I don’t know about you but I fall in the broke category when it comes to this Halloween’s festivities. If you are flat broke or just refuse to spend the ridiculous amount of money costumes cost, here’s a few easy costumes based off of famous literary characters.
#1 Any Hogwarts student ever
Whether you are a Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff all you need for this costume is the black robe of any kind. To let everyone know what house you belong to, accessorize with your house’s colors and if you have any piece of Harry Pottermerchandise you are good to go.
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#2 Vampire
An all-black ensemble would be preferred or literally anything dark out of your closet and some pale makeup and contacts if you have them. And if you want to be Bella Swan, from Twilight just put a blank stare on your face.
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#3 Ghost
Take a white sheet and cut eye holes into it or cut a bunch of holes if you are going for a Charlie Brown look.
Image via Pinterest
#4 Witch
Again any dark clothing will do. Makeup, tights or leggings, grab your broom and wear a fabulous attitude.
Image Via Make A Meme
#5 Disney Bounding
For the many Disney fans out there who want to be literally anyone from the Disney canon and can’t afford a costume Disney bounding is great option. All you have to do is raid your closet and find the color scheme and small pieces to be whatever character you want.
Image Via Radio Wonderland
All of these are fun and affordable to do. And hey with all the money you saved you can spend it on the real reason for Halloween—candy!
Time to confess – I never had to read The Great Gatsby for school. I don’t know how I missed it! But I went back recently and caught up, and I was… surprised. It’s not that I think it’s under hyped, exactly, but it is under sold. We have infidelity! We have false identities! We have MANSLAUGHTER! I mean, things get wild. Especially for a book set on Long Island.
Gretchen!
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I was not prepared for this. I know there are about a hundred thousand old sport jokes, but I was not ready for how incessantly he says it. I think someone else picks it up at one point. Where does this expression come from? Are you just really bad with names? I swear, what is your game here? No one else says this.
Maybe Just a Little
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It shows. Just a tiny bit. Just a little. Just a touch, like, in the way that every single thing you do is built around the one thing you wanted when you were young. It’s not a leather jacket and earring, but the pink suit was a pretty strong look. Who is this man, and why? Lots of things are explained about Gatsby, but that suit is not one of them.
He Did Watch People Die
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I mean, it’s all symbolism and deeply brilliant or whatever, but that sign was pretty random. I admit I don’t really know Queens very well, so maybe it’s just like that, but he may as well have been the then parish eyes. “Pwease help me, Tom! uwu’ – gets run over by Daisy. Too soon? Nah, no one was a very good person in that book, so see the above.
Not Awkward at All
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Nick puts up with a lot. Sam literally bails to get a room with his mistress and Nick is just sitting in the living room, probably smoking or holding a bunch of balloons or something. Who would hang around under those circumstances? Leave a note and go walk around the park or something. Just because nobody else has any boundaries doesn’t mean you can’t. Get it together.
And He’s Still Allowed to Have Very Nice Things
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Heaven’s sake, Gatsby, learn one single lesson, I beg of you. Daisy’s a flake and ALWAYS has been. Her husband sucks. She’s was never going to run away with you, and money wont change that. She sucks, man! I know she’s just an elaborate metaphor for the falseness and toxicity of extreme, thoughtless opulence, but use some critical thinking skills! Sigh.
Star Wars may have started well before memes became our primary means of communication, but that hasn’t led to it’s neglect. Besides, with the prequels providing basically endless fuel, and some new screenshots from the sequels, we’ve got fertile ground for a rich meme harvest.
Please Never Describe Me
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Besides being spectacularly shady, this is relatable. Not because my father was flammable, in so far as I know, but because we all know at least one person who can’t describe people to save their lives. Ironically, my dad is this way. He once described someone to me who he expected me to locate by saying that they had dark hair and maybe a tattoo. Maybe a tattoo? Anyone might have a tattoo. And what’s Luke supposed to do, put out a classified craigslist add looking for anyone flamable? Alright, I know it’s not canon, but it really should be.
It’s True And You Should Say It
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He committed war crimes! He was a really bad person! Just wanting to peace out and live in the swamp is an incredibly understandable impulse, and I don’t think anyone questioned Yoda’s choices, but the prequels just HAD to explain, didn’t they? Plus, puppet Yoda was good. He was weird, sure, and I wouldn’t want him sitting on MY shoulders, but he was clearly a friend. CGI is an abomination. He looks like he’s going to glitch out of the screen and clip through my body, killing me instantly. Then he’ll probably do something weird like harvest my fingernails. No thanks.
#darthbinks
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Alright, alright, before you @me, I don’t actually think Jar Jar Binks is a sith lord. The guy couldn’t do even one thing. Who would recruit him? But when I bring up the theory, people get so mad! Sure, the prequels are awful (still don’t @me! It’s objective fact! I hate sand!), but the meta is outrageous. That’s why most of these memes are from the prequels. There’s really just an infinite number of things to unpack. The Darth Binks theory is great because it doesn’t make the prequels any better. They’re still ridiculous, convoluted, and poorly written (for starters). Nothing changes. Just… Jar Jar’s a sith. It makes you think.
The Chosen One
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God I love Luke, but he was just the densest, most useless chosen one on his planet or any other. Right at his face! You think you’d have these problems with Leia? I’m still mad my girl didn’t ever get to use her powers for violence, though the space walk was obviously amazing. Whose idea was this? They’re like, look, we have two Skywalkers, either could fulfill the prophecy. One is a polished diplomat spy with the guts to lie to Darth Vader’s face and the courage to keep going after her planet explodes. The other is the slowest, most confused farm boy you’ve ever seen. The choice is easy!
Since Someone Found Everything Else
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Seriously, they should be able to just slap it back on there. And when’s Rey going to lose a hand? At this point it’s just a rite of passage. I stan Rey hard, but if she doesn’t lose a hand, is she really even a Star Wars lead? Then again, maybe it’s just a Skywalker thing. Either way, can we talk about how everything that got lost in the first three movies is just around now? How did Maz get Luke’s lightsaber? How did Kylo get Vader’s helmet? Don’t ask questions! I mean, the Star Wars movies have always had so many plot holes, but these are weirdly back to back. She might as well have his hand too.
The Man is Swish
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Look, I like prequel Obi Wan. We all like prequel Obi Wan. I’m just saying that prequel Obi Wan and original Obi-wan are two entirely different people. Original Obi Wan is not without humor, but he’s ultimately a serious, dedicated man. Prequel Obi Wan is sassy, impulsive, and has a dedication to fashion no number of years or friend murders could dull. Look at this man! You’re telling me he was just hanging out on Tatooine, in the hills, without a drop of hair gel? That whole planet couldn’t contain this swagger. No hate, but they’re entirely different people.
The Real Reason Anakin Turned
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It’s not exactly a hot take, but the Jedi Order was messed up. I mean, for people with so many rules, they had approximately zero morals. Let’s tell people not to love anyone and then expect them to have compassion! Let’s break the Geneva Convention! Seriously, for such a supposedly great civilization, they were about 0% civilized. If he hadn’t murdered all those kids and become a space fascist, Anakin just would have been right. Honestly… down with the Jedi, and good for Luke burning all their manuals. You can be stabby without being authoritarian and colonialist and repressive. Get it together.
This is the point where I confess that Howl’s Moving Castle is my favorite Miyazaki movie by far. They’re all good! But I connect with Sophie on a deeper level. If you’ve yet to read the book, get ready to have the experience of the movie turned up to eleven. Sure, it’s not as soft or as serious, but believe me when I say you will not miss it. Obviously the movie is iconic, but the book characters are on a whole other level. Thanks for coming to my ted talk. Here are some memes.
That’s Growth
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Who doesn’t want to be very very old? Sure, hypothetically the curse is a punishment, but Sophie clearly finds it as liberating as I would. Meek little Sophie Hatter starts breaking into magic houses and bullying demons. Talk about a glow up. In the book, Howl tries to lift Sophie’s curse, but her own magic keeps it in place. It really goes to show they’re a good match. She’s ridiculously stubborn and he’s just ridiculous. Still, we stan, and I think we can all relate.
It’s What he Does
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This might be the hottest take I’ve ever seen. Of course he bites her hair. It looks like stardust! And what does Howl do to stars? Eats them. You’d think he’d learn his lesson. Unless you’ve seen the movie, read the book, or heard about literally any of his choices. Learn his lesson? This is a man who literally will not stop ghosting immensely powerful witches and then running away. The mistakes are endless. She looks surprised here, but I don’t think anything can surprise Sophie anymore.
It’s a Different Vibe
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I’m not going to get all ‘the book was better’ on you because I absolutely adore both, but book Sophie is an honest to god force of nature. When she gets mad she kills an entire garden. It’s sort of the spiritual opposite of Howl’s slime meltdown, I guess, because it’s productive, but still absolutely ridiculous. Just talk about your feelings instead of throwing dramatic magic everywhere! You guys are too powerful to be this messy.
Metamorphosis
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Sure, education is important, but at what cost? What is it about just going to class that ages me fifty years? I can’t be alone. Maybe it’s the fluorescents, maybe it’s learning, maybe it’s the fact that I’m too lazy to wear my glasses at home, but there’s a sharp contrast. I don’t even need a witch to curse me. Just tell me I have sixty pages to read in two days and I wither like the witch of the waste trying to climb the stairs. Stay strong, and don’t use school mirrors.
Slime Icon
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True story, every day for about a month I walked past a closed popup, but it’s banner was still outside and described it as ‘a slime experience’. Who would want that? Howl, apparently. I’ve had some hair dye gone wrong, and I’ve been dumped, but never have I flooded my entire living room and half of Porthaven. He just hired Sophie, she just got everything clean, and now he pulls this? Still, it’s one of the most memorable scenes, and characterizes Howl pretty powerfully without any explanation needed.
Whether you’re more of a fan of The Holy Grail or The Life of Brian, I think we can all agree that Monty Python is platinum meme material. With basically everything they ever made now available on Netflix, the fandom is stronger than ever, and humanity has reached its full potential. Through memes.
It’s CANON
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Holy Grail really is proof that you can make an excellent movie with literally no budget and only five actors. Lancelot just wanders off because they need John Cleese to play the frenchman, who actually calls them out for using coconuts in stead of horses. They keep doing it though! They pretend to dismount several times! I swear, between the coconuts, Camelot being probably less than a foot tall, and animating all the scenes that would be expensive to shoot, this movie really manages to care about being fantastic while caring literally not at all.
Leporiphobia
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That’s right, there’s a word for the fear of rabbits, and I googled it for this article. #themoreyouknow. I’m not even sure what to say about this one. The monster being a rabbit is also obviously a budget constraint, but it’s also outrageously funny. They’ve seen the great and powerful Tim just blow things up like it’s nothing, and when he’s like ‘hey, take this seriously,’ they’re like, ‘….. nah.’ I don’t know what it is about the idea of a rabbit being able to fully decapitate people with one bite, but I find it immensely satisfying. Small but filled with so much rage. I think a lot of us can relate.
When You Stub Your Toe
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I kind of love a meme format that never dies. Plus, as much as I love the meme aesthetic of putting literally no effort in, you’ve got to respect the skill and dedication that’s obviously been put into Monty Python memes. Look at that photoshop! Those angles! Graphic design is someone’s passion, but like, for real this time. Plus, the black knight is obviously ridiculous, but I think we can all relate a little bit. We’ve all been in the sort of disaster state where we’re trying to bite someone’s ankles and insisting we’re fine even though it’s glaringly obvious we could at least use a nap. Not sure that’s gonna cut it here though.
Let Me Niiii!
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Everything about this is fantastic. I find the flipping of this meme after so long truly chilling, and it fits so well, especially with the irony that Arthur and his knights are actually trying to get into the forest. (True story—in middle school I had an email address based on the nights who say ni. No one got it. God guys it’s not a PHASE). I’ll dare to claim I like a good shrubbery as much as anyone, but even more than that I like the idea that the unstoppable force guarding the path through the forest is afraid of the word ‘it.’ Ah, god, I said it. I said it again! Comedy gold.
Shut it Down
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Alright, better wrap up before the French police start cuffing people. Sorry not sorry, four of these memes were from the Holy Grail. I know it’s controversial to say this, but it’s my absolute favorite, and honestly happened to have just the best memes, objectively. Silly memes. Hence having to stop. No silliness allowed here at Bookstr. We’re a lot like Monty Python’s Flying Circus in that way. It’s all very serious. Are the pigs still winning?
