#i get it now i get why people flip out over representation

[dnickels]

Its been six years and we all know this but the writing on Terror is so tight I can never get over it. Take one line: "It is no accident the world was reborn clean out of an ark" and think of all the the things it tells us about Irving, how he understands the world and how he understands himself. Not just "this guy is religious" but that he understands their situation to be analogous to one of the more dire acts of God, the total destruction of all life on earth as punishment for humanity's transgressions. But clearly, since he's on the ark, he must be one of he elect. An ominous fin parts the water and the many-toothed maw of Calvin breaches the surface, then disappears back to the depths. But of course one can never be sure of one's own righteousness, guarding always against vanity, so total withdrawal from the wicked world and constant internal surveillance of one's own nature is a must.

Because of course if someone volunteers that they think it good to be separated from the temptations of the world, even under such dire circumstances, we start wonder what those temptations are-- what's keeping you from getting a seat on the ark?

It also distinguishes him from the expedition's other vocal evangelical, Sir John. Think of the difference between angels soaring overhead, the invisible world of light etc, and the scouring violence of the flood to make the world clean. The difference between "God loves you :)" and "God will take a brillo pad to your sinful flesh...because he loves you".

And if we wanted to stretch this bad boy beyond the bounds of reasonable inference (my favorite) we could place him among early 19th century scriptural geologist types who are using the tools of the Enlightenment to try and walk back any philosophical gains by proving that the Biblical flood was a real and literal occurrence that left worldwide evidence. This isn't a story he's telling himself, its the physical observable reality of the world. It's carved in the rock. And yet, when someone implies that they don't believe, its catastrophic. You're not supposed to think about it too hard. You're not allowed.

He's trying to share this very personal, foundational, soul-deep belief that suffering is good because its part of the plan, whether it be in obeying orders that dont make sense (build the ark while bystanders call you a fool) or enduring extreme conditions (forty days of rain while everyone you know drowns) or the day to day ordeal of wrestling with one's own depravity. It can be joyful! Its good to be chosen! There's a rainbow promise coming at the end! Singing is fun! And Hickey looks at him like he's out of his mind and that's when the shouting starts.

The entire scene is what, less that three minutes? But I could mine it for days. Hats off

[nalyra-dreaming]

Pre season 2 rant - heavy on sarcasm!

This is the... well by now somewhat meditated on rant I promised a while ago. It has a lot of cussing, so be warned.

It is a… summary comment about some views I‘ve seen around, from “bad writing“ to the “abuse“ and other things. Oh, and it's about the "lying" subject. With receipts!

I‘m getting this out of my system before season 2 hits, and before more of the press leading up to it is released, because cast, crew and writers as well as the show have given us all of it already and, tbh, if I‘m going to see anyone scream “bad writing“ or “Louis being made a liar or the memories revisited/changed is racism“ when the changes will hit I‘m just gonna block you.

Fair warning.

This is long… so under the cut.

This show has made color-conscious choices. Brilliantly so. They also have an astonishing meta level.

And what we saw was not the truth.

That much is clear now. HAS ACTUALLY BEEN CLEAR FROM THE END OF SEASON 1 ON.

Jacob has said at the TCA panel that Louis is trying to regain his true memories.

Here is a reminder of some key statements by cast and crew:

Here are interviews and statements by Assad and Jacob and Sam and Rolin and the writers & producers that what we have seen was not the (whole) truth, that Louis’ tale has been “tinkered” with, influenced.

I'm heroically refraining from adding the gifs of Rolin and his statement again. Which are from the episode insider… and remember when that aired?! Yeah… 😒

But I've seen things recently that make me want to pull my hair out, to be frank. For example this, behind the link:

...Like, not making him a whole flat ass liar is actually the point, guys. And no it does not undermine the story....

As the writers said:

I mean, I get it to an extent. It's becoming clearer and clearer that the show some people made up in their heads is not the one they'll be getting. (We've been trying to tell them, but hey.)

Yeah.... That.

Unfortunately @blackgirlasis has blocked me, (and I have returned the favor now that I noticed), we only discussed something recently, but I think the reason might have been after I posted that video, in which it is literally said that "not everything Louis says is a lie", which, given her statements here might speak for itself, especially this part of that statement:

"It is actually ACTIVELY harmful to perpetuate the idea that the Black characters aren't to be trusted with the narrative and that we need Lestat to come through with the honest accounting."

You know, I would actually agree! Which is also why I always emphasized that we did not get the WHOLE truth. I also kept more than hinting at the fact that Armand is, well Armand.

BUT - and here it gets interesting - why is JACOB's - a BLACK man's - statement discarded? Why do they do not want to hear it that Louis does, in fact, lie? And, just to be clear - I do not NEED Louis to lie, nor be proven a liar, and I think the show will do its damndest to explain via the "tinkering" that Armand did. They will give some of the blame to Armand.

But to flip one's shit over argumentation that the MAIN CHARACTER, a BLACK MAN has already stated... that is what I find interesting.

Like, why do you* (*generally spoken, not her especially) accuse people of racism over this, when HE has already said that Louis does, indeed, lie. Why is he not actually listened to? I don't get that. Why is agency taken away from a living, breathing person to give it to a fictional character? Why is his statement that "not all representation needs to be healthy representation" not kept in mind?

Louis is Louis. Louis being color-consciously handled didn't "change the character an awful lot".

JACOB said that. Here. Interestingly enough in a comment about the racial consideration the show does(!).

Louis is NOT a whole other character despite the changes, and the twists that will happen in season 2 were always set to come, as the friggin' video of BEFORE the show aired is proof of. They talked about all that. They know it didn't all happen as shown. They knew Louis did lie. But NOT about everything.

They also knew that some of the scenes did not happen (at least as shown). And now... "it’s clear that Louis is somebody hugely angry with a man he loved deeply and now presents them as a monster…" Also Jacob Anderson.

Presents. Them. As. A. Monster.

Bailey Bass said in the SDCC interview, that it is not clear who is the "villain here" in various scenes, interestingly enough, because the dynamic keeps changing. Which of course was after they shot a myriad of scenes that would not make it into the final s1 cut. Again: why is she not listened to? Why do you take her agency away to give it to a fictional character?

And I'm not even starting on the others. Sam. Rolin. The writers.

Also, re the abuse and scenes being revisited. Again, screenshot as example:

There is nothing simple about this show. Especially that scene.

BUT the show knows what it‘s doing! I'm not going to rehash all that here now, here are links on that.

AND THE WRITERS SAYING IT WILL BE REVISITED... is from December 21, 2022.

DECEMBER 22.

A revisit and a change of that scene will not be bad writing. (Or tasteless.) They already DID so in the last episode of season 1, continuing that will simply fall into line with what we have already been given. That's not bad writing. That's just the show, and there's people who just did not want to examine that.

Because it will be echoed, and it will serve a purpose.

I know the show did the meta level of patriarchal domestic abuse, but for fuck‘s sake, the story itself is about vampires struggling, and Louis is struggling.

The show has a meta level of abuse, and patriarchy, and recognizing is valid and the meta discussions are too.

But Louis is not chained to his coffin guys, he could have left, and a fight which shows off power discrepancies within the show story line is not automatically domestic abuse.

*slow clap*

No-one wants this to happen for the sake of "redeeming" Lestat. Because he does not need that redemption. They're all murderers and monsters.

They kill. For a living. LITERALLY.

THEY ARE VAMPIRES It's not about vampires trying to find their humanity.

It's about vampires trying to find a way to live with themselves, because they are, indeed, monsters.

Doubting the narrative which was TORN APART WITHIN THE SHOW is not the same as bad writing or racism FFS, nor is actually looking at what we're given - and knowing the fucking, 50 year old books. And recognizing the hints and parallels.

I have also seen the take that Lestat isolated Louis... and like, did we watch the same show? You know, even with the vampirism (which, of course™, could not free Louis as promised)...

Months of flirting openly in NOLA, public wooing. DECADES LIVING IN NOLA. Operas. Restaurants. Family dinners. (And Louis stopping Lestat there, AS a mortal...) Cleaning the cribs, years of "human entanglement" because Louis wanted it.... Banjo barbecues, political influence, wakes... Everybody knew.

(Like, I could pull up gifs here.)

"Isolation". Right. It has nothing, at all, to do with the Rite of Passage, or Louis' depression.

Of course not.

I mean, Jacob says that Louis is very depressed during the time leading up to the fight, and his and Sam's discussion here is interesting as well, but hey, I mean, why listen to the actual black actor, right.

As a last thing.

Yeah. Tell me you know nothing about the books without telling me you know nothing about the books.

And, as a note, context is important if you pull up other scenes from the VC.

Welcome to the fucking Vampire Chronicles.

Anyone expecting big bad patriarchal abuser Lestat is not going to have a good time.

And honestly, to those: don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Good riddance - and BON VOYAGE

[iddybyddybee]

I won't say I wasn't disappointed with how Creloise's story ended in Season 3 initially, but after finishing the season and thinking for a bit, I'm a little more neutral on the topic. Why? May I play devil's advocate for a moment and list two things that I got post-Season 3 for future queer representation.

Cressida's spiral in Part 2 reminded me of another Sapphic character's journey: Catra from She-ra. Catra was the main baddie for a long while, but in Season 4, there was a shift in her that made her push EVERYONE away, especially the people who were kind to her. She felt betrayed by the one person she felt the closest to, the one she loved. Catra sank so low and gave into her worst tendencies not only to make other people suffer, but also so that no one would see her suffer. That is what Cressida did, as well. In her final confrontation with Eloise, she wanted their friendship to continue and write as LW (a poor plan in hindsight since Eloise knew full well that she wasn't LW), and when Eloise refused, she immediately fell back on her bullying ways. That was enough for Eloise to end things, leaving Cressida's last good human connection gone and becoming entirely alone. She felt betrayed by someone she cared deeply about, and lashed out because of it. While it's over for now, I'm not quite giving up my hope on Creloise. Like Catra, she can be redeemed. Cressida really did show that Eloise influenced her in a positive way, despite the direction she took being not the greatest one, and Eloise even admitted that she genuinely liked being friends with Cressida during their start. Cressida may not appear next season, but maybe the one after that. Maybe she'll take the time in Wales to mature, come back and try to patch things up with Eloise.

As for not getting a canon WLW ship with a Bridgerton, we just got confirmation of not one, but TWO Bridgerton siblings being somewhere on the queer spectrum. All we wanted was at least one sibling to be queer, and now we have two. That's huge and also realistic! Like, in a family of 8, how can one of them NOT be queer? Even with me and my siblings, we have a collection of straight, ace, bi, and gay (we basically won the queer lottery). So there is still a chance for Eloise to be queer in some manner. Maybe she can be asexual, but find romantic feelings for someone? Maybe a woman? Perhaps... Cressida~? They already flipped the gender of Francesca's love interest, who's to say they can't completely change Eloise's love interest, too?

We're not going to get Season 4 for, like, two more years, so there's a lot of time to stew with what transpired. But I would like to remain optimistic. That's all we can do, for now.

[autism-connoisseur]

what's your take on karkat now that you know his big secret?

genuinely amazing how his whole personality is a defense mechanism.... this guy cares he cares so much but his whole life hes had to push people away lest they Find Out.... living in constant alert ever since he had consciousness of how Different he was and how dangerous that was for him, knowing that everyone around him would cull him on the spot if they found out about It.... if im not mistaken trolls' tears are the color of their blood so he also had to repress himself to Not Cry. and for a person as emotional as karkat thats such a challenge!! not even out of sadness, or grief, but people also cry out of happiness, nostalgia, frustration, anger... those two especially i can see happening to karkat. and hed hate it.

he can be so Mean sometimes, perpetually angry... sure, it might be part of his personality, he is definitely easily irritated and prone to heat-of-the-moment decisions (like when he ran sollux's code and promptly exploded his computer and cast a curse on himself & his friends) but like i said, he's lived his entire life having to be Alert, not being able to let his guard down, because he would die if he did!! and at the same time he needs to prove himself, prove that despite being Wrong and Different he can do things!! he can be useful!!! maybe if he makes himself useful enough someone will even see him as a person and not just a mutant... thats why he is so dead set on being the leader. much like dave he has lived his whole life Needing To Be In Control Of Things (rose too, but shes more like she needs to Understand People, if she can read people correctly then she can avoid them flipping on her (no she cant that is not how it works babe)), but whereas dave is content with letting june be the leader (even if he wants to surpass her, hes very much doing his own thing anyways) karkat NEEDS to be the leader because that way he will prove that hes capable (to his friends in particular but to society as a whole, they are basically a mini representation of society anyways with each of them representing each caste).

but also he blames himself, he blames himself so much whenever anything goes slightly wrong and that feeling just gets amplified since he ran sollux's virus. it's a vicious circle for him since he needs to be in control and call the shots to feel like hes useful (defense mechanism, you wouldn't get rid of an useful pest even if he was a pest now would you?), but whenever something goes wrong under his command he freaks out (maybe relating it to his blood color? like he is Bad so this happened. also we know he takes sollux's virus's curse very seriously), he takes it as proof that He Personally Is Wrong and obviously everyone knows this, but since he doesnt want to be seen as that and he wants society to accept him without ever realizing there was a reason they shouldnt (see: also why he wanted to join the military or some part of it at the very least) he doubles on his efforts on Controlling everything.

and when he realizes they created our universe, it finally gives him a chance to be above someone. to be the powerful and not the powerless, the respected and not the shunned. its why he treats the beta kids as stupid, inferior beings, and why he constantly points out that he is their god even though he isnt (well he technically is but you get it). it mimicks the way some highbloods treat lowbloods, but where the highbloods are like that because society told them it's their natural right that they were born with, karkat does it to forget what that same society told him: that he was somehow intrinsically worse than anyone else. so bad, in fact, that he'd be better of dead. actually, he'd be so better off dead that they want him dead, that they will kill him as soon as they find him. so of course he takes the chance to not feel like that! of course he wants to feel superior! he needs to be the one above for once, he needs that control over someone instead of feeling like he needs to watch out for everything and anything. he sees a chance to not be the lowest link in the chain, and he takes it. sure, he may be a mutant, but theyre human... and not just any humans. the very same humans that doomed their session, the session karkat threw himself into because not only did it grant him escape from a planet that hated his existence (as much as he also idealized, trying to fit in, trying to not be seen as Abnormal even though all the beta trolls are Abnormal & don't fit in), it also gave him the chance to, like i said, prove himself.

he trusts his friends, he does, and he said he'd tell them his blood color eventually. but he needed to be ready and that's why both jack noir & terezi, or at least their reactions, are so important to him. neither of them shuns him, they don't attack him, they don't make fun of him of call him aberrant or do anything that most trolls would. fair, jack noir isn't a troll, and he doesn't even understand why karkat is freaking out. but when he shows him his own blood, the same color, karkat is suddenly not alone. even if red blood doesn't mean anything special to jack, to karkat it means the world to see that he is not some abomination, that the universe didn't signal him out to be different than the rest forever and always. and terezi, terezi is what really does it for him. shes somewhat high in the hemospectrum, she is someone that karkat likes (and apparently kissed! good for him because God knows the kid didn't let anyone in out of fear of being found out), she is a troll. and she doesn't mind. she even calls him adorable in the same log! the beta trolls are outcasts of the alternian society; and they are karkat's friends. that's why he was willing to tell them eventually: it was his secret to keep and his secret to share. and even if terezi found out when he wasn't ready yet, her reaction was absolutely positive. again, these kids are the furthest away from troll society as they can be, almost its opposite, which is why karkat thought about telling them, is willing to tell them. he knows hes safe with them.

ive seen people point out how his handle (carcinoGeneticist) references his sign (carcinogenesis is the process by which an organism gains cancer) and both these things represent how hes considered an anomaly & something to be rid of, something sick; i also think it's. ironic that he's the knight of blood, but i don't know enough about classpects yet to analyze that. it must have felt like a cruel joke to him, though, being told that his literal title was someone who fights for the same thing he's ostracized for. it would certainly piss me off that's for sure.

[tobiasdrake]

The political conflict at the heart of the film is honestly pretty interesting, though I wish Mariko was more directly involved with it.

And also there are some... unpleasant consequences created by the choice of a foreign venue for this story.

About 3/5 of the way through the film, Logan finally gets a chance to interrogate Mariko's fiancé and find out what the fucking plot is.

Noburo Mori, the Minister of Justice, is engaged to wed Mariko but is also trying to have her killed. Weird flex. It's because he's working for her abusive dad.

Despite being hailed as a visionary whose incredible technological advances altered the course of Japanese life, Yashida's a quack billionaire who threw the family's fortune away chasing after dumb shit. He's basically Japanese Elon Musk.

So, he sucks and his son Shingen has a legitimate grievance with him.

Except Shingen also sucks. Yashida decided to skip Shingen and give everything to Mariko, so now Shingen's flipping out and trying to murder his own child to protect what he considers to be his rightful inheritance.

Noburo's throwing in with Shingen because he's a cheating piece of shit and Mariko would dump him in five seconds flat the second her inheritance went through.

He's going to lose Mariko either way so he figures he might as well make a buck and get a friend in high places out of it.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to everyone involved in this, Yashida faked his death and is actually in the middle of carrying out the immortality plot he nearly bankrupted the company over.

Everybody sucks here except Mariko.

It's a cool idea on paper, but there's a couple problems that the two white male writers and one white male director overlooked. The first is Mariko's complete lack of agency in the plot.

There she goes, the character that this interesting story revolves around.

Mariko... hasn't actually done anything, at any point in this plot. Yashida only picked her as successor to spite Shingen, and not because she had any merits whatsoever of her own. Shingen and Noburo, in response, are trying to kill her for the choices of Yashida.

She's involved in this story not because of any choice she ever made, but for the choices that the men in her life have made about her.

Which can still be fine. A hero's journey isn't always something they control. But she isn't the hero here either. All of this serves to create a journey for this man.

All of this complex political drama surrounding Mariko serves only to explain why there is a princess in a castle for Logan to rescue. She is a lamp that was being passed around between three men until a fourth men showed up from a foreign country to play keep-away with it.

Which is the other problem with the film. That the main character is the only non-Japanese person involved with the story (well, besides Viper) means that this is a movie about a gaijin going to Japan and painting the country red in Japanese blood because he wants to bang a hot Japanese woman.

What they really needed, what this story needed to sort it out and get everything to a happy ending, was a hardy white man to murder all the evil Japanese people involved in an orgy of violence, so that the fuckable Japanese woman can live happily ever after.

This is. Uh. Not great so far as cultural representation goes. They try to balance it out by giving Logan some Japanese sidekicks. Look, you can see one of them standing around in the background in those shots up there. But it's still pretty obvious that they're just window dressing around a story that is ultimately about Wolverine carving up Japan so he can bang the hot princess.

Honestly, watching this movie now, I would love to see a version of this movie that Uno Reverses it. Having Logan, Mariko, and Yukio on the run together but with Logan taking the role of the damsel who finally gets kidnapped halfway through instead of the action hero, and putting Yukio in the action hero role instead.

Of course, that movie never would have been made and also probably wouldn't have sold as well to a white male audience hungry for Wolverine action. But I'd love to see it, all the same.

[kevin--of-desert-bluffs]

At one point in fandom every appearance-less character or nonhuman who was being humanised followed a plain and simple cookie-cutter formula especially if male: thin, white, blond (usually) and young (mid-20's at the most). This was for reasons heavily related to racism and fatphobia and similar things whether people realised it or not. This carbon copy design was drilled into us as the 'acceptable attractive' man and since we all liked our blorbos he had to be this way. Right?

Then we started to (rightfully) question why it was that precious few people went outside of this mould and why those who did received less attention or even an unusual amount of grilling over their choices to deviate from something not even canon. We uncovered why our strict adherence to this design above all others was a wider problem than simply being 'same-y' or 'a bit boring'.

Enter a glorious age of people trying out something new. It wasn't always done completely right, sure, teething problems. Some people just flipped the script and did what they deemed to be 'the opposite' when really the intention of highlighting possibilities galore was to see every possible one given a chance to be seen with the equal value it had - not to indicate that one in particular was always going to be better or more canon.

Most casts of podcast characters now do seem to include a variety of interpretations of body types, races and ages (for those with no canon age). This is a good thing.

However - I should not have just seen a post indicating that one must therefore have justifiable reasons for making a character in the 'thin, white, young, blond' format. Nobody should have to justify their design choices - especially not to random strangers each with their own bias.

I get it, we don't want to fall back into that old pattern, but it's not healthy to fandom to practically shame people for feeling that said design just 'fits' the character to them whilst they're perfectly aware it's not canon and that everyone elses designs that deviate are just as good as theirs. There doesn't have to be any other reason. In fact, trying to find a better reason is likely to be very sticky.

If you're making assumptions about someone else based on their design that's on you buddy. Personally I'd rather feel like any representation of literally anything else was organic rather than a product of feeling that they must be seen as diverse and unproblematic.

[ohwormwood]

random thoughts i have while playing isat pt. 3

(compiled so i dont keep spamming others and my own blog, o7)

[woe! spoilers be upon ye!]

yippeee the king killed us all :DDD now begins the suffering

ok, so like. the lets talk about the tarot cards. because this shit hurt me PERSONALLY and i need other people to think REAL HARD about this. i've only gotten 2 (there's 1 "true" card for each act, any others drawn after the first will be random if I recall???); six of swords and a reversed draw of the star.

six of swords is a pretty simple card- it's a transitionary card, marking the start of a journey that will impact the drawer (i use biddy tarot for reference occasionally, they base their descriptions on the Rider-Waite deck's meanings, which is standard for most), specifically "moving forwards towards the unknown". the change "may be your own doing or forced upon you", but overall it is meant to make you a better person as you work through the struggle of change. you get this card in act 2, once the loops start and you have to start doing the puzzles to figure out how to get up to the king. at this point, siffrin is pretty convinced that the loops are a gift, but given the indication by the card that the journey may not be pleasant this kind of sets up players for the second draw;

the star reversed is much, MUCH more interesting in it's meaning. i say reversed because it's made pretty clear that siffrin draws it upside-down the first time, then flips it over to see the text. for people not really well versed in tarot, draw a card upside down (aka reversed) can cause the card to have different meanings. in the case of the star, when drawn upright it is a sign of hope and faith, as well as purpose and spirituality. however, when drawn in reverse, it means the opposite: "lack of faith, despair, self-trust, disconnection". this is all well and good, but what really punched me in the gut was reading the first sentence of the biddy tarot description for this draw; "The Star Reversed can mean that you’ve lost faith and hope in the Universe."

And boy, if that doesn't perfectly describe how Siffrin begins to crumble after act 2? the use of Universe with a capital U is also very important to note. there's some other notes for this card too, specifically about feeling "overwhelmed", "questioning why you are being put through this", "desperately calling out to the Universe to give you some reprieve but struggling to see how the Divine is on your side", and the card being a "test of faith". further reading also notes loss of enthusiasm for life and experiences you may have liked prior to your challenges, boredom, and disconnect. It's so heavy-handed that i legit had to put down my computer when i read it. the beginning of the complete disillusionment of siffrin after act 2 and the slippery slope of act 3 fits this card SO WELL, i applaud insertdisc5 for including this

Another note: we're all gonna point out the obvious- loop, being themself a star, is a pretty overt reference to this card as well. i mean, they literally have similar experiences, but their loops went on for so much longer. an important thing to note is that part of the page on this draw says something REALLY interesting; "you can either crumble like The Tower or stand firm in your conviction that the Divine is everywhere". the tower is a SUPER interesting card to bring up with, expecially given the context that loop gave in. they were tired, and they wished for an end, in some way shape or form. in a weird sort of way, by succumbing to the "bad ending" of the reversed star card, they become a sort of representation of the upright card as well, being a helpful figure and guide, giving siffrin hope. it kinda rounds out their whole character really well for me in that context

back to bullshitting;

i would die for mangala fritter frin. pure of heart. dumb of ass. they are the light of my life

i wanna know how everybody in the party would make a change god statue, since everybody makes their own, right??? like, as an artist i'd love to see what little personal touches and details they'd add to crafting one for themselves

[rrcraft-and-lore]

Tapati, who is she, and why is she significant?

Well, first, she is a river goddess, but daughter of the sun god, Surya. However, her name means the hot one, the burning one. Interestingly enough, her name is tied to the river she's said to rule over - HOWEVER, language time.

Agni, a vedic fire god, has a scythian counterpart similar in name (and the scythian's are the older culture that broke off to form the vedic, indo iranian/iranian, and levant people as well as others - mixing, breeding, invading).

Back to Tapati.

Her name is cognate with the Scythian supreme fire goddess, Tabiti. Very interesting.

Tabiti is the supreme goddess of all things in the Scythian culture, primordial, the first flame, and much like Ianna (from Summerian mythology I talked about later) went on to inspire entire god/goddess roles, and had mantles inverted as interestingly enough, there's evidence some first/supreme deities were feminine, later flipped to male as cultures evolved - their places/roles attributes assigned to male gods and their places changed - made wives, daughters, so on a similar sort of flipping happens out of the Scythian culture/ proto Indo Europeans (that I've talked about) where the root word for a divine (doesn't mean good just divinely powered) being evolved along languages the ahura, asura, and asir (Norse) come from an older proto Indo-European/Scythian word.

In the Vedic stories, the daevas are good, the asura evil. In the Avestan and Iranian texts...the ahura/asura are good, and the daevas are evil.

We know the Norse asir and vanir warred also very interesting. And interesting how gods/goddesses are changed, subsumed, adopted and more, no? Tabiti was never represented in/by art, btw. Her representation was always an actual fireplace -- a flame. That's what you used.

There's historical written evidence in places of Agni's animal form being both referred to as a bull, AND a cow in places - different genders. And his flame being referred to as female in places.

In the Hindu bronze age, Agni had way more of a prominent role as fire did before later dwindling...as fire does (ooooo symbolic - okay that's just cuz of time and shifting priorities), but there are more similarities of these things in Baltic cultures -- but oh why?

(Why am I hopping around? Cuz gods/goddesses, archetypes, beats, stories all do too - all connected you muppets).

Well, did you know the closest cognate to Sanskrit is Lithuanian? It's kept so much of its proto Indo European roots.

Wait, a South Asian language and Baltic European language are cognates? YUH. WEIRD.

Almost like they both derived out of an older culture, language, their practices, beliefs and more.

And most of human history is just migrating, fucking, invading, and settling in new places and staying long enough until your features continue to change due to bow chicka wow wowing and environment.

Funny how that works.

Here's some Scythian clothing (oh btw, women were warriors/could be too - congrats you learned that).

Does this style look familiar? Yeah, you can see the evolution/adaptation from this to later styles (bearing similarities) in Iran, India, Mongolia, the Baltics.

Cuz....y'know, that's where the proto Indo Europeans went about their biz and got jiggy with it and settled. Wow-wow-wee-wah! Okay now I'm done. Circular ish convo to get there but started with a fire goddess, it's relevant, but it all comes back to this.

Btw, this is also an important lesson for fantasy authors.

Because of all these connections and how old a bad ass fire goddess is, many of the oldest cultures are regarded as fire worshippers (like the Zoroastrians) did you know some keep an eternal burning flame? -- one is in Udvada Gujarat in India.

This flame has been said to have been kept burning for 1,500 years.

FIFTEEN HUNDRED.

And again, while most of the surviving Indo Iranic sun gods are male, there is evidence the ORIGINAL sun deity (including in/from the German, Baltic, and Slavic religions) was FEMALE.

[huntedspy2]

hello and welcome to my "why I love autistic Spy headcanon and why it makes sense to me" post. A lot of this is going off of fanon representations but I try to go off of canon as much as possible :)

I know people don't think of him as autistic because he's a spy! He has to be good at social situations and reading body language and etc etc. But I don't think this should disprove him as being autistic because these are the same reasons heavily masking autistic people are dismissed as well. There's many testimonies of autistic people who say that they knew there was something different about them in terms of the way they could communicate with others, so they would practice and learn how to communicate with scripts or by copying other people. I think this can be applied to Spy and it makes a lot of sense especially because of his career.

I think it's much more interesting to think of him as someone that's intensively studied how to communicate with others because of being autistic, and perhaps from the pressure of others in his childhood and teen years (parents, teachers, peers). He knows exactly how to say the right thing and when because of endless practicing, not because it comes naturally to him. Perhaps social behavior, communication, and psychology became special interests to him because of this.

Because of heavily masking however, I feel like he also has identity issues with some dissociation mixed in there. Where does his masked self begin and where does it end? I feel like he truly never feels like himself, always playing a role for other people. Always switching the scripts in his mind depending on who he's talking to. He has given himself over to being a spy and becoming so good at what he does that he never has a moment to be himself. He never has a moment to figure out who he even is, and man is it exhausting.

I would imagine that he never talks to people about himself either. Perhaps this was something else he learned from when he was younger, to not bother others about his interests or thoughts. Or maybe he feels vulnerable from it. Maybe even both. Sure he could talk about wine with others, but he would never share the fact he's really into a novel series a little too much.

However, I feel like working with the mercs is something that helps him start to unmask. Working with 8 others who are all crazy in some way (and also neurodivergent in my opinion)? That's gotta chip away at his mask. He quickly realizes that a lot of the skills he's learned along the way to fit in aren't quite working with his coworkers. He starts stimming again (for example, flipping his butterfly knife repeatedly). He's less exhausted in social situations because now he doesn't have to carefully choose what to say all the time. He can remove himself from social situations easily now without having to explain or say farewells (imagine how much of a gift his watch is now that he can simply Disappear and get away from people!). Those domination lines in game where he mocks people? He can finally let loose and be mean and silly because he no longer has to worry about if someone likes him or not!

Spy is always depicted as a private person who likes to keep to himself. He has his own private and dedicated smoking room?? Hello???? I could say so much more but it's so hard to put all my thoughts into words.

I also wanna highlight some specific examples from the comics that I thought were noteworthy :)

Spy infodumping! I know this can be interpreted as him being frustrated and "of course he knows the specific details of his suit, he's rich and rich people are just like that!" but. In my heart I know it's More Than That.

Also these panels stuck out to me because of Spy's bluntness here. This isn't him trying to be cruel or anything, he literally just doesn't realize him being matter-of-fact is gonna upset Ms. Pauling. I also think it's interesting how he handles her crying as it shows that he's not good at being vulnerable or emotional with others, and keep in mind that he's friends with Ms. Pauling too. This is supported by the fact that in order to express his pride to a dying Scout, he has to disguise himself as Tom Jones. Even in an important moment Spy has to use a disguise as a buffer between his feelings and his true self. Or maybe he's unable to identify his true feelings unless he's in the headspace of another person.

ok that's it for now, I feel like I lost a lot of my thoughts about this in the process and I know for sure that I haven't shared all my thoughts because I feel like this is too headcanon-y as it is or didn't know where to fit things, but yeah Spy is autistic too :)

[robian]

Genshiken Part 1

Honestly it's amazing how much things have changed in 20 years. In Genshiken, people are still using flip phones, DvDs, old generation video game consoles, etc. Typically these anime do their best to depict real places in Japan, so if the way they depicted Akihabara was true for 2004, then Akihabara has changed a lot. It's definitely still a place to buy electronics, but anime and electronic billboards have taken over the city.

The people in anime are basically all outcasts in society. I can't say how it was in Japan, but in the US, liking anime has only recently started to become mainstream in the past few years. I imagine that if you were an otaku in the US 10+ years ago, you'd have had a similar experience to the group depicted in Genshiken. Now every kid seems to watch anime, or at least seen a few. Yeah, some people might still think it's weird, but it's not out of the ordinary.

In 2004 Japan though, things were very different. Kousaka's “girlfriend” Saki is a representation of the average person in society's views on Otaku. She can't understand why Kousaka likes anime and video games. On the other hand, Sasahara knows that society frowns upon people like him, and was hesitant to join the club at first. While his club members confidently buy their doujinshi, he gets embarrassed. Slowly, he accepts that he's an otaku and becomes confident in who he is. He proudly buys a bag load of loli hentai and shows it off to his friends (💀).

Honestly, this anime sends a pretty good message. Just be who you want to be and don't worry about what society thinks about you. As long as you're not hurting anyone, or doing something illegal then they can piss off. Simply, let people live their own lives.

[thekimspoblog]

She doesn't like the interpretation of Jimmy as "malewife" either... and that part I actually kind of understand. Canonically speaking, Kim still does way more to support his career than he does her. Like Jimmy is less of a misogynist than Walt was, but that's a low, low bar.

The thing is he is a malewife by the END of the story. Rather than actually GET A GRIP of himself, he has concluded that he just can't make responsible decisions period. So he turns his free will over to the state, because Kim told him to. Because really he has turned his free will over to her. And in my fanfics, rather than this being a path to repentance, he ends up dying for a matriarchal fascist regime. But that's all speculation.

Although even in BCS... Kim was never really supporting HIS career, now was she? He told her point blank he didn't give a shit about being a lawyer. And Kim never says this part out loud but her answer is "No, I really like the idea that you could infiltrate high society and start flipping over tables". He just wanted to get laid; she molded him into Saul Goodman.

I just don't get why this person thinks I'm trying to make excuses for Jimmy, when what I'm saying is that being a SIMP is probably his worst quality.

But I think it's just too narrow a definition of "gay". Jimmy is in a heterosexual relationship, but he has an affinity for all stripes of the counter-culture. That's GAY. Homosexuality was criminalized until very recently, And prostitution, for example, is still illegal. Jimmy might not be the most dirt poor person, but his allegiances are on the correct side of the class conflict. Firms like HHM and Davis and Mainn, we might not see any politically incorrect behavior from them, there might be a lot of diverse faces buzzing around those offices. But it's still old white men at the top, and without people like Kim willing to slit some throats, it would stay that way indefinitely.

I do find it hypocritical though. That scene where Francesca has decorated Saul's office all classy-like, and then some drunken bum comes in and pisses on it. Who are we supposed to be laughing at with that joke, exactly? Because Kim keeps saying she wants to help the tired, the poor, the huddled masses. And when she does it, it's always framed as a "save the cat" moment. But when Jimmy actually follows through and gives people living paycheck-to-paycheck the kind of at-all-costs representation the 1% gets he's a sellout and he's symbolically pissing on Francesca's dreams? That's not fair. I mean he did piss on Francesca's dreams, and if I was Kim I would have smacked him with my ring hand for taking his frustrations with me out on Fran. But if you want to help poor people, including people with mental problems, your office is GOING to get destroyed.

[darklordgorblax]

Why does Mass Effect hate Gay Men?

So, I know I'm pretty late to the party, and plenty of people have said it better, but I've finally been getting around to playing the Mass Effect games, and I can't sleep until I get this out there. Also, apologies that I'm all over the place. It all just adds up, you know?

Disclaimer: There is a lot to really like about Mass Effect. This isn't a review, just an attempt to voice a frustration.

Where to start? I first played Mass Effect in ~2010. I was in college, and still very repressed pretending that homosexuality is totally a choice. Like most people, I imagine, I really appreciated the way that I could tailor Shepherd to my vision. He wasn't a blank slate self-insert, but had just enough flexibility that it was really easy to slip into that skin and imagine I was a badass commander out saving the galaxy.

Then the end happened and Ashley raped me. Obviously with Shepherd it was consensual, but for me identifying and connecting with Shepherd it felt deeply violating. I was leaning heavily into Paragon, and genuinely thought I was just being a good nice person. I had hardly ever spoken with Ashley, and I didn't think I had said anything particularly suggestive that was the direction I wanted to go. As a result I swore off everything Mass Effect for over a decade.

I've grown a lot since then. It's finally time to give it a fair shake. I still don't want any unpleasant surprises, so I did a bunch of research to figure out what I want to do about romance. Of course I ran into the same problem that every gay man playing Mass Effect runs into. Where are the m/m romance options? It's fine though. I decide I'm going to save myself for Gay Kaiden, and honestly it's very poignant. It's frustrating that it took 3 entire games to pay off, but even that worked into the character arc nicely.

So I played through the trilogy, hated the ending, but overall really appreciated the moments I got with Kaiden. It was pretty emotional for me too, just because it made me realize how much I needed that kind of representation. It was a catharsis to the trauma of being pushed into sleeping with Ashley a decade ago.

Moving on to Andromeda, there's still not nearly enough gay representation, but it's ok. I'm down with Gil. Then there was the scene that set off this spiral. Gil casually mentions that his only friend Jill gives him crap for being a gay genetic dead end. I tell him that's not cool, and he brushes it off. This is deeply uncomfortable, but maybe they salvage it. I have to know more.

End preamble, begin rant: Why does Mass Effect hate Gay Men?

What the ever living fuck. Gil's *entire* character ark is his "best friend" pressuring him into being her baby daddy. The first thing I had to know is who wrote this and are they gay. If they're gay themself, then maybe they're just speaking to personal experience that I happen to find distasteful and unrelatable. I couldn't find out much about the guy, but I suspect not.

So first - To straight writers writing gay characters: Just write them straight. Kaiden was written in such a way that it works either way, and it *works*. Yes, I want gay characters that deal with uniquely gay issues, but I don't trust you. To explore something as deeply personal and fraught as a gay man choosing whether or not to have children and how is not a plotline you just slap together. Just write them straight and then flip the pronouns and descriptors when appropriate.

But now I'm just gah! We've already established they're extremely lacking in the m/m romance options, but let's take a look. Gil and Cortez, the two exclusively gay men. Why are there no gay men party members? For fuck's sake! Every single exclusively gay (and lesbian?) romance option is confined to the ship. Just... I think you already know how fucked up that is, so I'm going to stop.

To move on to character arcs. I've seen people defend this, but frankly shove off. It's like these narratives' primary purpose is to make sure that everyone knows they're gay. It's show don't tell gone horribly, horribly wrong. You want to know how you show that a gay man is gay? Show them flirting with men. You don't need to consume the entire character arc showing how Cortez has a dead husband and Gil might not have children. I can cut Cortez some slack since dead spouse isn't a specifically gay arc, but even the way it's presented just puts way too much emphasis on the "husband" part.

But speaking of specifically gay character arcs... Maybe whether or not to have children isn't specifically to highlight that Gil is gay... Oh wait it totally is. This game is *loaded* with interspecies romances that will never have children. Why is the only relationship where this "problem" is highlighted the one for which it might be deeply traumatic?

I can't talk about interspecies romance without talking about the Asari. Perhaps it's the first problem, but for me it will have to be the last. I know it's been beaten to death, and scrutinized from every angle, but it's just so bad. In many ways the Asari are at the heart of the "Why does Mass Effect hate gay men" problem. A mono-gendered, naturally bisexual species that exists to fetishize lesbians for the benefit of a straight male audience. (Anyone who says they aren't technically female deserves to be punched in the face)

So with that I'll conclude: Bioware owes gay men big time for this travesty. Make a mono-gendered, naturally bisexual species that's coded as male. I dare you.

[wench-and-jezebel]

Dark Angel Reaction: Shorties in Love

Jezebel (@typicalopposite) reacts [with occasional asides by Wench (@scripted-downfall)]

Yaayyy! She’s back! 💕  [SHE BACK!  So is OC and Herbal and Sketch :)]  And she’s getting flirted with

“I’m not into pampering”  Unless Logan isn’t spoiling me enough.  Or is trying to be independent when I don’t want him to.  Or doesn’t have his world revolving around me

[Max, shut up; you've always gotten your insight into men from OC, wdym]  ☠️☠️☠️☠️

Oooohh ahhhhhh  [Truly a beautiful representation of the opening song]  ☠️☠️☠️ it fucking kills meeeeeee

Uh oh, nooooo

Jam pony and Max in the back like 👀👀👀  [tbf I'd be watching them pretty 👀 too]  I WAS

OC you dog ☠️ I saw you check her out when she bent over

Diamond talks in 3rd person too

Max is like DAMMIT LOGAN

Bruh why

WHY IS SHE GOSSIPINGGG

Is this poetry ever mentioned again?  Or was that just an unnecessary act of rudeness we are supposed to overlook  [Not for the most part, I don't think.  There's an unrelated mention of poetry in s2.  But that's, again, not about Logan and more about Max's jealousy]  Writers explainnnn

Mennnnn

Blech

Awwww

NOOOOO THE GIGGLE

[Max being weirdly understanding]  Right!?

This is sickeningly adorable  [I KNOW!  I love her!  Both hers!]

Ma’am.  No one is watching you.  You ain’t gotta look so… Like you’re looking

☠️☠️☠️☠️ “Pee outside.”  I mean… You did just kinda bust up into his house.  But I’m still ded

I love it so much

[Max, wtf was that stance??? The most awkward way to stand ever]  What the hell

This woman and her strange way of standing and sitting and holding guns  ["I'm gonna go home and chill out" *but first I'ma sit here randomly on the table*]  And not look at you.  Angstily.  Like… LIKE.  SHE WENT THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION TO SIT ON THE COUNTER

[Okay, apparently the poetry did come back.  Didn't get much better though]

BRUHHHH She gon die  [You're gonna jinx her]  She is jinxing herself

This is too adorable I cantttttt

DIAMOND NOOOOOOO

🤣🤣🤣  Sketch  [This is the best Max ever acts with him, wtf?]

[MAX WHAT IS THAT ARM DOING]

*sigh* That went well

[Why is she like.  Actually smiling these days.  That's so out of character?]  🤣🤣🤣

They had to make her likable this ep so when she inevitably gets Diamond killed it won’t justify OCs rage

– – – 

Jezebel: OMG I LOVE OC SO MUCCHHHH

Wench: I KNOW

Jezebel: Diamond is being sus af and I hateeeeee it 🥺🥺🥺 but shes also talking about the future and doesn’t ma’am know that’s a sure fire way to get ded?!  I know they went through this massive technology apocalypse but she has seen tv at some point in her life. That’s like rule number one: don’t plan out your future… or you won’t have one

Wench: I thought rule one was don't do the deed in a horror film.

Jezebel: SHE BROKE THAT ONE TOO

Wench: OH SHIT SHE DID

Jezebel: GAHDAMMIT WOMAN

Wench: alskdfj

Jezebel: I also love sketch and herbal! Even tho the latter had like 1/8 of a line… And Max isn’t god awful just like semi awful mainly with her bitchy snatching of the poem book.  Oh, and Logan’s “so they were making out?” MEN 🤣🤣🤣 whyyyy

Wench: I knew you’d comment with that :)

Jezebel: And really that’s all I got for midpoint… Yet another not much has happened minus the BIG main thing to happen episode

Wench: On with the show!  Literally!

– – –

[Fancy flip]

Ughhhhh DIAMONDDDD DONT DOOO IT [tbf, btw, *Max* is kinda acting sus af]

SHE DONE DONE IT DIAMOND WHYYYY

well shittttt  [She lives nonetheless]

[I think he's in CSI]  He looks familiar  [I’ll look him up later]  

YOU COULD HAVE DONE THAT THE WHOLE TIMEEEEE?!?  This is why people don’t trust you woman

[Also, James Cameron and the "dyne”s again aslkfdj  The Terminator was Cyberdyne; Alien was Hyperdyne; now we've got Synthedyne]

Why’s his apple logo upside down? ☠️  WHY’S IT UPSIDE DOWN?  [Probably because they didn't want to deal with an actual computer?  Or maybe they used to be upside down.]  ☠️🤣🤣🤣

🥺🥺🥺🥺 Well god dammmmit  [I was so sad when I found out about this first time 'round]

Bruhhhh

Yes the hell it is selfish ma’am ☠️  “Imma die. So imma go win back the one that got away and make her happy for the last little bit of time I have… then die on her… and make her life miserable. Cause that’s fair”  Wot.  WOTTTTT???  WOOOOTTTTTTT?!?!?

[OC.  MY DEAR.  STOP QUITTING YOUR JOB.]

OC 💔💔💔💔

Boo!!!! You don’t deserve thissss

I don’t write original characters but I’m about to make her one

[Max, I think you could show some compassion]

Sketchhhh

Bruhhhhh I can’t evennnn

Does she know she’s contagious  [No, I don't think so]  Ok good  [Again, my memory is spotty on 1 episodes (except 17), but I don't think so]  I didn’t want to not feel bad for her dying, for OCs sake ☠️  [Yup]

[The dude's neck brace ☠️]  I know ☠️☠️☠️ Ma’am has some ridiculous feet strength  [Neck brace dude got taken out AGAIN]

🥺🥺🥺🥺

[I'm sorry but I love Max's hair.  Should not be the focus of the scene, I know.  But it's just.  So fetching.  With that Hazmat suit]  Seeee?  SEEEE???

NOOOOO.  IM DONE.  DEAD.  [Next episode’s worse]  I CAN'T 😭😭😭😭😭

Yusssss get ‘em!  [Serves the dude right for being an asshole to the guy who tried to get him to put on the suit]

[Oh shit I forgot that line and damn but it's a good one 😭]  IT ISSSS!!!!  [That scene was very Doctor Who hospital ep, if you remember that one.  With Cassandra and the plague carriers?]  YESSSS

IS SHE THINKING ABOUT LOGAN OR FUCKING ZACH??? BLECH  [asdfkljasdlfkjaldskfj I hate you for mentioning him]

Ye you do get over your first love ☠️

[RESPECT HIS BOUNDARIES MY WOMAN!  Also, she just said Man of Letters]  ☠️☠️☠️☠️

[I could never.  I might die]  Ma’am you did.  [Shut up.  You still haven't read my poetry, actually.  And also, I haven't showed poetry about someone to that person]

BITCH READ IT OUT LOUD!  WE’RE TRYING TO KNOW

[Bitch]  wot.  Wot.  WOT?!  [You just read his intimate poetry.  And just.  Leave?]  WHAT!?!?

Ma’am.  Shut up with the circlessssss.  And explain THE nonsensical HOOPLAH I JUST WITNESSED.  I-  I JUST- WHAT?!

– – –

Jezebel: I… nope I ain’t got nothing else on that! But backpedaling to OC! She didn’t deserve that ooooh my goddddd.  Shit Diamond didn’t deserve that!  Sector guy TOTALLY deserved that!  And… I really don’t know what else to say this episode was very clean cut ☠️☠️

Wench: True!

Jezebel: The real question is tho… Are we prepared for this next episode?

Wench: I am… I've seen it six times :)

Jezebel: You would, angst queen

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC Review: Plot Twist by Erin La Rosa

3/5. Releases 11/14/2023.

Vibes: much social media awareness, flipping through past exes, crafting, and the anxiety that comes with putting your life back together.

Sophie released a hit of a romance novel--and nothing else since. Feeling the pressure to drop her next book, but very aware that she's never actually been in love herself, she sets up a project on TikTok to track down her exes and figure out why she never fall hard. Roped into the deal? Her landlord and (sort of) friend Dash, a former actor who now works on crafts as he works through recovery. Their chemistry is immediate, though Dash isn't ready for a relationship; but if he waits much longer, one of Sophie's exes may just snap her up.

This was fine. It didn't annoy me, but it also didn't stir me. Erin La Rosa can for sure write, and can definitely write some heat, but I just wasn't bowled over. I did appreciate some of the representation (Dash as a recovering alcoholic, the very casual queerness of Sophie's past relationships) but the story didn't grab me.

Quick Takes:

--So, the good. Like I said, I do think the writing is solid, and you're not bored. The setup of going through the past exes leads to some interesting takes, and the fact that Sophie just has a nonbinary ex, just has a female ex, is very much attracted to Dash--is just normal? Was really nice to see, and still not as common in romance as I think some imagine it is. You feel the tension rising between Dash and Sophie in a dynamic that is in some ways a slow burn and in some ways very much not.

--Where I started struggling with the exes project is... the TikTok of it all. TikTok is a surprisingly big part of this romance, and while the summary (on Netgalley, at least) does mention Sophie gaining millions of new followers, I don't think TikTok is mentioned by name. She actually documents her project on TikTok, and Dash is kind of a bigger name on... CraftTok?

And I feel like I have mixed emotions on this. Social media here to stay, and I don't think that making it a part of a romance novel automatically "dates" it, any more than including the Internet dates it. These are big parts of contemporary life, and they're not fleeting. That is, social media in general isn't fleeting. The concept of recording and posting your actions--blogging, sharing videos, etc. That's not fleeting. That will stay for the long haul, I think.

But when you get into specific mechanisms and sites, I feel like you're really toeing the line. Twitter may have seemed like a mainstay, but suddenly it's not even called Twitter anymore. Facebook was The Shit for a while, but now I would side-eye a contemporary about a twenty-something who's allll about FB. TikTok really hasn't been around that long, and while lots of people use it--let's be real, the people who really, really obsess over it tend to be confined to a somewhat small age range. It's all about trends, by design. I just don't see TikTok being this big a part of your romance novel (it's baked into the premise) aging well.

--Another issue I did take with the book was that Sophie seemed like a really passive protagonist. And perhaps that was part of what the story was trying to confront, but until then, it came off as her just sort of going with the story, not really pushing much of it forward That makes it hard for me at least to bond with her, and I had a hard time getting invested in her character.

She's a grown woman, and there is a moment in which she allows her high school boyfriend (now a married father!) to guilt her about teenage bullshit. That just didn't work to me, and it kind of felt like I was reading therapy speak, but from the perspective of a character who bought into it.

--I did appreciate Dash; his love of crafting, his focus on recovery. This was also something that I do think kind of made Sophie a tougher sell. At points, it felt like Dash was doing the work in a way that took, well, a lot more work than Sophie. This is a man very literally in recovery, doing his best. And while that doesn't invalidate Sophie's issues, it does mean I'm much more invested in Dash. I mean, him coming from a complicated famous family added to his appeal. He's just got more going on, and it felt to me like there was an uneven level of depth to these characters.

The Sex:

I've seen some saying this isn't explicit and uh... it is? She's riding his face like, halfway into the book. But there is a reluctance to go into full on intercourse on Dash's part, because of his perception of recovery (he's past the point when AA would typically recommend waiting on sex and relationships). Frankly, I found everything else they were doing super hot, so that hesitance worked for me and kind of added to the story.

While I can't say I was thrilled with this novel, I did find it interesting, and I will try more from Erin La Rosa. I'm curious about what else she's done.

Thanks to Netgalley and Canary Street Press for providing me with a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[onlythemad1s]

Unsolicited Good Omens 2 Thoughts

Last week I flipped out over the ending of GO2, and after I was finished crying on the bathroom floor, I started trying to suss out exactly - specifically - why the ending made me feel so awful. And honestly, part and parcel of it was some of the posts I was seeing online.

I thought I would be met with more of a mixed consensus about the whole thing, but people seemed generally happy (even though there's no absolute guarantee of third season yet), and I just -

Did. Not. Get. It.

I've been saying for the last four years that the original miniseries is probably the most life-affirming thing that I've ever seen, and I was wary of a follow-up because I felt that things were wrapped up perfectly the first time around, people who still cry "queerbaiting" be damned (seriously, get fucked). And after those final scenes and the reception they got, I felt genuinely terrible. I'd known about Every, so it wasn't the kiss-that was all well and good.

And then I came to.

It hurt deeply to feel that all I was hearing (via action) was "I would rather have them potentially broken up forever for that kiss, than happily dining at the Ritz without it." In my anger, my worst faith interpretation was "Well, as long as we can stick it to the straights that they were Queer All Along, right?"

I headcanon our Ineffables broadly, and I've always kind of loved how most of those broad interpretations still manage to fit very neatly into the established canon, but I also felt like what they had on screen was such a picture perfect representation of how I and many others have expressed wanting to live and love and all of that soft shit.

I don't think S2 changes too much of how I feel about that representation (now that I've had time to think over it).

But -

Something in me still feels quite angry that S1 ended with Crowley and Aziraphale together, no kiss, and that S2 ended with them broken up after The Kiss...and so many people seem to prefer that, or at least feel that the stakes of that HEA have been worth it.

[animehouse-moe]

Honey Lemon Soda Volume 2: Slow and Steady Aggravates Readers

Now I'm just joking with the subtitle of the volume, but well, it does end up waffling a bit with this first volume. Still worth the read however, but certainly a few points to take note of and be aware of if you're still on the fence with this title. At the end of it though, if you liked the first volume, you'll like the second (though there's of course more to it than that).

So let's get the bothersome out of the way. Uka is very flip floppy in this volume with their romantic interest and feelings for Kai. It's very "shoujo"-esque in that sense as it engages in a one-sided "will they won't they". I don't really hate it, because it exposes the inner turmoil and insecurity of Uka that melts away when she's happy alongside Kai.... but I'd also say that there's not a very good flow between either state for Uka. It's a lot of simple writing with "oh yeahs" peppered in to smooth over the bumps.

But truthfully? That's about the extent of my complaints. It's just a little lazy and simple in the movement within the writing. Past that, I still really enjoy Uka's character, and how they approach a social life at high school. A really important piece to capture with characters is that they're not putty in the hands of the writer, but nor are they an immovable stone that's fated to never change. Striking that balance where a strong core exists but a malleable exterior coats it is really important in these kinds of stories.

Which I think they take note of quite well. They rehash Uka's fears, and the issues of her being bullied, but things change ever so slightly. Why she's being bullied, being apologized to, standing up for herself, throwing herself into conversation. There's a lot of pieces that really make Uka's progression tangible and realistic.

And then, there's all these funny panels of a scatterbrained and nervous Uka, which I really can't get enough of.

Anyways, back to the volume at hand. Really solid at approaching Uka's character development and changes to high school life, yada yada yada, there's a few key moments that really stick out in her monologuing that appears throughout the volume that I enjoy. I think more than anything, the story's appeal is to be positive and encouraging towards this sort of experience, which can be skewed in regards to representation, but it works well as a feel good and creates really sweet moments like this one. Plus, closeups of the pretty art is always appreciated.

And, to finish it off, the meat and potatoes of the volume: a "rival" for Uka, in the form of Kai's ex-girlfriend Kanno. Which I think is a nice twist on the situation. She parallels a lot of Kai's behaviors towards Uka, which sets of alarm bells and certain feelings within Uka. Rather than jealousy and frustration, she turns it inwards and continues to put herself down in regards to the situation. Even when she's standing up for the sake of someone else, she's found a way to dig a deeper hole for herself to hide away in. It presents the drama of a "rivalry" but still places the ball firmly in Uka's court. Nobody else is challenging her, nobody else is actively trying to take Kai away, but her insecurity and anxiety forces that distance between her and Kai.

So there you have it, the second volume. Lots of what hooked me in the first volume, but a far more methodic approach to Uka as a character. You might even say that the story is purpose made to force her to grow, which might turn some people off. But personally speaking, this is a feel good series, so manufacturing progression to keep Uka moving forward isn't something I particularly mind. It might move things along at a quicker pace while still feeling oddly slow, but it's a far better approach than the typical "will they/won't they" RomCom that's invaded a lot of this genre. So for now, it's time to wait for volume 3 to release.