#remember when they advertised ONE scene as gay

[jewishraypalmer]

Imagine, the year is 2017. You are seeing Beauty and the Beast live action in the theaters. Every time LeFou comes on screen you think to yourself, "was THAT the gay scene?"

[sparrow-the-tired-lesbian]

thoughts on episode 2 (SPOILERS)

Oh don’t  tell me we get Sylki this episode 

OH MY GOD THEYRE WEARING TUXEDOS

MARRIED COUPLE LOKIUS

oh god no not Brad 

HA LOKI SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF HIM

Mobius you’re such a dummie

B15 MY BELOVED

OHOHO GET FUCKED BRAD

Mobius is gay panicking

BRAD WHAT KIND OF RUN IS THAT

OHOHO MAGIC

WHERE DID YA COME FROM WHERE DID YA GO WHERE DID YA COME FROM COTTON EYE LO

MOBIUS IS GAY PANICKINGGGGGG

*sings along to the theme song*

Ohhh b15 you’re lookin fine

There’s a jail in the TVA??? I forgot about that

bring it to my son

OUROBOROS WHERE ARE YOU

SON

Aww he talks to himself that’s cute

So smart

He’s gonna get so fed up with people bringing shit to him when he wrote a whole book about it

Sweet Casey

Married couple Lokius building their IKEA bed

CASEY READ THE GUIDEBOOK! WE STAN A GREAT BOI

I’m going to fight Brad

Brad is so right about Lokis character but damn Mobius going to defend him is kinda gay

Why do I feel like Brad is talking directly to me when he’s talking to-

DONT TALK ABOUT FRIGGA I WILL MURDER YOU BRAD

The sass on lokis tone I’m going to cry

Mobius reign in your boyfriend

Loki is scaring me actually

That sounded kinda sexual Loki my man

YOURE RIGHT BRAD

THERAPY

MOBIUS’S PET?

Yeah Mobius who were you

Oh jeez

Mobius is about to flip out

HE FLIPPED

Loki caring for his husband <3

Following each other <3

KISS NOW

THE PIE SCENE

Awe Loki with his little legs crossed he’s so adorable around Mobius

Yeah you lost it baby

Comfort your husband Loki

WASNT TACTICAL??? BABE YOU ATTACKED NYC

Talk about your feelings Mobius

Why would you thank him for kidnapping you Mobius?

Felt that about bad and good lemme tell ya

Would you quit it about Sylvie

OUROBOROS!!!!

Don’t get hurt baby I’ll cry

Uh oh

UH OH

BRAD????

Is he dead?

Aww man he’s alive

Round two of what babe

NEED ANOTHER SESSION???

HARDBALL TACTICS?!!!??!

WHAT ARE THESE WORDS YOURE SAYING

Big machine

He’ll torture you babe

Remembering things for their husband this is cute

Uh oh Loki what are you doing

LOKI STOP IT

LOKI 

stop asking about Sylvie for the love of god

ENJOY YOURSELF?!

Mobius you’re so sweet

YEAH BRAD DONT BRING UP A VILLAIN’S MOTHER

Kill him hon maybe we won’t have to deal with his dumb ass

Terrible awful things 

He’s lost his shit I love it 

Loki please this is going too far

Okay nice we made Brad suffer and Loki is being everything Mobius could want in a boyfriend

Mobius was in on it?!

OB WHAT DO YOU MEAN WERE GONNA DIE

*gasp* OUROBOROS AND CASEY MY NEW OTP

HES FANBOYING

AWWWW BABIES 

oh no world is dead

*sings McDonald’s jingle*

Where’s my wife

Awww she’s so proactive I love her so much

NO NO NO NOT SYLKI PLEASE NOT SYLKI

One Unhappy meal please

Talk less Loki 

Can Sylvie drive

CORRECT OMG MY WIFE

THIS IS MY BELOVED 

Leave her alone Loki please

Advertisement 

OH MY GOD MOBIUS IS ON SOME SYLKI HATE

“It’s cinema thank you very much”

Murder

QUICK CHANGE WITH SYLVIE

THEYRE KILLING RVERYTHING

IHOHO MURDER

COMPROMISED OF CIURSE BABY

OH NO

call your boyfriend Casey

Don’t hold hands

NO

uh oh

Bye bye Sylvie :)

Oh she’s back

What are we looking at

Oh no…

Those are people!

Uh oh Sylvie’s angry

I might as well just make a harem of marvel women I want to wife me up 

Don’t pull that Sylki bullshit on me

Mobius is sad Loki go comfort him

At least Sylvie had her life

Does she have a friend?

What’s going on between those two?!

I’m so confused

Post credits???

Why not?

[metanarrates]

i have a lot of mixed feelings regarding trans headcanons in orv, or in general in fandom spaces because of how often its taking transmisogynistic jokes and bending them to actually have a cool and awesome meaning instead of just reading fiction with transgender characters. how do you feel about this as an everyone in orv is transfem poster (not accusatory tone i am genuinely wondering your take on this)

I think it's complicated because i Do agree that most trans headcanons in fandom are rooted in transphobic ideas, especially when it comes to transfem characters. I actually personally wouldn't trust most people who headcanon characters as trans unless they're able to point out when something in the text is transmisogynistic. and orv does have transmisogynistic stuff in it. the whole joke with nirvana and the entire scene with the pink kids is based around transfems being predators and men in disguise. I really don't want to hang around other orv fans unless they're able to point that out. (also, i would Definitely not trust anyone who refers to those characters as trans icons or whatever.)

I'll also fully admit that I don't remember the revolutionary arc all that well. at the time when I first read it, I just simply assumed that jang hayoung was meant to be a trans woman, and any issues kim dokja had with recognizing her gender was interesting because of how it tied into the metafictional elements about how characters can change beyond a reader's perception. from my recollection, and from the readings of other people in my life who have read the novel, it seemed canon that she was intentionally transfem. similarly, I felt like the plot point of "yoo joonghyuk has a female alter ego" was taken pretty seriously, rather than being a meanspirited joke. if I'm not remembering that right, though, please let me know.

orv in general has a problem in depictions of lgbt people. there's the abovementioned transmisogyny with nirvana and the pink kids, and there's also the undeniable fact that "kim dokja and yoo joonghyuk are gay but haha Not Actually" is leaned on a little bit too much as a joke. I have a similarly complicated relationship to the idea of shipping them for that reason - I think their relationship is meaningful and rich, but I really dislike that the fandom seems to just take that joke as an uncritical BL trope, rather than discussing how it's sometimes a bit homophobic. again, I don't trust joongdok shippers who aren't able to discuss this.

at the same time, though, I do think that if you're aware of the problems in the text, it's possible to construct a lot of rich meaning out of applying queer lenses to the text. there's a lot to dig into regarding how the story depicts gender, for example, and how it depicts transcendence and self-actualization. you can't credit the authors here - like I said, their writing has several issues with lgbt people. but as long as you aren't advertising the story as Queer Fiction, I find that it's extremely valuable to discuss how a trans reading might cast an interesting light onto a character. and on a more personal level, I think having these sorts of open discussions about both the problems and merits of trans readings, as well as the issues present in a text, do tend to make a lot of trans people feel more welcome in fan spaces. both are necessary for making a story and space that may be hostile towards them feel more welcoming.

yes, I do agree that it would probably be better to read fiction with better trans characters. those stories are out there! this is also why I am wary to praise singshong for jang hayoung's character - I don't think orv exactly Deserves a reputation as a trans inclusive story, especially when there's a lot more of those that are much better at it out there.

but at the end of the day, there are going to be trans people who do like orv, all the same. I'm one of them, though I will say upfront that I am tme and therefore much less affected by the story's problems. my fiancee is transfem and she likes it. a lot of my mutuals who like orv are trans. I don't think it's such a bad thing that we've constructed these community readings in a work we already liked for its other merits. we're going to be here anyway. as long as we do our best to be respectful and point out problems as they arise, I think it's a good thing that we're having these sorts of discussions.

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

And now, it's time.

Day 5: Happy 5 Year Anniversary!

Wow. 5 years. I honestly can't believe that. Oh my GOSH that's long o.o. I went :O when I saw that when seeing advertising for the week.

I love this show so much (ignore me posting and editing to get it here before midnight for me lol). It's absolutely insane how long it's been. I started watching late in November, I believe, maaaaybe early December. We'd talked about getting Disney+, and I knew my family would find it silly but I was intrigued by a show called High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. A crazy title and a weird premise. I said I was just curious, fascinated by it, wondering what it would be like. So, one evening, my sister and I watched it.

We watched the first four episodes and laughed and made fun of it the whole time. But, miraculously, I found myself invested.

And the next episode.

In Season 1 Episode 5, they brought Seb and Carlos to us as a couple. I was shocked and happy, and honestly a little confused. I didn't know I was queer yet. I knew what queer was, had found out from my sibling surrounding some family stuff, but I'd never seen canon queer characters before. I guess I knew I was an ally, even if I didn't totally get why, but it was just so cool to see them. I honestly felt kind of weird because what did two gay high school boys mean to me, I was a straight girl!

Ha.

It wouldn't be for a couple more years that I would realize I was queer. I too fell victim to the "yeah, but I'm just an ally" trap lol. But I seriously fell in love with them. I remember my sibling and I loving how cute Carlos's little dance was, how excited he was. How devastated and in denial we were when Seb didn't show up. And how much we loved it when Carlos danced, and when Seb did show up :').

That solidified the show for me. That made me stay. They made me stay. They've meant the world to me ever since.

And since then, I have seen 33 amazing, wonderful episodes (just like the 5 before them lol). I've been angry, I've been sad, I've been in awe, I've been happy. I've seen myself represented not just in queer characters, but in theatre kids. In kids who are lonely and find family there. In kids who lived in a shadow, who were shy, who were thrust in and trusted by their teacher and director.

This show is silly. It does silly things, it has silly performances, it has silly jokes, silly unlikely things happen, and it's a silly premise. But I absolutely love it. I realized one day, after having seen someone mention "the One show that changed them forever", that mine was High School Musical The Musical The Series. Sounds silly, and I had to think about some of my more recent shows to figure it out. But it is. I remember scrolling through the tag, searching Seblos, before I even made a Tumblr account. Seeing things first after the finale of Season 1, deleted scenes pictures of Carlos giving Seb flowers. So many important moments for me were taken alongside step with HSMTMTS. Even though I barely post about it anymore (because so many interests catch my attention and I don't usually have much to say about it off the top of my head), it's still the 4th top "Posts a lot about" when you go to search on my blog. I think that says something. And I'm proud of it.

I haven't had a lot of interaction with the fandom during my time here, especially while the show was still running (and because I mainly stay in the Seblos tag, especially with remembering scrolling through all the Driver's License stuff before and when it first came out lol), but everyone means so much to me. Especially everyone still posting, still creating now. The fanfics, the art, the edits, and gifsets, everything is so important to me, and everything else. Thank you all <3. And thank you, when I did come, for being such an accepting place (at least the places I went to). Thank you guys for sticking around through this show, and even for just being here for a little while. Thanks for sticking with me, those that have :). And the friends I've made from this fandom and this show - you mean the world to me <3. Thank you all so much for everything you've done, everything that's made this show even more enjoyable :'). I love you all so much ❤️.

I love High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. And I'm proud and happy I do :).

Happy 5 Year Anniversary 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥰🥰🎊🎊🎉🎉🎂🎂🎂!!!!

[chirpsythismorning]

The fact that Noah tweeted about shipping Byler over anything during the pride month, specifically in in the "gay day" (July 3rd), was totally intentional. He and his team knew exactly what they were doing.

And the fact that a Netflix account juxtaposed it over a TikTok edit of their talk in Will’s room… I’m sure behind the scenes it was something along the lines of him being advised to do it and a graphic designer being advised to play around with it for one of their few very overt byler posts.

If the goal was to not lead people on with a queerbait that will never happen and with an audience that for the most part wasn’t open to it initially anyways, they failed.

If the goal was to hide in plain sight to get people warmed up to it bc they were scared no one in the audience was ready for this upcoming revelation, they succeeded.

What’s so hilarious is that antis discredit it bc it’s Noah and they hate Noah so anything he says or does they downplay or discredit pretty much entirely.

Like i remember seeing someone get so salty on Reddit in a post bc of Noah saying stuff on his lives recently. They were like UHH can he stop messing with people!! They have to convince themselves that he’s disrespectful and breaking the rules and completely unserious, to comfort their own doubts.

That’s also why Noah was sort of the perfect scapegoat for introducing most fans that are hoping for it now, to be open to it in the first place. Bc people that are open to the possibility, are going to see stuff he says and be intrigued. Whereas the bulk of hardcore antis are going to convince themselves it’s nothing deeper bc to them Noah has no importance beyond frustrating them, bc in their eyes his character ruined all milkvans scenes. All he’ll ever be to them is a nuisance that doesn’t know his place…

Let’s remember this is a multi-million dollar production. He wouldn’t be out here saying stuff over and over and over cryptically unless he was given permission to. He wouldn’t be met with silence at con’s when byler comes up, only to keep bringing it up more defensively, like they’re building that up so definitely ship that… that was so fucking obviously his first attempt at subtle damage control bc he was getting in person confirmation most fans were not ready for byler incoming. Why get defensive about it otherwise? He could have took that as an opportunity to avoid queer-bait allegations?

But now look where we are? All bc Noah couldn’t keep his mouth shut. And they HATE him for it.

And that tweet was the most obvious ploy of all. Yeah most will discredit it, but plenty will start looking deeper as a result of his very obvious byler advertising. And that has continued to snowball deeper ever since, to the point where milkvan isn’t even liked by the majority anymore while byler is being more and more acknowledged as a possibility every day.

[summeroflove-if]

Let's talk about the feedback I've received...

Every response was 100% anonymous, and most of what I've received is very helpful, so I just want to go through some of the stuff I've been told and what I'm implementing. And more responses are welcome.

Scene Length

46.2% of the people who have filled it out think that the scenes are just long enough, 38.5% of the people who have filled it out think they were too short, 7.7% of you said they were too long, and 7.7% of you essentially said 'most are just right, but some are too short.'

The breakfast scenes are mostly being extended, but it depends on who you're coupled up with and the choices you've made - for example, it's possible to have an argument with Anwar, so that part won't be extended for obvious reasons.

The bedtime scenes won't be extended on the first night (they're intended to be a little too short, indicated by the producers turning off the light too quick), but future bedtime scenes will be longer.

Choices

Most people are happy with the number of choices, but some people want more flirty choices and others want more reserved options, so there may be more options in future.

I would also like to note that I have coded scenes that are affected by the stats, but if no one is seeing those changes, then they're not strong enough (for example, Mattie can kiss MC instead of Vanessa in the challenge if MC's stats are a certain level).

I am working on a personality quiz for the beginning of the game, just to set a base level - it's very generic but does strongly set your stats so be intentional about your choices when it comes in.

Character Customisation

Some people want more customisation, which has partially been added - for example, someone wanted more transfeminine options, which has been included, but it's been put at the start, just after gender, so it's set from the beginning.

I have also added the option to set your height from between 5'1 and 6'4 - those numbers were picked so Mattie stays the shortest, and Theo remains the tallest. I have considered adding body types (slim, curvy, athletic, etc.) but other than being for flavour, it doesn't impact the game very much and I'm hesitant to add it when there are plenty of details I can already refer to.

Someone asked for piercing options, which are already in the public demo in the same place you decide whether to have tattoos.

Regarding the request for prosthetics or medical equipment, I sadly have to say no. I am a disabled, chronically ill person with a lot of experience with other disabled and chronically ill people, but I cannot make the adaptions needed in this case while doing justice to the game - it's just too complicated.

As said in the past, the Villa is wheelchair accessible, and there are staff on site to help in medical terms, so you are free to imagine your character as disabled and/or chronically ill, but I cannot write that.

Finally, I will not code the game to allow MC to be straight or gay. I appreciate where people are coming from, but the cast is advertised to be all bi - MC would not be allowed on the show unless they were into 2+ genders. You can lock yourself out of routes if you directly turn them down, so if you're not interested and you get the chance, just do that.

Other comments

There will be more alone time with your partner, but please remember you are only on the second day, so people are still learning about each other.

Secondly, you were supposed to couple up on first impressions, not based on any personality. Yes, you can chat with Anwar and Haoyu, but that's it for a reason - and even Haoyu thinks he's a bit nuts for asking to couple up with MC before meeting the others.

Finally, I'm not going to tell you who's truly interested in MC, who's just playing along, etc - the point is to find out for yourself. This means there will also be no POVs from the ROs perspective and I won't be answering the asks about it.

[actuallylorelaigilmore]

2022 MOVIE OF THE WEEK #37

magic mike. i truly did not expect this to be my final movie of the year. and considering how much i did not like it, it’s pretty funny in retrospect that it was. THIS was how i ended the year? with matthew mcconaughey’s tinsled butt?!?

to be fair to me, i was planning on watching step up after this one, because kayla and i had such a terrible time with it and she’d seen step up before and liked it, and i like dance movies--and i figured we’d maybe fit in even another movie besides. but step up was only available to rent, and i hate renting from amazon when they already charge a membership fee. so it’s on the ‘someday when it comes back to a streaming service list’ and instead i showed her work it (which i still adore as a modern classic teen dance flick).

anyway, this one was not even on my watchlist. but between seeing black panther 2 and the whitney houston biopic, i saw the magic mike 3 trailer twice, and since kayla was with me the second time and she agreed that salma hayek looked fun in it, we decided to give this a try and work our way to the third one. i remembered reading that the cast had been encouraged to improvise, and i knew channing tatum was in it and that i like him (mainly because i watched him and jenna dewan do lip sync battle together while still married, and she made me like him). i knew he was a good dancer, so while i had no need to watch him strip, i figured it’d be adjacent to a dance movie--which as we’ve established up there, i am a fan of in most cases. 

...this was not a dance movie. this movie had no dancing in it. i kept waiting to see channing tatum show off some level of his talent, but it was just a lot of really dull, slow dialogue, almost no plot until the end, and a bunch of dudes stripping. with a yellowed tint to the outdoor scenes that reminded me of california fire season except the movie was in florida. 

now, any reasonable person might ask, what did we expect, exactly, from a movie that is advertised as being about a bunch of men stripping? and yeah, okay, we were the dumb ones who expected some larger plot, good writing, really interesting choreography instead of just a lot of humping and writhing from half-naked actors. 

but so many of the actors are genuinely otherwise talented! this movie has MATT BOMER in it, you guys. he’s given NOTHING to do but he’s there! i was so disappointed. i don’t like joe manganiello but i know others do, and alex pettyfer was famous for a minute--he has the most plot in the movie, but not in a good way. part of how kayla and i convinced ourselves to someday watch magic mike 2 was looking up the plot and learning his character and matthew mcconaughey’s don’t return for it. (like tom hanks and stanley tucci, i just never need to see matthew mcconaughey play the bad guy. i love him too much.)

i do hope to survive the second film someday though, because a dancer @actuallylukedanes​ appreciates is in it, as well as amber heard, and since i  haven’t checked aquaman off my list, i’m still aspiring to see her in something. and i want to know if they let channing tatum dance more in the second one, or let matt bomer do something. besides be a sexy gay stripper man, because i’m not saying he was bad at that. he seemed like was having a blast in the first one. tbh all the guys did. this was clearly a bunch of talented actors enjoying themselves...it just wasn’t fun to watch. though it is now a fun story of our experience watching it! and that can be worth it too. 

one good thing i can say about watching this movie is that it meant i successfully watched 36 movies in 2022--which is more than i’ve watched in previous years of reviewing and checking them off my giant list. so here’s to a 2023 where i hopefully surpass even that. :)

[astralartefact]

Placeholder Name for Atarase's Media Diary

Entry 004 - Unicorn Overlord <<Prev: NieR Reincarnation

Synopsis

The drums of war are beating. No man can be trusted. What happened to Dorcas? (say it with me) I put poison in his mutton!

Once again I have been falsely advertised to and I will not forgive. (the names used are different since I played in german)

How much did I know before playing?

I played 13 Sentinels for what that's worth and I did play the demo extensively. I played it a month late but went out of my way not to get spoiled.

Also I play Fire Emblem sometimes? the game certainly feels inspired by that

Did I like it more than I expected?

I liked it about as much as I expected to like it, maybe even a little bit more!

Except for one thing, which I had only expected because several "news sites" have reported on it being in there - even providing lists! - only to find out it wasn't in it and that thing is...

Since I liked it, here's what I hated about it

So all that stuff about Male Romance for Alain was a fucking lie. Tell yourself whatever you want but I have higher standards than that - what's shown there is pretty explicitely not Romance, with Male Characters the Ring of the Maiden scenes are very much framed as Friendship Bracelet scenes.

And maybe I'm a little bit more heated at this than I should be, but as is tradition I had once again the patented Vanillaware pleasure of learning this by Surprise Mandated Romance as suddenly after several scenes of sweet and cute moments between him and Alain the guy I chose (gilbert) suddenly - without warning because I did not give a singular damn about Virginia (is that even her name) - announced his wedding to her in between two credit screens.

Like, I was fully okay with not a single blush moment, at this point I still thought this was their take at Male on Male-Romance and I was perfectly happy with what I got, mainly because it's just sadly common for japanese media to cut any intimacy from mlm relationships as soon as they're textually confirmed - but I also had no frame of reference for the other characters, so for all I knew the female ones were just also like that. I sincerely believed that when Alain told him that despite all those political reasons he also just really treasures Gilbert that that was supposed to be read as Romantic even if it was very toned down.

But welp. Vanillaware Surprise Mandated Romance strikes again. This is Sekigahara Ei all over again.

Spurted by this I then did my own research. I tried it with about 10 other guys after the ending - and I even inspected their epilogue overworld dialogue each time!!! - and all of them were very clearly just as non-romantic as Gilbert's, even Lex and Clive who I remembered front and center on those Romance Option lists. The best I got was Adel's epliogue dialogue (which is very cute ngl) and maybe Lex's as well, even though that one was just pretty much verbatim a "Hey, we have a good thing going here...", the vagueness of which doesn't really offset the "Yeah, but No Homo, right??" I had to sit through when giving him the ring right before.

Meanwhile I tried 2 (two) female options to see if it's the same for both genders and while one (Tatianna) was lightly implied to be romantic in the epllogue but mostly the same to the male ones the other one (Primm) was explicitly and overtly romantic. (which is also clearly indicated by blushing and i'm pretty sure only Adel ever blushed in one of the male ones)

It's just. Why? Why even include this if you don't go the whole way. You knew you couldn't or shouldn't just make it female only - but then why do it like this? Why is the Ring of the Maiden so clearly treated as a wedding ring with Girls and then "No Homo Bro, it's just a friendship bracelet with a weird name" with the Boys (and of course you need to make sure that people get how gay uncommon it is to give your friend a ring by pointing it out almost every time). Either you make it all Friendship Bracelets, all Wedding Rings or you make both equally mixed - which would have been more than fine with me too! - but not something stupid like this. and no i don't care if alain is 'supposed to be straight' alain isn't a real person and he's clearly supposed to be self-insertable, but I guess only for straight men

After Takatoshi in 13 Sentinels and now this I'm having some kind of feeling about how Vanillawear includes this stuff. Like it's nice that you're trying to think of these things, but... if this was a genuine attempt on your part then why did you think this was good?

I guess the reason I'm so upset is that the way the Ring is integrated into the story is so fucking cool?? And Gilbert was such a good choice for me to pick too because he fit right into the scene?? I legit didn't realize at first he was just there because of the Ring? And then after all that uwu sincerity I'm No Homo-ed in the credits by a surprise wedding because I guess I missed the moments where they mentioned their relationship... if they did at all (staring into space remembering 13sen, shaking my head at Ei x Iori being written the way it was)

Thank God that's the only thing I really hated about this game, but for another nitpick: I guess the Unit Promotions could have been flashier if they already aren't branching? i guess it's to save work because of the Animation Style but imo Fire Emblem does those better. With some of the promotions here you can't even really see any difference...

What did this game make me think about?

Nothing really in particular but I loved how relatively fresh the writing felt despite not being all that 'out there.' Like, on paper it's a relatively 'basic' story, I wouldn't call it groundbreaking or anything, but the way it is delivered and presented felt fresh, yeah, I think that's the best word to describe it.

Specific Impressions that will stick with me

The Ending Ring Scenes even if they were ruined for me a little bit afterwards q_q I didn't repeat those with other ring partners so maybe I should try it again with Adel and see if they're still as good

I love a game that lets me Sequence Break and I love that this game supports it so much that even the story still makes perfect sense if you do the segments out of the 'intended' order. You better believe I weaseled my way into Bastoria when I saw that there was only a high level fight stopping me from not going to the other regions first.

And whoever decided to let the Character Creator Mirror work on every single character deserves a fucking raise. I made them all look so pretty. Whoever you are, you're a visionary!!!

Outstanding Audio

I loved the Music in Elheim and the Night Music in Albion is really eerie it gave it such a good vibe. Also Drakenheim's final stage music.

Favorite Character

There were a lot of good ones... I loved Sanatio and Nigel. Also Yunifi and the Lion whose name I forgot.

Favorite Arc/Story Line

Albion and Bastoria

In general I loved how individually important the major Story Lines were! Every story line felt equally as valuable and impactful to the overall story, but all in their own unique way!

Favorite Set Piece

Elheim's Final Battle was really cool...! I really loved Elheim's Aesthetic as a whole, especially what we saw of the undercity...

I don't know what exactly I skipped doing it, but in Elheim's Final Stage if you take over the other exits before fighting the Boss, she bumps into your stationed unit while fleeing and I guess you skip a second battle? That's the Presence that Immersion and Suspension of Disbelief people should be talking about!!!

Favorite Scene

Again, the Ring Scenes in the True Ending really hit the spot... if you choose the right person that doesn't immediately break your trust q_q (gilbert found dead for breaking the pact)

Best Performance (I played with JP voices)

I love Sanatio's VA (Mutsumi Tamura) and as the entire reason why I like Sanatio (I was pretty sure that's just Okino again and I was right) I guess I'm obligated to mention her. apparently he's voiced by damien haas in english and i can't and won't even picture that lol (i looked it up and ouch what) (and that's not shade to the VA, that's casting shade, who thought this was a good fit)

Also Shout Out to Raenlys for using Yumi Hara's Mama Voice <3

German Localization Notes

Listen, I would love nothing more than to join in bitching about Unicorn Overlord's Localization because I, personally speaking, absolutely hate the verbose olden speech writing style FFXIV has made popular (and yes I'm specifically accussing them of being the source of that), not because it's wrong or because they aren't allowed to add in their own quirks, but simply because it sounds horrible, makes every character feel 13 existential planes removed and I just can't stand hearing it (my immersion!11)

But I played the game in german with JP VA and the german localization was pretty good :) It fit the tone perfectly without being as weirdly verbose as I saw the english version being. Also i think Gilbert used the word Hundesohn at one point and I gasped. There were some sentences that were translated in a weirdly literal way and a few spelling errors here and there that nobody caught, but it's a game with a lot of text so I'll forgive them that :)

The one thing I do not forgive is that they renamed DRAKENGARD. I HEARD THEM SAY IT SO OFTEN AND IT WAS LITERALLY CALLED THAT ON THE MAP Q_Q AND THE FIRST SETTLEMENT IS EVEN CALLED MIER!!!! it cant be a coincidence

Tangent, but I always remember one time I watched a stream of someone (NerineS00 but I think that was way back in the before times) and somebody asked her in the usual 'who would ever do that???' tone americans like to use in situations like that why she wasn't playing the game with english voices instead of japanese and she answered that english wasn't her first language so why should she, they're both equally foreign languages to her - and for some reason that really stuck with me? And somewhere along the line that thought turned into, yeah, why should I play a game in english if I can just play it in german? And the German Localization is hard work too - and yet nobody is ever standing up for them, the opposite actually, since it's much more apparent what's different from EN (much more DE people speak EN than JP) more people complain about things that actually don't really matter all that much out of some weird form of self hate.

Another place where that happened recently is Dungeon Meshi where the german voice acting (please. look up the german marcille meme thing) is like genuinely amazing - sure, it's probably not perfect by whatever metric people suddenly really care about but it's far removed from the "cheap german anime va" a lot of people still think "all german va" sounds like - and for some reason the rise in quality EN went through in the past years gives a lot of DE people this weird sense of bully pride to be "see, i'm cool bc i like good stuff and hate bad stuff!"

But whatever, clearly those people haven't thought that much about what they're doing - this is just me standing up for all the good German Localizations out there! A lot of you are doing a great job and I appreciate what you guys are doing :D

--- ENTERING THE PRETENTIOUS SECTION OF THIS ENTRY ---

What about this game gives me Hope for the future of gaming?

This game feels really well thought through and I hope Vanillaware manages to keep this momentum they have going. Because at its heart I feel like this game is relatively simple, it doesn't always need big complicated systems if you can just do something well thought through instead.

Also it feels much more like the good sort of inspiration where they took from games like Fire Emblem and Tactics Ogre while combining it with the Battle System from their own 13 Sentinels (at least that was what it felt like) - which feels like much more respectful and in the spirit of things than say Hoyoverse just taking whatever game is currently most popular and turning it into a Gacha Game to make boatloads of money.

What about this game makes me scared for the future of gaming?

So uh, Video Games Journalism, huh. Oh boy, I complain about the thing everybody is already complaining about anyways!

I guess I finally got a first hand account of how I was personally slighted by this infamous boogieman. I was told that this game had male romance because somebody didn't do their research and wrote that the Ring mechanic = Romance and even to this day, about 2-3 months after release, there are several "games journalism" websites (can you even call them that? but it's people writing articles, so... i guess?) still up spreading that knowledge.

And I guess we all know how that happened (Capitalism), but it's just...

Okay, to be honest, I felt so Journalistic doing my own research, testing out both male and female romance options (even though 2 female options clearly isn't nearly enough to get a general overview lol), I felt so thorough for even checking the Epilogue Snippets - as baby's first sleuthing as I realize it is, it made me kind of sad that that's not what Games Journalism is (of course on a larger scale), you know playing games, making observations, researching noticeable topics, criticism with a bigger personal stake than 'Is the big game everybody is talking about worth your money' - no, for all intents and purposes it's just... (Regurgitating) Game Announcements, Reviews and I guess Exposés on Working Conditions because yay capitalism

And those Reviews are their own whole point of discussion, aren't they. I distinctly remember when Cyberpunk came out that there was one female writer (going to be relevant) who dared to rate it a 7 or 8 (which at the time a few days before release was below average compared to the other review sites who mostly gave it 9-10) - and she clearly explained why, stating why she thought the game didn't go as far as she would have liked it to go - and Capital-G Gamers couldn't let that stand, calling her any sort of name (keep in mind the reviewer was a women, what does she even know about video games???), once again complaining that Video Game Criticism is a Joke because how dare this woman rate this game so low for attention. (which, as we all know by now, is very ironic given how those same people immediately turned on the game once they noticed they could use it as a punching bag instead, funny how that works)

The reason I remember that is that I read that review before seeing those comments and thought: Huh. That's actually a really helpful review because I totally get what she's talking about, clearly she has played games like this before - now I know better what to expect when getting into this game.

And I guess I never truly cared about Games Journalism as a topic of discussion because - well, to be real - I just don't really care about the "State of the Industry" all that much lol sry BUT ALSO looking at what they're mostly criticized for, no matter what they do they'll never be able to do it "right" even if they try their best. And wouldn't you know it I think it's actually the Gamers who are to blame.

I think a lot of people have a weird relationship to this ecosystem we find ourselves in. I think, and this is a wild pull, a lot of problems we have with Video Game Journalism is that even Gamers don't actually consider Video Games Art, even though they are, right, i thought we all agreed after all we need to tell ourselves non-gamers that so we don't think of what we're doing as wasting our time they take our hobby seriously

But if video games are Art (and my point is that I sincerely think they are) then they can't be wrong (and they also can't be right either) (i don't feel like explaining that in detail rn but trust me bro) and a lot of Gaming Culture is centered primarily around the fact that Video Games can certainly be made wrong and shouldn't. And the resulting antagonism Gamers have developed towards "flaws" and their entitlement to unrestricted ""criticism"" because, well, it's in their right as they have paid money for a product and therefore it's their right that the product they bought should be flawless! But since you will never find anything without problems this situation is an unsolvable ouroboros that swallows the horizon.

The Ramble Section where I get to actually talk about what I thought about

So, uh, Vanillaware, what's going on with your Sexual Dimorphism? I can't help but notice that all of the female units are pretty uniformly waifu material while the male units 'are allowed' to display a much more pronounced bodily diversity that isn't centered around being pleasing to look at? (Most egregious example are imo the Hammer Units lol)

Doesn't help that your armor design is also... uhh... sparse at times. Whatever you think the Fox Warrior's... panty metal is doing - it's not doing that. It honestly would have been better from a visual stand point if she just didn't wear anything down there.

I also grew frustrated that so many male generic units have their faces hidden - meanwhile pretty much none of the female units wear helmets... Curious. It's once again as if a video game developer couldn't fathom that anyone might want to look at men in the same way men look at women. Wonder why that might be.

Actually, not to get back to that mess but that's also part of my Gilbert problem - I only even chose Gilbert in the first place because there are barely any 'hot and dateable' male characters like Clive or Gilbert compared to the female side of things where... it's pretty much every single one. Huh.

[adultswim2021]

Aqua Teen Hunger Force #73: “Reedickyoulus” | February 10, 2008 - 11:45PM | S06E04

I hate when Shake kills the kitty!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This episode is about Carl being very gross and using a masturbation machine that is so radioactive that it makes him take gold, glowing shits. Carl has begun taking these shits in the Aqua Teens’ yard on account of them melting his toilet. The radiation from the shits causes the very large pet graveyard in the Aqua Teens’ yard (because Shake) to become irradiated, eventually causing a zombie pet outbreak. 

This one starts out with Shake cruelly microwaving Meatwad’s cat, and it’s maybe my least favorite moment of the show. I literally put off watching this episode until mere hours before press time because I just wasn’t in the mood to watch that scene. It’s pretty grim, but it’s not quite as bad as it could be. This moment does serve the story in a somewhat satisfying way: I remember watching this episode with my friend and the moment the zombie pets swarm Shake and start shoving him in the microwave made us cheer, honest to god. 

Unfortunately the episode sorta peters out after that, and Shake doesn’t REALLY get his comeuppance. He winds up having a sexual adventure with the pets, and becomes zombified himself. He’s a man of pure id, and his short-sightedness fuels his life of hedonism. Frylock and Meatwad get blown up at the end because of the gas leak in the house (which has so far been a constant this season) and Shake winds up taking a bus to nowhere-in-particular like Enid at the end of Ghost World, except, you know, it’s a party bus with gay zombified gorillas on it. 

This one gets flack for the one scene, but in the grand scheme of things it’s a rather average episode. I sorta wish the ending were entirely focused on the zombie pets torturing Shake. This one would have made a great Halloween episode. Honestly, I think the more brutal aspects of the story would’ve gone down easier if this aired advertised as a Halloween episode. This is the first “real” episode of the show since the Marcula arc concluded, and this is the first episode where the show returns to it’s status quo, and they really put their most abrasive foot forward with it’s opening scene. In some perverse way, I sorta respect it. 

[moonlit-lake-sys]

I posted 170 times in 2022

That's 170 more posts than 2021!

75 posts created (44%)

95 posts reblogged (56%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@outofcontextdiscord

@moonlit-artwork

@frenreyofficial

@chaoticportalfan

@moonlit-lake-sys

I tagged 170 of my posts in 2022

#-💖 - 156 posts

#reblog - 84 posts

#hlvrai - 70 posts

#my art - 42 posts

#benrey - 41 posts

#fav - 38 posts

#other people's art - 37 posts

#half-life - 29 posts

#ships - 28 posts

#memes - 23 posts

Longest Tag: 103 characters

#seeing an intergalactic businesses man staring at tumblr memes absolutely puzzled is a great experience

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Collab I did with @frenreyofficial of @melonsharks Twitch AU :]

(dialogue written by @mossier-tendencies)

578 notes - Posted September 2, 2022

#4

Compilation of Pyro sitting like That™

See the full post

630 notes - Posted November 30, 2022

#3

Wanted to make an animatic of one of my favorite HLVRAI scenes.

[Transcript below]

Gordon: Yes! Now, you need to—

Coomer: Well! Good luck in the chamber!

Gordon: Oh my God, you can't do this. There's no one else here! Where are you going to go? This is empty! It's just me, you, and Benrey!

Benrey: Wha..?

Gordon: You heard that-?

Coomer: Do you hear something?

Gordon: Yes!

Coomer: Hm.

Gordon: Coomer, I will- I will do anything. I will- I will give you all my PlayCoins™️, I will give you every PlayCoin™️ I get for the foreseeable future. I will do anything! You have to send me back. I know you can, I know you, Dr. Coomer!

Coomer: He- h- he- ... he- he ... h- ... I remember. Come along now, Gordon!

721 notes - Posted July 2, 2022

#2

Just saw Strange World, and honestly, I only had one gripe with it. But it's also a huge one.

Disney? You didn't fucking market this thing. At all. My mom is a HUGE Disney fan and she didn't know about the movie's existence until two days ago when I showed her the trailer.

I went to a theater to see this movie. I went with my mom and one of my brothers. There were maybe around 4 or 5 other people in the entire room. That's it. And this theater isn't small by any means. It's an Emagine. It's a good place.

Sure, it's a late Wednesday night and Thanksgiving is tomorrow, but COME ON. Less than 10 people in the theater? Are you joking?

It's clear to me that this movie was poorly advertised due to its actually good and inclusive rep. An interracial couple, who has a gay teenage son. Their son being gay isn't a lil thing that's mentioned once, it's brought up multiple times and it is more than clear that the son is crushing on another boy. It's treated no different from any other relationship.

Disney, good on you for having a main character be canonically gay and have it be very clear, but also not in-your-face the whole time. You made an actually good queer character.

But Disney? Fuck you for this lack of marketing. You wanted to see this movie fail. If it does, I'll never be over it.

Either way, I'd recommend this movie. I loved watching it tonight. Definitely gonna rewatch it sometime.

732 notes - Posted November 24, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

763 notes - Posted July 2, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[opinated-user]

I don’t understand, not defending Lily, but why would Disney payed people to advertise “LOOK WE HAVE A GAY CHARACTER” but literally bearly on anything else to undermine it

While yes, they could be paying, you have to remember that Disney is so big, that everything they do, someone is probably watching and already writing or wrote something about it, no matter how big or small for the clicks

consider the timing of when any article like that were published, barely before the movie was already out on the same weekend where one of Disney biggest franchise (Wakanda forever) was going to be out in the cinema. this movie was barely given any help as it was and then it was put to compete against a Marvel movie fans have been waiting for years? there's no way that's fair. think too about all other ocassion in which "first openly gay disney character" happened to be announced. it wasn't just one article, it was a lot of them at once, all talking about how "one source" (we're talking about the same company that didn't even let actors to know the full story of what movie they were doing to avoid spoilers, does it sound reasonable to think they'd let "a source" to babbler everything without their okay?) telling all about this character and reminding people to go watch the movie. what's the difference between then and now? as you should know, that all those "openly gay characters" were easily forgettable with scenes of merely seconds, didn't even had any lines, were edited out entirely or you'd only know they were gay at all because someone said so. but with strange world they can't do that so they have to keep quiet enough while at the same time pretend like they care. why bother at that point, you might ask. because they're queerphobic but they did wanted some kind of profit, so they bet on those pinkwashed dollars to come give them something for the trouble while the rest of their more conservative audience ignores it completely and the loud rest goes on about how kids shouldn't be watching it at all because it has gays on it. they're playing to both teams, so to speak, but it's pretty clear where their favourites ultimately are and it's not with the queers. disney only wants from us our money, but the less they have to see us or hear from us all the better so it doesn't ruin their "all family friendly" brand. as to why make the movie at all if they never planned to let it succeed... i don't know. with treasure planet we find out later that disney was practically strong armed by their biggest animators into letting them do the movie, after they already gave disney it's renaissance, so the company didn't want to make the movie in the first place and then did nothing to advertise it either. maybe a similar situation like that happened here or something else entirely. i guess we won't ever know until the creators come out to reveal what happened. i just think that assuming that the queer content on the movie had nothing to do with this treatment is absurd, considering all the other times that Disney has indeed do it's best to hide queer content and it was only the employees insisting that allowed that rep to exist at all. what we do for sure know is that those kind of articles are good publicity for the kind of people who even cares about gay characters existing, be it for better or for worse, and Disney has let Strang World down in a way they haven't done since... Treasure Planet. the dots are all there, LO just refuses to make the connection.

[chaos0pikachu]

I am one of those people who didn’t care for SU in that I never bothered watching the show b/c I don’t watch much kids animation. Nothing against it, I had plenty of colleagues who work in kids and adult animation (pray for them they strugglin right now) and have nothing but respect for their hard work. Kids cartoons are just not something I find myself interested and less so when you know how the sausage is made and who gets access to even making these shows. 

The inside stuff I know about Voltron - also a historically awful fandom where it’s strides and behind the scenes struggles are overshadowed by said awful discourse driven fandom - is actually pretty fucking depressing. Knowing some base things I know distantly about kids animation and the studios that produce these shows is pretty depressing. 

What people tend not to understand is art is not created in some creative freedom vacuum. Everything is always, always, always subject to profit interests by the company that owns the IP. Especially in today’s world of streaming platform wars, studios, publishers, etc are really tight about their IP, their branding, their profits. 

I’ve never watched SU so I’m unaware of the context, but I remember seeing discourse about Steven not killing an antagonist character. Which I thought was a pretty bonkers thing to be upset about in a children’s cartoon show. It’s pretty known in the industry that you don’t have your protagonist kill another character. Violence has to be limited, any deaths need to be off screen and implied - at most - you can see this small shift in Legend of Korra (which was always aimed at an older audience that something like SU) when it moved to Disney XD and streaming online. And even then “death” was still happening off screen and only implied. 

This is often b/c studios don’t want to get dinged by parent groups, or cable watchdogs who rate their shows, or advertisers who want to advertise x, y, z kids product and they can’t do that if your hero is killing other characters! 

Art, at least mainstream art, is not created in a vacuum. It is always, always, always beholden to corporate interests. If it can be sold, it can be controlled, subjected to censorship, changes, reformulated, repackaged, and repurposed. 

There’s people, millionaires and billionaires who have their fingers dipped into the tides of various media who can make a quick call and go “actually, I think this gay couple should be a straight couple instead” and the people making the thing? The showrunners, or writers, or animators? Will do that. Because they have to. Because they do not own the thing more often than not. 

Some might ask, well then why did THIS show get to do THIS then? Well that comes down to intension, marketing, merch, studio, and timing. Legend of Korra was released in 2012 to 2014, Steven Universe from 2013 to 2019 (with a film in 2020), Voltron was 2016 to 2018, She-Ra was 2018 to 2020, and Owl House was 2019 to 2023 (it’s on it’s last season currently). The strides made in terms of time is really important here. But also the political climate as well. 

There’s a lot of factors that go into a shows direction, it’s not all just the showrunners - unless their people with proven track records of bringing in ratings, talent, critical acclaim and profit like the Shonda Rhimes or Ryan Murphys of the TV world, or the James Cameron’s and Christopher Nolan’s of the film world - it’s producers and studio execs who have say as well. Harvey Weinstein was notorious for being meddling in film productions that he felt invested in. 

Anyway this got away from me TLDR: most people in fandom don’t know how media is created, and how beholden (most) creators are to their investors/studios/producers who are always, always always, interested in profit over creativity. 

I don't care if people enjoy Steven Universe.

I care that Steven Universe was subject to aggressively homophobic censorship, which is a genuine fucking social justice issue, and nobody cares because as long as something is "cringey" it's free-game to be homophobic toward, apparently.

There existed a children's television show that got cancelled over its inclusion of a lesbian wedding, and instead of being remembered as a victim of homophobic censorship, or as a historical milestone that allowed the production of other queer shows like She-Ra and The Owl House, it gets remembered as nothing but a bad discourse generating fandom.

And that really fucking chaps my ass as someone who studies queer media.

[queeryouthassemble]

"Big thanks to Vienna, August, Bryce, Jesse, Nathaniel, and so many of our other Racial Justice & Advertising Department contributors for helping us with this statement. We apologize to the QYA community for not taking action on O'Shae's murder previously, but these folks have and continue to work with us to make sure we are kept accountable, informed, and involved."

- Lee, Head of Racial Justice

[ID: A square post with a red box covering the upper third of the square. All-caps white and black text reads "O'Shea Sibley & Why Black Queer Lives Matter." Below the text is an image of Sibley, a Black queer man, who has dark facial hair and earrings. Behind his head are flowers. The photo is edited to appear folded and vintage. Overlaying the photo is white all-caps text with a black highlight effect, which reads "Trigger warning: the following content discusses topics surrounding racist, Islamophobic, and homophobic violence. Please read at your own discretion." End ID.]

[ID: A square post with a red box covering the upper two-thirds of the page. An all-caps black heading reads "lets talk about it..." Below that, smaller white text reads "On July 29, 2023 O'Shae Sibley was with a group of friends at a gas station filling up his car and joyfully voguing to a Beyoncé song when a group of teenage boys verbally attacked him with homophobic and anti-Black slurs. O’Shae was then brutally assaulted and repeatedly stabbed by one of the boys. He was pronounced dead upon arrival at the Maimonides Medical Center. O'Shae Sibley was a 28-year-old Brooklyn resident, known for his presence in the New York City vogue and ballroom scenes. He regularly performed in the "vogue femme" category and was a beloved and active member of his communities. Shortly after O'Shae's death, crowds joined together for a heartfelt memorial at Pier 46, to commemorate his memory and love of dance. "Just a ball of light. Just like he was. I want him to be remembered just the way he was." * A line of the text towards the bottom, indicated by an asterisk, reads "A statement from Jake Kelly, O'Shae's father." At the bottom of the page, covering the lower third, is an image of flowers and a sign from a memorial for Sibley. The sign has a sketch of him, and text reads "I'm too classy for this world — forever I'm that girl." End ID.]

[ID: A square post, with a red box covering the upper half of the page. Small white text in the box reads "O'Shae's death has since sparked a strong and powerful response from members of the Black LGBTQ+ and ballroom communities. Protests across the nation have been organized to honor O'Shae's legacy by voguing at gas stations, vigils, and memorials. “I think it’s an opportunity for everyone to really come together in different spaces, in different states, in different areas because it could have happened to any one of us.” * Lines of text towards the bottom, indicated by an asterisk, reads "*A statement from Dashuan Wesley, Co-Organizer of an L.A. vigil for O'Shae & a leader in the L.A. ballroom community" In the lower half of the post is an image from a vigil for Sibley, with people clapping, dancing/voguing, and a person holding a sign that reads "Black Gay Lives Matter." End ID.]

[ID: A square post with a red box covering slightly more than the upper half of the page. A black all-caps heading reads "let's be clear..." Below that, a slightly smaller, all-caps yellow heading reads "authentic expressions of our existences are not invitations to perpetuate violence." Underneath that, smaller white text reads "O'Shae's murder was neither an act of self-defense, invitation to incite anti-Islamic violence, nor an excuse to politicize Black queer deaths. O'Shae Sibley's death results from white, patriarchal, and heteronormative supremacy." At the bottom of the page is an image from Sibley's vigil, near the gas station, with a picture of his face being held by people dressed in white. End ID.]

[ID: A red square post, with a black all-caps heading which reads "our lives should not be jeopardized by bigotry." Below that, smaller white text reads "Our culture fosters the dehumanization of Black men and Black LGBTQ+ lives. Without deliberate and sustaining efforts to combat anti-queerness and racism, we'll continue to lose our siblings to hate. The current societal and political climate have cultivated a dangerous environment, especially for queer & trans individuals, particularly those who are people of color. We refuse to accept this as the status quo." At the bottom of the page, centered, all-caps, yellow text reads "O'Shae Sibley's murder will not go in silence." End ID.]

[ID: Red square post, with a black all-caps heading reading "silence kills. QYA is committed to fighting for BIPOC liberation." Below that, smaller white text reads "Queer Youth Assemble's previous silence on the murder of O’Shae Sibley reflects and reinforces the existing oppressive status quo against Black queer & trans folks, and other communities of color. Complacency will never secure racial justice." In the bottom right of the page, white and yellow underlined text reads "We will hold ourselves, the media, and our communities accountable. We need to do better in the fight for all LGBTQ+ lives. We stand with the Black, Muslim, and Ballroom communities as well as the friends & family of O'Shae Sibley." In the bottom left of the page is an illustrated graphic of a Black androgynous person with a solemn expression, holding a sign that reads "Black LGBTQ Lives Matter." They have a green collared shirt and pink triangle earrings. End ID.]

[ID: Red square post with a black all-caps heading that reads "how can I help?" Below that are three numbered items, with the first line written in larger yellow text, and subsequent lines in smaller yellow text: "1. Contact Your Local Ballroom Houses Reach out to ballroom houses in and around your community to find ways to get involved and support them. 2. Stay Educated on Black Ballroom Culture Learn about the contributions of ballroom culture to the LGBTQ+ movement, and its connection to Black queer & trans existences in our expansive communities. 3. Support or Start a Local Protest The ballroom and LGBTQ+ community have come together nationwide, organizing various events to build resistance and honor O'Shae Sibley's memory. Be on the lookout for events near you, or reach out to QYA to start your own!" End ID.]

[ID: A red square post with an all-caps heading that reads "where can I donate?" Below that are three numbered items, with the first line written in larger yellow text, and subsequent lines in smaller yellow text: 1. O'Shae Sibley's Official Family Fund Jake Kelly, O'Shae's father, started a GoFundMe to raise money to cover the costs of his services and support the family during this time. Check out the link in our bio. 2. Ballroom, We Care Inc. Ballroom, We Care Inc. is an NYC-based non-profit dedicated to providing mental health resources and other forms of support to the Ballroom community. 3. NYC Anti-Violence Project The Anti-Violence Project is an NYC-based organization empowering the LGBTQ+ and HIV-affected communities to abolish all forms of violence through comprehensive support systems." In the bottom right, partially off the page, is an illustrated Black person, drawn from the upper leg up, with a solemn expression. They have just-above shoulder length twists with gold charms, grey glasses, a blue collared shirt with pink flowers, over a white t-shirt, and light blue jeans. End ID.]

[ID: A red square post with an all-caps black heading that reads "sources." Below that are two columns of sources, with the source name in yellow all-caps text, and the link in small white italic text. The first column reads, from top to bottom, "AMERICAN PROGRESS https://www.americanprogress.org/article/widespread-discrimination-continues-shape-lgbt-peoples-lives-subtle-significant-ways/ NEW YORK TIMES https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/31/nyregion/stabbing-gas-station-brooklyn.html GLAAD https://glaad.org/releases/glaad-statement-on-the-murder-of-oshae-sibley-and-rising-violence-against-lgbtq-people-across-the-us/ THEM. https://www.them.us/story/oshae-sibley-alleged-killer-not-muslim" The second column reads, also from top to bottom, "LOS ANGELES TIMES https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-08-05/oshae-sibley-death-la-protest-gas-station-vogue CBS NEW YORK https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/oshae-sibley-death-suspect-charged-murder-hate-crime/ AP NEWS https://apnews.com/article/dancer-stabbed-hate-crime-brooklyn-gas-station-70e34e697d44b22c647cb7139030adf5 https://apnews.com/article/oshae-sibley-funeral-philadelphia-dancer-stabbed-dadfe8a5835e37d94d87caede58d8a6e" End ID.]

[mpmcorner]

Anderson Lee Aldrich: What we know about suspect in the Colorado Springs shooting.

What we know about Anderson Lee Aldrich, the alleged Colorado Springs Club Q shooter Anderson Lee Aldrich: What we know about suspect in the Colorado Springs shooting A suspect has been detained following the mass shooting on November 19 in Colorado Springs, which left five people dead and 18 more hurt. At 11.57 p.m., police officers arrived on the site after 911 dispatchers got "several" calls reporting an active shooter inside the club. Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, was identified as the shooter by Colorado Springs Police early on Sunday. He was admitted to the hospital with unknown wounds. Club Q described the assault as a hate crime and claimed it was "devastated" by it. An event featuring drag queens that started at 9 p.m. and was scheduled to end at 2 a.m. was where the shooting occurred.

Who is the Colorado Springs shooting suspect Anderson Lee Aldrich?

On Sunday morning, Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, was identified as the alleged shooter. The culprit was apprehended on the spot and taken to the hospital with unidentified injuries. Aldrich entered the club and started firing a long rifle, according to Colorado Springs Police Deputy Chief Adrian Vasquez, before being tackled by onlookers. At the scene, two firearms were found. There hasn't yet been a motive identified.

How did the shooting unfold?

The shooting happened following "Delusions," a punk and alternative drag performance staged by actor Del Lusional, at Club Q. The event started at 9 o'clock, then a DJ spun tunes from 11 o'clock till 2 a.m. Just before midnight, there was a report of gunfire, and police flocked to the area. "I heard the gunshots while I was backstage. In a tweet, Del Lusional stated, "I only saw the after math and even then, I didn't want to look. The singer wrote: "I never dreamed this would happen to me and my bar," in another post. What should I do with myself? The gunfire is unavoidable in my ears. According to a witness who talked with Colorado Public Radio, one victim fled the scene for a neighbouring 7-Eleven where they both passed out. One of the victims had been shot seven times when he ran over here in an effort to seek assistance. "He fell down. That warning tape is there at the front for a reason. People within the facility allegedly assisted in stopping the shooter, according to a Facebook post on the club. A statement on the club's Facebook page reads, "Our and thoughts are with all the victims and their families and friends." We appreciate the brave patrons' swift efforts in tackling the shooter and putting an end to this hate crime. 11 ambulances and more than 30 firefighters arrived on the site, and ambulances transferred three victims at a time to nearby hospitals. Also read: How did Jean Marie Straub die? Cause of death – revealed. Police spokesperson Lt Pam Castro refused to speculate on a motive during an early morning press briefing, stating that "the inquiry is in the very early stages." The number of fatalities and injuries, Lt. Castro continued, "may alter as the inquiry progresses." The Colorado Springs Police Department's inquiry is being helped by the FBI as well. The killing occurred only days before Sunday's International Transgender Day of Remembrance, when activities are held all over the world to mourn and remember transgender people who have died as a result of violence. The shooting in Colorado Springs was certain to have a unique impact on Sunday's activities. According to its website, the gay and lesbian nightclub Club Q presents a Drag Diva Drag Show every Saturday. On top of the drag show, Club Q advertised a Sunday "all ages brunch" and a "punk and alternative event" that would be followed by a birthday dance party. The shooting brought back memories of the 49-person tragedy that occurred in 2016 at the Pulse LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Read the full article

[c-is-for-circinate]

For a long, large part of my life, being queer in a media landscape--finding queerness in a media landscape--has meant theft.

I'm a Fandom Old, somehow, these days, older than most and younger than some, in that way that's grown associated with grumpy crotchetyness and shotguns on porches and back in my day, we had to wade through our Yahoo Groups mailing lists uphill both ways, boring and irrelevant anecdotes from Back In Those Days when homophobia clearly worked differently than it does now, probably because we weren't trying hard enough. I've seen a lot of stories through the years. I've read a lot of fanfic. (More days than not, for the past twenty years. I've read a lot of fanfic.)

When people my age start groaning and sighing at conversations about representation and queerbaiting, when we roll our eyes and drag all the old war stories out again in the face of AO3 is terrible and Not Good Enough, so often what we say is: you Young Folks Today have no idea how hard, how scary, how limiting it was to be queer anywhere Back In Those Days. Including online, maybe especially online, including in a media landscape that hated us so much more than any one you've ever known. And that is true. Always and everywhere, again and again, it's true, we remember, it's true.

We don't talk so much about the joy of it.

Online fan spaces were my very first queer communities, ever. I was thirteen, I was fourteen, I was fifteen--I was a lonely, over-precocious "gifted kid" two years too young for my grade level in an all-girls' Catholic school in the suburbs--I lived in a world where gay people were a rumor and an insult and a news story about murder. I was straight, of course, obviously, because real people were straight and anyway I was weird enough already--I couldn't be two things strange, couldn't be gay too, but--well, I could read the stories. I could feel things about that. I would have those stories to help me, a few years later, when I knew I couldn't call myself straight any more.

And those stories were theft. There was never any doubt about that. We wrote disclaimers at the top of every fic, with the specter of Anne Rice's lawyers around every corner. We hid in back-corners of the internet, places you could only find through a link from a link from a link on somebody else's recs page, being grateful for the tiny single-fandom archives when you found them, grateful for the webrings where they existed. It was theft, all of it, the stories about characters we did not own, the videotaped episodes on your best friend's VHS player, one single episode pulled off of Limewire over the course of three days.

It was theft, we knew, to even try and find ourselves in these stories to begin with. How many fics did I read in those days about two men who'd always been straight, except for each other, in this one case, when love was stronger than sexual orientation? We stole our characters away from the heterosexual lives they were destined to have. We stole them away from writers and producers and TV networks who work overtime to shower them in Babes of the Week, to pretend that queerness was never even an option. This wasn't given to us. This wasn't meant for us. This wasn't ours to have, ever, ever in the first place. But we took it anyway.

And oh, my friends, it was glorious.

We took it. We stole. And again and again, for years and years and years, we turned that theft into an art. We looked for every opening, every crack in every sidewalk where a little sprout of queerness might grow, and we claimed it for our own and we grew whole gardens. We grew so sly and so skilled with it, learning to spot the hints of oh, this could be slashy in every new show and movie to come our way. Do you see how they left these character dynamics here, unattended on the table? How ripe they are for the pocketing. Here, I'll help you carry them. We'll make off with these so-called straight boys, and we only have to look back if somebody sets out another scene we want for our own.

We were thieves, all of us, and that was fine and that was fair, because to exist as queer in the world was theft to begin with. Stolen time, stolen moments--grand larceny of the institution of marriage, breaking and entering to rob my mother's hopes for grandchildren. Every shoplifted glance at the wrong person in the locker room (and it didn't matter if we never peeked, never dared, they called us out on it anyway). Every character in every fic whose queerness became a crime against this ex-wife, that new love interest. Every time we dared steal ourselves away from the good straight partners we didn't want to date.

And: we built ourselves a den, we thieves, wallpapered in stolen images and filled to the brim with all the words we'd written ourselves. We built ourselves a home, and we filled it with joy. Every vid and art and fic, every ship, every squee. Over and over, every straight boy protagonist who abandoned all womankind for just this one exception with his straight boy protagonist partner found gay orgasms and true love at the end.

Over and over, we said: this isn't ours, this isn't meant to be ours, you did not give this to us--but we are taking it anyway. We will burglarize you for building blocks and build ourselves a palace. These stories and this place in the world is not for us, but we exist, and you can't stop us. It's ours now, full of color and noise, a thousand peoples' ideas mosaic'ed together in celebration. We made this, and it will never be just yours again. You won't ever truly get it back, no matter how many lawyers you send, not completely. We keep what we steal.

.

Things shifted over time, of course. That's good. That's to be celebrated. Nobody should have to steal to survive. It should not be a crime, should not feel like a crime, to find yourself and your space in the world.

There were always content creators who could slip a little wink in when they laid out their wares, oh what's this over here, silly me leaving this unattended where anybody could grab it, of course there might be more over by the side door if you come around the alleyway (but if anybody asks, you didn't get this from ME). We all watched Xena marry Gabrielle, in body language and between the lines. We sat around and traded theories and rumors about whether the people writing Due South knew what they were doing when they sent their buddy cops off into the frozen north alone together at the end of the show, if they'd done it on purpose, if they knew. But over the years, slowly, thankfully, the winks became less sly.

A teenage boy put his hand on another teenage boy's hand and said, you move me, and they kissed on network TV, in a prime-time show, on FOX, and the world didn't burn down. Here and there, where they wanted to, where they could without getting caught by their bosses and managers, content creators stopped subtly nudging people around the back door and started saying, "Here. This is on offer here too, on purpose. You get to have this, too."

And of course, of course that came with a whole host of problems too. Slide around to the back door but you didn't get this from me turned into it's an item on our special menu, totally legit, you've just got to ask because the boss throws a fit if we put it out front. Shopkeepers and content creators started advertising on the sly, come buy your fix here!, hiding the fine print that says you still have to take what you've purchased home and rebuild it with your semi-legal IKEA hacks. Maybe they'll consider listing that Destiel or Sterek as a full-service menu item next year. Is that Crowley/Aziraphale the real thing or is it lite?

And those problems are real and the conversations are worth having, and it's absolutely fair to be frustrated that you can't find the ship you want on sale in anything like your color and size in a vast media landscape packed full of discount hetships and fast-fashion m/f. It's fair to be angry. It's fair to be frustrated. Queerbait is a word that exists for a reason.

There's a part of me that hurts, though, every time the topic comes up. It's a confusing, bad-mannered part of me, but it's still very real. And it's not because I'm fawning for crumbs, trying to be the Good, Non-Threatening Gay. It's not that I'm scared and traumatized by the thought of what might happen if we dare raise our voices and ask for attention. (Well. Not mostly. I'll always remember being quiet and scared and fifteen, but it's been a long two decades since then. I know how to ask for a hell of a lot more now.)

It's because I remember that cozy, plush-wallpapered den of joyful thieves. I remember you keep what you steal.

Every single time--every time--when a story I love sets a couple of characters out on a low, unguarded table, perfectly placed to be pilfered on the sly and taken home and smushed together like a couple of dolls, my very first thought is always, always joy. Always, that instinct says, yay! Says, this is ours now. As soon as I go home and crawl into that pillow-fort den, my instincts say, I will surely find people already at work combing through spoils and finding new ways to combine them, new ways to make them our own. I know there's fic for that. I've already seen fic for that, and I wasn't really interested last time, but the new store display's got my brain churning, and I can't wait to see what the crew back at the hideout does with this.

Every time, that's where my brain goes. And oh, when I realize the display's put out on purpose, that somebody snuck in a legitimate special menu item, when the proprietor gives me the nod and wink and says, you don't have to come around the side, I know it's not much but here--there is so much joy and relief and hope in me from that! Oh, what we can make with these beautiful building blocks. Oh what a story we can craft from the pieces. Oh, the things we can cobble together. Look at that, this one's a little skimpy on parts but we can supplement it, this one's got a whole outline we can fill in however we want. This one technically comes semi-preassembled, and that's boring as shit and a pain to take back apart, but that's fine, we'll manage. We're artists and thieves. I bet someone's pulling out the AU saw to cut it to pieces already.

And then I get back to our den, which has moved addresses a dozen times over the years and mostly hangs out on Tumblr now (and the roof leaks and the landlord's sketchy as fuck but at least they don't charge rent, and we've made worse places our own). And I show up, ready for joy--ready for a dozen other people who saw that low-hanging fruit on that unguarded table, who got the nod and wink about the special menu item, who're ready to get so excited about this newest haul. Did you see what we picked up? The theft was so easy, practically begging to be stolen. The last owner was an idiot with no idea what to do with it. The last owner knew exactly what it could become, bless their heart, under a craftsman with more time on their hands, so they looked away on purpose at just the right time to let me take it home. I show up every time ready for our space, the place that fed me on joy and self-confidence when I was fifteen and starving. The place that taught me, yes, we are thieves, because it is RIGHT to take what we need, and the beautiful things we create are their own justification. We are thieves, and that's wonderful, because nothing is handed to us and that means we get to build our own palaces. We get to keep everything we steal.

I go home, and even knowing the world is different, my instincts and heart are waiting for that. And I walk in the door, and I look at my dash, and I glance over at twitter, and--

And people are angry, again. Angry at the slim pickings from the hidden special menu. So, so tired and angry, at once again having to steal.

And they're right to be! Sometimes (often, maybe) I think they're angry at the wrong people--more angry with the shopkeeper who offers the bite-sized sampler platter of side characters or sneaks their queer content in on the special menu than the ones who don't include it at all. But it's not wrong to be mad that Disney's once again advertising their First Gay Character only to find out it's a tiny sprinkle of a one-line extra on an otherwise straight sundae. It's not wrong to be furious at the world because you've spent your whole life needing to be a thief to survive. It's far from wrong. I'm angry about it too.

But this was my den of thieves, my chop shop, my makerspace. Growing up in fandom, I learned to pick the locks on stories and crack the safes of subtext at the very same time I learned to create. They were the same thing, the same art. We are thieves, my heart says, we are thieves, and that's what makes us better than the people we steal from. We deconstruct every time we create. We build better things out of the pieces.

And people are angry that the pre-fab materials are too hard to find, the pickings too slim, the items on sale too limited? Yes, of course they are, of course they should be--but my heart. Oh, my heart. Every single time, just a little bit, it breaks.

Of course the stories are terrible (they have always been terrible). Of course they are, but we are thieves. We steal the best parts and cobble them back together and what we make is better than it was before. The craftsman's eye that cases a story for weak points, for blank spaces, for anywhere we can fit a crowbar and pry apart this casing--that's skill and art and joy. Of course we shouldn't have to, of course we shouldn't have to, but I still love it. I still want it, crave it. I still thrill every time I see it, a story with hairline cracks that we can work open with clever hands to let the queer in.

That used to be cause for celebration, around here. I ask him to go back to the ruins of Aeor with me, two men together alone on an expedition in the frozen north, it feels like a gift. And I understand why some people take it as an insult. I understand not good enough. I understand how something can feel like a few drops of water to someone dying of thirst, like a slap in the face. If it was so easy to sneak it hidden onto the special menu, to place it on the unguarded side table for someone else to run off to, why not let it sit out front and center in the first place? I know it's frustrating. It should be. We should fight. We should always fight. I know why.

But my heart, oh, my heart. My heart only knows what it's been taught. My heart sees, this thing right here, the proprietor left it there for you with a nod and a wink because they Get It. It's not put together yet, but it's better that way anyway. It's so full of pieces to pull apart and reassemble. I bet they've got a whole mosaic wall going up at home already. We can bring it home and make it OURS, more than it was ever theirs, forget half of what it came from and grow a new garden in what remains.

And I go home to find anger, and my heart breaks instead.

[nattaphum]

The Schedule of the Drama Arts Chula live

1. Talk with the crew

2. Q&A section : fans can send the questions and they will select some

Part 1 & 2

Mc : Is this series included in the Y category?

P’pond : a lot of people keep asking me this question. I said no, it’s just good content. Why do you need to know if this is a Y series or not ?? Why do you need to know what position they have when they’re in bedroom? For example with VegasTawan people says Tawan is bigger than Vegas, but what is the point?

-

Apo : we need to know the Character Background, we know the situation but we also need to meditate. We need to cut everything out and concentrate with the situation putting us in the Character’s point of view

Mile : understanding character is important i got some from Apo and KruNing. I believe IN MUSSEL memory, it makes me more natural to be like Kinn. I create memory by doing something Kinn might do in his real life

Apo : I understand p’Mile but for me imagination is more better. I don’t believe in BEING THAT CHARACTER 100% because i might never be myself at all

Mile : Lets say it depends on each technique. Everyone has their own technique

-

Tong : A lot of scenes of Po and Mile are improvised

Mile : that’s because i can’t remember the dialogue 😂

-

Mc: What you two do in workshop room:

Apo: In the workshop, we need to sync with our partner for example looking into eo eyes and breathing at the same time; these help when the two characters are together, you know what the other one is thinking, you know what to do to please the other

pmai: open your heart, give and take. if we say we open our heart, but it's not for real / thoroughly, we can't give it our all

Apo: my professor asked me what is acting? i say performing. but they say no. acting in english is "doing" not "pretending". acting is about "believing it" and "doing it"

-

Apo : Thanks BOC to not allow any actors to do any advertise job at that time so the actors could just focus on filming

-

P'Pond: on a set I once experienced that i walked to an area and ate a piece of fruit and the admin person said to me "u can't eat that, it belongs to the director". after that i decided this thing needed to stop. everyone in this team is equal.

Apo : that tradition made me want to quit acting back then. Everyone should be treated equally.

-

Tong : Some of the old teams said that they don’t like the way i act ,its too girly, and p’pond just suddenly said Girly and what?? Why not girly? What if you have a girly friend in your real life? Thanks p’pond

-

Mile : People always say they’re open minded but they’re never actually open minded

-

Apo: Years ago, when I was on set a lot of ppl would ask me “R u gay?” And I would feel bad about y r they even asking me? Some ppl even told me “don’t walk like this, cause it makes u look feminine” but in this set P’Pond would say “Don’t care wat other ppl say, just be urself and be happy” I think that u shouldn’t be concern ed about other ppl sexual orientation, it’s their own business and privacy; so plz dun go around asking, it’s rly none of ur business. People keep asking is Porsche gay? You never know i didn’t care. Who knows Porsche might be the one who makes the first moves. NEVER ASK ANYONE AGAIN IF THEY’RE GAY OR NOT

-

P’Pond : I want to say this. as a human we do make mistakes sometimes, if we do something wrong please tell us gently we listen, we worked hard everyday. So if you have any recommendation please tell us gently.

Translations from @ nutsu941 and @ urmysuninnight on Twitter