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atpaftmoom-bily · 3 years

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Thoughts about Erik, why Wilhelm wasn't allowed to come out, and more.

Be warned, this is long, confusing, and I'm not even sure if I made any valid points. But I had thoughts on Young Royals, with no one to talk to, so here you go.

I've seen various different takes on Erik and what people thought his reaction would have been if Willie had come out to him, most of them being positive, and some as well saying how sad it was that Willie never got to come out to his brother. I have a different take, but bear with me it's gonna take a second to get there.

Something that I found interesting in the first place was that when August found out it was Simon and not a girl, he just seemed shocked, but not in a homophobic way that I had kind of been expecting.

Additionally, let's take a look at the comments on the video, I've split them up into three different groups. General comments (disbelief, surprise, pity, etc.), comments sexualizing them, and negative comments. (I've translated these as well as I could as they were not all captioned, but if I've made a mistake feel free to let me know!)

General Comments "OMG Have you seen this?? The Prince is gay!!!!" "Who's the other guy?" "I'm dead" "Finally some news to put Sweden on the map!" "Poor boys, I feel sorry for them" "So clumsy to get caught on film" "I know where he lives!" "I think the video is fake" "Love for the boys"

Sexualizing Comments "Royal porn" "Sexy" "Love" "Sexiest video ever"

Negative Comments "How will the monarchy survive this?" "The end of the royal family, time for Sweden to become a republic!" "Never been ashamed about being Swedish until now" "Class traitor! Your mother cries for your sins"

Now, there are quite a few things I want to point out about Sweden that I feel should be taken into account here. Of course, we don't know the exact dates that the show took place, but we do know it is modern-day, and though it is a work of fiction, I am going to assume that anything that is currently true in Sweden at the moment, give or take a few years, would also be true in the Young Royals universe.

The first point I would like to make is that Sweden is one of the most LGBT-friendly countries, even being named the most friendly country in 2019. Looking back in history, 1944 was when Sweden decriminalized sexual relationships between consenting adults of the same sex, though it was still thought to be an illness. However, in 1979 it was no longer considered an illness. Fun unrelated fact, but Sweden was the first country to legalize gender change in 1979. (If you'd like to read more on LGBT rights in Sweden here are some resources. One. Two.) If Sweden is that progressive and is that LGBT-friendly, then I wondered what the problem was with Willie coming out, so I dug some more.

I'm American, so my understanding of many parts of the world is unfortunately skewed or incomplete, but I'm working on changing that. However, because of this, one thing that surprised me in my research was that the monarchy in Sweden is more of a unifying symbol than anything else. They have no political affinity or formal powers, but rather "the King’s duties are mainly of a ceremonial and representative nature." Of course in the case of Young Royals, the Queen inherited the throne, and Wilhelm would after her.

Something else I found interesting about the monarchy in Sweden is that the current Queen, Queen Silvia, did not come from a line of nobility, so when Queen Silvia and King Carl Gustaf married in 1976, it was highly unusual. (See more on the Swedish monarchy here.)

There is one last thing I want to point out about the current King and Queen. "In summer 2000, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden made history when they ate under the rainbow flag at Djurgårdsterrassen, a Stockholm restaurant owned by gay owner Arto Winter. At that time, the decision was seen as controversial, and played a valuable role in moving conversations forward – while making the royals’ position abundantly clear." (Source)

Now, of course, I understand the difference between a fictional work and real-life situations, but at least in my opinion, these same ideals should carry through to the show that we see. If the King and Queen in real life have been openly supportive of the LGBT community since at least 2000, then although specifics might not be the same, some of those ideals should carry through to Young Royals, so what is the problem, right?

I'm not trying to erase the reality of homophobia altogether, because of course, that exists. We even see in the show through comments that there are some people who are worried about the state of the monarchy, are disgusted, or downright still think that not being straight is a sin, but we also see other comments as well. If Wilhelm were to come out, what would happen? Would there be some backlash? 100%. Would there be people who would support him? Also 100%. Would it make his life harder? Probably, but would he be happier? In my opinion, yes, but I guess that's a question that Wilhelm would have to gauge on his own.

Now I want to look deeper at the conversation that Wille has with his mother, the Queen, in the car on the way home so he can give a statement to the media. Below is an excerpt from their dialogue.

---

Wilhelm: Why can't I just have a relationship with him? And not say anything. Just live a normal life.

Queen: You're the crown prince. And that's a privilege, not a punishment.

Wilhelm: Yes, but I didn't ask for this!

Queen: Well, nobody has ever, ever asked for this! You are the only one who can take over the throne after Erik. Don't you understand that? You are so young. When you're young, love feels like the most important thing in the whole world. When I was your age, I too had an unfortunate romance. That was before I met your father. What I mean is, is it worth it? If you feel that the attention you've been getting so far is unacceptable, it's nothing compared to what you will endure for the rest of your life. We have a chance to cover this up, I urge you to take that chance. You may not get another."

---

Something I find interesting is how much Willie just wants to live a normal life, which I get. He is under so much pressure, from being a role model, his brother's death that he hasn't even had time to process, preparing to be king someday, and (kind of) being outed to the entire world, but at least his school. It's enough to make anyone want to live normally. I think the biggest thing we have to think about here is the Queen's question as well. Is it worth it? She is right of course, the attention he will get will always be there, but I do think that Willie would be able to find a way to be happy along with being King. It shouldn't have to be a case of either-or, and ultimately I don't think it is.

Now I'm going to move back to Erik, and really, this ties everything back to the start where I mentioned I had a different take on Erik's reaction to Willie being not straight. I think that Erik already knew. It would make sense for a variety of reasons. In the show, it is obvious that the two of them have a good relationship. We also hear Erik tell Willie, "you can trust him, he's like a brother," in episode one when speaking about August, showing that trust is something strong between them as brothers. I'm not exactly sure how old Wilhelm is meant to be in the show, but I estimate somewhere around sixteen. I would like to assume that sometime before attending Hillerska, he may have had a crush or felt some attraction to a guy. We also can see from their phone call in episode three, that they're not afraid to joke around with each other about such things, meaning that Erik would most likely be the first person that Willie would go to about such things.

Another thing that makes me believe Erik already knew has to do with people assuming that Simon is the first guy that Willie has liked. Now, I know things are not the same for everyone, but if we consider what happens when the video is posted, and Willie had to deny it is him, we can conclude that being anything other than straight in their family is not okay, simply because they are royals, and the media attention will be too much. Imagine you've known your whole life, you can't be something, the first instance you encounter that, you're probably not going to give in right away. I'm talking at least some minor internalized homophobia here or something.

So put that into the context of Simon and Willie's first kiss in episode two. Simon kisses Willie twice before Willie says "Well, I'm not... I'm not... Stop! Wait, wait, wait!" and immediately pulls Simon back towards him. Let's reflect back to episode one where Willie says "I’m not… I’m not allowed to speak about political issues." I'm not allowed. Of course, there are TONS of restrictions on what he can and can not do, kissing guys, probably being one of them. But if he was going to say I'm not gay or I'm not like that, why would he instantly pull him back in, contrasting what he was just going to say. In episode three, Willie does say, "I'm not like that," which makes sense. He's had time to think and isn't in the heat of the moment. What other explanation can he give? Sure, he could say he's not allowed to be like that but saying that would admit that he is. It's a circle, a very messy circle, but it is a... loop.

Going back to what I'm supposed to be talking about here, Erik. This isn't Willie's first rodeo, but Erik was there for the first. One last thing I want to talk about is the phone call that Erik and Willie have in episode three. Below is an excerpt from their dialogue.

---

Erik: You've met someone.

Wilhelm: I, uh... Yes, okay, but I... I don't think we're a couple or anything. I don't know what it is but can we just...

Erik: I get it. I get it. You don't have to tell me any... I don't wanna hear any details. Hey. Willie, enjoy yourself. Soon enough people will start having opinions and-

Wilhelm: They don't care about me. 'Cause you're the Crown Prince that they have opinions.

Erik: I don't get it. Why are you sitting in your room sulking when you have a crush to hang out with?

---

Firstly, Erik refers to Willie's crush as completely gender-neutral. "You've met someone" could very easily be "you've met a girl". The same goes for "you have a crush to hang out with". Very well could have been "you have a girl to hang out with". Sure, it could be completely coincidental, but we live in such a heteronormative society that it would just make sense for Erik to use female-gendered words. Unless, of course, he knew.

Secondly, "Hey. Willie, enjoy yourself. Soon enough people will start having opinions". This sounds very much to me like, enjoy your time while you can be yourself without backlash because soon you won't have that privacy. While I feel that, yes, the same may happen with anyone Willie was to date, him having a same-sex partner multiplies that, by a lot.

In conclusion, Erik knew Willie was not straight, Willie should come out, but when he is ready, and August is a really deep character that people don't give enough credit to. Gosh, I hope I covered everything, I probably forgot so much, but it's fine. Please let me know your thoughts if you've made it this far into the post.

One last thing. I hope you'll notice how in this post, I never referred specifically to Wilhelm's sexuality, and I did that for a reason. I often see gay used to label him, and though I am unsure if that's being used as an umbrella term or specifically as in he only likes men, I think it's really important to realize that they're specifically making him unlabeled. In this youtube video Edvin Ryding, the actor who plays Wilhelm, says "What we're trying to do... We're not labeling Wilhelm's sexuality. I think that's good because it's like, it portrays that it's okay that way too. You don't have to. You shouldn't have to come out. It should be allowed to be a bit fluid, a bit out there." I just think that it is important as it's another type of representation that is not seen often.

#young royals #prince wilhelm #simon eriksson #wilmon #simon x wilhelm #young royals netflix #wilhelm yr #simon yr #august yr #erik yr #netflix #edvin ryding #omar rudberg #malte gårdinger #ivar forsling

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sapphos-darlings · 3 years

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Hello! I apologize upfront if this is not the right space to ask about it or inappropriate in some ways, but I was wondering if you or your followers know good blogs/sources about wlw dating? I just never had any dating experience whatsoever due to severe social anxiety, but I greatly improved over the years and recently started pondering the thought that maybe I should finally give it a try. But I just don't know where to start and it feels like everybody has already figured it all out, while I'm the only one who missed the memo, haha.

Either way, no matter if you can help me or not, I want to add that this blog is amazing and the content is beautiful and I greatly appreciate all the work you put into it. Wish you all everything best. 🌺💞

Hello!

Don't worry, this is very appropriate, exactly the kind of thing we do here. And thank you very much for your support!

What comes to mind first is that you should find some lesbian publications. There have been a lot of magazines and they are still available, and the internet of course has communities of our own. AfterEllen and Lesbiansovereverything come to mind as great sites.

They have articles on lifestyle including dating, so you might find something there.

As for where to find a date, all my dating has happened through simply hanging out with other lesbians and bi women. Friends have introduced friends, and so forth.

Online dating seems to be all the rage. HER is an app for women, but Tinder and OkCupid have viable options too. You could also check if your local LGBT organization throws mixers, partiers or gaming nights and go there!

I think your experience is very common among LGB people though, in a way that we often feel like we've missed some important milestone being in the closet or rejecting our same-sex attraction.

But worry not, women dating women is not that different from just generally dating. It's people meeting people, and you don't have to worry about any secret handshakes or mating dances to fit in. Plenty of people struggle with being shy or anxious, and those are things you can work on (as you have! Congrats on your progress!).

Some tips:

- Think about what you're interested in and what you want and put that forward: Go after what you like, and also give other women something to talk about when they meet you. Like mention your hobbies, share your interest, use pictures where you're out doing something you like. Let your personality shine.

- Start conversations, ask questions, be interested: Where does she work, what does she study, what does she do for a hobby, does she have pets, would she like pets, where does she go when she's out to eat, etc. You could also just complement something like her hair or outfit and go from there.

- Don't assume but communicate. A couple of casual dates breeze by. Are you on the same page? Do you want to meet again? Are you looking for a long-term relationship or casual fun? Do you want to take things slow but still be exclusive? These are conversations that need to be had.

- Don't underestimate friendly hang-outs. You never know who you'll meet, where a spark might be ignited, or what might happen with someone once you get to know her better. Also, lesbian and bi friends are just as valuable as romantic partners, and a circle of LGBT friends will make your life better in ways you never knew.

A couple of tips from my friends, from their experience:

- On Tinder, women tend to be more serious than guys, but making the first move is often up to you.

- Also for Tinder, don't get stuck in the messaging phase but ask her out on like a quick coffee date to see if you can actually have a conversation in real life and do you have chemistry. (This might not work for everyone, but my friend recommended this so that the interest doesn't fizzle out just because neither one asks, and also because messaging online tells you very little.)

There we go! As always, if our followers want to rec some sites or blogs or just drop their own dating advice, go ahead! I wish you good luck in finding love!

- Lavender

#reply #dating #wlw dating #wlw #lesbian safe

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ryuichirou · 4 years

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Sorry if this is personal but is it tough to be LGBT in Russia/ produce LGBT content in Russia (I mean it’s the internet but still)

Oh, this is an interesting topic… I’ll answer both of these questions and start with the content.

While being LGBT isn’t illegal per-se, there are a lot of limitations that LGBT people meet here. When it comes to creating content, for example, there is the Gay propaganda law. You might’ve heard about this one, it basically means “you can’t produce any content that portrays LGBT in any way, because it’ll make our children turn gay and we don’t want that”. But the thing is, the wording in this law is so… convenient for the State, they can basically call anything an illegal propaganda if they want to. Technically what we’re doing over here is illegal too. If they’d want to call it illegal, that is.

This is the reason people who publish works that have LGBT-related content in them may have issues in the process. There are ways to avoid them, but it is still very hard to officially publish something that has any “iffy” content. Sometimes putting a “18+” label on the book/movie/tv-series/etc helps, sometimes selling said piece of media only on the internet helps, but still: there is always a possibility that a publisher might not be able to produce the product they want. Censorship is a thing, bans are a thing, all of this exists, but you never know whether you’ll be hit by it or not. Please keep in mind that Russia is also an extremely corrupted country.

If you’re just a content creator and post your stuff on the internet only, it’s usually ok. Homophobes exist, but they tend to exist somewhere else, not near fandom places. There are tons of artists from Russia who draw explicit stuff (and a lot of these people are LGBT), a lot of them print their merch and sell it on the geek art markets, and even though there were cases where a printing house refused to print someone’s slash illustration, it’s usually ok. But.

But but but. You still can be targeted and sued for the most ridiculous stuff. For example, you can read about Yulia Tsvetkova’s case, who was arrested for her body positive series of drawings + a drawing in support of LGBT-families under the “distribution of pornography” and “gay-propaganda” laws respectively. There are tons of drawings like these on the internet, but Yulia was specifically targeted because she is an activist who wasn’t quiet about her support of women and LGBT. As you can see, the “gay propaganda” law is a very convenient way to shut people up.

Another example that comes to mind is two gay guys who got married in a country that allows you to get married when you’re not a citizen (I think they did it in Denmark), and they tried making their marriage legal in Russia too because it doesn’t really contradict any law. They fled the country because they started getting threats and their passports (along with their marriage) were deemed invalid. They were also charged with a fee for “damaging their passports”.

Now our wonderful government, which loves cheating during its elections to the point where you get 146% total when the max is 100%, made this wonderful terrible election for changing the constitution. Their changes are a joke (not really funny tho) and its own topic, but one of the changes was that marriage is “a union between a man and a woman”. Now it says that in the constitution.

TL;DR: If they want to get you, they’ll find a way to get you. But if you’re just a rando who posts slashy smut on your twitter, they don’t care, at least not yet. They will use it against you if you start annoying the police. There are a lot of homophobes but the fandom spaces are usually relatively peaceful.

Personally, we’re lucky enough not to face any severe problems yet. We’re careful irl (people usually think we’re related lol) and only some of our friends know about us. We don’t show any affection to each other publicly. On the internet we’re surrounded by people who are friendly, and once again, people from the fandom spaces are usually more progressive than a regular Russian Pyotr or Oleg.

I, being an idiot that I am, used to draw tons of slash (nsfw too!) at classes right in front of my teachers while I was at the uni. And even though it definitely wasn’t very wise of me, no one ever approached me with “umm are those gays, are you gay too” question. The only ones that were interested by my drawings were two straight girls who read slash fanfiction. Maybe the rest of those who noticed were too shy :(

Katsu: I was always an idiot who likes to flex things as a teenager, so when Ryu and I started dating, I mentioned it in my school to some of my classmates. I’m pretty sure it started some nasty rumors, one guy was openly disgusted, but other than that, I haven’t heard anything from them and they never told teachers or parents, which could be consequences that I never considered. The only thing he said was “Are you a lesbian?” which wasn’t really offensive even though I’m not really a lesbian, but I was like... was that supposed to be an offensive word? Because it wasn’t. Right now I realise that I was lucky not to get beaten up lol I’m from a small city (not a town) and not the best district, but I guess nobody cared that much about this info even if they heard about it, plus people were/are usually afraid of me, so not even the worst boys who were obviously stronger (like that disgusted guy) touched me. I only mention it because I know for a fact that some of the people (like 2-3) were usually openly aggressive, it’s not like the worst class you can get in Russia where the only solution is to fucking suffer.

At the uni, I heard our group discussing lesbians, since students there were mostly girls by another disgusted individual, and I actually wanted to say to her something with a “Come at me bro” attitude (I tend to do that when I’m pissed off), but I just decided not to intervene, probably because these were the first couple of days in my first year. I still told one guy like a month later, he was rather cool with it. Anyway, as Ryu mentioned, there are places and people where you can mention it and get away with it, and where you better keep your mouth shut. Most of the country is the second option, but there’re for a fact a lot of nice and accepting people even out of the fandom. We don’t talk about our relationship for the most part because we don’t really need to, so here’s that. Sorry for being so talkative lol

#replies

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funigami-games · 3 years

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A dream come true! The Prince's Heart is getting a Voice Over

When we started The Prince's Heart, we never thought we'd find so many wonderful persons willing to collaborate on our project. Here we are now, a month later, with an entire crew of professional and aspiring Voice Actors willing to help us realize our Visual Novel!

Special thanks to our amazing Casting Director, Jacob Wilson, who directed the whole Voice Over process.

Let's meet the entire cast (in order of appearance in the game)!

Nick Chang as Edward (Protagonist)

I was born in Manhattan, but raised in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, where I currently reside. I also proudly identify as a 2nd generation Asian American (half Hong Kong via my mother, half Taiwanese via my father) and a member of the LGBTQIA+ community (gay and demisexual). Since childhood, I have had a distinct love of music and performance. Having played violin from 4th to 12th grade and sung for even longer, I used music as a primary means to express myself growing up. As I progressed from high school to college, I discovered online voice acting, but it was not until my time in graduate school that I formally decided to become an actor. My interest initially stemmed from a desire to help out in localization projects, but over the time I have spent voice acting, I have come to not only develop a great appreciation of the craft of acting, but also further deepen my love of music and rekindle my love of performance. With my singing experience as a basis to my unique perspectives, I hope to bring sensitivity, curiosity, and innovation to every project I work on!

Jacob Wilson as Adam

I’m a voice actor, Casting and voice director based in Dallas Texas. I’ve been working in this field for almost four years Now. It’s a journey that has taken me literally around the world and I’m so thankful for all I’m able to do and have accomplished. Being a part of amazing projects like this one are what fuel me to pursue my passions. I realized I was bisexual when I was 18. It’s a group in the LGBT+ community that continues to get flak from seemingly all over. But my faith in it and myself has always been unshaken. Outside of VO I am a drag artist in the making under the name “Twilight Stunning”, who I’m going to show more properly in the coming months! I’m so thankful I’m in the position I am, and I can’t wait to see what we have in store for y’all!

Bradley Gareth as Michael (Main Character)

Bradley was raised in Western Pennsylvania, learning piano from age 5 and taking up local community theater at age 10. He pursued the performing arts throughout high school, consistently participating in high school musicals and chorus festivals during his tenure there. At the end of high school, he also took multiple classes in musical composition and began doing online voiceover work.

During his time in college, Bradley participated in numerous professional and amateur voiceover productions both online and at the University of Pittsburgh's student radio station, WPTS Radio. While at WPTS, Bradley also began writing advertisements and online content for websites.

Now out of school, Bradley continues to lend his voice to multiple productions, dabble in musical composition, and provide content writing for WrightlySo.com.

Jared Prize as David (Main Character)

Singing provides me with some of the greatest joy in life. Outside of that, I love voice acting, hiking, and hanging with friends. My day job involves working with computers, so I like to find a bit of an escape into the creative-realm during my free time. My sexuality has always been a struggle, but I find comfort in not putting a label on it (at least for now). Mostly, I am very excited to be a part of an ambition team of lovely people. Working within a project like this brings excitement during the process, and even more-so while waiting for the final piece! I hope you enjoy what's to come xo

Marisa Duran as Lady Marie

Hey there, I’m Marisa Duran. I’m an actress working and living in Dallas, Texas.

I caught the "theatre bug" at a young age. My parents will tell you that it started when I was two years-old, dancing around to the Barney theme song. I agree wholeheartedly.

I grew up in a suburb on the east side of Dallas and was fortunate to have the opportunity to explore a city known for its rich culture and artistic influence. My passion for theatre was fueled by the many musicals that toured through town and I quickly decided that I wanted to spend the rest of my life as a professional actor.

In 2016 I graduated Magna Cum Laude from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas with my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre, emphasis in Acting. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of working with multiple professional theatre companies in the DFW area. I’ve also expanded my career into the worlds of film and voiceover, landing roles in short films, webseries, and commercials, and lending my voice to over a dozen anime titles at FUNimation.

Art has the power to heal, to change, and to empower. As an artist, I believe that my purpose on this earth is to tell stories, and through these stories I hope to make a positive impact and leave people better than I found them. I consider it an honor to be able to use my talents in such a profound way.

Whenever I’m not rehearsing or recording, you can usually find me at my day-time marketing job, playing video-games, or drinking coffee at a local coffeeshop.

Kiba Walker as Zachariah

Born Arthur Lee Walker III in Tacoma, Washington, Kiba Walker is an American actor, musician, director, writer, and performer based out of Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas.

Kiba trained under the likes of various industry professionals such as Shane Sparks, Donyelle Jones, Tony Oliver, Betty "Waters" Kennedy, Chuck Huber, Sonny Strait, Chris Rager, Justine Reyes, Lorette Spicer, Bill Quinby, Angie Irons, Dan Lorge, Holly Clark Lorge, Spencer Christian, and many others. With 16 years of collective industry knowledge, Kiba has performed with the likes of Alice Underground, The Stereo Killers, Frankly Fictitious, CRVSH, Grant Davis, Ashley Ann Farley, Steve "Warky" Nunez, BASH!, Ryland Lynch, Ross Lynch, Will Jay, and more.

Voice over came to Kiba in his later years, around the age of 18, when he found his love doing an ask blog for Tumblr. From there, he took the craft seriously and networked profusely with various actors and companies in the voice over realm. His first roles were as Boku Temagawa in "Love Games" and Mike Connelly in "Zoolaplex".

Since 2014, he's been cast in various other projects including MY HERO ACADEMIA, HORIMIYA, GENSHIN IMPACT, FRUITS BASKET, ONE PIECE, SAINT SEIYA (2019 Sentai Dub), BLACK CLOVER, BOFURI! I DON'T WANNA GET HURT SO I'LL MAX OUT MY DEFENSE, CAUTIOUS HERO: THE HERO IS OVERPOWERED BUT OVERLY CAUTIOUS, CASE FILE NO.221 KABUKICHO, CAMP BUDDY, FULL SERVICE, TO TRUST AN INCUBUS, TO LOVE RU, O MAIDENS IN YOUR SAVAGE SEASON, EARTHLOCK, POPUP DUNGEON, SOMETHING IN THE DARK, RADIANT, and many more!

He's also directed such titles as FULL SERVICE, IDUEL: BATTLE FOR STARDOM, ISHIDA & ASAKURA, THE TITAN'S BRIDE, and CAMP BUDDY.

As a musician now, Kiba currently has one album out, titled "XO", that released in May 2016. He runs a music channel called "KibaKovers", adapting anime and video game openings into English for a broader audience, as well as regular Top 40 covers. He is also one of the champions of the hit Fort Worth Drag Competition, The 3, as Salem Moon!

Mike Young as Sir Tiphis

Hello, I’m Mike Young. A dynamic, versatile and different British VP voice actor with gravitas, who can turn on various shades of Bristol, and run the spectrum of silky smooth, to warm and friendly.

Under the brilliant tutelage of Tanya Rich, my road to a professional voice acting career begin in 2018, having produced a wide variety of stories and audiobooks.

I lend my talent to a range of different projects:

Hard sell and soft sell commercial and corporate scripts

IVR for telephone systems and mobile apps

Instructional e-learning courses

Promotional adverts and trailers

Public service announcements

Character narration for video games, film, audio dramas and books

…and more!

I love it all, I do it all! And if you like what you hear, contact me! I’ll be sure to make your project gurt lush.

#visual novel #visual novels #yaoi #voiceactor

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randomthoughtsrandomdude · 4 years

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Late night thoughts with your host: me

I realize how this post will likely sound, but I mean well with it.

I’m not usually wrong. By that, I mean that I have sooooooooo many experiences where I’m intuitively made a decision and then been proven correct at a later date. And it happens often enough that it can sometimes be hard to explain to new people without sounding overconfident or cocky.

Also, I have a pretty good sponge for a brain. Yeah, it leaks sometimes, but for the most part, knowledge learned is knowledge stored and available for use later. So I’m pretty solid with my LDS doctrine and was regularly turned to on my mission to answer the not-so-easy-to-answer questions. (True To The Faith was one of my favorite study resources back then)

Anyway

I bring this up because (as I’m sure many people are going through) this Lockdown hasn’t been great for me, mental health-wise. Add to that with today being Mothers Day (US), and my mom didn’t answer the phone so I left her a message and then called my grandma.

My grandma is a wonderful person. When I came out to my family, she’s among those who took it best. She’s an LDS temple worker (along with my grandpa) and a retired elementary school teacher, so I know she knows how to learn and express herself in a way to not be misunderstood. I love her very dearly.

During this call, I came out to her about having a boyfriend. She’s met him, I’ve had him over to a family event before so I knew she had a positive opinion about him. But I could tell she was hesitant to be excited or show approval. And I didn’t feel great. She spent most of the remaining call time (probably about 5 minutes) doing the good LDS temple-worker thing about saying how Everyone goes through trials, and God has a plan for each of us, and Life will sort itself out. Ultimately though, even though she didn’t say it, I can tell she believes in the Great Straight-ening in the next life.

It’s hard for me, because I’m not in a good place mentally, so to not only have one of the few relationships I really enjoy to be seen as invalid by a family member that I really respect, but also her words (most likely unintentionally) came across that there’s not much for me relationship-wise to look forward to in this life. [(Before anyone DM’s me the suicide hotline info, I appreciate the concern, but I have it saved in the event I ever need it)] I’m not an active suicide risk, but I’ve definitely had more than one occasion in the past month where I wouldn’t have minded falling asleep and not getting back up.

Getting back to the point of this post

I feel the same way about my identity and sexuality and relationship as I do with many of the other times that I’ve been proven right in the past. Now, I’ve had times where I’m still wrong, but I really want to be right. And not just for me, and not just to say I told you so (tho that’s always a little guilty pleasure of mine), but because LGBT+ LDS members deserve a win. We deserve to be shown the same love and care and affection that the Church teaches is available to all of God’s children and yet doesn’t have a doctrinal place for us (other than, y’know, unhappy or sinners).

My grandma and I talked about how the Lord put things in place that have been helpful during this Lockdown. The “Come, Follow Me” program with a home-centered focus for gospel study. The temple sealing ordinance no longer having a year-long wait after a civil marriage.

The problem with preparations is that they aren’t appreciated or the full implication realized until they’re needed. And I feel like there’s been many preparations made for the LDS Church to be more friendly to the LGBTQ+ lives all around the world, but the final pieces can’t be put into place until they’re asked for, and there’s simply not enough asking going on in the right places. Cuz let’s be honest: Bishop Roulette sucks. Stake President Roulette sucks. Queer members who want to go to the temple have to succeed at both of those, or remain closeted. Then, after you’ve been endowed, that’s basically it. Until there is a fundamental change in understanding or revelation given or the Second Coming, the temple becomes a place where you can contemplate quietly for as long as you want, mostly uninterrupted, up until it’s closing time. But there’s no more progress. No hope for growth. Not under the current doctrine.

So tonight wasn’t a good mental health night. And it’s not been a good mental health week. And since it’s still Lockdown, I can’t really do much to get out and physically change my headspace. Which is why I’m writing these words. If I can get my thoughts out into the universe then maybe they can be heard by someone who can do something about it. I can’t just keep them in my head.

#queerstake #lgbt lds #lds church #tumblrstake

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datingsimreviews · 4 years

Text

Hustle Cat

Hustle Cat is a Short but cute dating sim that lets you choose your gender and date either male or female characters!

Beware spoilers incoming!!!

Summary:

So first of all I’d like to say I very much appreciate having a game where you can date girls as a girl. That always makes me happy to see.

Hustle Cat is about a cat café which is actually a coven of witches. The employees are cursed to be cats when they leave the café unless they can figure out their own individual magic. Each route focuses on a character discovering their true selves, a bit of romance with the main character and their chosen partner dating and defeating this rust witch named Natch that’s trying to get the café for himself.

It’s a good game, but it’s very short. Compared to other dating sims I played each path felt kind of rushed, I wanted more information on the characters and more development, but I very much appreciated the fact that there were cute cats and that this was a very pro LGBT game.

Not everything is perfect though. I encountered a lot of bugs while playing which hampered my enjoyment. My game crashed once minimum every route. Luckily they had a great auto save feature so I barely lost any progress but it feels like the auto save feature was there for the crashing. I wish the crashes just didn’t happen. There’s also images in the gallery that are glitched or at least all walkthroughs say you can’t find anything because they’re glitched.

The protagonist:

Avery is our protagonist and you can choose their skin tone and gender which is fun. You would think that with so many choices this protagonist would be someone you could project on and all. And I’m sure it’s easy for some people to project on Avery but I had a little trouble because I couldn’t change Avery’s name despite the game not being voiced and the fact that Avery’s magical talent is trash. It’s funny to think about but it doesn’t scream epic to me. I like it, a lot of people would have the magical power of “bending trash” but I wish we had seen more of it. Avery’s never able to beat Nacht the rust witch on their own despite their forceful nature. I would have loved to see the power in the player character.

Avery’s fine though.

Landry:

Landry was the first character I romanced, a sweet and sensitive sort of guy who helps you during work. He likes building cat trees which is fun.

Out of all the guys Landry has the most backstory I think or at least, the most “feels complete” backstory. Landry is an Adept so he has innate magical ability that lets him see through glamorous. He saw a kid at a bar once who was a witch and was trying to be invisible and the kid cursed him in to “have his heart explode if he ever lost his temper.” He felt a burning in his heart and ran off and met the owner of the cat café who’s solution to the problem was to double curse him into a cat??? Idk why this guy’s solution to everything is to turn it into a cat.

Landry hates magic because of this so he’s reluctant to learn magic from you. He eventually does and develops powerful lightning magic. He finds the kid and after a fight the two talk it out and kinda become friends? Turns out the kid just cursed him to have heartburn for an hour and he panicked.

He’s pretty strong and I like the side character of the kid in his route. I also like how he and the main heroine love pizza together. His route feels the most complete.

Hayes:

Hayes is the introverted barista character. I always like the shy glasses types so I was really interested in romancing him, and it was nice to see his character type!!! He’s got horrible anxiety which is why he doesn’t really talk to people and enjoys being a cat to de-stress. His anxiety is portrayed as an actual mental disorder instead of just cute shyness and he and the main character learn good coping techniques to help him through it.

His magic is to…Make anything he speaks through Poems happen??? It sounds OP and I’m not quite sure how it works but I would love to see how his magic developed more. He liked writing poems but if he messes his poems up and can’t find a rhyme his body turns into static.

I love that despite his anxiety he loves big romantic gestures. That’s cool.

Finley:

Finley was my favorite character because her interactions and dialogue just felt so organic. Once the main character and her got into a romantic relationship her relationship felt like a real relationship, or at least something I would like to experience. When she thinks that the main character and her might not make it she asks if they live if Avery will cosplay with her.

Finley’s really into video games, and is kinda nerdy. In the other routes she ships the main character and the person they’re pursuing. She’s also just really bubbly.

She’s the social media expert and to get traffic for the café she’s become an internet famous cat because she can control what her internet persona can do to do cat stunts that normally wouldn’t be online. Good for her monetizing that curse for cash.

She can block people in real life or report them, that’s her magic. If someone doesn’t really care about the internet though she has to come up with a phrase that resonates with them in the same way #blocked does.

I also like how at the end of her story she and the main character become vigilante superheroes.

Mason:

Another lady character! And this time she’s the silent and buff type. I loved Mason in the other routes because she was the only one who didn’t learn magic and still stood against Nacht because he never seemed to predict someone would punch him and was just so strong.

She does end up learning magic in her route (fire magic) but I’m not sure why it’s fire. Everyone else had something else that mimicked their personality or what they liked to do besides Landry. Mason’s really into cooking and I thought she’d have cooking magic.

Her route was very sweet and made me cry. It focused on her and her grandpa and how he thinks she’s just a delinquent so they don’t talk anymore so now to spend time with him she’s been visiting him as a cat instead. It was sweet to make them close again. But it was also the route where I realized how short the game was, or just how short it felt.

Mason was sweet and I love the muscle-y lady type but I would have loved more development between her and the main lead. I just wanted a whole lot more.

Reese:

Reese is Graves’s Apprentice and the only one who knows about magic before all this. I always wondered in the other routes why he turned into a cat if the reason they turned into cats was because they weren’t practicing magic.

In his route you learn that despite his boasting he’s not very good at magic because he’s practicing his father’s type of magic- drawing. His father is a designer and loves to draw. Reese’s talents actually have to do with sewing though and he develops sewing magic, which lets him open up portals or enchant clothing.

I wanted to see more of his magic actually happen because I’m still not sure the rules of his sewing magic. But his route was nice. He felt like he played off of Avery’s stubborn personality well.

He’s kind of a tsundere and very full of himself. In the other routes he has a crush on Graves despite knowing him all his life so it’s nice to help him out of that. In his route you barely talk about his crush on Graves and it’s only implied in the other routes. It feels like there should have been more drama concerning the fact that he has a crush on someone else in his own route.

Graves:

The final character is Graves the manager of the cat café and the oldest character (I’m not sure how old but there’s definitely a significant age gap there). He’s the one who cursed everyone into being a cat and the reasons weren’t clear until his route. I was excited to see all the secrets be uncovered like why Nacht is after him and why he doesn’t really teach you anything and why he curses people.

In his route however it feels short and rushed. His and Nacht’s relationship is only implied. It could have possibly been romantic and Nacht was just a jealous ex who turned to hunting people because he was mad??? I’m not sure.

He explains he cursed everyone to be cats because witches can sense magic and they weren’t strong enough to defend themselves so he glamoroued them. And apparently he’s cursed to not talk about magic??? I’m not sure his route just feels so rushed.

He himself isn’t a bad character. He acts very gothic and vampire like when in reality he’s not a vampire or scary he’s just a dorky LARPer. It’s funny. His magic is cat magic so to deal with Nacht he takes Avery’s advice to just curse him into a cat. When his solution to everything before was to turn it into a cat. Should have come up with that yourself buddy.

His route was by far the weakest for me, not only because it felt extremely short and didn’t answer a lot of my questions but also because I couldn’t get into the romance. There’s this line he uses when he learns Avery’s 19 where he’s like “I had no idea, you’re so mature!” which is just a classic…bad line to make people feel like they’re older and get in an age gap relationship.

I feel like he could have been done all right but he didn’t gel with me.

Overall the game is a good game. Very short but cute especially if you like cats. I really wish there was just…more content in the game though. But it’s very LGBT friendly which definitely is cool!!! I’m always desperate for w/w content in dating sims because it’s rare to come by. So thank you Hustle Cat for that. And I’m sure other people feel represented by it too.

The bugs definitely annoyed me though. Also side note that I realized while writing this review, the gallery is very clunky and not organized by characters. And in a dating sim that’s definitely something that they usually have.

#hustle cat #dating sim review #lgbt dating sims

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libraryspectre · 5 years

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I’m moving to your college soon and I’m kinda worried. Is it true that it’s not a very friendly environment for lgbt/poc folks?

So I can speak as a queer person but as for the POC experience I have to rely on the impression I get from my friends and my own judgment.

I honestly think it depends on a couple different factors.

First, the department you’re in. I’ve heard that engineering is not very progressive at all. I’ve been in the biology department and it was.....fine. Anthropology (in the liberal arts college) has its problems but was overall a very positive and accepting environment.

Next, it’s all relative. I went to a very racist and queerphobic high school, and A&M is definitely a step up from that. I think unless you grew up in a very progressive town, it’s not any worse than most of Texas. That’s more of a general campus vibe, because as I said the departments themselves vary.

There are definitely good people! One thing A&M is great at is creating a sense of community. Find one. Go to MSC open house (it’s the first week of classes) and look for the POC and LGBT+ groups. I was in oSTEM, for LGBT+ STEM majors, and it was fantastic. There’s also an LGBT resource center that is kinda out of the way right now, but when the new building in the center of campus is done being constructed, it’s moving back there. It’s a great place to meet people and take a nap between classes.

As for LGBT+ groups, I know of:

LGBTQAggies

oSTEM

Transcend (for trans people)

and Shades of Queer, which I believe holds discussion groups based on different issues

I don’t know as much about groups for POC but I do know they exist.

So that’s my advice, you’ll run into jerks probably but it’s not any worse than most of Texas, and may be better depending on what you’re used to. But there are definitely places for community, and you should seek those out.

Let me know if you have any more questions! I would offer to meet up but I’m graduating in August! I hope you have a great experience at TAMU. Pet Revellie if you ever get the chance, she is truly a wonder.

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spaceorphan18 · 5 years

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Finding Kurt Hummel: Homecoming

Masterpost

6x02: Homecoming

I really need to knock the rest of these out -- hopefully soon I will! But man, there’s a lot more in season 6 than you might realize. A lot of these episodes are pretty packed.

At the beginning of the episode, we get a lot more Blaine-meta-ish things, and the one thing I’d like to pull from it is that Blaine’s getting therapy. Yup, that’s right, both these boys are getting their heads checked by a professional - and that’s a good thing! Look, I don’t think Kurt and Blaine are going to live a 100% perfect and happy life- no couple can accomplish that, but the fact that they’re both trying to better themselves is a huge thing, and recognizing that is a step forward in becoming adults (I mean, not even adults make the best choices to better their mental health). So yeah, they might not patch up things perfectly, but I think there’s a lot of subtext (cause Glee’s always been subtext) that shows they’re both in better places by the time season 6 starts.

The New Monday Night Dinner

So, because Will is a character again (ug) we start having Monday night dinners at his place (ug, ug). Okay, it’s not really that - but he’s supposedly having all the show choir directors over for a friendly chat? How convenient that they’re all former students. And why is Sam there? You know what - I’m not gonna think too hard about this.

The main thing is that Rachel and Kurt are already having issues being co-directors because it’s Rachel and Kurt.

And then Blaine arrives and Kurt feels super awkward about it. I mean how do you act when you’ve dumped the person you love the most in the world and now have to be in a semi-casual social situation with them with your former teacher, former roommate whom your ex once made out with and who will some day carry your child, and former dude whom you both had a crush on. This show is weird guys.

Anyway, Kurt’s actually happy to see Blaine - even if Blaine is totally ignoring Kurt’s there. And then Will turns the conversation to ‘everyone be nice to each other’, which lasts about five seconds when they try to give Blaine some advice about a girl being in the Warblers and Blaine is unsure about it. It’s awkward. But hanging out with your ex whom you aren’t actually speaking to at this moment is always gonna be awkward.

Getting the Gang Back Together

Um, what even is this outfit trying to say, Kurt? Are you the colorful walking dead?

Anyway - Rachel and Kurt start their tenure as semi-teachers by organizing sheet music. And let’s just say it -- they both have the most absurd way of doing it. Just -- no, genre than artist, that’s it you weirdos. But of course, Kurt would do it by emotion.

You know what - say what you will about Kurt and Blaine’s communication -- Rachel and Kurt have by far less communication going on. They’ve worked for two hours at ‘organization’ before they realized they were doing two different things. Oh Hummelberry.

Anyway, we get another argument from them - cause that’s what they do best. And Kurt basically says what should have been said hours ago - that this is pointless without members. However, if he’s doing his work study here (don’t ask me to define what exactly his work study is - I don’t get it either), shouldn’t he be proactive, too, in getting kids to sign up? And what’s with the defeatist attitude Kurt? Kid’s still got issues relating to his break-up.

(It’s also times like these that I do wish we had gotten a final career related story for Kurt, but alas, all the things we never had).

Anyway, Kurt storms out as he usually does when having a fight and made his point.

So - after a scene of Rachel following a disembodied voice to the men’s locker room -- we get Kurt meeting her in the auditorium and, sigh, apologizing for hurting her feelings. Again. Cause he’s never done that before.

I think I’m tired of Hummelberry, guys.

Anyway - weirdly, he apologizes for the things he said in the previous scene about her life. Which, um, is weird - cause he didn’t actually take any personal shots at her -- which means they edited out some extra dialogue. Man, I wish they had left that in - but can’t be too mean to Rachel.

Anyway - Rachel says, yeah, they have to be proactive in getting people to join us - so she’s pulled in some favors. Idk why Kurt is so -- who did you bring in Rachel?!? He could have easily figured it out.

Well everyone is all the former cast members who are still living and aren’t really part of the main cast anymore. It’s Homecoming - so it seems fitting. Though, I have to say. Everyone looks like they’ve aged about ten years -- which isn’t a bad thing, it just means this little coda of a season would have felt better placed much further in the future.

Anyway - Kurt’s surprised and happy to see all his old friends. I have to say though - I miss that Blaine isn’t there. I know he can’t because plot and the fact they’re trying to reset back to season 2 but still.

Anyway - who cares if any of this makes sense, we have the gang back together again.

Go they gather everyone in the choir room and explain that they need help getting the kids to join. And Kurt’s super frigidity. Huh. I think there’s some room to explore Kurt as someone who is an anxious kid with minor OCD tendencies. Cause that feels very apparent here.

It’s funny that they rattle on about how much they need their friends to band together and save glee club because the school needs it -- when really, both Rachel and Kurt need it. I mean, that is kind of the point of this season, but... it’s just interesting to think about. I mean, it’ll come full circle when Kurt talks about choosing another path to take at the end of the season. They both hit rock bottom and now they’re looking for something to fill the space that will help them get back on the right track. And their cause is saving the glee club.

Hm. It’s just interesting that this season of Glee is kind of one last stop in Lima before going out in to the world to really be the person you’re supposed to be. I’m sorry the story wasn’t developed a tad more (except in the case of Rachel) but that’s what it is. It’s almost fitting, then that I’m wrapping these up with the same kind of mentality. It’s nice to have that one last thought and move on. Anyway -- I’m getting meta on myself, lol...

So - their brilliant plan is to sing in the school - cause that’s always worked in the past, lol. And they do an 80s classic - because it’s Glee and the last season and Ryan Murphy has to get in all those hits that he didn’t use yet.

But I think what stands out to me about this performance is that it’s less about the lyrics (which I don’t think make much sense anyway) and more about the visual style. They’re recreating the music video, yes, but also adding the same elements of style used in the video -- the whole running from the police (Sue) thing, and it’s really pretty cool.

You can’t get a really good luck at Kurt’s 80s outfit - but here it is, and this goober is just having a lot of fun dancing on the tables and singing in his high register. It’s nice that they’ve now fully incorporated Chris’s voice into the group numbers -- especially when he’s not going to be singing much on his own.

Gay Legacy

So, I guess later that day, Kurt goes to try to recruit the gay football player. Cause, damn, if Ryan Murphy still is clinging on to his closested football player issues. I really don’t know why Kurt’s wasting his time -- Spencer obviously doesn’t want to be a part of the team, nor have we seen any indication that he actually has some kind of performing arts talents. But I suppose this scene is supposed to be a commentary on the current state of the LGBT community.

Actually, that’s exactly what it’s about and it’s kinda fascinating. The thing about this conversation is to show just how far things have come from 2009. Society has become more accepting of the LGBT community (obviously, it’s got a long ways to go - but from when Glee started, a lot of progress has been made). And we’re now here talking about different types of LGBT people. Kurt can’t and isn’t the catch all for gay anymore - that definition has widen (even if it’s always been that wide and diverse, we can now, as a society, have that conversation). And now even gay kids can have various inspiration to pull on - it doesn’t have to be musicals, it can be Modern Family. And that even though Kurt and Spencer share a preference for men, doesn’t make them any more similar than any other two guys.

So, yeah, it’s interesting that this scene (and the following one that Kurt’s not in) has less to do with the story and recruitment, as it is Glee’s usual way of knocking down the fourth wall and saying - yeah, okay so we’re not relevant like we used to be, but we did have an impact.

Meanwhile, in actual story time - we get to remember that Kurt was once on the football team -- and learn that Spencer is an asshole, and I’m still not sure why Kurt’s trying so hard to recruit him.

Recruitment

Kurt next pops up when Brittany is giving him advice on how to win Blaine back -- which involves burning all his clothes (yes, nude Kurt) but getting normal clothes (um, he’s been dressing ‘normally’ for a while now), and then being honest with him (yes do that!) about being a Barbara Bush impersonator (wtf Brittany?). Kurt’s equally confused as the rest of us and moves on with his life as he should.

However - I have to wonder - did they know at this point that Brittany was gonna try to get them back together? I have no idea. None of Brittany’s actions make sense most of the time, so I shouldn’t think too much about it.

Meanwhile - the main issue is that they’ve all failed to recruit members - mostly because none of them really know what they hell they’re doing. But then Roderick’s magical voice floats through the vents (sure) and they’re all mystified and run to go find him.

They find Roderick in the library - and why do they all look terrifying in this scene? Come join the cult - Roderick, lol. Anyway - they get a new member.

And I’ll take a second and talk about the season 6 newbies - who are actually pretty interesting. They aren’t cut from the same cloth of the originals as the season 4 newbies, their story lines all converge with existing characters, and we’re not forced to sit through any awkward love triangles. They served a function and it worked, too bad this didn’t happen way back in season 4 - the show might have lasted longer.

And then we get a long speech about what it is to be in glee. Cause apparently we needed that reminder. Kurt doesn’t say anything but nod in the background as other people give speeches. Ah yes, we’re back in season 1 again aren’t we.

Roderick auditions for Glee -- cause tradition - and Kurt... doesn’t really do anything. But he’s there looking pretty so...

First Meeting

So, ha, okay. Roderick is their only recruit and he shows up and Kurt has this nice speech about how you can’t go back again, but maybe you can make something new and better out of the ashes of the old thing. And I think that’s kind of cool -- because it’s not just about glee or his career, but about his relationship with Blaine. Like I said earlier, even though they’re all home again, the point is to go in a, god help me, new direction -- one that’s better than before, and as we’re coming to the ending of the show, I kind of like that there’s a sentiment that says - yeah you can and are allowed to start over and do things again. Second chances are a thing.

However, they’re stopped quickly because Blaine comes in, screaming about how Jane was poached by Rachel and will now be in New Directions instead of the Warblers. Blaine, who is clearly still angry (and very confused about his emotions) at Kurt blames Kurt for making it all happen -- which is ridiculous, but c’mon Kurt, Blaine’s allowed to have some residual issues. Kurt even tries to say that it’s fine because the Warblers have a lot of people and New Directions don’t - but Blaine’s pushing back. Which is actually a good thing, tbh, even if he is a little off the handle here. Blaine’s no longer going to be a doormat - and that works much better for the balance of he and Kurt in the long run.

Kurt and Blaine are on their way to being on equal footing again, but here there’s still a lot of pain that hasn’t been healed yet. Subtext!!

Homecoming

Alright, so official glee club has started! And they get two more members as the weird cheerleader twins join. And it’s all happiness and joy as this new/final chapter has officially begun.

And then we get the final number - Home - where Kurt gets to sing in his lovely lower register. :D And the Homecoming celebration officially starts. It’s a little weird to see the kids doing something so high school normal, lol, but hey it’s a fun time to celebrate.

So, um, Kurt, Sam, and Artie go spy on Spencer because -- tradition? I mean, that’s one of the themes of episode. Let’s go with tradition.

Anyway, being back is actually kinda bittersweet for Kurt because being back home means that there are still a lot of unresolved issues from the past to deal with.

Blaine and Karofsky are there - and Blaine is intentionally not looking at Kurt, as Kurt looks like he’s been stabbed in the heart watching from afar. The song plays on - Home is when I’m with you. Well, Rachel and Mercedes and McKinley is home, but there’s a bit ‘home’ that’s missing in Kurt’s heart. We’re gonna get there - but we do have a little ways to go. ;)

#finding kh #kurt hummel

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ravioli-kid · 5 years

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Heeello. Might I ask for your two cents? I don't currently live in the U.K.but I'm planning on moving back for university but I don't know a whole lot? It's only bc you're an illustration student(a very talented one!! 💞💞)that I was wondering if you could please tell me any advice you have on choosing a school,art school vs art school within a more academic school, or what's the English department at art vs academic oriented school?Sorry. No pressure/expectations intended.Beautiful work, again!

Firstly THANKU!!

As for choosing schools id say if u can, going to open days is rlly helpful, same with talking to students. Location is also rlly important, my unis in a city and it was a rlly good choice for me. Looking into the area around the uni, whether u prefer a city/ campus uni. There are defo less specialist art schools around so theres less choice of location in terms of that.

My uni is a specialist arts uni, so all courses r creative courses. I don’t rlly have any experience with a more academic uni but I can tell u some positives of a more artistic school? One of the best things is that the people u interact with everyday are all creative ppl, (friends, tutors, ppl from other courses). We’re encouraged to collaborate with the graphic design, animation etc students, thats defo good for networking for future. The tutors are working professionals in the industry so they’re rlly great to talk to and get feedback from. It might not be applicable to every art school but ive found it to be rlly LGBT+ friendly, it feels like a more progressive environment, tutors and students included.

I hope this is helpful?? If u wanna chat about it more pls feel free to message me!

#ask

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inqorporeal · 6 years

Link

(I’m copy-pasting the full text here because his site crashed for a few hours and I’m guessing it’s because of traffic.)

Hello! I was fired from Marvel — from two Star Wars projects. The detail from the tweets I tweeted:

So, here’s a thing that has happened – I just got fired from Marvel. Taken off issues 4 and 5 of SHADOW OF VADER, and taken off an as-yet-unannounced SW book. This might be a long thread, so apologies in advance. (I hesitate to talk about this, because honestly, it gives the Worst Possible People a win, something they’ve wanted for a while. But I also feel like I’ve long held to honesty and forthrightness, and I don’t feel like lying when people realize I’m not on these books anymore.)

To rewind a little bit, when SW: AFTERMATH came out, I assume most know but maybe you don’t, I put some ahh, elements in there (LGBT characters) that were not received well by a certain subset of fandom. That resulted in both a negative review campaign, found across various FB groups and other Worst Places on the Internet, that began mounting the very minute the book dropped online. I was literally at a midnight release of the book, and when I got done, there were already a pile of one-star reviews piling up – which seemed strange, obviously. And scary, too. I didn’t understand what was happening at the time. (And as a caveat, obviously I recognize that yes, some people just don’t like the book for the Usual Reasons, and people who hold those reasons are not to be lumped in with the more septic side of fandom. Tl;dr see also TLJ reviews.)

I also started receiving TONS of harassment – harassment that has gone on for years, harassment that has required me to contact local police and warn them of SWATting attempts, harassment across all corners of the Internet, here, FB, Reddit, YouTube. Some of it was bot stuff, obviously, or sock puppets, but some of it was pretty creepy, and very personal. I didn’t call a lot of it out or even highlight, but it was there, a sort of… constant background noise. (Christ, for an extra special treat go search for my name and check out the YouTube videos if you want an eye-opening glimpse.)

And I was worried of course because, jeez, I thought I had screwed up. I wondered for a time if the book was bad. But then it hit list and stayed on list for four weeks – and the next two books hit list, too, and EMPIRE’S END landed even higher on the list than the first book. And privately, I was told by folks inside LFL that there was no worry here, that they valued that I spoke out both speaking up for myself and for STAR WARS, which has always honestly been a progressive brand and company. And it made me very proud to work for them, too, not just because — holy hell, basking in the glow of STAR WARS, but because the people were great, and they totally got it. (Hell, a lot of the people inside LFL have experience considerable harassment. I mean, that’s not news, but Kelly Marie-Tran? Bueller? Bueller?)

After I did HYPERION with Marvel, they hired me then to write the TFA adaptation, which meant I got to work with some wonderful folks – @hantos and @cracksh0t – on a project that was tricky, because it ended up being more a translation of the movie than an adaptation. (I know Heather received some of the worst harassment in the entire industry – I can’t speak to how well Marvel did or did not protect her from it, but I know she was at the bottom of a major misery funnel from Comicsgate and their ilk. Far worse than I suffered.)

Still, I thought things were good, and I hoped to do more work with Marvel or SW or a combo of the two someday – comics isn’t really my “thing,” per se, but I felt like I was getting a handle on it. Of course, the harassment continued – and it got worse again when TLJ came out. Which I’m sure is no surprise to anyone who has ever tweeted, “Hey, I really liked THE LAST JEDI!” That’s really when I started to see lots of YouTube videos and stuff about me and it was… Well, it was creepy. And I’d seen other signs of people being… fired for political reasons, or folks like @ChelseaCain who was yanked around and was also the subject of considerable nastiness.

And then we announced SHADOW OF VADER juuuuust last weekend, and people were excited, and I thought everything was good. I was not made aware of any issues, and my online self has always been my online self, so. Except, yeah, no. Today I got the call. I’m fired. Because of the negativity and vulgarity that my tweets bring. Seriously, that’s what Mark, the editor said. It was too much politics, too much vulgarity, too much negativity on my part.

Basically, because I was not civil.

Which, of course, is their decision to make. I’m not their boss. (And, turns out, they’re not the boss of me, either. Har har.) (I joke because otherwise, I cry.)

My understanding over this call was that this was a Marvel decision, not an LFL decision, but I can’t really confirm that. The editor said he had made the call. He seemed genuinely upset at my tweets and profanity, so maybe that’s accurate. And again, that’s his right to do so. If they honestly feel that my presence will damage the book, I don’t want that. I want the book to shine, and artists like Juanan Ramirez and Greg Smallwood to do their amazing thing. Artists like that are gods in my mind, so I’m happy to not distract from their literal magic.

But it does set a troubling precedent. One we’ve seen already – James Gunn, Jessica White, and so on – of folks fired because they riled up the wasp’s nest of asterisk-gate. And it seems odd to be mad that I’m mad about politics when – well, look around. Climate change, kids in cages, sexual harassers at the topmost tiers of power, and so on. A call for civility as the PA GOP candidate threatens Tom Wolf with a golf cleat stomping. I dunno, man.

I know it hands Comicsgate a big win. It will embolden them. But they won — I’m out of Marvel and, I guess for now, at least, out of any kind of Star Wars. Do your victory lap, I guess. (Just please leave me out of it.) (All that being said, a lot of wonderful people still work inside those institutions and storyworlds, and I hope you’ll continue to support them and the stories they’re telling.) To conclude: this is really quite chilling. And it breaks my heart. I am very sad, and worried for the country I live in, and the world, and for creative people all around. Courage to you all. I have a dire fear this is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better.

P.S. Vote in November like your life depends on it. Because it just might.

The TL;DR is that bigots didn’t like his inclusive liberal content, most likely reported on his less-than-family-friendly online presence to management, and got him canned.

I’m rather disappointed in the studio’s capitulation, but not as shocked as I wish I were.

#chuck wendig #long post #full blog text

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bunnieplott · 6 years

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Voltron and LGBT+ rep.

So I am one of those people who jumped for joy when the news came out (lol) that SHIRO was our LGBT+ rep. This made me happy on so many levels!! As well as kinda worried for how the show’s going to continue in varying levels of awesome. All below the cut cause... this got long.

Things that made me HAPPY!!

1) That they actually followed through a gave us a rep at all! And not a side character!

2) That it’s SHIRO! Shiro. The poc, ptsd, superman-ly, everyone looks up to him Leader of Voltron who could be said is the driving force behind the vast majority of the plot. SO Many things happen in this show because of him. The only other person who could pull as much “main character”ness is probably PRINCESS Allura.

3) That and, according to the few clips I’ve seen from s7e1, they actually manage to bring his sexuality up in a really organic way. Again going off clips here, but it really looks like they manage to go for a show not tell approach. Everyone is talking about going back to earth. This leads Shiro to think about things that happened before he left, which brings us to Adam. Then through their conversation we see that Adam and Shiro are together.... and breaking up... but! They had a romantic relationship nonetheless.

This took 7 seasons to come up and honestly it times out perfectly. This is the first time since the beginning that the Paladins have really talked about earth. Likely story is that they’ve been trying really hard to avoid even thinking about their home, knowing that they might not ever get back.

Now they’re headed back, and are all probably thinking about their families. We just SEE Shiro doing it.

4) .......This honestly surprised me. I totally thought our LGBT+ rep was going to be Keith. Though I did have the head canon that they were going to get back to earth, Keith was going to see a male former classmate and go “Quiznack that’s my ex! Hide ME!!” and be all awkward. ...... So I was kinda right? In a way?

So yes very happy! But kinda worried about how it’s going to play out going forward....

Awesomeness levels of LGBT+ness of possible future events as predicted by Bunnie! (DISCLAIMER!; I order ships in levels of probability according to MY own thoughts. Please don’t take offense)

Great) Shiro is obviously still gay, still has interactions with his former boyfriend Adam. (This is all pretty much a given considering spoilers given by the cast/reviewers) However, they either don’t get back together or worse one of them dies.... anyway they don’t actually continue their relationship on screen. This is kinda the level most progressive shows are at right now. They either have LGBT+ character who’s out and proud in some way but not in a relationship, or they get two characters of the same gender together.... at the very end of the show and we don’t actually see the gay. So great! but not yet awesome.

Awesome) Adashi/Shadam do get back together, we have excellent, real on screen interactions of the romantic kind. Definitely a kiss, maybe a wedding..... This does rank kinda low, though, ‘cause it would mean that though a main character is LGBT+, they got him with a guy who was kinda.... invented to be the gay lover? I mean I’m sure that Adam will wind up playing a larger roll than that but... this is how he’s introduced.

REALLY AWESOME) They don’t get Adam and Shiro back together.... HERE ME OUT! They don’t get back together BUT, Shiro does get into a relationship with one of the other male main characters. Probability levels go Keith>Lance>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Hunk (really don’t see much of possiblity of that last one sorry Shunk shippers). Not including Coran cause..... that pings my ick senses a little. (again sorry to anyone who does ship them)

Keith and Shiro are one kiss away from going from “family of choice,” to “family cause we’re married.” (Really strange how those two things are REALLY different feelings but look so similar from the outside....) Lance was really broken up at the end of season 6 about almost losing Shiro, referred to him as his hero on more than one occasion and is in that picture with Shiro’s arm around him as they hold up the LGBT+ sign. ....... Can’t really think of anything for Hunk.

This would mean that not one but TWO of our beloved main cast are in fact LGBT+. Bonus point’s if it’s Lance cause he would most definitely be Bi where Shiro has been revealed (I think) to be Gay. That’s two characters and two letters of the alphabet soup of pride.

MEGA AWESOME!!!!!!!) They do get the Shadam going again it’s as beautiful as we hoped AND two of the other main characters are ALSO in a LGBT+ relationship!! So this would mean 3!! main characters are LGBT+.

Now possibilities for this would likely include Lance as he’s the character who has been talked about the most for having a romantic endgame. Soooo.... Klance>Hance>Plance with Pidge being Trans and/or Ace. Non Lance ships.... kinda swim around on similar levels of probability for me. Romelle or Krolia in any LGBT+ ship would kinda be a step down in awesome simply because of when they were introduced, they’d fall close in line with Adam for the “introduced nearly entirely for this purpose”ness....

MIND BLOWN IN A RAINBOW EXPLOSION OF SHEER AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!) Everyone is LGBT+!!!!! Personal preferences of most awesome include. Gay!Shiro+Gay!Adam, Gay!Keith+Bi!Lance, Bi!Allura+Lesbian!Romelle, Pan!Hunk+NonBinary!AlienYetToBeInroduced, Ace!Pidge+technology and finally past Coran+Alfor+Allura’sMom as a wonderful poly!ship.

......Unfortunately the likely hood of being cannon is inversely proportionate to awesomeness level.... This is a cartoon made to be child friendly. A scifi space adventure which is traditionally content aimed at a masculine audience. From a LGBT+ standpoint it’s already great, and can very easily be awesome. Don’t give up hope on it being even more though. And Hey, even if it doesn’t reach peak awesome levels...... that’s what fanfiction is for. =P

#voltron #voltron legendary defender #vld #shadam #adashi #klance #sheith #shunk #hance #plance #so many other ships #this got really long #sorry #lgbt+ representation #lgbt+#sorry if i offended anyone

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rodbank13 · 3 years

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10 Greatest Parks And Gardens To Visit In Tokyo

Shintoism is expressed in the use of stones, Buddhism is seen in the usage of lanterns and Taoism is manifested in the islands. In 1959, “Duke” got here to work in Micke Grove Park and asked Mr. William Micke for permission to build a Japanese Garden for the Japanese neighborhood to indicate solidarity with the people of San Joaquin County. Mr. Micke thought it was a wonderful concept and put aside three acres for the backyard. Under the supervision of Juki Iida and Nobumasa Kitamura, building began in March 1960 and was accomplished on an accelerated schedule within four months. Juki Iida personally scouted and chosen 580 giant granite rocks from the close by Snoqualmi Pass to insert within the garden. Since the construction of the garden was originally envisioned to require three years, the execution required a variety of revisions and changes in design all through the backyard. The park is operated by the National Museum of Nature and Science, whose purpose is to protect the pure environment of Tokyo’s forests and marshlands, however it's owned by the Ministry of Education. The Yoyogi Park is a big Western-style park that may be a five-minute stroll from the Harajuku Station and the Meiji Shrine. Yoyogi Park is on the site from which the first successful powered aircraft flight in Japan took place on December 19, 1910 led by Captain Yoshitoshi Tokugawa. Now, it is probably considered one of the locals’ favourite parks, where you will notice many rock music followers, jugglers, comedians and interest groups. Kiyosumi Teien is a fairly Japanese panorama backyard with walking trails round a central pond. One of the most stunning, traditional Japanese panorama gardens of Tokyo. Dating from the Edo Period, it reproduces landscape scenes from famous poems in miniature. We are a promoter and steward of this evolving metropolis and its progressive values, which have the power to remodel the travelers who visit us. Round out your floral explorations of the Rose City with a visit to Southeast Portland’s lush Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. The park boasts more than 2,500 rhododendrons, azaleas, with blooms from late February -June. Many of Tokyo's gardens date from the Edo Period when feudal lords were required to spend one 12 months out of two in Edo as a type of management by the Tokugawa regime. The daimyo constructed residences and adjoining gardens for themselves and their households. After the collapse of Tokugawa rule in 1868 many of these gardens reverted to government ownership and after World War II all of them have been steadily taken over by Tokyo metropolitan authorities. The Japanese garden performs so much onperspective, particularly in the case of borrowed landscapes, shakkei. The shakkei gardens give the impression ofinfinite dimensionsthanks to confused boundaries and video games of dissimulation . The Place To Search Out Traditional Souvenirs In Tokyo, Kyoto And Osaka In order to work properly, they’re meant to be carried with you in your bag, phone case, inside pocket, and so on. However, I maintain my omamori on show with numerous other Japanese souvenirs . Someone shall be satisfied with an uncommon flavor of Japanese Fanta, scrumptious milky tea, or a singular Peach Tea in a reasonably bottle. Find some of the best Tokyo souvenirs for women at Oriental Bazaar. Good Japanese souvenirs are stunning in design and make you smile. A yukata summer time kimono, with an obi waistband, tabi toe socks, andgeta (the picket clog-like shoes). ROYCE' Baton Cookies – These make nice goodie bag presents because they're individually packed. They're oval shaped matcha flavoured biscuits and chocolate-covered on the underside. Note that stores do provide ice packs and special bags for a hundred JPY. The go-to place for this is Kitchen Street or Kappabashi Street between Ueno and Asakusa however I've never made it there personally. The two spots we've picked good ceramics from have been within the Tsukiji Outer Market and on the side streets of Asakusa. After visiting a distillery, I was pleased to bring some sake home with me! Check your country’s import restrictions on what you can deliver home. One of the famous issues to buy in Japan, is dorayaki, a Japanese pancake. They are sometimes made right into a sandwich with the popular red bean paste inside! These presents, usually within the type of money, have been for use for the requirements of the journey, and in return the traveller would bring again a souvenir for those who had given senbetsu. From cool trinkets acquired at the 100 Yen store to high-priced ceramics, there's one thing for everybody. Bamboo charcoal, igusa and kinran , all of which symbolize Japanese cultural belongings, have been combined to create one thing completely new and stylish. Utilizing the soothing results of bamboo charcoal and igusa straw, these beautiful kinran fringed objects are sure to bring the delicate Oriental look into your dinning room. Japan In “Videogames,” the contributors observe how Japanese gamers can proactively have interaction in numerous gaming imageries, where authorship of the game text is diffused. Applying the tools of cultural research and literary analysis to the Japanese sport hit “Final Fantasy VII” , Rachael Hutchinson observes how video games resonate with the postwar/post-Fukushima zeitgeist. Over 10,000 members have registered at Cosplay Lab, a well-organized, family-friendly site for the cosplay group. Non-members can take a look at a quantity of features, including footage of costumes and links to organized cosplay occasions the place anime and manga fans costume as their favourite characters. She comments on how Shibuya was remodeled right into a consumer space because the 1970s, solely to be later regarded as “polluted” by the Japanese youth. Patrick Galbraith paperwork the transformation of the hectic electrical city into a tourist-friendly “holy land” of otaku. Galbraith provides, nonetheless, that Akihabara grew to become a showcase of Cool Japan, leaving little room for the “weird otaku,” who are seen as potentially harmful to the picture of Cool Japan. Tong Lam takes the notion of spectacularity to yet another level by elaborating on the phenomenon of damage enthusiasm in Japan (haikyo būmu). This form of tourism consists of in search of out and documenting deserted facilities, mines, hotels, hospitals, and amusement parks. "It's not that straightforward and you may't get a lot of the issues we get. We have plenty of connections different people will not have, and by the same token, they get connections we don't have." Currently, FredFlare carries a line of Japanese kitchen objects similar to a spatula that looks like a frog and a skillet with a panda face on it. The website additionally sells equipment, Japanese craft books, and other kitschy Japanese objects like a squirrel-shaped lint roller. The group hasn't but been to Japan to supply merchandise however has had luck with trade shows, scouring the Web, and being approached immediately by suppliers. This article at Entrepreneur.com discusses how the most recent developments begin with Japanese youth and the way what’s massive in Japan could probably be the subsequent massive factor elsewhere. In September 2005, the UN tried reform of the Security Council, with intentions to expand its membership from 15 to 24 members. This was seen by Japan as a big opportunity to boast a stake in geopolitics as a everlasting member of the Security Council. In this instance, Japan acted in a vacuum of hard energy; Japan’s pacifist constitution nullifies any potential military action and Japan was within the throes of recession, reducing financial clout. Thus, it is debatable that Japan’s failure may be solely ascribed to the weak point of its gentle energy resources, which are not but enough to attain the outcomes it needs. In “Music” the authors connect some significance to the transactions between Western and Japanese musicians, which generated new music types. Tokyo Nightlife Pictures The local establishments are very accessible when you don’t converse Japanese. Even the smallest hole-in-the-walls have English menus and sometimes English-speaking workers. Heading out of the Kabukicho Exit, there are four main locations to get pleasure from your time. Being the middle of the expat group and a very important place for foreigners who want to get pleasure from Tokyo’s nightlife, you'll not see extra non-nationals in another district when going to a bar or membership. Because of the massive number of foreigners that frequent Roppongi, and the way violent and impolite some folks can get after ingesting, many locals have come to hyperlink Roppongi with ill-mannered foreigners. This is among the causes scammers and hawks tend to target people who clearly appear to return from other international locations. Furthermore, and because of this status you can wager criminals will exploit this to pin the blame on foreigners. Shinjuku – With many eating places, cafes, bars and clubs, Shinjuku can be a high nightlife option in Tokyo. It is understood for its LGBT-friendly atmosphere, with quite a few institutions that cater to the group. Karaoke – Japanese karaoke establishments are composed of several personal rooms geared up with microphones and karaoke gamers, which comprise a protracted listing of Japanese, English, and different songs. They also serve food and drinks and typically rent out their rooms by the hour. Head to a convenience store and seize a few USD$2-3 drinks and drink on the streets! Or, if you’d rather be snug sitting down, visit an izakaya. Drinks are simply as reasonably priced there, and you can even grab some meals earlier than the night correctly starts. We have an inventory of must-try izakaya dishes, so check that out if you’re planning to pre-drink in an izakaya! Tokyo's Finest Handmade Crafts, Antiques, And Farmers' Markets As is the case with Kappabashi and cooking, you're not prone to be doing any crafts on your next trip to Tokyo. However, a visit to Nippori Fabric Town, close to Nippori Station on the JR Yamanote Line, continues to be a worth stop on your Tokyo market itinerary. From cloth to make kimonos to a extra common array of DIY craft supplies, Nippori Fabric Town is a go-to for creative types in Tokyo and is certain to inspire you, even if you do not buy anything there.

Today, Japan is considered a trendsetting market, so if you can obtain success there, the door to the global market is extensive open for you. This article supplies an outline of the market alternatives available in Japan, in addition to insight into the vital thing to look at earlier than increasing your corporation into the APAC region. Apparently there are several flea markets being held round town at present, so attendance is low at this one - nearly one tenth of the standard. I informed him I'd return for an iris painted pottery flower vase that he had on show if our gross sales choose up. Hello Kitty 50 yen Am Best Ai Otsuka Easy Piano Solo Three of my daughter's friends arrive to assist out. There is, nonetheless, no need to travel all the way in which throughout Japan for your fish market fix. Just a five-minute walk from the Senju-ohashi Station is the Adachi Market, the second largest fish market in Tokyo, second solely to – nicely, you’ve in all probability guessed that by now. As a wholesale marketplace for seafood dealers, it’s solely open to the public once each two months, but it’s a noteworthy expertise in case your timing is right. Market of the Sun or Taiyou no Marche is taken into account the largest farmer's market in Tokyo, hosting over one hundred vendors gathered in Kachidoki on the second weekend of each month. This market features over 50 different sorts of fruit and veggies both grown locally and outdoors Japan, with every month spotlighting a specific seasonal fruit or vegetable, or in any other case some kind of specialty meals. Not solely contemporary produce, this market sells local products like teas and handmade artwork and crafts, whereas also offering totally different academic workshops about harvesting and farming. It’s positioned a 15-minute stroll away from Tsukiji Market, handy to get your fishy repair if one of the many food vans onsite serving both Japanese and international cuisines don’t suit your fancy. These Festivals And Occasions In Japan Have Been Cancelled As A Result Of Coronavirus Many folks start the model new 12 months by consuming soba noodles at midnight for good health. Big Japanese festivals are a enjoyable, unforgettable — and often very crowded — approach to see a bit of Japanese culture. At Asia Highlights, we create your sort of journey — your dates, your destinations, at your pace. The parade begins at Chichibu Shrine around 7 pm and ends on the metropolis corridor. In Tokyo, the best place to rejoice is in the Asagaya neighborhood where they create big paper mache sculptures. Dosojin Matsuri is probably one of the three largest fire festivals in Japan and is annually held on January 15. Please remember that the gross sales deadline is commonly 1 month forward of the competition. For even more information on Japanese festivals, we also advocate the superb Japan-Guide’s overview of festivals in Japan, and the helpful Japan Atlas’ guide to Japanese festivals. Tenjin Matsuri (“Festival of the Gods”) is an exuberant celebration that takes place on the finish of July in the vigorous metropolis of Osaka. The wheeled floats are masterpieces, however the actual deal with is watching the day by day performances of the puppets, moved by dozens of strings and pushrods, operated from contained in the float by a grasp puppeteer. The magnificent floats — depicting imposing gods, warriors, kabuki actors, animals, and even TV celebrities — are made with washi and lit from the within. Accompanying the floats are groups of dancers, taiko drummers, flutists, and different musicians. Over time, Japan’s traditional festivals and its modern day celebrations have turn out to be conflated within the minds of most overseas guests, although they are fairly distinct inside Japan itself. The result's a country with a huge variety of various festivals and celebrations – and a win-win for visitors to the country. If you propose your trip right, you’ll be capable of expertise each the past and present of Japan by way of traditional and modern-day matsuri. Incredibly, there are an estimated 300,000 Matsuri throughout Japan. One of the reasons there are such a lot of is that just about each shrine, city and village has its personal competition. One Hundred Japanese Shrines And Temples Concepts Some of the shrine’s highlights embrace one of the tallest wooden gates in Japan, three sacred timber, and its lantern-lined approach. Concealed in an historic forest on the base of Mt. Fuji, this shrine was traditionally used as the begin line for climbing the sacred volcano. It nonetheless attracts pilgrims coming to worship Mt. Fuji and hosts a ceremony to kick-off the Mt. Fuji climbing season. Itsukushima’s exceptional structure and eye-catching location are why it’s certainly one of my favourite shrines to go to in Japan. Meiji Jingu is very well-liked firstly of the New Year, welcoming extra visitors than some other Japanese shrine (over three million folks come right here for the year’s first prayers). Note that should you plan to visit Kyoto, which has the most effective shrines and temples in Japan, you don't have to go out of your method to go to shrines and temples in Tokyo. If you are going to Kyoto, I'd counsel only visiting Meiji-jingu Shrine and Senso-ji Temple in Tokyo. Tsurugi Shrine has 1,800 years of lengthy historical past and it is called the shrine visited by many worshippers on New Year’s Day yearly. Ancestors of Nobunaga Oda, a well-known military commander of the Sengogu Period, are mentioned to have been Shinto monks of this shrine and named themselves “Oda” taking the name of their birthplace. The primary shrine is designated by Fukui Prefecture as a cultural property and the shrine bell as a national treasure. Besides these, “Myoujin bayashi”, efficiency by Japanese drums devoted to the shrine every fall, is designated by Fukui Prefecture as one of many intangible people cultural belongings. Heisenji Temple is a mountain temple situated at the place to begin of the trail from Fukui Prefecture facet leading to a sacred mountain Mt. Hakusan . It was a powerful spiritual establishment supported by native Hakusan Worship from ancient instances to later Middle Ages. However, the entire temple was destroyed by hearth in 1574 by the attack during “Ikko ikki”, Jodo Shinshu Buddhist rebellion. Uncommon Japanese Artwork Assortment The Naramachi district has a selection of smaller museums concerned with Nara's traditional arts and crafts. The putting museum building is complemented by gardens designed by celebrated US panorama artist Peter Walker, a student of Hideo Sasaki. The best place to see the museum is from the second-floor pool; visit at nightfall to see the museum and its lights mirrored by the water. It educates visitors about earthquakes and catastrophe prevention by way of varied interactive games, documentary films, and a large display screen theater with practical pictures of the earthquake's destructiveness. Kyoto Railway MuseumLocated inside strolling distance of Kyoto Station, the Kyoto Railway Museum covers the historical past of Japanese railways from steam locomotives to the shinkansen. Chiran Tokko MuseumThe Chiran Tokko Museum preserves paperwork, letters and belongings of the members of the special attack corps (known in English as "kamikaze pilots") during World War 2. The museum doesn't glorify, but rather serves to remind of the unhappiness of warfare. This Kansai museum boasts a set that ranges from conventional Japanese art to trendy portraits. Dedicated to trendy Asian art, this museum is a superb useful resource for these thinking about seeing what modern art seems like across Asia. Suntory Museum of Art in the Tokyo Midtown constructing in Roppongi offers changing exhibitions showcasing the gathering of traditional Japanese art of the Suntory corporation. Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum positioned only a short walk from Shin-Yokohama Station in Yokohama, calls itself a "food-themed amusement park". That is a really fitting description even though the entire setting is located on three flooring of 1 building, two of them deep underground. Miho MuseumThe Miho Museum features constructions of interesting designs integrated into the pure environment. The museum captivates with a theme of contrasting steel, glass and warm stone, complemented by panoramic views of the encompassing valleys. The museum's displays consist of works from historical civilizations such because the Egyptians, Romans, and varied Asian cultures. Kofukuji National Treasure MuseumMany temples in Japan have treasure homes of varying levels of curiosity. Of these, the National Treasure Museum at Kofukuji Temple might be one of the best despite its understated location and exterior - it is easily overlooked on a visit to Kofukuji. The museum has a great collection of Buddhist art that includes the three-faced, six-armed Ashura Statue, one of the celebrated Buddhist statues in Japan. Prime Japan Shore Excursions, Cruise Excursions & Day Trips From Cruise Port There is an intoxicating element of the exotic in Japan, but the hospitality of the folks and the comforts of the culture will put you proper comfortable. Enjoy the distinctive beauty of Lake Biwa on this 7-day cycling tour starting in Moriyama. Visit distinctive and historical villages such as Omi-Hachiman, Sugaura, and Harie, the place you probably can pattern local delicacies, find out about regional culture, and cycle alongside picturesque forest and seashore paths. Stop at shrines, take a cable automobile to the highest of Mt. Shizugatake, and enjoy a boat ride to the spiritual Chikubujima Island, all whereas sleeping at traditional guesthouses with onsen, hot spring baths. This distinctive 14-day tour will take you to the main cities and locations of Japan in addition to tour you thru Tokyo's top hidden destinations that few vacationers or tour corporations explore. I provide and plan Japan non-public tour packages (guided or self-guided), morning, day and night tours (guided or self-guided), in addition to a full vary of journey There’s also a theme park referred to as Tokyo One Piece Tower that features ride simulators, a domed theater, a slingshot gallery and about a half-dozen different sights. This hot-spring theme park combines Edo-era structure with indoor and outdoor baths. Located in Odaiba amid malls and different diversions, it additionally offers steam baths, specialized baths and an out of doors footbath. There’s additionally a spa providing massage, foot reflexology and “fish” therapy, by which little fish nibble the useless cells off you skin . Note, nevertheless, that individuals with tattoos are not allowed, which is public policy at virtually in all places bathhouse in Japan. Gorgeous costumes, gorgeous stage sets and plays primarily based on common themes like love, revenge and obligation make kabuki Japan’s hottest traditional performing art. The first half of the tour is your commonplace providing of Tokyo, Fuji, and Kyoto, however it’s the second half that actually units it aside. Rather than heading to another main city, you’ll turn south to visit the Kii Peninsula and take a stroll by way of the World Heritage Pilgrimage Route, earlier than relaxing at Kawayu Onsen. From stress-free at a conventional tea ceremony in a zen garden to rocking your greatest rendition of ‘Shook Me All Night Long’ at a high-tech karaoke bar in Tokyo, see all Japan has to offer during this superb experience. 14 Top Nyc Eating Places That Really Feel Like Japan During the summer time downtown department shops have “Beer Gardens” where you can sit on the roof, get pleasure from beer and get something to eat. These are all you probably can drink so please watch out and do not drink an extreme quantity of. The finest approach to discover a good restaurant is to ask your ryokan innkeeper, however please make sure they know the value vary you're looking for and the sort of meals. The innkeeper lives within the neighborhood and knows what is good and what's not. If you are staying a large resort you can even ask the concierge however please be careful as they'll usually only tell you concerning the restaurants within the hotel. There are many Chinese eating places in Japan and are positioned everywhere. Many major cities have a “Chinatown” the place you may get some authentic Chinese meals. Come here for his or her lunch particular, where for only $12 you will get an entrée of the day, mini appetizer, miso soup, rice, and salad. Their dinner is dearer, but even so, their menu tops out at $24. Ramen is commonly a solo sport in Japan, with people shortly ducking into a shop during lunch for a fast bowl of soupy scorching noodles. Which is why Japanese ramen chain export Ichiran offers customers solo dining cubicles, for patrons to slurp its well-known Fukuoka tonkotsu broth in silence. In truth, Ichiran serves just one type of ramen, and this focus allows the place to concert efforts on perfecting that bowl. A railroad theme crossed with a maid cafe, this cute restaurant has even created its own fictional practice firm known as the New Akihabara Electric Railway. The cafe is small but has original train seats and decorations, with old school indicators, clocks and train-line signs and even tickets which are stamped if you end up served. Whether you realize Pom Pom Purin or not, this cafe is a very cute spot up on the second floor of Harajuku’s Takeshita Street filled with lovable desserts and drinks. Sanrio’s Pom Pom Purin is a golden retriever who wears a brown beret and the top of his name means pudding, which means he lends himself nicely to a scrumptious dessert. Perfect for many who love a meal with bite, the Vampire Cafe is a sinister spot for lunch within the glitzy shopping area of Ginza. Decked out in purple velvet and chandeliers, the traditional Dracula look is here in full swing, with a few totally different areas to select from, inclding curtained-off ‘couples tables’ and larger options for groups. Understanding Onsen Tradition A sanctuary for the endangered oriental stork can also be positioned nearby. Surrounded by the mountains of Kyushu , this onsen’s most prominent vista is that of the dual peaks of Mount Yufu. During your keep, you could enjoyment of Yufuin’s many boutique shops, art museums, and cafes. Ryokan are scattered throughout the town, many of which open their onsen to walk-in friends in the course of the day. However, the curiosity in scorching spring experiences has gained vital reputation because the Edo period (1603–1868). And the study of therapeutic bathing has formally been established in 1931. The baths all have different designs, ranging from conventional Japanese to East-Asian influence. This sort of bathing is called kashikiri, which implies non-public rental, so that you don’t have to share your tub with others. The out of doors onsens could be more rustic than the indoor onsens, and infrequently they do not have any altering rooms. Gora KadanThe well-known sizzling spring town of Hakone — roughly two hours southwest of Tokyo by prepare — plays host to a quantity of private and non-private onsen opportunities, but our high choose is Gora Kadan. Yamanaka is part of Kaga Onsen, an space of four scorching spring cities surrounded by unbelievable mountainous surroundings. Yamanaka stands out by virtue of its being the manufacturing website of a few of Japan’s finest conventional lacquerware. Visit the award-winning Gato Mikio to buy some modern housewares, and the Yamanaka Traditional Industry Plaza to learn more concerning the history of Yamanaka craftsmanship. For Households In Japan Solamachi, an leisure center with tons of fascinating outlets and restaurants that’s situated on the lower levels of Skytree. You might easily spend a whole day exploring Skytree and Solamachi, but proper across the river is Asakusa, Tokyo’s most historic district. It’s home to the traditional Sensoji shrine and Nakamise, a road lined with snack stands and memento outlets. We are planning to go to Disney, Sanrio and at some point journey outdoors Tokyo to Hakone or Kamakura or both. I read about a card that you could reload and use it once we are in Tokyo. I am going to Japan for Christmas and New Years with my husband and two youngsters (13 yr and 4 1/2 yrs old) . I already received residences for 8 nights in Tokyo and 6 days in Kyoto. Both are reasonably priced and though rooms are small they’re simple and clear and have nice beds and bathrooms. Lots of room and simple to slide an additional physique in somewhere on the ground. Get used to checking where north is on any map and then reorienting it in your thoughts to greatest suit the coordinates in your head. Ueno Park has an excellent playground with slides, play construction and swings. A nearby amusement park has a small assortment of rides for teenagers aged 2 to eight. 安養院 of one of the best museums in Tokyo will replicas of Tokyo road life and residential life. An necessary component of Japanese festivals is processions, during which the local shrine's kami is carried by way of the town in mikoshi . None of the listings are unlawful if they’re on Airbnb, even the Japanese government has confirmed this. These areas are completely protected, but barely dirtier than the the rest of the country. For these eager to go to karaoke, it’s MUCH cheaper during the day and choosing a rainy day as a substitute of going at night time may be the difference between paying 700 and a pair of,000 yen. There are also many things in Japan that sadly simply cost money however are nonetheless value it in worth. Sumo, baseball, ryokans, consuming most of the delicacies, attending to one of many festivals, and so forth. There are additionally a couple of choices for overnight buses as well which has the extra benefit of saving an evening of lodging. I was in Australia for 7 weeks and budgeted as a lot as I couldn’t, regardless of not ingesting a lot, and I dont smoke. 10 Japanese Cultural Actions And Games To Do With Kids And the 1,000-plus deer who call the city and its parks residence won't flee after they see you. This section of the path is roughly 8 kilometers and is relatively flat. It ought to take between 2 – three hours, relying on how often you cease (and what number of pictures you take!). With hundreds of thousands of people and limited area, it is sensible why capsule hotels are such a preferred type of accommodation in Japan. Often instances ryokan friends are provided with yukata robes and access to non-public on-site onsen. Photography isn’t allowed however there's a lot to take in with wealthy cultural significance and a war museum. Most folks would avoid dining in a jail cell, but Alcatraz ER provides you with an offbeat dining experience of a lifetime. We learnt about native traditions and cycled past rice fields, rivers, mountains, and idyllic villages. Kyoto and Tokyo are wonderful famous cherry blossom spots, however we also enjoyed Okayama where it wasn’t as crowded.

#PBN-1-4a-4000

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mikqueen12 · 4 years

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Week 13 Draft (Read Me!)

Sheridan Clark is a friend of mine I’ve taken a few classes with. When you look at her, you might get the overwhelming feeling that you just have to be their friend. Her quiet and bubbly personality meshes well with her perfectionist tendencies. Considering I am also quite shy, it took me forever to get up the nerve to talk to her! We went through almost an entire semester before I was giving more than a friendly nod. I learned that we were both taking our same professor the next semester, and this moment is when we both blossomed and really started chatting!

On the day of the interview, I picked her up at campus. I had already heard that she doesn’t like driving places she doesn’t usually go, and I can relate entirely. I had to grab gas at the nearby gas station, and it was right at 5:00. After struggling with my gas cap and pumping gas, we prepared for take-off. I went to turn left on a busy road and instead turned right, defeated.

“Oh, well I should have known that wouldn’t work during rush hour. I’ll just make a u-turn up here. That is if I can…” I drawled off. Sheridan pointed out the sign and said “There it is! Canada has some weird laws dealing with u-turns.” “Oh, really? I thought you said you were like 3 when you moved down here, how do you remember?”

“That’s a good question,” she says as she laughs with me. “I guess sometimes you just remember random details for life.”

I must have made a grimace, because Sheridan and I broke out into a little laughter. “How long have you lived in the U.S.?”

“Uh, for about as long as I can remember. I think for about 17 years?” She ended her sentence, as if questioning if she was fact checking herself. When I asked her about her memories of Canada, most of them involved her family.

Sheridan was not a U.S. citizen, and had never had been. One time in class we all showed younger pictures of us (old drivers license photos and such) and we all saw child Sheridan on her green card. She’s a passionate Canadian, usually representing her country with a little button on her hat. The rest of our conversation was rambles about classes and any little thing we felt like talking about.

The apartment isn’t the cleanest one you will ever see, but it is far from dirty either. The bar separating the kitchen and the living room tries to fool you that people use the common space. The wax warmer was turned on, illuminating the side of the wall with good lights and a slight cherry smell. The key rack is varying shades of blue, it looks as if it was painted with care at home and was hung up with an off colored green string. It was at an angle and the wall behind it had a few scuff marks, showing continuous use. However, the unopened mail and the red money gun that gets used only when guests are over begs to differ. It seems things are tidy simply because the common space isn’t usually used. Two wood panels hang above the TV in completely different styles. The first looks rustic with blues and beiges. It states “The more people I meet, the more I like my cat.” The second one would be an important item in a mystery video game, if the game was about this apartment; it is brightly colored with orange, turquoise, pinks, and purples and says “Stay Salty.”

We sat on opposite couches, which faced each other perfectly for this type of activity. The lamp behind us helped fill the room, both with light and space. The furniture in this apartment doesn’t match, but it doesn’t look completely out of place either. The dark brown coffee table housed a few figurines: a snowman left behind from Christmas storage, handed-down coasters holding our halloween cups, and a very round green frog wearing sunglasses playing a saxophone. The TV stand was located in front of us, and held some of my artwork from classes we shared. A pumpkin was painted with a panoramic view of the night sky, with a cat walking on its fence. A metal bust of a cat with his tongue sticking out hides beneath my favorite 3D art. Made of only foamcore, masking tape, and a little glue after it was turned in, these triangles scream activated space. Activated Space was a meme from our 3-D design class, threatened to become a T-shirt design several times.

Sheridan would have a lot to say about this scene. When asked “What do all of your buttons on your bag and hat say about you?” She responded with the idea that it’s a way to learn alot about someone right from the beginning. If you look at her beanie, you’ll see LGBT+ pins, Twenty One Pilot pins, Canada pins, and many more. This shouldn’t be the only way you learn about someone, but you can find out if you will get along if you see some of these little signs. I can relate to this, as I watched back the interview footage I noticed I was wearing a flannel I have dubbed the “Bi Shirt” due to its color scheme. Nods to things like these can go unnoticed, but can become a conversation starter if one wishes.

Expressing yourself is one of her favorite qualities. This can be done through everyday life, but it can also be expressed through art. I once in the interview asked her, as a fellow artist, how she is able to express her emotions so well in her art. As children become teenagers, they obtain more vocabulary to express how they feel. One study done by Nancy Johnson took school age kids and asked them how to answer the question “What is art?” or “What do you think art is?” (61). The younger the child, the more their response would have been like this: something fun to do, making something, using clay, etc. As the grade levels rose, so did their responses. Once you ask the third graders, they began to use emotions along with actions. One student said “it’s just something you have fun with!” and others art as beautiful or playful (Johnson 63). High schoolers who were asked these questions responded with things that please you, an opinion, something that is relative, and other answers (Johnson 64). As we get older, we can describe our feelings better, and Sheridan is very in tune with her feelings.

Back in Professor Peterson’s class, our classmates were shy. However, by the end of the semester, we were all cracking up. The class was Concepts, Creativity, and Studio Practices. This class had little rules; the first project was simply to “make a time machine” and no further explanation was given. The last project was a research art project. It followed the usual frame of do whatever you want, no restrictions. This allowed everyone to create what they wanted, and the class had varying projects. Mine was a poster I created to advocate for the cats on the Marietta campus, and call for them to be TNR’d (trap, neuter, return).

Even sunshine will eventually meet rain. Sheridan briefly mentions that she meets with her therapist to manage her anxiety and depression. One of the things that I can resonate with her the most on is these topics. Just by looking at her, I can tell she was called “mature for her age” as a child. When I was smaller, I took it as a compliment, thinking I was one step closer to being an adult. However, as I got older, I started realizing it was a soft way of saying “you’ve been through some stuff, and it’s made you into a peacemaker.” Despite the origins, Sheridan appears to be one of the most peaceful people I have ever met.

However, Sheridan’s project was a real show stopper. She chose to research some of the most common mental illnesses and recreate them in her own way. The below piece she named “Anxiety.” The eyes everywhere to her represented the feeling of anxiety, and other ways of expressing that feeling. She also created 3 more types, with her interpretations of depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Her determination for a perfect project-- or 4 for that matter, is prevalent here. This piece represents the feeling of being anxious in its entirety; sometimes when we feel anxious, we might wonder if we have general anxiety too. That’s what the research done by Takeshi Hamamura and Christian Chan focused on. The mere concept of being anxious correlated with increased googling “symptoms of anxiety” and reports of self diagnosed anxiety rise as well (Hamamura and Chan 2). The good thing about Google is how soon we can pull up information, and in this case someone might be able to schedule an appointment if they need to. (Hamamura and Chan 1). If not, researching the symptoms can give you some piece of mind!

Something I envy about my interviewee is her determination to have a perfect, well, anything. This expresses itself most often in the form of art projects. For example, in our 3D Design class we had a project called “Paper and Metal.” The goal was to make a casting of pewter and have it suspended in air only by paper and glue. The class met 6 hours a week, and she never had a moment of downtime; she was always creating the paper trees, grass, or leaves for her project. Whereas I only spent about 7 hours on my project (pictured below so you can get the idea) outside of class, I’m fairly certain she spent twice that on hers. Hard work pays off, and I hope she got a well deserved break after the completion of this pristine project.

Sheridan doesn’t stop at expressing herself through art, or style. She also has a new hobby: Furbys! In the interview, she described them as the toy she always wanted until right before Christmas, when she forgot it existed. Now that she’s out on her own, she has more freedom and goes to buy them, clean their fur, and revamp them! The tech that hides within these furbies is quite impressive. The article “There’s a lot of smart electronics inside a furby” describes this perfectly. For example, furbies are programmed to begin speaking “Furbish” and progressively learn English. (Edgar 28) To a child (or even me until I read this article), it would look like the Furby is learning directly from you! The realism packed into the fury creature is shocking, as many of its responses don’t seem to have a rhyme or reason. If you hold a furby upside down at first it will giggle, but if you keep holding it upside down it may say “I’m scared.” (Edgar 29)

Out of all the furbies I’ve seen, Cabbage is the one I’ve seen the most. But she has a variety, ranging from Big Mama, Shifty, and Maw. Since most of the ones she owns are ~15-20 years old, few of them work. She enjoys taking them apart, “deskinning” them and attempting to fix them. A project she’s had in the making is to make a rainbow pride furby by dying their fur. This furby is beginning to come together as of me writing this, and has been named June. Although Cabbage doesn’t work yet, I still have hope for him!

Being LGBT+ is an important part of both of our lives, and we both identify as Bisexual. A paper that Sheridan is writing this semester focuses on more education for LGBT+ students as well as just acceptance in schools. When I went to look up this topic, I found this research that came from Canada and thought it was fitting. Catherine Nash and Kath Browne talked about the importance of these topics being taught in school. With LGBT+ issues being more accepted and acknowledged, we have to remember that our society is centered around a hetronormalitive lifestyle. It has to be remembered that “The drive for LGBT integration often works in concert with broader efforts to teach multiculturalism, diversity and inclusiveness.” (Nash and Browne) School is the place where you can learn things you wouldn’t have at home, and these schools need to be a safe environment where a student won’t feel judged. Not only in Canada do LGBT+ students in school feel they are not accepted or wanted. If the environment you learn in isn’t a good one, there is a likelihood this student may not want to do work.

In the end, I feel I got to know Sheridan on a more personal level than I did from small talk from class. It’s important to listen and understand in friendships and relationships, and if you do it might help you grow. It reminded me that expressing yourself is important, and perhaps you should consider more ways than one. Picking up a hobby that others might think is quirky might just be the thing you need to ease your mind at the end of the day. If asked “Who is Sheridan?” I feel that I can confidently answer this question. Sheridan is the single beam of sunshine that sneaks through your window to wake you up gently. She is wise beyond her years, and typically acts as a “Mom Friend” in her friend group. She won’t let herself get walked all over, and she will find a better way to live! Sheridan is the definition of expressing. Whether it is through art, furbies, buttons, music, or plants, you can find a bit of Sheridan everywhere.

#draft

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queerasart-blog · 7 years

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In the eyes of... | Issue 0

DANISH GIRL, story of a transgender artist

The LGBT+ matter is not only a concern for LGBT+ representatives; it is open to friendly, curious, who would like to gain a better understanding of the subject, of the way it is lived, of what they have to say to be natural, etc. Art is a great way to confront them with this matter and help them grasp it in a better way. Thus, in this column, we interview people who are at the outmost friendly to the LGBT community, but not an integrant part of it, to show how this matter is of concern for everyone, and how they react when being confronted to this community. Does Art help them grasp the matter more profoundly? Do they feel more at ease with it?

I collected the answers of two girls, respectively 18 and 21 years-old. One went with me, the other with her mother, and they both saw Danish Girl, starring Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander, directed by Tom Hooper. We are well aware of the polemic this movie created — should a male actor be chosen for the role of Einar/Lili? Why not use a transgender actress? Likewise, a polemic was also impulsed when the movie won no SAG Awards, with people depreciating the voters for their lack of implication in the LGBT community. However, I won’t give here my own opinion on these matters - what is of interest in this column is really to show how this movie was perceived by non-LGBT people, how it might have stimulated them, led them to a better comprehension of the cause. I cannot say it was the best movie for them to get involved in the community, due to the polemic etc, but you’ll see by reading the lines below how they themselves understand that watching a single movie is far from enough to fully comprehend a cause. Well then, here we go!

Q : First of all, could you describe the movie in a sentence? And in another, could you tell me what you felt whilst leaving the dark room? Simply talking about the movie’s aesthetics, its beauty, etc. would you say it is a great movie?

Léa - The film recalls the story of the first transgender woman, all her suffering and the obstacles she had to cross to become a woman physically speaking. Leaving the room, I was slightly touched, with new perspectives on the transgender community. Moreover, yes, clearly, it’s a great movie, not only because of the plot, but thanks to the music, to the costumes, the backgrounds, the sets, the realisation... It’s a movie that is, let me say it, an artistic feat.

Amélie - The movie is on the journey of a danish transgender woman in the 20th century, with the difficulties she encounters either coming from the society but also from confronting her beloved. I was truly heartbroken when leaving the cinema, as I got attached to the characters and full of compassion towards them, and thus it made me even more sad. I really liked the way the shots were filmed, the aesthetic and the work on each details, even more when we begin to feel the progressive apparition of Lily, until she is completely there.

Q : Do you believe this movie to be a great way to apprehend the transgender question? Do you feel like you are able to better grasp the questions that strike involved individuals? the cause itself?

L - I do believe it is indeed a good first step in the matter, as it does not leave one untouched, and gives us a vision maybe more enlightened on transsexuality. I feel like I have a better understanding of the stakes of this matter as the movie presents us a character to whom we end up attached, and all the suffering she felt, with a great realisation and a good cast. The movie invites us to a deeper thinking, it’s a call to reflexion on the transgender community, to which we wouldn’t have had ordinarily got an interest into.

A - Yes, totally. I went to the movies with my mum who was not really open on the matter; however when we left the room she told me she had been able to understand her ill- being, without finding it weird, which makes me think that the subject is really well explained. The fact that Einar is represented in the beginning as somebody like any other also helps identifying, I believe, to make people understand that transgenders are no different than others.

Q: Were you disturbed by the movie? Do you believe it to be too much in the emotions rather than really trying to sensibilise to the T-cause?

L- There’s one moment which perturbed me a little; it’s when they were trying to “cure” Lily from her “illness” by using electroshocks. I found that horrible and was truly disgusted. To see the character suffer that much can disturb, and it’s not really a wonderful scene to watch... Yes, we can say that the movie does concentrate on a “sentimentalist” approach by focusing a bit on the love story, for example, but in a way, I think it helps to sensibilise people. The movie wasn’t talking about transsexuality as a documentary would do, but with a real human vibe. It’s not a cold point of view, presenting the community as a Wikipedia article would do. It’s not a movie where we are given all the possible definitions of someone’s gender, all the knowledge about the transgender and transsexual community, but a movie that helps understanding better. Touching us is also part of that process. To really understand something, I believe that we have to be touched, that we shall, if not being totally concerned, at least feel close to this matter.

A - I wasn’t disturbed by the movie - at the outmost, a bit of uneasiness in the beginning, where everything is still in the untold, but it cleared up quite quickly. I don’t really know what is the “great way” to sensibilise to the T-cause, but even if the movie plays a bit too much on the sentimental cords, I don’t think it can harm it. Personally, I don’t feel like the movie made too much of it.

Q: There was a debate on the fact that a cis- gender heterosexual male actor was chosen to play Lili. What do you think of that? Does that choice seem logical to you?Questionable?

L - The choice seems logical, or Lili wouldn’t have had the possibility to have an operation to obtain the genitals that goes with her gender. I believe a transgender is someone who has biological genitals opposed to their gender, thus it sounds logical to have chosen a male for that role.

A- I wasn’t aware at all of that debate, so I might not be really answering like I should... However, I do think it was a great choice, I don’t see what we could reproach him. He’s really convincing and plays his role very well.

Q: What do you think of the couple’s relation? Of the way the transsexuality is dealt with by the two of them?

L- I find their relation touching and sad. We’re witnesses of the “degradation” of their couple, of their suffering, but we also get the point of view of the transgender individual but also the one of the beloved, and how the situation affects both of them. I think that Gerda reacted in a logical way. There was the need for a moment of comprehension, of assimilation, for her to accept that her husband was no more. And the most wonderful is that this love remains, though in a different way.

A - I think that their relation is what touched me the most in the film. I believe that both of them are really strong individuals. I admire Gerda to have accepted and continued to love and protect Lili even though Lili imposed herself in spite of her husband, whilst living the loss of the latter. I had more troubles identifying Lili’s feelings towards Gerda, though. She’s not in love with her anymore, however we do feel how fond of her she is.

Q: One last question to conclude! Do you believe this movie to be, overall, a movie you’d recommend to grasp the T question?

L - Yes, I’d do that. As I said before, to understand, we have to feel at least a little touched, close to the matter, and that’s what the movie does. However, it’s not enough. I do believe some complementary researches could help grasping a maximum of stakes. Personally, I had a vague interest for the transgender matter a little before the movie came out, and I thus had done some researches to try and understand. Though I still think I need a lot more of things to search more until I fully grasp everything. However, that’s were the film is of a great start, as it helps us gain even more interest in the transgender cause.

A - I do believe I’d recommend it! However, I’m not personally touched by the T-cause. I don’t have any close friends or acquaintances that are trans, so I can’t really judge the movie’s accuracy.

You feel like discussing one of their answer? Feel like enlightening them on a specific matter? Our mail is open to you.

#danish girl #Eddie Redmayne #In the eyes of #lgbt art #lgbt zine #past articles #issue 0 #interviews

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