Saturday is Horror Day #203 - Carnage for Christmas

 Carnage for Christmas

Lola (Jeremy Moineau) is a true crime podcaster. She decides to head home for the Christmas holidays, albeit rather uncertainly, as it's been a long time and she knows that not everyone is accepting of her as a transwoman.  She stays with her sister, Danielle (Dominique Booth), who loves her dearly. Not so much so her roommate,  Riley (Olivia Deeble) who has nothing but snide remarks for her.

 But then Riley and her girlfriend Kat  (Lewi Dawson) wind up dead. Lola didn't expect to find herself in 

the midst of a trail of murders that seem to mimic what happened to her as a child, when she was the one who discovered the body of a young victim. Nobody seems to believe her when she says it's happening again,  and it's time to search for the truth, but at what cost?

This film came out in 2024, and was only 70 minutes long, but I have to say I enjoyed watching it. I saw it described as Australia's first transgender holiday horror, and that's a pretty accurate description. The main character, Lola, is a very interesting and strong woman with a great smile and no-nonsense attitude. I loved how her sister is so caring and warm herself, accepting Lola completely for who she is. 

Naturally there are people who don't accept Lola, but she doesn't let these assholes get to her. Even the cops are less than helpful and quick to dismiss her. But in the end, Lola shows them just what kind of woman she is. It's nice to see films about transgender people played by transgender people. I'd like to see more of Jeremy Moineau in the future. I give this film 4 Stars.

 

Book Review: Boys Run the Riot, Vol 3 by Keito Gaku

 

Boys Run the Riot, Vol 3     

Author: Keito Gaku

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

American release date: October 5, 2021

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/LGBTQ+/208 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

 

The unthinkable has happened to Ryo – he has been outed in a video by the Youtuber Wing! Apprehensive about going to school, he finds that people are interested in his brand. But some of the boys think it’s funny to be vulgar, so he walks away from them. After school, Ryo and Jin approach Tsubasa and request she delete the video, but she refuses because she says it’s against her policy as a content creator. Tsubasa and her cousin think the guys should be happy, because didn’t they get sales from the video? Now what are they going to do?

Ryo begins to skip school to avoid his fellow classmates. He is surprised when Tsubasa shows up outside of his house. As Ryo explains why he is upset, Tsubasa tries to comfort him and tell him he isn’t weird. When Ryo finally faces Chika, he is upset, not because she accepts him as he is, but because she makes him feel odd, like an “other”.  Then Chika tells Ryo he should lean on Tsubasa, because she gets him, which only frustrates him, unable to tell her how he feels about her.

At school, Chihiro accuses Jin of only becoming friends with Ryo in order to get next to Wing, but Jin refuses to accept the blame. The teacher is concerned about Ryo and wonders what she can do to help. Ryo shows up in class unexpectedly and asks to address his fellow students, explaining how he feels as transgender. He is wearing a male uniform and has a surprise underneath it.

Business at Boys Run the Riot is booming, with orders pouring in, but there are also a lot of requests for more collaboration, including clothing design, with Tsubasa. They examine their motives for what they are doing and  debate the matter between the three of them and decide to make a fresh start, without Tsubasa. Tsubasa has her own problems, including the fact that although she is out as a woman, people don’t realize she is a lesbian. She is warned that could be a career killer. She envies Ryo his strength. But a moment of drunkenness that ends up on the Internet threatens her sense of self, revealing how very perilous that is.

This volume is primarily concerned with both Ryo and Tsubasa and how they deal with their gender identities, especially as they relate to the people around them. Other people have made it difficult for them to be who they really are, but Ryo is stronger, and has better support. Tsubasa is surrounded by people who don’t understand her, other than her cousin. But that’s not surprising as she is still struggling to understand herself. But Yutaka says it beautifully, that Tsubasa is Tsubasa to him, not her gender. He wonders if maybe she is genderfluid, and gives her much to think about.

The point is that people are too obsessed with placing other people in pigeonholes and the answer to gender identity is not easy and it isn’t relevant when compared to what kind of person someone is inside. It’s more important that people love, it doesn’t matter who they love. I believe there is one volume left, looking forward to it.

Book Review: Boys Run the Riot, Vol 1 by Keito Gaku

 

Boys Run the Riot, Vol 1     

Author: Keito Gaku

Publisher: Kodansha Comics

American release date: May 25, 2021

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/LGBTQ+/240 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

 

Ryo feels as if he is living a lie, just because he appears to be a girl when he knows, inside, that he is a boy. But it’s not as easy as telling everyone the truth, because that just isn’t going to happen, and he knows no one will accept him if he does. So he does what he can. Each morning when he leaves the house, he stops in the train station bathroom to change into more comfortable boys’ clothing and put on a binder. Chika is his good friend, but he hasn’t even told her how he feels.

A new student arrives in Ryo’s class. His name is Jin and he should be a third year but was gone for a while and is repeating second year. The teacher directs him to the seat behind Ryo, who wonders how this guy can want to draw attention to himself the way he does. Ryo is seen by most people as weird, but how can he help that when he isn’t even allowed to be the person he is inside? And when he is with Chika, he can’t help but wish he was born a boy.

After school, Ryo goes to a new pop-up clothing store for a brand he really likes, but just as he reaches for a T-shirt, another hand reaches for it at the same time. Turns out the hand belongs to Jin! Jin thinks it’s great that they have the same taste, and he wants Ryo to make a brand with him, sell T-shirts online. But Ryo runs away.

Later, Ryo and Jin begin to talk, and Ryo starts to think maybe they should do the brand thing. But he is more afraid of what people think than Jin is. Jin thinks Ryo is more creative, so he can design the shirts, while Jin will take care of the business aspect. They make their first shirt and go to the Photography Club to see if they can borrow a camera to take pictures for promotion. That is where they meet Itsuka, the sole member of the club. He loves taking photos and uses a vintage camera his father gave him before giving up on his own photography career. But Itsuka is himself suffering from peer pressure and isn’t sure what to make of Ryo and Jin at first.

Just started reading this today and I already love this series! You don’t see a lot of transgender main characters in manga, especially not trans boys. You have to feel for Ryo, having to hide who he is because of society’s assumptions about him. I like both him and Jin and think they have the makings of good friends. Ryo’s revelation regarding how he feels didn’t bother Jin one bit. He tends to embrace the truth and isn’t afraid to show it. I look forward to reading more about them in the future.

 

Book Review: Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Cemetery Boys         

Author: Aiden Thomas

Publisher: Swoon Reads

American release date:  September 1, 2020

Format/Genre/Length: Hardback/YA LGBT Romance/352 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

All his life, Yadriel has yearned to be recognized for what he is—a brujo. His family has been brujx for generations, practitioners of magic, able to commune with the dead and help ease them into the next life. But his family doesn’t see him that way, and he has been denied his quinces, essential to his recognition as a brujo. Much of the time, they don’t see him as a boy, either, which is frustrating. Yadriel is transgender, and he only wishes to be accepted for who he is. Is that so much to ask?

His best friend, Maritza, fashions him his own blade—a portaje. This is his conduit to the world of magic. Maritza has one of her own, in the form of a rosary. Denied his rite of passage by his family, he and Maritza decide to hold one of their own, in the old church in the cemetery where Yadriel’s family live.

The ceremony is successful but something decidedly unexpected occurs—one of their own, his cousin Miguel, has died, and all the brujx can feel it. But no one can find his body, which is troubling in and of itself. Yadriel returns home to see what is happening and learns of the search for Miguel. He wishes to accompany the other brujos but his request is denied by his father. If only his mother were here. She understood Yadriel and accepted him for who he is, without question or reservation.

Yadriel and Maritza decide to search for Miguel on their own. And that is when the next strange occurrence happens, in the form of an unexpected spirit by the name of Julian. Loud, unruly, and energetic, Julian is a force to be reckoned with. And he is about to turn Yadriel’s world upside down.

This book is a treasure!  A fascinating glimpse, not only into the world of brujx and Dio de los Muertos, but also transgendered teens as well. There aren’t many books with transgendered protagonists. Yadriel is wonderful as he tries to navigate the hazards of living among people who don’t understand and can’t see him for who he is. It must be hard when your own family denies you, and because of that you can’t even participate in the same rituals the others do. Yadriel’s own uncle, Catriz, is left out of things as well, not having enough spirituality, apparently, to be considered one of them. Together, uncle and nephew are the family outcasts, the black sheep.

Yadriel’s best friend Maritza is spunky and spirited, and understand Yads, as she calls him, better than anyone. She makes him a portaje, forges it herself despite not being encouraged to do such things because of her gender. But the one who steals the show starting from his first appearance is Julian Diaz, aka the ghost with the most. He is difficult at times and extremely stubborn, but there is just something about him that Yadriel can’t resist. Plus Julian accepts Yadriel immediately, no questions asked.

If Yadriel can release Julian’s spirit, he can prove to his family that he is indeed a brujo. But before Julian agrees to this, he has conditions of his own that Yadriel has to meet. Carrying these out won’t be easy.

This book is full of fun and flavor and wonderful characters. It made me laugh and it definitely made me cry. It was recommended to me by my daughter and I was so happy she did. I got it from the library, but I ordered my own copy now, to add to my library. I can’t say enough good things about this book. It’s a supernatural story, it’s a romance, it’s a mystery, it’s a coming-of-age story, but most of all it’s a book about people just trying to live their lives.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to read.

A Few Thoughts on Lying and Cheating

I was going to talk about Hell on Wheels today, but I'll save that for another time. There's been a veritable maelstrom within the m/m community due to the revelation that one of its most revered male writers has been revealed to be a woman. Fur, spit and toxic substances have been flying back forth, along with a whole lot of vitriol, harsh words, criticisms, and condemnations, as well as defenses, offenses, and nasty language.

I read some of both sides, thought about the situation, but didn't come to any conclusions until I read the author's coming out at his blog, and learned evidence of which I was unaware, that nobody had actually  made clear in any of the other shite I waded through. The author in question is not simply a female parading in man's clothing - he is transgendered.

Does that make a difference, you ask? Of course it does. It makes all the difference in the world.

This author, AJ, is a transgendered person, what we would refer to as ftm - female to male. Just like Chaz Bono. Is Chaz Bono a male? Yes, he is. He doesn't have all the equipment, perhaps, but he's got the soul of a male and he lives as a male. His own mother refers to him as her son.

Is AJ a male?  Yes he is.

So, what do we have here? A transgendered  male writing  m/m romance. Is there a problem with that?  No. The problem lies with the lies that were told regarding his experiences as a gay male, which are patently untrue, as well as the claims that male m/m writers do it better. Obviously untrue.

I don't even care about using a guy's picture on FB. Hell, I do that. I just don't say that's me (which would be ridiculous because anyone can look at it and see that it's clearly Ian Sommerhalder). Using a friend to play the part was of questionable judgment, but it was a one time thing, and it's past.

People are angry with AJ for what they perceive as deception. The fact that he is a biological female but a transgendered male is actually no one's business. You all don't need to know everyone's business. Seriously. Do you like what he writes? Do you enjoy reading it? Then that's all you need to know. He didn't lie about being a male - he is a male. After all, it's not the parts that counts, it's the heart. Be mad about the lies. I'm sure AJ's kicking himself for those even now. But he can't change what was, so why beat him up for it? Get over it and move on.

I have a theory why some of the ladies are upset, and mind you, it's just my own theory, nothing more - I think some of them get off on thinking he's a guy with a dick, even though were that the case, he'd still be off-limits to them. But still, there are some women who clearly get off on gay men, and they can't handle the idea that he isn't one of them.

One thing will remain constant - his writing. The song remains the same, whatever your perception of the singer.

Plus, I think he's done us female writers of m/m romance a favor. He's shown the world that  you don't need a dick to write m/m romance. You just need the soul.  So, in conclusion, I say - AJ, you keep on shining, and being who you are. Don't let the bitches bring  you down.

Second thought for the day - it came to my attention recently that some people pre-write for NaNoWriMo. Admittedly, I don't know much about this novel writing month thing, as I've never participated. But I asked, and was told, that pre-writing is technically cheating. But that people do it.

My question is - does this make it okay? Cause other people do it?

I have to say that's a ridiculous notion. Remember when you were a kid and you wanted to do something and you told your mom, "But all the kids are doing it," and she said, "If all the kids were to jump off a bridge, would you do that too?" Well, there's a certain logic to that, even if you didn't realize it at the time.

Other people doing something doesn't sanctify it or make it right. The fact that they get away with it doesn't matter either. So, let's say you pre-write however many words, and thanks to that, you make the goal of 50k within the allotted time, and you "win" NaNoWriMo. Great, right?  No, not really. You know the truth. Actually, you failed, no matter what you have that shows you to be a winner. Deep inside you know the truth.

So what have you actually gained? Nothing. What have you lost? Nothing. Except maybe a little self-respect. That's up to you. It's all a matter of what you can live with.

My question is this, for those who participate in NaNoWriMo on a regular basis. If you can do this for one month out of the year, why not the other eleven? It's up to you what energies you expend where.

In conclusion, the world is not a black and white kind of place. There are many areas of grey. Before you leap to judge, learn the facts, and don't let emotion blind you. You think with your brain, and feel with your heart. There's a reason why these two organs are in separate locations. Don't get them confused.

And remember this, before you cast judgment on someone, such as AJ - judge not, lest you be judged.

That's all for today, got editing and writing to do - and living. Found a great recipe for chicken, but it has to sit overnight. If it turns out well, I'll share it with you. It does look good. I should do that, actually, share recipes I've tried and enjoyed.

Have a great day, and remember to love, not hate.

Til next time, take care!

♥ Julie