#for lesbian period films to end with them together

[tulip-in-a-cup3]

Is the Romantic comedy is still relevant?

Like many, I have spent countless endless hours watching romantic comedies. At one point they were the only sort of film I consumed (a very dark period) and also one of the many sparks of my love of film. But as I grew, changed and discovered all sorts of different films I next to completely forgot all about rom-coms only really revisiting them when I feel the need to turn my brain off and watch pretty people do things on screen. But now when I do turn one on I can't help but but notice how painfully sexist and unproductive they can be.

The romantic comedy is a very popular offshoot of the classic comedy genre. Rom-coms have been around since the time of Shakespeare's A Midsummer's night dream. The romantic comedy focuses on the romantic relationship between two characters. The movie usually follows a fairly basic structure with the characters meeting, falling for each other, facing some sort of adversity, and ultimately having a happy ending with them together. That's not to say some don’t break out of this with 500 days of summer being a perfect example. This genre of film became increasingly popular particularly among women because it was one of the only times that women were at the forefront of a movie. They were also easy, quick, and incredibly cheap to make. Allowing them to make massive profits when it came to the box office. Although romcoms did see a significant decline during the late 2000s and early 2010s we have seen a steady increase in them since the rise of streaming platforms producing their movies. On these streaming platforms, romantic comedies have managed to find an audience but that poses the question: are romantic comedies still relevant today?

Most romantic comedies tend to all have main characters that are white, cis-gendered, heterosexual, skinny, and Neurotypical. The rom-con never really showed the range and forms love could take. Rom-coms also sprinkled in this lovely layer of misogynistic undertones. Films like How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days depict women as “emotional, irrational and clingy” and that all these behaviours do is drive a man away, men of course being the complete opposite of these behaviours. Bride wars also show women in questionable ways with the leads completely turning on each other simply because of a wedding venue. Reinforcing the stereotype that marriage is a woman’s number one endgame. Even my personal favourite Bridget Jones isn’t immune to the problems laced throughout rom-coms. Bridget acted like her very healthy 136lb made her disgustingly fat or the fact she felt her whole life was a failure due to her being SINGLE of all things. There are many more examples I don't wish to get into that show how Rom-coms treat women. But does this mean we need to throw them in the bin completely?

No of course not it was an unproductive question in the first place. rom-coms can be misogynistic, but they are also changing take for example movies like To All The Boys I've Loved Before which has an asian american protagonist or Crush on Disney Plus which has a lesbian lead and follows multiple lgbtq characters (although it did get next zero marketing and only me and like three other people know it about subject for another day). The rom-com is not the same anymore just like how the landscape of film has changed. People are demanding representation and slowly we are receiving it. The rom-com is also one of the only genres that is dominated by women and tearing it down and ripping into does in some regard play into the demonization of all things enjoyed by women. Rom-coms are still relevant because love is still relevant. We just need to see it done in a way that reflects the variety of love we have and doesn't reinforce outdated stereotypes about women OR men. Rom-coms bring a lot of joy and fun that cinema needs and branding them as not relevant is moving backwards.

[r1-jw-lover]

HULLO!!!!! :P

rank your top five fav ships from the john wick series !! :3

Hi, thank you for the ask. Just wanna put a disclaimer that my first venture into the JW fandom was through the fourth film, so my ranking list will be heavily biased on that movie.

John x Caine

It's not even one year since JW4 is out and John/Caine is already on the top ten most written ships on AO3 within the John Wick fandom.

This pairing has just the right amount of bittersweetness and melancholy for me, and putting it on top of the actors' chemistry, the gay divorced vibes, the bickering, friends to reluctant enemies, the parallels, being each other's mirror, their deep trust, understanding and care for one another, you get my number one JW ship on this list.

The friendship between John & Caine is definitely one of the most developed and convincing out of all the friends John Wick had in the series, and in spite of the circumstances forcing them to be pitted against each other, they still managed to find comfort in the other's presence regardless, and I think that in itself is beautiful.

2. Koji x John x Caine

You know what else is better than putting Keanu Reeves and Donnie Yen together in the same movie? Putting Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen AND Hiroyuki Sanada together in the same movie.

You have already seen the incredible fanart [1, 2, 3] by the wonderful @ibahibut. They are THE old men yaoi of the recent decade of cinema, period.

The dynamics between the three of them are immaculate. Not only you have John & Caine (explanation above), John & Koji are very supportive of each other, and Koji & Caine have both the closeness and the inevitable tragicness that undercurrents their brotherhood.

All in all, I desperately need a prequel series of this trio.

3. John x Helen

It's the only canon romantic relationship in the series so it has to be on the list. Other than the fact that one of them is dead, I think that John/Helen is incredibly sweet, which make the heartaches even more painful.

John's grief for Helen's passing is one of the main driving forces for the character throughout the series. His almost religious love and devotion to his wife is all the more apparent given that Helen is the reason John had fought to stay alive for as long as four movies.

At the end of the day, John only wished to die not as the Baba Yaga but as a loving husband, finally succumbing to his wounds with Helen being his last thought before dying. (TAT)

4. Akira x Mia

Gosh, I love my lesbian rarepair too much. I initially shipped them merely for the shits and giggles (i.e. Akira getting back at Caine by dating his daughter lol), but then I also come to realise their potential as a pairing story-wise.

Outside of the obvious enemies to/and lovers vibes, I could imagine both Akira and Mia inheriting a lot of angst from their respective "father problems" that they must resolve between each other. Will Akira ever tell Mia about her plan to kill Caine? Will Mia ever understand Akira's revenge against her father? Will Mia decide to step into the fold of assassins because of Akira? Will Akira leave the High Table to be with Mia like how John did for Helen?

As a conclusion... Gosh, I love my lesbian rarepair too much.

5. Marquis x Wuxia DJ

The funniest and best crack ship ever made up in the John Wick fandom, and there's just the two of us, hahahaha. They give off high-school exes who are so, so fashionable and serve cunt while talking shit about the other behind each other's backs.

It's number five on my list because it's that good.

Honorable mention: Cassian x Gianna

Before the fourth movie is released, Cassian & Gianna is the only pairing I could see happening in the background. Cassian's loyalty to Gianna even after she died is very touching, and Gianna seemed very appreciative of it from the short interaction they have in JW2.

[seraphsiege]

On Victim of a Siren and its impact on my music journey

I originally wrote the lyrics for Victim of a Siren back in 2018, practicing it on this old 90s Yamaha electric piano that had been in my family since I can remember. It was this big ugly brown piece of junk that only had sixteen sound presets built into it. I spent hours at that thing, practicing video game music or whatever came to mind -- my free time seemed unlimited, isolated on the upstairs floor of my grandmother’s house. That Yamaha seemed to be my saving grace, though.

I turned to Sappho’s poetry during this time, not sure where to even start with lesbian literature. I don’t think I’d met any queer people outside of people offhandedly coming out to me -- I’d been outed in a small town, and I’m glad I was able to be solace for my queer peers, but it was scary. People knew about my identity so openly and I felt like I never had an option to express that on my own time. I was pretty active on tumblr during this time period, so learning about people from Leslie Feinberg to Sappho was what I spent my time reading. 

I was smitten with the literature I discovered. I interpolated a quote within the bridge, my mind drifting to the mountains of the Mediterranean -- a place that I’d get to explore for my own that year. 

There were a few girls at the time that I was yearning for, one of them having these bright blue oceanic eyes behind a small pair of glasses. I think that was my inspiration, although she was never to reciprocate my feelings in the end -- not like I needed her to. Saying anything to her would’ve put me at a lot more risk.

I wrote the second verse about ten minutes before I went to record, actually -- my producer can back me up on this one. The second verse really shows how alluring the siren can be when it comes to our desires, showing a twisted side to how lesbian love isn’t all what it seems. The yearning doesn’t always leave us with a happy ending.

I brought this song to my producer last year, and they were quick to help me put this all together. It was our first time working on a music project that didn’t involve film. I quickly put together a midi file in Logic of the chords, along with various synth plugins, and he was just so quick to go with it. I was shocked that he’d even wanna produce my song for his project. But he knew that I was more than prepared to get this song produced, and he brought that to life. 

I’m not a singer by any means, so getting in front of that mic and singing my heart out was nerve wracking, especially if my voice cracked or went flat. I have a lot of perfectionist tendencies, and I’m still trying to tell myself that I will always be my biggest critic. I still wish I’d spent more time perfecting vocals, but then again, I’d be in the tracking booth all day.

I’m so relieved that I’m able to share this piece with the world and hope that young sapphics out there are able to enjoy this as much as I did creating it. It’s a tale of longing, of drowning, and of unrequited love. I hope to create happier lesbian tales in the future, of course, but expressing my sapphic ethereality has been such an interesting journey thus far.

Listen to it on Soundcloud here <3

[birdwives]

plenty of lesbians throughout history: *lived out their lives together, found long-standing happiness and love and comfort in each other despite social pressures*

lesbian period cinema: this has never happened, actually

[sawwyouuinadream]

My Favorite Underrated WLW Cinema

To keep this as a memory, after a lot of deliberation, I’m creating this list of all my favorite Sapphic movies of all time. Note that it is purely subjective to me, and they aren’t necessarily big-budget, blockbusters, or period dramas. I obviously love films like Carol, the Handmaiden, etc. a lot, but personally, I love indie films. So, these are mostly Indie films and are quite underrated. All of these have beautiful poetic cinematography and heart-touching storylines. In no particular order:

1. The Half of It (2020, USA):

Probably the most famous film on this list, this is Alice Wu’s second directorial venture after a long hiatus post Saving Face. It’s about a seventeen-year-old girl named Ellie Chu who is basically a dark academia Tumblr lesbian. She liked the pastor’s daughter but well the pastor’s daughter is very pretty so many boys like her. One of the boys approach her to write a love letter coz lesbehonest we’ve been there done that (I mean I’m 100% Ellie minus the swag) and a lot of things happen. Just watch the film to know more. It's beautiful, deep, and sweet and has some tidbits about religion and queerness. Oh, and cute platonic friendships.

2. Desert Hearts (1985, USA):

The shots in this film is literally so ahead of its time, it feels like a period film honestly. Plus, the costume, the landscape- if you’re an 80s fashion buff, this is the best thing that could happen to you. Not to mention the leads are extremely beautiful. It was also groundbreaking for being a film of 1980s that didn’t shame lesbians and made them own up their sexualities. Also, if you like older women, I gotchu.

3. Moonlit Winter (2019, South Korea)

This was truly unlike any sapphic film I ever watched. It’s basically about a teenage girl discovering her mom is gay and helping her get back to her lover. Like? Omg? Also gay Asian middle-aged lesbians and repressed emotions? I’m bawling my eyes out. The lingering shots were especially beautiful and the strengthening of the mother-daughter relationship throughout the runtime as the mother gradually got comfortable in acknowledging her sexuality hit home. Like no, my mother isn’t gay but who doesn’t have mommy issues. Right….. Right?

4. Water lilies (2007, France):

Have you had feelings for your senior? Did you have gay panic in your changing rooms? Did you have homoerotic tension with women in tight swimming costumes? Did you have internalized homophobia? This film is all that and Celine Sciamma and Adele Haenel’s first film together so wink wink ultra super gay.

5. Shiva Baby (2020, USA and Canada):

It’s about a miserable bisexual girl who has to deal with her sugar daddy, her ex-girlfriend, her parents and the outcomes of her pathological lying while her sugar daddy’s wife ( Diana Agron I KNOW) poses a threat to her existence. It’s a comedy and it’s very funny. The set ups were hilarious, the plot twists were un anticipated and the horror music score was so unconventional but it fit perfectly.

6. Our love story (2016, South Korea):

It is probably the most realistic portrayal of a queer couple in their twenties on film. The messiness of it, the misunderstandings, having to hide the relationship from disapproving parents. It is very cute and heartwarming at times, with the lingering shots of typical Korean indie films, and at times it gives you a reality check that relationships are very messy.

7. Saving Face (2004, USA):

Alice Wu’s first child, this is the best lesbian rom-com to exist and that’s on period. The situational comedy, the lovely relationship between the two leads, and a happy ending, Happiest Season could never. It also deals with very serious topics like pregnancy at an older age and homophobic parents with so much sensitivity and light humor. A totally feel-good movie.

8. Kajillionaire (2020, USA):

Evan Rachel Wood was my bisexual awakening and the woman is horribly underrated in film. She portrays this odd girl in this film who has been raised by her con man parents to just cheat the system and engage in petty robberies. Her journey of breaking out of her toxic parents and finding someone who cares for her gave me goosebumps. The movie is brilliantly written and directed by Miranda July and its quirky aesthetic and satire of the system makes it one of a kind. Also Gina Rodriguez is so cute.

9. Fire (1996, India and Canada):

This film overcame a lot of hurdles and managed to provide authentic queer representation in the Indian Demographic as early as 1996. It also ends on a positive note which is really commendable. The acting, the scriptwriting, the themes of yearning, confusion, and coming to terms with your sexuality against the dogmatic and patriarchal society of India makes this film a must-watch. Especially if you’re South Asian.

10. I care a lot (2020, USA): This dark comedy portrays the sapphic lead to be a villain but I honestly loved the film for a multitude of reasons. The plot aka Rosamund Pike’s suits and Eiza Gonzalez’s sunglasses were pathbreaking. Jokes aside, the plot was really unique and it treated the sapphic couple like a regular one which was refreshing. On top of that, the age difference in the couple made my heart rate increase a lot so there’s that. The movie in itself is truly brilliant oh yes and Tyrion Lannister did so well I love him.

This list is in no way exhaustive. It doesn’t have enby and trans masc lesbians, and they are still seriously underrepresented in movies. We also need more black and brown women to portray sapphic relationships. I’m Indian and Fire was literally the only queer movie I had watched as a kid. So we mostly grow up with limited to zero representation. I hope it’ll change soon and people will stop making lesbian period dramas where nobody ends up happy.

Tell me how you guys liked these movies

[yurimother]

The Best Yuri of 2020

2020 was hell in every way, and many of us are looking forward to new possibilities and advances in 2021. However, the year brought us many small moments and gifts worth celebrating. Among these, the explosive growth and change within the Yuri genre are among the most precious and most outstanding achievements. This second century of Yuri opened with a bang, as phenomenal new works, creators, and moments made their mark and helped change the future genre.

This annual list is a celebration of just a handful of the fantastic titles, people, and events in Yuri. There are likely some even greater ones that did not make the list because there is so much content in both English and Japanese that even I cannot keep up. However, among the troves of treasure, these titles stood out as shining examples of Yuri excellence. Some were released this year, others were recently adapted into English, and still, others are established titles that rose to prominence to dominate the conversation and my mind this year, but every one of them is worthy of being on this list and in your heart.

Here is the Best Yuri of 2020!

15: The Curse of Kudan Remastered

Japanese Yuri visual novel developers show no sign of slowing down as they continue to push to new heights and try new ideas. These are the same amazing people who brought us the delightful educational Yuri game The Expression Amrilato and the hilarious and surprisingly queer OshiRabu: Waifus Over Husbando’s. However, this most recent release, The Curse of Kudan Remastered, is their best work yet. Released near Halloween, this game brings a new edge of dark mystery and the occult to Yuri audiences worldwide.

The Curse of Kudan is available on MangaGamer, JAST USA, Denpasoft, and Sekai Project.

14: Adachi and Shimamura

English audiences were finally treated this year to Hitoma Iruma’s long-running and wildly successful Yuri light novel series, Adachi and Shimamura. Although the story struggles to gain traction, dedicated readers’ have their patience rewarded with a sweet tale full of gay pining. Alternatively, you can jump into its stellar anime adaptation, with gorgeous visuals and realized characters you will actually be willing to put up with the annoying Yashiro just to see where the title characters go. The series shows no sign of slowing down either, as the manga adaptation is coming to Western audiences next year.

Adachi and Shimamura is available to stream on Funimation. The light novel series is published by Seven Seas - https://amzn.to/3rTSZTK

Honorable Mention: Happy Go Lucky Days

The OVA adaptation of Fragtime got most of the attention this year. Still, director Takuya Satou and Pony Canyon also gave us this much-overlooked “love is love” anthology movie based on Takako Shimura’s manga (Sweet Blue Flowers, Wandering Son). The first short in the film, “Happy,” is easily the best Yuri anime of the year. It follows the beautiful yet realistic queer love story of two women hooking up at a mutual ex-girlfriend’s wedding, only for the relationship to blossom and warm viewers’ hearts. Sadly, while stylized, the budget demanded the animation cut a few too many corners. Additionally, the subsequent stories are at best tedious and at worst alarmingly problematic, which is why Happy Go Lucky Days only gets an honorable mention.

The OVA is streaming on HIDIVE

13: Mieri Hiranishi

The Yuri scene has many colorful creators with a breadth of different ideas and stories in the genre, yet few have provided as much humor and joy as Mieri. This talented creator spectacularly tumbled into the scene with her manga essay The Moment I Realized I Wasn’t Straight, which embodies the brutal honesty and realism of Nagata Kabi and matches it with exaggerated hilarity. She continues to chronicle her painful struggles of being a butch girl in love with butch girls in the monthly series The Girl that Can’t Get a Girlfriend. Alternatively, you can follow her on Twitter for just as much heart and laughter.

Read The Girl that Can’t get a Girlfriend on Tapas and Webtoon.

12: My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!

My Next Life as a Villainess has what can only be described as volcanic bisexual energy. Every character protagonist Catarina Claes encounters is entirely enthralled by her. Of course, she is far too preoccupied with her quest to avoid doom flags and change her ultimate fate to notice any romantic interest. The series is rewarding and well structured, as views are just as focused on how Catarina plans to avoid certain doom as they are with the various romantic misses her band of companions cooks up. While the “friendship ending” did not capitalize on its Yuri potential, it was perhaps the most satisfying possibility for this crazy harem, at least until season two comes out, which looks, unfortunately, to be significantly less queer.

My Next Life as a Villainess is streaming on Crunchyroll

11: Love Me for Who I Am

Kata Konayama’s manga series is less Yuri than a general LGBT work, but it has a lesbian character and explores her identity and struggles in great detail. Few titles before have captured the exciting and nervous waves of emotions that young people feel as they explore gender and sexual identities and try to find themselves. This heartfelt and extremely queer series rubberbands between cute moe dress up to tragic and gripping backstory, keeping readers on their toes the whole time.

Love me for Who I Am is published by Seven Seas - https://amzn.to/3rTSZTK

10: A Summer’s End – Hong Kong 1986

Oracle and Bone’s debut visual novel, A Summer’s End, is set in a vibrant and electric 1980’s Hong Kong. Drawing inspiration from classic Asian cinema, music, and fashion. The worlds of Michelle, a young office worker, and a free-spirited woman named Same collide. The two struggle to comprehend and accept each other’s feelings just as they struggle against society’s expectations and prejudices. An incredibly thoughtful and touching adventure, the creators incorporated vital contemporary elements include Asian LGBTQ rights and growing political unrest in Hong Kong, into this illustrious game.

The visual novel is available on Steam.

Honorable Mention: Goodbye, My Rose Garden

In the same vein as A Summer’s End, Goodbye, My Rose Garden is a beautiful period piece that incorporates LGBT views into its shattering narrative. The story follows a bright-eyed immigrant, Hanako, wanting to make a new life in England as an author at the dawn of the twentieth century. She takes a job as a maid to noblewoman Alice, but their relationship takes a turn when Alice asks Hanako to kill her. This poignant tale is beautiful and an honest depiction of love and its conflict with responsibility and society.

Goodbye, My Rose Garden is published by Seven Seas Entertainment - https://amzn.to/3hFSyaG

9: Shio Usui

Usui’s hit Shaikaijin Yuri manga Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon could easily take this spot even though it is not even out in English until February 2021. The manga is already making waves and receiving constant praise. The characters and their journey to discover love and self-acceptance are as charming as they are relatable and grounded. However, it is the creator, Usui, who really deserves acclaim. Not just for their work on Doughnuts, but having a second serialized story, Onna Tomodachi to Kekkon Shitemita, in monthly Yuri magazine Comic Yuri Hime simultaneously. It is even more remarkable when you consider these two iconic stories are Usui’s first long-running works, as they only contributed one-shots before.

8: Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka

Bloom Into You is possibly the most iconic Yuri series in the past decade, and while the manga deserves its own place on this list, the best thing to come out of the series as a whole is easily the light novels. This trilogy by Adachi and Shimamura creator Hitoma Iruma dives deep into supporting cast member Sayaka. Readers are treated to a delightful journey as she discovers her sexuality, experiences heartbreak, and finally finds herself breaking free and falling in love. With the help of gorgeous illustrations by Nakatani Nio herself, Iruma masterfully captures Sayaka’s unique voice and emotions in this wonderful series. Whether a fan of the originals or not, every Yurijin must check out Regarding Saeki Sayaka.

The light novel series is published by Seven Seas - https://amzn.to/3hFSyaG

7: Our Teachers are Dating

The best a Yuri can get. This workplace romance follows two teachers at the start of a new relationship taking nervous yet enthusiastic first steps, including saying I love you, going on their first date, and even sleeping together. It is so heartfelt and salacious that readers will squeal the whole time. Additionally, our heroines are supported in their relationship by everyone they know, their students, colleagues, and even the principal. It is a perfect world for these two lovebirds! Our Teachers are Dating would easily be number one or two in any other year, but the competition is fierce in 2020. So even though this is only number seven, it is still a master class Yuri manga.

The manga is published by Seven Seas Entertainment - https://amzn.to/38XY3O9

6: Amongst Us

Who would have thought that a comedy alternative universe story spinoff of a fantasy action series would be the single best Yuri webcomic this year? Shilin’s astounding artwork illustrations the hilarious and irresistible journey of girlfriends Blackbird and Veloce. These two eccentric young women get into all kinds of everyday mischief that bounces between tender and touching romance, completely outrageous comedy, and downright thirst-inducing sorcery. Seriously, you should buy the first volume for Veloce’s back muscles alone. The storyline skips between time, but both their established relationship and their meeting as teenagers are adorkable and captivating.

Amongst Us is available online free on Webtoon and the comic’s website. The first volume is in paperback on Shilin’s site.

Honorable Mention: Éclair

There are a lot of Yuri anthologies out there, and they have done some beautiful things. Many focus on themes like Syrup. Others collect a series of stories by an author into one bound work. However, out of all of them, Éclair is the most successful. ASCII Media Works took some of the genre’s most extraordinary creators and let them do whatever they wanted, and the results are spectacular. The incredible talent behind Éclair somehow packs a full volume’s worth of story and character into just a few pages with every chapter. While the first volume came overseas a few years ago, Yen Press gave Yurijin a gift this year by releasing the entire rest of the series in which readers can get lost.

The anthology series is published by Yen Press - https://amzn.to/38XY3O9

5: I’m in Love with the Villainess

A small trend of isekai Yuri with villainesses emerged recently, and I honestly had few hopes of I’m in Love with the Villainess. The series is pretty popular, but I often find that this does not denote quality, and with isekai having some institutional issues, I suspected this would fall flat. Then the volume three cover showcased an incredible accomplishment, allowing for a lesbian relationship to blossom into a family with children, and it blew me away. Finally, I read volume one and realized that the series has incredible character, some of the best world-building I have ever seen in a light novel, thoughtful discussions of inequality and societal issues, and most impressively, open and frank discussion of queer identity and life Yuri has ever seen! This one is something special.

The series is published by Seven Seas Entertainment - https://amzn.to/3nedvdZ

4: The Last of Us Part II

Yes, I know this one is not Yuri and that a portion of the population despises this game and will likely be exceptionally angry at me for including it. However, I maintain that it was an incredibly challenging masterpiece. Naughty Dog did not take the easy route out and delivered one of the most devastating media experiences I have ever seen. As I said in my article about the game, playing it changed me, and it sticks with me to this day. The Last of Us Part II earns its spot on this list because it pushed boundaries more with LGBTQ inclusion than any other AAA game. From brave inclusion of LGBTQ themes to queer characters and storylines at its center, the game changes gaming and it will never go back.

The Last of Us Part II is available on PlayStation 4

3: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

She-Ra feels like the culmination of all the LGBTQ progress western cartoons have made over the past few years. From The Legend of Korra to Steven Universe, young people are finally seeing more LGBTQ people represented on the small screen. This epic fantasy concluded with an amazing and powerful lesbian romance, delivering on its queer promise and revolutionized representation in a trope-defying crescendo.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is streaming on Netflix

2:  The Conditions of Paradise

The greatest single Yuri work of all in 2020 was the English release of Akiko Morishima’s breakthrough manga, The Conditions of Paradise. Initially released in 2007, this anthology detailed the love between adult women. It was in every way a manga ahead of its time, and seeing it finally get a small piece of the recognition it deserves overseas is a true gift. The fact that we can own this legendary piece of Yuri history and Morishima’s other anthologies is nothing short of a blessing from the Yuri goddess.

The Conditions of Paradise is published by Seven Seas Entertainment - https://amzn.to/38bh4xq

Honorable Mention: Otherside Picnic

This eerie sci-fi horror series combines the best of pulse-pounding thrillers, complex and intelligent hard science fiction, and exciting Yuri romance. Author Iori Miyazawa spends as much time crafting a well-paced and intriguing narrative about a mysterious world where occult creatures roam as he does establishing two believable and grounded heroes in Sorawo and Toriko. The romance between the two may be slow to start, but their chemistry is undeniable and as the stakes and story build, so too does their relationship. Not only are the light novels incredible, but the series’ manga adaptation is coming soon to the West as well as an upcoming TV anime in early 2021.

Otherside Picnic is streaming on Funimation. The light novels are published by J-Novel Club - https://amzn.to/3niiv1g

1. Yuri subgenres

For a long time, Yuri was not a genre of its own, but elements of romances or bonds between women found in other works. Now, thanks to an increasing library of works, the advent of social media, and a wider audience, Yuri is a genre on its own, with many creators telling different stories in different styles. However, 2020 saw the continued emergence of something extraordinary, subgenres. Yuri is now so vast, we can actually categorize the works within. Depending on their characters, like classic schoolgirl romances or spicy shakaijin office affairs, their world, such as fantasy or isekai series and thrilling science fiction adventures, and even other elements within. One of my personal favorites is the feminist Yuri that emerges from titles like Sexiled, where women celebrate the accomplishments of other women and dismantle power structures stacked against them. Now, no matter what kind of Yurijin you are, there is something for you to love.

I am happy to leave 2020 behind, but I bring with me a renewed love and admiration for Yuri. 2021 looks to be a somehow even better year for the genre, and I am thrilled to experience every minute of it that I can. Yuri has transformed into something far greater than I ever thought it would be, and let us all enjoy its evolution and expansion together in 2021.

[sakebytheriver]

If you got a chance to make your dream film with an unlimited budget/resources what would it be?

Oh God what a question, I have so many big ideas for stuff I'd want to make, most of which are not movies/films but TV shows instead, like the crazy complicated high concept sitcom dissection series I've been drafting, or the numerous ideas for reboots or continuations for already existing properties I have like a queer poc lead reboot of Firefly that I've only created character bios for, or the original prequel TV series I have a pilot outlined for Vala Mal Doran from Stargate SG1 about her time before she joins the team but after she's no longer the host of a Goa'uld, or the live action reboot of American Dragon Jake Long that exists purely in my head, and I have an idea for a Joker style stand alone tragic romance movie for Mr. Freeze and Nora, that I've completely outlined and have started writing a screenplay for

But I think if someone were to approach me today with this offer, there's one movie I'd make in a heartbeat. I have finished screenplay about two high school seniors, a second generation Chinese boy named Jin and a darkskin black girl who just moved to the area named Shirley, falling in love in the 1960s in that liminal space where school integration had just started, but interracial marriage was still illegal federally in San Fransisco Chinatown. It's a period piece romance filled with all the tropes of the genre with many lingering shots on their hands with their fingers almost touching but not quite, a scene with their own version of prom and another scene on a ferris wheel where they talk about running away together, a bubbly lesbian best friend character that acts as their wingman, the forbidden/secret romance they develop etc etc.

I love the characters in that script so much, I have such an emotional attachment to them and to their story, it's a bittersweet story that I personally think the phrase "two ships passing in the night" was invented for (do not judge me but the song The One by Taylor Swift was literally such a big inspo for their romance, there were days while I was writing this screenplay that I just put that song on repeat to get me in the zone because that song was literally written for these characters and if I was to make this movie that song would HAVE to be included it is literally their song I'd make it into their theme song).

I wrote the screenplay after being inspired by this tweet

And I even incorporated those pictures into the story, having Shirley and Jin take pictures in a photobooth at a fair and then the end of the movie has a closeup on their pictures that fades into the real life pictures of couples from that time as the last frame of the movie.

Now, I'm going to talk about Jin and Shirley as characters because they are my babies and you should know about them.

Jin is the second son of Chinese immigrant parents who own a laundromat. His older brother is the disowned family disappointment whose failures loom over Jin's every action. Jin's parents want him to become a doctor, but he's the loner character archetypr that always has a book in his hand and he even has a journal always on him that he writes quotes down into that touch him in some emotional kind of way. Jin is Shirley's manic pixie dream girl and he is very happy being so. Shirley tells him he should be a writer one day and he laughs her off thinking it's an absolutely ridiculous idea because he'd always been told by his parents that he was going to be a doctor and that he had to make money and that he could never end up like his brother, but she doubles down basically telling him it's obvious that writing would make him happy and the first thing Jin ever wrote was a sonnet for Shirley. And throughout their relationship he is always writing her poems and notes and little things that he slips in her locker or her books or into her hands at the end of the day after he's walked her home, because he always walks her home, because he always asks her at the end of the day if he can walk her home and at the end of their story he promises that for her, he will never stop writing.

And Shirley, my sweet, soft-spoken Shirley, she's the oldest child and about to be the first in her family to go to college. She's a math genius that I may or may not have taken some inspiration from the West Computers of NASA to write her character. She's the logical left-brained counterpart to Jin's manic pixie dream girl energy, she even tells Jin outright that it would be a bad idea for them to be together, but then she's the one to kiss him first after he saves her from a group of bullies. There are a lot of references to princesses and damsels in distress and princes and knights in shining armor, with Shirley telling Jin he is not her prince or her savior and she absolutely doesn't need him to be and him saying of course he isn't but if there's a time when he can take a punch for her he will every time. Shirley starts the film shutting out her emotions and focusing instead on the logical side of things, but as she slowly starts to fall in love with Jin she opens herself up to her feelings and emotions, and just as she inspired him to become a writer he inspires her to use her mathematical genius to become a programmer, (since at the time it was a relatively new career that seemed to be the career that the female computers were starting to move towards instead). Also Shirley has a very strong relationship with her family, it's a lot more loving and supportive than Jin's, but she still keeps their relationship a secret from them out of fear that this could be the thing that takes all of that away. She has a scene with her little brother when he walks in on her and Jin kissing, that is like the biggest turning point in terms of her journey with her emotions. In the end, she's the one to walk away first, but she's also the one that makes sure the two of them will never let go of each other in some way or another.

Anyways, I've probably rambled on about this movie for long enough and I doubt this film will ever be made and if it is it'll be years before that ever happens. I really wrote this script because I have always wanted to write a movie where an East Asian man is the handsome charming love interest and a darkskin black woman is the soft instantly loved beautiful main character in a romance movie, because these two groups of people almost never see themselves in those roles and they have never both been in those roles in the same movie which I personally think is a crime. This film will probably be my Magnum Opus if one day I have the money and ability to make it, because I love it so much and I would make sure that that love is in every single frame. The genre and the story itself is kind of cliche and played out and it's nothing like EEAAO or the big Blockbuster superhero movies with big effects and high concept sequences and storylines, but it's something soft and sweet and meant for people to see something new and different in a genre so familiar and done to death that is meant to make you feel like you've just been given a tiny glimpse at this one moment in the lives of two people who could have existed in the past with an emotional journey that I ultimately want to leave the audience with a sense of bittersweet longing and maybe one day it will

[dastardlydandelion]

my thoughts on fear street 1666 now that i finished scrubbing all the toilets, got to go home and watch it

holy shit. that movie. wow. 

it wasn’t as fun as the other two. didn’t employ the same campy tropes. didn’t present itself in a flourish of period typical style. while i enjoyed the first two films paying homage to classic horror tropes and making the most of the stylish side of their respective environments, i am v grateful and relieved that 1666 *wasn’t* as fun as the other two and actually presented the horror of puritan fanaticism and witch accusations more srsly. imo it portrayed that grave, twisting dread that the subject matter calls for. i appreciate that bc i think i would’ve been uncomfortable if they attempted to do smth more campy with the time period given what we already knew abt the circumstances of sarah’s death even before the film. 

more of me blathering on and on abt fear street 1666 under the cut: 

the twist actually worked on me this time. they actually got me on this one, u guys. i rly watched this franchise believing sarah fier was possessing ppl and wreaking her vengeance on the town, but this whole time it was the fuckin’ goodes. nick, i never liked u, i think ur more interesting than i did before before when u were a generic as generic gets asshole, so now ur somewhat more interesting but even bigger of an asshole than i gave u credit for. ur literally the worst asshole of assholes, ur a walking infected hemorrhoidal rectum of a human being. 

don’t get me wrong, i always thought sarah was going to be portrayed sympathetically. i never doubted that. my theory was that sarah was going to be a sympathetic villain. i thought 1666 would’ve revealed why she cursed shadyside. i figured she would’ve cursed her townsfolk for turning their backs on her, maybe, or hurting/killing hannah, or using her for her witchcraft and then getting angry if it backfired on them, or smth like that. i thought we were going to watch a story abt sarah’s descent into darkness and while she’d defo be a tragic villain, she rly would be the person behind the possessions...but it wasn’t even her. she and hannah were just vulnerable to the town’s suspicion and persecution bc they were queer women who didn’t behave the way society wanted them to behave. and they were blamed for evil actually wrought by heterosexual men in power, and when sarah realized there was no way out of it, she took the blame upon herself so hannah was spared and she cursed only the goode family?? 

THAT IS SO MUCH BETTER. FUCK. THAT IS SUCH A BETTER STORY. kudos to this trilogy for being more intelligent than it ever had to be, when it could’ve just skated on the notoriety of the fear street series, the style, and billing notable cast members. 

so yeh, i defo 100% appreciated the goode men from wealthy sunnyvale being revealed as the true villains. i actually got my wish of nick getting killed in the face. i love that sarah possessed deena to do it herself!!! and deena!! oh man, i love deena so much. she was wearing a homebrew vest to protect herself made of fear street novels + duct tape, u gotta love it. ig she wanted to prepare herself since sam stabbed her at the end of 1994. on that note, she’s v active in this film for someone who has a fresh abdominal stab wound and i mean, the situation defo calls for it, but i hope she remembered to properly dress it and take a couple ibuprofen or smth. shit, i’m gettin distracted again. okay!! 

i loved errything that went down in the mall. i adore that josh and adult ziggy got more time to shine. i was so! so! happy at martin’s inclusion on the action. he deserved that after the way nick treated him in 1994. our occupations are also p similar so i defo relate to martin on that front. i loved it all the neon and blacklight stuff at the mall. that part was v stylish, that was p cool. spraying the killers with the blood so they kill each other!! yes! that was perfect!! it was incredibly practical and enjoyable for me, as a gore fan, to watch. 

i liked the sticky note on the wall at the end from deena and josh’s dad, that he had a job interview. i wonder if this is bc the curse of shadyside has been lifted with the end of the goodes?? 

yk, i feel like now knowing what we know abt the actual evil, i gotta wonder how much re-watch value there is to be gleaned from this trilogy. for example, in 1978, nick liked ziggy and didn’t want her to die. he performed cpr on her even tho she’d been stabbed a fuck ton of times and tbvh, the chances of success of resuscitation depending on what exactly it is was ziggy succumbed to seem v slim. at first i attributed this to a suspension of disbelief bc this is fiction (and to be fair crazy do happen sometimes irl, ykw, sometimes reality can surprise u) BUT now i’m sittin here like...was the cpr successful bc nick’s deal with the devil gave him the power to do that?? did his bargaining of others’ souls and offering them up for possession grant him the ability to have some control in that situation somehow? at least more than a normal human being should?? idk. it’s a thought. 

what else, what else? 

i feel like outta the three, 1666 had the most tension overall. i was p gosh darn emo abt the relationships. deena and sam’s relationship i’ve cared abt since the beginning but the contrast of them getting the opportunity to have it and be together, in parallel to the way sarah and hannah’s ended just moves u. or, it moved me at least. sarah tells hannah they’ll go somewhere and kiss in broad daylight before kissing her in almost total darkness, and then the film ends on deena and sam kissing in the sun. i was also glad deena and josh’s sibling relationship got touched on a lil bit more. thought it was cute that she tried to cook for him and produced smth that just dead ass looks inedible. i also thought it was sweet that ziggy reunited with nurse lane. she can do that now, she can leave her house without fearing the return of the curse, and she deserves it. <3

i’m impressed with the trilogy overall. each movie easily could’ve been an r-rated goosebumps episode and imo all were certainly better than that. i feel like each film was better than the previous, but personally enjoyed each one. some things were p predictable but i think much of that is intentional. 1994 and 1978 were clearly paying homage to classic slashers and familiar horror tropes. i personally didn’t find the predictability off-putting bc i recognized what they were trying to do, and felt the quality in the other elements made up for it. i was genuinely shocked by the actual villain reveal, i personally didn’t predict that. again, i always thought sarah was going to be sympathetic and i never liked nick at all, but i didn’t suspect sarah was just. dead ass *not* going to be a villain or that he was going to be the big bad. 

really dug the style of these films. loved that we got an interracial lesbian couple who made it thru the trilogy without either the predatory lesbian trope or the byg trope happening. i liked most of the characters we got to know and the only character who *rly* grated on my nerves was the villain who got stabbed in the eye. 

gosh, i want more fear street movies!! if i had to pick one outta any of the slashers featured, i’d want to see ruby lane’s story. i would like to see this production team milking the most outta the environment in the 50s, the style of the 50s, music, and whatnot. i enjoyed nurse lane even tho she was super bad at murder, so it’d be cool to see her again and who she was before her daughter got possessed and killed 7 ppl. also, ruby sings when she kills?? 

that’s weird and creepy and neat. totally down for it. 

[peekbackstage]

The following is a summary of a conversation that occurred on Clubhouse a few weeks ago with a Chinese film/tv director (hereafter referred to as "CD".) We were in a room that was discussing the challenges the LGBTQ community faces in China. During the course of the discussion, one of the speakers mentioned The Untamed as an flawed example of Chinese queer representation, which ultimately led to a larger conversation on LGBTQ in the Chinese entertainment industry, as well as LGBTQ CPs.

To begin, I'll start by summarizing the discussion on The Untamed, as that was more or less what kicked off everything. One of the speakers asked the rest of the speakers on stage if anyone else had watched The Untamed, and expressed that they felt a little uncomfortable with the hype around the show, as they said that it failed to truly represent the contents of MDZS due to the fact that the Wangxian relationship was marketed as a "socialist brotherhood." Largely, this speaker believed that the director and the cast were trying to erase the queerness of the source material as they had not seen the BTS videos.

CD explained to the speaker that the only way they were able to actually get the show aired was by marketing it as a socialist brotherhood. It was then explained to the original speaker that The Untamed actually shot Wangxian with full respect to the source material. They were told about the BTS that showed how the directors and the cast often discussed Wangxian as a romantic relationship and not as a socialist brotherhood. This appeased the speaker and made them feel much better when it was also pointed out the whole fact that the production team left in the line about Lan Wangji being Wei Wuxian's zhi ji. CD mentioned that the whole rumor about socialist brotherhood being potentially considered for censorship is not just a rumor. This is actually something that is being discussed, which filmmakers are concerned about given the projects in the pipeline.

As a result of the conversation shifting to entertainment, CD then explained the following things:

There are actually quite a number of LGBTQ actors who are actively working in the Chinese entertainment industry, some of whom are actually quite well known. The industry is aware of who they are because while these actors will hide their sexuality from the public, they do not always hide it to the people who they work with. So essentially, these are the sort of things that everyone knows about but doesn’t share with the general public. CD stated that he would not answer any questions outing any actors, though stated he has worked with a number of gay closeted actors.

CD himself had a boyfriend while he was working as a director and was out to his colleagues. People in entertainment treated him with respect despite knowing his sexuality. He stated, “Even if they can’t accept my sexuality, they can still accept me as a person.” 

He also stated that when people in the industry work with gay actors, they may know that the actor is gay and is generally fine with it so long as the actor does not come out to the public. 

When asked specifically about LGBTQ CPs, such as the Guardian or Addicted CP, CD informed us that in the case of LGBTQ CPs, management companies are often “warned” about the popularity of the CP. (He did not clarify exactly when they would be warned, but most likely it would be after a show’s promotional period ends.) He also stated that companies are usually told to break such CPs because of their popularity. He did not go into further detail beyond that, but did state that the parties in a CP won’t be allowed to have as many activities or do things together in the future.

Other takeaways from the conversation included the fact that while some of the Chinese men on stage were out to their parents, largely it was a don’t-ask-don’t-tell arrangement. Overwhelmingly, their parents did not seem to be very supportive of their sexualities, which is why most of the men on stage were closeted. Some of them even stated that they felt they would one day be forced to marry a woman because of promises made to their family.

As a whole, the speakers felt that the generation born after 95 is much more accepting of the LGBTQ community as a whole, so there seems to be a lot of belief in GenZ.

On the topic of gay marriage, the speakers stated that generally, gay couples don’t have ceremonies or get married because they can’t actually get married, but in some places there are certain rights that LGBTQ couples can now enjoy. But, overwhelmingly, gay marriage ceremonies are not something that really happen in China. 

A note regarding bisexuality in Asia, as there were a number of speakers who spoke Chinese who were located in various parts of Asia:

Bisexual members of the LGBTQ community on stage felt like they had very little support from the Asian gay communities in particular, because of rampant biphobia often ends up with members of the gay community who try to invalidate their bisexuality. Many of the speakers expressed how their gay friends often would suggest that because they’ve slept with a member of the same sex, then they must be gay, and try to dissuade them from being bisexual. One bisexual woman stated that she was in the closet to her lesbian friends about her bisexuality because she feared that she would be ostracized and that she would lose her friends. (Apparently, biphobia is a really huge problem in Asia as a whole.) She also stated she had no friends with whom she could be out to, which was really sad. 

In general, the conversation was multifaceted and very personal in many ways, with many members of the LGBTQ community speaking about their personal experiences and the challenges they experienced.

I shared this summary of this Clubhouse conversation as I felt it would be informative. There were about 100 people in the room, so I don’t think sharing this conversation is somehow a breach of privacy. 

For those of you who read the above and have questions about a specific CP or BJYX in particular, please do not send them to me. I will not answer any questions about specific CPs or extremely specific asks that may identify a CP. 

[magdasabs]

wow, what a day… think I need a weekend from my long weekend lol. One of my best friends came out today so I had a longgg FaceTime with her which was just so glorious and really made my day.

But anyways, the debrief from this weekend: long story short the on/off ex-gf really pulled off an incredible weekend. I told her when we planned the trip that I had book club on Thursday after I was supposed to arrive and she had wine/dinner ready and she surprised me and actually read the book to participate in the book club (it was my month to pick the book so I couldn’t skip and we have some friends from high school in said book club so she knew people on the zoom). Friday we did one of those boat tours (I love a boat, we always do one when I visit even tho it’s tragically touristy) and then went shopping and just talked/caught up on our lives the past couple years. We always have this ability to pick up right where we left off, which is probably one of the reasons we have been so on/off. Then we met her brother and his girlfriend for dinner/drinks and had a really nice evening. Saturday was the Eurovision party, I was just trying to help out as much as I could and mostly ended up being bartender for the evening. Got hammered (obviously), cried when Ukraine won (bc I’m a baby), and accidentally petted a guy’s knee instead of the dog he was holding.

Sunday morning I made the decision to stay another night, I felt really uneasy leaving without having a discussion about what the status of our friendship/relationship was. I just really feel like I can’t redo the last time we were ‘together’ when we were doing long distance and never defined the relationship. It wasn’t healthy for either of us and I don’t think I can handle going through the way we ended things that time again. So basically, I told her what I can offer her in whatever sort of relationship/friendship/sneaky link situation we decide to have and what my expectations are, and that I want her to have the space to make a decision on what she wants based off that conversation. I think we left things in a pretty good place and we’re going on a little weekend trip to Amsterdam in 2 weeks and we’re going to figure things out from there.

-🥃🍸🍷🥂🍹🍻 (one day I’ll learn to actually leave an ask that’s not the length of a novel)

I love your novels drunk anon! keep them up please, also love how this is going with the on/off ex-gf, do let us know how Amsterdam goes. everything sounds so cute, like something out of a film 🥺 but an actual cool film and not those lesbian period dramas

[shezzaspeare]

Pilot/Episode 1: Patching Things Up With Pastiche & Fanfiction

Hi, hello, and the wait is finally over! My name is Blessie, and welcome to the first episode webisode log installation I've decided to call these things an episode for now because why not also let me know what do you actually call these things episode of The Science of Fanfiction, where we take a closer look into our beloved works of fanon because we've all got plenty of time to spare till Season 5. Before I continue, I would like to thank everyone who's liked and reblogged the last few posts before this one. It means a lot for a small and growing Tumblr user like me, and your support is something I cherish more than my modules. You guys rock!

Anyways, like with most things, we have to talk about the boring and bland stuff before we proceed with the fun stuff. For today, we are going to settle the difference between a couple of things: first being the confusion between pastiche and fanfiction; then the distinctions between tropes, clichés, and stereotypes, which we'll tackle the next time. It's important for us to establish their true meanings in order for us to really understand what fanfiction truly is, even if it's merely just a work done for the fandom. I know – it's boring, it's something that shouldn't be expounded that much, but I believe that all forms of writing (unless it's plagiarised) is a work of art — and fanfiction is not something we always talk about. I hope that by the end of this, you'll learn about what they really are as much as I did. Let's begin to talk about the—

[Image ID: A flashback of John (left) and Sherlock (right) finding an elephant (not in the screen) in a room in The Sign of Three. End ID]

. . . I did say that this GIF will always have to make an appearance here, didn't I?

So, just as with Sherlock Holmes, all other works of fiction have their own pastiches and fanfiction, and many more original works out there have taken inspiration from them to create their own books. Although they've gained popular attention, this will not be possible if they did not have taken inspiration from the materials their writers had at the time.

[Image ID: Various actors as Dracula. Jeremy Brett in 'Dracula' (1978) (upper left), Adam Sandler in a voice role for 'Hotel Transylvania' (2012) (upper right), Gary Oldman in 'Dracula' (1992) (lower left), and Bela Lugosi in 'Dracula' (1933) (lower right). End ID]

For instance, Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' (the second most adapted literary character, next to the consulting detective himself) has been portrayed on the screen over 200 times — from Gary Oldman to Adam Sandler — and has spawned off numerous books and pastiches of its own such as Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot'. Its cultural impact served as a basis of how we see vampires today, since some characteristics of the Count were made by Stoker himself. Stoker's creation is the brainchild of his predecessors and inspirations.

[Image ID: Vlad the Impaler (left) and a book cover of 'Carmilla' by J. Sheridan Le Fanu (right). End ID]

Other than the ongoing hysteria over dead back then and the existing vampire folklore, Stoker also took his inspirations from the published books on vampires he had at hand. He is said to have taken inspiration from Vlad the Impaler, a Romanian national hero known allegedly for having impalement as his favourite method of torture. He is also said to have been inspired by the J. Sheridan Le Fanu's 'Carmilla', a Gothic lesbian vampire novella that predates Dracula by 26 years. I could go on, but hey, we're going back to Sherlock Holmes now before I deviate any further. However, if you want to know about Dracula's literary origins, I suggest you watch Ted-ED's videos about the subject matter such as this one or this one.

Very much like Stoker, ACD didn't just conceive Holmes on his own. He took his own inspirations from what he had available at the time.

[Image ID: Dr Joseph Bell (left) and Edgar Allan Poe (right). End ID]

As we all know, ACD's biggest inspiration for Sherlock Holmes was one of his teachers at the Edinburgh University, Joseph Bell. He was famous for his powers of deduction, and he was also interested in forensic science — both characteristics which Holmes is greatly known for. He also drew inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe's sleuth, C. Auguste Dupin ('The Purloined Letter' & 'Murders in Rue Morgue'). As ACD himself has said at the 1909 Poe Centennial Dinner: "Where was the detective story until Poe breathed life into it?" Some other writers he took after are Wilkie Collins, Émile Gaboriau, and Oscar Wilde.

Now, what does this say about us Sherlockians/Holmesians (depending if you're the coloniser or the one that was colonised)? Basically, ACD laid the groundwork for us with Sherlock Holmes: his humble abode 221B that he shares with his flatmate Dr. John Watson, his adventures, memoirs, return, casebook, last vow, and all that. Now that we have this material at hand, we can now make our own versions, takes, or even original stories featuring the characters of the Canon. Our inspiration comes from ACD's Sherlock Holmes, and we now get the chance to make our very own stories/conspiracy theories about them.

As I have mentioned earlier, Sherlock Holmes is the most adapted literary character in history. He has been adapted in over 200 films, more than 750 radio adaptations, a ballet, 2 musicals; and he's become a mouse, a woman, a dog, even a bloody cucumber. On top of all that are numerous pastiches and fanfics, and finally, we have arrived at the main topic of our post!

Fanfiction and pastiche are often confused together since they have three common elements: they take after the original work, they usually use the characters in that original work, and more often than not do are they set in that same time frame/period or not long after that. The common misconception is that pastiche are printed fanfiction, which is only partly true. While pastiche is definitely fanfiction in some ways and vice versa, there are fanfictions out there that aren't necessarily classified as pastiche that have been published.

Let's get on with our definition of terms to clear up the confusion a little more. Pastiche, according to Literary Terms, is:

. . . a creative work that imitates another author or genre. It’s a way of paying respect, or honor, to great works of the past. Pastiche differs from parody in that pastiche isn’t making fun of the works it imitates – however, the tone of pastiche is often humorous.

A good example of a pastiche is Sophie Hannah's 'The Monogram Murders', which is her take from Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot.

[Image ID: A book cover of 'The Monogram Murders' by Sophie Hannah. End ID.]

Although this was a commission from Christie's estate, it's still considered as a pastiche as:

It's takes after Christie's writing style;

It is set in the early years of Poirot's career (1929), which is still within the time frame that the author wrote him in;

It features Poirot and;

It pays respect to Christie in a sense that it stays true to her (Christie) characters and way of storytelling.

Meanwhile, our good and slightly unreliable friend Wikipedia defines fanfiction as:

. . . is fictional writing written by fans, commonly of an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted characters, settings, or other intellectual property from the original creator(s) as a basis for their writing. [It] ranges from a couple of sentences to an entire novel, and fans can both keep the creator's characters and settings and/or add their own. [ . . . ] [It] can be based on any fictional (and sometimes non-fictional) subject. Common bases for fanfiction include novels, movies, bands, and video games.

To avoid any copyright infringement issues if I ever use a popular fanfic in the fandom, we'll use my (unfinished and unpopular) Sherlock Wattpad fic, 'Play Pretend'. You can read it here.

[Image ID: The second self-made book cover of Blessie/shezzaspeare's 'Play Pretend'. End ID]

Why is it considered a fanfiction and not a pastiche?

It takes after an adaptation of Sherlock Holmes (BBC Sherlock) which is a TV show, not the ACD canon itself;

The author (in this case myself) uses her own writing style and does not take after the original story's style;

Although it is set well in modern-day London and after Season 4, it also features scenes decades before the actual fanfic is set and outside of London;

I added a considerable number of characters, i.e. siblings to canon characters;

I had my own take some of the canon characters' personality especially after the events of Sherrinford;

It is written by a fan – myself. It is a work of fan labour and;

It is only a work of fanon, and isn't likely going to be considered by the show as its writing style is different from the actual show.

To put it simply, you can have more freedom in a fanfiction as it does not necessarily restrict you to follow or take after the original stories. Alternate universes (AUs) such as Unilock and Teenlock are perfect examples of this thing.

So can a pastiche be classified as fanfiction? Yes.

Can a fanfiction be classified as pastiche? Not all the time.

What's the difference? While yes, they share the basics, pastiche is technically leans more onto the original work's fundamental elements whereas fanfiction is a broader range of works inspired by the original work but doesn't necessarily follow all or any of its fundamental elements.

In order for us to understand it more, I'll give another example.

[Image ID: The 'Enola Holmes' title card (upper left) and Henry Cavill as its Sherlock holmes (upper right). Underneath it is a a scene from the opening titles of BBC Sherlock (lower left) and Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes in A Scandal In Belgravia. (lower right) End ID]

Most of you are familiar with these 21st-century adaptations of Holmes: the 2020 adaptation of Nancy Springer's Enola Holmes books and BBC Sherlock, which needs no further explanation – but for those who don't know, it's basically Holmes and the gang if they were alive today. I specifically chose these two as they are the ones that I believe would get my points across best. Though both are considered as wonderful pastiches with a well-rounded cast and awesome visuals, if we break them down bit by bit, we'll see which one is more of a pastiche and which one is more of a fanfic. (Yes, I know they're both screen adaptations. However, as Enola Holmes was based on the books and BBC Sherlock's fanfiction has the show's scenes written out in most fanfics, hear me out.)

They share these characteristics of a pastiche:

They feature characters from the Canon (Sherlock Holmes, Mycroft Holmes, and Lestrade);

They have additional characters added by the writers (Including but not limited to Molly Hooper, Eurus Holmes, and Philip Anderson for BBC Sherlock while Enola Holmes has Lord Tewkesbury, Eudoria Holmes, and Enola herself) and;

They pay respect to the original Canon as their stories are based on the cases (BBC Sherlock) or simply what was going on around them (Enola Holmes).

They also share these characteristics of a fanfic:

They are made by enthusiasts of Sherlock Holmes (Moffat has called himself and Mark Gatiss 'Sherlock Holmes geeks', while Nancy Springer's Enola Holmes books are not just one or two but six);

They follow a common trope (we'll discuss these tropes in the following episodes) that goes on in the fandom (Sherlock's Sister & Modern AU)

They are based on a fictional subject (Sherlock Holmes);

They used characters and story elements that are copyrighted by the author/author's estate (fun fact: prior to the production of Enola Holmes, the Conan Doyle Estate filed a lawsuit against Springer & Netflix over Sherlock's emotions since he was more 'sympathetic' than he was portrayed in the Canon – this was later dismissed by both parties) and;

Their writing styles don't necessarily follow ACD's.

Despite these similarities, there are very obvious differences between the two that separates them from being a pastiche and a fanfiction.

Enola Holmes embodies pastiche more as it doesn't stray far away from the original elements of the Canon. It's still set in Victorian England. While Springer added characters of her own and definitely twisted the Canon to suit her series, she didn't necessarily place them out of the social construct that was going on around the characters. It follows ACD's writing style more as Enola Holmes' setting still remains within the Canon's original setting.

Meanwhile, we can safely say that BBC Sherlock is a work of fanfiction. While it did give us The Abominable Bride, the main series focused on Holmes and Watson in 21st-century England, which is drastically different from Victorian England. There are phones, black cabs, and cellphones — things which ACD Sherlock Holmes doesn't have. It also diverted from the Canon in the characters themselves, which is mostly seen in the names: Henry Baskerville became Henry Knight, Charles Augustus Milverton became Charles Augustus Magnussen, the H in Dr Watson's name stood for Hamish and Sherlock's full name is actually William Sherlock Scott Holmes. They also changed the personalities of some Canon characters: Mary was actually an ex-assassin, Mrs Hudson was an exotic dancer who drove a kick-ass sports car, Irene Adler is a dominatrix, to name a few. Moffat and Gatiss created a world of their own featuring the characters of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, which is really what most of us fanfic writers do with Mofftiss' rendition of Holmes.

In conclusion: while pastiche and fanfiction could have been the same thing, they're actually not. There's more to them that just printed fanfiction or pastiche e-books, and we all should take some time to see and observe them in a closer perspective.

And that's it for our first episode! I hope you enjoyed it. It was a lot fun for me to write this, especially now that I'm only starting. I would also like to note that while intensive research has been done on this series, some parts of this comes from my own observation and opinion, which may vary from yours. I am very much open to criticism, as long as it is said in a polite and civil manner. I'm still young, and to be educated as I go is something that could really help me with this series.

Like and reblog this you like it. It helps out a lot. Be sure to follow me as well and the tags underneath if you want to see more of TSoF.

See you soon!

Blessie presents – The Science of Fanfiction: A Study In Sherlock (2021) • Next

Follow me! • My Carrd | My YouTube Channel

SOURCES • Pinterest, Google Images, Wikipedia, Literary Terms, Conan Doyle Estate, Definitions, The Sherlock Holmes Book, and Google

[semper-legens]

91. Pride, by Tim Tate with LGSM

Owned?: Yes Page count: 289 My summary: The true story of striking miners in the Dulais valley in the mid 80s, and one of the groups who supported them, a London-based group called Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners. My rating: 5/5 My commentary:

Pride 2014 is one of my favourite films of all time. It tells this story, of gay people in London banding together to support striking miners and raise funds. Ultimately, the strike did not end in success, but bonds of solidarity were forged between the gay community and the mining community that benefitted both. It’s a story of solidarity, and we need more stories of solidarity out there in the world. People shouldn’t be focused on the differences between minority communities, we need to be standing together and against the forces of oppression on every axis.

On that subject, the credited author of this book outright states in the intro that, as a middle-class straight guy, he doesn’t want this book to be in his voice, so it’s presented as interviews with the people who were there at the time, with him occasionally popping in to give historical context. Which is great, and a really cool way to present the information, but sometimes I got the sense that he didn’t really get what he was talking about. Like, he mentioned a few times something to the effect of the ‘unlikely friendship’ between miners and gay people...and yet, a majority of the gay people interviewed were from working-class backgrounds, some from mining communities themselves. It’s almost like people aren’t usually one minority in isolation, but there is solidarity and interconnectivity between minority identities. Funny, that.

Overall, though, this is an excellent book, and a more in-depth look at the history than the film. I loved seeing passages about how the gay community came together in support of the miners - in particular, Derek Jarman and Paul O’Grady being mentioned as helping at various points - and how the miners responded to the disgusting attacks on their communities from the government in general and Thatcher specifically. Seriously, if there’s anyone in the world who likes Thatcher, there is something horribly wrong with them. But yeah, if you like the movie or are interested in this particular slice of history, this book is an excellent look into that period and these events.

Next, back to horror, and a town corrupted by the spiral.

[swiftgronmasterpost]

Spring 2012 - The Swiftgron Spring

Click here for a vibes playlist appropriate to this part of the timeline.

Taylor writes Holy Ground some time in February 2012:

Never missing a chance to be unbearable, Dianna takes this proto Folklore aesthetic photoshoot with Ashley and others at the beginning of March (the 4th?) (which makes me think Taylor and Dianna may have started something up at or around that February Oscars party, she’s certainly spending a bit of quality time with Taylor’s two best friends at this point):

And Dianna’s in a good mood:

The Speak Now Tour ends March 18, 2012 and right after it seems like Swiftgron is inseparable.  I think mid March is the official beginning to their relationship though it’s possible they had been in touch on and off since 2010 and it’s also possible that they started a long distance flirtation in the fall of 2011 (or perhaps at the end of February 2012 given Dianna starts hanging out with Taylor’s friends while she’s back on tour - but Taylor hasn’t followed Dianna on Twitter yet) but all I know for sure is they hang out constantly starting at the end of March 2012.

March 25, 2012 - Hunger Games Movie Date

The first Swiftgron solo hang that we know of Dianna and Taylor go to see The Hunger Games - Taylor had two songs on the movie soundtrack!  There’s no press there to see them so it really does appear they just went to catch the film together.  Dianna tweets about it but doesn’t mention Taylor but some fans take a picture of them so we know they were there together.

Also right before or on this day Taylor start to follow Dianna on twitter:

A couple other things to note about this day:

It rained all day!

It rains rarely in LA but I think this was the inspiration for the lyric “all I know is pouring rain and everything has changed”

This was also a Sunday and a matinee which of course Taylor sings about later in the song The 1.

March 28, 2012 - Dianna is feeling grateful:

So grateful she writes out a list and tweets Taylor (among others) about it!

The first thing she is grateful for is, “My heart, which is open!”

She also mentions “new” and “exciting” which Taylor perhaps references in the Swiftgron anthem Wonderland with the lyric “didn’t it all seem new and exciting?”

March 30, 2012 - Dinner at Il Pastaio

Two days later after Dianna’s happy tweets she is having dinner with Taylor and Taylor’s mother Andrea (meeting the parents for the first time?)

It seems that Dianna leaves out a side or back door to avoid being spotted but this article notes that she was there:

If their first date was the Hunger Games (which the pouring rain lyric in EHC makes me think it was), Dianna was meeting Taylor’s mother less than a week later! “Didn’t they tell us don’t rush into things” indeed!

That night Dianna is tweeting about someone with a great attitude and a funky spirit:

March 31, 2012 - Kids’ Choice Awards and Dianna’s House Party

This guy tweets a bunch proving that Taylor was at Dianna’s house party after the 2012 Kids’ Choice Awards. 

This is significant because everyone made a big deal about Taylor dancing a bit to You Don’t Know You’re Beautiful (and she is dancing around in an adorably dorky manner with Selena, Claire, lesbian icon Sharpay Evans [she’s come a long way since East High School! Go Wildcats!], and Katy Perry):

Here’s the full performance:

The camera pans over to Taylor five times.  Haylor shippers sometimes point to this as the start of their romance but to me it reads as though a PRomance is in the works or perhaps fans’ reactions to Taylor enjoying 1D (of course we all know how she loves to sing about women from the male perspective) prompted the idea of Haylor.  

All I know is that she went to Dianna’s house that night not out with Harry so who do you think was important to her at that point?

April 1, 2012 -  Taylor is at the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas - she wins entertainer of the year and please look at Ashley’s reaction to suggestions that Taylor is dating Tim Tebow:

Then all the girls go to NYC together (even though it appears as though Taylor has no work related reason to be in NYC - Dianna is there to do some press.)

April 7, 2012 - Dinner at Otto:

April 8, 2012 - Spending time together at the Bowery (eye twitches) Hotel 

and for all the Haylor shippers? Harry didn’t show up...

April 9, 2012

Taylor is in Nashville:

Dianna stays behind in NYC and appears on The VIew.

April 11, 2012 - Taylor posts about recording Red (it appears to be Nashville due to the tweets surrounding it)

(Who’s got her so happy?)

April 12, 2012 - Taylor is still in Nashville

Dianna on Jimmy Kimmel (in NYC)

Ashley is with her!

Jimmy decides to get cute and brings up the “love triangle” between Dianna, Taylor, and Tim Tebow.  When she denies anything is going on with Tim he asks her if she’s dating Taylor. Dianna says “Noooo!” in what appears to be a brief split instance of surprise and panic but recovers smoothly and plays it off as a joke.  She quips, “Wouldn’t that be juicy?”  and turns to the camera to blow a kiss before saying, “Hi Taylor.”

Conclusion - Swiftgron is now traveling together.  Dianna and Taylor’s friend groups have completely meshed.  Taylor appears to go to New York simply to accompany Dianna since Taylor had no work related reason to be in the city that we know of.

The “I guess you’re in New York today” part of Come Back... Be Here (to be written later this spring) may be inspired by the period time where Taylor had to leave New York to work on Red while Dianna had to stay in NYC for work.

ALSO! Sometime this Spring Dianna answers a question about Taylor on her YM&C Blog and says she’d like to sing Ours on Glee:

Very cute since Ours is so soft and about choosing to love one another even though other people may object.

Click here to keep reading!

[shewholovestoread]

Fear Street Trilogy Review

Beware, spoilers ahead.

I love horror movies but good horror movies are so hard to come by. Fear Street grabbed my attention as soon as they released the first trailer, it looked like a call-back to the slasher films of old, back when they were still good. And the best part was the apparent presence of lesbians, count me in!

Fear Street is based on the books by the same name by R. L. Stine, a lot of us remember Stine for another horror classic, Goosebumps. The Fear Street novels were aimed at older audiences and were way more bloody than Goosebumps- lots of teenagers dying. The films don’t adapt any particular book but rather the tone and rough setting and I think that works to its advantage.

The Setting:

Fear Street is based on the fictional town of Shadyside, the poorer and more unfortunate twin of its sister-town Sunnyside. Sunnyside is sunny, wealthy and where nothing bad ever happens. Shadyside in contrast is poorer, the homes more run-down and where, every few years, some resident snaps and goes on a murderous rampage, killing their own friends, family or whoever they can get their hands on. There are those who believe that Shadyside is cursed by Sarah Fier, a witch who was hanged in the 1600s when she cut off her hand and used it to curse the town.

Fear Street Part 1:

1994 functions like the introduction and set-up for the trilogy. It introduces us to the characters, Deena (Kiana Madeira), Sam (Olivia Scott Welch), Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr.), Kate (Julia Rehwald) and Simon (Fred Hechinger). They unwittingly trigger the curse when they stumble across the bones of Sarah Fiers, soon killers are chasing them, killing-machines powered by the curse and who can’t be killed. Deena, Sam, Josh, Kate and Simon have to put aside their differences and work together to survive the night.

Fear Street Part 2: 1978

1978 opens with the survivors of 1994 going to C. Berman (Gillian Jacobs), the lone survivor of the Camp Nightwing massacre. It provides insight into the massacre that saw dozens of Shadyside kids being killed. 1978 takes us back to the day leading up to the bloody night. We meet the Berman sisters, Ziggy and Cindy (Sadie Sink and Emily Rudd respectively), Alice (Ryan Simpkins) and Tommy (McCabe Syle) When an axe-wielding murderer starts butchering the camp residents, Cindy and Alice, while trying to escape, stumble into the cave system that runs under the camp and discover Sarah’s hand and that the only way to break the curse is to reunite the hand with her body. However, they are unable to break the curse when they realise that the body is not buried where they thought it would be. Alice, Cindy and Ziggy are killed by the cursed murderers with only Ziggy being revived thus being labeled the lone survivor. In the present day, Deena and Josh dig out the hand from where Ziggy and Cindy left it, when Deena reunites the hand with the body, she sees visions of Sarah Fiers, leading us into the third and final film.

Fear Street Part 3: 1666

1666, the year it all started. We see the events play out leading up to the hanging. Deena is inside Sarah’s body, seeing and experiencing her life as if it were own. We learn that it was never Sarah’s curse, but in fact it was the Goodes who had made a deal with the devil, securing power for themselves (their descendants are the mayor and sheriff in 1994) Sarah Fiers was just the scapegoat. Every time someone saw a vision of Sarah, she was trying to show them the truth and un-dead killers hunted them to keep them from exposing it.

The films work individually but their impact really hits home once you’ve watched all 3. Leigh Janiak crafts such an intricate story and links 3 time periods, weaving them through each other seamlessly. With 3 films, she also has the time to invest in these different time periods and the characters that inhabit them.

The story, both in terms of individual films as well as the trilogy as a whole, is engaging and engrossing. It keeps the audience on their toes and the edge of their seats, waiting and dreading as the bodies pile up. Janiak also grounds the story so that it feels real even as the characters are fighting off un-dead killers, adding to the nail-biting tension.

There’s plenty to admire for a horror film buff, from the Scream reference in 1994, to Friday the 13th in 1978 and The Witch (or VVitch) in 1666. There’s also a good amount of gore to be found along with some really inventive ways of killing, who knew bread cutters/slicers could be so menacing.

There’s so much attention to detail in terms of costume and production design that you really feel like you’re in 1994, 1978 or even 1666. All of these work to draw you in as the viewer, adding to the authenticity on screen. The clothes and places feel lived-in. The song choices are amazing with popular hits from 1994 and 1978, the soundtrack definitely elevates the visuals. The original score in 1666 was absolutely gorgeous, especially Deena and Sam’s theme.

The sequence of the films with 1994 being the first, followed by 1978 and finally 1666 was a great choice with each film revealing a little more of the puzzle till all the pieces are revealed in 1666. It keeps the tension alive and keeps the characters and the audience constantly guessing. It also allows Janiak to sprinkle just enough subtle clues that become apparent when rewatching the films.

The characters are one of the best things in the trilogy, they are so well written, and I mean that for almost all of the main cast which is rare. One of the best things that Janiak does is repeat actors, especially the principle cast. For instance, a lot of actors we see in 1994 and 1978 appear in 1666 playing different roles but with a similar dynamic. It helps tell the story without worrying about too many new faces and worrying about whether or not the audience will be able to keep track of them. The return of old faces also ensures that the audience is already a little invested in them and their well-being.

Small side-note: I really appreciated that there was no sexual violence. It always worries me when I start a horror show/film and it was such a relief that they did not go that route. There is a lot of violence and a lot of people and kids die but it’s always just slightly campy enough that keeps it from being genuinely disturbing.

One of the things that always irk me with slasher films (especially the old ones) are how white they were, no characters of colour and if there were any, they always died. There were also no queer characters. Fear Street undoes that beautifully, all of our main characters are outsiders, they are people of colour, they are queer. In another film, they would have been nameless characters, among the first to die. Here they are the heroes. I loved all of them and I hated that Alice, Kate and Simon died, to be honest, I expected the core group to survive, Kate especially.

Fear Street is also unapologetically feminist and Janiak does this without it being too obvious. The central conflicts in the story are between women (sister/ friends/ ex-girlfriends) but they also band together and fight for each other. It’s worth noting that most of the core relationships are between women (Deena-Sam, Ziggy-Cindy-Alice, Sarah-Hannah) and those are not coincidences.

I loved how gay this trilogy was, Deena and Sam’s love for each other was the driving force and was at the heart of the story. Even in 1666, Sarah’s crime was not so much witchcraft as it was daring to love someone you’re not supposed to and fighting back against the proprietary nature of the men who sought to control them. Sarah and Hannah loved each other fiercely and we see that same love reflected hundreds of years later in Deena and Sam who fight for each other relentlessly. I also appreciated that Deena and Sam were exes instead of a new relationship. It meant that they already had history, they shared a familiarity and comfort with each other that a new relationship would have had to build onscreen.

The Fear Street Trilogy is one of the best horror trilogies I’ve seen in a while, each film is consistently great and delivers gore and violence coupled with immense heart. It has one of the best queer relationships I’ve seen on screen and spoiler alert, they get a happy ending. I’m sick and tired of lesbian women dying or separating because of realism. Damn realism, give me happy women loving women and who live through their traumatic ordeal. Watch Fear Street for them if for nothing else. Now excuse me as I prepare to rewatch the trilogy.

[whatiwillsay]

off topic - let’s talk about gaylena 👀

selena gomez is one of taylor’s oldest and bestest friends and given that she is in the 22 liner notes, a huge part of taylor’s life, and maybe fruity herself it seems like possibly we don’t talk about her here at the blog enough!

i don’t want to do a timeline of selena and taylor’s friendship - you can read more about that here, but they met back in the day when they were both dating jonas brothers and to me this idea of finding a real friendship in the midst of these contrived promances is pretty adorable.

ofc most of y’all think taylor is a fruit basket but i think there’s a good chance that selena is too!  i’m not saying she is for sure but y’all know me.  i’’m here to make a compelling case that everyone and their dog is gay so let’s gooooo! 

Part I - At least one fake rs!  

Selena “dated” Taylor Lautner in 2009 and he’s definitely gay.  Of course, that doesn’t mean she is, it could just be PR, but y’all know I gotta note everything!  We stan our fruity bffs dating the same gays 😍

Part II - Selena x cara delevingne

i feel like there’s a chance they met through taylor but everyone in that squad adjacent circle knows one another.  cara dated michelle rodriguez for the first half of 2014 and then got with annie clark in March 2015 but it feels like it’s possible something has gone on between her and Selena from summer 2014 - early 2015? ...maybe something casual on and off a bit?

August 2014 - Steamy pics surface in Saint-Tropez, France

Selena and and a freshly single Cara vacation together in part to celebrate Selena’s 22nd birthday.

They party together and look cozy!

Pictures such as this surface and spark rumors around the two:

Selena apparently loves the rumors and gushes about being shipped with Cara.

Quote:

You say Selena drag queens were the true measure of success for you. But isn’t it true that you’re not truly famous until you’ve been the subject of a gay rumor? And last year, the tabloids had a field day with photos of you and Cara Delevingne. I’ve made it!

How did you react to those rumors? Honestly, I loved it. I didn’t mind it. Especially because they weren’t talking about other people in my life for once, which was wonderful. Honestly, though, she’s incredible and very open and she just makes me open. She’s so fun and she’s just extremely adventurous, and sometimes I just want that in my life, so I didn’t mind it. I loved it.

Notice she doesn’t deny them?  Now of course she could just be being cool, if she freaked out about it that might be even weirder but hey, it’s still kind of interesting.

Then she admits to questioning her sexuality???

Have you ever questioned your sexuality? Oh, I think everybody does, no matter who they are. I do, yeah, of course. Absolutely. I think it’s healthy to gain a perspective on who you are deep down, question yourself and challenge yourself; it’s important to do that.

(Selena btw, this is cool and all, but not everybody questions their sexuality, maybe you’re just gay 👀)

November 1 - LACMA Art + Film Gala 

they even left the event together 👀

and they hung out earlier that day as well:

They were seen the next day partying for Kendall Jenner’s bday singing to her:

a few weeks later Cara tweets Selena’s lyrics!

In December 2014 they are travelling together in texas:

in january 2015 they get cozy at the golden globes together!

and they leave together again:

January 19th/20th a bunch of gay nonsense happens

They post this gay shit with matching shoes and linked fingers:

then they say this to one another:

Enty says they were hooking up!

then we don’t get any more content that i can find for about six months! perhaps they had a fling from summer 2014-jan 2015 and then it ends, Cara gets with Annie in March?  Then after half a year apart Selena and Cara resume a friendly relationship?  Perhaps!  Selena is seen with Justin a bit off and on during this time but this was in their Style/Heat Death Era imo (tbh i probably shouldn’t give a hetty pairing including Justin that designation 🤢but y’all get what I’m saying - it’s fully possible Selena was hooking up with both of them!

Now I’m not super familiar with Selena’s discography so y’all lmk if I’m missing anything major - lyric wise that point to her not being straight.

Selena’s album Revival that comes out after this relationship has a few songs with some vibes, even though I get the feeling a lot of it is probably about Justin, allow me to reach.  The title track could be translated as someone coming to terms with their sexuality (among other things):

I feel like I've awakened lately The chains around me are finally breaking I've been under self-restoration I've become my own salvation Showing up, no more hiding, hiding The light inside me is bursting, shining It's my, my, my time to butterfly

Good for you, imo, is too sexy to be about a man even if it’s not super queer lyrically it’s a vibe ok?

Me & My Girls might be a bestie anthem a la 22 (oh wait, no 22 was gay too) but I mean...could be about a girl gang of lesbians too!

And if we want it, we take it If we need money, we make it Nobody knows if we fake it You like to watch while we shake it I know we're making you thirsty You want us all in the worst way But you don't understand I don't need a man 

Quinn Fabray indeed!

Nobody feels probably like a retrospective on Justin 🙄but...there is a hint of sapphic craving in there!  Saying this particular lover loves them differently than everyone is a bit 👀 plus this stanza:

No oxygen, can barely breathe My darkest sin, you've raised release And it's all because of you, all because of you And I don't know what it is, but you've pulled me in No one compares, could ever begin To love me like you do And I wouldn't want them to

Is Perfect about some bitch Justin started dating?  Probably but bear with me here this song is actually pretty fucking gay.  Gay enough that I’m gonna add it to one of my gay playlists.  Could this song actually be about Cara moving on to Annie?

Ooh, and I bet she has it all Bet she's beautiful like you, like you And I bet she's got that touch Makes you fall in love, like you, like you

I can taste her lipstick and see her laying across your chest I can feel the distance every time you remember her fingertips Maybe I should be more like her Maybe I should be more like her I can taste her lipstick, it's like I'm kissing her, too And she's perfect And she's perfect

Part III - Selena x Julia Michaels

Julia Michaels is a singer/songwriter known for her song Issues.  I don’t know her sexuality but she at the least has gay vibes!  It seems they met around this time perhaps because Julia wrote on Revival.

They have a friendly enough friendship for a few years, liking one another’s posts on IG from time to time, posing for a photo a time or two and then they seem to get swept up into this very intense friendship in 2019.  They write some music together and Julia goes whole hog in promoting the shoe brand Selena is hawking this time 😭

2019 - The Superior Sapphic Jelena Timeline:

It starts, for some reason with a lot of shoe promotion:

chill, chill

more shoes

but more gayness?

this homo shit

ok...

Then we go into the REALLY GAY NOVEMBER OF 2019:

Then they perform together:

And...actually kiss...on the mouth on stage???

Sure it’s just a peck but still...if that were a guy people would say they were dating.  

Somehow kissing on the mouth isn’t the gayest thing these girls do over this period because these fucking dykes got matching tattoos.  I’ve read enough Larry blogs to know this actually means they’re secretly married.  All jokes aside this is fruity behavior. 

From their IG stories:

Selena gets Julia a very nice christmas gift:

Covid sets in and content drops off but god damn!  It’s possible they just had an intense friendship but if a man and a woman collabed on music together, kissed in public, and got matching tattoos everyone would say they were dating!

Selena, as far as I can find, didn’t have any public boyfriends around this time so who are some of these love songs about?

Rare comes out in January 2020 and perhaps has some gayish songs?

Don’t tell me why but boyfriend lowkey, has a gay vibe.  Don’t ask me to explain it but it’s just the musicality of it.

Crowded Room could be a love song for Julia?  (or by Julia for Selena, since they’re collaborators?)

Baby, it's just me and you Baby, it's just me and you Just us two Even in a crowded room Baby, it's just me and you, yeah

These are general gay vibes, our secret moments in a crowded room tease

It started polite, out on thin ice 'Til you came over to break it I threw you a line and you were mine

It would have started out polite between them, since they worked together for years before whatever 2019 was happened.  And throwing someone a line first of all makes Selena sound like the aggressor but also “throwing someone a line” could be a reference to writing songs together.

Yeah, I was afraid, but you made it safe I guess that is our combination Said you feel lost, well, so do I So won't you call me in the morning? I think that you should call me in the morning If you feel the same, 'cause

Lots of people are afraid at the beginning of a gay rs.  Treacherous tease 👀

In summation!

Selena does gay stuff like fantasizing ab kissing other women in her music, getting very touchy with famous dykes on vacay, hangs out with Taylor Swift, has chronic mental health issues, dated a jonas brother and a twilight gay, has admitted to questioning her sexuality, and loves being shipped with women.  Is she gay?  I don’t know!   But all she’s missing from her celesbian bingo card is a suspiciously intense friendship with a Glee Cast member! What do you guys think?  Selena fruity or just weird?

Edit to add: so apparently I missed an entire ship and Selena supposedly acted really gay all the time with her backup dancer Charity Baroni.  Exposing SMG has posted a lot about all that.

Also Selena has been cast in a gay role! edit to add: @bisluthq went and found this for me - julia is indeed a fruit queen

[tlbodine]

Girl Power, Two Ways

Asian horror movie nights continue, this time with two women-centered films that otherwise could not be any more different. 

Tag (2015), or Real Onigokko in Japan, is...an experience. It’s directed by Sion Sono and based on a novel by Yusuke Yamada. Described as “arthouse meats grindhouse” it is equal parts over-the-top violent and inscrutably weird. The entire film operates on dream logic, which makes it a bit hard to summarize, but the basic gist of it is that a school girl survives a horrifying ordeal that kills off all of her classmates; she manages to escape, finds her way back to the school, and discovers...that everyone is alive and well and maybe she dreamed it all? Except then everyone dies again in a new and differently horrific way. What follows is a series of recurring scenarios that always end in death and mayhem, held together by quieter scenes of introspection and philosophical discussion. 

The film is fun to study from a feminist and queer theory perspective, and it does feature a lesbian/yuri main character front-and-center. There’s a LOT of symbolism and ideas to unpack within the story. Unfortunately, the whole thing kind of failed to gel for me, partly because it’s really never established what is “real” in the world (since we jump between realities so much) and without any sense of baseline to compare to, I found myself really disconnected from the events that were happening (because none of them seemed to really matter). By the time we reach the big reveal at the end explaining what’s going on, it was kind of impossible to tell whether this is actually a real explanation or if this is just another dream-like alternative world scenario. 

Intriguing, though, and the opening scene is a true spectacle of blood and guts. 

The Housemaid (2016), directed by  Derek Nguyen, is the first Vietnamese film on our list! (I myself have seen Muoi: Legend of a Portrait, which is Vietnam’s first horror movie, but it is proving impossible to find streaming anywhere right now so I haven’t watched it for this film series yet) 

ANYWAY, this film is a period piece in 1953, set during the First Indochinese War, a period of history I admittedly know nothing about. It’s about an orphaned country girl who takes a job at a French rubber plantation that turns out to be more than a little haunted. Worse, she ends up falling for the landowner -- feelings which are reciprocated, but made more than a little complicated by him having a fiancee. 

This film is a delight. It stutters a little bit with pacing, and the ending might be a lil divisive, but overall this is a very Gothic film that leans hard into all the right tropes. If you like Gothics, you’ll probably enjoy this one.