#queer romcom is fourth

[thompsborn]

fun fact i tried to make a thor playlist once because i thought it would be fun to make one for all of the marvel characters that i love and the only song i ever put on it was days of thunder by the midnight

[mineonmain]

A concise (and biased) summary of GMMTV 2025 Pt.1 shows (2/2)

In no particular order:

11. Cat For Cash (Firstkhao, Cat Cafe AU (?), Magical Realism AU. This is the fluffy romcom that firstkhao and all the Soms have been praying for. Enough angst and crying, let them be cute and fall in love!! Also Khao cat confirmed!! I don't make the rules. Silly but cute) 6/10

12. Girls Rules (NamtanFilm, MilkLove, ViewMim. Jojo said he supports women's rights, and women's wrongs, and he's so valid for that. Love seeing women in a male dominated field. Female Only Friends, dare I say?) 6/10

13. Boys In Love (High school AU. Debuting Mick Metas, aka baby Win Metawin, and we all cheered! also featuring a lot of babies, presumably the newest crop of gmmtv recruits, and so far i'm not mad about it. I'll have to wait and see how they actually do. Classic 3 high school couple stories, general sweetness all around) 8/10

14. My Magic Prophecy (JimmySea, Doctor AU, Urban Fantasy AU. I'm personally not the biggest JimmySea girlie so this doesn't do anything for me, but I know there's people out there who are loving this, and i'm so happy for them. Jimmy is a doctor (what a concept) and Sea can see the future sort of? So what happens when Sea tries to change the future for someone he is close to?) 4/10

15. A Dog and A Place (Taynew, side MarcPoon. New is a flight attendant, and Tay is just some random clown, and since Tay owes a debt to New, he agrees to stalk New's bf and find out if he's cheating on New or not. Silly ahhh goofy ahh show, for anyone looking for a light watch and a laugh) 4/10

16. Memoir of Rati (GreatInn, side AouBoom. Historical AU, absolutely serving I Feel You Linger In The Air minus the time travel. I'm sorry to say but this is the genre of show that Earthmix deserved, we need them in a period piece STAT. That being said, it does look beautiful, it looks worth watching for the aesthetics itself) 5/10

17. Me and Thee (PondPhuwin, side PerthSanta. Photography AU, Mafia AU, except it's on crack??? looks so funny and they both do comedy so well with each other honestly i'm just having such a giggle. Can't wait for this one. Big mafia bossman Pond needs help of 'ordinary guy' Phuwin to learn how to seduce. Shenanigans ensue) 8/10

18. Ticket To Heaven (FourthGemini, Historical AU (sort of), Church AU. P'AOF COME FUCKING THRU I SAY. This is what i've been waiting for. Repressed seminary boy meets rebellious new kid, and struggles to come to terms with his sexuality while being in the church and close to God. As much as I would love for FourthGem to exercise their skills with new directors, i'm so happy to see them working with Aof again bc I just know he knows how to bring out the best in them. Fourth is absolutely going to kill this role, he's in his actor bag and i'm so proud of him. I can't wait to see how he pulls this off) 11/10

BONUS!! Purely non-queer shows:

19. I Love 'A Lot Of' You (NanonMind. Mind has DID with 5 distinct personalities, and Nanon is hired by her father to make all versions of her fall in love with him. Not sure why, but an interesting premise to use for a show, that's for sure) 3/10

20. WU (SkyNanin bromance, Boxer AU, Magical Realism AU. Sky is some kind of psychic/fortune teller, and he enlists down and out boxer Nani to protect him. I never watched Frenemy myself but I've heard nothing but amazing things about both of their acting, esp Sky. So if you need a reason to try this show out, it's Sky's phenomenal acting chops) 9/10

[batnbreakfast]

It’s Monday, so I can finally have someone buy me more grapes!

Still sick as hell, which is especially annoying because today would have been “I’m finally going to see What A Feeling at the cinema” day. 😫Instead I gifted our tickets away and will stay in my sock. Will I ever manage to see the long awaited queer women’s romcom? Who knows?!

Also my brain is beginning to go slightly mad at being stuck in the sock for the fourth day, so I got out the iPad for some low effort art. Have a picture of a bat with huge pillow like ears, sleeping in a sock, dreaming of grapes.

[kenjiyabuki]

gmmtv 2025 wants and needs and predictions

i was in a yapping mood. feel free to comment :0)

anyone remember Captain from My School President? yeah, i forgot about him too until i was revisiting it last week. he is such a cutie and he really shone through in episode 6. yes he did, go back and check it. so, GMMTV, please take him out the basement in 2025 and at least give him a secondary role? i accept even if it is just one of those "main BL lead's goofy bestie" ones, just let him see the sun.

SO I THINK THIS WONT HAPPEN BECAUSE ITS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE but does anyone remember this interview where Jojo said he wanted to make an Sex and The City-esque series about the dating life of a guy with Gun Attaphan as the lead because it haunts me daily. if i believed in a god, this would be among my nightly prayers. especially after watching Love in the Big City, i just kept thinking how a Thai series like this would eat!!! my first choice would not be GMMTV to be honest (i want bigger budget!!!) but then, i would trust Jojo with a story like this. at least i would love to see his version. its obvious Jojo's other not BL series (3 Will Be Free, Mama Gogo, The Warp Effect, Dirty Laundry etc.) are more widely beloved than his BLs (Never Let Me Go, Only Friends). so maybe he would be more successful doing something that doesnt have to adhere to branded pairs and it just could be messy and queer as much as he can make it without the shipper fans nitpicking at everything. which, OKAY, i dont know if Gun fans are that blasé but i assume they are as he does work outside of BL and like... c'mon he is such a great actor, put him next to a pot of flowers and he could create chemistry.

Jojo also said he would like to work with Fourth... which is yes. YES, please. look, yeah Jojo sometimes disappoints but to me, he is still one of the most exciting directors in Thai BL. he has a VERY distinct style and i love him for it. its exciting to see which new actor will get the Jojo touch each year. he is such a actor's director and they always shine a different way through his lens. I just want to see what Jojo would make out of Fourth and Gun, both great talents!

some days i think there is no way AouBoom wont have main leads this year and other days my trust issues kick in... nevertheless, i think we wont be seeing them separated but i am asking the court, haven't they done their time in the side couple prison? didnt they pay their dues? if the court agrees, let's get them out of the uni uniforms and put them into something darker. something higher stakes, desperate love, fans nail biting every week, some new actors as the side couple etc.... AouBoom can handle it.

GL ANTHOLOGY/ENSEMBLE SERIES. at least two. one in the messy Only Friends type of way, the other a saccharine romcom a la We Are. for cast i want them to put all the ladies in that GMMTV building in there, even the female flies buzzing around

tbh, if we are going to get another long ass New show, i want BL AND GL couples. like i dont understand why all BLs have to be sausage fests like why cant we have best of both worlds together in one series........... i need to see more useless lesbian and dumb gay friendship representation stat. (e.g. The Warp Effect or Bad Buddy)

a more personalized wish for GL: i think she is back from maternity leave so, i want Fah in a GL purely for my self interest. she is just so talented and gorgeous and i want to see her kiss other gorgeous girls... i want to say Namtan but i think NamtanFilm might keep going through 2025, which okay, not complaining!!!!!!!!!

i KNOW GeminiFourth will have another series because i think they have been saying it or at least confirmed that they intend to keep working together. they make GMMTV lots of money so i dont see any chance for them to not have new series. they also expressed that they wanted get out of the high school uniforms which is like YEAH. yeah, boys. i agree. last year i was so disappointed to see them in My Love Mix-Up. it felt like such a setback after MSP and their spectacular work in Moonlight Chicken. just get them out the those blue shorts and put them in whatever, that's my (our) only wish.

i love them but i think want FirstKhaotung to rest. or i just want to see them something not exactly BL. yeah, i cant believe i am saying this as well. excited to see them in THK. no further comments.

might be an unpopular opinion but PLEASE no japanese BL remakes. please. i think it doesnt translate well. i am sorry...

i dont follow them that closely but i think GreatInn confirmed they will keep working together. BUTTT how about ThorFluke tho👀 will we get any crumbs from them?

WinnySatang… i think they have lots of room for improvement in their acting (i feel the emotions but they can look stiff) which affects their chemistry's physicality (e.g. sometimes they leave room for several Jesuses). still, i find them endearing together and see lots of potential and growth in the future IF they also want to keep on being a ship. tbh, i dont see them ready to tackle being leads yet so i am okay to see them as secondary again. and also singular roles in other BLs or non BLs.

MarcPoon. in whatever way or shape or form they think we deserve it. i just want to see more of them on my screen, together or not. but if together, preferably in a different dynamic than We Are (looking at you Perfect 10 Liners…). i adored Poon in Shadow, i would love to see him in a horror or just anything challenging again.

Lego of LYKN in his own BL?????????? that has to happen at one point, no? something to do with dancing, hopefully????

OffGun is already confirmed for next year. and full disclosure, i am soooo biased. generally i want couples to mix and match but i like OffGun together so much, i dont think i will ever complain about them. they could've been on their 78th BL and i would be like "okay, when is the next one?". my only wish would be for them to go back to the darker, more challenging, higher stakes kind of BL in the vein of Not Me again.

i think we can all agree when we see that trailer with Podd & Papang on that screen we wont even be shocked...

on the topic of shock, i want a new unexpected BL pair that will make us feel gagged and gooped and gobsmacked like the announcement of OhmNanon (rip) or JossGawin. hit us where we least expect it!

[frasermints]

I have sort of a weird question, do you have any thoughts/opinions on RPF that I could use to share with someone who thinks it can be weird & invasive? I'm trying to have a convo with them about it & my brain is coming up short lol. I ask because I swear I saw you reblog something about that not too long ago. Also, no worries if you don't want to!

tell them to kill the cop inside their head. it basically it boils down to this.

the fourth wall exists for a reason*. authors are not linking their archive accounts on their public instagrams and tagging the people involved. and if they are, they're taken out back and shot like dogs. the greater fic community does not tolerate that shit. we keep fic where it belongs - away from the public eye.

real person fanfiction is not real. nothing in these stories (to the best of our knowledge) has happened, is happening, or ever will happen. it is made up. it is a story. it is entertainment. we do not actually think these things are true or want them to happen. i mean, i could take or leave some of them on the actually happening part. some of the fics i have read are phenomenal and very interesting and the worldbuilding is... anyway. but - it's still not real.

why does it matter if something is weird. furries are weird. queer people are weird. metalheads are weird. claymation artists are weird. advanced registered psychiatric nurse practitioners are weird. tumblr users are weird. YOU ARE WEIRD. so fucking what. why do you care that it is weird. kill the cop inside your head and move on.

at the end of the day, people that write and read rpf are just people that like something that you (general) don't. best friend A likes romcoms. i (typically) do not. i like video essays about religion. best friend B does not. i am protestant. best friend C is muslim. rpf is something that separates people that fundamentally does not matter in the grand scheme of things and if your friend is going to make that the hill they die on you need to get better friends, my love. this is one of those things that people in the real world do not care about. i write rpf at work and my coworkers think it's cool and ask me for updates. like. genuinely. no one cares. red white & royal blue started out as rpf and amazon made a movie out of it. so like. come on.

*breaking the 4th wall is what causes most, if not all, of the issues with rpf. people find out there is rpf about them and they get uncomfortable. lock your archive account, moderate comments. make shit undiscoverable, do not tell people you have written something about them, and holy shit do not write rpf about your friends

[zeemczed]

It's funny to go back and look at where the major players in the Webcomic Renaissance (tm) of the early 2k's ended up.

Really, there's four tiers (and a bucket).

First, there's Still Doin' They Thing Tier, for webcomickers that stuck to the grind and are still going strong. David Willis (Roomies!, It's Walky) is in his first full reboot of the Walkyverse with Dumbing of Age, and it's heckin' fun. Jeph Jacques is still doing Questionable Content, though he's now more mature and has gone sober. Brad Guigar is still doing Evil Inc., and shows no signs of stopping. Joe England finished Zebra Girl (and what an ending it was!), and will likely be doing more in the universe eventually. Bill Holbrook will stop doing Kevin and Kell when he has a total existence failure, and good luck getting Eric Schwartz away from either his Amiga or from Sabrina Online.

Then there's Still Doin' They Thing But More Queer Tier. There were a lot folks that realized "hey I'm not queer in some variety" over the last 20 years, and in a lot of cases this turned into something very cool in their work. Dan Shive (El Goonish Shive) has realized that he only prefers he/him pronouns because "it raises fewer questions" and is bi, and his work has turned from "no this is totally just gender-bending comedy because I'm using manga tropes" to one of the happiest queer comics on the internet. Mae Dean (Real Life Comics) realized she was trans during the lockdown, and while the schedule for RLC is as wonky as it's ever been, it's still ongoing.

Third is Fell Off. The creators of Avalon and Road Waffles and Jackie's Fridge have kinda disappeared. At least the former eventually hosted an AMA that explained he's working tech support now, and just kinda can't draw anymore. I also include Scott Kurtz in this - PvP was THE mainstream webcomic of my youth, and after his dad died, he kind of... dissolved. The whole thing is paywalled now, and AFAIK hasn't had a single update. Fourth is Got Big, with webcomickers that are now working in/have worked in animation in one stripe or another, or who are doing larger projects. ND Stevenson, Ian J, Rebecca Sugar (yes, I count The Ballad of Margo and Dread). And of course you have to include Jerry and Mike of Penny Arcade in here - while they're Still Doin' They Thing, they're also doing all kinds of larger projects. Of course, Dana Simpson is now doing a syndicated newspaper comic with Phoebe and Her Unicorn. Bobby Crosby's Marry Me got turned into a live action rom-com that is actually pretty damn good if you like romcoms.

And in the last tier, there's only one sad, sad person. And while I'm convinced that his self-loathing ass could be fixed with a massive load of peyote and a kick in the teeth, until then Tatsuya Ishida will remain alone in the Fucking Insane MAGA Asshole bucket.

Because he doesn't deserve a tier, that's why. (Edit: Fixed a typo.)

[world-of-wales]

red white and royal blue (the book) was amazing and i loved how it seemed to open up the romcom genre to queer relationships an entirely different way! it's so witty and heartfelt and such a fun but earnest read and perfect for a holiday or a day by the beach! (also definitely my favourite by the author so far, one last stop was cute but the time travel element was a little weird for me and i kissed shara wheeler was just a queer paper towns (the novel by john green) with unlikeable characters, but i'm excited for their 4th novel!) also, books i've really enjoyed so far this year (no particular order or genre): - the roughest draft by emily wibberly and austin siegemund-broka (romance about two authors who had a falling out but have to write a novel together to fulfill their contractual obligations) - pet and bitter by akwaeke emezi (coming of age novel and prequel about what choices we can make when society is in denial) - happy place by emily henry (fake dating exes spending time with their friend group at a beach house) - our missing hearts by celeste ng (novel about identity and rebellion) - yellowface by r.f. kuang (unhinged in the best way about a white author who steals their dead asian friend's manuscript and publishes it under a racially ambiguous name and the ramifications of that) - small worlds by caleb azumah nelson (book about growing up and finding yourself amidst expectations from your immigrant parents in london with a beautiful music backdrop)

what kind of books to you tend to read? and what are your favourites from this year?

Honestly same, I loved it. I read it in 2020 and I was hooked. Read it in one sitting and spent the whole night awake finishing it. Exactly I agree with this, there used to be books about queen relationships before but they weren't done so well till Casey put RWRB out there. I have read books before that too but that never dealt with the characters in such a good way. It's my favorite by her too, i read her other books too but theres just some magic in RWRB that's never been matched again as per me.

I get ur point about OLS but I did like the time travelling aspect of it though (it's the fantasy romance reader in me). Oooh paper towns >>>> haven't talked about that book in so long. I was such a big John Green fan in ninth grade, totally obsessed with his books.

Ooh all these books sound amazing. Definitely adding a few to my tbr. I have read Small Worlds and just read happy place last week. Loved both of them. And Yellow face has been in my tbr too, I have the kindle version just need to find the time to read it.

So I can read pretty much anything - romance, mystery, coming of age, fantasy, biographies etc. My book interests are all over the place honestly.

Currently I'm on my romance and mystery phase. So I'm trying to finish Catherine Cowles blacklist. This year I had a slow start on my reading thanks to this being my last term in university. So I only got properly into reading in June. Since then I have been reading a lot of romances (anything and everything), thrillers and suspense, fantasy even. Though I have been struggling to find good thrillers this year so that's in a bit of a slump.

So my favs of this year have been -

Crowns of Nyaxia (1st book) by Carissa Broadbent

From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapaata

The Spectacular by Fiona Davis

Loved loved loved Small Worlds

Finally read Things we never got over by Lucy Score

If this is love by Jewel E Ann

Magnolia Parks by Jessa Hastings

Dirty air series (4th book) by Lauren Asher

The guest by Emma Cline

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yaaros

A scoundrel of her own by Stacy Reid (need to complete her blacklist too)

[anotherblblog]

My School President Finale Quick Blurb

The MSP finale delivered.

I did want more TiwPor and Mrs Gim.

But I’m still very very happy. Definitely my biggest surprise from a bl. I went in with no expectations and was pleasantly surprised with how thoughtful this series was.

Also I appreciate the finale being so long. I really think that should become a thing. Send (good) shows off with a big fanfare and not worry about wrapping it up in under 30 mins or 1 hour. Take your time and have your panning shots and long takes and just stretch your legs and enjoy the world you’ve built and story you’ve told.

The My School President finals felt a very nice and well fucking deserved victory lap.

And I haven’t really felt a series capture the end of a school period bittersweet hopefulness so well.

It wasn’t a perfect series but I think it did really did hit home for me what it felt like. What love and being young and queer feels like. It is a very optimistic series and ultimately an intentionally light and hopeful one but it still showed the ugly sides of growing up queer and how those external forces and fears hurt and stymie the individual. The paranoia, growing pains, realizing who is and isn’t in your corner while and also figuring out (or thinking you are figuring out) who you are.

While also taking those first steps at acknowledging and acting on your romantic and sexual feelings and sense of self. So yeah no biggie.

MSP was flirty and funny and charming and I think above all sincere.

It felt sincere watching Tinn and Gun find real meaning in their feelings towards the other and want to act on it but also be hesitant and insecure in those feelings. And working through that and also maturing and coming into their own as people.

There is also a bit of whiplash with this last arc of MSP overlapping with Cheating McChicken and seeing Fourth, Gemini, and my baby daddy Mark Pakin in these vastly different but somewhat similar characters is really interesting in a meta sense.

The parental trio in this series honestly was an amazing supporting cast and I think they are some of the best parents I’ve seen in a bl. They also felt very sincere. Sincerely loving their kids and sincerely loving themselves. Mrs Potjanee was easily the third lead/foremost supporting character and I think her arc in some ways was more appreciated by me (as I closer to her than a high schooler in age).

The songs were catchy and the musical romcom vibes were great.

I used to think gmmtv would one day need to stand trial for their sins against the actual queer community but I do think they have made meaningful adjustments to whatever happens in their writing rooms and whatever decisions it takes to run a company/studio.

I started this show cuz Teh’s hot roommate from IPYTM was in it and I’m glad I did. Mark Pakin is still my baby daddy fr. And thirst bias aside he was really outstanding as the supporting character of the series.

Ok this quick blurb is kinda not quick but whatever.

Ugh my top 20 series list is shaking rn.

🎶 Come rain or shine

Your shoulder is there to get me through

I don’t know what tomorrow brings

But with you I’m ready for anything 🎶

[tamilhobbit]

I've been saying this for years. I do not want media where the entire plot is The Sad Existence of Queer Youth or How Hard It Is Being Gay. I don't want media where the whole damn plotlines is just being queer, unless you're making the same sort of fluffy romcoms you make for cishet romances - and even then, it's not my favourite genre.

Give me queer fantasy and queer superheroes and queer supernatural hunters.

Give me an epic fantasy with all the usual elements of Chosen One and magical sword and prophecy and Big Bad, but make the Chosen One a lesbian and give her a romance alongside defeating the Big Bad. (So, basically She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.)

Give me fantasy with all the angst of an immortal Elf falling for a human, but they're queer. Give me genderqueer Dwarves going on a quest.

Give me mainstream superhero movies with all the fun and action and quips of Avengers (2012), except our two team leaders actually end up together instead of just having everyone jokingly call them Mum and Dad.

Give me supernatural drama that combines dark tense plots and horror and lore with moments of fourth-wall breaking humour, but our flannel-wearing hero has a queer romance with the eldritch inhuman being they share a bond with, but it's still the B-plot because they're fighting vampires and demons.

I want period dramas with the usual drama of arranged marriages and affairs and stolen glances and heaving bosoms, except queer. (It's why I loved Brimsley & Reynolds in Queen Charlotte, and why I'm excited for Francesa Bridgerton and Michaela Stirling. But if you're going to do an alternate history where racism is gone, let's do an alternate history next where same-gender marriage is as commonplace and accepted as straight ones, like in fanfic.)

I'd say I want a buddy cop drama/comedy where they're actually gay instead of calling it bromance, but I'm done with copaganda. Maybe something like Sherlock where they're not actually deeply homophobic and only leaning into it to bait the fans they look down on.

This is why Our Flag Means Death got so big; it wasn't just a gay drama, it was comedy and pirates.

In short, I want the same thing cishet folks get - epic, excellent storytelling and drama and comedy, and romance subplots we can see ourselves in, where characters have arcs beyond being gay.

I'm 32. I'm a lot less interested in teenagers coming out. I want to see pirates and supernatural hunters and fantasy knights my age fall in love and have sexy Zorro-esque swordfights and then take on a thinly disguised metaphor for colonialism and have a happy ending.

I'm going to be perfectly honest a lot of people claiming people don't like canonically queer shows like heartstopper love victor etc and favor queerbaity shows like supernatural house md etc BECAUSE of the queerbait itself are missing a core element of these shows and is that the weird gay thing people are having is very much a light accessory to the plot instead of being literally the plot itself. Queerness as a plot is tempting for like a two hour movie if I wanted to watch more than four hours of people discovering their identity while nothing else happens I'd just go live my life. What's the point if they're not even solving a murder.

[wahlpaper]

Sizzle Reel Review

Sizzle Reel by Carlyn Greenwald

CW: Drinking, Heavy Drinking, Swearing, Described Sexual Content, Forced Closet-ing, Forced Outing, Toxic Work Environment, Queerphobia, Anxiety, Described Panic Attack, Money Problems, Unemployment and Firing, Queerphobic Microaggressions, Ethnic Microaggressions, Vomit, Dubious Consent, Dysfunctional Family Dynamics, Antisemitism, Deadnaming, Gaslighting

4.5/5

I'd like to start off this review by talking about the cover on Carlyn Greenwald's Sizzle Reel. It's the reason I decided to read it. I knew it was queer and potentially forgot that it was Jewish, but that cover was in my mind for months as I waited for the audiobook on Libby. Created by Madeline Partner and Maria Nguyen, the cover features a gorgeous red-head standing in the front with two attractive love interests off to the side. One love interest is giving off Kristen Stewart vibes. It's all bathed in pastel pink and orange, adding the beauty of a sunset to it. The typography is having a little bit of fun without taking away from the rest of the cover. It's a queer paradise and I'd love to see more covers like this.

Here's a blurb about Sizzle Reel, assuming that you need more than a cover to judge a book. For two years, Luna Roth has been suffering through an abusive Hollywood job that isn't even in her field of cinematography. When she meets Valeria, rising star and potential member of the queer community, everything starts to change. Luna has only just come out as bi at 24 and feels she needs to "catch up" on experiences. Her friends work to hook them up, whether it is professionally or intimately. While Luna is facing her job changes, newly-public identity, anxiety, and family problems, her best friend Romy has been acting strange. Will Luna be able to keep her life from falling apart while everything around her changes?

One thing that stood out to me in Sizzle Reel was how the choice of first person POV affected the tone of the book. Although Luna never directly says she has an audience, she knows how to interact with one. She's quite expressive and is honest enough with us that we can see past what she's hiding from herself. Most of the time with first person, that character either breaks the fourth wall or is only going along with I/me pronouns because the author made them do it. Luna being between these options makes for a great narrative and is absolutely in character. She's a cinematographer who's written by a member of the film industry. Essentially, this book has a complete aesthetic you're likely to get hooked on. Greenwald originally wrote Sizzle Reel to be a script, and while it was translated to a novel beautifully, that intention still shows.

Sizzle Reel is about things not being what we expect them to be. This goes for both the audience and the characters. I technically guessed the ending, but I kept changing my mind about it. I worried for nothing that things would pan out unrealistically or that I'd hate the outcome. Luna is trying to figure how to live in the queer community now that she's out. She's only getting advice from one biased queer person and it isn't helping her anxiety. She's receiving a lot of overwhelming input about what she should be doing. This goes beyond just being about her bisexuality. I have a feeling Greenwald was writing to an audience that already knows what anxiety is like. I could relate to Luna's thoughts without them needing to be explained to me. She just wanted to do the right or perfect things, hopefully the easy things. It all made her more confused, doing things the harder way, and unable to easily explain herself to others. My empathy for Luna made some parts of the book hard to get through, but witnessing how everything comes together made it worth it.

I mentioned earlier that I potentially forgot this was a piece of Jewish literature. I don't remember how I discovered this book, if I knew it was Jewish at the time I decided to eventually read it. Either way, it came as a pleasant surprise for me when I began reading. Luna and her best friend, Wyatt, are both Jewish. Luna and I both focus more on the cultural aspects of being Jewish, but she still had a different perspective than I've had. I love reading a variety of Jewish literature because it lets me see my community from different eyes. If you're looking for a Jewish queer 20-something as a main character, definitely try out Sizzle Reel.

This story touches on several timely queer topics and misses out on one I wish it would have addressed. Luna's arc is mostly about the queer panic I've mentioned previously, figuring out how to engage in the community and learning to prioritize herself. Valeria's arc is about being forced back into the closet by Hollywood, a place that the average right-winger assumes is leftist. Luna faces some of this toxicity herself. Romy's arc is about being out to her extended family as non-binary when she's still figuring out her relationship with gender. Unfortunately, despite Luna being extremely demi-coded (likely unconsciously), the asexual spectrum isn't directly brought up in Sizzle Reel. I believe if someone had suggested demisexuality to Luna, she would have had some of her anxieties lifted. Overall, I loved the amount of queer rep and topics Greenwald covered. It was all appropriately wrapped up with the last words in the book, "queer bliss".

Carlyn Greenwald's Sizzle Reel is a great book to read if you're looking for a slightly unpredictable Jewish queer romcom that uses Hollywood/Pasadena/LA as its background. Considering that's too niche to be likely, hopefully I've painted a tempting picture of the novel for you. Love triangles, urban exploration, and info dumps about the film industry await you. So, ready, set, action!

[troglobite]

t/d l/sso THOUGHTS for tonight's ep

OKAY SO.

more of ted and roy complimenting men's appearances. roy actively "hating" the fact that ted has rubbed off on him and he now makes silly jokes (ass-squatch, etc.)

"look at that head'a hair. god had to take it away just to make things fair"

[stares]

but also

I LOVE HOW MUCH TRENT WAS IN THIS EPISODE

and my THOUGHTS are mainly this:

the fourth thing. what is the fourth thing. why are they harping on that. TRENT even got stuck on it.

possible attachments/meanings/etc.

they don't need a fourth season, quite literally it's a three act structure, the fourth thing is the end and who knows what comes next

nate's storyline was right up against everyone else's in an episode called the strings that bind us (and that WASN'T just referring to the literal strings that roy had them tie around their dicks, which also--ROY. WHAT KIND OF SHIT ARE YOU INTO.)

so is NATE that "missing" fourth thing?

or is the conclusion w trent getting all dorky and excited abt "it's gonna work!" meant to imply that they DON'T need nate?

alternatively

"leave the door open for god to walk in" so to speak

the trio of them

the open door that trent comes through

him making four.

WHAT ARE YOU IMPLYING, SHOW????

i'm ESPECIALLY intrigued bc the whole thing w total football is TRIANGLES. which are mathematically and structurally VERY sound. jokes are in threes, etc. three three three. three seasons.

but then also "what a fucking dork" (most loving compliment ever given by roy kent) and "yeah but he's our dork" WHAT DOES IT MEAN?!

also!!!!

i saw someone point out on twitter that ted's talking abt all of them getting out of the boxes that have been assigned to them

and not only do they manage to figure it out

jamie steps out of his box--and is SAD he couldn't be someone else, when he started saying "why would i wanna be anyone else but me?" in season one--and takes the lead!

they all swap spots and understand things, they have a breakthrough

sam steps out of "line" out of his "box" that society puts him in as a footballer and entertainer to take a stand abt the state of the world--and he gets punished for it, but then his team helps him rebuild bc that's what they do

but then nate literally makes a box and puts himself in it and then it gets smashed and he asks jade out anyway

do you have ANY idea how proud i was of him for NOT spitting in the mirror before going to ask jade out???

PROGRESS!!!!

PROGRESSSSKASFJ LKSJDLFAJSDF!!!!

i literally said, when he ran to the bathroom, DON'T DO IT YOU DON'T NEED TO DO IT

and he didn't

then he tried to be a version of his dad

and then fuck that, just be yourself. be a little awkward, a little weird. but be sincere.

i love that.

i ALSO love the comeback of his arts and crafts time w his niece. literally the sweetest little callback.

and also the decision to not be like his dad. to be his own person. LAJSLDKFJ ALSDKFJ DLS v proud of him.

also trent's dressing EVEN MORE GAY if that were possible for the man

as if colin knowing made it even more okay

ALSO the mug was back

ALSO ALSO

ted's whole thing abt facial hair.........

"as a straight man in sports in kansas who's afraid of needles, my ways of expressing individuality were limited"

and then going on and on abt fucking that blue collar comedy foursome, jfc. lol

but i'm just.

INTERESTING.

that he has to pointedly say that he's straight.

and yet

he and trent did a LOT of talking. and he claims trent as theirs.

OKAY LISTEN.

i don't actually 100% believe that that's where they're going.

i'm not even 100% sure that roy and/or ted are actually gonna be confirmed queer (although i stg, roy riding in a little rickshaw COVERED IN LITERAL PRIDE FLAG TYPE RAINBOWS WHILE QUOTING ROMCOMS BACK AND FORTH WITH OTHER MEN)

but it's just like--

i'm having to play catch up, basically

for two seasons, i just presumed that they weren't gonna go there. that they were gonna be throwaway silly little jokes from Straight Characters that weren't offensive, but did kinda normalize queerness in casual convos.

BUT NO

WE NOW HAVE FOUR QUEER MAIN CHARACTERS!

not including their partners! (michael, jack, and will's couple from the threesome)

so i'm truly over here like Holy Fucking Shit.

and that romcommunism/rainbow episode--i just.

it feels really interesting and sweet that the episode that was quoting all these romcoms--NOTORIOUSLY HETEROSEXUAL--was also VERY FUCKING GAY BUT WE DIDN'T REALIZE IT. or at least i didn't! lol

and that's the episode that implies that things will work out, but not the way you expect or want or think you need.

and i am FASCINATED.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?! WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?!

also trent is truly loosening up around all of them

"hey trent"

"hi ted"

FASCINATING.

ALL OF THE DETAILS ON THIS FUCKING SHOW MATTER AND I AM ENTHRALLED THAT AFTER AMSTERDAM, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GETTING WITH TRENT

my brain is ON FIRE and while i'm excited the show's not over yet, i also desperately need ANSWERS. lol

[yerbamansa]

I have too many feelings about Our Flag Means Death not to post them on Tumblr

So in the last week I’ve watched all ten episodes of the single season of Our Flag Means Death four times. It’s about five hours of screen time per binge, but still, that’s… a lot, right? I am fucking fixated on this shit. It’s a rabbit hole of joy and fandom brain rot (as the kids say).

On my fourth viewing, I took a pen–pink, a color I rarely use except for contrast–and wrote down quotes and notes. I filled 18½ pages. My hand hurts; gripping a pen and applying pressure to get a clean stroke hurts after a short while. Getting old, I guess. But I treated it like I was doing research for a grad school project, like I was trying to identify a thesis, a reason for my sudden and swift obsession. Like, I love TV–I rewatch favorites repeatedly and follow new shows pretty regularly. Things like Star Trek are often on my mind and I love to talk about them and look at memes. But only once before can I recall falling into a proverbial k-hole of focus on a show and every goddamn thing about and around it I can consume. That show, of course, was Schitt’s Creek, and I had four seasons of material to go on by then, but I got really into the then-smallish fandom and wrote fic and cosplayed and joined chats and watched every thing I could track down with Dan Levy. Oh, and I came out as nonbinary, at least to some people.

The rest I'll put under a cut because I rambled all day.

My ardor for that series has waned somewhat (David’s ultimate path didn’t resonate, which I know is nigh-sacrilege for the wedding-focused fandom, and for ~*personal reasons*~ I really wanted Stevie to explore a queer romance, alas) but so many people I know still associate me with being a fan. I mean, sure, I literally named my rabbit after David Rose and gave them an Instagram account, but I’ve moved on. (You can still DM me with your Schitt’s stuff, though. It makes me happy to know you’re thinking of me and enjoying something I hoped you’d enjoy.) At any rate, I wasn’t expecting another obsession to hit like that; maybe it was a fluke. Then I watched the gay pirate romcom.

Romantic comedies are not, strictly speaking, my jam. I don’t really enjoy romances. Most romcoms lack in the “comedy” department for my taste. And pirates? I mean, as a narrative setting, meh, it’s fine. (I WILL go back and finish watching Black Sails eventually, I promise, but generally…) The “gay” part, well, sure, I appreciate representational media. It can be a mixed bag. But if you’ve read this far, you either already know or can guess that none of these objections fit OFMD. In terms of comedy, it’s a goddamn powerhouse of international comedy legends. Romance? It’s sweet and lovely without being cloying or obsessed with marriage et cetera (that’s just…a thing I get really bored with…). And it’s not too sweet to totally skimp on the horrific reality of piracy, at least as much as one can to fit the romcom tone. Also basically every on-screen relationship bar one is queer in some way, and there’s a nonbinary pirate played by a nonbinary actor, just for bonus points.

But why the everloving fuck did I get obsessed with it??? The conclusion I’ve come to is that the show somehow let me experience gender euphoria by proxy. Not just because of Jim Jimenez–that’s a nice affinity, and I’ve enjoyed Vico Ortiz in other stuff, so it’s a freakin’ delight to see them in something with such an active, engaged fanbase; their social media is on fire–but for reasons that, as close as I can figure, are the same as something that made me super obsessed with Schitt’s Creek before: the portrayal of masculinity.

As an AFAB nonbinary person who didn’t figure out such labels could apply until their late 30s, I’ve got my own view of masculinity and femininity. (As anyone who’s ever explored gender should.) For me, it’s not so much that I want to be more masculine (shit’s scary, societally speaking) but read as less feminine. That’s just my body. Bodies without hips and large breasts and the things they can convey with their fashion are just…not what I can do. At least not with my budget. “Feminine” touches with menswear cuts, and so on. When I see folks with a style I covet, it transfixes me a bit. I’d love to be able to wear a dress and paint my nails in a boyish way. Rock an impeccable suit with color and pattern and a little jewelry. That’d just be neat. So somewhere between fashion icon David Rose’s enviable wardrobe of black and white couture knits and these funny gay pirates I’ve got feelings I wanna live in for as long as I can since I can’t try on the real thing. (Or, well. A longer thought there is the point of an entirely different ramble.)

I’m just gonna write up thoughts on our key players. What a segue. Anyway, spoilers abound.

Stede Bonnet: The Gentleman Pirate

For all his childhood trauma, a joyless arranged marriage, and clear naivete, Stede is a man who strikes me as surprisingly secure in himself. He may not be able to articulate exactly what he wants, but he knows the world he comes from wasn’t made for him, and he actively takes the pieces that work for him and rejects the rest. He loves the finer things–his library, suite decor, and secret auxiliary closet serve as ample evidence of that–and doesn’t become a pirate to collect everyone else’s finery. He’s in it for adventure, which is a fucking wild, privileged reason to do anything. What he takes from his old life is a comfort and, he hopes, a launching pad. People in his aristocratic world didn’t take him seriously, but he did. And he wants to share it, but there’s a mismatch between what he’s got to offer and the things the people he meets in the pirate life need. This does not deter him.

What happens to Stede over the course of the season reflects his growth–in confidence, in love, and in himself–but not a fundamental change in who Stede is. He can relinquish some of the finery when he’s finally figured out what he wants, but we know it’s still part of him. (My god, when he gets back to the Revenge and confronts what’s been thrown overboard (and what’s maybe been kept), it’s gonna be a moment.) He can add and remove identity accessories without losing that sense of self.

I find this guy confusingly relatable. I’m not a drama queen with an outfit for every occasion, but I am more likely to retreat than engage when off-putting chaos swirls around me. I would also very likely find myself “uncomfortable in a married state.” I like being in charge, even though I’m not always good at it. I’m easily haunted by my own failures. And I, too, am more than a little mesmerized at the sight of Taika Waititi in a salt-and-pepper wig and beard and aging rockstar leather getup. (Whomst among us…)

Edward Teach: Blackbeard the Pirate

Born on a beach, became the Kraken. Watching this disaster wrestle with his fragmented personas was a roller coaster. Young Edward was drawn to the finer things that, as his mother tells him, aren’t for people like him–God says. So when he meets the Gentleman Pirate, “God’s perfect little rich boy” as an enemy later describes Stede, someone who chose this life, who chose to share his finery, he’s into it. Despite himself. 

When Stede asks him if he “works for Blackbeard,” he has to consider it. It’s not that everything about him is a facade, but “Blackbeard” is ultimately a constructed brand for pirating. Ed Teach has a tendency to become the person he needs to be for the moment, for the people that surround him. He’s Blackbeard for Izzy; Blackie for Calico Jack (a nickname as gross as their relationship tbh), a jovial (if occasionally menacing) Co-captain to the crew, and Ed to Stede. Izzy might call him by his name and his title interchangeably, but over time, even he can see they are not the same. Stede gets to know Edward, someone maybe no one else has ever known, and he finds that he really likes being Edward, or at least being Edward with Stede. That Edward isn’t putting on a mask. Maybe he’s not even sure why, but he seems to trust Stede implicitly, and that trust only builds and builds until it collapses.

Everyone knows who Blackbeard is, except Blackbeard. The Blackbeard he presents to the crew of the Revenge is seemingly not the same one his own crew is used to. It’s not the same Ed Stede knows, but it isn’t exactly a terrifying pirate persona, either. Co-captain Blackbeard is affable, sometimes almost whimsical; a storyteller, prankster. Any grumpiness is easily explained away as the too-cool veneer of a man who’s all too aware of his profile (Lucian even calls him on it when they’re on Stede’s ill-fated treasure hunt). When his mental state crumbles after he returns to the ship sans Stede, the veneer is dropped entirely. He tells the crew to call him Edward, celebrates their talent and artistry, and babbles about giving up piracy altogether. Both Izzy and Lucian can tell he’s not OK, but the ways they try to help are diametrically opposed. To everyone else, he’s just having fun. The chaos, I think, is Ed not even knowing (or caring) anymore who he is and who he has to be for others.

 When he becomes the Kraken, it’s for himself–to protect himself from the pain of being known. Known by Stede, who left him at that dock, and by the crew with whom he’s grown far too informal. Of anyone knowing that he’s always been the Kraken, in his own mind and mythology. In this persona, Izzy sees his Blackbeard, but he probably doesn’t see the man behind the mask sobbing at the sight of a lighthouse painting. Ed knows better than to let anyone see that, now. The Kraken might be a self-loathing monster, but no one gets to hurt him anymore. The Kraken is appropriately terrifying, but he also makes me so fuckin’ sad, and not just because Stede is free and coming back to him.

I don’t know that Stede ever recognized these shifting personas within Ed. I think Ed was only becoming aware of them himself, through his ennui and through getting to know Stede. Stede’s sense of self is stable enough that he might not be able to conceive of the vulnerability Ed’s shown him. He hasn’t got a frame of reference for it. To him, Ed is Blackbeard and Blackbeard is Ed. When he gets hints of it–like when he sees Ed’s shaved face for the first time, and Ed tells him Blackbeard is old news–he’s worried, maybe, that Ed’s losing himself and it’s all Stede’s fault. He can’t have another regret weighing on him like that.

Jim Jimenez fka Bonifacia

The only people confused about Jim’s identity are the other crew of the Revenge who argue about whether or not “Jim” is a girl’s name and if women attract demons. They get over it. Jim is the Inigo Montoya of OFMD, except they also get a boyfriend. I love this journey for them.

Death as a Metaphor and a Promise

The crew of the Revenge creates flags to advertise the promise of future suffering and death for any who might cross their path. Everyone fears death at the hands of Blackbeard (even if, as he admits to Stede, he hasn’t personally killed anyone since he murdered his own father in the Kraken origin story). But these are literal deaths. The story mainly concerns metaphorical deaths; transitions from one identity to another, from one persona to another.

Stede’s marriage begins with the specter of death (the gravestones as a wedding gift), one he eschews only to die another way, by being responsible for the death of another man. (One of his childhood bullies, in fact. A fact that is never lost on him, even if he fixates on the man’s death and his part in it rather than the torture he lived through to get there.) But he didn’t escape the original specter until he returned home to resolve it–with his own faked death, in concert with his wife, her lover, and their children. Now he’s finally free.

Ed initially sees Stede as a way for Blackbeard to die–an opportunity to steal the Gentleman Pirate’s identity and fuck off with his purloined finery, just for kicks. He’s bored of this persona he built for himself but feels stuck in it, so why not “die”? Later, he very nearly accomplishes killing Blackbeard for good when he submits himself alongside Stede for an Act of Grace pardon. When he tells Stede he’s happy just to be with him and suggests they create new identities and run away together, he suggests he hopes that death is permanent, but Stede, unfortunately, has his own death to attend to first. The Kraken, then, and its flag with the demon harpooning a heart, promises a death to others that he couldn’t give himself.

The focus on metaphorical deaths is a bit funny, considering I expect any future seasons will not strictly adhere to the literal death timelines of these characters.

OK But What About Your Feelings?

There is absolutely no way anyone reading this diatribe had this thought.

But since I’m asking… fuck. So like, I’m on the low end of middle age. That feeling of wanting something more, of is that all there is, is real. Especially with regard to how I’m performing gender and such. To being comfortable with being out more. To doing…something about that, whatever the fuck that means. To some kind of new adventure. It’s not as exciting as life on the high seas during the Golden Age of Piracy, and I’m not half as funny as these people, but I am trying to understand what exactly it was about something that, yes, is already the kind of show I’d just enjoy the hell out of, but it wormed its way into my tired little brain and fucked me up for a solid week, maybe more.

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

Lucius drew a penis. And we got to see it. There was a whole cock on our screens for like 10 seconds. Stede and Ed spent a minute making porn noises about stabbing. Thank you for providing an example of the take im literally arguing against in this post. We may not get a sex scene like that but to say it ""wouldn't fit the tone of the show" is on its face incorrect. This show enjoys both romance and sexual humor. I can imagine multiple sex scenes that would fit either of those descriptions.

I cannot stress enough that this is an M rated romcom you guys. The fourth highest grossing rom com of all time has a scene where Richard Gere preforms cunnilingus on Julia Roberts on top of a piano in 1990. (A movie which OFMD references, by the way, which is part of why I'm bringing it up in this context). Sex scenes are absolutely genre typical. Demand more from your queer rep.

People who are like "oh we won't get a sex scene"

David Jenkins could make streaming history. He's got a middle aged interracial gay couple in an industry that only lets gay men fuck when they're twinks and even then barely. Why wouldn't he? My only hope is that they don't show us Ed's cock so that I can keep being a trans Ed truther. I might not get that. There is a real danger of them making my little headcannon canon non compliant by giving us a full frontal

[mydude]

Books I’ve Read in 2022

-Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann (I will forever love it. It’s about a black asexual biromantic college student who’s trying to figure out dating as an ace person as well as just regular young adult stuff as well)

-Nevermoor: the trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend (a twelve year old girl who is cursed finds out she will be dying earlier until a man comes and takes her back to an unknown land where she can be herself. I absolutely love this book even tho it’s about a younger kid because it gives me Harry Potter vibes just minus the whole transphobic author)

-Wundersmith: the calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend (this is the second book in the Morrigan crow series and I love it just as much, but spoilers suck so I won’t say much because of the previous book)

-Hollowpox, the hunt for Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend (the third book to the previous series and a fourth book is coming out in the future and I can’t wait for that, I won’t say much tho so I don’t give any spoilers to the previous books)

-Love and Other Natural Disasters by Miss Sugiura (the main character is a Japanese American girl who is spending the summer with her gay uncle with the hopes of finding a girlfriend in California. It’s a super gay book with fake dating people, and there’s great representation and I love this book. It also gives off romcom-esk vibes

-Leah in the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli (the sequel to Simon vs the homosapiens agenda but I love this book so much more, probably because it focuses on WLW romance and bisexuality but like I love this book so much more than the Simon one so like 10/10 highly recommended)

-She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen (another WLW story with fake dating and finding your place in the world??? Yes and there’s great representation such as the main love interest being Indian American)

-Love, Creekwood by Becky Albertalli (this follows all the characters from Simon and Leah on the off best and we get to see their stories progress thru different emails they send to each other. Don’t let the formatting scare you because it is an incredible book)

-Never Kiss Your Roomate by Philline Harms (I absolutely love this book and the main characters are all where, we have two who are bisexual, one pan sexual, and a lesbian so great lgbtq rep and we get to see a wlw relationship and a mlm relationship as well as there being some mystery and like action stuff so like overall, amazing book)

-Her Royal Higness by Rachel Hawkins (beautifully written book that explores a queer relationship between two girls and when one is quite literally a princess. It is extremely entertaining and while technically it is a second book, I didn’t read the first one and I was not lost in any way)

-You Should See Me In a Crown by Leah Johnson (I love this book for it shows a black girl trying to win prom queen for a scholarship to he able to go to her late Mom’s college. It explores not only the racism in her school, but also the homophobia/transphobia that doesn’t allow her to take her girlfriend to prom, and leads to amazing examples of standing up to authority)

-A Corner of the Universe by Ann M. Martin (I love this book since the first time I read it in 5th grade and continue to do so. It follows the story of a girl who finds out she has an uncle with mental illness and it explores their growing relationship throughout the summer. Also the author is queer so while the story isn’t necessarily lgbtq+, the author is which is always nice)

-The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins (this book 100000% deserves all of the hype they are receiving and I had such a hard time putting down the book to do schoolwork. I love how it shows even the most straight appearing people can in fact be queer and how closeted famous peoples life would have been during the 50’s. it really is such a unique way of telling an old movie stars life story through an interview type set up. It is not based on a real person tho, but this is one of my favorite books right now, which really says something)

-I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver(this is an incredible book of a teenager coming out as non-binary to their parents, getting kicked out, and moving in with an estranged sister. It really looks at them the complexities of finding love too when you don’t fit in with a gender binary, and when you are not out. I love this story so much)

-The Giver by Lois Lowry (this is such a classic book that it doesn’t really need an introduction but In a place where everyone is made to be exactly the same, a child is given the opportunity to learn the truth and then change how things are. I also get some hidden queer context but I also look for that sort of thing so who knows)

-Tokyo Metropolitan Magic Technical School by Akutami Gege (this is a manga, which isn’t my favorite style but I read it from a recommendation. It’s about a kid that’s cursed by his childhood friend after she died and he goes to this school to learn to take control of it. Along the way, he along with his classmates, have to get rid of different curses around the city)

-Not If I See you First by Eric Lindstrom ( this is one of my favorite comfort books because the way it is written just makes you feel seen by other people.it is about a highschool junior who became blind in second grade in the car accident that killed her nom. Now three months after her dad died, it shows how she goes about life with extended family now living in her house, and her passion for running as well as even her trying to figure out relationships both as just a teen and someone who is disabled.)

-Not My Problem by Ciara Smyth ( another amazing queer romance that is enemies-to-lovers. The main character lives in very low income household and also has to help her mother who is a recovering alcoholic which gets worse when her father who is around, since they are the side family and not the main one. The love interest however comes from a very wealthy family who has to much pressure so when she uses the main character to push her down the stairs to yet out of some extra curricular, their relationship starts to grow)

-The Mirror Season by Anne-Marie McLenore

-Forward March by Skye Quinlan

-One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

-This Poison Heart by Khalynn Bayron

*I’ve already read most of these books multiple times, so I am going to try to make sure that when I update it, I don’t put any repeats but there’s a good chance I will make a mistake, so I apologize in advance*

[qqueenofhades]

ATTENTION!

Are you GAY?

Do you require SEROTONIN?

Do you like FAKE DATING, ABSOLUTE DISASTER QUEER BOYS, AND LAUGHING SO HARD YOU WHEEZE, COUGH, CRY, AND SERIOUSLY WORRY ABOUT WAKING YOUR FAMILY AT 2:30 AM, AT WHICH HOUR YOU ARE STILL AWAKE BECAUSE YOU’RE READING THIS DUMB BOOK?

(And I’m not even talking about Red White and Royal Blue, though if you’ve read that, you’re going to LOVE this.)

Then allow me to humbly recommend Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall, which I acquired on a whim a few days ago, proceeded to tear through like a wolf, and absolutely need to inform the tumblrati about now, because Oh My God. It’s at once an absolutely brilliant and deadly accurate satire of modern Britain, a screamingly funny gay-fake-dating-that-obviously-turns-into-Real-Feelings romcom, and so transparently written by a Queer Person That Gets It that it’s just... delightful. At one point I had to put the book down about every other paragraph because I was laughing too hard to compose myself.

The shitbag absentee father remains (spoiler alert) a shitbag absentee father and the protagonist is validated for his feelings? Check! Confronting casual homophobia and the way even well-meaning straight people treat you? Check! So much Queer Chaotic Disaster, oh my God so much? Check! Casually mentioning Tumblr and asking if a character ships someone? Check!

(If you want to know how Germane this book is to my obsessions right now, there is even a minor medievalist character who references the sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade in passing. I was like OH COME ON. THAT’S NOT FAIR.)

Anyway. 11/10, will bring the gays much joy, would read again.

[sinceyouaskedme]

Lauren Shippen did a Q&A about The College Tapes on Instagram a couple days ago and I took notes of all the important bits for yall👇 

Under a cut for spoilers and length (~500 words). 

TCT character list includes: Caleb, Adam, Mark, Oliver, Caitlin. Alice, but she’s not heavily featured. Dr. Bright is there for one episode. Lots of new characters. None of the characters from the TBS bonus episodes will be involved. 

Will the Order and Chaos (TAMA bonus eps) characters be in TCT? No, but we will see references to their artifact. Will the Order play a role in TCT? “Maybe not in the way that you think.” 

How strong is the connection between A Neon Darkness and TCT? “Not super strong”. Damien is not in “anybody’s life anymore” in Boston. But there is one (1) character overlap (also connected to TAMA). Lauren recommends reading Neon within the first ~10 episodes of TCT to get the “full experience”. 

TAMA and TCT are both designed as stand-alone, but it may be worth listening to TAMA before TCT because it establishes Oliver and some minorly relevant worldbuilding.

TCT episodes average out around 30 minutes each. (Editor’s note: with 20 episodes, that’ll total out to a 10-hour run time if you’re planning to marathon them after the finale drops.)

TCT is “college-age YA spooky mystery romcom. Maybe less on the com part of the romcom.” Tonally and structurally very different from TAMA.

How does Oliver get along with the kids? “He doesn’t really know what to do with them”, but he does have a relationship with “one of the two main characters” that “really surprised” Lauren when Briggon and Megan wrote it.

Oliver is not a professor (because he’s not “stable enough” for that type of steady work), but “a professor does factor into this”.

TCT will not be found-recording format like TBS was, but will instead be narrative like TAMA, in part because that allows for better flexibility in showcasing different abilities (ex. time-traveling with Sam). There is one (1) episode that uses a narrative framing device. 

Nothing will be posted to Close Friends sooner than a day or two before the premiere.  Lauren reiterates that it’s not vital to the story! Close Friends is just chill/fun/small bonus content.

Will the Close Friends give us hints on when episodes drop? No, that would be a fourth-wall break. TCT and Atypical Artists on Instagram would be the best way to follow releases (and of course push notification from the Luminary app).

“Is the first episode really coming out at 3 AM eastern?” No, Lauren fucked up the Instagram countdown and accidentally set it to midnight pacific. But eps will be dropping on an eastern timeline and some of them may be in the middle of the night.

Will TCT include the pandemic or other current events? No, TBS is an alternate universe. Golden retriever POTUS, etc.

Lockdown scrambled the production schedule so hard that they’re still in post-pro.

In-universe calendar will be shared “probably a couple months” after the show releases.

Three word description of the show? “Spooky, emotional, and queer.”