#my crunchy lesbian queen

[beehunterkisser]

Have you watched the season 2 premieres of Hamster and Gretel?

I HAVE!!! Im assuming you want to know what i thought of em so spoiler warning for any dwampyheads who havent watched it yet. LOOK OUT!!!! also this is long as hell so be careful

Hakuna Ma Kevin

ok first and foremost. the ANIMATION WAS INCREDIBLE I WAS SO SHOCKED.. The budget mustve been crazy everything was so smooth. It really impressed me.. especially the action scenes and the hair movements. it was all super good

his va did a great job of being like annoyingly calm. its so kevin to somehow take a relaxation camp way too seriously (also the fact his life was so ruined by his date with hiromi flopping that he had to go on a 2 week retreat to find inner peace).

i was actually really interested in how they were gonna tackle that but a timeskip makes sense.

skip past kevins initial extreme misery and leave it up for the audience to make up. i am still curious as to what his friendgroup looks like because. did thjey stop hanging out. ARE hiromi and kevin too awkward to see eachother. anthony and fred are children of divorce. its so sad. well we'll see what happened eventually

It was great to see veronica hill back again too i missed my queen. i hope she finds love on the open sea.

actually speaking of that i was so sure that that was gonna be the boat from that sinking feeling and it was going to change the trajectory of the dwampyverse timeline forever but i think that was just a tease or a really really vague reference

the villain was also incredibly funny. great voicework too im sure it was some guest voice or something that i just dont recognize because it just feels that way to me.

great guy hope he comes back. and the reocurring THERE ARE NO LAWS ON INTERATIONAL WATERS BABY was actually funny.

also i cant not mention the CANON DWAMPYVERSE LESBIANS were BACK BABY women FIND EACHOTHER AT CLAM FEASTS ITS REAL AND TRUE.

it really made me happy to see that especially since i was so positive that we werent gonne get any rep from dwampyverse but obviously im WRONG and there are 2 beautiful women loving eachother and eating clams out there.

he played it so cool too. an ally.

I was almost disappointed the song was so early because i wanted a dramatic clam musical number but thats literally minimal complaint i have about that episode because it was such a strong opener.

also congrats to the newlyweds lunchlady and piano key vendor i think they will have a long lasting and beautiful relationship.

also when i saw those 2 old man leaving i was like wow are we getting a double whammy with gays but that was just a cameo. next time though

The Great American Telenovella

THE RETURN OF MY QUEEN. the opening in the hospital made me think it was gonna go in a completely different direction.

Both of these episodes had the songs super early on interestingly enough. i didnt even realise the Fresas De Amor theme song was THE song of the episode. i thought it was just a jingle..

i was really happy that we got a carolina-centered (well a stretch but she was there a lot) episode. i really like her.

the animation was back to normal in this episode too which was a little sad and maybe skewed my opinion of the episode a little bit but not TOO much. i think.

despite being tricked on where the episode was going the gimmick with making fun of telenovella tropes was really really fun.

it felt almost like a rarity investigates type thing where they get really into character trope LOL

the first lady they interrogated (THE VILLAIN IS THE VILLAIN!!) had such a great design too i really like her.. the whole bit with her abandoning the show to become a taco crunchies commercial star was great too she gagged me.

and also her being like ok ill just sit here and watch all my personal belongings burn. I giggled..i cant lie..i did giggle a little...

ok i cannot dance around it any longer but THE RETURN OF LA CEBOLLA. I REALLY DIDNT THINK ITD BE THIS EARLY I WAS SO HAPPY.

i saw her in the back as the lunchlady and i knew everything was going to be ok.. I was safe in her hands..

also her powers were used super clever i really enjoyed the Onion Fists. and also the dramatic shot of hamster getting concussed by an onion.

this kind of goes back to me being shocked the telenovella intro was the episodes song because i was really hoping we'd get another la cebolla number akin to fighting facial hair again

i also get another shot of her lying in a hospital bed. the one from her song is literally one of my favourite pictures ever so its great to have another equally as bizarre one

shes definitely maybe my FAVOURITE hng villain so it was great to see her again.

im biased so i wished she had gotten more time to shine but also i think that entire scene with hamster pretending to be her son la cebollito.

it was really funny karina did great with the line delivery there. i loved how she was like But why are you so small!??!?!?! i love that she runs on telenovella logic. a true method actor

i really did enjoy that episode but hakuna ma kevin really felt like the stronger episode to me maybe SOLEY because of the animation. im an artist im easily pleased. they cant just tease me with god tier animated hng and then rip it from my hands as soon as i get it. its ok...ill get over it..ill forget it soon... (single tear falls from my eye)

I HOPE THAT WAS READABLE i might do more of these for the rest of the episodes as they release its actually really fun. we;re so back. hng season 2 Is already peak. Its my favourite dwampy show for a reason. i am hng strongest warrior. WERE SO BACK

[n7punk]

What’s your beef with Spotify?

It's less beef and more just a product I don't like - because that's what Spotify is, a product. They really don't want you to think of it that way, but at the end of the day it's particularly invasive product packaging around the thing you actually want to listen to, and there are dozens of different ways to listen to music. As far as gripes, though, number 1 is that it doesn't really pay its artists for shit and its objectively kind of shitty audio-quality wise (I'm not a snob on this, but depending on your hardware it can be especially crunchy while other things like Youtube sound just fine). Number 2 is how much it spies on you and tracks your data. Number 3 is the ads. Number 4, and the actual reason I will never use it, is that it's the enshittification of media consumption.

I do, actually, have a Spotify account. I used it for all of a day before never logging in again or verifying my email. Spotify forces you to experience music the way it wants you to, with absolutely no benefit aside from cloud syncing cross-platform for your playlists that I don't actually need, and I'm used to the freedom from the dawn of the accessible mp3 era.

Better Kind Of Best Friend is a single. I bought it as part of the entire The Sex Was Good Until It Wasn't album, so it came with the album artwork. I wanted it to have its single artwork - so I changed it. And now, in MusicBee and on my phone, I see the single artwork because it's in the file metadata. Spotify doesn't give you that option. It's a little thing, maybe, except when it isn't, like when a song's cover art is graphic or otherwise upsetting to look at, or just plain doesn't fit it.

Sometimes I don't agree with a song's "official" genre (usually because the entire album classifies the songs one way while they actually span genres). The range of things that are classified as indie rock is insane. Anyway, other times I use the genre more specifically, such as "Dark Pop", which isn't actually a thing but if I played you Dark Pop songs you would understand what I mean. In MusicBee, I can change genres to be whatever I want, which is important for various auto-playlists in filtering.

I also have a custom tag for any sapphic songs that automatically populates my lesbian love auto-playlist as they're defined, and another playlist that automatically adds all music from my custom-defined list of queer artists to the "Gay Life" playlist. When I buy a new Reinaeiry song, it automatically gets added without me having to do anything.

I can't listen to demos or any music that Spotify has lost licensing to on it, which means that if I want a complete playlist with a demo song on it, I have to have all those songs exported anyway, and at that point why am I bothering to split my listening across platforms? Idk if you heard, but Spotify lost licensing to a giant catalogue of Kpop music at one point because one company pulled out, and all those listeners were fucked. I don't have to wait for an artist to upload their shit to Spotify (although right now I am waiting for Reinaeiry to put Too Sweet up for download - pls queen - this is luckily more rare of an occurrence than me seeing "please add this to Spotify" comments is).

I like music I can keep forever, listen to whenever, and do so without ads or paying three figures a year to hear uninterrupted. I'd rather buy one album a month with the Spotify premium money than pay for it. I like creating folder after subfolder worth of an unlimited number of playlists (admittedly idr if Spotify allows this feature. It varies by online listening platforms and I don't bother to track the ones I don't use). I like being able to drag and drop my playlists from MusicBee into iTunes to instantly listen to them on my phone (and thus cross-play isn't a concern for me as long as I remember to synch my phone). I like the feature of being able to instantly and permanently adjust the volume, as well as the beginning and end point, of any single song I chose (super helpful for when certain albums are inexplicably quieter/louder than others or have a stupid incongruous music or dialogue part in them).

If I want to listen to something without actually getting it, then I do it on Youtube, which has a wider music selection with more control. Don't like album art? Find a lyric video upload with a generic nebula background. Weird movie sample at the beginning? Someone might have cut that out in their upload (shoutout to the person who turned DICTATOR into a part 1 and 2 to match the two different mood halves), but otherwise Sponsorblock will skip the non-music segments. The only downside of Youtube versus Spotify is I can't share the playlists without exposing my name, but again I actually create those playlists in MusicBee 99% of the time so I wouldn't be sharing a link anyway.

[realmsalot]

My Usagi Chronicles Headcanons

I may have only seen season 1 but here we go!

Usagi

Yuichi Usagi has Autism and Combine ADD

He's also gay but that's obvious

Is a midnight snacker

Usagi ate bugs as a child and still remembers which were the best tasting ones. If you ask him he will tell you.

Actually you don't even have to ask a butterfly would land near by and he would tell the nearest person about how surprisingly crunchy butterflies are

The nearest person is usually Gen. Gen knows too much on the tastiness of bugs.

Auntie once told him that it's the law for kids not to curse until they're 18 and he still believes it

Usagi is very good at repairing the Farm Robot, like to the point of being able to build a new one if given the tools.

The only reason he can do this is because of how much he broke the robot.

Other than that Usagi was almost completely helpless with technology when he first moved to the city. There was a learning curve. A steep learning curve.

Spot was a gift from Auntie to help Usagi get over the death of his parents

Spot is actually trained to help Usagi when he is in emotional distress

AT LEAST ONE TIME Usagi was arrested for trying to scrub Miyamoto Usagi's face off a dartboard

Once in awhile Usagi will say something so country his friends will have to ask him what he means.

He thinks it's funny not to explain

Had to listen to Chizu pine after Kitsune and was very confused why Chizu couldn't just tell Kitsune her feelings.

"It's easy to tell people your feelings. Like, okay, look. Chizu, you are like the sister I've never had and I appreciate you very much." "Aww, thank you Usa-" "You also snore so much I'm surprised you were a ninja and you sing off pitch in the shower." "USAGI!" " What, just telling you how feel. "

BONUS LEOSAGI: Understood very suddenly why she couldn't tell Kitsune how she feels and makes Chizu listen to his pinning (She gets back at him)

LEOSAGI: He ended up buying a pun book to try and impress Leo (it worked)

Gen (and to an extent Toshiko)

Gen used to eat dirt before becoming a hypochondriac

This is canon but takes on a lot of odd jobs to the debt

One of those odd jobs was painting Miyamoto Usagi's face on the dartboards (Yuichi Usagi doesn't know)

He is also oddly skilled in a lot of weird things. That's why he keeps getting hired

Gen = Abandonment issues

Toshiko = Commitment issues

Keeps trying to rebuild his bond with Toshiko by trying to do things they used to do as kids

Toshiko appreciates this but wishes her older brother would realize that she's not interested in that stuff anymore

Toshiko was also a bounty hunter just in another town

They are both very confused whenever someone asks if they're twins.

They aren't twins btw

Gen is a trans man

There's free healthcare in Neo Edo. Gen does not know this.

Had to listen to Kitsune pine after Chizu

Kitsune

This girl is a lesbian if I ever saw one

Her parents taught her to use puppets before they died

FUN FACT (it's not a fact): Her twin tessens are from both her parents! They both had one to symbolize their love for each other! Now she's the only one of the family left she wields them both to carry them with her!

That being said she's very protective of them

Before they were dating, Chizu once tried giving her new ones because hers are old and that started a big fight

After they started dating, Kitsune told Chizu why she won't give her fans up. Chizu was very apologetic to say the least

Kleptomaniac

Has a box under her bed that has everything she stole but decided not to sell

Her room is the first place everyone goes to when something turns up missing

Curses the most

Actually figured out how to change the fridge's nickname to something other than "Ugh"

The fridge's nickname is now "Fucking Finally"

Usagi refuses to use the new nickname and just goes to her when he needs to use the fridge

Has woken up several times in the middle of the night because of this

Short Queen 👑

Chizu

MtF trans lesbian

The Neko Ninja may be bad guys but they're not transphobic

She tried to overcompensate for lying about being a ninja by vowing to never lie again

This fell apart when she developed feelings for Kitsune

Loves her small girlfriend

Was actually the one to confess

(and punched Usagi in the face when he said "I told you so" he deserved it)

Doesn't know a lot of social cues

Her love language is gift giving. Weapons. Her love language is gifting people weapons

Sees Usagi as an annoying little brother

Sings in the shower

Likes to take naps in high places (the rafters are he favorite)

Has a very unintentionally dark sense of humor from growing up in the Neko Ninjas

Kinda wants to know who her birth parents are

Doesn't know her actual birthday due to being stolen from the orphanage

[nityarawal]

1/8/22

Shark Bait- RIP Lori Clark Viviano

Morning Songs

On A Ranch

In The Country

On The Move

To A Farm

Got A Great

Sharkbait Fable

To Tell My Loves

Dealing With Cowgirls

Stalking Me

Hopefully Not

Meth Heads Again

Sharkbait

Mantra

Keeping Me Happy

Disclosing Songs

About Attys And Trolls

Creativity Flowing

Who Would've Thought

Secrets

Of Science Creative

Intelligence

Free For Our Lot

Tapping Into Genius

A Physicists'

Prerogative

S.C.I.

Singing

Science

Of Creative Intelligence

Reminded By A Love

Over And Over Again

Repeatedly 

Throughout My Life

Monks

Came 

Wondering In

Thankyou Buddha's

Dalai Lama

Rawal Gotra

Gautama

From Rawal

Village

Shantaram

Sang To Me

Pujas Of India

Can't Hate Him

You See

Buddha's Barefoot

Walking

Humbly

Compassionately

Eyes Wide

Brown Pools

Mystery

Sharkbait

Don't Want To Scare

You

Saucer Eyes

Got So Many Warnings

About Encinitas

Shark Attacks

In The Papers

From Detention

Centers

Shark Bait

They Like The Old

Attys

Crunchy

Shark Bait

Lagging Behind

Can't Make

These Miracles

Up

Sharkbait

"Barracuda Mamma"

Demise

In, "A Scuba Accident,"

Says Her Daughter

Morgan

Viviano

With A Fine Arts 

Degree

Do You Like My Photos

Darling

Do You Like My Songs

We Can See Rocks

Of Aguanga

Telling A Shark

Fable

Fertility Stories

Tadpoles

For Minions

Sharkbait

Baby

Don't Let That

Happen To You

Hmm

Shark Bait

How Many Attys

Swimming In Your

Pods

My Love

Sharkbait 

Judges Of Court

Perhaps

Judge Clark

Judge Davis

Nadia

Kelly Mok

Mathew Brower

Sawbraw

Sharkbait

Story

Killed Brown Kids

Don't You Know 

Thought Someone's

Plea Bargain

Better Than A

Caged Gag

Sharkbait 

Going Blue

Investigating

Scuba Diving 

Accidents

At Court

Aren't You

Don't See

Anything

On June 24, 2022

Sharkbait 

Foul Play

Where'd They Kill,

"Barracuda Mamma,"

Marilyn

Norma Jean

This Time

5 "W's" Please

Sharkbait 

Journalists

Full Disclosure

Need Stories

With Names

Accomplices

Pathology Reports

Autopsies

Lesbian Lovers

Did Charles Viviano

Her X husband Attorney

Have His Starter Wife

Snuffed

On A Gambling

#Trumpleberry Plea

With Secret Service

Oathkeeper

Proud Boyss

Class Action

Conservators'

Moles

In My Attys

Offices'

In Sandiego

333 Camino Del Norte

Gay Daddies

#PrinceOfPegging 

Voting With Their

Feet On Bribes

In Militia

Junkies

Don't Break Me

Please

Like You Smeared

Your Orange Troll

Like You Smeared

The District Attorney

Like You Smeared Her Daughter

Like You Drugged

My Kids And Me

Natives Make

Dolls Of Those

Pillow People And

Trolls

Still Sell 

Them Vintage

In The Stores'

Ebay Can Memoralise

Lori Clark Viviano

Her Demise

Troll Doll With A Shark

Mermaids Won

Lisbhet

Lizard Queen's 

Went To The 5th

Dimension

Too Rancid

With Stress

Ama

Toxins

Whales

Reptilian 

Whale

Sank In The Ocean

Moby Dick Proportion

Sank

Sharkbait 

Don't Eat Them

Or They'll Eat You

Attorneys

Don't Swim

With Them

The Fables

Are True

Paint Stories

Sing Legends

Listen

Babies 

Hear

My Darlings

Wonder

What Pope

Frances

Pontifex

Says About

Great Miracles

Of A, "Barracuda

Mamma,"

Surrendering

Her Body

Like A Deer To

The Lord Of

The Ocean

Like A Lamb At Sea

Our Mermaids

Rejoice Finally Free

Wondering 

You'll Write

Another Psalm

For Thee

Mermaids Of

The Ocean

Reportin' Foul Play

That's What

We Sang

Snow

Called 

My Daughter & Me

Mermaids 

Of The Ocean

Aguanga Rejoice Legends

Singin' 'Ya All

Free

Peace

Free

Shanti

Peace

Free

Nitya4Eternity 

Peace

Shanti

Free

Peace

Shanti

Free

Nitya Nella Davigo Azam Moezzi Huntley Rawal 

[miradragoncat]

What All Of My Warrior Cats Characters Would Say After Sighing

Sleepy: I'm not gay.

Lil Coco: Why did I even try with him?

Larkpaw: Why can't we be at peace?

Creamy: You're always too scared.

Poison: I should have killed you a long time ago.

Blue: You're too protective, I can take care of myself.

Peach: ...mew!

Robin: I told you once already, no.

Silver: Fine, I'll try it!

Crunchy: I'm done here.

George: Fine, but not too deep! You know I'm scared!

Cream Puffs: It's finally over, the war.

Hazel: Life is perfect.

Myrtle: Alright fine! I'll be It.

Butterscotch: You are so dumb.

Whiskers: What's pan again? I know I'm dumb, just tell me.

Walnut: Yes. I am a he. Do I have to tell you again?!

Possumface: Good, he's safe.

Copperorchid: We won, it's finally gone.

Dreampaw: I can't find her.

Rosestream: You are so dreamy.

Onyxweb: I'm not straight and I was never flirting with her. Let me get back to work!

Dualpaw: I'm finally safe from love!

Ratkit: I forgot, they. Right.

Twilightkit: It's when you're two genders at once, I am a she and a he at the same time so I am a they.

Snowingviolet: Yes, that is my name. Call me by that.

Thicketfruit: It's my time. Goodbye, my child. I love you and always will.

Ashground: Yes, I am a she. Believe me, it sounds like that to me too.

Birdmist: Why does there have to be a code?

Heathersky: Yes, I'll protect you, even if I don't fight well.

Silverpaw: You know I'm better than you. Just give up, Ashpaw.

Cocoabreeze: At last, my sister.

Pinkpaw: I don't need to learn that, go away.

Sparkkit: It's true, I have no eyes.

Darknesskit: You suck at this game, let me hide next.

Spiritkit: You scare too easily.

Grovekit: It's just you.

Citrinegaze: Fine, I'll remarry for you.

Honeysoot: I'm not crying, I just miss Dad.

Gingerslip: This is just my life now.

Mooncloud: Thanks, I just haven't slept in a while

Pheonixember: Being the leader is tiring, but come in.

Carnelianpaw: My pronouns are she/her, get it right, Lunapaw!

Drowningdove: I'm getting too old for this foxdung.

Neptunestream: I should have just stayed a warrior!

Petalwhisper: StarClan won't speak, they've shunned me.

Auburnkit: I'll go first since I've been here before.

Amberkit: *more gasping*

Goldengarden: I don't want a tom mate! I'm lesbian! Go away!

Smokeyset: I'm just here to help new queens, my litter's apprentices now.

Sightpelt: Just check me for ticks. I'm done telling stories.

Frostnight: Just go away, let me train.

Eclipsepebble: The battle was won, but at what cost.

Rubblepaw: For the last time, I am not swimming!

Swirledpaw: I guess, let me think.

Siberiapaw: I guess we just have to stick together, trans girls for the win!

Duskmist: I'm tired, you should rest too. You need the sleep by the looks of it.

Pearlwing: I don't know what I am anymore.

Junipertail: I just need to refocus, the herbs are getting to me.

Tangerinekit: I'm done. I'm training with someone else. You have disrespected me.

Berrykit: I guess, but I'm changing all the time.

Cougarlight: I just don't want to lose you, you are everything to me now.

Dawnreach: Dang kids and their homosexuality crow-food.

Magpiefur: You have a point, but still get out.

[stroobae]

“is dani cute?”

[literallymechanical]

Book Recommendations? Book Recommendations!

This is the list of books I've read during the pandemic, and let me tell you, I am doing all sorts of decision paralysis on what I should read next. If any of y'all vibe with these, do you have anything you'd recommend? Other than the obvious sequels. Ideally nothing too YA-ish, right now.

In reverse chronological order: Skyward, Ancillary Justice, A Desolation Called Peace, A Memory Called Empire, Spinning Silver, Empress of Forever, Red Mars, The Priory Of The Orange Tree, This Is How You Lose The Time War, Harrow the Ninth, Gideon the Ninth, Rhythm of War, Dawnshard, The Ruin of Angels, and Four Roads Cross. I've put a little review of each of them under the cut!

Skyward, by Brandon Sanderson, 2018. Your usual story about an outcast, misunderstood teenage girl finding an injured dragon and nursing it back to health, except instead of a dragon it's a starfighter spaceship. Really solid YA scifi with Sanderson's trademark meticulous worldbuilding. An enjoyable read, though much lighter than his usual epic fantasy.

Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie, 2013. Honestly, I didn't enjoy this one. It was pitched as a queer science fiction space opera, but the "queer" bit was gimmicky and falls apart if you think about it, I didn't find the characters interesting, and the plot didn't even try to hide that it was just a list of checkboxes. Felt like a YA novel that refused to admit it. This is the only book on this list that I personally wouldn't recommend. But all my friends seemed to enjoy it, so I might be the odd one out here.

A Memory Called Empire and A Desolation Called Peace, by Arkadiy Martine, 2019 and 2021. The first two books in what will presumably be a trilogy, and the best stories I've read in a long time. Twisty political thrillers wrapped up in gorgeous science fiction, and by FAR my favorite books on this list. Vibrant characters with nuanced relationships, scifi worldbuilding that is frankly breathtaking, a captivating story, and an all-around delight to read. Language, identity, colonialism/imperialism, and cultural assimilation are tackled through the lens of scifi. In my opinion, this is what science fiction should be. Also there are lesbians. Above every other book here I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THESE ONES. Martine seriously earned her Hugo Award.

Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik, 2018. Folklore-fantasy about three young women — the daughter of a jewish moneylender, a poor peasant girl from an abusive home, and the daughter of a nobleman who wants to marry her to the Tsar — caught up in a conflict between the Faerie realms, the human world, and something much more sinister than either. Highly recommend, especially if you're jewish.

Empress of Forever, by Max Gladstone, 2019. A fantastical science fiction breakneck-pace adventure romp that puts its foot on the gas in Chapter 2 and doesn't let up. It's also quite explicitly a genderbent retelling of the classic Chinese epic Journey to the West, with more lesbians this time. This book has all kinds of energy, extremely fun characters with more depth than you'd expect, and some bonkers high-concept SF. Highly recommend if you like swashbuckling found-family adventure stories, and wlw romance.

Red Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson, 1992. Every book, movie, and TV show about colonizing Mars since Red Mars was written owes pretty much everything to this book. It can be a bit dense if you're not up for lengthy (but gorgeous!) descriptions of Martian landscapes, and there are one or two bits where you just have to keep in mind that it was the 90's and this was quite progressive for its day. That being said, I am a sucker for a two-page description of a martian sunset. If crunchy hard-science fiction thrillers (emphasis on the "science") are your thing, I recommend this one. I'll read the sequels (Blue Mars and Green Mars) at some point.

The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon, 2019. The prose and plot read like classic high fantasy, but with a modern eye towards character-driven storytelling. It's not often that you get something that feels so classic and so modern at the same time. Scratches that Lord of the Rings itch, with Queens and dragons and glorious heroes, but queer romance and a heavy focus on character development makes this a modern fantasy classic. Highly recommend if you like doorstopper-length high fantasy, and lesbians.

This Is How You Lose The Time War, by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar, 2019. A novella, you can read it in a couple of days — or a single marathon sitting, if you get into it. Gladstone (same author as Empress of Forever) and El-Mohtar take turns writing letters back and forth from time-traveling spies of rival timelines: Red works for the post-singularity mechanical Agency, and Blue fights for the Garden, a post-solarpunk biofuture. Their letters start out as taunts, and gradually change in tone as each develops a grudging respect for her rival. That rivalry blossoms — or compiles — into something deeper. It's emotional and raw, and it cartwheels merrily down the tightrope of fantasy, science fiction, and poetry. Highly recommend, though the flowery prose and gleeful disregard for explaining itself to the audience might be off-putting for some.

Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, 2019 and 2020. I'll let the pull quote from on the cover of Gideon from Charles Stross' review describe these: "Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space! Decadent nobles vie to serve the deathless emperor! Skeletons!" This one is horrifying, and it's funny, but I wouldn't call it comedy-horror. It kind of defies genre, outside the very broadest scope of "science fantasy." Read it if you like lots of gore, graphic violence, madcap humor, and extremely unhealthy, codependent, dysfunctional relationships that are always on the verge of self-destructing into multiple-homicide. Highly recommend.

Rhythm of War and Dawnshard, by Brandon Sanderson, 2020. Rhythm of War is book 4 of the Stormlight Archives, one of several epic fantasy series by Brandon Sanderson. Dawnshard is a novella set between books 3 and 4. This is the same author as Skyward, but intended for a more mature audience. Stormlight is definitely my favorite epic fantasy series, and I've read a lot of epic fantasy. These books have some extremely interesting takes on racism, mental illness, trauma, disability, identity, family, and regret, far more so than pretty much any other high fantasy I've read. The first book is The Way of Kings, and if you like bigass doorstopper multi-book fantasy series, The Stormlight Archives should be at the top of your list.

Four Roads Cross and The Ruin of Angels, by Max Gladstone, 2016 and 2017. While Empress of Forever and Time War were standalone novels, these are books 5 and 6 in Gladstone's Craft Sequence, and they are absolutely brilliant. This is a world where about sixty years ago, humankind went to war with the Gods, and the Gods lost. "Magic" in this world is more or less synonymous with "legal contracts," where you can literally sell your soul to your student loan company and resurrecting a dead god is basically bankruptcy restructuring. "Necromancer" is roughly synonymous with "lawyer." The first five books can be read more-or-less out of order, but I recommend you start with Three Parts Dead. Gladstone is probably my favorite author these days. Everything he writes feel like it could be a poem. Also, once again, lesbians.

I am really not sure why about 2/3 of these books are about lesbians. Like seriously, I went into almost all of these books completely cold. The only ones where I knew ahead of time to expect lesbians were the Locked Tomb books, and The Priory of the Orange Tree. I don't know if this is just because a lot of modern scifi and fantasy has lesbians, or if all my friends who recommend me books are queer, or if it's just a coincidence, but hey, I'm not complaining.

[homosociallyyours]

If you were making a mixtape (or I guess Spotify playlist or whatev) for someone who had never heard the Indigo Girls before, what would you put on it?

OOH thank you, I love this question!! 

I hate spotify so much, but if I didn’t I would make a legit playlist over there (maybe I will?)-- as it stands this is just a tracklist. I’m putting an explanation of the list below a cut, hopefully it won’t flood anyone’s dash with a text wall!!

1) Closer to Fine2) Land of Canaan3) Kid Fears, live with Trina Meade4) You and Me of the 10,000 Wars5) Three Hits6) Watershed7) Galileo8) Romeo and Juliet (cover)9) Power of Two 10) Mystery11) Reunion12) Language or the Kiss 13) Shame on You14) Get Out the Map15) Go16) Ozilline17) Fill It Up Again18) Heartache for Everyone19) Cordova20) Lay My Head Down21) Pendulum Swinger22) Three County Highway23) True Romantic (!!!!!)24) I’ll Change25) Share the Moon26) Southern California is Your Girlfriend27) Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright (cover)28) Shit Kickin’

1) Closer to Fine-- this is the song that people are most likely to know, a true classic. Boppy and fun, but with that noodle-y philosophizing I love from Emily. 

2) Land of Canaan-- an Amy song that defines her early songwriting style and hints at her love of rock and punk with the driving guitar. 

3) Kid Fears-- hauntingly layered, with a special appearance by Michael Stipe. Though tbh I prefer the version from Staring Down the Brilliant Dream (their most recent live album) with Trina Meade of Three5Human. When she comes in with “are you on fire?” it’s-- electric. I think the first time I heard it I gasped and clutched my chest. 

4) You and Me of the 10,000 Wars-- perhaps a bit of a deep cut, but one of my favorite early Emily songs. This was a great time for Emily, songwriting wise imo. 

5) Three Hits-- I think Amy was kind of starting to experiment with her sound here and also trying to push beyond the typical personal style of writing that often marks folk rock/singer-songwriter music. Also I’m soft for this entire album (rites of passage); I remember buying it at the mall on cassette with money I got at Christmas. 

6) Watershed-- this song has BIG Saturn return vibes, and has the absolutely excellent line, “every five years or so I look back on my life and have a good laugh.” 

7) Galileo-- another Emily song (I’m not kidding when I say she killed it lyrically from around ‘90-’96 or so) that touches on big philosophical questions with a kind of refreshing lightheartedness. This one is another song many people will have heard before. 

8) Romeo and Juliet (cover)-- this song gets better with each live performance, so it would be fair to include a live version. But I like the album version just as well, and you can’t deny the punch of a dyke singing about the girl who loved her and left her. 

9) Power of Two-- another classic. Soft af. Goddamn it Emily Saliers you beautiful lesbian bard, you really just wrote A Very Gay Experience into a song just like that. 

10) Mystery-- Emily is getting her due right now bc Amy is gonna rise up a few albums later and kick ass. This song, though? So, so gay. I have thought about the lyrics once a day for the past 25 years or so, probably. “Maybe that’s all that we need is to meet in the middle of impossibility?” YES GIRL, my inner dyke and my outer dyke are all screaming. 

11) Reunion-- musically I think this song just does some nice stuff, ok? Also fuckin’ relatable if you’ve ever gone to a reunion and been like-- ehhhh this could end badly but here we go. 

12) Language or the Kiss-- had to add another Emily song because this one is just. so good, ok?? this album is prime Emily!!!!

13) Shame on You-- this one got a lot of radio play in my hometown, and I remember rolling down the window and driving with it blasting. Amy was really starting to push into more overtly political lyrics and you can see it on this song. 

14) Get Out the Map-- perfect roadtrip song! Classic Emily vibes!!

15) Go-- Amy gets rockier, with some nice crunchy guitars (please forgive me for not knowing the right words but like. the guitars sound dirty and a little distorted, it’s like chewing chips in your ears in a good way). This is one of the first albums where her skill for heart-twisting lyrics rises up: “did they tell you you would come undone if you tried to touch the sun? Use your years to psych you out? ‘You’re too old to care, you’re too young to count’? Go, go, go.” 

16) Ozilline-- also Amy explores a slightly more bluegrassy sound? I appreciate that songwriting-wise she’s basically pushing herself in two directions on this album: political but not first person and hyper-personal direct narrative. This one is the latter and you feel it. 

17) Fill It Up Again-- another solid Emily bop! (I should mention I’m not putting on anything from Become You bc while I adore it I think it’s one of their weaker albums over all-- it was one of their last for epic and they were READY to get off a big label, so maybe they rushed it?

18) Heartache for Everyone-- one of my fave Amy songs of all time, would love to hear this covered by so many people. I just love it. Everything. 

19) Cordova-- I am absolutely just including this because it breaks my heart? Idek why. I think I just have such a strong mental picture that goes along with it that’s informed by nothing other than a story I think works with it and. Yeah. It’s not typical of an Amy song musically but I love that. 

20) Lay My Head Down-- a little sloppy lyrically, but the heart of it is beautiful. 

21) Pendulum Swinger-- typical Emily political song, very crunchy and green and honestly middle of the road gay democrat, but in a way that’s actually not the most shitty? 

22) Three County Highway-- a spare and lovely Amy song with slight country vibes. 

23) True Romantic-- this song. THIS FUCKING SONG. it’s gorgeous, it’s raw, and there’s something about it coming out in Amy’s raspy voice that makes it a gut punch! I yell about it every few months. I want very much for Louis Tomlinson to cover it and of course he never will. The injustice. 

24) I’ll Change-- I think this song stands right up with Emily’s earlier stuff. Honestly Poseidon and the Bitter Bug is a truly solid album and it’s hard to pick only a couple of songs from it. 

25) Share the Moon-- a tender and lovely Amy song, the only one I really like off this album (Beauty Queen Sister). I tried listening to the rest of the album so much and ended up putting this song on repeat instead. 

26) Southern California is Your Girlfriend-- ever since I saw a video of Amy and Emily playing this song while Amy’s kid sat listening I was in love. It’s different for Amy but in such a good way. 

27) Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright (cover)-- this is a great live cover that has Michelle Malone on guest vocals. She was such a staple on their tours for such a long time (and maybe still is, but not on the west coast). 

28) Shit Kickin-- this one is off their upcoming album, and it’s such a good playlist ender? It’s got a kind of funky vibe with lyrics that talk about the pitfalls and problems and pride of southern culture in a way that really resonates with me as a southerner. 

somehow I managed to keep that pretty even--subtracting the two covers i think that Emily and Amy each have 13 songs on here. I might make a somewhat different list on a different day, but this is about right. I would also suggest someone listen to Poseidon and the Bitter Bug, Rites of Passage, Swamp Ophelia, and Staring Down the Brilliant Dream if they wanted a deeper dive into what I think are some of the best albums/songs over all. (Maybe All That We Let In, too). 

[angry-ace]

I was tagged by the inspiring @barbex who's fictober challenge I am doing

Rules: List all the things you’re currently working on in as much or little detail as you’d like, then tag some friends to see what they’re working on: writing, art, gifsets, whatever.

I’m gonna tag people that are waaaaay to cool for me but who’s to stop me my anxiety probably @crunchie-morris who by the way has the BEST jackcrutchie modern au that I love with my whole heart and @your-brother-crutchie who is my go-to sprace blog both Sami and Rowan own my entire ass guys not in a sexual way but in a you’re my idol and I want to write like you way  also @one-true-houselight who’s got some pretty cute original fic stuff going, and lastly my son Thayne @king-of-newyork whom’s’t I love with my whole heart

Fuck this is gonna be long

Fanfics:

-my Jackcrutchie Mermaid au

-my newsbians fantasy au

-my hella angsty sprace au where Spot is a farmer not a newsie

-yesterday's fictober prompt that I accidentally fell asleep before finishing oops

Original fics (I'm going to be including both the works I've started and the ones that I wish to start but are currently just ideas rattling around my brain. As I was summarizing this I realized how messed up some of these are so I’m gonna give a content warning for death, abuse, body horror?, cannibalism, supernatural evils, attempted rape:

-a post apocalyptic novel about a group of teenagers who become refugees after their hometown is attacked by bandits and they end up fighting some cannibals and shit 

- currently there’s kinda an idea for a horror book in my brain about an evil ghost that preys on mentally ill people because neurotypicals find us less credible. Don’t worry the ghost gets killed in the end by a kickass lady and the sibling of one of its victims.

-  A woman is with her older sister, her niece, and her brother in law when the zombie apocalypse starts. Her parents were scientists and she was named after one of their coworkers.The brother in law is bitten and killed and the sister kills herself shortly thereafter. The protagonist is left to care for her niece. They end up in this community run by a tyrannical guy who sends the niece away against her will. She escapes and wanders alone until she’s scratched by a raccoon. The scratch gets infected but she's saved by another woman. They begin dating and find a new community that’s actually safe and good. They get word of the niece and decide to leave together to find her.

- A teenage boy with monoplegia in one of his legs caused by a spinal injury navigates the zombie apocalypse. His journey begins with his mother, infant sibling, and abusive father who escaped jail at the start of the apocalypse. He was in jail for causing the car crash that injured the protagonist by driving drunk. To escape a zombie horde the father throws the baby into the mob and the mother runs in after the baby, they both die. The protagonist is left with his abusive father who is eventually killed by a badass afab agender hero in a hotel. The hotel is overrun by the dead and they escape together. Once outside they steal a car with a key in the ignition. They drive for miles heading towards a refuge from the dead, a safe community where they can live out the rest of their lives in safety, when they hear noises coming from the trunk. They open the truck, expecting to kill a member of the undead, but are instead surprised by the presence of a kidnapped teenage girl. They drive together to the community but the protagonist is denied entrance because of his disability. The girl enters the community but the protagonist and agender badass move on. They encounter a group of other disabled people who were denied entrance to the safe haven. Notable members are a spunky autistic girl, and a deaf young woman who turns out to be the sister of the teenage girl they’d previously traveled with.

- Okay so Nina Normal is a transracial adoptee from India who is living in Kansas. She was adopted when she was a baby so she never meets her birth parents and they literally never become a plot point. She visits her uncle in his science lab and is caught in the explosion of a particle accelerator that gives her super speed. She starts fighting bigots with her best friend Maia, a Japanese teen who is an aspiring voice actress. She also attempts to dismantle Narcorp, a company responsible for selling the faulty lab equipment that caused her accident who’s goal is to cause people to get super powers so that they can have a super powered army.

-Okay so this one is an ace lesbian named Lana has a super abusive mom and also she is a princess. She’s a painter and has magic but she has dyslexia so finds it difficult to read spellbooks. There’s this army that trying to overthrow the queen and she joins them after her mom throws her out of the house after she attempts suicide. In the army she meets a girl Mary and she and Mary start dating. The queen’s army threatens to attack Mary’s army while it’s weak and Lana gives herself up to protect Mary. Lana’s mom tries to do a ritual to remove Lana’s magic for herself but it’s interrupted by Lana’s father, who she’s never met, rescuing her. Lana’s dad returns her to Mary and helps aid the overthrow of the queen. Lana and Mary have a huge fight about Lana’s mother’s execution and Lana goes to study magic in her father’s court. Lana’s dad turns out to be a dickhead, he tries to make Lana get married to a dude but obviously she doesn’t want to because she’s gay and also still hung up on Mary. The dude gets drunk and tries to rape Lana but she uses a spell to make him start throwing up and get really sick. Lana returns to Mary and helps dissolve the monarchy in her home queendom. It basically becomes a lovely anarchist commune and Mary and Lana get back together and also get married and live happily ever after.

- Okay so this one doesn’t have any humans. It takes place in a different solar system on the planet of Oceana. Oceana is almost entirely water and it has a bunch of different mermaid cultures and types of mermaids. There are polar mermaids that live in the cold areas, can survive on the ice, they have gills and tails, the way they walk is by digging their claws into the ice and dragging themselves around. The deep sea mermaids are more like angler fish, they have super great hearing and rather than speaking and doing hand motions like polar mermaids they communicate by flashing their lights. Basically the different mermaid tribes are at war and idk the mc is trying to resolve the conflict. The mermaids would be different sizes based on whatever fish they’re supposed to be.

-So there’s this evil group trying to turn people superpowered to do espionage shit idk. And they kidnap a bunch of at-risk teens to experiment on giving them powers or to study their naturally occuring powers. The kids eventually escape during an attack on the lab by a group opposing the scientists, but some of the kids got left behind. They begin working with the attackers to rescue their friends. What happened to them has some fallout on the kids like the mc’s boyfriend becomes addicted to drugs from his struggle to cope. Eventually the kids that got left behind are rescued. Some of them don’t want to keep fighting the organiation and move on. Other’s feel like their lives have purpose since they began the fight and keep at it. The one’s who moved on get roped back into it when the organization attacks a very public place and their guilt gets them involved.

[rlainarin]

Jasnah Kholin?

sexuality headcanon: Ace is pretty damn close to canon but still hc at this point-- I see her as aro or gray-aro lesbian?otp: well @vivennakholin has converted me to Jasnah/Vivenna-- before Misra existed I was all about Jasnah/Ranettebrotp: hmm... Renarin. he’s her baby cousin so just imagine that relationship...notp: Men.first headcanon that pops into my head: When they were kids, she and Elhokar would swap food.favorite line from this character: mm... the speech on atheism, maybe?one way in which I relate to this character: as you can guess, her quality atheism... also that bit in the WoR prologue, with her and Gavilar-- “Is it really so hard for you, Jasnah?” that rubs me the wrong way bc how hard I relate...thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character: is that... even possible? she’s perfect. a queencinnamon roll or problematic fave? oh god half of the Sanderson panels at Jordancon were devoted to debating Jasnah’s morality

anyway, she’s a sinnamon roll-- crunchy on the outside, but there’s soft warm cinnamon under there.