#I have to say it's beautiful living in times where shows marketed for kids can be so carefully crafted

[vervainvoyage]

Soooo after I reblogged some of OSP's JttW content, I get the Lego Monkie Kid recommended posts and blogs thrown at me every 4 minutes on my dash. Fiiiine, I went to check out the pilot.

And ok.

Tumblr was right.

The pilot episode is hilarious and the animation ABSOLUTELY SLAPS. I keep rewinding because there are so many good gags happening in the background, or just because the animation was so pretty I wanted to see it thrice. This is like a crackfic with the production value of movie theater animated blockbusters.

[asbealthgn]

Eddie is used to getting recognized in public, but it doesn’t mean he likes it.

And Gareth knows how much he doesn’t like it, so Eddie’s not really sure why his best friend has completely abandoned him like this. Well, maybe abandon is a little dramatic. He said he’d be right back, but that was half an hour ago, and there’s only so many times he can circle the park and dive into bushes anytime someone gets too close. Which is why Eddie left the park altogether and is now sitting at a bus station. No one would expect notorious Corroded Coffin frontman Eddie Munson to be at a bus station, right?

Except he’s not sure the hat and sunglasses and incongruous location are quite doing their job. A group of kids across the road have stopped and they’re all whispering amongst themselves as they look at him. Eddie really wishes he had something to conceal himself with, but his hand over his face would definitely look way too suspicious. He’s thinking he might just have to cut and run and take his chances back in the park bushes.

That is, until the most beautiful man he’s ever seen in his life sits in the seat next to him, unfurling a giant map that easily shields both of them. Eddie’s fucking savior.

“Hey, you wouldn’t happen to know how to get to Japantown, would you?” the guy asks.

As it happens, Eddie does know how to get to Japantown. He hasn’t actually ridden the bus in years, but he still remembers the route. “Yeah,” he says, pointing it out on the map. “You just get on line five headed east and ride it like nine or ten stops until you get to McAllister and Fillmore. From there you just have to walk a few blocks to get into the area.”

The guy looks at him with big eyes, brown and a little droopy. “McAllister and Fillmore,” he repeats, like he’s trying to memorize it. He has pretty pink lips, glistening a little like he’s wearing lipgloss. 

Fuck, he’s adorable. And looks a bit prone to getting lost. And Eddie’s still kind of mad at Gareth for leaving him high and dry out here. So as the bus pulls up to the stop, Eddie figures what the hell?

“I’m actually headed that way,” Eddie says, standing. “I can show you.”

The guy’s whole face brightens and fuck, he really is gorgeous. “You don’t mind?”

“Not at all, big boy.”

The bus is blessedly empty other than one shriveled up lady sitting towards the front with her groceries and a teenager in the middle with giant headphones and their nose in a book. Eddie heads to the back with the guy, who now has a faint blush dusting his nose and cheeks.

“I’m Steve, by the way,” he says as he sits in the seat next to Eddie. “What’s your name?”

So that confirms that Steve doesn’t know who he is. It didn’t seem like he did from how he was reacting, but it’s a bit of relief to know for sure. “Eddie,” he says, bumping his shoulder into Steve’s. “Nice to meet you.”

Steve gives him a smile that’s about as radiant as the sun as he nudges Eddie’s shoulder back. “You too.”

“So what do you have going on in Japantown?” Eddie asks.

“I’m headed to a baby shower for some friends who live near there,” he says, “Well, it’s not a real baby shower.”

“No?”

“‘Cause it’s not a real baby. That is, it’s not a human baby.”

Eddie lifts his eyebrows. “I think you lost me.”

Steve twists in his seat and starts gesturing with his hands. “Well, it all started when they found out that one of their cats wasn’t actually spayed and had gotten knocked up by a stray,” he says, “And Robin was like, ‘Hey, more cats, that’s a good thing,’ and Nancy was like, ‘No, our neighbors already think we’re crazy cat ladies.’”

“Uh huh.”

“So they compromised and decided they would keep one kitten and give the rest away,” Steve says, “So it’s less of a come give us presents for our baby shower and more of a please take our babies away shower. You know?”

“Oh yeah, one of those,” Eddie says, and Steve laughs. 

“Hey, are you in the market for a kitten?” he asks. “Cause if you are, I totally know where you can get one.”

It’s Eddie’s turn to laugh. “Honestly?” he says, “I’ve got nothing else going on. Why the hell not?”

Steve gives him another one of those radiant smiles and Eddie can’t help but hope he gets more than a kitten by the end of this.

[secretsofblackthornhall]

Magnus to Alec

Dear delectable muffin of love,

I hope this perfumed letter finds you well, and that you and R and M are having an excellent time in your exotic journey to…well, I believe the term you used was “upstate.” I have heard legends of this Upstate, but never did I know that my family would see for themselves its mountains, its twee farm markets, its River of the Son of Hud.

More to the point, I hope the kids are enjoying their visit with Grandma, and I hope you are referring to Maryse as “Grandma” as often as possible because I enjoy the face she makes when we do. On a less pleasant but more urgent note, I hope you’ve had a chance to talk with Luke about the Cohort/Idris stuff.

But do not tire your beautiful hands with a written reply. I will be heading to this “Upstate” myself to join you later this afternoon, as I am relieved to report that the business with the Blackthorn kids’ cursed house is more or less resolved. Although it was touch and go, let me tell you.

I don’t think I even showed you the note Jem sent, which said, “Emma and Julian are trying not to bother you about their house, and that is very nice of them, but unlike them, I feel absolutely no compunction about bothering you, and so this is me, now, in this note, bothering you. We are in need of a warlock and you are the best one I know for this. We would all really appreciate your help.”

As is often the case, I was both mildly annoyed and mildly impressed with Jem, who managed to be both very kind and also to remind me that I am a sucker when it comes to him and Tessa and will rush to their aid when I can. Because I am a sucker when it comes to him and Tessa, I wrote back quickly saying I would come.

I know what you’re thinking: “How could Tessa need a warlock when she is a warlock?” But different warlocks have different expertises, as you know, and while Jem was flattering me that I was the best choice, the reality is that I have dealt with a lot more curses than Tessa. That’s what comes of spending the past decades hiring your services out to any miscreants who come by, instead of more intelligently living a calm life as a magic researcher in the Spiral Labyrinth. Tessa always was the smartest of us.

Anyway, I must give Emma and Julian credit. I expected to arrive and find them banging the cursed objects against one another or something, but they had set up a decent enough protective circle and even found a spell. It was an old, kind of generic spell that I have found to rarely be of much use with actual curses in the modern day, but still.

Rather stupidly I set up a basic workaday curse-breaking circle of my own, and gave it a try. “Stupidly” because I had forgotten who did the curse in the first place. Your worst ancestor, Benedict Lightwood, all-around demon enthusiast and dilettante necromancer. How in bed with demons was Benedict? He literally died of demon pox — which if you do not know, because you are beautifully pure, my Alec — is a sexually transmitted demon disease.

But I forgot that in the moment, so I was surprised when the curse put up an impressive resistance. It writhed and thrashed and struck out, like Max being lowered into a bath. The cursed objects were all glowing, kind of neon green, where they were tied to the magic, and eventually I realized I was going to have to carefully unknot each object from the curse, one at a time.

I managed the flask, the dagger, and one of the candlesticks (don’t ask me to explain how THAT happens), but after that I was stuck.

It’s not a great look for a warlock to strike a big magic pose and then nothing happens. I am sure I looked ridiculous, like a mundane magician who couldn’t understand why the rabbit wasn’t coming out of the hat. Julian and Emma are very polite and only waited patiently but I felt quite silly.

And then I lost all my focus temporarily because the door opened and Kit walked in. He sort of looked around at the scene and finally said, “Professor Plum in the library with the candlestick, I see.”

“Purple is always an appropriate color for a warlock,” I said. “It is the decorative color of magic.”

Emma, of course, said, “Your magic is blue,” because she is an inveterate smartass.

“Maybe he meant me,” said Julian. “I’m wearing a purple hoodie. Also because it is the decorative color of magic,” he added with a nod in my direction, which I appreciated.

“Maybe you could put the objects on a purple tablecloth instead of a white one,” Kit said, and while he was talking he walked out to get a closer look.

And when he got close to the circle, Alec, I felt the strangest sensation. A feeling of…power, I suppose, kind of humming in Kit. You know the way your body kind of vibrates when there’s a really really low sound? That rumbling feeling? It was like that, but silent. I’ve never had that experience any of the times I’ve seen Kit before. I could also tell that Kit didn’t feel anything unusual. Or if he did, he was surprisingly casual about it.

So I suggested he come join us around the circle and add his focus to the magic. “Especially since Jem and Tessa have snuck off somewhere rather than helping out with this round.”

“They’re out in the garden with Mina,” Kit said, a little defensively.

I redirected everyone’s attention to the objects and established a somewhat souped-up version of my go-to curse breaker. I went for the other candlestick and BANG. No resistance anymore! There was a big burst of blue and all the knots of magic tying the objects to the curse broke into pieces.

Everyone blinked a bunch. Eventually I said something like, “Well, that was more what I was hoping for. I guess four people made the difference.”

I checked. The curse seemed…gone. I was actually a little shaken. I haven’t mentioned it to Tessa and Jem, because I don’t want to make a big deal of it, but I think it worked because of Kit. Not because we needed a fourth person. Something is going on with him, some magic that is totally outside his awareness. I assume it has something to do with being a descendant of the First Heir, but I’ve never been an expert on that kind of faerie enchantment. (And do burn this letter, after you get it — very few of us know about Kit being the First Heir, and it’s best if we keep it that way.)

It makes me sad to think of it. Kit is a good kid who deserves a good, ordinary life. I know that’s what Jem and Tessa want for him, more than anything, after the chaos that was his growing up. But I am not sure he will have a choice in the matter. Fae may not let him choose.

Julian reached out and took hold of the flask. He held it for a moment, frowning.

“What?” said Emma.

“Nothing,” Julian said. He looked up at me. “Is that it? No more curse?”

“No more curse,” I said. “I hope.”

And then down from the ceiling drifted Rupert the Ghost. I never met Rupert Blackthorn when he was alive. I don’t know what to think of him. On the one hand, he seems to have been an innocent who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, a spirit trapped in a house he never lived in because of evil he never knew about while he lived. On the other hand, he met Tatiana Lightwood and thought that lady seems like marriage material, so there must have been something weird going on with him.

Rupert had been hovering and he descended until he was right above the table. He was staring at something on it.

“What is it, Rupert?” said Emma. “What are you looking at?”

Kit followed his gaze and started pushing the objects out of the way. “It’s the ring,” he said.

Emma said, “What ring?”

Indeed, what ring? There wasn’t a ring among the cursed objects. But there was a ring on the table now. Kit picked it up. It was a silver ring, etched with a design of thorns and set with a black stone.

“Blackthorn family ring?” Kit said.

“It’s not how family rings usually look,” Emma said.

“Wedding band?” said Kit.

“Shadowhunters don’t use wedding rings,” said Emma, but Julian had that thoughtful look he gets.

“I am bound here by a silver band,” he said softly.

“Shadowhunters can exchange wedding rings,” I said. “They just aren’t expected to. But they can if they want.”

Whatever it was, it was Rupert’s. He had followed Kit’s hand as it picked up the ring, and now he was reaching out for it with a thin ghostly hand. He wrapped it around the ring, which did absolutely nothing since he’s a ghost – Kit just kind of held it there for him. Then his eyes closed (Rupert’s, I mean) and he got this expression on his face of relief and gratitude and peace, and he just…faded out, right there. Just slowly vanished and was gone. No more Rupert. On to hopefully not being reunited with his wife, since she was also his jailer for over a hundred years.

“He didn’t even say goodbye,” Emma said quietly.

“That’s for the best,” I said. “He was never supposed to be here at all.”

“Well, Rupert, if you can hear me,” said Emma, “it was nice being haunted by you.”

“Five stars,” said Kit solemnly, putting the ring back on the table. “Would be haunted again.”

And all the candles went out in the room at once. Which, if it was Rupert, was a nice touch. Though it may have just been a draft.

We all filed out of the room quietly. “It’s different,” Julian said. He was looking around at the hallway. “I can feel it already.”

I could feel it as well. There was a lightness that had not been there. A kind of pleasant hominess that a good house conveys and that had always been absent from Blackthorn Hall in the time I’ve known it. It’s hard to describe, but all at once it felt like Julian and Emma’s home, in a way it hadn’t before. I’ve always known it as a forbidding place, and then as a hideous ruin, but for the first time I thought, this was a place the Blackthorns could fill with joy.

And I’m certain they will.

See you very soon, my love. I shall kiss you until a toddler forces us apart to pay attention to him. So plan for a kiss of about 30-60 seconds, based on previous experience. But I wish, as always, that it could be endless.

Love,

Magnus

[hannahhasafact]

Just finished the One Piece live action show and here are my thoughts as someone who has never read the manga/watched the anime but has been adjacent to the fandom for years:

I now get why people like Luffy so much! What a charming guy he is, and the guy they cast for him is such a delightful lil guy

Tbh, I now see all the things that people have talked about liking from this series. It’s got some charm

Also just gotta say I love that literally people will be like “where is luffy” and the people go “nope not gonna rat him out he’s a good boy”

As someone who has read many shonen manga, it’s extremely apparent that this comes from a shonen manga and it’s very funny

Like when character will just repeat a phrase multiple times into the air? Oh man I can immediately visualize that in manga form lolllll

For all of the vague knowledge I have of One Piece, I have never heard of this little dude with the pink hair in my entire life I’m sure he’s in the manga considering he’s got the over the top character design traits this series tends to love but you’re telling me this dude has been in the series the whole time? Wat

From what I’ve seen of the manga/anime, they did a really good job nailing down Sanji’s ridiculously fwippy fighting style

Ngl I thought the other straw hat dude was Luffy’s brother but I guess that’s another character? No clue

The accents are all over the place and it’s very funny like the rich girl has a British accent and the poor kid has an American accent even though they grew up in the same city? That just made me laugh

Tumblr did an AWFUL job at marketing this show lollll like Buggy is the “main” villain for like a single episode

If they continue with this show I hope to god they figure out an okay way to animate that little deer guy because I’m sure that would get real awful real quick those snail things were horrifying enough

This show is full of just beautiful people what the heck

Anyways, thought it was fun! Still not gonna read the manga or watch the anime, but I’ll watch more episodes of the live action if they do more ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[ashdreams2023]

Loki and a gn reader, [R] comes from an ancient nation, 1 day [R] somehow gets teleported to Asgard. As well since I like myself a good old platonic fic, [R] gets taken in by Loki as some kind of father figure.

Guardian

You always had a thing for getting yourself into dangerous situations your friends liked to say but this had taken the cake.

Why did you land in the most crowded and strange place, everywhere you looked there was tall people and gold like things being exchanged.

It seemed like some market and you felt lost, overwhelmed almost.

"Hey kid move!" You turned around but not quickly enough to avoid being hit by one of the horse riders and falling to the side.

You heard a few whispers before a pair of hands helped you up, looking up you realized it was a gentleman who looked young but clearly much older than you.

"Are you alright? My brother can be so reckless sometimes. Where is your parents?" The mention of your parents had probably been the last straw, sure you were extremely close with them but now you missed them more than ever.

"I…I don’t know and I’m scared" you sobbed rubbing your eyes frustrated with yourself, the young man panicked then warped his arms around you then picked you up.

"It’s ok child I’m sure they are here somewhere!"

"No! I don’t belong here in the first place"

The man tightened his grip on you when the whispered were becoming too loud and you clung to him for dear life.

"My name is Loki, what’s yours?"

You sniffed, still shaking and scared you told him yourself.

"What a unique name you have. Would you like to come home with me? My mother would appreciate some company" Loki was a stranger but honestly you were desperate to go away from that crowded place and simply nodded.

It was when you saw the castle that you realized that Loki wasn’t some ordinary person, at first you thought he was a knight or something but no it all changed when when you only could call a queen welcomed you with open arms.

"You’re a prince?!" You couldn’t stay still while cleaned one of his daggers.

"Yes little one, it seems you’re really not from here. Do you have any idea how you got here?" You shook your head.

"Ok, a maid will come here and help you get dressed more appropriately before we decide what to do with you"

And that was how you got the best bath of your life, Asgard you had learned the place was called, was so big and beautiful.

You had a nice warm meal and Loki stayed with you the entire time his father discussed your situation, personally you didn’t like the old man much but for your sake you kept quiet.

The result that everyone agreed on for the meantime was to leave you stay inside the castle until a suitable home is fond for you. Loki was put as a sort of a guardian.

Loki being responsible for you was interesting by itself, he was the youngest prince and usually people were required to follow him around to make sure he’s out of trouble.

You spent a great majority of your time listening to him read and showing you some magic tricks, he even attempted to teach you some.

The pranks were your favorite though, Thor was an easy target and he always made sure you got away first.

"Loki"

"Yes?"

You yawned laying on bed "will you stay with me forever?"

Loki chuckled running a soothing hand on your arm "for as long as I live and after"

[shortkingvi]

I've read a few books that were marketed to me as like 'and its top ten queer books' and after putting it down i was just like oh so that actually just took time off my life like did we not have an editor?? did we just let this person write whatever no proofreading for narrative under the guise of 'its gay?' I'm not even sure what I'm upset about im trying to understand like is it bc queer writers have wobbly new writer legs? bc we havent been given the same amount of practise opportunities as the wider cishet authors have had? is it bc its a smaller pond so we just have fewer gems comparatively due to numbers alone?? is it just a failure of editors ??? feels like Good Queer content is so hard to fine comparatively to like more 'sword lesbians' and 'twilight but gay', not to gatekeep at all im just disheartened

omg guys LOVING these asks today LOVING the opportunity to pontificate on the media industry

so basically i think this is a twofold issue and i will answer this as such:

first, i believe that the same can be said for books directed toward young women. there’s a reason john greens and stephenie meyers and books like divergent are arguably barely readable and yet widely marketed and pushed toward preteen and teen girls. the reason why is because teen girls, like queer people, are NEVER the target demo. speaking as a person in marketing and media, the target demo is almost always men 18-34 or adults 25-54

this results in a lack of care or even consideration that queer people or young women deserve complexity or well executed stories! because we are always the afterthought!

the second issue here is somewhat a fault of internet fan culture. because of the prevalence and popularity of things like fanfiction or fancams or compilations or AUs or other things along this line, queer consumers oft enter into consumption from the lens of someone either already knowing the characters or someone SPECIFICALLY looking for queer as the backbone of the product

i can’t tell you how many people i’ve seen saying “oh i’ve never watched the show/movie but i watch comps of the queer ship and read fanfic about them!!” like??????? do you not realize the issue here? fanfic and compilations presuppose knowledge on the product, meaning they do not teach you how to consume a narrative, fill in blanks yourself, or establish your own thoughts on the successes or failings of the product

which means!!! when these people begin to recommend books or other media to your their frame of reference is “it’s queer!” because even if they’ve consumed the whole product, they’re hardwired to think that all consumers are searching for solely queer rep and not like,,,,,,, well-executed queer rep. it’s genuinely a side effect of the filter bubble era and the assumption that no one cares about narrative because my uwu gay little website rarely interacts with plot and regularly only focuses on ships

romance and sexuality and identity and love is good. it can strengthen and develop a narrative beyond where you might expect it to be. some of the most beautiful stories live and die based on whether their romance delivers on what it attempts to. however,,,,,,,,,, we are humans beyond who we love just as characters and plots exist beyond those same parameters. i wish people would try and remember that

little add on here that of COURSE i would never begrudge or belittle someone who consumes a product solely because it’s queer, particularly young people who are newly out. i was there once. as a kid raised in a catholic family who went to a catholic school all her life, i salivated at any glimpse of myself in media. i don’t fault any young person for this. BUT! at the same time, you do eventually need to become critical of the media you consume

you should never let corporations and conglomerates trick you into thinking half assed narratives are worth it solely because they’re a little diverse because then we’ll never truly break the chains of capitalism, rainbow capitalism, and heteronormative hegemonies that seek to push us to the fringes and give us the leftovers not deemed good enough for cishets. that’s all

[lilyclawthorne]

Top 5 TOH episodes?

5. Understanding Willow.

I love love loved the whole concept of the way memories and the mind works in the TOH universe. Was cool to see Amity and Willow’s past with each other, and have them start to clear that up. I really like how they let Willow set boundaries as well, that it wasn’t just okay everything’s fixed now, and that’s it okay to want to be friends again but still take the time to build that trust.

4. Hollow Mind.

What can I say? I wasnt joking when I said I liked how the mind worked in this show. Plus lots of backstory and plenty is revealed here. Luz finds out the truth about Belos/Philip, we learn about the golden guards, we start to see how the day of unity is gonna work, and we see the collector and what his business with Belos is. Also the scene where the first tried out the coven marks? Rare cartoon moment that actually makes me feel disturbed.

3. Agony of a Witch.

I remember being SO shocked by Lilith’s reveal, and then thinking “duh OF COURSE it was her”. I mean damn, her name means night monster she was literally the monster that cursed Eda in the night. And honestly I love it when reveals are like that? Like, just being able to go back and see the hints that led to it. Also Eda and Liliths fight?? Fucking amazing. Beautiful animation and It very much highlights just how insanely powerful Eda is, and also just how much she has come to care for Luz over the course of the whole season.

2. Keeping Up A-fear-ances.

I! Love! Clawthornes! I loved Gwen’s intro, and how they worked through her relationship with both of her daughters. It certainly explained a lot about why Eda and Lilith are the way that they are. I also just really liked seeing how Eda really appreciated having Lilith around. There’s something that’s a bit refreshing to me in the way the show handled their relationship after Lilith left the coven and stayed with Eda? Its very clear Lilith feels guilty but also that Eda loves and cares for her sister and they just want to be back in each others lives, and that can be a thing without Eda ever having to actually say she forgives Lilith. Also was very excited to see the raven beast happen, and wish we could see it again but I doubt it will. Also night market ice cream bit was fucking funny.

1. Eda’s Requiem. Immediate first episode I thought of as soon as I saw this question. It’s a really beautiful episode imo. We get a first look at an actual rebellion group. Raine is introduced!! (As well as darius and eber, letting us a start to get a glimpse into the coven heads) we get to learn about Raine and Eda’s relationship and see that these two are clearly still so in love with each other, and how Raine doesn’t know these kids in that photo with Eda, but they will be damned if they let Eda remove herself from their lives, willing to let themself get captured for Eda’s safety. We also get to see some of the horror behind the coven marks, which was cool and made for a good cliffhanger. Also the duet?? So beautiful, gorgeous animation, and makes me cry almost every time. Also, King CLAWTHORNE. The whole episode put into perspective how much Eda grew into her role as a mother, and that was just the perfect way to confirm it and reassure her.

[wahbegan]

NOPE Review

I don’t know where to start with this movie, other than it is....a lot. It’s a lot.

Okay, so the basic premise is this: Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer are sibling co-owners of a ranch that trains horse actors with a pretty...strained relationship. Their dad, the previous owner, who they feel like they can’t live up to, has just been killed in a freak.....er....accident, and they’re struggling to make ends meet. So when they start seeing weird shit in the sky and their horses start vanishing, they cook up a plot to get rich and famous with conclusive proof of alien life. At the same time their neighbor, a former child star who was deeply traumatized by an incident in his childhood, has also caught wind of the weird shit going on and is trying to monetize it, albeit in the form of a live show in his amusement park. And then........shit goes sideways

So yeah, first of all, it’s not a straight alien invasion movie, thank christ, although that’s just my personal preference. If you go in expecting aliens abducting and probing and doing alien shit and running around with lil weird alien faces, you are gonna have a bad time. Signs this is not.

Oh, yeah, also, a note on the genre. You may have noticed the marketing department made the baffling decision of making the teaser for the film look more like straight horror and the full trailer look more like a fffuckin pseudo-Western alien invasion adventure dramedy film and may be confused as to what the fuck genre it is.

It is....neither of those things and both of those things? It’s a weird hybrid. Honestly, i’d say it’s more horror right up until close to the climax, where it gets more Western adventure it’s......okay, this is a weird comparison but

You know The Mummy? Who am i kidding, of course you do. So you know how that movie goes from like creepy scare-you-as-a-kid kinda-sorta horror to blowing up into a big action adventure?

Nope is kinda like that, but with the horrifying elements of the horror turned way the fuck up. Which is.....amazing.

So that’s all just what you should go in expecting though, how’s the actual movie?

Well, in terms of sheer entertainment value, it...might be my favorite Jordan Peele movie? That or Us. It has good characters who are fun to watch, the kind you’d expect from a Jordan Peele film, it has humor, and it has something which Us and Get Out both lacked, which is big blockbuster moments towards the end. Not to spoil too much but it is definitely, of the three, the one i felt ended the most positively.

Which, i mean, you also may not like, but good news! It has something else Us and Get Out lacked!

Two of the most legitimately fucking harrowing scenes i’ve seen in any recent horror film. Oh, sure, i mean, i’ve seen more openly shocking and uncomfortable, the unapologetic scene of child abuse from The Black Phone comes to mind, but two of the scenes in this film are....exactly where horror should exist, in my opinion.

A perfect balance between relatable, tangible, real-world fears and anxieties, something you can see yourself or your loved ones in, and enough of the grotesque and fantastical to make it surreal. To make it uncanny. That sweet spot of horror that really gets under your skin. 

Yes, this movie got under my skin. Mainly those two scenes, which i obviously won’t spoil, but, i was up half the night thinking about them. 

And yes, even besides that really openly disturbing shit, there WAS a lot of very good tension, even when it got to the bits that were more adventure blockbuster-y at the end. Which were also very good, i hasten to add, the........feel like Jordan Peele would smack me for using this word about this particular film, but the spectacle and the beauty and the emotional resonance of those scenes towards the end really does hit.

I wouldn’t say it’s a flawless movie. There’s one character who is very underdeveloped and makes a baffling decision that feels completely unearned, and it definitely feels like he just does it because the plot needs him to. There’s another very minor character, like a throwaway gag character who feels a little annoyingly on-the-nose, to the point where you’re like.....okay no human being would act like that. The side plot about Steven Yeun’s childhood trauma, while thematically resonant and very important to his character feels kinda....out-of-place isn’t quite the right word, but it’s just so jarringly at odds with everything else going on that it’s a bit bizarre, a little bit of a big-lipped alligator moment feel to it.

Although it is also the side plot in which we get one of those two “go home and have nightmares afterwards” scenes i was talking about, so i can’t complain too much.

And finally, and....fuck this is hard to do without spoilers, but there’s.....towards the end, there are some incredibly ambitious shots of the UFO (the design of which is fucking amazing by the way and will surprise you) that are really beautiful or could be beautiful but ohhh i just wish the special effects were a liiiiiiiittle bit better on them.

But i’m just nitpicking at this point. Other then that, yeah it’s a thoroughly satisfying film. Tense, horrifying, emotional, funny in bits, and off-the-wall fucking bonkers which i always appreciate. I would recommend it to all but the most dour and blockbuster-sensibility-hating of horror or sci-fi lovers

[smalltownfae]

2, 9, and 13 for the book recs ask?

2. for a beautiful writing style

We are starting well when beautiful is subjective, but I will try.

The Changeling Sea and Winter Rose by Patricia A. McKillip

It probably comes as no surprise to anyone that I consider McKillip's style to be one of the most beautiful I have ever read. This is the woman that makes me tear up while reading random quotes from books I haven't even read! From the books by her that I've read so far, The Changeling Sea and Winter Rose are the ones with the best prose. Winter Rose is a retelling of Tam Lin and as such it is a bit confusing and all over the place, there is a very dream-like atmosphere through the entire story. The Changeling Sea is more straight forward and very atmospheric. It is about a girl that works in a inn and magical things start to happen and show up around her. It's a tale of greed, self discovery and selfness. Here are some quotes as examples of the writing in both:

"She felt him quiet against her. He turned slowly, shakily, on his knees to face her. He put his arms around her wearily, his hands twined in her hair, his chilled face against her face. He did not speak again; he held her until the tide roared around them, between them, forcing them to choose between land and sea, to go, or stay forever." - The Changeling Sea

“I thought I knew what cold was, before cold stripped me bare of thought, then blinded me and froze my heart. I could not feel such cold and live; cold forced me into something other, something not quite human, who held a dream with bones of ice, and did not remember names, only what we once had been: a flower on a vine, a fall of light.” - Winter Rose

As you can see, her writing is very emotional and some people might not like that and find it cheesy so it's hard to say what everyone considers beautiful writing, but these two books to me are a great example of that.

I also find Robin Hobb's writing to be beautiful, but asking to commit to a series might be too much. So, for those that would want a taste I would suggest the short novella "The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince", that can be read as an extra for Realm of the Elderlings fans or as a short introduction to Hobb's style.

“A husband I would have to find, eventually. But my heart did not cry out for a man. I drew the tortoiseshell comb slowly through Queen-in-Waiting Caution’s sleek black hair, savoring the soft threading of it through my hands. I had all I needed there at my fingertips, for I loved her with all my being.”

To me, writing that evokes emotion on such a level is the most beautiful, but I do need variety since I can't read the same kind all of the time. I feel like it might lose it's magic if I get too used to it.

9. for an intelligent children's book

If we are talking about really small children, "Oh, the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss. I know he wasn't the best person and he has a reputation nowadays, but I do think this book is very motivational, even if maybe too optimistic. Still, the rhymes and pep talks are smart.

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go…”

For kids that are more grown up, The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. I have seen this marketed as YA before, but I think it's also for children and it's one of those series that started as middle grade and then was put in YA because it does appeal to a wide range of readers. There is something so charming and yet familiar about this world. It might be because it takes a lot of inspiration from Welsh mythology or because there are some similarities with Lord of the Rings, but either way it's comforting. I really like the lessons that, because it's for kids, are blatantly stated in the books (but I saw many adults misinterpret the same kind of lessons in adults books so maybe they do need to read these first). Even though the lessons Taran, the main character, learns are stated it never feels like the author is talking down to the reader and his writing style is very immersive.

“In some cases we learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself.” - The Book of Three

13. for a book with an unusual point of view

Well, I haven't read many books that aren't from a human perspective (or a human-like creature) and that aren't first or third person perspective.

If it's a matter of perspective, The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin uses first, third and second person brilliantly and I believe there is also an unusual entity telling part of the story at least (I haven't read the third book yet).

"Adulthood Rites" by Octavia E. Butler has the perspective of an half human/half alien child as he explores the different worlds of his parents in a coming of age tale of self discovery. It's unusual because the alien species in these books are quite unique. However, this is the second book in a trilogy. The third book is also from a half human/half alien character's perspective, but that one has the alien third gender, called Ooloi. The first book is from the perspective of a human though.

"Klara and the Sun" by Kazuo Ishiguro is a story from the perspective of an AF (Artificial Friend, basically an AI with the focus on emotional intelligence in order to help kids) that worships the sun.

Those are all I can remember for now. Thank you for the ask :)

[jay88de]

Classism

I'll rumble here, let the words out so I can go about my day.

I'm fascinated by classism, which is a recent development, more heavily since five years ago. Certain things in my life forced me to notice it and look at it especially the times when I did not want to admit they existed. But they do and boy, is it serious.

How one lives, what one knows, who one knows, how one makes associations, how one uses language, and who one becomes friends with. When I was younger, my dad always wanted me to go to the best schools in our town or city. He'd say that was where I was to meet tangible friends, friends with a family name worth knowing, who I could call on in the future. I cannot say I made those friends in my primary secondary and high school, whom I can call on today, but I can say I got a good education, which made a lot of difference. I know it did from how I speak, and how I synthesise information; when I had difficulties as a kid, my parents got me tutors until they found the one who made all the difference, they could afford it.

Even in the same household, my brothers didn't get as much as I did. Different financial circumstances, different situations and this shows. It shows in how we think about our lives and the decisions we've made. I didn't grow up poor and I have never been poor.

I have had money issues but not poor, not destitute. I've never had to do just anything for money. For a long time, I didn't realise what a privilege this is.

I think about classism because, the older I get the greater the divide has gotten. In the small town I grew up in, most people weren't exactly middle class, but they lived comfortably. There was a social cohesion in the town that enabled people to have something to live on, no matter what they earned. I rarely saw people beg on the streets, except cripples at the main market gates. Fine, maybe my dad had more money than some of my friends but it wasn't obvious because some of those friends had everything else I had. The only difference was the size of our house or the car in the yard. This was one of the only giveaway. There were richer children in school who went on holidays in America and Europe, still, though we all wished that for ourselves, it came and went as a passing thought. No stink to it. At the end of the day, we were all fine.

Until Nigeria. Being in Nigeria was my first encounter with what it meant to not have. Not having a certain income meant, the possibility of skipping meals, not having light, no running water and literally living in a house that was falling apart. This was my experience at my uncle's house. It was a real nightmare for me. I struggled so much, not so much about not having but about how I was expected to undress my personality to fit in. I had extra money to buy bread for the family and would be scared to do it because of how it would make them feel. My little town stories were such a stretch for my cousins, that I resolved to a lot of silence until I could leave. To add, I gained so much weight because of how inconsistent meals were and how they were mainly starch. So I learned to grow a large appetite to eat whenever I saw food. The house was barely cleaned, not because there was so little time, but because it simply wasn't a priority and so much time was spent on things that shouldn't matter. Religiosity was a big part of their routine. I was there three months and I recall never wanting to experience that in my life again. To them, my father was rich. No, he isn't, maybe at some point in his life but, yes, rich is relative.

Throughout university, I learned that looking a certain way and sounding a certain way got you more favours, this is a lesson I'm keeping. My mother taught me how to eat healthy and present myself more appropriately, I quickly learned how beauty is a useful tool and then I realised I have light-skinned privileges. And this is where it starts getting tricky because wherever there is a privilege, someone or some group has to pay a price for it.

Being in London, makes me realise that we have created a society that cannot continue sustaining itself and we now have two extremes continuing a long class war. I can't say I have sat with the extremely wealthy, no, not at the pounds level but I have sat with the upper middle class, they too are on a race to the next level. I have been with men who are wealthy, not sure about pounds, I'd say dollars. Every class has its characteristics. There are prevailing mindsets, traits and discontents. There is suffering on every level and the further on the spectrum you go, the suffering gets worse on different dimensions. It becomes like a cancer, ravaging a human's body. You could look at them and think, "Why not do this, or try that."

No, they cannot. Their minds are stuck and unless they can have a hardware update, they will continue doing what they have been doing. In the end, classism serves no one. However, saying that solves nothing, we've all benefited and lost out from the class we were born into, the ones we now identify as. No two classes experience life in the same way and get this, as long as classism exists, competition will permeate the rule book of what a successful life looks like.

I maintain the happiest community I lived in was the one I grew up in where being poor wasn't glaring because not having money didn't entail bargaining with your human dignity. This community barely exist, classism, corruption and unfair resource allocation has stolen most of it.

This is really what classism is about, recourse allocation, access, the ability to choose, dignity of human life. Some people have more than they will ever need and the majority are scrapping for crumbs, in the end, we are all left disfigured by this useless fight.

I keep thinking about what I want to do with my life. I'll tell you; last and for the greater beginning of this year, I learned one thing, giving out money is not charity, it is essential. You do not do it because you are a good person, you do it to save yourself from damnation; from the slur of not having enough and needing to get more. Giving out is like the pill you need to take to stay healthy and normal. Honestly, charity connotes policing and more often than not, that's what happens, someone gives you something and then wants to see what you do with it. Or waits to see how you rejoice over it. As if...

Give it and not bother with it, whatever happens afterwards is out of your control and here's another interesting thing, people are not stupid, they usually already know what they want to do with money. Even if they fuck it up the first three or how many number of times, they will learn.

This is another mind fuck, classism and manners or financial lessons or how to say things or how to look, such bullshit all of it. Now, I can go back to studying at this rather expensive school... smh.

[jellimac-sims-stories]

Simfluencer

Jellimac

Your world can change dramatically overnight when you least expect it

---

Chapter 1 It happens just like they say. One night you go to bed with 4,382 followers and the next morning you wake up with 1,204,382 followers. One photo and you're a social media star!

I’m new in town. The brand new resident at 910 Medina Studios in the Arts Quarter. Just moved to San Myshuno about a month ago from Oasis Spring. Don’t get me wrong I really like my hometown. Born and raised child of the dust and sand. All this cold light and concrete is going to take some getting used to. Oasis Spring is a really great desert town strongly influenced by the rockabilly style. Everything there is Presley, Lewis, and Cash, and early rock’n’roll music playing in almost every locally owned business around town. I barely remember seeing my dad in anything other than black with an acoustic guitar by his side a la his idol Johnny Cash and my mom as his own June Carter with an equally beautiful singing voice. 

Back when I was a kid, my dad used to paint and race vintage cars and my mom was a local pin-up girl star. I loved going to the car show circuits with them looking at all the cars and art. It's gotten kinda sleepy around there nowadays. There are still the old touches around like my favorite book store called “Blue Suede” but it's all changing with the times. Things are turning more eco-friendly. 

My childhood best friend Josh and his brother Jonah both live in these converted container homes they built from the ground up. I love those boys like family. They’re both tall enough to be called tall although Josh is a bit taller than his older brother, we all have tattoos and are natural redheads but Jonah’s recently bleached his hair platinum blond. Josh is my age and we’ve been friends since pre-k. Jonah is basically like a father to both of us. He's always been there to encourage and support us both after my parents and their mom mysteriously didn't return from a car festival in Strangerville when we were all young. I lived with the two of them and their father until we all decided we had enough of his excessive drinking.

Back home I'm a local artist. Not famous or anything. That's why I picked the Arts Quarter to move to. I picked a nice little studio apartment with the bones for bohemian decor. Mixed exposed brick throughout, hardwood floor, lots of built-in shelving, and the cutest little nook for a desk. My apartment has a lot of personality but unfortunately needed a bit of TLC here and there. Sometimes a fuse blows or the pipes running through my bedroom leak but I am more than able to take care of any repairs myself. 

In San Myshuno there are four districts; Uptown, Fashion District, Spice Market, and Arts Quarter where I live. Clearly, all the uber-rich people live in Uptown or the Fashion district, and the cool people live in the Spice Market or Arts Quarter. So you can imagine my surprise when the usual welcome wagon came round my first day in my new apartment and one of my visitors was an actual celebrity...

Wanna read the rest right now? Check out the whole store on my AO3

[kelly88812]

So my relationship with Patrick was short lived. It had me feeling blue and nauseated for a few days. I know, as a sales person, we are suppose to handle rejections well, but when a rejection is so personal, it made me started to doubt my self worth. “Am I not pretty”? “Did I do or say something wrong”?

Speaking of self worth, I want to include this chapter with a picture below, a story which my mentor, Lu Wang had shared on social media that day: A father told his daughter, "Congrats on your graduation. I bought you a car a while back. I want you to have it now. Before I give it to you, take it to a car dealer in the city and sell it. See how much they offer.”

The girl came back to her father and said: "They offered me $10,000 dollars because it looks very old" Father said: "Ok, now take it to the pawn shop".

The girl returns to her father and said: "The pawn shop offered $1,000 dollars because it's a very old car and a lot of work done".

The father told her to join a passionate car club with experts and show them the car. The girl drove to the passionate car club. She returned to her father after a few hours and told him, “Some people in the club offered me $100,000 dollars because its a rare car that's in good condition.”

Then the father said, "I wanted to let you know that you are not worth anything if you are not in the right place. If you are not appreciated, do not be angry, that means you are in the wrong place. "Don't stay in a place where no one sees your value ."

Opinion is opinion. Fact is fact. Right environment and right power of association is everything. We may under-estimate our self worth, simply because we haven’t found the right person yet. Knowing that I must still have great market potential, your mother, I got back on the search for my next Mr. Right.

This time, I’ve matched with a Police, whose profile name was Seth. His look was not what I typically go for, but the fact that I was looking for someone who is stronger than me, his body built and his political opinion seemed to hit all the right spot. I begun messaging him more and more, to the point that I gave out my cell phone number for the Seth to contact me directly, so I wouldn’t have to go back to check my messages from the app so often.

I have to admit, I had the butterfly feeling when I spoke with Seth. We seemed to get along very well, when talking to Seth on the phone, we were able to speak naturally, there was absolutely no awkward silence, it was as if I have found my long lost friend! He sent me photos of himself and some taken when he was in uniform, I looked at them with an admiration. He explained his name is actually Stuart, but because the city hasn’t been so kind to police officers these days, he decided to name himself Seth just to be safe. We arranged a meet up on Sunday to surprise each other at the Barnes and Noble bookstore (my idea), and use our most cliche pick up line to talk to each other when we meet.

Stuart was a very direct man, he was so direct, to the point he disclosed that he had a vasectomy, and had no intention to having kids. He told me this might be a deal breaker for me, but since I’ve already ankle deep in our conversation, I decided to overlook our differences, and proceed to meet him anyway. I enjoyed the “good morning” and “good night” text from him everyday! My expectations for him built up day by day, happy, nervous and excited to meet him on Sunday.

I still remembered, I was wearing a green dress with white polka dots on it, and a toupe colored blazer, with matching color heels. I felt beautiful that day, inside and out, I was as lively as I can be, because I was excited to show him “I AM what he was looking for! I AM the ONE”.

When I arrived in the bookstore, I looked around for him, when I heard his voice behind me, I turned around, and there he was, in sweatpants and what a typical “husband staying home on Sunday” looked like. But it didn’t turn me away, because when I finally get to hug him, I got to feel that strong shoulders that I’ve been longing for, the feeling that I had lost, that I missed about Joey.

What led me to this search was because I wanted to feel that love again, I had so much love for Joey that I couldn’t give to him, so I had to find someone else. I had never been alone, not loved before in this past 10 years, yes there were fights, but at the end of the sentence, he would say that he loves me, then I always stayed. But this time it was different, the moment when I realized his mental illness only gets worse, I knew there was no future in us, no baby, no happy marriage, irreversible change was inevitable.

[daggerzine]

Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band- Dear Scott (Modern Sky UK Records)

The Pale Fountains, Shack, The Strands, The Red Elastic Band, they all have in one man in common: Michael Head. Can’t tell you how excited I was to hear that a new Red Elastic Band album was coming out. It’s been five long years since their last album, Adiós Señor Pussycat. Sure, COVID didn’t help; and it’s still having its effect with delays of this release.

The opening track, “Kismet,” starts with a bang while taking a trip down “Shack Lane” with a reference to “Mood of the Morning.” The jangle guitars are still there, plus a whole lot more. Love how the rhythm section is tightly miked. Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cABVBWozXs4 The next track, “Broken Beauty,” slows down to a bluesy number. Wait, are those flutes? Strings? Horns? Nice explosion of sound! Could easily fit on a Pale Fountains album. “The Next Day” brings the tempo back up to speed with “The next day was a thunderstorm, with buntin’ strewn about; And all the glistenin’ empties of porter and stout; we’d go ba ba ba ba ba…” Love those ba ba ba ba bas. “Freedom” is a soft, beautifully picked acoustic track with great harmonies. It features great lines like: “Freedom is my lucky friend. I’ll love him ‘til the very end. The choices that are made in life by others, sometimes your life depends.” “American Kid” begins with those horns again. Really loving the production again. Nice introduction of layers of sound. A great song about how a friendship changes over the years. Favorite line, “But then you said you loved me like a bowl of wine, and you sort blew my mind.” Here’s a recent live version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOGcIqP-MXA “Grace And Eddie” is a whammy bar guitar delight reflecting on his songwriting and “The Tracks Of My Tears.” “If anybody asks you what you’re playing now just say Ragtime, Country, Blues, and original songs…Just say, Eddie put me on to this kid and he plays his own songs.” It ends with some somber strings. Beautiful. “Fluke” is another slow, bluesy number with occasional piano plunking that eventually expands into an orchestrated late 60s sounding tune. Think Burt Bacharach for a reference point. 

The next track, “Gino And Rico,” is a bouncy, string-filled song that includes that amazing rhythm section and electric guitar solos. And just when you think it’s over, it shifts into another melody. The next song is “The Grass.” I’m pretty sure I know what “grass” Michael is talking about, but I gave that up a long time ago, so it’s hard to remember. “They’ll take you away. Far, far away. Into the night.” It’s definitely helping him escape something. Track ten, “The Ten,” has a beautiful ELP-ish acoustic guitar intro and then slams into high gear with blasting guitars. Another favorite song of mine that talks about riding public transportation. “Felt like a bus ride, jumped on the ten, on a whim. Floatin’ through Kenny, up past the icy and Yorkies where we’d sing. We’d get down to market, box up, collect the hail…” and continues on through various neighborhood markets. A gorgeous song detailing the days shopping. Only Michael can do that, right? “Pretty Child” starts off as a sad, slow number and then kicks into a rockin’ number complete with scorching guitars and flutes. The album ends with “Shirl’s Ghost,” a creepy, yet beautiful, instrumental that definitely conjures up the feeling of a long lost, lonely spirit. The band is back and I’m hoping they will make it across the big pond for some live shows here. 

Would love to hear these and many other Michael Head-penned tunes performed live. I missed The Pale Fountains (too young), Shack (too busy), The Strands (too uninformed), but I’m still hoping The Red Elastic Band can make my bucket list someday. https://www.michaelheadofficial.com/

ERIC EGGLESON

[thepaininurneck]

Okay, wow, never in my life did I think a music video involving giving Satan a lap dance would delve into a conversation about gay rights ( and how gay men are portrayed in media ), but Lil Nas X broke the world with MONTERO, so here I am. We’ve got three things here that I think are important - Internet culture, religion, sexuality. These are the things that I think people are getting too uptight over/not upset enough over, and I wanna rant for a bit, so bear with me on this one.

First, I LOVED MONTERO. I’m a whore for religious imagery/theming/etc. being used in media, and as a former Christian and an openly gay woman, it makes me very happy to see it used in a spiteful manner. MONTERO was gorgeous - sexual, unapologetic, and so clearly pulling straight from Biblical stories. The religion used commonly against us ( here in the US, at least, because I know other religions can be just as oppressive, if not worse, and Christianity isn’t the dominant religion everywhere ) being used in a way that’s expressive of our lives is beautiful. The very clear message of “Oh, I’m going to hell? That’s okay,” is perfect - for so many LGBT people in this country, we’ve been told that we’re condemned to eternal punishment because of something we can’t help. LNX took that in stride and made it art, with MONTERO and the video. I am in full support of it and will be throwing it on my horny playlist.

But here’s why I think this is so important - MONTERO’s release has exposed, in my opinion, where the real issues lie in Western culture. WAP did this too, a little - both of these songs, and their accompanying videos, were criticized using children. “Children watch you”, “how could you expose kids to this”, etc. were complaints hurled at Cardi B and LNX over their music. And in LNX’s case, people used his previous success with Old Town Road - I saw one tweet saying Old Town Road is “every kid’s anthem”, and that their children love Old Town Road. Which is problematic - how can you complain about MONTERO, but allow your child to listen to a song with lyrics such as “Lean all in my bladder”, “Cheated on my baby, you can go and ask her”, “Bull riding and boobies” - Old Town Road is not a child-friendly song by any means, but LNX didn’t include naked breasts, or ( as far as I’m aware ) market the song in a way that showcased those lyrics. So parents let their children enjoy their funny horse song, never looking into the words their kids were hearing daily. But with MONTERO, because they saw at a glance that it was an issue, they assumed this meant the previously “child-friendly” artist LNX, the man behind the funny horse song, was suddenly trying to indoctrinate their children. When in reality, LNX has never catered to kids. He’s always been open about his music and himself, and it’s entirely the parents’ faults for not better monitoring what media their children take in. It is never the responsibility of the creator to change their content for an audience they didn’t want. MONTERO, and WAP, both exposed just how internet culture has allowed parents an excuse to be lazy, hands-off pieces of shit, and demonize creators further.

MONTERO also exposed how homophobia continues to follow us, in how many comments there were calling LNX predatory, claiming he was indoctrinating children and pushing agendas - and, with Kaitlin Bennet’s actual racist comments, now he’s being slandered. ( if you didn’t see that beef, TLDR: Kaitlin asked “do you still see your dad?” w/ blatant intent to hurt, LNX replied with “yeah and I’ll fuck yours”, to which Kaitlin accused him of threatening to rape her father and several small, conservative ‘journalists’ ran with it ). I don’t like throwing around the word homophobia, but this isn’t new - gay men have been called predatory for a long time and demonized for even small gestures like holding hands. And now, an openly gay man made a video celebrating his sexuality ( which isn’t a new topic: look at any music video from the early 2000s for more examples of people expressing sexuality ) and given fuel to these idiots to continue pushing their narrative of “gay man predator, gay man bad”. Fortunately, it’s a lot less than it would’ve been thirty years ago. But the fact that it still happens on this scale, enough that journalists pick it up as a story, and governors, Candace Owens and other prominent homophobic conservative figures jump on the bandwagon....it’s sad. A man celebrating his sexuality shouldn’t be demonized the way it is, and MONTERO is doing an amazing job at spitting in people’s faces.

Cutting myself short here, I think MONTERO was a gift. It’s a work of art in many ways, but the social response it generated is also a blessing in that it shows what we need to prioritize - which is self responsibility. No one is forcing you to watch the gay man give Satan a lap dance, nor are they forcing you to buy his shoes. No one will ever force you into that - you, a consenting adult/teenager, willingly watched it. You’re reading this now of your own choice. If your child is watching MONTERO, you should blame yourself if you’re mad - why didn’t you monitor them better? Teach them to avoid things they don’t recognize online? You failed as a parent to protect your child from what you deem harmful. That isn’t anyone’s fault except your own as their active guardian.

Sex, talking about sex, grinding, lap dances....those aren’t new to music videos. They’ve been happening for decades, actually - early 90’s and 2000’s videos had a lot, and I think some 80’s had them. MONTERO didn’t invent NSFW music videos, the only difference is it’s gay and dared to use religious imagery ( which also isn’t new, but that’s another rant I don’t want to get into ). For once, I actually agree with the masses - this outrage was mostly fueled by homophobia and dumb Christians. And to any Christians reading this ( that didn’t get offended, because if you got genuinely upset by this drama, fuck you ); you’re cool.

Anyways, yeah. I think MONTERO was awesome, LNX killed it as always, and I hate conservatives. Goodnight.