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ohsnapitzlovehacker · 1 year

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I played this game while a ton of great and not great things were happening in my life, so this review will be 90% vibes and 10% actual critical thoughts.

The great

It’s always awesome when we get gender of choice books and the story allows for it, and while I mostly play female with she/her pronouns MCs (because I’ve played MORE than enough games with male he/him characters in my life) yay for inclusive options!

The (Black) MC sprites: BRO I COULDN’T DECDIDE ON A DESIGN AT FIRST IT WAS STRESSFUL BUT GREAT SKGJJHJFG. I loved the hair options too, seeing as most previous books don’t seem to see the point in offering more than one afro-textured style lol.

MC themselves: Yeah, I like YA stories at my big age 🤷🏽‍♀️ But I really love this MC just for their wit, personality (which we could kind of influence through dialogue choices) and how they sound their age. The last part sounds pointless but trust me, I’m sick of teen characters sounded older and mature for no reason other than to appeal to adult audiences...

The LIs/Sexuality (because I ended up talking about both so they’re combined!): So I quickly decided that I wouldn’t pursue Donovan (grumpy and soft and sweet as he was LOL) but Tyler, Donovan, and Stevie ALL have my heart in the palm of their hands!!!! And the individual dynamics they have with MC made it so easy for me to replay chapters sometimes 3 or 4 (or 5 🥲) times JUST to capture all the different dialogue changes! And lemme tell you, it was exhausting and 100% worth it. Thank you so much writer team for your efforts!

Side note but playing as an enby or male MC while romancing Tyler also gave different dialogue (as most ppl playing the book knew probably). Y’all that was a treat to see sexuality acknowledged in this book. Also also also, with all the biphobia STILL running rampant in the world, it was super nice to have Stevie, Donovan, and Tyler (determinant) have their bisexuality specifically mentioned, and therefore make it clear they weren’t player-sexual.

(Hell even with Gabbie!!! Not that she was clear on her labels BUT she fell under the LGBT umbrella and that was amazing to see someone who was still figuring herself out. And Joanna and her side plot?? God it was a bit painful but I also think it was handled with the care it needed. I’m so glad she was able to get out of her parents’ home and cut ties with them.)

Also confirming in chapter 16 that Stevie has been in a poly relationship before, hey y’all hey y’all wanting good rep, did y’all peep that?? I hope y’all did! (though I figure probably not because it’s a teen book and I haven’t been checking the tags but I don’t think much of the fandom was checking for this book 🥲)

The mystery/plot: A bit of this will spill into ‘the meh’, but as someone who is painfully dense when it comes to guessing mysteries and is often along for the ride, for the most part, I truly enjoyed the story! It was definitely closer to Ride or Die than HSS/CA or M2FL in terms of tone, but obviously I didn’t mind it. We were dealing with a murder after all...

Side characters: Brett made my blood boil!!! The track team can catch these hands!! Perdita I love your sibling relationship with MC to the point of tears!!! Millie you had me going for a HOT minute but I guess you was alright in the end!!!

And on and on and on... Yeah, the side characters helped add depth and weight to the story even when we focused on the main “Scooby Squad” 😂

The meh

~some of these are nitpicky, some of these are actual concerns, also I’m running out of steam so this section will be short~

masc MC body clothing choices: it never fails, I look at some of the outfit options and I wanna cry. And then I’m wondering if I should restart with a femme MC just to not look a hot mess 🤧 the struggle y’all

Perdita’s disappearance: You have to obtain all the clues to get the bittersweet bonus scene in the end, so it actually hurts a little bit to think about what you’re missing if you don’t. That being said, I keep flip flopping between if I’m satisfied with the ending or if it still grates on my soul and my nerves 😂 On one hand, there really are mysteries out there that don’t get solved, and family hurts that never heal. And we do get justice for Gabbie.

On the other hand, we spend time (and diamonds!) on little clues here and there on our fictional sister and in the end, it adds up to smoke and mirrors. There is no true closure. MC can either say they won’t stop looking or they will forgive and let go. And I don’t have the words to articulate why this ending leaves me so cold, but I just know that I’m not a huge fan of it.

I suspect a sequel would be in the works (where maybe we do get answer about our sister and the case that took her) but they were cut and this tweet affirms my suspicions (from one of the MAH writers)

https://twitter.com/catherinevalman/status/1588628334619287553

The killer: ...I ain’t gonna lie, I was kinda disappointed /confused that April was the killer? Like it made sense ( I guess) but it didn’t?? Again, don’t have the words to articulate why I feel this, but just know I feel it. I don’t want to call it lazy writing, because I don’t believe it’s that, but it maybe this decision falls a bit on the weaker side??? I don’t know. (also, not sure how I feel about villainizing the disabled person...? ALSO what was that crap about the clue on ‘the patients of the murder drug skewing older’??? did we just throw that out so we could frame April?? Ugh, y’all I don’t knowwww.)

One last thing, I was certainly seeing a bit of rage having this lil white girl coming after my Black boy with such vitriol and false sense of vengeance. I was as the kids say, triggered. Even with the chapter disclaimer. AND THE YT TEARS SHE SHED?!?!?!? girl stop embarrassing yourself, it’s giving Amy Dunne from Gone Girl (and we do not have enough time to get into my complicated beef with that character aHA)

Final things

Usually, a big sign of how much I love a book and hold it in high esteem is the replayability. I truly believe this book has high replayability (especially if you weren’t a NUT like me and replayed individual chapters a bunch of times ahaha)

So. I love this book and its potential for me to start a new game. But for now, I crave fluff because I’ve got enough angst and strife to deal with right now 😂

#qt: m@hoco #choices mah #choice vip #choices spoilers #choices murder at homecoming #long post #choices ramblings #or whatever the tag I had was sksks

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wildeoaths · 4 years

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LGBTQ Book & Film Recommendations

Hello! As someone who tries to read widely, it can sometimes be frustrating to find good (well-written, well-made) LGBTQ+ works of literature and film, and mainstream recommendations only go so far. This is my shortlist.

Some caveats: 1) I have only watched/seen some of these, though they have all been well-received.

2) The literature list is primarily focused on adult literary and genre fiction, since that is what I mostly read, and I feel like it’s easier to find queer YA fiction. Cece over at ProblemsOfABookNerd (YT) covers a lot of newer releases and has a YA focus, so you can check her out for more recommendations.

3) There are a ton of good films and good books that either reference or discuss queer theory, LGBTQ history and literary theory. These tend to be more esoteric and academic, and I’m not too familiar with queer theory, so they’ve largely been left off the list. I do agree that they’re important, and reading into LGBTQ-coding is a major practice, but they’re less accessible and I don’t want to make the list too intimidating.

4) I linked to Goodreads and Letterboxd because that’s what I use and I happen to really enjoy the reviews.

Any works that are bolded are popular, or they’re acclaimed and I think they deserve some attention. I’ve done my best to flag potential objections and triggers, but you should definitely do a search of the reviews. DoesTheDogDie is also a good resource. Not all of these will be suitable for younger teenagers; please use your common sense and judgement.

Please feel free to chime in in the replies (not the reblogs) with your recommendations, and I’ll eventually do a reblog with the additions!

BOOKS

> YOUNG ADULT

Don’t @ me asking why your favourite YA novel isn’t on this list. These just happen to be the picks I felt might also appeal to older teens/twentysomethings.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo - poetry.

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender - trans male teen protagonist.

Red, White & Royal Blue

Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda

The Gentleman’s Guide To Vice And Virtue

The Raven Boys (and Raven Cycle)

> LITERATURE: GENERAL

This list does skew M/M; more NB, trans and WLW recommendations are welcomed!

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. One of the most acclaimed contemporary LGBTQ novels and you’ve probably heard of it. Will probably make you cry.

A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood. Portrait of a middle-aged gay man.

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh. M/M affair, British student high society; definitely nostalgic for the aristocracy so be aware of the context.

Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman. It’s somewhat controversial, it’s gay, everyone knows the film at least.

Cronus’ Children / Le Jardin d'Acclimation by Yves Navarre. Winner of the Goncourt prize.

Dancer From The Dance by Andrew Holleran. A young man in the 1970s NYC gay scene. Warning for drugs and sexual references.

Dorian, An Imitation by Will Self. Adaptation of Orscar Wilde’s novel. Warning for sexual content.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. Two wlw in the 1980s. Also made into a film; see below.

Gemini by Michel Tournier. The link will tell you more; seems like a very complex read. TW for troubling twin dynamics.

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin. Another iconic M/M work.

Lost Boi by Sassafras Lowrey. A queer punk reimagining of Peter Pan. Probably one of the more accessible works on this list!

Lie With Me by Philippe Besson. Two teenage boys in 1980s France.

Maurice by E. M. Forster. Landmark work written in 1914. Also made into a film; see below.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. An expansive (and long) novel about the story of Cal, a hermaphrodite, by the author of The Virgin Suicides.

Orlando by Virginia Woolf. Plays with gender, time and space. Virginia Woolf’s ode to her lover Vita Sackville-West. What more do you want? (also a great film; see below).

Oscar Wilde’s works - The Picture of Dorian Gray would be the place to start. Another member of the classical literary canon.

Saga, vol.1 by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples. Graphic novel; warning for sexual content.

Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinburg. An acclaimed work looking at working-class lesbian life and gender identity in pre-Stonewall America.

The Holy Innocents by Gilbert Adair. The basis for Bertolucci’s The Dreamers (2003). I am hesitant to recommend this because I have not read this, though I have watched the film; the M/M dynamic and LGBTQ themes do not seem to be the primary focus. Warning for sexual content and incestuous dynamics between the twins.

The Animals At Lockwood Manor by Jane Healey. Plays with gothic elements, set during WW2, F/F elements.

The Hours by Michael Cunningham. References Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway. Probably a good idea to read Virginia Woolf first.

The Immoralist by André Gide. Translated from French.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline MIller. Drawing from the Iliad, focusing on Achilles and Patroclus. Contemporary fantasy that would be a good pick for younger readers.

The Swimming Pool Library by Alan Hollinghurst. Gay life pre-AIDS crisis. Apparently contains a fair amount of sexual content.

What Belongs To You by Garth Greenwell. A gay man’s coming of age in the American South.

> LITERATURE: WORLD LITERATURE

American and Western experiences are more prominent in LGBTQ works, just due to the way history and the community have developed, and the difficulties of translation. These are English and translated works that specifically foreground the experiences of non-White people living in (often) non-Western societies. I’m not white or American myself and recommendations in this area are especially welcomed.

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson. The memoirs and essays of a queer black activist, exploring themes of black LGBTQ experiences and masculinity.

A People’s History of Heaven by Mathangi Subramanian. Female communities and queer female characters in a Bangalore slum. A very new release but already very well received.

Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima. Coming-of-age in post-WW1 Japan. This one’s interesting, because it’s definitely at least somewhat autobiographical. Mishima can be a tough writer, and you should definitely look into his personality and his life when reading his work.

Disoriental by Négar Djavadi. A family saga told against the backdrop of Iranian history by a queer Iranian woman. Would recommend going into this knowing at least some of the political and historical context.

How We Fight For Our Lives by Saeed Jones. A coming-of-age story and memoir from a gay, black man in the American South.

In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado. Another acclaimed contemporary work about the dynamics of abuse in LGBTQ relationships. Memoir.

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo. Contemporary black British experience, told from the perspectives of 12 diverse narrators.

> POETRY

Crush by Richard Siken. Tumblr loves Richard Siken, worth a read.

Diving Into The Wreck by Adrienne Rich.

He’s So Masc by Chris Tse.

If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho, trans. Anne Carson. The best presentation of Sappho we’re likely to get.

Lord Byron’s works - Selected Poems may be a good starting point. One of the Romantics and part of the classical literary canon.

Les Fleurs du Mal by Charles Baudelaire. The explicitly lesbian poems are apparently in the les fleurs du mal section.

> MEMOIR & NONFICTION

And The Band Played On: Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts. An expansive, comprehensive history and exposure of the failures of media and the Reagan administration, written by an investigative journalist. Will probably make you rightfully angry.

How to Survive A Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS by David France. A reminder of the power of community and everyday activism, written by a gay reporter living in NYC during the epidemic.

Indecent Advances: The Hidden History of Murder and Masculinity Before Stonewall by James Polchin. True crime fans, this one’s for you. Sociocultural history constructed from readings of the news and media.

Queer: A Graphic History by Meg-John Barker. It’s illustrated, it’s written by an academic, it’s an easier introduction to queer theory. I still need to pick up a copy, but it seems like a great jumping-off point with an overview of the academic context.

Real Queer America by Samantha Allen. The stories of LGBTQ people and LGBTQ narratives in the conservative parts of America. A very well received contemporary read.

The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson. Gender, pregnancy and queer partnership. I’m not familiar with this but it is quite popular.

When Brooklyn Was Queer by Hugh Ryan. LGBTQ history of Brooklyn from the nineteenth century to pre-Stonewall.

FILMS

With films it’s difficult because characters are often queercoded and we’re only now seeing films with better rep. This is a shortlist of better-rated films with fairly explicit LGBTQ coding, LGBTQ characters, or made by LGBTQ persons. Bolded films are ones that I think are likely to be more accessible or with wider appeal.

A Single Man (2009) - Colin Firth plays a middle-aged widower.

Blue Is The Warmest Colour (2013) - A controversial one. Sexual content.

Booksmart (2019) - A pretty well made film about female friendship and being an LGBTQ teen.

Boy Erased (2018) - Warning for conversion therapy.

BPM (Beats Per Minute) (2017) - Young AIDS activists in France.

Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Cowboy gays. This film is pretty famous, do you need more summary? Might make a good triple bill with Idaho and God’s Own Country.

Cabaret (1972) - Liza Minelli. Obvious plug to also look into Vincent Minelli.

Calamity Jane (1953) - There’s a lot that could be said about queer coding in Hollywood golden era studio films, but this is apparently a fun wlw-cowboy westerns-vibes watch. Read the reviews on this one!

Call Me By Your Name (2017) - Please don't debate this film in the notes.

Caravaggio (1986) - Sean Bean and Tilda Swinton are in it. Rather explicit.

Carol (2015) - Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara are lesbians in 1950s America.

Clouds of Sils Maria (2014) - Hard to summarise, but one review calls it “lesbian birdman” and it has both Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart in it, so consider watching it.

Colette (2018) - About the bi/queer female writer Colette during the belle epoque era. This had Keira Knightley so by all rights Tumblr should love it.

Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) - Lesbian love in 1920s/80s? America.

God’s Own Country (2017) - Gay and British.

Happy Together (1997) - By Wong Kar Wai. No further explanation needed.

Heartbeats (2010) - Bi comedy.

Heartstone (2016) - It’s a story about rural Icelandic teenagers.

Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party (2015) - Queer teens and religious themes.

Je, Tu, Il, Elle (1974) - Early Chantal Akerman. Warning for sexual scenes.

Kill Your Darlings (2013) - Ginsberg, Kerouac and the Beat poets.

Love, Simon (2018)

Lovesong (2016) - Lesbian and very soft. Korean-American characters.

Love Songs (2007) - French trio relationship. Louis Garrel continues to give off non-straight vibes.

Mädchen In Uniform (1931) - One of the earliest narrative films to explicitly portray homosexuality. A piece of LGBTQ cinematic history.

Maurice (1987) - Adaptation of the novel.

Midnight Cowboy (1969) - Heavy gay coding.

Milk (2008) - Biopic of Harvey Milk, openly gay politician. By the same director who made My Own Private Idaho.

Moonlight (2016) - It won the awards for a reason.

My Own Private Idaho (1991) - Another iconic LGBTQ film. River Phoenix.

Mysterious Skin (2004) - Go into this film aware, please. Young actors, themes of prostitution, child ab*se, r***, and a lot of trauma.

Orlando (1992) - An excellent adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s novel, and in my opinion far more accessible. Watch it for the queer sensibilities and fantastic period pieces.

Pariah (2011) - Excellent coming-of-age film about a black lesbian girl in Brooklyn.

Paris is Burning (1990) - LANDMARK DOCUMENTARY piece of LGBTQ history, documenting the African-American and Latine drag and ballroom roots of the NYC queer community.

Persona (1966) - It’s an Ingmar Bergman film so I would recommend knowing what you’re about to get into, but also I can’t describe it because it’s an Ingmar Bergman film.

Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975) - Cult classic queercoded boarding school girls.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) - By Celine Sciamma, who’s rapidly establishing herself in the mainstream as a LGBTQ film director. This is a wlw relationship and the queer themes are reflected in the cinematic techniques used. A crowd pleaser.

Pride (2014) - Pride parades with a British sensibility.

Rebel Without A Cause (1955) - Crowd-pleaser with bi coding and James Dean. The OG version of “you’re tearing me apart!”.

Rocketman (2019) - It’s Elton John.

Rent (2005) - Adaptation of the stage musical. Not the best film from a technical standpoint. I recommend the professionally recorded 2008 closing night performance instead.

Rope (1948) - Hitchcock film.

Sorry Angel (2018) - Loving portraits of gay French men.

Talk To Her (2002) - By Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar.

Tangerine (2015) - About trans sex workers. The actors apparently had a lot of input in the film, which was somehow shot on an iPhone by the same guy who went on to do The Florida Project.

The Duke of Burgundy (2014) - Lesbians in an S&M relationship that’s going stale, sexual content obviously.

The Gay Deceivers (1969) - The reviews are better than me explaining.

The Handmaiden (2016) - Park Chan-wook makes a film about Korean lesbians and is criminally snubbed at the Oscars. Warning for sexual themes and kink.

The Favourite (2018) - Period movie, and lesbian.

Thelma And Louise (1991) - An iconic part of LGBTQ cinematic history. That is all.

The Celluloid Closet (1995) - A look into LGBTQ cinematic history, and the historical contexts we operated in when we’ve snuck our narratives into film.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018) - Adaptation of the YA novel.

The Neon Demon (2016) - Apparently based on Elizabeth Bathory, the blood-drinking countess. Very polarising film and rated R.

The Perks of Being A Wallflower (2012) - Book adaptation. It has Ezra Miller in it I guess.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) - No explanation needed, queer and transgressive vibes all the way.

They (2017) - Gender identity, teenagers.

Those People (2015) - They’re gay and they’re artists in New York.

Tomboy (2011) - One of the few films I’ve seen dealing with gender identity in children (10 y/o). Celine Sciamma developing her directorial voice.

Tropical Malady (2004) - By Thai auteur Apichatpong Weerasethakul. His is a very particular style so don’t sweat it if you don’t enjoy it.

Vita and Virginia (2018) - Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West biopic

Water Lilies (2007) - Celine Sciamma again! Teenage lesbian coming-of-age.

When Marnie Was There (2014) - A Studio Ghibli film exploring youth, gender and sexuality.

Weekend (2011) - An indie film about young gay love.

Wilde (1997) - It’s a film about Oscar Wilde.

XXY (2007) - About an intersex teenager. Reviews on this are mixed.

Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001) - Wonder what Diego Luna was doing before Rogue One? This is one of the things. Warning for sexual content.

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monicalorandavis · 5 years

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5 exercises that will keep you fit forever

If you are currently deep in a regularly scheduled exercise program then this ain’t for you. If you are averse to exercise, again, this ain’t for you. However, reader, if you are looking for the simplest, most basic, most effective workout -- this is your lucky night.

I am a certified personal trainer and group fitness instructor who’s worked in fitness for seven years (and counting). I love it. I’m good at it. I’m passionate about the science behind fitness. But more than that, I love how exercise makes me feel. It’s been hugely beneficial for my mental health and self-esteem. It’s my go-to for de-stressing and a place I kill time. I’m like a puppy, if you don’t run me enough during the day I go crazy. This is my truth.

Now, many people do not have this relationship with exercise. That is fine. Many people are looking for some relationship to exercise. That is also fine. Exercise can be beneficial even if you only exercise twice a week so you might as well commit to that since it can add years to your life and increase the quality of your life.

So, if you’re still interested and want the simplest way to stay fit, then here’s the secret recipe (this is based on no studies, just first-hand experience over my career)...wait for it because this is gonna be good...

Oh yeah. You don’t even know...

You thought you knew, but you ain’t know...

It ain’t even that wild which is really the best part (because I know you thought I was going to try and sell you something but I’m really not. This blog ain’t set up for all of that...yet.)

So, in no particular order, with no designated rep count (because any rep amount is better than none, and you can quote me on that), here are the 5 exercises that will keep you fit forever and ever and ever.

1. Push-ups

2. Lunges

3. Planks

4. Bridging

5. Swimmers

Hold on. Before you go there, I don’t care if you’re injured and you can’t do push-ups. You shall modify the exercise. You are always allowed to modify the exercise. If you want to exercise but need to make something easier, then you do that. That is your right. Even if you have to do them on your knees with the shallowest, almost nonexistent range of motion where you’re barely lowering your chest towards the ground and your elbows are more straight then they are bent, we’re counting them. Start there. Practice. Improve. Add reps.

Lunges. Forward. Rear. Lateral. Curtsy. You have options. If you want my opinion (and you sort of do if you’re still reading this), you should start with a forward lunge. I feel it recruits the most large muscles in the legs. However, it is harder than a rear lunge (legs moving backward) so don’t feel bad if it doesn’t feel quite right in the beginning. If a forward lunge causes any pain at all in your knees then stop immediately. In general, sharp, snapping, twisting, yanking feelings in your muscles/tendons/bones (girl, this is never good) are a sign to chill tf out.

Planks. The big daddy. Planks are effective. They are hard. Get this, and I want you to hear me on this, they are effective because they are hard. This is the truth with exercise, by and large. You want something to be hard. It doesn’t need to be impossible or excruciating or scary. But it should be hard. But how hard??? It should be challenging while maintaining good form. If you are holding a plank with the goal of 60 seconds but after 45 seconds your shoulders start shrugging to your ears, and your hips are elevated out of line with your shoulders, then the plank is over. Take a knee. Reset. And try again. As soon as form goes out the window, you’re doing unnecessary work that you aren’t being paid for. There are no benefits occurring. You’re expending energy that isn’t circling back in the shape of muscle development (at least, not where you want to develop muscles). I often see people performing planks with their backs arched, straining their back extensors and turning off the rectus abdominis (not what you want). So do a plank, stay fit.

Bridging is en vogue but it’s a yoga/pilates staple from way, way back. I’m assuming you will look up videos for these exercises since I’ve not included any, nor will I, since there is the YouTube. Just like with everything else, good form with bridging is paramount. In this case, bridging can quickly teeter into over-extension in the hip flexors which in turn over-stress the lower back. Again, good form, good form, good form. Bridging over squatting any day. This is how you get the most efficient work for your glutes when you’ve only got five exercises you can concentrate on.

Lastly, swimming, or Superman’s if you favor the masc. A wonderful balancer for the posterior chain. It gives mobility to the shoulders. It builds strength throughout the entire back, hitting the glutes, shoulders, upper thighs and abs (a little). People hate doing this exercise because it’s hard and unnatural and we don’t practice moving this way out of water because it looks so goofy. But it’s so, so good and I make my clients do it all the time because it adds years to the life of your shoulders. If you’re somebody who sits at a desk, you need to work on your shoulder mobility. You’re most likely shlumped over all day and we’re trying to fix that posture and stay strong as we age.

So, those are the 5. Nothing crazy. No jumps. No equipment. All you need is you and your body and a mat? But you can do this stuff on the floor. I do all the time. But I also like to sleep on the floor so I understand if you want a mat...

Again, the reps are up to your discretion. In general when I’m short on time, I do an exercise for a minute every minute as one set. I take a one minute break then repeat that again 3-5 times. In the case of these 5 moves, you would do the 5 exercises once, take a minute break, then repeat 3-5 times resulting in a 18-30 minute workout.

If you’re curious give it a whirl and prove me wrong.

#exercise #longevity #sports rehab #personal training #ace personal trainer #certified personal trainer #fitness motivatio #fitness for the end of the world

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imbringingexyback · 5 years

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Trans ask-thingy

I should have really seen this coming when I made @a-chilleus do all the questions earlier :’)

1. what is your gender? nonbinary, transmasc. I would say male but the lack of fucks I give about having a dick makes me question it

2. what are your pronouns? He/him or they/them. He/him mainly as its easier for people to use

3. what is your gender presentation like? In a word. Gay. I love dungarees but also mostly wear super skinny jeans & floral/very jazzy shirts. I love rainbows & stripey tops as well as crop tops & cut-off vests. I don’t really wear any jewellery other than my ear piercings, ‘the one ring’ from LOTR that my Dad made & the flag bracelets I made (Trans, ace & gay)

4. what is your Gender Euphoria Outfit? Not sure really but a t-shirt/shirt that is loose enough to hide my hips & not feel uncomfortable but fitted enough to show off my frame. Probably black skinny jeans & one of my many floral shirts with my glittery gold brogues

5. what makes you feel validated? Being called the right pronouns, people seeing my as male/non-binary without any doubt about my identity (e.g. my housemate treating me just like she does her other male friends automatically because she forgets people see me as ‘female’, or people saying they could never see me as female). Also, people not being surprised by my femininity when inhabiting queer spaces as I’m just a camp guy

6. top five favorite parts of your body (n why you love them)? I like my hair as it was really blond but I like it now it’s dyed red & its still soft & fluffy. I like my freckles because they constantly multiply & are cute af. I like my eyes because they’re electric blue & so detailed with flecks of greyer blue. I like my collarbones as I like fiddling with them. Finally, I like my neck because although I want a deeper voice & stuff my neck looks cool in pictures sometimes.

7. favorite trans meme/bit of trans humor? I also like the very common trans names like @a-chilleus said. Me & my housemate have a joke where I loudly (& in a panicked tone) go “where is my dick?!!!” & act like i’m frantically looking for it because it makes us laugh. I just like most trans memes because they’re relatable and cis people don’t get them

8. how did you pick your name? Can’t really remember other than it being between Elliot & Robin & then me realising I really didn’t like Elliot cause its close to my deadname. I don’t really like Robin either so now I need to find a new one

9. what does your name mean? apparently it means ‘fame-bright’ & is of French & German origin

10. do you have any trans pride merch? I like it being called ‘merch’ like we’re a band! I have a trans-flag woven bracelet I made, a trans flag, a number of gender-related t-shirts including the Stonewall one & ‘Gender does not define a dragon’ & a fuck tonne of pronoun badges & pin/enamel badges

11. recent happy trans moment? Meeting Esme (@a-chilleus) & talking trans stuff with them whilst on camp & then just like hinting to our friends Gareth &Lizzy that I was a raging tran by showing them pictures where I have a trans flag around me & being in the men’s changing-room with them. Like honestly that was so freeing cause we got to educate our (very accepting) cis friends on some memes & hard shit & I got to overshare so much 😉

12. favorite trans headcanon? Trans Peter Parker. It makes so much sense to me & I’d love the representation.

13. favorite canon trans character? Non-binary Aziraphale & Crowley (Good Omens) is fully cannon as they’re angels & I’m still in love with it! Jake in Tales of the City is an awesome trans character too & I love him

14. favorite trans blog(s)/trans blogger(s)? definitely @a-chilleus because they have the same interests as me, @born2jasper because Jasper is my best buddy at uni & when he does blog it’s cool shit

15. favorite trans celebrity? Oh my. Fox Fisher does amazing work for trans activism & they’re a cutie. Elliot Fletcher I’ve been a fan of since he was regularly on a trans youtube channel & now hes been in TV shows & repping the trans community. Laverne Cox of course. Indya Moore for their no-shit attitude.

16. song that gives you Big Trans Feels? Wrabel- The Village, is literally about being trans & having no-one in your family accept you but it being “something wrong with the village” rather than it being about you being wrong. It was written after Trump did all the shit things to trans people. Literally the line “it’s a lie though, burying disciples, one page of the bible isn’t worth a life” makes me cry cause of all the trans people who feel like there is no light at the end of the tunnel for them. The music video left me sad but it’s an amazing song

17. something you wish you could tell your younger self? You’re not broken, & your friends have your back & will accept and love for who you are, not who you pretend to be. Society is gonna fuck you up but you’re stronger than you think

18. what would your Ideal Fashion Look be?

i mean i’m living my idea fashion look tbh

19. (how) does your gender relate to your sexuality? Just makes me gayer but I’m still ace so…

20. do you have a comfort item? Blankets mostly at uni cause I snuggle under them/with them cause that helps my sensory overload calm down. Big comfy jumpers are good for when I feel like hiding my body

21. what makes you feel euphoric? When strangers call me ‘he’, when dogs like me, when I’m accepted into a new group as ‘one of the lads’. When I look more masc face-wise (if that makes sense)

22. what genre of media would you love to see more trans characters in? all genre’s tbh as there is a lack in every genre. But definitely fantasy & action. I’d love to see a bad guy get slapped with a packer to distract them because the trans hero had nothing else to throw :’)

23. claim something as trans culture. Walking around going ‘masc masc masc’ or ‘lads lads lads’ is trans culture

24. give some love to your trans friends/mutuals (alt: give some love to the trans community in general) I’ve tagged the ones I know mostly but to every trans person who sees this. YOU’VE DOING SO GREAT, YOU LOOK GREAT, YOU’RE VOICE IS WONDERFUL. YOU ARE SIMPLY KILLING IT!!

25. what’s your favorite part of being trans? Tbh the memes are pretty solid. But honestly, it’s the community you find in each other when you need It, it’s the joy of finding out someone else you know is trans, it’s the celebration of the little &big things together. I especially enjoy knowing there are people that get why I have to triple check that I’m flat before going anywhere, the cis friends who will go into men’s bathrooms with me to scope them out & just the re-defined masculinity & femininity.

#ask tag #took a while #Thank you my idiot friend

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howlsmovinglibrary · 7 years

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Review: Quicksilver by R.J. Anderson

Back in her hometown, Tori Beaugrand had everything a teenaged girl could want—popularity, money, beauty. But she also had a secret. A secret that could change her life in an instant, or destroy it. She has one last shot at getting her enemies off her trail and winning the security and independence she’s always longed for.

Quicksilver is a backlist book that I’ve been meaning to read for a while, by R. J. Anderson, an author I love. I enjoyed Ultraviolet, the first book in this series which focuses on Alison, who believes she has murdered a girl at her school, without having a memory of the actual event. She tries to find out the truth, while struggling with synaesthesia. The tightly connected nature of this duology means that this review will spoil Ultraviolet, so if that sounds like your kind of book – go, read it! Now! And leave this review behind!

A note: I have, at points in my life, identified as asexual and still feel that I fall in the ‘gray ace’ territory. But it’s never been a hard and fast thing, and trying to taxonomies my sexuality is actually something that causes me a lot of stress. So when I discuss the ace rep in this book it is a very personal opinion: I’m in no way an expert and I certainly don’t speak for the ace community with much confidence at all.

Things that I liked:

Tori. There are many things that I can say about Tori. She is a female engineer, asexual, and also an alien. When I initially read this description of her character, I was worried by that overlapping of tropes – I think that even ‘engineer’ and ‘asexual’ had a potential for unfortunate implications (just in the sense that if you say, added ‘neurodivergent’ to that mix, you’d be entering the territory of a stereotype), even without the fact that she is technically a different species. But the thing about this book is that it takes that premise and unpacks it well, dismantling any assumptions and misgivings I had.

The author detaches Tori’s asexuality, in no uncertain terms, from her biology. No room is made for these to be connected. Tori herself assumes that her ‘alien’ nature is responsible for her aversion to sex, until she meets Faraday who is…very much not averse at all. Here we have a slightly absurd but utterly accurate example of how having multiple instances of representation can help avoid unfortunate implications – because there are two aliens and one of them is very much not asexual, we can see that they’re not linked (in the same way having, say two women/poc/lgbtq characters can provide a variety that debunks implications that are potentially placed on one ‘token’ character.

RJ Anderson uses Tori’s status as an engineer to challenge other prejudices, and the gender inequalities within STEM, and to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a book that explicitly uses a tech girl character to do that. My favourite exchange in the book is the following:‘”He probably thinks I like his quadrotor because it reminded me of a butterfly.” “And he probably thinks I’m going into engineering because I’m Korean.”’ Some would argue that this might be a little trite, but I enjoyed the blunt calling out. I think, for a non-own voices author, Anderson does fall on the right side of allyship where she calls out every assumption made by the white, allosexual members of her cast (Tori’s parents in particular), without trying to step into stories that aren’t really hers to tell.

think that possibly the most important thing that adds nuance to Tori’s narrative voice in this book is the position she held in Alison’s narrative in the first book. To Alison, Tori was the ‘perfect’ high school girl: beautiful, charismatic, popular. So everything we learn about Tori, from her interests to her sexuality, as well as the insight we get into her anger and frustration, works to dismantle that flawless ‘mean girl’ persona of the first novel. What you end up with is a multi-faceted character, once the one dimensional girl who haunted the sidelines of Alison’s story

The plot. I think the plot, and it’s pacing, was perhaps stronger than Ultraviolet. Though both science fiction novels, Ultraviolet starts off slow and almost ‘Bell Jar’esque, a lot more focused on Alison’s experience of perceived schizophrenia, with the sci-fi elements only coming into play in the last third/quarter of the story. Quicksilver is much more of a science fiction thriller from the very beginning, Tori’s need to flee Sudbury driving the pacing up almost immediately. I also felt that the subplot of her relationship with Milo was handled well, in that it didn’t detract too much from the actual plot of the story and still felt like a useful part of the narrative. Not having been in an asexual relationship, I can’t personally speak for the accuracy of the resolution of that plotline, but I was pleased with how the importance of communication (in any relationship, including Alison and Farraday’s) was at the forefront of the narrative, and the fact that Milo and Tori’s dynamic never required a compromise or unwilling moving of boundaries on Tori’s part.

Alison and Tori’s relationship. Damn, this is probably my favourite part of the series, but I couldn’t put it at the start of the bullet point list without explaining Tori first. Tori embodies I think what most people would count as a ‘strong female character’ – intelligent (with a focus on masc coded interests), highly competent under pressure, able to do some pretty badass stuff without batting an eyelid. And before your eyes roll out of your head, I think what makes this amazing is how much she admires and values Alison, who in many objective terms is ‘weaker’, often overwhelmed by her synaesthesia and much more emotionally sensitive. These women are placed on equal grounds as embodying strength in different ways, and the growth of their relationship from rivalry to close friendship is just lovely.

Things I didn’t like:

There isn’t actually anything I didn’t ‘like’ about this book, but I sometimes got confused by what was going on. The motives of certain characters, such as Deckard, were unclear – which is fine from an objective point of view, but I wanted to know what was driving him so that he wasn’t just a villainous figure hiding in the shadows, feeling more like a plot device than an actual character. There was even moments with Faraday where something would happen (one thing in particular) that was acted out as a betrayal, and yet I didn’t exactly *know* why he did it. I mean, some of this is the limitations of 1st person perspective, but I think there were points where more explanation was needed for events to make sense. I kind of just accepted elements of the resolution (Deckard backing off, Tori’s final decision, and forgiveness of Faraday), without really knowing what had happened, which made it less satisfying.

Overall, this was a really strong book that I think used its main characters to make certain points, and makes those points well. It was a refreshing and intriguing YA book to read, and good for fans of low-key scifi.

Overall Rating: 4/5

#quicksilver #review #r.j. anderson #ace rep #asexual protagonist #asexual mc #scifi #ya #backlist book #booklr #female friendship

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pinkpeccary · 7 years

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all the trans ask game asks !!!!!!!!!!! or any five, if that's too many !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^-^

under the cut bc long

1. How did you choose your name?i still use my birth name irl, because it’s familiar and i like it, but i use ollie on here bc it’s the name i would change to if i changed. i like it because it’s gender neutral, leaning masc, but could easily not be. it actually started as a name for characters i made up, and eventually i realized i liked it enough to use it for myself.

2. What gives you the most dysphoria? (Acknowledging that not all trans people experience dysphoria)probably when people assume me to be a girl and refer to me as such. like it bothers me less if the person knows it’s not totally accurate, and it depends on the circumstances and the person and the word they use (i’m pretty okay with girlfriend or sister), but that’s the big one.

3. Do you have more physical dysphoria or more social dysphoria?i’d say more social, the physical stuff comes and goes and i can control for a lot of it with clothing

4. What do you do to perform self-care when you’re feeling dysphoric?idk really, i think i just try to distract myself by being around people i trust and just doing something else to get my mind off it. if it’s a physical thing i might change clothes to something that makes it a little less strong.

5. What was the first time you suspected you were transgender?junior year of high school, when my trans male friend was talking to our theater teacher about the complications of passing and being out and shit and mentioned demigenders as a complicating factor in that it’s not as black and white binary as people think

6. When did you realize you were transgender?probably a few months after i started thinking about it, the process was a little weird because i went from “i’m a girl” to “i’m a demigirl” to “i’m agender” and so on, but yeah

7. What is your favorite part of being transgender?this isn’t true of every trans person, but personally i find it very freeing from gender roles and biases. because i’m fluid and have difficulty conceptualizing gender in the first place, i can kind of just respond to any “x gender does this” thing with either “that applies to me” or that it doesn’t, regardless of the gender they name.

8. How would you explain your gender identity to others?i think i’d self-describe as genderfluid. idk what between, but i think it is fluid and it feels different from day to day. i can’t easily conceptualize how gender works, so most of my descriptions are based of vague feelings. lately i’ve been leaning masc (gender-wise, not necessarily presentation-wise).

9. How did you come out? If you didn’t come out, why do you stay in the closet? Or what happened when you were outed?i talked to my mom about it a bunch during the process and that was fine. i didn’t really tell anyone in high school because it never came up and i didn’t know how to bring it up. at college it’s fairly straightforward, it’s customary to share pronouns when you meet people here, so i say i use whatever pronouns and that’s that. i’ve only really gotten into the details of it with [k tag].

10. What have your experiences with packing or wearing breast forms been?haven’t really tried it, i don’t really get bottom dysphoria

11. What are your experiences with binding or tucking?binding works somewhat. i don’t like that i have to wear a shirt over the binder to really get flat; if i just wear the binder it doesn’t look as smooth.

12. Do you pass?i mean the obvious response to this is “as what?” i don’t read male bc i’m smol, have a round face and a girl’s name, etc. in terms of dress i think i’m probably read as queer in some way, because of short hair and occasional “boy” clothes, but idk what people think my gender is by looking.

13. What (if any) steps do you want to take to medically transition?i want top surgery. idk how that’ll work, because i’ve been trying to get it arranged for this summer but being home is a bad experience so idk how that’s going to work. also i haven’t looked into this much but getting rid of the ability to be pregnant would be A+.

14. How long have you been out?since i got to college pretty much, so about 8 months or so

15. What labels have you used before you’ve settled on your current set?so the ones i can remember off the top of my head, in no particular order: demigirl, caedogirl, commogirl, agender, agenderflux, nonbinary girl, stargender

16. Have you ever experienced transphobia?only microaggressions, like people using overly binary language or assuming me to be a girl, etc.

17. What do you do when you have to go to the bathroom in public?my college has all gender neutral bathrooms. elsewise it depends on where i am, if i feel safe doing so i’ll use whichever bathroom is free/closer because i feel like i can identify with both binary genders to the same extent in that case

18. How does your family feel about your trans identity?my mom’s supportive, so’s my dad as far as i can tell, idk if my sister knows and i don’t care, my brother definitely does not know bc i’ve never really explained it to him (and it would be hard bc he’s got some cognitive issues and is still kinda young so it would take a while) but he’s wonderful and i’m sure he would be fine with it

19. Would you ever go stealth, and if you are stealth, why do you choose to be stealth?i wouldn’t. i don’t want to read as binary in either direction.

20. What do you wish you could have shared with your younger self about being trans?i wish i could’ve figured this out when i was like 10. i had major dysphoria all through puberty and ignored it on the basis that it was “probably just body image issues” and that i had “more important things to worry about.” i wish i could’ve known this was a possibility then so i maybe could’ve done something earlier.

21. Why do you use the pronouns you use?i use it pronouns. i don’t like binary pronouns bc i’m not binary, and i don’t like neopronouns bc they’re too weird for me (not that they’re bad, i just don’t personally like them). singular they sits weird in my head because it uses verbs in plural tense, even as a singular word. it is my compromise for that, as a singular gender neutral pronoun. it also has the added benefit of feeling right for when i want to distance myself from personhood, which i do as a mentally ill / autistic thing sometimes.

22. Do your neurodivergencies affect your gender?absofuckinglutely. i can’t conceptualize it. i really like things to make sense bc #autism, and gender doesn’t make any fucking sense.

23. What’s your biggest trans-related fear?i don’t really know. i guess maybe people not letting me be who i am? idk. i’m in a pretty good place wrt physical danger, bc i pass as my agab, live in a pretty liberal place, and am v white. so idk.

24. What medical, social, or personal steps have you already taken to start your transition?ignoring gendered clothing, stopped having periods, telling people i use any pronouns

25. What do you wish cis people understood?i want them to know what it’s like to not be certain in your gender. i can’t understand what that certainty feels like, but it seems really strong in most cis people (and some trans people as well) and i want them to understand that not everyone has that.

26. What impact has being trans affected your life?i mean it’s a major part of my identity, so probably a lot, but idk specifics.

27. What do you do to validate yourself?i really like the phrase “i’m the prettiest boy.” i’ll usually say that in my head when i’m having a good day, or like when i’m getting dressed in the morning and i like my outfit (even if it’s a girly outfit). it’s not technically accurate, bc i’m not really a boy, but i would prefer to be read as a boy than a girl.

28. How do you feel about trans representation in media?it’s pretty shit. there’s a couple good reps, but mostly you don’t really see it. also nonbinary rep is absolutely terrible.

29. Who is your favorite trans celebrity?ngl the only one i know is laverne cox

30. Who is the transgender person who has influenced you the most?idk

31. How are you involved with the trans community, IRL or online?last semester i went to my college’s trans affinity space (this semester it conflicted with a class i’m taking). online i just kinda talk about my gender sometimes, i’m not really that involved.

32. How do you see yourself identifying and presenting in 5 years?probably the same (autistic genderfluid), presenting boy-ish, etc.

33. What trans issue are you most passionate about?i have no passions

(this is a lie i have many SpIns)

34. What advice would you give to other trans people, or what message would you like to share with them?whatever you id as and whatever you feel comfortable sharing is totally cool and you are rad

35. How do you feel your gender interacts with your race, disability, class, weight, etc. from the perspective of intersectionality?i mean i’d honestly say my gender identity is probably a symptom of my disability. aside from that i’ve got the thin white kid privilege in that i look like the stereotypical nonbinary. i’m fairly privileged in terms of trans stuff based on location, circumstances, appearance, etc, so yeah.

36. What, if any, is the difference between your gender identity and your gender expression?i wear what i feel like for the day. i like sundresses, and usually think of myself as more “boy in a dress” though it definitely doesn’t read that way. sometimes i wear more boys clothes, and i think i just read kind of butch rather than “boy”.

37. Do you feel more masculine, feminine, or neither?i lean masc on the basis of i’d rather err on that end of the spectrum. it’s like a balance between how i’m seen and how i feel, and the “girl” end already has a whole bunch of stuff, so i’m balancing it out by being more “boy”

38. What is your sexual and romantic orientation, and what are your thoughts on it?in big words it’s grayromantic acespike. it’s connected to my gender in the sense that it’s probably also a result of being autistic. i’ve only really been attracted to one person (my current bf), and i guess the only comment i’ll make is sometimes there’s an implication that i’m not gay enough, not because of being a-spec but bc the only person i’ve demonstrated attraction towards is the opposite binary gender from my agab. so. that’s a thing.

39. Is your ideal partner also trans, or do you not have a preference?i really don’t care. [d tag] isn’t, and he’s wonderful, so i don’t think it matters to me.

40. How did/do you manage waiting to transition?i just kind of distract myself. there’s only really one thing i want to do, and i’ve been living with dysphoria for long enough that i can kinda just wait it out until it happens.

41. What is the place (blog, website, forum, IRL space) you get most of your info on being trans or on trans related things?tumblr

42. Do you interact with other trans people IRL?i have a bunch of trans friends (not so much in my immediate friend group) but yeah

43. Are you involved in any trans-related activism?no

44. Free space! Answer any question you want, or make up your own question to answer.i don’t have the spoons to come up with a question rn but this was fun

#moonbeamroses #thank you #gender #ollie talks to people #pp

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