I've gotten really into the Bad Gays podcast recently! They explore gay villains throughout history with the idea that they are also part of our legacy as queer people. The podcast is here (as is information about their book!): https://badgayspod.com/
Continuing on from #BadGaysPod, the Bosie episode inspired me to read Oscar Wilde's De Profundis, the book-length letter he wrote to Bosie (Lord Alfred Douglas, the lover because of whom he ended up in prison) while at Reading Prison.
It is beautifully written and absolutely harrowing — an incredible postmortem of a truly toxic relationship, as well as a fascinating exploration of art, suffering, beauty, friendship, & what experiencing Britain's criminal justice system meant to Wilde.
I should add, I listened to it as an audiobook, and the version I listened to had a lovely foreword from Wilde's grandson, and the reader read it <em>beautifully</em>.
One last rec inspired by #BadGaysPod: Maurice by E. M. Forster!
It has the distinction of being one of the first gay novels with a happy ending (which made it unpublishable for many years). It's set in a nebulous period before WWI.
For me, it was refreshing to have a main character who isn't particularly clever. Maurice has many prejudices & few philosophies & is slow to learn better, altho he does learn. And the prose is absolutely lovely.
Oops almost forgot to do another! Today's #DecRecs is Unhallowed by Jordan L. Hawk, which I've been recommending everywhere ever since I read it:
New England! Librarians! Bookbinding! Eldritch nonsense! Romance! Lovecraft sans the racism & xenophobia! Plus it answers the question: "What if the Dunwitch horror was a Good Boy, actually?"
Today's #DecRecs is because as I was walking to the subway just now there was frost riming the leaves & grass on the bike path and the sky was blue and the sun shone on everything and my heart recited — Мороз и солнце, день чудесный! Frost and sunlight, a marvelous day!
The poem is «Зимнее утро» / "Winter morning" by A.S. Pushkin https://ilibrary.ru/text/684/p.1/index.html
And here's a very good English translation: https://ruverses.com/alexander-pushkin/winter-morning/7940/
Today's #DecRecs is a fic rec!
"Known Associates" by thingswithwings changed me as a person. It is SO SO SO good. It's broadened my knowledge of my hometown, my place in the queer community, and queerness as a whole. It also has a way better post-Iron Man 3 phase 3 than we actually got :P
https://archiveofourown.org/works/6292210/chapters/14418613
#ficrecs #steverogers #captainamerica #polyshipping #mcufics
One of my favorite shows of the past year is Owl House! Sadly cancelled before its time because of not "fitting Disney's target demographic" whatever the fuck that means, it is weird and quirky and kind in the tradition of the best middle grade cartoons. The third and final season is going to be 3 45-minute episodes, the first of which is a) already out on YouTube and b) AMAZING.
I love the Clawthorne-Noceda-and-auxiliaries extended family so much 💜
I love pretty much everything KJ Charles has ever done (that I've read, I'm still working thru her oeuvre) but today I would like to tell you all about the glory that is The Magpie Lord. It is spooky and sexy and I love the characters so much. Also I would love to see someone write Magpie Lord AU fics of various of my fandoms https://kjcharleswriter.com/charm-of-magpies/
I have been listening to #TheAmazingDevil nearly nonstop for the past month or so, so if you haven't jumped on this train yet, now is the time. The frontrunners of this amazing band are Madeleine Hyland and Joey Batey (whom you may recognize as Jaskier from Netflix's #TheWitcher series). The lyrics are incredible & devastating, the melodies are complex & gorgeous. On all three albums I don't think there's a single dud of a song.
Today's #DecRecs are the really wonderful Grand Prix Final skates by Kwon Minsol and Kim Chaeyon!
They're my new favorite juniors to watch:
https://youtu.be/S8FEVkAnv9Q
https://youtu.be/lfJgNtU4UBo
And today I can't kvell enough about the Italian senior ice dance team, Guignard & Fabbri! Teams that have a gold medal To Me!
Rhythm dance: https://youtu.be/JK0ykQBK0Ro
Free dance: https://youtu.be/MUmHe1cydHg
Catching up, yesterday's #DecRecs is one more #ISUjuniorgrandprix competitor: Nikolaj Memola of Italy.
His short program was an exquisite skate to Rachmaninov: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXpZeWnPBow
His free program was to Samson et Dalila and was one of my favorite things from the whole Grand Prix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFHO1XmQ8tA
I can't find the video of his fantastic skate at the Gala but here is a lovely interview with him just after medaling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rlL1GhVlIk
And today, on a completely different note: the wonderful visual novel Arcade Spirits is lovely and sweet. You play a main character who is somewhat lacking in direction and so gets an AI personal assistant who instigates their becoming an employee at an old-fashioned arcade where you meet lots of different characters, can choose to romance them (or not!), and build community. I loved playing it and will definitely replay with other choices.
Two days behind again. For yesterday I would like to recommend the incomparable yutaan on tumblr, my favorite artist currently working. Her papercraft pieces are gorgeous and intricate and working with her on commissions has been an absolute pleasure.
Today's rec is also a request for recs: I've made a fanvid playlist that I've called "AMVs what do the sound thing", by which I mean ones that incorporate original audio (not dialogue!) from the fandom to the beat of the chosen song.
I think the most famous example is probably the big MCU "Glitter and Gold" vid but there are a few others I've found. Right now the playlist is 4 strong and I'm always looking for more.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCronFqK4lCexucUMtDbxWtyc6Jkw-FgB
@theleakypen speranza’s analysis of Grable424 & djcprod’s Glitter & Gold has a couple more relevant examples (and is also just a need article on the history of sound in vidding) https://vidders.github.io/articles/vids/glitter.html
@theleakypen i’m also fond of this KinnPorsche take on Glitter & Gold thats a p clear tribute to the original g&g vid: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GIpgcjyUjws
@Satsuma ooo thank you! Will take a look at both