, the protagonist, says that it is time to unleash hell and, boy, I perfectly believed him. The sight of them is hell, THEY are the hell they are bringing to the people they conquer. It is such a breath-taking sight.

And the fucking worse is … they give zero shits about it. A general has the balls to say “Some people just don’t know when they are being conquered”. THAT LINE. JUST. THAT LINE. There’s so much ingraining concepts of superiority, of the “we are bringing civilization, just fucking accept it once and for all” … man, it gave me the worst possible feelings of disgust. 

THIS SCENE. WAS INCREDIBLE. PRECISELY BECAUSE I DESPISED EVERYTHING IN IT. 

So, anyway, yeah, I love the funky weird, incredibly adaptable society that the Romans were, but I loved and needed to have their worst side addressed too. 

[thecoolturediariesblog]

Let's find absurd but awesome ways to use a clock in combat (I swear we weren't high doing this AU) . . . . . .

[thecoolturediariesblog]

May I offer you some dumb AU I made during these stressing days? Here's a bunch of pictures of an AU of "In Search of Lost Time" by Marcel Proud because apparently we don't know how to make normal aus. Read the books, they're great. . .

[zombiemami]

Fuck Trump & every bitch who supports him

[anxietyproblem]

[pyramidsandpistols]

Constantly sanitizing everything in stores

[shmoodylee]

Wearing MEDICAL masks when you’re sick.

[donkeydickjess]

Curbside pickup and 50% capacity

[siege1]

Knowing a greater number of grown adults are washing their hands. With water AND soap.

[kokainefontaine]

Allowing those that can work from home to do so.

Keep virtual learning and make it accessible to all students, ESPECIALLY low income and those with disabilities.

“Hero pay” being the standard by giving essential workers HIGHER WAGES

[its-teeteedee]

ALL THIS!!!!!

[can08writer]

Not breathing on or touching people you dont know.

[fireyourowncannons]

The constant critique of the 9-5, 5 day a week work schedule, a relic of a manufacturing based economy, being the continued norm of a post industrialized society and the push for more balanced life and work schedules while not reducing the income of workers and even increasing it.

This pandemic has shown how easy it truly was to move to flexible schedules and could continue for many. Even retail has the capacity to provide shorter shifts for workers if hours are changed to balance actual highs and lows in traffic as well as adding more workers.

Capitalism can die and hybrid economies can work.

[official-lucifers-child]

remote learning options for kids, please it is not that hard and would help so many kids

wearing masks

quarantining when you’re sick, even if you don’t think it’s “that bad”

[thecoolturediariesblog]

GUESS WHOSE SISTER IS AN ENGLISH MAJOR?

(Yes you heard me, an English Major)

Long story short, she told me to make some art of the gothketeers, Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley and Lord Byron since their lives were very much gothic goals. So guess who fell on a rabbit hole and and ended up searching and reading about their famous Geneva vacation?

This Halloween, take precautions, be responsible and read some transformative work that iniciates the gente of science-fiction.

Have a spooky Halloween!

[thecoolturediariesblog]

TWO GIRLS STROLLING DOWN THE BEACH

Also called “Isn’t it annoying when you’re walking with your girl down the beach and everything’s nice but the fucking wind in on your face (definitely not based on personal experience)” 

Getting better at drawing clothings and landscapes. Because this summer I didn’t touch the sea and I miss it a lot. 

[bamf-jaskier]

Freya Allan in Making the Witcher, August 2020

[thatdisasterauthor]

I nearly snorted orange juice out of my nose.

[memories]

I’ve been silent for too long and can no longer bear to keep this inside: @ellakay69 is a good person and deserves many good things.

[onyx-was-here]

@ellakay69 we haven’t interacted in forever but here!!!

[ellakay69-deactivated20210109]

Wow. Just … wow 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 Thanks for tagging me 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

[thecoolturediariesblog]

@ellakay69 You're the first person that interacted with us in this website and your post have taught me many things, you're a great person❤

[missiur]

Reblog if you’d be okay if your friend came out as transgender

let’s see how many transphobics we can weed out

[my-name-is-apollo]

Had this concept in my mind for a while now.

Tangled AU Apollo as Rapunzel and Hermes as Eugene ✨

[ellakay69-deactivated20210109]

Love it <3333333333333333333333333333333333333333333

[thecoolturediariesblog]

Best take in Greek mythology I've seen in YEARS!!!! Love this!

[brimalandro]

i think about this a lot

[dashaibo]

The guy got his life and career destroyed by his divorce, cut him some slack.

[ninja-pyro]

he was also sexually assaulted by a man who could destroy his career

[ima-fuckingt4ble]

protect him

[unlimited-shitpost-works-deacti]

reblog if the man on the right is just as beautiful as the man on the left

[konigstigerr]

people grow old? like, that’s a thing that happens? leave my guy alone.

[rikzpt-deactivated20191229]

This man deserves everything let him he happy

[rikzpt-deactivated20191229]

Ok… This is what happened to Fraser

-His wife ditched him and asked for 900k a year,

-He was sexually assaulted which he said kicked him into a deep depression

-He stated that the stunts from the 3rd Mummy movie completely destroyed his body and he was in and out of the hospital for 7 years even having to get surgery to repair his vocal cords.

-He apparently blamed himself for all this which only worsened his depression.

This man has literally been through hell this past decade so please lets cut him some slack and wish him the best

[kakaphoe]

All this but also that picture on the right is a really bad paparazzi photo compared with a professional quality movie promo still. No one looks good when some random person snaps you on the street, regardless of who you are.

Compare with this image from the GQ article last February:

Proper lighting, professional setting, good angles etc.

The dude is 49 and has had a rough couple of decades, but he’s still lovely to look at, and I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise.

[dreaming-yeen]

Plus, now he’s in Doom Patrol, which makes me happy af.

[lessonsintrance]

And let’s not forget he was probably slightly to severely dehydrated to look that buff in he first photo. And I’m so pleased he got work again he seems like a good sort, and from the stealth pilot in Titans, Doom Patrol looks like it should be good.

[asubmissiveview]

It shouldn’t even matter what he’s been through. Body shaming of ANYONE is wrong.

[theladyjanedoe-deactivated20221]

ALL OF THIS

Plus

2019 Brendan is still slaying, so btfu

[simiperfect]

This post keeps getting better and I’m here for it

[velvet74sub]

I love this whole thread

[watart]

The last time I saw this it was only at the first ‘cut him some slack’ part and it just progressively gets better each time.

[thattimdrakeguy]

We support this Brendan Fraser in this home

[yespumpkindoodlesthings]

I’ll say it again, the blue sweater photo in the OP was chosen because it was the most unflattering photo of him from that day. It’s a hatchet job! The same day:

I mean, look at this adorable face:

[angiethewitch]

he looks like a really kind dad who would give good hugs and watch rubbish movies with me

[ellakay69-deactivated20210109]

This man made my childhood (and of many others I believe) with the Mummy movies. Nobody has the right to say anything bad towards his looks or his life, got it ? 😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡

[whatasunchild]

Apollo is the Rapunzel of greek pantheon confirmed

[my-name-is-apollo]

Does that mean Eugene is Hermes?

Because he first stole Rapunzel's stuff, and then her heart.

[aegialia]

nobody in greek mythology, especially the men and noble women, were good people when looking at them with modern morality. the sooner you can realize that and stop trying to justify their actions in order to enjoy the stories, the sooner you can start to genuinely empathize with and see the shared humanity in the narratives of these people from a deeply alien time, whose stories, although (and partially because) they come out of a culture built on hierarchy and exploitation and violence, still resonate with us today