I've been thinking about the Jance photoshoot and oof do I have Thoughts but -- okay, an attempt to explain why this photoshoot really speaks to me.
I've seen a bunch of different takes float across my dash, but to me the core of this photoshoot is the portrayal of a very deep bond between two men without fully specifying what kind of bond it is. The message I get from their pictures, from Jan looking into the camera (almost?) defiantly while Nace looks serious to the two of them looking at each other and only each other, is "This is us. This is our relationship. What kind? Well, none of your business, but we're not hiding it and we won't help you put us into a definitive drawer."
Since this got long, more thoughts under the cut
And, like -- there's so many layers to this shoot? So many ways to read this as an utter fucking power move, and I'm just. Really touched.
So. Layer one is kind of what I pulled from the art earlier, saying, "you may get to see us be intimate and close, barely hidden behind a glass door (= lack of privacy), but at the end of the day, we decide how much we share. And even if you get these intimate glimpses, you do not get all of me (= him half-hidden behind his hair and/or Nace)"
So what do we glimpse? Well, that's where it gets delicious imo. Because it could be read as non-sexual and non-romantic, so just platonic. Non-sexual intimacy is still pretty rarely portrayed, especially between men, and that goes double for non-romantic intimacy. And so as someone on the aroace-spectrum, that speaks to me so so much.
it's also such a fuck you against Toxic Masculinity -- that they can be this vulnerable together, that they don't mind showing -- that they're actually showing off to -- the world that they're this vulnerable with each other. Just. Intimacy and trust and closeness; laughing together and seeing each other and presenting a united front against the world (= the viewer).
I've long-since wondered if Nace is Jan's emotional support bassist -- if they're each other's comfort people, which would track with them doing this shoot together, presenting themselves in front of the camera together. "I'm doing this, putting myself out there, because with you by my side it feels doable."
And just. The fact that it can be read as queer and they clearly don't mind is also stunning regardless of if they are actually queer and/or actually in a relationship. They know what the fandom thinks. They know what this will look like. And yet -- no "no homo", no "bradders"; just unabashed joy in each other's presence and standing together -- and it's not escaped my notice that it's Jan having Nace's back, fixing the camera with a look of, if you touch him, I'll end you.
And if it is an affirmation that they're queer/together? Then holy shit, what a power move.
Just. I think this is a piece of art that's really resonating because I can see myself in so many of these layers and that's just so powerful. Damon is a pretty good photographer, from what I've picked up, and so I think this is not an accident; I think this series of photos confirms exactly as much and as little as he wants it to. And in the gaps in between, which I understand is something art does, we have space to see ourselves and engage with the artwork in our own ways.
Because at the end of the day, as raw and as candid as these shots look, this isn't an unfiltered version of them. It is them, at least in part, but it's art. It's a performance. It's something we can construct narratives out of (which, probably surprising no one, is something I really enjoy), but we're still engaging with the performance, not the real people underneath. But it still takes guts to give yourself over to that performance, and that is what might move me the most, gorgeous and stunning pictures and all.
The fact that they stepped forward and said, "This is us. Make of it what you will."
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What is your favorite thing about the Hero's Shade? What is your least favorite thing about him? (How long we actually get to see him is not a valid answer because I also wish we got to see him more or that he appeared in pretty much every other Zelda game too.)
ooooooooohhh. oh anon i love you. saw this and started pacing around my room in excitement
I made a post about it before I think, but there's a quote that's like "in the end you become the person you needed that time when no one helped you" and that sums up my feelings well. In ocarina of time (and ESPECIALLY majora's mask), plenty of people teach you things and help you out here and there, but not in the same way the hero's shade watches you on your journey + actually teaches you to protect yourself*. There's almost a feeling of loneliness/isolation in oot and mm (<personal opinion), whereas one of the major themes of tp is that you're never alone in your fight. and what better representation of that than heroshade. turns into a kitchen appliance
He's got so many good lines too tbh. something about "go, and do not falter" makes me stick my head into a cement mixer. and we as a fandom are sleeping on the memeability of "A (blank) wields no (blank) unless the hand that holds it has (blank)"
My least favorite thing is probably how he calls Link a disgrace during their first meeting LIKE GIRLLLLLL. absolutely no reason to talk to him like that. i don't know that guy
I also think. and this is so nitpicky. the sword training music is very meh. it serves its purpose but as the track associated with him i think it leaves something to be desired. I love MajorLink and Brock Hewitt's choice to make his leitmotif the Ballad of Twilight/Courage Theme instead
*you could make an argument for Sheik or Kaepora Gaebora or even Navi here but their roles are still different i feel. and in majora's mask you very much have No One
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