#I ALSO LOVE THE DR JEKYLL & MR HYDE MUSICAL!!!!!!!! if i had to give it to someone it’d be kenny :3
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hi ari!!!! hope you’re doing well!! 🐟🐟 these days the weather is so so nice and the sea is so tempting……………… i went ahead and took some days to swim like the fish i am! surprisingly the water wasn’t so cold and it seems i wasn’t the only one who thought of swimming because the beach was full of people 🙂↕️ it was really fun!
anyway!! i wanted to ask you, which films and/or cinematic universes you think your jjk favs would suit the most??? :33 if it is too restraining you can name tv series, of course!!
(p.s.: oh, i’m glad you liked my silly rant about statue!gojo TT 🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼 it has been rotting in my mind for months now but i’m a procrastinator and i have too many wips… i think it might be that summer is near and i’m super inspired but i don’t know where to begin lmaooo. my notebook is overflowing with half-finished prompts and chapters that are waiting to be completed……. 😭😭) — 🐟 anon
HIIIII MY LITTLE 🐟 ANON!!!! :33
i’m so happy that it’s getting warmer where you are!!!!! the weather is starting to take a turn for the better here too hehe….. but wahhh!!!! beach trips!!!!!!! i miss them i do…. you’ll have to have double the fun for both of us!!! <3333
AND . GULP. that’s a super fun question and also super tough bc i don’t watch …. a lot of movies……… 😔😔 i’ve been watching more recently!!!! but honestly i have a lot of trouble remembering series and movies that i’ve watched….. my brain doesn’t store a lot of them. HOWEVER . yk what i do watch??? and adore????
……. musicals >:33
so here are some musicals that i associate w my jjk favs!!! I HOPE THAT’S OKAY… i got a little too into it i think 😭
gojo - legally blonde
I JUST THINK HE WOULD LOVE IT SO MUCH……….. i know him personally . honestly i would’ve given him the movie if i had followed your original assignment bc it just screams gojo to me either way!!!! i think he loves chickflicks. :3 and this is definitely one of his comfort movies…… the musical is also just SUCH a bop i knowwwww this man is terrorizing his coworkers by singing ”gay or european” in broad daylight (specifically to nanami)……
sugu - the phantom of the opera
THE PHANTOMMMMMMM OF THE OPERA IS HEREEEEEEEE 🎶🎶🎶🎶 …. <- sugu doesn’t sing along to musicals + doesn’t rlly like them that much in general but i know in my heart and soul that he would hum this part quietly to himself . what can i say….. this is just a very classy musical that i think would appeal to him <3333 he’d read the book beforehand too. he’s a lil pretentious but it’s okay :3 he’s veryyyy picky abt what musical renditions he enjoys tho…….
shoko - the guy who didn’t like musicals
MY PERSONAL FAVORITE MUSICAL OF ALL TIMEEEEE <333333 i just know she’d adore it. the blend between horror and comedy is soooo shoko and i feel like she wouldn’t like musicals at ALL lmao so she’d appreciate the meta commentary!!!! it’s just. suchhhh a good musical….. i love starkid so much it hurts………… AND THE WHOLE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE THINGGG she would eat that up!!!!
pls watch this one if you haven’t 🐟 anon you can find the full thing on yt and it’s INCREDIBLE i’ve watched it like 10 times!!!! it’s my most beloved!!!!
kenny - beetlejuice
BEETLEJUICE 👏 BEETLEJUICE 👏👏 BEETLEJUICE 👏👏👏 okay so i actually lied this one is ALSO my absolute favorite . and i’m giving it to kenny solely based on vibes :3 HE REMINDS ME OF BEETLEJUICE OK…. and i think he’d love it a lot. the songs are so fucking good and i know he’d appreciate them. the theme of life/death is also very kenny obv !!!!
toji - black friday
ANOTHER STARKID MUSICAL. this one is just…… soooo good and funny and also . tragic. one of the characters reminds me a lot of toji :’3 former veteran w a dead wife…. who struggles to show his son how much he cares…… and the theme of capitalism and money and how it corrupts ppl also feels in line w toji’s character!! but above all else this musical is abt. Family. and that’s more toji than anything!!! :(((
this is another musical that i rlly recommend checking out, it’s set in the same universe as the guy who didn’t like musicals but like . an alternate timeline. it’s not my favorite in the series but the songs slap and it made me cry so <3333 yeah.
nobara - heathers
was lowkey considering six the musical for my beloved nobara (bc of the gorgeous women and catchy fun songs) but . i think heathers fits her more!!!! i just feel like she’d ADORE it…… i know she’s singing along at the top of her lungs too LMAO especially to dead girl walking <3333 it’s just such a fun badass musical and i think she’d be obsessed. she does NOT like jd tho god bless 🙏🙏
#I LOVE MUSICALS SO MUCHHHH SNIFFLE SNIFFLE#for one tiny second i was gonna give suguru hamilton BUT . i’ll spare him that fate#(i like hamilton a lot im just a bit embarrassed abt it 💔💔💔)#I ALSO LOVE THE DR JEKYLL & MR HYDE MUSICAL!!!!!!!! if i had to give it to someone it’d be kenny :3#ANYWAYYY thank you for the fun question 🐟 anon i love you very much <3333 AND PLSS you’re so real for the summer writer’s block 😭#i hope you’re able to write more soon!!!!! sending you all the nice splashy sunny summer vibes :33#ask tag ✩#🐟 anon !! ✩
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I saw the movie Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde from 1941. I have comments.
Curiously, in Spanish it is called "El Hombre y La Bestia" (The Man and the Beast)
I find it interesting that they merged Utterson and Lanyon to have Dr John Lanyon.
I disliked John Lanyon.
Maybe because I'm used to the Uttersons of music and novels, but I didn't like the lack of hesitation or resistance that J. Lanyon had when handing Jekyll over to the police. (But he did the right thing!!!)
I really like how they characterized this Hyde.
I didn't see it when it was the first change part, I had to help my mother in the kitchen. But when I saw Hyde I was taken aback. It seemed to me that the actor looked the same but there was something strange. It reminded me of when you see the girl without makeup for the first time who indiscriminately abused makeup and used a much lighter foundation for her skin color. That feeling that the face seems familiar to you but since you are not used to that image, your brain has a hard time superimposing the images so that you can recognize them. So yes, I loved it.
I also liked the detail that Hyde looked worse and worse as Jekyll continued to transform into him.
I find it very curious how the media insists on giving Jekyll a fiancee and a potential lover. Who later ends up being Hyde's victim. Two situations that never occur in the novel. This reminds me of Van Hellsing being portrayed as this super cool, badass vampire hunter. Then you see its original version and you start to wonder, what were the writers drinking that day? Or old Frankenstein and the creature who is afraid of fire. Yes... It's curious that they insist on those details but it's great that they are at least consistent.
Honestly, I don't have much of an opinion of women. They are resources to move the plot, so I can't highlight much of them. I don't even remember their names. I can only say that I feel sorry for them. Neither of them deserved to end up in the middle of those.
In conclusion, I liked it. It's a movie I would watch on a rainy Sunday.
#dr jekyll and mr hyde#the strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde#Movie#dr jekyll and mr hyde 1941#henry jekyll#dr henry jekyll#edward hyde#dr jekyll#mr hyde#hastie lanyon#gabriel utterson#gabriel john utterson
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Hi! Can I get a Supernatural matchup?
- My Pronouns are she/her.
- Currently a university student majoring in clinical mental health (considering switching to art rn).
- I'm an artist, writer, and musician.
- I'm an INTJ and I'm a rather big fan of having my own personal time to decompress.
- I have a more detached social style so I'm considered "hard to get to know" sometimes because I'm not super social.
- I spend my time painting, playing piano, playing video games, or doing my own personal research.
- I enjoy going to literature events like poetry readings, and I also enjoy going to art shows.
- I go to oil painting seminars regularly and have my own personal collection of fine art and poetry.
- I'm an avid player of Dungeons and Dragons (I'm a massive Baldur's Gate fan) and my favorite thing about it is making up character backstories and doing art of my characters.
- I enjoy the aesthetic of tattoos and plan on getting a sword on my sternum.
- My love language is quality time/parallel play. I enjoy doing my own thing while someone else does their thing.
- I enjoy civil debates and going to theatre. I enjoy going to musicals and plays.
- My favorite musicians are Hozier, Type O Negative, Flora Cash, Florence and the Machine, Lord Huron, and Metallica.
- My favorite books are Crime and Punishment, Dracula, Pride and Prejudice, and The Strange Tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
- I'm a big fan of snacks and snacking and I keep a (large) bag of pretzels and a redbull in my tote bag.
- My family calls me a Renaissance reincarnation because of my varied interests.
(I have a preference for male/masculine presenting characters)
Hello! Here's your SPN matchup! I hope you like it! <333333
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(Romantic);
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Supernatural;
Castiel:
🐝 Who knew that already being friends with Dean and Sam would lead you to meeting Castiel - you had known the boys for probably more than a year, and then you finally get to know the man behind all of the funny bee stories; though you are not too social with new people/people in general, Cas is the same, so you both go slow and slowly warm up to each other
🐝 Once you both get used to each other, it's not long until you become good friends - Cas sometimes get caught staring at you by Sam and Dean, and when he goes to them for help on these new feelings he's having, Sam gives him advice; near the end of the seven months of being friends, Cas gifts you the First Edition of Pride and Prejudice
🐝 Skipping to when you both are official, you and Cas spend some quality time together - when you're not in college studying or when you are not busy in general; you often bring Cas to the poetry readings or go to art shows - and when not out and about together, you both paint or just eat a ton of snacks while listening to music (my money says he likes Hozier too)
🐝 If you need time alone to decompress, Cas totally understands, he'll find something else to in the meantime, maybe go find some bees...
🐝 Cas loves learning more about you, your favorite snacks, hobbies, movies, and so on, he could spend hours just learning how to play D&D just so he could play with you or have a conversation with you about it; he loves how passionate you are in the things that you like, and how kind and understanding you are once he got to know you - he just massively adores you in general
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Ok so, I was literally dying to talk about this but didn't know how to, until I saw this so I'm shooting my shot.
What do you think would happen if Miss Yuu sang "Bring on the Men", from the Jekyll and Hude musical in the HoM Au? I personally think it's the perfect song for all the simps lol.
My best friend and I have this as one of our go-to karaoke songs! It's such a banger
(even though I don't really like the fact that the musical added on two unnecessary romances that were never in the original novella, both Lisa and Lucy are well-written characters that have incredible songs. I just wish the musical focused more on the facade of society/propriety, good and evil, addiction, Jekyll's temptations and hubris whilst playing God and Hyde becoming more powerful than they did on the love triangles. Also, who the hell is John Utterson? In the novella, Henry had two best friends: Dr Hastie Lanyon (who unfriended him after differences in opinion) and Mr Gabriel John Utterson, who was literally his ride or die BFF - a lawyer who was loyal to that man until Jekyll died. Their friendship is literally the reason why the novella takes place and the musical doesn't even do it justice but anyway I digress it's still one of my favourites)
So there is no way Yuu is going to be singing that song in the HoM in front of children and her parent figures. Maybe she's doing a karaoke night with her friends in the Mostro Lounge and they choose a random song from her music app on her phone for her to sing and it ends up being this. Why does the universe hate her. Honesty, she was incredibly flustered but she hid it well and just sang it for a fun time.
Needless to say that the simping levels have doubled and they were already maxed out. Ace, who at first was making fun of how embarrassed she looked at the beginning, is now redder than his dorm leader's hair. Rook is in the middle of composing a poem to describe the beauty of Ramshackle's prefect. In iambic pentameter and rhyming couplets.
Imagine if she sang it during the Noble Bell College Arc? Like this was her version of Esmeralda's dance where her performance is what caused Rollo to get attracted for her. (Fun fact: I have really dark brown hair that's often mistaken for black - everyone actually thought it was black until I turned like eight/nine so the 'sun caught in her raven hair' line in Hellfire fits my Yuu since I'm basing her appearance off of me). Like you know at one part when she sings, she gives her attention to Rollo and winks to him like Esmeralda did and now she will burn
Okay, I like the latter version more. You heard it from me. Jekyll and Hyde caused Rollo to sing like a mad man in front of a fireplace. Fitting since the devil/God and angels are mentioned quite a lot in the play.
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Introducing myself and giving an explanation.
Hi everyone! 🙋🏻♀️
My name is Ana, but you can call me An or Annie.
I'm Mexican.🇲🇽
I like many things like animals, read history, classic novels, esoteric stuff and magic, manga, watch anime, belly dance, music, tv shows and movies, videogames.
Some of my favorite things are:
Animals like felines and canines (ALL OF THEM!), bats, hummingbirds, crows, rabbits, bears.
History:Ancient Egypt (everything about that time), and other historical periods (Middle ages, Ilustration era, Victorian era).
About the cultures of my country I love the Aztec (Mexica) culture, Mayan culture, Toltec culture and others.
My favorite books are:
The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and Dracula by Bram Stoker.
Other books I love that are on Spanish are "Cuentos de la selva" (Jungle tales) by Horacio Quiroga
"El Diosero" by Francisco Rojas González .
About the Esoteric stuff, I'm a Tarot and Oracle reader, I learn and practice Reiki, I love quartz, rocks and minerals for spiritual, magic and therapeutic uses, talismans and charms, candles, dowsing with pendulum, astrology.
Anime I like Yu-Gi-Oh, InuYasha, Saint Seiya, Sailor Moon, Card captor Sakura, Record of Ragnarok, Naruto, Dragon Ball Z (just to mention a few).
I'm not a belly dancer, but I really enjoy belly dance (oriental dance). I practice at home by the moment. I hope I could go to a dance academy someday.
I like the Egyptian style. Particularly, the Golden era period. Some of my favorite dancers are Souhair Zaki, Samia Gamal, Tahiya Carioca.
Music: I like the music of the past century, specially since the 70's till 90's. I like disco and funk, classic rock, hard rock, glam metal, heavy metal, but also the New Wave or Pop music.
My favorite singer is Michael Jackson.
And my favorite band is Guns N ' Roses.
Tv shows and Movies I watch a lot. I like animated shows and movies, action and superhero, some comedies, medical drama, police drama, supernatural shows.
My favorite films are Alice in wonderland (animated and Tim Burton's version), The Prince of Egypt, Beauty and the Beast, The Mummy and The Mummy returns, Hitch, School of Rock, The Nightmare before Christmas, Sam Raimi's Spiderman films, Star Wars franchises.
My favorite shows are Looney tunes, Powerpuff girls, Arrow , Friends, The Big Bang Theory, House M.D , E.R, Law and Order Special Victims Unit, White collar, Supernatural, Charmed.
This last year, I've been watching a lot of K-drama. I'm really enjoying it.
Videogames like Castlevania ( I like both, videogames and the Netflix TV shows), Halo, Mortal Kombat, Devil May Cry for example.
I had a Tumblr account with the same name before. It was fully dedicated as a fan blog of Castlevania. Many of the things that I had were some of my silly memes about Castlevania Netflix (most of them about Alucard).
I deleted the account because I was very inactive here and I felt a little bit limited by just post about Castlevania.
Sometimes I reblogged the nice drawings of friends that are here, sometimes I shared about ancient Egyptian history, but not so often.
After deleting the account, I didn't feel well about leave this place, so, I decided to create an account and start all over again.
I want to use this place to connect with people that enjoy the same things that I do.
So, I hope find again the cool friends who are still here, but at the same time, find new friends.
With the time, I'll be re-posting the material of Castlevania that I posted before, just in case there's someone interested.
For the last, I want to share some pictures of my favorite things.
Thanks for your attention.
🙏🏻✨
#a new beginning#starting again#introducing myself#books#history#esoterism#anime and manga#belly dance#music#video games#classic novels#robert louis stevenson#bram stoker#ancient history#ancient egypt#victorian era#animals#cats#dogs#bats#hummingbird#80s music#90s#tv shows#movies#disney#tim burton#castlevania
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HELLO MOOTIE im here to ask ur opiniom on 18 and 21 for the milgram asks 😵💫 ALSO have a nice day, if not then im sure tomorrow will be. IF STILL NOT then the other day, the other and other and other- okay dont forget to rehydrate urself if u hadn't. thats all thank you!!
Hello, and same to you, my friend~
Don’t mind me, just gonna take advantage of not having a specified character to babble on about as many characters as possible. I’m just a silly gal, a silly goose if you will 🪿
18.) What non-Deco Vocaloid songs do you think suits them?
Jackalope: “Welcome to the Internet” by Bo Burnham. Do I need to explain?
Es: “Saint Bernard” by Lincoln although I thought “Autoheart” by Sailor Song fit them as well (more so Es singing it to Kotoko/us). At this point, the poor kid’s exhausted and straining under the pressure and guilt so I think “Saint Bernard” fits them rather well.
Haruka: Hmmm. This one's tough. I'm gonna have to go with “I’ll Be Good” by Jaymes Young. It’s mournful and pleading and I think if he had been voted guilty in Trial One, his second trial song would have vibes of “I’m bad but I want to be better” instead of “I’ll be bad to be better,” that All-Knowing, All-Agony gives me. As a runner up, "Not While I'm Around," from the Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street musical. I can just picture him singing it.
Yuno: “Bring on the Men” from the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde musical. It’s fun, full of quips and innuendos, and definitely embraces her take on sex work.
Fuuta: “Dance, Dance” by Fall Out Boy. I feel like this fits his vibe.
Muu: “We R Who We R” by Kesha. Love her, hate her, you gotta admit that Muu wants to embody this IDGAF confidence, and I will indulge her with this song (where's the yellow paint can? I liked using it for Muu).
Shidou: “The Night We Met” by Lord Huron. It just sounds very mournful and fits his longing to see his loved ones again.
Mahiru: “E.T.” by Katy Perry, specifically the one without Kanye West because it vibes better with her. It's less... let's say Katy Perry is less direct about what she wants from her alien, and I feel like Mahiru could barely spit out an innuendo because of her dedication to her 'good girl' image.
Kazui: I suppose “False Confidence” by Noah Kahan would be a good fit. The emphasis on trying to fake it till you make it and wishing to go back to when you were young and before you began faking your way through life. That said, "The Good in Me" by Jon Bellion was a close second.
Amane: Another tough one. Perhaps "Miss Independent” by Ne-Yo. I had a song on here that didn’t really fit her and then I heard this song on the radio and went, “No, that’s the one.” Something fun and light but still fits her idealized self.
Mikoto: “LA Devotee” by Panic! At the Disco. Like Fuuta, it just fits his vibe. That said, I feel like John is scream-singing "Fight Back" by NEFFEX at him.
Kotoko: “Interlude IV” by Zach Callison. I can only assume this is what her two brain cells discussed during the break between the first and second trials. It’s menacing but fits so well.
21.) Do you have any similarities with them/relate to them?
Hmmm. It'll probably be shorter if I write a paragraph rather than breaking it up by character. I suppose the two I relate the most to would be Es and Yuno, but I relate a startling amount to Shidou, if I’m being honest. Let me explain the Shidou thing first since I know that he is heavily disliked and how I relate to him is dependent on how I view his crime.
My impression of Shidou is that he was a doctor who looked at the forest rather than the trees. At the very least, he pushed for the family members of patients who were brain-dead to take them off life support. I think he also pushed for patients to undergo risky surgeries in hopes that it would treat them when their current treatment failed. Shidou never thought beyond treating the physical ailment, and it wasn’t until his wife and children were in the car accident where he was put in the same position that Shidou fully understood the emotional weight of what he asked his patients and their families to do. With that, he began to suffocate under his own feelings of guilt and inadequacy (because if he couldn’t save his family, what is his worth?), and his push for the death penalty and claims about being irredeemable were his own attempts at trying to die so he can be with his family again. It was only when Kotoko attacked, that his savior complex was revived and he was given purpose again. I fully expect him to try and attack Kotoko (“remove that fang” anyone?) and push for the death penalty again during the third trial. Now, I know you’re thinking, wtf, how can you relate to this man?
Well, for starters, if the people I loved most in this world were violently ripped away from me while I stood helplessly by, I’d blame myself and look for reasons as to why I’m the worst and deserve death. Also, I have a lot of family who are nurses, and stories about dickhead doctors and the realities of illness, injuries, and treatments were common enough dinner conversations that hearing about, reading, and listening to Shidou act like a martyr makes me think, “Yeah, professional hazard,” not “what a scum ball.” To me, Shidou is the equivalent of a pothole in the street. I might startle if I fall into him but in all likelihood, I’ll trip, grumble, and move on. There’s also the part where I think, if I was a worse person, I’d probably be more like Shidou. He reminds me of what I could be if I was more arrogant, more willing to sacrifice in the name of the bigger picture.
But onto happier topics, I like to think I’m able to relate to Es. They have a strong sense of morality, integrity, and responsibility when it comes to their work. I like to think I keep to those three values when faced with an unknown or conflict. It’s admirable how they try to stay true to those values despite Milgram’s mental/physical interference when it comes to Es trying to remember or establish a sense of personhood separate of the organization’s will. With Yuno, I like to think I can read the room, albeit I’m probably on par with Muu, not Yuno when it comes to that. Although, I do understand her frustration with trying to establish agency when others try to limit it, and admire how willing she is to put herself out there to find herself. Actually, now that I write this down, I admire Yuno more than relate to her. I guess I’m Shidou and Es. Sorry y’all.
As a bonus, Jackalope. If I had to pick anything to relate to, I would certainly pick his love of the drama and chaos that goes on in Milgram. I definitely share his amusement for the chaos. As much as I enjoy all the prisoners (including Es in that), with the caveat of some more than others, I get a bit of a kick out of trying to use Jackalope’s taunts and jabs to predict what will happen next. If Es is the audience surrogate, then Jackalope is an author insert. He’s as enjoyable as he is smarmy, and I enjoy a battle of the wits. I’d probably lose against Jackalope in that battle, but hey, I’d lose with a shit-eating grin on my face. Jackalope definitely knows more than he lets on and while I don’t think he’s ever lied outright with how he prefers to dodge questions and give half-answers, he is using that to keep the upper hand and let things unfold. I don’t think I’m sadistic, but he is a fun enemy to face.
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this pinned post is permanent now too...
Alright, the temporary blog image has grown on me. It's a cropped square from page 31 of A Collection of Emblemes, Ancient and Moderne (1635) by George Wither.
The header image is Monhegan, Maine (1922) by Nicholas Roerich. Everyone should go look at more Roerich artwork immediately; his are some of the most consistently beautiful paintings I've ever seen.
Anyway...
I'm:
Cinnamon or Hildred by name, accurately referred to with any pronoun set other than he/it.
@/voidblue on pronouns.page.
Generally, my thematic color is blue and not yellow, but it doesn't make sense for Hildred Castaigne to be blue. In fact, I think he'd be somewhat offended. This makes making this account look like me... somewhat difficult. (Update: I've given up entirely. This is Hildred's blog theme now. The Imperial Dynasty of America was secretly the Imperial Dynasty of Tumblr User @hildred-rex's Blog Theme.)
Under the readmore: a list of fandoms I partake in, more detail on my exploits in gothic literature, a noncomprehensive list of other things I've enjoyed, and a "last updated."
Fandoms:
gothic literature (predominantly horror) in general; this gets its own list lower down!
The League of Extraordinary Gentlefolk.
Arthur Machen (have not read everything yet!)
Dracula by Bram Stoker.
The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers.
The Parties are for Losers series by Ferry. (I don't want to give them a random notification for no reason, but they're nopanamaman on tumblr.)
The rest of Ferry's songs are also very good!
currently reading Homestuck due to a D&D campaign (I promise this makes sense in context)
[more when I remember them]
I decided a few years ago that Lovecraft was seminal to the cosmic horror genre and that therefore I should read all the fiction he ever wrote; to my recollection I've read everything listed on Wikisource except "The Street" and "The Rats in the Walls," provided it's extant. (Not sure this counts as a fandom?)
I'll have to come back and add a "music I enjoy" section later.
More on Gothic Literature:
(Listed = I've read it; bolded = I can probably do analysis of its characters; italicized = I don't remember it well; underlined = I really want to reread this and will when I have the time. Small is notes and commentary.)
This is only what I've dredged up from my brain at the moment and I have probably read more; this'll be updated as I read and/or think of stuff.
Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker. (Curiously, I've never actually done Dracula Daily.)
The King in Yellow (1895) by Robert W. Chambers. (Bolding only goes for the weird stories, including "The Demoiselle d'Ys," and is strongest for "The Repairer of Reputations." I've found myself unable to get through a few of the romances & cannot make heads nor tails of "The Prophet's Paradise" except that it feels like someone accidentally published his sheet of idea-collection paper. Admittedly, because of that it makes a pretty good transition between the weird stories and the rest.)
The Three Impostors (1895) by Arthur Machen. (I utterly adore this book.)
Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) by Robert Louis Stevenson. (I really loved reading this one, but was very sad by the end. I had Opinions on most of the characters and will again when I reread.)
The Great God Pan (1890) by Arthur Machen.
The Inmost Light (1890) by the same author. (Hello Dyson!)
The Vampyre (1819) by John William Polidori.
The Shining Pyramid (1923) by Arthur Machen. (I didn't like this one when I last read it; Dyson felt off.)
The White People by Arthur Machen (has the most cursed name of anything ever).
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1831, not yet 1818) by Mary Shelley.
The Red Hand (1895) by Arthur Machen.
[Am currently reading more Machen.]
Miscellaneous Things Enjoyed:
This time in alphabetical order.
The Anatomy of Tobacco by Arthur Machen. I feel I must clarify that it's a comedic work that I'd estimate to be of novella length. Reader beware, this book contains random untranslated and even untransliterated faux-Ancient Greek.
At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft.
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by H. P. Lovecraft. It feels like reading a textbook with a central plot besides the advancement of history (and with a nicer writing style). Content warning for racism and off-handed mentions of the colonial American slave trade.
Fourteen by Peter Clines. This book gets in one's head and doesn't leave.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and its ensuing series, by Douglas Adams.
Last updated 2024-03-31, YYYY-MM-DD.
Created sometime in late-ish November 2023. Edited 2023-12-07.
Backdated to Louis Castaigne's birthday in a year that would make him 42 years old at the founding of this blog.
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Did anyone see this play as a kid?
I thought it would be fun to share what first introduced me to Jekyll and Hyde, since I haven't seen anyone talk about it and there's not much content about it online.
This is a play made by a company called The Performers and it's aimed at children who are learning English (Spanish is my first language). I saw it in 2013 with my class, when we were in fifth grade.
For this post, I tried to look for video clips of the 2013 show (called "Jekyll and Hyde") on the group's Facebook page, but I could only find videos from the 2018 show (they changed the name to "Crazy Jekyll"). From what I've seen, everything is mostly the same, so I'll be using those videos to complement the plot summary and add a few comments. But first, let me give you some information about the company, so you have some context.
About the company:
"THE PERFORMERS is an International Theatre Company which produces plays in English to serve the educational needs of English language teaching institutions." (from The Performers' Twitter profile)
Their plays are aimed at three age groups: kindergarten students, children aged 9-12 and teenagers (they have different plays for each group). The ones made for the first two groups are original musicals and they have a moral at the end. I don't know much about the ones made for teenagers, but from what I've seen on their social media, they seem to adapt Shakespeare's plays.
Before the pandemic, they used to perform every year in local theaters across Latin America, mainly in Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Panama and Mexico. Nowadays, their plays are on digital format, but you need to sign up on their website to watch them.
My school was familiar with the company as we had seen two previous plays from them: one in kindergarten, which was about colours, and the other one in fourth grade, which was about Mycroft Holmes pretending to be his brother. The play I'm about to talk about is the last one my school took us to see (we saw it with the students from fourth and sixth grade).
What I remember of the plot:
The first thing that you need to know is that this isn’t a theatrical adaptation of the novella, it just has Dr. Jekyll as the main character. All the other characters are original and the whole show takes place in the lab.
NOTE: The summary will be in normal colour and my comments will be in orange, in case you want to read them later.
Okay, I’ll start summarizing the plot now:
So in this version, Jekyll has an assistant called Doris and, together, they make the potion, which they refer to as the “dual-personality formula” (yeah, they go for the pop culture interpretation). Why do they make the potion? I don’t remember, but I think it’s never explained. Let’s just say they do it for science.
Anyway, Jekyll tells Doris to leave for a moment and, once he’s alone, he drinks the potion and turns into Mr. Hyde, but not for too long. Since this is a musical for kids, he doesn’t do anything horrible; he just says “I’m evil!” (figuratively) and that’s it. Let me just say that 10-year-old me found the first transformation scene very uncomfortable:
(Sorry it had to be Facebook posts. There are no clips on YouTube. Luckily, you don't need an account to watch them.)
Warning: flashing lights
Personally, I think the 2013 actor did a better job showing that the transformation is supposed to be painful, but still, in the video you can see that I'm not exaggerating. Some children may find this scene uncomfortable or, in the case of the audience shown in the clip and this other one, absolutely terrifying.
I also think the 2013 version had a more serious tone because I remember the lights stayed red when Hyde was talking, he had a deeper voice and there was ominous music in the background (not the same as the one in the video). Instead of saying "I feel powerful!" and all that stuff, he introduced himself as he walked slowly on the stage (he spoke like this: "I'm... Mister... Hyde...). I wish there was a video from 2013 so I could make an actual comparison and analyze it critically.
Worried about the potential dangers, Jekyll puts the potion in a box and tells Doris to hide it somewhere and not tell him where it is. However, he changes his mind later and asks her to bring him back the box. He drinks the potion again, Hyde says evil stuff (seriously, he doesn't do anything), turns back into Jekyll and the cycle repeats two or three times. Sorry for not going into more detail, I only remember the most important plot events.
Occasionally, throughout the play, a man shows up on the TV screen and checks up on the other characters (I think he's supposed to be Jekyll's boss or supervisor). He doesn't contribute much to the plot; he is just the comic relief character. There's this running gag that he always has problems with the webcam and, before leaving, he asks the others if they can see him and the object he is holding. The dialogue goes like this:
TV man: Can you see me?
Characters on stage: No.
TV man: Can you see this X? (for example, hamburger, Barbie doll, etc.)
Characters on stage: No.
[TV man leaves]
Moving on with the story, it is revealed that Doris has a crush on Jekyll, but she hasn't told him yet. Soon after this, she meets Hyde and starts to also have feelings for him because of his good looks (it seems like they took more inspiration from The Nutty Professor, where the Hyde character is supposed to be handsome). Jekyll, who is love with Doris as well, starts to drink more and more, so that she gets to spend more time with his "evil", but charming self. Every time he transformed into Hyde, I was like “No, not again” (I didn’t like how he moaned in pain).
At some point, there is a love duet and this is where the video is different from what I remember:
This part is weird because I remember the song was slower and the assistant sang with Hyde, not with Jekyll. Mandela effect, perhaps? Also, I'm glad they kept the funniest part in the video (1:11). The TV man was my favourite character.
Okay, I need to explain the following so you can understand the ending:
By the time the fifth or sixth transformation occurs, Hyde decides to hide (oh my God...) the potion in his vest pocket so that he never turns back into Jekyll again and nobody else finds the formula. It is at this point that the play treats the potion as if it were his heart or something similar. Keep the last part in mind.
Later in the story, two rival scientists arrive and they plan to steal Jekyll's potion so they can become famous. They sing a catchy song about it:
After that, they meet the other two characters and ask where the potion is. Hyde says something like "I don't know what you're talking about" and they argue for a while before being interrupted by the TV man, who does his gag one more time.
I'll be honest: I don't remember if anything relevant happens afterwards. I saw this almost ten years ago, so sorry for not having a perfect memory. Let's just skip to the ending...
Eventually, the other characters realize that Hyde has the potion and needs it to "survive", so the rival's assistant runs up to him, takes the potion out of his pocket and throws it to the ground. The glass shatters... Hyde yells something like "NO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" and disappears for good. He doesn't return briefly like in the Broadway musical.
Jekyll turns back to normal and confesses everything, including his love for Doris, who also admits that she is in love with him. She adds that he didn't need to drink the potion because she already loved him for who he really is. The play ends with the main characters singing the moral of the story.
In retrospect:
When I left the theater, I didn't feel anything (I was still thinking about the first and last transformation scene), but deep down I really enjoyed it. I mean, why else would I remember this play? Overall, it was good. It had funny moments and I still remember some of the songs.
Looking back, I think the only problem they had was with Hyde. He tells the audience that he's evil, but he doesn't show that he's evil. He doesn't do much actually. Look, obviously, they couldn't show him committing murder because of the target audience, but there were other ways they could have done it. They could have made him break stuff in the lab, make fun of the other characters (the rivals, for example) or do pranks on them. Something that would have given him a more active role in the story. Nonetheless, it's still a good musical for children.
Although this is what first introduced to me to Jekyll and Hyde, I didn't become interested in it until 4 years later, when I watched a "Confrontation" animatic on YouTube. As I was watching it, I thought "Wait a minute, those two names seem familiar". I decided to watch two more animatics from the same channel and, the moment I saw the potion and the transformation, I remembered the play. From then on, I began to watch more videos related to the Broadway musical, because it was entirely different from the one I had seen, and somehow, 6 years later, I got here.
Well, that's the end of my anecdote. If you made it this far, I'm glad that I didn't bore you. The reason why I made this post was because I was curious if someone else saw it, considering that the company used to perform in various countries. I tried to look for more information about the 2013 show on the company's Twitter and Facebook page, but I couldn't find much. The only thing I know is that they performed in Argentina (in my province, at least) and Uruguay (based on the description of this very old post), but I'm not sure about the other countries I mentioned earlier (maybe they performed the previous year in those places). So if anyone in the fandom is Latin American, tell me if you also saw the play in primary school. If not, it doesn't matter. I just wanted to share something from my childhood.
Feel free to share if you had a similar experience as a kid.
#my post#long post#jekyll and hyde#dr jekyll and mr hyde#i'm gonna be surprised if someone else saw it
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Ranting bc I’m going feral
Everyday I wake up, remember that Hyde is incredibly queer coded, and cry a little bit because every adaptation insists on having women in it, and no I don’t mean that like women are bad I feel like they’re underused in classic horror to be completely honest.
I just hate that women’s involvement is purely romantic, it’s never anything else, and normally when women are involved for romance there’s always a fucking love triangle like why-
Not to mention Hyde is definitely not a straight man, and nor is Jekyll that’s why Hyde exists at all he is literally his “sinful thoughts”
idk I guess as a bisexual afab person myself it just feels so weird, not to mention every women is either boring or underdeveloped, it’s so offensive when me and my gf are watching Jekyll and Hyde shit and see women, only to be used as a set piece, and not people, it’s like the directors just forgot that women can be more than just romantic interests
#The musical is absolutely the worst example of this#Why did you make Jekyll cheat on his wife it did nothing for the story#why is it so heteronormative it's fucking Jekyll and Hyde#I love bring on the men as much as the next gal but I'm actually gonna lose my mind#Emma had only one thing going for her and that was I marry who I want which I love sure but b e s t i e give me something#also Jekyll and Hyde didn't have enough songs together and I personally take offense to it#also why does Hyde always do a 180 instead of being developed to becoming a worse person over time like how its implies in the og#its just a bit sus#jekyll and hyde just hold a very special place in my heart and I hate seeing them butchered#oh also they use DID to explain Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in one of the adaptations and I hate that so much-#anyway normal tags now#dr jekyll and mr hyde#please just a crumb of normal women representation
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BSD x university au hc’s | pt. 2
part 2 of the university au hc’s !! i am obviously a slut for chuuya and fyodor so don’t mind me. i hope you guys like this !!
check out pt. 1 here
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Akutagawa Ryuunosuke:
i love akutagawa ryuunosuke my angst child but i’m just like ‘hmmmmmmm’ when it comes to what his course would probably be
after extensive research aka reading his character page on wiki i feel like maybe he’d be a history major because,,,, he likes antiques?
well his clothes do seem very dark academia-esque and i can see him liking something as cool as history
akutagawa’s probably into something like war history but he’s not weird about it he just finds it really cool how different strategies work or analyzing what exactly makes the winners win
he absolutely HATES the fact that he keeps having to read the Iliad for class
he’s also that classmate who INTENSIVELY DEFENDS achilles for being a bit of a little bitch (but he fully agrees that patroclus and achilles were gay af ok this was random moving on)
akutagawa has practically no social life. he doesn’t go to parties, he doesn’t talk to his roommate, he doesn’t even like to eat in the dining hall
BUT he absolutely loves being in debate team because WINNING
he’s such a nightmare to work with though but he just delivers so well when it’s time for him to speak. like, if he’s on a negative and it’s time to hash out rebuttals, just prepare to get MURDERED
other debaters: “esteemed scholars and adjudicators...”
akutagawa: “you, sir, have no idea how wrong you are.”
that is until dazai decided to randomly show up at a debate tournament all ‘la di da da’ like and completely crushed akutagawa along with his ego
from then on he started stalking dazai and just SOMEHOW managed to end up in his circle of friends
even though he’s antisocial in real life, akutagawa 100% runs a dark academia aesthetic blog on tumblr i’m right and i don’t accept criticism
it’s actually really good he has a ton of followers and even does requests for moodboards if someone asks nicely
atsushi was the one who actually found out about it but he’s nice so he didn’t tell akutagawa about it
kunikida probably follows that blog
Chuuya Nakahara:
if this part sounds like i’m just thirsting for chuuya then you’re absolutely right i love wine man
don’t get mad at me but i can ABSOLUTELY SEE HIM MAJORING IN FASHION DESIGN I MEAN LOOK AT HIM
he’s just always had such a good eye for fashion and he’s veryyy meticulous when it comes to snipping and putting together clothes
chuuya also carries a sketchbook full of designs and his drawings look amazing and he isn’t afraid to just show them off
that said he doesn’t dress like a tired uni student at all, like he just always looks so on-point and unbothered by his five million deadlines
dazai: chuuya, i said this was a CASUAL LUNCH
chuuya, dressed in what looks like silk pajamas: THIS IS CASUAL
tbh if he just wore a white t-shirt and jeans i would die maybe he’s actually saving us from this ordeal
he has so much talent though as a designer he’s probably had several internships with design companies all throughout his years at uni
i feel like chuuya’s also really active in extracurriculars and has been in leadership positions in some of them (he probably runs the student org for fashion design)
chuuya in a student band though oh my gosh i can’t breathe i can’t breathe him as a VOCALIST?? and wearing torn jeans and eyeliner and that same hat in concerts ican’t brEATHE
okay in all honesty he would thrive being in a band chuuya loves the attention and the creativity of being able to design their whole look and write songs
tbh i don’t know if he’d have a roommate chuuya’s probably the type who’d rather have one of those single rooms or just rent a flat for him to stay in even after graduation
because his social life is super vibrant, he does have a lot of friends and he does make an effort to get to know all of them individually
but he’s more open around those who he’s been friends with for a really long time and as much as he’d like to say dazai isn’t one of them, he is
also chuuya is definitely the type to party hard during the weekends and has more than once crashed in someone’s house after drinking too much (dazai drew on his face on more than one occasion)
Oda Sakunosuke:
i love this man SO MUCH you guys have no idea i would literally die for him
100% this guy majors in creative writing because this is supported by FACTS and not just me wanting to be coursemates with him in this fictional world
super serious and diligent with his work especially since he’s passionate about writing. he loves to read in his spare time and is such a fan of classic novels about social realism or philosophy
oda spends 99% of his time in second-hand bookshops that the owner probably knows him by name at this point
he’s super old school when it comes to writing though, like he still keeps and writes in a notebook before typing it up on a laptop and no matter how many times dazai tells him its impractical, oda just keeps doing it
lmao whenever workshops come around he’s super nice with his critique. i bet a lot of his fellow classmates like sending their writing drafts to him
he draws smiley faces and always adds ‘nice work’ on people’s drafts omg i love odasaku
he’s such an old soul, he probably doesn’t do a whole lot of partying but he likes more quiet, private social events like drinking with close friends or just hanging out and talking at other people’s houses
he and dazai probably met when dazai decided to take an intro to creative writing class and wrote a long poem about double suicide on his first day that kind of put off everyone in the class from wanting to sit with him
odasaku was the only one who wasn’t exactly bothered but he did give dazai some comments to help him with his poetry and dazai instantly wanted to be his friend
in terms of extracurricular life, i can definitely see odasaku joining a writing organization and even the campus newspaper. he does find joy in interviewing students for newspaper articles
he’s also pretty into photography and uses a really old, second-hand camera that he bought at an antique store and fixed himself. at one point he won a prize in a contest
odasaku would be the best roommate. he’s super sensitive to when you have a bad day and will invite you to sit on his bed and hug his pillow and talk about your problems
scratch that, everyone talks to odasaku about their problems and now your room is like a therapist’s office
Edgar Allan Poe:
i swear this was the only gif i could find other than actual edgar allan poe
ANOTHER CREATIVE WRITING BUDDY AHHH I WOULD LOVE TO BE BESTIES WITH HIM AHHH
well actually i feel like since he’s super ambitious and already has a fixed idea on the stuff he likes to write, he’d probably double major in something like forensic science because he’d use it to write his mystery novels
omg that’s where he meets ranpo and now pretty much every main character poe writes is slightly based on on ranpo
it’s a problem. his professor brings it up more than once during his classes but it’s poe’s Thing now
he also has such an unending passion for gothic literature and he wears those white, long-sleeved blouses and waistcoats on a REGULAR BASIS
chuuya probably saw him once and was like ‘hmm, i could pull that off’
poe’s daily route is just going to the library and to class and then go home and that’s about it
he ended up working as a student assistant at the library because he’s just super familiar with the book collections and it’s a job that’s peaceful and quiet
more than once though, he’d just be really in-deep with his writing to the point that he doesn’t even notice that the library has closed or that he hasn’t eaten the entire day
that’s alright though because ranpo always passes by the library at night to check on his friend and (reluctantly) give him some snacks
also since poe’s pretty much a recluse, he doesn’t go to any social event UNLESS it’s a halloween-themed one
he loves going all out with his costumes because he’s a Drama Queen like that but the problem is he keeps dressing up as gothic novel characters and nobody gets it
dazai, trying to guess his costume: umm,, Two-Face from Batman?
poe: IT’S DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE
there was this one time when poe took it upon himself to host the halloween party and it was EPIC
he basically designed it as a murder mystery night wherein everyone who came pretended to be guests at a house and then a murder happened
the only problem was that ranpo was conspiring with poe and it was pretty much unfair
except for the fact that ranpo was frustrated at how bad everyone was at deducing that he ended up solving the mystery for them
Fyodor Dostoevsky:
one of my favorite scenes of him in s3 was of fyodor playing the cello because god damn that is beautiful and therefore i am hc-ing him as a music major and you can’t tell me otherwise
fyodor is an absolute music genius and he was definitely scouted by the university’s music program and then he was granted a scholarship (because in this ideal university, the arts are valued)
he purposely decided to go to a university rather than a music conservatory because he’s also interested in learning a bunch of other things
aside from his music classes, he ventures into comparative literature and philosophy, even a bit of computer science at some point
people always assume that since he’s a music major he probably wouldn’t do well in other subjects but SURPRISE BITCH
anyway, fyodor’s a genius because god clearly has favorites
aside from attending class, he’s even part of an official orchestra and has even landed a few solos
that said, he’s quite busy and very preoccupied in his own work to actually have a social life either
you’ll often find him rehearsing by himself in an empty classroom for hours and hours on end (someone pls bring him food he’s also the type to forget to eat or even drink water)
if you are able to catch him perform at an orchestra or just practice by himself, it’s quite a mesmerizing sight. his eyes are often closed so he could focus on the sound alone and his fingers move so elegantly along the neck of the cello
(sorry i just love people who play any form of stringed instrument)
fyodor also takes such good care of his cello. also he would probably kill you on the spot if you touched his bow
he has a fairly small group of friends and they like playing chess together (even though fyodor is better than all of them) and just talk about um,, idk philosophy and stuff (whatever it is smart people do idk i’m not one of them)
i have a feeling he actually follows akutagawa’s dark academia blog and loves his content, even to the point of requesting ‘cello player moodboards’
also because he’s a cello player he needs to take care of his fingers so he wears gloves a lot (idk why i find this hot)
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taglist (check out my post for details on being part of my taglist): @waitforitillwritemywayout @tpwkatsumu @laure-chan
#bungou stray dogs#bsd#bsd writing#bsd headcanons#bungou stray dogs writing#bungou stray dogs headcanons#akutagawa ryuunosuke#chuuya nakahara#oda sakunosuke#edgar allan poe#fyodor dostoevsky#bungou stray dogs university au#bsd uni au#bungou stray dogs scenarios#bsd scenarios
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Your thoughts on OSP summary of dr. Jekyll and mr.Hyde ? Or the musical adaptations?
I can do both, for you see this whole project is just an excuse to talk about my old high school obsession :)
Okay first OSP’s Summary, I just went and watched it again and it still manages to crack me up. I think it’s a good summary of the story, it hits every important plot point and touches briefly on the major themes of the story; also I am always happy to see somebody point out that Jekyll and Hyde are the same person and Hyde’s just Jekyll without restraint or fear of consequences (which might make me a bit hypocritical, seeing as you take control of both in my story and they can basically treat each other like entirely separate people.) The jokes are so good ‘Dark Science’ and ‘immediately murders an old man, whoops’ will always get me, and the end bit where the writing is as Utterson’s reading the letter and it’s just ‘shoulda just got a cursed portrait like the guy down the street” but also Utterson got called boring, and like true but I still love him :’(. Plus, Red’s drawing are so good :).
Also, if you haven’t seen ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ... but it's told through Vines’ by Vvarx and like OSP’s summary, it might also give you a laugh.
The musical adaptions, I am only aware of one, which is the one that started in the 90s but also had a concept album in 1986, (I wonder if that was a coincidence), so if there is more, I’m sorry. Okay so my relationship with the musical since I found it as a teenager has gone love-hate-love-hate-not the worst thing in the world but misses out on the themes of the book (in fairness most adaptations do) has some good ideas and I honestly think that it has potential, even with that being said I still enjoy it and grown to love it for both its good and bad.
As for the songs, I honestly don’t think there’s one I hate I’ve listened to them all too much to hate them (except I always forget Once Upon a Dream exist, sorry Emma), like back on my old laptop I think I may have managed to collect almost every song from every released album, there are certain words or phrases I hear and a buried memory will reawaken, and now the World Has Gone Insane will inhabit my head for the next 24 hours. My favorite song is “His Work and Nothing More” but I’m particular with the lyrics they use for it and the way they harmonize at the end of it; the 2012 concept album is probably my favorite version. Other favorites in no particular order are The Engagement Party, Obsession, Dangerous Game, Lucy meets Hyde, Girls of the Night, Midnight.
I do have thoughts on Emma and Lucy but that can basically be summarized as I like them both as concepts and enjoy most performances, but I still think that they could be written to be less one-dimensional (more so Emma, then Lucy).
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Evaluation 1/2
There are three pieces of work from other artists that have inspired the work that i have created myself. These artworks were by Gris Grimly, Sophia Rapata and Michele Lynch.
G͟r͟i͟s͟ G͟r͟i͟m͟l͟ ͟y
I saw Gris Grimly’s artwork quite a while ago and it had really stuck with me, and i had subconsciously developed my artstyle and it became similar to his.
The style is very Tim Burton esc and i have always been inspired by Tim Burtons movie style, the dark, gothic, dingy, crooked and abnormal style has always resonated with me.
S͟o͟ ͟ph͟i͟a͟ R͟a͟ ͟pa͟t͟a͟
Sophia Rapata’s art is also something i discovered a while back and i am in love with it all. However this one illustration has always felt a bit different and that’s what i love about it!
It’s extremely eerie compared to her other artworks and it’s unsettling to look at.. so much so to the point where i almost feel panicked looking at it. I absolutely love it.
Her artworks are very gritty and almost like old photos and i incorporated that into my style as it adds to the old, creepy feel.
M͟i͟c͟h͟e͟l͟e͟ L͟ ͟yn͟c͟h͟
Michele Lynch’s artwork above is so beautiful. I discovered it recently while i was scrolling through social media and there was an advertisement of her work and i loved it right off the bat.
Her characters in her style are so beautiful and almost doll-like, which resonates with my unsettling, creepy aesthetic. They usually have very thin and long limbs and neck, a disproportionately large head with extremely detailed facial features, particularly the eyes, which is very similar to one of my characters, Valak, the demon, who has been featured in many of my own artworks.
The painting shown above gives me a sense of loneliness and almost panic. The dark, stormy sea and her face, which looks almost cracked and broken, while she’s holding a heart in her hands, makes me think of heartbreak or loss.
The concepts and ideas behind my project are based on the paranormal and witchcraft. The reason i chose to base my project off of these themes are solely because are what i enjoy.
I find the idea of an non-physical afterlife absolutely fascinating and almost beautiful, and the same goes for witchcraft. The two are kind of linked too as you can use different kinds of witchcraft to contact spirits and the paranormal in general.
These also fit my theme of ‘belonging: my place’ as the paranormal and witchcraft communities are things that i’m a part of, and feel comfortable in. I have made multiple friends and we all learn together!
I have experimented with different materials, processes and techniques, such as different inks, layering and adding water to acrylic paint and ink.
I diluted india ink with water and layered it, making each layer darker and allowing for a kind of gradient. I actually enjoy this technique as it’s very simple and fits my style nicely as it’s very dark and monotones, but can allow for some beautiful outcomes!
Due to the Thursday drawing sessions, i have learnt that in order to create strong, detailed, illustrations, you don’t have to spend hours on them. I learnt that you can just have fun with it and not overthink the process and just draw! Most of the time you will get a strong, unique outcome.
One piece of artwork that i have created during this project that has been the most impactful, successful and valuable to my learning is my character, Valak.
I have drawn him in most of my projects such as drypoint, intaglio, screen printing etc.
I first created this character when i was struggling for ideas for my screen print, which was when i decided to base it off of one of my personal drawings, and remembered this one;
They both have long thin limbs and a bloodcurdling grin. i just decided to to make the new character more skeletal.
This character has helped me develop my own art style when it comes to character design and iconic features, such as long, thin limbs, vicious smiles etc.
The journey from initial ideas to the final outcome has been very developmental. I have broadened my ideas and made links to different ideas so much since the start up to now.
I have learnt that i can be much more free when it comes to my artworks and i don’t have to overthink. i also learnt about myself a bit too, thinking about what made me happy and what i enjoyed etc.
Overall i am extremely pleased with my outcomes and i realised that i don’t have to stick to one media, that i am good at using other materials and techniques like ink and printing! If i’m honest i’m very proud of how much i have improved in just 8 weeks !
If i could display my work anywhere in the world at any time, it would be on the streets in the Victorian era. I know that street art wasn’t really a thing back then, but the idea of combining a modern thing such as street art and the Victorian era would be so cool !
The victorian era was a very unsettling, dangerous era, same thing goes for the style, what with Jack the Ripper and books like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. This makes me think that my art style would fit nicely on the dark, dimly lit streets where Jack the Ripper would be lurking.
Ten words that describe my final outcome;
colourful, unique, contrasting, varied, personal, simple, detailed, brave, conscious, loud.
If i needed a soundtrack to go with my outcome from this project, it would be the soundtrack from one of my favourite movies of all time, Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride. This is because my style is very Tim Burton inspired and using my favourite movie of all time which happens to be a Tim Burton movie, it just makes sense.
I spent roughly 13 hours a week on developing my project independently, while working in my bedroom, listening to music or watching a movie/show.
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[ LAWRENCE “LARS” MALKIN. 40. CISMALE. HE/HIM ] is here! They’ve lived in Silver Lake for [ 20 YEARS ] and are originally from [ OREGON ]. They are a [ MECHANIC ] and in their downtime love [ PLAYING HIS ELECTRIC GUITAR ] and [ WRITING MUSIC ]. They look a lot like [ CHRIS PRATT ] and live [ IN OASIS APTS ]. (ooc: otto, 19, he/him, cst)
hello !! i’m otto and this is my first muse here. he’s garbage but, like, good garbage ?? compost ?? idk. anyway. i hope you guys like your man-children middle aged and with two kids because if you expected anything else you’re gonna be dissapointed.
BASICS.
Name: Lawrence Malkin.
Nickname: Everyone calls him Lars, but his mom and dad used to call him Larry. He hated it.
Gender: Cis-male.
Sexuality: Gay (homosexual, homoromantic).
Race: Caucasian.
Age: 40 ( 01/10/1980 ).
Zodiac: Capricorn.
Hometown: Grants Pass, Oregon.
Current residence: Oasis Apartments.
Career: Mechanic.
Astra inclinant, sed non obligant !
this is the background bit. i didn’t want it to be long but it ended up being long, so if you don’t wanna read it you don’t have to. i did spend a lot of time on it, though. hopefully it isn’t shit. enjoy ( but only if you want ) !
world, meet lars. lars, meet world. he’s ... going through it right now. not a lot of things have gone right for him.
he’s the youngest of five in a strictly evangelical household. everything was about rules and if he didn’t abide by them, he’d be punished. he remembers getting hit with switches and belts and wires. he’d be locked in prayer closets and forced to confess his sinful thoughts. he recited every word of scripture, was slain in the spirit, proselytized to all of his friends, and he got nothing but fear and anger out of it --- it was all very ... carrie, but without the promises of superpowers.
when he started going to a secular public high school his entire viewpoint shifted. he made friends who snuck him into rated r movies to watch him squirm at things he’d never heard of before. he started smoking cigarettes, smoking grass, failing classes, and playing sinner’s music on his guitar. strict parents make sneaky kids, he used to be able to all of this in his church clothes.
after high school lars stopped talking to the rest of his family. he rented an apartment with his friends for a two year stint at community college ( he was an automotive specialist major ) and started a band with them in silver lake once he graduated. he never really wanted to talk about girls or stare at nudie magazines like the rest of them, no. he just wanted to make music. until he met margo and his life fell apart.
he only started to date her because it felt right and she promised to take care of him. no one else has ever made the effort to take care of him --- he’d been locked in closets and hit with willow tree branches for the duration of his adolescence. he just wanted comfort.
after he met her, she was the only thing on his mind outside of his band. it wasn’t love, though, even if that was what he thought it was. everything seemed perfect. it all seemed like a normal he could get used to. until she got pregnant and they weren’t ready. she was 24, he was 25, they were both fucked. this was the beginning of the end of them.
click ... click ... click ... boom ! shotgun wedding. as soon as he signed that paper he felt that straight man ball and chain around his ankle. he felt regret, he felt guilty, and, at first, an eighteen year weight stacked atop his shoulders. what more could he do other than ... grin and bear it.
he stopped talking to his friends, who were all busy having fun and playing music and doing everything he wanted to do and more. separating himself from the men he loved most, even if he didn’t want to say it, made him bitter. he stopped doing gigs to make more mechanic money. after the birth of his first daughter, yael, his life was boring and monotonous. five years down the line, margo threw out her birth control pills without letting him know. this was how his second kid, ruth, was brought into the world. it was also the straw that broke the camel's back.
the divorce was long and messy --- he’s glad his kids don’t really remember it too much. margo and lars ended up splitting custody with yael but because of the bullshit that came with ruth, she’s all his. he started meeting up with his friends for gigs again, rediscovering his passion for music. and also drugs. he’s reclaiming the youth he lost when he started dating margo, even though it’s a little weird. he’s happy but he’s not fulfilled, and his kids could see that, too.
the process ruined him financially, enough for the bank to foreclose his home only a few months after the split. he filed for bankruptcy, destroyed his credit score, and moved into a seedy two bedroom apartment ( which isn’t cheap in the city of angels ) that managed to be just a few blocks down from where one of his old friend lived. he came out while lars was married and he didn’t know until he saw the flag hanging in the window. he was curious about it, but we all know what that did to the cat.
lars doesn’t want to be gay, but everything he does makes him feel like he is. the way he talks, the way he sits, the way he cries while watching the notebook --- he knows these are all stereotypes now, but what would his younger self think ?? two kids, no money, AND he’s queer ?? he wants to push this all down, and he does, but he knows that it won’t do him any good either. he knows that everything will all implode, but that day isn’t today, and with any luck, it won’t be tomorrow. he’ll sit in his idea of normalcy until he can’t anymore.
Per angusta ad augusta !
bulletpoints and headcanons, baby !
lars loves his kids. like, a lot. when he was with margo he regretted them entirely but he doesn’t feel that way anymore. he wants what’s best for him, and he wants to give them everything his parents couldn’t give him. namely: love. he doesn’t want more kids, though. he’s saving up for a vasectomy.
he’s not a perfect parent, though. i wouldn’t even call him a great one because of how often he has to be away from them and how much he drinks his feelings. at least once a year he’ll go on a bender and he’ll have to pay a babysitter more than he can afford because of how long he’d be out for. now that his kids are old enough to pick up on these things, they’re becoming more and more concerned with his behavior. he can tell, it’s just another thing he’s trying to avoid bringing up. it’s just another thing that pushes him back to drink.
speaking of his kids. i love them. i love them just as much as i love lars. yael is fifteen and she’s a mini version of her father. when lars has the time, he teaches her to play the guitar on his old acoustic. she manages to make a’s and b’s and he could never be prouder, especially because he barely graduated high school himself. ruth, on the other hand, is an enigma and he doesn’t really understand her but he tries her best. she says a lot of things that ten year olds probably shouldn’t say, but he lets it slide because it’s funny. he’s had to raise her mostly by himself which has been a gigantic struggle for him, but it’s proving to be successful thus far. she really wants to be a teenager and she emulates teenagers to the best of her ability, but it’s what a ten year old thinks a teenager should act like, so it’s far from accurate. loves cleaning her room, though. it’s the most pristine part of their house and he has no clue why.
margo was jewish, so both of his kids are being raised jewish. he doesn’t really believe any of it himself, but his kids seem pretty happy. yael had a bat mitzvah and ruth is coming up on hers, but he has no idea how that’s going to work out because margo did 99% of the planning for yael and he doesn’t know how any of that shit works. ruth also decided that she wants to eat kosher now. she’s been like this for, like, a year and lars thought it would be a phase but at this point she’s in it for the long haul and there’s a pretty good chance she’s not going back on it.
when it comes to his sexuality ,,,, he has a lot of feelings. he acknowledges that being gay is a possibility but he’s definitely never thought enough about it to make a decision. at the same time, he’s hyper aware of anything that might make him seem gay so he dresses like a slightly grunge dad redneck and makes sure to never cross his legs when he sits down. despite all of this. he has had sex with men before. especially after margo. he fucked his gay friend, too. he doesn’t think they count because he was desperate. they count. don’t tell him.
he has five different guitars. the bulk of them sit in his closet, but he has names for all of them. they were his babies before his real babies. his first two were dr. jekyll and mr. hyde, an acoustic and an electric that took about six paychecks for him to finally buy. yael plays on dr. jekyll and he’s spent a lot of time thinking about how he wants to make it a family heirloom if she doesn’t smash it first. he got a white strat in college that he named angel because of how gorgeous she sounds. i'm gonna stop here because this bullet would be so fuckin long if i didn’t. i like guitars. he likes guitars. maybe i’m projecting. who knows ! not me.
it’s easy to assume that his band never really went anywhere. cause it didn’t. they play heavy, heavy, heavy rock and that’s incredibly out of the mainstream right now. their band, shit and sugar, did get a little bit of recognition in the local underground scene during the early 2000s. now they’re just older dudes that play in diy venues and bars sometimes. lars is pretty sure he’s been called a geezer a few times by teens yael’s age.
despite never really getting off of the ground in the music industry, he’s very good at what he does. there’s not a lot left for him to learn in terms of technique and his style of playing is very uniquely his. big inspirations for him include the likes of rivers cuomo, jimi hendrix, kirk hammett, and dimebag darrell.
all in all, he’s an extroverted ball of energy most of the time. he’s got a lot of ideas and he’s very goal oriented, even if he doesn’t end up achieving them. not the smartest tool in the shed, either. he’s childlike and playful in the best way possible. again, most of the time. this ends up biting him in the ass a lot. especially because of how impulsive he is.
Ars longa, vita brevis !
wanted connections ! i’m definitely going to put one or two up on the main but here are a few that i think would work nicely.
people he met through music ---- even though people don’t know about shit and sugar you’d definitely recognize him if your character frequents local bars and DIY venues in sketchy basements. from friends to enemies, i think this one has a lot of breathing room for ~ creativity ~ and all that.
neighbors ---- he’s a guitarist. it’s a loud hobby. he’s nice to everyone in the complex, but god, that’s gotta get annoying.
men he fucked that “don’t count” ---- some of these could’ve ended seamlessly. maybe they get beers now. maybe your character hates him. maybe your character pities him for being in so much denial about his own sexuality. maybe your character is trying to help him. this connection has, like, no limit and all of the plots can be different and unique i’m so excited for it. he’s a bottom, if anyone was curious.
unlikely pals ---- this character is probably the exact opposite of a fuckup. god knows why they even associate with lars. but they do, and they want the best for him. hey !! maybe lars can break them out of their shell a bit.
potential romance ??? owo ??? ---- i really want this to happen because i want lars to eventually come to terms with his sexuality. all he wants is mutual love and good sex. safety, stability, all that good stuff. shouldn’t come without hardship, though. if you have a good idea make sure to make it angsty because i live off of that shit.
someone he doesn’t like ---- i thought of this one because it’s incredibly hard for lars to not like someone. he finds amazing qualities in most people, but he’s prone to holding grudges. i want a character who he just can’t see any good in filling this connection. how fun would that be, right ??
a jewish friend that helps him out with his jewish kids ---- i’m the knowledgeable jewish friend in 99.9% of my friend groups. most people don’t have a knowledgeable jewish friend out of necessity, but he definitely needs one because he doesn’t know shit about some of the things his kids talk about. i swear, ruth mentioned how eggs are pareve and he short circuited please help this poor dude out.
ok that’s. that’s it. i’m done running my mouth on main, but if you wanna plot or just hear me run my mouth about dumb and unimportant shit hit me up here or on discord ( deus ex machina #2294 ) !!! i’m more active on discord because i don’t have this acc always up on my phone. i’m so excited to write with you all !!!!
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The whole “they’re just evil” is ableist too though. It’s basically saying well, we thought they were mentally ill, but no, they’re just evil. Similar to how people will say “you’re not depressed, you’re just lazy.” And the whole “evil child” trope can be dangerous. Some child abusers “justify” their actions by framing their neurodivergent (mentally ill, mentally disabled, autistic, etc) child as being evil or unnatural. “creepy” behaviours in movies are common in ppl that are neurodivergent.1/2
I think what it comes down to is that the horror genre is about intent in its subject matter.
The reason I like horror is because when horror is done well, it represents very clearly the fears and paranoias of the era the movie was made in.
Early horror movies (before the hayes code) had a LOT of subtext where the big fear usually was caught up in sex in some way or another. And not in an exploitative way. Movies like Cat People and Dr. Jekyl and Mrs Hyde are to do with young people who are engaged and, because it’s the 30s, are not sexually active with each other yet, but they WANT to be. And a lot of early horror has to do with sexual repression.
And then you have zombie movies which came into their own after Night of the Living Dead in 1969 and became a genre in the 70s. Zombie movies being a cultural fear of losing control of yourself and getting assimilated into a group which is slowly devouring your way of life. This can be a metaphor for immigrants, other religions, a change in social climate and old societal structures no longer being embraced by the younger generation (Zombie movies became super popular in the 70s, after the Vietnam war which was extremely protested by the younger generation, as well as racial tensions in the US rising as African Americans were coming more freely in society following the abolishment of America’s segregation in the 60s)
But some horror movies deal with fears which are universal and not contained in one one era. The fear of death is a big one but rather vague in of itself. And when framed in a movie can be rather shallow (like a slasher movie) or very deep and complex (like Jacob’s ladder or Masque of the Red Death). Other universal fears are things like war, home invasion by a criminal, being hunted (either by an animal or another human), the unknown (this often taking the form of “evil” in terms of ghosts and demons and possession etc etc), one’s own body succumbing to disease (which is where body horror comes from) and the loss of control of oneself (this is where mind control and possession and other dehumanising tropes are used, although these can cross over into the trope of cultural tension. The Invasion of the Body Snatchers is all about loved ones being replaced with unknown enemy creatures and was made (twice) during the US’ cold war with Russia)
One of the great universal fears is the concept of not being in control of one’s own mind. It doesn’t matter if you’re neurotypical or have a form of mental illness, the core concept of losing yourself to your own mind is a horrific one (and I mean this in terms of the concept, not the reality) so I feel horror movies that deal with this trope WELL, understand how to channel that fear into an effective story that resonates with its audience, regardless of who they are. However, this is VERY different than the much easier and lazier method of just claiming a bad guy is “crazy”. Because the neurotypical audience will still nod and go “yes it is very scary to think of people being crazy like that or even of myself losing my mind. That is a scary thought.” but it does NOT use the trope with the complexity and depth it needs to properly express that dark fear.
The other great fear, and one used FAR less frequently in horror movies simply because it is disturbing, is the innate fear parents have that a baby who they wish to love could have “something wrong with it.” not out of stigmatism, but because (most often) parents wish for the best for their children, and the concept of a child having a problem the parents can’t fix is terrifying. This is where movies like Eraserhead come from, however it also ties into the fear of mental illness.
There is also the thing that having mental illness within the bad guy character gives to horror but which is not only reserved for mental illness, and this is where the “evil” explanation comes from; and that is the horror that comes from the idea that a bad person is not someone you can recognise in the street as a threat. That you cannot see someone and immediately go “oh well they have horns so I KNOW they’re dangerous!” but that threat and danger and harm can hide in the nicest, kindest, most ordinary looking people. In modern times we now know you don’t need mental illness to be a threat and look normal, but I feel this is why mental illness is often used.
This brand of horror is also very important because it asks the audience “what is the difference between the person in the movie doing terrible things, and you, the audience member, who probably assumes themselves to be a good person?” Mental illness is a good answer to this because it gives the audience the uncomfortable thought of “if I had the same mental struggles, would I be doing terrible things like this too? What makes me “a good person”? Am I any different than the bad guy at all?”
Horror is a good genre because it shines a light on fears and insecurities and paranoias of human beings. Either culturally, or psychologically. And I feel the problem is that so often complex ideas and reasons BEHIND the horror is lazily boiled down to “oh well they were just crazy. That’s all.” which makes the audience not have to worry about it because “oh of course. They’re just crazy. Not like me. I’m not crazy at all.”
But this is…. this is bad writing :/ and as the previous post said (if you are the same anon) it is the using of the trope in a lazy way which reinforces itself as harmful. And you often see this in cheap horror movies who are NOT trying to say something about humanity’s deep rooted fears, but just want some teenagers to scream in the theater for 90 minutes at some fake blood and a “scary bad guy”.
I agree that modern movies should not reinforce bad stereotypes of mental illness as we often see in badly written lazy horror films, but I don’t think it’s a topic that should be untoucheable in terms of story telling. Because I feel then we deny a huge part of the human psychology.
hmmm…. how do I put this…..
Ok maybe this’ll make more sense.
Silent Hill 2 is a game where the entire subtext and plot is about depression. Without it being a plot point in any way, the game feels like it is trying to EXPRESS depression. And it expresses depression in the form of horror visuals both in terms of monsters and scenery. Depression is never mentioned and nobody talks about the symptoms of depression (not counting Angela’s suicidal thoughts but that’s not really the point here). Silent Hill 2 is a story about depression and fatal illness and suicidal thoughts. It is a game about the horror of those feelings… And you could even easily say the game even features a character with depression who is a murderer… but the game is not presenting depression as an “explanation”. But it is a game ABOUT depression. Through its visuals, sound design, atmosphere, music, it all builds together to present itself AS depression.
And I feel we need stories like that. It presents mental illness in a horrific light… but it’s… it’s different, you know? And I feel having the ability to tell horror stories about mental illness is important because then we can have stories like Silent Hill 2, which in a weird way becomes comforting if you’ve ever experienced depression. It’s like you go back to Silent Hill 2 when you’re in a depressive state and you just feel…. a little better? like “yes…. this is the emotion I am feeling. This is what it’s like. Somebdy else understands it, and this story resonates with me. And I am not alone.”
I know that is a completely different thing than what we were talking about regarding “bad guy characters in a horror movie have mental illness” but I feel it’s an important point…. because Silent Hill 2 is literally about a guy who killed someone and has a mental illness…. the difference is he’s not framed as a bad guy, but as sympathetic. WITHOUT condoning his actions.
And as for “evil” like “oh he’s not crazy he’s just evil”, I understand what you mean but I think of it more regarding either tied to religious beliefs which is a more personal fear and varies depending on who the person watching the movie is…. or the evil which is like…. Ted Bundy…. and I don’t really want to talk about that because it legit makes me incredibly uncomfortable.
(also Horror is AMONG my favourite genres or sub genres. But it depends on the film. But it’s a genre I legit am fascinated by, enjoy depending on the film, and have watched and read and own WAY too many books about).
A big function of horror movies is to acknowledge the fears humans carry within us, as well as the darker sides of humanity as a whole, and horror movies gives us a way to confront that, and not simply try to ignore it while it festers away in the back of our minds.
So it’s difficult because you can’t say “you can’t make a horror movie about x” because it ends up being more harmful than good…. but at the same time reinforcing stigmas that hurt oppressed groups is also something which should NOT be done.
This is why I tend to judge horror movies on a case by case basis X’D and also consider context, era, country of origin etc etc.
And it’s why I’m talking about this topic in such long posts. Because I feel it’s a complex problem.
But I fully agree we need a public ed campaign in teaching people about the context in which older horror movies were made and to understand how to be critical of their themes while still being able to be entertained by them.
….I didn’t even go into how monster movies like King Kong and Creature from the Black Lagoon are about cultural paranoias about people from different ethnicities and cultures “coming to steal our women”, and why you are seeing a lot more “monster fuckers” these days as our culture is slowly learning to be more empathetic to “those who are other”. Like…. I didn’t even go INTO that part of it.
…..I like horror u guys.
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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde rewritten - Ch. 44
44. Meeting the Prince and Princess of Wales
They arrived half to six pm.
Technically, they were early, but Lady Summers told them the cable had also stated that they should come earlier.
“Albert and Alexandra won't have time for us once everyone arrives. They have to greet every single one of the guests personally, so that alone would take a while. It's the protocol. But they insisted on having a few minutes to get to know my friends.”
“They must be very curious about us”, Utterson noted.
The German-born Countess chuckled: “To be fair, I did shower you with praise in each letter.”
“But surely not me!”, Hyde piped up.
The blonde woman fixed him with her ice-blue eyes. “I told them that you're an intelligent and talented young man, albeit not the most charming one. Also, how will you introduce yourself? Remember what we practised over the week.”
Hyde rolled his eyes, but duly answered: “When they ask me, I will say, that I'm Dr. Jekyll's ward and medicine student, not quite twenty-one years old and not married.”
She nodded. “Good. And try to keep your voice down and appear as timid as possible. If we can convince them that you're just shy, you will be granted a little more alone time.”
Then she turned to her sister, who was wearing a fashionable green gown. “And you, Alma, remember what I told you.”
The redhead groaned: “I am not allowed to refuse a dance, I will not mumble, use strong language or an accent, I will not show the slightest signs of displeasure, I am not allowed to touch strong waters or anything that contains onions or garlic, I am to talk quietly and I am absolutely not allowed to go and sulk in a corner or even walk across the dance floor.”
Lady Summers clapped her hands in satisfaction. “Very well! Now let's go, or we'll be late.”
Utterson didn't like how huge the hallways alone were.
There could only one purpose be to this; to make the people feel small and insignificant, when they passed through here.
Lady Summers heard his thoughts and chuckled: “Yes, pretty much. That and showing off how rich the royal family is. The ceiling in the ballroom is even higher. But don't worry; it won't seem so big anymore, once the room is crowded with guests.”
Utterson caught the glance of Hyde, who was walking next to Jekyll. The brunette was looking positively horrified. He saw the young man's little hand tremble lightly and Jekyll's larger hand tightened its grip around it in response.
Good to know that I'm not the only one uncomfortable with the prospect.
The Prince and Princess of Wales were already waiting in a smaller chamber next door to the ballroom. As a herald announced them, the couple stood up to greet them.
“Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome! It's a pleasure to see you!”
Prince Albert was a tall, brown-haired man who, despite being a few years younger than Lady Summers, looked older with his full beard and balding head.
Princess Alexandra on the other hand looked every bit as fair as people said of her.
He turned to Lady Summers. “Luise, my dear cousin! It's so good to see you again! These galas are always so dull without you!”
“You give me too much credit, Sire”, the Lady replied, curtsied and turned to the Princess. “Your Highness.”
“Countess Summers”, the Princess returned with a nod.
The Prince chuckled: “Enough with the formalities! Won't you introduce your company to us? I only know your butler and your lovely first lady-in-waiting, after all.”
Lanyon saw Miss Kurogawa blush and the poor Princess sighed.
He managed to hold back a frown, but he couldn't help but sympathise with her.
He knew how it felt to silently stand by while your partner shamelessly flirted with someone right in front of you. Their eyes met and she seemed to recognise his sympathy; her practised friendly smile became grateful for a second, before returning to its former state.
Meanwhile Lady Summers began to introduce everyone.
“This is Dr. Lanyon, my personal surgeon.”
He bowed politely, but the Prince shook his head. “No need to bow, it's still half an hour until the first of the other guests arrive. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Doctor. Luise told us a lot about you, but if I may be frank, I expected you to be more …”
“Handsome?”, Lanyon supplied drily. Lady Summers stared at him incredulously.
Prince Albert chuckled: “Not at all. I was going to say 'chubby'. More handsome, please! As if I would be one to talk!”
“Bertie!”, the Princess protested.
Her husband continued: “No false humility please. I was told that you're one of the best surgeons in Greater London. And if Luise says so, it must be true.”
Lanyon blushed awkwardly. “That's too much praise, your Highness.”
“Not at all! If you managed to win the friendship of someone as remarkable as my cousin, you have to be a very special man!”
The hoary doctor blushed harder and stared at Lady Summers.
What the hell did you tell him about me?!
“The truth”, the Lady responded mentally, “The truth and nothing but.”
Thankfully the Prince turned to the others. “And you are …?”
Lady Summers went back to introductions.
“This is my half-sister and ward, Alma Donovan. Please don't flirt at her, Albert”, she added, “She doesn't appreciate male advances.”
“Certainly don't”, the redhead agreed flatly. “But good evening, your Highnesses.”
“Likewise”, the Princess replied.
“This is my lawyer, Mr. Utterson.”
The black-haired man bowed duly.
The Prince chuckled: “Why, if I hadn't asked you to bring him along, I would be worried!”
The blonde woman laughed: “Oh, I hope I won't need a lawyer tonight!”
“As do I”, Utterson agreed, “It's an honour to be your guest, your Highnesses.”
The Lady went on: “This is Dr. Jekyll, a famed physician with many other useful qualifications.”
Jekyll had the decency to blush at the flattery, before greeting them in his refined, charming manner.
Lanyon was sure that the blond would twist a lot of ladies' heads tonight.
“And this is Mr. Hyde, his ward and private student.”
“It's a pleasure”, Hyde said (doing his best to sound friendly) and lowered his head.
The Prince seemed intrigued. “Ah, so you're studying medicine?”
“Yes”, Hyde lied, “That and mathematics.”
“If you don't mind, may I ask your age, young man?”
“I'm not quite 21 years old”, Hyde answered slowly.
The Princess seemed to notice the boy's agitation, as she spoke up: “Bertie's cousin described you as a very talented young man.”
Before Hyde could answer, Jekyll did it for him: “Oh, he certainly is. Very capable and diligent.”
“But are you feeling alright, Mr. Hyde?”, Princess Alexandra inquired, “You're rather pale and you look tired.”
The genuine concern in her voice seemed to mollify him a little, as he assured her: “Oh, don't worry, that's natural. Unfortunately I haven't been gifted with a healthy appearance, but I'm fine. Thank you for your concern, your Highness.”
Lanyon was impressed. So far Hyde was nothing but polite to their host and even managed to make his normally creepy smile look friendly. And the couple seemed not to be affected by his dark aura, or were good at hiding it, if they were.
Prince Albert clapped his hands. “Good! Now that the introductions are done, why don't you sit with us? We would like to get to know you better.”
The following talk was cordial and open, much to Lanyon's surprise.
The hoary doctor had heard, that the Prince and Princess of Wales were very approachable, but this exceeded his expectations.
They inquired about how they were doing overall and what they were interested in, talked about their children from time to time and exchanged niceties with all of them.
Lanyon was relieved, that they didn't pry too far into his relationship with Lady Summers.
In fact, they seemed more interested in their musical hobbies.
Princess Alexandra was obviously intrigued that Hyde liked to play the piano (wait, what?!) and that Utterson liked to sing (oh, of that he knew – and of the lawyer's magnificent singing voice too).
“Indeed, these two are very talented”, Lady Summers told her cousin.
Prince Albert smiled. “In that case we would be very delighted, if you two gave us and your fellow guests a demonstration of your talent. I'm sure the pianist we hired will forgive us, if we let you have the piano for a while, Mr. Hyde.”
Hyde blushed awkwardly and mumbled a thanks.
Lanyon could tell that the young man was uncomfortable with the thought of being the centre of attention. But the brunette couldn't refuse and thus pretended to be honoured.
Poor boy.
Utterson had to be equally uncomfortable, but hid it better.
But their hosts seemed to mistake their discomfort for timidity.
“Wonderful!”, the Princess cried, “We're looking forward to your performances!”
Then the herald entered the room and announced the arrival of the first guests.
Everyone stood and they returned to the ballroom.
Turned out that Lady Summers hadn't been joking.
The royals indeed greeted every single one of their dinner guests.
And that was a lot of people.
Those who had already had their turn, went over to the buffet tables to help themselves with snacks and chat with each other.
But finally, everyone was here and the Prince of Princess of Wales called for their attention.
After holding the mandatory welcoming speech, he announced: “We hope that you will greatly enjoy yourselves! Let the gala begin!”
Then the orchestra began to play.
#The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde#Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde#Dr. Jekyll#henry jekyll#Mr. Hyde#edward hyde#Mr Utterson#Gabriel John Utterson#utterson#Hastie Lanyon#dr lanyon#oc#edward vii#queen alexandra
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Daughter of Dr. Jekyll
John Agar’s in this. So, for that matter, is Gloria Talbott from Girls Town and The Leech Woman, and it was directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, who brought us The Amazing Transparent Man. It was released on a double-bill with The Cyclops, which I’ve already reviewed, and while all that seems to promise us an utter crapfest, the premise at least sounded intriguing. Then I actually pressed play, and was greeted by an opening consisting of gray fog, theremin music, and a bored narrator. Oh, yeah. This is gonna suck.
Said opening narration very (and I mean very) quickly introduces us to the tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in which a distinguished scientist used a strange potion to turn himself into a werewolf! Wait… that’s not what happened in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at all. Wasn’t it a story about how every person has the capacity for evil and that’s part of what makes us human, and… aw, fuck it, this is a John Agar movie. Okay, sure, a werewolf. Whatever you say, Portentous 50’s Narrator. Moving on.
Janet Smith and her fiancé George Hastings arrive at her family’s palatial home, which she will inherit on her upcoming twenty-first birthday. That’s not all that’s come down the family line, though. Janet’s last name is not Smith, but Jekyll, and she was born after his experiments in lycanthropy had begun. Might she pass it on to her children? Or might Janet herself not be affected? Or is her father’s old friend Dr. Lomas an evil hypnotist using her for his own ends? Wait… what?
After sitting through crap like The Incredible Petrified World and Creatures from the Abyss, I kind of want to give extra points to Daughter of Dr. Jekyll. It’s actually fairly well-constructed for the most part, it’s rarely boring, and the sets representing the Jekyll family estate are very nice. There’s a plot I can follow, I know who the characters are, and so forth… my standards have dropped so low, that’s actually kind of impressive. The creepy delivery guy who hangs around whittling stakes and sowing discontent is pretty effective, himself, even though he’s a very one-dimensional character.
There’s still plenty of badness to be had, of course. The movie appears to be set in the first decade of the twentieth century, but it’s not very committed to that. The sound is frequently weird, from the absolute cacophony of frogs at the opening to musical cues that I swear were stolen from Robot Monster. There’s a random cameo from a very 50’s pin-up girl who appears, gets killed, and vanishes without us ever even learning her name. The climactic fight between George and the werewolf is extremely shatnery and the werewolf makeup is even lamer than in Werewolf in a Girl’s Dormitory.
Even worse, there’s an entire subplot that kind of doesn’t even bother happening. Most movies that are going to involve angry villagers have some scenes in a local pub or something to show the rabble being roused – even The Giant Spider Invasion had that. In Daughter of Dr. Jekyll we hear about angry villagers from a couple of different people but never actually see them until the pitchfork-toting crowd appears out of nowhere at the end. It’s like an angry flash mob. All we needed was a few thirty-second scenes, but I guess this movie couldn’t afford villagers. The whole climax is obscured by fog that makes it very hard to tell who’s who and what’s going on.
As usual, we’re confused about who our main character is supposed to be. The person whose eyes we see the story through is Janet. It’s Janet whose arc we follow, and Janet who we learn the most about, but she’s a very frustrating character because she is entirely without agency. The only choice she appears to make in the entire film is agreeing to marry George, before this story begins. Otherwise, she’s letting him or Lomas tell her what to do, completely incapable of making her own decisions (she even says as much, when George asks her if she’d like to go to London and elope). When the action occurs, she’s drugged with sleeping pills or in Lomas’ hypnotic thrall.
Even the very premise strips Janet of control over her own fate. She is not the heir to a scientific legacy (as other descendants of Henry Jekyll in other movies have been) but to a genetic one. Tanya in Lady Frankenstein chose to continue and improve on her father’s work. She might not have. Janet, on the other hand, cannot opt out of the family’s potentially tainted DNA. This lack of control is reinforced through smaller events as well: George won’t let Janet change her mind about marrying him, and when the young couple tells Lomas they don’t want his money or estate, he reveals that both were actually Janet’s the whole time. Like Eddie in The Beatniks, Janet is basically a victim even when good things are happening – they always happen to her rather than because of her.
The character who actually tries to take control of the situation, and who I think we’re supposed to see as the ‘hero’, is George – but we know nothing about George. He loves Janet and he has terrible fashion sense, and that’s really it. It’s her family we learn about, and her mental disintegration that follows. George spends most of the movie just hovering on the sidelines watching, and even at the end he doesn’t do very much. He explains what’s really going on to Janet and the audience (though we’ve already figured it out) and gets his ass kicked by a geriatric werewolf. The monster is actually killed by the mob of villagers, while George just stands there with Janet sobbing into his shirt. The movie probably wouldn’t have been much different without him.
The thing that really takes the viewer out of the movie, however, and does so repeatedly for its entire seventy-minute running time, is that it can’t make up its mind what its monster is supposed to be. I already mentioned the narrator’s conviction that Mr. Hyde was a werewolf, but it gets way weirder and more confusing than that.
The servants at the Jekyll house also talk about werewolves, and tell Janet and George in threatening voices that they know how to deal with such creatures. On the other hand, when Dr. Lomas himself tells them what happened, he tells the story we’re familiar with: Dr. Jekyll wanted to separate the good and evil parts of a person, and ended up giving the evil in himself a free agency of its own. This made me think maybe the servants were just a bunch of superstitious peasants? Maybe they called Mr. Hyde a werewolf because they didn’t know what else to call him? That almost started to make sense… but then George picks up a book about werewolves, and in its pages he reads that a werewolf leaves its tomb on the night of the full moon so it can drink blood, and can only be killed by a wooden stake through the heart.
Wait. What?
That… that’s not werewolves! Werewolves are killed by silver bullets! Stakes through the heart are vampires! Werewolves don’t have tombs! What is going on here?
By the time the climax rolls around, we’ve already figured out Dr. Lomas’ evil plan, and sure enough, it turns out he’s hypnotizing Janet into believing she’s a werewolf so she will commit suicide and he can have her family’s money. That makes sense in a Scooby-Doo kind of way, I guess, and I can accept it for the sake of the movie… but then he actually turns into a werewolf and goes out to suck blood! What? What? How did that happen? Was he playing with Jekyll’s formula? But Jekyll turned into Hyde when he took the drug, not at the full moon! What the fuck?
The movie never explains itself. We’re just supposed to take this bizarre conflation for granted. But vampires, werewolves, and Mr. Hyde are three totally different types of monster! Vampires are undead corpses who avoid decay and death by sucking blood. Werewolves are living people who transform under the full moon and kill out of animalistic rage. Mr. Hyde was Dr. Jekyll’s repressed evil side given form. You could probably argue that all three have the same root, in our need to conform to certain standards in order to make society work, but Daughter of Dr. Jekyll doesn’t try to do that. It just mixes and matches story bits at all, combining conflicting mythologies and leaving very visible seams. In fact, we may as well consider this a Frankenstein movie, too!
I can only imagine the fun Mike and the Bots would have had with this confusion. I’m picturing a game show in which they must match the weapon with the monster, and if they lose, they get eaten. Tom would have figured out that you survive by picking what ought to be the wrong answer. Crow would not.
The opening narration of Daughter of Dr. Jekyll notes that Robert Louis Stephenson’s book is a classic, and it is so for good reason. It’s an exploration of the evil within us all, the intrusive thoughts and secret desires we would rather attribute to an alter ego than ever admit to anyone, and the fact that the sinner is as much a part of each of us as the saint. Daughter of Dr. Jekyll throws all that out the window by equating its villain with a vampire/werewolf, making him a sort of mindless monster. It’s confusing and annoying, and its compelling source material deserved far better.
#mst3k#reviews#episodes that never were#daughter of dr jekyll#oh shit it's john agar#50s#you is a warwelf#just fuckin weird
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