#death of the new gods | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cuddlytogas · 1 month

Text

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

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

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

What is the difference between this and this?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#everyone say 'thank you togas' for not including a long tangent about evil rimmer in red dwarf 5x05 #Our Flag Means Death #Togas does meta #and yes these principles DO fall apart slightly in s2 and i DON'T like those costumes as much #don't get me wrong they're fun and gorgeous - but generally a bit less deep and more inaccurate. so. :(#I'm not sure this really says anything new about Our Flag but I just needed to get my thoughts out #i hate hate hate Gritty Period Drama costumes they're so boring and so ugly and so wrong #god bless OFMD for using more than 3 muted colours and actually putting men in heels (and not as a shorthand for rich/foppish villainy) <3 #looking at that Tudors still is insane like they really will go to any lengths to not make men feel like they've got bare legs XD #image descriptions in alt text #and yes i DID just sink about two hours into those so you'd better appreciate them

1K notes · View notes

destielmemenews · 8 months

Text

source 1

source 2

#destiel meme #destiel meme news #united states #us news #news #tw death #smash mouth #all star #steve harwell #shaking my fist at god #right now #first jimmy now the smash mouth guy?????#i'm devastated #:(#somebody check on neil cicierega #shrek

1K notes · View notes

nelkcats · 1 year

Text

Be Not Afraid

Danny's forms were pretty stable in the Infinite Realms, and well, his own dimension. The problem was when he had to run certain errands elsewhere (Clockwork's fault) and the universes didn't know where to put him.

Despite having two defined forms in his original dimension. The other dimensions seemed to decide that Danny didn't need that, and his humanity had to go, or something. The halfa couldn't understand it.

So of course, he ended up looking very amorphous and strange when he traveled to other dimensions. Sometimes with multiple eyes, at other times his body was made of pieces of ice, there were times when he was just a toxic green eye that glowed and blinded whoever saw it. The only thing that remained constant was that he didn't look human. Which made most of his tasks difficult. People feared the unknown after all.

When he arrived in the DC universe he didn't expect a welcoming committee. He even told them "Be not afraid" the moment he landed on a crowded street, but apparently that was counterproductive, since they classified him as some kind of avenging angel.

With a sigh, Danny kept exploring and the strangest things happened to him: Two glowing rings chased him everywhere (One was black and the other was white, but he had a feeling that taking them wouldn't be the smartest move, the ring and the crown were very jealous since he was crowned after all)

And a British magician... flirted with him? Danny was pretty sure the hellbazer was seeing him as eyes and ice floating but that didn't seem to stop him from trying. The halfa didn't know if he was flattered or worried.

Anyway, he couldn't find Dr. Fate, nor "Justice League Dark", whatever it was. But the wizard, Constantine, was willing to take him on a date. The rings continued to follow him while some people with green rings looked in the background (they looked strangely scared) and a new religion had been created for "The Great One" which reminded him of Frostbite.

Traveling was hard.

#dpxdc #ghost king danny #yes he's the King #but Clockwork still uses him to transport some things from the Realms to other dimensions #what's the use of your student being the ghost king if you're not going to take advantage of it #Plus Danny didn't want to be at his meetings either #Danny's form is unstable #The universe doesn't know where to place his scale of power #dp x dc #dc x dp #john constantine #The League is confused by the new religion #Constantine is determined to date that fucking God #The Lanterns are extremely concerned #The rings of life and death are chasing the thing as if nothing #and it seems to be ignoring them #Danny knows better than to make his own objects of power jealous #The Ghost King's crown and ring can be very vengeful #and revive some people if they want #Batman just wants to know what the fuck is going on

2K notes · View notes

loopnoid · 8 months

Text

(visibly vibrating) i think i hauve covid.

#ofmd #our flag means death #edward teach #stede bonnet #ofmd anne bonny #sorry bs fandom for what her tag is gonna turn into after the new season drops 😔🙏#that being said. good lord the milfisms.#doodles #working on comms at a snail's pace and fighting for my life also but by god im working on these fucking comms i prommy

989 notes · View notes

mr-president · 11 months

Text

The god of fear and hunger acknowledges your suffering.

Cahara has formed a panophobia. A fear of everything.

#fear and hunger #cahara #cahara the mercenary #fear and hunger girl #i kinda hate this piece but worm girl’s vid and that one ao3 fic made me draw n post this #anyway twink death.#me when i watch the birth of a new god and destroy myself in an effort to survive (it is pointless and i will never see me wife and child)

1K notes · View notes

dailydccomics · 8 months

Text

domestic Barda & Scott ♡ Death of the New Gods #1

#big barda #scott free #dc comics #barda free #mister miracle #bardascott #dc #death of the new gods #new gods #fourth world #cover art #comics

82 notes · View notes

dc-polls · 8 months

Text

They Would Not Fucking Say That! Preliminary Poll

The Source

From: Death of the New Gods #5 Context: Someone has been murdering the New Gods. While others track down the killer, Metron does his own investigation and encounters the Source on a planet long ago in the timestream. There, the Source tells Metron its plans.

The Source says it doesn't exist beyond the Source Wall.

This might be a bit of a deep cut but waaaaay back in the original New Gods run, the Source Wall was a relatively small wall that Highfather would go to in order to commune with the Source. In addition, totally separately, there was what was referred to as "the final barrier", which Metron was very interested in someday breaching in order to learn about the Source. BUT that is not what I have beef with. It's just a clarification I want to get out of the way. Since then, DC lore has evolved so that the Source Wall means the final barrier. Fine. That's what we're going with.

The problem here is that this speckled cue ball of an entity is straight up telling Metron that it doesn't exist on the other side of the wall. What? Excuse me? So this whole huge driving force that has been the basis of multi-universal lore for decades spanning across several DC titles... actually had nothing to do with the Source Wall. Nothing. Nope. It's just "an erroneous notion". WTF??

Death of the New Gods was a tie-in to Countdown to Final Crisis, so I don't know if this was Starlin's idea of it was an edict from on high to somehow make Final Crisis more impactful, what with all this talk of the Source wanting to scrap the "fourth world" and create a "fifth world". I can kind of get why they wanted a big huge showstopper like the Source involved for this ginormous crossover that was going to reset DC as we know it. But STILL. It just so blatantly throws out all this past lore about something that is WIDELY accepted. And on top of that, the Source is given a personality, which is just ugh. No thanks. It loses all of its cool, vast, unknowableness. Instead it's a snarky and flippant ball that purposefully manipulated everyone. I mean, sure it could be an interesting concept for some non-canon thing, but this was VERY much canon.

And then guess what?? Final Crisis had whole sections that were completely in conflict with Death of the New Gods anyway. That's not part of this specific scenario for my submission, but just throwing it out there. So yeah. Having the Source say it wasn't behind the wall and being so blase was NOT something it would do (it wouldn't even have a personality in the first place). And for what???

[Image ID: A comic panel of Metron sitting in the Mobius Chair talking to a floating white orb that has black stars on it. A prehistoric mammal walks in the background. Metron: "You are the entity the gods of New Genesis worship?" The Source: "I am." Metron: "You are the Source?" The Source: "So I am known." Metron: "I take it you don't reside on the far side of the wall?" The Source: "An erroneous notion I never thought to correct." /End ID]

As always, remember to check the notes for info others may have shared, and reblog to help increase reach!

Submissions close Wednesday August 23, 11:00 pm EDT

#dc-polls-twnfst #dc-polls-preliminaries #the source #death of the new gods #countdown to final crisis #metron #dc comics #dc-polls-twnfst-prelims

12 notes · View notes