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returning-spring · 1 year

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8 shows to get to know me

thanks @impending-doom-lol for tagging me!

does your mind ever boggle at the sheer amount of tv shows you watch? I had to sift through so many memories to come up with this list. anyway tagging whoever might want to play! @weaverhawk @blackwatervial @asterdust @saturnskyline @kerasines

1) KinnPorsche

My current obsession. Of course it has to go on here. I was in such a writing slump last summer: I had a million wips, but I’d stopped working on any of them for a few months (to be fair, that was partly because they got derailed by my newfound obsession with horror audio dramas, which I mention later in this post). Then I watched KPTS, and I’ve been writing consistently since then because the story and characters are so to my taste that it’s hard to believe any work of tv media could be so perfect for me. And I’ve made some great friends in this fandom; there are so many cool and funny people here. The memes are fantastic

2) Black Sails

There are other queer shows on this list, but this really is so important to me for its political and revolutionary themes, the variety of queer and polyamorous relationships and characters, and my childhood love of pirate stories. I don’t really know how to describe this show, but it moved me so much. I collected all four seasons in dvd this year because I want to keep it forever, and also because I don’t trust entertainment companies in 2023 to preserve shows online. Anyway Anne Bonny character of all time (there are so many characters of all time in this show)

3) Killjoys

I LOVE SCIFI, and if you love themes about revolution and fighting against oppressive regimes, this show is good for that. This show also gave me my favourite amoral lesbians ship in Delle Seyah and Aneela. It gave me queer models of family, including multiple characters parenting a child and forming a found family. Actually, found family is a big theme in general with Dutch and Johnny, whose relationship is really central to the show. Also this show is just genuinely fucking funny, it turns into a straight up comedy after season 1 when they found the tone they wanted to go with for the show

4) The Magnus Archives

Hey it’s the show that kicked off my horror obsession in 2022! I’d always enjoyed horror, but it’d been a casual thing prior to that. Maybe it’s the fact that the medium was still somewhat new to me, and I fell in love with it (I’d listened to a couple audio dramas before, but the habit hadn’t stuck; I mostly listened to nonfiction podcasts). Maybe it’s the fact that the show was queer, and I was very new to queer horror - specifically, horror that was queer on purpose, and explicitly so - not just subtext. The fic in this fandom is so fucking good, I had a blast last summer

5) SHL

This gets a shoutout for kicking off possibly the longest fandom brainrot I’ve ever had (we’ll see if KPTS will surpass it). It’s the fandom I’ve written the most for: I really can’t explain the hold it had on me in 2021. I’ve never felt so inspired to write. It also got me into participating in fandom projects, and I helped create two zines for the fandom

Also this is the show that got me really into genderbends and mommy kink lmao, enough to even write it

6) Luther

We’re reaching far into the formative shows of Scoop’s youth here. Luther and Alice are the blueprint of fucked up people in love/obsession with each other for me. You can draw a clear line from my love for Luther/Alice to Delle Seyah/Aneela to Wenzhou to VegasPete (and many, many other ships)

7) Story of Yanxi Palace

I love palace dramas so much. I watched this in 2020, and it was a delight. Wei Yingluo is in my top fictional characters ever: she’s clever, cunning, funny, and so vulnerable even though she doesn’t always let herself feel it. Also I wanted her to fuck all the women on that show, my god they had so much chemistry. The show is long, but really worth it

8) Schitt's Creek

This is the show I rewatch random episodes of when I don’t know what to watch, or when I need a laugh, when I need to watch something funny and sweet. The family relationships and friendships are really fantastic. Moira Rose is mother

#tag game

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whitetrashjj · 3 years

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crying my eyes out at your MLA format essays cuz not every queer storyline in media has to be rooted in angst of coming out. i get some of the points you’re trying to make. i also don’t think the show is queerbaiting but jjpope had just as much “evidence” as jiara had. like please explain why jj was so keen on kiara liking john b just cuz she kissed him on the cheek and then went and kissed pope’s cheek?…. like in jj’s mind a cheek kiss means liking someone and he did that to pope. also there ARE shots of jj’s lingering gaze towards pope lets us not lie here lmao. i get that you’re sick of people calling u homophobic i dont think u are for not shipping jjpope i also dont think the show is queerbaiting at all but you go on about “storytelling povs” and “lack of critical thinking” when YOUR critical thinking is literally biased as hell 😭 u can ship jiara all u want but jj and kiara, ESPECIALLY KIARA, are both very much queer coded and if u gonna say they’re not bc of some cheesy sTorYtELLiNg bullshit that u probably learned from a youtube video then you’re just biased to your ship.

You know why I have to write those 'essays'? Cause I get asks like this that brush over a bunch of different topics and I want to make sure I not only address every part of it but also make sure I'm making my pov very clear so I don't have people misinterpreting what I say - even though they still do - or accuse me about random bitching without and reasons or justification. Anyway get ready to do some crying cause you are getting another essay.

I know not every queer storyline has to be rooted in the angst of coming out. I wish there were more that weren't. It's the reason I loved booksmart so much. It's one of the reasons I love Dare Me, because that show had sapphic leads and while their relationship was at the core of the show. It wasn't the fact that they were queer that was focused on. Oh god I could rant about Dare Me forever.

Now my point with JJ and Pope is that we don't get the impression that the boys are currently out as queer. JJ from the start was set up as a bit of a womaniser, a bit girl mad - it would have been very easy to make that gender neutral if he was bi, as I headcanon. With Pope it's the same, I personally view him as gay, but if he was bi/pan it would have been easy to show him like that as we see him attempting to flirt on two occasions. Now this isn't to say that in future seasons they can switch it up as if it was always canon, like they did with Clarke in the 100. My point however, isn't to say that JJ and Pope releasing their sexualities and feelings has to be filled with angst, the example I gave can very easily be played a bit cutely - even if they do address the internalised homophobia that I'm just sure would effect a character like JJ - but just that based on my experiences as a queer person and what I know to be experiences of others that it would realistically play out differently to how it would with a m/f couple. Even then when to comes to friends to lovers in general the removal of physical intimacy when that tension starts to build out of awkwardness is common, it doesn’t play out the same way that ships like JB and Sarah do in which they increase in physical intimacy.

I didn't bring jiara into this. I didn't go out comparing jjpope and their interactions to jiara, I was simply speaking to how jjpope's relationship was portrayed. In terms of 'evidence' I am more than aware the jiara wasn't written to be a developing romance, anything there was created by what the fans saw and choices made by the editors. But it is also a canon fact that at the very least JJ is attracted to Kie, that all the pogues 'kinda have a thing for her' and that he has 'tried' something with her. Even if the intention of those things wasn't to build to a relationship - they did happen and that's not up for interpretation. I'm not gonna bring up the 'did you tell JJ?' thing cause it still confuses the hell out of me.

The thing with the cheek kisses is that it's not the action in itself that made it a romantic thing. A handshake can build romantic tension when framed that way but that doesn't make every hand shake in that piece of media suddenly romantic, make sense? If you compare the two scenes we have the build up of Kie walking up to John B, a close up of a lingering cheek kiss, the pull back with lingering looks and then the reactions of others who have observed it and picked up on something. It frames it as a significant moment with slow beats. That's how you build romantic tension. With the JJPope one it just flows past it, JJ pulls back from the hug, a quick peck on the check and a 'love you too man' with a smirk and pat on the check. We don't even have a second of Pope's reaction to it. Do you see what I mean?

You can love that moment as a shipper. I mean it's a great moment that really highlights their dynamic. To you it's a dynamic that you see and think oh this would play out so well romanticly, it's a dynamic I see and think oh I love their friendship. Each of those are valid reactions. But it isn't a moment that has been intentionally framed to build romantic tension and suggest a budding relationship.

Darl, I swear to god if I was coming to you with my shipping bias' this would be a very different conversation. I know I will always have them and I will lean into them when I'm on vc with shes, theys and gays and we are getting lost in headcanons but I do my best take a step back when I talk about these things here because I've been in fandoms when you have two extremes and no one relents and it's awful, I don't want to create that space. And once again, I did not bring jiara into this. My original post was not a comparison to jiara.

I am very curious about your perspective on queer coding here. Because yes, JJ has chaotic bi energy and I will die on this hill. But I do not see how he has been queer coded. Other than people seeing a man being physically affectionate with another men and insist that can't be platonic. As with Kie I can see it more, not for a second do I believe that what went on with Kie and Sarah was straight. And I desperately want to see Maddie play Kie as pan to rep her own very underrepresented sexuality! And in terms of how she's written, stuff like being an astrology bitch and environmentalist scream queer to us, I do think it is important to note that the writers of the show being who they are would necessarily have the same impression of what a queer womans traits would be. In regards to that scene in ep 1 where they have the hot touron girl and then JJ, JB and Kie all perking up and doing the nod thing? I don't think anyone has a straight explanation for that.

The 'sTorYtELLiNg bullshit that u probably learned from a youtube video' comment made me laugh cause it reminds me of this guy I had a fight with on the weekend over Remus and Sirius being queer and he decided to undermine my argument by saying 'just because you read it on reddit doesn't make it true' which... yike. Any way, maybe you do but I don't have the tolerance to sit down and watch a youtube video on someone analysing a show. All my interpretations come from years of writing actual essays analysing elements and themes in media. As well as having a keen interest in direction and editing, so I pay a lot of attention to those things and you start to notice patterns. In terms of credentials I don't have any but I do think these 'essays' do an alright job of me not only explaining my interpretation but why. Because I'm not someone to just say things and expect that to just be accepted or think that is makes it true.

#obx #outer banks #JJ and pope #jiara #JJ maybank #kiara carrera #pope heyward #lara answers

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theblurrxdface · 4 years

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A long rambly personal post about gender:

I was looking through old albums of family photos on my mum's FB from long before I was on social media and came across one of the many pictures of me, pre puberty, looking like a young boy even though I'm afab and still live as a woman, and one of my mum's friends had commented on this post from 11 years ago saying that 'it seemed that I prefer boy things'. And my mum's response was "C would much rather be a boy!" She knew.

It's brought back so many memories of the years I spent at that age, before I had any degree of self consciousness about looking different to the other girls, trying everything in my power with the resources a child under 10 has to look like a boy. And my parents, mainly my mum, telling me that people would know from my beautiful face that I was a girl (they mostly didn't) or getting frustrated with me for crying in changing rooms when she tried to buy me dresses or saying I could have a short haircut but not allowing the hairdresser to use the clippers on it to make it overly short (scissors only).

And slowly after years of that denial at home plus years of growing my hair out and trying to wear the right thing at school and just act like the other girls so that my social life would be bearable, I stopped thinking about being a boy every day. I was too focused on being a proper girl even though I felt like I was from another planet.

It wasn't until I was about 13 or 14 I really discovered the LGBT community and immediately realised that I fit in there, I've never been too clear on my labels and I certainly don't use the same ones now as an adult, but I'm comfortable just calling myself queer. Back then though I discovered what it was to be nonbinary and it resonated a lot but I didn't have a friend group or community around me where living as a nonbinary person and using non binary pronouns was an option, so again I let it go and went back to trying to be a proper girl. This time I decided that being a girl didn't need to mean gender roles, I cut my hair how I like it again and slowly became very alternative and androgenous looking.

And for the most part I've been happy with that right up until now in adulthood, in the last year or so I've even tried a couple of more 'feminine' items of clothing because I don't feel like clothing is gendered anymore or a big deal, I just feel like I'm wearing what I like the look of.

The last year or so has been a year where transphobia seems to have been particularly rampant and loud, that may just be because I've picked up on more of it. It seems I can't go a day without hearing about something terrible, seeing a verbal attack, or being letdown by the words of someone who I thought was better than that. And I find myself asking why I care so so much? Of course I care about people's suffering that I'm not a part of, I care about many issues and causes that don't really affect me. But something about this feels like it is affecting me on a personal level. And I had to keep reminding myself that it's not. While a little voice chimes in with 'what if it is though?' And then I tell myself that I'm not trans, that these thoughts are random, impulsive, and to be ignored, being trans is not a phase or a trendy choice and the fact that it's been on my mind for a little while doesn't make me actually trans.

Until I'm reminded that 11 years ago I wanted nothing more than to be a boy and my parents knew. That it's been on my mind for more than a while, that even though I don't know what I am anymore, I do know that I'm not a girl.

C, they/he/she

#personal #long post #gender #gender disphoria #genderfluid #genderqueer #queer #nonbinary #enby #trans #transphobia tw #transgender #lgbt #discussion and advice welcomed #but not from transmeds sorry i disagree with your views #me

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akwasiphaseless · 3 years

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Sex is Sex

I have had terrible relationship experiences such that having a partner of my own never amused me anylonger. I enjoyed meeting random but very attractive dudes for some good sex.

I really like to go straight to the point but let me bore you with the detail.

My Ex and I used to talk infact Andrew was kind to me. We only fell apart because he was convinced that being queer was not his thing anymore, but you and I know how these statements end.

We hadn't talked in a while, I barely paid attention to him even on social media, I saw him post one fine dude with all the looks and finesse that attracts me. I gathered courage and asked for his number, my ex gave it to me gracefully and as an icing to my yet to be baked cake he added his Instagram username. I immediately without hesitation checked him up on IG and followed him I liked a couple of his fancy queer suggestive pictures and entered his inbox.

We didn't have a very clear or concise conversation. It was just some Hi and some snuggles at each other. We had some fun chat on WhatsApp from time to time but most of the time I didn't even have anything to discuss.

We had been in touch for months and we never met neither of us invited each other on a date. But you know things happen and Accra is really a small place for queer people.

Samuel, a colleague at work was celebrating his 32nd Birthday, Samuel is way older than me but I was his boss, but I drew alot of inspiration and charisma from him. At work you could describe him as my Chief Whip.

I couldn't say no to him when he invited me for the birthday party. I arrived there early because I didn't want to go home before attending the party, as the venue for the party was five minutes away from work.

I didn't spend two minutes at the party and I noticed Fred my social media friend who was a crush, I have had a lot of fantasies about him though.

He didn't recognize me so I introduced myself, my colleague apparently had an interest as I also did, and I am not one who backed out easily. I decided to use my charm and let him get by.

We continued with our conversation and decided to DJ for the event. So two of us were alone behind the music player. We had exciting conversation, played with each other very fondly, the most favorite part is we played Scrabble and he lost to me. Nobody tests my brain prowess and goes undevoured.

We were all tipsy after a few rounds of booze, we started kissing, I played with his dick sometime and God! Fred had it gifted down his pants.

It was quite late as I wasn't a night fisher I decided to go home, he asked me not to go yet because he wanted to pass the night at my place .

After an hour or two I ordered an Uber and in about 15 minutes we were home, immediately I closed my doors we started kissing passionately for lover of flings this was different it was as if we knew each other in a long while.

He took my clothes off while still kissing and caressing me. The romance was epic, I had not experienced anything like that. My eyes and body was shaky, my dick was so hard I thought it would break.

He sucked on my dick with his lips andooo it felt so good and it was as if I was in a trance, don't let me talk about the tongue work huh dude rimmed the hell outta me I nearly fainted. I didn't see him wear a condom but he had one on as I always want it safe, to prevent STIs which are difficult and expensive to deal with as a queer person in Ghana.

He fucked me so good I was crying, not out of pain but dude knew the perfect way to deal with my body.

We fucked each other throughout the night till the next morning. We cuddled the times in between resting and preparing to have another round of sex.

He woke up earlier than I expected booked an Uber and to my surprise he fucked me till the Uber arrived. The driver had to wait for 8 minutes for us to finish our early morning session. It was a few hours together but I felt so attached.

I had not felt like this in a long time I didn't know how to handle myself. I was expecting a call or text from him so badly I rushed to my phone any time I heard it beep. It was like a broke boy waiting for a salary alert.

There it was a call from him I picked up and here was his words I enjoyed last night but hey sex is sex.

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fandomsandfeminism · 7 years

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When Yuri!!! on Ice was first beginning, it was compared endlessly to Free! Iwatobi Swim Club, but now that both shows are completed, does that comparison hold up?

Text Transcript under the cut

Hey, so do yall remember in the build up to the Spring 2013 season when Kyoto Animation announced that THE SWIMMING ANIME was going to be a full series and the internet, particularly Tumblr, lost its collective shit? I do. I definitely do.

And I’ll be honest, I watched both seasons of Free! Iwatobi Swim Club, and I enjoyed it immensely. I’d probably enjoy the movie too if it EVER GOT A NORTH AMERICAN RELEASE. (Come on Crunchyroll, funimation. Why are yall like this?) I liked the pretty boys and the pretty animation and the fun opening and ending and holy. Shit. the fanservice.

So when, in the build up to the Fall 2016 season, Studio Mappa announced Yuri!!! On Ice, I was pretty excited. It seemed to promise a lot of the same things that Free had: Cute boy sports anime with fanservice and pretty animation. It promised to be like Free! But the Pool is Frozen, the Boys are back in town 2.0 Winter edition. Hell yeah.

Now, those qualities don’t inherently mean that I was going to love the show. Heck, 2016 Summer’s attempt with Cheer Boys was boring as hell. I don’t think anyone even watched it.

But never, really, in a thousand years, did I think that Yuri!!! On Ice was going to be BETTER than Free. But, let’s be honest. Yuri!!! on Ice is better than Free. Much, much, better than Free.

*Please note: Spoilers ahoy!*

So here is my thesis, if you will: Free! Iwatobi Swim Club and Yuri!!! On Ice, despite their obvious similarities, have 3 very distinct differences which cause Yuri!!! on Ice to be more enjoyable and satisfying for me personally: their treatment of same-sex attraction, the development and variety of their secondary characters (particularly women), and the maturity and realism of their emotional depth.

How the shows treat same-sex attraction. For this section, we need to talk about Queer Baiting. What it is, how to spot it, and why, as a queer fan, it kinda sucks.

So definition first. In general, queer baiting is a term used to describe an attempt by canon creators to woo queer fans and/or slash fans by hinting at LGBT+ characters and/or relationships but with no intention of actually making it canon. This is done either by introducing a character who is coded as queer in some meaningful way, or by hinting that two same-sex characters might be attracted to each other but never confirming these things. Worst yet, these HINTS tend to be explained away as jokes, as humor. Often, instead of getting same sex couples, the idea of same sex couples is made into a joke.

Now, the term Queer Baiting comes from a very western context. It is a concept developed in the West to talk about western media, and there is some debate about whether or not that specific term can be applicable to anime and eastern media. Especially since a lot of anime that engage in this aren’t trying to bait QUEER fans, but are specifically trying to bait straight women who like watching hot guys make out. (But then, that could be argued as being partly true in the west as well.) Regardless of whether or not the specific term Queer Baiting is the best to use here, or if we should go with Fan Baiting, or some other alternative, the underlying concept is the same: A show deliberately hints at a queer relationship and then never delivers in order to appeal to a wide variety of fans but lacks real representation.

So, does Free! Iwatobi Swim Club bait? Hell yes it does. It very intentionally seems aimed at Japanese Fujioshi, Japanese straight female fans who like slash and yaoi, and, to an extent, queer fans, who are incredibly interested or invested in seeing same-sex relationships in media. (There’s a whole conversation to be had about fujioshi culture and how it objectifies queer men, but that’s for another day.)

And let me be clear: Baiting doesn’t inherently make a show bad. If nothing else, it can lead to a very vibrant fan community. And as a queer anime fan, I fall for this shit hook line and sinker every damn time. I’m basically helpless when it comes to this stuff.

But make no mistake, baiting isn’t a good thing. It isn’t progressive writing. It isn’t diverse writing. It isn’t writing that helps positive minority representation in media. The goal of baiting it to titillate fans with emotional fan service, but not actually commit to writing lgbt+ characters.

And make no mistake, anime as a whole does not have a GREAT track record with representing lgbt+ people in positive ways. There are exceptions, naturally, but as a whole, there isn’t a lot there that is positive and well done. And if you are invested in seeing that kind of representation, constant baiting can be frustrating and disheartening.

So Free! Baits. The characters flirt and look at each other longingly and splash in the water together and take random spur of the moment vacations to Australia to meet each other’s foster families and all their emotional stakes are tied to each other and nothing. Ever. happens.

Yuri!!! on Ice though?

Yuri!!! On Ice came through for us. I think the fandom is still a little bit in shock. I’m in shock. Because like...this shit doesn’t happen. It just doesn’t happen. But here it is! It happened. They flirted. And blushed. And kissed. And rings. RINGS. YALL. ENGAGEMENT RINGS. And holy shit, the pair skate?!

We have professional figure skaters tweeting about this show and the creator talking about how Yuuri and Victor can’t live without each other for real, and how so many fans got on twitter to thank her for the kiss in episode 7 because this kind of thing just….never happens.

I...I’m sorry. It’s just so, so incredibly rare for us to get healthy positive depictions of same-sex relationships outside of the very narrow genres of Boys love (and Girls love) in anime (which can and do have their own issues). And while Yuri!!! on Ice may not always be EXPLICIT with the romantic elements of the show all the time, they are far from subtle. The repeated declarations of love, how Yuuri is skating to show his love, their love, how meeting Victor has taught him about love, how Yuuri has taught Victor about life and love, only the most hard hearted adamant could try to no-homo this pair. And since the finale strongly implied a sequel, and Kubo has said she would like to continue the story, I think it’s safe to hope for even more romantic development in the future. (Like….a wedding? Please?)

So for those of us for whom seeing depictions of same-sex relationships done well is very important, this is like, a big deal. That’s not to say that Yuri!!! on Ice has perfect same sex relationship representation and is the sole standard bearer without flaw. It certainly has pros and cons, and has it’s own place within the Japanese media landscape. But it’s certainly good, and certainly more satisfying than Free! For me as a queer fan.

But it is not all I’m going to talk about. Baiting VS canon may be the most obvious, and important, difference between these shows, it is not the only one.

2. Side characters! Are like, a thing! There are girls in this show too!

Quick! Name all the female characters you can from Free!

Who all could you think of? The teacher- Ms. Amakata, and Kou, right? Maybe you remembered that Kou has that friend, but I bet you forgot her name (It’s Chigusa). Maybe, like, the wife that Rin stayed with in Australia? Makoto’s little sister? It’s pretty scarce. 2 secondary characters, and maybe 3 tertiary ones.

And it is understandable why this is. It’s a cute boy sports anime. Any amount of time we spend giving Kou screen time is time we aren’t watching Nagisa and Rei flirt. Makoto, being total husband material, is the only one of the boys who we really see their family. Rin and Kou rarely interact. Nagisa’s family is only talked about but never seen. Haru? Was ...born from the ocean, I guess.

Amakata and Kou do have personality, and I love them. But they are only two secondary characters. Makoto’s sister only exists to characterize Makoto. You can’t describe any of her thoughts or likes or personality beyond that relationship. The wife in the couple Rin stayed with? I can’t even find her name on the internet.

Now, name all the female characters you can from Yuri!!! on Ice.

So, there’s Minako. And Mari. And Yuko. And the triplets. And Mila. And Sara. And Yuuri’s mom, Hiroko. And Yurio’s ballet teacher Lilia. All of these characters are seen multiple times, have speaking roles, and have some thought written into them beyond just what their presence tells us about the men. Yuko was the star of the ice rink when she was young. She’s a young mother who still loves skating. Minako was a dancer and owns a ballet studio, loves drinking too much and wants to meet famous skaters. The triplets are young girls who are skating otaku, are over zealous and like being on social media. We can describe nearly all of these characters in meaningful ways without even mentioning their relationships to men.

And look, It’s not a secret I’m a feminist. I like seeing well written female characters. But more than just my preference for some female characters, a lack of women can make a story feel a lot narrower, the world less fleshed out and believable. This gender disparity doesn’t break Free! By any means, and plenty of anime are incredibly girl heavy with almost no boys. We know WHY this happens too: It’s done to more aggressively market the show to an intended gender demographic. But to see a Sports anime able to include a decent number of developed female characters, I think, is a testament to the strong writing of the show and its wide appeal.

3. The emotional maturity.

The last meaningful difference between the shows is probably the most nebulous to describe. The best I can do is this: Free! Tries to capture how emotional teeangers feel about their inner conflicts in exaggerated and juvenile ways. Yuri!!! on Ice shows adults navigating their inner conflicts in more natural and healthy ways.

A lot of this can be boiled down to the character’s ages, and the assumed age of the intended audience, but I think the quality of the writing affects it too. So when the entire swim team has a melt down because they secretly suspect that Rei is cheating on them with the track team, or when Nagisa runs away from home forever because his parents want him to focus on school and not swimming, or when Rin breaks down crying all the goddamn time in season 1 because of...sexual tension with Haru? Or when Rin has to kidnap Haru for a vacation to Australia to save him from an existential crisis we all kinda...roll with it, and post gifs about all our feels, and accept it because they are TEENAGERS in ANIME so everything is really dramatic.

Now, Yuri!!! on Ice is a sports anime about ADULTS. Yuuri is 23. Victor is 27. That doesn’t mean they don’t have problems or deal with drama. But it does mean that problems are met with a sense of realism. Look, Yuuri’s dog died and he bombed his tournament and ends up crying in a bathroom stall. It’s sad, but he doesn’t try to run away and live in a tent. Macchin gets sick and might die, and Yuuri is afraid Victor leaving might make his performance suffer. But they talk about it, and Victor goes to be with his dog, and Yuuri does his best. Yuuri has anxiety that flares up, and Victor does his best to support him. When Victor is overwhelmed at Yuuri’s anxiety and messes up at being a good coach, Yuuri and him talk about it. THEY TALK. LIKE PEOPLE DO. The most emotional drama we get in the series is when Yuuri is considering retiring and cutting things off with Victor in the finale- which gets resolved by the end of that episode. But no one has to bottle up secret career ending injuries for an ENTIRE SEASON from their best-not-boyfriend because they are over dramatic high schoolers.

Ultimately this last point probably matters a lot more to me than most people. Anime as a whole is so super saturated with teenagers with hyper melodramatic emotions that having a sports show where the characters react in reasonable and healthy ways is just really nice.

So what am I saying? What’s the point? Am I saying Free! Is a bad show? No. If you like cute boys doing sports things and can stand or even enjoy the baiting, then hell yes. Watch the hell out of it. Go nuts. Draw fan art and write fic and fight about Makoto/Haru vs Rin/Haru vs Rin/Souske (RinHaru 4lyfe).

But I think it’s important that we appreciate when a show is pretty good and pretty fun like Free, and when a show goes above and beyond. When a show has real canon representation for same sex relationships, and a decent gender balance, and well conveyed emotional depth, I want us to care. I want the difference between a 7 out of ten anime and a 10/10 anime to matter. I want us to recognize when a show makes history.

So yeah. Yuri on Ice isn’t “Like Free, but the pool is frozen.” If anything, Free is “Like Yuri on Ice, but lukewarm and tepid.’

Thanks for watching this video! This channel is brand new, so any likes or comments are super appreciated. I’m really new making video essays instead of just tumblr posts, but I had a lot of fun working on this, and I hope to make more videos like it. If you enjoyed listening to a millennial feminist with a BA in English ramble about stuff I like for a while, feel free to subscribe. I will be trying to make more of these soon.

#yuri on ice #Yoi #victuuri #Free!#free iwatobi swim club #free eternal summer #Anime

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