#p: en Vogue

[chicinsilk]

US Vogue January 1952

Jean Patchett wears a light pink poodle coat. By Swansdown from Anglo wool, on a pleated Shantung silk dress, by Mollie Parnis. Dayton Co. Gloves by Superb; silver jewelry by Miriam Haskell. Lipstick “Pretty Pink”; Prince Matchabelli.

Jean Patchett porte un manteau caniche léger rose pâle. Par Swansdown de laine Anglo, sur une robe en soie plissée Shantung, de Mollie Parnis. Gants Dayton Co. par Superb ; des bijoux en argent de Miriam Haskell. Rouge à lèvres « Pretty Pink » ; Prince Matchabelli.

Photo Horst P. Horst vogue archive

[beevean]

So some recent... discourse put into my mind the concept of "power fantasy", and how people relate to it in different ways. Of course, I'm talking about Hector :P

Is Hector, in the games, a power fantasy? I think the answer is "yes but actually no but actually yes it's complicated".

Let's be honest, first: Hector is a product of his time. He is, in many aspects, Castlevania's response to the wave of edginess that was en vogue in the mid-2000s - I don't compare CoD to ShTH for no reason lol. Hector was always meant to be an anti-hero contrasting the pure heroes the games always starred before him:

—Why did you choose the theme of "revenge" for this game? Iga: Up to now, the Belmonts have been seen as the good guys. I thought it'd be nice to do something other than a moralistic "good triumps over evil" theme sometime. After all, Castlevania has always had an excellent world for telling a "dark hero" story. Alucard would be one such character… though even he is fighting for a just cause: "I've got to stop my Father!" So he's still kind of a good guy. This time, though, I wanted the motivation itself to be impure. So this theme is what I came up with, and then I thought it would be even more interesting if each side was out for revenge on the other.

Hector has "impure" motivations. His quest is completely selfish: while all the other protagonists want to face Dracula (or others in his place) because it's the right thing to do, Hector is just in to kill the man who ruined his life. In fact, he really couldn't care less about the Curse, and multiple times in the game he asks why can't Trevor just deal with the issues he doesn't want to deal with lol. This is in line with other characters of the same caliber, such as Shadow sneering at a city being invaded by aliens until there is something in for him, or Guts who declares that he's willing to let a whole town fall prey to demons, as long as Casca is safe. However, this is not a detriment to Hector's character like it would be nowadays, as he's also very much mean to be "cool": while obviously every protagonist has his cool factor, even going back to Simon in the first games who defeated Dracula all by himself and then had to heroically struggle with the Curse, Hector is cool in that, well, deliciously over-the-top way that was all the rage back then. He can ride wyverns as he slashes them, he can go toe to toe with Trevor himself to the point that even he is impressed, he can forge a gun and an electric guitar, cutscenes show him punching a stone devil with his bare first, he gloats in Dracula's face that he can nullify his Curse... yeah, he's a gigachad lol. The flaws are only meant to make him cooler and not "boring", as paragon heroes were seen at the time.

I, personally, never cared about this part. I'm not the target audience for this kind of power fantasy. Sure, I like that Hector is over-the-top cool and I will always joke about his most outlandish feats, but I'm not so keen on reducing him to those alone. I couldn't even explain why avenging your dead lover counts as part of a power fantasy lol.

This is why I latched on so much on the first half of his story, the one where Hector deals with Dracula, and why I insist that Hector is much more than his admittedly cliché archetype of "angry man on a revenge quest".

Calling Hector "stoic" is not even knowing the meaning of the word. Calling pretty much any CV protagonist "stoic" is factually wrong, as even the more serious ones like Alucard and Shanoa have other depths to them (Alucard is still grieving for his mother and we see it in a nightmare, Shanoa was deliberately made stoic and she subtly longs to feel again), but Hector doesn't even begin to fit the definition of "One who is seemingly indifferent to or unaffected by joy, grief, pleasure, or pain". The whole point of CoD is that Hector was left so emotionally vulnerable by his grief that both Isaac and Zead used him as a puppet. Anger is the complete antithesis of stoicism. "well anger is still a toxically masculine emotion" - memes aside, Hector shows other emotions too, most notably around Julia, the only person with which we see how actually gentle and polite he is when he doesn't have Dracula's influence scrambling his brain. By the way, you cannot ignore the effects of the Curse on both Hector and Isaac when you analyze them, especially the former:

It can't be plainer than this.

And it doesn't come out of nowhere, because not only Julia herself tries to warn Hector that Devil Forgemasters are susceptible to the Curse, he acts vulnerable around her. He apologizes for his unjust outbursts, sympathizes with her plight, is visibly affected by her grief when Isaac dies... sure, it might be all because he's lowkey crushing on her, if you want to see it that way (and I do have my words over the plot point of Julia looking like Rosaly: I would have preferred if the game had more time to show that Hector grew to see Julia as her own person beyond her appearance), but the point is that this behavior highly contrasts with how angry and aggressive he is to everyone else, which the reveal of the Curse recontextualizes.

Also, just saying, while anger can be toxic, the point of these storylines is usually precisely that revenge is bad. Unchecked anger is bad for you, and you shouldn't let yourself fall down that spiral, lest you lose yourself. Isaac got consumed by his own hatred and died as a tool; Hector realized in time that he should snap out of it and survives, also because he was nice to Julia and so she grew to care about him and saved him when he tried to kill himself <- a reaction that is very unmasculine, might I add, as toxic masculinity dictates that men should make other people pay for their pain. bro. bro this is the complete antithesis of "toxic masculinity". Again, this is really not knowing the meaning of the word.

I don't even need to pull examples from the manga, but just for completion's sake:

iunno about you chief, but someone who bursts into tears just because wifey told him that she's happy he was born isn't exactly the portrayal of toxic masculinity to me.

Which makes me segue into the next point!

Hector and Isaac are victims of abuse, and this is another very important angle to understand them. And I'm not just talking about their childhoods, of which we only get hints, although of course it does matter that the two experienced so much hatred and rejection in their youth that Dracula was the better option for them.

We don't see the details, but Dracula affected both of them deeply. He put them in a competitive dynamic, favoring Hector over Isaac: Isaac grew bitter with resentment, which made him double down on his loyalty to Dracula, while Hector only got the appreciation he craved at the price of his very humanity and morals, which weighed on him. The point of this favoritism is not really the core of their rivalry in game, as that one was caused by Hector's betrayal, but it gives a different dimension to the character. It would have been easy to have the mistreated guy the one who decided to turn his back to Dracula, but no, it was the golden child. Isaac was so entrenched in this dynamic that he never broke free, choosing instead to blame Hector and do everything in his power to prove himself to an uncaring Lord, including (in the manga) killing his own underlings so that he would be free to face Hector by himself. From PtR:

"My own body is proof of Your expectations for him" is such a hard-hitting line. Isaac fears that he didn't even disappoint his Lord, because his Lord didn't have expectations for him in the first place. It's Hector the one he's so proud of.

And Hector hates it. By all means, he should be happy to have a home, to be respected and appreciated and free to use his powers. And he used to be!

"Lord Dracula... You once accepted and needed my powers. There was a time when such a thing gave me joy..."

Hector was grateful for his Lord, but he couldn't live anymore in the safety of the castle, if the price was committing indiscriminate murder for the sake of a senseless revenge, going against his morals and being used as a weapon. Hector had to make a choice: keep living under Lord Dracula's protection, but losing his humanity piece by piece, or breaking free and facing the world that hated him, but as a free man?

Hector chose freedom over conditional safety and love. He was ready to die, as long as he died a free man. He put himself first, he turned his back against people who did not truly appreciate him, and despite the mess he left behind it was the right decision. And that's the power fantasy I adore, and that is what makes him a strong character in my opinion. It's the embodiment of achieving self-confidence, the healthy selfishness, the affirmation of the self when everyone else around you only sees you as an object or a prize, the reassurance that even if you fall, you can always get up and try again and become a person you can be proud of.

And Hector, after breaking free, very much acts like a victim of abuse. I spent countless words over how he displays the belief that he needs to do something to earn the right to be loved by Rosaly, unaccepting of the fact that she simply does because, well, he likes him and sees the good in him, and that's it. I wrote a whole analysis on how this belief stems from a sad naiveté on how the world works, because Hector is naive underneath the aloof exterior, and it's not something to make fun of him for, but a tragic result of living under Dracula for so long. I'll also point again to him having breakdowns because he hates himself and sees himself as inherently unlovable.

I could also spend all the words about the parallels about how Hector loves Dracula and how he loves Rosaly:

In both cases, he latches onto the only person who has showed him a modicum of kindness. He wants to give his life for them. The difference being, of course, that Dracula only appreciates Hector for what he does (and I could also go into a whole tangent on how Hector was personally raised by Dracula to be his knight and he has a piece of his essence inside him which parallels how abusive parents see their children as an extension of themselves), while Rosaly for who he is. With Dracula, Hector understands that all the shallow care in the world doesn't matter if he isn't also respected as a person: he still cares about him, in some fashion, but not the point of clinging.

And if Hector is ready to lay down his life for Rosaly because she finally showed him what real love looks like, is it any wonder that seeing her die would spark such a fury in him that it makes him prey to the Curse and to being once again twisted into a tool?

The power fantasy comes from the part where Hector breaks free of the abuse and manipulation - twice over. But he is also relatable, with all of his flaws, weaknesses, and mistakes he makes. The whole point of Hector's journey in the first half of his story is that he feels the need to atone for his sins, and the consequences of his actions all catch up to him in the worst of ways. Ignoring this to reduce Hector to an edgelord who only spends his life angry and then hooks up with a Rosaly replacement (which incidentally also ignores Julia's personality and agency and I might even call as misogynist as the plot point itself) is a huge disservice to the thought and care put into him to make him stand out from his own archetype.

Power fantasies are not inherently bad. Depending on the fantasy, they can be inspirational. Hector is inspirational to me, if that wasn't clear, I see part of me in his circumstances and I admire his arc: it tells you, "you can break free too, you have the strength to do so, and you will find people who will love you without reason". And I just generally speaking find him a very well written character despite stemming from a rather outdated context, because all the details come together to make him fleshed out and tridimensional.

[valle-de-sombra-de-muerte]

Homestuck Reread: Act 3, Part 1/3 (p. 760-891)

Read the previous post here.

Time for the beginning of Act 3! An inauspicious start, since the Act begins with Jade's introduction.

So I guess the "reader" is still acknowledged as a thing. And they're actively attempting to manipulate Jade. I wonder how much longer this will last for.

Jade has so many interests, you guys! So many! And I'm sure each and every one of them will be relevant to her character as well!

Also, she needs reminders so she doesn't forget about the things she's interested in? What?

Why does Jade have so many variants of fetch modus when none of these will ever show up again? Actually, the whole modus system continues to be really dumb and that's probably why it's rarely mentioned in the later acts.

Jade's precognition again being treated as just a fun lil' quirk. Gosh, she's just so quirky, right fellas? So many modi, so many interests. She's just so silly and fun, right? Right???

Honest confession time. When I first read Homestuck, I had no idea that a "eureka lemon" was an actual variety of lemon. Of course I've heard of crab apples, key limes, and mandarin oranges, but it never occurred to me that a eureka lemon was also a real thing. I didn't figure this out until years later.

Wait wait wait. Hold the phone. Jade is a fan of old cartoons? When is that ever referenced again outside of the occasional mention of Squiddles (a show that isn't real)? What the fuck? John likes movies, has posters in his room, and name drops his favorites on a regular basis. Why does Jade not talk about any cartoons she likes???

Physics, gadgetry, and gardening are all shit that aren't ever mentioned again either, but I was at least aware of those things being related to her, at least on a surface level. Jade's whole thing (well, what I assume Hussie ostensibly intended to be her thing) is that she's this genius wiz kid. And her username is gardenGnostic, so of course horticulture has to be somehow related to her character. This whole cartoon thing is seriously new knowledge to me, though.

Grandpa Harley was a real renaissance man with a multitude of interests, so it's natural that Jade takes after him. The problem is that Grandpa is dead and he's less of a character than he is this mysterious symbol that Jade both admires and resents. It doesn't matter whether or not he's fleshed out, but Jade is a main character, so by necessity she must be or else she comes across as half-baked.

Jade has two pages dedicated to her interests, yet none of them are relevant to her character. She never talks to anyone else about gardening or anthros or anything like that. She doesn't use her scientific knowledge to help solve a problem. Her guns only serve the same basic combat purpose as the other kids' kind abstratus, but beyond that she isn't a gun nut.

One can point to stuff like John's interest in programming or Dave's love of photography as examples of extraneous character traits that don't ever manifest later on in the comic. But in Jade's case, it's nearly all of them. Hussie could've filled these pages with anything he wanted, but nothing would alter the existing perception of Jade being nothing more than "silly, upbeat girl who can see into the future." This is what I meant when I said earlier that she doesn't have any character to speak of. Or rather, she's just extremely shallow.

And because Jade doesn't have enough quirks already, her shirt randomly changes designs. Wow! Incredible!

These "manthro chaps" are honestly more unnerving and sexually charged than the smuppets. I don't ever see anyone reference them nearly as often, and probably for good reason. Unlike the smuppets, they're too close to resembling humans and are very uncanny. This feels like a deranged fetish thing, but it's being played off as more silly, quirky bullshit. "Slop trough" is a phrase I never want to read again.

Right. Hating furries was very much en vogue back in 2009, I'd say more so than the present. However, Hussie is going to great lengths to portray Jade as one of the "good ones." Her interest in anthros is non-sexual in nature and she does not partake in "cringe" furry activities like wearing fursuits and engaging in sexual activities with other furries. As stated before, the manthro chaps are being depicted as wholesome make believe, not in a feral/pet play context (despite the fact that that's exactly what it looks like).

This is just Hussie taking pot shots at a subculture that has historically been a very easy target for ridicule. I'm not even sure why he decided to make Jade a furry in the first place if he was going to draw lines in the sand like this. What an incredible dickhead. And since this is written from Jade's perspective, it makes her a dickhead too.

There are a few times later on where Jade comes across as rude or judgmental, coming at odds with her otherwise unflinchingly polite and optimistic disposition. Needless to say, this does little to endear her to me.

Like John, Jade also has a chest full of shit that doesn't end up mattering. Come to think of it, this whole intro sequence feels extremely drawn out, kind of like John's. John at least had the excuse of being the first character and he required a long intro in order to establish the tone and mechanics. We've gotten a good handle on things by the time we reach Rose and Dave, so their intros weren't nearly as involved. So why the fuck is Jade's taking so long? We know this whole routine, we've done it three times now. Can we get the fuck on with the story already!?

This is a really bizarre sequence of pages where the "reader" is forced to match the memory cards of Jade's modus, only to fail at it repeatedly while both Jade and Hussie judge them for it.

Man... I know it's a common fandom notion that Jade is the most neglected and underutilized of the main cast of kids, but you seriously wouldn't have guessed that based on all these early pages. She feels more like Hussie's favorite, if anything.

Every passage he seems to talk about her with affection and a total absence of snark, not like the other kids who are regarded with bemusement at best or mockery at worst when they do something foolish. Here the derision is solely focused on the reader for their apparent cluelessness, and both Hussie and Jade are on the same side. C'mon, Jade's just offering the reader to play this game and they fail because they're obviously not as smart as she is. Serves them right for that earlier, boorish suggestion that this wonderful girl might be a, gasp, disgusting fursuit-wearing degenerate!

There's something a little off about how this then-30 year old man created this 13 year old girl who's so sweet and perfect in every way, and whom he dedicates so many pages showing us every single one of her quirks and all the amazing things she has in her home. But I don't really want to dwell further on this, so I'll be moving on.

"But he does like his steak well cooked."

"He does prefer his steak rare after all."

Well, which is it??? Does he like his steak well or rare? Does Hussie not know the difference between these terms? Has he never cooked a steak before?

Dave Strider? More like Dave Simper. He is incredibly down bad. She's obviously not online, dude. Get out of her DMs. He's also facetiously engaging her with furry roleplay. God, Dave, get a clue! ERP is something only cringy furries do and as established previously, Jade is most definitely not one of those types of furries!

The Midnight Crew get their own dedicated flash. These guys sure are getting teased a lot, despite just being characters from an in-universe webcomic. I wonder what it could mean...

FINALLY we get to the Strider fight. Well, it's more like Dave vs. Cal rather than Dave vs. Bro. Not to try and crack open more Bro discourse, but the idea that people will try to equate Dave getting clowned on by a puppet with actual child abuse is absurd. I don't see how this is any different than the previous strifes John and Rose had with their parents.

FUCK it was only for one page. We're back to Jade again. You know, if I had a friend who knew whenever I was about to have an internet outage and acted all smarmy about it, I would probably stop talking to them.

"Grandpa Moreau over there on Hellmurder Island" is a good line. Thank you Rose for providing some levity to this slog of pages I've been enduring.

Another GameFAQs page, but this section is written by John for some reason. He brings up a great point about how nobody is reading these damn things. If you're some nudnik who truly gives a shit about how punch card alchemy works, oh boy do I have a page for you!

Jade dislikes hunting and it was mentioned earlier that she'd never shoot an animal. It strikes me as odd that she has such a passion for guns, but not hunting. What does she shoot then? She's a "skilled markswoman" but do we ever see a shooting range or anything to practice her skills? I can't imagine there's much else to shoot on this island aside from wildlife.

Grandpa Harley says Jade will grow up to be like the women in the photos he gets off to. I uh... I don't know how to feel about that. Other than perhaps it's for the best this old man is dead.

Wow! Who's this rude customer? What a crazy guy! Oh well, he was blocked so I don't think we'll ever see him again.

Finally at this point we take an extended reprieve from Jade. For the record, we're 99 pages into the Act. It took Rose 25 pages from her intro before the plot returned to John, and Dave 48 pages from his before turning back to Rose. (I'm not counting brief cuts to other characters for these counts, because the main focus is still on the recently introduced character). Nearly 100 pages of Jade showing off her house before going back to the plot. Augh!

Anyway, Rose actually reaches out and grabs the captcha card, which isn't something we've seen up to this point. This whole inventory system is weird, man.

I think it's all but directly stated that Mom Lalonde became an alcoholic because she has known the exact date the world was going to end. A sad detail.

Part 2 of the Strider fight ends with Bro yeeting Dave down the stairs. Again, I can't see this scene as serious representation of legitimate child abuse, especially with the fucking SBaHJ jokes at the end. The tone is so comedic and outrageous I don't understand anyone who takes it seriously.

Honestly, the earlier scenes with Dave roaming the apartment, being surrounded by weapons and sex toys, making comments of how he has difficulty accessing food, and being videotaped for Bro's fetish films paint a much better image of an abusive household than any of this strife shit. I don't want to try and argue that Bro isn't a bad guardian, because he definitely is, but there's this notion in the fandom that he does all this because he hates Dave and wants him to suffer, and I don't think that's true at all. His actions read more like neglect and carelessness, not malice.

You can make a list of all Bro's crimes, but hating his brother is not one of them.

John wins his fight against the ogres. There's an earlier page where we see him getting the tar kicked out of him (with the same over the top slapstick animations during the Dave vs. Bro fight, mind you), but it's only after Nannasprite and Rose join to help that he's able to achieve victory. He really can't do anything on his own, can he?

How about a "thank you, Rose, for beating those ogres for me"? Dickhead.

No "thank you" for Nannasprite, either. Instead he asks her to carry him to the gate, since he already knows Rose can't do it. This kid really sucks.

Now that I'm a third of the way done with Act 3, I have to say Jade is some honest to god Mary Sue shit. I don't like using that term because it's been misused to the point of uselessness, but come on. Compare Jade to the three previous kids and tell me that this girl isn't the most ridiculous character in this lineup.

We have John, the goofy cornball that likes pranks and watching bad movies; Rose, the smug pseud that likes the occult and writing lousy fiction; Dave, the aloof hipster that likes rapping and making shitty comics; and Jade, the genius manic pixie furry girl with a randomly changing wardrobe that can see into the future, lives on a private island full of crazy hi-tech gadgets, was raised by a radioactive dog, and likes physics, gardening, sharpshooting, bass guitar, and inventing.

Fuck me. If I was DM for a DnD session and someone submitted a character sheet like that against three normal ones, I'd tell them to leave. Why can't she just be a normal kid like the others? It's all so jarring!

Suddenly I'm wishing I was back reading Act 1 again.

Read the next post here.

[yamayuandadu]

Hello! I saw your discussion about Inanna on Twitter and got a bit confused. You said that the tutelary goddesses of Uruk, Zanbalam, and Akkad were all "Ishtar" and "Inanna," with the only difference being on a cultic level. But then you proceed to say, "never such a situation as 'there's one goddess named Inanna and one named Ishtar.'" Did you mean that Ishtar and Inanna are practically the same? As a bonus question, who is the deity in the image you posted on Twitter?

I’ll start with the bonus question, since it’s something new, while the rest will pretty constitute reiterating what I already said many times.

Admittedly, I was a bit confused at first, because the last image I remembered posting on twitter was this:

That’s not a deity, it’s a plushie (officially "Ouioui series Y Pathetic Suctipoda") made by the company Itemlabel; they come in blindboxes with between 5 and 12 designs in a series. This specific one is sold out already, though.

Then I remembered I used a crop of the quite unique plaque from the temple of Sin in Tutub as a reaction image at some point:

I’m going to assume that’s what was meant. 

In the 1970s it was in vogue to try to link this remarkable work of art with the usual repertoire of entry level monster combat myths, without any real regard for spatial and temporal distribution of these motifs, but that never really caught on and it’s thankfully no longer a thing. As far as I am aware, today there are two proposals regarding this scene which are worth considering. The first is that it shows the defeat of Enmesharra (Wilfred G. Lambert, Babylonian Creation Myths, p. 288). The logic is fairly straightforward: the one-eyed entity has an eerie sun-like head, which according to Lambert offers an interesting parallel to Enmesharra’s epithet zimu, “splendour”, and the fact in a late account of his defeat it is reassigned to Shamash. He speculated scenes where gods with rays coming out of their body are defeated might be related, and offers an interesting insight that perhaps Enmesharra came to be regarded as luminous in some way due to accidental similarity between his name and Inanna’s arguably most famous epithet, Ninmesharra (which is basically the feminine version of the same name; note that there’s also an unrelated god list exclusive Ninmesharra who is an artificial exercise in inventing a wife for Enmesharra to match Enlil’s en-nin pair ancestors). I think Lambert’s arguments are quite compelling and they basically formed the core premise of the non-gay parts of my Inanna story. However, the one-eyed entity has yet another proposed identity which might fit even better. Andrew R. George in Nergal and the Babylonian cyclops points out that textual sources might indicate that a cyclops might really just be a cyclops. While infrequent, references to a mythical creature named igidalu (probably a loanword from Summerian igi dili - in other words, “one eye”, “monoculus”) are known from various sites, including an omen indicating Nergal was known as a vanquisher of such a specimen. It’s worth noting the birth of one-eyed animals was associated with Nergal too, which strengthens the possibility that we’re dealing with a well known myth which simply didn’t survive in written form. The only thing George doesn’t address are the rays, but it’s not like the “monoculus” necessarily had to look fully human-like.  With the interesting stuff out of the way, let’s go back to your initial question. A solid chunk of it is already covered by the previous ask response, so I will only cover some misunderstandings you seem to have under the cut. Plase read previous ask responses and check the recommended reading doc in the future though because I'm kind of tired of repeating the same basic points every few weeks.

To begin with, cultic information is the most significant and should not be dismissed the way you seem to do. Most myths were just scribal exercises, offering lists and various displays of personal devotion are what reflects actual religious activity.

Inanna and Ishtar are names. “Umbrella terms” as Tonia Sharlach put it (and that’s without going into the existence of ordinary nouns ištar and ištartu). There was no singular Ishtar and no singular Inanna, there were numerous deities who could be referred to with both of these names. There is basically no sound way to have one “character” named Inanna and one named Ishtar; either stick to having just one - a type specimen of sorts representing a whole category - or go into more detail and include like 5-6. Megaten took the dumbest route and I’m frankly not interested in talking about it anymore. An early example, what I brought up on twitter, is that the tutelary goddesses of Uruk, Zabalam and Akkad (the city) were pretty clearly separate from each other. Separate hymns are dedicated to each of the three in the Temple Hymn collection, for instance. Each of the three had a separate repertoire of names. These repertoires partially overlap, most notably the names Inanna and Ishtar were applied to all three of them (and to a plethora of other deities) but we’re fundamentally dealing with related, but still separate, deities.

It is safe to say I. of Akkad was an Ishtar before I. of Uruk and I. of Zabalam were, but she was hardly the only goddess named Ishtar (indeed, you’ll find specimens as far west as Ebla). There’s a recurring argument that she was, for political reasons, conflated with Inanna of Uruk during the Sargonic period and this lead to the interchangeable use of the names Inanna and Ishtar later to refer to various deities; this is not impossible though it’s worth noting that a lexical list from Ebla, which is pre-Sargonic, already recognizes the equivalence between the names Ishtar (“Ašdar” if you want to go by Eblaite orthography) and Inanna. Also, it’s worth noting that it’s sort of questionable to speak of fully separate “Sumerian” and “Akkadian” pantheons - putting aside the fact each city-state would have its own pantheon, the lines don’t neatly correspond to languages, ex. the names Sin and Nanna probably started to be used interchangeably before writing was even invented - and despite being nominally Akkadian, the former was the one preferred in Lagash, arguably one of the parts of Mesopotamia with the highest % of Sumerian speakers.

Regardless of how the names came to be interchangeable, there’s no clear evidence for the goddess of Akkad NOT being considered separate despite sharing some of her names wirh others. If anything, with time she only became more distinct, with the epithet Annunitum becoming her primary name (and she also got a “twin” who splintered off from her, Ulmashitum, named after her temple). The case of Zabalam is even more complicated. Technically, it is possible the tutelary goddess of Zabalam was not originally named Inanna, but rather Nin-UM (reading of the second sign is uncertain). That’s how she is referred to in the Zame Hymns from the Early Dynastic period; there’s some disagreement whether we’re dealing with a case of an attempt to “Inannize” an originally completely unrelated goddess or if some sort of splintering happened (in which case the name Nin-UM would be secondary). In any case, she is also pretty clearly a distinct deity. The Weidner god list keeps her apart from the “regular” Inanna. Furthermore, while the circles of deities associated with both overlap (ex. Ninshubur and Nanaya occur in sources from both Uruk and Zabalam), the connection with Shara is effectively exclusive to Inanna of Zabalam (save for the awkward inclusion in Inanna’s Descent)

While myths might skip this sort of distinction, it’s worth noting that’s not 100% guaranteed. For example, there’s a proposal that the hostility between Inanna and Gilgamesh, which is a motif originating in Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven (which predates the singular epic by a couple of centuries), might indicate that implicitly Inanna of Akkad or Zabalam was meant instead of Inanna of Uruk (Douglas Frayne, The Struggle for Hegemony in “Early Dynastic II” Sumer, pages 63-64).

[lonelyroommp3]

One of the issues with h**rtst*p*r (I think) is that this clean-cut conformation to established sexual identities to the letter is not actually realistic for teenagers at all. I went to a high school that was essentially a 24/7 pride parade in terms of sheer volume of queers & accepting community, and it still took me years of messy introspection to fully understand my gender and sexuality! And it’s not even that I think there shouldn’t be happy feel-good queer TV where characters get to be gay without going though All That, but I do think that introspection and trying out labels and being a bit confused is a natural part of many peoples’ queer process, and it’s unrealistic to portray every character as seeing the textbook definition of an identity and immediately knowing it’s them.

i think the real thing is like. is it trying to be happy feel good queer tv, or is it trying to be a didactic educational tool for young queer teenagers, because i think that affects how people viewing the show critically respond to the slightly unrealistic Everybody Knows Exactly What Their Label Is After At Most A Few Episodes Of Fairly Straightforward Deliberation phenomenon. but this issue is sometimes i'm not even sure the people behind the show know the difference and i think half the reason for that is it's based off a webcomic that premiered on tumblr during a period of the internet where an awful lot of us thought the pinnacle of queer representation was everyone coming together at the start of a fic to do a gender sexuality & pronouns circle and ideally to be The Most Progressive Media Possible you would have at least one of every major label currently en vogue represented therein. and i just don't think the core concept has really been revisited since then

[the-girl-who-didnt-smile]

PORT-AU-PRINCE

Although I’d originally planned to style this character after Guede Nibo, I’ve since realized this was a misguided decision. He’s no longer based on Guede Nibo and is supposed to be a member of the Gede who does not exist in the real world. 

A full discussion can be found in the middle of this description: 

“Port-au-Prince” needs an updated description; I plan to do this at a later time.

Original, outdated description below cut: 

RANTING ABOUT THE REAL-LIFE GEDE NIBO (GUEDE NIBO)

Andre Pierre featured Gede Nibo alongside Baron Samedi and Maman Brigitte in several paintings, such as “Les Trois Esprits du Cimetiere.”

Previously, I described Gede Nibo as (quote) “unapologetically queer”. Where did I get the audacity to make such a claim? 

Well, there are a number of English language books and other sources that describe Gede Nibo himself as queer. As you may have gathered, I’m a big fan of Eziaku Atuama Nwokocha’s works, and have relied on her research. In Vodou en Vogue, Nwokocha describes him as an “effeminate dandy” who is “honored by queer people”. In Queering Black Atlantic Religions, Roberto Strongman also names Gede Nibo and Erzulie Freda as deities who "have strong associations with queer Vodou practitioners." Strongman’s statement is certainly true with respect to the Erzulies; the question is whether it is also true with respect to Gede Nibo. 

Afraid of making the same mistake I did with Baron Samedi, I searched for a Haitian source, as there is a great amount of misinformation spread by English speaking, non-Haitians. Since the Haitian author Milo Marcelin also described Gede Nibo as queer, I stopped there and thought, “so Gede Nibo really is queer…!”

…But it seems I may have made the exact same mistake I did with Baron Samedi afterall. 

OOPS!

As far as I can tell, the description of Gede Nibo as “queer” among English-speaking, non-Haitians originates in three major sources:

Gay, German author Hubert Fichte

Gay, American author Randy P. Conner

Haitian author Milo Marcelin

Hubert Fichte conducted his ethnographic work in Haiti during the 1970s. Apparently, Fichte heard Haitian farmers singing a song called “Masisi”, in which the lyrics went “Guede Nibo Masisi!” 

He mentions the title of this song in Xango: 

“Es gibt einen schwulen Totengott, Guede Nibo, und Anfang No­vember singt das ganze Land, jeder haitianische Bauer die Hym­nen auf die Schwulen - »Massissi« - und die ruralen Familienvä­ter vollführen ambivalente Gesten vorne und hinten an ihrer Hose.”

Source: Fichte, Hubert, and Leonore Mau. 1984. Xango. Frankfurt: Fischer. p. 143 https://archive.org/details/xangodafroamerik0000fich/page/142/mode/2up? 

An English translation is provided by Strongman: 

“There is a gay god of death, Guédé Nibo, and in early November the whole country, every Haitian peasant, sings hymns to the gays— “masisi”—and rural family fathers perform ambivalent gestures at the front and back of their pants.”

Source: Strongman, Roberto. Queering Black Atlantic Religions: Transcorporeality in Candomblé (2019). p. 75

The lyrics of the song are described in Homosexualität und Literatur (Vol. 1):

“Als eine der wenigen Religionen verfuegt der Vaudou ueber eine homosexuelle Gottheit, den Totengott Guédé Nibo, und am Totensonntag singen die Vaudouglaeubigen in der Stadt und auf dem Land: Guédé Nibo Massissi, Guédé Nibo Massissi! – schwuler Guédé Nibo, schwuler Guédé Nibo!”

Source: Fichte, Hubert. Homosexualität und Literatur: Polemiken. Germany, S. Fischer, 1987. Vol. 1. p. 146

An English translation is provided in The Gay Critic: 

“Voodoo is one of the few religions to espouse a homosexual divinity, the god of the dead Guédé Nibo, and on Dead Sunday the believers chant, throughout the city and in the countryside: Guédé Nibo Massissi! Guédé Nibo Massissi! – gay Guédé Nibo! gay Guédé Nibo!”

Source: Fichte, Hubert. 1996. The Gay Critic. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. p. 118

Interestingly, Katherine Smith observed something similar in 2007, but the chant went “Gede Masisi!” not “Gede Nibo Masisi!”: 

“Gede mounts individuals as well as small marauding bands of vagabon who may pound on tombs and yell obscenities at the dead. In 2007, one such group of young men dressed in drag, fellated bones, and danced flamboyantly as the crowed cheered “Gede Masisi!” (Gay Gede!).”

Source: Smith, Katherine. "Dialoging with the urban dead in Haiti." Southern Quarterly 47.4 (2010): p. 83 

Hubert Fichte translated the word masisi as a schwul, meaning “gay”, but this is not accurate. Masisi is a slur that has been reclaimed by some within the Haitian LGBTQ community; really, la Communauté M / The M Community.

I have been using words that originate in the Western bourgeoisie, but these are not terms Haitians use to describe themselves - especially those oppressed by race and class. There are similarities between the word masisi and terms used in other non-Western cultures, such as hijra, bakla, okama, and fa'afafine.

As defined by Charlot Jeudy - the former president of KOURAJ who was killed in 2019: 

“…the societal definition of masisi is ‘acting as the female partner in a homosexual relationship.’ You can have muscular, manly M persons, but for Haitians, they cannot be called masisi. The word masisi has always been an insult. It makes people uncomfortable for us to use it, but in Haitian Creole, there is no other way for me to describe what I am.”

Source: https://cornbreadandcremasse.wordpress.com/2013/06/16/the-m-community-lgbt-courage-in-haiti/ 

It’s from 2002, but the documentary Des hommes et dieux contains interviews of several self-identified masisi. Some who identify as masisi would probably identify as “gay” if they were born in America; others would probably identify as “trans” - either, as binary trans women, or nonbinary transfems. Either way, masisi is not synonymous with “gay” or “transfeminine”, and it is important to remember that it’s been used as hate speech.

Fichte was surely incorrect in using words like masisi, schwul, and gay to describe Gede Nibo. There is no doubt in his attraction to women. The question is whether he could be described as “bisexual”, miks, or if he is purely heterosexual - not queer in any respect. 

Although he repeatedly describes Gede Nibo as “gay”, one of Fichte’s interviewees flatly denies this:

Ich frage:

—Ist Guédé Nibo Massissi? Schwul?

André antwortet:

—Das ist falsch. Die Götter, die aus zwei Teilen bestehen, sind keine starken Götter. Es sind gekaufte Götter. Man kauft die Göt­ter, um Sachen zu machen, die nicht gut sind.

Source: Fichte, Hubert, and Leonore Mau. 1984. Xango. Frankfurt: Fischer. p. 182 https://archive.org/details/xangodafroamerik0000fich/page/182/mode/2up 

Machine Translation: 

I ask: 

—Is Guédé Nibo masisi? Gay? 

André answers: 

—That is wrong. The gods that are made up of two parts are not strong gods. They are bought gods. People buy the gods to do things that are not good.

Because I do not speak German, I referred to Herbert Uerlings’ Poetiken der Interkulturalität for context:

Zu den gewichtigsten Ergebnissen seiner Feldforschung gehört, daß Guédé Nibo, einer der Totengötter, die alle traditionell mit Sexualität verbunden werden, ein Gott der Homo- und Bisexuellen ist. Sollte das zutreffen, so wäre es vermutlich eine neue ethnographische Erkenntnis über den Vaudou.47 Die weitergehende Frage an den Priester André, ob »Guédé Nibo Massissi« (X 182) sei, also schwul, wird verneint, aber auf eine Weise, bei der vor lauter offensichtlicher Abwehr Fichtes Vermutung praktisch bestätigt wird: »Das ist falsch. Die Götter, die aus zwei Teilen bestehen [bisexuell oder schwul sind — H.U.], sind keine starken Götter. Es sind gekaufte [schwache — H. U] Götter. Man kauft die Götter, um Sachen zu machen, die nicht gut sind« (X 182). Ein anderer, schwuler Priester dagegen sagt: »Es gibt Götter, die die Homosexuellen verachten, und andre, die sie lieben« (X 194).

Source: Uerlings, Herbert. Poetiken der Interkulturalität: Haiti bei Kleist, Seghers, Müller, Buch und Fichte. Vol. 92. Walter de Gruyter, 2013., p. 282

Machine Translation:

One of the most important findings of his field research is that Guédé Nibo, one of the gods of the dead, all of whom are traditionally associated with sexuality, is a god of homosexuals and bisexuals. If this is true, it would probably be a new ethnographic discovery about voodoo.47 The further question to the priest André as to whether "Guédé Nibo is Massissi" (X 182), i.e. gay, is answered in the negative, but in a way that practically confirms Fichte's assumption through sheer obvious defensiveness: "That is wrong. The gods who consist of two parts [bisexual or gay - H.U.] are not strong gods. They are bought [weak - H. U] gods. Gods are bought to do things that are not good" (X 182). Another, gay priest, on the other hand, says: "There are gods who despise homosexuals and others who love them" (X 194).

I do not know if Uerlings is correct in dismissing the interviewee as “defensive”, but I am grateful for his clarification of the phrase “aus zwei Teilen bestehen”.

Notably, the footnote on the same page states:  

47 Ich habe in der Literatur keinen Beleg dafür gefunden. Allerdings notiert Deren zu Guédé: »Er vertauscht die Geschlechter und zieht Frauen Männerkleider und Männern Frauenkleider an« (Der Tanz des Himmels mit der Erde, 1992, S. 128f.), und vermerkt in einer Fußnote: »Es wird zwar selten eindeutig ausgesprochen, aber häufig finden sich Hinweise darauf. daß es sich bei Guedé [sic!] um eine hermaphroditische Gottheit handelt, genau wie Legba« (a.a.O.).

Source: Uerlings, Herbert. Poetiken der Interkulturalität: Haiti bei Kleist, Seghers, Müller, Buch und Fichte. Vol. 92. Walter de Gruyter, 2013., p. 282

Machine Translation: 

47 I have found no evidence of this in the literature. However, Deren notes about Guédé: »He swaps the sexes and dresses women in men's clothes and men in women's clothes« (The Dance of Heaven and Earth, 1992, p. 128f.), and notes in a footnote: »Although it is rarely stated clearly, there are frequent indications that Guedé [sic!] is a hermaphroditic deity, just like Legba« (loc. cit.).

It is possible that the German Fichte was mistaken in describing Gede Nibo as queer, and that he mistook his lasciviousness for queer sexuality.

Notably, the Haitian author Milo Marcelin described Gede Nibo as queer in Mythologie Vodou (vol. 2): “Guédé Nibo, mystère mâle et femelle (hermaphrodite), est le protecteur des vivants et des morts.” Similar to the song “Masisi”, Marcelin describes another song that suggests Gede Nibo is himself queer. Naturally the song is sexually explicit, but you can find it in the source provided below, with one of the lyrics being “...Regarde la démarche de Guédé!”. 

Source: Marcelin, Milo. Mythologie Vodou: Rite Arada. 2 vols. Port-au-Prince: Les Editions Haitiennes, 1950. Vol. 2, p. 181 & p. 187 https://www.google.com/books/edition/Mythologie_vodou_rite_arada/cjvXAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22Regarde+la+d%C3%A9marche+de+Gu%C3%A9d%C3%A9%22 

An English translation of this song can be found in: Conner, Randy P. Lundschien, and David Sparks. Queering Creole spiritual traditions: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender participation in African-inspired traditions in the Americas. Routledge, 2014, p. 63 https://books.google.com/books?id=5SINiF0fkqwC&pg=PA63&lpg=PA63

A large section of Conner’s Queering Creole Spiritual Traditions describes “homoerotic, pansexual, and transgender aspects” of Gede Nibo. (p. 94). However, one interviewee denies an association between Gede Nibo and queer sexuality - that being, the Caucasian Houngan Mark Alexander "Aboudja" Moellendorf (p. 64) 

Source: Conner, Randy P. Lundschien, and David Sparks. Queering Creole spiritual traditions: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender participation in African-inspired traditions in the Americas. Routledge, 2014

Outside of the sources mentioned above, I have found little evidence that Gede Nibo is himself queer. Rather than Gede Nibo, I’ve found more evidence that the Erzulies are important to members of the aforementioned Haitian “M Community” (see bottom of this post). I have also seen claims that Gede Nibo sometimes cross dresses, but I’ve yet to find a reliable source for this. There are artistic renditions of him proudly displaying his sexuality, but I have yet to see any that show him in women’s clothing, or displaying queer sexuality.

It is possible that the authors listed above are correct in their assessment (except for Fichte, who was definitely wrong). However, there’s a lot of misinformation spread about the lwa outside of Haiti and New Orleans, which arises from foreigners misunderstanding the culture and traditions of Vodou. Since I have already made mistakes with Baron Samedi and Maman Brigitte, I could be wrong about Gede Nibo too. If this is the case, I apologize for spreading misinformation about him being queer. 

It is also possible that the above was true at some point in the past, but not in the present. Afterall, Fichte and Marcelin wrote during the mid 20th century, and traditions evolve over time.

…Well, might as well start ranting about my Deviantart OC!

RANTING ABOUT MY DEVIANTART OC

This character’s name is “Port-au-Prince” - named after the capital of Haiti. 

Unlike the real-life Gede Nibo, “Port-au-Prince” is just gay, and a drag queen. His personality and interests are similar to Angel Dust, where he is openly gay and flamboyant in his mannerisms. As it is a slur, I have been avoiding the word masisi, but it is likely he would identify as part of the “M community”. Where Alastor is (presumably) the son and/or grandson of New Orleans Voodoo Queen(s), “Port-au-Prince” is a houngan - an extremely powerful one at that. His appearance and personality were inspired by the individuals featured in the documentaries Des hommes et dieux and Paris is Burning.

 I made this decision for these reasons: 

To integrate him into the pre-existing world of Hazbin Hotel, as a counterpart Angel Dust

To represent the Haitian “M community”, who experience intense prejudice and violence, but find sanctuary in Vodou

To differentiate him from the real-life Gede Nibo

As a tribute to the association between the Gede and gender/sexual queerness

Here’s a list of sources to back this third point: 

Nwokocha, Eziaku Atuama. Vodou en vogue: fashioning Black divinities in Haiti and the United States. UNC Press Books, 2023.

Conner, Randy P. Lundschien, and David Sparks. Queering Creole spiritual traditions: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender participation in African-inspired traditions in the Americas. Routledge, 2014

McAlister, Elizabeth A. "Love, sex, and gender embodied: The spirits of Haitian Vodou." Love, sex and gender in the world religions (2000): 129-146. https://africultures.com/love-sex-and-gender-embodied-the-spirits-of-haitian-vodou-5719

Smith, Katherine. "Dialoging with the urban dead in Haiti." Southern Quarterly 47.4 (2010): p. 83 

Hence, the decision to make “Port-au-Prince” a queer drag queen.

As a counterpart to Angel Dust, he has a dual gangster-ballroom/voguing theme to him, where he runs his own ballroom house. Although his roots are from Haiti, I think it would be interesting if he was part of the diaspora, where spent much of his human life in New York. This too helps integrate him into the pre-established world, where many characters are former humans who lived during different time periods of American history. It also establishes another parallel between him and Angel Dust, who is also from New York. I was picturing his house as being a mix of Black transfems (more broadly, feminine of center AMABs) and Black transmascs (more broadly, masculine of center AFABs), who are all former humans. They also double as a battle force that could be recruited in a similar manner to the Cannibals in Cannibal Town, where they have strong healing and fighting abilities. 

Port-au-Prince’s drag queen persona is inspired by Aaliyah as Queen of the Damned. In addition to Angel Dust, it would also be possible to establish a connection between him and Sally Mae, if she has any interest in drag. He is the adoptive son of the “Baron of the Dead” and “Gran Maman”, my other DeviantArt OCs who I drew here: https://www.deviantart.com/thegirlwhodidntsmile/art/Lavi-and-Lanmo-1073560801

This was inspired by the description provided by Roberto Strongman, where he writes: 

“In Vodou lore, Gédé Nibo is a young man who was killed violently. Therefore, he has a par­tic­u­lar association with ­those who die young. Once in the spirit realm, Bawon Samedi and Gran Brigit adopt him. In demeanor he is comical, lascivious, witty, and effeminate. In appearance, he is a dandy.”

Source: Strongman, Roberto. Queering Black Atlantic Religions: Transcorporeality in Candomblé (2019). p. 74

It would be imperative to run a concept like this by an expert on Haitian Vodou, to determine whether his portrayal is respectful or not. If it’s inoffensive, I think it would be cool if the three characters inspired by “Les Trois Esprits du Cimetiere” formed a “sexually complete” trinity: one male, one female, and one androgynous. But this may be problematic, as it could mislead audiences into thinking the real-life Gede Nibo is gay. Another approach would be to remove his drag queen persona, and make him a straight guy who has gay friends. Instead of Gede Nibo, the Erzulies could serve as inspiration for a character that embodies LGBTQ acceptance in Vodou.

RANTING ABOUT THE ERZULIES (EZILI DANTOR AND EZILI FREDA)

The Erzulies are important to the Haitian M Community - especially when accounting for race and class. Intense homophobia persists among the oppressed - who are denied access to higher education, and often understand sexuality/gender through religion. Those despised as masisi and madivin are tolerated in Vodou, where many houngans are themselves part of the M Community.

There is a fascinating documentary called Des hommes et dieux, which examines this very community. Several interviewees assert that Ezili Dantor has the power to make a person - male or female* - homosexual. It is for this reason that interviewees insist they were “born this way”, and that their parents - who might have otherwise rejected them - accept them as they are. I was particularly moved by statements from the interviewee Blondine, where the English captions read: “[My father] realized it came from voodoo. So he had to accept me. I’m like this because of the spirits that he’s serving. The loas decided I would be a girl. I was born this way.” 

Granted, one interviewee (the houngan named Fritzner who self identifies as masisi) rejects this belief, considering it blasphemous. Either way, it is unanimous that the Erzulies protect the M community. Those hated as masisi are loved by the lwa, become their houngans, and are called les enfants d’Erzulie - “Ezili’s children”. 

*I specify the category of sex, as the invisibility of “female masculinity” (including, masculine female homosexuality and the transmasculine spectrum) rears its ugly head. The “M Community” has language for transfems and feminine gay men; there are no equivalent terms for transmascs and masculine of center lesbians. As such, I have struggled to find information/research about the inverse phenomenon of “inverted” or “radically masculine” identifying members of “the feminine sex”; certainly not within the Black proletariat. Haiti is by no means unique in this regard. This disparity is found in many cultures all over the world - especially among the oppressed classes.

In any case, Erzulies are not just important to those of “the masculine sex”, but those of “the feminine sex” as well. Eziaku Nwokocha documents her personal experience as a Black queer femme with Ezili Dantor in The ‘Queerness’ of Ceremony. Zora Neale Hurston also briefly mentioned the importance of Ezili Freda to women who “tend toward the hermaphrodite” (i.e., with queer tendencies) in Tell My Horse. Unfortunately, I have struggled to find information about the Haitian equivalent of studs, aggressives, trans men, etc… due to the aforementioned issue of invisibility. Notably, none of the women at the temple Nwokocha visited were masculine-presenting, except for one visitor who dressed in red to honor the masculine lwa Ogou.

Previously I had been under the impression that Erzulie Dantor was associated with lesbians while Erzulie Freda was associated with the transfeminine spectrum. Just, a completely false dichotomy! WOW is there a lot of misinformation spread about Vodou! The Erzulies are associated with the transfeminine spectrum, as they protect femininity in all its manifestations. In addition to Black lesbians/bisexual/queer women, Erzulie Dantor is important to Black transfems, as she is depicted as a dark-skinned Black woman. That’s why people in the Haitian M Community love her, as a goddess of love, luck, and protection. For these reasons, I think it would be really cool to try to work Erzulie-inspired character(s) into this fictional world; granted, it presents more of a challenge to fit them into this setting, since they are not spirits of the dead. The easiest way to do so would be to have one of the Erzulies replace Mother Mary, if Mother Mary does not exist in the fictional mythology of Hazbin Hotel.

If you want to learn more about this, I highly recommend watching Anne Lescot & Laurence Magloire's documentary Of Men and Gods / Des hommes et dieux (2002). It’s available on Kanopy for free, and for rent Vimeo. Additionally, Eziaku Nwokocha, Roberto Strongman, and Omise'eke Natasha Tinsley have written several books and papers on this topic. Here are a few sources that can be accessed online:

Tinsley, Omise’eke Natasha. “Songs for Ezili: Vodou Epistemologies of (Trans) Gender.” Feminist Studies, vol. 37, no. 2, 2011, pp. 417–36. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23069911. Accessed 4 Aug. 2024. 

Strongman, Roberto. "Cross-Gender Identifications in Vodou."  In Defying Binarism: Gender Dynamics in Caribbean Literature and Culture. Virginia University Press. Ed. Maria Cristina Fumagalli. https://www.blackstudies.ucsb.edu/sites/secure.lsit.ucsb.edu.blks.d7/files/sitefiles/people/strongman/NewCrossGenderIdentificationsVodou.pdf 

Nwokocha, Eziaku. “The ‘Queerness’ of Ceremony: Possession and Sacred Space in Haitian Religion.” Journal of Haitian Studies, vol. 25, no. 2, 2019, pp. 71–90. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26926664. Accessed 6 Aug. 2024. https://eziakunwokocha.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/The-Queerness-of-Ceremony.pdf 

SIDE NOTE:

Rereading this, I fear I may come across as judgemental of writers like Fichte and Conner. That is not my intent! I do not think it is fair to judge these authors harshly. It is easy to take the internet for granted. I think these authors did the best they could with the technology that was available to them, but mistakes could have still been made. The fault does not lie on them, but myself for having been careless in my research.

[mote-historie]

Horst P. Horst. Made for You, Vogue October 1, 1948 Dress by Henri Bendel. Model: American Goddess : Jean Patchett

Jean Patchett was both model and muse, a famous face from New York’s vibrant midcentury popular culture and the most successful high-fashion model of her time.

[cartermagazine]

Today We Honor En Vogue En Vogue: Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones, Dawn Robinson and Terry Ellis became one of the most popular and successful female groups of all time. They ruled the 90s with such hits as “Hold On,” “Lies” and “You Don’t Have to Worry,” which all went number one on the Billboard R&B charts. En Vogue has sold more than 30 million records worldwide to date. The group has won seven MTV Video Music Awards, three Soul Train Awards, two American Music Awards, and received seven Grammy nominations. CARTER™️ Magazine carter-mag.com #wherehistoryandhiphopmeet #historyandhiphop365 #cartermagazine #carter #womenshistorymonth #blackhistorymonth #blackhistory #history #staywoke #envogue https://www.instagram.com/p/CpzusaHO1yU/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[queermtl]

Queer MTL : quoi faire en juin 2024 // Queer MTL things to do: June 2024

As the blossoms bloom and the temperature rises in June, Montréal gets loud and proud all month long! This month, Montréal is stuffed to the brim with events, parties and unique experiences painted in all the colours of the LGBTQ+ rainbow. From drag to community, circuit to underground, here’s some of our picks for the best LGBTQ+ things to do in the city. For further announcements, including those not announced at time of publication, follow Queer MTL on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr! Got an event coming up? DM it our way!

LEGEND

🎥 Cinema 👑 Drag 🥳 Parties 🎶 Concert ✊ Activism 🏳️‍⚧️ Trans 🏳️‍🌈 Community 😆 Comedy 🎭 Performance 💪 Sports and Dance 👯‍♀️ Dance 🎤 Karaoke 🎨 Arts 📚 Literary / Educational 👠 Ballroom / Vogue

Samedi 1 juin / Saturday, June 1

👠 BIZARRE KIN presents BE!ZARRE KIKI BALL: The Science Fantasy Edition with Godmother Moohk Louboutin, Skittles Poseida, DJ Cherry KFC and MC Father Twysted Miyake-Mugler, Le National 👑 Drag Aux Foufs : Punk-Metal-Rock-Ska-Emo-Etc with Zyra Dymond, Demone LaStrange, Sisi Superstar, Emma Dejavu, Uma Gahd, Selma Gahd and Elle Would, Les Foufounes Electricques 🥳 Super Taste MTL presents CÉLINE DION DANCE PARTY : Céline, J’irai où tu iras!, Bar Le Ritz PDB 🎭 The Festival TransAmériques (FTA) presents dance and theatre at various venues, all details available on their website 🎨 Aussewnwelt—Exposition collective / Art massif et sonore, Union Française de Montréal 👑 Medusa MTL presents Out of the Closet #3 an open stage for new drag kings and queens, Pow Pow Club 🎤 Bareoke: Strip Karaoke, Café Cléopatra 👑 Mado Reçoit with Mado Lamotte, Gisèle Lullaby, Marla Deer and Crystal Starz, Cabaret Mado 👑 Drôles de Drags with Miss Butterfly, Ciathanight, Crystal Starz or Emma Déjàvu in rotation, Bar Le Cocktail 🎭 The St-Ambroise Montréal Fringe Festival, various venues—check their website for schedule

Dimanche 2 juin / Sunday, June 2

👑 Howdy Kings with Timothy Toxic, Heaven Genderfck and more, The Wiggle Room 👑 Le Tracy Show with Tracy Trash, Bobépine, Jessie Précieuse and Marla Deer, Cabaret Mado 👑 Dimanche Show with Michel Dorion, Bar Le Cocktail 🎭 The Festival TransAmériques (FTA) presents dance and theatre at various venues, all details available on their website 🎭 The St-Ambroise Montréal Fringe Festival, various venues—check their website for schedule

Lundi 3 juin / Monday, June 3

💪 Les Ratons-Chasseurs (Montréal’s LGBTA dodgeball group) hosts an Extras Sunday Soirée Just Us Girls for all who identify as female or non-binary, check their Facebook page for details 👑 C’est ma toune! : Edition Karaoke, a drag show where you pick the playlist, with Peggy Sue, Jessie and Bobépine, Cabaret Mado 🎭 The Festival TransAmériques (FTA) presents dance and theatre at various venues, all details available on their website 🎭 The St-Ambroise Montréal Fringe Festival, various venues—check their website for schedule

Mardi 4 juin / Tuesday, June 4

👑 Full Gisèle with Gisèle Lullaby and Special Guests, Cabaret Mado 👑 Le Cirque de Teddy Boop with Asmatix, Hannah Falactic, Anita Tension, Estelle Valette, Julie Simon and Teddy Boop, Bar Notre Dame des Quilles 🎭 The Festival TransAmériques (FTA) presents dance and theatre at various venues, all details available on their website 😆 Stand Up St. Henri Open Mic focusing on women, non-binary, queer and allied comedians, Impro Montréal 🎭 The St-Ambroise Montréal Fringe Festival, various venues—check their website for schedule

Mercredi 5 juin / Wednesday, June 5

🏳️‍🌈 P!NK BLOC montréal presents the second edition of Festival Queer Radical Brûlances at Centre culturel Georges-Vanier. See their FB event page for full details and schedule.  🎥 The Festival du Film Libanais au Canada presents Letter to Myself, short documentary films on the Lebanese queer community followed by a talk with Hiam Abou Chedid and farah hafez, J. A. De Sève Cinemalip 🎭 The Festival TransAmériques (FTA) presents dance and theatre at various venues, all details available on their website 🎭 The Poly Mic open mic, Bar Notre-Dame-des-Quilles 👑 Rawxy et cie with Adriana, Peggy Sue and Miss Daniels, Cabaret Mado 🎭 The St-Ambroise Montréal Fringe Festival, various venues—check their website for schedule

Jeudi 6 juin / Thursday, June 6

🏳️‍🌈 P!NK BLOC montréal presents the second edition of Festival Queer Radical Brûlances at Centre culturel Georges-Vanier. See their FB event page for full details and schedule.  🎭 Peach Club: Tea Time, with pole dancers, gogo, comedy and burlesque, Café Cléopatre 👑 Miss Badessa : la diva dragmatica, with Miss Badessa and Maestro Antonio Riva, Collectif MTL 👑 Butterfly de nuit with Miss Butterfly, Bar Le Cocktail 🎭 The St-Ambroise Montréal Fringe Festival, various venues—check their website for schedule

Vendredi 7 juin / Friday, June 7

🏳️‍🌈 P!NK BLOC montréal presents the second edition of Festival Queer Radical Brûlances at Centre culturel Georges-Vanier. See their FB event page for full details and schedule.  🎉 Virtualis with Valerie Ace, Haze, Fieldnote, S.talbot, QUINT and Anarnas, including a screening of Bible! by Wakefield Poole and rave until 4 AM, Cinema L’Amour 🎭 Them Fatale presents Carnaval: Clowns & Freaks with Rosie Bourgeoisie, Sasha Désir, Val The Freak, Just Hxrny, Niko Lubie, AD’HORRIBLE, EnvyTheClown, Amnesia, Aizysse Baga, Kyky Delavega, Quinzy Chase, Tristan Ginger, Milady Lila and Lydia, Café Cléopatre 🎭 Romain Bécourt presents TRANSCENDANCE, Montréal Fringe Festival, MainLine Theatre 🎭 Pussy Pop presents What it Means, Montréal Fringe Festival, Théatre La Comédie de Montréal 👑 Mado Reçoit with Mado Lamotte, Océane Aqua-Black, Peach, Walter Ego, Ruby Doll and Nana, Cabaret Mado 👑 Vendredi Fou with Michel Dorion, Bar Le Cocktail 🎭 The St-Ambroise Montréal Fringe Festival, various venues—check their website for schedule

Samedi 8 juin / Saturday, June 8

🏳️‍🌈 P!NK BLOC montréal presents the second edition of Festival Queer Radical Brûlances at Centre culturel Georges-Vanier. See their FB event page for full details and schedule.  🎉 MPU presents MPU: Swimsuit Edition with Aizysse Baga, Psyberia, Bebe-Elle, DJs Jeffany & Frantastik, Komodo and Camilo, Le Belmont 📚 The Violet Hour Book Club reads Cherie Dimaline’s The Marrow Thieves, Archives gaies du Québec 🎶 Róisín Murphy, MTELUS  🎉 Lez-Dance with DJ Franklyne, Stock Bar 😆 Admiring Librarians, a stand-up comedy show about trans lesbians and bookworms with Raquel Maestre, Montréal Fringe Festival, O Patro Výs 🏳️‍🌈 Slow Dating hosts the Montréal Lesbian Match, details on event page 👑 Jimmy Moore presents Madonna: The Celebration Tour, Cabaret Mado 🎭 Pussy Pop presents What it Means, Montréal Fringe Festival, Théatre La Comédie de Montréal 👑 Mado Reçoit with Mado Lamotte, Océane Aqua-Black, Peach, Walter Ego, Ruby Doll and Nana, Cabaret Mado  👑 Drôles de Drags with Miss Butterfly, Ciathanight, Crystal Starz or Emma Déjàvu in rotation, Bar Le Cocktail 🎭 The St-Ambroise Montréal Fringe Festival, various venues—check their website for schedule

Dimanche 9 juin / Sunday, June 9

🏳️‍🌈 P!NK BLOC montréal presents the second edition of Festival Queer Radical Brûlances at Centre culturel Georges-Vanier. See their FB event page for full details and schedule.  😆 The Lucy Show: Lesbian Edition with Lucy Gervais, The Wiggle Room 😆 Admiring Librarians, a stand-up comedy show about trans lesbians and bookworms with Raquel Maestre, Montréal Fringe Festival, O Patro Výs 🎭 Romain Bécourt presents TRANSCENDANCE, Montréal Fringe Festival, MainLine Theatre 👑 Le Tracy Show with Tracy Trash, Océane Aqua-Black, Peach and Pétula Claque, Cabaret Mado  👑 Dimanche Show with Michel Dorion, Bar Le Cocktail 🎭 The St-Ambroise Montréal Fringe Festival, various venues—check their website for schedule

Lundi 10 juin / Monday, June 10

😆 Admiring Librarians, a stand-up comedy show about trans lesbians and bookworms with Raquel Maestre, Montréal Fringe Festival, O Patro Výs 🎭 Pussy Pop presents What it Means, Montréal Fringe Festival, Théatre La Comédie de Montréal 👑 De Vil & Damage: Birthday Suit Edition with Taylor De Vil, EmmÖtional Damage, Crystal Starz and Suri Racha, Cabaret Mado 🎭 The St-Ambroise Montréal Fringe Festival, various venues—check their website for schedule

Mardi 11 juin / Tuesday, June 11

😆 Admiring Librarians, a stand-up comedy show about trans lesbians and bookworms with Raquel Maestre, Montréal Fringe Festival, O Patro Výs 🎭 Romain Bécourt presents TRANSCENDANCE, Montréal Fringe Festival, MainLine Theatre 👑 Full Gisèle with Gisèle Lullaby and Special Guests, Cabaret Mado 😆 Stand Up St. Henri Open Mic focusing on women, non-binary, queer and allied comedians, Impro Montréal 🎭 The St-Ambroise Montréal Fringe Festival, various venues—check their website for schedule

Mercredi 12 juin / Wednesday, June 12

👠 The Jellicle Kiki Ball with Godmother Phoenix Sankofi, Prince Noam Louboutin, DJ G Mako 007 and MC Chivengi, La Sala Rossa  👑 Boom Boom : 10 ans de carrière with Lady Boom Boom, Aizysse Baga and surprise guests, Cabaret Mado 🎭 The Poly Mic open mic, Bar Notre-Dame-des-Quilles 🎭 Pussy Pop presents What it Means, Montréal Fringe Festival, Théatre La Comédie de Montréal 🎭 Romain Bécourt presents TRANSCENDANCE, Montréal Fringe Festival, MainLine Theatre 🎭 The St-Ambroise Montréal Fringe Festival, various venues—check their website for schedule

Jeudi 13 juin / Thursday, June 13

📚 Violet Hour: Speculative Fiction with Ben Berman Ghan, Chris Bergeron, Léa Murat-Ingles and Christopher DiRaddo, Stock Bar 🏳️‍🌈 CREMIS hosts Décloisonner les savoirs: la recherche communautaire LGBTQ, CREMIS 🎭 Pussy Pop presents What it Means, Montréal Fringe Festival, Théatre La Comédie de Montréal 👑 RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Nymphia Wind performs two shows and hosts an afterparty / meet-and-greet, Cabaret Mado 🎥 IMAGE+NATION. FESTIVAL COURTS QUEER SHORT FILM FEST (I+N FCQSFF), Canada’s first queer short film festival returns for its 5th edition, streaming online. Full program at their website.  👑 Butterfly de nuit with Miss Butterfly, Bar Le Cocktail 🎭 The St-Ambroise Montréal Fringe Festival, various venues—check their website for schedule

Vendredi 14 juin / Friday, June 14

👑 Les Drags Te Font Signe fundraiser, featuring live Québec Sign Language translation with Barbada, Heaven Genderfck and Rock Bière, Ausgang Plaza 🥳 Cerise Noire goth night with Laura Krieg and Bad Faith Actor, Bar NDQ 🎥 IMAGE+NATION. FESTIVAL COURTS QUEER SHORT FILM FEST (I+N FCQSFF), Canada’s first queer short film festival returns for its 5th edition, streaming online. Full program at their website.  🎭 Romain Bécourt presents TRANSCENDANCE, Montréal Fringe Festival, MainLine Theatre 👑 Mado Reçoit with Mado Lamotte, Lady Boom Boom, Kitana, Tracy Trash and Nana, Cabaret Mado 👑 Vendredi Fou with Michel Dorion, Bar Le Cocktail 🎭 The St-Ambroise Montréal Fringe Festival, various venues—check their website for schedule

Samedi 15 juin / Saturday, June 15

🎉 BLUSH x WIP x BARCODE presents a celebration of queer masculinities of all flavours including transmascs and drag kings, with Strange Froots (Live), Vaughan, BUHBUHLO and Gogo dancers Slick Hardwood, Uncle Marly, Aggy the Dancing Mechanic, Aleuro Boyrealis and more, WIP 🎉 Balls Deep Disco Montréal x NYC Takeover with DJs Gant Johnson, Frantastik and Burn Baby, Cabaret Berlin 🎥 IMAGE+NATION. FESTIVAL COURTS QUEER SHORT FILM FEST (I+N FCQSFF), Canada’s first queer short film festival returns for its 5th edition, streaming online. Full program at their website.  🎤 Bareoke: Strip Karaoke, Café Cléopatra 🥳 Super Taste MTL presents Dance Party 2000: Taste of Your Lips Edition!, Bar Le Ritz PDB 📚 Fierté Montréal and Fierté littéraire presents Queer académie : appel à candidatures, details at link 🎭 Pussy Pop presents What it Means, Montréal Fringe Festival, Théatre La Comédie de Montréal 😆 Admiring Librarians, a stand-up comedy show about trans lesbians and bookworms with Raquel Maestre, Montréal Fringe Festival, O Patro Výs 🎭 Romain Bécourt presents TRANSCENDANCE, Montréal Fringe Festival, MainLine Theatre 🏳️‍🌈 Casting for Peel Fashion Week, Les Cours Mont-Royal 👑 Jimmy Moore personifies Tina Turner, Cabaret Mado 👑 Bitch Party with Lana Dalida, Yannick Rockstor and Crystal Starz, Bar Le Cocktail 👑 Drôles de Drags with Miss Butterfly, Ciathanight, Crystal Starz or Emma Déjàvu in rotation, Bar Le Cocktail 🎭 The St-Ambroise Montréal Fringe Festival, various venues—check their website for schedule

Dimanche 16 juin / Sunday, June 16

🎶 Kallitechnis: Moon Ring—The Live Experience with Honeybunn, Phi Centre 😆 Admiring Librarians, a stand-up comedy show about trans lesbians and bookworms with Raquel Maestre and openers Eve Parker Finley and Carmina Berbari Daou, Montréal Fringe Festival, O Patro Výs 🎥 The Transgender Media Portal presents Envisioning Trans Futures, featuring short films made by Montréal trans and 2S filmmakers, details at link 🎥 IMAGE+NATION. FESTIVAL COURTS QUEER SHORT FILM FEST (I+N FCQSFF), Canada’s first queer short film festival returns for its 5th edition, streaming online. Full program at their website.  👑 Afternoon Drag Cafe, all-ages, neurodivergent-friendly and sober, with Itsh and Timothy Toxic, L’Orbite 👑 Le Tracy Show with Tracy Trash, Sasha Baga, Kiara and Marla Deer, Cabaret Mado 👑 Dimanche Show with Michel Dorion, Bar Le Cocktail 🎭 The St-Ambroise Montréal Fringe Festival, various venues—check their website for schedule

Lundi 17 juin / Monday, June 17

🎭 The L Word Live: Season One performed by Sarah Laurendeau, Marie-Soleil Dion, Florence Blain Mbaye, Camille Léonard, Marc-André Poliquin, Mélodie Noël Rousseau and Geneviève Labelle, Cabaret Mado

Mardi 18 juin / Tuesday, June 18

👑 Full Gisèle with Gisèle Lullaby and Special Guests, Cabaret Mado 👑 Garden of Shade : Été Pride with Sarah Winters, Lulu Shade, Dupré Latour, Stella Moon and Iggy Zob, Bar Le Cocktail  👑 Le Cirque de Teddy Boop, Bar Notre Dame des Quilles 😆 Stand Up St. Henri Open Mic focusing on women, non-binary, queer and allied comedians, Impro Montréal

Mercredi 19 juin / Wednesday, June 19

🎨 Drink & Draw by @Hommehomo, Bar Le Cocktail 🎭 The Poly Mic open mic, Bar Notre-Dame-des-Quilles 👑 Sashalicious with Sasha Baga, Cabaret Mado

Jeudi 20 juin / Thursday, June 20

🎥 Queer Cinema Club of Montréal hosts a screening of William Friedkin’s 1980 film Cruising starring Al Pacino, Cinema Moderne 🎭 Les Folies Draglesques with Miami Minx, Selma Gahd, Célesta O’Lee, Crystal Slippers, Mia Culpa and Walter Ego, Cabaret Mado 👑 Butterfly de nuit with Miss Butterfly, Bar Le Cocktail

Vendredi 21 juin / Friday, June 21

👑 Queen Drag Race : Bring back my DRAG!!! with l’Escogriffe Bar Spectacle 👑 Mado Reçoit with Mado Lamotte, Celes, Bambi Dextrous and Daisy Wood, Cabaret Mado 👑 Vendredi Fou with Michel Dorion, Bar Le Cocktail

Samedi 22 juin / Saturday, June 22

👑 Jimmy Moore personifies Taylor Swift, Cabaret Mado 👑 Mado Reçoit with Mado Lamotte, Celes, Bambi Dextrous and Daisy Wood, Cabaret Mado 👑 Drôles de Drags with Miss Butterfly, Ciathanight, Crystal Starz or Emma Déjàvu in rotation, Bar Le Cocktail

Dimanche 23 juin / Sunday, June 23

👑 Le Tracy Show with Tracy Trash, Lady Boom Boom, Bambi Dextrous and Pétula Claque, Cabaret Mado 👑 Dimanche Show with Michel Dorion, Bar Le Cocktail

Lundi 24 juin / Monday, June 24

👑 Le Sami Party with Sami Landri, Cabaret Mado

Mardi 25 juin / Tuesday, June 25

👑 Full Gisèle with Gisèle Lullaby and Special Guests, Cabaret Mado 😆 Stand Up St. Henri Open Mic focusing on women, non-binary, queer and allied comedians, Impro Montréal

Mercredi 26 juin / Wednesday, June 26

🎭 The Poly Mic open mic, Bar Notre-Dame-des-Quilles 👑 Magic Kingdom: 100 Years of Magic, Cabaret Mado 👑 De Vil & Damage: Birthday Suit Edition with Taylor De Vil, EmmÖtional Damage, Crystal Starz and Suri Racha, Cabaret Mado

Jeudi 27 juin / Thursday, June 27

🎉 BLUSH presents Salade de Fruits : Happy Hour Queer, an event by and for FLINT+, Bar La Marche à côté 👑 Butterfly de nuit with Miss Butterfly, Bar Le Cocktail

Vendredi 28 juin / Friday, June 28

👑 Mado Reçoit with Mado Lamotte, Gisèle Lullaby, Marla Deer, Nana and Jessie Précieuse, Cabaret Mado 👑 Vendredi Fou with Michel Dorion, Bar Le Cocktail

Samedi 29 juin / Saturday, June 29

👑 Jimmy Moore personifies Shania Twain + Céline Dion, Cabaret Mado 👑 Mado Reçoit with Mado Lamotte, Gisèle Lullaby, Marla Deer, Nana and Jessie Précieuse, Cabaret Mado 👑 Drôles de Drags with Miss Butterfly, Ciathanight, Crystal Starz or Emma Déjàvu in rotation, Bar Le Cocktail

Dimanche 30 juin / Sunday, June 30

👑 Le Tracy Show with Tracy Trash, Rawxy, Kelly Torrieli and Marla Deer, Cabaret Mado 👑 Dimanche Show with Michel Dorion, Bar Le Cocktail

OTHERS / LES AUTRES

🤠 Club Bolo—Danse Country Montréal meet on Fridays at the Association sportive et communautaire du Centre-Sud.

👯 Tango/Salsa Queer holds lessons every Saturday, visit queertangomtl.com for information or contact tango.queer@hotmail.com or call +1 (514) 709-4678 for prices and signup information, Espaces des Arts.

🏐 Les Ratons-Chasseurs (Montréal’s LGBTA dodgeball group) holds regular events. Keep an eye on their Facebook for upcoming opportunities to join in and play. 

🕹Montréal Gaymers hosts regular gatherings including board game nights and gaming gatherings. Check their Facebook for what’s next!

🏃🏾Join the Out-Run run and workout club for people relating to the queer / sapphic experience. Details on their Instagram!

🐦 Bird lovers should keep their eye on Queer Birders' regularly scheduled birdwatching events and excursions. Join the Facebook group and get those binoculars at the ready.

👠 Twice a month on every second Tuesday, Bring It! hosts an OTA night of ballroom and vogue with commentator and DJ. Follow their Instagram for dates and details.

[berglietz]

𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐑 𝐒𝐘𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐌

RULES: bold what applies - italicize sometimes -strike out never. Tag some friends to play along! Repost, don’t reblog !

SUN • egotistical • melted wax wings and fingers • stretching sunburnt skin • the most generous soul • blood in the fruit • halos • anger on fire • high vitality • thunderous laughter • is pride really a sin? • halogenic aura

MERCURY • expansion of the mind • silver-tongued • an everlasting wanderer • polyglot • high dexterity • handwritten letters • innately critical • en vogue • eyes in the trees • hidden libraries • there’s always room for improvement

VENUS • in love with strangers • iridescent waters • love potions for your mirror • selfless devotion • shattering crystal • seafoam upon sand • the golden ratio • drowning in your own passion • material value & high principles • luring • plush lips

EARTH • fresh springs • tree hugger • we can start again tomorrow • a blazing rainforest • respects survival of the fittest • nature’s adversity • lazy bones • constantly evolving��• flowers sprouting from wounds • a granite altar • fossilized remains

MOON • illusory •silver shimmer off the ocean• secrets and gossip • cycles of reincarnation •a crybaby • physically ethereal • shared glances with a stranger • cat eyes • mistrusting their intuition • fear is a prison • ornate magic wands

MARS • healthy competition • attraction and repulsion • magma and rubies • a blade being forged • wrath wrath wrath • malefic • intense eye contact • cannon fodder &fireworks • blood floods • copper taste on your tongue

JUPITER • red robes and a suit of armor • beacon of stability • leader by birth • thunderbolts and lightning • guilty but can’t stop • secret rich kid • golden touch golden tears• innate optimist • failure isn’t an option • constantly reaching for more • unfinished symphonies

SATURN • traditional • overbearing energy • a sculptor of reality • this existence is a karmic one • has a heart it’s just… way down deep • law, order & justice • avoid all necessary risk • the sound of shackles clanging • sisyphus’ struggle •grappling with the reality of time • self-governing

URANUS • psychedelic funk music • overflowing cups • a rebellion with skin •looking good in photo id• oblivious but caring •middle fingers in the air • double rainbows • icy diamond exterior • holographic • afraid of their own mediocrity • pearlescent smoke

NEPTUNE • an elegy for the lost • dissolving boundaries • white horses • the burden of mystical conditions • deceptive • escapism is their reality • a polarizing entity • artists soul • paranoia • searching for the unseen • a siren’s swan song

PLUTO • angel statues over graves • power • the cycle of necrosis • transformative • unfathomable depths • an ivory tower toppling over • screaming at the sky • violets and irises • eclipsed darkness • speaks with their shadow • sex, death, rebirth

tagged by: dash! p much everybody but i nabbed this from nic tagging: youuuuu

[unevaguedeprintemps]

« Nuit.

Et j’ai avancé ma main de mendiant

vers ton ombre, cramponnée

aux murs nets, ocre,

de la faim.

Au-dessus de nous, le ciel a fait

éclater son secret.

Au-dessus de nous, une charrue a fendu la terre

en deux.

J’ai vidé les constellations, puis

t’ai fourrée à nouveau d’éternité.

Nuit.

Et je t’ai verrouillé dans

la question qui s’écoulait de moi avec la rosée.

Et j’ai appris par cœur le silence.

Et j’ai bâti une réponse pour personne.

Et je suis remonté

de ton corps profond, lumineux.

Et me suis perdu moi-même

à jamais. »

Paul Auster, In Veille

.

.

.

Ph Horst P. Horst – Lisa on Silk, New York, 1940 for vogue

Fonte: lapetitemelancolie.net

[chicinsilk]

US Vogue November 15, 1965

Wilhelmina Cooper wears a little satin shirt dress with a very short skirt. By Arnold Scasi. stockings by, Bewitching in Lycra and Lurex threads. Earrings by Laguna. Hairstyles: Ingrid by Michel Kazan.

Wilhelmina Cooper porte une petite robe chemise en satin avec une jupe très courte. Par Arnold Scasi. bas par, Bewitching en Lycra et fils Lurex. Boucles d'oreilles par Laguna. Coiffures : Ingrid de Michel Kazan.

Photo Horst P. Horst vogue archive

[sebastianlucioc]

La moda y la cocina como todo arte menor son un estilo de vida , simplemente naces para eso o no ! La diferencia entre un pintor a un artista va más allá de una visión y una imagen está en el gusto por el saber hacer y que produce saciedad al creer que se encuentra la verdadera belleza y espero por mi parte nunca encontrarla, un vino blanco para la cena! (@sebastianlucioc ) 🥀 #monlaferte #tufaltadequerer #frasesdeamor #sebastianlucio #fashuondesigner #fashionstyle #vogue #magazine #love #photography #photooftheday #coolhunting #fuckthepolice #fuckthesystem #fuckyeah #rose #perderalacabeza #ojosverdes #greeneyes (en Bogotá D.C, Colombia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnnUsISOCUJ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[beevean]

The whole production of SatAm is pretty weird in general. When you look at the many pieces of concept art that has surfaced in the past years it was originally going to look far more different than even those prototype scans from that one STC.

The whole is kind of funny in hindsight because I remember AoSTH being hated back in the day simply because it wasn't as dark or as serious as SatAm. Even though I would argue that AoSTH is closer in spirit to the games at the time compared to SatAm, to the point where I would even say that the show's Robotnik is pretty close to the modern Eggman we eventually got but with the narcism and hamminess turned up to 11.(Alas, we still haven't seen Eggman in a purple bikini, though.)

Like I have a lot of nostalgia towards SatAm, but I was also one of those fans who also liked AoSTH before YouTube Poop made it cool to do, and back when fandoms were far more demanding that people like one or the other or else. So I'm kindaaa getting increasingly annoyed with fans barking at Sega to introduce Sally and the rest of the Freedom Fighters into the games and modern canon(without even taking into consideration how fundamentally different the modern canon/s setting alone is in comparison). Just because SatAm/Archie were the faces of the franchise within at the least the Western fandom during the 90s, when it was far from the only adaptation and interpretation of the character and franchise floating around at the time.

My only experience with AoSTH and SatAM is the Nostalgia Critic review where he shits on the former and worships the latter, so I am familiar with what you said 😂

Admittedly I also remember watching the first episode of AoSTH a lifetime ago and concluding that it wasn't my thing - it felt like Discount Looney Tunes to me. It almost feels like DiC took Sonic 1 and 2, separated the zany, colorful aesthetic and the subtle environmentalist message from each other, and amped both up to 11 for its shows.

But yeah, I suppose that AoSTH was so lowkey and simple that they didn't need to change much about it. You have Sonic being a snarky '90s kid, you have Tails being his cute lil bro (I know of the scene where Tails calls Sonic his whole family, aww), you have Robotnik being a hammy bastard, you have three Badniks from the games, shenanigans ensue. That makes it inherently more faithful to the games of the time.

I don't think the concept of SatAM is bad? It puts emphasis on the environmentalist message (also, it was the '90s, that shit was en vogue back then lmao), it has Robotnik as a dictator to be fought by Sonic, on paper it sounds like a great Sonic adaptation. But I can't say how well it worked with that premise. Apparently not very well due to the main trio being OOC and overshadowed by the OCs, which seems to be a recurring problem with adaptations :P

I wonder how things would have turned out if DiC knew about the existence of Amy and Metal...

[taeminsp]

28.04.2023

Entrevista a Taemin para la versión online de la revista 'Teen Vogue'.

🔗 fuente

Primera entrevista de Taemin después del servicio militar: "He aprendido a vivir la vida"

El ícono del K-pop lo cuenta todo en su primera entrevista desde que regresó del servicio militar obligatorio.

POR STACY NAM · 28 DE ABRIL DE 2023

Los ojos expresivos de Taemin están llenos de emoción mientras contempla el mar de barras de luz en forma de diamante. Son un poco más de las 2 p. m. en el Gran Palacio de la Paz de la Universidad Kyung Hee el 22 de abril de 2023 y  ha comenzado la primera de las cuatro reuniones de fans de RE : ACT . Es la primera vez que Taemin ve y actúa para sus fanáticos en persona en más de tres años.

Solo han pasado unas pocas semanas desde que regresó de su año, 10 meses y cinco días en el servicio militar obligatorio, pero Taemin es un artista consumado . No es como si no hubiera pasado el tiempo, sino más bien como si hubiera seguido creciendo de diferentes maneras a lo largo de los años. Al ver a Taemin actuar, me viene a la mente la palabra vocación: un llamado a estar en el escenario. Camina lentamente por el escenario, asegurándose de saludar a los fanáticos sentados en los tres pisos. Una dulce sonrisa ilumina su rostro y redondea sus mejillas mientras los gritos y las barras de luz ondulantes siguen su progresión. Finalmente, toma su lugar en el centro del escenario, se aclara la garganta y se inclina profundamente. "Hola a todos", dice. “Soy Taemin de SHINee”. El ídolo de los ídolos finalmente ha regresado.

“Mi pausa fue difícil y dolorosa y sentí tanto anhelo”, le dice Taemin a  Teen Vogue en su primera entrevista posterior al alistamiento, entre shows el domingo 23 de abril. En la conversación, el ícono del K-pop es de voz suave y elocuente. cada emoción se refleja en sus ojos. “Pero luego ese tiempo lejos, que se sintió como una eternidad, terminó. Cuando regresé, sentí que pude volver como una persona más fuerte... Siento que la base interna del ser humano Lee Taemin se ha vuelto más fuerte".

La presencia escénica de Taemin se caracteriza por una intensidad tranquila y dominante, una sensualidad ágil y un movimiento elegante. Su voz se ha vuelto más fuerte en su ausencia. Con Taemin, puedes confiar en que incluso los cambios más pequeños en la coreografía, ya sea un chasquido de dedos o un toque extra en la cara, fueron agregados con precisión por un artista que entiende la poesía que está creando en el escenario.

RE : ACT combinó actuaciones, segmentos de charlas y juegos, y fue el escenario íntimo perfecto para que Taemin y sus fanáticos se reencontraran. Taemin, un INFP confeso, se desempeñó como MC de los cuatro programas, participando en bromas divertidas y reflexiones sinceras y leyendo mensajes de fans. Los puntos destacados del programa incluyeron la realización de desafíos populares, lo que resultó en posiblemente la versión más adorable  del 귀여워서 미안해 챌린지 (Lo siento, soy un lindo desafío), así como el  "Hype Boy" viral de NewJeans.desafío. Mientras tanto, la lista de canciones durante la duración aproximada de una hora y media del programa incluyó éxitos como “Criminal” y “Advice”, junto con actuaciones notables de “Black Rose” y “Snow Flower”. También hizo un popurrí que incluía "Pansy", "SAD KIDS", "Think of You", "Flame of Love", "Rise" y "I Think It's Love". 

Cuando las últimas notas de “I Think It's Love” se desvanecen, Taemin sonríe suavemente y se despide. Con sus palabras finales de “Gracias” y “Estoy tan feliz por ti” y “Te amo tanto, tanto”, se fue. Por un momento hay un vacío repentino, como si despertara de un sueño perfecto de una noche de verano, pero luego me viene a la mente la promesa de Taemin de pasar las cuatro estaciones juntos de ahora en adelante. Hay mucho que esperar, mucho que anticipar de este nuevo capítulo de uno de los artistas más icónicos de nuestro tiempo. 

A continuación, escuche a Taemin sobre los días antes de que se alistó, cómo ha cambiado su enfoque de la vida y la nueva música que está preparando para el futuro.

Teen Vogue: Todavía recuerdo lo ocupada que estabas antes de alistarte. ¿Qué estaba pasando por tu mente cuando esa fecha llegó a la vuelta de la esquina?

Taemin: Estaba corriendo a toda velocidad con todo lo que tenía. Realmente no podía ver lo que me rodeaba, ya que estaba muy concentrado en el camino por delante. Recuerdos de tiempos pasados ​​destellaban ante mí, un caleidoscopio de recuerdos. Sentí que me estaba despidiendo de todos esos tiempos. También había sentimientos de vacío. Aunque fue una realidad tan difícil para mí en ese momento, también se convirtió en una oportunidad para volverme más fuerte, para estabilizarme y poder levantarme nuevamente. Mi hiato fue difícil y doloroso y sentí mucho anhelo. Pero luego ese tiempo lejos, que se sintió como una eternidad, terminó. Aunque algunas personas pueden verlo como un período corto de tiempo...

Teen Vogue: No se sintió corto. Se sentía como 500 años.

Taemin: (Risas) Cuando regresé, sentí que pude volver como una persona más fuerte. Alguien que no se deshaga fácilmente y sea más maduro. Siento que la base interna del ser humano Lee Taemin se ha vuelto más fuerte.

Teen Vogue: ¿Puedes contarme más sobre el ser humano Lee Taemin?

Taemin: Pude tomarme el tiempo para reflexionar objetivamente sobre mí mismo. La forma en que he vivido hasta ahora era muy subjetiva. Creía que lo que pensaba era correcto sin excepción. Pero he descubierto qué tipo de persona soy. He descubierto lo que es difícil para mí, lo que me causa estrés, lo que me motiva, lo que me hace realmente feliz y lo que me da una sensación de plenitud. 

Mirando hacia atrás... estas son preguntas tan fáciles. Si alguien preguntara: "¿Qué te gusta?" entonces la respuesta debería ser "Oh, me gusta x, y, z". Si alguien preguntara: "¿Qué es lo más importante [cosa] en la vida?" No sabría qué decir, ya que no creo que se me haya pasado por la cabeza vivir mi vida hasta ese punto. Siempre estaba ocupado y vivía una vida tan agitada, las cosas más básicas, como lo que me gusta, cuáles son mis pasatiempos, [no lo sabía]. 

Si me preguntas cómo paso el resto de mi día, no creo que haya sido una persona que haya pasado ese tiempo de una manera significativa. Solo pensaba: "Oh, ¿qué debo hacer?" y luego se detendría allí. Pero durante mi pausa, pude aprender estas cosas poco a poco. Ahora creo que mi personalidad/carácter es más cercano al de alguien de mi edad.

Teen Vogue: Dijiste que pudiste explorar lo que te gusta, cuáles son tus pasatiempos. ¿Qué te gusta?

Taemin: Creo que esto es realmente importante. Antes, cuando vivía mi día a día, tenía ese tipo de pensamiento vago: "Voy a vivir y morir en el escenario". Pero para ser honesto, no estamos en el escenario las 24 horas del día. Si alguien pregunta: “¿Qué vas a hacer el resto de ese tiempo?” ahora tengo esa respuesta. Creo que he aprendido a vivir la vida. Ya sea desarrollando un pasatiempo, realizando una actividad, aprendiendo algo nuevo, conociendo a un amigo o comiendo comida deliciosa. Pasé tiempo haciendo todas estas cosas. Me encontraría con amigos por la noche. Una vez vi una película solo en el cine. Me cubría la cara e iba a lugares con mucha gente y decía: “¡Guau! ¡Estoy entre tanta gente aquí en el centro comercial!”

Teen Vogue: ¿Alguien te reconoció?

Taemin: ¡ No, nadie me reconoció!

Vogue adolescente: ¿En serio?

Taemin: ¡Sí! Oh, también monté mucho en bicicleta. Fue agradable aprender a vivir cada día de manera significativa. Por supuesto, todo el mundo necesita esos días para estar en casa y relajarse, pero siento que pasé mis días demasiado intrascendentemente antes.

Teen Vogue: Durante la reunión de fans, dijiste que pasarías las tardes monitoreando y criticando tus actuaciones pasadas. ¿Cuáles fueron algunas de las críticas que tuviste?

Taemin: Por ejemplo, vería actuaciones de “Don’t Call Me” y “Code” de SHINee. “Atlantis” vino después. Para ser honesto, no tuvimos mucho tiempo para prepararnos para “Atlantis”. Si hubiera practicado más, incluso si hubiera sido difícil para mí, habría habido un mayor grado de finalización. Hoy en día, todos los espectáculos musicales tienen fancams de actuación en solitario y muestran la coreografía completa de principio a fin. Al mirar, pensaba: "Ah, debería haber practicado más adecuadamente". Ahora que he estado activo en la industria durante tanto tiempo, sé muy bien cuándo la cámara me está enfocando y cuándo no. Cuando la cámara no está enfocada en mí, soy un poco *agita los brazos y hace una mueca tonta* (risas).

Teen Vogue: Pero ahora que todos los programas de música tienen esas fancams 4K, todo sería captado por la cámara.

Taemin: Así es (risas).

Teen Vogue: Decidiste tener un fanmeeting tan pronto como terminaste tu alistamiento. No debe haber sido fácil tener un horario oficial tan pronto después de tu prolongada ausencia. ¿Por qué decidiste realizar un fanmeeting tan rápido?

Taemin: [Estuve fuera] por mucho tiempo. Mi hiato fue un poco más largo que otros. No dejaba de pensar en la promesa que había hecho de volver a encontrarme con mis fans en la Navidad de 2022. Lamentaba mucho no poder cumplir esta promesa. Y sentí esta sed, “Quiero ver [a mis fans] rápidamente. Quiero conocerlos lo antes posible”. Incluso si estoy tan nervioso, quiero darme prisa y reunirme con ellos. Este pensamiento estaba al frente de mi mente. ¿Tal vez puedas decir que estaba impaciente? Aunque volvería a encontrarme con mis fans a través de SHINee ya que lanzaremos un álbum pronto, significaría que tendrían que esperar mucho más. No se sentía bien no [hacer] nada en el ínterin.

Teen Vogue: En Instagram Live en la fecha de tu alta, hablaste sobre cómo te sentías nerviosa y tímida al estar frente a los fans de nuevo, y creo que eso también fue evidente durante la primera reunión de fans. Realmente pude ver lo emocional que estabas cuando saliste por primera vez. Ahora que has realizado tres shows, ¿se ha ido ese nerviosismo? ¿Has vuelto a ser Taemin, el rey del escenario y el ladrón de los corazones de los fans?

Taemin: Hubo varios momentos en los que me sentí muy emocionado. Ahora, es un nivel de nerviosismo que se siente bien. Siento, poco a poco, que estoy acercándome más y sintiéndome más cómodo con mis fans, y creo que la gente que me mira también puede sentirlo.

Teen Vogue: Para tus actuaciones, hay varias canciones de las que interpretaste una versión ligeramente remezclada o, en el caso de “Hypnosis”, la versión de concierto. Me gustó especialmente el cambio en la narración en "Criminal" de "destrúyeme más" a "si mi todo tiene que ser destruido para permanecer en tu mundo, puedo arrastrarte hasta el suelo donde estoy". Destrúyeme más.” ¿Cuándo y por qué decidiste cambiarlo?

Taemin: Originalmente, pensé que sería divertido interpretar “Criminal” en un concierto como este. Por lo general, mis conciertos tienen un escenario extendido. A medida que comienza la narración, reaccionaría a lo que se dice mientras avanzaba en el escenario extendido. Quería realizarlo con un nivel de teatro, similar a un musical. [Ya que no pude realizar un concierto], pensé que sería divertido mostrar esto durante el fanmeeting y propuse la idea. El letrista que compuso “Criminal” también compuso esta versión. Pensé que con esta nueva versión de la narración podría crear una variación divertida de "Criminal". No quería hacerlo de la misma manera que se había hecho antes.

Teen Vogue: Estás preparando el álbum de SHINee ahora y, por supuesto, tu próximo álbum en solitario también saldrá en algún momento. ¿Hay algo nuevo que quieras probar?

Taemin: Para SHINee, hemos probado muchas cosas. Una cosa que quiero hacer es un concepto refrescante, similar a SHINee, chispeante y genial. Otro es el hip-hop. Una base de hip-hop, algo que SHINee no ha hecho antes. Una pista de hip-hop que tiene algo de alma, un sonido base inspirado en la música de los años 80 y 90. Para mí, me gustaría intentar la colaboración con otros artistas si el tiempo funciona. Cuando llega el momento de grabar mi álbum, mis pensamientos pueden cambiar, pero eso es lo que estoy pensando ahora.

Teen Vogue: Si pudieras recomendar una de tus canciones para escuchar mientras esperas el próximo capítulo de Taemin, ¿cuál sería?

Taemin: “Creo que es amor”. Es una canción que aporta calidez, y creo que no te cansarás de ella, aunque la escuches un par de veces. Es una canción que es agradable tenerla sonando de fondo.

Teen Vogue: Y por último, ¿un mensaje para tus fans?

Taemin: Muchas gracias por esperarme. Te amo. Estoy tan emocionada pensando en los muchos días que tenemos por delante que pasaremos juntos. Espero que usted también se emocione al pensar en esto. Te haré sentir orgulloso de ser un SHAWOL.

Nota: Esta entrevista fue realizada en coreano por Stacy Nam, quien también tradujo la conversación. 

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