#literally the gif above perfect representation

[scoups4lyfe]

Hello fellow squid apologist! You have made a post analyzing the lighting in Olteca' scenes and his slow descent to Hell Time, and I'd like to know if I could make a gifset out of it? (I'll credit you for the idea, obviously). Also I absolutely adored reading your thoughts as you watched battle familia! They sure yeeted Olteca off that plane while telling him "idk if it's gonna work but YEET"

HAHAHAHA >:DD

They really did yeet him off that plane I'm still in tears over it

I'd be overjoyed if you made a gifset >:]]. I'd be glad to be tagged just so I can see it too 👀 ngl

I'm glad you liked my battle familia thoughts LOL!! Sometimes it's still incomprehensible to me that people see my posts

ALSO

🤝🤝🤝

Fellow Squid Apologist (╯✧▽✧)╯

[borisbubbles]

Eurovision 2024: #10

10. UNITED KINGDOM Olly Alexander - "Dizzy" 18th place

Decade Ranking: 35/153 [Above Last Dance, below Monika Linkyte]

Gotta love the commitment to the art here, it's really giving:

I'm getting ahead of myself, but yeah I fucking loved "Dizzy". It was a really good entry that of course, was never going to get a single televote. They exist, and this is one of them.

But first, let's get the unfun bit out of the way: Olly Alexander was bullied. I'm not going to address that any further. Those responsible need to dc from the internet, because it clearly brings out the absolute WORST in them.

In these times of overwhelming negativity, I find it important to be POSITIVE whenever possible, so here we are - 'Dizzy" was far from perfect, but I love it nevertheless. SOMETHING GOOD to come out of Olly's miserable ESC journey.

At the core lies a really, really good song. I'm biased, obv - basic Synthpop IS my safe zone, and "Dizzy" is basic synthpop that perfectly articulates what I want / am missing from my intimate life.

"Why don't you make me DIZZY FROM YOUR KISSES

Take my hand AND SPIN ME

Round and round 'till this MOMENT NEVER ENDS

:sadsynth:"

It's unabashed in its hopeless romanticism, in it's naive optimism and in it's tragic, inevitable conclusion.

Okay, now we address the performance. The vocals, let's get that out of the way, we're not good, but they weren't detrimental enough for me to care. They were a step up from Mae, and the overall packages was still enjoyable, so whatevs.

The staging though, ho boy I have all the opinions. The bottom line is that i LOVE it but I'm also shocked they went with something so... QueerTube coded?

I don't CARE that it was on-stage seppuku.

I don't CARE that it was the raunchiest thing in the goonerverse.

I don't care that it served "Inclusivity, but only for queen men".

I get it, I understand, I accept it. Single Gay Men such as myself and Olly often deeply crave unrequited emotional affection, tenderness, a lover's gentle caress, but as Gay Men have learned to repress those cravings and not speak of them. Including to others.

So instead, we often default to the easiest alternative: Grindr, and all the depravity that comes with it. Kinkster-tinged debauchery as a form of escaping the lonelyness we feel in our hearts.

AND THAT, I think it was what Ted Uni Dom King were intending to convey with their staging. It's a tragic, but poignant combination of inner brittleness and outwards brutality and vulgarity that is so painfully real for so many (too many) strong codependent homosexuals.

THERE ISN'T AN END

THERE ISN'T A START

I DON'T WANNA STOP

I CAN'T GO TOO FAR

Ironically, he took the Sexual Thing way too far, bless. 😍 Literal cowgirling in a family show <3 If the objective was to score televotes they definitely shouldn't have went there. Inclusivity is achieved through including everyone, not by specifically showcasing your marginalized group (hopeless homosexuals => so, me). Considering that the majority of the viewing audience this year were wine mom karens and their tory husbands, it didn't go down quite as well, but like who cares? "Dizzy" pissed off all those that spend their afterlives within the nine circles of hell: bigots, karens, tories, pearl-clutchers, zionists, bleeding hearts, keyboard warriors, eurosnobs and LBG-without-the-T Cigarettes. Press their (nonexistent) hearts, King.

Also, I refuse to call the staging bad, because "Dizzy" frankly, was a bit basic as a song. It NEEDED to go big and take a huge risk, and it took it, fuck the consequences. It showcased a boldness that I can respect.

Furthermore, I just love the concept and how it flows? Like yeah it was erotic, but it was still doing with a sense of aesthetics. The showerroom shenanigans, the shaky cam, the topsy-turvy angles. Olly DESPERATE search for some level of intimacy from his collective of xwitter oomfbots. This was a much better representation of eroticism and desire compared to say, Sekret. (then again, I think "Sekret" borders on harrassment ♥) It suited the song and made it better.

So in this end, yeah. This entry is for me and people like me and NOBODY ELSE lmfao. 😂 Its low placement in the televote is also a massive defeat for the contest, but that's a whole nother discourse and I refuse address that. I'm still looking for a kind, cute beefy himbot who wishes to make me dizzy with his kisses, so DMs are open for applications. The only requirement is that you like Sebi...x

THE RANKING.

[h3lm1nth]

zed has proven to be a greater, wiser ally than i could have ever anticipated. they have opened my mind to new possibilities of the Machine God's lessons for me- explanations following:

there is a being within Helminth, infiltrating my very self. It is laughing at me. It is perhaps my psyche's grand representation of my greatest fight: battling the stupidity of internet trolls. or it is a demon or it is an NHP. Unclear if I am losing my mind. was freaking out as the being responded to me in the new desktop setup in Helminth. Went chasing down this presence, trying to determine exactly what it was. it eluded me, but i found the original shell it hatched from: the piece of tech I was drawn to in old ibara.

I pulled the shell out of Helminth, this parasite infiltrating my perfect vessel, but it was hollow. Whatever was within, whether NHP, manifestation of my personal demons, literal demon, or just an impossibly skilled hacker trolling me, slithers within my mechanical veins. It is also disturbingly smiley.

There was a sensation of someone standing behind me, despite no one being there, and then laughter in my head. Then:

infinite metal. falling, forever, in my brain. what reason could the Machine God have for doing this to me? I thought it must be a divine punishment. I did something wrong. Reparations must be made.

then zed said maybe there was a lesson to be learned. that the Machine God was trying to tell me something. instead of shutting out the metal pipe, maybe i should listen to it carefully. i sat and thought on the sound, and found myself in a vast dark plane, floating above an endless lake. The parasite approached me then. i still don't know what it wants.

the Machine God continues to test me... the greater the challenges, the more faith it has in me. i will continue to listen to the sound of pipes falling. i will be trolled, and i will learn from it. this is my greatest challenge yet.

[sassy-radio-hazbin-queen]

RadioStatic Bottom Vox as Disney princess that work for him ( I'm doing Six for both Bottom Vox and Bottom Alastor so it's even ok )

At number 6 we have

I put her in last place cause the only reason Vox could be her is cause he would look good in Blue and I read Alot of Alastor and Vox dancing Fics.

5-

I picked Mulan cause there are some people who think Vox is trans and well Mulan is perfect for trans representation.

4

At Four I chose Belle. Just imagine a Vox who isn't interested in Valentino and Alastor in his Wendigo form and you got the perfect recipe for a RadioStatic beauty and the beast au.

3

Guys I swear Vox is a perfect Jasmine, come on they both look amazing in blue, both thought someone they cared for was dead only to find out they were alive ( ok vox reaction was a bit different than Jasmine but you guys get it right 😂) Alastor name almost sounds like ALADDIN. also Valentino as Jafar. Enough said.

2

Character with obvious ADHD : ✅ ( yes I headcanon Vox has ADHD)

Character who falls for the wrong guy ✅

also I can totally see the above gif with Vox telling Alastor about Valentino 😂

And the number one princess Vox definitely is

GUYS IS IT JUST ME OR IS ARIEL OBSESSED WITH ERIC THE SAME WAY VOX IS OBSESSED WITH ALASTOR.

Seriously just replace Eric statue with Alastor body pillow and it's the same thing 😂. Vox loves the ocean , Ariel is a LITERAL MERMAID 😍.

Valentino as Ursula,

Vox probably would give up his voice just to be near his true love 💞.

Anyway those are Vox as Disney princess

[ohnohetaliasues]

Milky Way (APH OC)

At the request of @ilovemaryland345 I’ll be taking a look at a few OCs that they recommended to me. This is one of them. The other is the Confederate States, which I just hope is not as racist as it sounds.

Anyway, let’s get funky. 

Milky Way is a small loli-like girl in the universe. 

Reservations aside about making an OC for the entire fucking galaxy, why on earth would she be child sized? She’s literally billions of years old. I think a being that is chronologically that old would at least be adult sized.

Her mother would be Galaxy, 

Isn’t she the galaxy? She’s her own mother? Excuse me?

and her closest friend, Time. 

I don’t even have a proper reaction for that. All I can say is that an OC in Hetalia that is the very concept of time is utterly absurd. She’s her own mother and she is also best friends with Time. Right, got it.

Milky Way is the representation of the Milky Way. Another name for her is Dreamland.

Dreamland. 

She-- HUH?

Like I genuinely don’t know what the fuck to say to that. She, who is also the fucking galaxy, is also dreamland? What? How does that work? HOW? 

Appearance

Milky Way has dark purple hair with magenta ends. Her eyes are a magenta-pinkish colour, with little hearts in her eyes. Dreamland (It's a nickname, she is often called perfection and perfection can only be achieved in dreams hence the name Dreamland.) 

Wow, okay so just. A blatant Mary Sue. Also, no. I’m setting aside the absurdity of this OC for a few seconds to think logically, if that’s possible here. 

No Hetalia characters have unnaturally colored hair. They look like the country they represent, as in, what the largest population of people from that nation look like. They can’t even dye their hair. I just-- My brain is hurting. This is not an OC that works in Hetalia.

has her hair in bunches, most like Nyo!Canada's. Her magenta fringe hides most of her forehead. On top, she has a heartlike curl on the side of her head.

Milky Way normally wears pastel goth clothing, mostly like this:[1] (Credit to artist, it's really pretty!)

There was a link there, and the art linked to it is very good, but I removed it, because I’m unsure if that is stolen art or not, and I don’t promote stolen art here on this blog.

Personality

Milky Way is happy and optimistic person, who can be seen as annoying. Not many people are able to see her, and therefore is a dandere. 

Okay so that’s just not what a dandere is. A dandere is an antisocial, timid, and shy character who doesn’t express emotions very much. Think Hinata Hyuuga from Naruto or Shigeo Kageyama from Mob Psycho 100. Sure, Mob is cheerful enough, but he’s also not really an expressive person. The personality described above is an oxymoron, is all I’m saying.

She has no social experience outside of the magic trio. Since Italy (Galileo Galilei discovered the Milky Way, and he was from Italy.) had been the one to discover her, she has many traits from him such as being an optimistic person. Her salty side is never really shown, because she isn't fond if being savage like one of her founders. (Romano~).

Um, okay. That’s all I can say. Because I genuinely don’t know how to react to that. Galileo was indeed the first to see the Milky Way through a telescope, so I guess that could be a connection to Italy. However, as far as we know, billions of undiscovered worlds could be somewhere off in the galaxy, and I don’t know if us humans would’ve been the first to observe the galaxy. It just feels odd to me that she’d be so connected to Italy. I guess since he’s one of the main characters in Hetalia, but I dunno, something just bothers me about that.

Backstory/History

Milky Way used to be a depressed little ball of feelings. Her mother Galaxy never really had time for her, and so Milky Way was alone.

SHE IS THE GALAXY. MILKY WAY = GALAXY. IT IS CALLED THE MILKY WAY GALAXY. 

 (Her appearance at the time: short magenta-pink hair, with emotionless eyes. She was always so dull.)

Wait why the fuck would her appearance change?

One day, she saw the Earth. A small person was smiling up at her, with his telescope. That man was later known as Galileo Galilei. He ran to tell Italy, so was ecstatic. Romano, on the other hand, was not as excited.

Why? Why wouldn’t he think that was cool? 

When they came to see, Milky Way felt happy. She felt noticed. It was a nice feeling for her, and the first time she'd ever felt it. The Italies welcomed her with open arms, though she felt a little wistful in the country of Italy. Upon talking to her, the Italies realised she was not of Italia origin and wondered. They took her to the next World Meeting, asking anyone and everyone if they knew her. No one knew her of course, but they were intruiged by her.

Okay so that just doesn’t make any sense. She was discovered by Galileo, and Italy and Romano just assumed she was a part of Italy or of Italian origin? Why? Did Galileo just not tell them anything and let them assume he just found a piece of Italy floating off in space? Are they stupid? Did they physically go into space to speak to her? How did they get a message to her? 

This is fucking absurd, and I have so many questions.

Granted that not all of them trusted her or welcomed her with open arms like the Italies, she always loved the countries.

I thought Romano didn’t, but sure, okay.

Now she lives with her mother Galaxy, and comes to visit her good friends.

So the OC creator just is under the impression that the galaxy isn’t the same thing as the Milky Way. Did they mean to make this an OC for the Solar System? Because that would make so much more sense. It would still be silly, but less egregious. 

 (Italy & Romano, although Southern Italy never really grew found of her...)

But didn’t it just say they welcomed her with open arms? Did Romano just decide to lie about that?

She tries to make friends, but it never really works out.

With who? I mean, there could be some cool things done with this, if she was an OC for just the solar system. She could be acquainted with America, Russia, China, etc, because of the international space station. 

2P!talia/Cardverse/Nyotalia/2P!Nyotalia

Dreamland's 2P is a blonde haired gothic girl. Her pale blonde hair was in a short pixie cut, with electric blue eyes. She normally wears black clothing. Here's an example... [2]

That link actually led to nothing, just a grey image of nothing with an error message. I removed the link regardless.

She is extra salty, and rarely shows her sweet side. Being a kuudere character, she's quite popular with other countries because she is quite the mysterious character.

This entire thing makes my head hurt.

Dreamland's Cardverse is non-existent for now. She dwells where the Wasteland of Cardverse is: [3]

That led to a broken Deviantart link. I think the upload was deleted. I’m also not familiar with Hetalia’s Cardverse, I haven’t interacted with the fandom as much as I used to in quite some time. 

Dreamland's Nyotalia has pale pink hair dip-dyed into blue. He wears something similar to this: [4]

His personality is cute, and very, very modest when it comes to praise.

Link deleted again, because I’m not sure if that’s stolen art or not. Even if it isn’t and the OC creator drew it, I don’t want to repost anyone’s art without permission.

Dreamland's 2P!Nyotalia looks like this: [5]

Another broken Deviantart link.

Relationships/Trivia

Milky Way has no comfirmed religion/ethnicity. (Although, I like to think of her as a Scientologist, believing in the Big Bang Theory etc.)

That... That isn’t what Scientology is. I also believe in the Big Bang Theory, but that doesn’t make me a Scientologist. Scientology is an actual cult. It isn’t just a religion based on facts and logic because it has ‘science’ in the name. 

Her relationship with Galaxy is kind of tattered.

Guess she needs to work on self love.

Dreamland is a panromantic asexual.

Another few people she knows are Romania, Norway & England mainly because of their magic. America & Canada are also some acquaintances. Even though she has not spent that much time with France, she takes SOME of her personality from him.

Why? Just... Why? Like, what logical reason is there for that?

Milky Way is a dandere.

I’ve lost the will to fight.

She looks around 11 years old, but is actually 31.

What? Just... huh? Why? I reiterate my point from the beginning, the Milky Way is a galaxy that is billions of years old. I have no idea why she would look 11 years old, but the fact that it says she’s 31 is even more baffling. Where the fuck did that number come from?

Her birthdate is 2nd December, being a Sagittarius. (The Milky Way's constellation is Sagittarius.)

The-- Okay. Sure. But there are also so many more constellations aside from that one in the Milky Way. Because the Milky Way is a galaxy. Full of stars. 

Her full name is Daphne (Italian spelling is: Dafne) Dreamland. Her origin/ethnicity is unknown for the moment~ Dreamland knows all the countries; it's just that they don't know her.

~ The end, for now ~

I have no words. I just... I don’t. I don’t even know how I can be constructive here. I have so many questions. 

How would this even work in canon Hetalia? I am left with a blank. I genuinely have nothing to say. I’m left with so many unanswered questions.

-Kat

[beyondxmeasure]

Whats your fop five favorite TV shows?

Top Nine Five Favorite Shows

Ahhhh, noooo! I hate this question. Only because it’s practically impossible to answer, but I also secretly love it. Okay, here goes (in no particular order)…

The Wire- Best show ever, period. I could write essays for days about the who’s, what’s and why’s that make this small-screen perfection, but not today, nonny. Not today!

The Office (US)- OG comfort show. JimxPam 4Eva

Curb Your Enthusiasm- Prettayy, prettayy, prettayy, pretty good.

Breaking Bad- Walter White, BAMF Numero Uno.

Ted Lasso- Who knew a show about a goofy Ned Flanders-looking soccer football coach would make me feel so many feels? This one has my whole heart forever. 🫶🏻

Schitt’s Creek- My lifetime forever comfort show. Also major (literal) life changer. Responsible for introducing me to the world of Ao3, fanfic/fandom, becoming a writer, also realizing my true identity through the representation in SC.

A Million Little Things- The way it unexpectedly helped me process my brother’s suicide in a very relatable and surprisingly enjoyable way without it (always) being a mega downer makes this one real special for me.

*Honorable mention to This Is Us and the box of Kleenex that I went through per each episode (for the same reasons as above). Literally never made it through a single episode without crying.

Not counting this completely because it was only a mini-series, but adding it because it felt wrong to leave it off a list of favorites…

Fellow Travelers- Because it’s changed me in ways I don’t think I’ve fully realized yet. All I know is that it’s a part of me now. If you know you know, and if you don’t… you better learn!!

YES, I know I technically gave you nine even though you only asked for top five. But I’m an Aquarius… a free spirit and I can’t be, like, confined to your rules, man. Besides, that’s just cruel to force me choose like that, nonny! But… I’ll have you know I at least narrowed it down from 18. I deserve an award! 🤣 Okay, your turn now, let’s hear ‘em! 📺 💜

[stormblessed95]

Queer Baiting Vs. Censorship

So I woke up this morning to a discussion over Korrasami and how some people called their relationship queer baiting. So I want to talk about it, and what queer baiting is in general. I'll link it back around to BTS here too at the end, so stick around for that if you want. Korra is just the main example I am using here. But general warning, the show Legend of Korra ended in 2014. I'm not worried about not spoiling anyone, so here is the one warning for spoilers if you care about that. Lol

A lot of people seem to think that either queer people are "doing too much" trying to say that Korra and Asami were girlfriends by the end of that show. That they were just best friends and they both had dated men during the show, so clearly they weren't gay. Or they said "yeah, the implications were there but there was never any follow through. The show ended with them just going into the spirit world together (gif above). It's queer baiting." And it's not. On both of those accounts. Korra and Asami are canonical girlfriends. Confirmed by the writers of the show AND it was taken even further in the comics over this storyline. They even come out multiple times to Korra's family and their friends

And that ending of them going into the spirit world holding hands at the end of the show? That was legit just their first vacation as a couple together and confirming their time as girlfriends and taking time off from the stress of saving the world. Lol this is them coming home from that vacation in the comics

And it's all literally canon artwork and stories here. Direct from the same people who made the show. And again, they confirmed it themselves too. With this statement: "Our intention with the last scene was to make it as clear as possible that yes, Korra and Asami have romantic feelings for each other. The moment where they enter the spirit portal symbolizes their evolution from being friends to being a couple." Which came from the creators blog post, you can read here:

And the other creater posted about it as well, saying "Korrasami is canon. You can celebrate it, embrace it, accept it, get over it, or whatever you feel the need to do, but there is no denying it. That is the official story." And you can read his full statement here too:

Even their mutual ex boyfriend (lol) stated that he thought they were perfect for each other and that he was probably very qualified to say that 🤭🤣

So let's be perfectly clear. It's only queer baiting if they are not queer. It's only queer baiting if they aren't actually together. Which it seems very clear from context clues that they are, even without the comics laying it out explicitly. And there was no hints that they weren't queer or couldn't be together at the end anyway even if you didn't pick up on the hints. Therefore, Korrasami could never qualify as queerbaiting. That's just simply comphet Norms coming out to play then. Queerbaiting is a marketing technique in fiction where same sex relationships are hinted at, but never actually depicted with real representation. But you can't queerbait if you are queer. And you can't queerbait a relationship if the relationship is real. So if you don't know the person's sexual orientation or relationship status, it's not queerbaiting.

Korrasami suffered from censorship, not queerbaiting. And that's not their (the creators) fault. This was on a children's show in 2014. The fact they managed to push as much of the heavy content as they did in regards to war, death, mental illness, genocide, abuse, trauma, imperialism, etc was impressive on its own. And in 2014, getting canon queer rep like this wasn't often done. Like at all. And so their relationship was censored, but the signs were all very clearly there and they took the chance to expand even further in the comics off screen. No longer limited by that censorship. They were trying to naviage representing a queer relationship to their audience while navigating the censors they had to in order to keep the show on the air at that time. A lot of people didn't think it would happen, but it did and they went through with it. And it meant a lot to a lot of people 🙋🏻‍♀️

Bringing this back around to BTS and if they are queer and the possibility (probability) of jikook being in a relationship together. I've seen people say/ask if they are queer baiting. I've seen articles saying that they are queer baiting as a group. I've seen people question about how if they never come out, has this been queer baiting. And no. Because again, you can't queer bait if you are queer. And no one knows what their sexualities are. Not to mention the culture differences in regards to just platonic touching that occurs between the the western culture and LOTS of others. On top of how it's important to remember that we simply don't know and we will probably never know. Its not a TV show, its their real lives, yet their lives are so broadcasted and picked apart worldwide. They themselves are living within the censors that keep them safe in the world that they live in. Inside a homophobic conservative country. They tell us what they can and work through those censors. And no one has the right to demand or even really want them to step outside those censors to give more explicit detail. They tell us what they can and you take from that what you will. But living within those censors is not queerbaiting nor is it lying to people. Its an important distinction to remember and to never dismiss.

Important discussion, important to remember in regards to jikook and bts as well at times, triggered by LOK discussion on a different platform. Lol can't totally blame me. I AM obsessive and in love with multiple fandoms, not just BTS and jikook. 😂 and for my readers out there, idk if yall do this too. But unless the character states they are straight explicitly (especially my MCs), all of them are queer to me. Idc. If they don't state their sexuality, any sexuality is possible. Lol and no, an MC dating someone of the opposite sex does not count as them stating their sexuality. You can like more than one gender 🥰🥰

Anyways, I'm done. Lol thanks for letting me rant for a bit. 💜💜 Hope everyone has a wonderful day

[jaanusbooktalk]

Rise To The Sun by Leah Johnson - Book Review

9/10 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TWs: parental loss, gun violence, panic attacks, non-consensual image sharing

(TWs are in order of severity, please take them seriously!)

I finished Rise to the Sun 2000 miles in the air somewhere above the southeastern United States. I was, literally, rising to the sun. This book touched my heart in so many ways, and there is a disturbing lack of Pinterest boards about it? (Someone needs to get on that, asap).

I feel so lucky to have read so many amazing books about queer POC this summer, and this one is definitely at the top of that list. It’s been a long time since a book made me laugh out loud at a joke or exclaim “SERIOUSLY?” at a plot twist. A long time since I’ve felt in conversation with the characters instead of just watching them. Olivia and Toni truly warmed my heart (and convinced me to have an appreciation for live music despite having a general fear of crowds). If you’re a music fan, a festival fan, a romantic, or all of the above this is for you!

Summary:

“Three days. Two girls. One life-changing music festival.

Olivia is an expert at falling in love . . . and at being dumped. But after the fallout from her last breakup has left her an outcast at school and at home, she’s determined to turn over a new leaf. A crush-free weekend at Farmland Music and Arts Festival with her best friend is just what she needs to get her mind off the senior year that awaits her.

Toni is one week away from starting college, and it’s the last place she wants to be. Unsure about who she wants to become and still reeling in the wake of the loss of her musician-turned-roadie father, she’s heading back to the music festival that changed his life in hopes that following in his footsteps will help her find her own way forward.

When the two arrive at Farmland, the last thing they expect is to realize that they’ll need to join forces in order to get what they’re searching for out of the weekend. As they work together, the festival becomes so much more complicated than they bargained for, and Olivia and Toni will find that they need each other, and music, more than they ever could have imagined.”

TL;DR Two girls have a chance meeting at a music festival in northern Georgia and end up getting way more than either of them bargained for.

Let’s talk representation:

This section is gonna be short - not for lack of rep but bc it’s pretty simple and I’m sleepy. This is not really an own voices review, so this is just listing the representation I saw and not my take on it.

Olivia and Toni are both queer Black girls (Olivia is going into her senior year of highschool and Toni into her freshman year of college).

Imani & Peter, the respective best friends, are also of color (not gonna elaborate on rep here bc spoilers).

I am a member of the LGBTQ+ community, so I can affirm that from my POV the wlw rep was good - realistic. It didn’t portray the relationship as something perfect or overly dramatic - it was like any other love story in all the best ways: flawed.

There is a character who experiences panic attacks, so 1. Please take those content warnings seriously (listed at the beginning of the book) 2. It’s accurate, painfully so.

And ofc I’m not gonna review a book by an author that isn’t of the communities they’re writing about, so this is an “Own Voices” book🤗

What I Liked:

Whewww 😮‍💨 I could talk about this book for ages. To start, let’s talk about character development. When I say flawed characters I mean flawed characters and I loved seeing their growth and knowing that it didn’t need to all work out in the end, they would keep working with what they had.

Clear communication, good messages about life & living in the moment, some close to home moments for American readers dealing with the regular gun violence here, the works.

Rise to the Sun was written during quarantine and I think that’s part of why it inspires me so much- it makes me happy to know that during one of the loneliest times in the nation someone was able to write a love story this beautiful, celebrating human connection - the one thing we were missing so desperately.

There’s a special place in my heart for queer love stories involving music, especially duos. Maybe it’s the ex. choir kid talking, but someone singing a song with you is such an intimate and massive thing at the same time, & I think that captures music festivals perfectly.

I also really really can’t wait for the pandemic to be over now so I can go to my first concert! The last music festival I went to was a Reggae festival a couple towns over & though I don’t remember enough, this book awakened some good memories 🎶

Why I couldn’t give it a 10:

Full disclosure, I was sure this was going to be a ten for over half the book. Olivia’s character was well done, I thought, because yes she was flawed but I was sure she was going to have a moment of realization/redemption. That moment came… but it wasn’t equal to the level of problem if that makes sense? Which has honestly been my problem with some books in the past.

I understand she has low self esteem and has been going thru it, but her automatic response to [redacted for spoilers] was uncomfortable. I had to put down the book and take a break, and convince myself to finish. I’m glad I did, but that was a major almost DNF moment. I think Olivia had some deeper problems beyond just being selfish and those weren’t really addressed? I would recommend therapy 😭

I’m so grateful for Imani’s character for calling stuff out and showing that friendships can be … complicated and definitely far from perfect. She deserved better.

I’m glad Olivia got her HEA but at the same time I wasn’t rooting for her as much by the time we got there. This was just my personal take on it so others may feel differently though, and I understand that!

It took a point off but overall I’m happy I finished the book and I loved how sincerely hopeful it was. Truly Rising To The Sun.

I sincerely recommend this to:

Fans of Nicola Yoon (The Sun Is Also A Star, Everything Everything) ⭐️

People who are obsessed with Woodstock & music history 📖

Queer musicians 🏳️‍🌈

Folk music enthusiasts 🪕

Rupi Kaur fans (specifically her book Sunflower) 🌻

People who have seen Heartstopper📺

I promise you won’t regret picking up this book! Definitely check out some of the quotes if you get the chance😍

(I also have a lot of drafts for reviews so there will be more coming soon after I finish my library books 😅)

[angelhummel]

here's an ask: klaine amirite?

Yes! You're absolutely right

Like they're literally perfect and I love them so much!! They're my most favorite ship of all time. I wouldn't be here on this blog if it weren't for them (which makes them a good thing for me but if you don't like my blog then it's a bad thing so idk perspective)

And like my two best friends, and just about every mutual I talk to on tumblr, we are connected by a shared love of the above two idiots lol. And I think that's so cool about fandom spaces in general. Like if I wasn't into Klaine or Glee then I wouldn't have met all the great people I've met. And I'd have a whole new batch of friends and mutuals that I can't even imagine. But as it is I wouldn't trade the ones I have now for anything. So I'm glad that we all got to meet through Klaine bc they really have done a service for us

And it's just such an amazing ship to gush over in the first place! Like yes it was groundbreaking for its time but hell it's still hard to find amazing representation like that today. With characters that you actually get to know and love and see their whole journey from start to infinity. And certainly no other ships with as many amazing serenades as Klaine provided us with lol

I'm thankful every day that Glee did this so well. That Darren and Chris did such a fucking immaculate job of bringing these two characters and their relationship to life on screen. That we got to see the epic highs and lows of high school romance played out with two gay characters that basically ended up becoming the central focus romance by the end. I feel like I could watch new television shows for the rest of my life and never find another ship that speaks to me more than Klaine did/does

Thank you for the ask and the chance to gush about them!! ily xx

[klaineship2]

TDB Rewatch   Homecoming   Episode 6x02

“Sometimes, if you want to make change, you got to make a little noise."

This is probably my favorite s6 epsiode - it’s the one with the Darren cameos and the numerous s1/2 nods: like slushees, Kurt dancing on cafeteria furniture, the return of the Unholy Trinity, Rachel talking non-stop without needing to breathe, barging into showers in search of talent, Warbler craziness, the glass dome above the staircase... I hadn’t known how much i’d missed this.

After all the heavy stuff from last week this is mostly funny and happy. I love how the theme of the drawings-transforming-into-reality runs throughout the entire episode. If you don’t know the 80's music video of Take On Me that inspired this, then go watch it and also listen to the released Glee version because in the aired version they cut Kurt’s high note in the first refrain. (and then go and compare it to the low note he has in Home - Chris really has an impressive range!!) It’s good to have all the alumni back and I like them trying to recruit members and searching for the mysterious voice.

Kurt and Rachel clearly have communication issues (worse than the ones he had with Blaine?), if they are organizing sheet music for 2 hours before finding out they both had a completely different approach. But I love all the banter concerning their different perception of Kurt’s position in their (not yet existent) Glee Club.

the newbies are a delight: I love them all, especially Roderick and Jane who’s voices are awesome and the ‘Incest Twins’ are hilarious (I once read in a tumblr post that they are like Kurt and Blaine’s future children, lol)

the show doesn’t want to dwell on Blaine’s depression right after the break-up, so I will leave this for fanfiction to cover, but I will say, I love seeing old mentor!Blaine being back. His enthusiasm in helping people Jane and fighting the system is adorable. But I don’t get why he introduces her to Rachel of all people to help with her audition - shouldn’t that be his job as the Warbler coach?? There are still some self-confidence issues apparent under that whole ‘I’m perfectly fine’-attitude. And he is rightfully angry when Jane transfers to McKinley without telling him about it. That was completely unfair and disrespectful. Of course this is a set-up for there being more tension between the choirs but it doesn’t work for me. Jane didn’t have a problem with her parents filing a lawsuit for her to join Dalton Academy but she has a problem with Blaine doing the same (on a much lower judicial level) for her to join the Warblers?! And her parents are just okay with her transfering again? - to the very school they tried to protect her from, just because of an extra-curricular like Glee Club?? Well, anyway, it’s nice to finally see Blaine showing some of that rightful anger against Kurt, as well.

Why does Kurt try to recruit Spencer in the first place? Has there been any evidence or mention that Spencer can sing/perform? I don’t think so - so if Kurt only wants him in Glee Club for representation matters, because a gay football player would be the perfect connection between sports and arts I totally get Spencer’s confusion. But he is wrong if he actually thinks he doesn’t stand on Kurt’s and other’s shoulders, because he clearly does. On the other hand, having choir members who can’t dance or sing is kind of a tradition at McKinley - there has been Sugar Motta, after all, who was literally tone-deaf. So this is where Spencer fits in - sorry, Spencer but you never grew on me.

Kurt / Blaine Things

I am actually shocked about the amount of hairgel Blaine considers to put in his hair....

Blaine is wearing his leather jacket from the Michael episode in the Blam-scene.

“Terrorist!”

I’d have liked to see the conversation Kurt mentions in the auditorium where he ‘said some not so nice things about Rachel’s life’. Was there a cut scene?

Kurt wears a very interesting see-through cardigan in the choir room scene where he talks to Brittany. I couldn’t find it on Fashion of Glee :-/

Other things

“We can’t have a girl Warbler. Imagine the sexual tension.” ...well, there has never been sexual tension between two guy Warblers, has there?

Oh, how I missed crazy Warbler council meetings. Skunk? Squirrel?

all the neon colored clothes during Take On Me are perfect.

The Tea Party Patriot Club (What even is this??) Mercedes and Sam are a delight!!  

 @todaydreambelievers

[jandjsalmon]

American Horror Story is starting THIS WEEK! And it’s the Murder House/Coven Crossover. I’m more excited than I should be - but I’ve been gathering nostalgic fanfiction recs to share with everyone and came up with nearly 100 fic recs… in case you have nothing to do until Wednesday. 

The absolutely lovely @lgbt-representation-is-beautiful  made me this wonderful gif of one of my favourite scenes in Season 1. Thank you, Aries. You rock.

To start - my most favourite is Sucker Love by @tjoek-blog (7/?) which is probably forever a WIP - but it’s PERFECT and delicious and if you haven’t read it you have to.

Okay so now I have to talk about my lunchtable girls. They are quite literally some of the most talented writers in any fandom anywhere. Gorgeous human beings whom I love and pretty much everything they write is amazing and worth reading. I’m going to give you a short list of fics written by each of them - pretty much fics that I would call “Required Reading” if you are an AHS fan.

Firstly - let’s talk Lola. @bleuwrites wrote I Think You Should Know I’m Damaged (12/12 - M) which was the fic that started our friendship. She wrote Lemonworld (4/4 - M) - a canon fic where Violate ends up essentially parents to a little girl. Beat The Devil’s Tattoo (9/9 - M) which featured a grown-up Violet who comes back to the house. All I Want Is Everything (1/1 - M) - featuring Tate and a grand gesture. Rara Avis (1/1 - M) - an AU that was set before Tate shot up the school. The Ghost who Walks (7/7 - M) and Policy of Truth (1/1 - M) - both of which are amazing. And then of course Waiting Here (1/1 - M) which messed me up in the best way possible and to this day might be the saddest AHS fic I’ve ever read.  Lola is a goddess. You should read her work.

My PaigeyWagey. @feelavalanche or ScarlettWoman710 (as she is also known as) is and always will be a beautiful mermaid of awesomeness. She nearly killed me with The House always Wins (1/1 - M) and Serve the Servants (1/1 - M). I think my forever favourite by her is I Will Follow You Into the Dark (1/1 - M) - and I still think of it often. Paige is also SO freaking good with post-canon fics like All We Are is All We Are (1/1 - M) and  Miss The Misery (1/1 - M) and Drain Me (1/1 - MM) and the ever so dark Milk It (1/1 - M). She’s written award winning fics like Tatemae, Honne (1/1 - M) and  Dive in Me (1/1 - M) - which has some of the best writing in the whole fandom - I was literally overly emotional.  And of course we’d never forget the fic she co-wrote with Linds. The Curve of Her Lips (12/12 - M)

Speaking of Linds. Oh my dear @ohhyellowbird - whom I love. Talented and sharp and utterly amazing. She wrote Tabula Rasa (1/1 - M) and Something To Talk About (1/1 - M) and Monster (1/1 - M) and Color Theory (1/1 - M) and Blue Lips (1/1 - M) and my most fave Make War (1/1 - M) which was gorgeous. 

And of course Gracie. @whatwouldflorencedo or GrayGlube. Gracie is gonna be famous one day. She is the angst queen. Dark and amazing. Moral Dust (1/1 - M) was my first GG fic - but all of them that followed were equally as amazing. The Antique Children Series (2 fics), The Grieving Process Series (2 AMAZING fics),  Druxy (1/1 - M),  Ophistographs (2/2 - M), Don’t Look Back You’re Not Going That Way (1/1 - M),  Limerence (2/2 - M),  Jungianism (1/1 - M), and  Eleven, twelve, thirteen (1/1 - T) and of course Toska  (1/1 - M). Seriously… every thing this woman writes is gold. She is going to buy and sell all of us someday. Read it all. This is just a handful of her amazing work.

And lastly dear Stella. Shootingstella wrote a TON of super fun stories but decided to leave the fandom and remove most of her work. Thankfully, I saved it all so I can read it any time I want. BUT you unlucky people can only read what she submitted for the Fic Exchanges - so you should read them just to get a taste of how talented and lovely she was. My most favourite was You Have Been Weighed (1/1 - M) but she also wrote Neptune Oyster (1/1 - M) and The Burning Man (2/2 - M). You are truly missing out on Wake and Copy Cat and Hoarders and Latex I Love Yous. It was a really wonderful time to be a fangirl.

And of course there are other stories by other amazing authors that you may have forgotten about - but you should take the opportunity to read them and enjoy them before the new season starts.

Oh, How It Burns by applythepressure (16/16 - M) Summary: Oh, how it burns. Oh, how he burns her.

Limp by pheromones (5/5 - M) Summary: “Romeo couldn’t live without his Juliet, Sid couldn’t live without his Nancy, and Tate Langdon certainly couldn’t live without his Violet Harmon.”

Mine Is Forever by aaronlisa (1/1 - M) Summary: Tate learns the hard way that promises made to ghosts and houses don’t really amount to much in the end. 

About a Girl by paceyourself (10/?) Summary: Every heart has a pain. Fools hide it in their eyes while the brilliant hide it in their smile and someday you’ll realize the damage that you’ve caused. Violet/Tate, AU, 1993.

Spirit Desire by GinHermi (1/1 - M) Summary: She wants him, no questions asked. He was her desire, and the house seemed to agree. She watched him and drove him mad. But are her intentions out of pure need or are they of something outside of herself? Violet haunts Tate and he haunts her right back.

As The World Falls Down by applythepressure (3/3 - M) Summary: Are you still sad, Violet, after all this time?

Lick the Flame by Gwen Brunye (1/1 - M) Summary: Violet’s fantasy involves a blonde boy in shiny black boots…

The Darkness Claims by A Dirty Little Secret (1/1 - M) Summary: Sitting at the dining room table with her chin in her hand, Violet laments everything her mother has become. She contemplates briefly the idea of being alone once again, and the summons slips from her lips before she has a chance to reconsider.

Truth or Dare by Cheers My Dears (9/9 - M) Summary: Reading his patient file left Violet feeling confused and a little scared. Maybe playing a game will help her sort through her feelings

i think i made you up inside my head by howlsatthemoon (3/3 - M) Summary: This house is filled to the brim with ghosts, but you are the only monster. / AU. If Tate was alive and Violet was dead. Set in 2011. Three-shot.

For the Sake of the Community by Chinesebakery (1/1 - M) Summary: American Horror Story with a touch of Heathers. A sociopathic Violet story.

Skittish Figs by EvangelineG (1/1 - M) Summary: Tate and Violet contemplate her parents decision to sell the house and discuss.

Tate’s Conscience by TheDevotchka (17/17 - M) Summary: Tate hates high school. He hates his girlfriend, fake friends and his ‘promising track career’. It’s not what he wants. He wants her… the pretty, peculiar new girl. Only problem is? She can’t stand him and he can’t seem to change her mind.

We’ll find strength in pain by ChrysX  (17/17 - M) Summary: 1963. Dr. Ben Harmon, after the loss of his wife, Vivien, decides to take a psychiatrist’s position in Briar Cliff. He and his daughter Violet arrive at the Asylum with the hope of a new beginning.

An Illustrated Book About Birds by Nokomis (1/1 - T) Summary: Violet adjusts to the house while coming to terms with her new knowledge about Tate. Post-1x06.

Never Let Me Go by GinHermi (11/11 - M) Summary: 1960’s AU. Choosing between duty and love is never easy. She had a choice to make no matter the scandal that would befall her. If it came between separating from him forever and breaking her duty, she would choose wisely. Heart or mind?

Coming Dead Last by Rune-Spirit (1/1 - M) Summary: When the house moves Travis to set his sights on cozying up with Violet, Tate doesn’t take too kindly to it and has to rescue her from his overzealous advances.

Free like the Birds by aaronlisa (1/1 - M) Summary: In the end, Tate will do anything to have Violet’s love.

sharpen up those dragging hooks by littlelindentree (1/1 - M) Summary: After they scare the first family out of the house, Violet begins to punish Tate.

The Box Under the Bed by emergencycaptivation (1/1 - M) Summary: Tate and Violet were childhood friends, and after years apart, they are reunited for a few memorable Valentine’s Days. 

Coming Home by TheDevotchka (2/2 - M) Summary: Tate Langdon shot up his high school in 1994 and walked away from it. Now, he’s back to finish what he started.

The Finish Line by  howlsatthemoon (1/1 - M) Summary: She catches him in the backyard, dozing off in the gazebo, the sunlight reflecting off his golden hair and the hint of a smile on the pink of his lips. A worn copy of a collection of Byron’s poems and plays lies forgotten across his lap, the page folded where he’d been before he drifted off. This is when she likes him best. / Moments with Violet and Tate that we missed.

And then of course there was the @ahs-exchange. I ran a fic exchange for four rounds and some of the best fic in the fandom (some mentioned above and some not mentioned) were shared there. Here are the links to the Master Lists:

Round 1 - Round 2 - Round 3 - Round 4

SOoooo the new season is upon us. I hope you get through all these stories and celebrate with me! YAY for AHS Apocalypse.