The SFTH Rules Of Improv

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Cinderella was too weak to fight for herself...AND THAT’S OKAY!

I cannot believe we’re still tearing Cinderella down! 2018 only has a few months left and we’re still doing this, we’re still painting her as the weakest Disney princess and we’re still painting her weakness as a bad thing?

Why?

Why are people so caught up on bashing this princess?

“The movie is so simplistic—”

In what way is it possibly simplistic?!

“She didn’t work hard—”

YES, SHE DID!

“Well, okay, but the fairy godmother still had to come in—”

Yep, I remember the movie too, and the countless stories on which it’s based.

“So the fairy godmother was the one who caused the happily ever after.”

She sure was, now, what’s your point?

No, really, what’s your point? Is the point that Cinderella is somehow weak because she wasn’t 100% in control of her own life? Seems like a pretty disgusting opinion to have when the whole movie is about an abuse victim finding a way out of her horrible situation. So Cinderella wasn’t the one who got herself out. So what? Instead of looking the movie at its bare surface, maybe try analyzing it with a bit more thought and tact. You might see something a little different. A magical transformation, if you will.

Because Cinderella did work hard.

And guess what we learned from that?

You can work

and work

and work

And there will still be people out there who will try to tear you apart:

Literally.

And that sucks. It’s a horrible lesson to learn but it is something we will all face in our lifetimes. There will always be people who will try to tear us down, there will always be people who will try to rip us apart, until we’re in a low place:

Until it seems like there’s no hope…

Until it seems like you’re too weak to get out on your own…

And maybe you are.

Maybe you are too weak to get out on your own. Maybe you’re not the strongest woman in the world. Maybe you’re not capable of screaming at the top of your lungs or brandishing a weapon or throwing a punch. Maybe you’re not able to get out of something on your own. Maybe you hit a low point and maybe you have no way out of it. Not alone. But that’s just it.

You’re not alone.

Even at your lowest point, someone will come help you.

You don’t have to do it all alone.

It’s okay to have a little help when you have nowhere else to turn.

Cinderella is the story about an abuse victim who is unable to get out of her toxic situation by herself and just when she begins to lose all hope, is able to get help from an unlikely source. It’s the story about a girl who needs help getting to her happily ever after and that’s okay. 

Give us advocates:

They deserve their happily ever afters!

Give us warriors:

They deserve their happily ever afters!

Give us fighters:

They deserve their happily ever afters!

Give us girls who are not advocates, girls who are not warriors, girls who are not fighters, girls who still deserves their happily ever afters:

Source

cute witch

If you haven’t read the books

You won’t know that the Elder Wand was also called the Deathstick

Ron was actually a Prefect

Harry, Fred and George got a “life-long ban” from Umbridge after they attacked Malfoy on the pitch

Dumbledore hired a centaur named Firenze to teach Divination

Neville Longbotton could’ve been “The Chosen One” but Voldemort chose Harry

Fenrir Greyback was the werewolf who bit Remus Lupin as a child

Harry attended Bill and Fleur’s wedding disguised as Barny Weasley, a red-headed Weasley cousin

Lily was actually a few months older than James

While still alive, the Bloody Baron, who became the ghost of Slytherin House, was sent by Rowena Ravenclaw to retrieve her daughter, Helena, whom he was in love with. When Helena, who became the ghost of Ravenclaw House, refused to go with him, he became angry and stabbed her. Then, distraught with having killed her, he killed himself

Harry mended his own wand with the Elder Wand before he got rid of it

Harry, Ron and Hermione met Neville in St Mungos, who was visiting his parents and his Gran told them what happened to Alice and Frank 

The Potters’ had a cat

Harry got  miniature broom from Sirius for his first Birthday

Bathilda Bagshot was a friend of the Potters’

fellas is it gay to transcend this plane of existence with your situationship

I have this headcanon in which  Sirius ran away from home during the summer between his 5th and 6th year. After leaving Grimmauld Place, Sirius met Regulus only at Hogwarts, as soon as the new school year began. It probably was not a good reunion. Sorry for the feels, the tears and angst post…… This is the first time I post something like this and I’m a bit nervous….i’m not really satisfied….but better than nothing, no? :) it would be nice to do a whole comic one day  o(╥﹏╥)o

SFTH Chaotic Highlights (OMG Is This A Joke)

Alright, I'm finally starting to make these for the longforms! These are gonna be quite a bit longer than the other two I've made, since these videos are (typically) longer and I have a lot of thoughts about them lol (edit while writing, less than halfway through the video - yeah, I have way more to say than I thought I would)

Before I even get into the video itself, I just love the bold move of having their first Youtube longform be one about nazis, let's people know the kind of humor they'll be getting from these guys lmao

Also shout out to the not insignificant number of people who fully didn't recognize AJ with hair

Luke's executive decision to grab a prop gun and just stand there like 🧍🏼

"If he was only a foot and a half taller, he would be a perfect nazi!" Still one of my favorite Luke short jokes, because if I was him I genuinely wouldn't know how to take that observation-

Not sure why Sam chose the puffy purple jacket for his villain character, but at least we get to call him Ze Blackberry now

I'd like to imagine as Sam was introducing himself, he looked over to Luke like 'oh shit right, he's still just fucking standing there, I should probably include him somehow' and to Sam that ofc meant flirting with him

Which btw is the strangest flirting attempt I've ever seen- "Beautiful little pocket-sized Aryan" and "Sexy little ferret" ?? Guys I've never flirted with anyone but I don't think he's doing it right

"Guten Abend" Luke/Hans isn't good at this flirting thing either, but at least they're both having fun

Two French brothers casually parachuting over Berlin during World War II, nothing weird about that

"Ja- yes- er, oui! I'm trilingual, I'm sorry" Idk if it's the language confusion or the fact he apologized to the nazi, but this was a great line

"The plan is working perfectly, we're making them uncomfortable. Keep it up!" Luke, who has done very little in that regard except respond to Sam: "Okay!!" *just keeps standing there*

"Hard day being a nazi?" Considering you're currently giving him a backrub and are probably about to fuck him, I'd say he's having a pretty good day

Before Luke's BAFTA winning portrayals of grief in The Evil Make-A-Wish Kid and The Grape Depression, we had AJ's sobbing in OMGITAJ

So glad this play was set mainly in France so AJ could show off his French knowledge in the best ways (skipping across the stage and singing)

Sam characteristically entering briefly as an unspecified beast that for simplicity I'm going to call a ram

Genuinely one of my favorite and most underappreciated moments in the video is Katherine assigning Luke's character a feminine name, which he clearly didn't expect, and he just takes a moment to reevaluate life, while staring at the comedically placed banana in his hand. 10/10 fantastic bit

"My husband has been captured" "You know this for sure?" "Well he didn't come home and he's a French spy so" Fair logic that was 100% correct

"I already have a husband" "Well Xavier will have to wait until he's officially dead then" rip Jean-Luc man, at least Sarah seems to genuinely love him and be loyal though, good for them

Tag yourself, I'm AJ fangirling heavy over Xavier as he walks onstage

"I could have mimed it but I did not" has and forever will live in my brain rent free, bro had no reason to do that but took the fucking opportunity

Also Sarah's friend (did she ever get a name?) is simping for Xavier more than Sarah herself, they could've just fucked instead

"I don't know the French word for mice" "C'est une souris, une souris, une souris" French lessons with AJ

I've already made a whole post about my love for pre-reveal Xavier, but jesus, can you blame me? This character is the actual reason I started being attracted to Tom in the first place, why is he so SMOOTH-

Also the fact Luke didn't even flinch when Tom tilted his chair back and just nonchalantly crossed his legs- This whole scene is perfect istg

"I'm just going to take a few pictures-" That's so real of you girl

"I am a man" Gonna start saying this in front of the mirror as affirmations in the morning, same tone and everything

Tom launching himself across the stage before he even has the chance to rebutton his shirt lol

"Look out! It's the nazi-looking guy!" Saying this about the actual nazi is so funny

Not me being genuinely kinda sad about François getting killed

Katherine getting into Sam's carriage with a pumpkin (For some reason??) and Sam pausing not once, but twice, and eventually deciding to proceed as normal and not question it

Jean-Luc: *crying because trauma* Katherine: "Aw.. If you're thirsty you could drink it!" Katherine might've earned her place as my favorite 5th SFTH member they've had

Big Hans showing up with an entirely different vibe from the last time we saw him- Maybe because he's not busy being gay with Ze Blackberry

But really, why is this nazi boy so excited about the french language while he's taking over their country

"Les coqs :D" Sir what is this energy you're putting out, it's confusing me

I like that instead of just saying something like "It's a French horse, why do I care if I kicked it" he's just like "German horses wouldn't give a shit, your horses are just weak"

"Very hairy chickens you have here" A joke they couldn't have made now-

I'd just like to point out that Big Hans didn't get shot from what I could tell, so he could technically still be alive. Idk what to do with that information, I just wanted it out there

Tom pulling his classic sexy-character move: Foot dramatically placed on chair

The cleaner just being like "what a fucking mess, god I hate my job" as if Xavier and Sarah aren't currently having a whole plot-altering revelation in the same room

Oh yeah, and this is also the moment I was very relieved Sarah was a better person than me (/hj) and didn't sleep with Xavier

Also, mostly unrelated, but Katherine's voice specifically as the cleaner reminds me of DHMIS every single time and idk why

"Are you quite finished??" "... Honestly, no"

"But who would do that? Who would do- It was me" He tried to be mysterious but Xavier really wanted credit for what he did

Sam the Ram returns! Very cool that their first video had classics of all kinds: Sam being a chaotic animal, AJ getting to be French, Tom being a sexy German, and Luke being an equally-attractive-but-not-quite-as-played-up woman

"I was tortured by two men gettig with each other next to me" "They're always doing that, the nazis" If SFTH can make nazis gay af, they truly can do anything

Why does Ram-Sam look so offended on behalf of the French after Luke's "It's in my nature" line lmaoo

"Where did you get my dildo!?" Amazing line from Luke, but really what was that thing??

And ofc Xavier dies as he lived.. Shirtless. Sexy evil bastard-

A-WLW-Reads Reviews Masterlist

I’ve had this blog for over a year now and I feel like a lot of great books get lost in the shuffle so I’m going to be continuously updating this list, arranged by genre, of books I’ve reviewed or recommended (and personally have read)!

Contemporary (Middle Grade)

Drum Roll, Please by Lisa Jenn Bigelow

P.S. I Miss You by Jen Petro-Roy

Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake

Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee

Contemporary (Young Adult)

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

The House You Pass on the Way by Jacqueline Woodson

Dating Sarah Cooper by Siera Maley

Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard

A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend by Emily Horner

Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown

Run by Kody Keplinger

Empress of the World by Sara Ryan

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour

Tessa Masterson Will Go to Prom by Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin

Far From Xanadu by Julie Anne Peters

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth

Not Otherwise Specified by Hannah Moskowitz

Good Moon Rising by Nancy Garden

Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden

The Year They Burned the Books by Nancy Garden

My Best Friend, Maybe by Caela Carter

If You Could Be Mine by Sara Farizan

Dare Truth or Promise by Paula Boock

Ask the Passengers by A.S. King

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann

Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan

Ship It by Britta Lundin

37 Things I Love (In No Particular Order) by Kekla Magoon

Her Name in the Sky by Kelly Quindlen

Keeping You A Secret by Julie Anne Peters

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

What We Left Behind by Robin Talley

Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley

Kissing Kate by Lauren Myracle

Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert

The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson

Scars by Cheryl Rainfield

The Difference Between You and Me by Madeline George

Moon at Nine by Deborah Ellis

Sister Mischief by Laura Goode

Final Draft by Riley Redgate

Being Emily by Rachel Gold

Kaleidoscope Song by Fox Benwell

The Summer of Jordi Perez (And the Best Burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding

You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour and David Levithan

Contemporary

Landing by Emma Donoghue

Truth Weekend by Erin Jones

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult

I Can’t Think Straight by Shamim Sarif

Last Words from Montmartre by Qui Miaojin

Edge of Glory by Rachel Spangler

Disobedience by Naomi Adlerman

Waiting in the Wings by Melissa Brayden

My Education by Susan Choi

Gut Symmetries by Jeanette Winterson

The Paths of Marriage by Mala Kumar

Thaw by Elyse Springer

Challah and Callaloo by La Toya Hankins

Out on Good Behavior by Dahlia Adler

Double Exposure by Chelsea M. Cameron

Roller Girl by Vanessa North

Lost and Found by Carolyn Parkhurst

Treasure by Rebekah Weatherspoon

Far From Home by Lorelie Brown

The Others by Seba Al-Herz

A Map of Home by Randa Jarrar

In the Silence by Jaimie Leigh McGovern

Bright Lines by Tanwi Nandini Islam

Marriage of a Thousand Lies by SJ Sindu

Rat Bohemia by Sarah Schulman

Tailor-Made by Yolanda Wallace

Fantasy

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova (YA)

Ash by Malinda Lo (YA)

Robins in the Night by Dajo Jago

Love in the Time of Global Warming and The Island of Excess Love by Francesca Lia Block (YA)

About A Girl by Sarah McCarry (YA)

Huntress by Malinda Lo (YA)

Libyrinth by Pearl North (YA)

The Dark Wife by Sarah Diemer

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust (YA)

Gretel: A Fairy Tale Retold by Niamh Murphy

The Shattering by Karen Healey (YA)

The Witch Sea by Sarah Diemer

The Second Mango by Shira Glassman

Of Fire and Stars and Inkmistress by Audrey Coulthurst (YA)

The Prince and Her Dreamer by Kayla Bashe

Cinnamon Blade: Knife in Shining Armor by Shira Glassman

Science Fiction

The Abyss Surrounds Us and The Edge of the Abyss by Emily Skrutskie (YA)

Dreadnought and Sovereign by April Daniels (YA)

Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis (YA)

The Long Way to A Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Finding Hekate by Kellie Doherty

Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee (YA)

Valhalla by Ari Bach

Solitaire by Kelley Eskridge

Adaptation, Inheritance, and Natural Selection by Malinda Lo (YA)

That Inevitable Victorian Thing by E.K. Johnston (YA)

Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi

Warrior Woman by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Necrotech by K.C. Alexander

Ammonite by Nicola Griffith

Sappho’s Bar and Grill by Bonnie J. Morris

Historical

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson

Wildthorn by Jane Eagland (YA)

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flag

Honey Girl by Lisa Freeman

Frog Music by Emma Donoghue

The Necessary Hunger by Nina Revoyr (YA)

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Coffee Will Make You Black by April Sinclair

Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown

The Ada Decades by Paula Martinac

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley (YA)

The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters

Affinity by Sarah Waters

The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith

The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall

Odd Girl Out by Ann Bannon

Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta

Another Life Altogether by Elaine Beale (YA)

Hood by Emma Donoghue

The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery

Loving Her by Ann Allen Shockley

Hild by Nicola Griffith

Bittersweet by Nevada Barr

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Orlando by Virginia Woolf

Against the Season by Jane Rule

Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Poetry

Ask Me How I Got Here by Christine Heppermann (YA)

The Monkey’s Mask by Dorothy Porter

The Black Unicorn: Poems by Audre Lorde

Coal by Audre Lorde

The Cold and the Rust: Poems by Emily Van Kley

If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho by Sappho trans. Anne Carson

Living as a Lesbian: Poetry by Cheryl Clarke

Not Vanishing by Chrystos

Rock | Salt | Stone by Rosamond S. King

Mystery/Thriller

Jam Jars by Yonnette Anderson

Finder of Lost Objects by Susie Hara

A Line in the Dark by Malinda Lo (YA)

Far From You by Tess Sharpe (YA)

Echo After Echo by Amy Rose Capetta (YA)

Steampunk

Heart of Brass by Morven Moeller

Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear (YA)

Everfair by Nisi Shawl

The Dark Victorian: Risen, The Dark Victorian: Bones and Ice Demon by Elizabeth Watasin

Memoir

Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde

Saving Alex: When I Was Fifteen I Told My Mormon Parents I Was Gay and That’s When My Nightmare Began by Alex Cooper

The Other Side of Paradise by Staceyann Chin

How Poetry Saved My Life: A Hustler’s Memoir by Amber Dawn

Two or Three Things I Know for Sure by Dorothy Allison

Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson

Dirty River: A Queer Femme of Color Dreaming Her Way Home by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

Eating Fire: My Life as a Lesbian Avenger by Kelly Cogswell

(See also Spinning, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness, and Snapshots of a Girl under Graphic Novels)

Horror/Paranormal

Bleeding Earth by Kaitlin Ward (YA)

As I Descended by Robin Talley (YA)

Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace (YA)

Mad House: Vengeful Vampires by Bria Lin

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland (YA)

The Red Tree by Caitlín R. Kiernan

Hocus Pocus & The All-New Sequel by A.W. Jantha (YA)

The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez

Nonfiction

Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in the Twentieth-Century by Lillian Faderman

To Believe in Women: What Lesbians Have Done for America - A History by Lillian Faderman

Victory: The Triumphant Gay Revolution by Linda Hirshman

Sappho Was A Right-On Woman: A Liberated View of Lesbianism by Sidney Abbott and Barbara Love

Gay L.A.: A History of Sexual Outlaws, Power Politics, and Lipstick Lesbians by Lillian Faderman and Stuart Timmons

Tell: Love, Defiance, and the Military Trial at the Tipping Point for Gay Rights by Major Margaret Witt with Tim Connor

Sapphistries: A Global History of Love Between Women by Leila J. Rupp

Anthology/Short Stories

Queer Africa: New and Collected Fiction edited by Karen Martin and Makhosazana Xaba

Compreñeras: Latina Lesbians: An Anthology edited by Juanita Ramos

Speaking for Ourselves: Short Stories by Jewish Lesbians edited by Irene Zahava

Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins by Emma Donoghue

All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens edited by Saundra Mitchell (YA)

Bareed Mista3jil edited by Meem

Tangled Sheets: Stories & Poems of Lesbian Lust edited by Rosamund Elwin and Karen X. Tulchinsky

The Penguin Book of Lesbian Short Stories edited by Margaret Reynolds

A Safe Girl to Love by Casey Plett

The Vintage Book of International Lesbian Fiction edited by Naomi Holoch and Joan Nestle

Dispatches from Lesbian America edited by Xequina Maria Berber, Giovanna Capone, and Cheela Romain Smith

Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence edited by Rosemary Curb and Nancy Manahan

The Lesbian Path edited by Margaret Cruikshank

Am I Blue?: Coming Out from the Silence edited by Marion Dane Bauer (YA)

The Dirt Chronicles by Kristyn Dunnion

Mentsh: On Being Jewish and Queer edited by Angela Brown

Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women and Witchcraft edited by Jessica Spotswood and Tess Sharpe

Graphic Novel/Comic

Skim by Mariko Tamaki

Bingo Love by Tee Franklin

Spinning by Tillie Walden

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

Motor Crush Vol. 1 and Motor Crush Vol. 2 by Brenden Fletcher

Moonstruck, Vol. 1: Magic to Brew by Grace Ellis (MG)

My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Nagata Kabi

Snapshots of a Girl by Beldan Sezen

Love Is Love: A Comic Book Anthology to Benefit the Survivors of the Orlando Pulse Shooting

Bombshells by Marguerite Bennett

Heavy Vinyl by Carly Usdin