#tender... violent... and queer

[vaguely-concerned]

I keep imagining the whole 'I'm still here sequence from treasure planet' scenario that must have gone down between rye and varric before the game starts and rye with their wide newly hopeful eyes like 'boy hope no one weaponizes this rare warm safe nurturing relationship in my life that makes me feel real and alive for the first time in so long against me in some of the cruelest and most premeditated ways imaginable somewhere down the line because that would sort of wreck me as a person maybe'. and then I don't feel so bad about where I'm headed

[papenathys]

Hey Mimi do you have any recommendations for books set in Latin America (any genre) ?

So I am going to assume that you are not asking for picks like Gabriel Garcia Marquez or Isabel Allende. Most of the Latinx authors I read are unfortunately fantasy or genre fiction set in the USA (I'm trying to remember if Tehlor Kay Mejia or Anna-Marie McLemore wrote a book that is explicitly set in a Latin American country.)

Here are a couple of books I enjoyed, or at least feel confident recommending based on what I remember:

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (adult, urban fantasy, horror): Described by the author as a "violent neo-noir", this story is set in an alternate, gritty Mexico City, and follows a Tlāhuihpochtli vampire who strikes a bond with an impoverished street kid, while fleeing from narco-vampire clans, criminal gangs, and other dangers lurking in the dark underbelly of the city.

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (adult, historical fiction, fantasy): In 1920s Mexico, a young woman accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan God of Death, and embarks on a cross-country mission with him: from the dazzling Jazz Age opulence of Mexico City, into the darkness of the Mayan underworld– where she must face great dangers to reinstate the God on his rightful throne.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia** (adult, historical fiction, horror): A glamorous, fun-loving socialite in 1950s Mexico receives a disturbing letter from her married cousin, prompting her to travel down to their ancestral mansion, where the in-laws' live. There, on that ancient, colonial estate, she begins to be haunted by an equally ancient evil, and soon realises something is terribly wrong about the family her cousin has married into.

Tender is The Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica** (adult, dystopia, horror): In a near-dystopian future, an infectious virus turns all animal meat poisonous and unfit for consumption, forcing governments to legalize the factory-farming, breeding and eating of human meat. At one such processing plant, a worker is faced with a moral dilemma when he is gifted a "live" specimen.

Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro (adult, psychological thriller): Set in Argentina, this is a claustrophobic, uneasy novella about a mother's journey to uncover the truth behind the hushed-up murder of her dead daughter; the investigative mission, however, is made difficult by her advanced locomotive disability and age, as well as by this slowly unfurling realization: that she may not have known her daughter as truly as she thought.

And a couple I have not read/read and did not enjoy at all, but would recommend because my opinion seems to be in the minority:

Jawbone by Mónica Ojeda** (adult, horror, thriller, LGBTQ): A group of wealthy teenage girls attending an elite academy in Ecuador begin to convene regularly in an abandoned building, after school hours– but what started out as a place to exchange ghost stories, soon devolves into a site of dangerous thrill-seeking and dark, bloody rituals. (Note: I absolutely despised it, but you may enjoy; it's sapphic dark academia with cosmic horror and yellowjackets vibes).

Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez (adult, horror, historical fiction, fantasy): Set partially during the years of Argentina's brutal military dictatorship, this novel follows a father and son on a road trip, trying to escape a death cult, who have committed unspeakable atrocities. I have not read this gigantic tome, but I really want to, I am a sucker for horror rooted in political/historical allegories.

Cantoras by Carolina De Robertis (adult, historical fiction, LGBTQ): In 1977 Uruguay, a time when oppressive militia rule criminalized homosexuality as a dangerous transgression, five queer women discover an uninhabited cape, and claim the coastal sanctuary for themselves. Over years, it becomes their one safe haven, to be their true selves. Not read this, but it sounds strikingly similar to Last Summer at Bluefish Cove, one of my favourite queer stories of all time.

[ Note: All the stories are adult and given my inclination towards horror and psychological fiction, they are likely to be dealing with sensitive issues, but for the stories marked ** I very highly recommend checking trigger warnings ]

[oldbutchdanielcraig]

What is your interpretation of the breakfast scene in Queer? I am still grappling with my emotions about it. Why is Eugene so violent? And why is Lee saying all of that after? I’m very curious about your insight.

it's literally one of my favorite scenes in the whole movie i love it SO much and i think it says so much about the characters because it's the one time they clash without a deescalation. normally lee backs down or gene laughs it off but this time they meet and collide and sort of hiss at each other like alleycats because neither of them are even brave enough to have a proper fight.

gene is so violent because of what i think is like. a buildup of all the parts of lee that (for lack of a better word) he can't stand? like he 100% is starting to feel a lack of the independence he craves because he and lee are spending most of their time together and becoming increasingly more affectionate with each other. #1 notable thing about this is that in the scene directly before (which i take to be the afternoon or i guess a couple of days max before that morning) there's this whole exchange where gene is visibly enjoying their sex and being plainly affectionate with lee and admitting aloud that he enjoys the sexual aspects of their relationship which is like. the one thing someone in his position shouldn't do. it's absolutely intentionally a one step forward, three steps back thing for gene because he's like. well i've let lee know that i like him. now i have to let him know i Really Don't. and i love that about him soooo much.

lee here is the MOST special to me though because he's presenting his conflicting urges in this undiluted way that's wrapped up in a sort of performance so as to obfuscate the fact that he's being himself. i think "aren't you taking unfair advantage?" could be my favorite lee line because it's just so. this line is coming from the guy who for the entire movie's runtime has been like "please let me take advantage of you please let me isolate you i want to be the only person in your life i want to control you i want to use every advantage i have over you against you" and all of the sudden he's like "aren't you taking advantage of me? the sweet and innocent baby?" and like. the modicum of truth in his routine i think is that this is Actually how he sees himself. it could be manipulative and it might be if it was someone else but it's just not because lee actually believes he's childlike in this way and there's some level of awareness in him that his performative masculinity is just a performance. bringing up the bout of junk sickness is a sensitive thing for both of them too because it's this moment of weakness from lee and moment of tenderness from gene which is like. another thing they both crave but are both really afraid of.

it's really awesome ultimately because this might be the most direct they get with each other but they're still just completely speaking past each other and just laying out their desires but not understanding each other at all and not really finding any sympathy for each other either. it's as close as they get to spitting their hearts up at the same time and leaving them beating on the floor tbh. and god i love it when they fight.

[cozmicnymph]

lol dumbass can't even have the guts to answer for their transphobia. No one is "erasing lesbians" by HC VI as a trans man. You're just looking for an excuse to be transphobic and claiming "lesbian erasure" as a deflection. There's nothing wrong with a trans man seeing themselves in VI and wanting to HC her as a trans man, especially considering that lots of trans men still have a relationship with lesbianism and sapphic culture. VI is still a cis woman at the end of the day and a random trans man feeling seen by VI or relating to CaitVI and making a HC on tumblr.com does not "erase lesbians." Again, youre just looking for an excuse to be transphobic and then being so cowardly that you have to immediately block anyone who points it out.

first of all. learn to read my tags. I said very clearly that Vi can have a complicated relationship with gender. I never said she couldn't be transmasc or gnc or fluid — I literally acknowledged all of that. What I said was: making her a man while keeping Caitlyn a woman erases lesbians. And yes, that’s a problem.

I’m trans. I’ve dated across the spectrum — trans men, trans women, nonbinary people. I’ve been open about that for years. My issue here has nothing to do with being “anti-trans” and everything to do with how people love to take the masculine woman in a sapphic ship and decide she must be a man. That’s a pattern. That’s a problem.

Vi is a woman. She's canonically referred to with she/her pronouns in both Arcane and League. She has a masculine presentation — and that’s part of what makes her so powerful in a sapphic context. Masculine women exist. Lesbians who look like Vi exist. And every time someone says “well she’s basically a man to me,” what you’re saying is “I don’t see masculine women as real women.”

That is lesbophobic. That is erasure.

This also refers to the fact that people always keep Caitlyn as a cisgendered woman. If both of them have a complicated relationship with gender? If it’s a little funky, if it’s a little queer-coded or strange — sure, queer culture runs deep, I know that. But I’m saying: when you make Vi a man and keep Caitlyn a cis woman, that erases lesbianism. Period.

Because — and I shouldn’t have to spell this out, but apparently I do — trans men are not lesbians. Trans men can relate to lesbianism. Trans men can have a past with it, trans men can engage in sapphic culture. But trans men. Are. Men. And the entire point of lesbianism is that there is no man in the relationship.

Yes, masculine people can be lesbians. Yes, nonbinary lesbians exist. No, I’m not debating the finer points of queer identity in this post because Tumblr dot com has forgotten what reading comprehension is. My issue — clearly stated — is: you make Vi the man because she’s masculine, and you keep Caitlyn the woman because she’s feminine. That’s the logic. That’s the pattern. And that’s why it’s f***ed.

Vi can absolutely be transmasc. Vi can be gender-nonconforming. Vi can have a weird little gender. But when you decide she's a man with a dick and Caitlyn is still a cis woman and it’s presented as a ship, yeah — that erases lesbianism. Straight up.

It feels misogynistic. It feels lesbophobic. Because what you're telling people is that masculine women are basically men and only feminine women get to stay women. That every sapphic dynamic must have a “man” and a “woman.” And that’s f***ed up.

I’m a masculine woman. I want to relate to Vi. I do relate to Vi. I don’t want her to be seen as a man because I am not a man. I want to know that I can be dominant, strong, protective, and masculine — and still be a woman. Vi gave us that. She was tough. She bound her chest. She protected Caitlyn. She was messy and tender and violent and soft. And she was still a woman. That matters.

So let me end it here: if you make one of the lesbians a man, and that one is the masculine one, and you keep the feminine one a woman — it is lesbophobic. It is misogynistic. You don’t have to like that, but you do have to own it.

And the wildest part? You had to hop onto a sideblog and misrepresent what I said in order to accuse me of transphobia, instead of just reading the post and tags like a grown adult. So maybe ask yourself why you felt the need to do all that mental gymnastics just to avoid engaging with the actual critique.

Grow up.

[otrtbs]

any jegulus fic recs??

heyo !! here are a few !!

meet me on telegraph avenue by ani_wahstan

giggled, kicked my feet, screamed into my pillow. it’s ‘90s american marauders. california boy james who listens to the red hot chili peppers and the beastie boys and he works at a record shop with regulus and iris by the goo goo dolls is all up in it and the cranberries. (<- basically the music is incredible) has queer history sprinkled in, i love 13/10 reading experience

living in border lines by inthesquare

this will rip your heart out of your chest. just. btw. and it is one of the most well-written reflections of grief. i love what the author does in this fic, how they experiment with sentences. the whole thing is so cool and will make you sob violently and leave you tender.

nothing fades like the light by rollercoasterwords

already mentioned this on briefly in my last fic rec but it’s soooo good! 1890s cowboy jegulus. with zombies. yeah. exactly. regulus steals james’ horse, tom is there fucking shit up, there’s literally zombies! the whole atmosphere of the fic is phenomenal another 13/10

creaking in my bones (it’s not pain, it’s applause) by perfectsnaccccccc

LISTEN TO ME. regulus black is a curator of his family owned museum. james is a sculptor. an artist. there’s art, there’s angst, there’s drama, there’s crime. james is so wonderful in this i could combust.

[melleonis]

hey guess what! my book WOLFCANNON is out on June 17th, and you can pre-order the print edition from kith books right now (link). these are poems about the transformative power of insects, queer toothed loves, regret, and of course: what if the Roman Republic had a giant wolf mecha that you could fuck?

also let's all pause and appreciate the extraordinary cover art my friend & partner @onetomb-art did for this book. it rules. i'm gonna get that wolf head silhouette on a pin and wear it everywhere.

it's $12 for the print edition and will be pay-what-you-want for the digital edition. thank you for your time, and i hope you read it!

Advance Praise for WOLFCANNON:

"CJ Selwyn's WOLFCANNON is primordial. Reading this book feels like reading uncensored scripture. It is violent and marbled in its beauty, like a cracked open clam, wet with muscle and tasting of bloody saltwater. Is this mythical parable, or is it stark reality—all pretense dropped, showing us insectile corporeality? Both, woven together in a tale that leaves you with weeping wounds and the squeeze of a hand that says me too." — dre levant, author of sun eater and icarus rising

"Calypso Jane Selwyn’s WOLFCANNON reimagines myth and memory through a lens that's both devastatingly intimate and ecologically attuned. Selwyn's poems pulse with queer desire and ecological grief, howling at the intersections of personal and planetary violence while still finding moments of tender connection in unexpected places. This collection cracked me open—I found myself recognizing my own wildness and wounds in her startling imagery that refuses domestication." — Megan Kaminski, author of Gentlewomen, Deep City, and Desiring Map

[wellofdean]

So in my ongoing efforts to say nice things about Supernatural and, as @luckshiptoshore said yesterday, "reclaim this nice, gay show" together, and also probably because I listened to Bruce Springsteen earlier today while I was thinking: why is it that this particular love story has me like it does? Why can't I let this Destiel thing go? I mean... I watched all the recent queer love stories and as much as I enjoyed Good Omens and OFMD, they just don't take up real estate in my soul like Supernatural does -- and that's not a decision I made, it just is. I don't know about you guys, but my little rages choose me.

Anyway, I was thinking -- it's probably not just because of queer representation or whatever, and I don't think it's because I want to see dudes be tender -- I think I ran out of that form of interest in the life of dudes awhile ago, but yeah, Bruce Springsteen. Born to Run. He says "I want to know love is wild, I want to know love is real" and I felt like it pretty much hit the nail on the head for me, somehow.

It's been a long time since I have felt moved by a het romance story. I feel like I can no longer believe it when the roles are so pre-packaged in the tropes and trappings of what was sold to me as idealised love in my younger days. And, like, I am Gen X, so it was pretty gruesome out there when I was learning how to want love -- the power of compulsory heterosexuality was strong, and the shit that was sold to us all as ways to love and be loved were pretty gross, just watch any romantic comedy from the 80's or 90's.

I think I love Supernatural so much because of the way Dean plays the role of a standard issue dude, and postures like he is a stereotypical red-blooded American dude, but it's so transparent that it isn't him. I don't know if it's just Jensen things, or if it was consciously done, but I love how unconvincing Dean's act is, and how clear it is that he is a wounded child whose own real desires and needs have been beaten out of him somehow, and I just love the way the real Dean and what that guy wants slowly rises out of him as the story goes on, until he's choking on it, and visibly swallowing it down. For me, the queerest thing about Dean is his pain, his aching loneliness, and his sense of failure at being what he thinks he is -- a violent man who only knows how to kill, and I love Dean's moments of clarity, moments when he speaks from his own soul -- when he tells Cas he's sorry, tells John he has a family, tells Chuck "that's not who I am" are just everything to me.

Both Dean and Cas are victims of conditioning and coersion -- Dean trying to be his Daddy's perfect son, and being manipulated by Chuck, and Cas horribly violated and brainwashed repeatedly for millennia in heaven -- and they love each other in defiance of conditioning, because love is wild, and it's the product of their freedom.

I feel like ALL actual love eschews force and arises out of freedom. All real love is specific and weird, and is co-created in the space between lovers from what is most real in them and in that sense, all real love is queer in some way in that it is not part of the big social project of subjugating what doesn't comply. I feel like a lot of people lead lives of mindless compliance and that a thing that's wonderful about queer people and queer community is that we work against the grain to honor what is truest in us, whatever that is.

I guess I just love that, on Supernatural, the kind of love that saves the day is the kind that grows wild, like a weed you can't kill, out of more than a decade of choosing each other, again and again, and choosing to fight coercion and conditioning. Love that just fucking refuses to comply, and in fact, cannot comply, because non-compliance is it's very nature. There's something so hopeful and beautiful about that to me. I want to believe in it, and I do.

It's also why, after ALL THIS, in the context of that narrative, Dean is incontrovertibly queered, and anything else is just straight up narrative malpractice.

[the-crooked-library]

Human vs Vampire Violence in Nosferatu

I've talked about this in the tags of another post already but i can't stop thinking about this so here it goes:

The majority of Ellen's suffering is due to mundane and socially acceptable forms of violence (e.g. medical) and that is not an accident. The script intends this. It is the primary underlying theme of Nosferatu (2024), it is the undercurrent to all her motivations, and the film wants the viewers to be aware of this, at least on some level.

Over the course of the story, Ellen Hutter is forcibly isolated by her father, dismissed and infantilized by her husband, drugged and tied to her bed by a doctor and her husband's friends, pierced through the arm by another doctor just to demonstrate that her soul "isn't there," insulted and kicked out from the Hardings' house (while still having psychic fits nightly), left to care for her sick husband alone without any support, never listened to - and all these things are excused!..

There's always some sort of justification, and it's usually either misogynistic or medical or both.

Her father isolated her because her psychic abilities frightened him, because she was too abnormal, and he thought that she wasn't fit to be around other people. Thomas dismissed her nightmares and ignored her emotional needs because he thought her anxieties were childish, that she prioritized the wrong things in life (love over financial advancement), and that she was incapable of good judgement; it's also the reason he is unaware that she doesn't like cut flowers, or that Harding hates her (even though she is very well aware of that, she evidently didn't feel like she could tell her husband). Similarly, Dr. Sievers believed that he had to do what he did, because Ellen was mad and had to be controlled. Harding, naturally, let him do it, and then did worse, and justified it all with “logic” and family values.

The point is that every single character harms Ellen on some level, despite what they might consider best intentions; and I think that a significant drive behind some of the more vitriolic online responses to this film is that many people are uncomfortable with that aspect of the story. Nosferatu demands that the viewer confront a fundamental truth of human imperfection - that someone who looks soft and Normal is, in fact, capable of causing pain regardless; and that invites a deeper sort of self-reflection. Perhaps, even accountability.

Our recently-resurgent purity culture shares this discomfort with Ellen's societal setting. For Thomas, for Sievers, for Harding, for us, it is much easier to blame harm and sin on a Monster From Somewhere Else, and pretend that a witch-hunt would entirely eradicate the problem.

However, the film demonstrates the inherent falseness behind this assumption. Even if Ellen had not followed Orlok into death, she would not have suddenly become happy with her human life - because his destruction would not have changed how she is perceived. She would have continued to endure far more insidious, systemic, violent abuse as a disabled, arguably queer wife and woman.

This is why the sensuality of her death/wedding is so crucial to the presentation of the film.

in Orlok, she embraces her own perceived "darkness," the aspects of her that her society believes are harmful and grotesque - her lack of deference to her husband (he terrorizes Thomas), her queerness (he drains Anna and destroys Harding's family), her psychic disability (he kisses Ellen's heart and drinks from her, reverent and tender). it is a scene steeped in both terror and ecstasy. She is joining Orlok in sin and in death - a twisted version of his proposed eternity; and in doing so, she is ascended.

It is incredibly poignant that, when her power over him is actually shown, it is far more emotional and commonplace than could be expected. There are no torches or stakes, no physical explicit battle; Ellen's unique, magnificent, holy power is merely the ability to ask for "more!.. More!" - and be granted that wish without question. Here, in a monster's embrace, she is valued more than a promotion, or propriety, or even Orlok's own life.

All that to say - Ellen's personal journey through the film does not culminate in a straightforward battle of "victim vs abuser." Despite what a cursory overview might imply, the Final Struggle is a minor aspect; instead, the overwhelming majority of her story revolves around a build-up to a Final Choice. Similar to I Saw The TV Glow, or NBC's Hannibal, or a multitude of other narratives, it explores the balance between the horror of transformation and the horror of staying the same. A monster might grant the first one if you ask, and it will feel like dying - but society's already forced you into the second.

All there is left to do is make damn sure it kills you.

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

just out of curiosity – why do you like sukugo??

i've just never seen any of the accounts i follow/my mutuals celebrate this pairing so i'm really curious!

:))))))))) i smiled so wide getting this ask anon. PLS DON’T BE ALARMED just take my hand and let me tell you abt two deeply violent homoerotic men….

okay so when it comes to sukugo i just. ADORE their dynamic and relationship. it’s one of my favorites in the entire manga and i truly think akutami COOKED with it . not only the shinjuku fight itself (which is, ofc, what sold me on the ship) but also the foreshadowing beforehand!!! like sukuna telling gojo that he’ll be the first one he kills…. the two of them making the same kind of pose in their respective volume covers (vol. 4 & 14….. another parallel which is even more devastating when you remember that the number four is associated with death in japan)….. both of them being referred to as ”the strongest.”

i actually didn’t pick up on a lot of it until we got to shinjuku!! but i just think akutami teased at their importance to each other so well and so early on.

WITH THAT BEING SAID . their dynamic. their parallels. yes. they’re both the strongest and the most isolated and those two things are synonymous. it ties into one of the most central themes of jjk that equates absolute strenght to absolute solitude — it’s a kind of curse. a curse and a blessing. and they both have it.

the main difference is that gojo knows what it’s like to be understood and loved — but sukuna doesn’t. so he can’t feel lonely. he’s never known what it’s like to not be alone. but gojo has!!! gojo has felt love and felt what it’s like to be understood, and when geto died a part of him died too. he’ll always be lonely. he’s the loneliest character in the series. and when he looks at sukuna he sees the exact same isolation that’s plagued him since the moment he was born. so what does he do about it?

he tries to teach sukuna about love.

^ and THAT’S . the most delicious dynamic ever. i take no criticism. i’ll die on the hill that this concept and their dynamic is one of the absolute highlights of jjk. it’s so GOOD. it’s so insanely good. gojo wants to teach sukuna about love/cure him from his solitude by killing him. and vice versa. it’s inherently violent and inherently tender and it makes me INSANE. to me that’s the greatest appeal of sukugo!!!! violence as tenderness is a trope very near and dear to my heart (and also VERY frequently associated w queer subtext in media…. just putting that out there……) and they do it so good. they have a blast killing each other.

also i just NEED to say how much i love the ”teach you about love” line. it’s one of my favorites in the manga and akutami utilizes it so well!! he repeats it over and over as foreshadowing and to build up the sukugo dynamic. the final reveal that gojo is ”the one who will teach [sukuna] about love” made me weep (even though it was so obvious)…. it’s just so deeply. idk. it just says so much about gojo as a character :(( the fact that he wanted to teach sukuna about love. i’ve seen some people who think that part is ooc but i disagree completely!! gojo has never concerned himself w the morals of others. not really. toji kills riko but gojo still has a respect for him and allows him to say his final words. he never hated geto despite his crimes. he supports yuji fully no matter how many people die because of him. etcetc. same with all his students.

gojo looks at sukuna and sees someone who is just as alone as he is. so deeply, deeply alone. him wanting to change that is not ooc in the slighest because that’s quite literally what drives gojo as a character:

he’s just such a genuinely good person at his core. and it coexists with the way he sometimes disregards morality. this is a hot take but i genuinely think gojo’s character blossomed fully in his battle with sukuna….. i don’t see him as ooc in it at all. he genuinely wanted to reach sukuna!! he knew he was the only one who could even hope to do so. and he tried his best.

and, i would argue that he succeeded.

SEGWAY TIMEEEEEEEEE LET’S GO. okay so let’s talk abt one of my favorite panels in the jjk manga, the panel that solidified sukugo as one of my favorite pairings Of All Time:

(two diff translations bc i love them both :3)

THIS. wow. wow. wow. i could talk abt this panel alone for hours and hours but i’ll try to be coherent……

there’s just? so much meaning to be found here??? for both of them????? not only is it a fundamental moment for gojo — being praised and acknowledged and accepted as himself rather than the strongest — but it’s also proof that gojo did reach sukuna!!! he’ll remember him forever. sukuna will never fully be entirely isolated because even millenia into the future he’ll still remember gojo. gojo nestled his way into sukuna’s heart.

and that’s just . so romantic isn’t it???? so beautiful???????? this is the culmination of gojo’s efforts; the most genuine expression we’ve ever seen on sukuna’s face. he actually looks happy.

i cried seeing that panel btw 😭😭 not a joke!! i was already crying when i started chapter 236 bc i knew how it’d end but this panel (+ the one w geto cheering gojo on in his cult leader fit) made me SOB. not exaggerating. i’ve never cried so much reading a manga… T_T

so!!!! yeah. i just love sukugo. their dynamic is so interesting and beautiful and i can never get enough of it. sometimes i love it more than stsg… don’t tell geto that though……..

[coramills]

Sooo, I saw the Barbie movie yesterday. Thoughts (and spoilers) below:

********************************

• Honestly? It was better than I thought it would be.

• This film was an absolute trainwreck. But in a good way???

• It violently swings between being fun, goofy, playful, and being almost too real for comfort. And every time it gets too real, we try to repress it. Barbie tries to repress it. Gloria tries to escape just a little. When the world gets too much for us, we escape via make belief. We play with barbies. But Barbie does not belittle that escapism, but instead positions it as a real source of inspiration and change.

• So yes, this film was scarily relatable at times. Not even just in Gloria's monologue. But also when Barbie says she is afraid in the real world, or when she says she is not good at anything. Those things hit hard.

• On the brighter side, this film was also delightfully gay. Not explicitly, but implicitly in so many moments. Romance between Barbie and Ken does not happen. In fact, no straight romance really happens. AT ALL. The Kens hold hands and find each other very cool. Barbie and Gloria are in love at first sight and become an annoyingly cute couple which their teenage daughter could barf at (not much interpretation is needed for this take, believe me). There is a tender make-up scene. Their song is "closer to fine" by the Indigo Girls.

• Ken takes over Barbieland because he was friendzoned. Yes, there are other reasons too, but I feel like the 'man who is friendzoned and does NOT handle it well' really touched on something.

• The film also makes a point that matriarchy, too, is unfair. Barbie was not so much better than Ken when the barbies were in charge, and that argument too needs to be heard.

• Nevertheless, President Barbie is everything, especially when she gets censored by Mattel.

• Kate McKinnon as weird Barbie was also everything. Like. The movie is queer to me just for having Kate McKinnon in it. But for so many other reasons, too.

• I loved Helen Mirren as narrator. She is just one of those women we can all look up to.

[spongynova]

I'm queer and I think sex is fun! Us humans can have pleasure alone or not, by thinking about stuff or by doing stuff to each other. This idea is so weird and interesting.

See I love drawing people, especially people having fun, and sex can be such a good place for this-

By drawing porn I can explore anatomy, work on my knowledge of the body and its infinite diversity. It's a place where I can explore feelings, why characters would want to have sex together and how? It can be intense, it can be tender, it can be violent. Porn is a way to tell stories. The good ones as well as the ones with a bad ending.

The good ones as well as the ones with a bad ending. Sexuality is such a wild concept, we talk about it, some practice, some don't. And a lot of humans are wankers, seeking sexual gratification by masturbation. What do we think about while doing this? People can be excited about a looot of things.

I think it's so fun to take the time to reflect on what makes us burn inside. That said, sexuality is a place where we tend to reproduce the bias of the system, like the oppressive bullshit. FUCK THAT. My porn is queer, feminist and such a sassy little leftist.

I will draw sex where women can choose (emphasis here) if they want to be doms or a piece furniture for several hours, I will draw men in dresses, bulky women, agender cryptids, weird non human monsters, and so much more than heterosexual penetrative sex. And if I made you smile, if two people found it kinda hot? My job is done!

On the subject of reproductive sex: yeah yeah some humans can reproduce like that. Contraceptives and abortions should be free btw. On the subject of sex work: FUCKING LISTEN TO SEX WORKERS On the subject of children: we need sex ed and we need to stop sexualizing children

[vivillainous]

Omg just binge read the five existing chapters of more the fool me and brooooo

Like I just sat my self down and didn’t get up until I finished and I’m so desperate for more!!!

The way you write the characters feels so authentic, even though their relationships develop fairly quick - it doesn’t feel rushed and makes complete sense!

You write Miranda so well, I’ve always in my head saw her as almost adjacent to characters like Narcissa Malfoy, Regina from Ouat etc

They have a cold, detached air around them but they’re fuelled by this addictive passion and commitment to their loved ones that they’re practically clinical about, like they’re not here to play and you get that across so well with Miranda.

I don’t usually read x readers and if I do, I don’t read OC ones but I enjoyed this thoroughly. I might be a little bias because I look a bit like Fraser - brown skin, long, black curls barring the fact that she’s 5’9 and I’m 5’4 at the best of times - but it comes down to how universal you write her.

The name Fraser doesn’t feel like it carries too much connotations like a name like mf Amy or Charlotte which are wayyy to western for a non-white person to easily relate to and her personality is so relatable. And big plus she’s not super annoying so

But your writing is amazing - the way you write intimacy without it being sexual is divine, how the characters look at each other fondly or appreciate the others mind or oh! oh! How you slip in Fraser’s knowledge about them to emphasise how well she knows them! Like how she knew it was Alcina because of her height when she was passed out or how she’s aware that Miranda was coming to yell at her on the balcony! The way she holds Miranda’s face and how Alcina plays piano to her, how Fraser easily makes Mira, Alcina, and soon Donna I’m guessing feel less lonely.

I don’t know, I just live for good sapphic yearning and pining and it’s so nice to see that there’s still a plot - which omg I can’t wait to see where that goes - and it isn’t all easy. Fraser may feel some attachment to Alcina and Miranda but she’s still willing to go behind their backs to search for her father - like trying to sneak into that storage room. She gets close with them but not without her own agenda. The tender, heady back and forth with Fraser and the Lords/Mira is so perfectly countered by the far more gritty landscape and setting, the depictions of the violent, grotesque nature of the corpses and flesh, of the worms and the far less idealistic village and it’s history. You stay true to the grit of RE8 and I’m here for it, I hate when a wlw story or any queer story is all fluffy or all angsty like there needs to be balance and you got it.

Alcina has to hold herself back, she feels uncomfortable knowing about Miranda’s closeness with Fraser or vice versa, Miranda letting Fraser into her vulnerable parts despite how perturbed she is and Fraser not being a dick head that has no common sense but still makes mistakes.

The pacing is great, you have pretty neat prose and I am so interested! Keep up the really awesome work!

- from a dedicate fan now <3

holy shit, i’m???

thank you so much for taking time out of your day to read about the little evil gay women in my phone. thank you even more for making such a detailed comment, really it means the world to me—and also shocks me???

the representation of fraser being a black/mixed black woman was incredibly important to me. the RE community in general has a lack of rep for women of color, likely due to the games themselves not having too many woc in general.

i’m so glad you like my miranda characterization! in this fic, i wanted to lean heavily into what it’s like to be a grieving mother. outside of the vengeful, scornful side of miranda we see inside of RE8. of course, her rage and schemes are still very present in more the fool, but i wanted the aspect of dealing with the grief of losing someone to take center stage.

i think the beauty of miranda/fraser’s dynamic is that fraser exists within miranda’s grief, rather than trying to do away with it or fill the hole that’s left in her heart. she knows she can’t assuage her loneliness and she doesn’t want to. she simply wants to be with her through it all, and i think that’s the beautiful thing about them.

outside of the who-done-it nature of more the fool’s overarching story, i think it’s a story of what it’s like to go to the ends of the earth for a person, solely because you love them and would do anything to see you two reunited.

fun fact: fraser’s name means “of the forest men” and strawberry! the truth is, i got so attached to it when i was trying to come up with a name for her, but then realized it was a boy’s name. i thought it’d be funny for her lore to add in the fact that her father knew it was a boy’s name, but kept it anyway because he liked it so much. besides, i think we can all say it fits her better!

there’s so much more i want to say, but tumblr has deleted this on me like 4 other times already, so i’ll end it there. thank you again, and i look forward to giving you more to read soon!!

[eldritch-bf]

It’s a good thing Herbert isn’t explicitly gay and attracted to Daniel because otherwise that would be some of the most homophobic shit ever. Like as I’ve been reading Monsters in the Closet: Homosexuality and the Horror Film it’s literally always the fucking weird well-dressed intelligent small male antagonist trying to destroy/seduce the ostensibly straight and normal hero out of heteronormativity and into whatever depraved shit he’s doing (queer-coded mad scientist looking for an attractive hetero male assistant trope to help him play god), even if he’s forced to displace that urge as violence/hatred directed towards the female love interest.

And any sort of potential intimacy between the protagonist and the antagonist is replaced by violence. They verbally and or physically torture each other to death. They can’t stand each other but they can’t be apart. They can’t have sex because of censors (old Hollywood production codes) or the broad attitudes of the audience so they have to fight each other.

If they both die then they get to be together, clutching each other in their final moments. Queerness leads to suffering and death after all, and it’s inherently violent, of course. That’s what they have to remind people, even if they don’t want to, storytelling conventions of the era require it.

Like if Herbert was explicitly gay and interested in Daniel and the movie still played out the way it did? Especially if Daniel showed the faintest hint of tender feelings back? Literally the message would be “straying from heterosexuality even for a minute will leave a wake of destruction in your path”. Which is the message of those horror films with the queer coded antagonist.

Even worse that Meg doesn’t survive. Normally the hetero couple survives their encounter with the villainous queer but Meg gets killed mostly to cause Daniel more suffering. Meg’s death would have been Daniel’s punishment for his brief entanglement with the villainous queer man.

[twinnedpeaks]

what are your favorite queer media + books?

OOF hard question buddy. but ill try! Couldnt think of more shows sorry

books:

maurice, em forster (classic fiction)

giovannis room, james baldwin (classic fiction)

these violent delights, micah nemerever (fiction)

detransition baby, torrey peters (fiction)

the argonauts, maggie nelson (autobiographical fiction)

paul takes the form of a mortal girl, andrea lawlor (fiction)

the book eaters, sunyi dean (fantasy)

hell followed with us + the spirit bares its teeth, andrew joseph white (horror)

silver under nightfall, rin chupeco (horror fantasy)

interesting facts about space, emily austin (fiction)

a botanical daughter, noah medlock (horror)

eyes guts throat bones, moira fowley (horror)

it came from the closet; queer reflections on horror (non fiction)

oranges are not the only fruit, jeanette winterson (autobiographical fiction)

brainwyrms + tell me im worthless, alison rumfitt (horror)

playboy + love me tender, constance debre (autobiographical fiction)

cuckoo + manhunt, gretchen felker-martin (horror)

bury your gays, chuck tingle (horror)

other media:

maurice (1987)

the rocky horror picture show (1975)

the favourite (2018)

the skeleton twins (2014)

kill your darlings (2013)

my own private idaho (1991)

what we do in the shadows (2019-)

buffy the vampire slayer (1997-2002) (shut up it counts)

sense8 (2015-2018)

[darlingillustrations]

Survival Series

My latest art series is about resilience. It is about staying tender in a harsh world, about choosing hope in the face of despair.

A few years ago, I was learning about the history of violence against the queer community and I wanted to do something about it, to create something that would honor the losses of those who have gone before while carving out a path forward for a better future.

Each animal and plant featured in this series are endangered flora and fauna, and the subjects that I used as inspiration for each character are people who were lost to violence against the queer community.

I think it is important to recognize that, even in the face of countless losses, even when a species feels like it is on the verge of extinction, as long as a handful survive, they stand a chance of making it through.

We are the survivors. We continue to live with tenderness and virtue and joy, not in spite of our losses, but as a way of honoring those who have come before us.

Years ago, when I was in the depths of despair and struggling to figure out how to exist in a world that seemed to not have a place for me, three things saved me—the poetry of Mary Oliver, the song Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, and the Reminder Series by @reapersun . With Reapersun’s encouragement, I used his art as inspiration to bring this dream to life on the ten year anniversary of his art release.

I hope my art will help remind a new generation of people how to survive in the face of a difficult and violent world. I’ve been working hard on getting a Kickstarter to release the Survival Series as a calendar. Keep your eyes open for a launch date next week!

This writing first appeared in my newsletter. Link to sign up here. Never miss an update!

[gods-no-longer-tread-here]

thinking about Nimona being The Central Character of the movie but fewer cis people want to talk about her than the silly gay knights and I can only assume it’s because she embodies both the Tired Elder Trans who has been fighting so long she can only feel bitterness and the Tender Baby Trans who is still raw and so so small, and a lot of folks don’t like that.

They don’t like that she flat-out says she’s suicidal, and then also attempts suicide. They don’t like that she’s still affected by her trauma a thousand years later (never mind that trauma doesn’t disappear, it just gets sleepy, and there is always the chance it will come back, fresh and painful as it was in the moment, and we can’t destroy it... like the monster it is...). They don’t like that Nimona doesn’t fucking care about how she presents, not because she loves herself, but because she’s accepted that no one will love her. They don’t like that a teen girl/old woman is loud and angry and violent and powerful.

They don’t like that the hero of the story has a complicated relationship with her queerness--her transness. They don’t like that the movie is so incredibly personal.