#post inspired by reading reviews of poor things .

[domesticangel]

telling people they lack reading/media comprehension used to actually mean something and now it’s just something people say when they actually mean “u criticized something I like so I’m gonna play superiority complex and say u ackshually 🤓☝🏻just didn’t like it bc u didn’t Get It and aren’t as smart as me☝🏻☝🏻☝🏻”

[heart-of-ep]

Elvis: Through Her Lens (Chapter Four)

(Elvis Presley × OC Reader)

Character/Fandom: Elvis Presley

Read More Here: Elvis: Through Her Lens - Click here!

Prompt: You are Minnie Jones, an aspiring photographer working for the LA Sentinel. Your chief editor is looking for a story that will help boost the popularity of the paper, so an opportunity comes knocking when Colonel Tom Parker approaches him with a new 'snowjob.' After a tentative first meeting with the Colonel, and his star Elvis Presley, you are hired on to follow Elvis around as his personal photographer in an attempt to catch lightening in a bottle twice with the earlier success of the Alfred Wertheimer photos. Along the way, you develop a close bond with Elvis, leading to complications in your relationship when the issues of his marriage and eventual drug usage start to put a strain on your relationship. Constantly fighting your ever-growing feelings for him, you are swept up into the whirlwind of Elvis' world which forces you to see the King of Rock 'n' Roll through a new lens.

Tags: Slow burn. Angst. Drama. Friends to lovers (sort of).

TW: None? Cussing, kissing.

Rating: PG-13 (ish) (may get spicy but won't be explicit as I don't enjoy writing smut lol but cursing, possible violence, and infidelity will appear throughout the story)

Word Count: 3.5k

Author's Note: Alright guys, things are starting to get juicy now! I had such a fun time writing this chapter and I'm excited to post it today in honor of the 55th Anniversary of Elvis performing at the Houston Astrodome on February 27th, 1970.

It's crazy to think these were his first concerts outside of Vegas. He was so nervous and I loved getting to put a self insert type figure to try and support him through it. ♡

Also I definitely looked to both Kathy Westmoreland's and Joyce Bova's books for inspiration while writing since they had relationships with Elvis during this year. ~

Elvis on February 27th, 1970 (evening show) riding in on the jeep to the Houston Astrodome. (1) Elvis at a press conference March 1st, 1970 after his six performances at the Houston Astrdome. (2)

Rehearsals for the Houston show didn’t go as well as everyone hoped. You stood off mostly to the sidelines, watching as the sound engineers struggled to get Elvis and the band sounding right in the large echochamber that was the Houston Astrodome. Elvis was visibly frustrated, but he tried to stay in good spirits, telling his band to just play and ignore the bad acoustics.

Even with the poor sound quality, you were still able to get a taste of an Elvis Presley show and it was truly something else. Of course, you had heard Elvis sing before, whether it be on the radio or on TV, but hearing him in person? You now understood all those reviews you had read from the International. You figured the actual show would be even more spectacular, but you were already impressed by what you had seen. Even if Elvis himself wasn’t particularly pleased.

You had hoped to talk to him after rehearsals, but he didn’t want any company according to Charlie, which was definitely a stark contrast from the night before. But you didn’t press him, remembering that it was up to Elvis when he wanted you around. You assumed he was probably still in a bad mood after how the rehearsals went, so you retired to your room early after grabbing yourself something to eat downstairs.

The next day brought everyone and Elvis back to the Astrodome for two shows that night. Apparently, Elvis was supposed to ride in on a Jeep with a few of his guys, which seemed like an odd sort of entrance for the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, but you supposed it fit with the style of the livestock show.

Before departing for the Astrodome, everyone in Elvis’ group was told to meet upstairs at his suite so they could leave together. You still felt a bit uncomfortable around all the guys, still doing your best to remember all their names and their positions within the group dynamic. You fiddled with your camera, adjusting the settings as you, along with the others, waited in the living room as Elvis got ready for the show.

“E’s pretty nervous.” You heard Charlie say to one of the guys.

“He’s got this. Even if the sound is shit, Elvis will blow them away.” Red, one of the bodyguards, said in response.

You bit your lip, wondering if this was normal for Elvis. He didn’t seem like the type to get such intense stage fright, but you guessed that even the world’s biggest star might get nervous before a performance.

You looked up when you heard the door to his room open and you found yourself completely frozen when you saw Elvis walk out, dressed head to toe in a spectacular white jumpsuit with a beautiful embroidered green trim and a macrame belt hanging low across his waist. The jumpsuit had a deep opening in the front, leaving little to the imagination as it completely exposed his chest, and this time there was no scarf to hide anything. His hair was brushed back and styled, but it was still fluffy and long, the sideburns accentuating his sharp jawline. His signature gold jewelry accompanied the outfit, his fingers decorated in rings and the gold ID bracelet dangling across his wrist.

You were fairly certain you were staring like a dumbstruck fool, but unlike the man you had spent time with the last few days, for the first time you truly felt like you were in the presence of the star, Elvis Presley.

Elvis certainly did look nervous, a bit of sweat collecting on his brow as he crossed the room. “Is everything ready?” He asked Joe, his road manager.

Joe nodded. “The car is waiting downstairs for you and the band is already on their way to the venue.”

Elvis nodded, tapping his foot in a nervous patter against the floor as he glanced your way. He met your gaze for a moment, but he didn’t say anything, quickly looking back to the rest of the group. “Alright, let’s get on with it.”

With that, the group was on the move. They made quick work of getting Elvis through the lobby of the hotel, pushing past any fans who had managed to get through the security that Colonel Parker had set up. You made sure to stick close to the inside of the group, not wanting to get left behind in the gaggle of fans. Sonny and Red rushed Elvis into the car, where Vernon was already waiting, before you were promptly ushered in after him, the door slamming shut as the flashes of camera bulbs went off all around the car. Being on that end of the camera definitely made you realize just how overwhelming it had to be from Elvis’ point of view.

Once the car was on the move, you looked at Elvis, but his gaze was peering out the window in deep concentration as he chewed on his fingernail. You furrowed your brow a little, realizing this was more than just normal stage fright. You hesitated a little before you reached over and gently touched his hand that was resting on the seat of the car. He quickly looked at you, his eyes falling down to your hand before they looked up to meet your gaze. Again, he didn’t say anything, but he did turn his hand around, gently clasping yours in a delicate grasp. The warmth sent your heart into a frenzy, but you ignored it, forcing the feeling away as the two of you sat in silence during the rest of the ride to the Astrodome.

Upon arrival, Elvis was quickly pulled into the venue and toward the Jeep waiting to drive into the inner part of the arena where the stage was set up. A couple of the guys rode with him as security along with Joe, and you were promptly ushered off towards the stage area where you could have a better vantage point to take photos. The Sweet Inspirations, the Imperials, and the rest of the band were all up on the stage already and when you peered out at the large arena, you noticed the large crowds of people in the stands. The arena wasn’t close to being full (though that wasn’t surprising considering the sheer size), but you did bite your lip when you noticed there weren’t as many people as the Colonel kept projecting there to be. You worried what Elvis might think, but decided it was best to focus on taking photos instead.

Regardless of the crowd’s size, the fans roared with applause as the jeep drove into the arena, making a circle around the stands as Elvis stood up in the car and waved, a beautiful smile painted on his face as the wind blew through his hair. When the jeep pulled up in front of the stage, the guys quickly ushered Elvis out of the car and up the stairs to the waiting microphone.

You quickly found a spot off to the side of the stage, making sure to stay out of the way but close enough to get some good shots that the other press wouldn’t be able to get. You bit your lip for a second, still a little stunned by the sight of him as the lights turned on him like a spotlight. He truly looked like a gleaming star in the center of the massive arena. It made you wonder how this was his first time performing at a venue like this in over ten years.

You watched carefully as he kicked off with his opening song, the first song he ever recorded actually, and despite the issues with the audio, he sounded amazing. His voice was buttery smooth, and neither him nor the band missed a beat as they jumped from ‘That’s All Right’ to ‘I Got A Woman’ and onto various other hit songs that he had done in the past. The audience cheered and screamed almost the entire time, and you could tell Elvis got a real kick out of some of the fans' reactions based on his smile or the way he laughed in the middle of a song. It all seemed so natural to him, and any nervousness you saw in him before the show seemed to completely disappear now that he was up on that stage.

You eventually remembered that you weren’t just there to watch him perform and quickly started snapping photos with your camera, moving around the stage to different spots in an attempt to get the best angle possible. When you looked down at your camera to slide in another roll of film, you were surprised as you raised your lens to find him looking in your direction. It was brief and probably not noticeable to anyone else, but you quickly took the photo, capturing the smile he gave you before he looked away back toward the crowd.

Despite how fantastic the show seemed from your point of view, Elvis didn't appear particularly ecstatic once everyone returned to the hotel for a break before the evening show that same day. “Well, that’s it. I guess I just don’t have it anymore,” Elvis said, sounding completely devastated as he disappeared into his bedroom to take a nap.

Everyone looked between each other, not sure what to say to try and cheer him up. You kept to yourself, deciding to occupy your mind by taking photos of some of the guys or different objects around the room.

By the time Elvis woke up, he had settled thinking that this was it, that his career was finished, but Gee Gee directed his attention to the window when he looked out to see something curious. “Hey, E I think you should come look at this.”

Elvis, and everyone else for that matter, walked over to the large panoramic window and looked down below to see cars backed up for miles onto the interstate all heading straight for the Astrodome. “Well, I’ll be damned,” Elvis said, a grin spreading across his face. “I guess I’ve still got it after all.”

Needless to say, the evening show was a smashing hit and Elvis was practically a giddy school boy when the attendance more than doubled from the afternoon. Even the sound quality was improved. You couldn't explain it, but seeing him so happy and proud, it made you feel happy too.

You had hoped to spend a little more one on one time with him like the night before, but between the multiple shows, meeting fans before and after the performances, and one final press conference, his private time was almost fully booked up. You still managed to get some good pictures, catching some lovely interactions with the fans along with some funny moments between him and the guys when heading to his suite after one of the shows.

After returning to the hotel to pack on the last day, you wondered briefly if maybe this was it. The Colonel didn't exactly specify just how long he wanted you around. And all your film still needed to be developed and approved by the carny manager before anything more could be done with it. You immediately thought of the worst case scenario, frowning a bit as you considered already leaving the glamorous world of Elvis Presley. More importantly, though, you felt this strange sense of sadness at the thought of never seeing him again.

You knew it was silly, after all you had only just met him a week prior, and worst yet, the man was married which made the feelings you had even worse to bear. You thought back to the way his hand felt holding yours, the warmth of his skin sending goosebumps flying up your arm or the way he stayed up for hours talking with you in his suite about everything and nothing. He ended up being the complete opposite of everything you expected and it left you feeling conflicted. Now you weren't just interested in staying because of your job, but you wanted to stay for him.

Get it together, Minn. Don’t fall for his charm.

You shook your head, burying your thoughts deep in your mind as you packed up your clothes and film. You only stopped when you heard a knock at your door. You glanced at the clock, furrowing your brow when you realized that was impossibly quick for the room service you ordered. You set your camera down and walked to the door, opening it up only to see Elvis standing on the other side.

“Elvis?” You asked, looking a bit surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to make sure you were ready for the flight back to LA tomorrow.” He said, stepping into the room before you had the chance to invite him in. He was wearing the same outfit from the press conference earlier that day. It was a Texan inspired fit (minus the stetson hat) with the deputy's badge that he had been awarded by the mayor affixed to the front lapel.

“Yeah, I was just packing my things.” You said as you closed the door behind him.

He nodded as he glanced at your suitcase before looking at you again. “What did you think of the shows?” He asked, obviously curious to know how I liked it.

You smiled a little. “I thought they were fantastic. I think I might be starting to understand all the hype about this Elvis Presley fellow.” You teased him.

He laughed, no longer in a nervous mood now that the shows had proven to be a raging success on all fronts. “They were pretty good, weren't they?” He smiled. “Sound was shit, but the fans looked pretty excited.” He conceded.

“It really wasn't that bad. I'm pretty sure you could sound good under any circumstance.” You pointed out as you walked past him and went back to packing up your things.

“Did ya get some good photos?” He asked as he peered over at the film in your bag.

“I think so, but I won’t know for sure until I get the film developed.” You said as you placed your used film into a pocket of your suitcase, zipping it closed. “There was a lot of press there. Maybe the Colonel won’t be too impressed by my work.” You smirked a bit, though secretly you were worried about how the photos turned out.

“Nah, you’ve got that magic touch, Minnie Mouse. I’m sure they look great.” He reassured me, smiling down at me before he looked around your room. “What kind of story does Mr Pierce plan on writing with all these pictures?” He asked curiously.

You raised an eyebrow at him. It had been the first time he had really asked about the project since you had met him at his Hillcrest home. “I’m not sure yet, but Pierce is a good writer. He’s not exactly interested in writing a hit piece on Elvis Presley if that’s what you’re concerned about.”

He pressed his lips together, not looking entirely convinced of Pierce’s motives, but he didn’t say anything. “Maybe you should write it.” He said as he turned back toward you.

Your eyes widened a bit. “Me?” You laughed nervously. “I’m not a writer, Elvis. I just take the photos, that’s it.”

He smirked a bit. “That’s too damn bad. I thought you were startin’ to know me pretty well.” He said as he walked over to me.

You tensed up a little, suddenly aware of how much closer he was standing next to you. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to give Pierce the cliffnotes.” You said, holding his gaze for a second before you quickly looked away. “So…are you staying in LA after this?” You asked casually.

He nodded, and you could see him still looking at you out of the corner of your eye. “Yeah, I’m takin’ a couple months off until the summer.”

“Oh. Good. I’m sure you need a break after all this. I know I would.” You said awkwardly, the small talk making the tension you felt between you and him even more uncomfortable. He nodded again, watching you carefully as you finished packing up your suitcase, zipping it closed and finally facing him after a long stretch of silence. “Um…is there something else you needed?” You finally asked.

“Minnie…” It was the first time he had really addressed you by your name without some kind of teasing nickname. Hearing him say it sent a shiver running down you back, your full focus on him as he suddenly took your hand in his. “I just wanted to say thank you for the other day. Before the show, I mean. You were very kind.”

You bit your lip for a second, your heartbeat racing in your chest as you looked up into his beautiful blue eyes. “Y-yeah, don’t mention it.” You said quietly.

He took a step closer toward you, and immediately alarm bells went off in your mind, yelling at you to push him away or say something to stop him, but for some reason you couldn’t seem to do anything. Your mind suddenly felt like gelatin, and all you could do was focus on his intense gaze and his soft lips which were definitely much closer than they had been just a moment ago.

Come on, Minn use your head! He’s married and right now he’s way too close.

Logic told you to listen to that small voice in the back of your mind, but in the moment it was much too quiet for you to hear.

And then it was too late to do anything.

His lips found yours, both tender and soft as his hand came up to cup your cheek. His touch was gentle, his fingertips caressing your skin while his pillowy soft lips completely enveloped yours in a kiss that left your knees feeling weak. You felt your eyes instinctively flutter close, and you leaned in, almost allowing yourself to kiss back despite all reason telling you not to. It was almost hypnotizing, which made no sense in your mind. It was just a kiss, and Elvis Presley or not, he was just a man. And yet your mind felt fuzzy and unfocused. All you could pay attention to was how warm his hand felt against your cheek or the way his lips seemed to fit perfectly with yours.

And hell if he wasn’t a damn good kisser.

You felt your hand drift up to his chest, gently resting over the collar of his shirt as your eyes opened just enough to take in the absolute beauty of his face. And then reality seemed to finally take hold when you felt his other hand rest against your waist. Quickly you pushed against his chest, breaking away from his lips before he could kiss anymore sense out of your mind.

“Honey, what’s wrong?” He asked, his eyes so sincere that you almost wondered if you were making a mistake.

Focus, Minn!

“Elvis…you’re married.” That’s all you could really think to say, refusing to acknowledge how the kiss made you feel or why he was even kissing you in the first place.

He frowned, suddenly looking annoyed. “You don’t understand, Minnie. It’s not like that.” He said defensively.

“Not like what?” You stared at him like he was absolutely crazy. “Elvis…I can’t do this. This is insane, you realize that right?” You shook your head, feeling flustered and confused, but mostly just embarrassed.

You’re just like everyone else.

You shook the thought from your mind as you quickly turned away from him. He seemed to sense your discomfort and hesitated at taking a step toward you. “Minnie…I didn’t mean to upset you.” He said carefully before you felt his hand around your wrist. You looked down, biting your lip before you forced yourself to look up at him. “I really like you. I like being with you.” He said softly.

You held his gaze for a moment. You knew he wasn't lying, but it didn't make things any less complicated. “Elvis…” You looked down.

Suddenly he cupped your chin in his hand, tilting your head up to look at him. “I want to see you again, Minnie. When we get back to LA, I’d like for you to come over to the house.” He said as he took your other hand in his, squeezing it gently.

You swallowed a bit, parting your lips to say something, but you didn't know what to say. How could you say no to Elvis Presley? It seemed impossible. Before you could attempt to respond, Elvis shook his head.

“Just think about it.” He told you, leaning in and pressing a feather light kiss to your cheek. He then pulled away, leaving you where you were standing as he walked to the door. “Goodnight, Minnie Mouse.” He flashed you one of his charming smiles and then he was gone.

You stared at the door as it closed behind him, leaving you to question whether or not any of that had just happened. But you knew from the warm sensation on your lips that it definitely did. You sunk down onto your bed, suddenly feeling this huge weight resting on your shoulders.

What the hell am I going to do?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Likes, comments, and reblogs are much appreciated! Let me know if you'd like to be added to the tag list ~

Taglist: @60svintage @moonchild-daniella @ken-kenzie-zie @presleyhearted @eapep @i-r-i-n-a-a @iloveelvis2

[redsavant]

"Inept Villainess" 1 Review

With the release of volume 8, I've been inspired to continue on from my more general series review with more focused posts on the books and/or story arcs in this criminally underrated series. Please see that link for an overview!

I'll try to avoid spoilers that are too direct or reference things from future books, but I will be discussing plot developments in the books/arcs themselves.

It's a long one under the cut!

Setting And Plot

So! Book 1. We're introduced to the Maiden Court - a system where each of the five powerful clans of the vaguely China-like nation of Ei sends an Imperial Consort-in-training to study and compete for the position of future Empress. if you've read The Apothecary Diaries, this setup will be familiar, with a women-only district and individual palaces for each Consort*. Kou Reirin, darling princess of the Kou clan and favorite to win the crown prince's favor as Empress, is attacked by Shu Keigetsu, the envious and widely disliked "rat" of the Shu clan - and wakes up in the dungeon in Shu Keigetsu's body, set to be executed for "her" brazen assault. Unfortunately for Keigetsu, Reirin narrowly escapes execution. *This setup was apparently common in historical China, but TAD definitely brought it into the Japanese fiction sphere, I think.

Exiled to a run-down storeroom on the outskirts of the Shu Palace, Reirin-in-Keigetsu is scorned by everyone she meets. Not only for "her" attack on the Kou Maiden, but it quickly becomes clear that Shu Keigetsu has earned her reputation as a nasty and volatile mistress. The only one willing to even get near Reirin is a half-foreign lady-in-waiting named Leelee, and even that turns out to be an attempt on her life.

Of course, Reirin isn't going to give up that easily. This is where the twist comes in: while she may look like a coddled and wilting flower, it only looks that way because Reirin's constitution is catastrophically poor, with her body attempting to kill itself almost constantly. She's survived as long as she has through sheer grit, backbone, and medical knowledge, and now that she's in Keigetsu's robust and sturdy body, she feels terrible that the other girl is stuck with her nightmare. So, she starts figuring out how to get back to her own body - before any of the other assassination plots swirling around the Maiden Court can bear fruit.

The first book wears its influences on its sleeve very hard. I've already made the Apothecary Diaries connection, but it also hits a LOT of beats that will be familiar to readers of "villainess" isekai series, or isekai in general. She's publicly rejected by her semi-fiance Crown Prince Gyoumei, everyone around her is surprised by "Shu Keigetsu"'s sudden change of personality, and she even gets into field work like Katarina of All Routes Lead to Doom. The early parts of the book sort of cram through these setup beats, and if you're familiar with the tropes it may drag a little. Once the book is done getting all the setup out of the way, though, it finds its feet pretty fast.

The setup of the five clans is also pretty fun. Drawing on the Chinese wuxing or five-element classical philosophy, each clan is assigned a patron element. Since magic is real in this setting, the clans' natures do influence their members, with members of the fiery Shu clan being highly expressive and emotional, members of the Water-based Gen clan embody "still waters run deep," and so on. Like most other things about the series, this grows in complexity in later books.

Characters

Nakamura's characters are probably the strongest part of the series. Reirin is a charming protagonist, and her rapport with Leelee works well. While details on the Maiden Court itself and the five clans are a little sparse in the first volume, the character interaction sparkles. Not everyone is particularly deep - there are a lot of sneery court ladies who are as detailed as they have to be and no more - but the two protagonists, as well as supporting characters like Leelee, Reirin's original handmaiden Tousetsu, and Empress Kenshuu are colorful and sharp. This remains the case through the rest of the series, too.

It's not all good, though. Part of the teething problems of the first book include Crown Prince Gyoumei. Possessive, unreasonable, and arrogant, he's almost unrecognizable in book 1 compared to his appearances in later books (which is to say, he develops well - but you have to get through the first book to see it). It's helped by the fact that Reirin is just as put off by his attitude, so it's not intended to be appealing, but it is still not great.

A lot of the appeal of the two protagonists is potential at first. In the first book, Reirin has shades of Too Good For This Sinful Earth; she's gentle and understanding to everyone, but still has a diamond backbone, and nonetheless charms everyone she meets. In contrast, Shu Keigetsu is immature, nasty, and volatile. She's totally unprepared to live life in Reirin's aggressively suicidal body, and begins to panic as she realizes the gravity of what she's done. Both of them, the selfless and the selfish, get a ton of character development over the course of the series once they start interacting.

All of this to say, the characters are almost all very layered and believable people who grow and change over the course of the series. If you're put off by a character at the start, chances are good it's for a reason that gets addressed via character development later.

Okay, But Is It Gay?

Weeeeeell... strictly speaking, yesn't. Keigetsu is explicitly bisexual, and while Reirin only ever focuses on how attractive she finds other women (mostly Keigetsu), she's not opposed at all to marrying Gyoumei and becoming Empress. The way the Maiden Court is set up, all the Maidens will eventually be married to the Prince. This is why I bring up Gyoumei as a "teething problem" in book 1, because he's very possessive and might be off-putting. However, the core relationship of the series is between Reirin and Keigetsu. There are countless places where they only ever have eyes for each other. (That said, since this is technically a review of book 1, you should know that they don't actually meet face-to-face until book 2.) Though, there is a canonical queer romance involved in the plot of the first arc; the society of Ei is heteronormative, but that doesn't mean the narrative is. If you have a semi-open mind and you like a bisexual polycule branching out from a central WLW couple, there's a lot of material here to work with.

So, The Verdict?

That's a hard question. Is it a good or bad thing for the first book in a series to be the weakest one? On one hand, a bad first impression can turn people off something they might enjoy. On the other, once you get through the rough patch, it's all upward from there.

The way I see it, think of the first half of volume 1 as getting through the rind to reach the cheese. Volumes 1 and 2 are really meant to be read together as one arc, so if you do intend to pick up the series, I recommend getting both so you get a taste of what the actual meat of the series is when Reirin and Keigetsu start interacting in person and the various plots of the Maiden Court really kick into high gear. If you can power through the first book, you'll find a terribly underappreciated gem of a series that deserves so much more attention than it's getting.

(Yes, this one also turned into more of a general review...)

[barbswo]

Why do new chapters take so long? It also feels like you’ve been going through some dark shit, why is everything so angsty? Tides used to feel like cappuccino, bitter but sweet, and now it’s a double exspresso with no sugar

*it’s espresso, let’s leave our exes out of this

So. I’ll chew on this topic one last time and leave it alone, because it has become repetetive.

‘Tides’ has a plan. I wrote it chapter-by-chapter, and even when I was “going through some dark shit” I didn’t write anything that hadn’t been pre-planned. That little “Angst and Drama” tag isn’t there to look pretty. “Dead Dove: Do Not Eat”, too.

I don’t do fan-service. Don’t get me wrong, of course it’s very cool when you share your reading experiences with me, but please know that the whole shenanigan of “please don’t write this, write that, or I’ll be upset, oh no, I’m already upset, how could you, I’m disappointed” won’t work on me.

I won’t be changing my story just because some poor soul on the internet cannot handle it. And no messages and pleadings to give Lucerys and Aemond five kids and ten unicorns will make me rewrite this fic. Ao3 is full of wonderful stories that you can turn to instead of ‘Tides’, go read them.

Now about my posting schedule.

Are you serious?

I spend an astronomical amount of time plotting, writing and editing this thing. What you get is the tip of the iceberg, somewhat polished for the audience. I’m not even going to talk about all the chapters I had to rewrite from another POVs because those fit better, all the deleted scenes and crossed out characters.

Mind you, nobody is paying me to do this. It’s a hobby. Writing is my passion, and when I have a story bubbling under my skin, I itch to get it out. When and how I want it.

That being said, I’m eternally grateful to all those readers who support me, write long reviews, add soundtracks and offer fancasts, ask questions because they are genuinely interested and guess some of my future plot-twists. This love is insane and fuels me with inspiration.

You make me want to continue even when people like the one who asked this question decide they know better. Thank you.

[blazingstaro]

Big changes on the horizon! DotS updates and more!

Happy New Year!! With a new year in front of us, there's new opportunities awaiting us all! This year I've decided to finally go for it, and chase a dream I've been running away from for years!

I'm finally going to launch a YouTube channel sometime this year alongside dusting off my poor old Twitch account! Right now I've got a lot to prep, but this is something I've been wanting to do for a very long time, and never thought myself prepared or good enough for it. Well, last year was all about taking big leaps and just gunning for it, so that's exactly what I'm doing

The channel will (unsurprisingly) be about games, and bringing a new method of reviewing games based on multiple factors. Throughout the next few months, I'll actually be reaching out to gaming communities and asking you all various questions to help me identify different types of gamers! I'm creating a gamer spectrum and multiple profiles to help gamers find their matches.

No more confusing numbers and biased reviews! Finally asking the most important question at the core of every game: is it fun? Visuals, style, narrative (or the lack there of) can be easily cast aside if the core of the game is just fun! That's what a game should always be at base 💖

It's a huge ambition, aiming to shake up the reviewing world, but it's something I'm passionate about! I hope it'll take off, and inspire more people to give the system a shot. I don't plan to do it forever, and eventually move on to new things or just focusing on let's-plays (which I intend to do in addition to reviews, clips from Twitch streams and the like).

This is basically gonna be my day job that I'll juggle alongside my comic, and since I won't be under time constraints or physically exhausted, it shouldn't affect my comic any!

So how's DotS:MMM going to look like going forward?

My posting schedule for DotS:MMM is going to likely be 1 page a month for the time being until I can really make headway on pages! Frankly I've been stuck on one page in particular, since I've needed to remake it entirely, and it's been bugging me for months. I believe I've gotten something down finally, so with the Holidays finally behind us, I should finally have a bit more time to work on pages. My mobile tablet setup helps so much with my art away from my computer!!

My drawing energy has been really low in past months since it was so busy, but I'm getting the itch again as I'm shaking off the holiday glaze! You guys will know I'm back in action when a page suddenly appears, hehehee!

In conclusion—

The comic won't stop anytime soon, just pages are gonna be slow for a while! I have loads of graphics to make for my new channel, and I'm also making a Live2D model to accompany. My reasons for this is simply that I don't like putting my real face on the internet, and prefer my privacy, so I'm creating a cartoon avatar that represents me— much like Saberspark has, with still images in various poses, and of course an actual live model to represent my face on both videos and livestreaming. It's a lot to learn and program, so I've got a bunch of work ahead of me!

I'll do my best to involve you guys in the future of this channel, asking questions and what you all think I should name things for the channel!! You all have been with me for so long, it only feels right, y'know?

Anyhow, thank you so much for reading!! I hope you've had a wonderful New Year, and that great things await you on the horizon!💖

[noxxytocin]

20 Questions for Fic Writers Tag ✍️

Thank you for the tag @myokk 🫰✨ This looks fun!

How many works do you have on AO3? 4 public and 1 anon!

What's your total AO3 word count? 18,969 words (public)

What fandoms do you write for? For now, I'm focused on Hogwarts Legacy. But I do have some pretty intense ships in other shows, like Stranger Things, so I might dip my quill into those at some point.

Top five fics by kudos? My most popular fic by kudos is Bury. It’s quite amusing because I knocked it out in one night after a few drinks and some seriously intense feelings. It’s my least polished piece, which just goes to show that AO3 readers are all about those spicy, quick reads and I love that, haha.

Do you respond to comments? Absolutely! Every comment notification makes my heart a bit brighter, so I reply to them with as much warmth as I put into my fics.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I don't think any of my stories end on an angsty note—I'm more of a fluff enthusiast.

What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Perhaps, Insomnium.

Do you get hate on fics? I don't believe I receive enough attention for that to be a concern. However, I do review all comments before they are posted for this very reason, so that I may block any unwanted individuals, if necessary.

Do you write smut? Yes, but in a very delicate, poetic manner. Smut, to me, possesses a certain elegance.

Craziest crossover? None.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not to my knowledge, though I do believe I have inspired some writings. I don’t particularly mind if I encounter similar works after mine has been published. Writing is meant to be an inspiring endeavor, and that is precisely the purpose of inspiration.

Have you ever had a fic translated? I have a close, French mutual who helps me double-check my French in my fanfics, and I know a decent amount.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Well, my husband provides me with a great many ideas for the fics I’ve written, so I would certainly count his contributions. He is an excellent beta reader!

All time favorite ship? I couldn't possibly choose that...I have so many ships. I don't believe I have a favorite; they all occupy equal space in my mind.

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? None, I am confident that I will finish all of mine in time. I've just been busy!

What are your writing strengths? Transforming risqué themes into romantic fluff is my specialty. I can take a rather smutty idea and turn it into tooth-rotting fluff. It’s more of a curse than a strength, really, haha...I also enjoy crafting dialogue and capturing the canonical personalities of characters. When writing Sebinis, I make a point of watching extensive videos of their lines to accurately capture their mannerisms and language.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language? It’s fine as long as it is executed properly. A minor mistake is forgivable, but it genuinely irritates me when I encounter French in other fics that is clearly incorrect, especially when the writer or beta says that French is their first language, yet this is not evident in their sentences. My French beta mutual has even remarked, “Yeah, no, they're lying” It drives me mad, as I am certain this beta is deceiving the poor author, and yet I cannot address it myself. It is not my place, and I am well aware that it would only result in the individual defensively justifying their lies. Hopefully they will find out eventually...

First fandom you wrote in? First ever?....hmm....I am honestly not sure...maybe (cringe) homestuck??? But that was in 2011 or 2012, hahaha...

Favorite fic you've written? One that I am currently doing for Sebinis...but I can't share because it's for an anon writing fest!

Surprise - no 20th question! 🫴✨ Tagging: @luminousecho @the-invisibility-bloke @shyinsunlight @steve-black-hl @moltenwrites @the-golden-comet @the-letterbox-archives @mirdeli @esolean @gaunts-angel @jamiemoonymark @crime-in-progress

[erasure-picnic]

This post will cover why journalists compared Erasure to PSB, provoking their side of the “rivalry”.

Why “rivalry”? Their feud wasn’t inspired by any personal hate for each other. Even if Andy Bell had struck out first, it didn’t provoke a response from PSB–not yet, at least. Instead, the “rivalry” was largely a creation of journalists, who had started to compare the two groups. (This was already a cliche by 1989, as one article attests.) Usually, these comparisons went one way. There were far, far more articles focused on Erasure that compared them to PSB, than the reverse.

This was due to parallels in both artists’ careers, with Erasure doing many of the same things that PSB had done. In 1988, Erasure worked with producer Stephen Hague; in 1990 and 1992, they put on lavish, theatrical tours with extravagant costumes and lots of dancers. PSB had done all of these things a year earlier. Erasure also resembled PSB, in that they had a bolder, showier singer and a quieter synth player.

These parallels led many critics to assume that Erasure were merely following in PSB’s footsteps. As a result, when they would write pieces on Erasure, they would compare them to PSB. Since critics largely preferred PSB to Erasure, these comparisons were often unfavourable to Erasure. This tendency to compare the two bands shot up dramatically in the 1990s, when they were the only two synth duos of their type who had survived the 80s.

They didn’t just limit it to articles and reviews. They also did it in interviews with Erasure themselves. When interviewers would ask them about PSB, Erasure would have to distinguish themselves and justify why they did things their way. The easiest way for them to do that was by putting themselves up and putting PSB down. That’s where Erasure’s part of the “rivalry” stemmed from–in large part, because of the comparisons. Unlike PSB, Erasure hardly ever commented on their synth-pop peers unless specifically asked to. (Part 1 of 2 - see the other part in the comments)

An important element of the rivalry was class. Critics who put down Erasure in favour of PSB often implied that Erasure were a lower-class version of PSB, such as in the common phrase “poor man’s Pet Shop Boys” (a description Erasure later embraced). In fact, while PSB were middle-class, Erasure WERE working-class–and they pointed to that difference as a way to distinguish themselves. A full look into the class dimensions of Erasure and PSB could easily be its own post. It’s not in the scope of this one, but if you’re interested in reading how class played into the groups’ fanbases, this is explored in an excellent article by Lynsey Hanley, called How I became middle class (The Guardian, 2016).

Comparisons of Erasure to PSB appeared in all sorts of publications–mainstream, indie, and gay. However, the reverse–PSB being compared to Erasure–tended to be limited to the gay press, who noticed other distinctions between the bands. In the next post, we’ll look at the way the gay press treated the two groups, along with PSB’s side of the “rivalry”.

[cyberdragoninfinity]

saw your arc-v livepostings on twitter n' your z-one/aporia posts and now i really wanna get into the show and into ygo in general. do you have any recommendations on where to start so that it won't be too confusing for a poor sap such as i if you can? please and thank you (:

WAHHH IM HONORED THAT MY SILLY POSTING HAS INSPIRED YA TO CHECK OUT YUGIOH!! ;w;

yugioh really is something truly special and an absolute blast to really dig into, but it IS a very big franchise.... forgive me for being a bit inexperienced at giving recommendations, but I shall do my best!! here's some pointers that I think could be helpful if ya wanna get into the show(s) (not getting into the mangas too much on this, for the sake of brevity LOL) (the spinoff mangas are fun reads, though!)

ok so the thing with yugioh is there are Eight Different 'Main' Yugioh Series (and a few little stray other series but we ain talkin bout those right now)--my recommendations are focusing on the first five series, since those the ones i've seen (though ive heard glowing reviews for VRAINS and Sevens and you could certainly go check either of those out if you wanted to! You don't really need to know anything about the plots of the other series to follow those stories)

as a yugioh fan i am of course obligated to recommend Duel Monsters as a starter. It's the OG, just absolute Yugioh at its most tried and true Yugioh, it Is that good, the dub and sub are both classics--but IF i am being my most honest true self, if my arc-v postin and zoneporia chattering have got ya ygo hooked then I would recc maybe taking a gander at one of the spinoff series first instead ;3

(In general what's cool about yugioh is you can basically pick up any of the series as your 'first' ygo experience to start with and have a great time with it! I know tons of people who've all started with different series/only are invested in 1-2 series,Theyre all made to be their own self-contained plots, and there's really something for everyone among 'em! you could honestly just read wiki blurbs on each series and go with whatever one sounds most interesting to you, and that's a fine start right there.) (though sometimes youll see characters from one series show up in another one, the Entire Storyline isnt Hinged on that--i.e. a bunch of alternate version GX/5D's/Zexal characters show up in ARC-V, but you dont need to have seen all those series to watch arc-v or follow its plot.) also idgaf what anyone says, the dubs are just as wonderful a watch as the subs are when it comes to ygos--you have to deal with some scene censorship or dialogue changes, but to me it doesn't really impede the experience. (in fact I almost want to recommend the dubs MORE for someone just starting to get into yugioh--it can be easier to follow the duels sometimes. AND a lot of the dubs are free on Youtube!!)

ANYWAY Z-one and Aporia are from Yugioh 5D's!! The, Last twenty episodes or so. Of 5D's. 🥴 <--the suffering nicherfaverrrr. So if you want to meet them properly you Do unfortunately have to be in for the long haul (i am of course biased and will say: Worth It.) 5D's is all around fantastic though; it has its slow spots, but the duels get crazy fun on those damn motorcycles, so even if you do buckle in for the All of It you'll have a good time--there are some chunks in the second half of the show that never got dubbed though (sad!) which is just something to keep in mind.

RE: Arc-V! since youve seen me tweetin about it, I will say, the first 50 episodes or so of it, that first season, does make for a really great crash course intro to yugioh and its worlds/how dueling works, since it touches upon all the main types of summoning as part of its plot, and talks about how they work. You get to learn about them as the characters do, which is really cool! My main hesitance from suggesting it 100% as a starter series is that it gets. fucking Bonkers. like characters from the other series showing up aside there is just So Much Going On in Arc-V At Any Given Point. IT CAN BE A BIT OVERWHELMING. AND APPARENTLY ITS ENDING IS. NOT VERY GOOD. which might not be very fun for a first time ygo experience 😭BUT BY ALL MEANS GIVE IT A WHIRL IF YOU'RE INTERESTED. I'm having fun with it at least, hehehe.

OK HONESTLY. HONESTLY. I think if I have one good recommendation to take away from all of this: watch Zexal. Zexal is a fantastic starter yugioh, I can't recommend giving it a go enough. Yuma as a protagonist starts out dogshit at the game and gets better over the course of the series, and that really helps the viewer follow along with the card game and start to understand it at a nice pace without getting confused over all the finer points of it. It does a really nice job of explaining how things work imo! It's also just, a gorgeous show. It's one of the most beautiful cartoons ive ever seen art direction wise. It's so kind and so fun and goes hard as hell and the characters are so full of love and personality. AND THE WHOLE DUB IS FREE ON YOUTUBE. BTW. BONUS.

THIS ENDED UP SO LONG SORRY tl;dr you can pretty much start with whatever yugioh sounds most interesting to you personally as your first series and you won't be missing any critical lore! Also Zexal is one of the best, consistently good and really easy to pick up. I think if you could only ever watch one yugioh make it that one.

also this is a less a recommendation and more just "little things about watching yugioh to keep in mind" but: don't let the card game aspect intimidate ya too much! the show really does it's best to explain how cards work and keeps it engaging; it's a show geared towards kids so of course it tries to keep things pretty easy to follow along, game-wise (also do not listen to the 'The Duels Arent Important' Crowd they are Wrong. yugioh is a sports anime but the sport is a card game. that's the crux of its storytelling. and it's genuinely really cool!!!) And if you're interested in giving the game itself a whirl, Duel Links is pretty beginner friendly imo!

I HOPE THATS AT LEAST SOMEWHAT HELPFUL the trials and tribulations of recommending where to start with a franchise that boasts some 1000+ episodes across 8 series is mighty but that should give ya some sort of idea!! whatever you end up going with I hope you have a ton of fun! YUGIOHHHH

[handeaux]

Overwhelmed By Advertising? The Battle For Cincinnati Consumers Has Raged For More Than A Century

Depending on the source, it is estimated that each American is confronted by 6,000 to 10,000 advertising messages every single day. That immersive media onslaught swelled as we started carrying little video screens around wherever we go, but invasive and obnoxious marketing has bothered Cincinnatians for much more than a century.

For example, on 20 July 1871, a correspondent for the Cincinnati Times related an enjoyable voyage he had undertaken down the Ohio River. After praising the service of his riverboat’s staff, the remarkable scenery along the river, the picturesque little town he floated by, the writer registered one complaint, about a cliff near the town of Hanging Rock:

“High up on the face of this wall of white sandstone, hundreds of feet beyond the reach of a scaling ladder, I noticed a patent medicine advertisement. It was penciled there by a man let down with ropes from above, and the letters are large enough to be read from the deck of a steamer two miles distant. I was sorry to see this defacement. It is bad enough that all the fences throughout the land should be made to lie for patent medicines without debasing the hill-sides with such marking. I suppose that when the ‘chemical affinity necessary to be the motor of some immense flying machine’ shall be discovered, some enterprising patent medicine man will be plastering the face of the moon with some of his ‘wonderful remedies.’”

If only the poor man knew what lay ahead! Even in the 1870s, almost every vertical surface in Cincinnati was slathered with posters, placards and bills advertising shows at the local theaters, patent medicines and political candidates. Cincinnati was the center of the bill-posting world. For one thing, Cincinnati was among the top printing cities of the United States, with the mighty Strobridge Lithographing Company dominating the poster industry.

Also, Billboard magazine was headquartered here in Cincinnati. What we now think of as a music magazine, Billboard was founded in Cincinnati as a trade publication for men who posted “bills” on walls. From its first issue in 1894, Billboard covered the entertainment industry, such as circuses, fairs and burlesque shows, and also created a mail service for travelling entertainers. Initially it covered the advertising and bill-posting trade and was known as Billboard Advertising.

Far from inspiring civic pride, advertising rankled Cincinnati residents as they witnessed visual pollution encrusting the region’s hillsides. Leading the opposition was the Municipal Art Society – a sort of ad-hoc predecessor to today’s Urban Design Review Board. The opening shot was fired 24 August 1896 when the Enquirer reported:

“A matter that will undoubtedly be of interest to the business men is the fact that war has been declared by the Cincinnati Municipal Art Society against advertising signs on fences along the car routes and drives of the city. The art society maintains that these signs mar the beauty of the city, especially in the case of landscape scenes on the hills and in the suburbs, and that they are offensive to the public taste.”

The Society was persistent. It took five years but the Cincinnati Post reported [24 November 1901] that the Baldwin Piano Company had demolished 200 feet of billboards erected on company property along Gilbert Avenue. The Post described this as the “first result” of the Society’s campaign.

The Municipal Art Society was soon joined by some strange bedfellows. The Cincinnati Business Men’s Club, among whose members were certainly a number of advertisers who employed billboards to disseminate their messages, created its own Municipal Art Committee to lobby for restrictions on outdoor advertising. On 1 June 1907, the committee circulated a postcard illustrated with a photo of signage clogging the view from the Grand Central Depot, with the sarcastic caption, “A Nice Welcome To Cincinnati.”

As early as 1895, the city chased the Fountain saloon’s advertising off Fountain Square, but appears not to have drafted a comprehensive law about outdoor advertising until 1909 when, as part of a broader safety ordinance, the city adopted limitations on the size of billboards, their placement near thoroughfares and the materials to be used in their construction.

While the city pondered how to encourage commerce while maintaining attractive views, the entire billboard industry was gaining momentum through a Cincinnati entrepreneur named Philip Morton. Before Morton, “bill boards” were basically fences on which bill posters slapped printed advertisements glued up with a flour-water paste. Morton took outdoor advertising to a new level, according to Jay Gilbert, who has researched his influence on marketing [Cincinnati Magazine September 2016]:

“By 1898 he’d become the Steve Jobs of roadside blight. Doing business as Ph. Morton, Phil was an early pioneer of putting ads into free-standing frames called ‘bill-boards’ and plunking them down everywhere. Eventually every railroad route and motorway in America had its view ruined by a Ph. Morton billboard.”

Even the powerhouse Morton found himself in the city’s crosshairs. Parks Superintendent John W. Rodgers, according to the Enquirer [20 September 1907], exasperated by Morton’s billboards blocking the view of Inwood Park, erupted.

“Park Superintendent Rodgers yesterday tore down over 12,000 feet of big billboards that stretched along for a distance south of Hollister street, facing Vine street, in front of Inwood Park. The billboards were 12 feet high, about 1,000 feet long and contained the advertisements of leading firms of the city, and were illuminated at night with electric lights. They had been at that place for years.”

All of those billboards were leased by Philip Morton who, as coincidence would have it, dropped off a check to pay the lease while workmen were busily engaged demolishing his thousand feet of signage. This was the Boss Cox era in Cincinnati where the right hand was very often ignorant of the left hand’s activity. And so it was, while the Park Superintendent was demolishing billboards on Vine Street, the Board of Public Service pondered a lease for billboards along Gilbert Avenue. That’s right – the same Gilbert Avenue divested of billboards just six years earlier.

A common theme of cartoon artists at that time was the eventual coverage of all available exterior surfaces with advertising signs and slogans. In response, Cincinnati Post cartoonist Elmer Andrews Bushnell sketched City Hall wrapped from sidewalk to parapet in advertising while George Barnsdale Cox and his minion, August “Garry” Herrmann, happily apply more posters and Mayor Julius Fleischmann hides behind a billboard.

The battle raged for decades. Photographs from 1927 show dozens of billboards crowding the hillside over the Brighton overpass to Central Parkway and the Enquirer [24 March 1929] begged for relief because billboards and other unsightly structures had a negative effect on property values:

“What of the gaudy billboard that intrudes itself into a residential district, the sign which girds the tree or telephone pole, the roadside ‘shack’ which is made more ugly with bizarre advertisements? Do they affect values?”

A century later, we hardly notice billboards anymore. We’re too busy texting while we drive.

[ryuichirou]

Do you guys have any sfw headcanons about jadidi? I really liked the one you did with Floyd! 🩵💙

Not only I took 1000 years to actually reply to you, Anon, I was also mistakenly certain that we already had at least one post about jadidi hcs. I guess I’ve been writing this reply in my head for so long that I fully gaslighted myself that it exists…

Alright, my brave little story aside, I am very happy that you enjoyed our Floyd/Idia hcs, Anon! And even though it was ages ago, I hope you’re still here to read the Jade/Idia ones that I came here to offer you…

(Damn it’s been a while since we posted anything Jadidi-related! Poor Jade :( )

I feel like I’ve said this one in some other post, but still: Idia genuinely likes Jade. He is still terrified of him, yes, and he doesn’t trust him at all, because he knows better than to trust anyone from Octavinelle, but that Harveston experience has taught him a lot. When in social situations and when Ortho isn’t around, Idia’s go-to is to either die all by himself or to cling to the most shady and misanthropic person. Usually it’s Azul, but Jade fits the mold surprisingly well. Idia didn’t expect to be comfortable (well sort of) around him, but here we are.

Jade enjoys being around Idia as well, and even though they don’t talk to each other very often, they have their little chats every now and then, and it’s usually quite a lovely experience… until Jade decides that it’s way too lovely and does or says something to freak Idia out. He really enjoys teasing him (and scaring him), so it’s like one minute they are friends, and then he acts like he is hungrily circling around a squid that he is about to bite.

Jade has Idia’s phone number. He asked for it at the end of the Harveston event, and even though Idia was very hesitant, at that moment he thought that this wasn’t that bad of an idea; so now Jade is one of the few people who knows Idia’s phone number.

He didn’t even need to ask btw, he could’ve asked Azul about it or even figured it out by himself (wink), but he really wanted to act like a cute kohai that really wants to keep in touch with his senpai that he had bonded with so much.

They do text each other sometimes: for the most part Jade just sends Idia some pictures of plants and mushrooms (usually the ones that they talked about in Harveston – something that Idia asked him about because there was that one plant from his favourite anime). He also sends him any bad pictures of Azul that he has, and Idia always giggles at these.

Idia giggles (very cutely!) because of Jade surprisingly a lot. Jade’s snarky little comments always hit the right spot for Idia, especially when Jade is mocking someone (usually it’s Azul…)

They also talk about anime sometimes. Jade did watch that one kelkkarotu inspired anime that Idia really likes and rather enjoyed it. And Idia almost cried because of excitement – he knew Jade-shi would get it! After that he gave Jade way too many anime recommendations… Jade has very little free time, but he still watches things from that list from time to time. Idia always waits for his reviews desperately…

One time Jade asked Idia to come and hang out with him at the lounge after working hours, and Idia initially freaked out and didn’t want to go. The fact that he called him at like 9 P.M. should have made everything better, since there are no people there, but it somehow made it worse. It’s way too shady! Does Jade-shi want to kill him? Or even worse – is he doing to do something r- romant- eeek??

The idea that there is some romantic chemistry between them occurs to Idia from time to time. He tries not to think about it though, or to rationalize it by saying to himself that he is just being paranoid, that Jade doesn’t seem into any type of relationship in general, or that Jade wouldn’t be into him at all. Or that he probably plays too many vns, and just talking to a guy from time to time doesn’t mean that they are getting anywhere.

But they are. They really are. Jade is perfectly aware that Idia is tormented by this dilemma and that he likes Jade’s attention, and he really likes it when Idia looks at him with his surprised, confused, but also sweetly desperate eyes. He could have easily made the first move, but confusing Idia and making him obsessed with this idea is much more fun. So he’ll play with him some more~

[danaedanette]

Final review of ACOTAR

Sooooo. I finished ACOTAR. Disclaimer, the pages referred here are from the French translation.

It's a massive review, (9k caracters and 3 hours, I really didn't think I would write something this long) so I put it under this "read more" thing.

I already mentioned in another post the book is really slow paced during, like, 70%, because it’s focused on Feyre and Tamlin relationship and budding romance. It’s not necessary a bad thing, but it get a little boring after a while. But I already read the book once ; I knew what was going to happen, and it certainly played a part in my boredom (is it the right word ??) so I’ll be indulgent about the pacing.

I picked up one little inconsistency toward the end of the book : on page 452, Tarquin is described as having “almost white hair, striking cristal blue eyes and warm ebony skin” (an rough translation back to English by myself lmao). And later on page 508, he is described having “tanned skin, a blue and green tunic, a roses crown on his blond hair” (still a rough translation). Honestly, it isn’t too bad, Tarquin isn’t an important character yet (or at all), he isn’t even named, only called “Summer High Lord”. I picked it up because Tarquin is more present in the following books and I frowned on the description page 508, and I remembered that he made another short appearance sooner in the book so I checked it up.

So onto the characters and what I thought about them !

Let’s begin with Rhysand, at least it’ll be done faster. No surprise here, I didn’t like him. I’ll admit all the seeds for Feysand are planted here so it's smoother on the next book, something I hadn’t saw on my first reading 7 years ago. But alas, Rhysand is desesperatly Rhysand, so all the signs of abuse that will (in my opinion) define the character and the Feysand relationship are all here too. Nothing new : the forced deal with the broken arms, the drugging and dancing, the eye that spy on Feyre,… I know it’s all explained (and immediately brushed under the carpet) in the next book, even if I don’t remember the details, and obviously Feyre forgives him, but I simply can’t condone Feysand with a history that heavy between them. Especially as we know that there will be… questionable actions on Rhysand’s part later on. Either he doesn’t learn of his past mistakes or they’re not mistakes at all and he knows perfectly well what he’s doing. I think (to no one surprise) that the latter is true, and here an example why : the first time Feyre is painted in preparation for her nightly dances, Rhysand shows her how, when the paint is damaged by contact, he can fix it with his magic. And later on, when Tamlin and Feyre are kissing and Rhys interrupts them, Tamlin has paint on himself and Rhysand made it disappear. Or maybe Tamlin does it himself, but either way it doesn’t matter, my point still stand : Rhysand can fix the paint on Feyre, he doesn’t have to kiss her to explain that the paint is blurred when Amarantha comes in the room. So Rhysand lied to kiss (read : sexually abuse) Feyre. He’s a dick. (Or it’s another inconsistency on Maas part, who knows ?)

Still, I liked him better in this book that I will in the next, because here we don’t have the narrative and Feyre telling him that he’s a poor, poor baby who never, ever did anything wrong in his life (or else he was forced and he didn’t want to do it :( ). Here, he’s still a villain/really morally grey character. (I keep making assumptions about what I’m gonna find in ACOMAF, and I should stop because I want to go in with an open mind.)

Amarantha is caricatural. That's all she inspired in me.

Then Lucien, because I wanna keep the two main protagonists for last. I remembered that he was one of my favorite characters, and so I was quite disappointed with my rereading. He is not nice with Feyre – which, understandable. She killed Andras, who was his friend, and he had to be at least helpful/civil toward her because they needed her to break the curse. That’s a horrible situation to be in. But all the times he insulted her… It was, at least 50% of the time, insults about her being mortal. To me, it feels like Lucien’s hostility toward Feyre was born of racism, and not of a personal history (her killing his friend). He did helped her UTM, but honestly with how their relationship was before that, I interpreted this help as him doing a favor to Tamlin/helping the only person who had a chance at freeing them from Amarantha. I do think that SJM intended for Feyre and Lucien to be friends, I just don’t think I read the book the way she wanted it to be read. And also, to be fair, Lucien wasn’t exactly really developed. Even his relationship with Tamlin was lacking, in my opinion. Lucien was sometimes (rarely) making fun of Tamlin, as friends do, or he was doing his report about sentry duty. Aaaand… that’s it. Tamlin reacted most of the time by being like “shut up, Lucien” and growling menacingly, which is, for one, not nice to threaten a friend, and two, all the time ? Come on, I understand the situation is really complicated, but be nicer to your friend, talk and joke with him, you’ll feel better Tamlin !

This will be our transition on Tamlin. He was quite nice during the majority of the book. I’m not exactly sure about UTM, but more onto that later. It was nice reading about all the efforts he kept making to get to know Feyre, and hilarious how bad he was at it. The Summer Solstice was one of my favorite scene, Feyre was so free and happy, and the idea of Tamlin playing violin for her on his knees… Yeah, I melt just thinking about it. He was a lot more anger-proned that I remember, but never toward Feyre, and she never felt threatened, and even if Tamlin did threatened Lucien, well,…  Lucien always came back to annoy Tamlin, and when Feyre, talking about Lucien’s eye, asked if Tamlin did it, Lucien was quite shocked, almost horrified, that she would think that. So I take it Lucien wasn’t feeling threatened or afraid of Tamlin, and therefore, despite being angry most of the time, Tamlin knows how to keep his temper under control and it wouldn't surprise me if he's the "quick to anger, quick to appease" type. (It’s still not nice to threaten people, especially friends).  About UTM, I don’t know what to think. Tamlin does know how to control his temper… to a certain point. He was never violent toward anyone during the book, but he did have difficulties to hide his anger, notably his claws which were almost always threatening to break out. And yet, UTM… nothing. He gives strictly nothing. No claws poking, no growling, nothing. I’m REALLY conflicted about it. It is, as Lucien said, a way, as small as it is, the only possible thing Tamlin can do to protect Feyre from Amarantha. But is it in character for Tamlin, who doesn’t seem to struggle to keep his poker face, even when he was an open book the whole time ? Was he so open with his emotions during the book because he was at home, with people he trusted and in a place where he was in control ? And so does it mean that UTM he wore a mask to protect himself and Feyre ? (this one should appeal to Rhys’s fans.) I DON’T KNOW. Maybe I think too much and it’s just an inconsistency/retcon on Maas part to justify Feyre leaving in the next book because “you did nothing to help me UTM”.

Either way, I liked Tamlin (and Lucien) less than I remember liking them the first time. But I have a theory : it’s quite possible that the unfairness and retcon that they both suffer in the two next books had me so offended on their behalf that I decided I would love them twice as much for every character who would treat them unfairly based on strictly nothing.

AND FINALLY FEYRE. Even if…, to be honest, I don’t really know what to say about her. She really is quite the typical YA female protagonist. She slayed the first challenge, it was one of my favorite scenes. And the last challenge was really poignant. Even if it was MORE than time that she used her brain. Seriously, this riddle was easy. Or maybe I read too much fantasy books, I don’t know. She was too complacent (not sure this is the right word, but nice is not right either soooo) with Rhysand. A guy that treat me like that, I hate him with all my guts, no matter what “helps” he gives me in the middle of all the abuse he inflicts on me. But well. Seeds for Feysand and all that. On that note, I think I read somewhere on Tumblr that Rhysand knew as soon as he met Feyre for the first time (on Calanmai) that she was his mate ? Not sure tho. In any case, it can’t be true because during their last conversation, just before they leave UTM, Rhysand says goodbye, then freezes and looks at Feyre with, uuuh, big surprise (stupeur in French). Sorry, my brain is melting, I have worked on this review for way too long. So I guess this is the moment Rhys knows she’s his mate. Which, now that I think about it, is really weird that he would be nice to her before that because let’s be real : Rhys don’t give a fuck about people not close to him. Oh, well. Either it’s a retcon, an inconsistency, or anything else, I’m done with this book. Next step : ACOMAF. Maybe I’ll find some answers. Maybe I’ll find more questions, more retcons, and a sudden want to cry. (Open-minded, Danette, remember that you must be open-minded).

To conclude, I was not surprised about Feyre and Rhysand, they were pretty much what I remembered/expected. Lucien and Tamlin were a little disappointing, but honestly not by much, because I knew my memories might be askewed and I know not to expect too much from SJM. This was a very mid read. Not too bad, not good either. 2, 2.5 stars.

Oh, and sorry for any mistakes. This post was long and I really don't have the strengh right now to proofread it. Maybe later, but probably not. I hope it's not too hard on the eyes.

[redinkscrawl]

Redd Reviews: THE WORLD KEEPS ENDING, AND THE WORLD GOES ON by Franny Choi

Genre: Poetry

Major Tropes: Dystopia, utopia

Representation: Written by a queer Korean-American and discusses Korean-American issues, though the book is not explicitly queer (to my knowledge.) Little to no disability rep.

My Thoughts

Franny Choi’s The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On is a book about many things; apocalypse, dystopia, history, future, COVID, race, trauma, life… but it is also very much a book about endings, beginnings, and continuances. Choi’s lyrical play and word choice often leans into this theme, with poems like “We Used Our Words We Used What Words We Had” and “I Have Bad News and Bad News, Which Do You Want First” blending the beginnings and endings of lines and stanzas. The world has ended, after all, but it has also continued right along.

One time the world ended was in 2020. Choi’s poems are all tinted by a post-COVID perspective for me, and possibly for the author as well. It’s impossible for me to know if lines like “...stitched by girls who look like me but for their N95s…” refers to masks worn for COVID-related or other reasons (poor workplace conditions?), but my perspective on these lines post-COVID is certainly tinged. Given that the author does outright reference COVID in other poems, I find it hard to believe that these lines weren’t at least left ambiguous on purpose.

My second favorite poem in the collection was “Field Trip to the Museum of Human History.” Choi says this poem was inspired by Ursula K. Le Guin, and I clocked this immediately. What’s fascinating for me is that I checked The Winds’ Twelve Quarters, the only non-children’s book by Le Guin I’ve read (though I have others on my to-be-read shelf!) and I don’t believe I’ve read The Dispossessed, the story Choi says the poem was inspired by, nor any significant passages from it. Le Guin’s influence over the poem is just that strong. And now I have another book to add to my TBR shelf!

Related, I really enjoyed the scifi aspect of the book overall. I’m a big fan of exploratory, speculative fiction and have sought in the past a way to write a scifi or fantasy poem without it being a hundred pages. Obviously, Choi achieves this goal in “Science Fiction Poem” and “Field Trip to the Museum of Human History,” but even more than that she achieves this goal in “The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On,” if in a more watered-down form.

My favorite poem in the collection was “We Used Our Words We Used What Words We Had.” I’ve always been slightly fascinated by nonsense poetry and literature, but most nonsense doesn’t make my spine tingle like this poem does. Instead of being silly and charming, this poem cuts deep at something… but I don’t know what. Sense is abandoned for lyricism; phrases are structured for rhyme, consonance and assonance, rather than for meaning. It’s a beautiful poem, and I don’t get it. But I think that’s the point. This poem certainly inspires me to play more with my words, regardless of hard meaning and in favor of effect. The piece is a playful celebration of sound, and I wonder if this has anything to do with her background in spoken-word poetry.

This collection of poems is somewhat haunting for me. I’m frequently a doom-thinker, almost obsessed with intrusive visions of my own death and the death of the ones I love. In my dreams I fair better, as brilliant revolutionary leader or crafty apocalypse survivor, but still the doom is there—why is the revolution necessary? What caused the apocalypse? This is not to say I believe this collection is possessed by an untoward sense of doom—I think any sense of doom the collection has is warranted and realistic. But it’s inconvenient. It forced me to face things I try not to face, for fear my sense of doom would grow greater. The moral of the story here is that there is no remedy, or at least no easy or permanent one. Even if we prevent one apocalypse, another will follow, almost certainly. That said, “Protest Poem” does give us some hope for changing the future… A sense of ‘something will always be wrong but at least it can be less wrong or for less time.’ Additionally, The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On is greatly interested in knowing others.

In this way, Choi’s book reads like a manifesto of sorts, or perhaps half a manifesto. Most manifestos expose the wrong in the world and give a list or at least a sense of the policies, ideals, aims, etc. that would correct that wrong. Choi does a lot of the former, and much less of the latter. I struggle to see a call to arms in this book, despite the aforementioned “Protest Poem.” She establishes empire as the root of evil in some poems, but fails to present a solution to empire. I think this is intentional, and partially because I don’t think the speaker believes in any true, hard endings. Of anything, not just empire. Is this depressing? Possibly. But love doesn’t end either, nor compassion, nor progress. In this way, I believe The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On does carry some sort of hope, should you choose to read it that way.

The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On is filled with poignant lines and exploratory poems with few misses, but a few pieces lost my attention at times.

Rating: 🌎🌎🌎🌎/5

Check out waffalet's elf girl maker here.

[mask131]

I have such a love-hate relationship with the Eddings fantasy series. I tried to explain it in a post... But it turns out either into an insanely long dissertation, into a completely unhinged rambling that sounds like pure chaos. But it is a good reflection of how complex and frustrating it is to deal with these series.

So for now I will just say that these series have so many good things for them, and have a key part in the evolution of fantasy literature... And yet have just as many things to be hated for, and so many reasons to be disliked.

I think the most important point is that the Eddings couple was good at two things. On one side, the subversion and twist of fantasy tropes - well, what WAS at the time fantasy stereotypes and cliches - and as one reviewer said, the Eddings would have probably produced better books if they were fantasy parodies or humoristic novels. On the other side, they are excellent at character concept, basic worldbuilding and iconic scenes... but fail when it comes to complexity or plot-building/narrative-flow. Which is why, as I said previously, the Eddings would have been excellent at writing campaign scripts. Just take the Malloreon: it feels SO MUCH like a campaign manual rather than an actual novel series...

Note: By the Eddings series, I refer specifically to The Belgariad, The Elenium and The Malloreon. I do plan on reading the Tamuli at one point, but I am NOT speaking about The Dreamers because I went through more than half of the first book and its shit. Pure shit.

Back to the topic... Yes, the Eddings series are so frustrating as a whole.

They are funny, but very dated. They have cool concepts and ideas, but they have typical 80s-American-prejudices and vaguely pedophile tones (not so much The Belgariad, but the Elenium and Malloreon have... worrying stuff). They subvert Tolkien's work and changed the game in fantasy literature - but then repeat themselves in a drab and dreary way, robbing their own inventivity. They are weirdly positive and weirdly negative at the same time.

And if the books themselves weren't complex in their over-simplicity and problematic in their strange worldview, there is also the big problem of the audience/fandoms literaly not understanding what the books are about. Like people missing out completely that the Elenium is supposed to be "dark fantasy", not "high/heroic fantasy" like the Belgariad ; and there's also something to be said about a very interesting double-standard people have when it comes to the use of "races" in these works - but that will be for another time.

For some, the Eddings series were a "gateway fantasy" to have a short and simple introduction to archetypes, plot beats and the general ambiance of "typical" fantasy. For others, they are a "comfort read" to enjoy something while shutting your brain off. And I agree that this is what these series ultimately are: they were never meant to be high or great literature, and they are very simple and dated, and I personally used them as "waiting reads". Because these are books I can easily get in or out of when waiting for my computer to start, for my train to arrive, for my class to begin. It's a "snack-read". I did feel involved in The Belgariad because everybody agrees that it is the best of all the four series - when the Eddings really struck something good. But by the Elenium and the Malloreon, I literaly was not as invested and I just read it because. To see the characters, and the ideas, and the concepts. Because no matter how poor these series can become, they are always a BIG source of inspiration for fantasy material.

Even The Dreamers, which is pure shit, had one of the most interesting concepts of a fantasy "big villain" thrown to us in the first pages, and this is why I even stepped so far into the book, before giving up by realizing the rest was just... garbage.

[pengugay]

i have literally no idea how to start this off its been like how many hours since i woke up and hastily reblogged and liked the initial post because i was too sleepy to parse shit but ONANISM. PEAK. THAT IS ALL. (not really. im going to start yelling screaming pissing shitting my pants you are quite literally god having taken shelter under the protection of a skilled human carcass)

THE HINTS OF SMALL BITS LETTING US IN ON THE FAINT IN BETWEENS. THE DIALOGUE. THE UTTER DEPRAVITY WHICH SWUNG AT ME LIKE A DUMBBELL AFOREMENTIONED ON A SIGN WHICH I FORGOT TO READ BUT ENDED UP ENJOYING ANYWAY DUE TO THE GRACE AND DELICACY IN WHICH IT WAS HANDLED

no joke, your work is inspiring and very much within my lane. although my vision was still under a fuzzy filter due to me having just woken up at the time of reading, i can still remember how beautifully morbid everything is from beginning to end. the way you interpret both beel and hades in onanism is so!!! fascinating, and quite refreshing as well as imo it provides a highlight on some more 'unsavoury' aspects of hades' personality while also not making him look like an outright edgy bad boy character as is often done in other modern romantic portrayals of him in media. BEELZEBUB. BEELZEBUB, oh curse his poor tortured soul, i FELT every emotion he was feeling for the entire duration of the strip and i myself have never fucked or even thought about fucking a corpse but for the entirety of it all i was just like 'damn,,, he just like me fr,,,,'

your art and storytelling oozes pure, raw, visceral emotion so powerful it doesnt just provide the shoes for the reader to put themselves in, it shoves the reader into them; making us feel the experience. each word was so eloquent befitting two very powerful deities but also casual(?) enough to make it seem as if we're in the car while all this shit goes down (which i imagine would be a twice as harrowing experience if that were the case 🗿)

ignoring how i just said the same thing twice but differently but IN CONCLUSION: I LOVE ONANISM!!!!! I LOVE BEELZEBUB!!!!!!! I LOVE HADES!!!!!!!!! I LOVE BEELHADES!!!!!!!! AND I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!! AND I HOPE YOU HAVE AN AMAZING DAY/NIGHT AND I LOVE YOUR WORK!!!!!!! KEEP GOING BUT ALSO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!!!!!!! 💖💖💖💖💖

Weweweeewrwewe i came back home and your inbox surprised me. I read every words thoroughly and for a moment i was moved so tyvm again (ᗒᗩᗕ) !!

Ty for reading and enjoying it hehe (≧◡≦), it was my first attempt to create something long and your review gives me the strength and confidence to keep creating more bubuhade stuff that i left undone in the back of my mind (hehe menacingly)

(randomly passes this painting commission i bought bcs you love them sm ( ◜‿◝ )♡)

[kcscribbler]

Hello, dear Author!

For the love of all creative!) Thank God you are available here. Resently I've found you took down your beautiful account on FF.net, though thankfully we can request a resque!

Allow me please to express my feelings a little) Your account, alive and active for so many years, became a source of re-creation and warmth, very human warmth. You are a brilliant author, very inspiring. And your stories are so good now, in my opinion your talent went through overwhelming growth! However you feel about those early fics :-), they are - somehow - a part of my poor little heart (sentimental? yeah, but they just don't deserve to be lost and forgotten). I am very greatful you left your long time fans with a chance to have your old works. 15+ years, thank you so much! *hugggg you! if I may* So, please, send me a copy of your delited stories of ACD-Holmes (and Sherlock, if they are not on AO3) , including the one you took down fist, the elaborated version of Holmes and Watson meeting and moving in together. It was written in the form of a diary (sorry, I have forgotten it's title, though remember much of a story itself xD). And the sequel, even though it was unfinished. And the stories you've written in collaboration with Protector of Grey Fortress. )))

And that story about Watson going to war, when he left hidden messages for a friend crazy with worry - I remember that fic appearing, me reading apdates and waiting for the next chapter. ;) Ahh, memories. Though you said you don't want to go there again and you don't really like those stories anymore, but they are very sweet and charming and so kind. Hope I did not overload you with my wayward emotions, but you don't write to one of your favourite writers every day) And I wanted you to have that "review" here so you'd know how nice is this thing you are doing.

Thank you again. And I am so glad to have an opportunity to come for new tales. ) Those you are writing for Loki... my gods. You are GOOD.

Aaaah, this is such a sweet ask!

Thank you so much for sharing all of that with me, it really made my day!

I haven't connected with PGF in years but will always look back on that era fondly. I left all collab stories up on my FF account, by the way, so you should be good there - I believe most of our collabs were actually posted on hers.

For the rest, feel free to send me a DM with an email address or a way to share links with you (or another ask, which I'll answer privately) and we'll work something out. :)

Thank you again for the lovely message!

[alexathom]

An Overview of Glee

General Summary For this post, we chose to review the show "Glee." We selected Glee because it's known for addressing various social issues, including those related to race, sexuality, and gender. The show features characters from various racial and ethnic backgrounds, as well as characters with different sexual orientations and gender identities. This diversity allowed the show to portray a range of experiences and perspectives, contributing to a more inclusive representation on television. Through its diverse cast, compelling storylines, and musical expression, the show contributes to a broader cultural conversation about acceptance, identity, and the importance of embracing diversity. While not without its criticisms, "Glee" remains a landmark series in its efforts to bring these important issues to a mainstream audience.

Prior to making Glee, Ryan Murphy had a hand in creating two other shows. These shows include high school drama Popular and medical drama Nip/Tuck. However, Glee was Ryan Murphy’s first major cultural hit, leading to many of his popular series in later years. His post-Glee TV shows include American Horror Story, Scream Queens, American Crime Story, and Pose.

Glee is a widely popular show featuring an ensemble of diverse characters with differing races, gender identities, sexualities, disabilities all with one thing in common: show choir. Ryan Murphy created a satirical reading of high school chaos mixed with the competitiveness and high-stakes of show business. Through all the drama that’s inevitable with teenage hormones and spotlight craze, the main message of Glee shines through. Be who you are, even when the rest of the world is against you. And this message is clear from the blissfully ignorant and sweet characters of Becky Johnson, Britney Pierce, and Sam Evans to the at times unbearable characters of Rachel Berry, Sue Sylvester and Santana Lopez.

"Glee" stands as a compelling testament to the creators' ability to infuse depth into the seemingly simple setting of a high school glee club. Ryan Murphy's background in crafting narratives that challenge norms is evident in the way "Glee" tackles issues of diversity. The show's unique format, incorporating musical performances into its storytelling, adds an extra layer to the exploration of gender, race, and class dynamics. This choice not only entertains but also serves as a powerful vehicle for conveying messages about acceptance and self-expression.

Episode Reviews

"The Power of Madonna" - Bryson Travers

In season one episode fifteen of Glee, entitled “The Power of Madonna”, ideas regarding patriarchy and misogyny are explicitly addressed through Madonna’s musical catalog and cultural relevance. When Glee Club director Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) notices how poorly the women of Glee Club are being treated by the men, he decides to teach them about equality. After Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) tells Mr. Schuester about the impact of Madonna’s songs on women's empowerment, he assigns the glee club the task of performing Madonna's musical numbers. In doing so, he believes he will inspire the women of the Glee Club while also allowing the men of the Glee Club to recognize their misogyny. Although the context of this episode is encouraging for women, the episode unfortunately fails to acknowledge the complexities or intersectionality of misogyny.

Within this episode, there are several liberal feminist perspectives. For instance, the character of Sue Sylvester represents many of its core ideals. She desires political, social, and economic equality and believes more representation within these oppressive systems means true equality. Her poor treatment at work by her male colleagues contributes to her viewpoint. Sue is constantly belittled by Will Schuester for her physical appearance and age, yet she is the one seen as mean and cruel. Much of this perception stems from Sue being a woman and is a common societal double standard. Although Will instigates multiple of their hostile interactions, his negative attitude is omitted because he is a man. Sue addresses this in a speech given to her cheer squad, where she quotes Madonna and says, “I’m tough, I’m ambitious, and I know what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay” (“The Power of Madonna” 2:16). While this episode specifically condemns this double standard, future episodes seemingly forget about Sue’s unfair treatment and continue to depict her simply as a “mad woman”. Another moment showcasing liberal feminism is in a scene with Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron). Quinn tells Mr. Schuester “Women still earn 70 cents to every dollar that a man does for doing the same job. That attitude starts in high school” (“The Power of Madonna” 4:55). This line emphasizes the economic inequality women face, in addition to how misogyny is ingrained into people from a young age.

Although the episode succeeds in its discussions of economic, political, and social inequities, its discussion of feminism is extremely white-centric. Sue Sylvester, a white woman, is the primary story the audience sees regarding misogyny. Characters of color, such as Tina Cohen-Chang (Jenna Ushkowitz), Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera), and Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley) are lumped together with the white characters in its conversation of feminism, disregarding the distinct oppression women of color experience. Not only is the interconnectedness of racism and misogyny ignored, but explicit racism persists in the episode. The character of Mercedes is a black woman who endures racist scrutiny at the hands of Sue Sylvester, the same woman who advocates for women's empowerment. Sue makes countless offensive remarks towards Mercedes, such as when she refers to her as “Whoopi” or a “brassy hag”. These insults are not the only examples showcasing Glee’s poor racial representation. Mercedes, one of the show’s few black characters, is largely vocally absent for much of the show’s earlier performances. Mercedes even calls this out, stating, “And ya’ll just trot me out at the end of every number so I can wail on the last note” (“The Power of Madonna” 34:25). While this line demonstrates self-awareness in the show’s treatment of Mercedes, this issue continues throughout the show. In addition to Glee’s version of feminism being white-centric, it is also very cisgender. This episode sees misogyny as a binary issue between two genders: men and women. There is no conversation concerning the difficulties non-binary or a-gender people experience. Moreover, Glee never ends up having a prominent non-binary or a-gender character as all characters are assumed to be cisgender.  

Fortunately, “The Power of Madonna” has a positive and complex understanding of sexuality. At the beginning of the episode, Sue Sylvester discredits guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays) for not being “sexual enough”. She states, “You don’t deserve the power of Madonna. Simply put, you have all the sensuality of one of those pandas down at the zoo who refuse to mate” (“The Power of Madonna” 13:57). As the episode progresses, it becomes more evident how Sue’s words are harmful. When Ms. Pillsbury feels shamed into embracing her sexuality, she believes she must have sex, which she confides in Mr. Schuester. She says to him, “I need to take control of myself and my body” (“The Power of Madonna” 22:47). However, by the end of the episode, Ms. Pillsbury realizes she does not want to sleep with Mr. Schuester, and she only wants to so she can fulfill Sue’s expectations of what sensuality looks like. This episode shows the adverse effects of forcing all women to be sexually empowering. Not every woman wants to be sensual, and enforcing these expectations onto women, thereby limiting their choice in sexual expression, is not empowering or feminist. Moreover, pushing the narrative that you must have sex to have bodily autonomy is also damaging. The show acknowledges this when Mr. Schuester tells Ms. Pillsbury “You took ownership of your body on Friday when you told yourself you weren’t ready” (“The Power of Madonna” 32:49). Glee explains to its audience that choosing to either engage or disengage in sexual activity is equally empowering, and bodily autonomy is achieved in both instances.

"Theatricality" - Sydney Ruiz

"Theatricality" is the 20th episode of Glee. Throughout this episode, viewers are introduced to the diverse ensemble cast, which features notable characters like Kurt Hummel, Mercedes Jones, Finn Hudson, Rachel Berry, and others, each bringing their own personalities and skills to the stage. This episode explores themes of identity, acceptance, and the challenges faced by the characters in expressing themselves within their sexuality, gender, and race both on and off the stage. The representation throughout Glee is notable for its diversity and encompassing characters of various ethnic backgrounds and LGTBQ+ identities. The show attempts to depict a range of experiences and challenges faced by individuals from different racial backgrounds within the context of high school life. Gender representation in "Theatricality" is multifaceted, with characters challenging traditional gender norms. Kurt Hummel, for instance, struggles with his relationship with his father, who feels uncomfortable with Kurt's flamboyant personality and choice of clothing. In an attempt to connect with his father, Kurt decides to redecorate their house to make it more masculine. These approaches to sexuality show how Glee relies on taking a comedic effect on certain stereotypes, but it also actively works to defy these stereotypes. Characters like Kurt challenge preconceived notions about gender and sexuality, contributing to a more nuanced portrayal of identity. Sexuality is another significant theme throughout "Theatricality," with characters exploring their sexual orientations and relationships. There is a scene where Finn Hudson uses a homophobic slur against Kurt Hummel. Finn discovers an intimacy aid in Kurt's dad's room, mistakenly thinking it's a prop for a role Kurt is preparing. In frustration and confusion, Finn uses the derogatory term to insult Kurt. This moment is significant in the episode as it addresses issues of homophobia and the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ characters in a high school setting. Glee often incorporates contemporary political issues or private matters with political implications into its narrative. The characters' personal struggles with identity, acceptance, and societal expectations contribute to broader conversations about tolerance and diversity, making the show a reflection of the evolving cultural landscape.

"Saturday Night Glee-ver" - Alexa Thompson

Towards the end of its third season, “Saturday Night Glee-ver” introduces what becomes a major character in their later seasons, Unique Wade Adams. While Mr. Schuester works to stir up some inspiration amongst the lost seniors of the Glee club, Unique—who’s first introduced as Wade—seeks advice from Mercedes Jones and Kurt Hummel on if she should wear a dress and perform as a woman during her show choir competition. At this time, Unique goes by Wade and presents as a male, while regarding her true identity as an “alter ego”, saying she resorts back to Unique as a game to comfort herself, ("Saturday Night Glee-ver" 5:56). At first, Kurt and Mercedes advise Unique against performing as a woman, as they all live in a conservative area of Ohio. But when Coach Sue Sylvester hears of this, she demands the two convince Unique to go through with her idea, as Sue is convinced it will ruin Vocal Adrenaline’s chance at the competition, thus securing New Directions for a regionals win. When Mercedes and Kurt try sneaking away to stop Sue’s attempted sabotage and prevent Unique from performing, she goes against their warnings and performs in a dress, wig and heels anyway, claiming her identity as a woman.

While there is not much commentary on race in this episode, Glee was especially diverse for its time, and the casting shines through with characters like Unique, who is a black transgender woman. Transgender people are grossly underrepresented in media, especially transgender people of color, so the introduction of Unique was an especially profound one for the show. Gender and sexuality are often spoken about hand in hand in this show, with many characters making jokes about femininity in men directly correlating to homosexuality. But topics of gender identity hadn’t been so heavily shown until this episode, in which Unique differs herself from the show’s cisgender cast. Sexuality, however, is a topic frequently shown since the beginning of Glee. Kurt Hummel was not the first gay character shown on screen, but his character was certainly a breakthrough in modern television. Unique was the same, being the first transgender character on what was such an iconic and large-scale show. It is quite possible that much of the audience hadn’t been introduced to transgender characters in the media, and if they had, then Unique still might have been the first to ever be humanized instead of turned into a villain or the butt of a joke.

Unique eventually becomes a major part of the show in the 4th and 5th season, after transferring to McKinley High and adopting her alter ego. Many have criticized the fact that her character has evidence of being tokenized, as she is the only transgender character up until the last season. And many could also say that her ultra-femininity and rambunctiousness were stereotypical, while others argue that that is the whole point of Glee, to depict an ensemble of stereotypes. While Glee’s depiction of her could definitely have been improved, Unique was full fledged with motivations and goals and troubles outside of her gender identity. She was enormously talented and given the spotlight for many iconic moments in the show. Unique Adams was a breakthrough in transgender representation, and “Saturday Night Glee-ver” was only the start for this beautiful, gifted character.