#AAAAH I LOVE BEING QUEER

[jiminnnanon]

just love how this ep highlighted how much kong cares and how the both of them want each other equally but they just express it differently? atom prepping so hard w his fits and planning the whole date meanwhile kong prepping w advice from his mother and getting all the things he thinks atom might need and the way they constantly make the audience aware of how they find each other so attractive? i love when shows depict queerness through feelings AS WELL AS physicality because that is also another aspect of being queer, the sensuality of touch and wanting each other and being aware of each other physically. i love how clingy they were and held hands throughout and couldn’t stop once they started!! aaaah i loved how patiently kong explained everything to atom and heard all his doubts out only to clear them and how fond he is of his silly antics and never stops him from being himself god i love how this ep let us know how they love

[tokuvivor]

Well, last night, we had the first of three Halloween Movie Nights for this month, all with a broad supernatural/parallel universe theme to them. So, the highlights:

Skeleton Dance

Me: “That’s gotta hurt” (the cats pulling at each other’s tongues)

@writebackatya falling into the well and @tealottie pulling him back out

The stream cut out, so we didn’t get to finish the short. But if you want to check it out, you can do so right here.

Magica’s Shadow War

The fact that the episode was the original inspiration for Lena

Everyone wanting to smash Magica

@spamtoon: “i fucking forgot about 87 poe”

@puffyducks: “it’s ok the writers forget about 87 poe too”

Gyro’s invention being a camera with a spotlight

Puffy: “they just fucking flashbanged her”

Will: “me when Webby kicked the flash grenade back to Gandra”

Scrooge’s girly apron

The guy at the airport (Gus Goose?)

Scrooge White and the Seven Nephews (courtesy of @shewhowantsmouseears)

Evermore/nevermore

Scrooge covering all the bases with the shadow’s pronouns

Scrooge wearing a moose head

Me: “Keel moose and squirrel”

Mel: “They had to make a moose joke, given how her voice is clearly based on Natasha from Rocky and Bullwinkle” (Since June Foray voiced both Natasha Fatale and ‘87 Magica.)

Magica’s shadow looking like Madam Mim because of the hair (plus some lore droppage from Mel and @emeraldcity1900)

“Magica’s raven” That’s her brother!

AUGH

Launchpad!

Will: “Do you think every family member immediately groans to themselves whenever Scrooge starts his sentences with “I made my fortune””

Several people: “Yes”

Surprise Webby!

@alex31624: “is like... some shadow war...”

Endless drama with the dime (as usual)

Caro: “I was hoping Scrooge would SHPEDEHOOING the dime out of her hands”

The Other Bin of Scrooge McDuck!

Lena time!

Scrooge in a deep sleep

Lena: “Aaaah…”

*theme song plays*

Will and Caro discussing how the theme song playing would impact the characters in real time

@spamtoon: “hi mark”

Webby’s long-ass speech about Scrooge

Magica being a terrible person

Blink-and-you-miss-it animation error where Lena isn’t wearing shoes

Gavin subplot!

Louie’s Kids

Darkwing Duck and Paperinik references (leading into Donkey Kong reference)

Will: “And then there’s Della! She’s dead.”

Sword horse!

Huey and Dewey being jerks to Louie in this episode

Puffy: “dewey time travel adventure is a touching story about him spending christmas with his missing mother and then louie time travel story is him just going to a 23rd century film set”

@godfrey-the-chaos-duck: “huey needed a time travel story”

Puffy: “I think huey experiencing any time travel would cause him to spiral”

Louie finding out Gavin’s conning them (and that his name is Gavin)

Gavin being like Bradley Uppercrust III

“Bigfoot, you just poked the bear.”

“The power…the body…”

Everyone losing their shit at Lena’s dream scene

Louie beating Gavin

“i win”

“Now go back! From whence you cameee!”

Everyone losing their shit again at the last scene

A Nightmare on Killmotor Hill!

The fact that it’s a peak episode

Violet!!!!

Lena’s song and everyone else’s reactions (including Louie’s “TF did I just watch” face)

Friendship bracelets!

Violet being relatable AF

The fact that Boyd and Gosalyn should’ve gotten friendship bracelets in the show

“Let’s eat pure sugar!”

Us watching this episode coinciding with the server’s one-year anniversary

“Me!” “…Sleep.” (plus Dewey’s offended face)

“YOU’RE IRRITABLITY!”

The boys and Violet sleeping

Glowy stars ✨

The fact that we should’ve gotten a second sleepover episode

The sword horse returns!

The finale foreshadowing

What would Boyd dream of? Does he even sleep? (Plus this incorrect quote from Will)

The sword horse disappearing without so much as a sound effect for it

Dewey High!

Dewey’s love interest (queer allegory)

Puffy: “bro thinks she’s bill cipher”

Godfrey: “if they ever made a deal all of reality would collapse”

Cat Louie!

“Meow. Everyone pat my head.”

Wolf Lena!

WHY HUEY WHY

Seriously, long-legged Huey is cursed AF

Phooey!

Whale Launchpad!

“My dream is just to read more.” “Awesome!”

@hueberryshortcake: “the bond between a girl and her librarian is unbreakable”

Now for Lena’s dream

She looks cool in green, though

Lena would make jokes about Poe

Everyone in their dream forms rescuing Lena

Lena and Webby’s conversation (and the feels that come with it)

Mel: “friendship is magic, the ponies were right”

Alex: “friendship is the best magic”

Magica is dead! (Welllll…)

She actually just lost her magic. Which explains her white feathers. (LOL what a loser)

These drawings from Puffy (minus Violet, she will be added later):

Magica trying (and failing) to do a Darkwing-esque speech at the end

Ghoul Friend

Adorable or horrible style? (It was a joke, though.)

Zombie Goofy!

Screaming Squirrel

Goofy Holler!

“You wouldn’t hit a mouse with glasses, would ya?” (Also the only line in the short, which says a lot about how you don’t necessarily need dialogue to tell a story.)

Goofy died because Max failed the perfect cast

Coraline

Alex: “Coraline won, and everyone leaves”

Keith David being in the movie

Looking ahead to Coco, and talking about how much we will (or will not) cry

@ducklooney: “Skeletor robot on motorbike!” (Wybie)

(About Coraline’s dad)

Puffy:

Will: “Are ya winning dad?”

Blue boy in a painting

Puffy: “woah you know who ELSE is a blue boy in a painting”

I ❤️ Mulch

Coraline’s parents being too absorbed in their work to pay attention to her

The fact that her friends in Michigan gave her a whole billboard to say goodbye to her (courtesy of @story-blossoms-ducks)

Kangaroo mice!

Puffy: “woah.. mirror dimension... just li”

“wait everyone that watched infinity train with me is gone”

The food in the other dimension looking fantastic (even though it’s not real)

The mice are friends

Mr. B’s confusion over Coraline’s name

Puffy: “we're not even in the scary world and everyone is still a fuckin creepy weirdo”

Will: “yeah, isn’t it great?” “they’re good people. Just weird”

The fact that everyone is telling Coraline to not go through the door, yet she still does

Will: “I mean they had mango milkshakes”

Puffy: “wait you’re right I hadn’t considered that”

The garden in the shape of Coraline’s face (feat. the mantis cart)

Mouse circus!

How Lena would fit into the role of Coraline

Keith David is the cat!

Me: “That is a lot of Scotties”

Brain bleach moment with Other Spink and Forcible

Shit gradually will start to go down (Coraline given buttons for her eyes)

John Linnell of They Might Be Giants being the Other Father’s singing VA

Cocoa beetles

DuckLooney: “"You will eat ze bugs and you will be happy."”

Puffy: “-the lion king”

“Bad.” “Lost.” “Bad.” “Lost.”

Coraline and her pillow parents

CAT STARE

Mel: “dammit, beldam, spit will out right now”

Breaking the mirror=seven years’ bad luck

Will: “And she’s hanging out with a black cat who’s always crossing her path”

Into the trap!

Puffy: “girl that is NOT your mother”

@kaitosduckmania: “she is mommy tho”

Coraline trying to collect the ghost eyes (and thinking she’s out of time when it’s still going) (shoutout to the cat on the assist with the last eye)

People having the hots for the Other Mother’s spider form

Destroy the key!

Webby Wybie to the rescue!

That’s all folks! (Not really, the sound was messing up)

Will’s cat watching with him

Puffy and Mel with a Simpsons reference (We’re Sending Our Love Down the Well)

Why is Mr. B’s skin blue?

Will: ““So your sister’s dead. But good news; her soul is no longer held captive by the spider woman.””

It was a good movie. Very unique.

[sol-draws-sometimes]

Disc World bookclub thoughts- Monstrous Regiment

Pages 12-20

Okay @anna-neko … and all the other people that found me(tho I’ll be writing to Anna here)

Buckle up cause I actually read more, so there’s A LOT more text!

Before I start, I'm fully aware that the book's premise is that the whole regiment turns out to be women in disguised(except one being trans??? That happens at the end so I won't bring that up till I get there). But for ease of talking, I will he/him everyone until they've been she/her-ed. Plus, there are other characters, so I could accidentally she/her a man thinking they would be one of the undercover women. So yah, following the pronouns corresponding to where I am in the book.

I wrote everything on a notes app while listening/reading, and then organized it. So my "knowledge" will flip flop since different parts were written at different points of reading. Also I’m playing around with the best way to show quotes. Okay here are my thoughts loosely organized:

—Critiques—

Some critiques. I want to start of with them so that we can end on a high note. At first it was hard for me to get that there were scene changes happening. Most books usually leave large space b/w the paragraphs, but at least in this digital book, it just looks like a normal paragraph spacing. And the audio book doesn't indicate that there's a scene shift, so there were a couple of times that I got lost because I didn't realize there was a new scene. Though I think I finally got it down how he switches from scenes, so I should be fine.

Also while I do like that he just says stuff, for example, him introducing Polly’s guy name by writing, "At least, Polly climbed out of the window, but it was Oliver’s feet that landed lightly on the ground," instead of saying, "she decided to call herself Oliver Perks.” At times I do need a bit more guidance. I can pick up stuff with context, but, sometimes it threw me off. For example, with the igor, while I would've gotten it eventually, I just decided to google it, because I was too distracted being confused to actually pay attention to the dialogue if that makes sense???? So I mostly like how he seamlessly intergrates new info, but sometimes I do feel like I'm going in blind, or suffering for not knowing about the previous books. Tho I will say the vampire lore was intergrated well. It's nothing so bad that it ruins the book for me since it's mostly executed well.

Side tangent, but I actually started the book by listening to it, so I actually didn’t catch the Olly name until I got to this line, “…but Polly was known to all the ferrymen by sight and the guard would want to see her permit to travel, which Oliver Perks certainly didn’t have.” I like this line! I mostly like when he does it, but yah, I get confused sometimes.

Okay on to stuff my other thoughts!

Short quippy stuff

Hee hee foreshadowing!

There was no question of anyone getting undressed.

I love that her nickname is Ozzer

Don't cry challenge(impossible)

AAAAH SHE GOT CAUGHT.

Nothing quippy, just a funny line:

Ugh. I hate strappi I hate Strappi I hate Strappi. Me and the boys hate Strappi.

You said these books are very pop-cultury. I'll say these aged well because I don't think I've caught any pop culture reference(or maybe I have without realizing) and I still find the book funny and it makes sense to me. So uh yah, go Terry Pratchett I guess.

—Longer thoughts—

Am I viewing everything as an American, or is this a reference to don't ask, don't tell??? I don't think so cause nothing else about it is queer coded and also Terry Pratchett is British, so there would be no reason for him to talk about that. My brain just short-circuited because it's a military book and I'm American 🙃

Thoughts on Maladict—

Maladict carries around silver-gilt coffee engine (which icon behavior) so idk how allergic he is to silver. Is he lying about the silver allergy or does he just suck it up for some coffee (cause if he does, again King behavior). I think my fav soldier rn is Maladict (can you tell???). Polly think's she's cool, but he's the actually cool one. Love his whole "even though I'm sobre from humans, it doesn't mean I can't/won't seriously fuck you up." I love when writers explore ethical vampires/vampires blending in with humans (I really should read vampire books).

I think the whole black ribbon thing is cool! I think there's a book that follows a vampire??? If you're down(and it makes sense), I'd love to read one of the vampire books since I'm already so intrigued by vampire society! Obviously after I'm done with this book

Thoughts I wrote about Jackrum—

Damn Jackrum has to keep telling Strappi to ease on the racism.

I like how Sargent Jackrum asked Polly if she was fine with fighting Strappi. I knew that his whole "stop being racist" is more of a "WE NEED MEN" than him actually caring about fantasy racism™️, or that's how I saw it at first at least. But now, I think there's a genuine side of kindness to him. So I'm excited to see more of that (be it, seeing more of his softer side or being proven wrong).

ALSO WHILE WRITING IN POLLY’S SECTION, I REALIZED THAT JACKRUM PROBABLY KNOW SHE'S A WOMEN!!!! Oh shit, maybe corpol too???? Definitely Jackrum I think!

"What's that?" said the corporal. "My signature," said Polly… "You can read and write, too?" said the sergeant, glancing up at them and then back to her.

THEY GOT SURPRISED THAT SHE KNEW HOW TO READ AND WRITE (an abomination for women). Also... I might have gotten slightly spoiled trying to draw Jackrum. I didn't read anything but I saw girl fanart of him???? I mean, I guess he's also part of the troop, I thought it was just the soldiers. HE MIGHT BE MYSTERY PERSON!!!! Anyways, this is for future me to figure out… So that's probably why he's nice to her. NOW I'M EXCITED TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HIM. Before I got to the scene where Polly fights, I drew this cause I thought it was funny, while being slightly out of character. But now, I think this not that out of character (I'll have to see). Anyways have this shitty little doodle.

Thoughts on Polly—

I was very slow to realize that Polly's from Borogravia. As for why Polly joined, Polly definitely doesn't believe the propaganda, so my best guess is that she's going to try and find Paul. Reading about her missing Paul absolutely broke my heart. Though it's very interesting how also she was raised.

Also I got so scared when she got caught even tho I knew it would happen eventually, just didn't think it would happen THIS early in the book! I knew the moment mysterious person gave Polly the sock. I find it funny how Polly was like, “damn I thought I was cool mysterious kid". Her inner monologue is pretty funny.

I didn't ask you for one, Polly thought, quite annoyed at being taken for being a frightened young lad when she was sure she'd come over as quite a cool, non-ruffled young lad.

Also I'm pretty sure mystery person is a girl, cause I know the permis of the book so it makes this line funny

"Why, is this the escutcheon of Her Grace the Duchess I see in front of me?" said the whisperer. "Well, it won't be in front of me for long. Beat it ... boy."

Wrote this section on mystery person before the realization 🧍🧍🧍. Now I don't know. AAAAAAAAH.

Also, I'm glad that Polly gave Strappi a taste of his own medicine. Tho Private Parts is kinda funny 🏃🏃🏃. Insert: "that's a good joke, a great joke even, but I'm gonna have to ask you to stop,” audio. Seriously tho, it's pretty cool how Polly's experiences from her childhood with her dad and the other soldiers has helped her to blend in at this point. She was funny when she was like:

"I'll try not to hurt him either, Sarge," said Polly, and then cursed herself for the idiot bravado. It must have been the socks talking.

I read it twice and listened to it a 3rd time, since I had to write this and I laughed each time. I can't believe I find this dick joke so funny, I'm truly an immature child. Also fuck man. The way Polly saw people die, or just the discussions of how wars fucks people up. I have nothing insightful to say. Just, man, war's rough (<- biggest understatement of the century).

Other Book thoughts—

One thing I wasn't expecting, was for the crew to be made up of so many fantasy™️ creatures. But that one is fully on me since the book is called monstrous regiment. I guess I was so focused on what I've heard about the book, that I just completely glazed pass that. I see that there is some fantasy racism™️, so hopefully that's done well. I'm not saying it's always bad, but a lot of time people try to do metaphors, but it falls apart (ex: monster=racism allegory, when one of the characters is literally Mexican (and is brown). I'm not naming the name of the show on purpose). I do think it can be done well when you take the more, "prejudice is a thing, this is how it would play out with these creatures," and you don't make it a one-to-one with any particular minority. I feel like that's a more productive criticism of bigotry that can be applied to minority groups. I mean, I think there can be some one-to-one allegories that make sense, but it needs to be done carefully. I hope I'm making sense. But so far, I don’t see anything that bothers me. Just have my guard up a bit.

—✨Deeper✨ Thoughts on the book—

I kinda alluded to this in the previous review but yah, it's very interesting how Terry Prachet writes about war. I mean, I'm only 18, so I won't pretend to know much about the world, but I think this book has very strong themes about the dangers of nationalism and what not. And obviously he exaggerates it in the book, but it can be applied to a lot of modern situations. Side tangent, but I'm not really a patriotic person. I'm glad that my country has provided me better opportunities than my parent’s country, but I've always seen being so patriotic to a fault very weird. Also, this is clearly a criticism of the monarchy. "God save the duchess" like, come on. Down to this religious fervor they treat the duchess with, that they pray to it. I feel weird commenting too much, since I'm not as connected/involved/know too much about the politics of the monarchy (I mean technically the US is an ex-British colony, but rn relationship b/w the US and the UK is way better than other countries with the UK). All I'll say is that I don't care how nice she was, she was a colonizer and the monarchy has and continues to harm people to this day. Also back to nationalism, I've always hated the whole "people from this country suck". Like maybe the government sucks but you can never ascribe what the country does to the people of said place.

Honestly I feel weird commenting on this book in general, because I have barely any religious experience, haven't been too exposed to war, nor am I British (I mean this more in respect of the whole monarchy thing). Also, even though I'm a woman, I haven't felt much sexism. Like no cat-calling, most of the people respect me. Besides, "normal sexism," aka unconscious bias stuff like, "strong men help me pick the heavy stuff,” I don't think I have had any notable experiences of sexism or have seriously felt it in my life. So I feel like I can't give any deep observation about sexism or religion besides, yup that sounds right! Same with any the politics about war than, yup nationalism bad! I'm really aware that I'm just an 18 yr old who doesn't know much cause young people think they know everything (I mean that gets thrown a lot to invalidate young activists but there is a kernel of truth of: less experience=less knowledge of the world). Basically, I am noticing deeper themes in the book, but don’t expect me to talk about these parts if the book too much, because I don’t think I have anything productive to add. I just feel super unqualified to comment on much of this, and like I could be wrong about 100 different things I just said.

Umm… with that being said,

—Some quotes that I thought were interesting but I can't articulate why rn—

"At Paul's insistence, she'd read the whole of 'From the Mothers of Borogravia!!' to him, including the bits about heroes and there being no greater good than to die for your country. She wished, now, she hadn't done that. Paul did what he was told. Unfortunately, he believed what he was told, too."

"Several copies of the pamphlet seemed to have reached every home, even so. It was very patriotic. That is, it talked about killing"

"She'd learned to read and write after a fashion because the inn was big and it was a business and things had to be tallied and recorded. Her mother had taught her to read, which was acceptable to Nuggan, and her father made sure that she learned how to write, which was not. A woman who could write was an Abomination Unto Nuggan, according to Father Jupe; anything she wrote would by definition be a lie."

"She'd be funny just as long as she was useless, and safe as long as she was funny." Ugh yah, some men get really threaten by women being better than them

Misc—

Thank goodness for the audio book. I love when authors write in the accents, I think it creates character and it's very creative... but I'm terrible at trying to understand what they're saying. I've been doing a mixture of audio book only, audio book plus text, and just reading text. Anyways, I was reading a line Strappi said where he was mocking Maladict and I literally couldn't understand it until I listened to that part later when I could use my headphones again.

"Private Bloodfnucker hnas a fnord, Fnargeant," he said accusingly.

This was the line btw. All hail audiobooks everyone 🧎🧎🧎

Also damn digital books and audio books help me actually pick up the book and it makes it a lot less intimidating. I like reading but, sometimes my brain views it as a chore. Like I used to start books, LIKE THEM, and then proceed to NOT finish them. I have been using audiobooks in the past but it was while reading the book, and almost never just the audiobook (unless I had didn't finish a chapter in time for class). But man, actually leaning into how my brain works makes it easier. Who would've thought! (Like I always forget how useful hearing the text it, even though I have been using this tip for years). So yah, even though I think I prefer the experience of physical books, I need to just let myself read the easiest ways to me. Audiobook only, has been nice since it takes the least amount energy, but it is the hardest for me to understand, especially if it gets too flowery/lore-y. So warning, I’ll miss small details because of this. I usually go back and skim the parts I did audio only, but I’ll still miss stuff.

Also, I'm using hoopla(and when the 21 days are up, my libby ver of the text should be available), but tip! If you like to annotate, download books on PDFs and annotate using the comments. Honestly, great with research papers too! I love to highlight with different colors and then you filter the annotations, amazing really. Obviously you can do this in irl books but I like that I can write more in the comment section thingy than in the margin of books.

But yah! I'm liking the book so far. I like how Terry Pratchett writes and I like Polly as a mc.

I will add alt text some other date cause I don't have the mental energy rn. If someone besides Anna find it and wants them, just @ me in the comment and I'll @ you when I finish this Also gonna add links to the previous and next review for better organization.

First | <-Previous | Next->

[polyamorouspunk]

omg for sleepover friday i NEED to rant about my crush cause hes so akdjakdj <33

so, of course, as is in true queer fashion, i am madly in love with my best friend - i mean what can i say? he is GORGEOUS and the most kind, caring, charismatic boy ive ever met, and ive met a LOT of boys. hes one of the only people i know that fully accept me and are 100% okay (and not secondhandedly uncomfortable) with my transness/queerness - im a t4t poly gay man.

so! we spend like every second ever together and he is so nice to me and i love being around him. the only problem here is that i have no clue if he may even ever like me back. i met him this school year, and he is very picky about who he likes / dates - hes stated it takes him years to like / get a crush on anyone - but im like . the opposite. i get crushes sososo easy and they stick like GLUE and i had a crush on him from the first time i spoke to him and he touched my face in a way that felt so insanely intimate and sweet.

anyway, to the point. we both actively yearn about how much we wish we could have a boyfriend - were both lonely gay men. why wouldnt we? - and it is so insanely painful because like. dude. im perfect for you. youre perfect for me. HOW do you not see that? :( every time he talks about something he likes in a boy it feels like hes vaguely hinting at being in love with me but i know hes not cause idk why would he be?

we text each other every time something good, bad, neutral happens. we call when we get home every day until we go to bed and we text each other when we wake up. HOW IS HE NOT MY BF :(

also the other day i wrote a paragraph ab how much i loved him (3k+ characters) and he was like “i love you” “i love you i love you i love you” and its never been so obvious to me how much im in love w someone UGH

idk why im sending this tbh maybe for advice so like 1) should i make a move and 2) how do i make a move

also for sample heres what a goodnight text from him looks like (to see if maybe im just over-exaggerating)

“Hey, imma assume ur asleep. So goodnight, I love you so much, so soooooooooooo fucking much. I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow, goodnight and I hope you have amazing dreams 💗”

AAAAA im having a he likes me he likes me not moment tbh

Aaaah that’s so cute you HAVE to do something omg you have to bro that’s some fairy tale level shit omg go for iiiit live your best gay life 2024 let’s goooo

[rrcenic]

in memory of neil perry on his. suicide day lol. i’m dropping my anderperry playlist 💪💪💪

im putting the songs, the artists, and some reasons/lyrics that put them on my list :)

just take my wallet by jack stauber

it’s singing to a loved one who is no longer there, implied that they took their own life

lyrics that give anderperry vibes:

“your mamas crying for you”

“good times are singing, they sang, they sang, those times are echoing through me”

“what’s the softest way to say you took away my friend, my buddy, what’s the kindest way to say the end”

hidden in the sand by tally hall

this song is a bit unsettling but sweet and sad. it’s about confusion and love

there are no lyrics that really scream anderperry, it’s just the vibes tbh

when she loved me by sarah mclachlan

yeah this was the toy story song. but it still. it’s just. aaaah

it’s a forlorn memory of a love that is gone

lyrics:

literally all of them are anderperry istg

this december by ricky montgomery

i’ve actually already made a post about this!! https://www.tumblr.com/rrcenic/735574508285689856/this-december-by-ricky-montgomery-is-the

talk to me by cavetown

this song holy shiiiit-

it’s kind of. it’s like asking someone you love that it’s okay to talk to you about their problems. saying it’s okay to not be perfect.

lyrics that scream anderperry:

“we can talk here on the floor, on the phone if you prefer, i’ll be here until you're okay”

“let your words release your pain, you and i will share the weight, growing stronger day by day”

“it’s so dark outside tonight, build a fire warm and bright, and the wind, it howls and bites”

“anxiety, tossing, turning in your sleep, even if you run away, you still see them in your dreams”

“it's so dark tonight, it looks nice, fall asleep, it's alright, come inside, and talk to me”

smoke signals by cavetown

i know i’m a freak, ripped the band-aid, broke the peace, took the lock but lost the key”

“guess i set you free, i hope you found a place to sleep, i know you're bound to think of me”

“you can come home to me when you're ready, i left the gate unlocked for you, til then i’m sending out smoke signals, hoping i’ll see yours too”

also, the ending is just repeating the line “i miss you” seven times as it fades out

the village by wrabel

this song is technically about the transmasc experience in a conservative area but i think some of the messages fit anderperry so well!!

learning from someone wiser that you don’t need to be ashamed of yourself, the hate you can get from your family for being queer, the fact that there is nothing wrong with you and your gender and your sexuality and your dreams, very dps coded

it also discusses the fact that oppression of young queer folks can often lead to suicide

lyrics:

no, your mom don't get it, and your dad don't get it, uncle john don't get it. and you can't tell grandma, cause her heart can't take it, and she might not make it. they say don’t dare, don’t you even go there”

“feel the rumors follow you from monday all the way to friday dinner, you’ve got one day of shelter then it's sunday hell to pay, you young lost sinner”

“well i’ve been there, sitting in that same chair, whispering that same prayer half a million times. it’s a lie though, buried in disciples, one page of the bible isn't worth a life”

these are just the first few songs that come to mind for anderperry, but i’m sure there’s more!! anyways rip neil you slayed 😔

[forabeatofadrum]

Hello and happy El WooWoo to you all. Thank you @aroace-genderfluid-sheep​ for the tag back and @you-remind-me-of-the-babe​‘s tag just arrived in my activity box!

Surprise, it is Thesis Wednesday after all! I know I said last Sunday that it’s going to be thesis free here, but to my dismay I found another Darling That I Might Have To Kill:

As indicated earlier, the term "queer women" is used instead of "lesbians". This is because there are more sexual identities than homosexuality. Yet homosexuality is the most common depicted in media (Bond, 2015; Sender, 2011). Bisexuals and pansexuals are depicted less because they threaten binary ideas about identity. This is why bisexuality is often portrayed as “one or the other” (Allen, 2022). Bisexual women are still portrayed as prone to cheating (Diamond, 2005). Asexuals are almost completely invisible, or they are not taken seriously by the media (Chen, 2020). Most of the characters are cisgender (Nölke, 2018) and trans women who appear in the media are often victims of (sexual) violence (Abbott, 2022) or they’re seen as a threat to cis women (Gill-Peterson, 2023). There has been improvement in recent years, with TV series such as Pose, starring trans women of color (Joyrich, 2022), but several articles indicate that there is still much room for improvement and argue for intersectionality (Annati & Ramsey, 2022 ; DeCeuninck & Dhoest, 2016; Rodriguez, 2019; Yue, 2014).

Basically, like other Kill Your Darlings, thesis edition, I don’t have to fully get rid of it. I just need to shorten it. This has proven to be quite difficult, since I think all information is relevant. Same can be said here with this snippet. But I guess I will have to cut out all from “Bisexuals and pansexuals...” to “... media (Chen, 2020)”, so that the core still stands: other sexualities are underrepresented.

The conflicting thing is that on one hand my advisor tells me to trim most of my theoretical background down (I mean, it is indeed too long), but on the other hand I need to show what the literature says about the core statements that I am presenting. This conflict is bigger with previous snippets that I have shared, but ugh, that is the pain of being limited to a thesis format. Might fuck around and obtain a PhD after all, only so that I have more room to include stuff. (That is a joke, I am not sure if I want to do a PhD.)

Anyway, I have also started the interviews. I had two today. Two more tomorrow. Two more on Friday... and so on. I need to transcribe a lot but the good news is that I genuinely love it. I absolutely enjoy hearing other people’s opinions on it. The two interviews of today also felt, well, inspiring almost. It was so nice. Aaaah.

The Dutch version, + a fun gif + the weather under the cut.

And now, te weather: @quizasvivamos​ @blurglesmurfklaine​ @coffeegleek​ @esperantoauthor @otherworldsivelivedin @caramelcoffeeaddict​ @sillyunicorn @bazzybelle @dragoneggos @raenestee @tectonicduck @nightimedreamersworld @urban-sith @thnxforknowingme​ @captain-aralias​@takitalks @justgleekout​ @cerriddwenluna​ @tea-brigade @ivelovedhimthroughworse @moodandmist @whogaveyoupermission @bookish-bogwitch @confused-bi-queer​ @ionlydrinkhotwater @1908jmd​ @special-bc-ur-part-of-it​ @larkral @chen-chen-chen-again-chen​ @cutestkilla​​ @nausikaaa​/@wellbelesbian​ @artsyunderstudy​​ @martsonmars​​ @facewithoutheart​​ @shrekgogurt @boyinjeans​

[kisolvetica]

Shipping preferences

Here is a list of character pairings I enjoy and seek out in fanwork, pairings I like but don't seek out fanworks of, and also those I'm neutral of or don't enjoy. This does not mean that you're not allowed to ship those pairings, my word isn't law and honestly, I don't care what you ship as long as you don't force it onto people. Respect my ships and I respect yours.

As a queer person, many of the ships I mention will be m/m, f/f or poly. The little heteronormative ships I mentioned also are most likely bi4bi or t4t in my headcanon. It's just what I enjoy and not in any case against people that ship straight ships.

All my ships are switch ships, I do not have an inherent preference for any particular top/bottom dynamic. Though I do lean towards one at times, it is not to an extend that would make me dislike interacting with the counterpart. I moreso have opinions on dominant/submissive parts in the ships.

Ships I seek content of:

Genshin Impact:

Haikavehtham | Kaveh/Alhaitham

Love to see fics about their fallout as well as their reconcilation arc and everything in-between that. Them coping with the loss of each other is one of my favourite things to talk about. I have no particular preference in the dom/sub for them, I believe they'd switch but also I like it when Alhaitham takes care of Kaveh (in and outside the bedroom).

Thomato | Ayato/Thoma

I enjoy master/servant ships, I am a simple person. I love exploring their emotional worlds throughout different scenarios and the unwavering loyalty Thoma has to Ayato. Given this loyalty, Thoma is usually the submissive one in my head, though I also enjoy him relieving Ayato of some stress at times.

Cynari | Cyno/Tighnari

First ship that sold me to the game, really. I love the found family aspect that it comes with through Collei being their daughter of sorts. Tighnari being a biologist opens a lot of fun possibilities that make everything possible. They're cute, have known each other since school days — I adore a good childhood friends to lovers. The reason I don't enjoy it as much as Haikaveh is due to them being incredibly fluffy in comparison. And I love angst more.

Candehya | Candace/Dehya

Love them, absolutely adore them. My favourite sapphics. I just think that they'd end up bonding more and more and boom something happens. Add Dunyazard to the mix at times and let them be a throuple, honestly.

Laylou | Layla/Nilou

Extrovert/Introvert dynamics are amazing. And energetic/exhausted even more so. THEY'RE UNDERRATED!!! Pls Pls Pls more of them, I'm begging. They're giving me so many thoughts, will I voice them, ever? Probably not.

Fillei | Fischl/Collei

I need happiness for these two kids. Collei went through so much and feels awkward socialising. She needs an unashamed yapper in her life. Which can be both positive and negative!! I just love Collei a lot :(

Honkai: Star Rail

Ratiorine | Dr. Ratio/Aventurine

They make me ill. You can make so many irrational decisions and suck them up to Aventurine's anxiety of never having been in a healthy relationship — I need more of this!! Dr. Ratio making Aventurine realise that he is worthy of being loved. Also, I lied, I prefer top!Ratio for this one for the simple reason of Aventurine needing to be worshiped and me thinking that allowing someone to be this close to him would show a big part of the trust that they're putting into their relationship and how much he trusts Ratio in not hurting him. Still, I can see reasons for the reverse and it doesn't bother me to see it.

Mozeqiu | Moze/Jiaoqiu

Look (like Jiaoqiu can't), there's just something about them. It hooked me, their quests hooked me for all eternity. Jiaoqiu trusts Moze so much and Moze feels guilty for not being fast enough. Aaaah, I just like them and Feixiao being their sapphic bestie idk.

HertaMei | Herta/Ruan Mei

Two geniuses,,, I want to see their ideals clash like their lips do. I just,,, need them. There's so much potential in them. There's so much to look into for them because the psychology of two geniuses is just so complex in the two of them.

Ships I like but don't seek content of:

Genshin Impact:

ZhongZhu | Zhongli/Baizhu

An ex of mine brought them to my attention and I can see it. There's just something interesting to me about them. I do not fully know how to explain it right now.

Cylou | Cyno/Nilou

I blame my twitter mutuals for making me have any interest in the ship in the first place. Not OTP material but cute nonetheless.

Fremika | Freminet/Mika

They bond over having too high expectations of themselves. Used to be obsessed with it when Fontaine dropped but have less interest in it by now.

Xiaother | Xiao/Aether

Only traveler ship outside of Jeht/Lumine that I enjoy (okay, maybe I like Lyney/Aether too). Them bonding over the time we've seen them and Aether obviously trusting Xiao is just... oh it warms my heart.

XiaoVen | Xiao/Venti

WHAT DO YOU MEAN VENTI CAN EASE XIAO'S PAIN???!?!?!?!!?

Honkai: Star rail

Jadepaz | Jade/Topaz

Okay, this ship is kind of a mixed bag for me. I do not like it when people act like Jade is some sort of saving grace for Topaz, it's simply not the case. But to me that is what makes it so interesting. Topaz obviously looks up to her! And Jade definitely can use that to her advantage. They are kinda unhealthy and that is actually what I enjoy about them.

Sunturine | Sunday/Aventurine

Another case of them being unhealthy makes them interesting. If only the fandom was less annoying. I do not condone what Sunday did to Aventurine, and perhaps them being my faves is part of why I kinda ship them, but I like to explore the psychology behind them being unhealthy. The ship doesn't have to be romantic in nature for that.

Screwtio | Screwllum/Dr. Ratio

Interesting to think about because of their clashing yet similar ideals. Also given that Screwllum is a Genius Society member it is interesting to me.

Galladay | Gallagher/Sunday

Their Jesus/Judas parallels are awesome! I just have no deep connection to Gallagher at the current time.

General things I like:

master/servant and its (dis)loyality and power dynamics

the psychology behind the characters in unhealthy ships

childhood friends to lovers

pining

Ships/Themes I avoid:

Kaeluc | Kaeya/Diluc: Incest as well as pseudo incest is something that makes me uncomfortable. I personally prefer their dynamic as brothers and do not want to see them shipped at all

m/f ships, many of their fandoms tend to be full of queerphobes and I lack myself in the want to engage with them (neuvifuri is one example of this)

ZhongXiao | Zhongli/Xiao: actually an interesting dynamic. The issue? Xiao looks so incredibly young and the friend that got me into the game had gotten me hooked on their father/son-esque relationship. I just fail to shake it off, but Zhongli/any other yaksha works fine to me.

Adding onto the point above: It is rare that I ship characters with different types of models. Tall and medium male just look such deeply different ages that I couldn't enjoy it myself outside of trying to study the psychology behind the unhealthiness of it. Tall and medium female model have similar issues but here it depends more on how the character is presented over all for me. I do not know why that is, exactly.

I can find many themes to be worth exploring, it heavily depends on how the themes are explored in the work and how they're presented in the grand scheme of things, so I won't say too much to what I dislike as it simply depends a lot of the times.

[virgoactias]

I NEED YOUR THOUGHTS ON PRELUDE TO ECSTASY!!!

plsssss <3

aaaah i love that question

album of the year, album of the decade, century, millennium, human race existence. i will probably write a deeper dive about each track later but i love the album soooo fucking much. my top 3 rn are the feminine urge, portrait of a dead girl and burn alive (though gjuha and beautiful boy are in the picture too).

don’t even get me started about the transition from gjuha to sinner???? one being about growing up disconnected from your culture and the second one about growing up queer in a catholic community??? istg they literally mastered the art of girlhood

also i will be definitely learning burn alive on bass because omfg i love georgia davies sooo much.

can’t wait to see what else they will bring to the music industry because they are so ready to eat everyone up (and i will see them live this month 🫣)

[anonymolly]

8, 54, 62?

8. Describe your crush

Agh okay there’s a few because I’m a Slut (read: I am softhearted) but I’ll describe the one who isn’t on here because that seems more equitable to my brain after a literal 2 hour bath (my brain is melty). He is sweet and filthy and good with his hands and I love geeking out about D&D with him and because I am hormonal I am legally allowed to say that our kids would have the curliest brown hair and either big brown eyes or big blue ones if they were lucky enough to get his and my recessive genes. I love his voice and I love hearing about his day and I love how he makes me feel. I miss him lots even when we talk a bunch because I truly *cannot* get enough of him. I always feel so safe and comfortable with him and we’re currently working out some kinks in our communication but we’re always trying to be communicative about our feelings and our thoughts, it just doesn’t always mesh. I like him lots and he’s gorgeous and smart and funny and at any point in my life I would’ve wanted him as a friend. I feel really lucky that he’s around right now (even though I’m admittedly kind of a mess and not making a great impression) and I wouldn’t mind him staying forever. That is all goodbye I’m crawling under a rock

54. Is there someone you will never forget?

I hope so! Not to be too grim, but Alzheimer’s runs in my family so sometimes I get a little worried about that. This isn’t NSFW but I’d really like to be able to remember my Great Uncle Dick for a long long time, though. He was the first person in the family who was openly gay on my dad’s side (I think I’m the first openly queer person on my mom’s side?) and he was super cool. He had a partner who was an art professor named David, and David left his family to be with Dick. They were happy for a couple of years, but Dick came home to find David dead after a heart attack one day. Dick had an understandably difficult period of time after this, and my dad moved in with him to help take care of him when his alcohol/drug abuse got really bad. Everyone else in the extended family distanced themselves from him because he was openly gay, but he lived with my mom and my dad for a little while after he couldn’t/wouldn’t take care of himself on his own. He eventually had a really bad stroke, so by the time that I could remember spending time with him he was in a live-in care facility, but apparently he really liked spending time with us when I was little (he was also really present when my brother and sister were little). He really liked babysitting and hanging out with us because he never had kids of his own. When I was little, he was around for holidays with his wood-carved cane with a painted cardinal on top and on weekends my dad and I would go to his care facility to hang out and sneak him cigarettes. I miss him lots and I wish I could’ve gotten to know him better when he was more lucid.

62. What is the sexiest thing someone could ever do for/to you?

For me? Agh I don’t know. Aaaah. I’m so bad with people doing things *for* me because I’m not used to it. Casually being offered a collar (like it’s the easiest decision in the world to make) would be a really really sexy show of commitment does that count?

To me? We’ve talked about hand-guiding to show arousal right? Like, grab my hand and make me feel how hard/wet I’m making you.

Thanks for the asks 🥰

[pilferingapples]

HELLO I GOT YOU

TBH I could just point you at my bookmarks, because I do not bookmark Shouty Jerk Enjolras fics, but here are some specific fics! Canon Era: Fraternité , by @robertawickham/bobbiewickham : "The Amis de l'ABC, at the beginning and the end." READ IT READ IT they're all so good in thiiis aaaah, but especially read it for Enjolras, who brings them together here

Birds Of A Feather, by Sunfreckle : just some friendly hanging out at Feuilly's fan shop:D

On The Path to Elysium by @thevagueambition : "Grantaire arrives in Paris to study art but life takes several turns as he struggles with his inner demons, immerses himself in Paris' queer scene and makes friends with political radicals." I can't say it better than that! an E/R fic where Grantaire's kind of a disaster and Enjolras is Enjolras ,and they are both Very In Their Twenties.

Light Your Candle With Wildfire, by @fixaidea; after surviving the barricades , the Amis finish their student days and go their separate ways, except for a few. Enjolras/Feuilly , canon era

How Bossuet Found His Luck , by bobbiewickham/ @robertawickham : Mostly J/B/M , but Enjolras does play a critical, if accidental, role as a helpful friend. I almost never see Enjolras as the Helpful Friend with someone else's love life, so it gets to go here even if he's just a one scene wonder XD

A Night's Sanctuary, by @estelraca : Enjolras and Feuilly commit crimes and talk politics, which are after all closely related.

A Charming Young Man , by kvikindi: just some light silliness about Enjolras and animals

Aspirations, by Fearnoevil : Joly and Enjolras have a conversation and hold on to hope on the barricade. This would stand out just for being Joly and Enjolras , they don't get much time to hang out , but it's such a GOOD Joly and Enjolras, and really captures the way their whole friendship works in one conversation. Warmth Against the Cold : Just a nice party with friends! Genuinely, just some Amis Friendship Fluff, but very nice.

Not Even Miracles, by @everyonewasabird : Some people survive the barricade. Lots of characters, including a heartbreakingly well written Enjolras. Warning: On Hiatus, but I'd rec this for the first chapter alone.

In Which Is To Be Learned The Name of Enjolras's Fake Fiancée- Enjolras and Cosette, by @fremedon : Not the usual Fake Dating fic, an Actual Fake Dating Fic! Cosette makes friends, Enjolras expands his Horizons , Marius Pontmercys for all he's worth. An absolute delight. Ongoing! To Pronounce The Word Love, @midautumnnightdream : Enjolras and his friends, in scenes over the years

AUs , Modern and Otherwise The ABC Club : a Babysitter's Club AU based on the books XD very light and fun!

A Mantle That Fits, by @estelraca : a fantasy AU with emphasis on the fantastic. Has all the Amis but Enjolras is the main focus. It's so good and so gorgeous!!!

The Future's Owned By You and Me, by Quillsand : Enjolras /Feuilly/ Labor Rights FTW. Feuilly's the main character but Enjolras does get a lot of focus and is an excellent partner in labor organizing :D

Until The Stars Burn Out, Quillsand: SPACE AU SPACE AU SPACE AU *ahem* I like Space AUs and this one has a very good Enjolras :D

I could keep going but this is a lot and I don't want to overload you! If you like them, I will go ahead and rec all the other les mis fic by any of these authors , too--they've all got a great handle on the characters. And drop them a comment, they are also lovely people to chat with! :D

fics where enjolras is not an asshole shouting and angry at everyone all the time please (for real I cant read another fic like this)

[firebirdscratches]

Pride flags

I love the explosion in pride flags. I love it.  Yes, the original Rainbow Pride Flag is here for us all, but I think it’s wonderful that people are putting such specific, creative wordsmithing into naming their experience, and that they’re also celebrating our diversity and insisting on wonderful, colorful plurality. It’s inspiring, honestly. It also confuses me when people are like “you just wanna feels special,” or “you’re just making stuff up, now.” Buddy - I’ve got bad news for you about...words. And language. And pretty much 95% of human culture. Things mean what we decide they mean! And to me, it’s so refreshing to see queer people making so many bold, bright, beautiful declarations of who they are. There is a reason the rainbow was the choice for our community - each color represents a different aspect of begin gay, but it also emphasizes that there’s so many ways to be gay, and that we must always embrace and celebrate our uniqueness.  So, I decided to make a post with all the pride flags I’ve found that could apply to me! Some of them are more accurate than others, but these are all flags I’ve identified with at some point. 

Can’t beat a classic!

Oh wait, you totes can. I love how this emphasizes our community’s diversity and challenges us to maintain our commitment to intersectionality and listening to the people of color in our ranks. 

I identified as bisexual in college, when I was first figuring things out! I still feel fine being called bi...I just think there’s other terms that are more specific for me!

For a while I identified as polysexual, but I never really felt like it was a perfect fit, and also it seemed easily confused with polyamorous (which I also am). Finally I settled on...

IT ME! :D

OOOoooo so pretty and sparkly! :D From here on in, I’ll put them under a Readmore so that your dash isn’t dominated by an epic long post! 

I just found about this flag/orientation today! Omnisexual! I’m excited about it! Look how gorgeous the flag is! I’m still not clear on the difference between Pansexual and Omnisexual, I’ve seen it articulated different ways by different people...I think I’d be fine with both, tbh! Until I understand the precise distinction it’s hard for me to say which I feel closer to...but I think I’ll stick with “pan” for now, since it feels more accurate for me than bi or poly, and most people understand it. 

Aces are beautiful and belong in our community! Aces are so great!

I’m a gray ace, or graysexual...this is the pride flag for that :D 

This is the original intersex flag...

And this is the new one. I LOVE IT! I never cared for the way the old flag insisted on a gender binary with its pink and blue, though the white was supposed to represent nonbinary intersex people...also it was frequently mistaken for the trans flag, and while I am intersex, I’m definitely not trans, as I was AFAB and identify as a woman. (I didn’t even find out I had an intersex condition until I was 18!) I like how unique this new design is! 

Polyamory pride! :D 

Did you know that lesbians who prefer to kiss and cuddle than have sex used to be called “Bambi Lesbians?” How adorable! And how useful for the ace sapphics today! This was designed by @alouette-lulu, along with a lot of other deer pride flags! She didn’t originally intend them to be “Bambi” pride flags, but I think it works perfectly!

Here’s another design for Bambi lesbians! 

...but I’m not technically a lesbian, so here’s a Perfect Bambi Pan flag! XD I ADORE these, thanks so much for sharing your art, @alouette-lulu!

The sapphic pride flag! AAAAH It’s so pretty!! Sometimes the violets are drawn, instead of being shopped in like this. Did you know that in the language of flowers, Violets were used even centuries ago to express Sapphic romance? Dreamy! <3

The queer flag! Well....one of them. XD I love the word queer, I love how defiant it is, I love its history, I love its refusal to be simply defined, and most of all I love how nobody can agree what the queer flag is, it’s perfect!! I hope there’s always twenty different queer flags because that’s just so QUEER AND PERFECT!!

Another queer flag design!

Oooo Geometry, YAAAAS

TRUTH

The BDSM Pride Flag! I’m not as active in the community as I used to be, but it was honestly lifesaving when I was going through a difficult time, and I learned SO MUCH about who I am as a person through my time in my local kink community.

The Leather pride flag! I’ve often seen this used interchangeably with the BDSM pride flag, but Leather is actually a very specific subculture of the BDSM community with houses and discipline and apprenticeship protocols. I identify more with the first one, but see this one used more often...it still makes me happy when I see it, like I found a kindred spirit! 

The Sapiosexual flag! For a brief while I identified as sapio, but I eventually realized that while intelligence is a key component in my sexual attraction, it wasn’t the most important - that’s kindness, and a sense of humor. I realized this flag actually wasn’t right for me, but it helped me on my journey! 

I actually just discovered this flag in my googling for this post! I am a fat woman, and I’m learning every day how to be proud of that in a fatphobic culture. And this design is based on Neopolitan ice-cream! How cute! At first, I was really excited about it! Unfortunately, this flag is also associated with feederism, stuffing, padding, and other fat fetish, which I find disappointing. Not because I’m judging people’s kinks, but I do not participate in them - I don’t like being fetishized for my body - that doesnt make me feel “proud.” The “vanilla” stripe is supposed to represent “all BBW and BHM and the people that love them” - but I don’t like the implication that I’m “vanilla” just because I don’t participate in fat fetishism. (I’m decidedly not vanilla.) This is a very new flag, having only been designed in 2011, and I’m sad that I couldn’t find a better example for fat queer people.  So why end on that down note?  Because I’ve decided to design my own Fat Pride flag!! :D Defining our communities for ourselves is a quintessential part of the gay experience. I realized - why am I waiting around for someone else to do it? Be the change you want to see in the world! I’m going to try and do it justice! <3 Thanks for reading my long post, and if you liked and reblogged, have a hug from me. I love my community, and I’m so happy Pride Month is here! 

[paint-music-with-me]

I'm not saying I want an Unforgettable Love AU where Pran is the sole guardian of a child (up to you if it's his or he's the godfather) and he is at his wit's end because he really doesn't know how to take care of a child. Then one day when things go oh so wrong, Pran meets Pat, a photographer/coach/teacher/child psychologist (I can't decide which tbh idk why 😅), who has a way with kids. So maybe they cut a deal where Pat helps Pran with raising the kid. But through all of this, they slowly fall in love with each other, with the scheming help of friends and the kid.

It'd be nice

But yeah, I'm not saying I want it or whatever.... 🤷‍♂️

[savrenim]

OKAY. SO. I rarely go on "I deeply love this book, everyone should read it" rants because like. aaaah it's hard to write reviews, aaah it feels weird to rec things to people in general I barely rec things to my closest friends, and also aaah, let's be real, grad school has meant I was barely reading any books out of lack of time and can't rec what you haven't read, but Hands of the Emperor (aaah it's great everyone should read it does the fact that I’ve broken my ‘no more fanfic til my original work goes up’ rule for it not rec it enough) seems to have spurred me on a "guess I'm reading books now again" kick and, uh. By FAR, no question, the best book I have read on this kick (and there have been Many. double digits many.) has been A Conspiracy of Truths by Alexandra Rowland. 

The blurb of A Conspiracy of Truths seemed perfectly nice and valid and a book that I would eventually get around to reading: 

In a bleak, far-northern land, a wandering storyteller is arrested on charges of witchcraft. Though Chant protests his innocence, he is condemned not only as a witch, but a spy. His only chance to save himself rests with the skills he has honed for decades – tell a good story, catch and hold their attention, or die.

But the attention he catches is that of the five elected rulers of the country, and Chant finds himself caught in a tangled, corrupt political game which began long before he ever arrived here. As he’s snatched from one Queen’s grasp to another’s, he realizes that he could either be a pawn for one of them… or a player in his own right. After all, he knows better than anyone how powerful the right story can be: Powerful enough to save a life, certainly. Perhaps even powerful enough to bring a nation to its knees.

which, like. Is good! And true! And accurate! And gave me the entirely wrong impression, which the first six sentences of the book will probably immediately clear up:

The whole mess began in a courtroom in Vsila, the capital of Nuryevet, where I was being put on trial for something stupid. 

"What's all this about?" I said, not for the first time. 

"Charges of witchcraft," they said; at least, that was what it boiled down to.

"Utterly ridiculous," I said.

"We got some witnesses," they said. 

"Your witnesses can go fuck themselves," says I, although not in so many words. 

This book is narrated by a horrible gremlin whom I deeply love as much as I want to shake the shoulders of, it has some of the most fascinating, human, likable, dislikable (affectionate), flawed, and deeply wonderful characters. There is casual and deeply satisfying queerness baked into the world setting. There is an incredibly rich and varied world background that while not in the "hard sci fi rubs it in your face" way whatsoever has things like the author tracked how moons+orbital mechanics would effect the tides, the narration is this utterly delicious Schrodinger's maybe-unreliable-maybe-totally-reliable setup, and it's just a good story. I started out the book casually enjoying it. I got a third of the way through, and I literally could not put it down. (It was very inconvenient. I had other things to do that afternoon that did not get done.) 

So. Yeah. The once in a blue moon book rec from me: I could not recommend A Conspiracy Of Truths highly enough, and, uh, come back in a week probably to hear me scream similar about the sequel A Choir Of Lies, which I am already crying over having just read the blurb description. 

[tuiyla]

was so happy when leighton’s mom actually supported her all throughout the episode, fully expected her to lash out after they made her seem so awful last season but it was all surprisingly wholesome. i was like, wow bela kimberly whit and leigh are all being ridiculous but at least i have leighton’s mom here to give me one nice little moment before everything continues going to shit. speaking of, i’m devastated she won’t get to meet tatum, esp after tatum and leigh’s dad basically became besties

I love that the Murrays are more complex than they seem at first. Because we could dismiss them as a typical rich white conservative family who messed up their kids and imo Leighton's mom in particular is clearly, Not Okay, but they both clearly care about Nico and Leighton. It's lovely to see a dysfunctional family still be functional where it really counts, i.e. supporting and loving Leighton unconditionally. I didn't expect her mom to go along with Leighton quitting Kappa so easily but there she was, prioritizing her child's happiness over the memory of her own glory days. And sure that's a low bar but it's not always or even often in queer stories that we get that.

Aaaah don't remind me Tatum with Mrs Murray would have been awesome 😭 I just know that Henry Murray was much more devastated about the Leightum breakup than Leighton herself lmao rip.

[comas-are-for-sleeping]

and like!!!!!!!! fuck!!!!!!! i'm not muslim but i am always drawn to things abt religion bc. still christian yk. and the characters all have so much faith and so much love for their religion and it shapes how they move in the world the way that it feels like to me (and so few Actually Christian™️ things have lmao) with yk, queer characters and awkward parents who love their kids and the music in their brains, and it's like-- i don't know how to describe it man. they did this in such a human way. i am so happy we've gotten to a spot where shows like this get to exist, even if they are DEEPLY underappreciated

ok yeah but FR. religion is SO INTERESTING. i was kinda sorta raised christian on my mom's side, but. was bored as a kid in church plus my dad is an atheist so i lean that way?? but also. higher power and creation and wow i love how humans come up w the ways things are the way they are (hence being in world myth lol)

AAAAH i needa watch this so bad

[matan4il]

Do u think there is something to it tht Buck was wearing a tank top during tht BuckTaylor scene?? Cuz we have never seen Buck in a tank top before(aside from tht gym scene with Eddie in 2x01. Would u call tht a tank top?? It looked more like a sleeveless shirt thn a normal classic tank top), so seeing him in one, when usually he is shirtless, felt strange to me.

Thoughts?

Hi lovely! Thanks for the question. If I'm thinking about it, I guess the big question would be, why not have Buck topless in the scene with Taylor? It's usually what's expected in intimate scenes and it's not like 911 seems to shy away from that. So why not do that here? If I had to bet, I'd say maybe wardrobe was looking for a way to indicate that, despite the seeming intimacy, there are still certain barriers between Buck and Taylor. Just like that scene in 201 where Buck has a tank top on with Eddie at the gym, he has his walls up still, right before they're gonna come crashing down gloriously during the call with the guy who shots himself in the leg... Does that make sense to you? Thank you again and it's so lovely to hear from you, I hope you're having a great day! xoxox

I was reading your amazing Buddie Breakdown of 5.01 and when it hit me, making legal safeguards so that your immediate family does not messes up your legacy is such a queer thing to do! We have so many instances of trans people being misgendered by their family after their death and their possessions all going back to the people they ran away from. Same with homosexuals whose partners never had any claim over their belongings because marriage was only between a man and woman. Eddie making provisions in case of his death because he knows that Buck loves Christopher as much as he does, (more than his own family), this really hits hard!

Hi, sweet Nonnie! First of all, thank you so much for the kind words! I'm really glad you liked the meta and BIG HUGS to you!

Second, what a great ask! And an opportunity to talk about how same sex couples used to have this arrangement, where one partner would legally adopt the other one (despite obviously not having a parent/child relationship) so that if something happened to one partner, the other one would have a legally recognized family connection, a say in medical decisions, a right to inherit property if the worst came to be... That was a result of the insanity of homophobia, and it's a really good point: this is how families and relationships that aren't recognized by society go about, making sure their reality has to be accepted by others, too. I couldn't agree with you more, Nonnie, and I'm so glad you brought it up! xoxox

* raises from the ashes to read your meta about 5x01, Mushu style * I LIIIIIIVEEEE! Hello,again! I haven't been in tumblr for weeks or months, but I definitely had to come back to read your amazing metas! Thank you so much for writing them! :D

@roadnotsodark Hi lovely! Aaaah, tweensies, I haven't been around Tumblr too much, either. I hope in your case, it was for good reasons? But it's so great to hear from you and I'm absolutely delighted to know that you enjoyed the meta. If you came especially for it to Tumblr? Oh, wow! What an amazing compliment. Thank you for that and I'm so glad if my little post didn't disappoint! So much love to you, hon! xoxox