#even outside of being with kate she reads as queer to me

[hatchetation]

Sorry I just wanted to talk about how beautiful Yasmine looks this season, especially imo ep 3. Her beautiful brown skin and those kissable lips and those lashes ugh. And the way she's panting from sparring with Tori, the way she's talking with her hands and being really intense in character. Looking respectfully of course but thinking about things as well....

And yeah I'm thirsty anon. ✌️

oh yeah thirsty anon we are ALL looking respectfully 👀

i honestly dont have much to add other than that she's gorgeous and i would watch ncis: hawai'i every week just to see her!!! also i think she's an excellent actress because the way she carries herself as lucy tara is truly different from the way she carries herself irl. i mean, obvi i don't know MUCH about how she carries herself irl, but from what i've seen there's a marked difference between her and lucy. anyway i think that's really really cool and impressive.

[itsthegameilike]

Best Books of 2023!

This was one of those glorious years where I read like I was thirteen again. It’s been ages since I’ve read this many books so quickly and I’m writing this list knowing full well that I may have another favorite before the end of the year. That’s how fantastic it has been. I had many lows (thanks booktok) but many highs as well and here are my favorites:

My Dark Vanessa - Kate Elizabeth Russell I read this book in January and finished it during a very gloomy day on the Oregon coast. This book is well suited to winter as it is dark, introspective, and bares your soul to you. The writing is stunning, fluid, and easy to digest, while the content shreds you to pieces. But it also empathetic and understanding and kind and handles the relationship between a young girl and her professor with the care and attention issues like this deserve. It does not stoop to moralizing, either, which I appreciated, though I heartily recommend checking trigger warnings before diving in.

Juniper & Thorn - Ava Reid Perhaps I was in a some sort of place at the beginning of this year, because this is another book that is unafraid to go to dark places. It is first and foremost a coming of age story about a young, abused woman discovering herself, what she is capable of, and what she cares about through the lens of a fairytale. And it is written like one, lush with description and transformations and tests. The main character is full of lust and rage and yearning and I loved her more than I loved any other character this year. When I say I want more of a certain type of female character, I mean ones like this. Ones that are messy and sometimes scary and sexual and desirous. Please read this, but also please check trigger warnings.

Grendel - John Gardner This had been sitting on my bookshelf for years and I kept meaning to read it, as Beowulf was a favorite of mine during my English classes and a novel written from the point of view of the monster is exactly the sort of thing I would eat up. Turns out, I was right. This is so much more than that, though. It’s a study on society, on what it is like to be an outsider, on the ways in which people we villainize have a way of adopting those characteristics to be seen, on yearning and the way it can destroy us. It’s so well written and delightfully philosophical and I would often read passages and simply sit with them, enjoying the exercise Gardner’s words presented.

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride - Roshani Chokshi I had tried Roshani Chokshi before and to no avail, so I didn’t have high hopes for this when I started, but I was so wrong. This was stunning. The prose tends towards purple, but that’s where I’m happiest, and it has an addictive quality, caught up in its own atmosphere and mystery. If you’re queer, there is so much for you here, especially in the relationship between the two main girls, who are friends that are caught in the grey area of perhaps feeling more for each other. They’re so unsure what that more really means. This is also written like a fairytale and it trends dark, but it left me giddy. Truly. This is what fantasy is made for.

The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch I finally got around to reading this and I’m so glad I did. If you want a fantasy romp with high stakes and actual consequences, then this is for you. I adored the characters, I adored the plot, and I felt so deeply for every loss and win within these pages. I love a story with a charismatic con man out for revenge and this didn’t not dissuade me from that notion. Probably the most fun time I had this year.

The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoevsky This is not the only classic on the list, nor is it the only Russian literature on the list. Apparently I decided to tackle most of the Russian greats this year and I don’t regret it, even though it took me a month to read each one. That being said, I wouldn’t recommend this to everyone. It’s deeply philosophical, each of the three brothers assuming a viewpoint on everything from religion, to life, to morality. If religion and philosophy interest you, I think you’ll be happy. If not, you likely won’t. I loved it, though and I devoured the last three hundred pages in one sitting. I conducted conversations with myself about the book in the shower. I lived and breathed this thing for weeks. And I’d do it again. Someday soon. Not for a bit.

Piranesi - Susanna Clarke This book is so weird and I’m so glad it is and I’m so glad it never grew self-conscious and decided it was too weird. If you let this book take you where it wants to take you, you’ll be swept along on a magnificent, strange journey filled with delights and mysteries. This also gets the award for having the most sympathetic main character in books I read this year. His intelligence, his rituals, his love for the world around him, and his confusion when it all slowly gets ripped away from him is so easy to understand and adore. I’d read this book again tomorrow and the next day, too.

I’m the King of the Castle - Susan Hill Another very dark book, which I would feel bad about, but it’s who I am and what I enjoy, so there’s not much point. This book is about an unbearable, entitled, cruel little boy who psychologically tortures another little boy who moves into his house. So be warned. This is first and foremost about parental neglect and people’s ability to create their own narratives when they want something badly enough, even if the consequences are too great to bear. The writing was the best part. I still think about this author’s way with words and how she could warp your feelings with ease. Please read trigger warnings for this, as well.

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley I am so late to the party. I was supposed to read this in college, but it was at the end of term, during finals, so I never did. I’m glad I didn’t, too, because I wouldn’t have loved it the way I did at this time in my life. Seriously, if you somehow haven’t read this yet, do. Mary Shelley is a fantastic writer, a godsend of a teenage author, and I would trust her with my life.

War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy This was the true masterpiece of the year. I will never be able to do this book justice. It was often challenging, often slow, but that is nothing compared to what it gave me. I have so many scenes from this book that are little immovable stars in my head, so much my own, that they feel like my own memories. They are so bright and so sincere. I adore Pierre, Natasha, and Andrei so much. They became my family in the month that this book was my companion. I went directly into a reading slump afterwards and I still haven’t found my way out. I don’t know if this is my favorite book of all time, but it very well could be.

Honorable Mentions: Dark Heir - C.S. Pacat, A Study in Drowning - Ava Reid, Dreamer’s Pool - Juliet Marillier, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries - Heather Fawcett, My Best Friend’s Exorcism - Grady Hendrix, The Honeys - Ryan La Sala, Blindness - Jose Saramago, Greenglass House - Kate Milford, Interior Chinatown - Charles Yu, Hell Bent - Leigh Bardugo, and Snow Country - Yasanuri Kawabata.

[mischiefandspirits]

Bernard Figures It Out

Was reading through all the comments on @frostbittenbucky's post and all I could think of was that it was Bernard talking to Tim. Then I got to thinking...

"I've connected the two dots."

"You didn't connect shit."

"I've connected them."

Bernard figures out Tim's a superhero... sort of.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tim fidgetted nervously as he waited on the front porch of his boyfriend’s house. Bernard had sounded so serious when he’d called during Tim’s lunch to ask him to come over after work so they could talk about something.

Which Tim had done, after spending an entire board meeting just going over the past week trying to figure out what he’d done.

The only thing he could think of was that he’d ducked out halfway through their lunch date on Wednesday to give Duke some backup, but Bernard had seemed understanding when Tim explained there was an emergency at GRC Labs. It couldn’t have been a tipping point, either, since Tim had managed to only flake on three other dates over the past few months they’d been dating. Kate had been happy to cover for him as often as she could “out of queer solidarity” when she found out Tim was dating a boy for the first time and Tim had managed to trick Bruce into covering a few actual Wayne Enterprises emergencies for him when they came up.

There had to be a reason Bernard was breaking up with him, though. Had he missed something? He definitely wasn’t forgetting an important day. He was good with days and Tam was even better, so she would have reminded him on the off chance that he had forgotten.

What was he missing?

Bernard was smiling when he opened the door, but there was a nervous energy to it that had Tim’s stomach sinking. “Hey, Tim.”

“Hey.” Tim gave his own nervous smile then slipped inside.

They went into the living room and sat down on the couch.

Tim frowned when Bernard grabbed a manila folder off the coffee table. Crud, had he screwed up enough that Bernard had had to make a list? He knew he was new to dating a guy, but he hadn’t thought he’d done that bad. He’d really been trying, especially with how his and Stephanie’s relationship had fallen apart at the end. “What -”

“Just let me speak, Tim,” Bernard said, waiting for Tim’s nod. “Okay, so you know Clark Kent, right?”

Tim blinked as Bernard opened the folder to show a picture of Clark. It looked like one of the employee pictures from the Planet’s website, with his dorky “I’m just a humble country boy” smile and the golden globe from their roof photoshopped in as the background. “Uh, yeah? I think so. He works for the Daily Planet, right? I think he’s worked at a few of Bruce’s events. Not a lot of outside reporters are willing to come to Gotham.”

“Exactly!” Bernard said, snapping his fingers and pointing at Tim.

“What?”

He pulled out the picture to show the next page was an article titled, “DAILY PLANET REPORTER… BATMAN!?”

A wave of relief washed over Tim and he placed his face in his hands. “Were you up all night on the hero conspiracy boards again?”

“No. I mean, I found this on a board and was up all night thinking about it, but I found it reasonably early.”

“One in the morning isn’t reasonable, Bernard.”

“Says the guy who’s always wide awake when I call to infodump.”

“Touché.” Tim leaned against Bernard and gave him a smile. “So tell me, why is some reporter from Metropolis from all places Batman.”

“First of all, living in Metropolis is the perfect cover. Everyone assumes Batman would live in Gotham, no one would consider he could be from anywhere else. Metropolis is outside the GMA, but close enough that the commute is still possible.”

“But it’s Metropolis.”

“And who would think Gotham’s Dark Knight lives in the sunshine capital? Plus, I hear he disappears a lot on the job. There’s gotta be a reason for it!”

Tim made a note to let Clark know he needs to cut back on the disappearing act some since people are catching on.

“And have you seen the guy? He is swol AF, babe.”

“Please don’t call me babe while you’re talking about how hot another guy is.” Especially Tim’s honorary uncle.

“You know I prefer twinks.”

“BERNARD!”

“I’m just saying,” he continued, ignoring Tim’s shout. “The guy is definitely hiding something! Besides, Kent is an investigative reporter. He’s gotta know a lot about cases and the underground and detective work.”

Not as much as he likes people to think, but more than he likes people to know Superman does, Tim mused. “But what about the other vigilantes?”

“Well, Kent has a cousin…” Bernard flipped through a folder and pulled out a picture of Kara. It looked like a screenshot of her interviewing Lena for CatCo. “She’s obviously the latest Batgirl. Look at her hair. And the first Batgirl and the current Batwoman were obviously Lois Lane, the red hair is just a wig. Did you see how she kicked butt at that last event she went to? She’s not as subtle as Kent. That means their son is the latest Robin. He’s exactly the right size.”

Oh, Damian better not hear about this, Tim cackled internally. His youngest brother hated being reminded that Jon was the same height as him despite their two years age difference. Damian definitely took after Talia when it came to body type, no matter what he said.

“And Kent also has a brother.” This time he pulled out a picture of Kon. The clone must have been caught by a reporter out shopping with Ma since he was carrying some paper bags and glaring at whoever was behind the camera. “At least, he’s supposedly Kent’s brother, but he was a teenager when he first showed up with the Kents. A lot of people think he’s actually Kent’s son, that Kent got a girl pregnant when they were teenagers and something happened to the mom so Kent had to take him in. Now the Kents are trying to hide it by saying the two are brothers.”

That was… scarily accurate actually. Especially given Luthor and Clark were close friends at the time that Kon would have theoretically been born.

“And that beef would explain why the younger Kent brother went all crime lord on Gotham for a while before reconnecting with the family.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah, Kent Jr.’s got the perfect build for Red Hood.”

Tim bit back a comment on how Kon was shorter than Jason by a good foot. Timothy Drake-Wayne should not know that. Add Jason to the list of people who can’t hear this theory.

“And then there’s this girl,” Bernard picked up a picture of Lois, Jon, and Natasha Irons walking down the street together. “No one’s sure exactly who she is, but she’s been spotted with the Kents a few times. I think the cover story is that she’s Jon’s babysitter.”

“And the actual story?”

“She’s Black Bat, obviously. That’s why she wears a mask that fully covers her face. She doesn’t want to stand out as the only African American Bat.”

“Isn’t Signal also Black?”

“Yeah, but he works in the daytime so he’s already a standout.”

“And who is Signal in this? And what about Nightwing and Red Robin?”

“Well, Nightwing’s just a Blüd who came to Gotham. He doesn’t count.”

Ouch. Sorry, Dick.

“And Red Robin is obviously an older Robin, the one who was Robin when we were kids. Kent wanted to keep him on, and I don’t blame him. As for Signal, he’s got the same backstory as all the other Robins Kent picked up, he just went the Signal route because he didn’t fit the usual Robin mold.”

“Because the female Robin fit the mold,” Tim snorted. Robin Mold, as if he and his brothers were even the same ethnicity. Or even had the same hair color. Jason dyes his hair, Dick’s is brown-black, Tim’s is pure black, and Damian’s is more a dark brown and it’s only getting lighter as he gets older.

“She didn’t, that’s the point. Kent tried to give breaking the Robin mold a chance by letting his cousin have a go at it, but he realized it just didn’t work so she went back to being Spoiler and he got a new Robin.”

Not touching that with a ten-foot pole. “Right, and where does he get the usual Robins? Please tell me you’re not back on the secret government orphanages theory.”

“No, no, no. Kent travels sometimes for his job, right? And a lot of the time he’s going to places that have been hit by disasters or major crimes. So he’ll take in some of the displaced children to train as his robins.”

Tim pressed his face back into his hands.

“You see it, right?”

Honestly, Tim was just wondering how his boyfriend could be so close, and yet so far off. “How would Kent even afford taking care of a bunch of secret -- possibly illegally acquired -- children without anyone noticing?”

“Simple. Bruce Wayne is funding him.”

“Bernard, I love you, but what the heck?” Tim blushed and looked up as he realized what he’d said, but Bernard didn’t seem to notice as he steamrolled ahead.

“It’d also explain how he can afford all the gear and how he’d be able to travel to Gotham or anywhere else Batman goes without anyone noticing. He probably has a secret Batplane or something.”

“Why would Bruce do that?”

“Because Wayne cares about Gotham, everyone knows that, and this way he can make sure someone’s taking care of the city without anyone putting two and two together.”

“And two plus two is?”

Bernard gave him a hard look. “I’m not stupid, Tim. Bruce Wayne is obviously Superman. His face is right there.”

Oh, the others are going to love this! Too bad I can’t tell Damian or Jason. Jason especially would have loved this. “Right. Bruce is Superman.”

“He is. Superman is known for being nice and Bruce Wayne’s basically all that’s keeping the city running at this point. That’s nice as hell.”

Oh my god.

“And Wayne does charity for the victims of cataclysms, doesn't he? I bet he first saves people from them as Superman and then builds them new homes for free.”

Oh my god! Why am I not recording this!?

“And the Wayne’s were rich enough to hide the fact they adopted an alien baby.”

Tim raised an eyebrow. “If you’re about to tell me this is why Bruce’s parents got killed, you might want to stop while you’re ahead.”

“It’d make sense. There’re all sorts of unanswered questions about their deaths,” Bernard muttered under his breath, flipping through the folder. He pulled out another picture of Kara. This time she was in full Supergirl attire with a bus held overhead. “So if Wayne is Superman, then that’d mean your ex-girlfriend could be Supergirl. They look a lot alike and it’d explain how she got involved with you all.”

“Bernard, she has a human dad. You know, Cluemaster. The supervillain.”

“Yeah, her dad. But we don’t know anything about her mom!”

“Let me guess…”

Bernard pulled out a picture of Karen. She and Helena were suited up and talking to a group of cops, two goons held over each of Karen’s shoulders. “Her mom could be Power Girl! Some makeup and a wig and she could look just like Crystal Brown! And Damian Wayne is obviously the new Superboy! That’s why his background is such a mystery, right? He had to stay a secret until he could control his alien superpowers. That’s why he’s always so mean. It’s a cover since everyone knows Superboy is super sweet!”

Sure, when he’s not helping Damian pull pranks or using his adorable powers to put the blame on Kon and I. “No, Bernard. Damian and Steph are just very human hellspawn. And Bruce and Crystal are human too. I can’t believe you called me over here just to tell me you think Superman is both Batman’s sugar daddy and my adoptive dad.”

“Well, that’s not exactly why I called you over,” Bernard admitted, the nervous energy coming back. He grabbed Tim’s hands. “Tim -”

Tim’s stomach sank. “You are breaking up with me!”

“What? No! I don’t want to break up!”

“Why are you acting all nervous and serious then!?” Tim asked, pulling his hands away to throw them up in the air.

Bernard shook the folder. “Because I’m trying to tell you I figured out you’re Superboy!”

Tim’s brain blue-screened and his hands slowly dropped. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I know you’re Superboy. The older one, obviously. By the way, you and Damian really need to figure out separate names.”

Forget Jason and Damian, Kon can never find out about this. He’d never let me live it down. “Bernard, you called me a twink five minutes ago. Su-” Shoot, I can not risk getting Kon’s attention! “The older one might not be as big as Superman, but he’s not a twink.”

“Well, yeah, that’s the shapeshifting at work.”

“The what?”

“Obviously you Kryptonians can shapeshift. Why else would you look so much like humans?”

… Why do Kryptonians look so much like humans? Was there some - Wait, no! Break into the Fortress of Solitude for research later! Reassure your boyfriend that you’re not an alien now! “Bernard -”

“And that explains why your step-mom was so hot.”

“Gross.”

“She and your dad were actors hired by Luthor so you could have a normal life! But now Bruce has custody so he adopted you.”

“No.”

“That’s why you and your dad were so weird with each other when I met him.”

“We were weird because he’d just gotten out of a coma not long before to find that his wife was dead so he decided to actually be a dad for once in his life, but overcompensated and became a helicopter parent to a kid who was mostly on his own for his entire life!” Tim blurted out. “I am not an alien, Bernard!”

“Well, not technically since you were cloned from Superman on Earth.”

“Oh my god! You were just talking about Steph being Supergirl! Why would I date my dad’s cousin?”

Bernard blinked. “Supergirl and Superman are cousins?”

Right, Timothy Drake-Wayne wasn’t supposed to know that. “I thought they’d said something like that before, yeah. Are people seriously saying I’m Superboy on the internet?”

“NO! No, I swear I would have led with that if I thought your identity was compromised. A few people have mentioned Wayne and Damian, but not you or Steph or Jason.”

“Wh-Jason!? You think Jason was an alien too!”

“No, not exactly, but a few times when I’ve visited I swear I’ve seen a guy in the manor who looks like Jason. It’s just been out of the corner of my eye and he’s gone whenever I look so I’ve always thought it was just Dick or Bruce or some picture of Jason that my mind was playing tricks with, but it makes sense now that I know Wayne is Superman. He must have been able to heal Jason with alien tech, but couldn’t say anything because that would give away that he’s Superman.”

Damn it Jason! And damn it Bernard! I’m dating the smartest moron in the world! “Bruce did not bring Jason back with alien technology and none of us are aliens!”

“It’s okay, Tim. I won’t tell anyone.”

Tim grabbed Bernard by the jacket and pulled him into a kiss. When he started to feel lightheaded, he pulled back, “Could someone whose skin is as solid as stone kiss like that?”

Bernard blinked dazedly at him for a moment. “How do you know what Superboy’s skin feels like?”

Tim screamed internally. “He’s saved me from a kidnapping before.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I can get you the police report if you want.”

“Huh… And the others?”

“Not Supers. I can stab Damian the next time we’re at the manor if that’ll prove none of us are aliens.” He’d rather stab Jason, but that would probably only confirm to Bernard that Bruce used alien technology to bring him back.

“You probably shouldn’t stab your brother if he isn’t an alien.”

Tim rolled his eyes. “I won’t stab him anywhere deadly.”

“That’s not the point,” Bernard said slowly.

“He’ll be fine.”

“If you say so.”

“So do you believe I’m not an alien now?” Tim huffed, letting go of Bernard’s jacket.

The blond’s eyes dipped down to Tim’s lips. “If I say no, will you kiss me like that again?”

“You’re ridiculous,” Tim said, but he kissed him anyway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Okay, but I still say Clark Kent is definitely Batman.”

“Sure, Bernard.”

[ladyloveandjustice]

Spring 2021 anime overview: Quick Takes

Now for my Spring 2021 anime thoughts! I’ve decided from now on if a season’s like, 20- to-24 episodes I’m just going to wait ‘til it’s done to review it unless I feels super passionately, so though I watched To Your Eternity (it’s good!) and MHA (eh), I’ll comment on them next time. Also, for the record, I watched the first eight eps of Joran: Princess and Snow of Blood but I dropped it because it had clearly crossed the line from entertainingly dumb to boring dumb. 

I will probably give Supercub and some other stuff a shot later, this was a stacked season! May give updates on all that later, but this is what I have for now.

ODDTAXI

Quick Summary: A mild mannered middle-aged walrus taxi driver is drawn into a case involving a missing girl, yakuza, Youtube clout-chasers, manzai comedians and idols with big secrets.

It’s rare to walk away from media and be like “that is a singular experience I will definitely never see repeated again” but ODDTAXI is definitely one of those. A tense noir thriller murder mystery starring cartoon animals that spends an entire episode detailing the one (cat)man’s very fall into darkness triggered by addiction to gacha games and an online auction for a novelty eraser? Also there’s a porcupine Yakuza who speaks entirely in rap? Also there’s tons of meandering conversations about stuff like manzai comedy and the struggle to go viral on Twitter?

Admittedly, I had a hard time getting into the first episode, the dry meandering humor not being enough to hold my attention while I was sitting still, but once I watched this while I was working out at the end of the season, I found it an easy binge. A ton of characters with dark secrets or dangerous ambitions, each with their own part to play in a tableau of intersecting events- and it all actually comes together really well.(As for the female characters, it’s a pretty dude driven story, but they do get nuanced characterization and even some good heroic moments from one of them.)

 It’s a great example of a carefully planned narrative paying off, with all the twists appropriately seeded and foreshadowed to reward viewers who paid attention. Even when it ended on a perfect “OH SHIT” moment and denied me closure, I couldn’t help but respect it. If you that all sounds interesting to you, definitely check out the first couple episodes and see if you like it- you’re likely to have a memorable, satisfying experience!

Shadows House

Quick Summary: Emilyko is a ‘living doll’ who’s told she was created to act as the ‘face’ of her shadow master, Kate. The shadows and their ‘dolls’ all reside on the mansion and are required to pass a ‘debut’ to prove they’re a good pairing. If they don’t pass, they might be disposed of. And so the mystery of the Shadow mansion grows...

This slice of gothic intrigue was my favorite of the season, tied with ODDTAXI. With an interesting premise, slightly tense undertones and a strong focus on character building and relationships, it kept me hooked the whole way through. And for any squeamish fans put off by the hype about it, don’t worry, while there are some suspenseful elements, I wouldn’t qualify it as horror. I thought the relationship between Kate and Emilyko might end up being a completely sinister one, but it’s thankfully a lot more complex than that and it’s really interesting to follow how both their characters and relationship grow. The focus of the show is, unsurprisingly, on the “dolls” slowly discovering their autonomy and personhood as they struggle under the rigid system imposed on them by the mysterious elders of this weird Victorian mansion. Can they develop a more equitable relationship with their shadow “masters” (who are also shown to suffer under this system)? There’s a lot to dig into there, and the show has the characters develop through learning to understand and appreciate each other, which is pretty heartwarming. Our hero, Emilyko, is the typical plucky ball of sunshine (they even nickname her sunshine), but she’s also shown to be clever in her own off-the-wall way and she bounces off the far more subdued and cynical Kate well, not to mention the other ‘dolls’ she ends up befriending. 

What’s more, the show spends plenty of time to developing several other character pairings and combinations, and they all have their own interesting dynamic that makes you want to see more of them. Same-gender bonds are at the forefront of this show, and many of them are ripe for queer readings (I definitely appreciated the healthy helping of ladies carrying ladies), but even outside that it’s nice to see a show where a strong, complex bond between girls is at the forefront. My only real complaints about the show are the anime original ending is noticeably a bit rushed (though it’s not too bad, and leaves room for a season 2) and I wish the animation used the whole “shadow” theme more strikingly (like the opening and endings do)- instead the colors are a bit washed out which makes the shadows blend into the background sometimes. The “debut” arc also drags a bit in places, but it makes up for it by having a lot of good character integration.

I hope to check out the (full color)! manga soon and see more of this quirky, shadowy story. There’s some physical abuse depicted, sad things happening to characters and naturally the whole “oppressive familial system” thing, but otherwise not much I can think of to warn about. I give this one a big rec, especially If you’re a fan of gothic fairytales and stories of self discovery.  

Zombie Land Saga Revenge

Quickest summary: In this sequel season, everyone’s favorite zombie idol group must claw their way back into prominence after a disastrous show- the fate of the Saga prefecture LITERALLY depends on it!

This was a fun follow-up to the first season- if you liked the first zombie-girl romp, you’ll probably enjoy this one. In fact, there were a couple areas it improved on- namely, Kotaro failed, ate crow and embarrassed himself a lot more this season, which made him more likeable (as did the fact the girls gained a lot of independence from him). This season also shed more light on what the ‘goal’ of this zombie raising project is and what kind of shit Kotaro got involved with to make this happen, and it’s appropriately off-the-wall and ridiculous. We finally got some backstory for Yugiri too! I wish it had focused on more of her interiority, but she got to be a badass in it, and it was a treat to see this zombie idol show turn into a period piece for a couple episodes (also her song ruled).

 Tae also got a cute focus episode and there was a particular SMASHING performance early on! Also That revelation last season that had the potential to turn creepy hasn’t yet, and hopefully never will. The finale was heartwarming with big hints of more drama to come- I’m definitely down for more zombie hijinks!

Vivy: Flourite Eye’s Song

Quickest Summary: A songstress AI named DIVA (nicknamed Vivy) is approached by another AI named Matsumoto, who says he’s from the future and they must work together to prevent AI exterminating all of humankind 100 years from now.

This show is absolutely gorgeous visually with some really nice action scenes, but when it comes to the story my feelings basically amount to a shrug. It’s fine! I guess! Vivy starts out as an interesting layered character- and I guess still is by the end- with her stoic but stubborn determination bouncing off her fast-talking bossy partner Matsumoto well. She never listens to him, which is delightful. The way the show took place over the course of 100 years was an interesting conceit as well. However, it bought up a lot of themes and then sort of... dropped them. For instance, Vivy interprets her mission (PRIME DIRECTIVE if you will) as protecting humans at all costs, no matter how destructive said humans are or what their fate is supposed to be, and is perfectly willing to murder her fellow androids to do this, showing she inherently thinks of androids (herself and her own people!) as less worthy. Which is a little alarming! There’s a very dramatic point in the show where they bring this up as a potential conflict for her character but then it’s sort of...dropped. Pretty much.

Actually, despite the premise, the show doesn’t dip into the “AI rights” as much as you think it would with the main theme being more about Vivy’s search to find her own creativity and discover what it means to ‘pour your heart into something’. Vivy herself doesn’t actually care if she has rights or anything. Which is in some ways fine, because ‘AI as an oppressed class’ has been done to death, but IT’S ALSO KIND OF IN THE PREMISE, so that means that the show just shrugs really hard at a lot of the questions it brings up  basically just going “humans and AI should work together probably” and that’s it. There’s a lot that feels underexplored. The antagonists in the show also either have motivations that don’t really make sense or have boring hackneyed motivations. In the finale in particular, it feels like a lot of things happen “just because” and it falls a little flat.

I also have to warn that one of the arcs focus on a robot ‘pairing’ where the dude-coded robots actions toward his partner are straight up awful and rob her of her autonomy, but it’s played like a tragic love story. I suppose you could read it differently too, but it definitely made me go ‘ew’ the story seemed to want me to sympathize with this robo dude,

Overall, I wouldn’t anti-recommend this show, it’s an all right little sci-fic romp (and definitely SUPER pretty). My favorite element was definitely the episodes where Vivy develops an entirely new (an loveable) personality, because it played with the idea of of an AI getting “rebooted” really well and interplay between her two “selves” was done really well. But there are a lot of other parts of the show that just feel...a little underexplored and empty, making me have an ‘eh’ feeling on the show overall. It’s definitely an ambitious project, and while it didn’t quite stick the landing, there’s something to be said for a show that shoots for the stars and falls short over a show that just languishes in mediocrity.

Fruits Basket The Final

Quick summary: The final season of that dramatic drama about that weird family with a zodiac curse and the girl who loves them.

It’s very weird that after not cutting a lot out, they kinda sped through some material for, you know, the finale. I guess they thought they couldn’t stretch this final arc to 26 episodes? Or weren’t cleared for another double cour? However, though there were a couple places that felt awkward, despite being a bit condensed it mostly held together pretty well for a D R A M A T I C and ultimately heartwarming conclusion. I was really disappointed they kept the part where Ritsu cut their hair for the ‘happy ending’, I thought  their intro episode not showing them in men’s clothes meant the anime had decided their presentation didn’t need to be “fixed” but WELL I GUESS NOT. That was the only big upset for me though, otherwise the adaptation went about how I expected, sticking to the source material. Furuba has a lot of bumps, from weird age gap stuff to ...gender, but it also has a lot of important feels and great character arcs. It was a gateway shoujo for many and has its important place in animanga history, so I’m glad it finally got a shiny, full adaptation.

[booasaur]

God people being angry bc the Hera died and the girls survive is one of the things I kinda expect it but surprise me.

And another anon:

people really are being like "actually literally everyone other than the lesbians were the best characters in fear street and it should've focused on them instead, but I'm not homophobic or anything" i don't know why i'm surprised

I dunno that many God people would be angry if Hera died... :P

But yeah, I get it. You know what, I'm gonna address a bunch of the complaints and comments I've seen. First: where is the media literacy?! What do people think they're watching? It's a slasher, most people, including likable, fun best friends, will die.

And despite how often this happens, I am surprised each time. I guess in this case I at least expected that with leads, as rare as that is, THEN they'd get a certain inherent sympathy that leads get. But the issue is, Certain types of characters have to earn it. The viewer actually starts off a little bit against them, waiting for them to justify their selection over someone more default in Western media.

This happens for a variety of people, in all kinds of combinations: men (and even many women) find it difficult to get women's viewpoints, straight people toward LGB people, cis people toward trans, white people toward POC, POC toward other POC, especially Black people. Even within groups, darker skinned people find it harder and it took me a very long time to feel the same empathy for desi characters as for white (in case you don't read my bio, I am desi).

Even people who've had one queer experience may feel judgmental toward other queer people, like recently we've seen a rise in frustration and annoyance with closeted people, right. The biggest victim of Sam's struggle with homophobia is not Deena, or even Peter, it's Sam! So many people act like closeted people are manipulating others for the joy of it, like it's a secret because of selfishness and not a deeply traumatizing fear! They're never granted that empathy, though. I've seen people call Sam boring and undeserving, meanwhile she's the girl who showed huge personal growth, fully came out to her scary mom, has a fun lowkey sense of humor, and made the decision THREE TIMES this night to die!

Now to Deena. Again, the way people view her from the outside instead of thinking, oh no, she has to try to force pills down her gf's throat and then drown her while hearing her best friends be killed, now she has to pick between her brother and gf, hoping that she'll be able to save both but possibly losing them. You know what it is, it's such a lack of good faith toward these characters. I said sympathy and empathy above, but really, it's simply not believing them of being capable of the same emotions and feelings as everyone else. There's this suspicion and bad faith jump to the worst motivations.

Like, other characters do this all the time? Prioritizing saving a loved one? There is almost no concept more generally pushed forward by Western fictional media than "a group that sacrifices the few to save the many means they don't deserve saving the many"?? That love and teamwork will always win out, that you don't give up or give in, that against all odds, every effort should be made to save everyone?

Speaking of which, going back to media literacy, I love Kate and Simon, enough to say that before the official airing, but the moment they were ready to sacrifice Sam? These movies don't forgive that kind of selfishness. Like, okay, usually that comes from very obvious bad guys, the kind of smirking, bullying jock that Peter was, who would normally survive to be able to pull something exactly like this and then be killed right when he thought he'd escaped but the movie playing around with tropes doesn't mean it's completely ignoring them.

It's funny, people talk about how bold media like GOT, The Boys, Succession, etc, are but really, where's the boldness when you know your audience is gonna eat up your straight white people doing shitty things? It's stuff like this, wanting your audience to like characters they normally wouldn't and allowing them to be messy, that is far braver.

HAVING said all that....thanks for letting me vent the thoughts that've been percolating, lol, but I don't think we should dwell on this. As hard as that sounds, because the more mainstream this is, the more ubiquitous the discourse and it's obviously more than just fiction, it's about the real life ways real life people relate to us, and clearly I have had a lot of thoughts about itttt, but let's not let them ruin it, eh? Get your frustrations out and then just have fun.

It's not our responsibility to try to defend or promote the movie or even, really, try to get its ratings up. It's incredibly unfair that we have to do that and surely media producers and neutral consumers expect things like review bombing and lack of audience sympathy and factor it in. We get two more movies, it's their loss if they can't enjoy them.

[jesuisgourde]

gay/queer references in Peter’s journals

Again, I have probably missed stuff due to going through pretty quickly and also due to having stared at this document for so long, everything has kind of blurred together.

Sometime close to the day that Carlos & I watched 'Love And Death on Long Island' (and afterwards paraded through the tea rooms of Picadilly) we both filled in application forms and were tres excited to be invited to the same group 'interview' - twas more like an audition though. I got the part. Carlos never. This did not bring any animosity - we both know that success for either of us is magnified a million times if it is shared by us both.

from 'A Diamond Guitar' by Truman Capote "Except that they did not combine their bodies or think to do so, though such things were not unknown at the (Prison), they were as lovers. Of the seasons, spring is the most shattering: stalks thrusting through the earth's winter-stiffened crust, young leaves cracking out on old left-to-die branches, the falling asleep wind cruising through all the newborn green. And with Mr Schaeffer it was the same, a breaking up, a flexing of muscles that had hardened. It was late January. The friends were sitting on the steps of the sheep house, each with a cigarette in his hand. A moon thin and yellow as a piece of lemon rind curved above them, and under its light, threads of ground frost glistened like silver snail trails. Tico Feo had been drawn into himself - silent as a robber waiting in the shadows."

Then a meet with Bounds Green's African prince outside whitechapel tube, rugged lookies at I in military attire & to a ruptured Albion rooms tidied in hours and now lids drawn heated on the eyes. A young looking fella has a crush on me.

Jackie/Camillia/Marie/Kate/Chris/V. churchill Jackie/Evelina/Jasmine/Sachi/Dalston/Sussie Sandra/Carlene/FP/Jay/Dalston/Kraut

There sat a young black man, perhaps in his early or middle twenties. He looked for all the world like the archetypal rude boy. Clean, cheap reebok, nike, adidas variously rolled, laced & zipped about his lean, spreadeagled body that hung loosely about the waiting room chair. Gold & tattoos adorned his person, and a blank animal look was attached to his clear face. He sat before me in a row of four empty chairs, staring at polished floor or the mundane television. A balding white man minced in & all perceptions were suddenly proven to be false as they embraced and snuggled up to each other, giggling & whispering & touching each others noses.... very much in love, fingers crossed for the blood tests.

[Image: an article from Gay Times of an interview with Peter. For some reason, the portrait included alongside the article is of Carl wearing a grey and black t-shirt.] Name? Peter Doherty Age? 22 Where are you? I'm on the motorway just north of Southampton. What kind of day are you having? (Vaguely) Erm... quite misty. Something's waiting around the corner, but there are no corners on the motorway, so we'll just have to wait and see what lies ahead. Maybe something will happen tonight.... What's this we hear about you once being a rent boy? Well, when times are hard, duty calls. How long ago was it? When I was 19, about three years ago. How do we know this isn't just a Shaun Ryder-type lie? 'Cause if it was, it would make me a complete scumbag and I'm not, and I'm not interested in that kind of pantomime. It wasn't a very happy time. I didn't really enjoy it. Why did you give it up? (grimly) Well, certain people disappeared... and anyway, ultimately I found myself no longer in such a vulnerable position anymore. Dawn broke, and I realised that it was a beautiful world after all. Have you done any other dodgy jobs? All of us in the band have tried to deal, but it's not good if you like the drugs too much. You just end up using them yourself! I once was a gravedigger. I used to do it with my mate in Willesden Green cemetery. We didn't actually do the digging, a machine did that, but we used to have to fill them in. It was pretty grim work. So are you gay then? Love is love, wherever it comes from. I'm not anything, really. I am a very sexual person but... I dunno, I believe in liberty... The Marquis de Sade has a lot to answer for... Do you get a lot of gay fans? Yeah - well, there's one guy in particular. He's very shy and he follows us around. He brings in letters and cards and stuff, but he's very quiet. I think John (the bassist) is the main pulling power in the band. Are you jealous about that? Nah! I've known him too long.

You know I'm alright i dont even care i like it when they stare & stare call me queer, dear oh dear a million things & what I wear He's real hard when he's with his mates but I'll saw him again & he was too late

Dear NME I'd have thought after the Gay Times piece, the interview with Rapture fanzine & our recent gig at the Slum Club everything would be clear. No it still remains to give a big hearty fuck off to all these twisted suburban types calling me a liar. Vulnerable young men & women all over the world find themselves victims of circumstance.

she was dressed in suit & tie & lightly etched-on moustache. 'I've always wanted to kiss a bird in the back of a taxi.' she says, running her hand up the fishnet ladders of my thigh. Stepping onto the front line in Bow puddles, elevators, buzzing doors,

[Image: the original page in the book has been preserved. Two paragraphs have been boxed off with biro. They read:] “...cast Richard Burton and Rex Harrison as bickering queer barbers and then much more uncompromisingly in William Friedkin's adaptation of The Boys in the Band (1970), which introduced some of the plainer four letter words in the English language to the screen for the first time. 'Who,' asks Cliff Gorman, in his brilliant portrayal of the most effeminate of the homosexual group as they gather for a soul-searching party, 'Who do you have to fuck to get a drink around here?' Other homosexual manifestations to occur in movies around this time included an elliptical but unmistakeable male fellatio scene in John Schlesinger's Midnight Cowboy (1969) when Jon Voight, as a broke and disillusioned Texas stud importunes in a New York cinema....”

[Image, top left: a blurry photo of John onstage, playing bass. Image, top right, sideways: a photo of the band onstage. Carl and John are on the left, sharing a mic. Peter is on the right, playing guitar and singing into his own mic. Image, centre left: a torn photo of Peter sitting in a chair, shirtless, playing guitar. Only his bottom half from the chest down is visible. Image, centre left: a torn photo of Peter sitting in a chair, shirtless, playing guitar. Only his top half from shoulders up is visible. Image, bottom left: a torn fragment of a photo. What looks like a denim-clad knee and a yellow carrier bag are visible. Image, bottom middle: a photo of someone's knee in torn jeans, taken from under a table. Image, bottom right: a torn photo of Carl in a black sleeveless shirt, posing with his fingers in his mouth.] [A paragraph from the original page of the book has been left exposed and boxed off with black biro. It reads:] “The Boys in the Band was displaced by an immeasurably more powerful portrayal of homosexual groups, Fortune and Men's Eyes (1971). Set in a Quebec prison, this disturbing, factually based drama vividly recounted the corrupted of a heterosexual convict trapped in a tough, potentially vicious homosexual society. In one horrifying scene, a weak, put-upon prisoner is gang-banged by his fellow inmates; in another, the 'hero' is blackmailed by his cellmate into accepting him as his lover for the duration...”

Like a cat on a hot tin roof Like a macho man in a roomful of poofs I have tried in my way to be free.

[Written in Peter's handwriting] Jerome... is that how it's spelt? [Written in someone else's handwriting] Yes it is [Written in Peter's handwriting] Can I read you something? [Written in someone else's handwriting] Yes please.....

I insist, new book of Albion, befuddled by drugs I may yes about 2 but I do not miss out entirely on the subtleties of the inhuman relation ships that are this the mainstay of my stay here in one bounce of a loaf. Boys are fooled into fooling with boys. [...]

More general references/some extra explanations:

“The boy looked at Johnny” is a line from Patti Smith's song “Horses,” part one of a three-part song called “Land.” In the song, a young man named Johnny is assaulted by another man in a locker room; he then mentally journeys to other fantastical lands and visions. A lot of people interpret it as being about gay sex, although some people interpret it as being about a stabbing.

Peter quotes and references Jean Genet's writing and works about Jean Genet many times. While Genet's works are nearly all about crime and prison (one of Peter's main interests and points of fascination), all of his works are very explicitly gay. The Thief's Journal is more about Genet's various lovers than it is about his criminal history. Our Lady Of The Flowers is about a drag queen and her criminal lovers, and is also extremely erotic.

(“Jerome” is Jerome Alexandre, vocalist of The Deadcuts, who was friends with Peter and Mark Keds.)

[lokiondisneyplus]

Director Kate Herron calls from her childhood bedroom. She's staying at her parents' home in Southeast London for the summer, having spent the past year apart due to the pandemic and directing her latest series, Marvel's Loki. "It's so surreal seeing the show go out," she says over Zoom, "and being in the room that I was last in as a teenager."

Loki's first three episodes have seen the God of Mischief (Tom Hiddleston) team up with Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson) and the all-powerful Time Variance Authority to track down a fugitive Variant of himself: A female Loki that goes by Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) who's set on blowing up the Sacred Timeline and, with it, the MCU as we know it.

"My dad, bless him, he was never into Marvel before, but now he's obsessed with it," she says. "When I got the job, he started watching his way through the films, and he's got all these different YouTubers that he now watches for theories, and he tries to get spoilers out of me. He's like, 'What does it mean?!' and I'm like, 'Dad, I can't tell you!' It's very sweet, but very funny."

Now, with three episodes left of the season, she's bracing for their first family viewing experience. "I might not be able to, though. I might be like, 'You have to watch it by yourselves and then we can talk!'" she laughs. "Wait to hear the Loki theme and be like, 'Oh, I can go downstairs now.'"

In the meantime, Herron fielded all of ET's midseason questions about making Loki's bisexuality canon in the MCU, flexing more of his magic than ever before and why Sylvie isn't really Lady Loki or the Enchantress.

We are halfway through the season. Outside your parents, how has the reaction felt so far?

It's been amazing. We had these big ideas in it -- like, about free will and good and evil -- and wanting to [know that] if we're going back in with Loki because he's so beloved, that it's going to be a good story for that character, but some fresh terrain. I think the response has been pretty joyous and it's just so fun seeing what people are liking, what people's theories are. I couldn't be more happy, to be honest.

Being someone who appears pretty online and active on social media, how deep are you going into reading what people say and diving into those theories and all that?

I definitely read a lot of them -- I don't comment on them -- but I used to love Lost and Game of Thrones, and I was on Reddit, commenting, like, "Ooh, maybe it means this or means this," and I think that's the fun thing with our show, right? Our fans are so smart and it's fun seeing what they're getting right and what's not right but is very interesting. The Easter eggs they dig up are always amazing to me. Some of them we put in there, and I'm like, "Well, let's see..." and I'm like, "Oh, they found it!" So, it's really fun tracking it online. It's very weird directing something where you know every frame will be [screen]grabbed by some fans because they're looking for stuff.

I loved your tweet about why it was important for you to confirm that Loki is bisexual in the show. Not really reveal -- because he's bisexual in the comics -- but make that canon. Talk to me about having those conversations with Marvel.

I think it was something very important to everyone. And I felt like, OK, how can we acknowledge this? We have aspects of the story that are there, so how do we build this into the story so it feels earned in the moment? I didn't want it to feel like we were just wedging something in, but we had this beautiful scene where these two characters are being really raw and really honest about who they are, and I was like, "Well, it is a part of who he is and who they are." For me, talking with Michael [Waldron] and Bisha [K. Ali], it just felt like it was the right moment for that line. This episode is really beautiful for me, because it's these two characters getting to know each other, so in that sense, it felt like the right place for that conversation to happen. And I thought it was done really beautifully by the writers.

Obviously, like I've said, it's very personal to me, and I said it was a small step in some ways -- because obviously, he's just talking about it -- but in the bigger scale of things, I'm like, oh no, it's massive actually. If I saw that when I was 10, it would be really big for me. It's been really nice getting comments from people online. Some people were like, "It helped me actually talk about how I feel to my family and helped me come out." And I thought, "Well, if it helped one person do that, then it's worth it."

This is the MCU's first lead character who is openly queer. Did you know that? Were you aware of how big a milestone this would be?

Yeah. Well, in some senses, yes, and in some senses you're never sure, right? Because [Marvel is] so secretive about all their other projects. [Laughs] For me, I was like, I'm telling Loki's story, it's a part of who they are and I just want to acknowledge it. It's canon in the comics and if we can make it canon in the films, that would be amazing. When I came on board, I was like, if there's a way to do this, it would mean a lot to me and, I'm sure, a lot of people. But it was very welcomed, and I think we're all very proud of how we did that.

This may be getting into spoiler territory that you aren't able to talk about, but acknowledging one's sexuality is one important part of representation, seeing it play out through relationships is another. Can we expect to see any further exploration of what it means for Loki to be bisexual in this show?

I'm trying to think how to answer your question. [Laughs] I would say in our story, this is how we acknowledge it. But I hope that that paves the way for deeper exploration.

We're halfway through the season. What were your biggest goals in these first three episodes?

I think the biggest one was obviously, the Loki we're with in this story is on a completely different path, so it was tracking his character in the sense that he basically sees this amazing arc that the other Loki had gone on across the MCU movies, he sees that he reconciles with his brother, but that wasn't him in that moment. He's watching a different version of himself. But seeing that moment and seeing that he has room for growth and change is really interesting with our Loki, because he's in a very different headspace. So, it was tracking, what's familiar about this character from the Loki that we've seen over the last 10 years go from villain to antihero? And what is going to be completely different and completely different sides to this character that we get to now dig our teeth into? That was something really important to me and to Tom and the writing team, and it was really fun unpacking that and what his identity means.

The other challenges, honestly, were just setting up the TVA, because it's outside of time and space and giving that a grounding and a reality and making that feel like a whole new exciting corner of the MCU. That was a big responsibility, and I was really excited by that. And then you have the bigger arc of the story, but you also knowing it's going out weekly on TV. So, how are we going to track this week by week. Where are we leaving the characters and what are we leaving for the audience? Something we always thought about was we knew there'd be discussion week to week, so it was like, "Where are we going to give them certain bits of information across the show?" We wanted to provoke conversation and discussion about even just things like free will, you know?

I will say about the TVA, I'm basically a human Miss Minutes stan account. I think she's the baddest bitch in the MCU. I watch every Miss Minutes fancam that pops up on my Twitter feed.

She's incredible! What I love about it is that she's in our first episode and she actually used to come out of the presentation that Loki watches -- she came out on the screen -- but it was too crazy. We were like, "OK, we can't do that in the first episode. We'll do it in the second episode!" But what I love about her is that we're seeing the TVA through Loki's eyes and it's, like, the status quo, right? And if our status quo is a Southern-talking, Roger Rabbit-style clock, the show is going to probably get quite weird. I think that's what I love about her. And obviously, Tara [Strong] is awesome. Yeah, Miss Minutes is a lot of fun.

You talked about exploring who Loki is and could be. He's always had an arsenal of powers, but in this series, you really get to explore and define what his power set is. What were those conversations like?

That was something else, coming in, I was so excited about. We have six hours of him, let's see some more magic. Because across the comics, he's super powerful, and for example, in the last episode, that's what was so exciting to me about that, the oner at the end of episode 3 was that I've seen a lot of oners but I haven't seen one with magic. So, I was like, let's put loads of magic in there! We get Loki using his telekinesis and his magic blasts and then also Sylvie, as well, and her powers.

For me, it was exciting getting to bring those in in a way that pushed the story forwards. Because I get it, when he first lands in the TVA, they can't use magic, so I know if I was watching, I'd be like, "What? No magic?!" But I think that's the fun thing is, we still have three episodes to go and also it was fun to put him on Lamentis and see him using his powers in different ways. It was definitely something important to me and the team, was to get to show a little bit more of him. But across the films, you can only do so much. Now we have six hours, so it felt like, of course we have to delve into that more.

I don't know if you saw this on Twitter, one of my favorite reactions to episode 3 was someone tweeted a screenshot of Sylvie screaming and her hands glowing and wrote, "she did the meme!!"

[Laughs] That's great!

We've now officially met Sylvie, and we're starting to piece together that this may be sort of a hybrid character of Lady Loki and Sylvie Lushton, the Enchantress. Are you able to confirm that you pulled from both to create your Sylvie? Or is that something that's to be further revealed?

I would say there's more to be delved into. One thing I would say is, like, she's different to the comics. Like, she's a unique character, but obviously, there's things that have been pulled from. I think for her character, she's on the run and she's called Sylvie and she's dyed her hair. The blonde that we associate with Sylvie is played in that sense, but it makes sense for her character within our story. But I would say deeper than that, yeah, there's more to be revealed about her character to comes.

The main thing I would say is: Lady Loki in the comics is a very different character to our character, obviously. I love that character and I think she's got a very different journey. But our Sylvie is a female Loki, in that sense -- because in episode 1 and 2, they know it's a Loki they're tracking -- but I think that's part of the discussion. It's almost like Loki -- as in Tom Loki -- he's like, "Wait, how much of my life have you got? Who are you?" And I think that's the real question is, who is she? So, we will discuss that as the show goes on. Why does she not like being called Loki? What's her past? Where did she come from?

Tom and Sophia have such great chemistry, but how challenging was it for you and Michael and Sophia and the writers to create a character that essentially has to match up with our Loki, who's had however many films to become the fan-favorite character that he is?

It starts in the writing. Because she's a unique creation, and that was exciting and I was intrigued where they were pulling from with the comics. I was like, OK, that's cool. Beyond that, I think it's casting it. Sophia is an incredible actor. I've worked with her before. She has this fire in her and she brings this amazing vulnerability to all her characters, but she's also, like, so funny. It's just, so many of these things she always brings, I was like, they're so Loki. So, I was like, "We've got to get her to read!" And we were just all blown away by her read of it.

She definitely can hold her own. That's the other thing, as well. I know her, and I was like, she will hold her own. I know she will. Because she's going against Tom's Loki and that's such the fun thing about them. Even just on the train, where it's the end of the world and Loki's solution is, "I'm going to have a party and I'm going to have a drink. I'm going to have a lovely time." And her solution is, "I'm not going to have a glass of champagne, thanks. I'm going to focus on the mission of getting off the moon." Those little differences is what's quite fun about them to me. How are they different, and how are they the same?

Was there something you got to do as a director in these first three episodes that you had never done before that you were especially excited or nervous or both to tackle?

I suppose so much of the show, right? Because I've done a lot of drama and a lot of comedy, but they were like, "Here you go! Here's the reins to this massive, genre-driven piece where you have to set up a new corner of the MCU and you're going to have this beloved character." There was a lot to carry. But I'd say in terms of something I was excited about, only because Kevin Feige was teasing me, when we filmed the big oner at the end of episode 3, I was really inspired in the writing, because it sounded like you were really with the characters. I love doing long takes anyway and I remember thinking, "Oh man, this sequence feels like the one that we should do as this oner," because I want the audience to feel like they're with Sylvie and Loki in this moment, and it's also a moment where you finally start to see an apocalypse and it feels more real, because you're seeing the horror and the terror that's going along with that.

For me, that was exciting, but the really cheesy bit that made me so excited is they had these foam rocks that fell on people, but it felt like real movie magic to me. I was so obsessed with the rocks. I was like, "Oh my god. This is like real, big Hollywood filmmaking." And I remember Kevin Feige was like, "You can take a rock home, if you want," and I was like, "Oh my god!" So I have this rock. It's in bubble wrap now, and I'm going to unpack it when I move into my place. But that's probably honestly the most excited I've ever been. [Laughs] I was just so excited by the rocks. Oh, and also, I remember when we were at Roxxcart and Tom gets thrown into those robo dogs, I was obsessed with the robo dogs. He was like, "I think this is the happiest I've ever seen you." So, those are my favorite moments on set. The foam rocks and the robo dogs.

Somebody's going to come into your flat in the future and there's going to be a shelf with just a rock and a robotic dog on it.

Mhmm! And I'll be like, "Yeah, guys, I did something." [Laughs] They'll be like, "What is this...?" But the foam rocks are genuinely amazing, because they look like real, heavy rocks, but they're so light. I was so fascinated with them. I was so excited. I made a lot of low budget stuff before this, so it was a big deal to me.

My favorite part of the first three episodes is the Kate Berlant cameo. How did that come to be?

Basically, I love comedy and my producer, Kevin Wright, does as well, and we were trying to think of people that could be fun. We've got Josh [Fadem] in episode 1, and that was a miracle. I just spoke to her about the part and was like, "This is a very small role, but if you're interested, you're very talented and you're so funny." And she was like, "You know what? That sounds really fun. Renaissance faire? Yeah, I'll come do it." So, it was very kind of her to come down and do that for us. She's so funny, man. She's so funny.

Do you let her riff at all?

We did. We have a lot of alts and a lot of very extended bits of her talking to the Minutemen. I think there's one where she talks about a bird show at the faire. She's so funny. I was very flattered and grateful that she did that for us.

I'm going to start the #ReleaseTheKateBerlantCut campaign. I want a whole episode of her alts. Or she can be the new Stan Lee and cameo in every MCU project. Before I let you go, if you had to choose one word to tease these upcoming three episodes, what is that word?

Hmm. I thought of one word, but then I'm like, it's spoiler-y, so I can't say that. [Laughs] Oh, one word. Exciting? I have to say "exciting," because I can't say the other one I wanted to say!

[a-queer-seminarian]

I am trying to read more theology and I would love to know what texts have been most important to you? I am not a super academic person so things that are modestly accessible would be great, but also I am trying to push myself to read more challenging texts! ty so much!

Oooh what a fun question -- I’ve offered people book recs before, but never one that’s specifically the texts that have been most important to me.

To start, i recommend my #books tag on my other blog for way more books than the ones I’ll list here -- not every post in that tag is relevant to your question here, but some are. Here’s a list of the posts that are relevant to your request -- you’ll see that on most of them, I note how accessible vs academic or dense a text seemed to me. 

a list of recs for theology that’s helpful in this 2020 climate of pandemic and protest.

a list of recs for books about being queer and Christian

And now for a list of theological texts that have been most important to me -- deeply impacting how I read the Bible, how I relate to God or to other humans or to creation, etc.:

The basics

I have to include Christian Doctrine by Shirley Guthrie on this list...

simply because it was the first book I read when trying to figure out what Reformed Protestants believe after growing up Catholic. It’s actually a fairly easy read -- it’s longish, and not like the most riveting book you’ve ever read, but dang it has great stuff in it. It made me way more excited to enter the PC(USA) denomination than I’d been before reading it -- before, I felt like i was mainly running from the crappy parts of the Roman Catholic Church; after reading it, i realized i could also be running to the beautiful parts of Reformed theology!

But yeah, if you’re looking for a book that helps solidify in your mind concepts like the Trinity, or sin, or divine inspiration....this is a great book for that! (Assuming you want to learn about those things from a(n LGBT affirming) Reformed Protestant lens.

If you wanna read tons of excerpts from this text before deciding whether you want to read the whole thing, I posted a lot of passages from it in this tag over here.

Inspired by Rachel Held Evans

this is the best book I can think of for non-academics who want to learn about reading the Bible in a way that confronts rather than ignores/accepts its more disturbing passages.

If you need help figuring out how to read the Bible without a fundamentalist / literalist lens, this is the book for you.

Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others by Barbara Brown Taylor

Very important if you want to practice a Christianity that doesn’t pit you against people of other (or no) faiths -- and very easy to read

Books that helped me develop a liberationist + queer + disabled theology

Justin Tanis’ book Transgendered was super important to me when i was first getting into trans theology...

However, the language in it isn’t particularly accessible -- it’s not horribly dense but I would now recommend OtherWise Christian by Chris Paige instead. Paige quotes from Tanis -- and many other foundational trans theologians! -- and does a great job of making their scholarly language a lot more accessible to non-academics. Ach yeah, OtherWise Christian is what you wanna read to get deep into the academia of trans theology without having to wade through the denser older books yourself.

If you do want to read some of Tanis’ book, you can read my fave chapters as pdfs here.

I’d also recommend Austen Hartke’s Transgender and Christian YouTube channel and my website blessedarethebinarybreakers.com for more trans theology presented in simpler language!

Disability: The Inclusive Church Resource by John M. Hull

Nancy Eiseland’s The Disabled God is also, like, foundational to a lot of disability theology but it’s not the easiest read. The last two chapters are the best part in my opinion.

For more great resources on disability theology, including some of my own writing (which is, I hope, easy to read), see this Google Doc i compiled once and also my disability theology tag.

Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman.

It’s a bit more academic / written more formally than some of the books on here cuz it’s older, but it’s also short and if you can get through even just the first two or three chapters you’ll have absorbed material that i promise you’ll be thinking about for a long, long time to come.

God of the Oppressed by James Cone

So foundational. Another classic by him is The Cross and the Lynching Tree. These books are both more academic but yeah, foundational stuff.

The only full text I’ve read by Gustavo Gutiérrez is On Job but I’ve read a lot of excerpts from other stuff by him...

You’ve gotta read at least a little bit of this guy to help you understand liberation theology as it originated in Latin America. Unfortunately, I do think he’s much more academic so not an “easy” read at all -- you could try to find other authors who sum up his ideas and works and offer fundamental excerpts in his own words, if you try to dig into something he’s written and find it too tough

But yeah, his book On Job in particular really helped me start figuring out “theodicy” -- the question of why there is suffering in the world / what God’s role in suffering is. But I had a lot of trouble figuring out what Gutiérrez was saying at a lot of points in the book, and I’ve been reading academic texts for like a decade now!! So if you try to read it and find it’s just too much, don’t feel bad. I only was able to get a real handle on this book after discussing it in a seminary classroom with a teacher helping us.

If you wander through my #theodicy tag, you’ll find my own understandings of suffering as shaped by On Job without having to read the book yourself! You also might like Everything Happens by Kate Bowler for a great look on suffering. 

Native: Identity, Belonging, and Rediscovering God by Kaitlin B. Curtice (progressive Christian + citizen of the Potawatomi nation)

This book is truly incredible in that its language invites you in and reads like a devotional while making powerful statements about settler colonialism and assimilation and stuff. So so so good. 

When it comes to books that have deeply enriched, like, my “personal” prayer life / relationship with God:

Learning to Walk in the Dark and An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor (Episcopal background)

This author’s books are all so easy to read, and so so so full of wisdom. If you want your theology served to you in a less “so this is theology” kind of way and more of a devotional kind of way, this is the author for you.

Also she’s super popular among non-academics and academics alike so it’s easy to find people to discuss her work with!

An Altar in the World is about finding God outside of church, in the everyday, in the “secular”...

Learning to Walk in the Dark is about forming a faith that can survive and actually nourish you during the struggles of life (as opposed to what she calls a “full solar Christianity”)

A Tree Full of Angels by Sister Macrina Wiederkehr (Catholic nun)

this one is a little bit more formal in style, but not bad if you read it like i did, which was as a devotional where i’d only read a section or two each evening. It focuses on finding the divine in the most mundane of things -- see here for some posts sharing short excerpts from it.

Wow this got long....sorry about that! And if you were hoping for more shorter works, like articles instead of whole books, let me know and I can dig through my seminary stuff and share my faves!

[some-days-we-get-sundays]

2.12 recap UMMMM.......

I’m sorry but can we talk about the way that Wallis ATE her first appearance up as Kate Kane?? I AM LIVING!!!

I’ve never seen Wallis act and I was scarred from Ruby’s extremely bad performance and I was hoping Wallis wasn’t just another pretty face cast and it turns out this bish can ACT. I was legit terrified of her with the mask on and I also LOVE that Wallis is bringing the same chaotic psychotic energy to Kate that Rachel is bringing to Alice. She’s matching it PERFECTLY with Rachel’s version of Alice. And the fact that we couldn’t even see her real face but that she brought it means she can ACT ACT! Like I felt her performance even tho I couldn’t see what her face was doing. Her and Rachel already have chemistry and it’s more believable as siblings than Ruby and Rachel were. Wallis actually just goes for it and gives it her all! Where as Ruby always felt too cool for school for me. Wallis is giving it 💯. I also like that Wallis is taller than Ruby because it once again matches with Rachel. They look more physically similar now which makes the twin sister thing more believable and makes me more invested. Also Wallis looked much more comfortable and confident doing the stunts and the action than Ruby ever did. That fight scene with Ryan was ON POINT!! I replayed that scene over a couple times when Ryan slid under the gate. And Wallis doing the butterfly knifes was *chefs kiss*. I AM LOVING THIS! If you’re not watching the new Batwoman are you even queer!???

Also I’m happy about Ryan and Angelique breaking up. They had no chemistry and it felt like Ryan was just tied to her out of guilt (glad they mentioned that) and obligation. Not actual romantic feelings for her. I also like Bevin but I don’t think she fit with the rest of the cast, she didn’t have chemistry with anyone. I hope this sets up for Ryan and Sophie flirtation but I also am shipping Sophie and Kate now with Wallis being the new Kate. I know other people are eager for it but I don’t need Ryan to have a love interest at this moment. I do think her and Soph might get a lil romantic - writers have definitely been hinting and I could see a love triangle with Kate/Soph/Ryan. I hope that Ryan gets with someone who is part of the story already and not someone from the outside like Ange was. I think it will make for better writing in situations like the kidnapping or when someone is in danger because then everyone is more emotionally invested because it’s not like oh that’s just Ryan’s girlfriend that they took not oh that’s our friend too, she’s important to us too. If that makes sense. Like when Ange was taken it seemed like Ryan was the only one who cared, and Soph because Soph cares about Ryan. But like imagine if Soph and Ryan were dating and Soph gets taken (even as friends) Soph has a relationship with people on the show where as Ange’s only relationship/tie to the show was Ryan. 

What else. Oh, why did Rachel absolutely break my heart as Alice. Rachel has such a knack for making us love “evil/bad” characters. She really makes me feel for Alice and I was really sad when Ryan didn’t help her out. I mean if she had a hand in killing my mom I’d also not be tripping over myself to help her out. But then also when Kate almost shoots her, the fear on Alice’s face. I just like how she’s *crazy* but she still has these raw human needs and emotions. She’s not just a heartless crackpot like she wants us all to think. She’s got a heart and soul and is very intuitive and perspective about people which makes for great dialogue when she is with other characters. She reads them like a book. I’m looking forward to more Wallis/Kate with Rachel/Alice dynamic. I like that they wiped Kate’s memory, and I like how their mannerisms are similar (the twins). There is just so much to work with and so many juicy possibilities. I’m also looking forward to how it will continue playing out with Soph knowing Ryan is Batwoman. 

Mannnn this shit is getting good y’all.

[riathenowheregirl]

Gold Dust Women: My Favorite Witchy Singers

Okay, before you burn me alive with “Where’s this certain artist?!” or “Why is this certain artist not here?!” or “Who even uses Tumblr these days?”, uhmmm me bish?? It’s my safe zone. Okay, the last question was a joke. 

Can I just say that the amazing women on this list are artists I listen to all the time. They’re my favorites, so chill (I’m open for suggestions tho). This is not Rolling Stone or Billboard magazine, it’s just ya girl’s good ol’ tumblr blog. Also, I’m not saying that all of them are literal w i t c h e s, it’s just that they portray the same aesthetic through their art and music. 

Alright, now that’s settled, let’s start.

1. STEVIE NICKS 

Do I even need to explain this? Stevie is undoubtedly the Etheral Queen of them all, the Pioneer, the O.G. Supreme whose lyrical soul and spellbinding voice echoes from the distant past to the inevitable future. Everything about her oozes with witchcraft and magic starting from her iconic top hat, to her millions of intricately made shawls, down to her platform boots. Only Stevie Nicks could pull off such Not-of-this-Era outfits and she has been doing it CONSISTENTLY. She’s in a timeline of her OWN. If you listen to her music, you would notice that every song of hers is poetry, like she’s telling a story or conjuring the unknown. She’s every witchy woman’s icon and that’s a fact.

Stevie is an untouchable yet gracious legend, we’ll always be a part of her sisterhood until the day of earth’s decay. Forever the Queen of Rock N’ Roll. 

Current Favorite Stevie Lyrics:  “ You can fly swinging from your trapeze, scaring all the people...but you'll never scare me.”  |   “Once in a million years a lady like her rises. Oh no, Rhiannon, you cry, but she's gone and your life knows no answer.”

Notice how I used the word “current”? Because it always changes depending on the state my life. Here’s a more detailed post on why I love her.   

2. KATE BUSH 

“Heathcliff, it's me, I'm Cathy, I've come home, I'm so cold! Let me in through your window!”

The eccentric beauty, Kate Bush made a genius, artistic move by writing a song about the book, Wuthering Heights, written by Emily Brontë in the 1800′s. Mind you, she was only 18 when she wrote and was the first song written by a female artist that landed on top the charts. Her voice is almost as distinctive as Stevie Nicks. While Stevie’s more nasal, commanding, wailing rock n’ roll goddess, Kate’s voice was high-pitched, alarming, ghostly, queer, and fairy-like. Everything about her is Performance Art. This is a woman who is not afraid to express herself.

For starters, you might think her music is strange and weird. Trust me, I felt the same way when I first heard her songs. But then, it began to grow on me leaving floral patterns on its path. 

Favorite Kate Bush Lyrics:  “Do you want to feel how it feels? Do you want to know that it doesn't hurt me? Do you want to hear about the deal that I'm making? You, it's you and me.”

3. FLORENCE WELCH 

This one is as obvious as Stevie Nicks. Florence Welch from the band, Florence + the Machine, is a poetess, a screaming banshee, and a full-pledged Sister of the Moon. She even started a witch coven during middle school. From her red carpet looks to her everyday outfits on Instagram, Florence vibrates powerful witch energy. Not to mention she has a song called “Which Witch” and that haunting music video for Big God with levitating women. Flo is not a woman to trifle with, I’ll tell you that. 

Photos courtesy of @lillieeiger

In all her songs, Florence will bind you with magic and it’ll leave you breathless. If Stevie’s songs are poetry, hers are spells you could sing out loud. Also, if you haven’t seen her house tour, go check it now! 

Favorite Florence Welch Lyrics: “'Cause I am done with my graceless heart so tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart.”  |  “And in a moment of joy and fury I threw myself in the balcony like my grandmother so many years before me.”

4. LANA DEL REY

Remember when Lana used witchcraft to hex Donald Trump? It was all over the news and Twitter went wild. She was later quoted saying, “I really do believe that words are one of the last forms of magic and I’m a bit of a mystic at heart.” Oh, and she also did a collab with Stevie. 

We. Stan. Forever.

There was even a time that I MEMORIZED the monologue in the music video for Ride. ALL OF IT, HUNNY. 

Lana’s hypnotizing vocals together with her sixties baby doll dresses and Priscilla Presley hair is enough to convince me that she’s not of this era. She has a deep understanding of the beauty of past generation and the looming sadness and nostalgia that comes with it. Whenever I listen to her music, I imagine myself as a rockstar’s muse who is involved with the mafia but then I decided to leave him while taking his gun and convertible. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Favorite Lana Del Rey Lyrics: “Well, my boyfriend's in the band. He plays guitar while I sing Lou Reed. I've got feathers in my hair, I get down to Beat poetry. And my jazz collection's rare, I can play most anything.”

5. LORDE 

David Bowie didn’t call her the “future of music” for nothing. Just two albums under her belt, Lorde already proved that she will one day become a legend herself. Her music narrates an unparalleled interpretation of the anguish and fleeting charm of our youth. She knows what we’re feeling because she’s been there herself and is on the road to healing just like us. 

I think the message she’s trying to say is that we’re constantly losing grip on our innocence, and that life is often wicked so we need to accept that, grit our teeth, get on with it, and make art. She can also see color when she hears music. 

In my opinion, Lorde is one of the greatest artists of my generation. 

Favorite Lorde Lyrics: “The truth is I am a toy that people enjoy till all of the tricks don't work anymore, and then they are bored of me.”  |   “That slow burn wait while it gets dark, bruising the sun, I feel grown up with you in your car. I know it's dumb.” 

6. FKA TWIGS

Honestly, FKA Twigs is literally art in living form, a celestial angel that nobody can easily decipher. This woman has more talent in her fingertips than I could ever have in a lifetime. She somehow reminds me of a young Kate Bush; fearless, experimental, with an intoxicating voice. She never stops reinventing herself and it’s beautiful.

In FKA Twigs’ world, there are no limits, just endless galaxies. She pours her whole being in all of her songs and it shows. She’s not for the faint of heart, let me tell you that. 

Favorite FKA Twigs Lyrics:  “And I don't want to have to share our love. I try but I get overwhelmed. All wrapped in cellophane, the feelings that we had.” 

7. SKOTT 

I say this all the time, but I cannot write without Skott’s music blasting on my earphones. She grew up in a “forest commune run by outcast folk musicians” and was not exposed to contemporary music until her teen years. You would notice it in her songs. 

It’s hard to explain why, but listen to Skott’s music when there’s thunder and rain outside, then you’ll know why this woman is witchy. I kind of want her to be more popular and known, but then again, I also want to keep her to myself. Scratch that, LISTEN TO SKOTT’S MUSIC NOW. 

Start with Glitter & Gloss. 

Favorite Skott Lyrics: “Like an empty canvas, hear me cry. Like a masterpiece, I'm in your eyes. Now your colors are in front of me, we're a picture-perfect oddity.”

8. FIRST AID KIT 

I fell in love with this sister duo when I first heard their song, Emmylou, while browsing YouTube. It’s one of those moments of instant magic. Klara and Johanna Söderberg are a coven of their own. I would describe their music as “Woodland Folk laced with runes and wild flowers”. 

Their voices compliment each other so much that it reminded me of Simon & Garfunkel (they even performed their own version of America in front of Paul Simon!!!). First Aid Kit has this Woodstock seventies vibe, and you know me, I live for that sh*t. 

Favorite First Aid Kit Lyrics: “ When I run through the deep dark forest long, after this begun, where the sun would set, the trees were dead and the rivers were none. And I hope for a trace to lead me back home from this place, but there was no sound there was only me, and my disgrace.”

9. ZOLA JESUS

Zola Jesus’ music deserves to be played with an orchestra inside an abandoned castle in Transylvania while it gently rains and you’re wearing a white nightgown as you roam its empty halls. Is that too much?

 Not at all. 

Like Skott, I listen to Zola whenever I’m having writer’s block. If I ever finish my book, I’m gonna have to thank them. 

Favorite Zola Jesus Lyrics: “I'm on my bed, my bed of stones, but in the end of the night we'll rest our bones, so don't you worry. Just rest your head cause in the end of the night we'll be together again.”

10. ZELLA DAY 

Photo Credits to Harper Smith

I LOVE ZELLA DAY’S MUSIC OH MY GOODNESS. My favorite songs of her are Sweet Ophelia, Hypnotic, Man on the Moon, and Hunnie Pie. ESPECIALLY HUNNIE PIE. I cry whenever I hear that song. It’s just so pure, calming, and beautiful. 

Her music belong in the psychedelic era. 

People labeled her as the “happier version of Lana Del Rey” but I think she’s in a league of her own. She deserves more recognition, honestly! 

Favorite Zella Day Lyrics: “The older we get there's an ocean of people in places we've chosen and you know how mama keeps saying “we've gotta stop the games we're playing””. 

Hope you guys approve of my list! I really like sharing stuff that I love! Feel free to message me for more suggestions, I’d really appreciate to know more witchy artists out there. We’re all in a huge coven of sisterhood. 

Thanks for reading!

Love, 

Ria  🌙

P.S.

Please follow my blog!!! THANK YOU  🔮

[hatchetation]

Hello I would very much like to see you expand more on the different ways Kate and Lucy give off being queer 👀

Okayyy I'm so glad you asked!! So here were the tags:

#but i do know that lucy tara comes across as suuuuuper gay to me in the way she interacts with the world#even outside of being with kate she reads as queer to me#and i will say i also think tori is a great actress and i also get a super queer vibe from kate outside of lucy#and just as a further caveat#i know that not all queer people carry themselves in the same way. in fact lucy and kate read as queer to me but in v different ways

I may have gone overboard in this response so TL;DR: It's all about the vibes and their vibes are GAY!

I'm gonna start with Lucy. Lucy Tara is too gay to function. I'm kind of joking but also to me Lucy is the sort of queer person who cannot help but be herself. I think that she's always kind of liked girls and whenever she fully had her sexual awakening, there was no hiding it from herself or anyone else. I'm not saying that she didn't /try/ to hide it or that she hasn't gone through some shit related to being queer--it honestly wouldn't surprise me if we learn that her family took time to come around to her being gay. But I think it was hard for her to be anyone but herself. Relatedly, there's the way that Lucy refused to be Kate's dirty little secret back in season 1. Hidden away, wrapped up in shame in the shadows is just not who Lucy is. It very much felt like she was going against her nature for the few eps where she agreed for them to keep their relationship on the DL.

Imo, Lucy is also the type of friend who could listen to all of your problems and you could feel so close to her but then later you'd realize that she hadn't said anything about herself. Maybe that seems contradictory but to me it all kind of hangs together for her as a queer character: she's open about who she is but perhaps a bit wary about who she really trusts and brings into her inner circle (on the show we really only see her interact with characters she trusts so...could be cool to see her with someone she doesn't trust!).

Last thing about Lucy--it's literally just the way she walks and talks and dresses like she does not give a shit what any man thinks about her. What I mean by this is less about binary gender and more about how the life she's trying to live is outside the patriarchy…It's the way she punched Jesse on the arm back in season 1 and the way she also punched ASAC Curtis on the arm a couple eps ago. Her queerness is all up in her confident stride and her competitive nature. And look, I know very well that there are straight women who probably carry themselves like that and that nothing I'm saying is, on its own, specific to a sexual orientation. But all together, and in the context of NCIS: Hawai'i, it reads as queer.

Now for Whistler! I have to call her Whistler when I'm discussing how gay she is all on her own lmaoooo. She's gay in suchhhh a different way from Lucy. Her walls are allll the way up. I honestly identify with Whistler the most because the key to Whistler's queerness is that she's amazing at compartmentalizing. I, too, am amazing at compartmentalizing and let me tell you when you're young and closeted that coping skill is life-saving...until about ten years later when you have to go to therapy to unpack how traumatizing it was lol. But basically, I think Whistler's whole HBIC, stiff, loner tendencies show up outside of her relationship with Lucy and are coping mechanisms that identify her as queer. I know some of that stuff is related to her brother's death, but it really reads to me as queer.

Whistler presents herself as put together, not a hair out of place, focused to a fault, etc. In season 2 we're seeing her open up, but she still identifies with being a loner and I think she still knows exactly what a gut punch it is to feel existentially lonely. Like, that loneliness that happens when you're gay and you feel like you'll never be brave enough to be your authentic self. That loneliness that you think you'll never escape because YOU put the walls up and how are you supposed to take them down now?? The way her character reads to me is someone who is just beginning to live the kind of life that she probably dreamed of as a kid. Again, that vibe feels incredibly queer to me.

And of course, on a more superficial note, Whistler also reads as someone who does not give a FUCK what a man thinks. She has a more feminine style at work than Lucy. I think that's the style that makes her most comfortable, and I also think it's her armor, a way for her to assert that yes she's a woman and also yes she will kick your ass. Again, I'm sure that there are many women in male-dominated work spaces who operate similarly and not all of them are gay. But within the context of the show...it reads as gay!

[sciencespies]

'Ammonite' Is Historical Fanfiction About the World's First Great Fossil Hunter

https://sciencespies.com/nature/ammonite-is-historical-fanfiction-about-the-worlds-first-great-fossil-hunter/

'Ammonite' Is Historical Fanfiction About the World's First Great Fossil Hunter

Paleontology wouldn’t be the same without Mary Anning. She scoured the dreary coast of southern England for secrets not seen since the Jurassic, fueling the nascent 19th-century field of fossil studies with evidence of strange sea dragons, flying reptiles and other fascinating fragments of life long past. And now, over 170 years after her death, she’s got her own movie.

Ammonite will open at the Toronto Film Festival but isn’t set to premiere in theaters or in homes until later this year, but the historical drama is already stirring the waters like an excitable Plesiosaurus. The first trailer for the film hit the web yesterday. The tale, directed by British filmmaker Francis Lee, follows Anning (Kate Winslet) as she reluctantly brings a young woman named Charlotte Murchison (Saoirse Ronan) along on some fossil-hunting trips in the hope that the vigorous activity will help her new apprentice’s illness. But the two find more than fossils. In Lee’s telling, Anning and Murchison begin an intense affair that seems to have no room to breathe under the cultural strictures of Victorian England.

In other words, this is paleo fanfic.

The real Anning was an expert fossil collector and paleontologist who combed the beaches of Lyme Regis and the surrounding area for fossils that eroded from the Jurassic rock. You can retrace her steps on the same beaches, as I did during my own visit to England a few years ago, and maybe even find a little golden spiral along the tideline—ancient, shelled relatives of squid called ammonites.

Anning wasn’t alone in her exploits. Fossil hunting was a family business, and Anning’s father, Richard, took Mary and her brother Joseph on excursions to collect ammonites and other pieces they then sold as tourist curios. When Richard died, the rest of the family took over the business. And they were good at it. In 1811, Joseph found the gorgeous skull of an Ichthyosaurus; Mary later collected more bones from the same animal. Of course, that’s to say nothing of the Philpot sisters. Elizabeth, Louise and Margaret Philpot collected fossils in the Lyme Regis area when Anning was still a child, and Elizabeth became a mentor who encouraged her student to understand both the science and the market value of what she found. Even Anning’s dog Tray, a black and white terrier, went along on fossil trips and would stay at specific spots to mark a fossil’s location while the pooch waited for Mary’s return.

Thanks to her discoveries, sketches and notes, Anning eventually became a rock star in her own right. It’s at this point, when she had established her own fossil shop, that Ammonite finds Anning. But while Murchison really was one of Anning’s friends, no evidence suggests that the two had any kind of romantic ties. In fact, no evidence of the paleontologist’s love life—beyond her drive to keep digging into the Blue Lias strata that produced so many bones—exists at all.

Turning Anning’s remarkable story into a torrid romance has already incensed some would-be viewers. Reactions have run the gamut from objections to historical inaccuracy and homophobia, with little resolution given that we’re far too late to ask Anning herself.

In defending his choice, Lee snapped back against the anti-queer underpinnings of the outrage and said he sees Ammonite as another part of his efforts to “continually explore the themes of class, gender, sexuality within my work, treating my truthful characters with utter respect.” Focusing on Anning’s romantic life, even if entirely invented, is a way to see her as a whole person, not just the woman who sells seashells down by the seashore.

I have to wonder what Anning would say to this. As she wrote in a letter, “The world has used me so unkindly, I fear it has made me suspicious of everyone.” In the sexist, male-dominated world of 19th-century science, Anning’s finds were celebrated while she herself was barred from joining academic societies or even finding a path to gain equal footing with the likes of William Buckland, Gideon Mantell and other traditional heroes of paleontology who parasitized her labor. Now, in having her life’s story made a fiction, is the world using Anning again?

In all the hubbub over Ammonite’s portrayal of Anning, commenters have continually missed a critical point. Anning never married, and we don’t know if she had romantic or sexual relationships with anyone. Lee, and some others, have taken this as a hint that Anning may have been a lesbian and hid the fact to avoid controversy. But it’s equally possible that Anning was asexual or uninterested in romance. Perhaps, then, Ammonite is an exercise in erasure wrapped in progressive packaging, ignoring what we know of Anning in an attempt to read between the lines. The truth died when Anning did.

How audiences will experience Ammonite will largely depend on what they bring to it. If they’re expecting a historically accurate biopic, they may sit back on their couch fuming. Ammonite is to paleontology what The Untouchables is to Prohibition or Raiders of the Lost Ark is to archaeology. If viewers are looking for a queer romance set against a wave-battered backdrop, they may feel a little warmer to the treatment.

The sheer pressure put on Ammonite to fulfill our fossiliferous expectations says something about our current moment in science. The accomplishments and importance of women in paleontology are far more prominent than they were in Anning’s time, yet the standard image of a paleontologist remains an Indiana Jones wannabe focused on trophy hunting dinosaurs. And when it comes to diversity within the field across positions—from volunteer and student all the way up to professors—there remains a diversity gap that even cisgendered, straight, white women are fighting against, to say nothing of better support and representation for everyone else who falls outside those narrow categories.

And so we keep turning to Anning as a singular hero, a woman who made amazing and lasting contributions against the odds. She, and the women whose careers were intertwined with hers, deserves to be honored just like the men who fill the introduction sections of paleontology textbooks. At the same time, perhaps we are asking Anning to carry too much—to be the sole representative of an entirely different view of paleontology. If representation for women in the field were better, perhaps it would not feel as if so much is at stake. As it stands, we are so starved for stories other than the Great White Fossil Hunter that it’s almost impossible for any tale to satisfy everyone.

If we’re fortunate, some future paleontologist will be able to point to Ammonite and say it’s the first time they got to see themselves represented. I hope so. For the time being, though, I’m looking forward to the evening when my girlfriend and I can curl up on the couch and watch a romance about warm hearts and cold stone, even if we know Mary Anning’s truth requires a bit more digging to find.

#Nature

[tcplnyteens]

All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories Of Queer Teens Throughout The Ages Edited by Saundra Mitchell

Written by Anna-Marie McLemore, Natalie C. Parker, Nilah Magruder, Mackenzi Lee, Robin Talley, Malinda Lo, Dahlia Adler, Kate Scelsa, Elliot Wake, Scott Tracey, Tess Sharpe, Alex Sanchez, Kody Keplinger, Sara Farizan, Tessa Gratton, Shaun David Hutchinson and Tehlor Kay Mejia

In this wonderful collection of short stories, you will be pulled into worlds filled with magic and worlds much like ours, where love, in any form, can overcome all. Whether it be two girls becoming pirates and taking charge of their lives, a thief and witch tearing apart a corrupt system or a new years revelation, this book will pull at your heartstrings and is bound to make you want to fall in love.

–SPOILERS–

This book is such a great collection of short stories and I would highly recommend it to all. There are so many important lessons within each and every one of these stories and I think there are valuable pieces of information that I think everyone should have in their repertoire.

Roja: This story was so good, I’m not usually one for historical fiction but it is starting to grow on me, especially when magic and fairytales are involved. I loved this retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. I loved that it involved an accurate trans character, there are real historical accounts of girls dressing as men to fight, although they were not always trans, I did love the accurate historical representation. It was so great that the girl wasn’t ashamed of him and loved him for who he was, she fought for him even though people looked down on her for existing. These people didn’t even care enough to acknowledge her as a human. Her strength, her power, her willingness to fight against those oppressive men is not only representational of the plights of what women have gone through for centuries, but it’s also great to see a powerful female character stand up for what she believes in and for the people she loves. This story was just wonderful and I loved it so much. It is one of the many reasons I would recommend this book.

The Sweet Trade: I feel like this story fits a common theme that appears in some of the books that I’ve read: girls wanting to be pirates, which is awesome. I love that even though Clara is only sixteen she knows what she wants from life and it’s not to be married to some pushover of a man who only wants money. She wants to take control of her life and create her own destiny which is completely badass if you ask me. And then she meets Pearl, who is also running away from her wedding, and they help each other, women supporting women at its finest. It is such a sweet little story of two girls falling in love as they take charge of their lives. I liked it very much, although I wish it were a tad longer.

And They Don’t Kiss At The End: I don’t have a whole lot to say about this story but it did like it a lot. My most prominent reason for enjoying this story so much was that it had asexual representation. You never ever see aromantic or asexual representation and I really loved how this book went about it, it was just wonderful to see. Another reason I loved it was because Vince didn’t pressure Dee into doing anything she didn’t want to, he was completely accepting of her boundaries and that is so important in any kind of relationship. These types of stories are the kind I want to be made into a full out book, it’s so important for teens to know that they have options and whatever they might be feeling or not feeling is normal. Diverse representation in media is so important, and this book does it right.

Burnt Umber: This story was sweet and simple. I love the fact that you don’t really see the end coming. From the beginning, all Constantijn can think of is the handsome boy who works at the docks, it’s very endearing until Joost comes to model for his class. I was so excited that maybe they’d become friends and then something more, but then it turns out Joost is kind of mean and Constantijn loses interest, yes he may be pretty but he isn’t nice to Constantijn’s friends. I think that this is an important story about knowing what’s good for you and what’s not, no matter how appealing it may look on the outside. It is a very sweet little story and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

The Dresser And The Chambermaid: Again with the wonderful historical fiction! This was such a sweet little story, I don’t have a whole lot of analysis for this one but I will tell you I was so happy in the end when they both got to be dressers and Suzanna got recognition for her hairstyle. It was so funny that when they were kissing in the hallway and the king kind of walked in on them and was just like “whatever, I can’t judge since I’m going to meet my mistress and cheat on my wife” and just left. Like that was a little piece of comic relief and I loved it, what a wonderful upbeat little story.

New Year: Same as the last, I don’t have much to say about this story. I do think however, it was a great way to highlight the adversity that queer people have faced throughout history, especially queer people of color. ‘Minority’ groups have long faced persecution, as well as queer people. When you persecute two groups that sometimes overlap, its an onslaught of discrimination, and although this story doesn’t go very deep into that issue it hints at it. But I also think that this story was a little bit about the main characters queer awakening. She has little exposure to the LGBTQ community but she sees something in it that intrigues her and makes her feel something, and I think it’s important that people realize that exploration outside of the socially accepted “norms” is good and can show you parts of yourself that you didn’t even know existed. At least that’s what I gained from this story.

Molly’s Lips: I love this story, first it is a reference to one of my favorite songs, which is great, who doesn’t love Nirvana(more specifically the Vaselines)? I think it’s great that this story addresses the insane amount of grief the country was feeling over his man’s death. He was an icon loved by millions, and he was just gone. I love this because I totally get what Molly is feeling. When you love someone that much you just want to be enough to make all the hurt go away and make sure they will always be okay, but it’s not always enough to just be there, you have to listen and try to understand because that’s what they need you to do. The way this story played out, however short, was just perfect and adorable, like so many of the stories in this book I wish it were a full-length book.

The Coven: This story also contains something I read about often, witches. I love magic! Magic is so cool, in almost any aspect. I also just love the way this was laid out, I love Dean’s description of Vivi, I’m a sucker for women in cool hats and doing *scandalous* things in eras past. I also love the little easter egg in there, Gertrude Stein was having a conversation with young Ernest Hemingway, cool! But I just love this story, it’s very mysterious and its another piece of historical fiction, a story after my own heart. And who doesn’t love a little magic in Paris? I also liked that Dean had those foggy days because I totally feel that, when you’re a person who tends to take on other peoples problems because of your big heart, you put those problems ahead of dealing with your own pain, it was really great to see her deal with her grief and realize that she can help herself.

Every Shade Of Red: Another take on a fairytale, yay! Everyone knows the classic story of Robin Hood stealing from the rich to give to the poor, most kids my age grew up watching the Disney version with all the animals. But this version has a special place in my heart. I love fairytales and retellings of them, and I love that in this story we have Robin as a leader of a motley crew but he’s also trans which is so cool, we have a trans character where the story isn’t only about them being trans. That is so important, most YA novels and stories that have trans protagonists its only about their journey of self discovery and figuring out what they want to do with this newfound freedom, which isn’t a bad thing, but trans people have lives outside of their transition and dysphoria and I think it’s important that people recognize that. But I also think that this story would ring true for many trans people, their parents disowned them or cut ties completely because of who they truly are and this happened for Robin in this story, although I do like the twist that he used to be Marian, I was kind of suspecting it but it was still surprising. This story gives off Six of Crows vibes, even though there are no trans characters in that book it has similar themes (go read it if you haven’t yet). But I was so incredibly upset with the ending!! Totally unfair of them to do that to Robin, it was a cruel twist of fate that I didn’t see coming, and Will’s father no less, like wow. Did not see that coming at all, not cool, not cool at all. I did love this story but there needs to be more, I need to know if they find their way back to each other because if they never do I’ll be very upset for like, the rest of my life.

Willows: I had mixed feelings about this story. It was interesting and weird but also really confusing. Benjamin was himself, but also other people. And the Return? Like what is that? And if the town knew that he and Sebastian were a thing, why hadn’t they taken care of it yet if they cared so much about maintaining the sanctity village? Also in the end when they run away it was kind of implied that Sebastian knew that the witches were there and teat they could protect them, but it was written in a way that made it kind of hard to understand. Overall this story was intriguing but I think things could’ve been laid out more clearly so that it makes better sense to the reader.

The Girl With The Blue Lantern: I love this tory! Although its a little short for my liking its so cute, although I wonder what Oriana is, is she a sprite? A fairy? A nymph? Who knows but I like her. It sucks that Ella had to live with her father like that it was so awful, I can’t imagine, and then she’s been taking care of him and helping him this entire time and when she finally has enough money to et themselves up for a decent life he takes her money and accused her of stealing from him and selling her body to make money. Like that an awful man she never deserved that. I was a little nervous though when she stepped into the water, I thought something bad might happened but I was so glad that they are able to be together now and will be able to love each other forever, it’s such a nice happy ending. Very cute, 10/10.

The Secret Life Of A Teenage Boy: Again too short! I know this is a book of short stories but I want all for them to be full books, I love all of them too much. I did love this story, its just so sweet and innocent and its kind of a self-realization story, he always knew he was different and was to afraid to say anything but then by fate he meets this guy and it changes his whole life, even though it only took not even an hour, stuff like that just makes my heart melt, because that’s what I want true love to be like, one minute can change your whole perspective on life, and you just gotta roll with the punches but you also have to know what is good for you and what you want from life and I think that this story was a perfect example of that and I really enjoyed it.

Walking After Midnight: I love this era, the ’50s and ’60s are my jam, especially fashion-wise, but the era was so cool in many ways. This story was so sweet, I think it was another little piece of the lgbtq+ spectrum that we don’t usually get to see, maybe demisexual or asexual, but either way it was a super cute story about exploring your options, no matter where you are in life, you’re not stuck, there is a way out and you have options, it doesn’t matter your age or race or gender, you have those opportunities if you look for them they’ll be there. I just really like this story because it was just so hopeful and upbeat and it did have some serious parts but it was very just flowing but it also had a great underlying message.

The End Of The World as We Know It: I love this, I was born two years after the Y2K thing so I totally missed it but it sounded interesting. I also missed the Columbine shooting, the fact that this book brought it up was like a punch in the gut, the way that the characters said it was probably never going to happen again, and here I am in June of 2019 and in the twenty years since the Columbine there have been over 230 school shootings in the US, and although I don’t usually get into politics on this account I think that this is an important statistic that everyone should know. On a different note, I did like this story, it was sweet and simple, another story of self-discovery and young love like many in this collection, it was just super chill and I love the note at the end when it says “sorry I couldn’t stay I had to go break up with my boyfriend” like what a great way to start out the new year.

Three Witches: I love this story although I am a bit confused about the title, I don’t really know what it had to do with the story, I can only assume it is Gracia, Violante, and the unknown woman at the end of the book. This story made me sad but also happy, sad because this woman was being accused of being a sinner for loving a woman, she was being punished because the church said it wrong to love freely. It made me happy because she, in turn, found love in her imprisonment and set both herself and Gracia free. Stories like this really pull at my heartstrings because I don’t understand, and this is my personal opinion, I’m not judging anyone, how you can believe that one superior being makes everything so and he said that loving someone is wrong, I just don’t understand that. But this story made me happy because they both discovered strength in themselves and each other in times of weakness and that’s what love really is.

The Inferno and the butterfly: I love love love this story! It’s so good! Both of these boys had gone through so much and thought they had people who loved them and cared for them and both had that idea ripped from their hearts and minds but they found each other and they found a way to create real love that wouldn’t be taken away by anyone else, and that is beautiful. As I addressed earlier, historical fiction is growing on me, but magic has always been something I loved reading about. This story kind of reminded me of a darker shade of magic, old London and magic are like the best duo ever and this is such a great little love story and the combination is so good, this is probably my third favorite out of this collection.

Healing Rosa: This story is so cool, I have a little bit of an obsession with different cultures and their healing rituals, myths about where they come from interest me so much and I think that’s why I love this story so much. Another reason why I love this story is that it addresses in some aspect, mental illness and how it can affect someone, not only mentally but also physically. Lastly, I love this story because, in the end, Rosa’s dad accepted her for who she was and realised that his own sadness and bitterness was nothing compared to what he would experience if he lost his daughter and that’s what truly pulled me into this story. There are so many people in this world who are disowned and pushed away by their families because they don’t know how to accept their children’s differences and I think it’s important that we address the happier sides of the narrative instead of only the bad ones, it gives hope to those who may not have it, and that goes for everything in life.

Top Three: Every Shade of Red, Roja, The Inferno and The Butterfly

-maren

[maren-reads-books]

All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens throughout the Ages Edited by Saundra Mitchell

Written by Anna-Marie McLemore, Natalie C. Parker, Nilah Magruder, Mackenzi Lee, Robin Talley, Malinda Lo, Dahlia Adler, Kate Scelsa, Elliot Wake, Scott Tracey, Tess Sharpe, Alex Sanchez, Kody Keplinger, Sara Farizan, Tessa Gratton, Shaun David Hutchinson and Tehlor Kay Mejia

In this wonderful collection of short stories, you will be pulled into worlds filled with magic and worlds much like ours, where love, in any form, can overcome all. Whether it be two girls becoming pirates and taking charge of their lives, a thief and witch tearing apart a corrupt system or a new years revelation, this book will pull at your heartstrings and is bound to make you want to fall in love.

--SPOILERS--

Like previous reviews of short story books, I will go through each of these stories in quick mini-reviews so that you guys can get unlimited access into the bookish section of my brain. This book is such a great collection of short stories and I would highly recommend it to all. There are so many important lessons within each and every one of these stories and I think there are valuable pieces of information that I think everyone should have in their repertoire.

Roja: This story was so good, I’m not usually one for historical fiction but it is starting to grow on me, especially when magic and fairytales are involved. I loved this retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. I loved that it involved an accurate trans character, there are real historical accounts of girls dressing as men to fight, although they were not always trans, I did love the accurate historical representation. It was so great that the girl wasn't ashamed of him and loved him for who he was, she fought for him even though people looked down on her for existing. These people didn't even care enough to acknowledge her as a human. Her strength, her power, her willingness to fight against those oppressive men is not only representational of the plights of what women have gone through for centuries, but it’s also great to see a powerful female character stand up for what she believes in and for the people she loves. This story was just wonderful and I loved it so much. It is one of the many reasons I would recommend this book.

The Sweet Trade: I feel like this story fits a common theme that appears in some of the books that I've read: girls wanting to be pirates, which is awesome. I love that even though Clara is only sixteen she knows what she wants from life and it's not to be married to some pushover of a man who only wants money. She wants to take control of her life and create her own destiny which is completely badass if you ask me. And then she meets Pearl, who is also running away from her wedding, and they help each other, women supporting women at its finest. It is such a sweet little story of two girls falling in love as they take charge of their lives. I liked it very much, although I wish it were a tad longer.

And They Don’t Kiss At The End: I don't have a whole lot to say about this story but it did like it a lot. My most prominent reason for enjoying this story so much was that it had asexual representation. You never ever see aromantic or asexual representation and I really loved how this book went about it, it was just wonderful to see. Another reason I loved it was because Vince didn't pressure Dee into doing anything she didn't want to, he was completely accepting of her boundaries and that is so important in any kind of relationship. These types of stories are the kind I want to be made into a full out book, it's so important for teens to know that they have options and whatever they might be feeling or not feeling is normal. Diverse representation in media is so important, and this book does it right.

Burnt Umber: This story was sweet and simple. I love the fact that you don't really see the end coming. From the beginning, all Constantijn can think of is the handsome boy who works at the docks, it's very endearing until Joost comes to model for his class. I was so excited that maybe they'd become friends and then something more, but then it turns out Joost is kind of mean and Constantijn loses interest, yes he may be pretty but he isn't nice to Constantijn’s friends. I think that this is an important story about knowing what's good for you and what’s not, no matter how appealing it may look on the outside. It is a very sweet little story and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

The Dresser And The Chambermaid: Again with the wonderful historical fiction! This was such a sweet little story, I don't have a whole lot of analysis for this one but I will tell you I was so happy in the end when they both got to be dressers and Suzanna got recognition for her hairstyle. It was so funny that when they were kissing in the hallway and the king kind of walked in on them and was just like “whatever, I can't judge since I'm going to meet my mistress and cheat on my wife” and just left. Like that was a little piece of comic relief and I loved it, what a wonderful upbeat little story.

New Year: Same as the last, I don't have much to say about this story. I do think however, it was a great way to highlight the adversity that queer people have faced throughout history, especially queer people of color. ‘Minority’ groups have long faced persecution, as well as queer people. When you persecute two groups that sometimes overlap, its an onslaught of discrimination, and although this story doesn't go very deep into that issue it hints at it. But I also think that this story was a little bit about the main characters queer awakening. She has little exposure to the LGBTQ community but she sees something in it that intrigues her and makes her feel something, and I think it's important that people realize that exploration outside of the socially accepted “norms” is good and can show you parts of yourself that you didn't even know existed. At least that's what I gained from this story.

Molly’s Lips: I love this story, first it is a reference to one of my favorite songs, which is great, who doesn't love Nirvana(more specifically the Vaselines)? I think it's great that this story addresses the insane amount of grief the country was feeling over his man's death. He was an icon loved by millions, and he was just gone. I love this because I totally get what Molly is feeling. When you love someone that much you just want to be enough to make all the hurt go away and make sure they will always be okay, but it's not always enough to just be there, you have to listen and try to understand because that's what they need you to do. The way this story played out, however short, was just perfect and adorable, like so many of the stories in this book I wish it were a full-length book.

The Coven: This story also contains something I read about often, witches. I love magic! Magic is so cool, in almost any aspect. I also just love the way this was laid out, I love Dean’s description of Vivi, I’m a sucker for women in cool hats and doing *scandalous* things in eras past. I also love the little easter egg in there, Gertrude Stein was having a conversation with young Ernest Hemingway, cool! But I just love this story, it's very mysterious and its another piece of historical fiction, a story after my own heart. And who doesn't love a little magic in Paris? I also liked that Dean had those foggy days because I totally feel that, when you're a person who tends to take on other peoples problems because of your big heart, you put those problems ahead of dealing with your own pain, it was really great to see her deal with her grief and realize that she can help herself.

Every Shade Of Red: Another take on a fairytale, yay! Everyone knows the classic story of Robin Hood stealing from the rich to give to the poor, most kids my age grew up watching the Disney version with all the animals. But this version has a special place in my heart. I love fairytales and retellings of them, and I love that in this story we have Robin as a leader of a motley crew but he's also trans which is so cool, we have a trans character where the story isn't only about them being trans. That is so important, most YA novels and stories that have trans protagonists its only about their journey of self discovery and figuring out what they want to do with this newfound freedom, which isn't a bad thing, but trans people have lives outside of their transition and dysphoria and I think it’s important that people recognize that. But I also think that this story would ring true for many trans people, their parents disowned them or cut ties completely because of who they truly are and this happened for Robin in this story, although I do like the twist that he used to be Marian, I was kind of suspecting it but it was still surprising. This story gives off Six of Crows vibes, even though there are no trans characters in that book it has similar themes (go read it if you haven't yet). But I was so incredibly upset with the ending!! Totally unfair of them to do that to Robin, it was a cruel twist of fate that I didn't see coming, and Will’s father no less, like wow. Did not see that coming at all, not cool, not cool at all. I did love this story but there needs to be more, I need to know if they find their way back to each other because if they never do I’ll be very upset for like, the rest of my life.

Willows: I had mixed feelings about this story. It was interesting and weird but also really confusing. Benjamin was himself, but also other people. And the Return? Like what is that? And if the town knew that he and Sebastian were a thing, why hadn't they taken care of it yet if they cared so much about maintaining the sanctity village? Also in the end when they run away it was kind of implied that Sebastian knew that the witches were there and teat they could protect them, but it was written in a way that made it kind of hard to understand. Overall this story was intriguing but I think things could've been laid out more clearly so that it makes better sense to the reader.

The Girl With The Blue Lantern: I love this story! Although its a little short for my liking its so cute, although I wonder what Oriana is, is she a sprite? A fairy? A nymph? Who knows but I like her. It sucks that Ella had to live with her father like that it was so awful, I can't imagine, and then she's been taking care of him and helping him this entire time and when she finally has enough money to et themselves up for a decent life he takes her money and accused her of stealing from him and selling her body to make money. Like that an awful man she never deserved that. I was a little nervous though when she stepped into the water, I thought something bad might happened but I was so glad that they are able to be together now and will be able to love each other forever, it's such a nice happy ending. Very cute, 10/10.

The Secret Life Of A Teenage Boy: Again too short! I know this is a book of short stories but I want all for them to be full books, I love all of them too much. I did love this story, its just so sweet and innocent and its kind of a self-realization story, he always knew he was different and was to afraid to say anything but then by fate he meets this guy and it changes his whole life, even though it only took not even an hour, stuff like that just makes my heart melt, because that’s what I want true love to be like, one minute can change your whole perspective on life, and you just gotta roll with the punches but you also have to know what is good for you and what you want from life and I think that this story was a perfect example of that and I really enjoyed it.

Walking After Midnight: I love this era, the ’50s and ’60s are my jam, especially fashion-wise, but the era was so cool in many ways. This story was so sweet, I think it was another little piece of the lgbtq+ spectrum that we don't usually get to see, maybe demisexual or asexual, but either way it was a super cute story about exploring your options, no matter where you are in life, you're not stuck, there is a way out and you have options, it doesn't matter your age or race or gender, you have those opportunities if you look for them they'll be there. I just really like this story because it was just so hopeful and upbeat and it did have some serious parts but it was very just flowing but it also had a great underlying message.

The End Of The World as We Know It: I love this, I was born two years after the Y2K thing so I totally missed it but it sounded interesting. I also missed the Columbine shooting, the fact that this book brought it up was like a punch in the gut, the way that the characters said it was probably never going to happen again, and here I am in June of 2019 and in the twenty years since the Columbine there have been over 230 school shootings in the US, and although I don't usually get into politics on this account I think that this is an important statistic that everyone should know. On a different note, I did like this story, it was sweet and simple, another story of self-discovery and young love like many in this collection, it was just super chill and I love the note at the end when it says “sorry I couldn't stay I had to go break up with my boyfriend” like what a great way to start out the new year.

Three Witches: I love this story although I am a bit confused about the title, I don't really know what it had to do with the story, I can only assume it is Gracia, Violante, and the unknown woman at the end of the book. This story made me sad but also happy, sad because this woman was being accused of being a sinner for loving a woman, she was being punished because the church said it wrong to love freely. It made me happy because she, in turn, found love in her imprisonment and set both herself and Gracia free. Stories like this really pull at my heartstrings because I don't understand, and this is my personal opinion, I’m not judging anyone, how you can believe that one superior being makes everything so and he said that loving someone is wrong, I just don't understand that. But this story made me happy because they both discovered strength in themselves and each other in times of weakness and that's what love really is.

The Inferno and The Butterfly: I love love love this story! It's so good! Both of these boys had gone through so much and thought they had people who loved them and cared for them and both had that idea ripped from their hearts and minds but they found each other and they found a way to create real love that wouldn't be taken away by anyone else, and that is beautiful. As I addressed earlier, historical fiction is growing on me, but magic has always been something I loved reading about. This story kind of reminded me of a darker shade of magic, old London and magic are like the best duo ever and this is such a great little love story and the combination is so good, this is probably my third favorite out of this collection.

Healing Rosa: This story is so cool, I have a little bit of an obsession with different cultures and their healing rituals, myths about where they come from interest me so much and I think that's why I love this story so much. Another reason why I love this story is that it addresses in some aspect, mental illness and how it can affect someone, not only mentally but also physically. Lastly, I love this story because, in the end, Rosa’s dad accepted her for who she was and realised that his own sadness and bitterness was nothing compared to what he would experience if he lost his daughter and that's what truly pulled me into this story. There are so many people in this world who are disowned and pushed away by their families because they don't know how to accept their children's differences and I think it’s important that we address the happier sides of the narrative instead of only the bad ones, it gives hope to those who may not have it, and that goes for everything in life.

Top Three: Every Shade of Red, Roja, The Inferno and The Butterfly

-maren

[formerlyknownas-delight]

2 , 4 and 18 please!

2) Howdid you discover your sexuality, tell your story?

At somepoint I got suspicious that, just maybe, being super interested in

a)latenight adult ads featuring exclusively women begging the viewer tocall them NOW,

b)mail-order calalogues’ bathroom section featuring exclusively womenbarely covered by towels or halftransparent shower doors suggesting Imight want to buy this showerhead or sth,

c) mobilephone lockscreen ads on the last page of every magazine during the2000s depicting racy thumbnail pictures of topless women to downloadon your phone (which I didn't even have back then)

The otherside was “Willow and Tara and But I’m a Cheerleader are the MOSTROMANTIC THING I have seen in all my life” and “Why in all hellswould my friends even consider dating a guy?!”

At somepoint when I was 17 it clicked which brings us to:

4) Whowas the first person you told, how did they react?

And then,a few weeks after an underwhelming first date and first kiss with adude from my math class, I told my best friend, sobbing hystericallyfor several minutes beforehand (which scared her quite a bit), that Imight maybe be into women. After that she was just relieved thatnothing terrible had happened to me and promised me to keep my secretfor as long as I want (which she did for 2 years until I met mynow-wife and decided to actually come out to my family and otherfriends)

18)What is your favourite lgbt+ book?

I don’tthink I can decide on just one D:

ShiraGlassman’s Mangoverse books are just the fluffiest, most wholesomething I have ever read, delightful jewish fantasy, a blessing to allour souls, go buy them all

TheSunstone Comics by Stjepan Sejic are beautiful, sexy and romantic ifyou’re into that kind of thing*

SheRises by Kate Worsley, not necessarily for the plot but for reallyteaching me what it means that our defined and separate modernidentities of L, B and T didn't exist in a historical context and howfutile it is to apply those categories to individuals who existedoutside of our modern society, while still acknowledging that queerpeople existed at all times and places.

TheGracekeepers by Kirsty Logan (who also writes neat wlw fairy tales).Fascinating fresh and rich worldbuilding, a seafaring circus, amermaid in hiding, a lonely woman who does funeral rites in themiddle of the ocean and the softest lovestory

*andby that kind of thing I mean wlw BDSM

Thankyou for giving me questions to answer, that was fun!

[maggotmouth]

    hi i’m nora (23. gmt. she/her) and i’m going to play three (3) characters ! cos i hate myself. no 1 is bridget the angsty socialist leftie liberal who gets fucked at the pub and goes off on one about capitalism. very talkative. always in docs and a beret with an anarchist symbol painted on it. wears a long green trench coat covered in badges for alt punk rock bands or a red denim jacket that she hacked into a crop jacket with a pair of kitchen scissors. film nerd. got in on a partially subsidised scholarship and works in a bar and a fast food place to pay for her accomodation. here’s a pinboard !! everythin else is below this cut, like this post n i’ll (probably forget to) smash that im button for plots x

application template.

( cis-female ) haven’t seen BRIDGET MATUSIAK around in a while. the MARGARET QUALLEY lookalike has been known to be GARRULOUS & CANDID, but SHE can also be FICKLE & ERRATIC. The 21 year old is a JUNIOR majoring in FILM. I believe they’re living in AUDAX but I popped by earlier and no one answered the door. 

aesthetics.

thumb holes poked through the cuffs of your sleeves, roller blades, grazed knees, not eating your greens, smiling with a mouthful of blood, sleeping in a cherry lip balm and scrunchies to keep the wild locks from your eyes.

connection to tatiana & did they choose her name during the watershed?

knew each other from the cheer team in bridgets freshman year and tatiana’s sophomore year. had a competitive friendship to start with but then they got into a discussion about politics at a party one night, and maybe hooked up a few times after tatiana had jst broken up w someone. they were sort of seeing each other very casually for a bit, but…. they came from vastly different circles n it didn’t really work. they were in a bad partch at the time of the reaping so to speak, and bridget picked her name For A Giggle but now regrets it big time obviously

tw drugs, teen pregnancy, hypersexuality

bridget n her mum alice were more like sisters growing up, probably because of the closeness in age. alice should’ve known that you couldn’t have a thirteen-year-old-daughter at 27 without everyone knowing you’d been one of those girls who gave it away fast as a hot potato, and maybe bridget should have known that she’d inherit more than her mother’s wide eyes, that things had a way of circling back, that at fourteen she too would lose it on the floor of a swimming pool changing room, soggy back, poka-dot nylon pulled down to her ankles.

her parents met in high school. her mother alice was a roman catholic – uneducated in matters of safe sex, mother mary around her neck, bras hanging over wooden crucifixes – and willing to give it to the first boy who seemed interested enough, gift-wrapped or not.

i say they met in high school, bridget’s dad wasn’t actually in school, they met at the high school. he was the father to a girl down the road. alice knew nothing of the girl besides her name and the few encounters in the corridors facing a stoney stare that screamed homewrecker. it only happened once, but once was enough. soon the pitter patter of tiny feet sounded along the hall of the home for wayward women, alice’s parents having thrown her out as soon as they knew a child was growing in her womb.

gilly (referred to as junior) was born two years later, the son of a mechanic and handyman named gilbert “gilly” senior, who - while a slow-witted man – was likable enough. alice, gilly bridget & junior lived in a colorado trailer park and whenever she wasn’t at school bridget would be in gilly’s workshop doin her homework surrounded by parts of exhausts.  was raised in a workshop basically.

like her mother, bridget fell pregnant barely out of her gingham print dresses, hair in two plaits down her back, teddies still lining her bed. unlike her mum, she was not box-shipped out to a home for fallen women but rather booked into a clinic, given a pill, just like taking your vitamins.

her mother flaked out when bridget was around fifteen and junior was twelve, leaving gil to adopt the two as legal guardian and raise them in the forge. she’s lived with gilly ever since. they’re not sure where their mother went. some say she rededicated herself as a virgin and joined the convent in penance for her sins. some say she works in a las vegas strip club and sells pills to minors.

used to do sponsored silences and hunger strikes for kids in third world countries. was that kid in school who was always raising money something. i mean its kinda cute but also she just wanted the acclaim and attention so…. and most of the time it didn’t even make it to the disadvantaged kids she was raising it for cos her mom needed rent money or to buy the kids new shoes n they could barely afford much themselves

she’s a strident feminist, an activist for human rights and animal rights, a vocal vegetarian and an all-round soapbox sadie. catch her in the quad shouting about human rights through a megaphone.

aesthetic: cuffed jeans, thrifted or stolen. white converse, more grey tbh through years of wear. crop tops and plaid shirts tied round her waist. a long green trench coat with loads of badge pins for alt-rock bands and independent films. red denim jacket, also covered in badges n pins. smudged mascara. glitter smeared over cheekbones from the previous night. cigarette smoke shrouding you like a veil, the red string of a thong peaking out purposely from jeans, roller blades, cut knees, not eating your greens, smiling with a mouthful of blood, and piercing your own ears with a safety pin when your dad wouldn’t take you, kate moss posters lining the walls of a teenage bedroom, thumb holes poked through the cuffs of your sleeves, feet pounding the earth until your soles bleed crimson, sleeping in a cherry lip balm and scrunchies to keep the wild locks from your eyes.

an aspiring screenwriter. she has a very image-based view of memory and experience. always doing a screenplay or shooting film. her style has a lot of catholic iconography (think virgin suicides styler or baz luhrmann’s romeo + juliet if it was done on a super 8 camera) bcos catholicism is one of the few things she remembers about her mother. she’s never actually tried to find her mum / find out about her, jst…. occasionally channels that energy into her work.

hypersexual and kinda manic-depressive (though not diagnosed) probs bcos her upbringing was a bit unstable, she started life in a house that was literally designed to rehabilitate “fallen women” and she was a looked after child for a while when the adoption papers were still going through… struggles a lot with feeling unwanted, especially since her grandparents refuse to acknowledge her existence cos she was born outside of marriage….. so she craves feeling wanted,, like despite being a real women’s rights activist ad hating objectification, at the same time to bridge there’s nothing better than someone sizing you up with hunger in their eyes

she’s queer, but i guess she favours women, and is incredibly vocal in her support of the lgbt+ movement. often at rallies. has done a face-sitting protest. really is that bitch

there’s a degree of anger for anger’s sake in bridget. she likes passionate, angry music – particularly garage rock, punk and riot grrrl. she loves the slits and skinny girl diet. viv albertine inspired her to take up bass guitar.

working two jobs to pay for uni currently !! works at the bowling alley polishing the shoes and fixing the bowling lanes, and also is a burger flipper at mcdonalds. a lot of her time is spent in the record store, plugged into a set of headphones, head-banging in the corner to a scratched record. music, for birdie, is a form of escapism. that and dropping acid in parking lots lmao.

massive film buff. is majoring in film at uni also spends a lot of time at the movie theatre n probably has like a season ticket. is one of those pretentious film nerds who're like “what do u think of goddard’s work?” but also just really into shitty horror movies

she spends her evenings in downtown bars willing away her boredom, trying to find something that’ll jerk her out of apathetic lethargy. she toys with the idea of becoming a stripper — it certainly pays better than fixing bowling lanes — but she lacks the energy to dance for several hours a night.

she loves b movies and slasher flicks. at parties, she’ll occasionally try to make a horror of her own, on a super 8 camera in someone’s basement, very paranormal activity, but she’ll inevitably get bored, or too drunk and give up, like she does with most things in her life. she lacks drive and motivation. she’s bright but there’s no hunger in her.

writes shitty poems on the back of napkins and quotes dead philosophers she’s never read. romanticises herself a lot. like will be standing there in a ripped t-shirt and her undies smoking a cig like “hmmm… i bet someone is falling in love with me right now”

is vegetarian for environmental reasons but snorts coke at parties like that isn’t shit for the environment ?? sis, it don’t add up

loves dirt. ate a worm once because someone dared her too. shamelessly disgusting.

she’s slightly obsessed with true crime, up late watching documentaries on the manson family murders.

she’s fickle and enigmatic. one moment she could be your best friend, the next, she’ll behave like a total stranger. bridget’s unpredictable because she’s still unsure of her own identity, frequently flitting between different characters, like snake skins, before she grows bored of being bubbly and eager and becomes spiteful again. her core personality traits are probably forthright, impulsive, restless, thrill-seeking, selfish, melancholic.

this bitch HATES capitalism and LOVES karl marx

time isn’t real. nothing exists. the self is a social construct. finger guns.

an awful person, really

feel free to im me if u wanna plot, here are some plot ideas i stole, or, like this post and i’ll hit u with a message!