#and also the discourse (heartbreaking)

[qalanthe]

hawke initiating a surprise kiss to catch Anders off guard as payback for the clinic kiss 😗

[ingravinoveritas]

I recently had this link shared with me by one of my lovely friends here in the fandom, and found it so compelling that I wanted to share it with all of you.

This is a recent article from Vanity Fair about Cary Grant and Randolph Scott, both iconic actors from the era we now call "Old Hollywood," and it details their extremely interesting--both by the standards of the era and today--relationship. It's a long read, but more than worth it.

For those who may not know, Cary Grant was an English-born American actor and iconic leading man, and Randolph Scott was an American actor most known for appearing in Westerns. Both men were married to women/had children at varying points in their lives, but by some accounts (and especially what is chronicled in this article), they were the loves of each other's lives, even though being openly queer was next to impossible at the time, and would've been looked at as a career-ending (and maybe even life-ending) move.

There also seem to be quite a few parallels between Cary and Randolph 90 years ago and Michael and David today. The two men actually lived together for a number of years, during which the press of the day chose to portray them as "just two fun-loving bachelors waiting to find the right gal," all while Grant in particular starred in films with queer-flavored undertones that were both bold and downright dangerous in the era of the Hays Code. They continued living together when Grant was first married to his first wife, Virginia Cherrill (and after they divorced), and fun fact: While Grant was married, Scott moved right next door...so they were, in fact, neighbors.

Here are a few other excerpts that very much reminded me of Michael and David, for your consideration. (FYI that "Archie Leach" was Cary Grant's birth name before he changed it to his stage name.) This first one calls to mind the Radio Times calling Michael and David a "handsome couple" on the night of the NTAs in 2021:

This next one of course made me think of Michael and David talking on David's podcast (skip to the 1:25 mark) in 2019 about hating photo shoots and how Michael flat-out refused to answer questions at one point and only got through it because of David:

And this last one features a quote from a close friend about Grant and Scott that nearly made my heart skip an entire beat. For reasons that will soon be very, very obvious:

(I mean...)

What is also remarkable about this article (though not necessarily in a good way) is the mention of how little has changed since Grant and Scott's time. How even today, any actor who comes out as any flavor of queer is immediately looked at differently, and how the fear of both professional and personal repercussions keeps people in the closet for so many reasons.

These were the parts of the article that stood out to me the most, but as always I would love to hear from my followers with your thoughts and takes on the parallels above or anything else that you find interesting...

[bellamysbooklover]

Y’all…..

As heartbreaking as Izzy’s death is. It is still a good death. Am I heartbroken that it happened after all of his character development this season? Yes. I’m so heartbroken that he didn’t get his chance to belong with a group of people for longer. To be loved.

However. That does not take away from the fact that it was a good death. Before it happened we had a speech from Izzy about how even when piracy is gone in its entirety. Even when every pirate is dead. Piracy in its most basic form, belonging, will live on. The legacy of outcasts finding their people, will live on. Will live so much longer than the British empire.

He said “you are not a pirate bc you do not understand the feeling of finally finding a place to just be.” And “you are not a pirate because we are and we have experienced and we have loved and you will never love”.

Izzy’s death is a horrible stroke of bad luck. Izzy was the one walking him up so izzy was the one that got shot.

Even after getting shot he runs so he can get home with his family. You can see in the scene that the second he was shot he knew that was it for him. He still ran.

And at the end, him and Ed finally made up completely. He finally recognized that Ed is so much happier as Ed than Blackbeard. We have a parallel of “there he is” for first the Blackbeard persona and now finally the man behind it. Izzy wanted to pull his friend Eddie out.

Izzy said “just sit with me” and he said “I’m ready”.

Earlier in the season Izzy tries to shoot himself and he MISSES and he gets his ass up and stops Ed. And by the end of the season he has accepted life without his leg and he wanted to live again. But when he was dying he was ready. He was ready because he was loved and surrounded by his family. He knew his family would be okay. That Ed and Fang and Frenchie and Jim and Archie and Lucius and Wee John and even Stede would be okay. So he was ready.

His death was fucking heartbreaking but it is above all else a story about being loved, becoming yourself and loving in turn and how dare you take away from that.

[tenrose]

When the whole world is watched, filed, indexed, numbered, the only way to disappear is to appear, hiding our true identities inside a seemingly ordinary life. You're not a free man anymore, Harold. You're just a number. We have to become these people now, and if we don't, they'll find us, and they'll kill us. I'm sorry, Harold. I know it's not enough. A lot of people are going to die. People who might have been able to help. Everything is changing. I don't know if it will ever get better… but it's going to get worse. But the machine asked me to tell you something before we part. You once told John the whole point of Pandora's Box is that once you've opened it, you can't close it again. She wanted me to remind you of how the story ends. When everything is over, and the worst has happened, there's still one thing left in Pandora's Box hope.

[taleswithoutend]

It’s becoming abundantly clear that nobody cares about jewish people. You’ll get mad on our behalf when it’s convenient for you, and you’ll spit slurs at us when it isn’t.

But hey, I’m glad you’re willing to make excuses for blatant antisemitism when it’s used as a dunk against someone you don’t like. Maybe the next time Harry Potter discourse is in vogue, we’ll still be around to be convenient props for you.

[conanssummerchild]

i swear to god people are so fucking weird about autistic characters. chill your shit. quinni was showing darren why she masks becuase the real her isnt 'socially acceptable' yes, this is an autism thing, but lets step back from that for a second. in season two quinni is discovering how to be herself, and who she really is, like EVERYONE ELSE in the show because theyre literally SIXTEEN. shes learning to prioritise her own needs over other's needs, because shes been living for everyone else her whole life, this is not an autism thing, anyone can learn to listen to their needs, quinni's needs are just different to her nt friends, which is the thing that people dont get.

and my next point, if you want to say shes annoying, thats not ableism, you are legally allowed to dislike a character, do whatever the fuck you want. tbh everyone in the show is a little annoying at times. but if quinni is the only one you hate and its because of her unmasking then screw you tbh (also she is my princess queen and youre not allowed to hate her, says the law /not srs). anyway sorry if this comes off agressively its just that every fandom ive been in with an autistic character this shit comes up. shes not 'getting a pass' because shes autistic, it just contextualises her actions, youre not autiomatically ableist if you dislike quinni, do whatever you want im not your dad, unless you hate her for her autism and autistic traits, then fuck off

[mossfeathers]

hey guys! idk why but all of a sudden im feelin not epic (shocking i know) so i think im gonna take a little social media break for a few weeks to become epic again. i have art im posting tomorrow and im gonna put it in my queue for a bit so please give that some love!! uh ok thanks bye yall👍

[bisexualnamjoonie]

twitter and tiktok lgbts seriously need to learn to shut their fucking mouth and get educated on shit before they open it I am dead serious queer theory is not a fucking toy you can pull out as you please everytime something doesn't agree with you personally godddddd

[ranboolivesaysstuff]

IMPORTANT POST PLEASE READ

Im gonna be honest and open for a sec, and please do not take this as "oh I HATE my community or I dont like the people who watch me" but honestly as of late (and I did highlight this during the mcc bit), ive felt like I havent been able to really be in my own community simply because of the constant way that "discourse" is handled. Making vague posts and not really tackling issues in a good way, all that is going to do is just show people a big "THIS COMMUNITY BAD" sign and not actually help anything within the community, all its going to do is have the good and potentially good people leave or not join in the first place. The way that discourse is treated that ive seen has been the main reason why I have started to try to distance myself, which has been the most heartbreaking thing I have had to do. I want problems to be solved in a mature, civil way, with either a dm or a reply, not an entire vague thing that only says "bad things are happening" and doesnt elaborate on anything or barely elaboratesa and only gives people on both the inside and outside a bad sign of what the community is. Making posts whenever something happens being like "here we go again" is only going to highlight the wrong things, and actually DOESNT help the issue at all! The problems should be discussed directly with the people who are doing said problems FIRST! Bring attention to behaviors and things that arent good DIRECTLY! And also, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO!!! It is not your duty as a viewer or fan of me to be involved in any of this if you do not want to! Just enjoy the content and make silly posts! As someone who constantly tried to fix and get into every problem as it was happening, it took a huge toll on my mental health, and I want you guys to just be able to enjoy the content without having to worry about what you say about it! Be constructive! Dont make posts again just being like "wow this community is so bad" because that doesnt solve literally anything! If you have enough passion to make the posts saying "wow this community is bad" then only post about that, you are only spreading that negative message, and not uplifting anything of actual value! And if the person you are trying to help is not willing or not listening, BLOCK! MUTE! DONT BRING MORE ATTENTION TO THE PERSON IF THEY ARE NOT BEING A GOOD PART OF THE COMMUNITY!!!! I know I say that if I see problems I will call them out, but I shouldnt have to babysit every single time a thing happens within the community as that just isnt a healthy way for a creator or a community to be handled. This does not mean that I do not care about the issues or dont want them fixed, rather it shouldnt take me having to make some grand statement every single time something happens it should take only your own self reflection and self awareness. And to add onto this, make sure that every once in a while no matter who you are you think and have that self reflection, you should be open to being willing to learn and grow as a person! And again, I do NOT want anyone taking this as "Wow this community is terrible" but rather that we just have things that need to be fixed and changed and THAT IS OKAY! I do not hate the community, I care so much about it that I want it to be a silly place for my content again! I want it to be the reason why people get into what I do because of it again! And I want to be able to just have fun and relax without having to worry about how every single thing that I may say could have someone stirring things up that simply dont help or solve anything! Take care of yourselves. And this isnt coming from a place of "I hate the community as a whole" but rather again I want to be able to exist and make content that we can all enjoy without having to worry about walking on eggshells around me or around eachother! At the end of the day im just a fella that wants to make silly videos for you all, and you are people who enjoy said videos. Nothing more. Nothing less.

[mythalism]

You likely don't remember me, but I'm the anon who asked you a few weeks ago, "why would anyone think Solas would choose Lavellan over Mythal." Thank you for replying to it the way you did. It actually inspired me to play DAI, seeing how passionate you were about Solavellan.

I finished Trespasser last Friday, and I must say I FUCKING GET IT NOW. I ABSOLUTELY DO. That bald bitch has crawled his way into my brain and pussy.

I was mildly irritated by him in Veilguard. I sneered at Lavellan's lovey-dovey "let me join you in your prison." I didn't know their lore, indeed. You were absolutely right, the tastiest parts happen outside of the three kissing scenes they had in DAI. His personal quest? Blew my fucking mind. What he says during Cole's quest? I'm on my knees. ("We cannot change our nature by wishing," Solas says and looks straight at Lavellan. Or his reply to Varric's "He could have been a person." is, "Would that have made him happier, child of the Stone?")

Everything about how Solavellan was written in DAI resonates. Her first flirt with him is "I will protect you." His passionate speech on spirits? (The youtube compilation I watched didn’t have it, so it was such a treat to see it for the first time and finally be able to enter discourse on this!) I loved how the flirt is "I look forward to help you make new friend wink-wink," which makes him FLUSTERED. YET he approves way more if you actually consider his point of view and say spirits (and by extension him) are real people!

I had no idea how protective and private he was over romance with the Inquisitor in DAI (he shuts down Sera and Cassandra right away). So while I would absolutely have liked him to speak more on Lavellan in Veilguard, especially after experiencing the romance for myself, I do also see now why he would be quite unwilling to open up to Rook of all people. (When I heard his "There are few regrets sharper than watching fools squander what you sacrificed to achieve," I thought of Rook right away, lol. Oh, what irony.)

The Temple of Mythal quest and the conversation with him afterwards made me dizzy. What do you mean Mythal has a bunch of elves chained to her will, doing her bidding for millennia, and she never visits?? What do you mean she used whoever drank from the Well as her puppet?? What do you mean she wants a reckoning that will shake the heavens?? How on earth are NONE of those things referenced in the direct sequel??? Why is she portrayed as a noble martyr, when she was clearly part of the issue? (Vallaslin are SLAVE MARKINGS, and I may be dumb, but I never heard that in Veilguard for some reason?? And Solas HAD HERS on his FACE???? I only now understand the "I release you from my service" bit.)

His "I begged you not to drink from the Well" hit me. (I made my Lavellan do it, btw. At that point I thought, ofc nothing bad will come of this decision, I know Mythal to be a spirit of benevolence and kindness. LOL!!!! Then Flemeth overrides my Inquisitor's will for something as minor as chastising her daughter. And that was a kinder version of Mythal, who lived among mortals for centuries, apparently? xD) As did his "Everything you do, whether you know it or not, will be for her." And "I know that mistake well enough to carve the angles of her face from memory."

Mind-blowing. And everything about Trespasser obliterated the remains of my brain. Companion comments on Solas leaving?? What Cole said about him??? Lavellan's words after witnessing the mural of him removing vallaslin from slaves?? He had agents??? He had plans???? Elves joined him???? He visited her dreams, looking like a sad wet puppy???

Trespasser was such a fantastic setup. It had everything. I genuinely have never experienced a drama and romantic tragedy in a video game the way I did with Solavellan in that DLC. AND I knew Veilguard would have them reunited. I can only imagine how it was for people who played it on release, not knowing. The wait? The theorizing? The heartbreak?

It is a superior ship, no doubt about it. "I look at you and I see what you truly are" (DING DING, memory of Duet codex was actually inspired by what he said to Lavellan??) "You are unique. In all Thedas I never expected to find someone who can DRAW MY ATTENTION FROM THE FADE" (now I fucking see why she is singular and special to him!). "Ar lasa mala revas. You are free." Var lath vir suledin???????????!!!!!!!!

Fuuuuuuuuuck. lights a cigarette On the flipside, now I clearly see what a wet disgrace Veilguard's writing was. Absolute assassination of the meatiest plot points (the Well? Mythal’s reckoning?? Solas's entire drive to save his people??). Also, it was dumb not to utilize his romance with Lavellan more. Like—have people hate her for this! Hello? Your Chantry Herald had a lover who wants to destroy the world. Any comments, everyone?

Sorry for so much rambling. I'm still processing my emotions. What a game. What a weirdly hot, soul-crushing, heartbreaking love story. And they are together in the Fade now, for eternity...*SIGH*

i hope you know i was cackling with glee as i read this message. i am so so so so glad you played inquisition and trespasser and had such a wonderful time. it is so fun to witness the brain worm overtaking someone in real time. welcome to hell and please feel free to come share your thoughts and continue to process any time <3

[somerabbitholes]

do you have any book or essay recs that are eye-opening or ones that challenges your thought process if u get what I mean

100%, here is writing that shifted something inside me:

Books

Figuring by Maria Popova: about how genius and creativity is a human project; she looks at all these ways in which ideas connect with each other; the book is just a really beautiful exploration of how the search for truth and beauty is a human project. She also runs a blog which is very good

The Lonely City by Olivia Laing has forever changed how I think about loneliness for the better, and I can only hope to have something as beautiful to say someday

Invisible Women by Caroline C Perez: I'm putting this here more because it could put in numbers and quantify the levels of gender disparity, and to my mind, give a sharper edge to the conversation that was feeling very abstract and theoretical to me

Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellman: this is a difficult read, mostly because the book is a 1,000-page stream of consciousness that is basically one long sentence. I loved it, and at the end of it I remember going wow, you thought this book up

A similar feeling came from reading The Indian Ideology by Perry Anderson, but I want to point out that this is a book that requires a reasonable level of familiarity with the discourse on secularism, democracy and social justice in India

The Tribe by Carlos Manuel Alvarez: essays, part-memoir, part-notes from journalism, about Cuba in the 2010s and especially after Castro died. It was such an excellent glimpse into what living during and through this shadow of the Cold War could be like

I'm currently reading Second-Hand Time by Svetlana Alexievich, which does a similar thing with Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union and until the mid-2010s. It's very very interesting and heartbreaking and emotive and informative all at once seeing how the Russian people thought about the end of the Cold War

Essays (there are definitely more, but I’m the worst at remembering names)

Geographies of knowing, geographies of ignorance by Willem van Schendel

The Trouble with Wilderness by William Cronon

Marrying Libraries by Anne Fadiman (if this is not what love is, I don't want it)

Justice as Fairness: Political not Metaphysical by John Rawls

Fences by Zadie Smith (I read this in her collection, Feel Free but I think you can find it online too)

[randomness-is-my-order]

thinking about the “single-plank bridge” and how wei wuxian’s circumstance becomes all the more heartbreaking when we contexualise the kind of person he is. wei wuxian is never shown to be an isolated entity from the very start of his story. even when he lived on the streets, he had a way of connecting with those around him and wheedling shopkeepers into maintaining his daily sustenance. quickly after he came to lotus pier, he formed bonds with jc and yanli. wei wuxian was genuinely interested in people and forging friendships with those he liked. his junior disciples loved him. he was canonically one of the most popular young guys in the cultivation society. he frequently interacted with the common folk in yunmeng or anywhere else he happened to visit. at the guest lectures in the lan sect, wei wuxian was able to inspire multiple disciples (not just nie huaisang) into following his shenanigans. he is also able to befriend some of the wens, prime among them are ofc wen qing and wen ning. for a story as heavy in interpersonal conflicts as mdzs is, it is a given that people and their relationships will be centre stage and wei wuxian isn’t in the least lacking in these relationships. we see this even after his reincarnation that wei wuxian, even when he tries to stay disconnected, forms new bonds with ease. the juniors that are first wary of him soon come to deeply admire him and wei wuxian in turn becomes protective over them.

in short, wei wuxian is defined by his relationships as much as he is by his actions and convictions and thoughts. never once are we made to believe that wei wuxian’s ideal choice would be the “single plank bridge”, that he would be completely at ease with his isolation, that he would ever want to pick that option as a preference. in fact, the single plank bridge ideology has never been one that wei wuxian is shown to inherently gravitate towards or recommend/preach to other people. but that ideology is a last resort.

it is a choice made when his hand is forced, when no other comfortable option is allowed to him, when every door is shut in his face and isolating himself from the people he has known is the only avenue left with him. the single plank bridge is about sticking to his beliefs and not giving up, about doing the right thing no matter what because someone needs to take that stand and wei wuxian has never not been that someone.

i think that it is so crucial that the single plank bridge wasn’t so much a choice that wei wuxian made than a choice that was made for him simply because he refused to give up on the wens.

he was denied alternatives. he was denied help. sometimes, the anti-culture discourse overcorrects itself into painting every heroic act that happens to be sacrificial as a default ‘hero complex’ and self-sacrifical tendencies, ignoring the build-up of those difficult decisions and how, in this story, in mdzs, wei wuxian wasn’t foregoing the crowded broad road but that the crowd on the broad road had foregone him.

[neuroticbookworm]

Heesu in Class 2 episode 9 just took my breath away and I am here to yell about it

Friends. Mutuals. Beloveds. @lurkingshan and I just experienced an amazing episode of television. The show engaged us emotionally from the very first second, slowly building the tension and anticipation, and released it in the most satisfying way, with some of the beautiful cinematography and use of light I’ve ever seen in BLs.

We’ve been discoursing here in the tags for weeks about how the het couples are providing a good contrast to the queer relationship the show was slowly constructing between Seungwon and Heesu, and today the show took that comparison from subtext to actual text. Seungwon asking Jiyu if she really does not know why it is so difficult for him to confess was heartbreaking to watch. And so was Heesu struggling to tell Chanyoung and Ho Shik. But the responses Seungwon and Heesu get from their friends are so important. Jiyu says she’s pretending not to know, because it hurts to watch your queer friends struggle with their desire in this fucked-up world. But she’s also right when she says that there is no other choice: it is unfair, it is painful, but motivating Seungwon to confess his feelings to Heesu *is* the right thing for him, for his happiness.

Chanyoung could’ve picked a better place to blow up on Heesu other than the school hallway, but his anger is not misplaced. He’s been watching Heesu agonize over something that he won’t even share with his best friend, and it hurts Chanyoung. When Heesu fires back that it’s not easy for him as it was for Chanyoung, Chanyoung says it wasn’t easy for him either! But he still shared his thoughts with his friend because he trusts him. Therein lies the crux of the problem: as long as Heesu refuses to share with Chanyoung, Chanyoung has no other choice but to believe that Heesu does not trust him.

After a conversation with his sister Heesu realizes that if he wants to not lose his friendship with Chanyoung, he’s going to have to tell him. I swear to god, as soon as the scene in the classroom started, I clutched my hair in anticipation because I knew the show was gonna blow my mind. Heesu closing the curtains one by one, enveloping himself and Seungwon in darkness, as he talked about secrets and how everyone needs to talk to someone so that their secrets don’t become too much to handle and destroy them. How it is easy to share secrets in darkness, when you cannot see who you are sharing them with. How he needs to share his with someone else first before sharing it with Seungwon, a declaration that was a ray of clarity shining through the mess of angst and frustration he’s been under for weeks; not unlike the ray of sunshine that pierced through the dark room as he stood there with Seungwon. And finally, finally, Heesu confessing his (past) feelings to Chanyoung, in the way he feels safe.

Watching this confession unfold was so amazing, and I am in awe of how the show’s writing has perfectly guided us to this moment for weeks. This episode has cemented Heesu in Class 2 as one of my favorite kdramas, and I am so excited for the finale tomorrow.

[odysseus-day]

how i imagined the thg characters as told through random people i saved on pinterest to visualize

katniss everdeen:

•16-17 years old

•native american ancestry on her dad's side, favors him more than her mother

•long black hair, dark gray eyes, olive skin tone

•5'0-5'1, thin and spindly although not as bad as the rest of the seam because of her ability to hunt

•rbf!!! 🫶

primrose everdeen:

•12-13 years old

•also has native american ancestry on her father's sude, but favors her mother more

•curly dirty blonde hair, gray-ish eyes, fairer skin than katniss but tans dark in the summer

•4'11, similar build to katniss

•the resting bitch face is genetic, she's just good at fooling ppl

•people that draw katniss poc still always manage to make prim just some random looking white girl, and y'all. as someone with indigenous heritage who is also physically pale and dirty blonde, she's still going to have features similar to katniss and her dad's! she's gonna tan well, have the same eye shape, nose shape, etc. katniss as a person of color has always been a mind-boggling discourse in the fandom (bc it's literally canon, racism just keeps winning 💔) but NO ONE EVER TALKS ABOUT PRIM

peeta mellark:

•16-17 years old

•white blond hair/lashes/eyebrows (like a hairless mole rat 🫶), blue eyes, paler than flour

•5'5, disproportionate broad shoulders, slight athletic build that throws ppl off because of his baby face lol (he looks like a mini fridge!!)

•prosthetic leg!!! everyone always forgets he's an amputee!!!

finnick odair:

•24 years old

•tawny hair that looks bronze underneath the sunlight, blue-green eyes, tan while he's in 4 but gets paler the longer he spends in the capitol

•5'11, similar build to peeta although it looks proportionate with his height (i rlly like the idea of him being stocky and you can pry it out if my cold dead hands)

•the idea of finnick having a very young face is genuinely heartbreaking but i think it fits his character really well and adds so much depth to the way he's treated. he was just a kid when people started fawning over him the first time, and he still is. you perceive these characters as being so old when you're a kid, but as an adult holy fuck i didn't actually realize how young they ALL were until recently. finnick is the same age as one of my best friends. like that's just a lanky kid :(

annie cresta:

•23 years old

•i know the books say brown hair but i still imagined red even before the movies, blue-green eyes, burns more easily than she tans

•5'6-5'7 (i always imagine everyone in the career districts to be much taller than the rest because of their better access to nutrition), had much more muscle pre-games than she does now but still has very strong arms and calves from swimming

•i imagine her with the kind of naturally mischievous looking face to where you'd probably think she was kidding about the whole "losing her mind" thing for the first several weeks of knowing her...... until you realize for yourself that there isn't rlly a punchline to the "bit" you think she's doing.... and... oops?

johanna mason:

•20-21 years old (gah, math is not my strong suit)

•dark brown hair, can never keep a consistent hair style for longer than a month (is constantly cutting, dying, or just changing something at the slightest inconvenience) (yes she's a mid-breakdown bangs chopper), hazel eyes, fair skin with heavy freckles

•5'4, strong arms for ax wielding but stays relatively thin and gangly (due to lack of resources pre-games and later due to stress/depression)

•similar to finnick, i picture her as looking very young. she's not that much older than katniss and only won 2-3 years before her, and with all that she went through i don't see her maturing facially super soon. just like nutrition, stress can also contribute to physical appearance and development, especially in crucial stages of life. and if anything, it makes more sense for johanna to have a baby face with how she won her games (pretending to be weak so she'd be overlooked) and for her anger to be overcompensation to skew her perception to others.

gale hawthorne:

•18-19 years old

•also has native american ancestry, looks eerily similar to katniss which sells the whole cousins thing well

•long black hair always tied back, dark eyes, olive skin tone

•5'7, relatively thin but built better than most of the sean again due to his and katniss' ability to hunt, perceived as tall in district 12 but would be considered shorter in the capitol

[adverbian]

You gotta read the Decameron. I am so serious.

So: It’s 1348. There’s a pandemic. Florence is in chaos. Ten young people — seven women, three men — decide to flee the city and isolate in the countryside for ten days. To pass the time, they take turns telling each other stories. Comedy, tragedy, romance. Funny and sexy, heartbreaking, infuriating, sweet.

(You’ve heard of The Canterbury Tales? Literally inspired by the Decameron.)

Here’s a sample:

Day 9, Story 3: Two guys prank their very gullible buddy (a cis dude) into believing that he’s pregnant. He immediately turns to his wife Tessa and goes:

Day 5, Story 10: Pietro married a woman, but he’s only interested in men. His frustrated wife takes a series of beautiful young men as lovers. One day, Pietro comes home early and catches her with one of them. His wife says “Well, you won’t satisfy me, so I do what I have to do.” Pietro says “Hm. Okay, then. After supper, I’ll make sure we’re all satisfied.”

Fourteenth century MMF threesome?!

Also, the echoes of Discourse in Boccaccio’s author’s notes are fascinating.

Giovanni Boccaccio, to the fourteenth-century antis: “Don’t like, don’t read”

And he really said “mind the tags” and “you can use the back button.” (He really did preface every tale with a brief summary!)

You gotta read this.

Get the Wayne A. Rebhorn translation. (That’s what all of these quotes are pulled from.) There are other free versions online, but they are very archaic and hard to read. The Rebhorn translation is extremely worth the $10, if you can swing it. (If you can’t, ask your local library. Even if they don’t have it, they may be able to get it on inter-library loan.)

(With love and apologies to the group chat, which has been subjected to my repeated Decameronposting. It will happen again.)

[yandere-daydreams]

pretty personal, but wanted to thank you for helping me (quite some years ago) come to terms with my s.a. experience. the way that you write unhealthy power dynamics, rape and dubcon is very authentic (in sense if not in form) and seeing it clearly expressed by you that those shifty, difficult to prove as s.a. encounters ARE coercion was very helpful. dubcon writing gets a terrible rep, but imo it's ironically very informative when done with intent (as in without excusing the actions as normal because they are between partners. or because you didn't excplicitly say no. and other many things that muddy the waters).

like. getting to read something that clearly acknowledges s.a. as s.a. and then also reframes it felt almost like reclaiming it.

i was reading geiman's allegations transcript and it brought up shitty traumatic memories, which in turn reminded me of how you were the writer that made the horrible lonely shameful experience (because surely if you let it happen to you it's partly your responsibility. surely you could have been more explicit in your no. surely you being dependent on the person for your survival had nothing to do with why you had to convince yourself your s.a. was totally consensual sex) feel less lonely. so. thank you.

anon this is such a heartbreaking and reflective and beautiful ask to receive but you MUST understand that it's currently sandwiched between about twenty-five monsterfucking discourse asks on either side. there are benefits and downfalls to using this platform and one of them is the lack of delineation between serious asks and. well. the rest of them.

no but seriously, i do feel like horror is a genre that gets discredited pretty often despite being one of, if not the most helpful types of fiction in terms of working through traumatic subject matter. i love romance, but it kind of has a habit of glorifying unhealthy behavior or justifying dynamics that shouldn't end happily with the ultimate goal of preserving veneer of positivity that is simply,,, detached from the events being depicted. in horror, there's a little more room to acknowledge horrific things as horrific because they're supposed to horrific, and the complicated feelings and catharsis you receive from that acknowledgement is, like, the entire point. it feels obvious that a spade should be a spade and that bad things are bad, and yet, here we are.

that explanation kind of sucked and my thoughts on the subject are very abstract, but thank you for sending this in <3 i'm glad my silly little blog could help in any way you needed it to.