the thing about art is that it was always supposed to be about us, about the human-ness of us, the impossible and beautiful reality that we (for centuries) have stood still, transfixed by music. that we can close our eyes and cry about the same book passage; the events of which aren't real and never happened. theatre in shakespeare's time was as real as it is now; we all laugh at the same cue (pursued by bear), separated hundreds of years apart.
three years ago my housemates were jamming outdoors, just messing around with their instruments, mostly just making noise. our neighbors - shy, cautious, a little sheepish - sat down and started playing. i don't really know how it happened; i was somehow in charge of dancing, barefoot and laughing - but i looked up, and our yard was full of people. kids stacked on the shoulders of parents. old couples holding hands. someone had brought sidewalk chalk; our front walk became a riot of color. someone ran in with a flute and played the most astounding solo i've ever heard in my life, upright and wiggling, skipping as she did so. she only paused because the violin player was kicking his heels up and she was laughing too hard to continue.
two weeks ago my friend and i met in the basement of her apartment complex so she could work out a piece of choreography. we have a language barrier - i'm not as good at ASL as i'd like to be (i'm still learning!) so we communicate mostly through the notes app and this strange secret language of dancers - we have the same movement vocabulary. the two of us cracking jokes at each other, giggling. there were kids in the basement too, who had been playing soccer until we took up the far corner of the room. one by one they made their slow way over like feral cats - they laid down, belly-flat against the floor, just watching. my friend and i were not in tutus - we were in slouchy shirts and leggings and socks. nothing fancy. but when i asked the kids would you like to dance too? they were immediately on their feet and spinning. i love when people dance with abandon, the wild and leggy fervor of childhood. i think it is gorgeous.
their adults showed up eventually, and a few of them said hey, let's not bother the nice ladies. but they weren't bothering us, they were just having fun - so. a few of the adults started dancing awkwardly along, and then most of the adults. someone brought down a better sound system. someone opened a watermelon and started handing out slices. it was 8 PM on a tuesday and nothing about that day was particularly special; we might as well party.
one time i hosted a free "paint along party" and about 20 adults worked quietly while i taught them how to paint nessie. one time i taught community dance classes and so many people showed up we had to move the whole thing outside. we used chairs and coatracks to balance. one time i showed up to a random band playing in a random location, and the whole thing got packed so quickly we had to open every door and window in the place.
i don't think i can tell you how much people want to be making art and engaging with art. they want to, desperately. so many people would be stunning artists, but they are lied to and told from a very young age that art only matters if it is planned, purposeful, beautiful. that if you have an idea, you need to be able to express it perfectly. this is not true. you don't get only 1 chance to communicate. you can spend a lifetime trying to display exactly 1 thing you can never quite language. you can just express the "!!??!!!"-ing-ness of being alive; that is something none of us really have a full grasp on creating. and even when we can't make what we want - god, it feels fucking good to try. and even just enjoying other artists - art inherently rewards the act of participating.
i wasn't raised wealthy. whenever i make a post about art, someone inevitably says something along the lines of well some of us aren't that lucky. i am not lucky; i am dedicated. i have a chronic condition, my hands are constantly in pain. i am not neurotypical, nor was i raised safe. i worked 5-7 jobs while some of these memories happened. i chose art because it mattered to me more than anything on this fucking planet - i would work 80 hours a week just so i could afford to write in 3 of them.
and i am still telling you - if you are called to make art, you are called to the part of you that is human. you do not have to be good at it. you do not have to have enormous amounts of privilege. you can just... give yourself permission. you can just say i'm going to make something now and then - go out and make it. raquel it won't be good though that is okay, i don't make good things every time either. besides. who decides what good even is?
you weren't called to make something because you wanted it to be good, you were called to make something because it is a basic instinct. you were taught to judge its worth and over-value perfection. you are doing something impossible. a god's ability: from nothing springs creation.
a few months ago i found a piece of sidewalk chalk and started drawing. within an hour i had somehow collected a small classroom of young children. their adults often brought their own chalk. i looked up and about fifteen families had joined me from around the block. we drew scrangly unicorns and messed up flowers and one girl asked me to draw charizard. i am not good at drawing. i basically drew an orb with wings. you would have thought i drew her the mona lisa. she dragged her mother over and pointed and said look! look what she drew for me and, in the moment, i admit i flinched (sorry, i don't -). but the mother just grinned at me. he's beautiful. and then she sat down and started drawing.
someone took a picture of it. it was in the local newspaper. the summary underneath said joyful and spontaneous artwork from local artists springs up in public gallery. in the picture, a little girl covered in chalk dust has her head thrown back, delighted. laughing.
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WKA Gay Analysis Assembly
Hello! Welcome to my blog, please note I am unhinged about my silly little gay shows and as evidence I give you an exhaustive list of all the analysis posts (and some non-analysis posts) I have written :)
I will be updating this post as I write more, and the most recent show I am watching/writing about will be listed first. Please know my DMs and my Inbox are always open!
By, For, and About Queers
(The By, For, and About Queers posts are not about any particular show, and are instead a little write up of the way I categorize the BL shows that I am watching)
By/For/About- Part 1 (a conversation with @absolutebl)
By/For/About- Part 2 (a conversation with @solitaryandwandering)
Also check out the really lovely response from @solitaryandwandering here
Toxic and Messy: TharnType v. Only Friends (aka We Trust Jojo) (a conversation with @absolutebl and @respectthepetty)
The Sign
Feelings Made Visible: Design Choices in The Sign
Fantasy v. Reality in The Sign
Last Twilight
Episode 1 Thoughts (in which I state my fears that were later realized)
Reflections in Last Twilight (Episode 1-2)
Physical Touch in Last Twilight (Episodes 1-3)
Thoughts on Last Twilight, Ep. 5 (aka when I still thought the show was good)
Last Twilight, Ep 12 (in which I rant about the ableism in the narrative and the undermining of the show's themes)
Shadow
Shadow thoughts
The Left Hand of God
Is Brother Anurak the One Armed Man?
What Happened to Trin? aka Paying Attention to my Favorite Straight Boy
I Feel You Linger in the Air
Let's Talk About Sex: ESSAY #69!!! (breakdown of the sex scene in IFYLITA Episode 8)
Only Friends
Academic Essay Series
Only Friends, Boston, and Queer Culture
Only Friends and Respectable Promiscuity
Only Friends, Racism, and the Commodification of Queer Asians
Everything else
Ray and Rehab
Boston the Slut
Hypocrisy
Who is Mew, Anyway?
You're Mine No Matter What: The Commodification of Sand
Explosions (fight night round two, Ep. 6)
Fight Night (scene breakdown of the fight in Episode 5)[Sand Addition by @ranchthoughts]
Poor Boy (a discussion on the beloved Poor Boy t-shirt)
Watch The Warp Effect before Only Friends
Misunderstanding Top? (a conversation with @respectthepetty)
What the Fuck is Boeing Doing Here?
Only Friends Reflection
My Ride
Rain, BL Boys, and Reciprocity
My Ride Finale
Be My Favorite (how did I get here, I wasn't planning on watching this!)
Permanence in BMF (in conversation with @stuffnonsenseandotherthings)
Lack of Touch in BMF (in conversation with @wanderlust-in-my-soul and @dropthedemiurge)
Cupid's Last Wish
1. Trans Allegory in Cupid's Last Wish (in partnership with @so-much-yet-to-learn and @lurkingshan)
La Pluie
The Language of Love In La Pluie Ep. 8
Ep. 8 Stray Thoughts
Hands in Ep. 7
Hands in Ep. 6
Subversion (a conversation with @lurkingshan)
Pee Peerawich Can Fucking Act
Connection
Body Language in La Pluie Ep. 12
Step by Step
On the Subject of Pat 2.0- A Defense
On the Subject of Pat- A Timeline (a conversation with @waitmyturtles)
Totally Normal About Episode 7
Lighting in Ep 9 (a conversation with @istanchan)
Going Out- Sharing Space with the Unhoused
Compartmentalizing
Workplace Homophobia and Relationship Development Between Pat and Jeng
Our Skyy 2
OS2 x The Eclipse - Characterization
OS2 x BB x ATOTS- Phupa and Queerness aka Damn You WMT (that's right! Damn you, @waitmyturtles!)
OS2 x BB x ATOTS- Validation! aka Phupa and Queerness- Part 2
(and a shout out to @lurkingshan and @waitmyturtles for writing such brilliant meta I almost...almost didn't have to write one myself)
Pat, Pran, Losing Parental Relationships, and Sex (a conversation with @shortpplfedup)
Our Dining Table
Silence (including conversation with @laowen)
Yutaka and Yukata
Bed Friend
True Colors? (a conversation with @dribs-and-drabbles and @respectthepetty)
Uea and Red
Reflections + Uea and Yellow
Uea and Gray (a conversation with @respectthepetty)
Uea and Gray but this time not tacked on to RTP's post
Mommy Dearest 2.0
Uea's Episode 7 Costumes
Bed Friend and Reflections- Part 1
Bed Friend and Reflections- Part 2
Bed Friend and Reflections- Part 3 (this is my favorite of the parts)
Water, Songkran, and KingUea
Moonlight Chicken
Heart Confrontation Scene
Heart and Li Ming Colors and Stripes
Red, Wen, and Blue
Naming the Deaf Character Heart
Heart's Communication
Wen's Badge Parallel
Modern Thai Sign Language to American Sign Language Index
Heart's Vocalization
Mommy Dearest (Jam and Li MIng)
Isn't it Difficult to Be Born Poor?
Moonlight Chicken is for the Queers
Resolution
Heart's Signs Translated (this one is not mine, but I don't want to lose this post so I am placing it here)
Best Criers in MLC
Worst Parallel
Utsukushii Kare
Self-Deprecation Harms Everyone
Our Flag Means Death
Over-analyzing the Color Red
Silk as Symbolism for Ed's Heart
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The less glamorous siblings of the cable stayed bridges of the Chao Phraya River as seen in Thai qls, specifically in Bangkok and slightly north of Bangkok.
(I have left out bridges that have not made any appearances thus far)
Nonthaburi Bridge (in Pathum Thani and Nonthaburi Provinces)
My Ride, Siew Sum Noi
Maha Chesadabodindranusorn Bridge (in Nonthaburi Province)
The Luminous Solution, Not Me, Enigma, Be Mine Superstar
Krung Thon Bridge
Absolute Zero, My Dear Gangster Oppa, You and My Stars, Moments of Love
Memorial Bridge
Low Frequency Pilot Trailer, 'Cause You're My Boy / My Tee, Last Twilight
Phra Pok Klao Bridge (and Chao Phraya Sky Park)
Low Frequency Pilot Trailer, 'Cause You're My Boy / My Tee, Last Twilight, Cherry Magic Thailand
Taksin Bridge (King Taksin the Great Bridge)
Our Skyy x Dark Blue Kiss
Rama III Bridge and Krungthep Bridge (all appearances have included both bridges together)
KinnPorsche, Cutie Pie, He's Coming to Me, Tell the World I Love You
References:
@absolutebl's BL Visual Trope Du Jour: Boys on bridges post
@virtualtadpole's The Rama VIII Bridge in Bangkok post
5 cable-stayed bridges that cross the Chao Phraya River
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10 BL Boys I Want Carnally
I was tagged by @twig-tea, but I do what I want so I'm ignoring the Boys thing (and on at least one occasion the BL thing). Anyway, without further ado, and in no particular order.
Win!Lin- Cupid's Last Wish
LOOPHOLE FIRST!
gif by @angelbesideme
Thanks to Cupid's Last Wish, Jan is a boy here! So I am choosing Win from Cupid's Last Wish before he body swaps back. HOWEVER, if I'm honest, it was less Win and more masc!Jan that made my brain short circuit so do with that what you will.
Toon- Seneha Stories
I am breaking from the prompt immediately, but this is my post and I can do what I want, so I am choosing Toon from Seneha Stories, which @so-much-yet-to-learn brought my attention to. Seneha Stories is definitively not a BL, but Toon is hot, kind, sad, and he fucks so I'd be living my best life.
Miw, Neo, Shin, and Mae - 3 Will Be Free
THIS IS NOT ME SUGGESTING A FOURSOME, THIS IS JUST ME TRYING TO PREVENT FOUR OF THE TEN SPACES FROM BEING 3 WILL BE FREE.
I like it when my fictional women not only are capable of murder, but have, in fact, murdered. Miw and Mae are hot, competent, killers, fucking over evil billionaires so what is not to love?
I am not immune to Neo and his slutty little crop tops. He has three brain cells and they are all that is keeping him from not dying. Iconic to be honest.
I am not immune to Shin and his glasses, and his kindness. I mean, the boy got cut with a knife and not only comforted the kid that wounded him when he started freaking out but dated him.
Mollie - The Warp Effect
gif by @patpran
MY FIRST NON-BINARY REP IN THAILAND, MY BELOVED. Mollie is so fucking hot, they are talented, they have sick tattoos, they are fighting for themselves, and are changing the landscape of media, what is not to love?
You could also almost certianly put in any of Silvy's characters and I would probably want them carnally, cause...it's Silvy.
(honestly, I'd go for Nim too, but again, not for her character's personality, it's the masc!Jan effect)
Kim- KinnPorsche
gif by @namchyoon
For this scene and this scene only. Honestly, I think if nothing else this shows you that my type is people who could actually maybe kill me in a fight.
Or at the very least, people I could get in to a homoerotic fight with.
Anyway, Jeff gives me gender envy and the first time I saw this gifset, I thought he was a butch lesbian.
Speaking of homoerotic fights
Phaya and Sand - The Sign
MENACE! A MENACE I TELL YOU! I truly well and deeply have an appreciation for when someone who (I assume) typically would top absolutely just vibrates out of their skin at the first sign they might be topped.
And I'm adding Sand here as well because I think my jaw dropped like ten feet when I saw her on screen.
Sand, baby girl, let me know if Yai doesn't treat you right, cause I will.
King- Bed Friend
gif by @earthfluuke
Shout out to this man, I've seen him on at least three of these lists. But who could blame us? Look at him.
Choy Yu Na- Semantic Error
She did that bisexual sit and my heart was hers.
And for my last two picks, I certainly am asking myself the question, do I want them carnally or do I just want them?
Mork -My Ride
Helloooooooo Mr. Dimples. I mean....I feel like I don't need to explain myself here. We all get it, right? We understand, right? And besides, he gives rides for a living or something...
Minoru- Our Dining Table
HE'S JUST SO NICE, SO KIND, SO TIRED. @isaksbestpillow is so right, he is a mother. I love him.
Tagging @so-much-yet-to-learn, @solitaryandwandering, @respectthepetty and anyone else who sees this and wants to join!
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