#really does speak to its queer themes too

[mantisgodsdomain]

We are going through the Hbomberguy video's Queer Video Essayist List to see if anything clicks and having the fun experience of taking all of five minutes to realize "wait a minute... we already know all this stuff! this guy's just saying it in a longer format!

[sideysvault]

𓍼ོ Ad Astra Per Aspera 𓍼ོ (PT. 2)

Southeastern misfortune

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x fem!reader

wc: 2,114k

Tags: [sfw] Arranged marriage, slow burn, angst, mentions of dead, mature themes, enemies to lovers, hurt, comfort

full series masterlist. read part three.

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Without much thought of ruining her night gown, she began to try to take a hold of herself, sitting down on the unmarked path of the garden, slightly rocking herself back and forward, as slyly as she could, as to not start rumors. She tried to keep her mind focused on the soothing sound the crickets made, and let her thoughts waver with the cold wind. 

“Are you alright?” There it was. That sweet voice. 

Even if she startled the Princess, and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment at the thought of being seen in such a precarious condition by her, she was still glad to have company. Quickly standing up, in a makeshift bow she muttered “My queen! My apologies”.

“It is fine. You must call me Helaena” As soon as the princess opened her mouth to protest the lack of formality, she continued “I have to admit, my title hasn’t brought me much joy, and, i much prefer being treated fairly, by my birth name”.

She hummed in response. Being married to a man like Aegon, a man that she knew as a boy, who she must have felt purely fraternal love towards, having to deal with the court and the angst of the upcoming war; No wonder she had no desire to be Queen anymore. 

Heleana signals to a grasshopper that was strolling through the miniature world that is the soil in the garden. She smiles at it, and grabs it tenderly, to place it at the palm of her hand. The little animal, seemingly unaffected by the intrusion, continued his parade around the Queen’s arms. 

“Is my brother not treating you kindly? Aegon can be difficult too, especially when he is drunk”. 

A smile appears on both the woman’s faces. The amount of honesty was not expected, but it was comforting to laugh about one’s tragedies. 

“No, no. The Prince is-” She fidgeted with the sleeves on her gown “Well, I-“ she sighed in exasperation with her inability to open up to the kind Queen“ I do not really know how to explain his offense” Accepting her emotional deceit, the Princess tried to change the subject “Are you having a tough night, as well?”

That question seemed to take the Queen far away from the garden. After the silence had settled in between the two woman, the sweet voice illuminated the echoes of the garden yet again “Mm” Heleana got closer to ther “You see, dreams are the whispers that guide my steps” 

The Queen always spoke in a trance-like state, her mind seemed to live inside the oneiric, pulling her further and further away from the world surrounding her. But she was kind. Her eyes shined with a sincere caring that was hard to fake. Maybe they could become friends. After all, she had come to rescue her from her own mind, speaking earnestly, without hesitation or defensiveness. 

Seeing Heleana’s kind eyes turn watery with desperation and a sense of shared complicity, a wave of guilt swallows her body whole. She did not understand what she was trying to say, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it or if she was to believe its veracity. 

She decided not to hide her confusion, only her instinctive disbelief. Magic and prophets were just tales to keep everyone compliant.

“Pardon me, Heleana, but, what does it mean?” The Queen seemed to feel anxious all of a sudden, and she firmly grabbed the Princess’s hands, got closer to her, and whispered a terrible sentence to her confused ears. 

“I am afraid. Not the dragons, the rats”.

It sounded unlikely, and it took you by surprise. She clearly seemed to think she was making an urgent confession, so you tried to be kind, despite your skepticism. There it was again, Targaryen’s queer costumes and the southeastern legends.

She took her hands off yours; The warmth of her touch disappeared as soon as it came. The Princess’s face must have given it away. Heleana quickly composed herself and softly uttered “You don’t believe me either” she had said matter-of-factly, disappointed and frustrated, yes. But mostly just with sadness coloring her voice. 

————

After the dreadful encounter, It only took about two weeks for the heir to be murdered. It had been done, after all, by the rat men. The culprit was rumored to be not the Usurper, but her loose cannon of a husband. Either way, it did not really make any difference; A child had been butchered like cattle. The only male heir, yes. But also Heleana’s baby boy. The King had turned mad with rage and grief, and Heleana’s psyche and heart seemed to never be able to recover. 

Upon the news of the tragic death, Prince Aemond was taken aback, but kept a serious temple and measured concern. She felt horrified to see his initial cold reaction, and she felt afraid of his familial detachment, and his growing ambition. Upon receiving the details of the horrific news, the Princess had to kneel and puke her sorrows out of her body. It had been a primal reaction, with a sudden feeling of nausea. She thought of the white-haired boy, as pale as snow, as happy as one can be. He was robbed of his future, of the love he could’ve received from his father, his sister and his kind mother, who may just have been able to raise him to be different from the King. But, egotistically, she primarily thought of Heleana’s desperate eyes, pleading for someone to listen to her premonitions, begging for help. The Princess had ignored her Queen’s distress, with a crime worse than treason, but that of treating a fellow woman as hysterical and mentally challenged. Guilt overshadowed any other thought on her mind. 

The first night after the news was known, she thanked the Gods for showing proof of the Prince’s humanity. At the marital bed, when the sheets were already warmed by their bodies, and the echoes of the mumbling night could be heard, another noise could be made out from the chambers. Her husband, the chaste man, the disinterested man, found the warmth in his heart to shed tears for his sibling’s son. She felt such a great relief, that she quietly got closer to him, and wrapped his arms against his waist. The prince, who was not facing her, could feel the warmth of his wife’s tears staining his back with a shared sorrow. He slowly grabbed the hands that were firmly grounding him, and, in a weak moment, he caved in to his human desires and caressed her hands with his thumb. 

The Princess did not sleep that night. When the tears stopped their flow, and her husband had finally fallen asleep, the spell was broken. Uncomfortable with this position of vulnerability and touch, she immediately tried to escape his tender grip. Now, alone with her thoughts again, she could accept that her inability to comprehend that there were things beyond her understanding of the world, her pride and brute vanity had contributed to the beheading of a little boy. 

Feeling like a young child again; Turning and moving around the bed at night, she tried to understand what could be an empiric, logical reason that had made Heleana predict with chilling accuracy the events that would take place. The woman’s entire cosmovision and knowledge of life was shaken, and in the depths of night, she found herself suddenly scared of the ghostly profile that the chandelier projected onto the walls, she felt anxiety about the noises that echoed from the main hall, and mainly, she understood with horror that she could not come up for any reason that did not involve the ancient beliefs. 

In the upcoming weeks, besides the political unrest, came the personal tragedies. The Prince, back to his normal self, had told his wife that the daughter of Heleana, not only haunted by her brother’s brutal attack, had been suffering recurring night terrors, worrying that she would be the next to be taken away. 

The Princess’s heart broke for the little girl, and for her mother, who must’ve felt like another nail was being hit onto her skin with her daughter’s complicated grief. 

So she took it upon herself to make their nights as easy as possible. Each day, she would invent a story to write down for Heleana to read to her daughter before bed, she would conjure tales of love and divine peace, tales of struggle that always ended with a nice resolution. The Queen, knowing that Princess’s kindness was motivated by her own guilt, decided to finally have a talk with her, in private. 

As soon as Heleana called for her, the Princess promptly left her room, eager to get the difficult conversation started as soon as possible. With the rush she had felt she did not have much time to cover or hide her writings, which were not yet ready for the Queen to receive. Prince Aemond could not help himself, and as soon as she left, he walked towards the desk and found with a small smile in his lips that his wife had been writing children’s tales for his sister and niece. With fear of ruining the wet ink, he traced the mess his wife had for calligraphy. Without touching, his fingertips lingered over the comforting words, imagining what it would feel like to touch the magical world she had created to comfort his family.  

————

When she entered the room, despite all the consuming guilt and shame she felt, all that her eyes could really focus on was Heleana. She was standing near the edge of the window, exposing her back towards the door of the chamber, not admiring the landscape, but feeling the cold breeze hit her face with tenderness. She looked like a divine apparition, with her pristine white hair that attracted light from the room and multiplied it with its color, with her usual trance state and the beautiful embroidery on her dress. The Princess did not know how to announce her arrival, so she awkwardly waited for the Queen to notice her. After some time, Heleana murmured something without turning to face her guest. 

“They are helping.” She took a small breath before continuing, “The stories, I mean.”

The Princess’s heart broke once more for the girl who remained kind above all else, the girl who war could not completely taint, even after forcing her to experience the torturous pain of loss. 

“Heleana, I’m deeply sorry, I-“ without being able to find the proper words, or knowing how to continue, she kneels before her, bowing to her not as the Queen, but as a wise friend who should have been listened to. The Princess looks up to her from the depths of the floor and says “I truly am sorry, I should have listened”. 

Upon hearing those words, the white on Heleana’s eyes seemed to pulsate and expand on their own, clearly being attacked with flashes of the tragic night. When she finally closed them, she dropped to her knees as well, crying, and thanking the floor which provided a wonderfully solid base. It was comforting to know that she had fallen and could fall no further. The Queen said nothing, but took the Princess’s hands. Now, laying together on their knees, with their fingers intertwined and their heads against each other, that was the moment they truly became friends. The pair remained in that position for a while, before the Princess broke the sacred silence with an earnest desire to express what had been on her mind “You have a gift, Heleana. A gift that defies my common mind and my prejudge against the realm of the unknown. I truly am sorry. No one should doubt the words that your prophecies tell. Jaehaerys was a wonderful child, nothing could mend what has been done to him”. 

“I do feel sad about Jaehaerys. But I ought not to, I think. Babes die all the time. The people at that horrid procession, they way they looked at me-”

Helaena dropped her hands, and started to avoid eye contact with the Princess. She focused instead on the pattern the dents in the walls of the chamber.

“You are allowed to grieve. Not as a high-born lady, but as a mother”. 

The Queen never really met the other woman's eyes again, but a soft, almost imperceptible smile flashed through her face. They sat on the cold, solid floor for what felt like hours, not speaking again, but accompanying one another until dawn, when the time came for the Princess to finish the story and for the Queen to read it to her daughter.

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Notes: I finally got time to write part two! This series has given me my motivation back, and has helped me through tough times. Little people have read it, but to all of those who are re-blogging the work, I sincerely appreciate you and your kindness! It makes me smile -Sidey xxo

pd. My timeline is all messed up so ignore that too x

[lurkingshan]

Dear Shan, I discovered your blog recently and it has been a delight to go through your very insightful takes on BL. I am learning a lot. I love Bad Buddy a lot and since I learned you love it too I thought maybe I could ask you about something that has been bothering me. Another BL blog (ineffable opinions) claims that the series does common queer people in Thailand dirty by making fun of their appropriation of the word wife. I have read posts by absolutebl explaining the term might be a pejorative-adjacent and that made sense then. But on a second thought, I am worried if my western upbringing is leading to some confirmation bias on my part.

Hi anon, thank you for reading! There's a lot to unpack in your question, some of which I am not qualified to address, but here's what I'll say:

I have the blog you are referencing blocked because their main purpose on this website seems to be posting confrontational screeds that make ad hominem attacks against other people for attention, hidden behind a veneer of intellectual language to make it sound academic (it's not)

That said, that doesn't mean every criticism they offer is totally without validity. I am not really qualified to unpack their claims here about how queer people in Thailand may feel about this term or Bad Buddy's intentional rejection of it (neither are they, as they are not a queer Thai person).

But I do know that Bad Buddy was in fact made by a queer Thai man, and one of its running themes was intentional subversion of common bl tropes, including rejecting the use of "wifey" and other heteronormative language. Through this show, Aof Noppharnach is speaking directly to his own community and commenting on the tropes of the genre that he does not find helpful to queer men.

That said, queer men in any country are not a monolith and I'm sure there are some who like to use that language, which is certainly their right. They are also free to make art expressing their own POV about these issues.

That's what I got on that! As a western person engaging with Asian media, it's good that we recognize the limits of our own context and don't try to speak for people we do not represent. I feel no need to plant a flag on this debate, but I do think it's an interesting thing to consider, and it's part of a conversation that happens globally around the reclamation of slurs and heteronormative terms for queer folks.

[gemsofgreece]

speaking of greek films, do you have any recommendations? maybe even of the romcom variety? i've only seen zorba

And here's me whose ass still hasn't watched Zorba and even more embarrassingly I kinda thought it was a fully American movie adapting the Greek novel with some Greeks contributing, like actress Irene Papas and the music score by Mikis Theodorakis. It turns out you're right though, the film was directed, written and produced by the Greek filmmaker Michael Cacoyannis but then it was distributed by 20th Century Fox so it was a Greece - USA production.

I don't know if you can speak or are learning Greek though because Zorba was a co-production and it was mostly in English but a fully Greek production is in Greek and most don't get subtitled for international audiences. I will give you some personal recs but I can't guarantee you will find subtitles easily or you will have to do some severe digging. I have made the recs in an older answer so I am linking that post:

I will give a more updated rec list too:

Faves of mine:

From the link above the ones I would advice one to not miss are:

Η Κάλπικη Λίρα (The Counterfeit Coin, 1955). It's not only my favourite Greek movie but it's also in the All Time Top 100 Best Movies of International Cinema list of some very legit major institution that I am forgetting now XD It's a social dramedy with top tier comedians and drama actors co-starring and it's basically four different life stories connected through the same counterfeit coin.

Αχ, αυτή η γυναίκα μου! (Oh, that wife of mine!, 1967) It's a situational comedy. It's hilarious but if you don't know Greek, I don't know how well it translates to a different language. Man desperately wanting a promotion gets in a chaotic situation when his playboy boss first gets outraged and then obsessed with his wife, without knowing her true identity.

 5 λεπτά ακόμα (5 minutes more, 2006) I still think this movie is very underrated. It's a metaphysical philosophical dark dramedy with a great understated score. You can find it on youtube, obviously without English subtitles and with bad quality but hey at least it's on youtube! A morally neutral man with jealousy issues dies and is given five more minutes in the mortal world, which will determine his afterlife.

Το Τανγκό των Χριστουγέννων (Christmas Tango, 2011). Romantic drama. A soldier gets unintentionally entagled in the unrequited / forbidden romance of his mysterious aloof commander. Now this movie has a queer element. It does not have a queer happy end but it has both straight and queer themes and honestly it's a beautiful movie. You can find it on youtube.

Ρεμπέτικο (Rembetiko, 1983). Drama. The tragic life of a female singer of the then underground Rembetiko music scene, the music genre the Greeks of Asia Minor brought along after the Asia Minor Catastrophe and the population exchange between Turkey and Greece in the first half of the 20th century. Personally, I am not crazy about this movie but this doesn't mean necessarily anything because it gets good reviews in imdb even outside Greece. But I personally recommend it for its INSANE score and songs. These songs have become emblematic in the Greek music scene. The composer, Stavros Xarhakos, makes a cameo in the movie.

I still recommend the other recs in the old list too, especially the comedies. Also, like I have said, you can't go too wrong with Greek comedies of the 50s-60s in general. Since I said that, here's a list of faves and critics' choices of Greek movies from the 50s-70s.

Some other faves not in the old lists:

Το χώμα βάφτηκε κόκκινο (Blood on the Land, 1966). A Greek Western! Who would have thought but it is good! When I say western, I don't mean Cowboys vs Natives of course, but I mean land property disputes, rural, animosity gets out of hand, social class inequality etc etc and it is actually linked to Greek social history of the 20th century. And finally a Greek movie that takes good advantage of the Meteora. The movie was a nominee for best foreign film in the Oscars .

Strella, 2009. This is a strictly 18+ movie. It is a queer movie BUT it is also a very edgy movie, like, it can be perceived as extremely edgy no matter if you are a member of the LGBTQIA+ community or not. It's not the imagery that makes it edgy but the plot at some point takes a serious left turn. So, only watch if you're into weird cinema territory. I have warned you. Personally I am not into weird cinema but I liked this one. Man gets out of prison after years of incarceration for committing a murder. He befriends and soon gets into a relationship with a trans female sex worker. The protagonist, Mina Orfanou, is actually a trans woman and she was really praised for her performance in this.

Ιφιγένεια (Iphigenia, 1977). Directed by Michael Cacoyannis like Zorbas, this is a movie about the myth of the sacrifice of Iphigenia, Agamemnon's daugher, with an all-Greek cast. It is kind of those theater-to-movie films so don't expect Troy level of production. It has very minimal sets. Also, it's the 70s, the bible and sandal era, so the costumes are really anachronistic and inaccurate but other than that it is a good movie. It was nominated for the Oscar for foreign language film. And it's on youtube with English subtitles.

A few other recs:

Antigone (1961). Even more than Iphigenia, this is almost pure theatre filmed. The acting is theatrical, the staging is theatrical, it's all just theatre really. This is a very loyal adaptation of Euripides' Antigone. The acting is very good.

America America (1963). A movie by Greek American filmmaker Elia Kazan that I haven't watched yet but it is very famous. Biographical historical drama, inspired by Kazan's uncle. The struggles and feats of a Greek of Anatolia, Ottoman Empire (modern day Turkey) trying to secure a passage to America in the late 19th - early 20th century. It is an Academy Awards winner.

Πολίτικη Κουζίνα (A Touch of Spice, 2003). The life of a boy and his relationship to his beloved grandfather, who instilled in him the love for cooking and astronomy, as they part ways when the boy and his parents are deported from Turkey after the ongoing tensions started from the incidents of the Istanbul pogrom in 1955, while the grandfather is able to legally stay behind. I wouldn't put this movie in my faves but it is very aesthetically pleasing and has a wonderful score. It is also an introduction to the special historical bond Greeks have with Constantinople / Istanbul and the tragic story of it all.

Έτερος Εγώ (Heteros Ego / The Other Me, 2016). Crime Mystery. This movie is very popular. I think it's overrated but you can judge for yourself. It is on youtube. I personally liked more the TV series that was its continuation (the first two seasons only, because the third was horrible). It is suitable for 17+ audiences. An eccentric criminology professor is summoned to investigate murder cases where the murderer cites quotes by Pythagoras.

Man of God, 2021. If you are a Christian / religious, watch it. I would like this movie more if the director had not forced all the cast to perform in English in order to make an international screening. It takes away from their performance because it is so unnatural and illogical. But otherwise it is an interesting topic and the actors try their best despite that massive handicap. This is the true story of Saint Nektarios of Aegina island and his unfair defamation by the rest of the clergy.

Η Φόνισσα (The Murderess, 2023). Unfortunately this movie does not hold a candle to the original novel of Alexandros Papadiamantis written in 1903 - quite possibly the first feminist literary work written by a man - but it is your next best alternative unless you can read the book or a translation of it. In this case, totally skip the movie and read the book, which is excellent and my favourite Greek novel. But if you watch the movie, just know it took many liberties for the worse. It has good acting and cinematography though. The story explores the life and mind of Frankoyannou, a hardened peasant woman, as more and more female infants and young girls are found murdered in her village, including her own grand-daughter.

Miss Violence, 2013. This movie is incredibly disturbing and I wish I could forget what I saw. If you like disturbing cinema, obviously 18+, watch it. It sickens you to the core though. An ordinary 11 year old girl commits suicide the day her ordinary family celebrates her birthday. Minute by minute we learn more about the family though and minute by minute we realise this is not a regular family AT ALL.

More weirdness. If you actually do like weird cinema, then you can also explore Yorgos Lanthimos' old Greek movies. These are easier to find since Lanthimos is globally famous now. Dogtooth was his Greek movie that was a nominee in the Oscars. But he has a couple more. (By the way, Miss Violence makes Dogtooth seem like a My Little Pony episode.)

More length. Theo Angelopoulos was an acclaimed Greek director, famous for his slow lengthy movies that explore philosophical and other themes. Several movies of his are acclaimed internationally. His most awarded ones are Ο Θίασος (The Travelling Players, 1975), Ταξίδι στα Κύθηρα (Voyage to Cythera, 1984), Το βλέμμα του Οδυσσέα (Ulysses' Gaze, 1995), Μια Αιωνιότητα και μια Μέρα (Eternity and a Day, 1998), Τοπίο στην Ομίχλη (Landscape in the Mist, 1988).

More Kazantzakis. Since you have watched Zorba the Greek, a film based on the novel Life and Times of Alexis Zorbas by Nikos Kazantzakis, perhaps you will be interested in two more movies based on other novels of his, even if they are not purely Greek or Greek productions. The first one is the very famous The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) starring Willem Dafoe, directed by Martin Scorsese. The problem is that this movie is often very misunderstood as edgy / anti-Christian / atheist whereas Kazantzakis' intent with his book was kinda the exact opposite so he probably rolls nonstop in his grave with some readings I have seen being made of the movie, even here on tumblr. Scorcese obviously focused more on the edgy factor than Kazantzakis did, further encouraging such misinterpretations but you could still be able to understand the meaning of Kazantzakis' book through the movie, now that I told you that Kazantzakis was essentially a secular theological / Christian philosopher. The other one is Ο Χριστός Ξανασταυρώνεται (Christ Recrucified / He Who Must Die, 1957). A French / Italian production, also featuring the Greek actress Melina Mercuri. A Greek village in Anatolia in 1920 (Modern day Turkey) stages a Passion Play for Easter. Staging the play leads to them rebelling against their Turkish rulers in a way that mirrors Jesus's story. There is also a Greek TV series adapting the novel in 1975 - 1976, which is closer to the book and gets better reviews and you can watch it in the streaming platform I recommend below.

ERTFLIX. Ertflix is the state TV's OTT platform and it is entirely for free, while also available internationally. It has both desktop and app formats and you can also add it to several TV boxes, Chromecast, Roku etc For the free service that it is, it has an abundance of series, movies and documentaries so I can never stop praising it...! There you can find numerous Greek movies / series / documentaries to watch, plus even more foreign stuff with Greek subtitles if you're learning Greek and need to practice. Plus it has interviews, the invaulable archives of the state TV and so much more. In Greece it is not necessary but for using the platform abroad you will have to register as a user but it is entirely for free. Ertflix I love you. Below is a screenshot with some Greek movies available now:

Scroll to the Greek cinema option (or to the Greek series). The site is built in both Greek and English.

Where you can find ERTFLIX:

The aforementioned TV series based on Kazantzakis' novel.

Upcoming movies of Greek interest:

Maria. The biopic of Maria Callas, rather her last years, starring Angelina Jolie. Is Jolie a good casting choice for Callas? Well, no. People say she does a good job in it however. I don't know about that and I am going to be sceptical because I love Maria Callas and I don't think she can be easily (at all) imitated. I 'll watch it though. From the trailer I see Jolie did a very legit job with Callas' speaking manner and accent, this is hopeful. Part of the movie was filmed in Greece too.

The Return. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche, this is a retelling of the last part of the Odyssey, once Odysseus has returned to Ithaca and has to reclaim his rule and home from Penelope's suitors. It is a realistic retelling, not featuring the gods, based on the trailer I saw. I had my reservations for this casting but Fiennes looks good as old Odysseus IMO and Binoche is a brunette French, of course she can pass easily as a Greek. They are also both good and serious actors and I am sure they give their best in the movie. The drawback is that it's like we return to the 70s with these poor and anachronistic costumes and sets. And also aside from the protagonists, who would have thought there was so much diversity in Ithaca / s, a REAL, TINY and REMOTE Greek island. Telemachus looks like the blondest of Swedes and then the Ithacians have apparently descent from Scandinavia to Southeast Asia to central Africa. Amazing. Ithaca, the New York of Bronze Age. At least Fiennes (in this) and Binoche do pass as Greeks... What makes the movie a little promising for me is the amazing physique Fiennes achieved for it: the parts half dead old beggar and parts godly warrior king. He nailed it. The scene with the bow, I know already I will get the chills.

From this alone I know Fiennes is doing a terrific job in this. He is always invested very seriously in his movies.

Anyway, one third of the movie is shot in Greece and ERT (the Greek State TV) is actually a co-producer (a rarity with international movies of Greek mythological interest nowadays), so once it's done from movie theaters, it is going to be available for free on ERTFLIX... apparently globally. I so hope this movie does not disappoint me.

A lot of these can be found in links in greek-movies.com but you didn't hear it from me.

[stormblessed95]

Who Thoughts and Theories

First, it's such a good song. I'm genuinely so in love with it, with Jimins vocals, with his dance, with his backup dancers. I'm so impressed with how hard he worked and all the choices he contributed to it. While this is the only song on the album that Jimin doesn't have writing credits on, he was still very much involved in every aspect of the songs creation and it was written with the feelings Jimin wished to portray. I talk briefly about what I believe the overall feelings that Jimin was trying to express in the album Muse, here:

And of course because you should refresh yourself on the song and get that extra stream in before you read....

I'll otherwise just be talking about what I think, my thoughts, my feelings and my theories about Who, the song and the MV in this post. These are of course just my opinions, coming from my perspectives. You are free to agree or disagree as much as you want.

First, I want to say that regardless of the pronouns used in the song, I don't think it has any bearing on Jimins sexuality. People (read: homophobes) cannot use this song as a way to try to say Jimin can't be queer. Not only is that nonsensical and ignoring the fact that Jimin would be closeted if he is queer. But it's also ignoring the way Jimin speaks about the song, which is solely in gender neutral terms. From the original lyrics being "you" instead of "she."

To the way he says "people" instead of "girls/women" about the scene where people walk past him as the options of who he could be looking for. Along with the fact that the billboard with a man's eyes drop right after he sings "who is my heart Waiting for?"

The way that Jimin dances with both men and women and the scene then when they come together, it's absolutely giving west side story. Which is my personal opinion. Which one of the themes of west side story is love striving to rise above the hatred.... And idk about you, but I think that can easily relate to queer love as well. But again, personal opinion only! So this BS that I know everyone rolled their eyes at with the "this proved he is straight" nonsense, is at its core.... Nonsense...

Speaking of his dance, this thread has absolutely nothing to do with what I'll talk about in this post but is so cool and FULL of Jimin appreciation and you should check it out if you want!

Jimin switched aspect ratios of film during his MV of Who. An ARMY linked together all the times he changed ratios, which you can watch here:

As well as going through multiple different types of media: television, comic strips, movie, billboards, etc. Jimin is showing us multiple different storylines within his MV. This same person from above goes into great detail about how all this can show the various details of storylines and storytelling. It's a good read, worth checking out

It's super interesting the way the words play across the screen during certain parts of the MV and how it changes the screen ratios as well. I would love an actual interpretation from Jimin or the MV director over what they actually mean or if it was just in the 90s theme with zero correlation or meanings, but I doubt we will ever get that. So all we can do is guess and make our own interpretations. Which will be affected by our own personal biases. That's the beauty of art though!

The ones I'll point out that I'll say something about are:

Play, both in the corners at times and on the little TV's around the MV

Auto calibration, with the burning wrecked car, where the words flash quickly across the screen at the bottom, right before hand too, the screen ratio had changed again too. And it changes again as he does his partner choreo with the girl

Rewind, which appears during the bridge. Right after the billboard falls and the screen ratio had changed again

And then pause at the very end before the whole screen cuts.... And then we get the end screen with the words play again, basically looping the video, and the Smeraldo Flower

So let's talk about it!

It's interesting that the video basically loops, it's really giving storytelling. Jimin being an actor basically. "Play" being inside the story for the most part. And it's interesting that those parts happen right before a lot of the partnering choreo too. Auto calibration means bringing something back into an acceptable range. Which if we relate this at all to queerness, it's absolutely giving "don't stray too far out of that closet." And it does happen right after Jimin dances with men, before dancing with the woman again. And play is back in the little TV's. It's giving, trying to be perfect and fit into expectations and be in the perfect storybook. And at the end, Jimin is left behind by all the dancers and the billboard drops at "who is my heart Waiting for" and it's clearer and clearer that it really is most likely JKs eyes. If not, it's absolutely a man's eyes and that is screaming queer energy. And even if it is just a promo of some kind, since we don't know the connection between the eyes, JK, "keep going" and AYS yet, it's WILD to put Jikook promo in this type of love song. And yet, these are the two that publicly claimed the song serendipity as theirs. So it tracks.

And when we get to rewind, it's at the same time as he is talking about "people" walking by him as potentials for his perfect match, as well as how he is not able to "match" any of the women he attempts to meet with through dance in his short walk. It is also right after that billboard with ?Jungkook? drops too. Interesting. Trying to get back into the original story perhaps? Perhaps it's not working so well?

Pause. Off. Smeraldo Flower which represents the Truth Untold.... Speaking yourself. Loving yourself. Being true to who you are..... Which is maybe not what was the perfect story that was being depicted through the MV. Who knows! But that is the end. Just to loop around and start again with Play. Where he literally tells us with Muse to "please misunderstand." Again, just interesting. And if you are following my thoughts here, you already know why that is "interesting."

It's giving closeted queer energy and it's giving I like people, not genders and it's giving love.

Which brings me to the very LAST thing I want to talk about. Sorry, I know this is already SO LONG. Jimin is singing amongst natural disasters. So did V and JK actually too. They are singing about declaring love in the middle of some kind of disaster. And I can't stop thinking about that honestly.

It's giving peak grand gesture kinda romance. It's giving intimacy found between two people in love no matter where they are or how loud the world might be around them. It's giving raw and honest declarations of intent and love type vibes. And i just love that they are into and going for that exaggerated confession scene and storybook kinda romance. It's absolutely tracks for who they are as people and the romance they've all talked about wanting too. And who else do we know who always seems to like doing grand gesture type romantic BS for someone else?

Anyway! This is the feeling that people write epic romances about. Your favorite ships? It's the same type of feeling that's inspired here. Let me try to explain this in some kinda way....

It's a trope. "Love conquers all" where it doesn't matter what life throws at you. All the trials, the tribulations, the natural disasters, the normal disasters, any and all shortcomings or failures you might face in life.... The moment of being with the one you love? Of being vulnerable and baring your soul with another person who means the world to you? Making sure they understand how much they mean to you and how much you love them? That's always going to be the most important thing and moment. That is the significance of the intimacy and the romance displayed.

It's the peak, idealistic version of the best relationship you could find yourself in. Nothing and no one matters more than the moments you create with your loved one, even in the middle of a raging horrific apocalyptic disaster ridden world.

And how sometimes, just building up to that confession can make things feel like a horrific apocalyptic disaster ridden world, until you confess. And you let those feelings out. And it's okay. All those disasters quiet down, maybe you even start to enjoy the rain. It was your emotions all along. And then you discover that hey, maybe the reason I'm feeling so calm now is actually BECAUSE of this person I love. Being with them calms my mind, brings me safety, happiness and joy.

Sometimes, in the middle of all the madness and chaos of the world... You are only minutes away from finding that moment with that person that's going to give you something infinite. Something that no natural disaster can destroy or take away from you. Something, and/or someone, so precious.

And there is something so beautiful in depicting this in their love songs. It's inspirational. As well as humorous in regards to Seven. Lol

I'll just finish this off with a link to this twitter user as this moment just came out, and it's about rebirth, but I do low-key agree with them here 😂

And anyway, that was my essay! Lol if you read all of this. Bless you and thank you! You are appreciated! A reminder that this is all just personal opinions. You are free to agree or disagree as you choose!

[sootiesweep]

Some final thoughts on Yelena's asexuality before I watch Thunderbolts* in 3 days

The cast of Thunderbolts*

Finding out about Yelena's aro-asexuality was a massive comfort to me when I was first realising I was aroace too, in 2022. Her representation is extremely important to many people like myself, who are shockingly underrepresented. To me, her identity is not up for debate - and I won't be spending my energy trying to "prove" this on this particular post (if you are interested in learning more about Yelena's sexual orientation/identity, I'd recommend posts like this). It's exhausting trying to defend yourself against blatant aphobia during those convos, and today, I'd just like to give some of my final thoughts on this topic before I finally see the film!

Thunderbolts* announcement, San Diego Comic Con 2022

Ever since they first announced the cast of Thunderbolts*, there have been many people shipping Yelena and Bucky together. Since Hawkeye, she has been frequently shipped with Kate Bishop, too - and I've even discovered she is also shipped with John Walker?! I was so preoccupied with worrying about Yelena x Bucky, that I never thought I'd have to worry about her and Bob (aka Sentry/Void), too. According to the Thunderbolts* Empire Magazine article, Yelena and Bob have a close relationship in this film:

...one thing is for sure: Bob bonds with Yelena. "I have quite a bit of the movie that I share with Florence," says Pullman of their two-lost-souls-swimming-in-a-fishbowl dynamic. "Bob is going through what all of them are probably, secretly, going through," adds Pugh. "Yelena sees parts of herself in him. She's always been someone that wants to look after people. She has a sweet spot for him, and essentially likes looking after him because he's useless. He's absolutely useless." [...] It's a relationship that gets right to the beating heart, and head, of Thunderbolts*. - Empire Magazine

Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova and Lewis Pullman as Bob in Thunderbolts*

It sucks that I have to worry about a "close relationship" between a female and male character. This isn't just an aroace or queer issue - our heteronormative society encourages the sexualisation of countless things, including female + male friendship. One of my closest friends of several years is male, and I can guarantee that there is nothing sexual about our relationship lol.

I've worried about this film for so long - from when there were first rumours about its existence. My main worries have always been about Bucky's writing and possible death (which his inclusion in Doomsday likely rules out, much to my relief), and the possible erasure of Yelena's identity. I've made edits, I've typed and researched and vented - and yet, after all this, I do now have a little hope.

From the first post-filming interviews, the cast and director have gushed about the film's themes about mental health, and finding solace in relationship with others. Honestly, with everything I've read and seen, it seems to me that there simply isn't space in this film for Yelena to have a romantic relationship. Something director Jake Schreier said in the Empire Magazine article really struck a chord with me:

"There's an element that does speak to mental health, and loneliness, and how some of the darkness that we experience in our lives can't be necessarily fixed, but can only be made lighter through connection and finding others." - Jake Schreier

As an aroace woman who knows that there will always be a thread of loneliness throughout my life, this really rings true for me. In the "absence" of a partner, my friends and family (and cat) mean the world to me. They really do keep me sane lol. I hope that the Thunderbolts (and her dog, Fanny) can be this for Yelena. Her teased relationship with Bob sounds like it could be touching indeed - I simply hope that they don't kiss. These themes of the film and the dynamics between these characters could be huge for aspec people like myself - normalising and highlighting the importance of strong platonic affection and connection in a world where sexual and romantic relationships are held on the highest pedestal. I've never expected a magical queer movie for Yelena - but this could be enough for now.

[purpiesaint]

People talk about some of the homophobic elements of grindeldore and I have thoughts

Firstly I don’t agree that gay Dumbledore was tacked on. I think JKRs mistake wasn’t making it explicit enough. However it is defo in the subtext, the way the relationship is talked about is implied to be romantic. But it’s not enough and it goes over a lot of people’s heads.

Now I will give jkr the benefit of the doubt. It was 2007. Gay characters in mainstream tv were rare and that’s just for adults. It’s likely that a full on explicit gay old man in a child’s book would have been shot down. Also people say she announced it when in reality she answered a question from fan. It wasn’t a big fanfare like people suggest. Dumbledore was always gay. Should have been explicit yes but it was never for woke points. (And like do you really think jkr would want woke points especially in this day and age)

Now fantastic beasts I think it’s mostly fine. I do think Yates is a complete moron for saying they wouldn’t show Dumbledores sexuality explicitly. Like come on dude it’s about grindelwald that relationship is so important to him as a character and fans have wanted it explicitly for a long time. Idk why he even said that.

I think COG is a bad movie and Johnny Depp sucks as Grindelwald. The gay stuff is okay. Like it is shown. That mirror scene is explicit. Look at this and tell me this isn’t meant to be romantic.

I do think it could have been spoken about more. I mean grindeldore should have intersected a bit, but fully think they don’t because Johnny and Jude likely didn’t have chemistry. It’s not perfect but it’s a far cry from queerbaiting.

Now secrets of Dumbledore is just explicit it’s a major part of the plot. Grindelwald and Dumbledore both speak on the relationship, grindeldore clearly pine. There’s no way you can think it’d too subtle. Now I do think flashback should have happened in SOD, like just narratively we need to know what that relationship was like and I think we could have had physical intimacy here. Maybe they were waiting for the next films but I don’t get it. Like come on Toby and Jamie are great actors and we should know how passionate it was! Apart from that I have no complaints on SOD.

Overall I think fantastic beasts is okay. Should have been more but I don’t think it was terrible. I mean I just wish they did a grindeldore story from the jump, but a last.

Now let’s get to the meat of this. I think that JKRs original idea of Gellert just manipulating Albus is homophobic. Like yes Gellert is a horrible person, and manipulative however having your only queer relationship be based on lies is kinda horrible? Like what message does that send to queer people, that your love is fake? . That sad gay Albus was taken advantage off by BAD gay Gellert.

Now mutual grindeldore is better, gives Gellert a better villain narrative for fb plus its now an actual relationship ripped apart by Gellert’s character flaws. It’s an queer relationship with two gay men invested in each other. Gellert is no longer just a unfeeling seductive bad GAY. But an actual gay man who feel in love just like Albus.

Is there still issues with mutual grindeldore? Hmmm I think there is an implication in the text that it was bad for Albus to fall in love. That there is idk a punishment for him loving man. That if he didn’t love Gellert ariana would be alive. Which I don’t really like that implication for the only queer couple. Like yes Gellert is the bad guy. Yes their ideas were fucking horrible, however Albus was not in the wrong for being idk young and in love. I t don’t really like that Jkr refers to Gellert as Albus dark temptation either. Just…ick.

As for Albus not loving again. I don’t think that’s bad. I think that’s understandable. Gellert was his only equal and Albus doesn’t think he’s worthy. This isn’t exclusive to them. Snape is the same, he never moved on from Lily, here I think this is just a theme of the books, only loving once. Now I do think it’s odd that Jkr refers to him as asexual after (not what asexual means btw Joanne) like okay does he just think sex is bad now?

So yeah I think a couple of elements of grindeldore that are a bit icky. I do love them and find their relationship the most interesting in the canon. But just some of it is a little hmmmm.

I do also think their is strength in gay Dumbledore. A feminine gay man who isn’t mocked by the narrative who’s complex and powerful. Also he’s old! Old gay men aren’t in many stories.

Gellert is interesting too (but ngl I give this mainly to mads who plays him with nuance) a gay villain who’s threatening unrelated to his sexuality. Also complex. Him wearing queer symbols in fb is also cool.

Also find it cool how close their love story is to the arrest of Oscar Wilde.

All in all grindeldore and Dumbledore is not perfect rep. It should have been more open in the books. In both fb and DH. There also should have been a couple more queer characters in fb. I think that would balance it out (I get why there isn’t in hp, again 2007) but I don’t think it’d dripping with homophobia like some suggest.

Also off topic but why did Rowling deny Sirius could have been queer so hard??? Like I get she didn’t want wolfstar (that’s fine btw) but like she was so angry about it lol.

[hkthatgffan]

Do you believe that greater queer representation in Gravity Falls would have make the show better?

Interesting question. It actually reminded me of a bit in the interview with Alex Hirsch where he sorta talked about that with us. Think it was in Hana's last question before the quick fire round. He'd mentioned to us how because of the way things back when GF was being made were, he never really set out with Gravity Falls to do something like that given Disney would just, to quote him, "tear us down." And, as we all know regarding the Love God stuff, despite Alex and his crew fighting for it, Disney was just a far too stubborn nut to crack back then. Alex mentioned how he'd often approve writers and artists coming up with stuff that Disney would just reject.

But, if Gravity Falls was being made later, Alex of course wouldn't have those same restrictions and might be able to do something more and explore it too. So like, maybe he could've gotten Wendy to be bi canonically as she originally was meant to be. I think Gravity Falls would probably have had more canon LGBTQ+ characters (or more so heavily implied to be in canon) in it as a result than just Blubs and Durland being confirmed to be in the finale briefly. Sucks really, given Wendy could've beaten out characters like Luz and Jackie Lynn Thomas for that title by years if Disney was less paranoid about some Karen in Alabama screaming to Fox News about gay people on Disney channel.

But more to the point, even if Gravity Falls had more queer representation to it, IDK how the main plot would change. I mean, The Owl House for example, being made in a time where it could be made the way it was planned to be, managed to not only tell its story but also work Lumity into it in a way that makes the two important to each other. The show's story requires Luz and Amity being together sort of speak, end the way it does. So, without that, TOH would've been a far less good show if Disney had told Dana Terrace no.

Comparably, Gravity Falls' story, due to having to deal with the restrictions of its time, is such that even if it had more rep in it, I don't think the ultimate outcome would change in terms of the finale and how the story ends with Bill's defeat. What would change is far more interesting and likely inclusive themes and story ideas.

Maybe given Wendy original character plan, we'd have seen her developed or given more focus as a result. Maybe we'd see more background characters who are queer and more of a normal feel of discussion in it as opposed to not.

Of course, I'm not an LGBTQ+ person myself, so I don't think I'm personally someone who would best understand or know how to answer this question, but I do feel at least if GF had more freedom for that, it could make characters who were meant to be so, be able to be, while more further hinting towards characters who could be.

I think the ultimate determining factor on if it would improve the show is how the characters are written. As I mentioned in my answer about Mabel being the main character, it would require a writing team that understands her in the perspective she would be in...one Alex Hirsch even as creator may not fully. Hence why Matt Braly, a guy who made a show where 3 of the main characters were girls, had a writing team mainly comprised of women who brought to the table things he wouldn't be able to. As a result, Amphibia is arguably the best cartoon Disney has made since GF ended (IMO).

So, having the right team behind the scenes is as important as having that representation in the first place. I mean, again, to use Lumity as an example, TOH had a team behind it that knew what it wanted and how to approach it. Dana Terrace is bi herself and said she draws inspiration for Luz from herself. And as a result, Dana and TOH team delivered a ground breaking moment with two characters that have left their mark on Disney TVA forever.

So, I think the trick to getting Gravity Falls to have LGBTQ+ characters in it that in turn elevate the show by being so, is to have a crew writing it that understands it from a perspective that only they can.

I mean, it's like trying to bake a pie without knowing how. Sure, you can try it yourself, but you may or may not get it right or mess it up because you don't know how do so. But, if you ask your friend who is a baker and expert in pie making to do so, they'll likely nail it given they have the experience, knowledge and understanding on how to do so that you don't.

So, could greater queer rep in Gravity Falls have made it a better show? Of course. It without a doubt could've. But it would need a team behind it that understands how to approach it in a way to ensure it works as best as it can.

[auroraboringaliceinwonderland]

My Top Favorite Webcomics: Cursed Princess Club, by LambCat.

TL;DR included below.

Seeing as this series has ended I can’t take pics of the webcomic because that goes against webtoons rules about completed originals, however nothing was said about me taking a picture of the official books and I’m not including spoilers so…

As you can see, not only does Cursed Princess Club have such humor - but it also has some stronger themes, and even warnings of such for readers.

But first, how did I discover this series?

It wasn’t actually on webtoon, if the images of books above are anything to go by lol; but I didn’t find the physical books either. Someone I know irl went book-shopping with me once because we had the all holy Gift Cards Reserved Specially for BooksTM from relatives who don’t know much about us beyond us liking gift cards for books every Yuletide.

We mostly went our separate ways in the bookstore, however when we met up again they showed me their books and I showed them mine. When it came time to show me Cursed Princess Club - which didn’t take that long considering we only got two books each… - they showed me the webtoon symbol on the spine of the graphic novel, knowing my obsession with webcomics.

I was instantly intrigued.

When I looked Cursed Princess Club up in the app I indeed found it and was excited, however my good friend lent me the book to read since… it’s a book, do I have to explain myself? No :)

Long story short, we’re both obsessed with this story now, and have spread out our obsession to a few others hehehehe. Currently my friend owns three of the books and the last is supposed to come out this month. I can’t wait to read it.

Have I since read the ending on webtoon cause I was too intrigued? Yes. But it’s worth reading again because, gosh this story y’all.

Speaking of…

More about the story itself:

There’s too much to say about the story honestly. It’s so intriguing. At first you may think it’s a simple story with kingdoms being named things like “Pastel Kingdom” and “Plaid Kingdom” - not to mention the introduction of the Cursed Princess Club itself which was hilarious - but trust me when I say there’s far more than meets the eye. It just knows how to blend simplicity and humor really well with everything else.

There’s so many themes from self deprecation, appearance, keeping promises, minority groups and what it’s like to be cursed in the eyes of society; to expectations placed on you by others, trust issues, protecting loved ones, abuse; and so so so much more.

And that’s not even mentioning its genres in fantasy, romance, comedy; and of course the big one - (found) family.

The cast is highly entertaining to watch, and there’s so many characters to get attached to. All of their designs are so fun too, and I love learning about each of their backstories.

It’s not as queer as many of my other favorite webcomics, however that doesn’t mean there aren’t some queer stories going on among the main plot; of which I love wholeheartedly. There may even be an aromantic character…?? (I don’t know for sure if there were any confirmations by the creator but if you ask me or my friend, she’s 100% aro).

I feel like I’m not expressing my love for this story enough, so have a keysmash: AHSKDKSHAJSKDKSGAJWKEIFKSGAKDIFMSGSJFIK

Still not enough, but that’ll have to do. There’s seriously too much to say about it and I haven’t the words to express all of it in the slightest.

The official summary (of the first book; according to its wiki):

Gwendolyn, the youngest of the King’s three daughters, is living proof that princesses don’t always have it all. She isn’t like a typical fairy-tale princess, or other princesses in the Pastel Kingdom. Gwendolyn, with her big heart and love of baking, isn’t particularly attractive. Unlike her sisters who have woodland creatures do their hair and makeup, or have flowers blossom wherever they sleep, Gwendolyn is a bit…different. So when her father proposes marriage for her and her sisters to make an alliance with the Plaid Kingdom, it breaks Gwendolyn’s heart to hear that Prince Fredrick thinks she’s “really ugly.” Overwhelmed and ashamed, she runs away into the forest and encounters the twisted world of the Cursed Princess Club, where her life will never be the same.

The Cursed Princess Club are a ragtag band of outcasts, misfits and cursed princesses who have created an incredible friendship circle. It is among these friends where Gwendolyn learns to embrace her uniqueness and find her people.

I admit I don’t know much about the author LambCat as much as I do other artists because I don’t follow them anywhere but webtoon. However, I do know that other than webtoon they have a patreon; and they post a lot of really good, catchy music. There’s music in every episode of the webcomic, which I love so much. Reading this story truly is an experience in and of itself.

Highly recommend :)

TL;DR:

A friend of mine found physical copies of Cursed Princess Club at a bookstore, and we’ve since been obsessed with the story. It has a lot of good themes and tropes, and we both await the latest addition in excitement. However, if you don’t want to wait then it’s already completed on webtoon - where music by the author LambCat plays on every episode!!

Link to my favorite webcomics list :)

[talenlee]

Game Pile: All My Exes Are In Mech Suits

Pride Month always presents the game pile problems. The point of a theme, after all, is to drive me away from just talking about the things I’d normally have looked at anyway. It’s meant to push me into spaces where I’m not already looking, and in Pride Month, especially when I try to talk about TTRPGs, I’m trying to browse itch and check out essentially, people I’d never have heard of who are ideally, queer creatives so I can centre queer art in Pride Month. I used a browser to find this game, trusting the browser to tell me it was a game made by a queer author, read it, and thought it was pretty good.

Anyway it turns out this game was made by one of the most important queer academics of the 2010s. But what, am I not going to talk about the game now? Because this queer creator isn’t adequately deserving of having her work discussed?

Anyway, hell with it. Let’s talk about a game with really interesting boundaries and limits, and I don’t mean that in the way we normally mean those very hot and sexy terms. Except in this case it might be like that because this is an anime about an awkward breakup and shooting at each other in powerful mecha.

Content Warning: There’s nothing particularly spicy or contentious in All My Exes Are In Mech Suits, but the book does have a discussion of consent and boundaries and safety. Normal stuff.

All My Exes Are In Mech Suits is a three-player single-session contained-experience TTRPG played with a small number of player cards and a tarot deck. In this game, you’re either the pilot (ostensibly, kinda the main character), the AI of the mech (who wants the mission fulfilled) or the Ex (who is obviously the hottest one, fighting the first). It was made by Anna Anthropy, the creator of Dys4ia and Mighty Jill Off and, you know what, she’s made a lot of things. Like, academically speaking she’s really important – she’s responsible for the essay ‘To The Right, Hold On Tight,’ which is shockingly important for an essay I can’t get on the first page of a Google Scholar search.

The game has an instigating event, where the pilot is on a mission; it’s then complicated by the appearance of the ex. What’s presented then is the conflicting narrative between the AI (that wants to fulfil the mission), the Ex (that wants to test the pilot), and the Pilot (who just wants everyone to have a fun time). This is a story moment that you’ll see a lot in many series that feature giant mecha, though it’s so often not about a pilot and their ex, as much as it’s about two guys who talk to each other like a divorced couple.

When there’s conflict between the characters, you negotiate it out between one another for what makes the best story, and where that negotiation cannot work, you use a pull from a tarot deck to see what the game should be doing. Unlike many games like this, it lacks for a prompt booklet or a set of randomised potential incidents, and is instead very much focused on the players guiding the characters to pursue the story to its end point.

Something that All My Exes Are In Mech Suits does that you don’t see too often in TTRPG spaces is a combination of fixed sizes and fixed roles. This is partly due to the overwhelming presence of games like Dungeons & Dragons, where games are designed to be open, highly creative and personally contributive. In those games, you’re assuming if you have n players, you’re going to get something like n-1 characters, and therefore a large part of the game needs to be those players having tools to make a character in which they can invest. Fixed player counts and fixed roles is by no means an obscure or unheard of thing in game design, but thanks to the dominant form of TTRPGs, it’s unfamiliar here. It honestly reminds me much more of an improv game, a theatre premise, rather than the conventional form of a TTRPG that I’m used to.

This is why I call it a contained-experience game. It’s got a very specific thing it’s trying to present, and the best way it can do that is by limiting all the options players have for what they can do. This is not a game you can patch to a thousand experiences. It’s not a game that pivots even really well from genre to genre. Sure, the pilots could be furries and you get, say, SWAT Kats instead of Gundam, but the game is only going to follow that thread as much as SWAT Kats and Gundam are doing the same things.

This is cool, mind you! Many great games are built around asymmetry, like well, Dungeons & Dragons. It’s a game that’s typically seen in the way of a storyteller with a potential goal or at least, a theme that they’re aiming for, and that person plays the game one way and other players play the game another way. That’s not how things are in All My Exes Are In Mech Suits. The storyteller of this game, the person who sets the vibe and the goal of the story is the game rules itself. In a way, that storyteller is the person who created the rules and gave them to you.

In a very real way, All My Exes Are In Mech Suits is having Anna Anthropy come and run a game for you, even if she doesn’t respond to your questions too specifically.

I do think that there’s a strong body of assumed knowledge for this game. It’s understandable; after all, you’re buying niche games on itch.io, one of the virtues of it is that it can let genre and style do a lot of bootstrapping for you. I’ve reflected how in the past if your game is built on vibes you can run into a problem where players don’t intuitively grasp those vibes. This is especially true in the case of more specific genres.

What All My Exes Are In Mech Suits uses to frame its story isn’t just anime, it isn’t just a genre of anime, it isn’t just a subtype of that genre of anime, it’s about a specific episode form within that subtype of genre of anime. Sure it’s a popular niche, but it’s nobody’s first impression of the genre! It’s also there in the resolution mechanic—players are to pull tarot cards, and interpret them as appropriate.

Where a game is just an interface and a resolution system, like this one, anything you present to a player you’re presenting with the assumption that they know what they’re doing, and that – I think! – suggests that this game is easier and better if you have a familiarity with what tarot is and how to read it. I’m not saying that it doesn’t work if you just treat tarot cards as like, Dixit cards and interpret them entirely literally situation to situation – but then I imagine what happens if you have one player is an expert in the system and the others aren’t? That’s a mismatch (that yes, can be overcome with communication). It still feels like the difference between being given a sleek system with no unnecessary parts, and being given a subtly incomplete system where your own assumed base knowledge fills in the empty spaces.

I don’t know if I’d ever play this game twice. Okay, maybe twice, I’d play it once as a TTRPG and then if I liked that I’d want to try out the LARP version in swivel chairs. It’s not a game whose systems I need, whose limitation and specific boundaries matter that much to me. It’s the game version of a bottle episode, where the idea of a single specific frame and conclusion mean that the game can be made so tight and small there’s nothing else to it. It’s not a game where you get a system for defining or building your mecha. It’s not a game where you get to design and make your pilot’s abilities, again, within a system. It’s not that kind of game.

But it is a really cool design and it’s worth checking out if you’re already a fan of the franchise and want to make something. I think this is a great example of podcast fodder; something for people to use to make and tell a story about the kinds of ways they see the story in this. I can imagine a really fun limited-run art series, where different trios of players play the characters in a chain of slight changes, to see how many different ways they can find to tell this story.

Oh and if you’re not aware, the title is a reference to a country song by George Strait. It’s called All My Exes Live In Texas, which is a western swing classic from 1987, by George Strait. It’s about a dude who’s homesick for Texas, but who managed to successfully have such disastrous breakups that the Texas police are after him.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[melisnonstop]

𝙱𝙴𝚃𝚆𝙴𝙴𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙴𝚂

↳ 📱𝚊 𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚖𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚊 𝚊𝚞 (1/)

TikTok video – Henry analyzes Brideshead Revisited

@SonnetAndSpice

(Henry appears on screen, seated in his usual cozy, softly lit corner, surrounded by bookshelves and a warm lamp. He’s cradling a cup of tea in his hands, and a slight, almost bashful smile touches his lips before he begins speaking)

Henry

"Right, hello again, everyone. Lovely to have you back on Pages from the Past.

Votes were cast and today, we’ll be diving into Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited, a novel that’s as much about memory and nostalgia as it is about love—though not always in the ways you might expect.

(He lifts the book, lightly tapping the cover with his fingers, his expression thoughtful)

Henry

"Now, I’m aware Brideshead can be a bit... shall we say, contentious? Some readers find it utterly brilliant, while others think it’s a bit of a slog.

(He adjusts his position slightly, settling deeper into the chair, his tone warm and conversational)

Henry

"The story centres around Charles Ryder, who’s looking back on his life—particularly on his very close, rather complicated relationship with Sebastian Flyte.

“Now, here’s where things get interesting. Their relationship isn’t explicitly romantic, but there’s a depth to it, a profound intimacy that’s impossible to ignore."

(He leans in slightly, as if sharing something important, his tone gentle but assured)

Henry

"And bear in mind, Waugh wrote this in 1945. Back then, any kind of open depiction of queerness was, well, more or less impossible in mainstream literature.

“So Waugh uses subtext. He builds this beautiful tension between Charles and Sebastian—glances that linger just a fraction too long, silences heavy with things unsaid. It’s all so... understated, yet powerful."

(He pauses, letting the thought settle, a small, knowing smile on his face)

Henry

"It’s that subtlety I think people miss sometimes. It’s not about what’s on the surface, but what’s simmering underneath. And that’s where the real magic of the book lies."

(He shifts again, straightening slightly as he moves on to the novel’s setting)

Henry

"And then there’s Brideshead itself—the grand, crumbling estate that’s as much a character as any of the people in the story.

“It represents an England on the brink of change, a world that’s beginning to slip away.”

(Henry’s eyes brighten as he talks about the historical context, clearly passionate)

Henry

“The novel itself was written just after the Second World War, at a time when the British aristocracy was losing its footing. Waugh does this marvellous job of blending nostalgia with criticism.

“You can sense his own ambivalence—how he both romanticizes and criticizes the world he’s writing about.”

(He takes a slow sip of his tea, exuding a calm confidence, before continuing)

Henry

"But truly, what I love most is how relevant the themes still feel today—especially in a world where love and identity are often still met with resistance.

“It’s about love, identity, and that ache we all sometimes feel—for something, or someone, that’s just out of reach. There’s a universality to it.”

(He smiles, softer now, his voice lowering slightly as he reaches the end)

Henry

"So, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you think Charles and Sebastian were in love? Do you see yourself in the story? Let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to tag me in your own reviews. I’m really curious to see what Brideshead means to each of you."

(He glances at the camera, his expression warm and sincere)

Henry

"Until next time—happy reading, and cheers."

(He gives a small, elegant salute.)

↳ 📱

TikTok Stitch – Alex’s Response to Henry’s Video on Brideshead Revisited

@acd.chronicles

(The video opens with Alex walking around his apartment, his NYU hoodie slightly rumpled, sleeves pushed up. He passes through the kitchen, the faint clatter of a coffee mug in the background, but the focus remains clearly on him)

Alex

"Okay, I’ve seen this video pop up a few times now, and I guess it’s time I chime in.


“Look, I get it—classic British lit, sweeping descriptions of old estates, all that jazz. But honestly, can we take a second to ask why we’re still putting these stories on a pedestal in 2024?

"Here’s my issue: it’s another story told through the lens of a privileged white guy, living in a crumbling mansion, having existential crises over, what, the loss of aristocratic power? The whole thing feels... outdated."

(He raises his hands in a ‘hear me out’ gesture)

Alex

"And before anyone comes at me for hating on the classics, it’s not about that. It’s about asking why these particular stories are still being prioritized in conversations about ‘great literature.’

“How many more books do we need that center on upper-class, white dudes reflecting on their lives of wealth and privilege, while we overlook stories by authors of color, queer voices, or people who don’t come from this very specific background?"

(He leans back slightly, crossing his arms, still keeping his tone respectful but firm)

Alex

"And here’s the thing—when we keep pushing these same narratives, we’re reinforcing the idea that these are the stories that matter. And I don’t know about you, but I’d rather see BookTok blow up with books that highlight different perspectives.

“Give me more stories by authors of color, more queer writers who are upfront about their themes instead of burying them under layers of subtext from a time when you couldn’t even say the word ‘gay.’"

(He gives a small, almost apologetic smile, as if knowing he’s ruffled some feathers)

Alex

"I mean, I’m not saying the book’s trash or anything and I’m not saying this creator’s take is wrong—I get that he’s coming from a place of love for the book, and that’s cool.

“But for me, personally? I’m not gonna keep pretending like these old-school narratives are the best we’ve got, especially when there’s so much else out there that’s more relevant to what a lot of us are actually going through today."

(He sighs, looking directly into the camera, sincerity in his eyes)

Alex

"So yeah, that’s where I’m at. If Brideshead resonates with you, awesome, no shade at all. But if you’re like me, and you’re over these stories about rich white men lamenting their lost world, maybe it’s time we put these ‘classics’ on the shelf and made room for something new. Just a thought."

(He gives a small, knowing nod)

[electric-guillotines]

⚡ Tears of Empire City ⚡ - CH4 (5.1K)

Wanda x F!OC

Rating: M Things of Note: Lagos incident never happens, everyone is some flavour of queer, the inherent body horror of a healing factor, Steve and Nat being bros, Wanda being confident while OC is a flustered dork, cool lightning powers [AO3 LINK]

“What about you?”

“Me?”

“Yeah. Was it just as scary and weird for you or have you always had these powers?”

The smooth concrete leaching heat from her body, the smell of disinfectant and blood, the theme from The Brady Bunch echoed through her head, disjointed.

It wasn’t the easiest question to answer, though Wanda knew she didn’t need to give Kassidy all the details to do so. Certainly not the terrorist organisation or the burning vision of herself.

No.

No, none of that, only what would be helpful.

The smell of low-tide grounded Wanda in the present, it wasn’t a familiar scent so she latched on and refocused, choosing her words carefully “In a manner of speaking, yes,” she said, keeping her eyes forward instead of watching Kassidy. “It wasn’t until much later in life that I was able to manifest them, however, and their emergence was… fraught.”

Kassidy spoke softly, “you don’t have to explain if its painful.”

Wanda glanced at her to find Kassidy looking at her with a gentle, slightly guilty expression. It reminded her of a puppy, and Kassidy’s thoughts were about as innocent as one, worried to have caused any distress with her curiosity. Even surviving all she had thus far, she was sweet–sincere.

Not unkindly, she waved off the look Kassidy was giving her and said, “I wouldn’t tell you if it was too much.”

Kassidy relaxed, and Wanda continued. “It was overwhelming, even terrifying, but time and practice render most things mundane, and that includes having powers. It’ll be second nature before you realise it.”

Taking a moment to digest that, Kassidy tilted her head. “Do you mind explaining what you can do?” 

Wanda looked at her with a brow raised and Kassidy made somewhat familiar motions with her hands. “Like, specifically,” she said. “Any time I’ve seen the news or footage it seems like you can do a lot but it isn’t like the general public gets an annotated list of what everyone can actually do.”

The sight of Kassidy trying to mimic her almost made her crack and Wanda stifled the laugh, barely reducing it to a smirk. “First of all, terrible impression.”

Kassidy quickly put her hands away, looking appropriately sheepish. 

The comparison to a puppy ran through her head again and Wanda’s smirk grew. “Second of all, it seems like a lot because it is a lot. Let’s just call it psionics for simplicity, telekinesis, energy projection, telepathy, that sort of thing.”

Kassidy nodded in thanks.

Then a metaphorical plate fell in her mind. “Telepathy?” she repeated, a little high, “like… mind-reading?”

Wanda answered her plainly. “Yes.”

Kassidy’s mind raced like a jet engine for a good few seconds and came to an abrupt stop just as quickly. She then sighed, nodding in confirmation more to herself than anything. “That’s why you guys have been so nice with me.”

There was no anger at the revelation, just acceptance, even a bit of relief that someone believed her innocence as more than just a legal concept to be upheld.

Another second and a spike of fear hit.

‘Oh, fuck me.’

Kassidy wrung her hands, shoulders hunching. “I’m really sorry if my thoughts have been too loud.”

‘Oh, god, does that mean she heard me earlier?'

[Continue Reading on AO3]

[chickenstrangers]

Photography in Aof's Series

I have been thinking a lot about cameras and queer visibility since @dudeyuri's tags on this post and @miscellar, @respectthepetty, and @telomeke's following discussions. In Bad Buddy and He's Coming to Me, the motif of the camera plays with the ideas of public vs private aspects of the character's relationships and how open and visible they are able to be. I think this is very true in BBS and HCTM, but it is also a recurring theme in Aof's shows.

Bad Buddy and He's Coming to Me

I am not going to delve too far into these shows because I think @miscellar and others have already written brilliant posts about this linked above. @miscellar makes a wonderful point about photography being seen as a hostile act in most of Bad Buddy because Pat and Pran are trying to hide their relationship, but the context changes when Ink is taking the photo: "ink's camera sees them for who they really are, and more than that, it affirms their relationship." Who is taking the picture changes its meaning, which I think can be extended to discuss queer media more generally, how directors using a queer lens will portray queer stories in more nuanced and/or realistic ways.

In He's Coming to Me, we have the theme of public vs private queerness with Thun taking a selfie with Mes but Mes is of course not visible. Not sure if I have anything to add here, but I do think this fits into the many other scenes where Thun does absolutely nothing to hide the fact that he's talking and hanging out with a ghost. They're hiding in plain sight but no one else sees what they do. This could be a comment on how often people overlook queer relationships or devalue them.

Dark Blue Kiss

In Dark Blue Kiss, Pete photographs Kao a lot, and he doesn't do this in secret. Unlike Pat and Pran who aren't even supposed to be friends, Pete and Kao have that act to disguise their relationship, so they are able to do some parts of their relationship in public. In episode 3, Pete takes Kao's photo in front of a horse and buggy ("You said you like taking photos of views." "You're in every view I see." "Smooth."). Right behind them we see other people also taking photos, including someone taking a photo of two people who look to be a couple, contrasting Pete and Kao with the visibility that straight people get to enjoy.

But while we do have public photography here, because their relationship is hidden and Kao isn't out to his mom, he hides the photographs. In Pete's room, there is a photoboard with lots of photos of the two of them or them separately. Pete doesn't have to hide the relationship in his own home because he is out to his dad and his dad is incredibly supportive.

Kao, on the other hand, primarily has his room decorated with posters about math (this is yet another Aof show where a character has 1 interest and it becomes their entire room décor). But he does keep all the photos, even if he can't display them.

He reveals them at their anniversary surprise when he decorates a whole room with pictures of them together. This moment shows that even though Kao isn't able to be completely open about their relationship, he still wants to put in the effort to show his love, even if it is only possible in an empty school room that no one else will see. While this moment is sweet, there's a thread of sadness behind it because being open to the world is such a huge point of concern in their relationship for the whole series.

Moonlight Chicken

Heart and Li Ming take photos together multiple times, and their comfort with this I think speaks to @telomeke and @waitmyturtles point about how this show is about generations and their different experiences of queerness (x), and so it is an important counterpoint to Jim and Wen that Heart and Li Ming are fairly openly affectionate with their friendship and then their relationship, within safe spaces. For example, they ask Wen to take a photo of them in the food court (Wen who acts as an observer throughout most of the show), and in this interaction Wen sees that there is more to their relationship than friendship. In this way, I think he acts in a similar role to Ink.

I also think it is noteworthy that Wen and Alan have so many photographs of each other, and then their break up scene takes place right in front of the photoboard that is a monument to the good times of their relationship. Wen starts with his back to the board, facing away from that history, and then the framing moves to have the board in between them. The traces of the past are literally acting as a wedge between them as they fight over it. And then that board remains in the apartment, with the photos taken down, as a continued reminder of what used to be there. The love that no longer remains.

There's an interesting parallel between Jim and Wen's conversation on the pier and the scene I talked about before in Dark Blue Kiss. While they discuss the Marina Food Court, there's tension between them, with Wen's guilt in his role in the project affecting Jim's diner and Jim still putting as much distance as he can between himself and Wen. In the background we see a two people, potentially a couple, taking photos. They are wearing almost the exact same colours as Jim and Wen. Their happiness in this scene seems like a direct contrast to the sadness Wen and Jim are expressing, hinting at what they might have when they get past this disconnect. And then once they do get together, Jim and Wen take their own photo together at the beach.

Our Skyy 2 x A Tale of a Thousand Stars

In these special episodes, as the brilliant @wen-kexing-apologist has discussed in their incredible essays (x, x), the main journey of the special surrounds Phupha becoming more comfortable being a partner to Tian in public and being more open with Tian in general, working through a lot of internalized homophobia. This is once again demonstrated using the photography motif.

Phupha takes photos of Tian taking photos of the food in the café, a date during which he is initially uncomfortable with how public they are. He is slowly getting used to how this feels to be so open. But he does push past the discomfort because he knows that this is important for Tian, and important for himself as well.

The next stop on their date is to a photobooth, which an interesting liminal space between public and private. Inside the booth they are alone, but it's still in a very public space, and anyone walking past could see them coming out together, or could look at the photo strips as they're printed out before Tian and Phupha have a chance to collect them. The public and the private are slowly becoming enmeshed.

Tian and Phupha then take a photo with Ink, Pa, Pat and Pran after the play. This is the most open they are with photography, Tian's hand resting on Phupha's shoulder, standing close. This is also an opportunity for Pat and Pran to be in a photo together publicly, like the play itself. Like I talked about regarding the play, it's important that all the people in this picture are queer, and that this creates a safe space to blend the boundaries between public and private sides of their relationship.

I also think it's important to consider when talking about photography, the role that the camera plays as a stand-in for the audience. We are getting this glimpse into the characters relationships, both public and private, and the cameras we see within the scenes can often reflect queer media and queer visibility more generally.

[mimeparadox]

If there’s one complaint I can get behind when it comes to this season of Doctor Who, it is that it has not done especially well by Ruby.

It’s not, strictly speaking, that we haven’t learned things about her.

She’s got abandonment issues, stemming from being left behind by her mother, and also, more subtextually, from being part of a family unit with many foster children who come and go. 

She has an extremely close relationship with her mother.

She’s had impactful interactions with some of her mom’s significant others (“The Devil’s Chord”).

She’s a musician.

She enjoys the cosplay element of traveling with the Doctor (“The Devil’s Chord”, “Rogue”), but will step out of character without compunction (“Rogue”).   

Her dynamic with the Doctor is “best friend to hang out with.” 

She’s adjacent to multiple queer communities, if not necessarily queer herself.

She speaks her mind in a way that is unconcerned with other peoples’ egos (“73 Yards”, “Rogue”.)

She can think on her feet (activating battle mode in “Rogue”).

She can remain calm and courteous even when being insulted ("73 Yards", “Dot and Bubble”). 

She’s persistent and can play the long game, to the point of sacrificing others to do so. (“73 Yards”).

She can handle permanently life-altering hardships—at least those relating to loneliness and abandonment—without losing the ability to take care of herself. (“73 Yards”).

She does not appear to have any specific or defined ambitions (“Church on Ruby Road”, “73 Yards”.)

In theory, there’s enough here to build a character around, but I don’t feel this is what has happened. So far, the season is missing a sense that all of these things build up to a cohesive person, or that these qualities exist in order to tell a specific story. While it is possible for her to be written out of character, it feels much more difficult to write her in character in ways that don't make her come off as "generic companion". And, so, we’ve had episodes where she’s a bystander even when she’s ostensibly the focus (“The Legend of Ruby Sunday”), and episodes when she suddenly turns into someone else (“Boom,” where Moffat writes her as Clara, but under the circumstances it’s hard to fault him for doing so).

And this is all especially odd, given that most of the season has been written by Davies, who, if he can do something at all, is be able to define a character. It speaks to a season that, while quite enjoyable in terms of individual episodes, has been somewhat lacking in the meat-and-potatoes of character development. "Boom" had Ruby largely reacting to a single situation before temporarily dying; "Dot and Bubble" is largely the same, except for the dying bit. "73 Yards", I feel, came too early for audiences to really appreciate the specifics of how Ruby dealt with her situation, and the structure of the episode by definition requires some rather broad strokes. As mentioned "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" gives her shockingly little to do. Even "Rogue", the most meat-and-potatoes episode of the season, fails to take full advantage of the opportunities the story and its themes present. Individually, this wouldn't be a problem. Collectively, though...

Not being abreast of the details shared about the next season, my current fear is that this is all we get of Ruby, and that she'll be written off in this episode or the next without ever having the opportunity to truly shine. And that would be a damn shame. While I have issues with the writing, I really do like Ruby, and adore all the things Millie Gibson has done with the character, and wish we could have more of those alongside with the things that made previous companions truly shine.

[betweengenesisfrogs]

Desynced

So I really like Desynced.

Strictly speaking, it doesn't 100% fit what I was talking about in my Homestuck manifesto, since it's technically a Homestuck fan adventure rather than a brand new work.

However…for a fanwork, it feels more like a new piece of Homestuckian art than many others I've seen?

I'm reminded of an old Hussie formspring response, where the question was about what would happen if siblings living in the same house played SBURB. Hussie's response was that one shouldn't try to solve this with the rules of Homestuck, but instead imagine the kind of story and plot that would suit such a scenario.

Desynced is like that - playing by its own rules. A lot of other fan adventures feel too stuck (ha) in adhering to the rules of SBURB and Paradox Space. Desynced is quite literally playing an entirely different game. It lets go of so much about the way a fan story is traditionally conceived, and brings in its own set of laws and ideas that fit its own story better.

Some things I like, in no particular order:

-The depiction of parents and children - Desynced knocks this out of the park by splitting the difference between faceless authority figures and relatable kids by playing with perception and letting the parents talk to each other as adults, even when they're faceless to their kids. There is some really phenomenal parent-child content here. The relationship between Kate and her father, for instance, is fraught and filled with missed conversations that break my heart

-That in 2024, everybody in the main group gets to be queer and trans from the very start

-That the protagonist kids are Zoomers, and we see that their interests tend not toward 80s movies but things like Minecraft and Discord chats

-That we seem to be building towards a "war in heaven" theme, where different members of the future gods and Carapacians will take different sides in a cosmic struggle

-The music, which is full of bangers and feels like the sequel to the Homestuck bandcamp page that I never knew I needed

-The total reimagining of Jack Noir, which seems like it shouldn't work, but totally does

-The genius way that the game's equivalent of Denizens tie into weird cosmic mysteries

-Alien kids who appear at first glance to be trolls but are quickly revealed to not be trolls at all (maybe they're tieflings)

-The way in this universe, Trollsonas only exist in connection to an obscure game called Hiveswap

-The fact that the fantasy land inhabitants, the equivalent of consorts, are more fleshed out and have their own lives going on instead of just being silly animals - which hints that we're taking 'their existence more seriously and sincerely.

-That when Desynced does "play the Homestuck hits," it reminds you of how good those narrative structures are. Examples include:

Ordinary internet friend group discovers they are all interconnected and inveigled in a vast conspiracy

Making sense of the rules of a confusing alternate gamey-reality that suggests a sense of purpose but doesn't give you instructions for achieving it

Oh, and also, you have to do this while the world is ending and you're about to die

Villain narrator makes fun of you, the reader

Alien kids interrupt your game session to ramble at you about how they know much more about the game than you do, but it turns out they're just a tiny bit ahead and they're as confused about most things as you are

Ascending to godhood helps you redefine your identity but also causes as many problems as it solves

It's like, woah, Homestuck was really cooking, wasn't it?

We're all so used to the Homestuck plot structures and conventions that I think it's very easy to lose sight of why we fell in love with it in the first place. Reading Desynced made me remember how much I love the premise of Homestuck. Desynced achieves this by detaching from convention and focusing on Homestuck's themes: parent-child relationships, the limitations of one's ideology, the double-edged sword of finding identity in fantasy, and more.

So yes, Desynced is a Homestuck fanwork. But if we're asking where a Homestuck literary movement might go in the future, Desynched offers us a really neat glimpse of part of the answer.

I highly recommend checking it out, if you're interested.

-Ari

[starlit-mansion]

I've been rewatching a couple older hbomb videos and hey

halcyon dreams: the legacy of dragon's lair watches a lot more like a dry run of the oof noise video than i remember. it is a deep dive into an obscure section of video game history, complete with its own misattribution to a famous studio head. it's fun, both on its own terms as a spectacular technological failure that was a bit too ahead of its time, and as a running thread within harry's ouvre.

outsiders: how to adapt h.p. lovecraft in the 21st century is. well, it feels very weird because in a way. it reads a lot more like somerton's work than i would have expected, while predating it entirely (i think. it's a five year old video and well. i can't check somerton's timestamps cause he did the dirty delete). harry is darkly and thematically lit, addressing the camera straight on without the high-energy that his other videos tended to have, speaking thoughtfully about how queer and marginalized fans of Lovecraft relate to his work despite being hated and feared by the author himself, and that his understanding of the mythos was upturned by a quiet adaptation that centered around a gay man's alienation from his home town loosely based on the shadow over innsmouth. it engaged thoroughly with queerness as a place of vulnerability and strength without inventing some infinitely weak yet unfathomably strong queer agenda. there's no real hint from the thumbnail that it's about queer themes, but that's because harry is doing the same thing that happened to him, creating a piece of overt lovecraft media that might shock the viewer that was here for cosmic horror as a lore element.

i'm genuinely not trying to say that somerton ripped off harry's one video specifically or anything, but it does make if feel more personal, to be reminded that harry did this once, when he had something incredibly personal to say on the subject and years of genuine passion and systematic research to back it up, with intent to reach out to other people who loved and were repulsed by lovecraft the same way he was. and at 1.5 million views, it's not like the video was languishing in complete obscurity or anything, but it's not culturally significant in the way that sherlock or some of the later videos are. people keep making a bit of a joke of harry reminding everyone that he's bi to dodge the homophobia allegations, but people genuinely do not really talk about hbomb as a queer creator, to the point where a good chunk of posters just. genuinely did not know about it. i'm not really sure what to say about it either way, other than... yeah, this happens a lot to bisexuals who don't make their entire brand pink purple and blue, and it's not like. THAT funny to keep using the sonic fandub screencap about a real person who's been out for half a decade, even if it was news to you.