#IT IS SO GOOD AND QUEER AND DIVERSE AND THE SONGS ARE AMAZING | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nerdygaymormon · 3 months

Text

Stake Conference 2024

This blog is a place where I share about my experiences as a queer member of the LDS Church. I'm not going to give a full recap about stake conference, which was wonderful, but about where it intersected with me being queer.

————————————————————

Elder James N. Robinson of the Seventy came to stake conference.

On Saturday, the stake presidency, stake relief society presidency and their spouses joined Elder Robinson for lunch. To help him get to know us, we went around the table and had everyone introduce themselves by giving their name, where they grew up, something interesting about ourselves, and our nickname.

The Stake president started, and the interesting thing he shared is his journey when his son came out as gay, and that has made him more empathetic which has made him a better stake president than he would otherwise be.

His wife shared that her work is helping LDS families with queer children and helping our church be a more welcoming space.

I was watching Elder Robinson for his reactions to these two speak of having a gay child and how it's been transformative for them. He didn't show any reaction or make any remarks specifically about those things.

When it was my turn, I shared that one of my nicknames is Chuck, short for chuckles because I laugh often. An interesting thing is a video I created for a stake youth conference went viral and was viewed over 2 million times. The stake president then spoke up to share that Bonneville Communications contacted me because they were impressed by the video and the reaction it was getting, and were interested in partnering for an upcoming project...until they learned I put together the video on my iPhone. 😂

—————————

After lunch, the spouses left and the rest of us had a meeting with Elder Robinson. During this meeting he mentioned that he hopes "Come Thou Fount" makes it in the new hymnbook. I said, "I happen to know that it IS included." A counselor in the stake presidency asked me to share how I know that, and I replied that Elder Renlund is head of the committee creating the new hymnbook and he told me.

Then a counselor in the stake relief society presidency said that she wishes "Amazing Grace" could be in our hymnbook, and I shared that it also will be included in the new hymnal.

—————————

After the meeting with the stake presidency and stake relief society presidency, we all went to the leadership session of stake conference, during which Elder Robinson asked for everyone from a certain ward to come up front. He invited them to think of their favorite hymn, and when he said "Go" to start singing it as loud as they can. Needless to say, they sang many different songs and it was chaotic.

He stopped them and asked that this time they sing "I am a Child of God." They sounded pretty good. As they were singing, I was noting how diverse a group they were.

—————————

After the leadership session, Elder Robinson and his wife had dinner with the stake presidency and their spouses. Elder Robinson asked me about the viral video I mentioned at lunch, so I texted him a link. He and his wife are laughing as they watch it on his phone, but turn it off after about 30 seconds. He says it looks very enjoyable and they'll finish watching it that night.

During dinner, one of his counselors commented that the closest he gets to general authorities is hearing David's stories. Elder Robinson turned to me and asked how is it I know Elder Renlund? I shared about sitting next to him and his wife for dinner, getting invited to visit them in Utah, and we have a growing friendship as they have continued to invite me to visit when I'm in Salt Lake City. During this story I mentioned that I’m gay as it was relevant.

The counselor who brought up me meeting with general authorities kept prompting me to share about this or that specific story with the Renlunds, usually something on the more humorous side.

—————————

After dinner as I was sitting in the next session of stake conference, I had this feeling that speaking so casually about the Renlunds gives the wrong impression and that I should explain to the Seventy about how this came to be. That night I sent the following text:

—————————

On Sunday morning, Sister Robinson said that at the hotel they laughed and laughed at my video, sent it to others who would then text back what were their favorite parts.

At the conclusion of stake conference, the stake presidency and stake relief society presidency met again with Elder & Sister Robinson. We were asked to go around the room and share one takeaway we felt during the conference of something we need to do, us personally

He got to me, and I said I need to give a little background information. For the past month there's been a firestorm raging in a small corner of the internet by some members who think the church is too kind to LGBTQ people. Their posts and videos and the comments they generate are extremely mean. Some of these folks brought me up, saying that I'm dangerous to the church and by having a calling it is confusing the members. (at this point, Elder Robinson's smile drops and he looks sad)

I continued on, that in the Leadership Session, Elder Robinson called up everyone from a ward and had them sing I am a Child of God.

These were people of different genders, different ages, different racial & ethnic backgrounds, different socio-economic status, different national origins, different places in their lives, and the gospel was able to unite them.

My takeaway is I am to continue to show people they are accepted and wanted, that by combining their voices with mine we are more powerful

Elder Robinson responded, "I want you to know we (pointing to him and his wife) have your back. And you have a room full of people (stake presidency & stake RS presidency) who have your back

Before the meeting ended, he asked to speak to the stake president privately, and they met in the adjoining office for about 10 minutes. Then they rejoined us and Elder Robinson started wrapping things up.

We ended by Elder Robinson asking the 1st counselor in the stake presidency to give the stake president a blessing. It was such a good idea, the stake president gives many blessings but rarely gets one.

After the meeting, the stake relief society president (who is a military chaplain) came over and said, "My mama bear reared up and I was about to crawl out of my chair and say 'who do I need to go after?'"

The stake clerk's wife is retired from the Army and heard what I shared, she said to give her the website and she will make their lives miserable. Of course I didn't give her any details, but I appreciated the fierce show of love from both of them.

—————————

I next saw the stake presidency on Wednesday at our regular presidency meeting. We reviewed stake conference and my stake presidency decided when they meet with the bishops one-on-one to offer to give them a blessing. I think that’s a great idea as they also give many blessings but rarely receive one.

After our meeting as we’re headed to our cars, the stake president said, “Hey David, when Elder Robinson pulled me aside for those few minutes, he said several things, including that he appreciates that I have you in this calling because you bring a different point of view. That you’re a good man and I should keep you close.” 💖

Guess I'm not getting released any time soon from being the stake executive secretary 😅

#james n robinson #long post

49 notes · View notes

obscure-song-tournament · 9 months

Text

FINAL SET !!!!!!!!!!!

Rusalka and the Shepherd Girl - The Forgetmenauts

“It's about an entity from slavic folklore!!! which is so so fun!!! I have no comprehensible thoughts about this song. It's SO good and i'm losing my mind over it. It's also very queer. which is a given because.........well yeah it's the forgetmenauts. […]” & “SO BASICALLY!!! YEAH IT'S A SONG ABOUT A RUSALKA AND A SHEPERD GIRL WHO SHE LURED INTO THE RIVER!!! HELL YEAH!!! DROWNING FOR LOVE!!! WITH THEMES OF SINNING AND CHRISTIANITY!!! ITS SO SOSOSOSO FUN!!! The coven (a group of like....30-50 people on tumblr who go ballistic over the forgetmenauts) is SO not normal about this song. it's in the top 3 songs we all collectively lose our minds over on a regular basis.”

PIANO GAMES - Hamza Notes

“this is the Main Theme for Entropic Float, which is one of my favourite games and i am Downright Feral about it and about the fact that its so niche as to make it possible for me to befriend the game author. in one of the endings, theres a singular verse of lyrics for this song, so i went "oh worm?" and wrote the rest (theres no link to that anywhere tho) (also due to aforementioned "the game is so niche i befriended the author" i was sharing them with him in the process and theyre kinda canon now)" & “if you have a working pc, i absolutely encourage you to play entropic float. its free on steam and pay-what-you-want on itch. its about timeloops and the mortifying ordeal of being known and the cast is so genuinely alive and diverse and i am feral about this game”

Patches - Jawbreaker Reunion

“The lyricism in this song is insanely good. Jawbreaker Reunion has consistently great lyrics, but this song especially is one that I find so, so special. “The nausea in my stomach / Is more feeling than you ever, ever gave”… God. What an amazing line. And the music itself is incredible. Both of their albums are stellar.”

#obscure song tournament #poll #music poll #final round #Jawbreaker reunion #hamza notes #entropic float #the forgetmenauts

69 notes · View notes

rainbowsky · 11 months

Text

Happy Pride! 💖🌈🦄

Happy Pride, everyone!

I wanted to celebrate Pride this year by sharing some great up-beat queer anthems - songs from some of the groundbreaking queer artists who have been raising their voices to make the world a better place every day. Let's celebrate diversity together! 😘

Domo Wilson - Bisexual Anthem

youtube

Domo Wilson should really be the one to start the Pride festivities this year, with this amazing, amazing, amazing Bisexual Anthem. Songs like this are rare - great message AND good song. This woman is fucking brilliant. (Sexually explicit lyrics).

Brenda Fassie - Vuli Ndlela

youtube

Africa's first openly gay pop star Brenda Fassie is an incredible talent. Her voice, her style, everything about the way she sings is utterly captivating, compelling and packed full of emotion - whether it be joy or misery.

I discovered her a while back and had that tragic modern experience of falling in love with an artist and then immediately being pitched into grief as I learned about her difficult life and too early death.

Some of you might be familiar with the Chinese term, 'jaiyou' which literally means 'add oil' or more generally, 'go for it!' Vuli ndlela is a similar term that means 'make way!'

The song is about sticking it to gossipy neighbours on her son's wedding day (because they thought he'd never marry and find lasting love), but over the years it has become a popular anthem of empowerment and encouragement.

Troye Sivan and Gordi - Wait

youtube

Who can resist a dreamy, sweet duet with two queer darlings?

Muna - Pink Chiffon (feat. Phoebe Bridgers)

youtube

I've shared this song before on my blog but it's such a sweet, catchy, up-beat song it deserves to be shared again.

Beth Ditto - We Could Run

youtube

One of the greatest - and most consistently and criminally underrated - voices in music.

Kehlani - Altar

youtube

This isn't an artist I've followed in the past, but this particular song is so infectious, I absolutely love it.

Shae Diamond - I Am Her

youtube

In her own words:

"My name is Shea Diamond, Singer/Songwriter based in NYC by way of Flint, MI. I was born into a gender role that I did not accept & I didn’t feel like myself. Desperate to find the financial means to transition to my true gender, I committed a crime in 1999 & was sentenced to 10 years in a men's prison. While incarcerated, I found a community that shared my trans experience - it was there where I found my voice. I began writing “I Am Her” as a statement to a world that said I shouldn't exist. I wrote it as an anthem for all those that felt shunned for simply being who they were. In 2009 I was released from prison. Shortly after my release, I moved to New York City where I found a studio to record “I Am Her” and the means to create a video for my song."

Ria Mae - Bend

youtube

Canadian pop sensation Ria Mae, yet another criminally underrated artist whose work speaks for itself. Let's give her some love as her home town and province have been suffering intense and dangerous wildfires, and destruction to homes and wildlife habitat.

Janelle Monae - Lipstick Lover

youtube

I don't even need to say anything about this song that this stupid-ass 'age restriction' bullshit doesn't already say. 😅

It's worth the trip to YouTube.

Erasure - A Little Respect

youtube

I'll close this off with one of the best gay anthems ever written, and one of my all-time favorite songs. Never has it felt more relevant than it does today, with all the hate being thrown at queer people, all the backward redneck laws, all the churchy dicks trying to destroy the lives of people they don't understand. Like the line in the song:

What religion or reason Could drive a man to forsake his lover?

What indeed?

Happy Pride everyone! 💖

YouTube playlist of these songs.

#queer calendar #happy pride 2023 people #personal

57 notes · View notes

justalesbiankpopstan · 12 days

Text

Ateez 9th member

Speculation has been mounting within the K-pop community following cryptic hints and ambiguous statements from Roux, a member of the popular group ATEEZ. Recent interviews and social media posts have left fans wondering about her sexual orientation, leading to heated debates and divided opinions among supporters and netizens.

Things such as, when asked about her type, she never addressed anything directly connected to any gender, alluding to the possibility of her not being straight. On instagram, aside from constantly sharing songs from queer artists, she also flirts with fans and some of her female friends.

While Roux has not explicitly confirmed or denied the rumors, her enigmatic behavior has fueled curiosity and intrigue, raising questions about the complexities of identity in the competitive world of K-pop. In a following instagram story she said some things that might be connected to the rumors: “Firstly I would like to thank all of you who continued to support me and send me love. I would like to emphasize that my identity is multifaceted and complex, and that I embraces all aspects of who I am, regardless of societal expectations. I think this topic is important to be spoken, thus why I’ve been so clearly vocal about this all these years. No one should be summarized by what they identify as. The view society has on queer people is one of predators, of bad people. But in the end of the day, the queer community is the one that gets killed for being who they are by these “good people”. Please spread more love to all. XO Roux.” (She also published in Korean in another story).

As fans eagerly await further clarification, the uncertainty surrounding Roux's sexuality continues to stir discussions about representation and diversity within the industry.

Here are some comments made on the original forum:

•"Who cares about someone's sexuality? Roux is an amazing performer and that's all that matters. Let's support her talent rather than speculate about her personal life."

•"It's her right to keep her personal life private. Whether she's straight, gay, or anything else, it doesn't change how much I love her and ATEEZ's music."

•"Roux's sexuality is nobody's business but her own. As long as she's happy and healthy, that's all that should matter to us as fans."

•"Let's not add to the pressure she's already under as a public figure. It's important to respect her privacy and focus on supporting her as an artist."

•"Sexuality isn't something that should be used to judge someone's worth. Roux deserves our love and support regardless of who she loves."

•"If Roux is hiding her sexuality, it's because she knows it will affect her career. K-pop idols should be honest with their fans."

• "I can't support someone who isn't transparent about who they really are. Roux owes her fans the truth."

•"This controversy is distracting from ATEEZ's music. Roux should address it head-on instead of leaving fans guessing."

What do you think about this controversy? Do you think Roux own fans an explanation? Or so you think she has the right to privacy?

#kpop added member #kpopdr #kpop imagines #kpop gg #kpopidol #kpop girls #kpop #roux;#ateez added member #ateez female oc #ateez female member #ateez female addition #ateez 9th member #ateez fic #ateez fanfic #ateez imagines #Spotify

10 notes · View notes

mommasunshines · 1 year

Text

I watched Motherland Fort Salem season 1 and 2 last year, waiting for season 3 to drop on Amazon, which it didn't cause it dropped on Disney Plus and I found out right in the middle of my graduation exams. But since I am almost done with them and I needed study breaks sometimes, I have now also watched Season 3 in its entirety.

Before you read this, there will be spoilers for all the seasons and if you disagree with points I made, I ask you to respectfully point them out and not just come down on me with all your fury, I can not judge if representation is accurate if I do not belong to the represented group, I can just appreciate it for existing. I also mean no offense to anyone at all. Thank you.

Now with that said, I wanna share my thoughts on the whole show, and on some little details I really liked.

It was a huge cast with many many BIPOC actors, a lot of important characters where portrayed by people of colour and it was amazing to see a show where there wasn't just a few token people of colour, but really a big diverse cast. I can't judge too much on how well these were portrayed as I myself am white, but it was still nice to see

There was queer representation. There was less queerness than other representation, but there was lesbian main characters, mlm side characters, possibly bi characters, a bit of polyamoury, there was even one Witch that was most likely genderqueer to some extent. M/Medusa said "I could go with the boys to train under the witchfather or the girls to train in basic. Neither of those fit me." It isn't explicitly stating that M is genderqueer or trans in any way, but it was a nice conversation that at least touched on the subject. The queer rep was subtle at times, and maybe not always the best or most, but it was nice to see anyways.

Paganism was also an important part of the worldbuilding. There were little good luck charms, sigils for spells like unlocking a door, all little things, but most importantly there was always the talk of "goddess" instead of the christian god, and pagan holidays were celebrated. Beltane as the festival of spring beginning. It's a festival of fertility as well, so seeing it portrayed as a festival of sex was not too inaccurate. It also was a great way to shoe sexuality in that world and how it is viewed (I'll put a pin in that for now). There was also samhain as the celebration of the dead and beginning of winter. I learned that at samhain, celtic pagans would ask the dead for hints of how the future would be, so the talking with the dead made sense. Yule being a celebrated and important day was also nice. The line about "staying up all night and singing the yule song" from Nicte was especially interesting because it is the longest night of the year, and it is still believed by some Pagans/witches that you should try and stay up until sunrise, so that nothing evil can enter your house or body on the night where the sun is dead.

The Portrayal of Sexuality, not as in queerness but in the sense of sex positivity. Witches were believed to get their powers from having sex wit the devil, so the fact that sex made witches stronger was based in old beliefs. Furthermore, after said sex, Satan was said to give them a witches' mark, which can be seen in the lineage specific marks that the Salem witches carry, since they start shining metallic after they have sex the first time. But overall, sex was seen as something positive and nice, not something evil or shameful. There was no shame in having sex and there was also no shame in having relationships with many, no one was branded a whore, people just cracked jokes about "charging up for battle". And I think it's beautiful to see that.

The storyline was good. At the end of the series I could see how every thing was connected, even details they planted in the first season. Again, I will come back to this to elaborate, but everything was somehow connected and the only real "loose end" I can remember, is that one character disappeared towards the end of season three and we don't know where she went. She died presumably, but no one actually knows.

The worldbuilding and idea were phenomenal. The whole idea of magic and witches being based on voices, that sound carries power thanks to the extra vocal chords some people had was wonderful. But more than that, it was thought through very well. The way to stop magic was to make sure frequencies couldn't escape, the way to store magic like an attack was to put it inside a container that contained air, like a pill bottle, a balloon or a soccer ball. There was also the aspect of manipulation through said witch craft, Salva to fly, whips that turn molten hot, fire to change ones face (which is quite terrifying but amazing at the same time) and much more. The only complaints with this that I have is that we never got a list of the "seeds" used in their "work" cause there was a mention of 72 that were used by the millitary and much more that existed. I wish we could've seen more of that.

The developments in politics in season two and three were downright scary. I would go as far as to say that what was happening there was reminiscent of Germany in the 1930s/40s. BEFORE YOU COME AT ME: I am German and have taken what basically translates to AP History in the states, I have been to seminars and memorial places, I don't take this comparison lightly and I know what I say when I say it. With that said, the way witches were being treated mimics the early stages of prosecution in Germany at that time. They were given red collars that stopped their voices and were meant to identify them. They had curfews, got checked up on by police regularly, and they had to put those collars on their children too. It is similar to the yellow stars Jews had to wear. There was also records of family lines over multiple generations, genealogical research to find out who could be a witch. It was truly dystopian, witches that didn't wear their collars got arrested or beaten, and their mere existence even if they were civilians, was enough to justify all of this. Once again, I am not saying "Oh haha this was the holocaust!" no, I am saying it mimics aspects of how the prosecutions started and some of the cruelty inflicted on the victims. I am speaking from the perspective of someone who has studied this subject for multiple years in school and does not take it lightly. But it brings me to my next thought.

The second and third season of the show showed how popular opinion and support for politicians determine the fate of a nation. While the military was celebrated at the beginning, America began to fall apart slowly, with people turning on the military and on each other. Campaigns to detain the witches and organisations like "Not our Daughters" were sadly more a cautionary tail than pure fiction. It demonstrated how quickly things can go awry and that was dystopian, but also rather realistic.

Something not talked about too often, was that the society was matriarchal rather than patriarchal. It was refreshing to see, women in power and in charge of their lives. I don't have too much to say about this, but seeing a black female president, it was a nice thing to imagine.

Now to details I noticed: (Spoiler warnings)

One: Only women were able to pass down the witch gene/witch ability. Now, both men and women could have it, but only women could pass it on, meaning that it is like mitochondrial DNA, which was a silly detail but something I thought was cool.

Two: Abigail gets called a "Priestess of ancient Truth" by Abdil, which might have been his attempt at flirting, but turned out to be correct, seeing that Abigail was a steward of the First song. I don't know if it was coincidence, but I don't think it was. Either way it was a very nice detail that made me rather happy.

Three: The covens at War College were named after Goddesses, mostly war goddesses. Sekhmet being the coven that Raelle came to was nice because Sekhmet was not just a goddess of war, but also one of healing. Raelle herself was a talented fixer too.

Four: An issue I had was the healing in the Cession being a "christo-pagan" healing. Since the majority of people in the cession are indigenous Americans it made little sense for them to develop witch craft based on the bible. I thought it was a bit weird in general for that to even be a thing, but I guess seeing as they were a pagan based society and Raelle was supposed to have a stronger kind of healing, the closest thing was to pull on christianity. I think it could've been solved better, but not every aspect of a show can be wonderful I guess.

Five: Raelle was supposed to have stronger healing but it harmed her, which confused me until my dad pointed something out. The stronger a magic is, the worse the drawbacks of it are. Her healing damaging her while also fixing something nothing else can fix, it makes sense.

I probably have more, but it's been a while since I saw the first two seasons and I already made this post really long, I just needed to share this all.

#motherland freeform #motherland fort salem #motherland spoilers #Representation #Thoughts #ramblepost #review kinda #queer rep #queer #gay #Again please don't just tear me apart if you disagree; try to communicate so I can understand what I said wrong #And this is not a scientific breakdown; this is an opinion #lesbian

7 notes · View notes

poppletonink · 2 years

Text

An Analysis of the IKSW Characters

First of all, if you haven’t read I Kissed Shara Wheeler yet, I would recommend skipping this one, as this contains an immense number of spoilers. Now with that out of the way, let’s dive in, shall we?...

Every character in I Kissed Shara Wheeler is different. The cast is diverse, and each character teaches the readers important life lessons about numerous topics.

Chloe Green

“She’s gay, Your Honour.”

Chloe (who is incredibly similar to Paris Geller from Gilmore Girls) is the world’s most perfect example of a bisexual who has a general dislike of most other people. She’s a theatre nerd and a perfectionist – especially when it comes to her grades and her eyeliner. And she’s also quite probably the most determined character in the entire novel, with her never-ending drive to find Shara and to win valedictorian (this is mostly like the reason that she reminds of the song ‘Are You Satisfied?’ by Marina). Chloe hates False Beach, and her high school, constantly finding little ways to rebel against the school dress code so that she can control why people look at her. She’s also the only openly queer girl in their school, just like her mom was. Chloe is important because she teaches readers not to give up – not when there’s something worth fighting against or for.

Shara Wheeler

“You’re like the girl… You know everyone is scared of Chloe Green, right?”

Shara Wheeler is like the perfect combination of Alison DiLaurentis from Pretty Little Liars and Rory Gilmore from Gilmore Girls; she’s also the epitome of the song ‘Little Miss Perfect’ by Write Out Loud. She starts out as the town’s perfect girl, who everyone aspires to be like, perfectly representing what God would want out of someone, but as the story goes on you see more and more cracks in her flawless façade. Shara is the reason that Chloe learns the difference between nice and kind, because Shara is not nice, but she is kind. She also cares about things too much, and when she does, she throws them away, because she doesn’t want people to know just how much she cares. She can read people like a book (or everyone apart from herself, apparently) which is how she manages to plant her clues in a manipulative scheme to control the people around her. Shara Wheeler is far from perfect, but she’s interesting, which in the same way as Georgia describes Emma from the classic Jane Austen novel, is what makes her a good character.

Smith Parker

“Because I feel bad doing all that to a frog… Like, I don’t know how he died! What if he had a family? What if he had like, dreams? What if he never got to finish Breaking Bad?”

Smith’s character (who for some reason reminds me of Cooper Clay from One of Us is Lying) is incredibly interesting. First of all, he’s a jock who is actually nice – something that is rarely seen in fiction. And secondly, I was not expecting his side plot to do with his gender identity (though I definitely called the Rory related side plot). Smith is interesting because he’s not what you usually see of a genderqueer character. It seems like he’s somewhere on the non-binary spectrum (using his letterman jacket as a coping method for his gender dysphoria) but he still chooses to use he/him pronouns. He likes football, but he also has a Sailor Moon collection, and he likes putting flowers in his hair and wearing makeup. Smith Parker is a character the world needed to see, because he proves that not all genderqueer people are the same.

Rory Heron

“For legal reasons, I’m joking.”

Rory Heron is amazing. He thoroughly reminds me of Jess Mariano from Gilmore Girls (though Casey McQuiston has previously stated on Twitter about their likeness) because he likes poetry – even though he’s dyslexic – but hates school and usually skives, plus the fact that he’s done some illegal stuff that everyone just casually ignores. He’s brutally honest, but he’s also really romantic – the fact that he flooded the labs just so Smith didn’t have to dissect the frogs, even though they weren’t talking to each other at the time, is just adorable (and the fact that he writes songs about him). Plus, the way he figures out that he’s gay (which I knew was coming ever since Ace’s comment about Mr. Brightside at Dixon’s party) was just brilliant, because it shows how a lot of people are conditioned to automatically think that they’re straight even if they later discover that they aren’t.

Georgia

“Chloe, we’re gay. We can’t do math.”

Georgia’s character felt so important to the story, because though she was a side character she teaches Chloe – and the readers – a lot. Her relationship with Summer teaches everyone that religion and queerness can work together – you can be both religious and queer. Not only is she important from a moral-of-the-story perspective, but she also has some of the funniest lines in the entire novel, and the way she views Emma by Jane Austen, can help to get the reader to see just how good Shara’s character is. Georgia is loyal, and a good friend and daughter – even giving up going to NYU with Chloe in order to help her parents with Belltower Books. She also sheds some much-needed light on the fact that just because Chloe hates False Beach, and just because it needs to change, doesn’t mean that it’s all bad, really.

41 notes · View notes

bookcub · 2 years

Text

13 the movie musical review

so i have three categories for everything. the good, the bad, and the poorly executed. the poorly excuted is changes and updates that were made that i agreed with in theroy but didn't think the execution worked

the good

the child actors all did a good job, amazing dancing, good singing, and decent acting. i hope this leads to more roles for most of them. they also were actual tweens, and looked it. media about kids with kids in it is important.

the Jewish culture and herritage was still a large part of evan's story, and i am not Jewish, but it seemed like overall it was a good job. (i would have liked more, the whole theme of becoming a man and what it means to be an adult was taken out, which was a huge part of evan and tied to being Jewish because of his bar mitzvah)

the cast of children is much more diverse, not just race, but there were a few kids who were queer, and it was incidental diversity (a term ive heard some romance writers use)

costuming was great, loved how the teens were dressed like teens and all clearly had their own styles

the lighting!!! i could see everything!!! it was so bright!!!

i think im glad "the tongue" was taken away and it was about your first kiss instead but . . . im still not sure, like this was more sanitation but also felt more accurate to my middle school experience??

some of the songs cut I approved of because we didn't need hey kendra or any minute

while i was upset they added new songs after cutting many important ones, the originals were better than a lot of the original songs because of how many changed lyrics sounded so awful but worked in the original ones better

they gave lucy, kendra, and brett some actual nuance and less of a stereotypical persona, like there were motivations that were explained and kendra had more agency, so . . .. i think i liked that change overall, but despite the updates they still felt fairly flat

the actors who played brett and kendra can actually sing, in the original musical they have the weakest voices so that was a great change

the bad

who the fuck sanitized this? no one says hell or damn or ass, and those words were used frequently in the musical. no one talked about bras or wanting to get drunk. the kids were messy in the musical, they were jerks, and they were all lost and that was all taken away. no one cried or really shouted? the emotions were gone and it lost so much of the reality

i said this earlier, but evan has multiple songs about what it means to grow up and become a man and that was erased until it shows up in the second to last song which. . . ruined the whole theme and evans arc as a character. the songs could have been shortened, but becoming a man, here i come, and if that's what it is, should all be in there. im so upset they didn't make it into the cut

the end was totally changed!!! i didn't need all the other students to hate him like they did in the end but evan realizes that he prefers patrice and archie, and that the popular kids don't care about him and ugh. he realized he didn't need his ideal party to have the bar mitzvah he needed.

turn!! off!! autotune!! or if you use it, the average listener should not be able to tell

as much as I liked having more of brett, kendra, and lucy, patrice and archie were shoved to the side of the narrative and that was incredibly frustrating, ensemble movies are hard to make with everyone fleshed out rip :/

the antisemantic joke made me deeply uncomfortable, esp considering it was the only . . . .inappropriate thing said?? like the word bra was taken out but they had a remark about circumcision?? it makes it feel even worse. (is it just me???) i also have no idea if this was in the original, i only have the music memorized

the poorly executed

i haven't heard any commentary on archies character uh. . . ever, but not surprising to me that an adaptation would need to redo a lot of his character. however, the answer was not to cut his character entirely. he went from one of the characters with the most time on stage to some of the least screen time. dont just cut a role, give the work it needs to be updated.

lucy lucy lucy. .. . i loved seeing her motivation but let her be meaner. shes our lead villain, she does some terrible things. let her be terrible!!! (possibly we could have talked more about eating disorders?? her line in the musical at the end is jarring and very real and i wish we can time to unpack the complexity of mental illness in teens??? but also this show does not have the time or skill to do that)

I get there needed to be adults and they needed to not just. .. be there but this is about kids, this is not about your parents. put them on the back burner and give their screen time to kids. they should have the smallest parts ever.

opportunity. . . it needed to be changed some but every word except opportunity and the last line were changed . . . .like that's not the same song then??? and the rap was *shudders* bad. i liked trying to change the placement and ofc the inclusion of it in the musical but . . . no do better.

so many lyrics needed to be changed because they did not age well but the updated lyrics were so sloppy and didn't fit and whoever updated them clearly put random lyrics in without any actual thought into what a good change might be

(and many lyrics did not need to change, the producers were just cowards but whatever)

i have so much more to say but i just need to post this now

please tell me your thoughts, if you agree or disagree with any points, i really want to hear other perspectives!!

#13 the musical #thirteen the musical #jason robert brown #13 the musical movie

23 notes · View notes

turing-test-failure · 2 years

Text

obsessed with Dead End Paranormal Park. it's all I can think about oh my god. if y'all haven't watched it and you need a good queer cartoon bc you're missing TOH or you want a new gravity falls, please PLEASE watch it it's so good!!! the mc is trans and gay, and the other mc is an queer autistic woc!!! and besides just being super inclusive and diverse, it's legitimately got a great plot that's super compelling, plus there's a musical episode with AMAZING songs (My Frankenstein is my personal fave, ngl I've been listening to it on loop). so please give this show all the support you can because it's legitimately amazing and it means sm to me now ugh

#dead end paranormal park #norma khan #barney guttman #hamish steele

33 notes · View notes

9w1ft · 1 year

Note

twinning admin here once again! sorry i should probably just shut up, but... it's really fun to have this conversation with you! you're really smart and well-spoken and bring up so many good points, it's hard to not engage, haha.

your tangent in particular really opened my eyes..... it just? makes so much sense? not just from a gaylor/kaylor's perspective, but from the perspective of taylor as a whole. maintaining a fierce voice in the political and social landscape is really not easy, especially considering that in the general public's eye, she's a polarising celebrity who's been under scrutiny - for instance, if she endorses something good, haters may be inclined to go against her and that thing instead (her precarious reputation as a two-faced snake from the olden years is why she didn't publicly express her support for hillary lest things went south). but if she stays silent, it'll be taken negatively too. either way, anything she says can be and will be used against her or whatever the subject of her words are, which is why i'd rather she act more often to showcase her values instead. donations, diverse representation in music videos, and supporting small artists are a good step in the right direction, hope she keeps on going that way.

back to gaylorism - i personally don't care about being right, i just enjoy this niche corner kaylor has created as well as, what you describe, the love story of our generation 💗 thank you and other wonderful kaylor/gaylor blogs out on here for your incredible attention to detail and queer readings of taylor's songs. her music is already amazing, but reading it through the gaylor/kaylor lens elevates it for me, haha. have a nice day, 9w1.

p.s. plz do let me know if i should shut up now i'd hate to be clogging up your asks haha

haha oh my goodness never feel the need to shut up! just please don’t anybody take it personally if i don’t get to an ask. im kinda new to the anon inbox thing and i don’t get to them all. i do my best to read and think about each of them though ☺️

i am so happy to hear you are finding joy in reading through these things! at the end of the day, thinking about these stories should be something that enriches your life / worth the time you spend reading them.

you have a nice day too!

11 notes · View notes

abookishidentity · 3 days

Text

Books read in April 2024

-A Quantum Love Story by Mike Chen started March 29, 2024 and finished April 2, 2024 - 4/5 stars. This is a time loop story with love in it. Time loops are always so angsty and devastating. I like how the main character initiated the love story. Its very interesting how the only way to stop the loop from repeating again is to go back in time to fix mistakes. Its devastating that the main character doesn’t end up with the man she likes but she makes it so her past self can end up with him. Did not see that coming

-Light Years from Home by Mike Chen started April 2, 2024 and finished April 5, 2024 - 5/5 stars. Oh man what an amazing book. Imagine having such an estranged relationship with your family that when you and your dad are abducted with aliens you are like “Yeah, I’ll fight this alien war but I’ll send my dad back though” I don’t know what I would do if my twin was abducted by aliens and then returned years later. Such good family drama in this book. Lots of “Why didn't you come back?” and “It’s your fault that dad died!”

-The Afterlives by Thomas Peirce started April 5, 2024 and finished April 8, 2024- 4/5 stars. Man dies and comes back and sort of has a crisis about not seeing anything. Interesting characters and plot. This was going to be 3 stars but the part with the main character going through the machine was interesting. Main character was a tad annoying but I have read worse.

-The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey started April 9, 2024 and finished April 10, 2024 - 4/5 stars. What do you do when you find out your husband essentially made a clone of you and marries her? I’m so glad the clone murdered the abusive husband. It sounded like the main character and her husband were toxic to each other. I was thrown a bit when the clone and the main character decided to make a clone out of the asshole cheating husband but whatever. Asshole husbands are buried in the garden it seems. Interesting ending.

The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older started April 11, 2024 and finished April 12, 2024- 4/5 stars. Cozy murder mystery in space with lesbians. What’s not to love? The dynamic reminded me of Sherlock Holmes and Watson a bit. This was a short book so I read it pretty quickly.

-The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles by Malka Older started April 12, 2024 and finished April 15, 2024- 4/5 stars. The sequel was a tad longer but it was still pretty good. I would be interested to see where this series goes.

-The Devil You Know by Mike Carey started April 15, 2024 and finished April 19, 2024- 4/5 stars. Now this is the urban fantasy that I really fucking love. It makes me think what the hell Felix was doing before this book took place. It amuses me to no end that Felix plays the tin whistle to do stuff with ghosts. Imagine going about your business and see a man playing a flute and playing popular british songs. Anyway good book. I need to read the entire series. Felix Castor is an interesting man living in an interesting world.

-The Veiled Masters by Tim Pratt started April 19, 2024 and finished April 22, 2024- 5/5 stars. Oh man what an excellent book. It’s the third book of a trilogy. There’s just something about mind controlling spores that I just fucking love. It actually works in this book. I also love the mind control is added with feelings of bliss and happiness when a task is completed. This trilogy was entertaining as hell and I love the diversity of characters. It’s also queer which is good. I think I ought to look into Tim Pratt books more.

-Vicious Circle by Mike Carey started April 22, 2024 and finished April 28, 2024 -5/5 stars. Holy crap I think I like this series as much as the Sandman Slim series by Richard Kadrey. Felix is incredibly interesting. He inserts himself into certain situations though as if he’s the only one that can fix things but whatever. I’m a little confused as to why a certain dude injected him with truth serum. Didn’t even get to read if it actually worked or not. It’s very interesting to see how Felix will get out of situations and or fights. He can get hurt and has to recover like any normal person. It makes a lot of sense that at the end of the book his landlady/friend is like “Yeah you aren’t living here anymore”

-dhalgren by samuel r. delany started April 28, 2024- I am half way through this book at the current moment. I am unsure if I’m going to finish it. The main character doesn’t seem particularly picky with things including where he’s sleeping and who he is sleeping with. I hope protection still exists. Like the main character will sleep with women and men and there isn't any mention of protection. Like fucking hell I just got to the part where he does stuff with the 15 year old boy. I'm pretty sure it's considered rape. This book was written in the 70s and I have to remind myself with that. This book doesn’t always make sense but I guess that’s fine. Perhaps I’m reading it for a change in scenery. Sometimes you got to read things that make you uncomfortable.

#A Quantum Love Story #Mike Chen #Light Years From Home #The Afterlives #Thomas Peirce #The Echo Wife #Sarah Gailey #The Mimicking of Known Successe #Malka Older #The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles #The Devil You Know #Mike Carey #The Veiled Masters #Tim Pratt #Vicious Circle #Dhalgren

0 notes

hyvnjinns · 3 months

Note

Hi! If I wanted to get into stray kids where should I start?

Oh my goodness anon, I'm so thrilled to receive this ask!! ❤️ Apologies in advance for the long reply ahead, and please don't hesitate to ever send in any other asks if you need clarification or have any other questions! I'm always happy to talk about Stray Kids ^^

I'd say the first place to start depends on whether you are already a kpop fan! If you aren't, it might be helpful--but not required at all!--to take a look at some guides to kpop to get an idea of what people mean when they talk about liners, generations, bias wreckers and daesangs. A good starting place is the kpopfairy carrd--it's a very good introduction to the terminology and culture you might encounter if you choose to become a more dedicated SKZ fan (side note: SKZ is the abbreviation for Stray Kids!).

In terms of getting into their music: a lot of their discography is heavily influenced by trap/EDM and even, notably, psychedelic trance (Side Effects--probably one of their most polarizing songs. It's incredible live though, I have to say). But even if those genres aren't quite your thing (they aren't always mine!), SKZ have one of the most diverse discographies in KPOP and almost certainly most Western groups. The music is almost completely self-produced by three of their members, and their lyrics often focus on issues like growing up and mental health. They have 18 albums + EPs + repackages in total, so the discography can be a bit overwhelming. I recommend watching their most popular title tracks--for instance, God's Menu (2020), the song about their unique musical style that catapulted them to fame both inside and outside of the KPOP circle. I also recommend a video that speedruns their songs across genres, like this one, to get an idea of their varied sound! As far as personal recommendations go, I love Phobia, Cover Me, Winter Falls, Haven, N/S, and SUPER BOARD. And, if you're into something a bit more...mature, Red Lights (a subunit song featuring only 2 out of 8 members) is their most-watched music video ever. Not only is the song amazing (and horny!), but the MV was directed by a queer Korean director who incorporates some kink elements in his work, and it's incredibly sexy. (And pretty rare to see something like that in KPOP, tbh.)

As is common in KPOP, Stray Kids have a lot of "variety" content--their SKZ-Talker series goes behind-the-scenes of award shows and when they're on tour, they sometimes do individual vlogs showcasing days in their life, and on and on! There's also their main variety show, SKZ CODE, where the content ranges from them solving murder mysteries, doing drag for an elaborate "SKZ Family" skit, or playing baseball. While all of these shows are hilarious and very fun to watch, they can be pretty overwhelming at first due to trying to tell everyone apart + reading subtitles while 8 men are shouting all at once! My biggest recommendation is to start by watching some fanmade Intro to SKZ videos like this one or this one. They're not entirely up-to-date (for one, Chan doesn't do Chan's Room anymore, which is tremendously sad), but they provide a great insight into the members' info and personalities. There's also this video which was a godsend when I was trying to figure out who's who! Once you feel comfortable enough with that, it is pretty easy to start watching some of their variety content, especially if you begin with individual vlogs where it's generally just one member!

I hope this makes sense and isn't overwhelming--I know it seems like a bit much since there's a huge amount of content from them! There's absolutely no pressure to consume all of it; I've been a fan for four years now and there's definitely still things I haven't seen and probably never will. Stays (the name for SKZ fans) are also by and large very accepting of casual fans who aren't hugely active within the fandom, and the SKZ Reddit in particular is really welcoming/drama-free with an entire weekly thread for new fans called "Baby Stays" where people can chat with others and ask questions. Have fun!! 💙

#anonymous asks #stray kids

0 notes

moonage-moth · 1 year

Text

2022 Media Look Back

Hey there! First post here, so let's begin with something kind of general. What better way than to start with a list? Here are my favorite movies, tv shows, games, anime, manga, HQs, music and books that I've consumed in 2022!

Movies

Everything Everywhere All at Once

What can I say about this masterpiece? It tackles everything so amazingly that it's hard to talk about it so quickly. We have the ADHD, immigrant, family, queer and probably many more themes that I've overlooked. I can't believe that a movie with kung-fu, butt plugs and sausage fingers made me cry this much.

The Batman

I am a huge nerd. Not one of those nerd that knows EVERYTHING about media, but one of those that loves nerdy things. I loved Robert Pattinson and Paul Dano's performances, the theme songs and specially the Bat Mobile. I still watch that scene from time to time and it always amazes me!

Oldboy

Man, this movie is good! And weird! And it stays with you! Such amazing cinematography, performance and story! I didn't think the plot twist by the end would be actually true, I'm way too used to popular western story telling, but it hits you quite strongly!

TV Shows

House Of The Dragon

I went into this with no expectation. Game of Thrones never got to me, but this show... I couldn't wait for the next episode! Every week I was counting the days to sunday so I could watch it! I can't praise the performances, costumes and dragon designs enough! Especially the dragons, each one had their own appearance and personality that added so much to the scenes they were on!

WandaVision

I'm going to be honest, I'm not enjoying most Marvel content anymore. I know, I know, not a controversial opinion, but it's happening. Anyway, WandaVision was an exception on this. I enjoyed this show way more than I thought was possible and really admired what they did with Wanda's character. Too bad they threw it away later in the movies...

Love, Death & Robots 3rd Season

COOL NERDY FANTASY AND SCIENCE-FICTION SHORTS! I know some of the episodes are hit or miss to some, but I really enjoy this show! The Jibaro episode, especially, was mesmerizing in its visuals and themes! I can't recommend it enough!

Games

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

I'm kind of late, I know, but I only got to play this game this year. And I LOVED it! It was the first game in years that got me into a five plus hours gaming session, which says something. The world, music, mood, story and art direction were top notch! I can't wait for the next one, I really hope they explore more of Zelda's character!!

Tunic

This game is spectacular! The game itself is cute, quite hard and has some plot twists, but if you dig into it and into the manual... It becomes something special. So many secrets, meta language and puzzles, it embodies the very concept of a game! PLEASE play Tunic if you can, it really is a special game.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

By now you probably noticed I like games with characters wearing green who use swords and shields, right? I was in a Zelda rush and had to play another game, so I went with this one, which I had skipeed in the past, surprising myself! Such amazing art style, characters and story! It's all simple, but made in a endearing and honest way, making this version of Zelda my favorite of the series!

Anime

Chainsaw Man

It's all the hype right now, I know, but Chainsaw Man deserves it. The anime only adapts the starting part of the manga, but it does it so well! It was so cool seeing the manga scenes adapted but what shone the most were the original scenes, especially with Aki and Himeno.

Paradise Kiss

A bit old, from 2005, but I fell in love with this one! Ai Yazawa way of writing characters and showing their personalities through design is amazingly done and this story has it all. The music shines a lot (Tomoko Kawase, my love), but what got me the most was the character diversity, having both a bi man and a trans woman done quite well for Japan! Please watch Paradise Kiss!

Cyberpunk Edgerunners

Such a cool ride! I wish it wasn't pulled back by the game's story because I really wanted to see more of these characters! I haven't played much of the game, but the world seemed so much more alive in this and made the experience special to me!

Manga and HQs

Devilman

Such a classic. I've liked Devilman Crybaby since it got out, but never got to reading the original work. It's quite a ride, having somethings that date it a lot, but others that keep up amazingly to this day! The way it talks about religion, society and violence influenced all of japanese (and world, to some extent) media, so it's worth reading for that alone.

The Many Deaths of Laila Starr

This HQ hit me so hard! Talking about life and death through an indian culture lens was refreshing and eye opening, to be honest. Laila Starr was a really interesting character and going through the life of the doctor made it almost impossible to stop reading. A quite short and really worth read, if I may suggest!

The Me You Love In The Dark

A simple and direct story about toxic relationships and home abuse. It has some really dark themes, but what brings it to my list are the visuals. The monster and how it was drawn was really well done! Also, how it interacted with the artist made the comic a really good read! (the monster fucker in me says hello)

Music

My Chemical Romance: The Foundations of Decay

Just so everyone knows, I'm a BIG MCR fan. Simply having a new song out of nowhere this year was GREAT! I kept listening to it for hours without stop, making it my song of the year. The rumours that they might come to Brazil in 2023 makes it way more special to me!

Pinkshift: Love Me Forever

I love this band! They're still a bit small, but the energy all of them bring to the table is out of the charts! Banger after banger with some deep ones in the middle. Please go have a listen, I really think they'll hit it big eventually!!

Ghost: Impera

I really enjoy Ghost! The themes, presentation and songs are all on point in this album! Some songs took a few listes to warm into me, but, overall, it's so fun! I hope I can see them live someday!!

Books

Mistborn: The Lost Metal

Such a good ending to the second era of Mistborn! The emotional beats really got to me and I cried a lot towards the end. I can't say much without spoiling it, but know that I'll talk a lot more about the Cosmere here!

Gideon the Ninth

Lesbian necromancers in space. Wait, that description didn't get you? Well, it also is a very fun read of an interesting world with such charismatic characters! I still have to read the sequels, but this one got a special place in my heart!

Jade City

It's been quite some time since I've read about a world so realized and put together! The places of Jade City, either small or big, feel so real and touchable that I only wanted to read more! It also has a really interesting magic system with so many mysteries around it!

Ending

Well, I hope you enjoyed this short read! Honestly, it's only a test post for this blog, but it was also very fun to write! From now on the "reviews" will be more detailed, since I'll be making a post for each media I consume. See you next year and next post!

1 note · View note

leedee013 · 2 years

Text

Given

Holy shit

I love this anime with my whole heart!!!!

I recommend this anime to anyone and everyone, but would like to mention that despite its humor and delightful characters, this is a series that contains some very heavy material. There’s mentioned suicide and mentioned emotionally manipulative relationships (to which degree varies depending on whether you’re watching the movie or the main anime). However, this is a story of love above all else; about learning to love again, love others platonically as well as romantically, love yourself, and love what you do.

With that being said, as per usual, this post will now contain some pretty intense spoilers! You’ve been warned!

I really fucking love this anime for many reasons, but here is a list detailing why!

The MUSIC

As a born music nerd, I have to admit that the focus on music in general throughout this series is wonderfully done. I don’t know much about band music in the way it’s presented in this series, but the passion that these characters have for what they do is admirable. I also love how the series doesn’t rely entirely on stereotypes and instead creates an environment with diverse interests and styles! I do wish there was more racial and gender diversity, but this anime delivers SO MANY QUEER RELATIONSHIPS that it’s still a win in my book. I do hope we see more female musicians in the future of this series, however! It would also be amazing to see trans musicians!! But the general rock vibe of the show is great! I’m a fan of almost all the music that’s in this series, and while I might not enjoy listening to the outro as much as the intro, it’s still a great song.

2. The Relationships

I fucking love Mafuyu and Uenoyama okay

I’m not sure how I really feel about Mafuyu and Yuki but I also don’t have enough of an emotional attachment to Yuki to be able to say much about it

Mafuyu has to learn how to live again. He’s not only lost his boyfriend, but he’s lost one of his oldest and closest friends. Their relationship was one of incredible mutual vulnerability, and their love was rooted in years of support and comfort. He’s fallen out of touch with his other friends. He blames himself for what happened. And what’s worse is that he’s given something that was precious to that person he loved and lost, and has no idea whether it would be better to use it or let it gather dust.

Uenoyama, bless his gay heart, is complacent. Talented, yes, but almost completely without motivation. He’s got the story of a typical gifted child, where he feels as though he can’t get better and has fallen into the trap of plateauing. He’s got a few good friends and is pretty good looking (aka definitely has many girls that fangirl over him), and is overall doing well in life.

And this, my friends, is how you build my favorite kind of ship.

Because both of them are so talented and wonderful, and they recognize that in each other. They help bring out the best in each other, but aren’t afraid of addressing their worse qualities either.

One of the best parts of the core relationships/ships that I LOVE is how frequently consent is brought up. They��re constantly asking each other for permission before doing anything that might move their relationship in a different direction, and listen to each other if one of them isn’t acting like they’re comfortable. They don’t force themselves on each other.

Aki straight up admits that he’s not in a great mental state and takes the time to become more stable and in-control of himself and who he wants to be, all so that he can enter a new relationship without feeling guilty about the kind of person he is (was). The emotional intelligence in this series, despite how fucking stupid these characters occasionally are, is beyond needing to be defined. And it’s not made to look easy. It’s HARD for them to get over these mental obstacles and habits and ways of thinking. But the main characters support each other and end up providing valuable advice.

Plus, their relationships are so goddamn cute?

Mafuyama will legitimately make my teeth rot from how sweet they are

ALSO HAVE I MENTIONED

IT’S FUCKING

CANON

THIS SHOW IS THE ANTITHESIS OF QUEERBAITING

IT’S JUST REALLY REALLY FUCKING GAY

3. It’s fucking hilarious

For those of you who are familiar with my other anime/media review posts, this is a common theme in the shows that I typically end up enjoying. This is a heavy show with heavy themes and very serious topics. However, it’s brimming with hilarious scenarios, interactions, and overall dialogue. It’s never used as something insensitive or tone deaf, but rather as a visual or textual gag that makes the characters feel real and relatable.

Perfect.

4. Animation

This show is relatively new, and the animation is GORGEOUSLY DONE. I am still in awe of the style of this show, and in love with its way of conveying the weight of actions differently depending on the context.

In conclusion, if you haven’t seen it but read this entire thing—watch it now please you’ll laugh you’ll cry and you’ll want to do it all over again immediately after.

#leedee reacts #leedee review #given #uenoyama given #given mafuyu #mafuyama #given akihiko #ritsuka given #given ova #tw: sui mention #please watch this #it will hurt but oh the comfort after the pain #given anime

22 notes · View notes

peachscribe · 3 years

Text

peach’s summer book list

i had a lot of fun compiling the list of books i read during the 20-21 winter, so i decided i would do a summer one as well! i still have a lot of books i own but haven’t read, so im definitely not lacking in material

if you didn’t see my winter list, how my book list works is basically like this: i read a book that i own but have not previously read, write a short summary immediately after finishing the book, write down my thoughts on the book, and then provide a rating for the book. i also might include background info on why i read this particular book/feelings about the author, but that depends on the book. that’s how each entry works

without further ado, let’s get started!

1. Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

okay so i absolutely adore another book by andrew smith (written after grasshopper jungle) called the alex crow. it’s one of my favorite books of all time, so naturally i wanted to see if grasshopper jungle would make me feel similarly. just like the alex crow, grasshopper jungle’s plot is. so fucking weird. it stars austin szerba, a teenage polish kid who lives in ealing, iowa, and is often sexually confused regarding his girlfriend shann and his best friend robby. and in ealing, iowa, austin and robby accidentally and unknowingly unleash an unstoppable army of huge six-foot-tall praying mantis bugs that only want to do two things: fuck and eat. and i just have to say: andrew smith’s got an absolutely dynamo writing style. alex crow is similar, where it’s a book about kind of everything all at once, framed in a moment centering around teenage boys. it’s fantastic, and it’s more than a little gross, and i love it. this book made me feel so many things, and i thought austin was such an amazing narrator and main character to identify with. this book has it all: shitty teenage boy humor, fucked up science experiments, and poetic imagery that will make you want to cry. and explicit lgbt characters.

412/10 andrew smith what do you put in your water i just want to know

2. Burn by Patrick Ness

patrick ness has written a plethora of some of my favorite books (such as a monster calls, the chaos walking trilogy, and the rest of us just live here) so when i saw this one in the store i knew it would be a great one. burn is an alternate history fantasy that takes place in 1957 frome, washington, during the height of the cold war, and it begins with a girl named sarah and her father hiring a dragon to help out on their farm. but there’s not just dragons, farm living, and cold war tensions; there’s also a really shitty small town cop, a cult of dragon worshippers and their deadly teenage assassin, a pair of fbi agents, and a prophecy that sarah’s newly hired dragon claims she’s a part of. i think eoin colfer’s highfire was on my winter list, which also featured a story that included dragons and shitty cops, so when i first began burn i thought it was funny to have two books that had both things. you know, if you had a nickel etc etc. but that’s really where the similarities end because burn is entirely it’s own monster (dragon). burn is entirely invested in its world, and its fascinating. not only that, i had no clue where the book would take me next. there were so many surprises and amazing twists that honestly just blew me away. this book also includes beautifully written complicated discussions on family, race, and love - it features interracial and queer romances as the two most prominent romance plots which was such a nice surprise from a book i wasn’t expecting to have that kind of representation. this book is witty, fast-paced, and a very heartening read - i absolutely adored it.

9/10 dragons and becoming motivated by the power of love and friendship are so fucking cool

3. As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann

i hate this book! as meat loves salt is a historical fiction novel which takes place in seventeenth century england, which is going through a grisly civil war. the protagonist, jacob cullen, is a servant for a wealthy household and is engaged to another servant in the house. but due to certain events that are almost entirely jacob’s fault, he flees the house and is separated from his wife. from there, he joins the royal army and meets a kind soldier, ferris, and the two become fast friends. jacob and ferris’s relationship begins to bridge past friendly, and jacob struggles with his homoerotic feelings as well as the growing obsession and violence inside him. also, they try to start a colony. listen, i don’t know how to describe the book because so much happens, but it basically just follows jacob and all the terrible decisions he makes because he is, truly, a terrible person. ferris is kind and good, and jacob is scum of the earth. he sucks so bad. the entire time i was reading this book (which took absolutely so long), all i wanted was for jacob to just get his ass handed to him. i wanted to see him suffer. and it’s not like i just personally don’t like him - i believe the book purposefully depicts him as unsympathetic even though he is the narrator. i did enjoy the very in depth and accurate portrayal of what life would’ve been like in seventeenth century england, and i think it was interesting to read a character that is just the absolute worst person you’ve ever encountered and see him try and justify his actions, so if you enjoy that kind of thorough writing, then this book would be perfect for you. however, i did not see that bitch ass motherfucker jacob cullen suffer enough. i’d kill him with my bare hands.

2/10 diversity win! the worst man on earth is mlm!

4. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

i know ive had a friend tell me how great one of schwab’s other book series is, but truthfully i bought this book because the cover is sick as hell and it was on a table in the store that advertised for buy two get one free, i think. something like that. anyway, this savage song takes place in a future in which monsters, for whatever reason, suddenly became real and out for blood in a mysterious event nicknamed the phenomenon. august flynn is one of these monsters, but he takes no pride in that fact and only wants to feel human. kate harker is the daughter of a ruthless man and is trying her hardest to be ruthless, too, but deep down she knows it’s just an act. their city, verity, stands divided, and kate and august stand on either side - but when august is sent on a mission to befriend kate in the hopes of stopping an all out war, the lines begin to blur. this book rules. august and kate are such interesting and dynamic characters, and the narrative is familiar while still being capable of twisting the story around and taking the feet out from under you in really compelling ways. this savage song is part of the monsters of verity duology, and i can’t wait to dive into how the story continues and finishes.

11/10 sometimes you can judge a book by it’s cover

4a. Our Dark Duet by Victorian Schwab

this is the sequel and finale for this savage song and i’d figure i’d update everyone: fantastic ending, beautiful, showstopping, painful.

12/10 loved it and will definitely be keeping an eye out for schwab’s other books

5. White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

oh boy. okay. white is for witching is about a house, and it is about the women who have lived inside of it. when her mother dies abroad, miranda silver begins to act strangely, and there’s nothing her father or her twin brother seem to be able to do about it. she develops an eating disorder and begins to hear voices in the silver family house, converted to a bed and breakfast by miranda’s dad; and she begins to lose herself in the house and the persistent presence of her family legacy. white is for witching switches perspective dizzingly and disorientingly between miranda, her twin eliot, miranda’s friend from school named ore, and the house itself. this story is a horror story as much as it as a tragedy as much as it is a romance as much as it is a bunch of other things. oyeyemi brings race, sexuality, nationality, and family into this story and forces you not to look away. this book is poetry.

(like i mentioned briefly, this book heavily deals with topics of race and closely follows miranda’s eating disorder. read responsibly, and take care of yourselves)

15/10 this book consumed me and i think i’ll have to read it another 10 more times to feel it properly

6. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

okay. okay. strap in for a ride. these violent delights is a romeo and juliet style story, taking place in glittering 1920’s shanghai. the city stands divided - not only between the foreign powers encroaching on chinese land, but also between the scarlet gang and the white flowers, who are at the height of a generations-long blood feud. juliette cai, heir to the scarlets, has recently returned from four years abroad and is determined to prove herself ruthless enough to lead. roma montagov, heir to the white flowers, is standing strenuously on his place as next in line due to a slip up four years prior and is desperate to keep hold of his title. and in the midst of juliette and roma’s burning history with each other threatening to combust, an unnatural monster lurks in the waters of shanghai, loosing a madness on scarlets and white flowers alike. this book has it all - scorned ex lovers, political intrigue, deadly monsters, and all set on a glamorous backdrop of the roaring twenties. i absolutely was enraptured by this book and the way it plays around the story of romeo and juliet so well that it easily became it’s own monster, but with the punches and embraces of something classically shakespearan. gong does just an absolutely breathtaking job of fitting this fantastical story amid the larger world of shanghai and the real life historical events that had shaken the city to its core. completely immersive and outstandingly heart racing.

17/10 i was chewing on my fingernails for the last thirty pages and will continue to do so until the sequel is released (our violent ends, 16 nov 21)

7. The Antiques by Kris D’Agostino

you ever heard of the american dysfunctional family story? this is most definitely that. at the same time george westfall’s cancer takes a turn for the worse, a hurricane hits the east coast, and suddenly all at once the issues of his health, the hurricane, and all three of his children’s achingly dysfunctional adult lives are crashing into each other. reunited by george’s death, the westfall siblings have to face their grief, each other, and the problems in their own lives they attempted to put on hold while planning their father’s memorial. this is a nice story about grief and loss and love and somehow finding the humor amidst it all.

(this book does include a depiction of an autistic child who does experience several pretty bad meltdowns due to ignorant people around him not understanding how to cater to his needs. im not an authority on what depictions are or are not harmful, but i do believe this depiction is ultimately loving and well-intended.)

7/10 it made me laugh and cry and was generally one of those books that somehow hit you close to home

8. Fierce Fairytales by Nikita Gill

fierce fairytales is a poetry anthology that reimagines classic fairytales from a modern, feminist viewpoint, acknowledging that the line between hero and villain, monster and damsel, are not as clear cut as the classics try to make you believe. this book also includes illustrations done by the author herself, which i think is really cool. my personal favorite story reimagining was the story of peter pan and captain hook, called ‘boy lost’ which looked at how peter and hook’s relationship began and rotted. all in all, i think this collection of stories had a lot of important things to say and said them in frank, easy to understand poetry and prose.

7/10 beautiful message and pretty prose, but at times a little cliche

and that’s all from the summer! my fall semester starts tomorrow, and overall i feel very good about all the reading i did this summer. i even read four other books not on this list for work! so i definitely feel like i made the most out of my time, and im really glad i was able to read so many stories that made me feel a variety of different things

thanks so much for reading this list, and let me know if you read or have read any of these books and tell me what you think of them!

happy reading<3

#book recs #book rec #book rec list #grasshopper jungle #burn #as meat loves salt #this savage song #monsters of verity #white is for witching #these violent delights #the antiques #fierce fairytales #just like my winter list i did write ever review immediately after finishing the book and i think.#i think here you can really tell what my immediate reactions were based on how the review is written fbfjfjd

55 notes · View notes

letterboxd · 3 years

Photo

Wigging Out.

Choreographer and director Jonathan Butterell tells Gemma Gracewood about stepping behind the camera for Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, his love for Sheffield, and making sure queer history is kept alive. Richard E. Grant weighs in on tolerance and Thatcher.

Of 2021’s many conundrums, one for musical lovers is why the narratively problematic Dear Evan Hansen gets a TIFF premiere and theatrical release this month, while the joyously awaited Everybody’s Talking About Jamie went straight to Amazon Prime.

And yet, as the show’s lyrics go, life keeps you guessing, along came a blessing. There’s something about the film streaming onto young people’s home screens, with its moments of fourth-wall breaking where Jamie speaks straight to the viewer, that feels so important, given the content: a gay teen whose drag-queen destiny sits at odds with the less ambitious expectations of his working-class town.

Director and choreographer Jonathan Butterell, who also helmed the stage production (itself inspired by Jenny Popplewell’s 2011 BBC documentary, Jamie: Drag Queen at 16) agrees that the worldwide Amazon release is a very good silver lining. “I made the film for the cinema but, in 250 territories across the world, this is going to have a reach that—don’t get me wrong, cinema, cinema, cinema, collective experience, collective experience, collective experience—but it will get to people that it might not have got to before.

Jonathan Butterell on set with star Max Harwood, as Jamie.

“It feels as niche a story as you could possibly be. But also for me, I wanted it to feel like a universal story, that it didn’t matter where on any spectrum you found yourself, you could understand a young person wanting to take their place in the world freely, openly and safely.”

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, with screenplay and lyrics by Tom MacRae and songs by Dan Gillespie Sells, sits neatly among a series of very specific feel-good British films about the working class experience, such as Billy Elliot, Kinky Boots and Pride. The film adds some historical weight to the story with a new song, ‘This Was Me’, which allows Jamie’s mentor, Hugo (played by Richard E. Grant), to take us into England’s recent past—the dark days of the discriminatory Section 28 laws, at a time when the HIV/AIDS epidemic was still ravaging the community.

Hugo’s drag persona Loco Chanelle (played in the flashback by the stage musical’s original Jamie—John McCrea from Cruella and God’s Own Country), sports a wig that looks suspiciously like the Iron Lady’s unmistakable head of hair. Grant confirms that was Hugo’s intention. “His heyday was in the 1980s, so as a ‘fuck you’ to Mrs Thatcher, what better than to be dressed up like that, at six-foot-eight, with a wig that could bring down the Taj Mahal!”

Richard E. Grant as Hugo, getting to work on Jamie’s contours.

In light of the current pandemic, and the fact that the 1967 legalization of homosexuality in Britain is only “an historical blink away”, Grant’s hope is for more tolerance in the world. “Maybe Covid gives people some sense of what that was like, but with Covid there’s not the prejudice against you, whereas AIDS, for the most part in my understanding, was [seen as] a ‘gay disease’, and there were many people across the globe who thought that this was, you know, whatever god they believe in, was their way of punishing something that they thought was unacceptable.

“The message of this movie is of inclusivity, diversity, and more than ever, tolerance. My god, we could do with a dose of that right now.”

Read on for our Q&A with Jonathan Butterell about the filmic influences behind Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.

Hugo in a reverie, surrounded by his drag menagerie.

Can we talk about the new song, ‘This Was Me’, and the way you directed it in the film? It’s a show-stopper, with Richard E. Grant singing in that beautiful high register, and then moving into Holly Johnson’s singing, as you go back in time to show that deeply devastating and important history. Jonathan Butterell: It felt inevitable, the shift, and necessary. Myself, Dan Gillespie Sells, the composer, and Tom MacRae, the screenwriter, we created this piece together, the three of us, and it’s a film by the three of us. We lived through that time, we went on those marches. Actually, in one of those marches [shown in flashback], Dan’s mum—actual mum—is in a wheelchair, by a young boy who was holding a plaque saying “my mum’s a lesbian and I love her”.

That is Dan with his mum back in the day, and it all speaks to our stories and it moves me, I can see it’s moving you. It moves me because I lived through that time, and it was a complex time for a young person. It was a time that you felt you had to be empowered in order to fight, and you felt very vulnerable because of the need to fight. And because of that disease, because HIV was prevalent and we lost people—we lost close people—it was a difficult time. I wanted to make sure that that story kept being told and was passed on to the next generation.

It’s so important isn’t it, to walk into the future facing backwards? It still exists, that need to fight still exists. The conversation, yes, has moved on, has changed, but not for all people and not in all communities.

What would be your go-to movie musical song at a karaoke night? My goodness. There’d be so many.

I mean, is it going to be a Cabaret, a Chicago showstopper, or something more Mary Poppins, something from Rent? I think what I would go to, which is what I remember as a little boy, is Curly singing ‘Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin’. It’s such a kind of perfect, beautiful, simple song. That, and ‘The Lonely Goatherd’, because I just want to yodel. It would be epic. Trust me.

What is the best film featuring posing and why is it Paris Is Burning? It’s always Paris Is Burning. Back in the day, I was obsessed with Paris Is Burning, I was obsessed with that world. In fact, at one moment I even met [director] Jennie Livingston in trying to make a theater piece inspired by that. I lived in New York for eleven years and I met Willi Ninja. I just adored everything about him, and he would tell me stories. And again, it was so removed from the boy from Sheffield, I mean so far. That New York ballroom scene was so removed from my world, but I got it. Those two boys at the top of the film, I just wanted to be one of those boys who just hung out outside the club.

Harwood and Butterell on set, with Lauren Patel (right) as Jamie’s bestie Pritti Pasha.

What films did you and Tom and Dan look at to get a feeling for how to present the musical numbers? Actually, a lot of pop videos, from present day to past. There’s an homage, in the black-and-white sequences, to a little ‘Vogue’ Madonna moment. Pop is very central to me in this story because pop is what a working-class kid from a working-class community will be listening to. That’s in his phone, that’s in his ears. Not that many young people listen to much radio at this moment in time, but that’s what will be on Margaret’s radio, that’s what’s coming into the kitchen. And that was central to the storytelling for me.

Bob Fosse also really influenced me, and particularly All That Jazz and where his flights of imagination take him. I felt that was so appropriate for Jamie, and again in a very, very different way, but I could see how Jamie’s imagination could spark something so fantastical that would lead him to dance, lead him to walk on the most amazing catwalk, lead into being in the most fabulous, fabulous nightclub with the most amazing creatures you’ve ever met in your life.

For me personally, the film that most inspired me was Ken Loach’s Kes, because that is my community. Both the world in which Jamie exists—Parsons Cross council estate, is my world, is my community—and the world of that young boy, finding his place in the world with his kestrel friend, I remember identifying with that boy so clearly. He was very different from me, very different. But I got him, and I felt like Ken Loach got me through him.

Ken Loach made a few films set in Sheffield, didn’t he? But also, Sheffield is a setting and an influence on The Full Monty, The History Boys, Funny Cow and that brilliant Pulp documentary. So Jamie feels like a natural successor. It absolutely does. Sheffield’s where I grew up, it’s my hometown. Although I moved away from it, I always return. To have a chance to celebrate my community, and particularly that community in Parsons Cross council estate. If you’re in Sheffield and you’re in a taxi and you said, “Take me to Parsons Cross,” they’d say, “Well, I’ll drop you there, but I’m not staying.” Because again there’s a blinkered view of that community. And I know that community to be proud, glorious and beautiful.

And yes, that community, particularly through the ’80s, really suffered because some of that community would serve the steelworks and had three generations of unemployment, so they became disenfranchised because of that. But the community I grew up in, my Auntie Joan, who lived on that road, literally on that road, was a proud, working class, glorious woman who served chips at school.

Aside from Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, what would be the most important queer British cinematic story to you? (And how do you choose between My Beautiful Laundrette and God’s Own Country?!) You can’t. My Beautiful Laundrette influenced me so much because, one, Daniel Day Lewis was extraordinary in that film, and two, because of the cross-cultural aspect of it. I went, “I know this world”, because again I grew up in that world. And it affirmed something in me, which is the power and the radicalness of who I could be and what I could be.

With God’s Own Country, when I saw that film—and that was Francis’ first film, which I thought was extraordinary for a first-time filmmaker—I knew he knew that world from the inside, from the absolute inside. And I know what that rural community was like. I read that script, because we share agents, and I was blown away by it—again, because of the two cultures coming together.

Jamie Campbell, the film’s real-life inspiration, with screen-Jamie Max Harwood.

Richard E. Grant’s character, Hugo, is such a pivotal mentor for Jamie. What did you need to hear from a mentor when you were sixteen? Don’t let yourself hold yourself back, because I think it was me who put some limitations on myself. And of course I came from a working-class community. I was a queer kid in a tough British comprehensive school. And did I experience tough times? Yes I did. And did I deal with those tough times? Yes I did. But the song that speaks to me mostly in this is ‘Wall in my Head’, in which Jamie takes some responsibility for the continuation of those thoughts, continuations of the sorts of shame, and that’s a sophisticated thing for a sixteen-year-old boy to tackle.

I also was lucky enough to have a mother like Margaret—and a dad like Margaret as well, just to be clear! And I remember my mum, at seventeen when I left home, just leaving a little note on my bed. It was quite a long letter. She said, Jonathan, you’ve probably chosen to walk a rocky path, but don’t stray from it, don’t steer away from it. That’s the path you've chosen, there may be rock-throwers along the way, but you’ll find your way through it. That stayed with me and I think that’s what resonates with me. And when I saw that documentary, Jamie: Drag Queen at 16, I felt that that sparked the need for me to tell that story.

Sarah Lancashire as Jamie’s mum, Margaret New.

We need more mums and dads like Margaret, don’t we? We do, we do. And the wonderful thing is, Margaret Campbell will say it and I think Margaret New in the film will say it: she’s not a Saint, she’s an ordinary mum. And she has to play catch up and she doesn’t understand in many ways, and she gets things wrong and she overprotects. But she comes from one place and that is a mum’s love of her child and wanting them to take their place safely in the world and to be fully and totally themselves.