#so the whole situation had some deliciously forbidden vibe to it

[oldtvandcomics]

Happy Queer Media Monday!

Today: Cocoon (2020)

Yeah, not really my kind of story, but it sure made some memorable points.

(The last and most memorable picture from the movie, when Nora finds that her pet caterpillar has hatched.)

Summer 2018. Berlin is suffering under a heatwave. 14-year-old Nora’s life is changing, as she navigates everyday relationships, starts menstruating and discovers her sexuality. 

A low budget coming of age story set in Berlin, I feel like this movie really captured well what it’s like to be a teenager, when everything in your life seems so big and important. The title is fitting, as, instead of a complete story with a conclusion, this “just” captures a moment of transformation in Nora’s life.

I watched this in summer 2020, when I was in Köln for a weekend. It was a very memorable experience, as 1) small village girl in a big city, and 2) summer 2020, so the whole evening had this beautifully forbidden in-between feel to it. It was a small cinema, so that was nice, too. I cried during the Pride scene. None of this has any significance in regard to the movie itself, but it matters to me, so I’m telling you about it.

You can find a trailer with subtitles here.

Queer Media Monday is an action I started to talk about some important and/or interesting parts of our queer heritage, that people, especially young people who are only just beginning to discover the wealth of stories out there, should be aware of. Please feel free to join in on the fun and make your own posts about things you personally find important!

[cerealmonster15]

How about Leo for that character thing?

ffffuck yes i have to put this one in a readmore bc i got carried away listing like 800 leo quotes 

How I feel about this characterhes one of my favorite royal sibs!!!!! probs tied with elise and takumi? or possibly my most fave?????? i was sad the whole time birthright bc i missed him and elise the whole time,,,, now that im playing conquest im sad bc i miss takumi lol. i love my tomato brother ;w; but he (and xander) is like the funniest fuckin character, oh my god. i love him so much. he makes me cry with laughter half the time he opens his mouth. hes this snarky little snob and he can’t dress himself for shit bc his clothes are always inside out or backwards (me too actually. every time i realize my shirt’s on wrong im instantly like Wow Leo Vibes). i love how in birthiright near the end theres this important emotional scene and hes gotten rid of iago and corrins like “hhhhey leo,,,? ur shirts inside out” and he just goes “DAMN IT.” his shop voice lines sound like a really sarcastic customer service voice. “Welcome. Goodbye~!”. so do xander’s??? i fucking die every time one of them is manning a shop oh my god i love themhis alts in feh make me s c r e a m hes so damn funny and dramatic.summer leo:“[grumbly voice] TANLINES… what, torture.”“If you are disappointed by these results then give me clothes”“Hot… beaches?hHHRRNNNNNN[aHEM], hate them.”“Tropical islands? Forget it! And this swimsuit? [snobby laughing tone] DONT even get me STARTED!”“Hey, if you like tropical islands, that’s fine. Maybe it’s not as bad as[randomly starts laughing???] I say.” like is he trying to be chill about it but just cant hold it together because the very idea of  a tropical idea is so absurd to him ?? hes so fuckign weird i love himGOD my ultimate favorite leo quote ever of all time tho is: “I actually like walking a beach at night. But… swim? In the ocean? [laughter, maybe nervous laughter i cant fucking tell] With my body?!?!???” WITH MY BODY?? i love him what the helland then he does that thing in the lvl40 five star convo where hes like “id be as red as a tomato if i got a sunburn???? fuck, how could i hate the sun if thats the case??? maybe ill go right now-” god hes so weird. i love that line regular leo does thats like “you’d never guess what vegetable really catches MY fancy! ………tomatoes…….”and then picnic leo omg. i probably screamed when i saw he was a free unit this spring i was SO HAPPY [as much as i love summer leo i dont actually have him and i cry that his banner hasnt returned this summer yet ;c]he grumbles when u poke him. he goes MMMMMM when you pick him up to take his turn. he complains about the sun, AGAIN.“i’m not used to this much sunlight! it’s…. nnggggg,,, blINDing..”“[offended voice] why are you being so SNEAKY? THIS is a PICNIC!” HhhhhhHHHHHH god lmao“[very proud voice] How does it taste? It must delicious, given I made it mySELF!” “What about this? I had my retainers prepare it for us.“ ik a lot of people say this contradicts his first line and one of them is a fucking lie, but i like to think this just means he made lunch with odin and niles and they did different parts and it’s soooooooooooooooooo cute to think about him cooking with his boys ;w; also he sounds so proud here too. hes so proud of his retainers and hes like “heh, mine are the best, they made this great food arent they wonderful i love them so much”“You want…to try some of my cooking? [gasp sigh huffy noise??] If you insist…” hes so excited someone wants to eat his cooking but he cant let anyone Know he has emotions lollies down… maybe leo really is my top fave LOL i just love his lines so much. i want to high five his voice actor for the delivery on these lines. that’s not even going into some of his supports in warriors that ive watcheed on youtube [plz everyone needs to see the one with frederick and leo. it always has me in tears. theyre SO FUNNY together ldjsfgbgf]chapter leo of birthright is probs one of my favorite chapters in fates. it was HARD AND ANNOYING but the dialogue made me weepy 

All the people I ship romantically with this characterodin and niles are fave….. they make a cute ot3!! i love how much he appreciates and cares for them and theyre all so good for each other… mr uptight leo and his chaos incarnate retainers to bring out his very secret dorky side… my BOYS!!!  i could go on and on about them for many paragraphs but this is already way too long lmfao oopsi also like leo and takumi of course lol. i havent played revelations yet but ive seen bits of their supports and also i just love the bickering enemies to lovers trope lol. this is my favorite panel from the 4koma comics

My non-romantic OTP for this characteri love the familial bonds between all the nohrian siblings but so far leo and elise is my fave sibling duo,,, but im biased bc so far ive only gotten theirs and camilla/xander’s lol. but even in hoshido i like the younger sibs plus older sibs duos. the idea of closeness in age forming a special bond is cute to me. i also like corrin and leo as having a close sib bond since they seem close in age! i know theres [remembers graveyard chapter of birthright again and starts sobbing] some underlying angst of him envying all the doting on corrin his siblings do and he feels ALONE AND I CRY, but he also was very fond of corrin, and i remember the end of birthright where camilla totally calls him out saying how he was saying how nice it was to get to see corrin again ;w; i’d like to think they were close!and of course i like leo and camilla’s relationship…. thinks about end of birthright and sobs… at least they have each other ;o;i need to get more leo supports actually… i want to see every support convo but theres only so much time CRIES 

My unpopular opinion about this characterIDK if this counts bc i feel like it’s half and half but i am not a fan of shipping corrin specifically with him or any of the other nohrian/hoshidan royals. like i totes get wanting to marry him as a character, buuuuuuut like i personally was not about to do that when our protagonist was his adopted sibling??????????? no thank you?!?!?!?!????? my friends and i read through the s-support convos for all of them on the wiki once and just…died the whole time bc theyre SO AWKWARD AND WEIRD “i was hiding my FORBIDDEN FEELINGS for you, PERSON I THOUGHT WAS MY SIBLING, my WHOLE LIFE, but now that ur NOT MY BLOOD RELATED FAMILY we can GET MARRIED, even tho weve still been calling you sister/brother casually this whole game” i CRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY IT’S WEIRDDDDDDDand like i dont think thats really an unpopular opinion but i see enough corrin/royals art to think it’s unpopular enough i guesstho i imagine there are some people that chose to marry the royal sibs and also think it’s weird but they just love the character and sat there like “ew stop dont talk about  that” loltho some people are like “it’s not technically inc/est-” like,,,, it kinda still is tho HHHH GROSSANYWAY

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.I mean with all video games i wish bein gay was more legal. i want to s-support all the royals to their counterparts. let leo hold takumi’s hand, which would probs turn into a competition of who can squeeze the hardest until they break each other’s bones bc theyre stupid, but plz. i want this. let hoshido and nohr form ultimate peace bc all their royal fams married.also i dont know the full situation with forrest bc i havent unlocked him but from what ive heard i wish leo was nicer about CERTAIN THINGS in their…. i guess recruitment chapter ? supports? i hear in some of japan’s dlc or a drama cd or something he comes around and is more accepting but still, if that’s not the case in US game i wish it WAS!!!ALSO i wish the sibs could have support convos with each others kids. like even if it was just the main royals kids getting to talk to their aunts and uncles i think that’d be CUTE !!!!!WAIT ALSO on the wiki, leo, niles, and odin all have unused quotes from the endgame. it seems like theyre in the part of the game where you got knocked the fuck out and hung out in the afterlife for a bit with ur dead friends and family and then everyone in the real world is shouting at u to get up off ur ass and come finish the fight. im wondering if that means leo and his retainers were originally supposed to join you in your final battle, even tho you were siding with hoshido? i wouldve loved that and cried twice as hard..... 

[x]

[modestyinthemodernworld]

Hey loves,

Sorry for the long absence but I’m back to fill you in on what I’ve been up to! Recently, I took a trip to Marrakesh, Morocco and it was honestly such a lovely place and was completely different to what I expected. I’ve been to Africa before, almost a decade ago but this trip was nothing like I had experienced before!

Firstly, Marrakesh itself is full of greenery and tranquil gardens which were fitting considering the hotel itself was located in an enormous garden, (Tikida Gardens) filled with an amazing variety of exotic plants and wildlife. Honestly, the hotel itself felt like something straight out of Aladdin. The hotel itself had a very royal palace type vibe to it and the staff themselves were super friendly and were able to advise the best places to explore and were always on call to accommodate any issues.

The hotel itself was situated only a short distance from the airport itself and near enough to the local markets that it was easy enough to go there almost every day (If you’re a shopaholic like me then that always a necessity when booking any hotel).

The food itself was amazing there was honestly such a wide variety of food every night that it was hard to pick! The food mirrored the traditional Moroccan cuisine such as Tagines (Fun fact: the pot the dish is cooked in is the Tagine and not the food itself as many people believe it to be)  as well as a variety of other influences such as French, British and other traditional food produced by Berbers.

Another key place to visit is the Majorelle Gardens which are stunning. The garden itself wasfamed for inspiring the fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and includes a memorial to him and a museum dedicated to his work. The garden itself made you believe you were in a different time completely untouched by the modern world, however, one thing to note is that it had more a forbidden forest vibe and less of a garden vibe due to a number of wild plants and trees there rather than flowers (which being British I would’ve expected in a Garden) but nevertheless it was still beautiful and I can understand why it inspired YSL.

Probably the most breathtaking thing about Morocco was the Atlas mountain! I highly recommend this for anyone who has a sense of adventure and would be able to take the plunge and view the mountains from the highest peaks. From someone who was previously deathly afraid of heights, I’d like to think I conquered my fear by standing on the edge of the mountains just to take pictures (#doitfortheblog). The drive was scenic and was actually quite smooth and we even drove past one of Richard Branson’s secluded hotels located literally in the middle of the mountains. (Fact: The mountains were featured in films such as Mission Impossible).

Visiting the Berber village in the Atlas mountains was an experience like no other, our guide drove us up into the mountains to show us how traditional Berbers (like himself) live and how they still instil the values of family and community to this day. Apart from the breathtaking views of the Atlas mountains, the houses themselves were decorated in traditional Berber style. The traditional mint tea served to us by the Berber family was delicious (however they did tell us the tea itself was not grown in Morocco but it was from China instead LOL).

The local attractions located in the Old Town there was the Medina which held Jemaa el-Fnaa Square and Koutoubia Mosque which are must-see attractions. The old town itself is protected by a vast wall preventing any outside influence of the more modern attractions in Morocco. The mosque grounds are only a short walk and unfortunately, you can’t actually enter the mosque itself, however, the surrounding grounds are beautiful and there a garden filled with fountains. The ground was best at around sunset to get picturesque Instagram shots of the scenery as well as taking in the tranquil and peaceful atmosphere of the Adhan. The square itself was also beautiful especially around sunset and a number of people there was immense but you really got a sense of the variety of different ethnicities and cultures all in one hub. The hub itself was buzzing from the food stalls selling freshly squeezed juices and dates as well as the stalls themselves selling pottery, tagines and lanterns which as the sun went down just made the atmosphere even more mystical. The tea was divine and I’d recommend a visit to Cafe Kessabine (which we visited twice) as the staff are super friendly and the views of the square are super picturesque and Tumblr-y.

After sunset, once the square started to fill up was the best time to take a horse-drawn carriage night tour of Marrakesh, where you really got a sense of the buzz the city is infamous for. The tour showed Marrakesh throughout the years demonstrating the huge divide in society such as the Jewish quarters as well as the more affluent New Town which held more modern shops such as Louis Vuitton. The tour was a perfect end to the night but the only downfall was the ride was slightly bumpy so any pictures we attempted to take came out super blurry.

Another form of nightlife was Bellydancers and traditional African and Berber dances who were super talented considering some of the dancers were grandmothers but still wanted to fulfil their passion of performing and singing and demonstrated the art and culture Morocco is famous for. Additionally, the architecture in Morocco is none to other. Once you step out of the airport you really do get a sense of being inside the home of architecture.

The people were very friendly and spoke Arabic and French and the occasional few phrases of English but overall there wasn’t a huge language barrier.  Morocco itself seemed ideal for couples or for families especially those who have a sense of adventure and are keen to explore. I’d also recommend it as an ideal honeymoon location as recommended by the couple we met whilst exploring the Atlas mountains.

For a future blog would anyone be interested in a ‘what’s in my travel bag’ post? I’ve travelled quite a lot especially going on long haul flights across the world almost every year since I was young and have almost perfected the whole carry-on essential thing to a T – if so comment below 🙂

Lots of love,

S  💋 x

Wanderlust Diaries : Magical Marrakesh Hey loves, Sorry for the long absence but I'm back to fill you in on what I've been up to!