#gay fictional storyline’s thematic

[silenust3]

#YT #there’s a gay fiction storyline waiting here id #gay fictional screen character? #gay fictional storyline’s thematic #GAY DANCE #dancing men #Youtube

[elcorhamletlive]

I'm someone who ships by*er and I don't really agree with some of the things on your blog when it comes to shipping, but I love your take on how the duffers have written themselves into a corner with will. I do think a lot of people who ship by*er just want will to be happy but they've set it up in a way where he has no other love interest than mike so either by*er happens, will gets some random bf/love interest thrown in during s5, will dies, or he ends up being the only single party member. For the last 3 it's gonna be disappointing for queer audiences or people who just like will's character in general, him getting a bf in s5 isn't that bad but it's still going to feel a bit like they just had to give him someone so they made a character last minute. And with will being the "gay kid in love with his best friend" would be something that a lot of queer people have gone through and have seen in media so if they make it unrequited its just gonna be another "gay kid in love with his straight best friend who doesn't like him back" story which I know a lot of queer people are sick of seeing, so its gonna be a bit unsatisfying.+ if byler doesn't happen and mlvn ends up being cannon they're are probably a good amount of mlvn shippers who are going to be celebrating it, bragging about it, and have it be a "in your face" moment to by**rs because of the lasting ship wars which is going to feel like "you get your happily ever after straight romance while we get this unrequited gay story again" to a lot of people. (Sorry if this ask Is a bit long or just repeating a lot of the stuff you already said)

Hey! No worries about the ask being long. I appreciate the civility, even if we disagree on several points.

Like I said, I understand the logic b*l*r truthers are working with. I just don't agree with their base perception: I really don't think mutual b*l*r would be a good narrative choice, at this point; I don't think it was a set up and I don't think it works for Will. I understand why shippers wouldn't agree, but if I think about Will as a fictional character, I think him moving on from Mike and dating someone new would fit thematically with his arc much better than his feelings having been reciprocated all along. Ideally, this would have happened earlier (or at least a new character for this role would have been introduced earlier); but I still think it can be done in season 5, if the writers want to. Lumax happened in the same season Max was introduced and I thought their storyline was lovely.

Either way, even from a representation-focused perspective, I'd have issues with B*l*r becoming canon. I don't like the idea of a character's sexuality (Mike's, in this case) being treated as a "plot twist" deliberately written to catch most of the audience by surprise. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I've seen people act as if it would be the most progressive, revolutionary thing to happen in television, and I just... don't agree. It happening only in the final season would also, indirectly, imply that they held back on actually writing the romance for fear of alienating a homophobic audience - which, I mean, not a great priority to have.

When it comes to Mileven, I think that there is such a difference in perspective that is hard to have a conversation. Again, I really appreciate the civility in your ask, but when you say: "If B*l*r doesn't happen and Mileven ends up being canon", I'm just like... Mileven is canon. It has been canon since the very first season. Some B*l*r shippers have this idea in their minds that both B*l*r and Mileven are on equal levels of possibility, that it's a Jancy/Stancy situation where it could go either way at this point, and I just don't see it, sorry. I've heard B*l*r shippers pestering Mileven shippers for "proof" of their ship, and the people who say this seem to not realize that it's the equivalent of asking for Jopper "proof", or Lumax "proof". These ships don't require proof because they're not theoretical. They're in the text. Those are our main couples; we're going into the final season. It's not going to change (and I say this as someone who doesn't care about any of the aforementioned characters as much as I care about Will, so there is no shipper bias coming from me).

I think your concern about shippers gloating is legitimate, and I see how such gloating could be very hurtful to B*l*r shippers who are emotionally invested in the idea that the only good way to finish Will's story is having him get with Mike, but there are multiple points of view to regard here. There are no innocent sides in a ship war. I have seen Mileven shippers being egreciously homophobic about B*l*r and about Will - this is inexcusable. However, I have also seen B*l*r shippers being misogynistic and ableist towards El; and just behaving in an antagonistic manner in general, towards anyone who disagrees with them. Obviously this isn't every shipper, but, when this kind of behavior exists, it inevitably sets the tone and creates an environment where, yeah, there will be a lot of gloating when B*l*r doesn't become canon. I can't say I don't get it - I had several discussions with B*l*r shippers, prior to vol. 2 coming out, in which I was consistently talked down to, called a homophobe, and told I didn't understand anything about filmmaking or media literacy. When vol. 2 dropped and it turned out I was right and all those people were wrong, yes, I did enjoy some schadenfreude; and I expect to feel the same on season 5. So I can't blame other people for feeling similarly, sorry.

#anti byler #antibyler #if you're a reasonable shipper who doesn't engage in this kind of behavior i'd advise you to have fun in your own lane #and to not build much expectations from canon

[sleepy-moron]

I stand before you today good people of Tumblr to answer a very important question: Why gay Mike Wheeler? This isn't going to be an explanation as to what evidence there is to support this claim because many people have covered the topic way better than I could, it's more of me attempting to explain why I personally am so interested by this interpretation of stranger things.

Okay so I've loosely followed the stranger things community on and off since around fall of 2016?? While I've had occasional brief periods of hyperfixation on the series, it's never been THE hyperfixation for me. That is until we started getting the bigger promo material for season four in October. I fell into a theory post rabbit hole and eventually wound up binge reading a bunch of byler meta posts.....and now I am extremely invested, as evidenced by me even making this post.

The funny thing is I never really had strong feelings about Mike as a character other than him being an asshole in season 3 prior to this. I thought he was generally a likeable enough protagonist(because he arguably fills the role of an 80s kid hero better than anyone else+ he is always relevant in that part of the storyline for the first three seasons) for the kind of story the show is trying to tell, albeit not a particularly interesting one. But Mike being gay changes that, and not for the "you only like the character because they're gay" reasons some people are going to claim. Well it does have to do with that but it really isn't that cut and dry of an answer.

Mike being canonically gay would make him an incredibly subversive character, and I don't mean that in a "wow it's so rare to have a character realize they're gay gradually over the course of a work of fiction" way, I mean it's arguably a subversion of a lot of tropes and story conventions common to works like stranger things. I'd argue that if Mike being gay is indeed the intended reading of his character, that this makes him one of the strongest links between a characters personal arc and the overall thematics of a show I've seen in recent memory.

This begs the question: what is stranger things even about on a thematic level. I personally believe that the biggest takeaways are about the power of love and compassion in the face of adversity, and that people (particularly people in positions of power) are the real monsters for encouraging the suffering and pressure to conform to societal norms at the price of your own happiness. I think most people who have watched the show would agree on these being major themes so I'm not going to explain how the story shows these themes.

Mike (and his hypothetical sexuality and relationship with Will) tie in with these themes pretty damn perfectly. The bond these two share is always linked to the main supernatural threat of the season, and in the first two seasons Mike caring about Will to the extent he does is a big factor in taking down the physical threat of the season. Season 3 is a little different, as a big conflict of the season is Mike ignoring people in favor of kissing El, and Will is by far the character we see impacted the most by this. This conflict is the whole reason nobody besides Dustin gets involved with the mall Russians, and Mike and Will literally have their big fight right before the characters realize the mind flayer is back.

Now that we know how important their relationship is, let's run through how many themes this arc would connect to. These two deciding to go against the very real pressures of society to do what makes them happy, as which is also an act of love/care, and would likely help them fight against the upside down at an unspecified later point in the series. This even works on a meta level, as this also subverts real society's expectations on how the plot of shows like stranger things go. Mike not ending up with El would be a big subversion already but him ending up with Will instead inverts so many tropes. It means the main girl character in advertisement doesn't end up with the guy she's closest with, a gay character isn't in unrequited pining for a hero who's straight, and it also means that no longer being in a relationship with someone is automatically an unhappy ending. Additionally it subverts the idea of needing a relationship to be happy and the idea that relationship plotlines can't be just as relevant to the story of an action/non melodrama show as any other kind of side plot can be. So this boils down to subverting audience expectations based on cinematic conventions to stay true to the story being told, and that story ultimately being about compassion and love overcoming all opposition.

I just think that's the kind of story people need to see sometimes, and it would be huge to see a show this popular do something like this, and I really think that just how well this storyline would fit the show in addition to all the subtext is really why people are so attached to this idea.

#byler #stranger things #stranger things 4 #byler tumblr #gay mike wheeler #mike wheeler is gay #oh boy this is a doozy of a ramble essay #i just had a lot of feelings and kinda just threw all of them into a post #hopefully this is somewhat coherent??? #this is the text equivalent of what goes through my head when i become overwhelmed by feelings about a piece of media #to which i then lie on the floor for several hours until i become a function person again

[kaypeace21]

Do you think its possible for lonnie to actually be the devil? Where would the strain of godly powers come from for will if Joyce and Jonathan are only psychic? I think you know about the theory that Jonathan is Hoppers kid, so it would make sense why will is the only one who has world warping powers? If Jonathan is lonnies than why isnt he making other dimensions, right? It just might be my hysteria from the afterlife, but very weird to think about.

----

Kaypeace's Response: Um ... I think the Lonnie/ "Satanic " parallels are symbolic. Will being called "Lonnie's son" and "Satan's baby". Lonnie meaning "lion" and the demogorgan being compared to a "lion" ( and in d&d its a a demon called "deep father" ), the victor/demon/demogorgan parallels . It's not literal- its symbolic of the whole ab*sive father theme we've seen every season .

Also as far as mutant genes in the ST universe...

The st comics + the ST novel ("suspicious minds ") confirmed people are BORN with powers (and the lab just experimented on the natural abilities these psyhcis already had ).like how 6,3 ,9 were all born with powers/developed them as kids (BEFORE going to the lab). 9 literally was sent to the lab after accidentally killing her parents with her fire powers (and she went to the lab to get help controlling her abilities) . 6 could see into the future, 3/ricky could control minds. ALL of them had these abilities despite having normal non-powered parents.

But, in the stranger things novel " suspicious minds" : a gay male psychic said his family had psychics for generations and it's genetic. Similar to El and Terry both having abilities and being related.

So ... if the mutant gene is from Joyce's side or even both the maternal/paternal side. The kids may be more likely to develop powers but its not always a guarantee . In xmen comics (referenced in every season of ST): 2 mutants are more likely to have mutant kids but there have been prominent examples of 2 mutants having a human child, or human parents having mutants kids. In xmen, If both parents have no powers , but 1 or even both carried the recessive xmen gene : they can have mutant kids.

In the xmen comics: it wasn't uncommon that 2 humans had several human kids but only 1 turns out to be a mutant (because they inherited this recessive x men gene). HECK,weirdly enough- if we're talking about why Will may have powers but Jonathan may not (or his are weaker/different). In the stranger things comic,9 had fire abilities BUT her TWIN sister had NO POWERS .

And again- alot of xmen mutants have different or more powerful abilities than their mutant parents. EL IS WAY more powerful than Terry (and has many powers Terry doesn't ). In xmen, Professor x's son: is much more powerful than his father and literally has 100s of powers his father doesn't have.

If joyce has a weak power (like say premonition/ intuition): her kids could be human, have similar abilities, or be stronger types of mutants. Genetics and powers are a bit random XD.

Also Joyce called herself a witch, in s1. And I already talked about how the xmen/avenger scarlet witch had a son named Billy/William Kaplan (who reminded me alot of Will). Both are gay, both call themselves wizards , billy's email header is literally "actualwizard666" an association with satan like Will,both were posessed by a creature, both spit up a slug/squid from that experience, billy also accidentally released a monster called "mama" into his deminsion (like the demogorgan called " father" being released into Will's dimension). Billy can alter reality and create/erase anything (including people) into existence. He also has fire/lightning/ice abilities. Also Billy (despite becoming so powerful) doesn't realize he has powers until highschool when he accidentally electrocuted his h*mophobic bully. Like ... worst way to realize you have powers ...

If the innerworlds/ certain characters are a facet of Will’s DID (a disorder caused by child ab*se):well people can live through the same experiences but 1 can develop DID and the other may not. Plus, the age when the ab*se starts determines if you can/can’t develop DID: if 10 and up you can’t get it (like how Jonathan’s hunting story was on his 10th b day). If younger than 10 you can develop it (but generally the younger the ab*se started the more likely it would be to theoretically develop). Also, again (if not actually DID, but just a fantastical manifestation of tr*ma/memories ):Will may just be mutant and Jonathan isn’t OR they have diff powers.Like how siblings can have different eye colors. Or like how mutant Billy Kaplan (who can alter reality,etc) had a TWIN brother -but he only had the power to run fast: they have very different abilities.  

Also, in the st novel Terry didn't realize she had powers till college and after she tried dr*gs. In the novel, another girl (a car mechanic) could only see psychic visions when h*gh (she'd see visions of the demogorgan in the future). And in s1 Becky mentioned how Terry was given l*d to help activate her abilities. So I do wonder if Jonathan trying to have ' fun' in s3 may just backfire and he sees something (like a vision of a demogorgan or something)... I don't know? Like jonathan has that rimbaud poster .Rimbaud as a teen would dull his senses via s*btances to in his words "become a seer".

As far as if Lonnie is or isn't Jonathan's bio dad (and that being part of the reason)... I guess we'll find out eventually. Is it possible lonnie is psychic ... anything is possible. I'm still leaning to the idea Lonnie does NOT have powers and that the whole Lonnie storyline with his family will be grounded in horrible nonfantastical reality- and thematically be juxtaposed to the supernatural horrors.

Or alternative explanation

let's see my other theory that stranger things is a fantasy story/allegory : being written by an older Will . And the fantasy story is loosely inspired by his (non fantasy life: of healing from his dad). Ofcourse , Will who loves XMen ,comics, and d&d. And made a wizard version of himself called "Will the wise" when he played d&d as a kid . Would write the fictional counterpart of himself as an actual wizard/xmen (similar to Will the wise) . And he'd make the meta joke that both him (author Will via writing) and ( fantasy Will via powers) is controlling the story.

#submission #will byers #joyce byers #lonnie byers #jonathan byers

[desperateground]

since we're doing anti discourse i guess: the antis ive seen on their own blogs (as opposed to other blogs askboxes) seem more concerned with media that portrays pedophilia in a positive light, as that very much can influence people into thinking it isn't THAT bad. If portrayed as the bad thing it is, they dont mind. Personally, do you see a difference in something that goes "heres an adult in love with a child, how sweet" as opposed to "heres an adult in love with a child, isnt that fucked up?"

under a cut cause this got long

I would love to be on the internet where you are, because it sounds a lot more reasonable than the one I live on, where stuff like this just makes me go ???

the thing is that fiction actually does influence people’s perceptions of reality, and we ought to care about that! if a person grows up watching movies where cops break the rules but it’s OK because they’re the good guys; or where stalkerish and manipulative behavior counts as “grand romantic gestures” that obligate a woman to date a man; or where Black people are depicted as uneducated and violent, of course that is going to color their opinions of the world.

and there are a lot of really good conversations being had about issues like that, and we absolutely need to have those conversations about responsible media creation and consumption. this power can be used for good as well as for evil. many people cite shows like Will & Grace as helping turn the tide of public opinion against seeing “homosexuality” as deviant and instead seeing gay people as “normal” and “lovable” and “relatable.” superman was a beloved enough All-American Hero that a storyline where he fights the KKK is credited with helping turn the KKK from a mainstream fraternity into something seen as a fringe hate group.

so i would agree that a giant wave of media with positive depictions of pedophilia would be concerning. 

however, we do not currently live in a world where “here’s an adult in love with a child, how sweet” is a major issue in media narratives such that people are absorbing the attitude that pedophilia is fine, cool, and good.

in fact, pedophilia is such a hated subject that we have a whole political movement in my country based on people calling anyone they dislike a “pedophile” and accusing them of all sorts of depraved shit involving children. most people who have sexual inclinations toward children are fully aware that these desires are at odds with society and that they will become pariahs if these desires were known to others.

(In fact, this level of ostracization can put people at a higher risk of offending, because they feel hopeless, have nowhere to turn for support, and figure if they’re going to be a pariah anyway, they may as well do the one thing they can think of that feels good. Forcing conversations about this to go completely underground means that you end up with awful groups like nambla dominating the conversation and convincing lost, lonely, frightened people to hop on board with their dangerous attitudes. if the only people safe to talk to about this stuff are people who will excuse, justify, encourage, and promote offenses against children, it makes sense that people would end up in their grip. You can read more here and here.)

much of the “media” that these “antis” are up in arms about is fan created content intended for a small population. the people creating content that riles up antis generally recognize that this is not mainstream content and use things like tags and content warnings to set it aside from other content. the notion that certain tropes in fanworks are going to bring about a massive cultural shift is a bizarre slippery-slope argument, and i think people's energy would be better focused on problems that are actually currently existing rather than a potential future where a few tags on ao3 have become dominant themes in network television and blockbuster movies. 

another issue here is that when an “anti” uses the term “pedophilia,” it’s completely unclear what they are actually referring to. a reasonable person would assume that they mean “a sexual relationship between an adult and a child,” but the definitions of “adult,” “child,” and “sexual relationship” have gotten so blurry within this discourse that it’s impossible to determine what’s being discussed. i’ve seen people claim that any relationship is inherently “pedophilic” if the characters have any sort of age gap, if there is any sort of power imbalance, if they both belong to the same “found family,” or even if one looks younger in appearance.

so when someone says “fictional narratives that depict pedophilia in a positive light,” they may actually be referring to “fictional narratives that depict any relationship I don’t like,” which is such a vague and meaningless statement that it becomes completely useless.

finally, your actual question is whether I personally see a difference between stories where the narrative perspective seems to critique the relationship vs stories where the narrative perspective romanticizes the relationship. i think your question is...hard to answer, because there is just too much there.

first off, it’s not always easy to tell whether a story is “vilifying” vs “glamorizing” something. people watch movies like fight club and take away very different thematic messages about whether the protagonist is someone to admire and emulate. if we say that depictions of abuse are only “good” or “allowed” if the narrative clearly portrays the abuse as “fucked up,” then we’re going to have to establish a High Court of AP English Teachers to determine exactly what narrative devices are employed and how, and that’s just...not...workable.

also, some people like the “fucked up”-ness of these stories; if you’re trying to say that something is bad if people “enjoy it” or “get off” on it or “indulge” in the darkness of the content, then it doesn’t matter if the story itself is wagging its finger at the naughty, naughty reader. the taboo, the erotic, and the deviant are, and have always been, wrapped up in each other. you can depict something as “bad” and yet still “fun;” it becomes a useless distinction when talking about sexual content. 

do i personally see a difference, when it comes to my own enjoyment? yeah, absolutely. i stopped watching game of thrones not because it included rape, but because the way the cinematography, musical score, etc. made it clear that the show was expecting me to feel a certain way about those images, and i didn’t appreciate that. i also didn’t appreciate the directorial decision to give more dignity to a dog’s death by cutting to black than to violence against women. i would probably not enjoy a book or movie that’s just about how awesome and fun it is to hurt people; though i did like clockwork orange - i found the narrator abhorrent, but interesting.

but i think trying to split hairs about what does and doesn’t count as Problematic or Allowable Content, or trying to tell people that what they create and/or consume is Bad and they are Bad for doing it, because its inclusion of dark themes is Doing It Wrong - it’s not helpful. it’s impossible to develop a standard for what is “doing it wrong vs doing it right” that makes any sense, and even if you did, enforcing it through campaigns of hatred and social vilification is not going to be effective. 

#fandom #discourse #antis #anti anti #fandom discourse

[ambitionsource]

APPRECIATION DAY for Charlie Gardner - The Creative Team’s Take

For each appreciation day, the creative team of AMBITION chimed in to share what they love most about the character. Then we’ll share a couple of the memes that are common in our group chat centering on this character. :)

“Little Chuckles... I just love him so much. He's a genuinely nice, caring, selfless guy, you can't help but root for that dork. Since we first met Charlie we've seen him grow and start to build his own understanding of his religion and learning to reconcile his faith with his identity. His journey of self discovery and acceptance is not only interesting but inspiring. I just want him to be happy and at peace with himself.” –Natalia, beta

“char-les!!!! if you go back to charlie personality profile you will see that half of them actually match mine so idk maybe he’s my long lost twin, maybe he’s kin. but tbh, like farkle, this show gave me a completely different take on charlie and i love him now lol he’s got a good heart and just wants to be happy 🥺 and i want that for him too.” –Divine, beta

“HAPPY CHARLIE APPRECIATION DAY CHARLIE NATION!! It's a beautiful day to be a Charlie stan - as every day is! I love this man so, so much; he's come to be one of my favorite fictional characters of all time. His character arc is one of my absolute favorites, his love story is incredible, his personality is so refreshing. As a queer (ex) Catholic with a complex relationship with religion, his character is such a refreshing one to see. I really enjoy getting to work with Maggie and Esther all around, but my favorite part is to work on Charlie's character, and getting to add the intricacies and realities of someone struggling with sexuality and religion. Happy Chuckles Day, everyone. ❤” –Katie, co-producer

"Charlie... my son... I love him so much, he means so much to me, I don’t even know where to start. He really snuck up on me as a favourite character, I never expected to love and cherish him as much as I do, but he’s just... he’s so GOOD. He wants to do the right thing, even if that’s at his own expense, and he’s always friendly and ready to offer friendship to anybody. As a queer Christian myself, his storyline of coming to terms with his sexuality and how that interacts with his faith is so important to me, especially the fact that being gay doesn’t take away from his faith, but rather just requires him to look at it from another perspective. Charlie truly deserves so much love and support, he’s the best of men.” –Esther, co-creator

“Charlie is a character that sneaks up on you. This is true for the other characters in the show, and it’s true for me. When we first started outlining the show we did not give Charlie much narrative focus or detail, like full disclosure we just had him there as Zay’s love interest, but then when we actually started getting into S1 and deep outlining his role and story richness just seemed to... emerge, in a way quite similar to Dylan and Asher though less markedly so since he was a focal character since the beginning. That only escalated in S2, and now we’re at a place going into S3 where he’s essentially carrying an entire setting, storyline, and thematic motif on his own -- in a way no other character has yet had to do. Charlie is incredibly fulfilling and fascinating to write, and he represents so much goodness: he is kind, he is brave in ways he doesn’t even realize, he is well-intentioned, he is patient. He is definitely flawed, and makes mistakes, but the work he’s doing is hard work, and as Eric told him so, he’s only human. He’s so much more than meets the eye, and I’m very grateful to get to tell his story. He’s become one of my most favorite characters, and many of his scenes are some of the ones I’m most proud of. Very excited to share all that is in store for him.” –Maggie, co-creator

And now, a couple of our favorite memes:

#ad: charlie gardner #charlie gardner #ad creative team takes #S3 countdown #appreciation days #what a fella... what a guy

[terramythos]

TerraMythos’ 2020 Reading Challenge In Review - 9/10s!

See Master Post

Here's the 9/10 books of this year -- books I really liked but not to the point of perfection. 

1. This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (Full Review Here)

This is a beautifully-written novella about two women from enemy time travel societies. They start as rivals who pass taunting letters to one another and gradually fall in love with each other through their writing. There’s some really beautiful and interesting locations, and I love the longing and emotion in the letter sequences. I think using a science fiction setting for a love story is super cool; especially with time travel, there’s a sense of predestination not found in other genres. I also like the idea of each author writing one of the two leads, so the style is slightly different between them. 

2. The City We Became (Great Cities #1) by N. K. Jemisin (Full Review Here)

Jemisin is a fantastic author and created my favorite series ever (The Broken Earth), so I was stoked to read book one of a new series by her. The concept here is that cities become sentient beings over time given enough people and cultural influence. New York City is about to be born into a human avatar, but something goes wrong. An eldritch foe known simply as The Enemy seeks to sabotage the nascent city and almost succeeds. Proto-avatars of the city’s boroughs have to find their inner power and band together to rescue him and save the city. 

I really dig the ensemble cast, especially Manny (Manhattan), Bronca (The Bronx), and New York City himself. The book is also a great middle finger to Lovecraft, as the cosmic horror element is steeped in structural racism and oppression, with the Eldritch Aesthetic being a creepy pale white. Super excited for the next book. 

3. Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries #2) by Martha Wells (Full Review Here) 

I’ve already said plenty about the Murderbot books on my 10/10 list. I really like this one in particular because it introduces ART, one of the best supporting characters in the series. It’s super interesting to see how Murderbot interacts with a non-human person (or... spaceship. But ART is also a person for sure) similar to itself and I really like the banter and friendship between the two. Like the rest of the novellas, it’s short, but it packs in a lot of story and heart. 

4. Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries #3) by Martha Wells (Full Review Here) 

My other 9/10 selection for this series! There is a heavy focus on Murderbot’s past and how far it’s come ever since it freed itself from the company’s mental slavery. This probably has the strongest character development in the series outside of Network Effect, with a genuinely sad and sobering ending. 

5. Finch (Ambergris #3) by Jeff VanderMeer (Full Review Here) 

I think this book is where I really “got” the Ambergris series; it’s a pseudo-trilogy with a lot of postmodern elements, but this one is the most straightforward. Finch is a fascinating mix of noir, dystopia, and cosmic horror. I even called this “nontraditional cyberpunk”; there’s elements of a surveillance state, underground resistance/revolution, artificial implants/bodily enhancements-- but all related to fungi and eldritch horror. 

Anyway, this book stars Finch, a detective working in the city of Ambergris, who is tasked with solving an impossible double-murder case. In his investigations, he soon stumbles upon a web of conspiracy related to the downfall and takeover of the city by the gray caps, the humanoid mushrooms who enslave and oppress the human population. It’s just as weird as it sounds, but if you made it to book three, you'll be plenty familiar with how bizarre the series is. Technically, this book is a standalone, but I recommend reading the other two first as they are integral to understanding the plot. 

6. The Last Sun (The Tarot Sequence #1) by K. D. Edwards (Full Review Here)

This is a really impressive debut novel with an interesting world concept and great characters. The idea is that Atlantis was a real thing and got destroyed. The surviving inhabitants decided to build a new city by magically stealing a bunch of buildings throughout the world and transporting them to Nantucket. The result is a cool patchwork urban fantasy setting. There’s a huge tarot motif, hence the series name. It’s also gay! 

I fell in love with the excellent character banter, especially between Rune and his soul-bonded bodyguard Brand. While I had some criticisms on the plot structure and a reliance on same-y action scenes, everything else was so good I gave Edwards the benefit of the doubt. And it really paid off in the sequel, which improves on basically everything. 

7. The Princess Bride by William Goldman (Full Review Here) 

I mean, the movie’s a beloved classic. If you haven’t seen it... go do so? It’s a great adventure story with lots of memorable characters, lines, and moments. Honestly I’m more surprised I hadn’t read the book before, and I’m glad I did. It often felt like an extended cut of the movie, with a few key differences in the frame story and some locations. While I think I like the film just a little more, I appreciate the novel for giving me a broader perspective on the story and characters. 

8. A Choir of Lies (A Conspiracy of Truths #2) by Alexandra Rowland (Full Review Here) 

A Choir of Lies is a standalone sequel to the book A Conspiracy of Truths and can be read on its own if desired. It stars Ylfing, a fan-favorite character in the previous book. He’s processing grief and depression in the wake of his mentor (the last book’s protag) suddenly abandoning him. A (sort of--it’s complicated) professional storyteller called a Chant, Ylfing tries to make it in the Netherlands-inspired fantasy city Heyrland, and writes a diary about his experiences. However, another Chant has found his manuscript and writes scathing commentary on his decisions in the footnotes. 

I had a difficult time getting into this one, as Ylfing is both relatable and infuriating, and a depressed protagonist can be hard to get behind. However, it's well worth sticking through, as the sheer catharsis of Ylfing realizing his horrible mistakes and doing everything he can to fix them is... well, pretty inspiring. Multiple characters own up to their failures, often at great personal cost, for the wellbeing of others. I think it’s a great message, especially reading it in 2020 when the future feels hopeless. A Choir of Lies also has two of the things I liked most about A Conspiracy of Truths-- lots of meta commentary on storytelling, and surprisingly interesting economics. 

9. The Harbors of the Sun (The Books of the Raksura #5) by Martha Wells (Full Review Here)

I thought this was a nice finale to the series. It has some satisfying thematic bookends regarding the Fell and Moon’s character development. It’s also probably the most “epic” fantasy of the series, with super high stakes and a broad cast of perspective characters. I have to wonder if there are plans for further books or a different series in this universe, since the setting has a lot of depth and potential. Either way, I really enjoyed it! 

10. A Killing Frost (October Daye #14) by Seanan McGuire (Full Review Here)

Another year, another October Daye book! Obviously I like this series if I’m fourteen books in and still reading it. A Killing Frost has some slow-ish pacing, but ramps up a lot in the second half of the story. It’s the conclusion to my favorite storyline in the series -- the redemption arc of Simon Torquill. He’s a really interesting morally gray character, and I think serves as the poster child on how the series plays with the idea of heroes and villains. Also, this book casually drops probably one of the craziest twists in the series at the end, and I am super interested to see the fallout of that. 

11. The Edge of Worlds (The Books of the Raksura #4) by Martha Wells (Full Review Here)

This is basically part one of Harbors of the Sun and involves the main cast going on a long journey to an ancient ruin. The first half of the book is pretty slow and probably could have been pared down -- lots of travel sequences. However the second half is super tense and action packed. I found the ancient ruin itself really interesting and creepy, and the book sets up a lot of things that pay off in The Harbors of the Sun. 

#2020 reading challenge #taylor reads

[quirkyquantumqueen]

Glee Rewatch - 2x03

2x03 - Grilled Cheesus

It always bothers me how stupid they make Finn seem to be. It always seems to me like I’m supposed to laugh about his lack of intelligence but I just don’t think that’s something to laugh about. I don’t know, I’m not a fan of those situations.

So this whole religion thematic is really interesting. I like that they went there, portrayed all the different ways of being or not being religious. Personally, I’m with Kurt on this (”Most churches don't think very much of gay people. Or women. Or science.”). But yeah, it’s an interesting topic that we in my group of friends in fact actually often discuss because we have quite different levels of belief. 

Oh my god that scene with Kurt in the French class messing with the jock - I’ve only known that from fan fiction. I’ve never realized that that actually happened in the show. Cool!

IWHYH and the baby!Kurt/Burt scenes though... The whole episode handled the Burt storyline so well. 

I love that with season 2 we get a lot more songs per episode. 

2x04 - Duets

It’s hard to follow last week’s emotional episode. I think they handled it okay.

Duets are a great theme. Love it! It’s probably an episode where I would go more heavily into the music. But I don’t really have a lot of time today so I’m gonna have to skip that. Let’s just go over it quickly: Don’t Go Breaking My Heart - Cheesy but I secretly love it River Deep/Mountain High - Damn! Petition to have Santana and Mercedes sing more together! Le Jazz Hot - not feeling it. Sorry I just don’t like that song. Sing! - Fun! Welcome to Glee Club, Mike! Lucky - Booooring. I’m sorry but that song has always put me to sleep. Happy Days/Get Happy - Aaah here’s Kurt/Rachel friendship I think we all love.

But how nice was it to see almost everyone sing in this episode? Probably my favorite part about that whole competition. More please!

#tdb rewatch

[theradioghost]

Audio Drama Podcast Recs

EDIT: well jesus this thing is getting old! If you’re looking for podcast recommendations I would recommend checking some of the newer posts I’ve made. I’ve expanded my subscription list from about 30 to over 150 in the years since I posted this, & at at this point it’s a pretty inadequate rec list.

Because I’ve gotten a few questions over time about podcast recs, both from people who are curious about audio drama, and fellow denizens of Podcast Hell™ who need something new, I wanted to put together this list so I could go a bit more into detail about why I love and recommend each of these amazing audio dramas.

Rather than trying to rank them, I tried to organize this list roughly based on popularity, at least based on my dash! More well-known shows are listed first, and then my faves that I don’t see getting nearly the love that they deserve. Especially with the volume of new innovative audio drama being created, there’s some really good stuff out there not getting nearly enough attention. Which is not to say that, if you’re a new podcast fan, you have to start with the most popular – but those shows are more likely to have an active fandom. (Of course, there are a ton of great podcasts out there, and plenty (both popular and obscure) that I don’t listen to yet.)

I also have a podcast rec tag and a very long list of audio dramas, if you want to go hunting for something beyond these recommendations here. Additionally, if you want more details or content warnings about any of these shows, feel free to message me on or off anon and I’ll do my best to answer! This post really focuses on the positives of each show and who I think might enjoy them.

WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE – Community radio from a friendly desert community where the sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, the dog park is forbidden, the mayoral candidates aren’t human, the weather is a mystery, and mysterious lights pass overhead while we all pretend to sleep.

If you know anything about audio drama podcasts, there’s like a 99.99% chance you know about Night Vale already. If not, just go listen. It’s weird and amazing and beautiful and helped to make a lot of this possible. Or if 100+ episodes plus live shows is overwhelming, don’t (but come back to it someday. It is magical).

For people who like: surrealism, humor, ‘radio show’ format, somewhat less emphasis on plot, diversity, indie music, experimental storytelling, a large back catalog of episodes, a fandom considered large by regular standards and not just podcast standards.

ALICE ISN’T DEAD – As she travels across America, a trucker tells the story of her search for the missing wife she had presumed dead, of the mysterious danger stalking her down freeways and backroads, and of the much bigger – and more terrifying – mystery she is uncovering.

The first and most popular of Night Vale Presents’ other podcasts. Gothic Americana soft horror lesbians! The writing, atmosphere, and orchestration are all superb, as is Jasika Nicole’s monologue performance. I personally recommend car/transit listening. (Also, you can get the whole soundtrack for free, and you should definitely do that.)

For people who like: surrealism, horror, Americana, female leads, lesbians, atmosphere, introspection, mystery, great music, something to drive to.

WOLF 359 – Doug Eiffel doesn’t want to do his job, Hera is a friendly but faulty AI, Dr. Hilbert is probably a mad scientist, Commander Minkowski wishes she wasn’t in charge of these idiots, and together, the four of them make up the entire crew of the USS Hephaestus space station. It’s not a picnic at the best of times: they’re isolated in a constantly malfunctioning tin can, orbiting a red dwarf star eight light years from Earth, and working for a shady corporation with coworkers they can’t stand. Then Eiffel starts to receive inexplicable transmissions from deep space – and everything gets so, so much worse.

It’s a hilarious office sitcom! It’s a character-driven deep-space sci-fi thriller! It’s a tragic, thematically powerful story about personhood, communication, and isolation! It’s all of those things, often within three lines of one another and frequently all at once! Wolf 359 is probably a masterpiece and now, heading into its fourth and final season, it continues to surprise and impress me every single time. Alan Rodi’s music is evocative and superb and the cast and writing are top-notch. One of the best. Listen to it.

For people who like: excellent character-driven writing, great music, well-written women, a gender-balanced ensemble cast, intimate sci-fi, hilarious and often referential humor, scary corporate overlords, cerebus syndrome.

THE PENUMBRA PODCAST – In Hyperion City, metropolis of a far-future Mars, a private eye named Juno Steel is pulled into life-threatening criminal conspiracies, and tangles with an even more dangerous, nameless thief – who could be his worst enemy or the love of his life. Within the Second Citadel, human civilization is protected by knights who venture out into the jungles to fight the monsters that threaten them – but some knights are discovering monsters who seem just a bit different. On the Painted Plains, a train-robbing bandit steals away a schoolteacher – and her heart. All of these and more are stories waiting to be heard behind the doors of the Penumbra, the grandest hotel this side of Nowhere. And absolutely none of them are straight.

Fabulously written genre-bending “queer AF” anthology show. The best is the Juno Steel series, about a bisexual, nonbinary sci-fi PI, which remains eminently and hilariously quotable even as it wrenches your heart out with genre-deconstructive depictions of mental illness and one of the most believable and emotional romances I’ve seen in ages . The Second Citadel fantasy series is also starting to come into its own in the second season and the standalone stories from the first season are a pretty damn good listen (LISTEN TO THE GAY WESTERN. DO IT.) I love this show, I love everyone from this show, I love everyone associated with this show, and I love Mick Mercury.

For people who like: playing with genre tropes, OTR, noir fiction, diversity, romantic chemistry, a variety of stories, suspense, heartache.

THE BRIGHT SESSIONS – Dr. Joan Bright isn’t an ordinary therapist, but her patients aren’t ordinary patients. Sam’s panic attacks bring on bouts of involuntary time travel; Caleb has it hard enough negotiating teenage emotions without also experiencing the feelings of everyone around him; Chloe can’t escape hearing other people’s thoughts; and the less said about Damien, the better. But Dr. Bright, too, is more than she first appears.

It’s a hard-hitting and poignant show about mental illness and people recovering from deep traumas, and also it is about superpowers. As the concept implies, the show is highly character-driven, and it develops an ensemble cast incredibly well. These guys are friends with the Wolf 359 crew and apparently have taken lessons from one another in how to ramp up a plot from “fun” to “oh god why,” but let’s be honest: that’s what we’re here for. Also, unjustifiably sweet gay teen romance, really cute friendships between ladies, at least one cat.

For people who like: highly character-focused narrative, superpowers, moral questions, ensemble casts, cool female leads, shady government activities, great acting.

ARS PARADOXICA – One minute, Dr. Sally Grissom is conducting cutting-edge physics research in her lab in early-21st-century Texas. A single mistake later, she’s on the deck of the U.S.S. Eldridge, in Philadelphia, 1943, smack dab in the middle of a classified WWII weapons experiment. She’s accidentally put time travel into the hands of the US government just as the nuclear era kicks off. And she can’t ever go back.

I assume everyone has heard of ars P because I assume that everyone knows Mischa Stanton. (They work on what must be like 50% of all podcasts that exist at this point, including The Bright Sessions.) Everything they do is pretty much a must-listen, but especially ars p, the “sad time show” to Wolf 359’s “sad space show.” The writing sticks out to me for its sense of consequence; it’s a major theme of the show that everything that happens will have serious and cumulative effects. Deservedly award-winning sound design. As a bonus, it crossed over with The Bright Sessions; if you like one, you might like the other.

For people who like: sci-fi, period settings, cold war thrillers, cool female leads, time travel with rules, complex and grey moralities, science lesbians, diverse ensemble casts.

EOS 10 – Dr. Ryan Dalias has enough to deal with just as the new head surgeon on a massive space station (alien aphrodisiacs, space anti-vaxxers, mind-controlling plants…) But as if that weren’t enough, his boss is an alcoholic misanthrope who has received an unwelcome ultimatum about his drinking; the nurse may or may not be inclined to bite people; there’s a deposed alien prince in the examination room who won’t put his pants back on; and an intergalactic terrorist who wants his name cleared is hiding in the cargo bay. And those are the people on his side.

I have my issues with EOS 10, not least of which is that it is still mired in a two-year hiatus (though Season Three is finally going into production soon? FINGERS CROSSED). I usually forget those issues when I listen because it’s still a frankly hilarious space comedy and the entire main plot is kicked off because of a potentially deadly boner. Think of it as the strange offspring of DS9 and Scrubs. Come for wild space shenanigans, stay for surprisingly heartfelt storylines about addiction (and even wilder space shenanigans). If W359 sounds cool but maybe a little heavy for you (or if the first season was your favorite), EOS 10 might be more up your alley.

For people who like: Star Trek, comedy, space scifi adventures, alien characters, gay space pirate cowboys, waiting.

THE THRILLING ADVENTURE HOUR – “America’s favorite new time podcast in the style of old time radio.”

An anthology show like The Penumbra which takes a comedic approach to its old time radio inspiration instead (and it is very OTR inspired – not just playing with the same genres). Has a lot of segments, not all of which are created equal; two are standouts. Sparks Nevada: Marshall on Mars (which has a continuous plot) follows a deadpan robot-fighting lawman, the Martian tracker who provides him with somewhat vitriolic companionship, and their various allies across the sci-fi-comedy-western landscape of Space Future Mars. Beyond Belief (which is episodic) stars alcoholic socialites Frank and Sadie Doyle, who may be world-renowned paranormal experts, but who mostly just combat supernatural evils so they can get back to their two greatest loves: booze and one another. It was recorded live, often featuring celebrity guest stars (most notably and frequently Nathan Fillion), and recently ended its many-year run.

For people who like: OTR, forties/fifties culture, really REALLY cute couple chemistry (Beyond Belief), humor, much more lighthearted content, a large back catalog, great music, corpsing.

GREATER BOSTON – Leon Stamatis’s perfectly organized life abruptly ends one day at the top of the first hill of a roller coaster – and that’s where the real story begins. His death will start a domino effect of change rippling through a Boston where activists agitate for subway lines to form their own city, shadowy executives watch over offices where magazine editors predict the future, and Google Calendars are updated from beyond the grave.

Guys, I am never gonna shut up about this show. At this point it’s probably my favorite podcast. Experimental fiction, a sort of regional-gothic-slice-of-life, with a plot that builds into the story of an interconnecting community of people, all of them growing and learning and changing and interacting, even the dead ones. And it plays more brilliantly and hilariously and beautifully and poignantly with format and writing and character than you’d think possible. I sometimes see it compared to WTNV (the “weird town” angle), but I think it’s likely to appeal to fans of The Bright Sessions: its characters may be dealing with incredibly strange situations, but the focus (and the appeal) is the development of those characters and their relationships with one another. Alternately, just literally everyone should listen. It’s that good.

For people who like: ensemble casts, experimental fiction, awesome women, strong character development, lesbians, playing with format, characters named Extinction Event, political intrigue, great music, Boston.

WOODEN OVERCOATS – Siblings Rudyard and Antigone Funn, along with their assistant Georgie, run a funeral home on the tiny Channel island of Piffling. It’s the only one, which is how they remain in business even though Rudyard is a punctuality-obsessed misanthrope and Antigone hasn’t left the morgue in daylight for 17 years. Then the world’s most perfect man, Eric Chapman, opens another funeral parlor directly across the street.

A British sitcom about rival funeral directors in a small town, with all of the dry, witty black humor that implies. "British” does always feel like the best adjective to convey the distinct sense of humor here. Also, it has amazingly high production values. Like, it just sounds really, really good. Also, it’s narrated by a talking mouse. The third season was just announced, so now is a really great time to catch up.

For people who like: black comedy, British comedies, rivalries of both business and sibling kinds, mysterious backstories, just a whole lot of dead people jokes, a more episodic structure.

THE BRIDGE – Once, you could drive all the way across the Atlantic in luxury and style, using the Transcontinental Bridge. Now, the Bridge is virtually abandoned. The employees of its Watchtowers are the only people left to tell its stories: stories about ghosts, about curses and illusions, about vanished and abandoned people and places, about the monsters whose places these were before the Bridge, and the strange and dangerous people who came there to find them.

IMHO, possibly the highlight of the writng for The Bridge is that they can create atmosphere like nobody’s business, and the show has a gorgeous soundtrack to boot. The characters are charming, the plot is intriguing, and the world they are building is like absolutely nothing else. Like Archive 81 below, it might appeal to those who’d enjoy Lovecraft if he didn’t suck so much in every possible way, although it’s much softer on the scary factor.

For people who like: atmosphere, storytelling, great character dynamics, sea monsters, spookiness, really fun ladies, ghost stories, mysteries, the bottomless depths and siren’s call of the ocean.

THE STRANGE CASE OF STARSHIP IRIS and UNDER PRESSURE – Starship Iris is the story of Violet Liu, a biologist forced by circumstance to join up with a ragtag crew of spacefarers to determine whether the explosion which killed every other person onboard her spaceship was really an accident. Under Pressure presents the notes of Jamie McMillan-Barrie, a researcher whose literary background did not prepare her to negotiate the kind of office drama that takes place on a research station at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

Both of these are part of Procyon Podcasting Network, which also has more upcoming shows which I am beyond thrilled about; both are also incredibly diverse, both in-universe and behind the scenes. Both are charming and very, very gay as well as racially diverse; I’m particularly fond of Starship Iris, but everything that comes out of Procyon is more than worth a listen. They’ve started pretty recently and have only a few episodes each.

For people who like: space scifi, found family tropes, workplace drama, human/genderless alien romance, space lesbians, diversity, cool female leads.

THE ORBITING HUMAN CIRCUS (OF THE AIR) – The dreamy, accident-prone janitor of the Eiffel Tower does his best to get himself a place in the fantastical, impossible radio variety show being broadcast from the tower every night. Will he ever be successful? Will the show survive his attempts? And just where do the mysterious and magical acts come from?

Considering it’s a Night Vale Presents podcast and stars an A-list of my favorite underappreciated creatives I was kind of shocked at how little discussion I see. OHC is so charming and dreamlike and heartwarming; it’s like recapturing the feeling of a particularly magical bedtime story. It features Mandy Patinkin singing Cheap Trick and you need that in your life. Also, it has a platypus in it.

For people who like: OTR, John Cameron Mitchell/The Music Tapes/Neutral Milk Hotel, a gentler weirdness than other NVP podcasts, Paris, charm, experimental storytelling.

WITHIN THE WIRES – You are a patient at the Institute. You have been instructed to listen to this series of relaxation tapes to aid in your treatment. You must trust my voice. You must trust only my voice.

NVP’s other highly underappreciated show. WTW manages to tell a narrative in a format (self-help relaxation tapes) I would have never thought possible, and though it’s difficult to say much about what makes it so good without spoiling the effect of that excellence, it’s a great choice if you’re weird-fiction-inclined. Like Alice Isn’t Dead, it also features lesbians. (It may not be good for anyone who has trouble with unreality, disturbing second-person commands, or depictions of institutionalization.)

For people who like: experimental storytelling, WLW love stories, surrealism, dystopic fiction, suspense.

INKWYRM – Mella Sonder was hired to work with a recalcitrant AI, not to be personal assistant to Annie Inkwyrm, head of outer space’s premiere fashion magazine – and the two of them will probably be fighting about that, along with all of the other disasters they get tangled up in, until the star they’re orbiting explodes. Or until they fall in love.

My money’s on the latter (fingers crossed please make it happen), but this show just finished a really fun first season and I absolutely cannot wait for more of it. I’m a sucker for dysfunctional coworker comedy, and an even bigger sucker for girls falling in love; this offers both and is excellent, and is just incredibly done for an amateur podcast. The peeps making it are inspiring and badass and really, really talented.

For people who like: The Devil Wears Prada, scifi, diversity, vitriolic romantic tension, cool female leads, alien characters, wlw romance, incompetently homicidal AIs.

THE BEEF AND DAIRY NETWORK – The number one podcast for those involved – or just interested! – in the production of beef animals and dairy herds.

Honestly almost impossible to describe. What really gets me is the hilarity of how it somehow perfectly imitates the public radio/industry podcast style, delivering you important updates from the world of cattle products, except not from a world anything like ours. Endless beefy fun times with the occasional sharp right turn into body horror and potent unreality played for comedy. This and Alice Isn’t Dead are my dad’s favorite podcasts, which probably says something about him.

For people who like: Wooden Overcoats (it’s by the same folks!), weirdness, humor, much less of a focus on narrative, ‘radio show’ format, satire, rich beef sausages.

ARCHIVE 81 – Dan Powell is missing. He was hired, so he thought, for a simple job cataloguing an archive of tapes for the New York state government: a series of interviews that a woman named Melody Pendras conducted with the tenants of an odd apartment building. Then the story on the tapes becomes impossibly strange and terrifying, and so does Dan’s life.

Another one where I’m not sure whether everyone knows about it and just isn’t talking, but they should be. It’s probably a sign of how fantastic A81 is that it’s one of my favorites even though I ordinarily can’t stand horror. This post really extolls its virtues in a better way than I can. This show has some of the most incredible sound design I’ve heard yet, so if visceral body horror conveyed solely through the audio medium isn’t for you, then neither is Archive 81. On the other hand, if you like extradimensional lesbian apotheosis and the nickname “Boombox Fuckboy,” listen to this. On top of that, the acting is superb. (The creators, Dead Signals, also did an apocalyptic scifi survival-horror miniseries thing called The Deep Vault, which is similarly beyond well-made.)

For people who like: horror, weirdness, found footage format, great music, absolutely stellar atmospheric and action sound design, excellent and realistic acting, The King in Yellow, a ‘Lovecraftian’ feel not based on hatred of anyone who isn’t straight/white.

JIM ROBBIE AND THE WANDERERS – Three trouble-seeking wandering musicians (one brash and upbeat, one an argumentative engineer, and one a grumpy robot brought to life from a radio and assorted cutlery) wander a post-apocalyptic America populated by strange towns and fantasy beings, some friendly, others dangerous.

This is another show that really charmed me right out of the box. Not to mention that it’s a take on “post-apocalyptic” that I’d never seen before – why have grim ruins or cannibalistic societies when you can have giant friendly genderless bees, an NYC inhabited by partying undead, towns full of squid-people, and desert-dwelling leprechauns? It’s much more of a fantasy take on the genre and the characters are incredibly sweet. I was also really impressed by the quality bump it’s undergone over its run so far.

For people who like: fantasy, more lighthearted narratives, fun and creative concepts, a villain called “The Fig-Wasp King,” great music, friendship, cool female leads, diversity.

THE HIDDEN ALMANAC – A thrice-weekly, four-minute show hosted by the plague doctor Reverend Mord, offering historical anecdotes from another world, the feast days of unlikely saints, and useful gardening advice. 

Tired of that one analogy from every news article of the 2013 Night Vale boom (“like Stephen King/H.P. Lovecraft wrote A Prairie Home Companion”), writer/artist Ursula Vernon decided to take a crack at recreating Garrison Keillor’s other show, The Writer’s Almanac, in a similar fashion. Compared to WTNV, it comes off as less ‘weird’ and more fantastical, and is on the light side continuity-wise, though both the historical events and the frame show have arcs. In the past couple of years there have been a lot more story arcs, many lasting months, and a lot more appearances from guest character Pastor Drom and other characters. I find it incredibly charming and relaxing.

For people who like: fantasy weirdness, the actual Writer’s Almanac, WTNV, gardening, vitriolic friendships, worldbuilding, short runtimes, less of a focus on plot, large back catalogs, worldbuilding, crows.

#my posts #podcast recs #podcast recommendations #hey! here's that thing ive been doing #also before u ask about taz: im only to pttm and will probably add it once ive caught up #bobbie recommends things

[if-only-angels-could-prevail]

here’s my LONG ASS POST where i talk about my favorite movies of the year!* i included 11 favorites, 6 alternate choices, a list of my favorite performances, and a list of my favorite music in these movies.

*in this case, “year” means “awards season”

THE BEST ONES (11 picks because I couldn’t narrow it down to 10)

20th Century Women

After Mike Mills’ masterful ode to fatherhood in Beginners (a movie that changed my life as much as any movie ever has), he matches his predecessor and then some with 20th Century Women. This is a brilliant, moving, and funny rumination on womanhood and motherhood, on what it means to be a woman, and even an examination of what feminism means in America’s constantly-changing cultural landscape. Partly based on Mike Mills’ own childhood, he described the movie as a love letter to the women who raised him, and the affection and honesty is on full display. It examines three very different women, played by three wonderful actresses, and their effect on the adolescent Jamie, Mills’ own self-insert. It’s timely, political, charming, and full of stunningly relevant dialogue about gender conformity and what it entails. This is a movie about womanhood, for everyone.

American Honey

This is a movie best described by contradictions. It’s intimate and it’s epic, it’s dreamlike and it’s realistic, it’s devastating and emotionally fulfilling. There is very little story to speak of--Star is an 18-year-old woman who joins a ragtag group of young people who sell magazines across the country. The whole movie is meandering, but Andrea Arnold (a brilliant director, also check out Fish Tank) fills this simplistic storyline with so many quiet observations and confrontations that by the end, one feels both completely full and all the more curious. It is contemporary filmmaking at its most poetic and immediate.

Arrival

This is a movie that will leave (or rather, has left) everyone talking, which is exactly my type of science fiction. It’s a quiet testament to critical thought and language, and how thrilling it can be. My only quibble is that as wonderful as Amy Adams was (and she really was pitch-perfect), I think I might have enjoyed it more with unknown faces playing these characters. But that’s not the point. The point is there was one single moment--literally down to the very second--immediately before the end credits rolled when the entire movie clicked for me, and I was overjoyed. Such moments are extremely rare in film, and I can only hope other audiences experience (or did experience) the same ecstatic epiphany that I did in that final moment. 

The Handmaiden

A Korean gothic lesbian revenge story. I was sold as soon as I heard the description. This movie reminded me of all the most exciting plot-twisty mind-bending Hollywood creations (Gone Girl came to mind a lot), but the thrills were propelled even further by the sheer visual panache and gorgeous design work that are sometimes lacking in said genre. The acting was extraordinary as well. Another movie that’s probably best knowing very little about before you see it. It’s thrilling, violent, beautiful, and passionate storytelling. 

Hell or High Water

I’m slightly biased because I love the idea of the contemporary western (True Grit and The Homesman are two of my recent favorites), and this is a prime example of old-fashioned western filmmaking with a strong contemporary sensibility. Like 20th Century Women, it seems to exist in multiple generations, and even as the characters talk about something completely unrelated, I was acutely aware of the divide, of the fascinating visual contradictions. To me, this cultural conversation was the underlying force behind the way this old-hat story was told. But don’t get me wrong: this is a pitch-perfect screenplay, possibly the best of the year. And the cast is insanely good. 

Hidden Figures

I wanted to stand up and cheer at multiple points. I teared up during at least five different scenes. This is Hollywood filmmaking at its most shamelessly crowd-pleasing, and I ate it all up. I think when you have a story as worth telling as this one, a little crowd-pleasing is earned. It’s entertaining from beginning to end, and its cultural imprint (highest-grossing of all the best picture Oscar nominees) will be empowering from years to come.

Jackie

The best biopics are about more than one person. The best biopics both relate someone’s story with accuracy and use their story to confront the audience with their own selves. This is exactly what Jackie does: it’s an unsettling movie that gets under your skin, asking questions about celebrity, about luxury, about culture, about womanhood, all the while offering a stunning character portrait of one woman. This isn’t just a history lesson: this is a confrontational masterpiece, using this figurehead as a lens to examine our own selves. Jackie Kennedy passed away when I was less than a year old, but by the end of this movie, I felt like I knew her, and I felt like I knew myself better than I had before.

Lemonade

Beyonce casually reinventing the movie musical genre. Lemonade celebrates black femininity in a revelatory and empowering way. And yet, speaking as a white boy, it can be adored by anyone with an appreciation for aesthetic beauty, and anyone who loves music. (Seriously. Amazing music.) Like some other movies on this list, the narrative is thin, but it’s thematically tight, gripping, and always exuberant to watch. It will move anyone who’s struggled through an adult relationship, and even those who haven’t will feel privileged to watch this raw and emotionally naked portrait. It also proves that movie musicals need not be nostalgic fluff pieces (*cough*)--they can be current, they can be iconic, they can be culturally relevant, they can be hot-blooded, angry, sensitive, thrilling, poetic, feminist, and last but not least, unapologetically and exuberantly black.

Miss Sloane

I’m biased because I love Jessica Chastain. But his movie delivered. It’s about a fast-talking political lobbyist and how she navigates the political sphere, confronting her coworkers, her enemies, the law, and (most significantly) her own conscience. Its conversations are timely, as one would expect. But I found it most interesting as a contemporary morality play. Like Jackie, Miss Sloane is a character study which isn’t content being a mere character study--it confronts the audience on well-worn but ever-timely questions of how we define morality, happiness, and success. Some of the dialogue comes across as cheesy faux-Aaron Sorkin, which has drawn some criticism. The critics are right, but I ate it all up. This movie is more entertaining than any movie about a political lobbyist has any right to be, and even when it veers toward the unbelievable, it’s an awesome ride.

Moonlight

If I keep going back to the phrase “visual poetry,” it’s because this year in movies was an embarrassment of riches in that regard, Moonlight being a prime example. Every shot, every frame, felt so vital, deliberate, and beautiful. Moonlight is many things--a careful rumination on masculinity, a testament to parenthood, an artfully-crafted coming-of-age movie--but above all else, it’s a love story. A black gay love story, told with sincerity and a lot of heart. Quietly groundbreaking and cathartic.

Silence

Is it too bold to suggest this could be Scorsese’s masterpiece? It’s certainly among his most ambitious. And it’s painstakingly crafted, and dramatically tight. Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver (both acting up a storm) play 17th-century Jesuit priests who experience extended religious oppression in their efforts to spread Christianity throughout Japan. I know that sounds boring. But Silence is a force of nature, jaw-droppingly epic in scope. And yet for all its hugeness, for all its passion and melodrama, there is a stinging intimacy throughout that keeps one caring for these characters as if they’re longtime friends or brothers. And like every good period drama, it feels achingly contemporary, and the story feels heartbreakingly current. It’s a behemoth of a movie that my own paltry superlatives can hardly scratch the surface of, but trust me: it’s incredible.

ALTERNATES 

Allied

Great old-fashioned filmmaking without pandering to nostalgia. It’s an extremely handsome movie, and it’s dramatically taut, but the story still manages to defy your expectations at every turn. Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard are wonderful movie stars, perfectly cast in this old-fashioned yarn. I wish it had managed to find more of an audience, because it’s top-tier Hollywood storytelling.

Fences

Fences is indisputably a great play, so even a version that feels like a self-conscious adaptation is still going to be awfully good. Viola Davis is perfect, as we all know. Denzel Washington's performance felt too big for my taste, as if he didn’t do much in terms of translating his performance from stage to film, but obviously he’s a wonderful actor and charismatic as hell. Since not everyone can see Fences onstage, this movie is a damn good substitute.

Hail, Caesar!

The Coen brothers are likely my favorite movie directors working today--their last three movies in particular have all been extraordinary (A Serious Man, True Grit, Inside Llewyn Davis). Hail, Caesar! seems like an unusual next step for them, going back to some of their zanier antics, with a loving tribute to old Hollywood. But this isn’t cheap nostalgia--this is a deliciously original story, full of wacky surprises, a LOT of kooky characters, and some completely unexpected gags. It’s pure entertainment, if you’re buckled up for a lot of weirdness.

The Jungle Book

Another “pure entertainment” entry. I was awed by this live-action remake of the Disney classic. The artistry in the CGI was mind-blowing, and it had such an awesome power on the big screen. The classic story was told with care and economy, but the design and visual beauty was the main draw. And I always support unprompted musical numbers in non-musical movies.

Kubo and the Two Strings

Beautiful, beautiful designs, and a wonderfully original and twisty story. In retrospect, I wasn’t sold on all the plot elements, and the mostly-white cast playing Japanese characters seemed indelicate for several reasons. But it was visually stunning, the music was gorgeous, and the story was laudably original and full of imagination.

The Lobster

What makes dystopian stories so appealing is they offer the audience a lens to look at their own society through a foreign and fictional concept. The Lobster is a great example, offering a look at society’s expectations for how we treat romance and sex. The script starts to verge toward too much concept at points, but I found it compensated for its heavy plot turns with a treasure trove of wry observations. The acting and the execution is good, but in this instance, the script is the main draw, and one that left me thinking long after I had finished.

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES I LOVED

Annette Bening and Greta Gerwig in 20th Century Women

Amy Adams in Arrival and Nocturnal Animals (despite my quibble about casting movie stars in Arrival, she delivered a brilliant performance)

Viola Davis in Fences

Kim Min-hee and Kim Tae-ri in The Handmaiden

The always-brilliant Jeff Bridges in Hell or High Water

The entire cast of Hidden Figures

Natalie Portman in Jackie

Beyonce in Lemonade

Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga in Loving

Michelle Williams in Manchester By The Sea

Jessica Chastain in Miss Sloane

Ashton Sanders, Andre Holland, Jharrel Jerome, Naomie Harris, and Mahershala Ali in Moonlight

Nathan Lane in No Pay, Nudity

Andrew Garfield in Silence

Paul Dano in Swiss Army Man

MUSIC I LOVED

Hail, Caesar!

Hidden Figures

Jackie

The Jungle Book

Kubo and the Two Strings

La La Land

Lemonade

Moana

Moonlight

Silence

Swiss Army Man

[silenust3]

#groupie #there’s a gay fiction storyline waiting here id #gay fictional screen character? #gay fictional storyline’s thematic

[glenngaylord]

TRILOGY OF TERRORISM - My Review Of WHERE WE GO FROM HERE (3 1/2 Stars)

Most dramatic stories follow a three-act structure, starting with an inciting incident, then a period of rising action, and ending in a climax/resolution. Of course, we’ve seen many filmmakers break that mold, with Pulp Fiction and Last Year At Marienbad coming instantly to mind. Writer/Director Anthony Meindl, best known as the founder of his international acting studios, makes his feature debut with such a film, Where We Go From Here, and it’s a powerful, unique, swing for the fences experience.  

Told as three separate yet thematically connected storylines, Meindl has crafted a film where the so-called inciting incidents don’t occur until the very end.  As such, we enter the lives of a gay couple in Orlando, Florida, a quartet of Parisians whose intermingling triggers deep emotional feelings, and a woman in southern New York, who’s trapped in a violent relationship.  Each storyline features acts of gun violence, but the bulk of the film invites us to experience the specific humanity of its characters.  

Ricky (Meindl), a middle-aged, successful man, lives with his much younger boyfriend Raul (a touching, natural Matt Pascua), and their age difference brings up all the the expected issues.  Raul wants to go out and have fun while Ricky prefers to chill out at home.  In a strong sequence, Raul lays out his dilemma to Brenda (fine, subtle work by Ada Luz Pla), their housekeeper.  Speaking in Spanish, Brenda speaks of escaping her war torn country, coming to America, and wondering if things truly got better for her.  Her rapport with Raul makes it easier for him to open up and tell her, “When you tell me something, I totally get it…but when Ricky tries to help, I hate him for it.”  Brenda’s hilarious and perfect response is, “That’s because you and I are not fucking!”  In this microcosm lies what Meindl is astutely after with his film.  Relationships complicate things, bringing out the best and worst in us. They say regrettable things to each other, and in looking at the film overall, it acts as a subtle instructive to approach our differences in a more loving fashion.  

The second story, set in Paris, focuses on Adele (Camille De Pazzis) and Mathilde (Justine Wachsberger), who we meet after having sex.  Both women, however, have male partners, and when the four get together later to have dinner and attend a concert, they raise issues of sexual fluidity and how that impacts men with their patriarchal, sexist points of view.  Again, we see relationships at a crossroads where an agreement seems so far out of reach.

Finally, we meet Elena (Olivia Taylor Dudley), an ESL teacher in Binghampton, New York, who struggles to escape with her young son from an abusive marriage.  As she encounters one obstacle after another, we fear for her and root for a better destiny.  Dudley is a sensational actor, beautifully showing us every beat, every painful decision, every moment of humiliation as she strives for a better life.  All of the actors, many of whom are students of Meindl’s, bring vibrancy and warmth to their roles as an almost palpable sense of tragedy hovers over each of them.  

These stories build up an unnerving sense of dread, not so much for what happens at the climax, but by how we can feel something slowly slipping through the fingers of our main characters.  On first viewing, I made the assumption that the climaxes were those inciting incidents, but in looking again, Meindl very slyly makes a first disagreement or a barrier to success the moment where everything changes.  It’s there when Ricky and Raul can’t agree on how to spend their evening, or how our French quartet mingles on a dance floor.  When Elena goes to a bank to clear out her savings, the “no” she gets from the teller affects everything that follows.  

I’m reminded of a fantastic film from 1975, The Day Of The Locust, directed by the great John Schlesinger, in which we follow a host of characters in 1930s Hollywood, come to care about them, only to end up with a deadly melee at the end.  One could also cite Robert Altman’s Nashville as a similar experience.  Where We Go From Here may not be at the level of those two classics, but as an ultra low-budget feature debut, Meindl has certainly not gone down an expected path.  He plays with structure and expectations, bringing great empathy to his main characters and punching you in the gut at times when you least expect it.  His cinematographer Ray Wongchinda brings a fluidity and gorgeous shallow focus to his shots and makes this film look more expensive than you’d think.  They shot a third of this film in Paris on very little money.  That’s impressive.  I also love when filmmakers with limited funds find perfect solutions to bringing complex scenes to life.  My limiting the points of view to our central characters, the violence, when it comes, feels appropriately contained, giving us, the viewers, an insight into what it’s like when something horrific erupts around you can you don’t understand what’s really occurring. The issues this film raises about terrorism and especially domestic violence, couldn’t be more timely.  So many people have found themselves sheltered-at-home with an abuser, making a challenging time in our history even more dire. This is a timely, heartfelt film experience. I can’t wait to see what Meindl and company do next.  

Where We Go From Here is currently streaming for free on Hulu and is available on VOD at the usual online outlets.

[silenust3]

Data from their surveys showed that there is something beneath the surface. The researchers describe it as an anomaly because its density is different from the surrounding ground. The data also showed that the anomaly was almost certainly man-made due to its shape. They could see what appeared to be two underground structures—one shallow, one deep.

The shallow structure is L-shaped and just under 2 meters deep. It measures approximately 10 meters wide by 15 meters long. They suspect its purpose was to support the construction of the larger, deeper structure, because it appears to have been backfilled with sand. The deeper structure was measured at almost 5 meters below ground at its most shallow and 10 meters at its deepest. It was measured at 10 square meters.

The team suggests careful excavation of the site be carried out to determine the nature of the structures.

(150524)

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[silenust3]

‘During the second half of the third millennium BC the land of Sumer and in fact the entire Mesopotamian region came under the control of the Akkadians, a Semitic people who had lived for centuries among the Sumerians. When the Akkadian Emperors took control of the land, they established the very first world empire, with their rule and dominium stretching to the furthest corners of the ancient Middle East. In later times they were commemorated as the greatest of all those who had ever ruled over ancient Mesopotamia.

The Akkadian Emperors were not only regarded as scions of the gods, the greatest among them was even worshipped as one of the great gods of Sumer, and that during his own lifetime. The name of this very first God-Emperor who appeared on Earth was Naram-Sin, son or grandson of Sargon the Great of Akkad, founder of the Empire. The greatness of this god-man is visible in his rule over the four corners of the known world. In my opinion, he was the greatest ruler the ancient world had seen in all the ages leading up to the Roman Empire. Although other kings, such as Alexander the Great, conquered much larger areas and geographical regions, it must be remembered that the ancient world was much less integrated and much less accessible in the time of the Akkadian rulers than in later periods.’

(100524)

#Sumer MESOPOTAMIA #the Akkadians #god-emperors #gay fictional screen character? #gay fictional storyline’s thematic #Naram-Sin

[silenust3]

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[silenust3]

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