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freydismoon · 1 year

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kye lovato + with a vengeance ⇢

◖ nonbinary (they/them) ◗ black sheep of the family ◖ mexican ◗ ex-stripper ◖ sufferfest ◗ unlikeable mentally ill babe ◖ catholic guilt but make it sexy ◗

excerpt from chapter one:

The Haunted

A Spanish moth burned itself on a dim bulb, bouncing relentlessly against the curved, moon-like surface. Kye Lovato imagined what it might sound like, small and hopeful, chanting light, light, light, and wanted to ask about its journey—the flight from there to here—but logic kept their mouth firmly shut. What if we share an answer? Four hours, fifty-eight minutes. What if they’d arrived on the very same evening a displaced moth had decided to die in search of somewhere sunnier? They sipped a menthol cigarette. What if they’d bargained with God after all?

The old order of things has passed away.

Starlight skated swampy autumn fog and a second generation of lightning bugs winked through the blackness, hovering above Virginia willow busheled near the mailbox. Kye leaned against the cracked doorframe.

The house probably didn’t remember them—couldn’t, really. Too many years had come and gone. But their bare feet still fit neatly on the warped porch, and they knew how the soggy balustrade might bend beneath their palm. They recognized thorny wire looped through notches in faraway fenceposts and the chew-stains underneath the lamp where their granddad used to spit.

Kye flicked their cigarette into a marshy puddle and watched a toad leap from the shadow beneath the first step, swallowing the hot filter whole. “You and me both,” they said to the toad. Seconds later, the sad, lost moth hurled itself at the bulb. Its wings splayed, then it dropped, seizing pitifully. Kye clucked their tongue.

“Sorry,” they offered—as if either creature understood—and imagined hosting a funeral. Tiny caskets, and cabernet communion, and do not let your hearts be troubled.

But funerals were for the living and Kye wasn’t sure they counted as alive anymore.

The screen whined on rusty hinges. They set their shoulder against the door, smacking it once, twice, a third time. Finally, it gave way and they stumbled into the musty darkness.

Home—scented like moss crawling upward form the cellar—home—an open cadaver, every door, every hall—home—unstitched and post-mortem.

They inhaled the balmy air and felt for the switch underneath the window. Once illuminated, the foyer yawned like a mouth saddled with staircase teeth; throat gummed with embossed wallpaper. They touched the chipped knob on the closet door, dragged their fingertips over crooked family portraits, and walked into the kitchen.

Their childhood had reeked of guajillo and tomato, wet masa and slippery stone, and for a moment, they saw their abuelita swaying in front of the stove, and their mother rinsing a dish in the shallow sink. When they blinked, the long-gone Sunday morning vanished, and they were left with nothing but their inheritance: an unsellable house in an underfunded parish.

You shall blush for the gardens that you have chosen.

If their father could’ve passed the house to anyone else, he would’ve. But Kye was the only Lovato left to take it.

They pulled the cord on a cheap chandelier, washing the wobbly mahogany table in ugly yellow light. A paperback rested face-down next to the saltshaker, and a grimy plate scaled with dried syrup filled a placemat in front of a pulled-out chair. The glass slider held their reflection like a fist.

Fuck, look at you, they thought, and scraped their fingers through their shoulder-length hair. They laid their hand over the viper inked onto their neck, its sleek, crimson head split for white fangs and a pink tongue.

Mom would call you devil. She would’ve. She did.

The house leaned into Louisiana silence. Stubborn cicadas hissed, hounds hollered from the neighbor’s outdoor pen, and Kye searched for the overgrown cypress in the backyard. They could hardly see the gnarled arms and long trunks. It was too dark to decipher much more than their translucent reflection: thick waist, ripped denim. Purplish circles hollowed their eyes, and a dark hand circled the naked side of their throat.

They’d felt it before, that weight on their windpipe, but they’d never seen it. Never watched it spread and squeeze, halting their breath the same way a panic attack did. They thought of the toad and the moth and swallowed against mindful suffocation. A voice filled their skull.

Have you come here to die?

⇢ buy the book

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inkskinned · 2 years

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it's the levels of scrutiny too.

a movie that has a largely-female cast has to be well-written, well-shot, well-acted, well-advertised. people will spend 2 hours on youtube talking about a single plot hole; about a moment of bad pacing, about a singular background character's poor scripting. if there isn't something obvious, they will say - well there's nothing specifically bad, but it wasn't specifically good either.

they will turn out another all-male movie, and it's just a movie.

a book that has queer representation in it has to defy every convention of writing while also being true to traditional plot, structure, format, and pacing. it must have no boring chapters, no missteps, no awkward dialogue. it must be able to "prove" that any queer relationship "makes sense", their sparks must fly off the page and their love must be eternal. the writing must be clear and beautiful, the storyline original and fresh, the values traditional but with an undercurrent that is modern and saucy.

they will turn out another book without queer rep, where a man and woman just-fall-in-love, and it's just a book.

i am latinx. i am queer. i am nb & neurodivergent. my father said to me once: you will need to be exceptional to be just-as-good, and you will need to be beyond exceptional before they see you as just-a-person, and not your labels.

i am not beyond exceptional. i am a human person. i am skilled because i worked my ass off to be skilled.

i am currently reading a book that's so-bad-it's-good about a girl that falls in love with a vampire. i was 64% of the way through the book before she figures out tall-dark-fanged is not natural. i like books like these, i like letting myself relax while i just enjoy the read. but i do spend a lot of time wondering - would this have been published if it was about queer people? would this have gotten past the editors if the characters weren't white and sexy?

i want to write a movie about being a woman in a male space, and i want to start that movie with a 10 minute scene where the woman is lectured with the exact same whining that occurs in the youtube comments of even the trailers for those movies: "haven't we had enough diversity?" "we've had enough girl power movies" "sorry, this is just pandering. it's boring."

here's what's fucked up: it shouldn't matter, you're right. my identity shouldn't fold after my name like a battalion of stars: a cry of what i've gone through. what we all know i had to move past and through. i should just be a writer, plain and simple, without my work being shifted through with tweezers - i know everything i make, always, i am incredibly responsible for. beholden to. i don't like knowing that if i fuck up, i am also fucking up for every person like me. every person in a community i belong to.

once, back in undergrad, i wrote a short story about a girl who had been kicked by a horse. it was my first time writing about my experience with my ocd; i felt proud of it. the story was mostly about grief and slow recovery. the queerness of the main character was not important to the plot, my main character was just-queer. there wasn't even a romantic interest in it.

i remember one of my classmates being disappointed. "i just feel like you always write about girls who like girls, and i'm bored of it," he said. "you're a beautiful writer, but i'm like - oh, at some point, it's gonna be gay again." during the workshop, he folded his hands over my story and said, "and okay, i'm just going to say it. she's ocd, she's gay, she's depressed - it's a little much for me to believe is all happening to one person."

it is a little much to be that person (and more besides). i have therapy weekly, after all.

over and over, belonging to exception.

#spilled ink #poetry #prose #warm up #idk what this is #maybe more of a confession #btw the book is called crave it's OKAY #it's very straight #main character keeps being like totally okay with situations where dude is DEF #being a stalker villian #she's known him for a WEEK and shes like #'hes all that matters'#girlfriend ur parents only died a MONTH ago #there's a lot about timing in that book im like .... did this author ever have any #actually bad experiences #like main character being like ''i shouldn't cry over them it's pathetic'' a mONTH after her parents die #btw this isn't bc she's in denial/suffering/etc it's bad writing #the narrative is instead like #'' .... bc the author doesn't want to remember to discuss it''#she forgets she has a sprained ankle a lot #tbh im THIS close to saying ''fuck good writing''#and writing my OWN stupid supernatural school YA romance #and YES!!!!! IT WOULD INDEED BE GAY #''oh this school? we're all... different here....bc... of the witches??oh . i mean yeah but no actually we just really believe in a diverse

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dtrghost · 10 months

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okay so, i’m BACK and i love everything on your page (and may have tried to read everything i could 😭) i don’t wanna overwork you so you can write this whenever you want 🩷

i was just thinking about TF141 + könig, alejandro, rudy, and valeria having a beach day 🏄‍♀️🏄‍♀️ where the reader and valeria are having the time of their lives and dancing to the most suggestive music (i’m thinking anaconda by nicki minaj) while the boys are staring at them like 😨)

anyways, have a good day/night !!

Thank you for your patience!! I try and take breaks between each work just so I can have to right mindset to write!

Also for all of my hispanic/latinx readers, my inner latina came out during this one (DOMINICANAAAAAA) and I simply had to indulge in the hispanic characters. I recommend listening to Bachata or some sort of spanish music to get the vibe for this.

TF141+ König, Alejandro, and Rudy: Suggestively dancing with Valeria during a beach day

Warnings: Suggestive content, 18+, some fluff ig?? fem!reader

Alejandro:

The man is hispanic/latino, he knows a thing or two about dancing. He's a gentleman, and he loves seeing his girl having fun in the sand with a good friend. He especially loved seeing you so carefree, the recoil as your ass bounced, almost like the ocean's ripples. But when he started noticing the looks you got as your hips swayed to the beat in your little bikini and wild, wet hair, he got protective very fast.

"Looks like everyone loves your girlfriend hombre." Rudy teased quietly, nudging his shoulder teasingly. He knew how to get on his nerves, to push him closer to the edge.

With a grumble about the bastards watching he'd actually join you, shirt off, doing a few pushups to flex the muscles and changing the music to some Bachata with a slow beat. His hands would grip your waist and he'd ensure that everyone who dared to ogle you before now knew that you were his.

"Tus caderas son un pecado mi amor." He groaned in your ear, feeling you grind further into his growing erection. You just chuckled, pressing a kiss on his lips.

"All yours honey." He hummed in delight, feeling himself twitch in his swim shorts until Valeria interrupted you two.

"Alright pájaros del amor. Give Y/N back."

(Tus caderas son un pecado mi amor: your hips are a sin my love)

(pájaros del amor: love birds)

Rudy Parra:

Rudy's more quiet. He lets you have your fun, he trusts you and knows you're just having a fun time with a close friend, but those looks. The hungry stares of the other men at the twirls and movements of your body were enough for him to step in and mark what's his. He wouldn't be dramatic about it, he wouldn't growl or initiate interaction with them, most of the time he didn't spare them a glance.

It wasn't til Alejandro started making sly comments about other men coming to take you from him that he'd intervene. He'd simply walk up to you, and the look on his face told you everything you needed to know as your body fit into the grooves of his as you both danced together, staring at each other as if they were the only two people in the world.

"Eres mia, mi amor." He murmured in your ear, dragging his tongue underneath your ear and relishing the shivers of your body in his arms. After Valer9a snagged you back with an eye roll at your lover's possessiveness he'd be sure to send a small smirk at the grumbling men that watched it all, proud that everyone knew, but even prouder that you were his, and he was yours.

Simon "Ghost" Riley:

Simon had all the trust in the world for you. While it may have taken a while, once it was established in the both of you, it was unbreakable. But you knew better than anyone else how possessive he could get, how the sight of another man staring at you as lustfully as they had been would awaken something in him. Something feral, animalistic.

"Casper's got an eye for you." Valeria teased, both of you dancing hand in hand to the song's rhythmic guitar. Simon would've been entranced by your movements, but the amount of eyes on you two pissed him off. You glanced over your shoulder, smirking back at the anger burning his eyes before you accentuated your movements, swaying your hips more and running your hands down your body.

"Aye, looks like that guy's gonna have a go at 'er mate." Soap teased. That sent him over the edge. He stalked over to you, and you giggled at the look on his face as he held your hands out to him.

"It's okay Si, you can dance with me. Show em who's boss." You teased, watching him roll his eyes but oblige nonetheless. You'd taught him how to dance with you during the many times that he caught you on your own in the kitchen, making food and moving to your own beat. It took him a while, he wasn't as experienced as the Los Vaqueros or the El Sin Nombre you'd previously been dancing with, but once he got the hang of it he was a natural.

"Don't like people lookin' at what's mine love." He murmured in your ear, listening to you giggle with a small smile.

"It got you to dance with me so I can't complain much." Your hips grazed back on his a bit harder, listening to him growl in your ear.

"You little minx."

Johnny "Soap" Mactavish:

Valeria had to threaten Johnny to buzz off so she could spend some time with you without him interrupting. There weren't many women around in her profession, so when she discovered your existence and connection with TF141, you two got close pretty fast. Johnny let you have your fun, until their captain nudged his shoulder.

"Didn't know you could handle all that sergeant." He joked. Normally he'd laugh it off, but when he saw the way you moved, the water glistening on your skin with your hands on your body, he first felt a tightness in his pants, and then anger at the eyes also watching you. He didn't care about Valeria's wants in the moment, jogging over to you as you ogled the way his pecs bounced.

"Don't mind if I join ya now right lass?" You could hear the stiffness in his voice, nodding slowly as he grabbed your hand, kissing the back of it before pulling you to him.

"You okay Johnny?" You asked, eyebrows furrowing as he began dancing with you, Valeria grumbling in irritation at his presence.

"All good love, gonnae give yer boyfriend a winch?" You blinked at him, noticing his accent got thicker and not understanding what he said. He just rolled his eyes and grabbed your face, pressing a loving kiss on your lips. He normally wasn't this assertive, and you wondered what had pissed him off. When he pulled away he glanced behind him at the men who begrudgingly looked the other way, smirking to himself as you playfully rolled your eyes.

"Just lettin' em know bonnie." He crooned, thumbs grazing over your cheeks.

Captain John Price:

Price isn't as much of a show off. Yes he's insanely possessive and hates the idea of men ogling at your body, but he's also proud. You're his. He knows that and so do you, plus, the way your body moved was too good to interrupt. You knew he was getting wound up, from the way his hands gripped your waist when you stood with him, the dark lust evident in his eyes. He wasn't mad, he liked the thrill of your teasing, of the brushes of your ass against his hard on prominent under his shorts.

But don't fret, he'll be sure to give you a nice reminder of who you belong to, who owns you.

"Just~ like that darling. Just like you were at the beach. Fuck I'll have to thank Valeria for dragging us out there. Daddy's pretty girl." He croons to you as you swirling and lift your hips on and off his raging erection, watching as he head falls back, moaning at the feeling your tight cunt around him.

Kyle "Gaz" Garrick:

He's too cute. You'd notice the red glow of his cheeks, flush skinned, and lustful gaze. To tease him you'd sway your hips just that much more, grind against Valeria harder with her hands on your waist. When you two had your fill you'd walk over to him, smirking to yourself at his tight grip around you and the furious passion beneath his kisses.

When you got home he'd spend his time fucking the jealousy out of him, his thrusts hard and quick, chanting mine with each one in your ear as you cried on his cock. But after, the guilt would sink in, and he'd worship you, like he always did. He'd show you how beautiful you are.

"My goddess."

"You're so beautiful like this. Use my face gorgeous. I'll make you feel good."

König:

This man has a power dynamic kink. He's a colonel, he's tall and strong, he knows that he's better than any other man staring at you at the beach. But it doesn't stop the anger growing in him as you swayed your hips with Valeria in the water. The simmering in his chest and the hot fire spreading through his veins, boiling his blood.

He hated it. But he was a gentleman at the end of the day. He'd never stoop so low as to stop you from having your fun or covering up for his sake, so he let you dance. But oh boy.

The night comes and the whole floor of your hotel nearby could hear his German curses, the pounding you took as his cock slipped in and out of you with torturous speed and need. You loved it. You loved how rough he was, how he marked you in any place he could to remind those assholes at the beach that you belong to him.

"Awww you want more meine liebe? Beg. Beg like the good slut you are."

I know I know this is so late but here it is!! I apologize if it's bad it was a bit rushed since I was moving in and getting ready for college. Requests will be slow and I will be writing what I feel like writing in between them so just a heads up on that.

Thank you so much for reading and for your amazing support! Have an amazing day/night and I'll see you next time!

@islanderr

#cod x reader #cod mw2 #ghost call of duty #fanfic #ghost x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #simon ghost riley x you #könig x you #johnny soap mactavish #soap x reader #price x reader #gaz x reader #alejandro x reader #rudy x reader #cod mwii

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spiderpussinc · 9 months

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are the 2099 comics THAT bad in terms of racism plus other weird writing choices??? i'm starved for miguel content and would like to read the original comic run but i keep seeing the debate of the original comics being problematic and/or downright just BAD bad (not to mention miguel is supposed to have mexican heritage but he's straight up a white redhead lol)

Some people may disagree but speaking as a latinx writer; it's bad because it is racist, yes! On multiple fronts!! And beyond that, it's also bad as a complete failure of comics structure and compelling narrative.

Longpost, on readmore;

I say this as a long-time capeshit reader, as politely as possible: Miguel's comics are a *paycheck* book. As in; a series a writer does monthly to be paid for it, but with middling aspirations and downright negative characterization depending on where their mood is.

The first few issues of his 1992 run are relatively complete and well-balanced, may even trick you into thinking this story is going somewhere; but that's only because they're the /character pitch./ Ill skip to the end and tell you upfront. That 1992 series ends with the implosion of the whole "2099" line of comics (an universe that included other books, like ghost rider, doom, etc, by other writers) due to dwindling public interest and mass cancellations. The end of that run is basically meaningless, since the whole thing got retconned - and even before that a guest writer had came in and made mistaken character reveals pdavid wasnt happy with and wanted to erase before the finale. The event book that wrapped up that universe was unironically, literally called -- "2099: Manifest Destiny."

Now, I don't like Peter David's writing. I think he's obsessed with the idea of building harems out of his female characters (when he's not fridging them, or making them act ~crazy~ to further alienate them from the protagonist) and it is the kind of grueling, joyless reading experience I can only describe as making you feel Oily Inside. This goes as far as multiple stalking plotlines, the inclusion of a guest appearance from AU s/x slaver Hulk in later years, Miguel's mother being strongly implied to have been forced into conceiving him by his real dad who's the evil CEO of alchemax, general torture painporn. His broader supporting cast is so interchangeable and disposable that they were literally disposed of.

In terms of the racism; I have mentioned how he uses cultures as tokens and does 0 research whatsoever. The way it feels and the way it is deployed is through a lens of Exoticism - tourism. Miguels suit is allegedly "a dia de los muertos costume" b/c pdavid seems to think that holiday is mexican halloween. In the orig book, you'll see plenty of broken japanese and stereotypical orientalist caricatures - after killing his first love interest, pdavid introduces a japanese girl who is unironically, literally named "Xina" (that pretends to be chinese on occasion) to fill in the vacant role. Miguel himself falls right into all the usual latino stereotypes — short tempered, drug addict, sex magnet "latin lover" (this last one also applied to his brother Gabriel, who for the longest time is characterized by just Going Through A Lot Of Girlfriends). And it's kind of insane bc he's still being drawn as a deeply deeply white man, but not even that takes off the burden of the racial microagressions!!! They're the only times pdavid seems to remember that heritage! Then there's the commemorative hanging page. Since you mention the redheadedness; thats another insane thing to me. He has 0% of irish in him. His dad is Blond. Who is this man?

Most of the info in the 2099 run is either revealed to be a lie midway thru (miguel is not mr o'hara's son, nor addicted to rapture) or completely retconned away to be rewritten in new runs. Different writers have tried to come in and do miguel in other team/event books but frankly nothing stands out and most of them get marked as alternate-miguels. Unfortunately, every time marvel decided to give another shot at spider-man 2099 they also brought pdavid back. The newer books were never a success, and theyre just as filled w/ the garbage i mentioned earlier (wow! Steampunk spider-woman is given to pdavid for *ONE* issue and instantly tonguekisses gabriel before leaving, so novel. More fridging ensues. Stalking. Etc.) 2099 as an *universe* has been retconned so many times Nothing is consistent and Nothing is set on stone and frankly i think they should make it an AU separate from main canon and build a whole new world already.

The art in the 2015 + runs consists mostly of tracing, and more of that oily weird feeling applied to fem chars. Perhaps you have noticed in this entire hate review have never once spoken about Miguel's heroic plots and memorable villains --- he has none. At least nothing I can remember or distinguish. (Interchangeable, disposable, etc) There is a vague inkling of "this is an anti-stabilishment spiderman, he fights against The Public Eye, the Corporation Cops!" at the start but much like his cultural illiteracy pdavid has no real insightful politics commentary, so that dissolves into the background in time. Its all buzzwords. All of his plotlines are solved in circuitous or soap operaish extradrama ways; and while some of this is present in other superhero comics, what stands out to me MOST is how utterly fucking joyless Miguel's comics are. It's like going through a slog on obligation. They genuinely gave me a headache every time.

ATSV does a great job of reinventing Miguel and rebuilding the parts of him that showed real promise. Being a different tone-swapped spiderman, futuristic, being more on the tech-science side of crime fighting. Him being a single dad with a daughter is also new. (And he is single! There is no singular mention of marriage or a wife anywhere, he's a geneticist, multiple spider-men we see in this movie were literal clones made in tubes - i am fond of the idea he's a transmasc dad but even if you think he's cis he could have made that baby himself. Adoption is also always there.) I think its very clear ATSV didn't want to bring any of pdavids major weird shit w fem chars to the big screen on the hopes that miguel gets rebooted eventually. I think he's gay. Nobody can prove me wrong.

On that note, Steve Orlando (queer writer, also wrote for DC's midnighter/apollo) did some of the latest 2022/2023 Miguel miniseries. Another reboot! Those were "2099: Exodus" and "Spider-man 2099: Dark Genesis" - i think its campier/trying to tackle superhero plots more head on and trying to do something wide wacky cast focused at Marvel's personal request, but Miguel's future is very up in the air rn. I do really hope they reboot him into something closer to ATSV with latines at the center soon.

What I always reccomend for people curious abt miguel: read his first 3ish 1992 issues, get a general feel and close the book as soon as you feel annoyed. It won't get better. Remember none of it is canon nor has been relevant in over two decades. If you want to know the wider context of his messy chronology, check out some of the 2099 "all comics" type of youtube videos, theres some pretty easy to digest summarizations if u dont wanna waste ur time reading stuff that just got retconned again lol. Most writers now are operating on vibes and that is a freedom you should also allow yourself in your own fanwork.

Putting his panels out of context can be very funny though. (For further curiosity or tangents, there's always my meta tag)

#meta tag #asks #miguel o'hara #miguel ohara #spiderman 2099 #spiderverse #spider man: across the spider verse #atsv #my spider stuff #atsv miguel #miguel atsv #marvel comics #spiderman #itsv #2099

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slaygentford · 2 months

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every matthew mcconaughey romcom, rated

ive never really had a pet white man. ive had many pet white men characters, yes, but never a little pet white man actor who I wish to give treats and pats to like a purse dog. I never before really understood the phenomenon until my 5th or so rewatch of true detective in the year 2024, at which point something demonic was unlocked in my brain. why? how? a mystery for my therapist, when I had a therapist, but I don't anymore, so now it's a mystery for you. overcome with the insatiable urge to tape his picture to the front of my binder and write "hott" underneath it in sharpie I mentally detransitioned and, embracing my latent teenage girl (the girl I was, perhaps, in another world, one parallel to ours; a darker world, but of equal worth to our own sphere, damned as it may be) --began to watch every Matthew mcconaughey romcom ever made.

listed in my watch order, which was random.

how to lose a guy in 10 days: this is a near perfect 00s romcom, too much secondhand embarrassment to be a real mainstay for me, but it nonetheless hits every beat with aplomb. particularly tickled to see them playing bullshit the card game which was a family and friend group fave for me growing up. he and Kate Hudson have probably fucked, which added a lot to the chemistry. in one scene Kate Hudson described how cute he was rubbing his face into her tits and her friend says, do you want to date him or adopt him? at which point I saw into the void, which then saw back into me. instantly it became apparent to me that he will act circles around whoever he's paired with to the point that it actually becomes kind of comical how good of a performance he's giving in a movie that includes not one but two scenes of a dog pissing on a pool table. that being said bebe neuwirth CARRIED this film on her BEAUTIFUL lithe back. 1 instance of no shirt, unfortunately brief. 7/10. vape I hit at midpoint also a 7/10, coincidentally

NB: after watching this movie I had a dream that I was at the beach with him and Kate hudson and I hated her because she had stolen may man.

the wedding planner: when I watched this I got extremely caught up in two things 1 the fact that he went on a date with another woman while engaged and almost kissed her and 2 jlo playing an italian girl. this led me to think about what race is/was in 90s-00s, colorism, borders of the latinx body and codemeshing. something interesting about the wedding planner is that the leads are in every way the opposite of the character they are playing, with little effort to no effort to make up for that diff (Matthew not at all acting like a wholesome pediatrician and rarely seen with children/jlo not at all acting (like) or being an italian). as a result the fourth wall in this movie is made out of wobbling cellophane, an upsetting and uncanny experience. Matthew doing a tango meant a lot to me as a fan of rust's deranged impromptu norteñas tutorial in true detective. as he is a texan, I think he is essentially one of my people. 0 instances of no shirt. 2/10

failure to launch: at the first incident of animal slapstick (chipmunk related) I had the thought while the scene wore on and on, I feel like I'm on drugs. that's because I was on drugs, which I then remembered, but a joint doesnt deny the truth, only reveal it. there are many sports, and Matthew doing sports. I wouldn't be surprised if the original conception of this movie was more like lars and the real girl or silver linings playbook which then had to get repackaged as a rom com bc some parts of this kind of push at the seams of the haha funny tone which makes for a shockingly bad film but a very interesting way to think about process and what this writer's passion project would be. by the final animal slapstick incident (dolphin, second appearance) I really said what the fuck out loud, like actually out loud in my home. we started off strong with some shirtlessness and a calf shot during the sex scene, but the chipmunk to dolphin to bird to iguana to dolphin pipeline really took the wind out of my sails. 1/10

ghosts of girlfriends past: This is doubtless Matthew's worst performance--and yet what a triumph it is, purely because for any other actor, it would be the peak of a career. Matthew has an incredible naturalism. About 15 minutes into this movie, Matthew gets belligerently drunk at his brother's rehearsal dinner. Through half-lidded, glassy eyes, he delivers with thoughtless verve the exact sort of diatribe a man not only uncaring but also unaware of his cruelty can; and yet, in that passivity, he unearths pathos. I consider it an underpainting--a little window which peeks out of a bad script to a fully conceived person. Throughout its runtime, the film degenerates into a pantomime, even parody, of itself: but with just a series of slow blinks, Matthew conveys a complete psyche, an entire lifetime. I truly believe that he comes to roles even those he dislikes with an inescapable talent and sensitivity. If I could bring half of his effort and spark and originality to my own creative pursuits, that would make for a very good career indeed. His integrity as an artist really is why watching his worst films is so fun: in a game of limbo, Matthew can do the lowest backbend of all. Strong calves indeed. anyway, this movie is REALLY bad. 0/10

fool's gold:

10/10

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olderthannetfic · 4 months

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One of the worst YA books that is bad "ownvoices" that I've personally read was Cemetery Boys, and it's a great example of how silly ownvoices as a term has become because the author is of some degree of Latine descent and nonbinary, but it was really clear they didn't speak Spanish at all because they were absolutely obsessed with doing the "Latinx" thing with every gendered Spanish word, to the degree that because it was about magic users, I had to read the word "brujx" multiple times per page in some chapters....

Like, you know, maybe a label such as "ownvoices" should be based on something a little more than just belonging to the same broad demographic groups as your characters. I'm not saying that writing should only be autobiography, but I was honestly shocked a gringo (gringx?) hadn't written it and I'm not sure that their representation was any more "authentic" (I'm sure it involved some research, but it wasn't their personal cultural experiences) than one written by a non-Latine person. That doesn't make it a bad book; plenty of great books are written by people from different cultural backgrounds as their characters. But I'm not sure it's really "ownvoices" is what I'm saying, and it makes me think about how I feel like that label is becoming more about representing a specific kind of POC/LGBTQ+/etc. "experience" that (predominantly white and straight) publishers want to see, than actually reflecting its authors' ACTUAL life experiences as the term would imply?

It reminded me of a point a lesbian mutual made about how if she were to write a book about a lesbian teen going through conversion therapy, that would require just as much research for her as it would for a straight author because she never went through conversion therapy and had a largely accepting family and social environment from an early age. But if she were to write a book about that, not only would it be praised as "ownvoices" but a lot of people would ASSUME it was based on her own experiences unless (or even if) she said otherwise, whereas a straight cis woman writing an identical book would be raked over the coals in the current discourse environment....

Brujx? BRUJX?!?!

And yes, I've seen plenty of people complaining about how they only get approached for ~ownvoices~ stuff and how they're expected to write about plantains and colonialism, not whatever actually moves them.

What was supposed to be a chance for people to at least get a foot in the door past the slush pile has turned into another straitjacket and double standard for people not seen as the default.

Not that we should stop asking who the author is and if they did their research/knew what they were talking about in the first place, but the hashtaggy version has gone awry as these things frequently do.

As usual, we focus more on things like book content than on employment equality behind the scenes. The really significant thing is to diversify who has power. They can make their own damn decisions what to do with it.

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nicosraf · 4 months

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I just found out Angels Before Man got nominated for the Indie Ink Awards!!!

Thank you to anyone who considered me!! Apparently voting is now open so if you'd like ABM to win anything, please consider voting for it :) -> https://indiestorygeek.com/a/indie-ink-awards-2023

The full list of ABM nominations is:

Best book cover and cover artist

Best friendship

Best morally gray character

Best setting

Prettiest book interior

Side Character MVP

This Book Made Me Hungry/Thirsty

Writing the Future We Need: Gay or Lesbian Representation

Writing the Future We Need: LGBTQ+ Representation

Writing the Future We Need: Latinx/Latine Representation by a Latinx/Latine author

Writing the Future We Need: Mental Health Representation

Writing the Future We Need: Trans or Nonbinary Representation

Thank you again to whoever nominated ABM; I'm very grateful that you thought of me. As you all know, the cover work is by @iliothermia and @siroc-co , whom i've had the absolute pleasure of working with.

Thank you all!

#aaaahhhh #mine #angels before man #queer books #writing #publishing #indie ink awards

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hourglassfish · 8 months

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A (long) Aside on 1:7 and 2:10

There are two responses to 1:7 and 2:10 that always quietly horrify me.

The first, and you know, I'm writing a multi part series on it, so it's no mystery - is that Sydney was arrogant/a brat/ couldn't hack it/ wrong to walk out, and that the situation as a whole was her fault. Nah. She was right to walk out, the biggest failure of that episode is not fucking pulling the breaks when Richie gets stabbed. The workplace has gone from dysfunctional to dangerous, she has been responsible for that danger, the perpetrator of it, and she is right to leave.

little bit of an asshole but i love you so i don't care

Carmy sees Syd saying she's going to stab Richie (as she holds her knife to his chest!) while they're up in each other's faces (with Richie goading her) and he does... nothing. He tells them to shut the fuck up and make giardiniera. At this point they needed to be separated! One or both of them needed to cool off. We've seen Syd bodily put herself between a fighting Carmy and Richie. A little reciprocity would have gone a long way here.

It's wild to me that people think that Carmy was justified in his anger and aggression towards Marcus and Syd and ignore that he is aggressive to Richie also! Richie, typically one of the more confrontational characters in the show asks him to calm down, to cool it. That so many viewers so quickly and uncritically accept Carmy's narrative point of view, even while the show actively challenges it confirms something that has been in the culture a long time: that we are much more used to excusing and aligning ourselves with abusive behaviour, than we are at challenging and refusing it. That people - many of whom have received this kind of behaviour themselves - want to defend it, makes me so, so sad.

It always hurts me a little that in 1:8 Tina tells Carmy that if he 'tries that shit with her, she'll fuck him up'. It's a fun line! But I'm sorry, no she won't. He screams at her too, while chucking bowls around and Sydney's words in 1:7 clearly hurt her. Tina categorically did nothing wrong. She doesn't deserve that shit. But at the end of the day, she is a middle aged Latinx woman and a mother, and so her tolerance level has to be higher. She needs that job! Shedoes not, as far as we know, have a father she can live with rent free, she does not have youth and the promise of exploitable potential to offer to employers in an ageist job market, she does not have CIA qualifications or a CV full of ‘serious heat’.

Carmy. holds. a. position. of. power. over. these. people. He is their boss, not their manager, and he owns the place, mob loan or no. He has the power to sack them all, to cut their hours, to cut their wages; thus the impact of that power extends not just to them, but also to their children and families. Louis being present in Review is not just to add an obstacle, it's also a reminder of those stakes.

Carmy has influence in the fine dining industry, regardless of whether that social and cultural capital is respected at The Beef or not. The very same oppourtunities that he provides them with in season 2 are things he could also lock them out of if he so chose. Any analysis of 1:7 that ignores this power is flawed from its root. When you are a boss, this power is ever present. One of the few things you can do to alter your boss's behaviour is to withdraw your labour. It's not the only option you have, but everything else is at their discretion, or mediated by lengthy, expensive legal processes.

yeh, i hate this

Carmy knows this, even if you don't! It's why the apology he gives Marcus - which Marcus does not ask for - is so heartfelt. Carmy has been on the receiving end of what that power, wielded cruelly, can do. He does not want to do this to others. We see him talk to staff with respect even while he endures horrid abuse in a flashback. We see him teach and explain himself, we see him listen and invite feedback - ‘say more’. His commitment to being a good boss is sincere, that kindness is in his bones.

The second thing people say that makes me want to die a little inside is that Carmy bought getting locked in the fridge on himself, that he deserved it in some way, and that getting locked in the fridge was him abandoning Sydney.

Oh my god!

He does not have a diagnosis yet - so anything we see is an interpretation. But it feels explicit that Carmy has panic disorder, and perhaps generalised anxiety disorder and CPTSD from both his workplace experiences and his childhood. A couple of things that he says and does suggest ADHD, or some other neurodiversity. He is not very careful with himself, and does not recognise these things as treatable problems (Richie says he experiences anxiety and dread, Carmy's response is 'who doesn't' - wince, cruel to Richie, cruel to himself - vomiting everyday and crying out of nowhere are presented as something 'loads of people do' to Sugar. Tumblr loves to send people to therapy, but I just want to send this man to do a basic google search of more than fun tbh). But they are debilitating for him, especially at work.

What happens to how we read Carmy's behaviour when he is presented as someone with an untreated disability, and absolutely no support plan in place? Does he still get his just desserts at the end of the season?

The fridge thing is a bit clumsy, I think. It's silly that over the space of three months, no one at any point just takes that job off him as a priority, or at least makes it something where Tony will call the restaurant, not Carmy specifically. It is unrealistic that there would not be some kind of back up safety lock inside the fridge. But you know, they're characters in a TV show, it also does not take two people swivelling around on the floor to tighten the coat hooks on a table (LOOOOOOL) - it's realistic until its not.

But, you know, it's doing a thing, several things - it's Chekov's gun, isn't it, it's the tangible impact of the lapse of focus that Uncle Jimmy is constantly trying to warn them about.

He wanted to cry here so bad!!! It makes me laugh every time

But umm... guys? What happens to him on that night is so, so horrible. They're a chef down, they're running out of forks, Richie's giving him shit (and Carmy is so susceptible to Richie giving him shit), Marcus and Syd are being all weird. He thinks one of his abusers (Donna) might come, or that she might not come and there will be emotional fallout from that. He thinks he sees his other abuser (Evil Joel Mc Hale) - and he's triggered. He goes in the kitchen and yells, but Syd pulls him back in. Then he goes into the fridge, partly to do chef stuff, I'm sure, but also partly to fucking get his shit together aaaaaand he gets locked in there! He has a panic attack! In a fridge! That he is locked in! And the people he loves most in the world, are the other side of that door, and for five minutes, an eternity in panic attack time, they ignore him! He has no clue what's going on! Last time shit hit the fan, two of his staff walked out (he's still not over Syd walking out cus they never talk about it properly), another one got stabbed and all these new ones are 'emerald green'. And he still thinks evil Joel Mc Hale is out there!

My loves, that shit is the stuff of nightmares! I know he tells himself that he bought this on himself but can we please! stop! uncritically! accepting! his narrative! point! of view!

I don't think anybody on screen recognises that a panic attack is what he's having. That's not their fault. None of them have seen him have a panic attack! They don’t get to see inside his head like we do (which saves them from a lot of R.E.M.) He is locked in the fridge, they just hear the bear banging on the door of his cage! It's not even in the language of the show at this point (though i am curious about how and when Richie came to get his Xanax). But that's what's happening. The team are fine. They do great. He has a terrible, terrible time.

My support worker found 2:10 deeply triggering - and her reason for this, she said, was that a lot of her job was supporting people with panic disorders who are leading teams, and seeing that moment coming, the moment where the panic crashes headlong into their role as leader. Part of her role is anticipating it, and trying to turn it around before they reach the point of no return. And as soon as Carmy thinks he sees Old Boss, he's gone. His body is in flight or fight, and he is alone with that. He can’t show up for Syd at that point, he is in his equivalent of the trenches.

This is also what is happening in 1:7. Somehow his response is often framed as a) rational or b) just an asshole - but it is so outsize to the situation, and to who we know him to be most of the time (quiet, kind, thoughtful, sensitive, BITCHY), that we know it has to be more than that.

None of this is helped by the fact that Carmy's panic attacks are... well they're kind of ugly! His meltdowns are aggressive and shouty, on the edge of physical violence, in an industry where people behave like that because they can. It is hard, parsing through that to the triggers, and fears, and panic beneath. It's scary! It asks so much of people to see that and want to help, not run away. But that is where he's at.

I do not have language for how much I hate how physical he gets with Marcus here, it is deeply upsetting

I have an access rider, to help me work well with people, and to help them work well with me. My mental health turns up in every job I do. All the time. Has done for years. It can make me unreliable, uncommunicative and absent. It can mean that people have to step up sometimes in ways they weren't anticipating. And one of the things the rider asks for is 'Good Faith' - a belief that I have not shut down because I'm an asshole, but rather because I have some unhelpful coping mechanisms that I am trying to work my way out of, that my triggers are real, not excuses for laziness or an expression of lack of care, that i will give as much as I can when I can.

Syd and Carmy are beginning to work towards this - Carmy says over and over again that he doesn't want to be shitty. Claire fucking muddies things, because I will not meet you skiving off to see your girlfriend with good faith fam. That shit he needs to be held accountable for. Dropping that envelope was a perfect Richie job, I'm still pissed about that. But being locked in the fridge... there's way more going on there.

The idea that Carmy should, and will, leave the culinary world keeps coming up in various metas. But... the problem isn't cooking? I think Carmy loves cooking, still. I think he likes being part of a team, and wants to be good at it. I think he likes teaching, and he is good at that. I think he likes picking the right silent plates and having his CDC in Thom Browne. I also think he likes being there a lot and being absorbed by his job.

The problem is that the workplace he is in is not one that is set up to his needs right now - it's not set up so that he can rest enough, so that he can eat well, so that he can exercise, or whatever he needs to do to help him manage his brain and nervous system. It's not set up so that if he is triggered, he and his team knows how to keep going with the service *and* not abandon him to the worst of his brain.

Ohhhh it's bad

Carmy ignoring Claire's call and not calling Tony feels bizarre stripped of the context of his panic attack that morning. But we know that anxiety and panic and executive dysfunction take simple things and make them insurmountable. It's not about Sydney in that moment, or even really about Claire*, and self sabotage feels so weighted with judgement when I think about what those frozen moments feel like from the inside. And I've had my diagnoses for 12 years! I've been doing that work, the long slog of trying to make sure my employees know enough context that my MH doesn't fuck up their day, whilst also maintaining my own dignity and right to privacy.

The disentangling of symptoms from personality traits is so hard - fuck ups from trauma responses, what was preventable, and what might have happened even if you did everything right. I never want to lose sight of compassion for Carmy, and the reality of how long it takes to break those cycles.

I also never want to stop seeing the power that he has over the people that he works with, and how, unfortunately, one of the responsibilities of leadership is that you have to be trying to get your shit together, you have to know yourself, and know how your baggage, combined with your power could be creating harm. It’s hard, but there’s not way around it. It is essential that he gets the support he needs, and puts the measures in place that means that he can also be vulnerable, not just for him, but for the team as whole. The power and the lack of framework together are so very harmful for everyone.

makes for delicious tv though 😉

I think a lot about the ticket machines in The Bear. I'm not thinking about them as a former line chef, cus I'm not that, I'm an artist and writer, that waitressed for a while (while a lot of chefs did a lot of coke out back!) and The Bear is fiction, not a documentary. Those little tickets are used for so many things. They're the sound of pressure. They're where a bunch of intrusive thoughts get flashed up on the screen. They are the presence of tech and of speed and alienation. They are the gap where two human beings, one asking for food, and one cooking that food, become consumer and producer. They are a presence of the machine in the workplace, and they stand in for Marcus's machines in McDonald's and for Evil Joel McHale and for financial failure.

One of the things that capitalism demands is that we always listen to that machine. That when we are making a choice, between the people stood around us, who we work with daily, who we live massive chunks of our life with, and the demand for production for go go go - that we choose the latter, even if it harms the former. That we open for service, even though one of our oldest friends just got stabbed. That we prioritise getting the service turned around on Friends and Family night (the easiest night of the year to go out, pour more wine, and say service is a little delayed, but we've got this), rather than maybe asking Fak or even Claire, to come and talk to Carmy through the door, as well, make sure that he's OK. That we just keep going.

And there are so many really important reasons to do that! Keeping going is how we learn and grow, it's how we make sure that we can pay the bills, how we provide beautiful experiences for customers and guests who are more than consumers to us.

But at some point, we have to ask at what cost. When do we stop and make different? When do we try something else, make new systems, that work for us?

A moment - a small, tiny moment - of triumph for me, is when Richie and Syd turn the table around. So rather than one person, facing the tickets alone, with their back to the kitchen as they yell out orders, the person on Expo faces in. yes they can see the tickets, but they can also see the people they are working with. They can see stress, and worry and joy. They can see how hard they are working. They can see that they are not alone, not just in a promise before service, but during service, when you need that connection most.

My hope is that Season 3 will have more of them making these decisions - ones that lean into seeing each other, where their relationships keep growing, and they build a system where the love and care they have for each other is truthfully at the heart of it.

Richie is not my bag, that's just for me, personally, but I get how much he means to others, and he's beautiful here.

*Man, I do think the romance subplot was a bit of a misstep. Pop always feels like such a waste of the audience's time, time not spent with Ebra and Tina, time spent on a presentation of romance that has been done to death and is never especially satisfying. Truncates a lot of empathy for Carmy. Boo. Hiss.

#the bear #carmy berzatto #sydney adamu

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theliterarywolf · 10 months

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Okay pleeeeeeease tell me you've been seeing the Latin community tearing this new show from Disney to shreds

It's called Oye Primos and from what little I could gather (my Spanish is very bad) the name alone is a grammatical error, (its supposed to be oye primo, no s?) when someone tried to point it out to the creator she got upset, one character is name cuqito and some said it meant "cockroach" while others said it can also mean "pussy" another named Gordita (obvious what that means) the town they live in literally being named Earthquake Heights (holy shit that's fucked)

The opening theme ended up getting universally panned everywhere online to the point Disney removed it everywhere except for YouTube

And the pitch Bible just kept tossing the word latinx all over, and well we know how much controversy that word has

And this is just a me thing but personally, I hate the art style it's really ugly

Oh, you mean 'Mexican Loud House but Not Even Because The Casagrandes Exists?'

Yeah, I've seen that shitshow of an initial promo-run. I think it says something that the few decent Mexican/Mesoamerican IPs that we've gotten in recent years have pretty much been via the shoulders of one man who just so happens to be, I don't know, passionate about good-looking animation and good writing?

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mochinomnoms · 2 months

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I just wanna appreciate you and your writing cause I feel like most fanfics are very Eurocentric based or don’t get how to comfortably write about characters that come from different cultures without making it weird and you do it so well and inclusive and I really admire that! Thank you 🙇‍♂️

Aw, thank you! I can only really accurately write from the perspective of a latinx person, but I do try hard to be mindful of other cultures when writing! I was an anthrpology major in my undergrad, so I learned a lot about learning and anaylzing cultures different from my own, I like to think that it reflects in my writing, especially since the twst characters are based on or inspired from real world cultures.

It's nice to hear that people are enjoying my portrayal of twst characters and cultures, if you guys want to send me ask about the boys and their different cultures I'm happy to talk about it! I focused a bit on language and regional foods so I got stuff to ramble about for daaays lol

#mochi asks #mochi's sweets

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kaiarchives · 10 months

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WRITEBLR INTRO

— about me

Hii, my name is Kaiati (Kai - uh - tee), but I'd prefer you refer to me as Kai if that's too confusing. 19, 20 in August. Afro-Latinx (Haitian and Cuban). any prns but prefer They/them. Genderfluid. Queer.

This honestly is long overdue, and that's mostly because of my weird obsession with perfection paired with my GAD (anxiety) that I have just been stalking other writeblrs and procrastinating on my own.

I'm an aspiring writer, and my work ranges from speculative fiction. Fantasy, historical, supernatural, sci-fi, ghosts, eldritch terrors. I love it all, typically lgbtq+ and bipoc-centered to mundane romance (I'm a sucker for a good romance). I fell in love with writing after reading Narnia when I was 10???? Still never finished anything. I'm pretty new to this and tumblr in general since I never really was the type to be active even though I have several other old accounts, but this time I'm gonna make more of an effort and promise to be active instead of lurking on your pages, hehe.

— genres I love

Fantasy / Science Fiction / Contemporary / Mystery-Thriller / Folktales and Fairytales / Horror / Gothic folk / Romance ** I also live and breathe angst if I'm not balling my eyes out over fictional characters, then what's the point**

— tropes

found family . rivals to lovers . friends to lovers . opposites attract . sibling dynamics . revolting against the patriarchy (eat the rich!) . sapphic mermaids and other monsters and mystical creatures (monster girls in general) . girls in blood .

— my writing

...or lack thereof, I have a bunch the most I focus on now are:

Project JOG (all of the titles are wip cuz im lazy)

Captain Sooyoung had always dreamed of proving her worth as a fighter, yet after years of hard work, her achievement resulted in guarding the South Gate and examining merchants and produce. But when her father summoned her to the Capital, her hopes were reignited, only to be immediately shattered as she discovers she is being demoted to the guardian of a traitor, Jiwoo. Sooyoung abhors her assignment; the two women despise each other. However, as they get to know one another, they begin to form an unlikely bond. Despite their growing friendship, Sooyoung can't help but feel suspicious about Jiwoo's anonymous nocturnal absences. Sooyoung must keep her guard up and uncover Jiwoo's secrets before they threaten to destroy her, as well as her kingdom. This is a tale of trust, love, and deception, testing the strength of bonds forged on the battlefield.

Project HML

Jaebeom, a gumiho sentenced to eternal damnation for his crimes. Haunted by the endless suffering of his one true love, Jaebeom is forced to watch her die and be reborn in each of her lifetimes. But all hope is not lost when an unlikely ally presents him with an opportunity to earn his love's freedom. Armed with determination and a thirst for revenge on those who wronged him, Jaebeom embarks on a dangerous mission to find a mysterious scroll that holds the key to his lover's release. However, collecting enough despair to gain favors for his journey proves to be a difficult task until he meets Ada, a young businesswoman with a dark past and an even darker future. Forced to work together, the two soon form a bond that complicates their mission, threatening to derail everything Jaebeom has worked so hard for. Will they be able to overcome their differences and save his lover before time runs out, or will their own selfish desires get in the way?

Project BHA

Coretta's life takes a drastic turn when her younger brother falls ill. Determined to find a cure, she joins forces with a warlock named Lysander on his quest to protect the magic realm. But as they journey deeper into a world of danger and mystery, Coretta realizes that her own inner demons may pose an even greater threat. With Lysander by her side, she must navigate treacherous terrain and face her deepest fears in order to uncover the truth behind her brother's ailment and the secret that threatens to tear apart the very fabric of their reality. From magic spells to mythical creatures, the pair face impossible challenges and unexpected betrayals as they race against time to save the magic realm from mortal hands. But as secrets are revealed, and tensions rise, Coretta must decide who to trust and what sacrifices she will make to achieve her ultimate goal. Will she be able to save her brother and restore order to the magical world, or will her own inner demons ultimately be her downfall?

— What I'm looking for

More writers to follow!

books and recommendations

Beta readers/Critique Partners for fun ofc (i will also beta read for people if you want!)

Good vibes and friends

I also love and would like to play tag games but bear with me. I'm really shy, so it'll take a while...

I'm sure everyone on here has this problem, but it is really hard for me to finish anything, I get all in my head, and I end up deleting everything and moving on to another project I probably won't finish, but I'm hoping that through being on here and meeting writers and their incredible stories will give me the courage to finish my own.

As you can see, I ramble when I'm nervous but yeah! Excited to be here!!

— I'm also on here

wattpad

Archive of Our Own

Fin.

#writeblr #writeblr intro #black writblr #blackwriters #black writers #writeblr introduction #new to writeblr #queer writers #lgbt writers #writers of tumblr #latinx writers #will edit this later

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dcminions · 13 days

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more rp ideas from me and my overactive imagination

a group inspired by all the country music that is constantly playing rn, just like a small town in a southern state where denim jackets with fleece collars and rodeos reign supreme. you could even throw in some yellowstone inspo with there being like one large ranch in town that sorta has a monopoly on like business for the region??? anyways it feels like the type of group that could go a lot of ways, even have a crime element or undercurrent maybe?? either way it’d also be a great opportunity for people to play more people of color in these settings but esp black, latinx, and native people who are traditionally sorta left out of the narrative - now yall could bring them into it :)

a star wars inspired rp, set on a planet that is like the central hub of activity idk listen i do not watch anything star wars related but i play the journey to batuu game on the sims and honestly it made for a nice three hours i think but im also easily entertained either way it could be cute!!just like a central hub city planet place idk it doesn’t have to take place in the sw universe that would just probably be a really great starting point ya know? it also lends itself to a good basis for any magic or technological systems right yall get it yall see the vision it would just take place mostly in one place but it would also be a place for people to get missions, jobs, etc

a city rp with the twist that its like a city from a superhero universe idk ive been on gothamtok for a month now i feel like gotham/metropolis/central city would be so funny like it’s just a regular city rp but you could intersperse it with like news alerts that like deadshot has just killed the mayor or the riddler has taken seven people hostage and is hiding them in a maze that poison ivy created in the center of the city park shit like that idk. your character can even work for them love a henchperson omg it can be the more fantastical versions of the cities like from the animated series or the 90s movies or the more grubby, sad ones from the recent movies or tv shows either way it’d be a nice twist on a classic city rp

BRING BACK BIKER GANG RPS THANKS

college rp centered around a hockey team idk i just love the coho fics that’s just a personal thing

summer is coming up so a summer house/houses rp would eat. maybe like a community omg it just hit me as i started writing this but a community of houses that was built almost specifically for the purpose of it being a party haven??? and it’s like on an island or an two hour drive out of the city and everyone goes up from the city (of your choice) every thursday and leave on sunday/monday (obv some people can stay behind) but either way, the big community aspect could be if you want it to be a bigger group with several houses but if you wanna keep it to 2-3 houses with like 6-8 people per house, that works for smaller groups too omg that would be cute

im watching the valley which is horrible tv but i think a group centered around people that live in a town just outside of a major city would be cute like just far away enough for it be a different county but not so far away that it takes more than an hour to get there and the concept hinges on these being older people who maybe are done living faster paced lives in the city but have a bit of fomo so they wanna settle down out there, idk it feels like a cute idea for a 30+ muses rp esp if you wanna have characters with like full blown relationships, careers, kids, etc

the 30+ idea but inspired by friends / sex & the city where it’s people in their 30s but still living in that major city, trying to ease into somewhat settling down while maybe dealing with the fact that they are getting older??? could be cute i like it

another show/movie to draw inspo from : the gentlemen. i think just a crime rp set in london is actually what im saying here actually, nothing more <3

any city rp set in a city that is not usually highlighted, especially places like rio, mexico city, dublin, singapore, lagos, istanbul, buenos aires, mumbai, etc just to switch it up ya know???

actually this would eat so bad a group in the vein of the gotham idea but actually set in wakanda??? listen i would love that and it could take place before the first movie so it’s still isolated OR OR OR after the second movie so they’re a little bit more open and there’s more people just now moving there, etc. i just love the idea of a wakanda rp and it seems like it would be so much fun as well as give people an opportunity to play more underused black fcs actually thnx

said this last time but a rp set in the 1920s or the 1940s right after ww2 would also be very fun esp the roaring twenties like cmon yall, great gatsby hello???

ive seen a couple of these and they have been so cute but more bridgerton type rps with preset families and shit those just seem very fun and also remind me of jane austen novels/movies JUSTICE FOR THE BRIDGERTON RPS

that’s all i got for now, make some new rps, see yall in 6 months <3

#rpt #rph #pls enjoy and make some of these heart hands emoji

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romancomicsnews · 8 months

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Blue Beetle is a triumph for DC, the Latinx Community, and Superhero Movies - SPOILER FREE REVIEW

Ángel Manuel Sotos new DC film Blue Beetle is hitting theaters this week but has had a significantly hard road to get here.

The film was originally sold as a direct to streaming film, then was moved to theatrical release, was caught in the middle of a James Gunn take over, and now a writer's/actor's strike. Couple all that with superhero fatigue, and DC's not so clean track record, the film would have to jump massive hurdles to be successful most movies do not.

Blue Beetle, however, is a magnificent departure from superhero films of late that coast on past projects, name dropping, or cameos. It is a delightful film that centers on family, responsibility, and the many different types of Latinx experiences, all while being extremely funny and full of incredible action.

Director Manuel Soto breathes new life into the DCU in a way few directors have before. instead of opting for uniformity with other superhero projects, the film has a distinct color and design that feels unique and fresh. Excellent design, costuming, and vibrancy make up a beautiful Palmera City.

One of the most notable aspects of the film was the fluid, dynamic fight choreography for Blue Beetle and our main physical antagonist, Carapax. While there are several heroes who have similar powers to Jaime, none quite have used it as interestingly. The shifting of weaponry, flight, and hand to hand combat make for types of fights we don't really see in live action.

This film of course is not just made up of excellent visuals, but a phenomenal supporting cast. It is hard to pick out favorites, as most characters are given an opportunity to shine.

Through this cast, Manuel Soto shows the many realistic day to day fears and feelings of a Latinx/Hispanic person. Responsibility, family, and becoming who you are supposed to be are all at the heart of the film. As a Latinx man, so many aspects of the film hit home for me, sometimes comedically, sometimes tragically.

The movie also emphasizes different kinds of experiences in our community. Undocumented citizens, first generation, the religious traditional older member of the family, even the slacker uncle. Every member of the family feels different, but they all feel like a family.

For me, I'd say Belissa Escobedo as Milagro Reyes brings excellent sisterly back and forth with our hero and has some very emotional moments in the film. Brother/sister chemistry is sometimes difficult to pull off, but Escobedo makes it look easy. I think she has the making of a comedic star on the rise and is someone to lookout for.

I'd say most members of the family will be someones favorite. George Lopez as Rudy, Jaimes Uncle Rudy, Damián Alcázar as Alberto Reyes, Jaimes Father, and Adriana Barraza as Nana, the matriarchal head of the family all got big laughs and, at times, tears from their performances.

This cast is phenomenal and elevates excellent writing into several iconic scenes. I don't see this film working without the perfect familial blend of actors. And they got it perfectly.

While characters like Elpidia Carrillo as Rocio Reyes or Bruna Marquezine as Jenny Kord do get the short end of the stick in the film, I think they get their moments and will be greater utilized in (hopefully) future installments of the franchise.

What made it most clear that Manuel Soto understands character were the two antagonists of the film.

While they are not nearly as significant as the rest of the family, both Susan Sarandon as Victoria Kord and Raoul Max Trujillo as Conrad Carapax are not reduced to twirling mustache villains. They both have realistic and at times tragic stories that explain (but does not justify) their actions.

While both give solid performances and are a step above your average Marvel/DC villains, I think the film could've benefitted from more of them.

But the real highlight of the film, to no ones surprise, was Xolo Maridueña as Jaime Reyes.

Maridueña as Blue Beetle feels like one of those castings that seem impossible to be topped. He brings excellent comedy, pain, and honor to Jaime in a way that feels natural. He is Blue Beetle.

In the film, Maridueña displays a wide range of emotions while he goes through an incredibly grueling 2-3 days. There is comedy, awkwardness, strength, anger, and pain, and Maridueña nails every moment of it.

I expect you will see a lot more Xolo in the future even if we don't see more Blue Beetle. But I hope he does return.

I think this movie has the potential to connect with audiences in a way we just haven't seen in a long time from a Superhero film. It is original, fun, and shows us a side of DCU we've never seen before, without endless cameos and reminders of past projects.

I hope other studios take away that audiences want more representation via original content from creative visionaries. But Hollywood often takes away the wrong lesson.

All in all, Blue Beetle is an incredible film that balances comedy, drama, and action in a way superhero movies rarely do. If you get the chance to, I highly recommend you go out and give it a watch. Films as good as this deserve support.