#extra points for sapphic stories as always

[wri0thesley]

whilst i am here in haz's family's city, the large bookstore has a FAR bigger and more fascinating horror, sci-fi and fantasy section, and as such i am once more soliciting book recommendations from the hivemind of my followers--

[yukitonz]

Hehe I love DDLC 💕

Anyway, I made some redesigns for the DDLC chracters. I get the point of why they look more basic - but like- give them some character, some life. Some- snazziness. Anyway art and little headcannon things included. Also yes, my HC's don't follow cannon- But... I like to give some extra story dazzle too ✨️ (Loved DDLC tho, 2nd favorite game)

Sayori Headcannons-

-Ends up with the Protagonist in the end (I'm going to give him a good chracter too. Not the basic ass Protagonist no one likes.)

-does NOT go yandere like Monika. Just genuinely wants a healthy, happy relationship. Monika did allow her to remember what happened, and Sayori does NOT want that to repeat!

-Is straight, very supportive of LGBT. Cis Female (She/her)

-Joined the club mainly to make friends. Sayori didn't hangout a lot, and Monika had invited her, so she joined. She ended up getting into some books. Sayori then invites him Later.

-Tried to hang out with a lot of people, wanting to be popular. Some days she felt lonely, and often wanted to be around people to avoid her thoughts.

-Helps Natsuki with cooking (Aka Natsuki comes to her place and they cook)

-Was first friends with Monika (other than the protagonist)

-Listens mostly to Hyperpop and typical 2000's pop music. Will occasionally pop out with the heaviest metal known to man.

-Is a severe people pleaser, and has bad anxiety/depression. Hides it well.

Yuri Headcannons-

-Ends up dating Natsuki. This is after Monika is erased, and Natsuki makes up their bond, and they end up together. Yuri is a lot more open/less socially awkward around her.

-Simply Queer. Dates for love, not gender. Cis Female (She/Her)

-Joined the club due to a very strong passion for reading and writing. Natsuki and her used to switch each meet with reading their books, and Yuri very much enjoyed parfait girls (and OFC Portrait of Markov)

-Wants to be a writer when she grows up. Mainly into phychological horror and poem writing.

-Natsuki and Yuri (before the literature club) used to write small poems for each other. They also used to be best friends, but had a falling out due to an argument, and then the events of DDLC. (Monika manipulating them)

-Wears a matching heart pin with Natsuki. Kept it even after their falling out, since Yuri often holds onto old memories.

-Has bad depression and social anxiety, but usually tries to hide it. Tries to hide in the past where times were better.

-listens to emo, goth and metal music.

-Dresses in Gothic fashion.

Natsuki Headcannons-

-Ends up with Yuri. Natsuki had always liked Yuri since their first meet, but during events of cannon DDLC, Natsuki tried to hide her feelings and tried to get with the Protagonist to ignore her feelings for Yuri.

-Sapphic/queer. Doesn't really put a label, but likes women. Trans female (She/Her). Is also Ace.

-Joined Literature club because she had a passion for writing, and because Yuri was going.

-Used to be an extremely popular student, but cut herself off when she was introduced to the toxic side of big groups. She wanted only a trust worthy friend who made her ignore her home life.

-Lives with abusive father, but often found ways to avoid going home. (Went to Sayori's a lot, hung-out with other club members, and sometimes stayed overnight at Yuri's)

-Even after Monika got erased, she still had some memory of the cannon events. This led to her making it up with Yuri and cherishing when she had a bit more. Aka she toned down her tsundereness.

-Has an extreme fear of venting to people/telling people anything about her. She often reads her Manga to escape reality and put herself in a happier world. Also part of the reason she dresses so cutsey, to put herself in a world of happiness.

-Has an extreme interest in dark themes too. She loves phychological horror, and wants to take a route in psychology.

-Was never that close to Monika. It was mainly Sayori and Yuri. Natsuki didn't trust Monika, and with her bad experience with popular kids it was awkward talking to her.

-Is a perfectionist

-A year before High-school she stole a lot. Because of her home life and the lack of money, she resorted to stealing a lot.

Monika headcannons-

-Doesn't end up with anyone, as she was deleted. She does learn to "accept" though.

-Queer, same with Yuri, love is love. Cis Female (She/Her). She is ace.

-Never wanted to be popular. She was a transfer student and had unique looks and extreme intelligence so she became popular quick. (Her intelligence in science is how she figured out she was in a game)

-Grew up extremely lonely. She was a loner, and was often hidden in school. It's what she enjoyed, except a few friends. That's why she made the literature club, knowing not a lot would join.

-Has a passion for writing. Wrote a romance novel, and planned to write more. Her second choice was a professional piano teacher, having a passion for music and how it helps her escape and create melodies to ease her mood.

-Was not very loved as a child. Parents never paid attention to her, and she never dated. Not even a friend. When the Protagonist showed a new kind of kindness, she became obsessed with the love and kindness that wasn't because of her popularity in any way.

-Genuinely regretted what she did to Sayori, but continued as she already made too many moves. Monika missed the person who talked to her first in the club, and one of the only other person who showed her kindness that wasn't because of popularity.

-Almost did what she does in the game for Sayori (considering the act of kindness) but they had a small separation before it could get that far, and Sayori hung out with more and more popular people- drawing Monika away slightly.

-To Monika, MC and Sayori were her first two ever honest friends

-Was a perfectionist and love obsessed/Yandere due to PTSD

Hope you all enjoyed 😎 I'm going to go back to dying in my grave 🤯

[melthemia]

Venting a bit.

I hate feeling so conflicted in relation to something I'm so passionate about.

There's a lot of thinly-veiled casual misogyny and bigotry writhing around the GFL community that I've personally witnessed being completely unchallenged in open, actively moderated spaces. Ranging from "jokingly" hating anyone who picks the female commander in GFL2 to downright conspiracy theories about LGBT "propaganda."

Although... I don't know what I expected from such a relatively small and insular fanbase that has a decent chunk of its English following most prominently on 4chan, and ESPECIALLY from a game series popularised by marketing towards gun enthusiasts, on top of being an anime gacha game. I feel it should be obvious what kind of demographic that combination naturally fosters.

But even with that obvious fact in mind, it still hurts. I really like this series and the stories it has to tell. It has helped me get through incredibly tough times in my life since I started playing it in 2018, and continues to give me a lot of joy. But seeing the casual acceptance of some of the attitudes in a lot of the community makes me feel highly uncomfortable and unwelcome, and it risks tainting my view of the franchise at times.

It wasn't helped by me re-reading the GFL manga's sole English translation only to find the scanlator inserted extra "jokes" into their scanlation, and by "jokes" I mean some intrusive unfunny memes that break immersion in the scene combined with the occasional slur and hard-R thrown in for good measure.

Or people almost ALWAYS referring to the commander as a "he" 90% of the time, combined with despising the commander being female in the manga and calling her a mary sue. And we all know that term is always used accurately and never just used because you don't like a female main character nowadays, devoid of the term's original meaning.

A lot of these people seem to fear and dread GFL2 getting popular and "ruining" the franchise's core community, whether they mean it seriously or ironically. At this point, I hope it does. More people means more diversity, more success for Mica Team, and more people who can experience GFL's tales of love and hope.

The only part of the fandom I've found that I feel safe enough around to interact with actively is here on Tumblr, and I want to say thank you to everyone who posts about GFL on here. You're awesome.

Have some sapphic T-Dolls as a palette cleanser, thank you for reading this mess of a rant.

[oriley42]

Get to know your (much beloved) fic writer!

# 4, 11, 16, 55?

(Obligatory your hilson breathes life into me every single day and I have reread them all a million times except for the ones I haven’t read yet bc I’m saving them so I don’t run out! 🥰🥰🥰 thank you for writing!!)

aww thank youuu and thank you extra for the ask!!

4. Where do you find inspiration for new ideas?

Re-watching canon always inspires show-specific stuff! And engaging with different media more broadly cross-pollinates in a cool way, like my yearly watch of Groundhog Day inspired TGIF, and seeing a random wedding-themed romance novel on the library shelves made me think "maybe this wedding planner plot bunny could be a whole story!"

11. Link your three favorite fics right now

(wording is ambiguous so I'm listing three of my own, because I barely read any fic when I'm in writing mode ahhh sorry 🙈)

TGIF - I am still so proud of this world. maybe I'm the one trapped in the time loop...

Adventures in Polyamory - I have 30k of the sequel written god Amber I am thinking about you all the timeeee

A Study in Lavender - I am also trying to finish the sequel to my Jooster fic feat. lesbian OCs before the summer's over wish me luck!!!

16. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Share one of them?

Oh, so many! *Counts documents in House MD folder* oh kay oh jeez there are fully twelve story ideas that are developed enough that I'll probably write them at some point 😵‍💫 Let's see, which one have I maybe not teased before... aha! Femslash Hilson AU. I love this framework so much more than old school "genderswap" which has always, for me, come with icky binary straight transphobic connotations (though of course that is not necessarily the case and people have written cool trans stuff under this label!)

Here's a quick teaser from the sapphic New Orleans opening meet-up:

“As you will soon learn, if you aren’t bright enough to have picked up on it already…” House slung an arm around Wilson’s narrow shoulders, “I’m not like most people. Give me the gruesome deets. But no tears, please, I’m squeamish.”

“You’re a total bitch,” Wilson marveled.

“Now, you’re getting it.”

Wilson put her arm suddenly—bravely—around House’s waist. “Buy me a drink. I’ll tell you the whole tragic story, and only cry if you get on my nerves.”

55. Of the characters you write for, which is your favorite? Has that choice been swayed at all by your followers/readers' reactions to certain ones?

Super basic, but it's House! He wears his weirdness on his sleeve to hide the different, more painful weirdness inside. It's a like a delicious Ferrero Rocher of psychoses <3 The way he processes and interacts with the world continues to fascinate, and on a personal/political level, I just adore getting to write a character with chronic pain like me.

Wilson is also fascinating, but I think I like to write him from an outside perspective/House's perspective best. Seeing juuuust enough through his mask of normalcy to know he's Not Alright, but still maintaining a sense of inner mystery. I've had a lot of very kind feedback on how I write Wilson, which encourages me to keep writing him even weirder and more unwell, which is delightful 💖

[wqintraining]

NEW MUTANTS: LETHAL LEGION #1 - THOUGHTS

There were several X-books out this week, but my favorite was the fantastic first issue of New Mutants: Lethal Legion, the FIRST Big 2 mainline mini-series ever to have a trans femme  character as the protagonist, and I feel like talking about it a little. 

Brought to us by @charliejaneanders​ and a fantastic team of artists, this issue sets up two plots, with Escapade, Cerebella, and Honey Badger (Sorry, Charlie, can’t bring myself to call her Scout) doing a silly heist in the hopes of distracting Martha from her trauma, while Wolfsbane attempts to convince Morgan to come to Krakoa. 

I won’t be doing a beat-for-beat rundown (Go read the issue!), instead just highlighting some of the things that stuck out to me. 

First, for as kind and compassionate as Shela is, I enjoy how she is completely unmerciful toward those who don’t deserve it. She may have realized calling herself a “villain” was silly and didn’t suit her at all, but she’s still someone who’s faced heavy discrimination, who’s been fighting and involved in crime to survive since she was a teenager, and who wanted to be like Emma Frost; of course she’s practical (and a little extra) about dealing with enemies.

Martha’s always been great, but I’ve absolutely been loving her since Vita Ayala made her part of their cast, and continuing to give her shine as Shela’s “best friend” was a great call. Martha still struggling to unpack her trauma, even though by all logic she should feel better, and contrasting her and Shela’s different views on things based on the different types of hate they’ve faced in their lives is good stuff. 

Look, this is sad for Morgan and all, genuinely so, but like...well, it’s acknowledged in-universe at this point that even on a good day, the X-Men are kind of jerks (It’s part of their charm!), but there’s something hilarious about this being Shela’s first issue as a proper X-hero, and mostly-Krakoan, and instantly she’s being a bitch and ignoring her lifelong best friend’s texts as he’s getting kicked out of his (formerly THEIR) apartment. 

Yes, it’s because she’s gotten sucked into her new life, and she’s been focusing her attention on helping Martha, but still. 

This. Motherfucking. Ensemble. 

It is the worst outfit I have ever seen, and I’m in love. 

Rahne Sinclair, we all know you’re a lesbian. Admit it already. 

What Martha is going through is very similar to what Rahne went through in Hickman and Ayala’s runs, and I’m hoping that’s intentional, and these two plots will intersect. 

This part I’ve already joked about, but Shela, girl, let’s talk about this. 

1. You used to look up to Emma Frost. Did you only start saying “Eat the Rich” after Krakoa came around? 

2. Did no one tell you that being Krakoan automatically makes you rich? You could be stocking up on so much food for Hibbert! 

3. You’ve now mostly decided to live on Krakoa. You do understand this nation is ruled by a dictatorial oligarchy of 12 who wield absolute power and live in castles while having everyone else share habitat domes with a dozen other people, RIGHT? Don’t worry, I don’t expect you to know literally all but one of them are extremely corrupt; you’re new here after all. 

Called it. I totally called it. I 100% called it. The last three issues of New Mutants made it far too clear this was where we were heading, and I’m so happy we did. Shela and Martha are adorable together, and now, this isn’t just the first mainline mini-series with a trans femme lead, it’s also another Marvel book with a sapphic couple in the leading roles! Well done! 

(Also, Shela, I see you fantasizing about wearing that Emma-looking outfit. Me thinks you haven’t completely turned on her) 

Gabby is only in this story because she heard something stupid was going on and she wanted to be a part of it. I love her. 

There is not one brain cell to be found here. 

To be honest, at least so far, I haven’t really enjoyed Morgan as a character. Compared to all the facets we’ve gotten from Shela as the focus of her stories, Morgan’s remained pretty one-note, and it’s not a note I particularly enjoy. He’s prissy, hates Krakoa, and liked things how they were. 

It also really doesn’t help that when actually asked about his issues with Krakoa, he makes an extremely weak argument. There are COUNTLESS major issues with Krakoa, but all he brings up is “You made your own language” and “All Mutants are soldiers”. 

And I’m sitting here like...really? Rahne ends up refuting his latter point in a great speech that makes a lot of sense for her, specifically, to give (though she could have also brought up that 99% of the Mutant population aren’t combatants. Then again, that would bring up Krakoa’s class system, and that would be a genuine thing Morgan would be right to complain about), but she doesn’t even bother addressing the language thing, probably because it’s such a ridiculous thing to complain about. 

She also doesn’t address the mention of “nationalism”. Krakoa IS absolutely a nationalist state, but whether that means “We are superior to all the monkeys who call themselves humans living on this planet” or “We have pride in our culture and will do whatever we have to to protect it from those who’d do us harm” really just comes down to whether you’re reading a Hickman-era book or a Post Hickman-era book. 

You idiots are all going to die. I’d laugh, but I’ve been waiting since X-Factor was unfairly cancelled to see a trans woman go through resurrection, so fingers crossed. 

That’s all I’ve got! Hope you all enjoyed ,and if you’d like to see me go over other comics like this, let me know! 

[meltotheany]

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018! hi hi, loves! i hope you’re all doing well and staying cool (or warm) in whatever hemisphere you are in! i always love doing posts like this, and just reflecting on all the good book options i have for the last six months of 2024 (which feels wild to even type)! but truly, so many good books are publishing over the last half of this year, and i can’t wait to talk about them all with you! 😍 🌞 SUMMER RELEASES ☆ The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark – august 6th ⤷ once again, this book is about necromancers, assassins, and a vow our mc isn’t supposed to remember, but does. it very well could be my new personality very soon! ☆ Mistress of Lies by K.M. Enright – august 13th ⤷ maybe the summer buzzword is assassins, because this queer filipino debut also stars one who is forced to work with two others to solve a magical murder mystery that could also involve vampires. this is truly the debut that i have been looking most forward to all year! ☆ The Crimson Crown by Heather Walter – august 27th ⤷ we love a tuesday birthday, and this year for mine i get a sapphic snow white dark retelling. i am obsessed with this author’s writing and her malice duology that ended up being a favorite of mine. i can’t wait for all the sapphic stories she will give us, but this birthday release one feels very special to me already. 🍁 FALL RELEASES ☆ Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio – september 24th ⤷ i mean, once everyone saw there was a new ml rio book coming out i think the entire book community let out a breath they didn’t know they were holding. it is “only” a novella (i say this as a novella lover), but it is about a group of night shift workers trying to solve a mystery at the graveyard, involving a gravedigger, and i know it’s going to be everything. ☆ The City in Glass by Nghi Vo – october 1st ⤷ at this point, i will just beg tor for anything that nghi vo writes. but this is a brand new standalone all about angels and demons and a lost city and i just know that i am going to love it like everything else this author writes! ☆ Lore Olympus: Volume Seven (Lore Olympus, #7) by Rachel Smythe – october 1st ⤷ there is just something really happy and healing about waiting for my next preorder of lore olympus to come in. volume six  was actually my favorite so far, so i extra can’t wait for this newest installment for the fall! ☆ Spectacular (Caraval, #3.5) by Stephanie Garber – october 22nd ⤷ i cannot believe we are actually get a caraval holiday story right before the holiday season! i am so curious if we will see characters from both of her trilogies in this, and if we will get some hints for what is to come next! but i love being in the world of caraval and i can’t wait for this! ❄️ WINTER RELEASES ☆ The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong – november 5th ⤷ this is actually one of my favorite covers… ever. but is a new debut about a immigrant fortune teller, traveling from town to town with her magical cat, and i think this is the tale of them trying to help someone in one of these towns! this is going to be cozy and heartfelt and i can’t wait to read. ☆ The Songbird & the Heart of Stone (Crowns of Nyaxia, #3) by Carissa Broadbent – november 19th ⤷ i am all caught up and so ready to read this new carissa broadbent book! this third full length story is about a character we know and love from books one and two, but i am curious how i am going to enjoy it because i really didn’t love the last novella i read set in this world. but i am still excited to find out this winter! ☆ Wind and Truth (The Stormlight Archive, #5) by Brandon Sanderson – december 6th ⤷ the fifth and last (of this story arc, before a very big time jump) of the very beloved stormlight archives. i cannot believe it will be in my hands in six months, and i also can’t believe brandon has said it is the longest bo...

[aaknopf]

Brenda Shaughnessy’s poems in Tanya invite us into deep and playful conversation with the work of women artists who have come before us. Here, she riddles on Meret Oppenheim’s classic “Object” of 1936: a fur-lined tea cup and saucer with fur-covered spoon alongside.

The Impossible Lesbian Love Object(s)

—after Meret Oppenheim’s Object

1. It’s just an object, it’s not me.

I’m more than an object, we are not having tea.

I am not one, not two. I am a feminist three.

I am Dada—not Mama, never will be.

When no one can use me, I am most free.

2. I am not like other objects unaware of themselves, those props subbing for desire:

the corner of the room thinks the room is one-cornered, that cat sculpture staring as if with its eyes.

I, too, am a mammal stolen from my original sense of thirst. Women know this disappearance from meaning.

Like all lesbian triptychs, I’ve stumbled. Like all love objects, I am triangular, unstable.

I’m a lonely trio, a single setting, vexed and passive, sexed and distracted.

A hot drink, a pot on the fire, the muscles loosened, an inner stirring, a little spill,

the coat on the floor. The fur coat on the floor. The curved fur floor atop another fur circle

to never catch a drop and a concave face with convex back, swirling nothing.

None of it really happening. I was once and always only ever an idea,

just a clever blip, a quip, a dare, converted by coin and concept,

given body, shape, hair, and an immortal uselessness

all art thinks it’s born with, that women can’t get near.

3. I’m beloved for being art’s best worst idea. Famous for being impossible,

that’s why I’m obscene. Not because everybody wants to fuck the cup,

not even the spoon can get it up. Full frontal frottage, sapphic saucer,

a curving inside-outness, hairy leather hole. Liquid’s skill is soaking, then getting sucked.

Seed’s luck is spilling, then being tilled. It turns out we are having tea,

but it’s all so heavy with life-cycles that even when you go light, with art,

to get a little air, the room’s still a bit dark. And I’m repulsed, which attracts, in fact

the promise of warm fur is ancient, will outlast the ritual fire and water

of tea for three, not two. You see there’s me, and you, and we.

Pelts melt into a new body, not old. We’re not thirsty—we’re not cold.

4. I’m not just an object, my surfaces servicing, but I’m no more than myself.

I end at my edges, finish my points, even if I bend your senses, when I am this soft.

The spoon is small, the cup, generous, the saucer extra absorbent—

past story, beyond end, like a certain kind of woman I have been with, and been.

More on this book and author:

Learn more about Tanya and other books by Brenda Shaughnessy.

Follow Brenda Shaughnessy on Twitter and Instagram @brendashaughnes.

Visit our Tumblr to peruse poems, audio recordings, and broadsides in the Knopf poem-a-day series.

To share the poem-a-day experience with friends, pass along this link.

[bookaddict24-7]

REVIEWS OF THE WEEK!

Books I’ve read so far in 2023!

Friend me on Goodreads here to follow my more up to date reading journey for the year!

___

156. The Babysitter Lives by Stephen Graham Jones--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was such a wild and weird ride and I was here for all of it. I never knew what was coming next and I love when a horror book does that for me. It was weird, and memorable, and the extra dose of creepy kids made this one even better.

We all know the trope of a babysitter getting into some sort of trouble when they're the unfortunate MC of a story. We expect a serial killer, or that the kids end up being homicidal little demons. Jones adds a few paranormal twists into this usual trope and adds in the horrors that live within the racism and stereotypes of being a teen Indigenous young woman, with a surprising and welcome twist of it also being sapphic.

I will admit there were moments where I was thinking "What the hell is going on?" because honestly, you think you know what's coming next, but you really don't. I'm not kidding when I say that this was a was a wild ass ride.

This would have been such a perfect read for October. Highly recommend it!

___

157. The Capture by K.A. Applegate--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alright, so this is my favourite one so far.

There were so many layers to this instalment. I loved the trust these friends have in each other, seeing the story from the perspective of someone going through something you wouldn't expect to see in this book (just yet), and also empathizing with a character because you finally get to see things from their usually quiet perspective. This book had a lot of heart and emotion and it definitely made me want to root for these kids even more.

I can't wait to keep reading this series! It feels like I'm a kid again!

___

158. The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I finally have entered the very hyped up and beloved INHERITANCE GAMES series!

I was lucky enough to get to binge these after years of the series steadily releasing, I have no idea how everyone was able to read these and then have to patiently wait for the next book in the series. I will admit that I tried reading this a few years ago and wasn't in the right mindset. I'm glad I waited because when I finally re-explored this world, I had a wholly new appreciation for it.

I really enjoyed the riddles and mysteries surrounding the story and how I found myself wanting to know more. I also appreciated the characters and how much life they added to the story. I've already read the rest of the books that are currently available, but this was a really well-written and such a smart start to a series--especially the fact that the author started the series with a chess game and that set the perfect tone for the series.

I'd recommend this for readers who want a story that will constantly have them guessing the answers, and for readers who want an unconventional rags to riches story, but with a massive asterisk.

___

159. I Survived The Destruction of Pompeii, AD 79 by Lauren Tarshis--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I've always had a soft spot for Pompeii because it was such an incredibly heartbreaking tragedy. I had this little reader when I was a kid that was about the tragedy of Pompeii. I don't even know how many times I read it, but I was so incredibly attached to it. I read it over and over again, to the point where I can still see images from it over twenty five years later.

I think this one was also a favourite because it touched on the realities of that time and how difficult life was, even with the eruption at the heart of the very short chapter book. It was cruel and although this is for a younger demographic, I think the author did well to include the darker realities of history.

___

160. I Survived the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906 by Lauren Tarshis--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another quick and interesting adventure set in a historical catastrophe. While these are obviously fictional and they don't exactly have a lot of character development, it's always so fascinating to see these very real events through the eyes of kids. I've always thought that a child's way of seeing the world is a lot less jaded than an adults, so we just get the pure survival of the moment.

This was a good one because it showed the power of friendship and greed. It also gave us a character who had the possibility to find some sort of redemption.

Like I've said before with this series: these are great little bite-sized moments of history perfectly made for the younger readers (and older ones) who come to our bookstore! Such a great way to pass the time.

___

161. The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I don't want to give too many spoilers for this, but I really enjoyed where this one took us! Especially with some of those massive twists that are explored.

Again, all of the characters offered a lot of life to this series and I think besides the masterful riddles and mysteries that had me wondering how long the author took to write them, this story wouldn't be what it was without its characters.

I also like that Barnes doesn't take the most obvious turns and instead challenges what we're expecting with a wholly different outcome.

Enjoyed thoroughly!

___

162. I Survived the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941 by Lauren Tarshis--⭐️⭐️⭐️

I will admit that this was my least favourite of the series so far.

I thought the mc's story was well done and the little boy and mother he meets along the way were great. My issue was with the author's take on this and how much she left out, like the aftermath of the events of Pearl Harbor. She thankfully mentioned the way Asian Americans were treated, and then how the events unfolded and led to a war. But she didn't touch on the aftermath, which was interesting. Maybe she will do a book on the nuclear bombs in the future.

For now, this one was a bit disappointing. I kept hoping to hear her thoughts on how the US retaliated. Maybe she will someday in the future of this series. I did appreciate her showing us the devastation of Pearl Harbor and how people were affected--that was definitely one of the better parts of this book, because history needs to be told without holding back punches.

___

163. Small Town Pride by Phil Stamper--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I've been meaning to read this since I first came across it at my bookstore and I'm so happy it lived up to the expectations!

Being in middle school is already hard enough, but I can't even imagine having to also deal with your town finding out that you're not the straight pre-teen they always assumed you were. Not only that, but also coming to terms with the realities you might face when you decide to fight for something you really want, like a Pride parade in a very small town led by a mayor who would rather "maintain the peace" than rock the boat.

I really enjoyed this one because it had a sense of reality to it--parents who think they're just showing their support, but accidentally out you to everyone, and friends who think they know what's best but should sometimes just learn to listen. Young readers should be able to see themselves in these characters if they're seeking guidance in the stories they read, and Stamper (in my opinion) did this really well. In this story we see how easy it is to fall into the darkness of depression, the despair of losing hope, and how dangerous it can be when a child feels like they've lost their safe spaces.

This book also dealt with controlling parents, impossible parental expectations, and how messy politics can be--especially in a small town that acts as a welcoming community until the status quo is questioned.

This was a quick and heartfelt story. I highly recommend it!

___

Have you read any of these books? Let me know your thoughts!

___

Happy reading!

[aquaaquila]

I figured but much like Ella already countering all of Chloe's points in Get Your Hands dirty, I also have a tendency to do that. No hate to you but I live by the principle "she could've kids she's providing for"

Maybe squimish, but if this bothers Chloe already then Ella can wonder what else could bother her as I bet Ella dud worse things and if Chloe would react around her like that too. Like "gee thanks, no need to rub it in that what I do is gross, as if I have servants to do this for me". The joke works of course but from Ella's perspective it could work too. And Ella learned from the best.

If Red doesn't like being called a princess and the way she normally dresses offends her mom, I assume Red doesn't live by princess code. It's not like Red even had an easy time as Princess of Hearts, while Chloe lived a perfect life. And since Red's more down to business, Ella can overlook for a second this VK wannabe. And Chloe acting noble isn't enough if it can cause more harm than good. Chloe was willing to take the fall for Ella, but she just wasn't in a position to do so as life's unfair and Chloe still doesn't seem to get it until the song plays. And it took a lot of convincing for Chloe to go along and it's still more in line "gonna do the right thing" and not "gonna do what it takes".

True it's funny. Would be even funnier if they poured some sapphic energy into it like they did with Red and Chloe and Ella and Bridget. Chloe really is going through "met this bitch today that is super rude, her mom staged a coup and sentenced my mom, she time traveled me and worst of all, not only she crushed on my dad, but my mom too! Perhaps I should have just slayed her with my sword when I had a chance..."

The first one I assume that perhaps, the second one is no, the third one may start soon. And in all fairness, Hades is son of Chronos who isn't exactly a good guy if his first idea to prevent a coup from hand of his child is too eat them alive when they're infants. Maleficent argued with her mom, three octopus sisters must have interesting mom if all of them are nasty sea witches and I assume Hook also was raised by pirates.

Fair enough... Gaston? Considering Morgie acts like a Gil of the group

I can be blind to jokes when dealing with dumbasses who die on hills of the most ridiculous statements known to a man

I dunno, seems too mouthful especially with Chiba already crying. Sometimes you can only say so much when grieving.

Merlin casually believed they're transfer students and was very absent-minded when trying to verify this. Least to say he's not the most reliable. And Ella said "they ALWAYS bully us" and VKs are very extra about it. I doubt no one noticed or didn't report it before. Teachers being unreliable regarding bullying is pretty much already known by kids and I don't know if they would appreciate being reminded of that in their comfort franchise in front of their salad.

We didn't have Uma turn on new leaf for her to be evil again. People already say that as a villain she wasn't the best, so it would be a downgrade in people's book that makes no sense since the reason she's here is thanks to her friendship with Mal, her former arch-nemesis. And you would have to like kill Ella or Charming for hheir story not to happen. We will get the consequences but not right away as for today, we celebrate, we will worry tomorrow when we're sober.

I respect your opinions, I just bring new perspectives to see how younwill respond to such counters and if there can be gray area in the middle that has gold centre.

the funniest things about Descendants: The Rise of Red, in no particular order: 1. Ella immediately taking Chloe's disdain for potion ingredients as her being a classist fuck. Homegirl is on the ATTACK and READY to bash anyone who so much as resembles royalty 2. At the same time, Bridget is taking Red's weirdness in stride as first day jitters. the juxtaposition sends me 3. making out like Chloe is a privileged ass when literally the first things we learn about is that she takes her job of one day ruling the kingdom too seriously. Literally, girl knows swordplay, old history, keeps up her grades, and still volunteers. 4. the scene where Red and Ella bond a little over making fun of Chloe. She's got a mom who's alive and loves her - cringe 5. calling the villains "VK". I get marketing, but like, no, those are the OG villains - that's THE Maleficient, THE Hades, THE Hook. The only one who is established to be a kid of a villain is Morgie 6. speaking of Morgie, Morgana le Fay is cannon to this 'verse?????? 7. the fact the villains went to school with the heroes creates such nonsense. like, ya'll still decided to banish criminals to the Isle less than twenty years later??? these heroes really said, "idk they were weird goth kids anyways, they don't get rights" 8. the awkward minute of Uma and Fairy Godmother looking at a picture of Carlos. "Inviting Red to school is what he would've wanted" helLO??! What??? 9. Why should we tell the principle about a potential break-in? So he could add more security measures or change the location? You're a narc >:( 10. the ending, where the producers pretend that there's an obvious sequel hook. ya'll had your chance to show/hint that Cinderella was evil, or even maybe Uma's evil now, but ya didn't because ???

[doctorho]

If you knew what the bluebirds sing (part 9)

Royal!Viktor x gender neutral reader, 1.7k words, no warnings

hi babes <3 here we are again. we're at part 9 already (oof) and this story is already so much longer than i originally planned. and i have no idea how many more chapters i have up in this silly little head of mine. hopefully we get this story wrapped up eventually

Tags: @kaimerra @aggressa @obsessive-sapphic @shadow-pancake9 @agatemermaid @scorpio-echo @kalisbury @viktoryscreech @ivetoldamillionlies @twilightdollie

The next time you have a kitchen shift, you conveniently drag it out so that you’re left alone again as everyone else goes to sleep. Prepping the bread dough is a good excuse, and it gives you something to do as you wait.

At this point, you’re not even trying to pretend that it’s not because of him.

There would be no point in lying to yourself like that.

You had no idea how often he truly visited the kitchen at night, but you were still hoping to run into him. After sneaking out of his room that night, you had – on several different occasions – considered sneaking back in. He had basically given you an invitation, right? And it didn’t seem that difficult, after you’d started paying extra attention to the habits of the guards and the movements of the other people living in the castle.

After all, you always had the invisible disguise of a servant to wear. No-one really paid that much attention to what you did – it would be easy to slip into the north corridors on your usual laundry run, or on your way to the kitchen. You could just slip into the shadows if you wanted to. Maybe bring him a pastry or two.

But even after juggling the idea in your head for a few days, you couldn’t quite bring yourself to do it. It seemed like crossing a line of some sort, one you weren’t sure you were bold enough to overstep yet.

But you could stay up late in the kitchen. Just in case he showed up. You didn’t really want to get your hopes up, but you thought the chances were pretty good; there had been those little pastries that he liked leftover from their afternoon tea.

You smile a little to yourself when you hear his footsteps.

He slips into the room quietly, and equally quietly, you get the water boiling.

“I hope you’re not making a habit out of working this late.” He says, voice quiet, as he walks past you and pulls out two teacups.

“Are you saying you’re not happy about the company?”

You glance at him, and he smiles faintly, not meeting your eyes. “No,” He answers, the word light, “I just don’t want you to overwork yourself.”

“Don’t worry about it.” You shrug off the worried comment. “I can sleep in tomorrow.”

Then, you raise a brow at him. “Besides, you’re awake too. Not really in any place to talk.”

He hums quietly, looking over the things scattered on the counter and setting his cane down to lean on the edge. “Couldn’t sleep. Besides, I would say that your job is…more demanding than mine, physically speaking.”

“What, sitting in meetings all day doesn’t tire you out?”

“Not…physically.” He answers, leaning over the counter slightly to reach for the box of leftover pastries. The way he says it makes it sound like there’s something dark and heavy hanging over the end of the sentence, and it’s not hard for you to guess what that something was.

Not physically. But emotionally. Mentally.

You don’t say anything about it, quietly preparing tea for you both as he looks over the leftover pastries, eventually picking two out of the box.

He offers one to you, and after pushing down the lingering anxiety that was trying to cling to your bones out of habit, you take it.

“I’ve been meaning to ask–” He starts, just to change the topic, “what do you typically do with all the leftover food?”

The question takes you by surprise, and you just blink at him, once, twice.

He sips his tea, looking at you patiently.

For a second, the instinct to lie lifts its head. Technically, you were supposed to throw it all out, but you were also well aware that a lot of the workers nicked things before they ended up in the bins. Bruised fruit, half-cut loaves of bread, soup secretly made from scraps in the maid’s quarters. Pastries that technically had nothing wrong with them, but that had just been left over and didn’t keep well overnight.

And he wasn’t supposed to know any of that. None of the higher-ups were. It was an open secret among the servants, but you weren’t sure if he knew. And you weren’t sure what would happen if–

“I’ve heard a few too many accounts of people not being able to afford to eat well.” He continues, “And it seems to me that we always have more than enough.”

He tilts his head slightly. “We always have leftovers, and I never see them again. Do you know what happens to them?” He asks, voice calm and quiet. “I would hate for all that to go to waste.”

You blink at him. Nod slowly. “We’re supposed to throw it all away.” You finally answer, the words feeling a bit too light and slightly hollow. It’s only a half-truth, circling around the edges of actual information, but he nods like he understands.

He furrows his brows. “Why?”

He sounds genuinely confused, and you take a deep breath. “I don’t know.” You answer, truthfully, “Something about it being unfair if someone gets to take them, when there’s never enough of anything to distribute it evenly.” You explain with a vague wave of your hand, reciting what you remembered from what you’d been told when you started working there.

And then you look at him properly, study his expression. The way his brows were furrowed, eyes slightly narrowed. “I’m guessing that wasn’t your order?” You add, the heavy suspicion starting to creep up your spine.

“No.” He answers, his voice sounding a little bit hollow, and heavier than what you were used to in these little stolen moments. This was like an echo of his King voice, and you weren’t used to being this close to this side of him.

You nod slowly, and he sighs, looking away and furrowing his brows.

“I think we should do something about that.” He says after a moment, his voice still serious, but a bit softer now. He taps his fingers against the counter in a steady, quiet pattern, eyes trained on the wall in front of him.

“We?” You repeat, not really understanding how you could possibly contribute to changing that.

“Yes, we.” He nods, slow and thoughtful, licking his lips. “I want to change that.” He says, looking at you again. “But I think I am going to need your help.”

“You do realize I’m just a servant, right?”

He nods again, “Right,” He says, “you have much more freedom than I do. You’re free to walk around as you see fit. Talk to whoever you like. You see what happens in the shadows. And you have front row seats to the supply chain.” He lists, “You can look into it. Ask around. Learn what exactly happens in every step of the process. And once I know what exactly it is that I need to change, I can…make some adjustments. We shouldn't even have more food than we need in the first place. It's stupid.”

You stare at him. “Are you asking me to spy on your own people?”

“Yes.” he answers simply, “If that’s the way you want to think about it.”

He lifts an eyebrow slightly. “I can not go around asking questions like that, but you can.” He explains, “And I don’t like the idea that all that food is going to waste when there are plenty of hungry people around.”

You nod slowly. Look at him for a moment, properly.

He was serious.

“What do you want to do, then?” You ask, now taking the idea more seriously, thinking it over.

He shrugs softly with one shoulder. “Not let the people go hungry. That food should go to someone who needs it. It might not be enough to feed everybody, but it seems like a good start.”

You nod slowly again. “And you can’t just make that order on your own?”

He sighs a bit, and his shoulders tense slightly. “Not very easily, no. I’m not…supposed to concern myself with matters like this.” For a second, his face contorts in a small frown. “I know it might not seem like it, but I actually have very little power when it comes to how things work around here.” He explains, with something heavy in his voice. “Most of these rules were made long before me, and I’m simply playing along.”

He pauses, his shoulders dropping with another sigh. “I am a pawn on a gameboard. Nothing more.”

You look at him, and feel – something.

Something swirling in your lungs, fighting to get out. Making your skin tingle and your breathing feel a bit shallow.

You just don’t want him to be so damn sad.

You’re not sure what to do to fix it, but you want to try anyway. So you exhale out the tension in your spine, and shift in your place, leaning a bit closer to his side. Close enough that your thighs and shoulders brush as you offer him half of your still-uneaten pastry.

“That’s not true.” You say quietly, trying to keep your voice soft. “You’re your own person, even if other people are trying to define what that’s supposed to mean.” You nod towards the broken pastry you were holding and he was still just looking at, “Take it. I’m not used to things this sweet.”

He hums quietly, with a soft exhale that’s halfway to being a chuckle. “Thanks,” He says, voice gentle, taking the pastry.

You smile to yourself, and relax slightly. Pick up your teacup again. Try to settle into the moment the best you can, letting the comfortable silence fall over you both as you sip your tea.

“Were you making bread again?” He asks after a moment, and you turn to look at him, raising a brow.

“Yes?”

“Can I help?”

You blink at him, surprised, and he just shrugs a bit.

“Is it so hard to believe that I would want to help you bake?” He adds, shifting his weight around slightly.

“No,” You answer, voice light, “no, I guess not.” You shrug back at him, “By all means. Have you ever baked anything before?” You ask, leaning off the counter.

“Eh – no.” He admits, and you smile a bit.

“I’ll teach you, then.”

Next

[alexbllake]

Take Yours, I'll Take Mine - Emily Prentiss x Reader

spare tip, ma'am?

warnings: professor-student relationship. 

taglist: @temilyrights // @utterlycomplicated // @sweetprentiss // @emilyprentisslittlewhore //  @ssa-sapphic //

Emily was in love, but how couldn’t she be? You are smart, kind, and gentle. It was impossible not to fall in love with you, but she had a problem. She was your professor and romantic relationships between students and professors were strongly discouraged by the faculty.

It all started when she noticed you in her class. You were always eager to learn the subject, always asking questions and completing the assignments with efficiency. But suddenly your grades dropped drastically, which confused Emily, since you were always such an excellent student, to the point where you received ugly glares and comments from the others in her class. It was clear that something happened, and she was determined to find out what happened.

Emily offered you extra help after the classes. The meetings were held in her office twice a week. You did your best to take advantage of her knowledge and wisdom. After a month, you improved massively in your classwork. 

The meetings became more casual, sometimes you ended up sharing a bottle of wine with her and trading stories after the study session, but now Emily was the one finding it hard to concentrate on her work, She couldn’t take her eyes off you, the way you spoke, smile, or the way your nose scrunched when you were trying to concentrate. 

All of that proximity was driving her mad, and she didn’t know what to do. She could end it all, but she couldn’t imagine not having time with you every week. Those evenings had quickly become her favorite moments, and she would always look forward to them every week. 

“Did you ever thought about dating someone younger than you?” you asked her one day after taking a sip of wine.

Maybe it was the alcohol making its effect, but you had to ask. You needed to know if you had even a slight chance with her. Emily Prentiss was your professor, for fuck's sake. That was wrong in so many ways, but you couldn’t help to be extremely attracted to her.

She was so fucking gorgeous. With her raven hair and dashing smile, her intellect was almost arousing, everything about her was so intoxicating, you felt like you were high every time you were around her. Keeping those emotions under control was hard, but you had managed to do that for weeks, despite feeling like you were about to explode.

 “ Yes, why?” she replied, looking at you.

“ Nothing, I’m just curious” you said, trying to escape her gaze.

“ How about you? Ever thought about dating someone older?” She asked. 

“ Sometimes” you admitted, finally gathering the courage to look at her

“Anyone in particular?” 

it’s now or never, Emily thought, searching your face for any clues about your intentions.

“ Yeah, there’s this woman, she is amazing, but I don’t think she likes me” you confessed, taking another sip of wine.

“She is stupid if she doesn’t like you” said Emily “You are amazing”

“ Would you like me?” you finally asked, settling down the glass on the coffee table in front of you.

“ Yes”

You took a deep breath after hearing her. Was that an admission or just your imagination playing pranks on you?

“ Do you have feelings for me?” you asked

“I do, I have a lot of feeling for you” Emily confessed, hoping she had read the situation correctly.

 You wasted no time connecting your lips to her. She tasted like wine and cherry chapstick. 

Kissing her was an experience you never knew you needed until now. Her lips felt like heaven. She tasted different from everything you ever experienced.

Emily kissed you back, her hands went from your shoulders to your neck and then your jaw, she held the sides of your face, pulling you closer to her. She relaxed into the kiss, granting permission to your tongue to enter her mouth and explore every bit. 

You were forced to break the kiss when breathing became hard, but couldn’t stop smiling at each other. Words weren’t enough to describe the euphoria you were feeling at that moment. You felt like fireworks had exploded inside you.

“ Y/N, i really like you” Emily said, taking your hands into hers.

“I really like you too” 

“We should go on a real date” she said smiling

“We should” you replied, claiming her lips again

[astralbooks]

Dead End Girls - Wendy Heard

Read: 03/05/2022 - 04/05/2022

Rating: 5/5

Rep: lesbian main characters, questioning non-binary main character, f/nb relationship, fat main character

CW: bullying, condemned bodyshaming, familial emotional abuse, accidental & intentional death, attempted murder, violence & fighting, knife violence, gun violence, kidnapping, non-consensual drug use, underage alcohol consumption, vomiting, car accidents, parental divorce (in backstory), threat of sexual assault, homophobia

Review:

This book had me so stressed in the best kind of way! When I reached the end I felt like my head was spinning and I was just so happy for them. Frankie and Maude have my entire heart and watching their journey was a really great time.

This book is told through two povs. We primarily follow Maude, the mastermind behind the pseudocide plot. She’s spent years being shuffled between divorced parents who would both make the other take her permanently if they could. She’s been plotting her escape for years, spending every moment until now pretending to be someone she’s not, and the double whammy of having to suddenly adjust her plans the night before she was due to fake her own death to account for an extra person and having someone see through to the real her for the first time in years means that she’s under a lot of pressure and doesn’t always make the best decisions. She’s undeniably highly intelligent though, and while she might not be very good at honest relationships and social interactions, she can quickly analyse a sticky situation and figure out the best way to get away with relative ease, and when you’re a fugitive that’s a very important skill to have. I enjoyed watching her pull off her various plots and escapes. I support women’s rights, but I also support women’s wrongs 😌

The other pov character, Frankie, is very special to me. I don’t think I’ve read a book before with a main character who is in the middle of questioning their gender identity. For the majority of the story Frankie has much bigger and more immediate problems than their gender, but their uncertainty is something that’s very much on their mind throughout the book. After running away with Maude, Frankie truly blossoms and comes into their own, seizing the opportunity to explore their presentation and identity. They’re referred to with she/her pronouns for the vast majority of the book, but after they conclude that they’re not a girl after all Maude’s narration switches to using they/them for them without fanfare and I loved that approach so so much. Their emotional maturity through everything was also really refreshing to see. They weren’t the expert on the best course of action when on the run, but they were much better than Maude at talking to other people and at sorting through the feelings that they and Maude had for each other, which were both vital skills. Their side of the story and reason for deciding to join in Maude’s plot is slowly revealed through their own flashback chapters which slowly catch up to the present day, and I think this was executed really well! When non-chronological storytelling hits it Hits, and this book Definitely Hits.

A major overarching message of this book is that if your family sucks you’re under no obligation to stay anywhere near them, and there will be people out there who accept you for you. Obviously, faking your death and assuming a new identity halfway across the world is an extreme and deeply inadvisable action to take, but as a fictionalised version of going no-contact with a family that has zero respect for you it makes an effective point. There could very well be people who read this book and see their own families in that of Maude’s or Frankie’s, and this book could very well be the inspiration they need to start setting things up so they can leave. If that’s you, then I’m rooting for you. Just, maybe try not to kill anyone in the process.

I would 100% recommend this book to people who like fast paced thrillers, morally grey sapphics, and anyone who wants to read about a questioning non-binary character.

Thank you so much to Little, Brown and TBR and Beyond Tours for having me on this tour! You can view the full tour schedule here and the rest of my tour stop here

[headcanonsandmore]

Okay, propaganda time because y'all are doing my girls a disservice...

Tegan and Nyssa are literally the wlw equivalent of the same accidentally-romantic companion duo trope that gave us Ian/Barbara. Tegan and Nyssa were written to be platonic straight best friends, played by Janet and Sarah as platonic straight best friends, and yet (from their very first episode together) they've always come across as two people falling in love with each other. For goodness sake, they get more upset when they leave each other than when either of them leaves the Doctor!

They share a room on a ship known for being potentially infinite, and half the time it's not even clear who has which bed. They have completely opposite personalities but get along swimmingly. They physically cannot keep their hands off each other. Whenever one or both of them becomes possessed by a force that brings their deepest desires, they both become obsessed with each other. They have a wiki page online dedicated to the homoerotic subtext of their relationship. When Nyssa briefly became a vampire, her main desire was Tegan. They share a bed within a single day of meeting each other. At one point, Nyssa meets a person who looks exactly like her except for a secret mole on her chest and only Tegan can tell the difference, with no explanation given as to why. When Nyssa has a choice between saving the universe and waiting a few extra seconds so she can save Tegan too, she chooses Tegan. RTD literally made them a canon couple in 2020 for no other reason other than he thought it ought to happen.

Tegan/Nyssa are friends to lovers, they're about finding love in later life, they're about the kind of love born from a deep friendship, they're about mutual respect and support, they're about the simple joy of spending your life with your best friend, they're about love in the best possible ways. They are all of this and more.

Sure, the relationship between the two time lords may be exciting and thrilling, but Tegan/Nyssa is like a warm home-cooked meal at the end of a long tiring day. You may grow tired of explosive time lord shenanigans but it's to the wholesome sapphic love story that you can always return for warmth and comfort.

There's a reason the ship name is "Indestructible".

Which is the Better Doctor Who Ship?

Remember: When voting for a Doctor or Master option, that includes all versions of the Doctor/Master, not just the version shown. If you prefer one version, vote like you're voting for them

[Image Description: A blue slide showcasing pictures of the competing ships, Tegan/Nyssa and Doctor/Master. It has a large VS between them]

[avatar-state-kate]

All Roads Lead West: Asami and the Legacy of the Automotive Industry on Infrastructure

Before I begin a brief disclaimer that this in no way is meant to be a call out of Asami Sato. As a fandom we can be, rightfully, defensive of Asami and Korra as they 1) were some of the first sapphic rep many of us saw and 2) receive a lot of unjustified, misogynist hate (sometimes asa direct result of point 2 or just because they’re women). That being said I think we can be critical of the ideologies that Asami’s character promotes and still love her.

That being said this meta is going to argue that Asami, as the head of an automative company, Sato industries, being chosen to design season 4 Republic City is used to support American urban planning ideologies. Now what do I mean by that?

I don’t think it’s any secret that Republic City took a lot of inspiration from Western cities (cough New York cough). And when the show begins Republic City can be seen as falling into what urban historians have called the streetcar city era source

This urban model being built around the streetcar, as streetcars were introduced as a means of getting workers to factories, as zinging often meant factories were grouped together pushing out living space and pulling workers from other neighbour hoods within the city. Mako is running to catch a streetcar after his factory shift when Asami hits him on her bike.

This model favours public transit such as street cars and busses, as well as pedestrians. For evidence of this I looked at the chase scene in Welcome to Republic City and the flashback chase scene where Lin chases Suyin. In these scenes we can see light traffic, which I am taking as an indicator that traffic primarily comes from business (deceiver, police, ect.) and leisure. This paired with an emphasis on street level business, I argue that the city is primarily modelled for pedestrians and not cars; many of the streets are too narrow for two way driving, let alone passing lanes. There is not a lot of parking. And the animators included side walks and pedestrians (purposeful, this is extra work). In Lins chase we even get a glimpse of an outsdoor market in a public square.

The point being that while roads do exist Republic City is not designed around car ownership, and one does not need a car to effectively navigate the city. So what changed?

In the United States, as a means of growing the post war economy the government was pushing home ownership, and thus subdivision development (may I suggest reading the bulldozer in the countryside, as a history on this). While many point to this as the cause of the car ownership boom these divisions could have been designed to facilitate public transportation into urban centres. What happened instead, was automotive industries saw an opportunity to turn their leisure product into a necessity. By creating highway systems which discourage walking and complicate transit routes (there is no place for a streetcar on a highway) working class families now need a car to get to work and run errands.

Season 4 of LOK begins by catching the audience up on what the Krew has been doing over the three year time skip; link. In this time it is revelealed that Asami, and Future Industries, have been rebuilding Republic Cities infrastructure after the wreckage resulting from harmonic convergence. This redesign is revelead to be an intricate highway system.

There is, in fact, a precedence for automotive companies heading these projects in place of the states (I’m thinking of Detroit’s I-94 which was headed by Ford but that’s the tip of the iceberg). So if the goal were to recreate the current urban infrastructure model of North America, then having Asami lead Republic City’s urban planning makes sense.

The problem however, is that Asami as a hero and a genuinely altruistic person frames these infrastructure projects as being positive, prosocial changes. As making Republic City better. This however is not true. It is a business model to sell cars, which makes cities much harder to live in, especially for poor people. If you do not have a car (or a flying bison) you cannot get around republic city.

This also perpetuates the idea that these highway projects built up the city, not demolished it.

Republic city is in ruins when Asami builds these roads, and the neighbourhoods which were demolished and divided to fit these highway systems in North America (always poor and often racialized) were similarly seen as being ruins- as areas that would serve the city (ahem- interests of rich factory owners) better were they to be paved over.

I don’t believe that Bryke intentionally meant to endorse America’s infrastructure history, I doubt they even fully considered the implications. Asami- the automotive industry- building a highway city falls into the same trap as the republic city police force and zaofu; Bryke cannot imagine modernity that doesn’t look like the west, so rather then create something different they simple rebuild it within their own world. The avatar universe may have been designed and modelled after the East, but it’s story leads West

[tuiyla]

So I finally watched The Owl House

I wish I’d do this with every show I watch but it seems like only a lucky few get the She-Ra style rant of love treatment. Well, I finally watched The Owl House after my dash having been flooded for the past couple of weeks and I have some thoughts. Slight spoilers below.

First off, I love the whole vibe. I had a faint idea that this show would be about magic but I didn’t know much before watching - except for one thing, we’ll get back to that. The way it builds its world and deals with magic, though, is so refreshing. And I just have to mention here that I laughed out loud at all the Harry Potter jabs, they were hilarious. I expect we’ll learn much more about magic and its users as the show goes on but as far as the first season goes the introduction was really solid. It strikes the right balance between leaving things to the imagination but being more than “wave wand and magic happens”. It’s colourful, it’s creative, and I even like the ovens and school tracks, despite knowing that the story is about not conforming to those. It makes the Boiling Isles unique and make me want to learn more about the world even beyond the characters and the main plot.

TOH also presents a world that’s much more macabre than I was expecting from the Disney Channel, not that that’s a bad thing. I found myself thinking of Adventure Time at certain points and pondering, at scary moments, how kids would react. I think kids love this, though, and besides, nothing can be more scarring than Courage the Cowardly Dog was. It’s not that terrifying, of course, just daring enough to stand out. Overall the show has what I would classify as more of a Cartoon Network vibe than a Disney Channel one, but I admittedly haven’t really been following many Disney shows. In any case, I dig it. I dig the weird creatures and the beautiful backgrounds and I appreciate how alive the Boiling Isles feel. It doesn’t take long for TOH to immerse you in its world so I’m for one am hooked.

I make a big deal of loving the world itself because rarely does it happen that world-building stands out to me so soon in a series. I do love carefully constructed fantasy worlds but for the most part I’m more interested in the characters themselves. Here, I’d say it’s close to being a 50-50, which is something that even Avatar can’t say with its elemental masterclass in world-building (which is mostly because the character depth there is unrivaled but still). So yeah, kudos to The Owl House for achieving this. From Luz’s glyph magic to the covens and the titans, I’m excited to explore this world more.

Now, the characters. The real meat of any story. Starting with Luz, I have seen some criticism that she’s a generic hero so far, the “I’m a weirdo”, heart of gold, upbeat variety. I don’t think this makes her bland, though I do admit that being told over and over again that she’s weird makes me less engaged, even she’s also shown to be weird. I like the message of her arc and that the chosen one trope was deconstructed almost right away. I like that she’s relentlessly enthusiastic and kind to people and I like that she doesn’t have to get more bitter in order to get development. Instead, she learns from her mistakes but keeps being herself and brings her unique spirit to the Boiling Isles. We need protagonists like Luz, not just because she’s latina and bisexual but because her learning process doesn’t involve cynicism. Sure, there is a lot she needs to learn but her heart is presented as an asset and a sort of source of magic. I’m excited to see where her story goes, for sure.

I’m gonna write briefly about the other characters before I get to my favourite one. Eda is super cool and I quickly got over the fact that she’s not Beatrice Horseman, lol. She embodies such a youthful energy but the show also allows her to be a middle-aged woman comfortable in her own body - well, owl curse notwithstanding. Also, her relationship with Lilith is one of my favourite parts of the whole show. Eda subverts so many of the mentor’s traditional tropes and I’m here for it. I kinda thought she was the villain based on her design and when I didn’t know anything about the show but hey, happy she’s not.

I don’t think I’d even seen a picture of King before starting to watch the series and at first I thought I’d get tired of him real quick. He’s the type of character who can get really annoying instead of endearing really fast if he’s not given any depth or charm, both by way of writing and voice acting. Luckily, I ended up liking King and his antics. His design is indeed adorable and Alex Hirsch is a genius. The only time I felt like he went too far was, perhaps surprisingly, in the book writing episode, “Sense and Insensitivity”, but even there going too far was the point. So yeah, King’s also great, there’s much potential in his backstory and general character.

Alright so really quickly, other characters: Willow and Gus are generic best friend characters and though they already have other things going on, I expect more development as the series progresses. I like that Willow is actually super powerful, just not in the way people expected her to and Gus is clearly also talented despite being younger. I’d be happy to see more of the other kids, get more familiar with Hexside. Edric and Emira are fun characters but they were really shitty in their first episode so I was kind of surprised they weren’t more of a nuisance to Amity later on. I’m all for supportive siblings so I wouldn’t mind a good relationship between the three but I feel like it’s more complicated than that with the Blights.

Finally, I also have to mention that Hooty is... well, quite something, isn’t he. Much like with King, I thought he’d be much more annoying but somehow the show is self-aware enough that it makes Hooty tolerable. I’m almost always torn between feeling sorry for him and being thoroughly weirded out, and I think that’s the intention? It’s fitting that he’s the titular character as he embodies the tone of The Owl House well in my eyes. He’s there for the comedy but there’s just enough there to hint at something more. Very bizarre, strong CN vibes, here for it.

Now that I’ve written a paragraph more about Hooty than I expected to, let’s talk about Amity. Listen, no other character stood a chance to be my favourite as soon as I learned Mae Whitman voiced Amity. That woman gave me Katara so now I have a quasi Pavlovian response to her voice. I’d also say that I knew more about Amity going into the show than I did about any other aspect of TOH. I heard somewhere that she started out as an antagonist, I knew her parents were abusive, and the reason the show blew up on my dash and my general online bubble is the Grom episode. Lucikly I only saw stills of Lumity beneath the crescent moon but the pure Sapphic energy of that was enough to gay migrate me to this show. I’d like to note it here though that The Owl House is a good show in and of itself, the queer rep is just a nice extra. I’m gonna spend the next couple hundred words going on about Amity and her crush on Luz but I don’t value only that. The Gay Migration is great and rep is great but I’m also grateful to have a solid show behind it. That being said.

I’m a total dyke for Amity Blight. I was very biased before even being introduced to her character but I genuinely find her to be fascinating and she has great potential. She’s developing quite quickly, like much of The Owl House, but an arc not being stretched out for several seasons before getting a rushed conclusion is refreshing. The progress hits all the beats and the only note I have is that I want more. She starts out as a generic bully but the opportunity to be more is there from the beginning. We find out early on that she used to be friends with Willow, we see that she works hard and values honest work. When she becomes Luz’s rival, it doesn’t last long before Amity shows that she’s open to new perspectives. That’s not to defend or even justify her earlier and nastier moments, Amity was rude to both Luz and Willow. But through all that, she becomes a complex character who does bad things but isn’t a bad person and grows when she gets the space to. I think that’s neat.

Luz’s decision to befriend her might be cartoon logic but as someone who subscribes to the “kill them with kindness” ideology, I can totally relate. Amity’s softer side doesn’t take long to show and “Lost in Language” is such a great episode to show how complex people can be. Again, I was already biased when it came to Amity but she’s consistently shown to be capable of self-reflection and growth when others give her the chance. I think her past and potential future friendship with Willow is a great way to explore many different topics and I’m trusting the show to do it justice. I also can’t wait to meet the rest of the Blights, if only to get me some angst and further develop Amity. I half expected Grom to take the form of her parents. Too dark for Disney? Well, we don’t know Amity’s dynamic with her parents, exactly, but there’s so much subtext and potential. I love what we’ve already seen from her but I’d also say that she has one of the greatest potentials in the show.

Another way in which this potential manifests is Lumity, of course. Again, they’re developing quite quickly but that doesn’t mean it’s rushed. I’d love to explore Amity’s crush more and what Luz means to her. The Grom episode surpassed all expectations, still and gifs don’t do the stunning dance sequence justice. The animation is so smooth, the colours are amazing, the music is on point and the Sapphic vibes complete the picture. Poetic cinema, truly. Molly Ostertag and Noelle Stevenson are really out there giving wlw animation fans everything we ever wanted, huh. It also warms my heart that the crush is made very clear, not just by Luz’s name being on the note but by the delightful gay disaster that is Amity in “Wing It Like Witches”. I never thought I’d ever see such a relatable useless lesbian in animation so kudos to Dana Terrace and the whole crew. Wow, how far we’ve come.

So yeah, Amity is a funky little lesbian and I’m a 100% here for her gay disaster moments, but I also love where Lumity is going thematically. They’re great as foils and I’m hoping that they won’t get together at the very end. Look, I love me some Bubbline, Korrasami and Catradora, but it’s time a wlw relationship had the chance to exist onscreen and not only in the last episode. The Owl House has a great chance to do that. I know the creators don’t want romance to be the main focus and I respect that, I think the world they created deserves to showcased and explored to its full potential. Lumity could be a great subplot though, as representation on the one hand and as a thematically interesting dynamic on the other. Plus, Luz and Amity are just cute and sometimes, it’s as simple as that. Oh, and also the whole Little Miss Perfect thing? One of the best fandom discoveries I’ve made in a long while. Not only is the song truly perfect for Amity, I love that Joriah Kwamé went on to write Ordinary as well. This right here is why fandom is beautiful.

I think that’s about it for season 1 initial thoughts. The moral can be a bit on the nose at times, especially in the early episodes but the show is ultimately for kids and I appreciate its message. Interesting world and magic system, good characters, great potential for later seasons, just a well put together show that I’m really glad I started watching. I’m kind of sorry I didn’t keep up with season 1 as it was coming out but I would not have been able to wait between episodes. The pacing is good overall, deffo moves fast but I wouldn’t call it rushed, and the “filler” episodes still add something to the story. I’m not sure if I would still feel like the show moves at a fast pace if I hadn’t binged it but in any case it isn’t rushed, the necessary beats are all there and have time to sit. I’m going to watch as it comes out from now on so hopefully season 2 will arrive early next year.

Oh, and: I’m very new to the fandom, barely just found out about Little Miss Perfect, so any and all tidbits, fun facts, and fic recommendations are welcome. Also if you just want to chat my inbox is always open!

[bisluthq]

I just read the anon’s post about ttb’s impact on her sister and I’m fully crying. It’s legitimately so upsetting and I know we like to make fun of hard Kay’s and stuff because we can’t fathom how they believe what they believe. But when you really look at it most of them seem to be closeted teenage sapphics, so of course their gonna believe what they want to. Because their looking for that representation, that validation and I think they may even find comfort in their head cannons ( however outlandish they may seem). Maybe that’s why they’re finding it so hard to let go of even in the aftermath of Karlie’s pregnancy. Also I know you recommended swiftgron get married, I listen to them and find Cam and Cara hilarious and entertaining and mostly objective but um for a baby Kaylor whose deep into Kaylore, maybe she shouldn’t start with them. No hate towards their podcast I love it but that 15 yr old is hardly going to appreciate the absolute demolishing of ALL of her head cannons. And it sounds like she uses the idea of everlasting Kaylor and lesbian Taylor as a sort of comfort and possible escape because she’s closeted . It sounds like she’s projecting all her fantasies and happy endings that she would want for herself onto this idea of Kaylor. My point is um she’s not going to appreciate swiftgron get married’s take on Kaylor & Kaylors. Probably if she weren’t so emotionally invested and attached to ttb’s Kaylor.

Maybe @kaylorrehabcenter and @kaylorhistorian then? Like former hard Kays?

And I know that’s why I REALLY try not to shit talk them too much and if I do and it gets pointed out to me I always walk it back. I’m never gonna get tired of dunking on TTB because the jokes/takes write themselves but also SHE CAUSES/CAUSED SO MUCH HARM. But everyone else could just be really fucking desperate for a community and a safe of place.

So many kids just want representation and, as you say, a beautiful love story to root for.

And what sucks extra hard, is gay relationships don’t get airtime in the mainstream media. They don’t get marketed. Like this is a fact. Miley has spoken a lot about this, like how she immediately stops getting coverage when she’s with a woman. So for kids especially the most tempting things to look at are bullshit things like Kaylor, Larry and Camren because THESE SHIPS WERE MARKETED AND SOLD. It does immediately make them a lot less believable but it also means for the average child who JUST WANTS A LOVE STORY THAT LOOKS SOMETHING LIKE THEIR ONE WOULD they’re the best option.

Again, this is why Jojo coming out - and starting to produce content with her girlfriend - is such a pivotal moment.

We might be living through a change.

But for now it’s still shitty and TTB is genuinely the fucking worst.