#(vague homoerotic gesturing)

[wowowwild]

My totk polycube (more details and revisions below, i'm not remaking the picture, I already id'd it rip)

I also like the idea that Link, Zelda, Mipha, and Urbosa used to have a cube, likely of a different make-up. Big fan of cubes. Also while I don't see Zelda and Sidon being a thing, I could def see Yona and Link being a thing. What kind of thing? *shrugs and gestures vaguely*

Do we want my hcs on their relationships? I already put a read more so it's not like it's hurting anybody... Alright! You've convinced me.

Zelink: By qpr in this case specifically it's like, besties who hold hands, sleep in the same bed, go on dates (usually revolving around one of their special interests, but sometimes just a picnic or trip), and probably kiss sometimes. Hyrule is super excited about their hero and princess being in a relationship, Hyrule doesn't need to know the details. They do have separation anxiety though, especially on Link's end bc Zelda seems to disappear every time they get separated but they're all very understanding about this. Probably could have marked their line as state recognized qpr bc they probably get married for political reasons.

Sidlink: They freak it nasty style but are also big cuddlers and acts of service and quality time type of people. Muzu is the only one outside the cube to clock them for a while and he's a little mad about it, but Yona and Zelda step in to gaslight him so hard so he feels like he can't say anything.

Zelyona: a product of hanging out with sidlink (bc sidlink already knew each other) and realizing 'oh that person is super chill and very nice and also pretty??? Like really pretty??? By the goddess this can't be happening...' but in general an easy relationship, an easy love. They also probably freak it nasty style. I think they do less of the romance stuff (I hc Zelda as aromantic so...)

Sidona: Childhood friends married for political convenience but they were never against it. Like 'omg I get to marry my bestie for the good of the Domain? Pog.' Another easy relationship but whereas I think zelyona would fall, sidona just kind of naturally slipped into love and was content with that.

Yoink (ik that's not their name but I like it): They both just want their partners to be happy and bond well over that. I think they do casual affection in a platonic way but are not against threesomes or foursomes. I guess I could have put them as qpr bbs.

Sidon&Zelda (idk if they even have a name, pls lmk): They are the most platonic out of the group and it takes them a little longer to get comfortable with each other (not that they were UNcomfortable, just that they didn't know each other as well and mostly they were making time for each other to hang out with their partners so they didn't see each other as much until they started going on group dates). Sidon gives Zelda access to historical records and texts and Zelda teaches Sidon about technology that Purah makes. They enjoy making fun of Link together, and on occasion Yona, but let's be honest, Link is nearly feral so there's a lot more to make fun of.

Politics:

Sidon and Yona have to go to all of the political stuff together they way link and zelda do but it's really funny when both pairs are at the same political thing and every other political figure is like side eyeing their group trying to figure out if cheating is happening or what bc why is Sir Link in Prince Sidon's lap and why is Queen Zelda slow dancing with Lady Yona but the four of them just gaslight everyone. The people who know them know, but anyone who's not close just has to sit there guessing. It's kind of an open secret in their circles, and wouldn't be a problem in general if it weren't for the fact that one of them is a king and another a queen so neither of them or their official partners can technically be consorts of each other or in general really.

Sidon can still talk to Link the way he always has bc he's always been a little homoerotic about it (and they literally put up a statue of Link riding Sidon in town square so I think maybe Zora are just LIKE THAT TM) so they all just mimic how he speaks and blame it on the Zora-Hylian cultural exchange. Pretty much everyone in the Rito village knows, though. Tulin might have let it slip, but they super don't care so it's not a problem.

I may eventually write pieces of this idk.

#ace's post #totk #tloz #lady yona #zelda #link #sidon #sidlink #zelink #sidona #zelyona #<- the only shipname i could find for them #sidzelinkona #<- idk if there is a more used poly name for them but that's what i found for the four of them and it took me way too long to find that

[cognitosclowns]

ALRIGHT I know part 2 just released, but any theories for part 3?

OHOHO HELL YEAH >:) these may be a bit sporadic and out of order, a catastrophic amount of sillies, perhaps some hooliganism, etc, etc, y'all know the drill by now <3

[IJ part 2 spoilers, ofc]

Same cold open as always (in front of the whitehouse, etc) except this time its RON >:)

he MENTIONED being a huge conspiracy nut in college - considering he's most likely gonna remember elements of Reagan's script, I 100% believe he's gonna slip back into that.

WE GET A GIGI BACKSTORY EPISODE!!! Otherwise I will just start biting people

ok this is just a plea to the IJ writers BUT STILL

JUST,,, PLEASE </3 I want Gigi lore. Her character is delightful, and there's so much potential for interesting backstory. They've set up all these little threads [her working her whole life to get where she is but still being unsatisfied, 'I could get used to being unremarkable', feeling ignored] now I just want them to elaborate on them.

I might be biased bc I love Gigi to death but COME ON, IT FEELS LIKE SHE'S GETTING SHELVED SO MUCH!! I'm so glad she got to do more this season, esp w/ Reagan, but I'm yearning for lore

tldr. Give me a Gigi episode or give me death.

Air Bud (AB) and Alpha-Beta (AB). Can you see where I'm going with this can you see the wires crossing

I'm sorry but I need the silly robot man to get jealous of the team paying more attention to Air Bud than him.

I can picture it so vividly like a vision from an angry god just

'Of course we're a team! we've even got loveable non-human sidekick who grew beyond his original purpose, gained human traits, and became all the better for it!'

-haha, well, I wouldn't exactly describe myself as a side-'

'Air Bud :D'

'I beg your fucking pardon, Mister Hand?'

in short I need smb to offhandedly refer to Air Bud as AB, and watch this man have a cyberstroke from pure jealousy.

speaking of my favorite man,

ALRIGHT,,,, I DO KINDA REALLY WANT TAMIKO DATE 2.0,,,,,,,

I don't really ship them but the potential here is too powerful. I need to experience more of Whatever The Fuck Happens To AB's Mind When He Sees A MILF

Tell me it wouldn't be delightful to see this clown try and ask Tamiko on a proper date. Tell me that wouldn't be magical to witness. It'll be an absolute car crash and I pray the writers give it to us.

also because if (lets be honest, when) he gets rejected, his dramatic, self-pitying crywank moment is going to be. so good. Teenager sulking in their bedroom watching rom-coms and crying about how 'that was just like me and Tamiko 🥺🥺🥺' levels of pathetic. I know it in my heart of hearts. I physically can't wait.

I think overall I just want this man in situations. bad situations. bad not good situations where he will act both bad and not good <3

THE ROBES,,, UH,,,, HRM,,

*GESTURES VAGUELY* THERE'S SO MANY OPTIONS IDK YET GIVE ME A FEW MONTHS TO STRATEGIZE

They could be anything from aliens, to time travelers, to 4th dimensional beings, robots, clones, ghosts, Just Some Guys (tm), to all of the above in some hodgepodge fruitcake situation.

I will however say that,, at least half of what the Robes told Reagan was probably bullshit. The stuff about all catastrophes having meaning? Not buying it, there's smth up here.

[ALSO,, I'm 90% sure that season 2/part 3 is gonna be the start to an actual Longterm Overarching Plot, which the Robes will no doubt be involved in. Please Please Please, this show is already delightful, and a broader plot would just. *italian hand kiss*]

MISC SHIT, MOSTLY JUST HOPES AND DREAMS:

JRand prison moments. homoerotic prison escape. two bisexual men pressed into a dirt tunnel, who knows what might occur in the heat of passion etc, etc

GLENN CHARACTER ARC!!! We're getting little hints at it,,,, he's tried shrooms,, he's growing closer to the team,,, the bisexual arc is right around the corner for this man I can FEEL IT.

I think we might see Atlantis? We've been getting more stuff about them, and since we've covered pretty much all other Already Mentioned Funky Locations, I think that's gonna be the Big Travel Episode next season!!

BEACH EPISODE!! PLEASE GOD!!! Either combined w/ the above, or separate

[Also, shamefully, I'll admit,,,, I kinda want a musical episode. I have no excuse I just think it'd be so delightful. Please Once-More-With-Feeling, Guy-Who-Didnt-Like-Musicals these bitches Shion, I know you have the power.]

A deep-dive into Andre's psyche. SO many things have been brought up, and I hope they really go in on them. He's coping in 1000 different ways and I don't think a single one of them is good for him.

HM. okie this is getting rambly - I'll probably add more within the next few months as these episodes congeal in my brain, but for now, tysm for the ask!!!

#inside job #inside job spoilers #theories #cyberstroke. thats what I do when your mom- *gets shot*

[gotinterest]

EDITED 11/27/2023 TO ACCOUNT FOR MORE WATCHED SEASONS AND FURTHER INSIGHTS FROM REWATCHING. Current list of Kamen Rider Seasons I've either completed or mostly completed in order of how homoerotic I think they are:

Ryuki- It pains me to put Ryuki up this high because of this but two characters have honest to god real canonical evil gay sex in the Rider Time special and that's about as homoerotic as you can get despite how homophobic the scene feels (Tezuka deserved better). But even excluding the gay sex, Ryuki is still pretty homoerotic. Kitaoka and Goro's relationship reads extremely gay to the point where listing specific examples would feel like understating things when you could really just vaguely gesture to literally every interaction they have in the whole show. Tezuka is also lightly gay coded in his backstory. Ren can have a little yaoi break as a treat. Asakura is there (that's homoerotic enough).

OOO- Homoerotic to the point of being a couple sentences away from being canon. Both Ankh/Eiji and Date/Gotou are pretty homoerotic. The actors have really good chemistry with each other and made Some Decisions. There is a moment where Eiji is asked to think about his desire and it hard cuts to a shot of Ankh. Ankh and Eiji have a combined form that is literally rainbow themed in the movie.

Kuuga- Kuuga has gotten bumped up from my last ranking because I read the anniversary novel written from the perspective of Ichijo (by the lead writer of the show) which pretty much solidified my view that Ichijo was intentionally gay coded. They literally have another character bring up that he has gay rumors IN UNIVERSE and he spends the entire novel pining after Godai. This is on top of the homoeroticism in the series itself, such as sleeping on Godai's shoulder, cradling Godai in his arms, all the girlfriend comments, his unwavering loyalty to Godai, etc, etc.

Blade- Blade's reputation for homoeroticism is well earned. However, this is a show where the homoeroticism sneaks up on you. It's not terribly gay until it very much is (which happens well into the show). By the end of the show, Kenzaki and Hajime come across as star-crossed lovers. Their actors seem to agree with that assessment and commissioned couples rings themed around the two characters. Subsequent released story (such as the audio drama and the Zi-O special) further support a gay reading of their relationship.

Faiz/Build-On Build's end, Banjou is literally subjected to explicit homophobia like a couple episodes after a scene where they have a gag of Banjou wondering if Sento is asking him out. The tag line for the show is "A Heated Drama Between Men" which is uhhh. Banjou and Sento also get a gay little combined form. On Faiz's end, the homoeroticism feels very tied into the themes of societal exclusion and social isolation. Kiba and Takumi are "different" and they can sense that within each other, growing closer as they continue to remain closed off from one another about what is truly "different" about the two of them. Kiba indicates to Mari that he is in love with someone, but it is ambiguous as to who he is talking about. Their relationship with each other is continuously criticized by Kusaka in a tone and using language that calls to mind homophobic bigotry. Furthermore, for the ladies, there are moments of homoeroticism between Mari and Yuka where the two girls connect and you can briefly see a better version of the show where their relationship is focused on more instead of the love quadrangle bullshit that Inoue put in there. All this being said, there is no happy ending for homosexuality in this show and watching it will give you an everlasting grudge against Inoue.

Kabuto- Kabuto's homoeroticism is a bit more understated, but it does have just enough in there. Kagami and Tendou have a few moments together and then there is whatever the fuck is going on between those two hopper losers. I am docking Kabuto a few points because Daisuke is there and he is so heterosexual in the worst way possible that it cancels out some of the homoeroticism.

Agito- Haven't finished this one so my ranking may change. Not very homoerotic but there are certainly some moments in there. I wonder if the writers realized that part of the appeal of Ichijou from Kuuga was his homoerotic devotion to Godai, and decided to gradually make Hikawa more homoerotically devoted to Agito as the show progressed.

W- Double is not very homoerotic. If you see someone praising its homoeroticism chances are they are shipping a grown man with a literal 16 yr old. We do not interact with these people. There is some homoeroticism earlier on in the show between Shoutaro and Kirihiko but that's a relatively small part of the show. The focus is more on family bonds and brotherhood as part of its exploration into the theme of familial abuse (and escaping from familial abuse).

Den-O (THE SHOW)- I haven't finished Den-O so I haven't watched any of the movies besides the OOO crossover. So I am not taking Teddy and Kotaro into consideration here. You'd think that a show with this many male characters trapped on a train together would be more homoerotic, but it really isn't. You get more of a family vibe between these characters. Fortunately, Den-O does not need homoeroticism because Momotaros is there.

#kamen rider

[khalixvitae]

gagshaga it makes one think of the regular NRC student stumbling upon rook and vil's usually lovey dovey bs-- which really isn't a surprise, given the whole school's known how close they were since the first year. kisses dangerously skirting around the lips of the other, constant company, deeply homoerotic statements... nobody bats an eye to it all. they'd be more surprised if they weren't dating. which is why they're surprised when they see the ramshackle prefect receiving a kiss from the vil schoenheit on the cheek, and very proudly preening at the trophy-like lipstick mark he leaves behind. vil schoenheit doesn't usually give people kisses, does he? like, the prim and proper housewarden? who's only ever been caught kissing rook when they were second years? who'd rather be caught dead than-- okay, okay... maybe they're wrong. maybe he does like pampering his friends through means such as this! the prefect does help vil out on multiple endeavors, perhaps vil is just thanking their effort. but vil irritatedly wipes the lipstick mark off, muttering something about having 'missed', and a 'what would... think?', before he dives back in for a kiss right on the lips.

...

now they're really not sure what to think.

is this how... vil occupies himself when rook isn't 'round?

oh, but a few weeks later and word arises that the prefect has also been seen alone with rook, furiously making out behind a tree in the school's courtyard. the student who happened to spot them also heard rook whisper something about keeping their voice down, 'wouldn't want... to hear us...'

great. now what's all this?

are vil and rook cheating on each other with the same person? does the other not know? does the prefect know the former two are in a relationship?!

upon being asked if they're a 'home wrecker', prefect only makes vague hand gestures.

"im not a home wrecker. like, i am a part of the home. im in the home. i am the home? im also wrecking the home but not in that way so--"

I am munching on drywall anon yes exactly you get it especially Vil redoing the lipstick mark AGGHHHHH shakes you !!!

Also vague hand gestures is such a funny and accurate mental image lasksjdj “I’m in the home? I am the home? Something like that, you get the idea” and it’s like NO prefect nobody gets the idea, that’s why the entire campus has been whispering conspiratorially because who in their right mind wants to tell the Pomefiore wardens that their S/O truly is THEIR s/o??? The prefect just shrugging as if this isn’t the most insane social scandal amongst the student body is so perfectly fitting 😭

[songship]

Xenoblade 3 rambling under the cut (spoilers for all of the base game, I guess)

Xenoblade 3's biggest flaw, I think, is that it's paced really weird in terms of story, gameplay, and the relationship to one another. This is the most glaring post-chapter 4 and onward. The earliest example of this is when you get access to the Cadensia region. This is the part of the game where the majority of side content (in the form of Hero Quests; if I'm not mistaken you also unlock the party side stories at this time as well) opens up to you, but it opens up at a really odd time where you're only a couple hops away from a story segment that you'll be locked into progressing for an extensive amount of time until after the next chapter. The game does warn you of this point of no return, but it's nevertheless positioned at an odd time.

Timing aside though, the fact is that the majority of the game's side content is back loaded, which can make it a slog to clear (you are incentivized to do these to unlock classes due to the level capping system). There's not any real reason to do this; the majority of these could very easily be moved to a different location or have their level lowered such that they're not gated effectively until you're around that level (a side tangent: it's both absurdly easy to over level & heavily disadvantageous to do so because of the way the SP system scales inversely to levelling. In my playthrough I either missed that tool tip or it's not information that was given at all; I'm not sure which. If you're coming like me from a baseline of other games in the series where it's fairly common to overlevel slightly to moderately, it's going to negatively impact your gameplay experience to be suddenly punished for playing Xenoblade how you've always played Xenoblade.)

In terms of story, the couple latter chapters definitely feel rushed, in contrast to the glut of side content you'll be trying to complete at that time. While I really love some plot beats & moments (the whole chapter 5 to 6 sequence, Shania's whole deal, meeting Nia, the ending cutscene) I really think it suffers from both a lack of detail and a lack of allowing plot beats to sit longer; in short, things needed more time to be more fleshed out instead of conveying themes and plot beats through sort of gesturing at them and hoping the audience will fill in the blanks and imagine a more fleshed out story/character arcs (in particular, Lanz and Sena's character arcs really really suffer from this, Sena especially. She isn't even really the central character of her own side story!! This is particularly noticeable in contrast to the love and detail Eunie, Taion, Noah, and Mio's stories get both in the main plot and in their side stories. Speaking of Mio's side story, I do find it really cheap with regards to Miyabi's resurrection (Ethel and Cammuravi are not great too but there's definitely potential there, it just suffers from the same "gesturing at idea of a story beat rather than playing it out" problem most of the latter third of Xenoblade does) as I feel like it does undercut/do somewhat of a disservice to Mio's character arc?)

To wit, I propose my "ideal" director's cut version of Xenoblade 3 would be split into disc 1 and disc 2, being split at chapter 4. The side content would be redistributed such that it's more or less equal between them instead of being so backloaded like before. This would also include lengthening the latter part of the story, allowing for generally more elaboration on thematic elements & conclusions, plot beats, etc. with room to maybe even squeeze in some new ones.

This is all in service of, instead of what we got (just vaguely kinda gesturing at it for two (2) scenes) allowing Sena and Shania to have the toxic codependent homoerotic relationship they deserve

#jasper.txt #xenoblade 3 #dgmw i really do like Xenoblade 3 #i just wish it was better #its very funny to me that xenoblade 3s biggest problem imo is being a 100 hour jrpg that really needs to be a 200 hour jrpg #anyways yeah what xenoblade 3 needs is more fucked up yuri #whatevers going on with eunie and ashera is great but we need more

[three-bunnies-in-a-trenchcoat]

I don't think that the vaguely homoerotic gesture of "tilting someone's face with the tip of your sword" is necessary here but I'm going to keep it

#what if i was magically transported to your ship 🥺 but you thought i was a stowaway 🥺 #and then you found out i was a past hero 🥺 and hated me 🥺 and called me pretty boy 🥺 👉👈 #mb's writing

[sylvanas-girlkisser]

@drowmonk replied to your post “Hnnnngggghhhh I'm haunted by ideas for a Tomb...”:

*Palpatine voice* Do it!

@xhopsalong replied to your post “Hnnnngggghhhh I'm haunted by ideas for a Tomb...”:

if you wanted to be stopped you've come to the wrong place bc you had me at 'Sam'. tomb raider 2013 was everything okay

hnnngghhh maybe, here's my idea so far.

Basically I'm really taken with the concept of "dark mirror" characters, and I feel like both Amanda and the Lara clone kinda fall short at this. At the same time, I do also miss pre-2013 thrillseeker Lara, but that sort of personality just doesn't mix with modern ideals around archaelogy.

The modern trilogy has tried to make Lara come off as a good archaeologist; someone who respects the sovereignty of indigenous cultures, and takes only pictures and what is given to her.

Combined with how bookish new Lara is, I think there could be a very interesting dynamic by putting her up against someone who is just in it for the hell of it. A bored heiress looking for kicks and a few conversation starters for her 17 multimillion bachelorette crash pads.

And like, yeah the story itself is kinda given, Lara and her rival (for now i'm going with Alina) are both after the same "treasure", Lara for its archaeological significance, Alina cause it would look good 169 inch gold plated apple tv. It's all the little things that are missing, to get us to the catfights, the sweaty makeout session, the brawls that ends with one of them left bleeding on a cave floor. How does Sam fit into all of this?

I think one thing that would probably turn away a lot of readers (and yeah you shouldn't write to get readers but i digress) is the fact that the story in my head contains some amount of dubcon. Lara and "Alina" would to me represent two different but equally unhealthy ways of responding to trauma.

Lara like we see in the games, responds to the events of Yamatai, and the media shitstorm that followed it by try to enforce normality in her life - trying to stiff upper lip her way through gestures vaguely, while insisting that she is NOT CRAZY. One of the ways I've always imagined that manifesting is through aggressive denial of her own queerness (as well as any kinks she might have). She's a good christian girl, she's gonna find a brown eyed brown haired mr. right and have 2.3 children and that's that on that.

Alina meanwhile probably went through something similar to Yamatai, but went to the exact opposite extreme. She has stared death in the face and come back laughing, the world is fucked and the best you can hope is leave a pretty crater when you crash and burn. That same attitude is reflected in her queerness, sure being gay is illegal in Russia, but if you have money, everything is legal; and if people try to blackmail you, then you know those old Moscow houses, very weak windows, people fall out of them all the time.

And Alina can of course read Lara like an open book, she sees the way she looks at Sam, and the way she pauses to look at Alina lips while they're beating the shit out of each other. She knows, and because this would all be told from Lara's PoV so does the reader, that Lara's refusal to admit their mutual attraction is a product of internalized homophobia mixing with her steelheaded focus on proving that her and Alina are nothing alike.

At first Alina will try to "provoke" the dyke out of Lara, getting closer than they need to, inviting her on a barcrawl, hooking up with Sam and "accidentally" sending Lara their sex tape. You know, usual homoerotic rival stuff.

But Alina is not used to not getting the things she want, and especially after a very drunk Lara admits that she's actually super subby (justice for sub!Lara), she starts getting real forceful until Lara eventually reveals that yes she absolutely does want Alina to do all sorts of nasty things to her.

What I'm getting at, is that Alina is to some extent meant to be a, for lack of a better word, fetishization of the predatory lesbian trope - and I feel like lady Dimitrescu has proven that we as a society are ready for that, but also I would probably publish the fic under a pseudonym to limit the chance of tiktokkers sending me letterbombs.

#valk replies #cw: dubcon

[maranello]

.

#extremely mixed feelings abt pierre and charles getting so much attention after baku #on one hand I love their friendship dearly #on the other hand this is one case where I really draw the line at shipping #like not that I don’t understand the impulse bc f1 is v homoerotic half the time #but also... #idk #one of those things when rpf becomes uncomfortabke for me? #like yeah are you best friends if you’re not slightly homoerotic #but it’s another thing when people actually ship it #no thoughts just thinking #like I am v affectionate with my childhood best friend too #and would marry her without an ounce of romantic intention #but it’d 100% be taken the wrong way here snsndnd #*gestures vaguely* #maranello.txt #just thinking it’s also hard to blacklist ship tags just bc sometimes it’s just an interaction between them #but not everyone tags rpf for ts ig?

[theslowesthnery]

anyway you guys wanna see more of the completely necessarily horny theseus and minotaur sculpture by canova? because it’s my favourite thing and i legit want to know if canova intentionally made it as homoerotic as he possibly could because

well

imagine doing this *gestures vaguely* accidentally

#also canova was 25 when he created this so i'm just gonna go jump off a roof now #see ya later #please note the minotaur's cute little tail in the third photo

[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

“They were expecting to find Miguel Diaz. What they weren’t expecting to find was love.”

Imagining of Season 5 in which Demetri and Eli go on a totally straight and totally heterosexual Dudebro road trip to Mexico to find their best friend. Unfortunately, when you’re trapped in a car with someone for hours on end, you might have to start confronting some feelings you wish weren’t there.

Well, everyone, I caved. I fucking caved. I said so many times that I wasn’t going to write CK fanfiction because GODDAMN if I don’t have too many WIPs in other fandoms, but like. The desire to write a homoerotic road trip fic was just too damn much.

I’ve never tried formally writing these two before, so I have no idea if it’s any good, but GOD did I try lol. Not much plot here, mostly just Vibes, gay tension, and missing and worrying about Best Boy Miguel!!! Also written partly out of spite because I’m just constantly seeing Miguel/Demetri friendship erasure in the fandom and it’s gotten me HEATED, so now I’m writing about Demetri going off to find Miguel in Mexico and internally monologuing about how worried he is and y’all just gonna have to deal with it. Fun fact: Miguel and Demetri love each other, and I will not hear otherwise under any circumstances :D

Also I can’t believe I’ve been in this fandom over a year and it took fucking writing this fic to realize Demetri has an extremely bad case of generalized anxiety disorder D: Like he worries about every all the time and honestly? Same

Uhhhhh CW for mentions of human trafficking, even if it’s done in jest (they’re teenage boys after all, this is the kinda thing teenage boys joke about lol) and some zesty...physical references, but the sauciest thing they do is make out because I’m asexual and do not wish to write smut XD

Fic is under the cut!!! Be warned, it is a 4k word longboi!!!

EDIT: There is now a sequel here as well!!!

***

“I cannot even begin to tell you how unsafe this is.”

“Uh huh. Go on.”

“I’m serious, Eli! We’re parked out in the middle of nowhere in a desert that never ends and the only signs of civilization are those cars going by on the highway at like 90 miles an hour. This is how people get kidnapped. And used for…I don’t know, human trafficking or something.”

Eli rolls over from where he lies next to Demetri on the car roof, scowling at him. “You think the traffickers are going to want you?”

Demetri scoffs, offended at the implication. “I’ll have you know I am a catch! The hottest girl in school thought so for a while.”

Eli breaks into a smirk. “Didn’t Yasmine like…use you as a beard, dude?”

“That’s not—she’s not—she didn’t—look, it doesn’t count if she didn’t know she was lesbian until after we got together!” Demetri splutters, gesturing vaguely as he attempts to arrive at a point.

“Wouldn’t that make it even worse?”

“Still speaks volumes to my suave disposition that she had no issue appearing to be dating me.”

“I’ll never understand it.” Eli turns away, gaze flicking back up to the stars.

“As I was saying.” Demetri stubbornly goes on. Someone has to knock some sense into Eli Moskowitz—access that logical coding brain he knows is in there somewhere. “Just because we’re a little ways off the main road doesn’t mean someone isn’t going to see us parked out in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. They could still come out here, break into the car, and do—well, whatever they want! It’s not like anyone would hear us yelling for help. We should have gotten a motel room.”

Eli snorts. “What, are we throwing hundred dollar bills around like we’re Terry Fucking Silver? It was hard enough mooching enough gas money off my mom. Besides, we know karate. If anyone comes after us, we could take them.”

Demetri rolls his eyes. “Right, my bad. I forgot I’m under the protection of the latest AVT champ.”

“Damn right.”

“I’m holding you to that, by the way. If we get kidnapped, and you can’t fend them off, I’m going to be really mad.”

“Completely understandable.”

A lull passes over the boys. For several moments, there’s no sound but desert wind, the hum of crickets and cicadas, and the sound of distant traffic. They had pulled off onto some dirt service road and driven for a while before they arrived and parked at what Eli decided was “the perfect sleeping spot.”

“I can’t believe you’re not tired,” Eli pipes up. “You’ve been driving like…all day.”

Demetri shrugs, car roof cool against his neck and shoulders. The sweltering daytime heat has long since faded from the metal.

“I don’t know. I guess I didn’t know when I’d get the chance to stargaze again. It’s kind of hard with all the light pollution. I remember we used to try on your trampoline, and whenever we’d get excited about a particularly bright one, it would turn out to be LAX’s newest outgoing flight.”

“Yeah, there’s a lot more going on out here. Might as well enjoy it.”

Demetri scans over the flickering shape of the Milky Way before stealing a glance over at Eli. He can’t help but smile.

His friend’s eyes are filled with a kind of shameless awe and wonder he hasn’t seen in years. Eli has always been drawn to the sky—day, night, or otherwise. Sometimes in elementary school, when they were all out of game ideas, they would spend recess cloud-watching. Eli would get so wrapped up in it that sometimes when the lunch bell rang, Demetri would have to poke him several times to get his attention. How appropriate that his eventual karate nickname would be bird-related.

He’s beautiful when he’s like this. And right now, it’s particularly aggravating.

Unfortunately, Demetri’s admiration has not gone unnoticed. Eli turns and gives him a disparaging look.

“Dude, why are you staring at me?”

Demetri snorts, trying to sound as scornful as possible. “I was not! Don’t flatter yourself. I just haven’t seen you this relaxed in a while.”

Eli shrugs. “I guess so. Kind of peaceful out here. Nice to get away from all the city noise. Too bad Sensei LaRusso isn’t around to make us do katas or some shit.”

Demetri snickers. “Yeah, I’d like to see him try and meditate in downtown Guadalajara. Or wherever the hell he and Sensei Lawrence are now.”

“You think they made it to Guadalajara already?” Eli whistles. “That is generous, Demetri.”

“Is it really that far?”

“A good 900 miles from here. I would know—my eyes still hurt from staring at the map app all damn day.”

Demetri considers for a moment before nodding.

“You’re right. Sensei Lawrence probably broke the GPS. Somehow.”

“Either that, or he and Sensei LaRusso spent more time arguing over what route to take than actually driving.”

The boys break out laughing, the noise of it heavy in the quiet desert night. Hours of tense driving drain out of Demetri’s body all at once, and suddenly he feels so carefree he could be 7 again.

It isn’t all that different from how they used to be. Laughing at the stupidest shit, making fun of everyone whose life was just as much a mess as theirs, being wrapped up in their own little world. All a constant that had always given Demetri some semblance of security…before junior year, anyways.

Now, he can finally have that security back. Eli isn’t going anywhere, especially not in the middle of the Sonoran desert. What would he do, tie a little bindle to a stick and run off to live in a cactus?

As the laughter dies down, Demetri turns his head back to the stars. It’s not hard to see how Eli could get entranced by them. They’re stunning—silver on black, with the white puffs and clouds of the Milky Way blotched out above distant mountains.

A blinking red light and a distant hum indicates air travelers passing through the area. Demetri chuckles, something distant resurfacing.

“Remember when we were like…9, and we came up with that big, elaborate plan about what we would do if aliens invaded?”

“Sure,” Eli says. “You wanted to fight them off with swords. I didn’t have the heart to tell you that would be stupid.”

“Ah, yes.” Demetri hums thoughtfully. “That was during my Lord of the Rings phase. In my defense, I thought it would look really cool to fence with an alien. I still maintain it would be…well, interesting.”

Eli snickers. “Dude. They’d just blast you in half with a laser gun. It wouldn’t even be a fight.”

Demetri can only scoff. “Who says they have laser guns? Maybe they’re not that technologically advanced!”

“But they can pilot spaceships multiple light years to other planets?! Bullshit. You just wanted to be Aragorn.”

“Who doesn’t want to be Aragorn?!”

“Uh, Gandalf is way cooler, man.”

Demetri snorts again. “Oh, so now we’re going to defeat extraterrestrial invaders with ancient wizardry? Which we’ll acquire where?”

“Still more likely than you learning how to wield a sword properly.”

“How dare you! I used to watch so many YouTube tutorials! Anyways, it’s ambitious to claim you’re Gandalf, Eli. I think you’re more of a Gollum, personally. You know, with the corruption arc and the conniving and scheming and all.”

“Oh, you take that back!”

Eli pounces on him, shoving him hard to the side. Demetri bursts out laughing, sides aching as he slides toward the edge of the car roof.

He starts to slip. He barely has a moment to panic before strong hands are grabbing his arm.

There’s an awkward moment as their eyes meet, Eli’s fingers still fastened around Demetri’s wrist. Demetri slowly lets out his breath, heart starting to pound.

Always best to diffuse the situation, Demetri figures.

He takes his free hand and presses the back of it against his forehead. “Oh, my hero! My brave, brave Eli ‘Hawk’ Moskowitz! You saved me!”

He expects Eli to make a snide comment, but his eyes instead flick around the way they always do when he’s nervous. When he’s caught off-guard.

“It was instinct,” he mutters. “I…should’ve let you faceplant in the dirt, actually. That would’ve been funny.”

The beginnings of a smirk returns, and the moment is lost.

“But you didn’t.” Demetri smiles shrewdly. For Eli, actions have always spoken a little louder than words.

Eli groans. “I’m going to shove you off for real if you don’t wipe that shit-eating look off your face, man.”

“Doubt it.”

Demetri rolls his eyes, but he’s laughing as Eli pulls him the rest of the way up. When they lay down on the roof again, they’re a little closer than before.

“You know…” Demetri chuckles softly. “I’m actually kind of glad Sensei Lawrence and Mr. L didn’t let us tag along.”

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?” Eli turns to face him, smirk widening. “You think they would’ve taken a wrong turn and gotten us all lost in Chihuahua?”

Demetri shrugs. “I wouldn’t put it past them. Even Sam couldn’t save them from their own ineptitude.”

“Still can’t believe she persuaded them to let her come,” Eli mumbles.

“Samantha LaRusso is a firecracker. Also probably one of the most stubborn people I know. You’re very lucky I persuaded her to take you off her shitlist.”

“You did?” Eli sounds surprised. “How did that go?”

He shrugs. “Well, she nearly punched me a couple times. But I guess when both your boyfriend and your best dojo buddy vouch for a guy, it helps soften the grudge a bit.”

“I was surprised she went after him, to be honest. I guess I was wrong about her. She’s more loyal than I thought.”

Demetri rolls his eyes. Like Eli has any room to make judgments about romantic loyalty, considering Miguel told Demetri that Eli planned on having “an entire rotation of girls” after he broke up with Moon.

“Well, anyways,” Demetri says. “Not that I’d want to get mixed up in our Senseis’ complete lack of competence, but I mostly just like having you all to myself.”

He reaches out and pokes Eli in the chest, earning a glare.

“That so?” Eli’s glower fades, his tone teasing. “So what are you gonna do when we find El Serpiente and you have to share me again?”

Demetri gasps in mock horror. “Excuse me, bold of you to assume I’m not the one graciously lending out my best friend Miguel Diaz to you. If it weren’t for my impeccable sense of humor, he never would have even sat at our table.”

Eli chuckles. “I remember you looked so frantic when you waved him over. Like ‘oh god, when will anyone else ever want to be our friend?’ If only you knew it would be the greatest mistake of your life.”

Demetri snorts. “Hardly. I’d been waiting for ages to see Kyler get his ass handed to him. Besides, finding another person who actually gives a crap about you after, like, 10 years of most everyone hating you is well worth a karate war or two. Even, yes, if it means I don’t get Eli Moskowitz all to myself on occasion. Honestly…” He laughs, feeling suddenly hollow. “Neither of us deserve that kid.”

“Yeah.”

Eli’s smile begins to slip. Demetri knows the feeling.

It’s the same feeling he got when he went to Miyagi-Do practice and saw Amanda LaRusso hugging a sobbing Carmen Diaz. It’s the same feeling he got when he ran up to Miguel after watching him win the All-Valley, only to be almost immediately brushed aside.

The fear of losing Eli had always been loud and vicious and ruthless. It tore at him in the night and left his body trembling until morning. It sent him running to the bathroom, dry-heaving until his stomach ached. It sunk its claws into him and rooted them there. Punched them down harder when he saw Eli in the hallways with rage and hatred and cruelty in his eyes. It was a constant agony that followed him wherever he went

The fear of losing Miguel was different. Quieter. Like a parasite slowly eating its way through his insides, a small but ever-present ache in his gut. The tiny but profoundly persistent feeling that something was very, very wrong. Brief trembles and a few quick breaths and momentary bouts of nausea that seemed to be the opening act for something much worse. His mind dancing through a thousand “what ifs” and eventually drifting to the worst ones, whirring louder than an overheated laptop as it churned out hypothetical disaster after hypothetical disaster. An eternal gnawing, chipping away at him like he was a gemstone being cut for a ring. It was the storm on the horizon—thunder that made him uneasy, but didn’t scare him. Not yet.

If the fear of losing Eli had been a jump scare, or the gory, lethal slice of a killer’s axe, then the fear of losing Miguel was the slow buildup to a horrifying reveal, accompanied by a disquieting soundtrack. The constant anxiety that every corner had a monster behind it.

And right now, it’s carving a tunnel through him that’s only getting wider and wider. Demetri wonders how long it will be before he’s completely emptied out.

“I don’t think I deserve either of you,” Eli says. “Miguel always tried to be there for me. You never gave up on me. And I just…” He trails off.

Demetri snorts. “Well, only one of us was able to stomach having their back repeatedly stabbed with needles for 10+ hours. Or had the absolute balls of steel to dye their hair bright purple.”

Eli chuckles. “That’s true.”

The pit in Demetri’s stomach doesn’t take long to return.

“I’m worried about him,” he admits. “From what I picked up from Mr. L, his dad’s not a good guy. I can’t stop thinking about something happening to him out there. And especially after…”

Demetri trails off.

He knows Eli knows what he means. The fall that shattered Miguel’s back shattered both of their lives, too.

The shorter boy frowns. “Do you think he’s going to be okay?”

Demetri forces a smile, trying to contain the unease leaking through his veins again. “Come on, Eli. If anyone can handle himself out there, it’s Miguel.”

“Are we going to find him?”

Demetri senses him slipping back into the old Eli, timid and soft-spoken and waiting on his loud-mouthed other half to call the shots. It’s a tell-tale sign, he’s learned over the past few months, that his friend is stressed. Or scared.

Often both.

Demetri reaches out, giving Eli’s shoulder a squeeze. “Yes. I promise.”

Demetri Alexopoulos is not usually one to reassure. He’s always turned his nose up at idealism, dismissing anything that could turn out to be false hope. It’s hardly worth indulging in when there’s a high probability you’ll be let down.

But now…

For both his and Eli’s sakes, he needs Miguel to be all right. He needs Miguel to be safe.

Fucking hell, he needs it so badly it hurts.

He isn’t sure if it will ever be quite as bad as worrying about Eli in Cobra Kai, and whatever fucked up training and battle-conditioning and mind-twisting they did to people in there. Still, worrying about Miguel is the kind of soft torment that could kill Demetri slowly if he let it.

“I miss him,” Eli says.

“Me, too.”

“I’m scared for him, Demetri. I’m scared for him and it’s eating me up.”

Eli’s voice shakes as he says it. His eyes are slowly growing wide with terror, tears brimming in the corners.

It reminds Demetri of the olden days, for better or for worse. When he had to be the strong one. And seeing the past cycle back around unexpectedly shakes him to his core.

For all his complaints about ‘Hawk,’ the persona had given Eli a brazen, fearless streak that filled him with the fire to charge into battle. Protect his friends, crush his enemies. Now, it seemed he’d lost hold of the belief he could do either.

“Eli.” Demetri lets his voice soften as he gives his friend’s shoulder another squeeze. “You won the fucking All-Valley Karate Tournament. I made it to the semi-finals. If we find out anyone’s been messing with Miguel, we can—and will—destroy them. No mercy.”

Eli smiles weakly. It’s small, but it’s something. “Never knew you had such a Cobra side to you.”

“Well, don’t get too excited. It only comes out on special occasions.”

Eli sighs, popping his jaw a little. “It would be easier if we knew what we were up against. Like is this guy a drug lord? Some kind of mafia boss? Does he have like…a Mexican karate gang?”

Demetri chuckles. “I know,” he huffs. “Doesn’t help that I’m pretty sure Mr. El Serpiente has not answered a single text since leaving LA. The least he could do is send a courtesy ‘I’m still alive’ text.”

“Probably worried you’ll track his phone.”

“I mean yes. I would. It’s just practical. But that’s beside the point.”

Eli laughs briefly before his face slips back into a frown. He lets out a small sigh.

“It’s just a lot,” Eli says. “To deal with. Um…emotionally, I guess. That might be weird to say. But I had to tell someone.”

“Perfectly understandable. If it helps at all, this whole thing’s been hard on me, too. I’m honestly surprised I’m holding it together as much as I am.”

Demetri realizes his hand has never left Eli’s shoulder. Almost automatically, he squeezes it again.

Eli needs it tonight.

“I’m going to give Miguel the biggest lecture of his life when we find him,” Demetri mumbles. “Who does he think he is, continuously scaring the living crap out of us like this?!”

Eli gives him a courtesy chuckle, but his smile quickly fades again. A sort of heavy melancholy settles over them, like El Segundo fog under cloudy skies.

“Do you think we’d feel better if we kissed?”

Eli speaks, and the fog abruptly clears to make way for a lightning bolt of pure confusion. Demetri blinks several times, stunned into uncharacteristic silence.

“Wh—Eli, what—uh…”

He’s stuttering, completely lost for halfway articulate words. Eli lets out a frustrated sigh, like he’s explaining some complicated math concept to him for the 15th time.

“I’m just saying. You’re sad about Miguel. I’m sad about Miguel. Maybe if we got each other a little hot and bothered, we could take our minds off it.”

“You…want us to kiss?” Demetri has to actively hold back the enormous grin threatening to explode through his cheeks. “As a distraction?”

“Yeah, y’know.” He can tell Eli is trying to sound nonchalant, but his eyes are glancing anywhere but Demetri’s. “Just forget about our friend for a few minutes and indulge in some primal urges and shit. Get off for a bit. At least something can make us feel good.”

“And you’re confident enough that we’ll both be into it to the point it’ll significantly lift our spirits?”

Demetri feels panic begin to crawl through him. Panic, because he suddenly has to act nonchalant. Relaxed. Like this isn’t everything he’s ever wanted.

He’s had hope a few times, over the years. The sensitive streak. The colored hair. The over-the-top theatrics. The girl Eli was most drawn to turning out not to be straight herself.

But Eli pined over Moon and talked about picking up chicks and loved a good brawl and could yell louder than anyone and got manly tattoos of birds of prey and omens of death. None of these things seemed anything but heterosexual.

Demetri always tried to push it down. The sadness, the longing, the desperation to know what the other boy’s lean form felt like cradled in his. These past few months, Demetri had been so relieved to have Eli’s friendship back that he’d forgotten to yearn for more. He thought maybe the feelings would finally die—he could take a step back and appreciate his relationship with his best friend for what it was.

No such luck.

“Hey, I mean.” Eli scoots closer, and Demetri’s trembling so badly that he wonders if he’s going to fall off the car again. “If it helps at all, you can pretend I’m Yas.”

Demetri makes a face, whatever spell Eli was sending his way abruptly broken. “Eli, ew! What kind of pervert do you think I am that my fantasies involve kissing women who aren’t even attracted to men?”

“A pretty standard pervert, actually.” Eli smirks, and Demetri can only shake his head.

He takes a breath, hoping it doesn’t bleed through how anxious he is.

“So, uh…getting off with another guy is sufficiently badass enough for you?”

Demetri has to make sure this isn’t a joke. That Eli isn’t fucking with him. He doesn’t think he could handle it if he was.

Eli’s smirk only widens. “Is it really gay if we’re out in the middle nowhere, and no one ever sees?”

Demetri shrugs. “Yeah, all right. I’m surprised you’re down for it is all.”

“A man’s got needs. And your mouth works just as well as a chick’s. Now should I start or do you—”

Eli doesn’t finish. Demetri clutches his other shoulder and pulls him forward, slotting their lips together.

Demetri is not at all prepared for how hungry Eli is. He feels a sturdy hand work its way into his hair, yanking him closer. Eli’s other arm wraps around his waist, holding him in place more stubbornly than a roller coaster safety bar.

He slides his arms around Eli’s neck, and the other boy uses it as an excuse to push them together even further. It’s as though if he’s not touching every inch of Demetri’s body, he’ll dissolve away.

Demetri doesn’t mind. He just hopes Eli doesn’t feel his heart hammering against his ribcage. That would be embarrassing.

Demetri remembers Moon telling him about her guilt after kissing Eli at the tournament. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, an impulse driven by sudden pity and jumping on whatever she believed would help him feel better. It did its job well enough. Like a video game power-up, it gave Eli the extra boost he needed to smash his way to a victory. Maybe if pretty girls wanted to kiss him in front of an audience, Eli was still the shit.

Moon told Demetri later that she never felt hollower. It was all for show—a simple gesture done out of love for a friend, but nothing with any real feeling or desire behind it.

This didn’t feel like a pity kiss. This didn’t feel like a “just trying to make each other feel good so we get the extra serotonin” kiss. There’s no one to show off to, no tournament they need to hype each other up to win. And Eli is clutching him too tightly and pressing against him too fiercely for this to be about nothing more than momentary pleasures.

Eli is almost kissing him like he’s been desperately longing for this, too. Almost.

Then again, Demetri knows better than to cling to false hope.

At some point they roll over, Demetri sprawled over the top of Eli like the world’s boniest blanket. They keep going, and Demetri is relatively sure he’s ascended into paradise. The dopamine soaring through him is better than the rush he gets winning a karate match. Or beating a particularly hard level of Crucible Control. Or staying up all night bingeing a new season of Doctor Who.

Sad that this is going to be the peak of his life, though. Only 17 years old, and he’s already had what is undoubtedly the best experience he ever will. It’s all downhill from here.

Demetri finally pulls away, panting and gasping for breath. Eli smiles up at him, and Demetri realizes he doesn’t need the desert sun to feel like he’s melting.

It’s faint, but there’s starlight in Eli’s eyes. A tiny piece of the endless cosmos above.

Demetri wants to cry.

“You’re pretty good.”

Eli’s smile widens as he says it—a beautiful, genuine smile, nothing like the smirks and the leers that he used to wear so well.

“So are you.” Demetri laughs softly. “I’ll give it to you, Eli. This was a good idea.”

“Yeah, obviously. Like I didn’t catch you sneaking glances to check me out the whole car ride.”

“Like you didn’t do the same with me.”

He can’t help himself. He leans down and kisses Eli again.

Apparently, it takes quite a while to get it fully out of their systems. When they’ve finally tired themselves out, Demetri pulls back and lays his head on Eli’s chest.

He feels well-muscled arms, once thinner than twigs, wrap around his torso.

His eyes slide shut, and he focuses only on the sound of the crickets, the feel of Eli’s breaths rising and falling below him. The warmth of Eli against him. The breeze drifting across his arm. The dusty smell on the wind, drizzled with the faint aroma of prickly pear. The twittering of nightjars. Cars catapulting by on the distant Carretera Hermosillo-Nogales. The occasional soft hoot of an owl.

He’s slipping into a lull when a coyote howls eerily in the distance. He lifts his head, turning to look at Eli.

“We should probably head to bed,” he says blearily. “We have to make it all the way to Mazatlán tomorrow.”

Eli groans. “Okay, okay. Get off me.”

Demetri obliges, and Eli sits up and crawls to the edge of the car roof. He tenses his legs and leaps off, disappearing from sight and landing on the dirt with a heavy thump.

When Demetri follows, he finds Eli standing below with his arms spread wide and another shit-eating grin on his face. “I’ll catch you, babe.”

Demetri rolls his eyes more dramatically than he has all night. “Right, let me just throw myself off my princess tower.”

He hurls himself off the car roof. Eli catches him, but not well.

They both land in a shrieking mass in the dirt. Before long, they’re laughing again.

Demetri stands up, offering a hand to his friend. Eli takes it, and Demetri tugs him to his feet.

Eli doesn’t pull his hand away as Demetri leads them back to the car.

Demetri wants it to mean something, his fingers locked around Eli’s. It probably doesn’t. But maybe it does.

He’ll have to hold on to that maybe.

#binary boyfriends #hawkmeat #elimetri #aesthetic #moodboard #hawk x demetri #demetri x eli #eli x demetri #demetri x hawk #eli moskowitz #hawk #demetri alexopoulos #demetri cobra kai #miguel diaz #daniel larusso #johnny lawrence #fanfic #fanfiction #cobra kai #cobra kai season 4 #season 4 #season four #this turned into kind of a Demetri character study #and how he handles anxiety/grief/general concern etc #anyways it's my first fic of them so you're only allowed to be a little mean #also Demetri and Miguel need more friendship fics send tweet

[ryoskuna]

Okay so. Allow me to set the stage. This concept is technically a historical au and takes place with Sukuna in his original form, as in four arms 6-10 feet tall mouth on his stomach original form.

The Mc is a half-blood (father was a curse mother was a shaman, similar to choso in a way) who's been thrown out/expelled/driven out etc etc of shaman society. Basically the branded them a curse user when they weren't and Mc said bet "you want a villain? I'll give you a fucking villain" chaotic neutral, doesn't go after civilians just fucks shit up for the higher ups and shamans but despite their high placement among special grades keeps to themselves. They live in a cabin in the woods and are self sustaining. They have money stored up in case the need it and occasionally sell the things they make (flower arraignments, ceramics, calligraphy, masks) in villages on a rare occasion. They always wear a mask when they go into down or work as a curse user for a number of reasons but mostly because they hate having people see their face as the left side of their face is disfigured from their cursed blood and they have a concerning amount of scars. And I don't mean like Hollywood disfigurement I mean the skin is matted together and looks like it was burned, they have an extra eye and the skin is grossly discoloured and ashen. Their scars are all over their body and range from typical cuts and a few burns to this series of scars, several of which are on their face, that look as though something tried to burrow into their skin.

Now fun fact: cats were domesticated in Japan by the early heian era but were a luxury of the aristocracy. So the Mc meets Sukuna when he's raiding one of the higher ups estates and they're stealing that guys cat because he tried to have an execution order placed on them after they saved his ass a few weeks ago against a special grade and they're bitter.

Thus is how Sukuna and the Mc get into a homoerotic (they're gender neutral so *vague hand gestures*) fight scene and at one point the mc manages to get the upper hand, specifically shortly after he said something about being the king of curses. And they just smile and say "yeah well I'm afraid that a king isn't much to anarchist, Princess." Before grabbing their new cat sending me a salute and falling backwards off the roof of the estate in their typical dramatic fashion (they felt so cool doing it they forgot that this was Sukuna they were dealing with and that might not have been the best move)

This ensues an enemies to allies to lovers to possibly tragic romance fic between the Mc and Sukuna because they keep. Running. Into. Each. Other. And neither is strong enough or clever enough to kill the other and after some hate bonding over shamans and how they run things Sukuna comes to the horrifying realization that he's grown an emotional attachment to them.

Just fluff hurt/comfort from there, Sukuna having to address his prejudice before the Mc so much as gives him the honest time of day because he just wants them on his side and it's definitely nothing else, definitely not, and if he needs to do that to do it then fine. Both of them never really admitting their feelings because they're too prideful but at some point they cross the line between allies and lovers and it's comfortable and he's happy, he's genuinely happy.

And then it all comes crashing down when a minor argument escalates he forget's his strength at time and while waving one of his hands around to get the point across and accidentally slit their throat because he didn't realize they were that close and assuming their just being dramatic it's not until several minutes that he realized what he's done because you can't heal a corpse.

Oh yeah and all of this is set to the songs, For The Departed (shayfer James) Achilles Come Down (gang of youths) and Angel of Sweet Death and the Codeine Scene (hozier). Anyways this got really long but yeah Sukuna x Curse User!Mc tragic romance with a pride and prejudice inspired dynamic with dark academia and lowkey cottage core vibes brainrot

Wowee. Can I just say??? This was amazing. Also, the music choices are excellent — and I can just see this unfolding. Like, I can’t really add anything, because it’s perfect, also dark academia vibes with Sukuna.... it just clicks. (Also, men in peacoats just does something for me. And turtlenecks. And rings... sukuna with rings on...  nice. )

Also, there’s something I can see just in OG form Sukuna and the bonding of curse user MC, that comes after the tense fight scene, and this art of making a villain that the shaman community seems to be so good at (like I have my theories on sukuna and how he was made into a curse after death — especially if he was both human and a jujutsu sorcerer himself during that lifetime), so, you think they would have learned, but old habits die hard, right? plus, biased society never learns, and they fear what they don’t understand, and I find it fascinating in terms of the appearance — where sukuna and his two faces, and technically how half of it is turned sideways can be considered deformed to an extent, and just that these two people who would be considered monstrous in appearance would be able to get over that in an instance because they both suffer from the discrimination that comes from it.

I’m also detecting some rivals to lovers tension as well, but I can’t exactly explain it. But thank you for sharing this! I love it tbh.

#jjk spoilers #jjk manga spoilers #leia answers. #sukuna x reader #sukuna x curse user!mc #fyowyn-writes

[afieldinengland]

1973

oh my god THEE year for horror. so many good films were released in ‘73... this got long so they’re under the cut

the creeping flesh (january) — a cushing and lee film by tigon but often mistaken for a hammer, including portrayals of victorian attitudes to women, science, mental illness and evolution. surprisingly gross sfx in places and wuthering heights-esque portrayals of a man in grief and of women considered ‘wild’. tw for a scene depicting an attempted rape

theatre of blood (april) — vincent price having an absolute ball, arm-in-arm with the most vicious deaths shakespeare ever wrote. ian hendry! diana rigg! so many people are in this and it’s a very fun, gory, melodramatic film. price gets to do the famous speeches and kills them, on the backdrop of the grimmest bits of 70s london i’ve ever seen

the satanic rites of dracula (november) — rounding off hammer’s most well-known film series in the silliest way possible, this goes down in the annals of horror history for giving us office dracula. as if the concept of the prince of darkness trying to work a stapler wasn’t enough, it’s got a starsky and hutch-esque theme song, goons on motorbikes, joanna lumley, some vaguely gestured at satanism plotline that’s never really explained, and the black death. it’s fucking brilliant

the wicker man (december) — do i even need to explain why i love this movie so dearly. rich in symbolism, beautifully soundtracked, ecstatic, terrifying, thrumming with the basic rhythms of human existence, and if nothing else you get christopher lee being absolutely magnificent in tweed, a kilt, and a dress

the exorcist (december) — shocking then and still pretty shocking now, dark and sinuous and satanic with bodily fluids galore, brief homoerotic subtext, undying honesty to the text, and a miserable, christlike priest trying desperately to hold on to his god with sweaty palms

#THEE year. WHAT was in the water #thank you!! ajzjhz #answered

[sisterofiris]

So I just did a paper on Gilgamesh and Enkidu being in a relationship and I found that most papers trying to disprove it kept referring to laws and traditions in Babylonia, Assyria, and even Hittite or other later cultures. But looking at the Sumerian version there's a ton of sexual puns (like the axe) and the heterosexual parts all seem post Sumerian. What do you think of people trying to relate much later cultures to an originally Sumerian text? I think it's misleading at best.

Gilgamesh paper anon. I found this quote during my research. This is 100% verbatim: “So are there homosexuals in Mesopotamian literature? This is ultimately something that can only be decided by the community using the category of homosexuality. If love between people of the same sex, sexual coercion, random homoerotic encounters, and gender neutral sexual roles are not considered expressions of homosexuality, as I believe they are not, then the answer is inevitably “no”. “ I don’t get it.

Okay, there’s a lot to unpack here. Let’s start with a clarification: the axe pun is Akkadian, not Sumerian, and found in the Old Babylonian version of the epic (early 2nd millennium BC). This version also contains what I assume you call the “heterosexual parts”, i.e. Enkidu’s sexual encounter with Šamkat and Gilgamesh’s right to have intercourse with newly married women. As far as I can tell (though I admit I re-read the texts cursively), the Sumerian texts don’t contain anything on the sexuality front that the Old Babylonian texts don’t. It’s also worth mentioning that the Sumerian copies we have don’t actually pre-date the Old Babylonian ones, since they were written during the same time frame; the Sumerian story is undoubtedly much older, but we don’t have earlier sources for it.

So the earliest references to Gilgamesh and Enkidu possibly having a romantic and/or sexual relationship are accompanied by references to both of them having intercourse with women. However, it’s extremely important to understand that this doesn’t exclude the possibility of a same-sex relationship. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: we can’t apply modern sexual identities, nor even understandings of romance and sexuality, to ancient people. Nobody in Mesopotamia was gay - and nobody was straight, either. If Gilgamesh and Enkidu time-travelled to the modern world, maybe they might identify as bisexual, but unfortunately there’s no time travel episode in the epic, so we’re stuck with Mesopotamian categories.

This is what the quote you shared is trying to express - that there is no homosexuality in the Epic of Gilgamesh, because the concept of homosexuality did not exist at the time. Going even further, gestures and emotions we view as romantic can be viewed as strictly platonic in another culture (or even just by other people, as any ace or aro person will happily tell you); see hand-holding, for example, or giving someone flowers. So if X behaviour was not considered to reflect same-sex desire in Mesopotamia, then we can’t use X as proof that a person experienced same-sex desire.

That said, the author of your quote goes a little a lot too far, in my opinion. Ask people of different cultures whether they think kissing is romantic and you’re guaranteed to get different answers, but pretty much every single one of them will agree that, if you want to have sex with a person of the same gender, that means you are experiencing same-sex desire (whatever each culture may call it, and however they may categorise it). It’s literally the definition. So if Gilgamesh and Enkidu reference each other in sexual terms, and/or in terms considered romantic in Mesopotamia (like Gilgamesh loving Enkidu “like a wife”), which they do, then yes, they have a romantic and/or sexual relationship.

As for your main question: what do you think of people trying to relate much later cultures to an originally Sumerian text? I agree that this needs to be done with caution. A Hittite text can’t be used as proof that the Sumerians held a certain belief, unless we can prove that the text was transmitted with little to no alterations, and parallels to said belief can be made in Sumerian literature. On the other hand, I think that the reception of the Epic of Gilgamesh needs to be considered. This is a story that had an extremely long life, during which it was interpreted in many different ways, and each of them is worth taking into account - all the more since we don’t know the “original” author and their intentions.

This is also my opinion about Achilles and Patroclus’ relationship in the Iliad, by the way: who is to say what they were “originally” supposed to be to each other? The text is vague enough that multiple interpretations are possible, from close friendship to erotic desire. But we absolutely can’t ignore the Iliad’s reception in Ancient Greece, and the long tradition of Achilles and Patroclus being lovers. It bugs me a lot when people claim that Plato’s debate on who topped is proof that Homer intended them to be a sexual couple - but we also can’t say that they weren’t a sexual couple, because Plato’s debate is proof that it was understood by some as such.

Unfortunately, we don’t have similar Mesopotamian discussions about Gilgamesh and Enkidu. But I would still argue that the situation is similar: who is to say what they were “originally” intended to be? Some people/cultures probably viewed them as close friends, and some versions of the text do seem to lean in that direction, but we also can’t ignore the Old Babylonian sexual puns, or Gilgamesh’s mourning over Enkidu in the Standard Babylonian version. So to summarise:

Were Gilgamesh and Enkidu gay/homosexual? No.

Were they straight/heterosexual? Also no.

Were they understood as having a romantic and/or sexual relationship? Probably not by everyone everywhere, and that should be recognised.

Do some versions point towards them having a romantic and/or sexual relationship? Absolutely 100% yes, and that’s even more important to recognise.

#gilgamesh #mesopotamia #damn i love cuneiform #lgbt history

[communisticrevolution]

I wrote another essay about homoeroticism - this one’s on The Great Gatsby

I’m not sure if anyone cares about this because I can’t envision The Great Gatsby fandom being as desperate for such content as the Lord of the Flies one, but I hope that anyone who can be bothered to read enjoys it! Thank you for all the positive feedback, and check out The Great Gatsby if you haven’t already :))

-

Although on a purely superficial level, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a blatantly obvious examination of the American Dream, the shallowness of the upper classes, and the underlying corruption and hedonism perpetually underpinning affluent 1920s society, an alternative and previously analysed reading of the novel lies partially below the surface, yet evident enough to possess a significant critical following. This theme is, undeniably, homoeroticism, perhaps hidden and coded implicitly within the text to disguise still criminalised components, but crucially important, particularly from the perspective of understanding Nick Carraway’s narration, and the nature of his conspicuous bias towards Jay Gatsby which skews his reliability significantly when recognised by the reader. Despite his proclamation at the end of Chapter 3 stating that his ‘cardinal virtue’ is that he is ‘one of the few honest people that I have (he has) ever known,’ from the beginning of his subjective account of events, his descriptions of others suggest that his statement of being ‘inclined to reserve all judgments’ on the first page is contradicted by his profiling of others, both physically and in regards to their personalities. This is almost relentless and lacking in exclusive scrutiny, offering an insight which appears to be detached, consequently lulling the reader into believing Carraway’s points surrounding his allegedly objectively accurate retelling of the summer – however, even before this, Nick admits the one major and vital fault of his perception, which is Gatsby. Even as it becomes clear to all parties that Gatsby is, in many ways, extremely morally flawed (he is an illegal bootlegger by profession, he is obsessive and somewhat manipulative of Daisy, he facilitates and encourages her infidelity, he is fixated on materialistic wealth, and he frequently lacks consideration for others if it ensures his ability to pursue his ambitions), to Nick, he represents ‘everything for which I have (he has) unaffected scorn.’ For our narrator, this character is symbolic of hope, success, and romance, and when the inherently decaying American Dream inevitably collapses, as exhibited by Gatsby’s murder towards the end of the plot, Nick’s portrayal in hindsight is not altered by Jay’s faults, but by his positive attributes. Prior to a genuine introduction with a scene involving the two, Nick writes that ‘there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life,’ and this permeates all. Regardless of whether or not the assumption is made that Nick is describing merely Gatsby’s metaphorical and figurative role in the story, it is clear since the book commences that his perception of the titular man could, in many ways, be interpreted as one of intense passion and attraction, far beyond the platonic relationships he has with other individuals, and later extending to him conveying the physical beauty that is highly appealing to him concerning Gatsby. Even Nick’s love interest, Jordan Baker, is not exempt from his reproval, and is, in fact, articulated to be ‘dishonest,’ with negative and emotionally lacklustre depictions that prompt questions surrounding the easily debatable strength and plausibility of his romantic interest in her.

One major scene that is consistently referenced and considered to be majorly indicative of Nick’s sexual orientation occurs very early on into the novel towards the end of Chapter 2 – it is incredibly subtle and often overlooked especially by first time readers due to the cryptic nature of its language and the seemingly comparatively unimportant series of events that ensue. In fact, one could argue that there is generally very little need to include such a scene, and thus contemplate why Fitzgerald decides to do so regardless. Usually, from a literary perspective, for something to be rendered worthy of inclusion, it must serve to develop plot, characters, or a specific setting and atmosphere in adherence to overriding themes, and the focus upon Nick, still as a relatively submissive bystander who is simultaneously immersed enough to offer a narrative insight, indicates that the only feasible value available must be revolving around his character development. The plot is not advanced as the occurrences are entirely overlooked and left with no true contextual repercussions, and the setting at this point is not focal nor enhanced with adjectives and figurative language that would suggest a distinct relationship between the whole surrounding set of dates and the West and East Egg regions which become recurring areas with allocated symbolic values, and ergo this being the reason.

Here, most notably, Fitzgerald must be attempting to prove or infer something about Nick Carraway, which I believe, largely due to substantial implicit evidence within the text, to be referring primarily to one of the many factors culminating to formulate his broad unreliability; a sense of sexual ambiguity, and the blatantly apparent evasion and withholding of information, but still without avoidance of the subject in its entirety, implied by the use of ellipses to signify both time passing and suppressed detailing of the true events. In regards to homoerotic subtext, this component potentially begins with the description of Mr McKee, the character that Nick purportedly has an affair with, as ‘pale’ and ‘feminine’ upon first encounter, two adjectives directly referencing a lack of masculinity and, in turn, the stereotype of effeminate fragility typically associated with homosexual men. His involvement in the ‘’artistic game’’ has, again, subtextual connotations with homosexual and, possibly to a lesser extent, bisexual males, as the following of artistic pursuits was perceived to be more traditionally feminine, and perhaps later adhering to forms of aestheticism and the almost synonymously analogous and prominent figure of Oscar Wilde, who was and still is renowned for both aesthetic and philosophical reasons and his historical persecution for gross indecency. With this evocation of Mr McKee in mind, suggesting his lack of conformity to societal norms through sexual deviation, at around 10 o’clock, Nick wipes ‘from his cheek the spot of dried lather’ that had ‘been bothering him’ over the course of the evening, a remarkably intimate gesture, and an otherwise broadly inexplicable fixation within the context of this man’s likely homosexuality. Later, Mr McKee proceeds to leave the room, and Nick follows without hesitation, implying almost a non-verbal communication which results in the scene in the elevator, laden with highly euphemistic linguistic choices. Mr McKee uses the command ‘Come to lunch with me some day’ in a manner reminiscent of an individual asking another out in a cryptically heteronormative tone, coupled with the pair ‘groaning’ down the elevator, a verb synonymous with overtly sexual onomatopoeia. Nick agrees, saying he’ll ‘be glad to,’ perhaps an admission to both the reader and Mr McKee that the feeling implied by the latter is to some extent reciprocated, indicating that Nick himself is not heterosexual. Just before this, a ‘lever’ is incorporated which Mr McKee is shunned for allegedly touching, seemingly a clear phallic symbol due to its vague resemblance of a penis, reinforcing the layers of homoerotism and the ambiance leading up to a romantic or sexual encounter involving the two characters that have distanced themselves from the overwhelming group, potentially a metaphor for the exclusion and separation of the LGBT community necessary for protection in an intolerant outside world. This scenario, abruptly led and finished with a series of ellipses, concludes with Nick, our narrator, ‘standing beside his (Mr McKee’s) bed,’ as Mr McKee is ‘sitting up between the sheets, clad in his underwear, with a great portfolio in his hands.’ Nick ends up at a train station waiting for the ‘four o’ clock train,’ leaving what truly happened with Mr McKee largely a mystery, but the aforementioned’s nakedness and the presence of a bed, as well as the feasibly metaphorical ‘portfolio,’ all indicate that a sexual encounter took place between the two, as little other explanation is given for the passing of six hours shown to have been almost exclusively in each other’s company. As always, Nick’s bystander-esque lack of involvement even in situations centring predominantly around him leaves room for plausible deniability; maybe the scene is exclusively a reflection on Mr McKee’s sexual orientation and subsequent moral perversion, or, more significantly, Nick’s willingness to go along with anything without reaffirming his own beliefs or desires, painting him as a fully submissive and detached narrator. Regardless, this relatively brief passage is undeniably dense in highly homoerotic content, portraying Nick largely as a closeted homosexual (or simply a heterosexual man who had a short and sexually intimate relationship with someone of the same gender, but this is far more difficult to believe in the surrounding circumstances), with this conveying an image of both and unreliable narrator and one who could conceivably be infatuated with the protagonist (Gatsby).

Nick’s relationship with Gatsby is vital throughout the novel, in both plot and in how Nick chooses and is capable of narrating a story focusing mainly upon the latter – one which is, evidently, biased invariably in his favour, even amidst ethical decay and his eventual death, which appears to influence Nick far more profoundly than the others, all of whom decide to abandon Gatsby by not attending his funeral as the book comes to a close. Despite the brevity of the period in which they interact and become extremely close, Nick organises the majority of Gatsby’s funeral, as previously mentioned, is loyal to him throughout with consistently lacking personal gain, offers him advice and support, and after his death, decides to write a memoir framing him in an overwhelmingly positive and complimentary manner, one which is likely far from the reality of his existence and impact upon others. Physically, Nick is evidently immensely attracted to Gatsby; when his love interest is given an unenthusiastic paragraph with phrases including ‘I enjoyed looking at her’ and emphasis upon her more masculine features and attributes (‘small-breasted,’ and ‘like a young cadet’), Gatsby’s intrigue is delivered impactfully, with several sentences dedicated to his smile alone, which is stated to have had ‘a quality of eternal reassurance in it.’ The last interaction between Nick and Jay consists of a long and emotional confession delivered by the latter, involving the true history of his origins, a story which he escapes explicitly mentioning, denies, and formulates lies to detract from right up until the end of the text, signifying that the bond established between both men may even be greater than the romanticised superficiality of Gatsby’s infatuation and fixation with Daisy. Whether or not Gatsby ever truly loved her is easy to speculate, with the most common theory being that he was simply enamoured with an idea that he had attached to her for his own sanity and aspirations – in a more uncommon homosexual reading of Gatsby, perhaps he ascribes an idea of the American Dream, wealth, success, and integration with the ‘old-money’ elite to her as a means of distracting from his real sexual and romantic interests, although this is admittedly far from substantiated. Nick finishes the dialogue with allegedly the ‘only compliment I (he) ever gave him,’ which is stated as written: ‘’They’re a rotten crowd,’ I shouted across the lawn. ‘You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.’ Gatsby responds to this with his ‘radiant and understanding smile,’ one glimpse of a world in which Nick’s love for him may have not been so apparently unrequited, and potentially a revelation into the growing mutuality of what could have been a romance in different circumstances. Nick’s description of Gatsby and his actions is close to being perpetually complimentary, and usually resumes to this position quickly when it falters, so this reinforces his unreliability and a degree of obliviousness to his own feelings and emotions, whilst simultaneously demonstrating to the reader what is already salient at most levels of observance – that Nick views Gatsby and his worth above all others, including his friend of many years, Tom, his cousin, Daisy, and his romantic interest, Jordan. This level of attraction and love is usually reserved to forms outside of what is known to be platonic, suggesting that what Nick feels for Gatsby also transcends friendship. In Tom and Nick’s last interaction, Tom states that Gatsby ‘threw dust into your (Nick’s) eyes just like he did in Daisy’s,’ conveying that he might himself have deemed Nick and Gatsby’s relationship to be of a similar nature to Daisy and Gatsby’s. Gatsby ‘throwing dust’ into her eyes was a way of performing a romantic illusion that caused her to fall in love with him, implying that Nick also fell in love with Gatsby as he became similarly enchanted by his hope, dedication, and beauty, leading into his romanticised retelling of the man himself.

Ultimately, I personally believe that homoeroticism is definitely existing and, at times, prevalent within The Great Gatsby, and that above all, it is critical to Nick’s characterisation and generating an acceptable explanation of his behaviour and actions, as well as his identity as a character. Many of his attributes, such as his submission and tendency to behave as a bystander in his own life and social interactions, could be found as possessing origins in both a desire to fit in as a social chameleon and avoid extreme scrutiny under the masculine ideal, and also in the repressed identity exhibited by a vast number of sexual minorities in communities and historical contexts of heightened intolerance, where it would be necessary for non-heterosexual individuals to conform to norms and avoid confrontation. In Chapter 7, as Nick remembers that it is his birthday, he reflects on ‘the promise of a decade of loneliness, a thinning list of single men to know,’ a poignant evaluation to finish this essay with – adhering to his consistent writing style and internal monologue, Nick focuses on men here, not women, avoiding the topic of getting a wife and settling down into the rhythm of 1920s America, and instead accentuating his declining list of opportunities in romantic prospects, as well as concentrating on the ‘promise of loneliness’ that homosexuality undoubtedly was prior to at the very least decriminalisation. He will remain incapable of finding love and fulfilment in the sense that others can with relative ease, and he will continue to restrict his personal identity and expression for safety in the aftermath of the death of arguably his only true friend (and genuine romantic interest), with even Gatsby failing to treat him with equal respect and admiration. Some argue that the true tragedy of The Great Gatsby lies in the story of unrequited love detailed by the narrator, and I would not fully dispute this; this great American novel is, on the surface, a story surrounding the corruption of the American Dream, capitalism, disillusionment, and the ethically abhorrent upper classes, but more obscurely, it could potentially be interpreted as an enlightened representation of closeted sexual identity, genuine love (not concerning Daisy and Gatsby), and unreliability in narration.

#the great gatsby #nick carraway #jay gatsby #natsby #lgbt #gay #essay #english lit #the american dream #themes #homoeroticism #f scott fitzgerald #nick x gatsby

[lightsandlostbells]

How would you rank the trailers for the four seasons? Or maybe ranking them isn’t so interesting, but I would love to hear your thoughts on them if you haven’t already discussed them!

Thanks for asking! So I love Julie’s trailers because they’re mini movies in themselves. They represent her artistic ambition. If I had to rank them, Isak or Sana’s would be first. Noora’s would probably be last because a dog eating vomit is gross and not something I can watch endlessly, lmao. But they’re all good in terms of communicating their season’s themes in an abstract way.Eva’s trailer: It’s the only one that has voiceover! I don’t know if maybe that’s because she’s the first lead and they wanted someone’s POV to establish the series, like it’s less exciting to have only the music when you don’t know who these people are. But also interesting is that Eva is the character whose arc revolves most heavily around not having her own opinions, and technically our introduction to Eva is her giving us her thoughts. The vibe is this version of girlhood that’s so rosy and idealized, it’s almost comical. Just girls being girls, basking in the sun, sitting in trees and swings with flowers in their hair like woodland nymphs. There’s tinkly music and soft focus as Eva tells us about how important her friends are and how they trust each other. With Ingrid and Sara, Eva’s got this happy place where she’s warm and loved. But of course we know it can’t last. There’s also this like … voyeuristic quality going on, that’s daring people to watch this picture of girlhood. Eva saying the girls kiss each other at parties, and she and Sara looking into the camera - that’s about getting your attention. All of this feels like a performance, an outsider’s view of being a teenage girl, maybe what we often see in media. It’s not real girlhood, which is not all dewy and soft, and Skam is going to show you that in Eva’s season. That’s why, imo, there are parts of the trailer that break this idealized fantasy - Sara making a vulgar gesture, and then the fantasy being broken by Ingrid talking about a picture of Eva on Instagram where she’s apparently wearing something revealing. It’s more “adult” and a transition from girlhood into teenager-hood. (Also, apparently it was Magnus who posted that picture of Eva?? I don’t know if it’s supposed to be THE Magnus but it’s a cool little detail.)Noora’s trailer: The music in this trailer is used in the season itself, so Julie must have really been a fan. Again, an idealized image. Look, it’s Noora, lying in the all-white bed, the sun spilling through the windows. Don’t we all want to wake up like this in the morning? It’s like a pleasant dream. Noora looks like she’s at peace. Until she awakes to see a naked girl in bed beside her. Clearly something she did not expect. (I don’t know if it’s actually meant to be Mari or just a random girl.) So as the music swells, just at the most triumphant part, we get the full picture of the room: people half naked and passed out, a mess of cigarette butts and half-drunk glasses, blow up dolls, vibrating dildos, a dog eating someone’s puke. Decidedly not a peaceful, idealized scenario! Some shit went down last night. Noora is horrified. She checks her body until the covers, and I mean, I’m assuming she’s wondering if she’s had sex, or got up to something that she’d regret, and she must think she didn’t because she seems pretty satisfied. Until William comes in, posing like a model and looking like he’s enjoying the view. He’s probably the last person Noora wants to catch her in this compromising position.There’s obviously some direct foreshadowing to Niko’s party and Noora’s assault in the trailer, down to the music. But it’s also about Noora’s relationship with sex, and her self-image, and how Noora is this very controlled person - she doesn’t drink because of what it does to her, she won’t have sex because of how a bad experience affected her. And she’s in this rosy, safe place until she’s suddenly in this very non-Noora situation where debauchery is all around her. She doesn’t know how she got there. Then of course there’s William - Noora doesn’t really want him to see her like this, but William is going to be the one to meet her out of her comfort zone, where she’ll have to deal with these messy emotions and reconsider her careful attitude. S2 has to do with Noora dealing with a loss of control - both with her falling for William against her judgment, and with the aftermath of her blackout. (Interestingly, Noora is the only lead who doesn’t look into the camera for her trailer. She’s not daring the audience to judge her or take in her performance - Noora really doesn’t want to be seen in her situation, I think.)Isak’s trailer: I once read a really great analysis of Isak’s trailer and I don’t think I could do as much justice as that one (I can’t remember where that analysis was right now, sorry, if anyone knows feel free to leave the link) (ETA: @heihallohadet sent me the links to ravenclawisak’s fantastic trailer analysis, please read part 1 part 2), but here goes. Obviously we have boys messing around in their underwear, splashing water on each other. William gets a tease at the start since people wanted more of him and Noorhelm post-S2 and Julie likes teasing her fans. This is like the gender-flipped version of Eva’s trailer, in some ways? It’s a romanticized version of teenage boys. Well … by “romanticized” I mean “sexualized.” Like, this is a fantasy. It would not be out of place if you stuck a Sean Cody logo on the frame. We have these male characters scantily clad and wet. It takes us about half a minute to see Isak, like oh, he’s here, too. He’s not a participant, but an observer. And he seems to be torn about it. On the one hand, he’s intrigued by the view, he can’t look away. On the other, his body language is awkward and uncomfortable, like he knows he should look away. He quietly observes the strapping male bodies before looking down. Then it’s Jonas who grabs the milk - fittingly, Isak’s first crush that we know of - and throws it, and Isak doesn’t do anything as it comes his way. He doesn’t get up or dodge, he just watches the milk soar over his head and then rain down on him. He lets himself feel it on his face. And you could read into his expression several ways, but to me, he choose to let the milk hit him. Like … he seems kind of rapturous for a moment there. So he’s choosing to indulge in these forbidden feelings, because he wants them even if he can’t act on them. Then he looks into the camera straight at us. With Eva it felt like she was teasing us when she looked into the camera; this is like Isak is daring us to judge him. (I remember this from the other analysis, so I don’t want to take credit for it, but they brought up that the other boys are dousing each other with water, a clear liquid, and Isak gets hit with milk, something that leaves a stain, and it’s like the other boys can frolic around in this homoerotic scenario and not have it mean anything, because they’re straight, but with Isak, his attraction to boys is something that would mark him. Isak is othered in this trailer, by the milk and simply by sitting on the sidelines instead of messing around with the others.)What really gets me about this trailer is the song. I LOVE this choice of song. It’s Nils Bech so of course he’ll represent Isak further on the S3 soundtrack, as it turns out, but also … those lyrics. The LYRICS. There’s just so much fucking longing. Again, Isak is othered: “I am the last one” - he’s the one who can’t find love, or romance, because he can’t get it from the same place as the other boys, and it’s something he’s locked up inside. “Everyone knows how I tried” - Isak tried to do the heterosexual thing, he tried to date girls. But what he’s longing for, in his secret romantic heart, is a real connection with someone he truly likes. “What’s so strange about me”- again, feeling othered, not knowing what to do with this part of himself.  “Can’t I be loved” - evident, despite his other-ness, he wants that genuine love. Why can’t he have what the other boys have? Is there someone who will want him the way he wants? Goddamn, this song gives me stomach pangs. The loneliness, the vulnerability. It makes me so grateful for Isak’s season.Sana’s trailer: AKA the one everyone spent months waiting for. I love this one, either S3 or S4 is my favorite. Now, I will say that this trailer probably altered a lot of fandom’s expectations in a negative way - because we spent so much time waiting for the “clues” to pay off, and reading into it, that some aspects disappointed when they did or did not happen. But as a standalone, I think it’s awesome. First of all, because the music is in reverse, Julie prevented the international fans from being geoblocked, so that was cool, lol. Second, again, AMAZING choice of music. I mean frankly, a lot of people would hear this trailer and think, “OK, this is something Middle Eastern? It sounds … vaguely foreign.” But of course it’s not, it’s actually a song in English played in reverse. And not just any song, but a song where the speaker begs the listener not to misunderstand them. Where they acknowledge that they’re not perfect and that they make mistakes, but “I’m just a soul whose intentions are good.” Don’t judge them, understand them. And that’s completely Sana’s character in S4. She’s dealing with so much, people judge her, things go wrong, and that results in her making bad choices. But Sana is not a bad person. Sana is someone who wants to do good, but sometimes makes mistakes. We don’t understand the song because it’s in reverse, but play it forward and the lyrics become clear. It’s fantastic. There’s the bonus layer of the song being by Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, who converted to Islam in the ‘70s.Moving on to the visuals, of course we have Julie messing with her fans again by showing Even first, as post-S3, many fans were calling for an Even season just as fans wanted a William season post-S2. She gets in that lovely little Evak moment before moving through the girls backwards. A chain reaction that causes chaos. There were so many damn theories about this trailer. Even gets hurt by getting hit with the selfie stick - was social media going to bite him in the ass? Chris has the selfie stick; she hits Even because Eva knocks into her; Eva knocks into her because she trips on Vilde’s pearls (Eva has a beer in hand, would her drinking come into play? Would she trip and “fall” for Vilde, as the Evilde shippers hoped?); Vilde’s pearls scatter because Noora falls against her and grabs the necklace (was Noora going to fall for Vilde? Were Vilde’s pearls broken as a sign of her poor home life coming to light?); Noora falls against Vilde because Sana trips her. All those people fall down because of one deliberate decision by someone we don’t expect to cause trouble, who is known for being the rational, loyal friend. What’s more, Sana smiles about it. Why is she smiling? She wants to cause trouble? What has motivated her to do this? And it all leads to blood.So the chain reaction didn’t play out quite like we predicted, in the end: for example, it’s Isak who gets hit in the face, not Even, the “reverse” of the situation. But not gonna lie, I’m not totally clear on how the rest of this chain happened, like I know how Sana’s actions ended up affecting the other characters and causing a chain of problems like Vilde getting cyberbullied, or Isak getting blamed for the hate account.  To be fair, the trailer is not necessarily supposed to line up exactly with the events of the season - it’s just general foreshadowing about Sana making choices that affect others, and about the theme of being misunderstood. Taken on its own, I adore this trailer, I think it’s got a terrific concept, and Sana gives me chills at the end.

#heihallohadet #replies #skam