#Anne-Marie lens

[lgbtqreads]

Happy International Asexuality Day 2023!

Happy International Asexuality Day! Today we’re celebrating books with main characters all along the ace spectrum, so check out these titles and find your perfect next read! As usual, all links are affiliate and earn a percentage of income for the site, so please use them if you can! Please note this roundup only features titles that were not previously featured [with covers] in past…

[mydarlinginej]

I loved these authors’ books so much that I absolutely cannot wait to read more from them! check out these 5️⃣ 2023 sequels and sophomore novels/series I’m unbelievably excited for!!

[ultralowoxygen]

Thrawl Street by Brett Sheehan Via Flickr: Mary Ann Nichols was lodging at 18 Thrawl Street around the time she became a victim of Jack The Ripper on August 31 1888. She was turned down for a bed for the night the night she died. The spot where 18 Thrawl Street was is I think about there the building on the left is where the second door & window on ground level are (left of the small tree in the middle). Nikon F4. AF Nikkor 24mm F2.8D lens. CineStill bwXX 35mm B&W film.

[fictionadventurer]

I've seen classics with "spoil every plot point in detail" introductions.

I've seen classics with "twist the book so I can analyze it through a specific lens rather than letting you come to your own conclusions based on the actual text" introductions.

But I think the introduction to The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, written by some woman (Mary Augusta Ward) who died in 1920, that says "no one would remember this book if Anne Bronte didn't happen to have Emily and Charlotte (actual geniuses) as sisters" might be the worst introduction I've ever seen.

[queerfandomtrifecta]

Bottle It Up: the most tangible theme in OFMD s2

So looking at s2 through the (super fucked up) lens that Jim asking Frenchie “How are you handling all of this so well?” And Frenchie responding by saying he puts all the terrible things in a box in his mind and never opens it again was the lesson everyone was supposed to learn this season and like, that’s there in the text more than anything else and I hate that.

Frenchie is handling everything well because he’s putting it in the box and never addressing it again.

Izzy finally says he has love for Ed, everyone is worried about him, the atmosphere is toxic and suggests talking it through and Ed goes on deck and points a gun at everyone as he asks them to talk about it, and when Izzy finally does address the reality of things and speaks Stede’s name aloud he gets shot in the leg.

Lucius isn’t talking about what happened. Avoidant about the Rat Boy name at first, says he fell off the ship, can’t remember when he picked up smoking.

Stede asks Lucius to talk to him about what happened after he was pushed off the ship, and Lucius starts to and almost immediately Stede runs away saying to save the rest for Pete.

Lucius says he talks to Pete and Stede says “please tell me you held back on some of the darker stuff” and Lucius confirms he did because Pete got nauseous and started crying.

Lucius tells Stede he should look past the man he loves and examine all the awful things he did, but Stede brushes it off and doesn’t do that.

No one will tell Stede they killed Ed. (Arguably this is for their own safety as well but it fits the whole “we’re not talking about the hard stuff” theme so I’m including it)

Ed finds out Stede went home to Mary through Anne Bonny. Stede begins to try to explain but instead, Ed smashes his chair against the wall and walks off. They have a very brief conversation without mention that Stede was kidnapped by Chauncey then watched him die.

Ed gives his influencer non-apology that was clearly written by Stede to the crew, and everyone but Lucius and Izzy seem to have forgiven him. During the “apology” Jim talks about how it made them feel and Stede shushes them so Ed can keep not apologizing. Afterward, for some reason, Jim says immediately says “I thought it was pretty solid for him” Archie says that’s how it goes in situations like this, Roach has never heard an apology before so they’re all good apparently now.

Lucius pushes Ed off the ship but isn’t okay yet. We’re addressing the trauma here and trying to make it right (even if it’s in a messed up way); we’re finally talking about it directly, but Lucius isn’t okay after this.

Fang tells Ed he’s not mad at him because he got it all out of his system when they beat him to death.

The whole Lucius/Izzy exchange “A shark did this to me. Dangling my legs over the side of the ship, served me right too.” ��Okay, that seems healthy. Using a bit of fiction to cover up your trauma.” “Not moving on is worse.” (Another point at which Lucius wants to resolve trauma and he’s told no, don’t talk about it)

Lucius is clearly coping poorly and tries again to talk to Pete about how he almost died and Pete says he should find him when he’s no longer thinking about his trauma (“find me when Blackbeard isn’t living rent free in your head”) and that Lucius should talk about how he lived instead. Lucius then seems to decide that he’s fine, proposes to Pete, and is seemingly okay after that. (5th point in the story when Lucius tries to talk about something to heal and is told no in some way, and here is when he finally seems to moves on and is played as “better” after this)

Izzy’s drinking a lot even after he’s not totally dysfunctional like at the end of ep4.

The only Ed apology to Izzy is “Sorry about your leg.” With no eye contact as he’s walking away. To which Izzy responds “Fuck off.” After Ed’s out of ear shot.

Stede suggests Ed can absolve himself of everything by “turning the poison into positivity” and selling his treasure he got during the time he was abusing the crew to buy party supplies. Stede later says at the party that yes, Ed has achieved turning the poison into positivity, though Ed has done nothing by throw money at the problem.

Stede ignores Ed’s warning about not being able to come back from killing in cold blood and kills Ned Low.

Stede is visibly upset and Ed goes to check on him and begins to start talking, but Stede wordlessly grabs him and slams him up against a wall and then they have sex (which Ed has requested to wait on) instead of talking about it.

Ed decides he’s leaving to become a fisherman because Stede is infamous now and Ed’s been wanting out of that life so there’s a brief disagreement where not much is said and then he leaves.

“I’m sorry I was such a dick.” Is the biggest apology we’ve gotten all season. It’s immediately dismissed as “you’re not a dick. Life’s a dick.”

No one in the crew seems to be mourning Izzy’s death and we as the audience seem expected to move on from it very fast. Avenging his death is proposed by Zheng but then it cuts to nope, we’re done with that and we’re inn keepers now instead. Put the terrible thing you’ve seen in the box and never open it again.

I’m definitely sure I forgot some of these and it felt at first that these were being set up to be played negatively because this is the don’t-bottle-it-up/healing-from-our-traumas show but that just doesn’t play out. Like so much of it’s either dismissed without reason, played as a joke, or framed as acceptable and the fact that I could pull so much more of this stuff out of the text than I could any other potential thematic element does has me just so baffled. I don’t know what to do with it.

[heavenlymorals]

How a Modern Perspective Skews Historical Characters: A Mini Rant on the Hatred of Female Characters in RDR2

This isn't that organized cuz it's more a rant than a retrospective but fuck it it's my blog, I do what I want-

There are so many people who have actual hatred, not criticisms, for Abigail, Molly, Grimshaw, Mary, and other female characters in the Red Dead universe.

And honestly? I find it very interesting. Sure, men will probably always find a reason to hate a female character, but what I find interesting is how many women also hate these wonderfully crafted characters.

It could be so many reasons as to why this may be the case but honestly? I think it's because people forget that they CANNOT analyze this game authentically through the modern lens of morals and behaviors. This game takes place in 1899 America. Let me say it again. This game takes place in 1899 America.

One more time, just for good measure- this game takes place in FUCKING 1899 America. Women had to be dependent on men because otherwise? They'll either be in poverty, exploited, killed, or all three. There was also the honor system. When had to be the moral high ground for their family so them messing up has consequences on their fathers, mothers, siblings, cousins, and anyone connected to their family name.

Abigail getting pissy at John for getting in trouble all the time? If course it'd feel annoying if you're looking at it through the modern perspective but when you don't, it's a woman telling her man to act like a man and be careful because if he doesn't, she and her son will be destitute and destroyed.

Mary not getting with Arthur but using him? What's the likely hood that the law would bother to help Mary when the two people she needs help with are her father and brother- two grown men who can make their own choices that she literally can do nothing about because as a woman, it wasn't her place to dictate what they do. Arthur was her only option. "Girl, what her family thinks doesn't matter, she still should've gotten with him" girl no, because it's much harder and difficult than that- it's like tearing away an entire identity that you depend on to fucking survive.

"but what about Sadie? She was also living during this time period and she isn't drowned by societal expectations-"

Seriously. Do some research, read a book, expand your knowledge of gender roles and what that entails for people because it explains so many things about these characters in such a human way. They aren't "bitches", they are women of their time and people have to understand that.

No. Sadie isn't a part of this discussion because though she is a fun character and an amazing character, she is a mishmash of historical women who did masculine things to survive at one point but then went back to traditional roles, even if they did occasionally go back to to those old activities for sport sometimes, like Anne Oakley or Calamity Jane. Sadie's entire character is basically "but what if they didn't and committed to the nontraditional lifestyle". There are many inconsistencies that Rockstar did regarding the time period that they established earlier to accommodate Sadie's character better. Sadie is a great character but she doesn't belong in this discussion.

Edit: Ok, since this was a rant, as mentioned previously, I was a bit too rushed with the Sadie aspect of this post and ignored some crucial details. I'm not gonna change the post besides just this though. @hillbillyhipster84 made some great points that Sadie was a reference to Appalachian women and real outlaw women who did run and were accomplices in men's crimes, that I was too ignorant to mention prior beforehand because I didn't do much research. I still don't believe that People should use Sadie to bash the other women though, because those women mentioned above were not the status quo and thus were more trivialized because of it.

So many cultures still operate like this too so if anything, you're just learning something new about another culture.

But I swear, anytime someone talks shit about these characters, y'all got me looking like this-

[bookcub]

Best Books of 2023

I've already written quite a bit about these books and have a tag #best books of 2023 where I also include my honorable mentions, so here is a rapid fire of my best books of the year!

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen

The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty

Kindred by Octavia Butler

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual's Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture by Sherronda J Brown

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo

The Feast Makers by H. A. Clarke

The Mirror Season by Anne-Marie McLemore

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei

Painted Devils by Margaret Owen

Sisters of the Neversea by Cynthia Leitich Smith

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

[saintsenara]

Any favourite Irish headcanons for Seamus? 😊

thank you very much for the ask, anon!

and i'm sorry to say that i'm going to be really dull and - before we get into the more insincere headcanons i have for seamus - say that figuring out his role in the series depends on the answer to a really important question which neither the books nor [to my knowledge] jkr's post-series writing addresses:

is wizarding ireland a colony?

as someone who is fond of seeing the series through the lens of anglo-irish history, this preoccupies me a lot - and i think it's something very interesting to unravel...

the statute of secrecy - the law which brings about the separation of the magical and muggle worlds - was first instituted in 1689 and put fully into effect in 1692.

it's reasonably clear from the tone of the extra canonical material that these dates come from [and also from the fact that - i am told - the statute of secrecy is a fairly significant sub-theme of the fantastic beasts films] that jkr landed on these dates for the statute primarily by thinking about the history of witchcraft in early-modern america [the salem witch trials, for example, take place in 1692-1693].

[witch trials were not an exclusively american phenomenon, of course, but they had begun to fade out in early-modern europe by c.1650, which is roughly when they begin to become more widely-documented in the american colonies. it's also fair to say that the pop-culture image of witch trials, even in europe, is heavily influenced by their american manifestation - we've all seen the crucible!]

but selecting this american context to situate the statute within means that - apparently by accident - it's also a document which appears into the lives of british and irish wizards during an extremely bloody time in anglo-irish history...

a detour which has nothing to do with harry potter...

the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were the main period of british colonial expansion in ireland - the early seventeenth century is, for example, the period of the plantation [that is, the settler colonisation] of ulster [what is now roughly northern ireland].

like many periods of anglo-irish relations, there was a major sectarian aspect to the british treatment of the irish. the plantation was driven by protestant settlers from scotland [which is not and has never been a colony!] and england into northern ireland. the protestant population expanded rapidly in the seventeenth century, political authority in the subordinate irish parliament was largely in the hands of protestant elites [especially clerics connected to the church of ireland] who enacted the policies of the british parliament and the crown, the catholic population was subject to land confiscations, restriction of worship, and an expectation of anglicisation.

and in march of 1689 - the year the statute of secrecy was first signed - this all... rather kicked off.

in november 1688 - in an event known as the glorious revolution - the king of britain [and ireland!], james ii, was forced from the throne. among the reasons for this [many of which were to do with james' absolutist views of monarchy] was the fact that james was a roman catholic, and that the birth of his son james [iii, the old pretender] in june 1688 displaced james ii's protestant daughters mary and anne in the line of succession and would result in a catholic dynasty on the throne. which was unpopular.

so james was chased off and the throne was offered to william of orange - soon to be william iii - the husband of mary [ii].

in an attempt to regain his throne, james primarily recruited support from among the catholic population of ireland [as well as scotland and france], having promised to reverse many of the more unpopular sixteenth- and seventeenth-century policies imposed upon ireland by the crown. this was intolerable both to british and irish protestants, and william iii had no choice but to land in ireland with an army.

the start of the conflict was bloody but nebulous. the tide turned in william iii - and his protestant supporters' - favour in july 1690, with the battle of the boyne, a williamite victory. the jacobite cause was in shambles, james fled the country, and his supporters were eventually made to formally surrender with the signing of the treaty of limerick in october 1691.

from 1691 to 1800, ireland was a british colonial client state [nominally an autonomous kingdom with its own parliament, in reality controlled by the crown and responsible to the king's cabinet in london] politically dominated by anglo-irish protestant families. in 1800, this "independent" legislature was abolished and ireland was absorbed into the united kingdom of britain and ireland and governed from westminster via a colonial administration in dublin, which remained dominated by anglo-irish protestants. this remained the case until the establishment of the republic of ireland in 1922. northern ireland remains a constituent nation of the united kingdom.

and now back to the wizards...

according to the harry potter lexicon [my beloved], jkr has connected the establishment of the statute of secrecy in britain to a delegation of wizards who sought protections for the magical from [a post-battle-of-the-boyne?] william iii and mary ii in 1690. when they failed to get these, the british delegation - along with the representatives from other nations who made up the international confederation of wizards - agreed to the full imposition of the statute, with the main local result of this being the creation of the ministry of magic to govern the magical citizens of britain...

and of ireland?

because something which has always stood out to me - in a way i imagine it has for literally nobody else - is that you can suggest on the basis of canon that magical ireland was never partitioned...

“[England] Went down to Transylvania, three hundred and ninety to ten,” said Charlie gloomily. “Shocking performance. And Wales lost to Uganda, and Scotland was slaughtered by Luxembourg.” 

charlie is talking about the performance of the uk's constituent nations in the quidditch world cup here. we know - obviously - that ireland are the finalists and eventual champions of the competition.

northern ireland, however, is nowhere to be seen...

it could be that the northern irish quidditch team is as abysmal at international sport as its muggle equivalents and that charlie regarded it as futile to mention it. it could be that wizarding ireland is a united ireland [slay!]. but it could also be that the minister for magic is ultimately responsible - as the monarch would have been at the time the statute was signed - for the governance of the entirety of ireland, with his rule maintained within ireland itself by a client government which he appoints.

because while i don't buy the idea of a hereditary wizengamot or think that the sacred twenty-eight has any actual power other than the opportunity to influence the minister... it's striking that the name of an anglo-irish noble family appears on it [burke - although carrow is sufficiently close to the anglo-irish "carew" for us to consider it a variant, and one also finds the odd lestrange knocking about irish history...], and that jkr has written about another of the most prominent pureblood families as having been resident in ireland during the seventeenth century... the gaunts [it's why lord voldemort like relics so much...]. we also know that the london edition of the daily prophet - which functions as something close to state propaganda - circulates in ireland, because seamus' mother takes it, and that the ministry is unhappy with the tricolour flag being flown ostentatiously by ireland supporters during the world cup...

it is, then, entirely possible - should an author wish - to imagine that the imposition of the statute at such a key point in anglo-irish history means that the magical ireland of the 1990s remains subject to the british minister, and that it therefore has a very different political and cultural relationship to britain than its muggle cousin.

and i also think that this but one way of thinking more broadly about the wider imperialist vibe which is found in the books: the defence of "civilisation" and the status quo; the fact that so much "wizarding" culture is just posh british stuff; the fact that so many of the historical analogies jkr uses to mirror wizarding history relate to the troubles; the ways in which the size and insularity of the wizarding population means that the conditions which enable revolution might not be present in magical communities, etc.

and for us to think about the ways this might make wizarding history diverge from muggle in the early-modern and modern era: is there a revolution in wizarding russia, or are there still estates staffed by squib serfs? do wizards think they're travelling to istanbul or constantinople? do wizards participate in the "new imperialism" of the late nineteenth century, imposing the same colonial borders upon magical africa and asia as muggles do? what would it be like, if you were muggleborn, entering a world which is not only so culturally and politically different, but geographically different?

which brings us to...

seamus finnegan headcanons

on the basis of name alone - which, of course, doesn't mean everything - seamus appears to be one of the only students of irish extraction [that is, not just the only student who's an irish national, but the only student who's of irish heritage] at hogwarts [orla quirke - sorted in goblet of fire - is the only other one i can think of].

[although it is worth noting that many names which appear to be scottish are also common in ireland - especially in the north. professor mcgonagall has - on the information of the seven-book canon - just as much chance of being an ulster protestant as she does a scot...]

[i have decided on the basis of this that i now think cormac mclaggen is northern irish.]

irish people from all walks of life live, study, and work in britain - and vice versa. but the fact that seamus attends a boarding school with the specific cultural vibe hogwarts has - that is, an institution which is a pastiche of elite, fee-paying british schools; which directly maintains the class-based status quo which props up the wizarding state; whose graduates dominate high-level political and institutional positions; and whose student body is strikingly well-heeled - suggests that there are less famous wizarding schools in ireland, and that him being sent to hogwarts is the result of a certain anglophilia [and the desire for him to benefit in any future ministry career, in britain or ireland, from an elite british education] on behalf of his parents...

this is not to say that i think seamus is a protestant - although i genuinely think that the muggle dad witch mam thing is meant to be a joke suggesting he comes from a mixed marriage [still reasonably scandalous here even in 2024!] - but that he comes from a reasonably posh, anglophile, unionist catholic background, as did many real anglo-irish civil servants educated at the sort of institutions - especially oxford and cambridge - hogwarts shares a cultural vibe with.

but who gives a shit about class and religion! the more important things to know about seamus:

his go-to chip shop order is - as it should be - a spice bag.

he has - in his life - drunk the odd bottle of football special.

his over-the-top loathing of "pretty-boy diggory" in goblet of fire is an absolutely iconic deflection tactic from the fact he's gay - and deamus is canon.

indeed, he loves dean so much that he has willingly cheered for the england national football team [although he threatened to obliviate anybody dean told about this]. dean, for his part, has got really into hurling.

the closest they come to divorce is when dean won't stop singing galway girl by ed sheeran at him.

one @whinlatter has convinced me of: this is their son.

his confirmation name is florian - the patron saint of protection against fire.

him getting beaten to a pulp by the carrows - and then explaining in great detail how the room of requirement works to harry - is iconic, and is a really under-appreciated aspect of character growth from his doubt over harry in order of the phoenix.

the derry girl he identifies most strongly with is james - although he tells everyone it's michelle.

he met edele lynch from b*witched once and lost his mind.

he owns a flat cap.

him publicly beefing with his mam in the immediate run-up to dumbledore's funeral is one of the most specifically irish things he ever does and i can't explain why.

him giving harry an "appreciative smirk" after he drops the iconic "there's no need to call me sir, professor" line is the second most irish thing he does. i, once again, cannot explain why. [him winking at harry after he answers snape back in their very first potions lesson also sends me.]

he is the voice behind this iconic video... and, let's be real, his slight capacity for self-aggrandisement and sulking does make him a plausible cork man.

he visits his granny every sunday for endless cups of tea and re-runs of ballykissangel.

he has never read a single piece of writing by sally rooney - but he lies and says he has.

he did this to harry on his first day in the ministry:

his wand is made of dogwood - which suits the flamboyant and loud.

he's shown in canon to quite like a bit of gossip - him being gassed up by quirrell's claim that he fought a zombie and then gutted when quirrell refuses to actually tell the story always sends me - and i like the idea of him being amazing value in a pub.

he's an only child - but he has at least thirty cousins. and his cousin fergus genuinely never did have another peaceful moment after seamus learned to apparate.

he and lavender went to the yule ball together because both dean and parvati are stupid and didn't see what was right in front of their faces. they split a bottle of archers behind a rose bush and complained about men and it was the best night of their lives.

he goes as red as a lobster the second the sun's out.

he runs the shit london guinness twitter account.

his boggart is a banshee because his dad - who is literally only mentioned once in philosopher's stone - dies over the summer before his second year [banshees - in irish folklore - herald the deaths of family members with their weeping]. however - unlike harry - you don't hear him fucking banging on about this all the time...

and he can't speak a word of irish, but none of the posh english lads he knows are going to risk calling him out on that...

[girlbossblackbeard]

One thing I think I'm most excited for when it comes to s2 is getting to observe Stede and Ed's relationship through the lens of other people !!!!! In s1 the Ed/Stede storyline was told almost exclusively through 4 people: Ed, Stede, Izzy, and Lucius, and among those 4, one of them was jealous and weaponized it, one of them was the long-suffering best friend who helped both parties through a not-break-up and then a real break-up, one of them had self-worth issues so intense he only made a move after they'd been captured and forced into the navy, and one of them didn't even know wtf was going on until his ex-wife tried to murder him and they had a debrief about what being in love feels like.

As we saw in the trailer, eeeeeverybody knows about Ed and Stede's messy "break" and I cannot WAIT for the people around them to drop truth bombs on the two of them about how foolish they're being or how painfully obvious it is they're still hopelessly in love with each other. Olu calling out Stede for dumping Ed almost took me out, and I had the thought that perhaps the cause of Ed choking on the weed is because Anne or Mary tell him at that exact moment that they can tell he still desperately wants Stede or he's being an idiot if he thinks he's fooling anyone with his act of trying to cut Stede out of his life because he's moved on. I just wanna see people roasting the hell out of them for the absolute tomfoolery the two of them have engaged in throughout the course of their friendship and romantic entanglement, ESPECIALLY regarding the very dramatic consequences from the fallout!!!!

[yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere]

so, alright, here are the movies/MEDIA that make me go *oh shit I'm so bi, omg bisexual panic*

so, alright, here are the MOVIES that make me go *oh shit I'm so bi, omg bisexual panic* (it can be very bi-vibes movies or simply movies that make me feel how very deeply i love being bi, or the ones i just enjoy rewatching-not necessarily with bi/queer representation!) : Red, White & Royal Blue 2023 , The Mummy 1999, The Little Mermaid 2023, The Little Mermaid 1989, Anne Of Green Gables 1985, Anne Of Green Gables:The Sequel 1987, Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story 2000, The Road to El Dorado 2000, Mulan 1998, The Cutting Edge 1992, Ten Inch Hero 2007, Rebel Without A Cause 1955, The Fallout 2021, Better Off Dead 1985, Anastasia 1997, Cinderella 2021, The Idea of You 2024, Rise Of The Guardians 2012, 10 Things I Hate About You 1999, Do Revenge 2022, Charlie’s Angels 2019, Bottoms 2023, Cadet Kelly 2002, Lemonade Mouth 2011, The Little Vampire 2017, John Tucker Must Die 2006, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies 2016, The Princess and The Frog 2009, The Addams Family 1991, Addams Family Values 1993, Treasure Planet 2002, Atlantis: The Lost Empire 2001, The Favourite 2018, Challengers 2024, Upgraded 2024, Fallen 2016, The Half Of It 2020, A Biltmore Christmas 2023, Feel The Beat 2020, My Old Ass 2024, Time Cut 2024,(+ will probably keep adding to this soon-ish)

+ edit TV SHOWS that my bi heart loves: One Tree Hill(OTH), Shadow and Bone, Roswell 90s(OG), White Collar, Reign, Mary & George, Heartstopper, Wild Cards, Living for the Dead, Warrior Nun, XO Kitty, Wednesday, Maxton Hall : The World Between Us (2024), Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous(JWCC) & Jurassic World Chaos Theory (JWCT) , Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Dawson's Creek, Vampire Academy 2022, Fallen 2024, Willow, Dickinson, Heartbreak High, Teen Titans, Legacies, TheAddamsFamily(1964-1966), Love Victor, Lockwood&Co, Queer As Folk, The L Word, Shadowhunters, Ginny & Georgia, Get Even (2020), Geek Girl (2024), Agatha All Along,

+ edit BOOKS/ BOOK SERIES that my bi heart absolutely LOVES:

Artemis Fowl Series by Eoin Colfer, Shatter Me Series by Tahereh Mafi, The Folk Of The Air Series by Holly Black, The Diviners Series by Libba Bray, The Devouring Gray Duology by C.L. Herman, GRISHAVERSE books (Six of Crows!!, Shadow and Bone, King of Scars-3 mini series) by Leigh Bardugo , This Woven Kingdom Series by Tahereh Mafi , Fallen Series by Lauren Kate, Elixir Series by Hilary Duff, The Cemetery Of Forgotten Books Series by C. R. Zafón, The Keys To The Kingdom Series by Garth Nix, Infinity Cycle Series by Adam Silvera, Anne Of Green Gables Series by L. M. Montgomery, Bloodlines Series & Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead, An Ember In The Ashes Series by Sabaa Tahir, The Selection Series by Kiera Cass + STANDALONES Lauren Kate-Unforgiven (standalone book in my opinion), Eoin Colfer- Airman, David Nicholls- One Day, Gayle Forman-Just One- Day & Year & Night (mini series), Vanessa Len-Only a Monster (mini series here too), Adam Silvera- History Is All You Left Me, Adam Silvera- They Both Die At The End , Adam Silvera- The First To Die At The End, Becky Albertalli-Imogen,Obviously, Mason Deaver- I Wish You All The Best(+short novella here!), Casey McQuiston-Red, White & Royal Blue, Casey McQuiston- The Pairing, Casey McQuiston-I Kissed Shara Wheeler, Casey McQuiston-One Last Stop, Aaron H Aceves-This Is Why They Hate Us, Wen-yi Lee- The Dark We Know, Mason Deaver-The Feeling Of Falling In Love, Sophie Gonzales-The Law Of Inertia, H.E.Edgmon-The Witch King & The Fae Keeper (duology!) , H.E.Edgmon-Godly Heathens & Merciless Saviors (mini series here!) , Carlos Ruiz Zafón- The Midnight Palace, Isabel Abedi- Whisper Haunted House, Francis Scott Fitzgerald- The Love Of Last Tycoon, Leo Tolstoy- Anna Karenina, S. E. Hinton- The Outsiders, Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera-Here's to Us & What If It's Us (duology), Page Powars- The Borrow a Boyfriend Club,(will keep adding here probably!)

BOOKS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BISEXUAL HISTORY & ACTIVISM:https://www.tumblr.com/ruimtetijd/686000390089621504/list-of-books-about-bi-history-and-activism-from

+ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q--nIkJu0OS0BgiyZmdKVwOVg1G90SFzWijNDWFTt58/edit#heading=h.wqkaxpi7o5je

+about THE MUSIC:

love you all, we need MORE bisexuality in media!!

+some links:

The Bisexual Flag, its meaning and history!:https://www.tumblr.com/yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere/762664140472008704?source=share + Lani Kaʻahumanu talking about how bisexuals have ALWAYS been around!:https://www.tumblr.com/yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere/762663819491328000?source=share

.https://anythingthatmovesarchive.carrd.co/ &https://anythingthatmovesarchive.carrd.co/#scans &https://anythingthatmovesarchive.carrd.co/#about

also i recommend this podcast ‘A Little Queer Podcast’ by two incredible bisexual people Capri Campeau and Ashley Whitfield. episode linked here, ‘Debunking Bisexual Myths and Stereotypes’ :https://open.spotify.com/episode/3wcP8HBIY0IyVxROjpZPNg?si=TIHDv-eFQi-mdsCS6zKzNA (all covered here for real!) +also check ‘A Bit Fruity Podcast’ by Matt Bernstein (very educating one!!)

THIS song (bi bi bi THIS IS OUR SONG!!) by Sub-Radio (the lead vocalist Adam Bradley is bisexual♥) :https://www.tumblr.com/yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere/765512527066087424?source=share &https://www.tumblr.com/yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere/765512891127480320?source=share + THIS BAND SINGING THE BLACK PARADE but make it ever more queer pride parade♥ :https://www.tumblr.com/yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere/765565710891155456?source=share &https://www.tumblr.com/yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere/765565917201612800?source=share (you’re scaring Ron you’re scaring Rooonn) + an awakening with HSM(?) :https://www.tumblr.com/yourartmatters-itswhatgotmehere/765565797378719744/mndvx-subradioband-happy-pride-yal-anyone?source=share

(+IMPORTANT) (Nov,2023)-A Bit Fruity Podcast (created by Matt Bernstein (gay American Jewish man) Ep with Moe Dabbagh, a gay Palestinian American with family currently in Gaza. ‘Queers for Palestine & The Power of Pinkwashing’. Palestine has been occupied for more than 76 years now, since 1948 year. This ep gives you a LOT of information, especially if you are one of the people who can’t see right through the propaganda; or the ones who go ‘well if you’re gay then go to Gaza and see how that goes for you’. Queer Liberation is a liberation of Palestinian people. We can’t have one without the other. Free Palestine. Free all the people that are not yet free. This is where we start!! Ep on youtube :https://youtu.be/Xsgdk-DDSXc on spotify :https://open.spotify.com/episode/62WOjKJYih6lhuisP8tmZH?si=soRArGs1QeWqEzEaiSVlUg on iheartcom:https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-a-bit-fruity-with-matt-ber-117844074/episode/queer-palestinians-the-power-of-129612460/(keep learning & keep showing up!)

!!.http://alqaws.org/siteEn/index & https://queersinpalestine.noblogs.org/ + https://www.instagram.com/queersinpalestine/

[isfjmel-phleg]

After my presentation of the Secret Garden and CEN paper, someone in the audience asked about applying the lens of CEN to other children's book from the same era. I thought about it afterward, and the best example that came to mind was Anne of Green Gables.

Anne Shirley, before her arrival at Green Gables, has experienced CEN. It has played out in a much different way for her than it does for Mary and Colin in TSG, due to differences in social class, but the principle has been the same. As an orphan raised in homes that viewed her as an inconvenience and a sort of unpaid servant, she has never had an adult in her life who prioritized her emotional well-being, who took the time to be kind to her, to listen to her, to teach her how to function in the world beyond basic survival. She is aware that no one wants her after her parents' death, and she is made to feel guilty by her caretakers for having the audacity to exist and need to be "brought up by hand." It's difficult for Anne to even talk about these experiences when Marilla asks her. She's relieved to get relating them over with, because "Evidently she did not like talking about her experiences in a world that had not wanted her."

And then there's this exchange:

“Were those women—Mrs. Thomas and Mrs. Hammond—good to you?” asked Marilla, looking at Anne out of the corner of her eye. “O-o-o-h,” faltered Anne. Her sensitive little face suddenly flushed scarlet and embarrassment sat on her brow. “Oh, they meant to be—I know they meant to be just as good and kind as possible. And when people mean to be good to you, you don’t mind very much when they’re not quite—always. They had a good deal to worry them, you know. It’s a very trying to have a drunken husband, you see; and it must be very trying to have twins three times in succession, don’t you think? But I feel sure they meant to be good to me.”

Anne has clearly been mistreated, but she's describing--and pointedly not describing--suggests less of aggression and physical harm and more of something missing, an emptiness, a lack of love--CEN. Likewise, she herself exhibits some signs that can be associated with this type of maltreatment. Difficulty with emotional regulation, attachment problems, extreme sensitivity to rejection, negativity toward herself, excessively immersing herself in imagination (a mild dissociative tendency), anxiety around social situations (regarding how to behave correctly and whether people will like her), etc.

And in a way, the entire first book of the series deals with how she finds healing from her past of CEN, through gaining the love and acceptance of her new family, of friends, of an entire community.

From what little I know of L. M. Montgomery's life, CEN was likely a factor in her own upbringing, and it repeatedly features in her novels (The Blue Castle and Jane of Lantern Hill, for instance, in particular feature heroines who have experienced CEN) with poignancy. Montgomery paints moving portraits of how badly children can be scarred by a lack of love and affirmation.

Anyway, situating Anne's backstory as rooted in CEN helped me put my finger on one of the reasons that I felt that the recent series Anne With an E--at least the first season, which is all I've seen--misunderstood the nature of Anne's past. In this version, we see flashbacks to Anne's past, in which she is being viciously bullied by other children for her talkativeness and imagination. They even go so far as to stuff a mouse into her mouth, and the show suggests that Anne has PTSD as a result of this kind of treatment.

And yeah, Anne's childhood in the book isn't great and clearly has hurt her deeply, but this interpretation felt off to me. What Anne has to say--and not say--about her past in the book suggests not that she was targeted as an object of others' aggression but that she was disregarded. No one was giving her a second thought. That's not as dramatic and shocking as vicious bullying, but it's another, more subtle, insidious kind of maltreatment, just as hurtful in its way but harder to pin down. It's easy to portray a quick, sensational scene of our protagonist being obviously, overtly, grandiosely mistreated, but how do you show the gradual piling up of years' and years' of being treated like you don't matter? All the tiny incidents that chip away at one's sense of self-worth? The building of a worldview in which you must earn love and acceptance but somehow you can never manage it and of course it's your own fault?

And I'm reminded how recent adaptations and retellings of TSG shift the narrative toward grief, which is easy to dramatize, big and impressive and full of obvious pathos. It's an easy way out of depicting a subtler kind of suffering, and the same way, Anne With an E replaces Anne's CEN with bullying and PTSD. There is a place for such stories, but Anne's isn't one of them. It's almost as if there's an inability to understand or a reluctance to depict any kind of suffering that isn't big and grand and shocking. There are many ways that people can be deeply hurt, and it doesn't always look like a major traumatic event that's easy to pinpoint. Sometimes the hurt isn't a tidal wave that engulfs in a single devastating event; it's a slow drip that erodes oneself away little by little. That's closer to what is depicted for Anne, and Montgomery's other protagonists who have experienced CEN, and it's important to recognize what exactly is going on because this sort of thing still happens every day in the real world, in many forms, and it needs to be seen and combatted. And seeing this form of maltreatment play out in literature helps us recognize it and empathize with and reach out to those whom it has impacted--or possibly even to identify it in our own histories and search for our own healing.

[pastellmochi]

hiiiiiiie im sal or nessie or knickknack im a they/them AND LET’S BE BEST FRIENDS TOGETFHER !!!!!!!!!! 🫶🫶🫶

PLEEEASE INTERACT ESPECIALLY YUMES/SELFSHIPPERS ND ARTISTS W OCS !!!!!! mwah

i ♡ : enstars , creepypasta , ouji and lolita fashion , selfshipping and ocs (including yours!!) , mouthwashing , vs ambivalenz , μ's , pokemon , paradox live , afterl!fe , 18trip, on-air! , on-air! survival chat , handead anthem , angel beats , soul eater , wonderland days , twisted wonderland , bad movies , purrfect tale , idols in general <333

IM ON ARTFIGHT twt and here !!!! at saltedbreez 🫶🫶🫶

KENTA MIKOSHIBA , DEATH THE KID , AND AYATO NAOI ARE MY DARLINGS EVER !!!!!!!!!!

MORE F/OS + ND OTHER INFO UNDER THE CUT !!!!!!

ALSO LIKER OF !!!! splatoon , ohshc , osomatsu-san , alien stage , persona , dungeon meshi , kirby , charisma house , hxh , guilty gear , tekken , vocaloid , drag race , princess tutu , naruto , twd !!!

SMOOCHES ♡ kenta mikoshiba , death the kid , ayato naoi , tetora nagumo , shinobu sengoku , frankenstein’s monster , arven , kieran , ruggie bucchi , izumi sena , junpei yoshino , ryuji sakamoto , kai satou , cheren , seiji shishikura , neito monoma , x virus , eyeless jack , hinata aoi , shin tsukimi , midori takamine , pokkle , millard nullings , kenji yamaguchi , yuri briar , hotaru kisaki , billy the kid fgo , testament , kafka oguro , taki ibuki , hikaru hitachiin !!! ♡

MAY OR MAY NOT LOVE maruyama reo + shiki ando , mafuyu asahina , mizuki akiyama , megumi fushiguro , karma akabane + asano gakushu , kantaro misuji , yusuke kitagawa , rimicha , hangyon , yui komori , okuda minami , ace and deuce , junpei iori + chidori <33 , yosuke hanamura , hermione , izaya orihara , luka …

im a former genshin liker , xiao , bennett , dahlia , ga ming , chongyun , xiangling , yoimiya , albedo and razor all are in my heaaarts ♡ !!!!

MY BEST BESTFRIENDS naruto , sol badguy , sasuke , revali , shoto todoroki , yuga aoyama , vil schoenheit , riddle rosehearts , idia shroud , kotone shiomi , joker (PERSONA!!!!) , patty thompson , liz thompson , natsume sakasaki , sharpay and eyan evans , may , hyuna , mizi , sua , till , ivan , aba and paracelsus , akko kagari , ryu natsume , kantaro misuji , haruka sakurai , rin hoshizora , hanayo koizumi , honoka kousaka , callie and marie , sora harukawa , swansea , daisuke , anya , ann takamaki , ace and deuce , tk , shiina , everyone in vs ambivalenz s1 and angel beats , bridget !!!

I LOVE MELLO , NICO YAZAWA , ELPHELT , TODOMATSU , JYUSHIMATSU , SAYORI , HAPPY CHAOS , AND ROOK HUNT BEYOND DEFINITION !!!!!!!!!

MY FAMILIAL F/Os lily hoshikawa , rin kagamine , len kagamine , osomatsu , karamatsu , ichimatsu , choromatsu , auguri . kalluto zoldyck , killua zoldyck , alluka zoldyck , nanika zoldyck , sylvie ashling , molly blyndeff , sojiro sakura , morgana , soichiro yagami , sayu yagami , sachiko yagami , pit kid icarus , grim , team rocket , gladion , lillie , ticci toby , jeff the killer , judge angels , bloody painter , clockwork , ben drowned , smile dog , nina the killer , slenderman , splendorman , jane the killer , gekiyaku , kazehiki , L , matt , near , hoodie , masky , lost silver , sayaka miki , vil schoenheit , yukan no shonen !!!

DNI !!!!! kanata shinkai , cater diamond , solomon obey me , wanderer , cyno , and wataru hibiki selfshippers !!! there's also more, aka doubles of my friends !!! please ask to share , most im okay w but def ask for kenta ayato and dtk !!! im really iffy / uncomfy w sharing but i can make some exceptions 4friends<33 i wanna make friends… dni basic dni criteria !!! dni proshippers !!! dni hh/vivziepop/dsmp fans !!! dni kentareo shippers … or you ship kenta with anyone please tag it4me okay thats all THANKS FOR READIIIIIING 🥺🥺🥺‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

[monstrouswomen]

one of my favorite things about the medusa myth is that it almost doesn't matter what direction you approach it from (as a woman); there's almost always going to be precedents. maybe not ancient precedents, sure, but someone somewhere will have had the same thought you have, and will have published something about it.

medusa as a metaphor through which to study women's writing? hélène cixous. matriarchal female gaze medusa? susan r. bowers. medusa as pagan feminist goddess? try revisioning medusa: from monster to divine wisdom. medusa as female rage? mary valentis & anne devane. medusa as an icon of endometriosis? jaffa vernon frank. medusa as a lens through which to explore sexual trauma? ann stanford (increasingly the most popular interpretation of her myth). medusa as a reflection of your own (female) rage? may sarton. medusa as guardian of feminism & women's writing? emily erwin culpepper.

however you feel about her, there is a woman out there who understands, felt it too, and wrote about it. i wonder what more we'd have of her if women had always been allowed to write. (what would ancient greek women say about medusa if we could ask them?)

imagine how medusa scholarship would look if we had female-written ancient precedents for her myth.

[fakerobotrealblog]

"Our Flag Means Death" provides a fictionalized take on historical pirates with a focus on queer representation. While the show doesn't strictly adhere to historical accuracy, it offers a unique lens on the lives of pirates. In the context of queer historical pirates and queer history, let's explore the themes:

1. **Anne Bonny and Mary Read:**

- In real history, Anne Bonny and Mary Read were two female pirates known for their exploits in the early 18th century. While their exact sexual orientations are not explicitly documented, their unconventional lives and the fact that they disguised themselves as men to join pirate crews challenge traditional gender norms.

2. **Edward Teach (Blackbeard):**

- Blackbeard, one of the most infamous pirates, has been the subject of various historical accounts and legends. While not explicitly portrayed as queer, his mystique and unconventional lifestyle contribute to the broader spectrum of diverse identities in pirate history.

3. **Jean Laffite:**

- Jean Laffite, a French pirate and privateer in the Gulf of Mexico during the early 19th century, is another historical figure whose sexuality is a subject of speculation. Some historical accounts suggest he may have had relationships with men, adding complexity to his historical narrative.

4. **Pirates in Non-Western Contexts:**

- The history of piracy extends beyond Western narratives. Pirates in other parts of the world, such as Cheng I Sao in China or Grace O'Malley in Ireland, may have had diverse gender identities and sexual orientations. These lesser-known stories contribute to a more global understanding of pirate history.

5. **Queer Pirates in Literature:**

- The fictionalized world of pirate literature, including works like "Pirates!" by Celia Rees or "Pirates!" by L.A. Witt and Aleksandr Voinov, explores queer narratives within the pirate genre. These stories often blend historical elements with imaginative storytelling.

6. **Queer Pirates in Popular Culture:**

- Movies like "Pirates of the Caribbean" or books like "The Pirate Hunter" by Richard Zacks, while not explicitly focusing on queer pirates, contribute to the popularization of pirate lore. Contemporary interpretations in media can influence how audiences perceive historical figures.

In essence, "Our Flag Means Death" aligns with a broader trend in media to explore and celebrate diverse identities within historical narratives. By fictionalizing elements of pirate history, the show opens up conversations about the often overlooked and underrepresented aspects of queer history, inviting viewers to consider the complexity of LGBTQ+ experiences in different historical contexts.

[james-vi-stan-blog]

I’m tired of people on Twitter calling King James a groomer like they’ve done research on his history🤦‍♀️

-✨

OK I have been holding myself back from fully saying everything I think about this. I already rambled about it (to you and once to someone else) but do you wanna hear my fully problematic opinion?

This reaction is homophobic and misogynist.

Because if THIS is the period drama that makes these people cry "groomer", if GEORGE VILLIERS the 21-year-old fully age of majority male social climber who wades into the Jacobean court and slugs it out for the top position is the person in history that's making them fret over unfree choice and power dynamics, what the fuck?

THIS is "grooming" and "csa"? THIS? While all around them in this period, you know what age the women—you know, the gender that literally completely loses an independent legal identity and has no rights and is literally referred to as part of a husband's chattels—are getting married off at? Do these people have anything to say about Henrietta Maria (15), Anne of Denmark (15), MARIANA OF AUSTRIA (14), or Mary Princess Royal (10/12)? How many period dramas have these people watched and smiled at the pretty ladies in pretty dresses, and then a young man wheedles his way into the bed of the king and THAT'S what needs discourse about?

"James was taking advantage of George's financial situation" WOMEN. HAD. NO. RIGHTS. Torture is accepted in the courts. The social structure is completely unequal all the way down and this is the understood as the will of God. There are no human rights. The Levellers (30 years from M&G) are going to be largely rejected as ridiculous. Margaret Cavendish is going to be known as "Mad Madge" (50 years from M&G) because she's a woman who has thoughts. John Locke's treatises aren't gonna be published until 70+ years from M&G. The Mansfield Judgment against slavery in England is 150+ years from M&G. And as far as the rights of minors go, R v Hopley was 245 years after M&G. (If you don't know that case don't look it up unless you want nightmares)

Yeah I know this is whataboutism but seriously. SERIOUSLY.

What kind of bizarre fucking fairytales have these people been consuming where the system of monarchy is a fun and friendly egaliatian social environment where there is no coercion and all relationships especially royal ones are certified unproblematic and 100% acceptable according to our modern standards? don't tell me i do actually know, ugh

"This relationship has coercive elements in it!" YEAH. YEAH, IT DOES. That is, we hope, one of the points of the show? The point of telling stories about relationships in the past? To examine how humans, who had emotional needs and hopes, coped under unfree oppressive conditions and were drawn into those same networks of exploitation and abuse? This weird and ugly story about a remarkable relationship and all the horrible people orbiting around it is such a fascinating case study about how real human feelings like affection, loneliness, kinship get refracted through the lens of politics and power, and the result is not pretty. But flattening it down into a tale of inhuman unfeeling Bad People would lose so much potential for exploring how bad and disgusting that SYSTEM is. If it's just Bad People Being Bad To Each Other For No Reason then the historical conditions are absolved and we can file this narrative away into a box that has nothing to do with us Good People and has nothing to say and nothing that could make us reflect about the past and future, and has no purpose other than spectacle and voyeurism and schadenfreude.

Guys, we're in a bad time here in 2024. And I cannot help but think that this kind of reckless leverage of "groomer" against specifically a gay relationship, whether intentionally or not, is part of the ongoing, intentional campaign by international regressive community to dilute the meaning of that word so that it can be deployed against real-life gay and trans people.

Even though I personally don't think it's accurate to say that James groomed George (Mary did if anything, but again, adult man who was not legally under her power), if someone wants to believe that, whatever, we're all interpeting history here. But using that word, in this particular moment, going after this particular show, reviving the bogeyman of the homosexual predator that those of us who are old enough remember being openly used against us and see it getting dusted off to be used again right now, is deeply suspect to me and I just…

Anyway name an unproblematic relationship from the period of coverture.

[spiralsublime]

as a bitch who read the story of mary read and anne bonny when i was but a child learning that pirates Were Real, seeing them through the lens of ofmd is so Good for me.

like, it has been said, and i fully agree, that Mary and Anne are supposed to show us one of the ways the "running away to China" thing could have went for them. I also think that is why we meet Zheng Yi Sao in this season, she has literally just taken over China, to the point that we see stede hit that realization of "join or die".

BUT Anne and Mary mean so much to me. Mary, the representation of Ed, meets him in the forest. She kills his new friend, the Rabbit, and then inserts herself into the reconnection. Their meeting is doused in the harsh reality. Meanwhile, Stede meets Anne at the antiques, they bond over lovely things. They are far removed from this "reality".

Mary and Anne are so Toxic, which wlw rights. But we can see how intensely they are burned into one another. They have been on this island for who knows how long, based on the sheer Number of things that Anne has surrounding them. Mary hunts, and thinks Anne is just lavishing. Anne watches her pretty things and pushes as much as she can, while implying that Mary has turned from her.

when Anne pushed Stede about "Eddie letting him go", she (like they do the whole episode) is pushing her feelings onto him. they are sure there is some hate there but as an intense Need to be acknowledged

they are bored, they ran on a whim and now have this built resentment. Mary thinks they are staying with the things for Anne, Anne thinks they are staying because Mary feels like she can't return to the sea.

they both Miss it, and perhaps it is due to them thinking it was where their love was real or maybe it is a genuine restlessness, but it is true.

and as Mary snarls at Ed and Stede that they have an "adult relationship" as if all relationships go the way of chasing a high and hating one another as much as loving one another. Anne pushes. She burns their lives to the ground. All the things that she suddenly thinks Mary believes Anne loves more than her, ruined and destroyed. they embrace in the middle of a burning building.

their game is still in play, but the look on Mary's face when she realizes that Anne actually did it, they suddenly have this rush of a good actual try. maybe it will be for naught, poisonings and stabbings might follow them on board, but in that single moment, i saw the rush of the unexpected.

Mary felt like she knew it all about Anne. They had been together for ages, but in the moment, something she fully believed she knew had come up false.

And isn't that so exceptionally fascinating?