#but my goodness. The diversity in women here is something i ...don't know if i've seen before???

[drjohnwatson]

Oh my god???....The feminism,, in the halo series. I love that for them

[writers-potion]

No, you’re NOT a real reader. I’m so sick of all these people that think they’re readers. No, you’re not. Most of you are not even close to being readers. I see these people saying “I read over 52 books this year! That's one book a week. I'm so smart!” that’s nothing, most of us can easily read 176 books or more in a year. I see people who've only read Daniel Green and claim to be readers. Come talk to me when you pick up Atlas Shrugged, then maybe we can be friends. Also DEAR ALL WOMEN: Fantasy is not a real genre. Romance is not a real genre. Omegaverse is not a real genre. Forced Proximity is not a real genre. Romantasy is not a real genre. Coleen Hoover is NOT. A. REAL. WRITER. put down the baby books and read something that makes your brains hurt for once. Stephanie Meyer and Jane Austin don't count. :) Sincerely, all of the ACTUAL readers.

I don't know where to start, because you've called me out on too many occasions in this paragraph. Here are my (probably unpopular) thoughts on this:

Agreed that the sheer AMOUNT of books you read doesn't make you a good reader - it's what you understand/learn/feel about them that gives you the right to comment properly on a book.

Excuse me but fantasy and romance are genres??

Omegaverse, forced proximity and romantasy are subgenres/tropes in romance that I don't have anything against. If you don't like romance in general, well no wonder you don't like them.

Jane Austen was the author that got me into reading classics. What the hell do you mean when you say she doesn't count???!!

Stephanie Meyer - okay, the first book in the Twilight series wasn't bad, the rest went downhill....don't like her much but I can see why she's popular...

For me, as long as you read, you're a reader.

I believe the purpose of reading (apart from being entertained) is to expand our horizons, step into someone else's head and look into how others see the world. Throughout my reading journey, I've learnt to be better than to judge others on the honestly quite narrow subset of the human experience I've had.

Sure, not all books/genres are "helpful" per se. But novels are meant to allow readers to experience a diverse range of emotions that they otherwise wouldn't, and if reading give someone pleasure, why not? Even though I personally don't like romance too much, I can see the appeal of just wanting to read something for the fun of it. As long as they don't confuse reality with the six-packed, tall & rich billionaire heroes, I respect everyone's reading lists.

NOW, one last note:

Coleen Hoover IS TERRIBLE. Commercial success aside, I hate how to turns literal CRIMINALS into romantists (which doesn't even work).

COLEEN HOOVER IS NOT A REAL WRITER. I'll agree with you on that one.

[fourswordsannotated]

akira himekawa are unbelievably cool.

soooo here's the thing. i was looking at akira himekawa's website on a whim and found a public blog, with posts that go all the way back to 2009. many hours of google translating later, and i've developed an even stronger admiration of these two women and their exceptional career as manga artists. they share so much in these posts about the creative process, their thoughts on social justice, their connections with nature, and their most major original story, gliding reki, which seems to have always been a passion project in the midst of commercial work.

from what i could gather, reki is unique in that they were determined to do it in full color. and they did it, because after reading about their career, it's clear to me that when these women set their mind to an idea, they make it happen. see also: they just recently produced and distributed their own art book, because no publishers were offering to do it in a way that pleased them.

their stated goals for reki were to make something more adult than their previous children's manga, taking place in a city, involving a lot of mechanical art, and featuring stronger romantic and self-described erotic subtext. good for them. before i get into the four swords-related stuff, i'm sharing what i could find on the internet about reki.

more under the cut, because there's quite a bit to discuss :)

not much that i could find on the blog specifically references four swords, but they have many fascinating insights about nintendo, the zelda fandom, and the franchise as a whole. i can't know for certain because this information was surmised from translated text, but it seems as if their manga with chibi link made them feel a little stifled, which is why they took a long break before returning to do twilight princess. it's not lost on me that even a work like four swords, which they may regard as not their favorite or best, still has inspired and brought together so many passionate, creative, and diverse people. this is especially sweet because it seems as if they met each other, and formed their creative partnership, because of a shared fandom interest of their own.

honda and nagano have shared their thoughts and feelings on this blog for more than a decade, and they have a lot of thoughts and feelings. throughout their entire career they've made commentary on work-life balance, their experiences as women in a male-dominated field, and their desire to create original art while simultaneously enjoying some commercial work as well. they are passionate about social justice, particularly re: women and indigenous people, and offer insights on aspects of culture and history and the state of the world that really could resonate with anyone. and they really seem to appreciate fans of their work, and emphasize repeatedly the care and thought they put into their manga in the hopes it will inspire and bring catharsis to readers. they love animals (especially wolves), being outside in nature, being nerds about art they enjoy, a certain subgenre of romantic manga that appealed to and empowered female readers in the 90's and 2000's, and traveling around the world to partake in activities like horse riding and falconry.

the coolest part is, they're still updating the blog to this day :) in fact they seem to have recently returned to it, reflecting that twitter is not their preferred manner of sharing things online. they seem very familiar with and fond of older-school blogging culture.

there's a lot more i could say here about my findings, some of which do pertain to... certain ships 💜🖤 . but i don't want my genuine appreciation for these authors to be overshadowed by that kind of conversation. in addition to a link to the blog itself, i'm including a few translated posts of interests, which you can interpret and incorporate into your perception of the media however you please. at the end of the day, it's a really cool gift that these artists have chosen to share so much over such a long period of time. by making their personalities, beliefs, and insights more visible to fans of their work, i hope it brings new context to the stories we already love.

a modern-day insight:

re: the zelda mangas. these are from several points throughout their career. please note that they have so many fond things to say about zelda as a franchise and their work on the mangas, especially regarding the way they've affected fans. i encourage you to look for yourself, on their blog and their other socials!

re: gliding reki

re: the creative process (and in the latter two, the fandom that seems to have inspired them!)

re: their two goofyass adorable tiny dogs that they dress up in outfits while also loving wolves like a lot, they love wolves (both domesticated and wild), they really love wolves

re: wolf day (every day is wolf day,)

re: indigenous rights

re: painting serious works on commission vs their manga. i can't know for sure exactly what it means, but it really does kinda hit

re: a fan and manga artist in training bringing them art and a note

and a moment from a twilight princess manga interview i found very sweet :)

okay. you've made it to the end. i know you're wondering. here you go. please remember that this is and always has been a public blog, and these posts are actually from 2009 and 2010. also please remember that the point of this post is not to cause or fuel fandom discourse, but to appreciate these authors and the things that they choose to express.

(also, this is the column they were referring to in image 1. it's FASCINATING. give it a read if you'd like!)

the dots are there. you're welcome to connect them.

thank you for your beautiful work and insights, honda and nagano. please never change.

[piglet26]

Alright, Is the Star Wars Fandom Sexist?

As you probably know Daisy Ridley signed onto do another Star Wars film. I welcomed this..... mostly. If they don't reunited the Dyad I'm very curious as to what would be the point (more on that later.) Well, I saw this quote from a recent interview of hers, "I think my take is things get blown out of proportion and the interactions I've ever had with people have been nothing but wonderful and supportive," Ridley said. "I've only ever been embraced. And I think we're going to make a great film."

Now whether or not Ms. Ridley actually feels this way.......she's intelligent enough to say just this. Undeniably, all of the men who have talked shit about her for the past 7,8 odd years will now have softened to her for simply not holding them accountable. Hey, that's the biz kids. Don't make enemies out of your audience. No man wants to be called a sexist even if he actually is one.

Is there sexism in Star Wars? Yes and no. It has never been a straight answer. Now if you ask a lot of men in the Star Wars fandom if they are sexist..... they'll say no. Why? Princess Leia of course! Padme! Strong women who directed men, issued orders and politically led. They did and do support these women. In fact, if you had asked me if the fandom was sexist prior to The Sequel Trilogy I would've said that the SWF is one of the most progressive fandoms for women and has been since the 70s!

Where did it all go wrong?

Well, maybe this

Or, this

Maybe just good ole fashion paranoia. Personally, I think it's a combination of all three. The minute Disney bought Star Wars the fandom was primed to distrust it. Change, for better or worse, was on the horizon. Hell, even worse, corporate change. It's Rage against the Machine raging FOR the machine. Least we forget how Star Wars started...... as a "fuck you" to corporatized assembly-line movie production.

However, we are not her to discuss whether The Sequel Trilogy was good. Debatable..... with the exception of Reylo. That's just iconic. We are here to discuss how on earth Daisy Ridley ending up bearing the majority of the responsibility for its failures. Maybe even more importantly the "Feminization" of Star Wars.

A sane person could tell that. The same people screaming "Star Wars is Dead" for the last seven years are still saying the eulogy. Still going on whining and complaining about it. There is a general rule when franchise start to go off the track - you ignore it was ever made. Godfather 3? Tokyo Drift? Never happened.

If you don't like what Star Wars has become then the first person on your shit list should be it's creator. George Lucas. George could've signed over Star Wars under the guarantee that whatever outline he produced for The Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Disney HAD to stick to - he didn't. He could've signed on a producer - he didn't. He could've picked someone else except Kathleen Kennedy to replace him - he didn't. Somehow George Lucas has escaped any responsibility in what his life's work has become. Maybe the fandom got it out of their system after the Prequel Road Rage.

News that George Lucas's treatments were thrown out and the extended universe being cancelled didn't exactly calm down the public.

Maybe the next person should JJ Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy for for thinking that there was something wrong with Star Wars. Star Wars already was diverse. It already HAD strong females. Yet, there they went finding problems that didn't exist. Why? Money. Disney has a powerful female/family demographic. Star Wars a strong male demographic. Disney sought to combine the best of all worlds in one franchise and they were the company to do it. Look at what they accomplished with Marvel!

Then the announcement came that there would be a female protagonist. A female Jedi to be exact. I thought this was different and interesting. The men did not. What they saw in there head was THE FORCE IS FEMALE in flashing bright lights. This was it. Confirmation. Star Wars was about to get pussyfied. From the get-go Daisy Ridley's Rey was to be a focus, a target, for the mistrust, uneasiness and rage from the men.

Let's me be clear men are ok girls liking their stuff. As long as girls are not in a position to influence whatever it is they like, or rather "ruin it." Can you blame them? If a bunch of straight dudes came in and started writing Sex and the City I'm telling you- they'd ruin it.

The Force Awakens finally arrives and curiosity was able to lure in even the most salty man. Not to mention the possible joy of seeing Han, Luke and Leia on screen together again. TFA is a perfectly decent film. There were two glaring choices in this film. One, Han is killed. Two, Rey beats Kylo Ren at the end. All things considered we should not have been surprised what the internet had to say. Rey was a Mary Sue. Men who didn't even know what a Mary Sue was were even saying this.

The term “Mary Sue” was first coined in 1973. A young main character, usually a woman, who was portrayed as unreasonably gifted across every discipline: intellect, combat, the arts, etc. This character would often become respected (and maybe even loved) by main characters and would end the story by saving the day in heroic fashion.

You don't have to like Rey. You don't have to love her. Rey isn't even the greatest character ever developed, but come on! I wonderer if the people criticizing her even watched the movie. I heard criticism that Rey was too likable! Well, she's the protagonist. She's too pretty! That's a bad thing? She's too nice! She comes off really brash and naive actually. She's the greatest pilot ever! She flew once and not that well. Most of the criticism around Rey was disingenuous and petty as hell.

Many critics have taken the lazy route of she has no character arc or character, but that’s not a very observant take. Her yearning for family and her desperation for her parents to return, while understandable, made her vulnerable to Kylo Ren. Her loneliness made her ultimately vulnerable to anyone who would be nice to her. Now I understand there was no consequences for her faults. However, there can't be both criticism. She either doesn't have a personality, or, she has one, but doesn't suffer consequences for it.

“How could she fly the Millennium Falcon so well?” “How could she beat Kylo Ren when she’d never used a lightsaber before?” “How could she resist Kylo Ren’s interrogation?” The film answered most of these questions. Ironically, no one questioned the 8 year old Anakin Skywalker or the farm boy Luke Skywalker for being amazing or great at anything because of The Force.

She grew up defending herself in melee combat. Her quarterstaff is not a lightsaber, of course, but it was established early on that she has the instincts and the reflexes to hold her own in a fight. While I don't agree with Rey beating Kylo Ren I understand how it was accomplished. Pure, dumb luck. It was luck that Ren was physically and spiritually crippled during their confrontation. Not to mention he had the hots for you. Finn was able to hold him off mostly because Kylo was toying with him, but when he grew bored Finn ended up face first in the snow. No one questioned how Finn the janitor could wield a lightsaber.

Let's talk about Finn, or rather John Boyega. All things considered pretty lucky guy. He got a likable that he played well and got paid well. You wouldn't know it by listening to him. He complained bitterly. He attacked the fans. He attacked Disney. He attacked America. He got off Scott free with fandom. Most remember him with nothing but fondness. Maybe because he is black people feel slightly uncomfortable going after him. But, the women? No problem. Even when fans hate male characters, they talk about what they hate with nuance.

Daisy Ridley did her job and she went home. She carried on beautifully and respectfully with what she was given by the production team. That is all any actor can do. The same would apply to the girl who played Rose Tico. Yet, criticism of what was happening on screen started to bleed onto the actresses in real life.

Mark Hamill shit talked the Sequel Trilogy - fair, enough. But why did you sign on? It he because he needed a job? Hondo wasn't a great leader. I agree. But, countless people ended up losing their lives due to Poe because he refused to listen to the female authority around him. Where was the fandom with their logic bitterness scorecard? The majority of the criticism I heard (Literally several videos on Youtube) was criticism towards Hondo for not telling a newly demoted soldier all of her plans.

Anywho Rey has this new movie coming out...........okay. Not sure who wants to come back for it other than her. After TROS and the fans most co-stars seem good doing other things. OG characters are killed off. There is one person with stunning jet black hair, 6'3, plush naturally red lips, a big dick, freckles and a heroic run that she's in a dyad with that would make this whole movie worth it. Do I faith they'll do the right thing and pay Adam Driver whatever they need to to bring him back? No. Cause there is a little bit of an agenda. For some reason love in the Star Wars universe doesn't do very well, but for the woman it's none existent. The concept that a strong woman doesn't have to die alone seems odd to the very people that want equality for women. For example I saw this comment, "Rey Skywalker is her own character and her continuing story doesn’t have to revolve around Ben Solo. Daisy Ridley’s return shouldn’t be overshadowed by fan expectation over Adam Driver returning."

Yes, it does. This film needs to work. I cannot stress that enough. You know people want to see this film fail. Reylo isn't purely for sentimental reasons (I WOULD SEE MY DYAD REUNITED FOUR TIMES IN THEATRES) Reylo is the biggest marketing advantage Disney Star Wars has..... you knew that when Solo flopped. Do the smart thing, put these people on mute and give us a iconic fight fuck scene.

Rey also wear clothes appropriate with her environment and match the physical needs of what she needs to accomplish like her male peers. Logical and refreshing. I hear the men mostly complain about the lack of hot women in their fantasy.

We could also talk about the sexism Carrie Fisher faced from the not only the studio, but the fandom for the crime of getting older and gaining weight. Her in a metal bikini is already in the spank bank - she contributed enough.

Again, neither Carrie Fisher nor Daisy Ridley in a smart world could ever really own that. Anymore than the Rose Tico actress could. Worse, they could never really tell the Fanboys what they really think of them. I love me some Fanboys, I do, but they aren't a perfect group of people. They just criticism everyone's work like they are. We're suppose to ignore the giant dump they take on anything and everything that comes out. I genuinely think the people beyond The Star Wars Sequel Trilogy sought out to create a great story. To honor what came before. In many respect they did. They aren't George Lucas though.

There is legitimate criticism towards Disney for how it has handled the Star Wars franchise. Currently it can't exactly be be described as quality over quantity. The writers seem like they are writing for early 00s Disney Channel rather a complex space political fairytale. Characterization has not been wonderful. Again, it's not simple. While Disney has not steered the ship perfectly. I would argue there was an audience sitting in ill will and waiting to be disappointment.

[jedi-enthusiast]

I am once again asking anti-Jedi people to get the fuck off my page--and yes, this poster was specifically anti-Jedi because they literally made a post about "sure the Jedi are better than the Sith, but anyone can be better than those and the Jedi are still evil/red flags/etc."

I have made it very clear through many of my posts and my fucking blog description that I don't tolerate anti-Jedi propaganda on my blog, but apparently I haven't been clear enough--so here's another:

KEEP YOUR FUCKING ANTI-JEDI BULLSHIT OFF MY FUCKING BLOG, EITHER POST IT ON YOUR OWN BLOG OR SHUT THE FUCK UP ON MINE

Is that clear enough for you assholes?

Now, first of all, on the post this was commented on I didn't even mention Athena Andreadis and I want to make it clear that 1. I've never even heard of this person and 2. I've never read this essay. I was just venting about how I can't talk about SW without some anti-Jedi jackasses popping in with comments on how "the Jedi were evil," but apparently now I can't even fucking complain about SW shit without anti-Jedi jackasses popping in their two-cents.

The irony.

Now, I've looked up several iterations of "Athena Andreadis strange horizons anti-Jedi essay" and I cannot find it--so I won't be picking apart the specific points made, since I can't find them, but I will be picking apart the general points here.

First of all, I have no idea how being anti-Jedi could possibly be seen as a "feminist" thing.

Like...there are plenty of female Jedi, most are viewed in-canon by other Jedi--both male and female--as good and wise (how fandom views them is out of my control), there are female Jedi in leadership positions, there are both modest and non-modest dressing Jedi and neither of them are viewed negatively for how they dress--nor do any Jedi comment on how they dress, they're diverse in both their looks and beliefs, as far as I'm aware there aren't any rules the Jedi follow that are specific to the women...

Like, I'm just not seeing how the Jedi Order is sexist or how it's feminist to be anti-Jedi.

Can singular characters be sexist? Yes, of course, obviously. But unless I'm remembering wrong, it's actually Anakin (y'know, the baby-murderer guy who's horrible at being a Jedi and turns into a fucking Sith Lord?) who's shown to be sexist in SW media. Other than his behavior, I don't really remember other Jedi being shown as sexist--someone feel free to correct me if I'm forgetting something, though.

Second, the Jedi also didn't want to join the war, but they had no better options.

It is made clear throughout the movies and TCW that the Jedi don't want to be generals in this war, Mace Windu even spells it out for Palpatine by saying "we are keepers of the peace, not soldiers" in AotC. However, in the end, they're forced to take up the role in order to work towards the greater good.

There's literally an entire episode in TCW where the "the Jedi should've just been pacifists and not fought" thing is addressed, and there have been many many posts made by many people about how the Jedi did the right thing and also about what might've happened if they didn't--I specifically recommend looking at @antianakin and @david-talks-sw's posts, if you want an actual in-depth response on those.

I'm not gonna regurgitate their points on this post, but I will pose you the same questions I did on the post this comment was under:

So the Jedi should've just stood by while Dooku conquered and enslaved the rest of the galaxy? That would've been better than them fighting to protect the people and planets Dooku was enslaving?

Finally, everything we're shown about the Jedi in-universe--and what we know of child development irl--shows that the Jedi's way of life isn't harmful, and is even helpful, in childhood development.

First of all, we're gonna dispel the myth that the Jedi teach emotional suppression--what they do teach is emotional regulation which, as others have pointed out, is something taught in therapy and is a good and healthy thing.

But guess what? You also teach emotional regulation to children at a very young age!

When your child is throwing a tantrum, screaming and breaking things, and just generally losing it because they're unhappy with something, what do you do? If you're a good parent, you-

1. help them calm down.

2. teach them how to work through their emotions in a healthy way for next time (taking deep breaths, counting to ten, walking off the anger, etc.).

and 3. talking with them about what made them upset and helping them understand why they were upset so they can avoid it or deal with it better next time.

All of that is emotional regulation. Parents all around the world teach it to their kids every day because it is healthy, and just because the Jedi need to emphasize teaching it more than most because Force-sensitives are susceptible to the Dark Side doesn't mean that it's any less healthy than regular people teaching it.

Secondly, the Jedi Order is a community and--like it or not--it's shown that children raised in a community setting are actually generally better off than children raised strictly in the nuclear family model because they have more support and access to a more diverse pool of opinions, beliefs, and people. All of which we see reflected in the Jedi Order--community support and teaching.

Anakin fell specifically because he didn't follow the Jedi's teachings, and even he was a fucking outlier. The Jedi that fell in the Prequels either fell because of the War (which was orchestrated by Palpatine) or because they were directly manipulated by Palpatine. Neither of those things had anything to do with Jedi teachings and all but one of the Jedi that fell were adults, again all of which except one that lived in the Order perfectly fine for years until Palpatine started doing shit.

Now that that's covered, I'm gonna make my own point.

All of you "the Jedi deserved their genocide crowd" people sound like fucking Nazis and fascists.

Everyone who's saying that "the Jedi were the real bad guys" have like 0 media literacy and obviously take issue with anything that isn't strictly following western ideals--and, frankly, I think you're all willfully being ignorant and stupid at this point.

When you're anti-Jedi, those are the people you're aligning with.

Now, it's none of my business what you believe or what you post on your own time, but keep it the fuck off my page.

This is my space.

Keep your shitty opinions to yours.

[alexissara]

Alexis Sara's Top 10 Most Anticipated Games Of 2024

We're about to enter 2024 and with that we have all the lists, lists I am not immune to making because I slowly build them up all year. Last year I played a fuck load of games and so this year I wanted to talk about 10 games I think look really fucking cool that are coming out in the next year or two. Some of these games are likely to release in 2025 instead but it'll be fun to see if they remain on the list next year then. I mostly just wanted to spotlight some art that looks cool to me outside of the context of a Sapphic Games Guide or a Review and maybe get others on the hype train with me. This list is not in order and just 10 games I think look like they could have an impact on me, I may not even buy every game on this list but there the 10 that look like I am most likely to check out.

Gales Of Nayeli

So this is one of two games on the list I've already purchased. I backed the kickstarter of the game a while back and I thought "it looks alright and when I asked if there was gonna be any sapphic content the creator told me in depth what content he had already made so sure I'll back it. What was more if a thank you for being so kind and responsive so fast has turned into my most hype game of the year. Blindcoco and me have become friends over time so I am biased but I was actually sold on the game before me and him became buddy buddy when I played the demo and saw the amazing work that went into it. Then the extremally positive response from him and the community towards my desire to focus in on women and sapphic women only added to my excitement for the game.

The game genuinely seems to be raising the bar for SRPGs and really feels like it is a step above Fire Emblem and not an emulation of Fire Emblem. I loved the demo and the concepts in the game so much it inspired me to start working on my own SRPG studios game knowing what is possible at the high end of investment in the system can really be something special and really cool. I love that there is a focus on trying to cast voice actors who match ethnicity to the diverse cast, I love that there is a wide range of diversity in the revealed cast, I love the amount of queer women I am aware of in the game, I love the animations and sprite work, I love the gameplay, I am really really excited about this game and I think this game has a high shot at being one of my favorite games.

Fields Of Mistria 

I make fun of farming sims a little on my lists and stuff but only because I actually love farming sims especially in concept. This game probably has my favorite art style of the whole lot of games today. It's lovely 90s anime style sprite work is just AHHHHHHHHHH so good. I do in fact want to kiss the women in this game very badly and I would enjoy playing the game for the sake of dating them alone.

Rune Factory: Dragon

Let's bang out the second farming sim while we're at it. We don't know a bunch about this game but it really just has to do two things for me to be into it. One, let you be gay like the newest RF and Story of Season games already let you do and Two, keep up the art direction and bam, I'm in. My biggest problem with the last Rune Factory game was that the art style made every woman look like a 12 year old and not in the like chibi story of seasons way like they just looked like they were kids. This however, has a much better set of art direction and it makes me think there might actually be women I'd want to gay marry.

Mahou Senshi Cosplay Club

I really love Behold's previous game Chroma Squad but when I got this demo I had no idea they were the Chroma Squad people. The mix of dress up and RPG gameplay is a dream come true kind of game and the outfit customization is leagues beyond a game like Fashion Dreamer despite likely being made on a much smaller budget. The PSX style graphics actually work here with them evoking nostalgic graphics while also not actually being restrained by a Playstation One's issues. I just really loved the process of making the outfit and character in this game and honestly that alone is a potential game seller. The gameplay element was solid and I really want to play more of this.

Beastieball 

BeastieBall seems to be a really fun take on the Monster Taming genre. Having the monster friends play a sport and naturally be inclined to play the sport makes for a very cute and wholesome premise to which you become more a coach than an owner to these little cuties. It's a pretty simple concept in the demo but it's promising and cute and I do like that the monsters you collect build relationships with each other, I think that is something really special and neat and something I'd like to see more monster tamers do.

Love In A Bottle

 There is a lot of nice looking visual novels coming out but Love In A Bottle is dating sim that is really capturing my eye. You play as a demon girl, bam okay I am sold. You date other monster girls okay I'm sold. And it's got more then the basic one outfit you expect from a standard visual novel dating sim type deal for characters that is yet another sold factor. It seems really cute, seems fun and I hope I can smooch all the women at once.

Fantasy Life I

While I said we were done with farming sims, I didn't say we were done with sims as we have Level-5's Life Sim, Fantasy Life. I won't be buying the game if I can't be gay in it but I really loved the first Fantasy Life on the 3DS and I think if it can keep up the charm and fun of the original game and add a homosexual seasoning on top it'll be a perfect cute and fun time. I love the wide array of jobs and how these all build into each other, it's a very one of a kind experience and really fun.

Princess Peach Showtime 

This is the true triple A game of the list and the only one that has captivated me in all the shows of all the consoles and developers I've seen of late. Peach is barbie now and I am here for it, let her have a million jobs and have a game based around her doing these different roles and being an icon in each of them, sounds good, I'm in, it's a really cute and fun concept. It looks really fun and the art style looks great.

Our Life Now and Forever 

There is no other games like the Our Life games and getting to be sapphic in this one means I finally get to go ahead and experience the series I have been curious about for a while now. This game will let you be polyamarous which is the only game on this list I can say for sure will allow you to do that and that alone is something that would keep me engaged. However, getting to grow up with characters, change your pronouns, your name, anything about yourself as you do and having the characters change with you is amazing. I love the concept of this game and the wild reactivity the games demo has always provided just to a simple thing like me choosing to be trans in the childhood phase is amazing, it is truly such a considered and thoughtful game with such masterful crafting that the act one demo alone is probably worth money. So I did back this one on kickstarter as well so this is my other pick up.

Unlike other games on this list I am fairly confident this is a 2025 game and not a 2024 game but I want to talk about it now because people on the Patreon will be getting to play updated versions of the game over the course of the year akin to early access. I think the game is for sure worth a look.

Izrand Allure

After playing the previous game in the series I am totally sold on wanting to experience Izrand Allure. Luxaren Allure was a really special experience I had this year finally checking out the game after I think years of putting it off and beating it I really want to play this follow up. This game seems far more in depth and far more artistically masterful then Luxaren as well so I really want to see everything this game has to offer. I love a good job system and this game boasts one. I really want to see this lesbian RPG and I hope I get a chance to play it very soon but obviously Unity the dev should take her time to make it. Regardless, I am just gushing every time I see the game and I think this has potential to be a massive game of the year type hit for me.

If you enjoyed this post, I got a lot more end of the year lists coming up when it's actually next year so I can tell people what I enjoyed in December. You can also support me in making cool queer art by checking out my Patreon and Ko-fi.

[casketjones]

I'm not sure how to info dump for a bunch of character concepts in a way that's digestible but eh whatever

Concept work for a group of mafia hitwomen and their long suffering handler. They're likely going to be used in a underground illegal wrestling ring arc because that's all I really want in my media.

This post plus additional sketches and more background info will be going up on my patreon and kofi tomorrow.

more under the cut,

They're all vampires that I really cooked up to test a concept for vamps for my comic project. Based on a blood sucking animal and a historical anti-vampire burial method, some of the burial methods are gonna be pushed and fibbed because there's not that many of them. so yeah incidental vampires will have a cage motif even tho I know good and well that cages were to prevent resurrection men getting in not vampires getting out. I feel that's thematically close enough. There's so many really good sanguivore animals out there these are maybe too safe even.

The other thing I really wanted to accomplish with these designs is targeting lesbians, hey ladies these are for you. How am I doing?

going left to right here we got

Flea- She's a Flea I tried taking a lot from Blake's Ghost of a Flea but I don't think it comes through. Her grave-shackle is that scythe coming out her shoulder, it's maybe a bit of a stretch, the real thing was buried in the ground next to the corpse so if it rose it would decapitate itself but I didn't really want to complicate the design with a bunch of dirt or something. Regardless I like her design a lot. Short hairy goblin of a woman, someone stop me from naming her Puce.

Mosquito- Her hair took a little bit to sort out, it used to be real bad but this mess is perfect. Horrible 90's stylized part call back, reminiscent of boxer braids while being ostentatious enough to work in any setting. That cool bangle is her grave-shackle, an actual shackle this time. Her build was immediate, huge arms, weird long butt, perfection. She's the easiest to dress which isn't that surprising considering shes thinner but usually big arms are really difficult in women's wear. Flea is actually the second easiest to dress. There's gotta be a better name than Malaria, but i could call her Mal.

Geo(?)- small mafia man, constantly put upon, constantly behind the 8-ball with upper management; you know the type. The other guys definitely tell him he's lucky all the time but they'd never switch assignments with him. Why is he so small? because I can do whatever i want. His name might be Geoffrey.

Lamprey- Went through the most iterations, was very hard to piece together a woman this disaster lesbian. The spike through the heart, traditionally meant to keep the alleged vampire pinned to the ground was always part of the design, so was the long neck and heart lipstick, the hook earring came and went. Everything else was difficult; general build was pretty similar but i didn't actually work until I gave her a gut and dropped her waist. I used to have gill markings on her neck that looked like vampire bite marks and that took a while to give up but that hair is too good. She probably will end up being named Nakkila, it's a Finnish town with lamprey on their crest.

Leech- Took just two stabs to get her hair, body and face where I wanted it. Those bright red eyebrows work so well to subtly mimic leech markings, her hair shapes are perfect and I love drawing them. It's hard to tell at this size but her lips are sewn together which works almost too well for the theming, the cartoon jack'o lantern shape just sits right on a leech. Being built like a brick shithouse with fantastic fat rolls really gives the body diversity in the group the punch it needs. But dear god in heaven she is so hard to dress! I'm liking this dress a moderate amount right now and I really love the shoes but it's not perfect. I've tried suits instead, I've down active wear, all crazy difficult. It's like fashion doesn't want to accentuate horizontal stripes on large bodies or something? I gotta keep trying on it. I've almost convinced myself to name her Annelid.

[fioras-resolve]

Playing Style Savvy for the first time has been pretty cool, delving into a kind of game we don't usually play and getting to experience the fashion world as trans women. (Incidentally, I say "we," we're a plural system. Please don't get mad, at least not in the replies. I'm Maya, I love fashion, and that's about all you need to know.) But playing it has also called attention to something that I just cannot ignore as a fat trans woman, which is the lack of body diversity. So, let's get into it.

So, I wanna start with a concept I'll call "the world of pretty." This is a fictional setting where just about every character is some kind of attractive. Style Savvy is obviously a world of pretty, but so is Final Fantasy, Hades, a lot of anime, and the portfolios of plenty of artists on this site. And this is a good, fun thing, you know? It gives the work a kind of appeal that's incredibly straightforward to understand, so I don't need to dwell on it for too long.

Here's the thing, though. I am, as I said, a fat trans woman. Not many worlds of pretty include someone with a body like mine, because trans bodies are so often forgotten, and fat bodies are simply excluded from a lot of people's idea of what an attractive person looks like. So when Style Savvy doesn't even let me be an XL, the implication is that my actual body is not worth having in your world. And that's not even to mention the limited or non-presence of people of color in many of these works. When I realize that my own body is excluded from a world of pretty, the illusion shatters.

Now, the fact I mentioned tumblr artists as an example of this might raise some eyebrows. After all, this kind of thinking can easily drive someone to hassle an indie artist about changing their style or preferences. I don't want to encourage that here, and if you've received grief about not drawing fat, trans or PoC characters, I'm sorry that happened, and it shouldn't have. I've been in the position of wanting to have this kind of conversation, but knowing it could easily get drowned out by people who do not fucking speak for me. I just want you to be mindful that, when you make attractive character art for a long time, you inevitably create a world of pretty, for good and ill. I can't tell you how to use that power, but I want you to know that it's there.

And, additionally, there are excuses, some better than others. Final Fantasy and Style Savvy are both inspired by high fashion and normal people fashion respectively, so it makes sense their characters all look like models. Worlds of pretty are very marketable, and it can be a hard sell to break from that mold. And it is genuinely hard to have diversity in your work, in a way I will explain right now.

Okay, look. To give Style Savvy its due... gamedev is hard. I would know, this body does it all the time. So like, if you're making a game with any kind of visual element, you need either sprites (2D drawings basically) or models (Basically 3D puppets with potentially hundreds of moving parts). And these models will almost always require a rig, like, a skeleton with bones and joints, that determines how the model can move.

From a production standpoint, you can crank out new characters from the same base model, much easier and faster than if you spent the time building another model with a unique rig. I can't speak for this exactly, because we've never done 3D dev before, but it's just way less of a headache and a hurdle if you're trying to get the most "content" out of your limited budget of staff and time. It just makes sense not spending the time to make different body types, especially in a game like Style Savvy where they'd also have to do a metric shitton of work modeling all the clothing for each distinct body type. I understand this. We sympathize. But what it means is that fat bodies are not in the games' world of pretty.

(hey, Angie here now) so like, i am not immune to the world of pretty. it's part of why i like the things i do, and it's part of why i picked up style savvy to begin with. even as the illusion shatters, i still like a lot of media and artists that don't really do body diversity. but at the same time, as i was playing style savvy i started imagining a version of it that actually did have what i wanted, and used that to create an even more positive experience. like, imagine playing one of these games, playing a clerk at a boutique, and then a trans woman comes through the door, bashful about her looks but desperately wanting to find something that suits her. i'm imagining a world of pretty that includes all body types, that finds beauty in every body. and i know i can't create this because i'm a lowly game designer... but i imagine it and i start to feel happy.

[is-this-really--life]

I sincerely hope one day you can escape from the RadFem cult and learn that you don't have to live your life in fear. It can be hard to recognise propaganda at first but there are resources out there to help you. However, it can't start until you're ready, so until then us good members of society have to run damage control on your awful politics.

Hey. So here's an essay on cult-like thinking from this wonderful reidentified woman and lesbian writer I just discovered:

I don't agree with everything this author says, but I agree with most of it, and I think this perspective is important.

On radical feminism: I found a community to surround myself with that prioritizes women, celebrates our gender nonconformity and critical thinking, and raises awareness about the depths of misogyny and male violence.

I'm not in a cult anymore. I no longer avoid information from sides I disagree with. I regularly engage with ideas that differ from my own. I'm open to changing my mind about things, but I know why I believe what I believe. This was not the case when I was in radical queer spaces.

They regularly misrepresented the beliefs of an entire branch of feminism and the group that closely aligns with it, telling everyone to "block and stay safe" and "you're bigoted if you start to think biological sex (with a diversity of expressions) matters more than gender identity" or even that "Trans women are trans women, and don't share many of the experiences that biological women do as female bodied people."

If you reposted from one of the blacklisted accounts, usually something feminist and nothing to do with trans people, you were a suspect, and you would be dog piled on unless you deleted it. They all began to interpret basic feminist consciousness as a red flag until everyone who didn't listen to radfems stopped posting about feminism altogether. It's a little better now than it was a few years back. But it's still not great.

This attitude is not only found online anymore. There is a group of people who are no longer my friends because I started asking questions and disagreeing with them about the nature of "gender" as a sociological concept, as a social role assigned to the sexes, rather than a highly individual internal feeling and identity that everyone supposedly has. These were the type of people who refused to engage with opinions that differ from their own. These were the people ruled by a fear of stepping out of line. They would cut people off for the smallest perceived missteps. I don't befriend people locked into that cult-like mentality anymore. No matter what end of the political spectrum it comes from.

P.S. I've been talking openly with my normal, very offline cousin about every "radfem" belief I have, including the feminist ones criticizing male violence, and the ones criticizing the very online behavior of the group of people shouting that "sex isn't real" or "isn't overwhelmingly dimorphic" or that "trans people are being genocided in the U.S." or whatever, and she 100% agrees with everything I say. Can you say the same? Or do very offline people get weirded out and concerned when you talk queer orthodoxy bullshit? Just asking.

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC Review: Most Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix by Gabe Cole Novoa

4.25/5. Releases 1/16/2024.

Vibes: Pride and Prejudice but make it queer (obviously), light humor around big issues, family warmth, that ol' Darcy Darcy-ness in a younger package

Oliver Bennet has a problem: aside from his sister Jane, his family doesn't know that he's not a girl. Trapped by societal norms and the persona he's forced to wear, he sneaks out as his true self and runs into the stiff, cool Darcy (who was actually a major dick to Oliver when he was dressed as a girl). The thing is--when Darcy is actually able to be himself, he's actually quite kind. Also? Very appealing. But no matter how much they connect, a future for Darcy and Oliver, as their true selves, seems impossible. Unless....

I don't usually read YA, but I was kind of fascinated by the concept of this series of remixed, diverse takes on old classics. And a retelling of P&P starring a trans boy was too good to resist. Also, this is my favorite cover I've seen in a LONG while.

Luckily, it lived up to my expectations beyond the cover. It's sweet and unique, while honoring the original story. And right now, I think that seeing a trans kid living out the happily ever after of one of the most enduring love stories of all time is something we need to see.

Quick Takes:

--To be clear, this is a true YA romance. The characters that need to be aged down are. I think it was totally necessary to appeal to the target audience, and it works. I mean, being a youth~ in 1812 isn't exactly like being a youth~ in today's world anyway. It's just like P&P in that it's chaste, but unlike P&P in that there is kissing. (Yay!)

--Like I said, the book stays true to the original story, but obviously it's not married to it. Oliver has a lot in common with Elizabeth, but he's not Elizabeth, and his relationship with Darcy is not Elizabeth's relationship with Darcy. It's more based on friendship and understanding--in a lot of ways, it's a friends to lovers story. Which I think adds a sense of queer found family to the romance, and I think that's necessary here.

--It would be very easy for Oliver's mindset to be quite dark. Understandably so, as most of his family is ignorantly (and it's true ignorance, they don't know) deadnaming him on the regular. He's forced to wear dysphoria-inducing clothing, to act as a girl. But I think Novoa understood that there did need to be a somewhat lighter touch here. The point is not to paint a tale of like... a historically accurate trans experience. It's to tell a love story.

And in that sense, I found that the way Novoa approached the Bennets reacting to Oliver's transness really refreshing and lovely. Like, the point here is not to make you feel down about Oliver's future, but to celebrate who he is (and maybe feel seen--as a cis woman, I can't speak to how effective that is).

I suspect that this lighter touch won't work for everyone; and that's valid. If I'm being honest, I don't super care about whether or not it works for cis people.

--There's a molly house scene! Darcy is in a molly house! I loved this. I found something about placing a romantic hero we often so associate with heterosexuality and the ideal for women in a super queer space... And making it this place where he feels comfortable and true... Really compelling. It was one of my favorite scenes in the book.

Also, it allowed for some real romantic connection between Oliver and Darcy. Their relationship is super sweet, and I found the twist on how that relationship would have developed if we did have an Oliver and a Darcy rather than an Elizabeth and a Darcy super smart. It would've been super easy for Novoa to just duplicate the original dynamic and go "but here's a boy". That would've done a disservice to both this work and the original, in my opinion. I appreciate him doing the work to make something super distinct that is AWARE of the differences here, as I do think some queer retellings of het stories occasionally do just execute a quick genderflip and call it a day.

And I get why they do. But at the end of the day, it does remind me of the sensibility that queer love stories need to be palatable and safe for straight audiences, to appeal them and to make them seem "just like them". However, a queer romance isn't 1 to 1 with a straight romance. There often are different dynamics at play. I so liked that we got that here.

TW: transphobia (from characters, not the narrative), general queerphobia, deadnaming, dysphoria

I was super happy with this book, and I think it will definitely appeal to a ton of teens out there. Definitely going to recommend this to my teen sibling. However, it's well-written and mature enough to hold a crossover appeal towards adults. A smart and sweet take on a classic book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Feiwel & Friends for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[khaleesiofalicante]

Dani, help me turn my new work place into something more 🌈?

I recently started working at a local bookstore. It's a small place, but very charming and inviting. However it's in a dire need of more LGBTQIAP+.

Since I'm also responsible for bringing in new books to the store, I already got the two TEC books, all 5 volumes of Heartstopper and the two books of Aristotle and Dante.

So, Dani. What do you recommend me to get? It can be any genre, really.

I just saw this! I'm sorry, it got lost in the ask box.

Congrats on your job and it sounds so cool and fun! And kudos to you for making the bookshop gayer yay.

Instead of recommending you specific books, I'm going to direct you with broader suggestions instead.

More Than Just MLM - Make sure to have more than mlm books. Most popular LGBTQ books are about gay relationships and it's important that we make books about other queer people accessible too - especially queer woman! For instance, check out Alice Osmen's other works. I'd recommend Loveless (about asexuality) among others. Here is a list of book recs about Lesbian and Bi women. A list of trans books by trans authors. A list of books with asexual main characters.

2. Pick Non-Famous Authors - Don't just have the famous books by famous authors (like Heartstopper or whatever else). Sometimes famous books are expensive and some queer people (Especially teens) have to buy these books from the money they've saved up and can't afford all of them. Make sure to have books by smaller authors who are also good because these books might be affordable.

3. Find Accessible Books - I'd also recommend that you find books that have audiobooks versions and for readers who are not comfortable taking a physical copy home. So even if they can't buy it, you can say 'hey you can look up the audio book etc). This is also important for queer people who are blind or dyslexic. Here is a list of queer audio books that are freely available on Spotify.

4. Looks for Writers and Stories from Diverse Countries - Make sure the books you have aren't just about white queer people. And no, I am not talking about something like firstprince where one of them is poc. Mixed race queer couple stories are becoming a trend (not a bad thing but I can and will write a thesis on it later) but what I mean is that we need to promote more queer stories that are about queer people who live in countries other than the US and UK. For example, a queer story from India written by an Indian author - not just 'about' an Indian. Similar, a queer story about a Mexican trans woman, written by someone from Mexico, etc. This is so very important! Here are some LGBT books published by different authorise from different countries.

5. Find Books For and About Adults - Don't just go for YA books. I know YA books are more popular in queer media. But sometimes older queer adults prefer to read about older queer people. Sometimes young queer people want to know what it's like to be an adult queer old. So make sure to branch out more than just YA books. Some of the lists I've shared above already has many adult books (when I say adult I'm talking R rated but rather it's about adults - not teens).

5. Don't Stick to Romance - Make sure to have different genres, not just romance. Not all queer people (or cisgender people) want to read queer romance. Make sure to have different themes and genres including mystery, drama, poetry, short stories, etc. Here's a list of queer sci-fi and and fantasy books.

I know you can't get ALL of these - especially because it's a small place. But as I've said I can't recommend you which books to buy. (Other than Loveless hehe) But I hope these notes are helpful for you (in general) when you're trying to get more books in the future.

ALSO - everyone please reblog/reply with your fave queer books to help annie out 💙

[your-fave-adopted-you]

I've been thinking about this all day so here you go.

listen. Yuu, but make her Haruhi from Ouran highschool host club.

(Also don't mind the word "potion" showing up 100000 times)

Guardian! School Staff and a fem!MC that transforms into a guy daily, in order to attend school.

Characters : Crowley, Crewel, Trein, Ashton, Sam

TW : Crowley being questionable

afab! MC

Context : the NRC is an institution full of diversity! A place where people from all around the globe, with different social status and even people that aren't even human can study.

Not women tho.

For some reason, since you arrived there was no trace of female presence, not even within the school staff. This is a boys only school, ofc, the problem is that

you're not a boy.

Just the fact that you come from another world, and that the mirror didn't assign you to any dorm brought enough unwanted attention towards you.

Dire Crowley

The first one to know.

Because he was literally the first person you came across once you appeared.

Haha, sorry, but you can't stay here.

we don't even have girl uniforms!

but. you didn't choose to come here.

eventually, he gives in,

You can stay at Ramshackle and yadda yadda you know how it goes.

HOWEVER people shouldn't know about your true gender.

if it was known that a girl actually attended classes at Night Raven, then people would demand for more opportunities for female mages to study there!

but Crowley isn't planning on making it a co-ed any time soon.

He proposes that you take shapeshifting potions regularly, and live as boy, like everyone else.

At first you don't like this idea because, he's kinda conditioning you.

But you never actually cared that much about how others perceived you, gender-wise at least.

So you (reluctantly) accept this offer.

Also he will be your guardian in this world from now on, he's gotta keep an eye on you.

Even when everyone perceives you as a boy, he's very protective of you.

"Oh! y/n! my sweet little princess- PRINCE HAHA, YEAH i need another favor-"

stuff like this happens 20 times a day.

it doesn't matter if you're tall or petite, a tomboy or coquette. After week 1 he got VERY attached and now you're his sweet little princess.

mostly asks you to stay away from the leech bothers and some Savanaclaw students because he doesn't want to die of a heart attack.

Divus Crewel

ngl you got him fooled for a good few months.

he saw Crowley so eager to become your guardian for some reason... he couldn't let that happen

sometimes being exposed to other ✨Magic chemicals✨ and stuff like that during class can mess a little with the shapeshifting potion you took earlier.

Some days you'll look a little shorter, your voice will be a little higher, stuff like that.

it's not till you call in sick one day that he notices.

you were NOT expecting visits at Ramshackle so you didn't take your potion today.

It would be lunch break by now and Crewel decided to bring you something warm from the cafeteria so you didn't have to get up and cook.

when he gets to your room guided by the ghosts you're covered in blankets and he could only see half your face.

it's weird, your features look ...softer today.

then you noticed he was there, and the moment you opened your mouth-

"pup... are you alright? you sound a little weird toda-"

then he sees some empty bottles on the floor, turns out grim likes to play with them.

"Y/n, is there something you want to tell me?"

Well, you've been caught.

You tell him about what Crowley told you when you originally got here.

He's a little mad but he understands it.

However, he's PISSED at the fact that he hadn't noticed earlier.

After that day he doesn't treat you any different, but he teaches you how to make those kind of potions from scratch (even if they last less) just in case.

Mozus Trein

He didn't know what it was but there was something you were hiding from him.

he's not an old fashioned [ women should stay at the kitchen and take care of the children ] kind of man, but an old fashioned [ women and men are different, and excel at different subjects even if they can technically do anything they put their minds on ] kind.

So sometimes in history class he noticed that his words could get... reactions out of you.

even if it's something as subtle as rolling your eyes, frowning two seconds or subtly scratching your nose with your middle finger as you looked away.

But one day he said something that just got under your skin. Something about women being historically and factually worse at this specific subject...

Where you only got straight A's.

so you confronted him after the lesson ended.

"But why are you so upset, y/n? it's only common knowledge, one day you'll know what I'm talking about."

"Oh but i do know."

as he raised an eyebrow you told him to go over to Ramshackle for some tea later.

Once he showed up you served him tea, you also brought some old graded tests and projects.

"Ah, yes, as applied as always i see, is this the reason you wanted me to come?"

"Actually i just wanted to prove you wrong about earlier."

Before he could ask, the potion's effects wore off.

the old man was DUMBFOUNDED.

???????????????

since WHEN-

was this some kind of prank??? WAIT IT WASN'T???

he's speechless for a solid 3 minutes.

"I see... I understand now."

Just like Crewel he won't treat you any different.

But you will notice from now on how he puts more care into his own words.

Ashton Vargas

Just like Crewel, he didn't suspect a thing.

if fact it takes him even longer to find out the truth.

you weren't exactly the best at P.E but you were alright, and you had very decent grades in general.

However he's certain that you should be in a better shape by now...

He got you training 24/7 and yet there's little to no change on your appearance.

He's not expecting you to look like him or anything but

you should've built some muscle mass by now ????

what he didn't know was that, behind closed doors, your actual body showed a HUGE improvement

but any time you shapeshifted to your male self, it would always look the same, since it's just an illusion.

one day you were taking too long in the changing room and before he could come in to check, you texted him.

this was URGENT you needed him to get a certain bottle from Ramshackle and bring it back here, leaving it by the door.

He's PANICKING because the potion doesn't even have a label. so he jumps to the conclusion that it's some kind of medicine that you need but didn't tell him about.

he feels SO GUILTY after having you exercising everyday

he doesn't even remember that you wanted him to leave it by the door so he comes in and-

you had already changed to your regular uniform. But you looked different.

"Wh- why are you so small???"

your uniform looked so big on you.

you had no option but to explain the situation.

he stays silent for a while and then- "Okay, i understand, it's just like one of my favorite legends! it's so motivating!"

he then proceeds to tell you about the entire plot of Mulan.

He won't treat you differently after that, but makes sure you get enough iron for when it's ... necessary.

Sam

not a guardian

But is the second one ever to discover what's going on with you.

Crowley sent you to get your potions, since they're fairly cheap, he will take care of that.

You made sure to go while everyone else was in class.

When you stepped in, at first Sam didn't assume anything.

It's not uncommon for some students to have fairly feminine features, like Epel or Lilia.

However one can usually tell the moment their voice is revealed.

You asked him for a shapeshifting potion and he had lots of them.

There's the ones that merfolk use to get legs and humans to get a tail and fins...

There's others that keep your face neat and perfect for hours.

There were this ones, (fairly popular on campus) that may interest you, they're pricey but you only have to take a few of them and it changes you permanently, it doesn't only affect your appearance but also your hormones.

And finally there's this ones that only last for a few hours and they're just an illusion.

it can turn you into anything you want, but it's effects are a little weak . It can wear off fast depending on your metabolism.

You only need it for your body and voice so it's okay.

Since he knows your little secret whenever you come to buy anything with your friends he will drop some hints, not enough for them to suspect anything but he will have a laugh or two by teasing you.

[setthishouseablaze]

Spotify Wrapped 2023: The Rose

The Rose steps deliberately into frame next to the burning house at her fingertips. Off-camera The Rose steps back from the house closer to the bundle of flowers blooming at the intersection of Sunset & Vine. (Question: can an American tell me if there's actually a Stop sign on this intersection?)

The Rose is a figure clad in a patch-worked version of all of The ME! suits over a pink shirt with a large pink rose hiding their face, there is a ring visible on their right pinky finger. Pink roses are said to represent; love, beauty, gratitude, grace and femininity. Pinky rings are a classic "hiding in plain sight" queer signal [1] as is tailored menswear worn by women. And Me! has the classic "one of these things is not like the others, Like a rainbow with all of the colors" lyric from Lover.

The Rose seems as if they're standing guard, first by moving in to stand by the burning house, and then by looming over the street/stop sign next to the three Dahlias. There are at least eleven references to Roses in Taylors songs, but no Dahlias. The word Dahlia means valley flowers, and in 'flower language' it represents: fresh starts, diversity, kindness in the face of adversity, and a commitment to goodness, the pink varieties in particular represent feminine beauty. [2]

The obvious song references are to ME! via the outfit, and to Gorgeous via the street names. Gorgeous is either a song about initiating a new romantic relationship while you have a beard, or, a song about cheating on your boyfriend. "I got a boyfriend, he's older than us. He's in the club doing, I don't know what … guess I'll just stumble on home to my cats alone unless, you wanna come along?" I've always interpreted it as the former and the flower symbolism (fresh starts, diversity, and feminine beauty) seem to back up that interpretation.

A goldfish (a symbol of the fishbowl of public life) hovers near The Rose, while a mirror ball bops over the dahlias, reflecting back at whomever looks in that direction.

So does The Rose represent the part of herself hiding in plain sight, protecting The House (her empire,) and whoever/whatever relationships are represented by the Dahlias by remaining masked and providing plausible deniability?

I made a list so I may as well share it...

Song references to flowers from Debut to Midnights:

Should’ve said No "Strange to think the songs we used to sing the smiles, the flowers, everything is gone"

Our Song "I almost didn't notice all the roses" (orange roses)

Christmas Must be Something More "Would you still wanna kiss without mistletoe" "please take down the mistletoe"

Back to December "you gave me roses and I left them there to die"

Superman "Right here wishing the flowers were from you"

The Lucky One "Chose the Rose Garden"

Blank Space "Rose garden filled with thorns"

Wildest Dreams "Red lips & rosey cheeks"

Clean "the flowers that we grew together died of thirst"

Don’t Blame Me "I once was poison ivy but now I’m your daisy"

Call It What You Want "All my flowers grew back as thorns"

Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince "running through rose thorns"

Cornelia Street "a place on Cornelia St" (note cornelias are flowers)

The Lakes "I want to watch wisteria grow" "a red rose grew out of ice frozen ground"

Gold Rush "rose blush"

Maroon "carnations that you thought were roses, that's us." "Your roommate's cheap-ass screw top rosé"

Lavender Haze "lavender haze creeping up on me"

You're on Your Own Kid "So long, Daisy May"

The Great War "My knuckles were bruised like violets" "All that bloodshed, crimson clover" "Place a poppy in my hair There's no morning glory"

Slut! "love thorns all over this rose"

Flowers in TS lyrics: roses, mistletoe, poison ivy, daisies, cornelias, wisteria, carnations, lavender, violets, crimson clover, poppy, morning glory.

Please let me know if you see any floral references I've missed?

[1] https://www.vogue.com/article/why-i-started-wearing-a-signet-pinky-ring

[2] https://warwickdahlias.com/shop/dahlias/anna-cornelia/

[just-promise-me-jm]

j'adore dior

When the members of BTS were first starting to be courted by brands for endorsement deals, I had high hopes for whatever brand would be able to snatch up Jimin.

I am by no means a fashionista in my everyday life, but I am a big fan of fashion and enjoy keeping tabs on what the latest trends are. A sizable chunk of my YouTube history is watching reviews of the latest collections and seeing who wore what best (along with Jimin dance compilations, but that's a post for a different day). Generally speaking, the men's collections are never as eye-catching or as interesting to look at when compared to the women's collections (I'm using gendered terms here because that is typically how they are referred to by the fashion houses, obviously anyone should be able to wear whatever they like and feel comfortable in), and to be honest I've found most men's collections to be pretty underwhelming.

Dior in particular was never a fashion house that I paid much attention to in regards to their men's fashion because I am typically more drawn to their womenswear and accessories (not that I can ever afford them, but a girl can dream and if anyone has a spare Lady Dior bag they don't want please call me). I remember when Jisoo became an ambassador a few years ago and thinking that it was a smart choice to capitalize on her popularity and bring that brand into a whole new market. Designer fashion ain't cheap (obviously) and historically has been targeted towards an older audience because they were the only ones who could afford it. I know lately that has changed quite a bit and I'm happy to see more diversity in who is a spokesperson or ambassador for these brands.

When I saw that Jimin was being announced as their newest global brand ambassador I was so happy that he was going to be with such a reputable brand. I wasn't sure how I would feel about the clothes themselves but figured Jimin could wear a paper bag and look good so it almost didn't matter. What really mattered is that he would be treated like the icon he is and pampered as much as possible (if I can't remind him how amazing he is every day someone needs to).

Seeing the latest campaign photos and videos, it's clear that Dior values him and continues to recognize that he “exemplifies the timeless spirit and singularity of Dior” (source). He brings a freshness and vibrancy to these clothes that is all his own. Seeing any of the same items he wears on the rack or on a model in one of their shows just doesn't have the same impact.

Now no shade to this model whatsoever and obviously I am always going to think Jimin looks the best in something, but I really do think Jimin just adds a certain je ne sais quoi that can't be understated.

I am going to come back on here soon and talk about his work with Tiffany (because tbh that partnership had produced some of my favorite Jimin photos to date) but I will leave you with a few more of my favorite Jimin/Dior images and dream of the day I can afford something from Dior that isn't one of their (overpriced) lip oils.

Au revoir!

(p.s. all French in this post is courtesy of Google, I only speak English and very mediocre Spanish so I apologize in advance if any of the spelling is incorrect)

[theliterarywolf]

Oh if you're still in the mood to rant around books (more specifically the mess it's been tangled in for a long time tbh)

So I was at a bookstore the other day with a friend feeling nostalgic about some old YA reads. Some aged well, others not so much. I would argue Percy Jackson and The Hunger Games fit into that first category. But I remember my library getting waves of what felt like "off brand" versions of popular books like those

Now, similar premises don't necessarily mean it's just a cash grab BUT some felt like soulless husks of "here's the check list for how to make a best seller."

I really feel for authors who are chasing their passion and have to deal with publishing houses refusing to take risks on anything they think won't be best sellers.

As an artist, I'm painfully aware that sometimes you do have to be thinking about what will sell vs the exact vision for your work. But even as someone who is not the most business minded, I have to wonder: not everything can even be the biggest baddest best seller so why do companies act like *decent profit* isn't good enough?

When I worked retail, the higher ups acted like when we weren't making above and beyond expectations (that grew every year) we were *losing money* instead of just not making as much profit.

Anyways, I guess my main point is it's not like I'm rooting for big publishers to make more money BUT I'm rooting for authors to earn what they deserve so I'm hoping big publishers grasp that niche markets are worth pursuing. Or at the very least, TAKE A COUPLE RISKS.

But risks are scaaaaary and they don't guarantee movie adaptations or Netflix shows they can cancel after one season~!

In all seriousness, though, I know full well and personal about literary agents and publishing houses not wanting to take risks on anything that isn't 100% manufactured guaranteed to be as marketable, licensable, and adaptable as possible.

It's admittedly been a long while since this part of my life but, back before I understood the dying beast of the market and the strive for Independently-Produced Content, I myself was shopping my first novel around to dozens of literary agents and publishing houses. Of course, the bulk of what I got were either 'It's just... not what we're looking for at this time' or complete radio silence or rejections based on a publishing house deciding to, out of the blue, go in a new 'diverse direction focusing on the voices and stories of women' when that hadn't been mentioned at all during the times I researched them

(Disclaimer: Yes, obviously I am a woman, but I've always felt more comfortable creating stories with men as the core cast; sue me)

However, one particular rejection letter to this day has always stuck with me.

The agent in question wrote something along the lines of 'You're obviously a very talented writer. I just wouldn't know how to market something like this'.

So, as you mentioned, hundreds of competent writers are getting rejected by the industry because of publishing houses refusing to publish anything that hasn't been manufactured to be a marketable/adaptable jackpot and agents who don't want to even bother.

Yes, it is all a business at the end of the day. But even major businesses need to identify shifting trends in marketshare and diversify their portfolios every once in a while.

[justasightseer]

Just finished watching Seven Kings Must Die. My thoughts are a bit all over the place as I watched it over the course of 10 days but here are some of my thoughts/queries, in no particular order.

ALDHELM SHOULD BE BURIED IN MERCIA!I want the Mercian army and people to be able to celebrate and grieve him, and to be buried in the land that he loved so much!!! Also, it absolutely broke my heart to see him die, I LOVED HIM SO MUCH. Probably what pissed me off the most is that he didn't even get a quick or honourable death. Hanging is a slow and painful death and my sweet love didn't deserve that 😭. RIP my beloved, even though you gave your life for England, you will always be every breath a Mercian. 💜⚔️

"WHERE IS SIHTRIC's FAMILY???" I think the writers didn't want them killed in the attack because that would be too brutal BUT they'd already escaped the slaughter in Rumcofa so it would have been a bit too ridiculous to have them escape this as well. Thus, they cut them completely. Just my thoughts but I think this explains it completely.

Where are all the women in the show though? One of the strengths of TLK is its diverse, interesting and realistic female characters so it was really odd to not have any of our female faves around. I know that Eliza and Stephanie weren't available but it was very odd that we didn't even get a mention of Stiorra (who was pretty much a main character in S5) and we got one of Young Uhtred, who I'm glad is living his best life as a ✨scholar✨. Beocca would be proud (and Alfred skshjsajshh).

YOUNG RAGNAR IS IN VALHALLA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't care if they couldn't get the actor or it was a deliberate removal but my teddy bear Dane is IN VALHALLA ODINDAMMIT!!! Brida saw him in Valhalla when she was dying so he is in Valhalla. I will accept nothing else.

I have no interest in critically examining the movie at this time, for now it lives in my head and heart as the final installment of my favourite show which is perfect and flawless and amazing. However, the antagonists were really underwhelming in this, possibly because of the time crunch of a movie as opposed to a full series. Something I've always adored about TLK is the way the antagonists have never been villains (at least to me). I've always been able to understand their motives and empathize a little, even when I wasn't rooting for them. This is the first time in my memory that I skipped scenes whilst watching TLK reactions but I really couldn't being myself to listen to the bad guy in his scenes with the kings. Did not care about or for him in the slightest but he performed his role adequately, I guess.

No Alfred cameo like I'd hoped but tbh, I was too emotionally invested in the movie to care as much as I thought I would, which is a really good thing. Appreciated the cameo of his tomb though (the scene where Uhtred and Aethelstan fight in the Winchester Palace).

Is this Harry Gilby's first sex-implied scene? He's so young, I just wondered. Has nothing to do with anything, just a thought. Cool that it's on TLK, if it is.

As aggravating as Aethelstan was, I was quite hurt that his innocence was being taken advantage of, even though he was being more stupid than he really should have been. It's never been this bad in the House of Wessex that a leader has followed his heart (and other bits of his anatomy) with such blind fervour, but he also is the least emotionally-constipated so I guess it makes sense 🤷

Harry Gilby KILLED IT though. Boy can acttttttttt. Those puppy dog eyes nearly killed me lmaoo.

I was a MESS when I thought they'd killed Pyrlig, my heart almost gave out lmao. That being said, it's kind of disappointing that none of our faves died in that battle. I'm not complaining, but I lowkey am. I guess we didn't have time to grieve because it was a movie.

Alfweard AND Osbert were UNNECESSARILY HOT in this 😭😭. When I saw Alfweard with a decent haircut and a tiny bit of stubble, I was like okayyyyyyyyy. Looking very respectfully, but looking nonetheless 👀

I may or may not have been calling for Ingilmundr's castration during the final battle. Definitely cheered when Dane Spy Girl got hit, IMO she got off too lightly for what she did to my beloved Aldhelm.

"My most noble friend, Lord Aldhelm" This was so sweet 🥰😊😚

The scene where Sihtric and Finan meet Uhtred at Winchester and go up to hug him and SIHTRIC PUTS HIS FOREHEAD TO UHTRED'S gets me every single time. I'm going to miss these sweet men and their forehead touches so much 😭😭

I had a feeling Finan's wife was going to die because Arnas lowkey spoiled it, but I wasn't expecting the twist.