#Forefront Post

[reith-sheep]

Forefront Post 10 |Stay (2022)

'Stay' is a five-minute animated film, hand-embroidered, depicting the relationship between a daughter and her absentee father. It won the highly acclaimed McLaren Award and the overall award at the 2022 Edinburgh International Film Festival, and in the same year won the NAHEMI Student Film Award for Best National Student Film.

The author's use of the needle in the production process, combined with Photoshop, is what makes me love animation so much for the endless possibilities offered by this multimedia medium. While the subject matter and materials used in this work are not exactly original, the decision-making that went into skillfully blending them and presenting them on screen gives this short film a unique perspective. Through the use of semi-transparent sulphate paper and needle and thread, she creates a combination of blurred lines and translucent effects, a treatment that matches her understanding of her father's vivid childhood memories.

She has made an extra effort in both her ideas and her method of creation. I particularly like her idea of playing with ropes as a means of expression, as playing with ropes is a Chinese popular children's game. She used the effect of a mobile phone vibrating for a twist and repeated this expression several times throughout the work, thus catching the viewer's attention. I appreciate this creative technique and have also taken similar expressions in my work. Fish is an important element in my animation design, so I have also used this element many times in my artwork as a sign of a relationship between fish and women as a metaphor.

reference

Munday, R. (no date) Stay - a hand embroidered animated short film by Yu Sun, Short of the Week. Available at: https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2023/08/07/stay/ (Accessed: August 18, 2023).

Yu Sun uses needle and thread to animate the story of a young girl and her absent father (no date) Itsnicethat.com. Available at: https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/yu-sun-stay-project-animation-201022 (Accessed: August 18, 2023).

Graduation film- stay (no date) Yu Sun. Available at: https://www.yusunnnnnn.com/ongoing-project (Accessed: August 18, 2023).

Short of the Week (2023) Stay | A hand-embroidered short film about absent parents. Youtube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SXZJs26UKY (Accessed: August 18, 2023).

[ifieabouteverything]

I like to think that when Riz is asked to smile he gets all squinty like a cat

[hyaesia]

i wish things could last like this forever

[theo-throne]

[symbologic]

Zoro's devotion to the crew is undeniable, but that doesn't define his dream He aims to become the greatest swordsman who ever lived. And his post-Baratie dedication to that singular ambition stems directly from, and uniquely belongs to Luffy

Of course he'll protect his friends at any cost! But his willingness to make previously unimaginable sacrifices — the deal with Kuma, begging Mihawk for help post-Marineford — shows something much deeper than simply protecting his comrades Luffy is the only living person who fuels his ambition to become the world's greatest. So when Zoro makes these unthinkable sacrifices, he is showing us how far he's willing to go for his dream Because to Zoro, Luffy and his dream go hand-in-hand

[imminent-danger-came]

2x02 // 3x01 // 3x03 // 3x13 // 4x12

Team huddle!

[onehellofajellyfish]

Another thing, in addition to Sebastian's personality (and I'd even argue his nature since he doesn't seem to experience human Lust), which makes Sebastian being aggressive or forcing himself on Ciel in a lot of popular fanon seem so wildly implausible/ooc is Ciel and the situation of their dynamic itself

Ciel formed Sebastian into someone who can't lie to him, abandon him, or let him be genuinely harmed. Sebastian can be directly commanded in addition to those three rules.

Why on earth would Ciel tolerate Sebastian breaking his trust and ignoring his consent? That's the entire draw of the relationship from Ciel's perspective! He holds the leash or what's the point!

It's arguably a direct breach of contract, and by the party who's a stickler for rules

It feels like people sometimes wanna be out here writing ed/ward cull/en instead of Sebastian, and they also forget how strong-willed Ciel is. As if he would take any nonsense from Sebastian, let alone assault, especially considering his trauma. Even without that, it would be beyond unacceptable and they both know it.

Frankly, I don't even think Sebastian would even be aggressive/violent to a reader insert stranger. He's picky. He prefers to catch flies with honey in any scenario we've seen (and really, that's a victory of wills which he has to work for, since physical overpowerment is nothing so at the very least would be boring to him), so it isn't even about Ciel.

(The only exception could be established sebaciel doing roleplay, but even then Ciel still retains the control and power here, and you'd have to work to sell me on it tbh)

[getthembees]

Which of Cassandra Cain’s parental relationship dynamics most compels you?

This is not “which parent is best.” specifically which one in the narrative intrigues you the most

[a-corndog-named-schibbs]

A lot of fanfic writers like to give Zeb catlike traits and those are delightful, but!  I’d love to see Zeb written with traits reminiscent of great apes, which his design also seems to be based on.

Like maybe the reason he seems to hunch a lot of the time, especially when he walks, is because until very recently, from an evolutionary standpoint, Lasats walked on their knuckles.  Maybe he’s like a chimpanzee and he loves to tell the story of how he punched Kanan in the face the first time they met because he forgot that smiling with heavy eye contact isn’t a threat display when humans do it.  Maybe he’s like a gorilla and pounds his chest when he’s trying to intimidate someone or used to carry his young nieces and nephews around on his back on Lasan.  Maybe he’s like a bonobo and he comes from a matriarchal culture and instinctively follows Hera’s or Mon Mothma’s orders without question because you don’t talk back to the lady of the house, you just don’t.

And if he’s like a bonobo, maybe he even has a moment on Bahryn where he offers to have sex with Kallus and doesn’t get why the man is so flustered by that because that’s just?? how you resolve conflict??? You make peace by making love??? Why is Kallus avoiding eye contact, Zeb’s not trying to be aggressive, that’s why he’s offering in the first place.

[bvckbiter]

listen, lukelli could be so funny. all post ttc luke wants is to finally die, so when he sees a hot man-eater (literal) making moves on him his manwhore ass is like “you know what. might as well go out with a bang.” meanwhile kelli does very much want to eat this man (after getting to know him ofc. shes not a savage, she prefers to wine and dine her food). but unfortunately hecate and the titans have given explicit orders that luke castellan be kept alive, and if their little fling helps keep his mind away from offing himself, then she better keep wining and dining him. the entire time they’re together, luke is in agony because he wants to die and kelli is in agony because she cant kill him. but consequently they’re also matching each other’s freaks and having the most irresponsible cruise fling ever. when kelli kills that random demigod in seattle, notwithstanding luke’s upset at a wasted demigod life, his depressed brain is going “THAT SHOULDVE BEEN MEEEEEE,” which then leads into a whole thing of “ofc this was all about keeping me alive for the titans” in which he finally realizes hes truly got no one on his side. and by the time botl rolls around, kelli is just bummed that she’s lost her favorite boytoy bloodbag. she cant be caught kissing the geezer lord of the titans smh

[ricky-mortis]

Goofy little ACM doodle :)

[reith-sheep]

Forefront Post 9 |THE RAT 2022

Weseefilm presents 'the rat', a brutal domestic violence scene animated from a drunken man's subjective point of view. The director of "the rat", Yuanqing Cai, and the producer, Tuan Muzi, led the production team together. This is also an animation using tvpaint, and the director is very skilled with this software and has sent out a lot of good tutorials on Bilibili.

There are two design elements that I especially appreciate about this animation. Firstly, the use of the rat metaphor to portray the powerlessness of the abused. The rat symbolises hiding, weakness and insignificance, and is a perfect example of a metaphor for the wife and children, the two members of the family who are in a vulnerable position. Although the rat is not a positive image, it is a projection of his family in the eyes of the drunken man, an object to be fought against and driven away. It also fits the environmental characteristics of the poor and backward urban-rural area, a design image that is very apt.

Secondly, the use of tumbling and gravity effects in space to show the vertigo of the drunken man, and the feeling of drunkenness and confusion through the distorted world in the man's eyes, complemented the plot, and the instability of this image felt fresh and vivid. There is also the image of the man vomiting out the fish, which is so realistic that it is as if you are experiencing the sensation of vomiting yourself. These subtle and vivid expressions highlight the director's deep understanding of drunkenness. In addition, story development from the perspective of a domestic abuser is not common in anime, which usually focuses on the victim's point of view, but this innovative perspective injected strong drama into the work.

The main influence this work exerted on me was how the backgrounds were drawn. Its detailed lines and simple colours present a complete animated background effect. In addition, it draws dilapidated home environments, broken walls, etc. in a vivid way, and this style has also been used in my own animation background creation. Although this background is drawn in a simple way, the effect is remarkable and makes the picture more vivid.

Reference

Box, A. F. (2023) THE RAT 癔症| family violence | Animated Short Film | BestAnimation |. Youtube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqKkiT5a3bI (Accessed: August 29, 2023).

哔哩哔哩番剧 (no date) 胶囊计划2022.

[benkyoutobentou]

LGBTQ+ Japanese Media for Pride Month

Happy pride month! There's no better time to read and watch queer media than June. I tend to read and watch mostly queer content, so I thought I'd drop some things that I've enjoyed over the years for those looking for something that they maybe haven't picked up before. Since lots of Japanese media tends to have multiple versions and adaptations, I'll be organizing this by representation rather than type of media. The version(s) that I've personally seen or read will be bolded. This will also be a little bit different from my usual Japanese media recommendation posts, as I will also be including media that I've read in English or watched with English subtitles. This is also an invitation for anyone to recommend things to me, especially ones that have LGBT rep outside of just gay and lesbian characters. I'm always looking for more stuff to enjoy!

MLM

同級生/Classmates (manga/anime movie): Two seemingly opposite boys meet during the choir festival at their all boys' school and develop a relationship. How could this not be the very first thing I recommend? This is one of my all time favorite BL series and one of my favorite movies as well. Seriously, I watch this at least three times per year (once being during June!). Nakamura Asumiko is one of my favorite manga artists, and this won't be the last series of hers on this list.

ひだまりが聴こえる/I Hear the Sunspot (manga/movie): This follows a college student who agrees to become the designated note taker for a deaf classmate. I love this series and one of my favorite things about it is how much the romance takes a backseat to other things happening in the characters lives. It also has a large cast of deaf characters! If you're looking for something with representation outside of only LGBT and doesn't focus too much on romance, this is a really great choice.

30歳まで童貞だと魔法使いになれるらしい/Cherry Magic! 30 Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard (manga/drama/anime): After waking up on his thirtieth birthday, a businessman discovers that he has gained the ability to read minds. And with that, he discovers that his male coworker has a crush on him. For such a zany concept, this series is very cute and sweet. It's also always nice to see something that follows older characters (ie. not high school or college).

美しい彼/My Beautiful Man (novel/drama/manga): This follows a social outcast who ends up falling in love with a boy in the friend group of his high school bullies. This isn't a sweet and heartwarming romance at all, but it's also not pure toxicity. The drama is extremely bingeable and the author is a juggernaut in the BL light novel community for a reason.

消えた初恋/My Love Mix Up (manga/drama): Due to an eraser mishap, a boy admits to having feelings for another boy in order to save his actual crush from embarrassment. This series is The Blueprint for me in terms of romcoms. It does everything right for me and the characters especially stand out. It covers topics from discovering your identity and first love to dealing with homophobia and it does it all spectacularly. I also think that the manga does visual humor extremely well.

スリーピングデッド/Sleeping Dead (manga): After being stabbed to death on a routine patrol, a popular high school teacher wakes up on a metal table. I have no words [words]. This is definitely up there in my favorites, I love it so much. If you like queer horror, this is definitely one you need to pick up. I also found it very funny and the characters were extremely charming.

僕らの地球の歩き方/Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide (manga): A couple decides to travel the world together, promising that they'll get married upon their return to Japan. Probably my all time favorite manga ever. I love every single thing about this, especially how much this series loves the queer community. This manga is overflowing with love in all ways, and I'm overflowing with love for this manga.

きのう何食べた？/What Did You Eat Yesterday? (manga/drama): This series is basically just snippets of a gay man's daily life. He likes to cook. And you know what? It's all the better for it. This series is award winning and such a great time. The main character is so relatable and it covers some great LGBT+ topics. Honestly, it's a crime that I haven't seen the drama yet.

WLW

独り舞/Solo Dance (novel): After a violent encounter, a Taiwanese woman makes the choice to move to Japan. When reading this, I saw it mention Qiu Miaojin's Notes of a Crocodile, which I had just bought, and now that I've finally read it, I can easily see the influences that Qiu's works had on this one. This is a tough book to get through emotionally, but ultimately a worthwhile read, especially if you're looking for something more on the literary side.

ささやくように恋を唄う/Whisper Me a Love Song (manga/anime): A girl confesses to an upperclassman that she loves her music, but the upperclassman misunderstands it as a true confession of love. I adore this series and the relationships in it. It has a huge cast of female characters and also has a driving plot outside of just the romance. I'm a sucker for series about music and this one is one of my favorites.

あさがおと加瀬さん/Kase San and Morning Glories (manga/anime movie): A shy gardener and a popular track star become friends and begin dating. This series is so cute! It feels like a GL staple to me and is one I've been following for practically as long as I've been reading manga in Japanese. It also has a sequel series called 山田と加瀬さん/Yamada and Kase San which follows the two of them after high school.

メジロバナの咲く/A White Rose in Bloom (manga): After not being able to go home for Christmas, a girl is stuck in her boarding school with one other student, who seems to not like her. This is another one by Nakamura Asumiko and there's something about her writing which always sucks me in. I can't get enough of this series, it has wonderful vibes, impeccable art, and I just want more and more of the characters.

欠けた月とドーナッツ/Donuts Under a Crescent Moon (manga): This series is a slice of life following two coworkers and their growing relationship. It's very slow burn and puts a lot more emphasis on the feelings of coming into and realizing your sexuality as an adult and dealing with compulsory heterosexuality. I really loved this series and how it focused on issues surrounding but not directly related to the central romance.

気になってる人が男じゃなかった/The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy At All (manga): A girl develops a crush on a worker at a music store after bonding over their shared love of music. Little does she know, he's actually the girl who sits next to her in class. This manga has taken the world by storm to the point of having a collaboration with Nirvana, and let me tell you it deserves every bit of hype you've heard about it. The art and characters are both stunning and is absolutely worth the read.

ハロー、メランコリック！/Hello, Melancholic! (manga): A talented trombonist enters a high school without a wind band, but is scouted anyway by a drummer looking for a new member to join her combo band. This is another one where the romance takes a backseat to other stuff in the plot, can you tell that I love that sort of thing? I also really loved the ways they talked about music in here, and I could definitely relate to it as a musician myself. Apparently, all the chapter titles are songs as well.

さよならローズガーデン/Goodbye, My Rose Garden (manga): A young woman moves from Japan to England to find her favorite author and is hired on as a maid. Her boss agrees to help her find this author so long as she agrees to help her with a grisly task. This is another really lovely series with gorgeous art. Set in the Victorian era, this does have some time period appropriate homophobia but overall it didn't strike me as a very dark manga.

Transgender

彼らが本気で編むときは、/Close Knit (movie): A young girl goes to live with her uncle and his transgender girlfriend. This movie is so sweet and cute! I watched it a couple years back now, but I feel like a lot of specific scenes have stuck with me. This is definitely a good heartwarming Pride month movie night candidate.

不可解なぼくのすべてを/Love Me For Who I Am (manga): A nonbinary teen is offered a job at a crossdressing cafe run by a classmate's family. Although this series has a cast with multiple LGBT identities, I chose to include it here because the main theme seems to revolve around gender. I do recommend this series if you're looking for a cute and sweet story about gender issues, but I did have some hesitations about the way lesbians are portrayed in this manga.

ボーイミーツマリア/Boy Meets Maria (manga): A boy who dreams of being an actor falls in love at first sight with a girl he sees dancing in his high school entrance ceremony, only to later find that she is actually a boy in his class. I feel like I always need to preface any recommendation for this manga by saying that a lot of people took issue with the way certain things and tropes are handled in this regarding being transgender. I personally didn't find it transphobic but I'm also just one person and can't speak for every nonbinary person out there. Regardless, I really enjoyed this. Be aware of trigger warnings when going into this one, it gets extremely graphic.

ボーイズ・ラン・ザ・ライオット/Boys Run the Riot (manga): Two high school boys bond over their shared love of fashion and start a brand together. I read this one a while back and never ended up finishing it but I do remember enjoying what I read! It's also by a transgender mangaka!

放浪息子/Wandering Son (manga/anime): This is a slice of life coming of age series that follows a middle school friend group revolving around two transgender friends. It's more of a slow paced series and a little bit on the more depressing side. The anime is also award winning and the manga was nominated!

星合の空/Stars Align (anime): This is a sports anime about a middle school boys' soft tennis team. I always hesitate to recommend this one because it was greenlit for a twenty four episode anime then cut down to twelve episodes during production. Rather than condense the story, the creator chose to animate only the first half of the series, so it's perpetually unfinished. Despite that, I still think it was a really wonderful anime and I would really love to see the rest of it one day because so much good stuff was set up!

Other/Multiple

しまなみ誰そ彼/Our Dreams at Dusk (manga): A gay teen is about to commit suicide after being outed to his classmates but sees a mysterious person jump from a balcony, which then leads him to a drop in center for LGBT people. I cannot say enough good things about this manga, it is phenomenal and is always my go-to for anyone looking for queer manga. It's heartfelt and beautiful and written by another one of my favorite mangaka, Kamatani Yuhki, who also happens to be X gender!

ヒラエスは旅路の果て/Hiraeth: The End of the Journey (manga): After the death of her best friend, a young girl decides to join a forgotten god and an immortal man on their journey to find death. Another Kamatani manga! This manga deals more with grief and mortality rather than queer identities, but if you want something with casually queer characters, this one is worth picking up. Also, this is one of only two manga to ever make me cry, and boy did I ugly cry at this one.

恋せぬふたり/Two People Who Can't Fall in Love (drama): Though I haven't watched this one, it's been on my radar for quite a while and I've heard so many good things. It's also harder to find series that have explicit aroace representation. This is about a woman who feels ostracized by her lack of romantic interest in anyone around her until she finds a blog about asexuality.

わたしは壁になりたい/I Want to Be a Wall (manga): This series is a marriage of convenience plot between an asexual BL fangirl and a gay man who never got over his childhood crush. I loved the relationship between the two characters and the depiction of a nontraditional family that still has love within it, even if it's not romantic.

Bonus- Music

I'm not one to look much in to the person behind the music, so I often don't know much about band members or singers of the music I listen to. However, there are two wonderful transgender artists that I listen to regularly in Japanese and couldn't pass up the opportunity to share their works with the world! Nakamura Ataru is a pop singer who also takes inspiration from traditional Japanese music. I love her enka styled songs such as 廃墟の森! The other artist is a bit more popular, and that's the rock band QUEEN BEE, whose lead singer is the incredibly talented Avu Chan. Avu Chan also voiced Inu Oh in one of my favorite movies, Inu Oh, which isn't (explicitly) queer, but is definitely worth watching anyways, even if just to hear Avu Chan's insane vocal abilities.

And so, those are (just a few) of my recommendations for Japanese queer reads to celebrate Pride month! If you have any recommendations for me, regardless of whether it's a movie or novel or manga or other, I would love to hear them!

[emotional-fandom-soup]

I wish there was more Star Trek stuff. I wish there was more bad fanfic. I wish there were more thirst edits. I wish people would wildly misinterpret songs to fit their favorite Star Trek characters. I wish I could mention star trek in conversation and have all my friends know vaguely what I'm referring to cuz they've seen it a few times on their fyp instead of sounding like I'm into some super niche shit just cuz I know more than tos

[sickly-sapphic]

[ID: A swirly, pink and blue background on all slides. Text reads; I'm laughing with my queer friends. We talk about queer love and queer sex. "God, I am such a lesbian, I'd literally throw up if I saw a dick irl!" I shrink back. She'll wonder why she doesn't have many transfem friends. "Women & AFABs" is written on a bright, rainbow sign. There's a trans flag on one corner, an intersex one on the other.

I sigh and walk inside.

They all wonder why so few transfems attended the meeting today. "AFAB Healthcare" is the title of the breast cancer awareness post on my for you page this morning.

They'll dare to wonder later why "all our beautiful trans women" are dying so young. There's a reddit post asking trans women what they think of the flag. There's 100 comments.

3 of them are trans women.

All of those have replies, telling them they're wrong.

They'll ask why trans women don't voice their opinions enough. I notice, quietly, I am far more acknowledged in conversation, with my longer hair and visible chest, than the girl across the table with buzz cut and a t-shirt.

They'll wonder why she doesn't keep contact with the rest of the group. My voice is too harsh, too loud. I don't qualify as a girl because or hairy legs or a weird nose.

They ask why so many transfems worry that much about passing. My mutuals repost and talk about punching terfs & kicking transphobes. They have never posted a transfem positivity post. They comment how little their transfem following is.

They scream predator at the trans girl in a collar and cat ears. She is 16. They comment how little they see trans girls in public these days.

I've been called a rapist, a groomer, a creep, for existing in online spaces since 14. It gets worse in short clothes or posts mentioning sex. They keep asking where to find good transfem voices online.

You drown, and you kill. You shout, and you maim. And you have the nerve, the audacity, to look me in the eyes and ask,

"Where are all the trans girls these days?" End ID]

[apricustar]

do you think buck knows about his feelings for eddie?

hey nonnie! i love this question, thank you for sending it<3

honestly, on a conscious level, no i don't think he does. buck feels everything with his entire being, but he's never been great at naming the things that matter most—especially when they threaten to upend the shape of his life. he just kind of moves through the world with an unflinching loyalty he doesn't interrogate too closely. his bond with eddie is so foundational, so ever-present, that i don't think he's ever seen it as something to question. it's not a feeling he arrived at—it's a place he's lived in.

to buck, everything that defines his relationship with eddie—being partners, trusting each other without hesitation, stepping into christopher’s life like it was always meant to be—is just natural. it’s never felt like a choice, so he doesn’t think of it as remarkable. and that’s part of why he doesn’t recognize it for what it is. the love is there—deep and steady and sure—but it’s so tightly woven into his day-to-day that it doesn’t strike him as something to name. it’s not a revelation he’s had; it’s a truth he and eddie have been living nearly since day 1.

i don’t think it really becomes something he thinks about until the morning after with tommy this season. this is the first time anyone in his orbit has made a passing comment about him and eddie’s relationship that doesn’t sound like a joke. and it lands—not because he agrees, but because, for the first time, he has to ask himself what it is everyone else seems to be seeing. that what he’s always known as natural, instinctive, constant… might look different from the outside. might look like something more. it knocks the wind out of him a little. like a door’s opened, and he’s not sure what’s waiting on the other side.

it's one thing to feel something and not name it, not look at it too closely. it's another thing to have someone else recognize it first—to hear it reflected back to you like it's obvious. and that’s where buck starts to spiral—because if that’s how it looks to tommy, who else might be seeing it too?

so he goes to maddie. and when she gently suggests it wouldn’t be so crazy—being in love with eddie—he shuts it down. hard. says it would be. says it’s not like that. says everyone seems to want me to be hopelessly pining for my straight best friend—which, let’s be honest, is a much more specific kind of panic than anyone had actually accused him of…

and we also have to remember who we're talking about... buck sure i’ll check out a hot guy's ass but that’s normal buckley... buck i’m an ally buckley....

and! for him, eddie isn't just his best friend—he's eddie!!!! his most special and favorite guy who can do no wrong! the most gorgeous, most impressive, most infuriatingly good person buck knows. of course eddie is breathtaking. of course he's everything! that's just a fact of the universe—as undeniable as gravity or sunrise. and buck assumes everyone else must see that too, because how could they not?

it's not something he confronts on his own, because it doesn't occur to him to. eddie is woven into his days, his choices, into every version of the future he pictures; he just hasn't fully let himself look close enough to realize what that means. until (gag i know) tommy brings it up.

so, no, i dont think he knows, not fully at least. but the love is there, though—in the rhythm of their lives, the spaces between what's said, in the future he hasn't quite dared to name. BUT big questions have been asked now, and i don't think he's going to be able to un-hear them.

it's waiting for him to catch up. and when he does, it won't feel like something new. it's going to feel like something that's been true for a long, long time.