lavender media that made me feel things
I discovered the Bear Carnival through inch's blog. And I'm so so excited to participate in this month's theme hosted by xaya. This'll be my first non-migrated bear blog post, so I'm happy to share a bunch of media that made me feral feel things! :)
Books:
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. I read this during the pandemic and remember writing entire essays (but really, more like rants) on the pages because of how invested I was. Miller's writing was exceptional. When I learned that it took her ten years to finish the book, I was more engrossed. The amount of research and passion she poured into this project bled into her characters. While I did have a Greek myth phase, I don't usually like reading tragic books. But I would pay thousands to be able to read it again.
Heartstopper by Alice Oseman. Also read during the pandemic! This one is just warm and cozy. The entire opposite of the Song of Achilles. I remember a friend once asked me for queer book recommendations, in which I told them about this one. But then they told me they don't like "happy gay stories," and so I ended up getting him a Song of Achilles paperback. I have also checked out (but haven't finished) the series, and I'm actually happy with how accurate it is with the graphic novels!
Vicious by V.E. Schwab. okay. I know this one isn't canonically queer. BUT. I love Victor and Eli so much - the tension and the trajectory of their relationship. I don't care if it's romantic or platonic or doomed best friends dynamics. I really do believe they're soulmates.
Films:
Red, White, and Royal Blue (2023). Of all the media mentioned and will be mentioned here, this is the one that made me feral feel things the most. I unfortunately haven't read the book (yet), but the adaptation is one of my top comfort films. Once I have seen this film twice simultaneously. I forced my best friend Addie to watch this (and she liked it!). When I'm sad, I think of Alex and Henry. They are my comfort people.
The Unkabogable Praybeyt Benjamin (2011). This is a Filipino parody of the 1980 film Private Benjamin. I recently watched this again and realized that it, like most other old Filipino comedies, wouldn't survive today's cancel culture with its slapstick humor. Still, I thought this was a fun and unique film as a kid. While I have complicated feelings about him1, I think Vice Ganda heavily contributed to increasing lgbtq+ visibility in the Philippines.
Musical Artists:
Conan Gray. If you reactivate my high school Instagram account, there you'll find a love letter sent to Conan's DMs. Even before he started releasing music, I was fond of his creativity and art style. He was a major figure in my life, especially with my writing. His me at 17; for my future self YouTube video prompted me to start writing letters to my future self every year. I did for about four years until it got buried, along with my other hobbies, under a pile of university work. I think I have to get back on that. My favorite songs of his are the five Sunset Season tracks + the king!
Chappell Roan. I do not claim to be a fan, but I'd 100% burst out singing if I hear her playing somewhere. Also, this good luck, babe (but from the other girl's pov) cover? Absolute music.
Vice Ganda identified as non-binary and is indifferent with the use of any pronouns. In many articles, he/him is used for consistency.↩