#queer horror lives let queer fighting live too

[unavailable-fan]

Just a rant on the topic of fighting anime/manga/movies/etc

I have a love-hate relationship with stories focused on fighting, like school gangs, anime delinquents, martial arts sort of things. I love them cause yeah cool action is so liberating to see, fights choreography is an art of its own, makes you wanna go out and use that muscle bag of your own too. I love all this "action as communication and expression of feelings" idea at least in theory and stories. But also violence irl sucks most of the time, but still some people get to have that fun through fights irl and sometimes no person involved actually suffered so it's cool, but it's rare. And that's probably something to talk through with a therapist but whatever. That i really really don't like about most stories of that type is that they're positioned like "straight guys expressing themselves as MEN, cause it's MANLY and of course they have their MANLY teenage problems and their rage that's how they grow into real MEN by solving them through fights ugh". And by positioned i really mean that and only that, cause there are lots of subplots that would fit proper queer story in those types of stories than in some stories about actual queer characters. And there's a message usually that's like "well, it's ok to feel rage" and that's cool, that's right, you need to express negative emotions to be able to let them go but you also need to learn to process them in a way that wouldn't cause too much harm, and sometimes it's a fight with an actually worthy opponent who also gets your rage and so on. I like this idea. But like, there's so much rage that needs to be expressed when you're actually a typical cis straight guy, if you differ in any of these parameters then there's a chance you wanted to like bite, scratch, fight through problems too. But you're told it's totally unproductive, or that it doesn't fit an image a group you belong to has in a society or something similar. And it's true, but also, hey, maybe wanting a story that actually represents this type of rage and want to express it is not that weird. Like ORV kinda gets it best from that i've seen and it uses this in later story and gods it's cool to be seen and feel like someone understands this. Where are my fighting girls who are able to learn to cope through fights of get to have this "i want to be stronger" type of story and live successfully through it? Where are my trans/nb/non-conforming fellas trying to find out how they want to approach the topic of violence and how to deal with it and who are just generally enraged by all the erasing and constant rebuilding of self cause that's what not fitting the norm can make you feel? Where are romances built on the ground of rivalry with an equal, or comradery, or trying to grow after being inspired by someone, or once again rage cause hey some things are difficult to navigate esp if you're once again realizing you're outside the norm? And once again, i actually love these types of stories as they are, that's how i first encountered them, of course i still like them. But hey, maybe that's just a path of genre i want to see explored in the future, and that's what i want to express. So anyway, violence irl - sucks, violence in art and stories - fascinating and can potentially help you deal with irl stuff better.

[dragonmuse]

Keep It In The Box : An Essay on OFMD Season 2 and the Failure to Heal

(here in is my season two reaction. It contains many many spoilers. It's also about 3k words long so you know what you're getting into.)

“See, I have a system for dealing with all the terrible things I've seen. There's a box in my mind, and I put the things in the box..” -Frenchie, Season 2 of Our Flag Means Death

…..and then he never opens it. Chekov’s locked box has no key in season two.

On first watch, it seemed clear to me that Frenchie’s declaration was a narrative plant. Clearly the whole season would be about that box of pain and trauma being opened, sorted through and at least the beginning of healing. The show had developed a reputation after season one of being kind and focused on queer narratives of healing from childhood. Ed and Stede’s parallels in their childhood traumas were frequently on display through season one and were repeated in flashback throughout season two. Jim’s season one arc about becoming someone who doesn’t think just of revenge and can now forge meaningful connections was profound, beautiful and often funny. Izzy is an antagonist because he doesn’t want Ed to move on or stop acting like the trauma-response version of himself. The antagonist wants to stop healing. The point is to grow, to change, to learn how to love. It’s one of the things that made season one work for me at the time, despite reservations about pacing and tone.

So naturally season two should follow suit. It’s a kind show! About healing and falling in love!

For the first several episodes, the remaining crew on the Revenge go through a gauntlet of trauma, forced to do and receive violence at Ed’s whims as he careens from self-destructive behavior to self-destructive behavior. This is the wounding setup. It was dark, but it seemed like it would have a payoff and at first it did.

Perhaps one of the most beautiful moments of the season comes in one of the small respites in those early episodes as Jim recounts Pinnochio to Fang to soothe him through his grief. That was the show that I expected. The kindness of that moment struck me very deeply. It gave me some understanding of Archie too, who seems to fall for Jim right at that moment.

That scene is the show season one promised. Season two led with packing Frenchie’s box full to bursting. Here is the fight to the death between lovers, there is a first mate who is mutilated and rotting in the very walls (the rot of the Revenge itself), and there is the storm of Ed’s rage and pain that threatens to consume all of them.

So surely these remaining episodes would concentrate on finding the humor in healing from those moments. That is the setup. Frenchie has a box. The box must eventually open.

Except time and again, all the characters who suffered are told that the only way to deal with what they’ve been through is to stick it in the box and never open it again.

Pete tells Lucius that he’s unable to move on and needs to let it go. Izzy has a story about a shark. Ed’s apology to the crew which doesn’t even contain the words ‘I’m sorry’ is just…accepted. I kept waiting and waiting for a meaningful apology to the people Ed had hurt the worst with his actions, but it seems all we get is Fang saying ‘eh, no problem, I got to hit you back so I feel better’.

The playful theme of ‘pirates are just violent sometimes’ from season one becomes a grinding horror machine in season two when every atrocity visited on someone is forgiven because the narrative needs it to be. Ed and Stede spend more time making amends with each other over the bloodless night on the beach than either of them spend trying to repent for their actions towards anyone else.

And let’s talk about Ed. Arguably this season pivots on his narrative, on his path to healing and growth. A path that starts at a very low point. His moment in the gravy basket, deciding he wants to live because there are still things to live for is so great! So one might assume that what would follow would be him pursuing those things, making amends, making connections. He and Stede have a wonderful moment, talking about being whim prone and how they’ll work to avoid that, build a relationship by going slower.

Yet, at no point do either of them stop following whims. They never heal or learn from what’s happened to them. They both keep running from thing to thing, particularly Ed. It’s a whim to sleep with Stede, it’s a whim to run off to fish, and the finale gives us just more of their whims. Ed drops fishing as fast as he picked it up. He finds those leathers in the ocean, murdering the symbolism of leaving them behind. Even the inn is a whim, one of those things Ed decided he’d be good at without evidence. And Stede joins him in that without a single on screen conversation about it ahead of the moment.

Ed needs to heal himself and to do that he needs to confront what he’s done and do the work to heal the wound. Instead, he doesn’t meaningfully apologize to anyone, besides Stede and Fang. Despite Izzy’s dying words (we’ll get to that), not only do we never see the crew caring about Ed, working to make him family in the same way they do with Fang and even Izzy, he also doesn’t choose to stay with them. So what is the point? Where is the healing? Or does even Ed, beloved main character, have to live with it all stuffed in a box?

He ends the season in the leathers he threw away, in a relationship that’s barely stabilized, going to live in a house which we are told by the narrative (in that they are very very clearly paralleling Anne and Mary with Ed and Stede or why do we even get that whole Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? episode) will only end in them setting fire to each other to stay warm.

But Vee, I hear you cry, it’s a ROM-COM. This is all meant to be ha-ha funny and you are taking it so seriously!

Cool beans. Then why the hell isn’t it funny? Healing is often filled with comedy because people deal with pain with humor. You can heal and laugh at the same time. The finale especially is almost entirely devoid of laughs, almost entirely devoid of joy until the last minute for that matter. The episode that should show off with a flourish how far everyone’s come, mostly serves to show that no one has grown.

Okay that’s Ed. I want to talk about Lucius next. Our former audience surrogate (that’s taken away in season two when he doesn’t get enough screen time to perform that role and no one takes his place) really goes through the wringer. He experiences many many terrible things, including sexual assault (which is made into a grimace-laugh line that doesn’t take away from it’s seriousness because oh hey, that can be done as it turns out). He’s nervous, he’s smoking, it’s clear he’s suffering.

There’s a beautiful moment where Pete tells him ‘hey, I was also in pain. I grieved’ and that’s great. It’s good that Pete sets a boundary about Lucius not obsessing over the past to the point of occluding their future.

We even get our comedic moment where Lucius pushes Ed off the boat (still not apology, but I’d lost hope for that by then) and that doesn’t help enough. So Izzy comes in with a shark and the advice that you just have to move on.

Just…you know. Play pretend. Forget.

Shove it in a box. Ed didn’t take my leg, a shark did. Ed didn’t kill you, a shark did. Live with the person that tried to murder you because it’s your fault you dangled your leg over the side of a boat. That is the show’s message. I thought on first watch, that surely this would also come back up and be explained that you can’t live that way, that that is no way to heal. That it would become clear that this was no way through. You cannot make everything into sharks.

Lucius can move forward and still carry pain. He can still want a meaningful apology and still want to talk to his lover about what he’s dealing with while moving forward toward a brighter future.

And what of the flirtatious promise of relationships and connections being the way to heal? Look to Oluwande and Jim, whose heartfelt romance from season one was relegated to the bins of history in favor of a narrative that made him a brother Jim once had sex with. They could have had Archie AND Oluwande, who in turn could also have Zheng, but that never seems to be an option. With a single short conversation, they are broken up with, despite a brief tease at the birthday that they still ‘dance’ together, it never actually manifests. Jim and Archie never talk about what they went through. It’s swept under the rug as fast as knives are lowered.

Lucius also no longer flirts with other people, the solution to his pain is to propose and get married (but not too married, lest we forget that they’re two men, they don’t even get to be husbands or even the more respectful mates, no. They’re mateys.) This season proposes that the only happy endings are monogamous ones, where no one talks about anything painful that went before.

To ensure that message, beyond assuring the success of Oluwande and Zheng’s relationship, Jim and Archie almost entirely disappear from the narrative. Sorry you guys were given layers of trauma and no growth and not even much to do this season, we need to make sure that everyone remembers Oluwande is the break in Zheng’s day so when he says that to her five minutes later we know exactly what he’s referencing. No time for Archie to learn what an apology is or for Jim to get one line in with Oluwande that isn’t affirming their newfound broship. Must do more flashbacks to things we just did two episodes ago!

The show even dangles the conversation of the Revenge being a safe space. Why would any of them ever feel safe when the man who tortured them is allowed to walk among them and they are expected to forgive and forget? What’s safe about that? The ship is never made safe for any of them, but that’s never addressed.

And Zheng! Amazing, hysterically funny Zheng! She loses her ships, her entire way of life, the kingdom she built for herself and then…she doesn’t even get to captain the Revenge. We don’t know what becomes of her fleet, of her plans, her ambitions. Don’t worry about it, she has a romantic partner and isn’t that what every lady wants in the end?

(But Vee, I hear you cry again, there will be a season three! Maybe it will be All About Zheng! To which I say: then why did they present us with the most series finale feeling episode ever? If there’s more, I have no idea where it’s going. BUT VEE: BUTTONS AS SEAGULL ON THE GR- Fine. It’s time.)

Let’s talk about Izzy Hands.

Izzy manages more healing than anyone else this season. He reaches his lowest point, suicidal in the bowels of a ship that’s become a prison (very much in contrast to Ed’s suicidal low). The person he loves most in the world has shredded him physically and emotionally (and if you’re in the camp that thinks Izzy deserves the abuse that Ed gave to him, I would really like you to sit quietly with yourself and ask why you think there is ever anything anyone can do to deserve that treatment). He’s low, he shoots Ed to protect everyone, and then seems to plan to drink himself to death, mourning his losses.

And then another beautiful moment! The crew move past their own pain to help him. They work together for the first time and it’s to give Izzy mobility back. He treasures it. He cries over it. He uses that kindness extended to him to reach a new understanding of Stede and help him succeed, doing the work to make real amends. He sings in drag, he’s vulnerable and beautiful, celebrating the side of himself that he must’ve loathed in the first season. He’s an elder queer man, coming into himself.

He never gets an apology though. (‘Sorry about your leg’ without eye contact is not an apology. There is no responsibility taking, no acknowledgement of the weeks of torture that came with it.) Izzy also never really has an honest conversation with anyone about what it means that the man he loves punished him so severely for the crime of trying to protect the crew (yes, lest we forget, Izzy lost his leg because he was trying to keep Ed from re-traumatizing the crew and himself).

Izzy does all this work, but even he’s not allowed to take it out of the box. It’s a shark, not Ed. Ed is just ‘complicated’ (the language of abuse here is so upsetting and I think not even intentional).

And then he dies. His last act? To apologize to the man who tortured him and shot at him. To have done all this work, to take on all the blame. And then die.

In a rom com.

This show ends in a profoundly unfunny moment of telling the audience: this is the one character that did the work, that made amends, that tried his hardest to accept the parts of himself that he had a hard time embracing and formerly embittered him. He’s fully accepted his queerness and turned it into beautiful music. He’s disabled, and he worked hard to accept that. The man he loves will never love him back, so he worked hard to make Stede able to meet Ed on an even playing field. The Giving Tree gave up its limbs and its trunk, and it’s not even allowed to be a stump to sit on.

Kill the queer elder, who has managed to figure out how to live and in his own way how to heal. Kill him before he manages to teach anyone else how to meaningfully move forward (he almost gets it with Lucius, almost, but it’s meant to be rule of three, you know. Cigarette..shark…and then…and then fuck it, Lucius doesn’t even get to say a word at his funeral).

The message of this season again and again is that there is no healing, just moving forward. Like a shark. Like a bird that never lands.

That is not a kind show.

Season two is not a kind season.

It splinters people up and jams them back together without purpose or reason. It tells everyone who experiences pain that they should shove it in a box and not deal with it. No one who really needs one gets an apology of any sincerity. No one puts in the work to gain forgiveness. (Ed wearing a onesie is not The Work. Ed fixing a door is not The Work. Ed broke people that the show wants us to care about. Ed never does the work of making those amends. He fires off a Notes app apology at best. After all, it’s what he told himself via Hornigold in the gravy basket: you move on or you blow your brains out! Good thing he took his own advice and therefore had to change nothing to get his just rewards.

I would’ve taken just fifteen minutes of Ed trying to actually make amends. It could’ve been hilarious! Imagine awkward Ed trying to dance around what he’s doing with Jim and the two of them having a knife throwing competition about it. Or him and Frenchie attempting to make music together, writing a song about the raids they went on! It’s not just the crew robbed of their healing because of this, it’s Ed himself. He never meaningfully changes or makes amends. How is he any different at the end of the finale then he is standing on the edge of that cliff with Hornigold? He hasn’t moved on, he hasn’t healed. He tried one thing (fishing) that doesn’t fucking work and then he runs right back.

No one leaves this season better than they went into it. They’ve lost an elder queer, they’ve lost their joyous and queer polyamory, they’ve lost a chance for meaningful reconciliation with Ed and Ed lost any chance of looking like he gave shit if they did. Stede grows enough to accept the crew’s beliefs as important and then leaves them behind without a care.

Izzy gets a beautiful speech about piracy being larger than yourself. Ed and Stede, within twenty minutes of that speech, leave piracy. They are incapable of giving themselves to something bigger, apparently. They haven’t learned to be a part of a community. They haven’t healed from their childhood trauma or their fresher wounds. They are still just following their own whims.

Zheng’s life work is in tatters, but it’s fine, she has love. Oluwande and Jim aren’t together, but it's fine because they both have dedicated monogamous partners. Lucius was deeply scarred by what happened, never recovers much of his first season personality, but hey he got-well it’s not married exactly- but you know good enough!

Frenchie, who has a box forever locked in his head, is captain. Because the key to success is to lock it all in a box and never open it. What a message. What a show. Conceal, don’t feel. Smile because it’s a happy ending. Don’t mourn the dead, don’t try to tell people what happened to you (they will literally run away or cry too hard to listen and really you’re just bumming them out), and any meaningful change you make is only rewarded with death.

Frenchie is now a pirate captain with a box in his head full of trauma that’s never been opened, leading a crew with more wounds than scars. Wonder how that could turn out? Wonder how many years before he might want to retire and then happen to run across a gentleman pirate. As if no one learned anything at all.

[georg-prime]

Some good anime recs

With magic and/or queer characters, that are fun, thoughtful, emotionally satisfying, beautiful.

Natsume's Book of Friends

One of the best manga/anime out there. Has some serious angst but also light comedy, issues about the fleeting life of fragile human beings from long-lived/immortal beings' POV, found families, sweet friendship, and a bit of unexpected horror. If you love Ghibli stuff especially Spirited Away, this should be for you. No queer characters in this, not really (except one minor female character), but the vibes of some characters can be debatedly genderqueer friendly for some (especially the youkai) and mlm lining for others, and the fandom delivers as usual. The 7th season is currently airing, and it's never disappointing, please come gush to/with me about how good it is!

Bodacious Space Pirates

Fun hard sci-fi. Mostly young women being cool, smart, funny, and a bit sapphic. Corsair girls in their awesome spaceship, doing light crimes, racing, and saving the galaxy. Super underrated, was slept on when it aired back then and that's just a damn shame.

Flying Witch

The nice daily life of a good apprentice witch, her witches friend and her magical and non-magical relatives, and the many strange and fun creatures she meets. Way too short, manga is still running and could easily be adapted to at least two other seasons (I recommend reading it too), worldbuilding is super creative and it's fascinating how the supernatural is usually just part of nature and the characters dealing with in simple tranquil ways. Side note: I wish some of these witches were as gay they seem.

Witchcraft Works

Underrated too, fun, weirdly feminist imo, creative with great animation, too short and deserve at least a second season to finish to story as the manga is complete. Childhood friends to lovers, boy's one of the sweetest male characters I know and his love for penguins deserves more appreciation, tall witch girl is badass as hell and also somehow a himbo. Catchy funny ending song is iconic.

Yuri!! On Ice

Do I really need to say something, pretty sure it should be popular enough, but maybe teens out here weren't old enough to have been on the internet/Tumblr etc when it was released? It's been some years after all. It's a good sport anime, with one hell of a hilarious twist around episode 7, which completely changed my opinion on the two main characters and their relationship, and makes this such a re-watchable season. Still waiting for a following, though and it's getting worrisome (hopeless?) since the prequel move got cancelled this year... But worth it anyway.

Tales of Zestiria

Famous game franchise with many unrelated games and their animated adaptation, I have a particular love for this instalment for how surprisingly queer friendly the ending was (wlw 🤝mlm solidarity). Good animation and lovable characters, cool fights, it makes you want to play the game(s), and that wouldn't be a bad thing as it is a good gateway to JRPGs in general imho. Quite active fandom still to this day and for shippers that's really nice.

Frieren

There's a lot of things to be said about this amazing manga/anime, it's funny, touching, melancholy, romantic, has some awesome animation and cool fights and is satisfying to dungeon RPG fans... It's really one of the best anime ever and I really recommend getting on the bandwagon now to follow it while release because imo it's one of those stories that benefits the best in weekly release (anime and manga) to let the feelings simmer and the fandom talks flourish (like without spoiling much, currently in the manga, a certain character is back and seriously tense situations are happening and some painful dilemma should be coming, better to live it than hear about everything later I'd say, especially because of how culte the anime already is). Much like Natsume's Book of Friends the way it touch on the pain but worth of knowing and caring for someone even if your lifespans are wildly different, is at the heart of the story and the characters's development and it's so well written. You know the end of the journey will leave you with lasting effects.

[touchstoneaf]

Like... I know I've said it already. But I just can't get over it. It's really hit me, I think? That we get to have characters who are queer and they don't die. We get to have characters that are old and queer and don't have AIDS; because we've lost so many but now the next generation of queer elders doesn't have that same struggle. We've had some victories. We get to see them reflected on screen. We get to have characters who are baby gays who don't angst about coming out. For whom figuring out themselves does not include a life sentence or even a death sentence. We have people who are just living in Joy on these shows. They get to enjoy Being Themselves, whatever their gender, and whoever and however they love. No one hates them for it. Anybody who does is very clearly the bad guy or not important. I just...

I know that a lot of younger people are like, "Yeah obviously". The same generation who are so beautifully welcoming about any gender expression whatever. For whom being some flavor of gay is as normalized as being mixed race. But for those of us who are older, we are just like... this is the future we thought we would never see. This is the future the righties were scared of when they said that being queer was going to become (Horror!) too mainstream if they let us be legalized. If they let our lives be legalized. Which obviously is a tenuous thing and we have to keep paying attention to it, but still; in the moment? This is miraculous. This is that thing that we always talked about like, "someday maybe we'll see media where gay people don't die. Maybe someday we'll see media where trans people don't automatically die or have miserable fucking lives. Maybe someday we'll feel represented in media". But it was like a pipe dream. We never thought it actually would happen. And we HAVE that now. Just stop and think about that before we go back to work. Take a moment to just bask in the fact that it Exists.

Everything is a Next Step before we go to work to get the next thing fixed, but at least we are standing higher and higher on the staircase now. Our platform has lifted up to where it's visible... and people are not throwing anything at us as much anymore; and the people who do our dinosaurs who will die out eventually. This is proof of it. I'm just I'm so happy and I don't even know what to do with it. I just don't understand how we got here even though I was a part of it... but the representation is so incredibly awesome. I'm happy for every group that's getting to experience this feeling, whether it's because they're Black or Muslim or a Latinx or Native or any time it happens. I want this good feeling to be here for all of our brothers and sisters and neuters and others, and I want it to be forever. And... it scares me because we Have it RN. It's like, finally we have something that they can take away. And I know in real life they're taking away things all the time. So it's like, don't be too happy with the fiction when we still have to fight for the reality. I know there are people still dying out there. It's a weird dichotomy, and it's kind of a brain schism... but I just really think that it's great that we get to celebrate this even for a few minutes before we go back to work.

[chaoticstoryalchemist]

Steven Universe, Season 1 Episode 1, "Gem Glow"

I've seen Steven Universe four times, and now I'm blogging the fifth watch. Because I have SO MUCH to love and so much to say about this show.

First things first: Getting through about the first half of the first season feels like a random silly kids show, and you're not sure what all the fuss is about. But trust. Stick with it. You will cry. This show is about the rebellion of queer love and the appreciation of humanity over capitalism. But first, there's ice cream sandwiches and fry monsters and cat-finger body horror. I promise it pays off.

Let's Talk Worldbuilding

This show starts us right off with the knowledge that this is a place where Magical Stuff Happens.

We start with Steven in The Big Donut lamenting the discontinuation of his favorite ice cream sandwich. Lars says he should just make some "with his magic bellybutton."

Bam. Steven has a gemstone embedded in his cute lil tummy. (A surprise tool that will help us later!).

Then Steven goes home and is immediately tackled by a monster, and we meet the Crystal Gems who are fighting a ton of centipeetles, which poof into clouds of air upon their demise.

We get a couple very worldbuildy sentences from Pearl during this fight.

"We'll get these centipeetles out of your room."

"We think they were trying to get into the temple."

-> This tells us that the Big Lady we see as we pan over Steven's house is housing a temple, and that the "normal" house has been built on as an addition. For Steven. Because he's not a normal gem.

The amount of information Rebecca Sugar can cram into one line of dialogue is decadent.

Steven thinks the monsters are cool and says the gems don't have to poof them. As we find out throughout five seasons, a movie, and a sequel series, STEVEN'S POWERS RUN ON HIS EMPATHY. But in episode one, we don't know shit about that. We just know he's a silly little kid. I love seeing his empathy seeded here. That's some good Chapter One shit.

Let's Talk Character Development

Upon meeting the Crystal Gems, here's what we see and what we hear.

First, Amethyst pulls the attacking centipeetle off Steven. Her leitmotif is kinda hip-hop, kinda house music, with high hats. Her weapon is a whip, and her first line is "Sup, Steven" as she throws up a peace sign (god damn it, this is why I've been doing peace signs for the past two weeks).

Next is Pearl, whose leitmotif is a classical, elegant, fluid piano tune. She pirouettes with her feet en pointe and wields a long staff, which she twirls expertly. Her first line is "Sorry, Steven, we'll get these centipeetles out of your room."

Comparing this just-a-few-seconds vignette to Amethyst's, the trained (or autistic) eye can predict that these two do not always see eye to eye, because Amethyst is clearly a fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants type while Pearl is a pre-planner, a truster of strategy and poise.

The fact that we get this characterization in the first ten seconds of meeting the gems is seriously buttering my biscuits.

AND THEN, GARNET. MY QUEEN.

Garnet's leitmotif has a funky lofi electronic beat. Her weapon is a pair of magical gauntlets, with which she punches the goddamn fuck out of everything that gets in her way. She is the only one of the Crystal Gems who wears anything over her eyes, as well (more on this later :D) Her first line is actually not in her first scene and comes shortly after her introduction when Amethyst reports that the monsters don't have gems. Garnet concludes "That means there must be a mother somewhere nearby."

She speaks concisely, only when needed. She is pragmatic.

We are now THREE MINUTES into the episode and we know this:

Steven has a gemstone in his body. People know about it.

Steven lives with other gems.

Steven does not know how to control or use his gem powers.

(Gems have powers).

The Crystal Gems fight monsters.

The monsters have gems too.

Act Two: How to Summon a Weapon

After our introductions have been made, we get a cute moment that explores the family dynamic of this unlikely quartet when Steven finds that his freezer is full of discontinued Cookie Cats.

S: Where did you get these? I thought they stopped making them! P: Well, we heard that too, and since they're your favorite.... A: We went out and stole a bunch! P: >:( I went back and paid for them. G: The whole thing was my idea. A: It was everyone's idea. G: Not really.

This right here??? This is the shit I live for with Garnet. One could EASILY make their pragmatic, logical character emotionally cold (Spock comes to mind, Sheldon Cooper, etc.) but Garnet fucking ADORES Steven and is not scared to show it.

NOW WE GET THE COOKIE CAT THEME SONG, AVAILABLE ON SPOTIFY.

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! He's a frozen treat with an all new taste 'Cause he came to this planet from outer space A refugee from an interstellar war* And now he's at your local grocery store Cookie Cat! He's a pet for your tummy Cookie Cat! He's super duper yummy Cookie Cat! HE LEFT HIS FAMILY BEHIND 🥺🥺🥺 Cookie Caaaaaaaat!

*Put a pin in "A refugee from an interstellar war," we'll need it later.

As Steven bites into his delicious, never-thought-he'd-see-one-again Cookie Cat, his gem starts to glow! But before he has a chance to summon his gem weapon, it fades.

Bummer.

The middle portion of this episode is all about how the gems summon their weapons. MORE WORLDBUILDING AND CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT TIME OM NOM NOM.

Pearl goes first, choosing to give Steven her lesson under a tree with falling petals.

"The petals' dance seems improvised, but it is being calculated in real time based on the physical properties of this planet. With hard work, and dedication, you can master the magical properties of your gem, and perform your own dance!"

She's like this all the time, kinda talking like she's in an epic poem. This is just part of Pearl.

Smash cut to Steven behind the Big Donut, throwing petals into the air with a grunt. Amethyst, stuffing her face with donut, asks, "Did Pearl tell you the petal thing?" Comedy gold.

While she's mowing down on this donut, she gives Steven her own advice on summoning a weapon. "Advice" is a term I am using loosely.

"Whenever I need to summon my weapon, it just happens."

Super helpful. Let's try Garnet.

S: So I'm supposed to work really hard, and not try at all, at the same time? G: Yes.

"Or, you can link your mind with the energy of all existing matter, channeling the collective power of the universe through your gem, which results in..." *gauntlets appear* "At least that's my way of doin' it."

Steven assumes that the Cookie Cats are actually the key to this whole thing. So he recreates the earlier events, to no avail, and thinks maybe he's just got a bum gem :(

The gems reassure him that he's one of them, and they wouldn't be the Crystal Gems without him. Once reassured, he takes another bite of his ice cream sandwich and his gem glows again, summoning a pink shield! Which he accidentally ricochets around the whole house, smashing into his TV. This kid's TV takes a lot of abuse in this show, honestly.

Property Damage Count:

Acid hole in floor

TV sliced in half by shield

Act Three: Big Mama Centipeetle

Once Steven has summoned his shield, the big-ass mama centipeetle skitters up the side of the house and it's time for the boss fight. Pearl tells Steven to stay inside where it's safe, but fuck that shit. He's the main character. He knows it.

So homeboy makes a giant extension cord chain for his Cookie Cat freezer, fills it with ice cream sandwiches, and declares "COOKIE CAT CRYSTAL COMBO POWERS ACTIVAAAAATE" while facing down the monster.

I cannot stress enough how unserious the first half of this season is, but now that I've seen him grown up I can't tell you how adorable this is!

He realizes his mistake when he does NOT summon his shield, and instead the Centipeetle destroys his Cookie Cat freezer. The gems are trapped, overpowered by the monster's powers.

Distraught, devastated, DESTROYED... He electrocutes her with it, swinging it on an extension cord lasso and yeeting it with all his little baby Steven Universe strength.

With the centipeetle distracted, the Crystal Gems come together (AND THERE'S A GROUP LEITMOTIF THAT INCORPORATES ALL THEIR UNIQUE ONES TOGETHER UNGGGHHHH DELICIOUS)

They poof the centipeetle and her gem rolls toward Garnet, who places a magical bubble around it and sends it away as Steven buries his freezer.

And then he has to barf. He ate too many Cookie Cats.

AND THAT IS EPISODE ONE OF STEVEN UNIVERSE.

[snarky-wallflower]

hey. hey Snarks.

🙌 ?

:3

all RIGHT, let’s go. A line/paragraph I’m proudest of? I’m gonna cheat and use two. It’s fiiiine.

Anna has always known her own inclinations. She cannot remember a time where she did not look at other women and not know what the warmth in her chest meant. A scientist analyses data, collects results, and she's been a scientist from a very young age. She makes a point not to lie to herself about what and who she is. Anna Hanover is honest and blunt to a fault, and why feel ashamed for something so natural? Why feel ashamed, when you're already fighting for progress in one area. What's another one? 

from woman crowned in blossom. With this? I think it’s the confidence Anna has here, for me, that sells it. I wanted to write queer people who know who they are, even in the 1800s. Who aren’t ashamed. Anna knows who she is, she knows who she loves, and she’s analyzed that so that she’s confident in it until the end. She’s a SCIENTIST. And I know this version of her may not be fully canon, but I love her all the same.

But, if you have a heart, you’ll pity their favourites. Even the “good” ones can still mess them up easily - just look at poor Hannah Foster, cursed with memories of places she’ll never be again, horrors she never would have seen without Webby leaning over her shoulder. She was taught to bear them, but that doesn’t change their fate. She’s a teenage Atlas, bearing the weight of countless upon countless tragedies on her shoulders. 

from what is a god?. Hannah Foster destroys me, honestly. She’s never been able to be normal, not really. She was born with too much power and while Webby may try to help? She can only do so much, and Hannah cracks under the strain. Teenage Atlas has lived rent-free in my head since I wrote it.

[wewebaggit]

I think it was because he was abused or something and apparently had drinking problems? Like bruh you cannot claim to use subversion of 80s horror genre tropes and at the same breath make your black character one of the victims without even focusing on it. Its just...? St can really use some criticism sometimes

Yep it was because he had drinking problems and was a disgrace to his family as per the voiceover that Patrick and we hear as he's riding in the car with Jason n the gang. And then Lucas mentions that he once saw him with a black eye. That's it. That's all.

Patrick deserved way better. Even discounting the fact that he's black. The same episode had the stupid mid air fight between Murray Yuri and Jim's girlfriend. That lasted longer than necessary. That existed. Both valid reasons for having a more fleshed out buildup to THE MOTHERFUCKING SACRIFICE FOR ONE OF THE FOUR (NOT FOURTEEN) GATES.

Maybe if they cooled it on Eleven slow jogging through the lab, eyes wide, breathing heavily and emoting nothingly, Jopper doomsday fucking, Elmike/Mileven, (God stop milking it, it's not great writing, we are gaslighting ourselves to believe it is cuz there was a time we thought the most they'd do for gay Will is have his best friend say something INCREDIBLY HOMOPHOBIC to him), a Russian plot sillier than season 3's - fucking talent, I could go on we could've had something justifying (at the risk of sounding repetitive) A MOTHERFUCKING SACRIFICE FOR ONE OF THE FOUR (NOT FOURTEEN) GATES.

Also leaving you with some of this:

Jason to Patrick

Mike to Lucas

Billy to Max about Lucas

Mike about the science fair contest

(Let me elaborate: It was a state competition and the result was political? MY conjecture is it was not because of frogface or a boy with no teeth or a boy who his town thought was queer - I'm suspecting it wasn't a statewide consensus. Who's left?)

Jason with Lucas

Andy with Erica

I'm not American so I'm not someone who gets the whole American experience of it. But American cultural colonisation means I'm somewhat aware of the tendencies in media. N to me personally I don't resonate with a white/black/brown American character on a racial level but just by how they're written n how well the work is performed. I do not live in a post racial world bt my country has its own different version of racism. That is to say any character being white/other colour is of ZERO value to me. So when I am consuming foreign media, I'll be like this is well written that is not. But then when I arrange them in order of well written to not or underwritten, it's a shade card alright. (🙋🏻🙆🏼🙅🏽🤷🏾🤦🏿) So ya. It's like white ppl tend to write white ppl better. What a discovery. Idk if to call it racist or "I don't see colour" in that I only see white cuz it is not a colour. (How is that for colour theory?) That is NOT to say that X CANNOT at all write about Y. Writing is after all a collaborative effort. It just means you gotta do both: collaborate and put effort.

ST exploits the tropes more than / before it subverts them. And like not in a good way. It's a fantastic show with plenty of opportunity to love it and shit on it in unequal measure tipping more in favour of shitting. And I'll be doing both. Especially regarding the characters that don't go by the name of Mike or Eleven. But them too.

You'll also see me Kali raging soon. Very soon. She might also be (DEFINITELY IS) why I have this whole new account anyway.

El's abuse > Kali's abuse. Okay. At least accepted within text by the writers. Want the "yass girlboss El shoulda snapped Angela's neck for....er...breaking your diorama and ....er......throwing milkshake on you" crowd to respectfully go. Just go. Go Away!

[taffydragonblog]

ashleymilesphil asked:

SILENCED AT GUNPOINT,A CALL FOR SOLIDARITY FROM LGBTQ REFUGEES OF EAST AFRICA🏳️‍🌈

My name is Calvin Phil, and I am a queer refugee fighting for survival in a world that seems determined to erase me and my community. Our stories, voices, and even our cries for help are suppressed, leaving us silenced under the shadow of violence and censorship.

In Uganda, being LGBTIQ is a death sentence. I survived a brutal attack an attack meant to end my life simply because I dared to exist as my authentic self. Fleeing Uganda in 2019, I sought safety in Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp, but safety was an illusion. For nearly five years, we faced unrelenting violence beatings, arson attacks, and threats that echoed the hatred we escaped from.

This year, I fled Kakuma for South Sudan, clinging to the hope of survival. But here in Gorom Refugee Camp, life has taken an even darker turn. The civil war tearing South Sudan apart has compounded our suffering. For us, the laws criminalizing our existence aren’t just words on paper they are weapons used against us daily.

Our community is being decimated. Lesbian refugees face the horror of rape as a weapon of oppression. Transgender individuals are subjected to unspeakable abuse. We live in constant fear, knowing that at any moment, any of us could be the next victim.

But the world doesn’t see us. Social media platforms silence our stories, flagging them as violations. Our accounts are banned, our posts taken down, our words labeled as too graphic. The truth of our persecution is hidden behind algorithms and policies that prioritize comfort over justice. It feels as though the world is complicit in turning a blind eye.

We are here. We are queer. And we are being systematically erased.

Every day is a battle for survival. Hunger is a relentless enemy, and most days, we go without food. Clean water is a luxury we can only dream of. Medical care, especially for those living with HIV/AIDS, is almost nonexistent. Without shelter, we are exposed not just to the harsh environment but also to the violence that surrounds us.

We are not just suffering; we are dying in silence.

This is not just my story it is the story of countless LGBTIQ refugees in East Africa who are denied the right to exist. Our fight for survival is also a fight against the world’s indifference. We are asking the global queer community: where is your solidarity?

Your voices, your platforms, your collective strength these are our lifelines. We need you to stand with us, to speak for us when we are silenced. We need you to amplify our stories, to hold the world accountable for its inaction.

This is not a call for pity; it is a call for action.

• Speak out against the persecution of LGBTIQ refugees in East Africa.

• Challenge the systems that censor our truths.

• Demand accountability from global organizations and governments.

Let our existence be more than a whisper in the void.

We are not asking for much only that you see us, hear us, and refuse to let our suffering go unnoticed. In unity, the queer community has always found strength. Use that strength now to fight for those of us who are being silenced at gunpoint.

We are still here. Our spirits, though battered, remain unbroken. We refuse to be invisible. The world may try to silence us, but with your help, we can make our voices heard.

Queer solidarity has the power to save lives. Will you stand with us?

[asttralhell]

It's a 10 but(t)

Rules: List your OCs as “tens but” to give us a not-at-all comprehensive scope of their characters

Thanks @squarebracket-trickster for tagging me. You actually forced my hand into working and I named most of the characters rn on the spot bc so far they had traits and core characterists but not names.

It was such fun to do it and to read yours and read the other authors too! Let's all be friends and share stuff, guys hahah

Okay, picking Kissing some cats and other fairily tale struggles to do this + my resident headcat Fábio:

Catty/Catarina Maria: She's a 10 but... won't accept help, won't see any value in herself, thinks of herself as a background prop in people's lives thus she thinks her life isn't of much value anyways. Will chuck a human-turned-cat into a wall if he pees on her out of spite (it's ok, she won't do it to any other cats. Unless they speak to her).

Fábio Américo Lucídio Aurélio Vinícius Rolando Celestino de Miriam Filiberto Hélio Garza e Cavalcante/FabiAm: He's a 10 but like a -10 or else he wouldn't get into a fight with a cosmic horror cat (see Fábio bellow) and get US ALL TRANSFORMED INTO OLD ASS HOUSE APPLIANCES! LOOK AT ME, FABS, I'M A HANGER NOW!!!! A JACKET HANGER! I don't even like mahogany.... I wish I was cherry wood or... Also, makes EVERYONE who tries to break the spell run away and sinks everyone's chances to NOT BE A MAHOGANY COAT HANGER I HATE IT SO MUCH. FABS, YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE, and also is very much a dick. Did we mention he's totally the worst? Worst human-turned-cat ever.

Mahogany Coat Hanger (actually named Florian): he's a 10, but... DID HE EVER MENTION HOW MUCH THEY HAVE WOOD PREFERENCES AND MAHOGANY WASN'T ONE OF THEIR FAVS? DID THEY EVER STOP YOU AND TELL YOU HOW DREADFUL IT IS TO BE A *MAHOGANY* HANGER? MAHOGANY! Also, they will push all the other character down even tho I made them rn on the spot, he didn't have a name 2 hours ago. But he's very close to a 9.5 bc best gossip and best burns. Also, worst accents ever done (I made this one up NOW. I didn't know gender or name, I just felt their deeply hatred for.... mahogany)

Walter Akito Sachi/Mr. Sachi: He's a 10 but... He's actually an 11. Beautiful cinnamon roll, too good for this world, too pure. But he will send you weird work messages in your Academia-edu that will make you wonder if he's trying to harvest organs, so maybe he's a 10.5. Chaotic good boy.

Kris: He's a 10... but he's a 8-door mahogany (cries in Florian) wardrobe that ran away one night and no one discovered how yet. Runs a queer club. You know, he is a closet but he ain't in the closet. Very much taken, Florian won't tell you who tho. Can be Kristoff or Kristian, we ain't sure.

Ermengarda: She's a 10... But no one can see my real beauty IF I AM JUST A STUPENDOUS TEA POT, MY DARLING! Only speaker ever and forever when they are pulling the all tea set in a trenchcoat persona. ALWAYS AND FOREVER THE ONLY SPEAKER, SHUT UP, Chips!

Chips and Timmy: they a 10.... A 10yo. Well, more like Chips is 10, Timmy is kinda 11 or 9, no one really answered that yet. But the medium would be a 10, right? (Their names seem to be Clotilde and Timóteo, they won't tell me tho)

Karina Yumie Sachi: She's a 10 but... She will feature in 2 different wips and steal your girl. Even more chaotic than her cousin (see Mr. Sachi).

Oh yeah:

Fabio: He's a 10... As in ten-rrible, horrible. Hate that little guy. Transformed Fabs into a cat because he himself is a cosmic cat that lives in my head and sometimes we have mental talks but mostly he gives some weird advice like you should enable yourself.

I will tag the Cows but I forgot their users (i promise to edit it later): @lirhin @raiswanson @lady-redshield-writes @tundra-tiger

And the non-CoW friends @valhalla-awaitsfor-us @1ll-def1ned

[kaisawthetvglow]

a little rant i had a few months ago to a friend about i saw the tv glow:

“i saw the tv glow has to be one of the most beautiful movies to ever exist like holy shit. i know i’ve already rambled about this movie to you before but i geniunely do not care cause i’ll do it a million times i will GLADLY be the one praising this movie every chance i get because it is that good. no movie has even came close to effecting me like this one has. it is too good and it deserve every movie award that can ever be given. hell i make more movie awards just to give to this damn movie. best cast? i saw the tv glow. best representation? i saw the tv glow. best soundtrack? i saw the tv glow. best score? i saw the tv glow. movie of the year? i saw the tv glow. most impacted lives? i saw the tv glow? the one movie to make me cry at 2:58 am? you guessed it. i sW the tv glow. it is geniunely one of the best movies ive ever seen. the way when owen feels sad its blue but when he feels happy its pink??? perfect representation of gender identity and the euphoric feeling that surrounds it. maddy’s monologue near the end of the movie about time moving too fast and being a lowkey alcoholic? perfect. the entire concept of time moving too much, but there also still being enough time to figure out who you are? it is literally what life is. the way justice smith makes owen’s voice sound a little strange as representation of how owen feels trapped inside of his body? literally mind-blowing work. the way owens asthma gets worse and worse as the movie progresses and he gets older showing how his health is deteriorating? lovely. the way he screams when he realizes? YES?? them making a “in another universe” trope with the movie. the way maddy represents all of what owen deeply wants to be, but owen is scared to be it. the way owen doesnt know what gender he likes let alone his gender identity so he changes the subject?? the pink opaque being representative of freedom for both maddy and owen but tara and isabel still having to fight monsters every week which shows the battle queer people always face? lovely work. just alex G. thats that comment. the way so many misinterpret this movie because they have not lived the themes it is talking about, hell or even understand those themes, shows so much about the world we live in and how it is always hindered against trans people and queer people. this is not supposed to be like a conjuring horror film, it is supposed to be a psychological, mental horror of feeling like theres not enough time to even figure yourself out. but the movie then preferences by saying “there is still time” which means there will always be time as long as your willing to take that risk and take that first step. maddy saying how she felt like time was moving too fast, and then owen saying that himself a few years after she left??? i fear that ate. that gut wrenching, empty feeling after watching the movie knowing you’ve just had your heart and soul laid down on a platter while strangers laugh about it around you shows how lonely a queer and trans experience can be. but at least we have that movie to show that we are not alone. it is a movie full of crisis and fear mentally, but it also a movie surrounded with hope and nostalgia. (you can tell i love this movie)”

[woxeldritchcounty]

Join us at World of Eldritch County, a queer friendly and inclusive-of-all rp site, where you can explore Arkham through our many forums, take classes at Miskatonic, join a club (or a cult to an old god), and interact with other Arkhamites in our interactive chats!

Welcome to Essex County, Massachusetts, circa the early 1970s, where the cold winds bend the trees and strange eyes gaze out from the dark woods outside Arkham. You’ve just begun your tenure as a student at the prestigious but infamously unlucky Miskatonic University, a school known just as much for haunting tragedy as academic rigor. Things seem different here than they did in the main timeline…better in many ways, worse in others. How? You’ll have to explore. But be careful to not wander too closely to the shadowy woods or the coasts of Innsmouth.

You are not immune to horrors.

Welcome to World of Eldritch County, a 16+ text-based, literate horror rp, based on the works of Howard Phillips Lovecraft and his enduring legacy on genre fiction. At World of Eldritch County, we live for the quirky, weird, oddball, and terrifying in fiction. Do you love horror beyond just Lovecraft?

We have three class of characters on the creation screen:

➳ Townie: You were born in Arkham, and can feel its strange cosmic energy coursing through you. Where else would you go to school but Miskatonic?

➳ Prodigal: You left Arkham once, thinking you escaped your birthplace. But it called you back. It calls all of you back.

➳ Outsider: Whether through intellectual curiosity or unlucky stroke of fate, you were brought to Arkham from the Outside world…. Well. Enjoy your stay.

We are an inclusive rp site, open to all character types and all users (of the correct age). Come join one of our four Miskatonic dormitories! Are you courageous and clever? Join Dunwich! Driven by intellectual curiosity above all else? Join Innsmouth! Ambitious and confident? You’re perfect for Carcosa. Compassionate and loyal? Severn is definitely the dorm for you! Take our quiz after registering to find out which dorm will become your family, during your time at Miskatonic University.

Interested in diving a bit further into the student life? Miskatonic has plenty of interactive classes that offer homework, which allows you to earn points for rewards. Bring prestige to your dormitory by winning the dorm cup or yourself by earning the student cup!

More interested in the rp aspect? Wonderful! We have multiple forum locations for you to roleplay your time at Miskatonic, Arkham, and the other surrounding areas to your heart's content. Speaking of heart, you might want to hold onto that around here….

We have all this and more, including buyable and usable shop items, interactive notice board articles and contests, an active site blog, and multiple in-game chat rooms for short form rp! You can even fight against (or join) one of the dark cults to the old gods around town!

Tired of the normal life? Ready for something a bit more dark and wild? Join World of Eldritch County, and let us show you the cosmos!

[anhed-nia]

BLOGTOBER 10/16/2023: NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4 - THE DREAM MASTER

One of the best movie posters ever, let's face it.

What does your slasher movie hierarchy look like? Which guy is your favorite, and is that guy's franchise your favorite over all, or is there a different one that you think is more consistently enjoyable? I have a hard time answering this question for myself. Some comparisons are too apples v. oranges; I mean, I think it's fair to pit Jason Voorhees against Michael Myers, but Leatherface has a really different vibe even though he's still technically a pretty basic slasher, and I cannot get what I get from HELLRAISER in almost any other movie or series. The CHILD'S PLAY franchise may have started out on more standard ground despite its oddball "voodoo doll" premise, but it has since transformed itself into a committedly queer campfest, and no one else in the slasher game is really doing the same thing in the same way. NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET is also in a class by itself on many levels, including but not limited to the originality of its premise, its allowance for wild fantasy sequences, and the platform it provides for a wonderful character actor to strut his stuff. I mean not to slight the great Brad Dourif, but every ELM STREET installment is basically the Robert Englund show, and we like it that way. NOES is probably my favorite over-all franchise, in part because I think it probably has the highest proportion of quality movies. Even a bad ELM STREET movie is kind of good because of its star, and its open field for filmmakers to be as imaginative as they want to be. It's like that thing people (erroneously) say about how sex is like pizza: Even when it's bad, it's still pretty good.

NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4 was one of my first R-rated movies. I think I saw it when I was about 9, at the home of the first of of my many Bad Female Friends. Michelle was extremely controlling and a compulsive liar, and my weak ass has always been catnip to people like that. She lived with her mom who, despite her unpredictable temper, basically ran a house with no rules; most of the time I was there she was locked in her bedroom with her boyfriend, loudly watching game shows. Once in a while one of them would emerge in a bathing suit to get chips and dip and soda out of the fridge, and that's all I usually saw of them. The mom was also a den mother for the Brownies, which I was forced to participate in because my parents knew that otherwise I would just stay in my room for the rest of my life. I got out of it because Michelle's mom was always dropping her off at our house whenever she felt like getting rid of her kid, and the one time my parents wanted her to babysit me she said no arbitrarily, and they got in a huge grownup fight, and that was that. Uh anyway, where the hell was I going with this? Oh yeah, Michelle got to watch anything she wanted, which was Not Cool with my hippie media-phobic parents. I got in a huge amount of trouble for "letting" Michelle show me SLEEPAWAY CAMP 2--which, to be fair, is inappropriate for audiences of all ages (and is therefore great)--and NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4: THE DREAM MASTER.

I vaguely remember my mom just being really upset on the phone with Michelle's mom, and trying to figure out how to instill in me that I should resist at all costs the contaminating effects of horror movies; even if somebody else was putting them in front of me without supervision, it was still my responsibility not to watch them. (My mom personally enjoyed John Waters movies and FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN and stuff like that, but she didn't want me to see PSYCHO until I was 18 years old--go figure!) But my dad's religion is Jungian psychoanalysis so he was intrigued by the dream-based plot, and he decided to actually watch the movie himself and come to his own conclusion about whether I might have been harmed by it. He didn't wind up liking it, but he did understand what made it interesting, and knowing that had a healing effect on me.

For my part, I liked everything about NOES4, not the least of which was that it's the ultimate '80s movie. I mean this thing was really programmed to go straight into the brain someone who was 7 in 1988 and just completely take over. The absolutely sick soundtrack, the very of-the-moment layered and over-accessorized fashions, the surreal neon-lit dream sequences, and...really just everything. Watching the movie today, it still presents as a perfect (albeit idealized) time capsule, and Renny Harlin was the perfect guy to create it. Harlin was a major league ham who knew no limits, and with a premise that is literally limitless--the whole idea is dreams made real--he did exactly what you'd want him to do, reputedly subbing in his own zany nightmare concepts when he felt the script didn't go far enough. I recently rewatched his acrophobic thriller CLIFFHANGER and read that the first stunt you see in the movie was only attempted once, and the stunt person received one million dollars to do it...which is easy to believe when you see it. That's the kind of filmmaker Renny Harlin is, and I think it shows even in an ELM STREET movie where everything is as artificial as possible.

Another way in which THE DREAM MASTER epitomizes its moment is that it has this perfectly motley ensemble. I feel like we don't have this anymore; a lot of films are very careful now to have a mix of ethnicities and sexual orientations in the cast, and yet in most cases this has not contributed to a feeling of having a lot of different kinds of people represented. I miss seeing movies where the friend group includes, like, a punk and a jock and a nerd and a goth and a normie and a dreamy loser. I miss movies where these two people can be best friends:

And at this point, you might have asked yourself why I didn't include SCREAM in my imaginary slasher franchise hierarchy. The answer is...I don't care about it. That first movie is fun and the series has its moments, but I'm not sure that it has much to offer once you get past the novelty of its self-awareness. That is, it doesn't have much to offer unless your main thing is seeing a bunch of cute friends hanging out together. Sure some of them are slightly nerdier or slightly more popular, but there's not a bunch of variance there; the main point seems to just be "attractive young people". And frankly, I just don't find that very interesting, and it's not that interesting to have a movie that just lists rules and then follows the rules, and it's not that interesting to have whodunnits where the main question is "which one of my cute friends is secretly mean". So there. I probably shouldn't write this down on the internet, but considering that we're probably all on some kind of list these days, I'll just say it: I'll take the undead soul-eating child molester over the homogeneous gang of fuckable friends any day of the week.

[sweet-drmzzz]

Ok fuck ableism

Idfc I don’t fucking care

I don’t fucking care if you think that certain disorders make someone a horrible person or not worth love. If you think that fuck you. That’s never correct. Ever. Even if you’ve been hurt by someone which that disorder. That doesn’t fucking excuse it. That doesn’t make everyone with that disorder a horrible fucking person and if you think that you know what you sound like? You sound like fucking homophobes and transphobes who call queer folks groomers bc they can’t stand the idea of someone being different from them. That’s what you fucking sound like.

Some of the fucking best people I know have “scary” disorders. Some of my closest fucking friends are systems. And guess what? They don’t go around fucking murdering people like media would like you to think. They’re fucking amazing. I know people who have hallucinations, npd, chronic pain and shit like that and guess what? They’re some of the most inspiring people I know, who I look up to. And guess what else? If anyone is fucking ableist to them I will fight tooth and fucking nail to make sure the ableist person regrets it, and the people I care about know they are worth it.

Also I’m talking more abt “scary disorders” but also let’s stop being ableist to people with physical disabilities too? Like dude I’m sorry someone has to deal with something they didn’t fucking choose ig /sarc. I’m sure they’re angrier about it than you are.

Invisible disabilities and mental illnesses and all that shit also deserves a spotlight. I started this rant bc I was angry abt ableism towards people with the “scary disorders” so I don’t have a rant planned for those (or for the physical disabilities tbh) but I feel like all of these people deserve a spotlight.

Nothing makes you unlovable. Nothing makes you not worth it. I promise you are wonderful the way you are. Whether it be mental or physical, invisible or obvious, or anything else I forgot to mention. I am so proud of you for making it this far. And I am so proud of you for continuing to make it. I can’t imagine how horrible it must be to live in a world that treats you like a cheap joke or a horror movie villain.

I’m sorry if this comes off as me being a “pick me” I’m just… I’m tired of hearing the same argument recycled to hurt different people. And I’m so fucking tired of seeing my friends hurt by that.

Yeah. That’s all ig.

[melodraca]

~ Introduction Post ~

(Via: Outofcontextanimash)

Hello there, and welcome to my blog! My name is Gabriel, and I've been on this site for way too long

Mutuals, new followers, etc. feel free to reply to this post and tell me about yourself, infodump, talk about ocs, etc. I'm always happy to chat!

One like on this post = one high-five

———

Don't forget to kiss the mezuzah on your way in!

(Via: Frankfontainecalloutpost)

———

Check out the links below to see my about, and to find me on other sites!

About Me

Linktr.ee

DeviantArt

Art Fight

Toyhou.se

Flight Rising

Twitter

Warriors Sideblog

(Mobile-friendly "About Me" under the cut)

———

ABOUT

Hello, I’m Gabe! I’m a queer, Jewish hobbyist artist/writer with a ceaseless obsession for character creation. I’m a trans man, and I exclusively use he/him pronouns :)

I live in Canada with my roommate/best friend/RP partner/guy I bother, and my rancid little budgie Genji, whom I love terribly. I have a nasty habit of creating tons of characters and then never doing anything with them, kind of like a dead-beat father

Outside of art and character creation, I love dragons, video games, hiking, literature, film, paleontology, and animals/zoology. I’m currently in university, double majoring in English and biology!

Autism/ADHD/OCD/anxiety and physically disabled as well. I’m terrible at messaging people first, but I am always delighted to get messages <3 I’m awkward, but I love chatting. Also feel free to ask me to tag things!

On testosterone since July 25th, 2015

Post top surgery since October 26th, 2017

Post hysterectomy since August 6th, 2020

Currently on the wait-list for phalloplasty!

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HEADS-UP

This isn’t really a DNI or a BYF, but more of a heads-up about the kind of content I reblog and my general takes on things. I don’t engage in discourse on here, like ever, but I figured I should include this anyway

This is probably a given, but I block conservatives/terfs/bigots/etc. on sight

I identify as queer and I use the (reclaimed) f-slur pretty frequently. I don’t tag reclaimed slurs

I do tag triggers as thoroughly as I can (nsfw/nsft, blood, transphobia, etc.) Please let me know if I ever forget to tag a trigger!

On that note, I’m an adult, and I frequently reblog/discuss things with mature themes (mostly jokes tbh). I also swear a lot. This isn’t an nsfw blog or anything, but y'know

I’m a furry, and I reblog (sfw) furry art. I may be cringe, but at least I’m free :3

I love the horror genre, and I sometimes reblog horror stuff. I tag anything with blood, gore, injuries, or body horror, but I don’t ever reblog legitimate/intense gore

My general political take on things is that every human deserves basic human rights, and violence or bigotry of any kind (transphobia, racism, antisemitism, ableism, misogyny, homophobia, etc. etc. etc.) is bad, actually

For my own mental health, I don’t answer inflammatory asks, or asks about topics I’m not comfortable with

Ask games are totally okay! I don’t really do “send this to 5 other people” type ask games, but I appreciate the sentiment nonetheless ^_^

Oh yeah. I should mention that I love MCYT (Minecraft YouTube), specifically Hermitcraft and the LifeSMP, and I post about it a lot, including shipping content. I feel like I need to clarify that I’m shipping the characters, not the Real Human Guys playing them. This is a super minor note, but like, y'know, just in case

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INTERESTS

Feel free to check out my top tags to see the topics and fandoms I enjoy! I’m trying to tag things more comprehensively, but sometimes I forget so please, like, bear with me <3 I frequently post…

Animals (birds, dogs, bugs, etc.)

Dragons :D

Photography and nature

Paleontology and biology

OCs and art

Jewish stuff

Whatever I find funny or interesting on my dash

Posts that give me an excuse to info-dump or ramble

Occasionally politics/social justice/current events

In terms of fandom, some of my favourite things are…

The Magnus Archives/Protocol

Minecraft and MCYT (Third Life / Hermitcraft mostly)

Pokemon

Fallout

The Elder Scrolls

Flight Rising

Breaking Bad / Better Call Saul

Dungeon Meshi

Severance

Baldur’s Gate 3

Fullmetal Alchemist

Jurassic Park/World

Nope (2022)

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Invincible

Fire Emblem (mostly Three Houses)

Infinity Train

Steven Universe

Definitely more I’m forgetting right now

[gealach-in-a-misty-world]

Faron Vincent can channel the power of the gods. Five years ago, she used her divine magic to liberate her island from its enemies, the dragon-riding Langley Empire. But now, at seventeen, Faron is all powered up with no wars to fight. She’s a legend to her people and a nuisance to her neighbors. When she’s forced to attend an international peace summit, Faron expects that she will perform tricks like a trained pet and then go home. She doesn’t expect her older sister, Elara, forming an unprecedented bond with an enemy dragon—or the gods claiming the only way to break that bond is to kill her sister. As Faron’s desperation to find another solution takes her down a dark path, and Elara discovers the shocking secrets at the heart of the Langley Empire, both must make difficult choices that will shape each other’s lives, as well as the fate of their world.

"She'd been a liar longer than she'd been a saint."

Kamilah Cole's So Let Them Burn is a YA fantasy with dragons, set in a queenormative world. The two POVs follow two sisters, five years after a war against a colonizing empire wherein the younger sister was chosen by the gods of their small nation to protect themselves against the invasion. The choice to sidestep the big war and begin with five years later, as reconstruction is well under way and the young nation opens up peace talks, is a strong one, that translates into the author having to infodump frequently, but it's done deftly enough and the exposition isn't too clunky.

The crown jewel of the book is certainly the relationship between the two sisters. Their love for each other is what motivates them and pulls the plot in certain directions; it's what sets things in motion. Twists and turns abound as the two of them are separated and drawn to harsh choices that might change the world, but the execution isn't strong and the choices, the twists, the revelations, feel unearned. We don't have time to get attached, to feel the sense of betrayal and the outrage, because the characters go from one situation to the other without letting the tale settle properly. The dragon school isn't explored, save from off-hand remarks and off-screen development that means one thing that was plainly meant to be an emotional beat towards the end falls flat.

The romantic relationships feel unearned, too, at least Faron's sudden attachment to a boy she's mistrusted for most of the book. Elara's slow burn with an enemy is handled better, with the two girls growing closer as circumstances force proximity and an alliance forming out of necessity.

The magic system was intriguing, as were the glimpses of the supernatural and the way they were linked to Jewish folklore; we have demons and angels and the name of God. There are horror elements, in a sense, but the deepest horror is human depravity. The worldbuilding is interesting, with gods and dragons and a magic system that allows one to call upon the spirits of ancestors, and a darker magic being explored. The revelations about the past make for an intriguing lore, and the abrupt ending keeps the reader on their toes.

So Let Them Burn is a sweet YA debut, perfect for young readers.

✨ 3.5 stars

[You can find more of my reviews about queer speculative fiction on my blog MISTY WORLD]

[soothsayerclub]

SOOTHSAYER CLUB 🔮

haiiiiiii X3 my name is Fairyfly, but you can also call me Wander, Fink, or really anything that’s polite XD I'm 24, I'm an artist, programmer, and explorer from St. Louis, Missouri. I'm ALSO a member of an endangered speciez - the scemo :o I'm trying to find more scene, emo, goth, or generally alt ppl to hang out with, who are also 21 or older!! ★

LEARN MOAR BELOW :D

WAT IS THIS PLACE

( -w•)╦̵̵̿╤─ --💥💥 I'm making this page 2 try to find other creeps and freakz in the area!! I'll be posting about what I'm up 2 when I'm out and about in public spacez or in a hangout spot online, so you can have teh opportunity to join meh!!! And hopefully I won't get killed along the way X3

WAT IS THE SOOTHSAYER CLUB??

I hope this place can be a bit of a local network one day!! I don't know where 2 find other scene or emo ppl IRL. I even went to a "goth bar" recently, and it looked like everyone was cosplaying characters from The Office @_@ It waz all normies. People were wearing fucking KHAKIS. It'd be nice if we could find each other, so maybe other ppl could go 2 this blawg 2 find out where to meet ppl like them :3

WHO EVEN ARE YOU???

Like I said, my name is Fairyfly/Fink/Wander/whatever!! I use primarily she/her pronounz in public 2 not get hatecrimed X3 I'm 23 yearz old, mah birthday is in October. I'm plural but we prolly won't talk about that :P I don't drink, but I don't mind when otherz do! I don't drive, but I'm a proficient bus uzer!! I'm scemo. I am tired of NOBODY MAKING ANY FUCKING WEIRD LIFESTYLE CHOICES ANYMORE Xx.

Nobody I run into is weird or cringe or has ANY convictions - I mean, ppl SAY cringe culture iz dead, but then they're wayyyy too plugged in to mean it. SO I guess I'm anti social media. I dont really wanna hang out if u use tiktok.

I work nights Monday thru Friday, and am nocturnal O_o

WHAT I BELIEVE: Queer rights are human rights. Black lives matter. Be a decent fucking person to homeless people, even if you can't give them anything. I will address u by whatever name and pronounz u choose, unless you're like trying to pull some genie logic shit and pick something rude. I'm fine with watever u are or wanna label urself, including contradictory labelz. I am pro furries, therianz, kin of any kind, and people who are plural for any reason. PIRATE MUSIC. Shoplift CAREFULLY ^_^ FUCK COPS. Don't start fights u can't survive tho LOL. Fat people don't need to be hot to deserve ur respect, but ALSO fat people are hot.

THINGS I LIKE: Making kandi, playing DDR, Jhonen Vasquez's works, the bus, flip phones, weird pedantic people, obsessives, music that sounds bad, underground bands, local concerts, St. Louis, bugs, amphibians, pigs, scene culture, emos and goths, debate, MP3 players (I LOVE MINE I'm so sad it broke LOL I'm buying a new one SOON tho), people with uneven eye makeup and no lipstick, lazy eyes, rainbows, thrifting, oddities, antique malls, sushi, meeting new people, trying new things, urban exploring, ZOMBIES, horror.

THINGS I HATE: People more interested in the optics of discourse and using the Right Terms to be an asshole 2 u than they are actually investing or acting on social justice or basic kindness. Advertisements and being advertised to. Hot people, social media, fandom. Has anyone noticed they don't let ugly people be in movies anymore? Even background characters have faces acceptable for Instagram, like weirdly smoothed out. EVEN the kids and the elderly are like. Macy's ad kids and old people. I HATE that. I don't like anime, sorry. If you try to show me a short form video on YouTube or Tiktok I'll throw up on us both. Oh and if you use algospeak (sewerslide, unalived, are you restarted, r/a/p/e, etc.) to my face I will peel yours off.

Errr IDK I'll add more later XD