#also this is JUST like. romantic parallels and subtext not text

[lilyginnyblackv2]

“Two Heterosexual Men”- Buddy Daddies - Episode 8 - SPOILERS!

Saw someone on r/anime describe Kazuki and Rei like this in the comments on a post. Like, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt that they made that comment before Episode 8 dropped. But, if they didn’t, I’m seriously just sitting her thinking how? The subtext this episode was astronomical:

First we have the parallel of Yuzuko (who is slightly older) finding Kazuki (who is slightly younger) at his lowest point and Kazuki (who is slightly older) finding Rei (who is slightly younger) at his lowest point:

Both of these meetings took place around “flowers” that have ties to romantic love. Hydrangeas mean “true geniune love” and Mistletoe (the name of Kyu’s cafe) is associated with kissing under.

Then we have the fact that Rei states he found something to protect, mirroring the man that was essentially his teacher, whose person he wanted to protect was a woman that was heavily assumed to be his wife:

Yes, of course, Miri is present there too. And Miri is a factor (she is part of his family), but the parallels being drawn here are to the significant other.

Just like how we were meant to also make a connection to Satoru losing his significant other to a hit like Kazuki did (even if Yuzuko’s death was an unintended result, it doesn’t change the fact that it happened).

That’s why we are meant to feel so scared for Kazuki, because he is being paralleled to all of these other significant others who were killed due to their connections to a hitman for a spouse/partner.

Add in Rei’s fierce desire to keep Kazuki out of his father’s and the organization’s business, along with Rei stating that Kazuki didn’t mean much to him at first, but then Kazuki basically wormed his way into Rei’s heart because of how he cared for him. And, of course, there is plenty on Kazuki’s side towards Rei too, like Episode 7 where he makes the deliberate choice to move forward with his new family and to continue to stay with not only Miri, but Rei too. Rei is just as important to him. 

Both Kazuki and Rei fear that the other has abandoned them and they don’t like it.

And, like, I’m not saying people have to view their relationship romantically, I still view it as queerplatonic and likely always will, but when people are like “They are just two HERTEROSEXUAL men” it is them trying to throw out and deny any queer reading of the relationship dynamic between Kazuki and Rei.

Even though all of the parallels and subtext (that is practically text at this point) is literally right there.

Like, the series can hardly be any clearer about this at this point.

#Buddy Daddies #BD #KazuRei #Kazuki Kurusu #Rei Suwa #BD spoilers #Buddy Daddies spoilers #gore tw #the two could make out #and there would still be people denying the narrative #being built up here though #I know #I get that #but it is still utterly baffling #image heavy post #long post #meta post #analysis #parallels

[izartn]

So, about how I see Link Click's Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi relationship:

As it stands in canon? Queerplatonic partners. And it's convenient for the plot that they're like this.

Because of Chinese censorship it can't be explicitly romantic, yes I know it. Let me tell why it's queerplatonic for me. The way these two have intertwined their lives and futures together?!

Owning a business and living together, that hint in ep2 (comparing them to the subtextually older lesbian couple who also came across as queerplatonic bc censure) where Xiaoshi wonders/fears if years down the line he and Lu Guang will separate/break up implying their partnership is for life as far as he's concerned (the parallel can be taken as a subtext romance too but follow me we're talking text), the way they were already going also on vacancies together three years prev in canon, etc...

Without entering on their complimentary powers and the way the dives need both of them if they want security in not screwing the past, and the inmense trust and vulnerability the dives themselves require?

They're not simply best friends either.

Those aren't the actions of normal, totally not queer friends. Cheng Xiaoshi checks out women on the dives, sure, (and men too when the host is feeling it which I love bc they can't address it directly bc censorship and then it comes across as Xiaoshi being super confident in his own relationship to sexuality/gender) but I don't think he would ever date bc Lu Guang is already there, filling that place in his life minus sex and romance but all that same companionship and intensity of feeling.

These two meet in what, the last year/s of High School and then proceeded to latch onto each other with a commitment reserved for romantic partners.

And I know you want to say, "it's the censorship! they'd be romantic and canon if not for the censorship!"

Are you sure? Are you sure the story would work if there were explicit romance in it? (I mean, if they could I'm pretty sure they would have nailed it anyways but allow me my a-spec delusions) Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang feel so much like an already established pair, they work like one, and Link Click is not about them coming together like many other stories. Are you sure this would work as BL?

There's a distinct difference on the way they start the show already like six years at least since they're best friends and three or two since they live together. That's not usually how it goes. I'm talking not just romances but every buddy or nakama anime/show, where the protag has to learn to work with who will be his best friend or rival. These stories usually have the same kind of plot progression as a romance which is why they work so well when you make the subtext text.

But a story where the main romance is already established and we're following a plot that has nothing to do with it? Much more rare, even stranger to find them well done although there are some very good ones and with the friendships instead of romo they're more common. For example, Soul Eater, which is all about the trials of it and how they hace to truly come to understand each other. That's Link Click a bit, but not even then.

Link Click juggling a budding romance between Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi with all the other stuff is going on?? Messier for sure. I don't know if people would have liked it as much or if the donghua would have been as well done.

As it is, Link Click has the exact level of emotional connection between our protags it needs to have incredibly high stakes emotionally and at the same time not need a detour by romantic scenes/fanservice that would derail the plot or the other charas importance. That it happens to be pretty queer anyways in a platonic way?

Nice for the aroace-spec folks watching the show xD

Btw, I'm pretty sure in season 3 we're going to get more of Lu Guang's PoV, the origins of their powers and the past between him and Xiaoshi. It'll probably dig more into the aspect of "testing their bond and coming stronger bc of it" which is were the romantic subtext usually comes through...

—unless you're very very good at writing like Arakawa in FMA, who nailed the brotherly relationship without tipping into incest subtext which I've seen more than a few writers fumble. or the latest D&D film for the platonic childrearing and partnership for a no familial example between a man and a woman also very very difficult to get right for writers dunno why—

... but until then, for now I'm incredibly satisfied by the canon.

The other read of course it that they're already a couple since well before the start of season 1, and to mentally edit what we saw in canon with that lens (it wouldn't be very difficult honestly) but reading only the text? Queerplatonic partners!

There also how Xiaoshi and Lu Guang don't have that anxiety/insecurity of their bond that makes it so easy to read the want for something, like a romance for shipping purposes. Despite the disagreements on the Dives or the trials of season 2 or Lu Guang keeping secret Cheng Xiaoshi future/past death they read very steady which is fun. I love some good established relationship, you can go to deeper places when the base is already secure and the risk is higher for the characters. Plus I love domesticity! Yes, I do my angsty/Gothic leanings notwithstanding. Don't you know you need a home for the Gothic to be effective?

#link click #meta #link click meta #lu guang #cheng xiaoshi #shiguang #my thoughts #all of this to say that I don't exactly ship them #Although I've been tagging fanart and meta with their shipname #bc I dont not ship them #honestly? #it's because despite it all I'm very much a canon girl so I can't help but see shiguang on that same romo-not romo limbo #canon present us with #loving the fics though #and Lu Guang is so tragic timetraveler for love coded is not funny #which is the reason I'm sure season 3 will give me that shift towards a more romantic lense to their relationship #also the way they made sure to sibling-fy qiao ling and cheng xiaoshi was fun XD #in conclusion: I think Link Click being a danmei wouldn't have worked #precisely bc it wasnt created as danmei the story as it is works almost perfectly #and right now Im not sure if I would want the romance at the expense of everything else the plot is doing #....qiang jin jiu did it well on the second half though #but it had the first part to go from a enemies-to-lovers and establishing the romance #I don't think I've seen a danmei start with a established romantic relationship bc the genre being a romance tells you that's #what's going to be centered #link click would had to be a just a time travel thriller with queer elements (which it is) #and I don't know #I'd love it but I bet we'll have lots of people annoyed/annoying bc they're here for the romance #Instead of taking the story for what it is #but then romance (queer romance) doesn't devalue the storytelling #ah the conflict of wanting a-spec queer stories VS censorship

[aspoonofsugar]

Chemical Weddings: White Knight

Here it comes my second short meta on RWBY's chemical weddings. It is White Knight's turn! Feel free to skip the introduction, if you have already read it in my previous post (or if you already know what a chemical wedding is)

WHAT IS A CHEMICAL WEDDING?

A chemical wedding is a motif used in alchemical stories (aka stories, with symbols related to alchemy). It is a metaphorical union between characters and it represents two opposites coming together. Think of it as a motif that comments on a relationship and describes how it changes throughout a narrative. It shows how two characters' bond develops and how they integrate qualities of each other. Even if it is called "wedding", the union doesn't necessarily have to be romantic, but often it is. Like in RWBY's case.

RWBY uses chemical weddings to develop romantic relationships. How does the series do it? This meta by @hamliet explains it perfectly:

It uses some alchemical imagery (like plates from alchemical texts as reference)

It employs elemental motifs (water, fire, air and earth), which are keys to alchemy

It integrates other symbolism, like romantic subtext or fairy tale references

Both hamliet and I have already talked about RWBY ships and chemical weddings, so this short meta is just a quick review of White Knight’s ones, with some integrations.

Here are Whiteknight's posts, that I am going to reference:

Weiss and Jaune's foiling throughout the series

White Knight and Arkos (+ Whiterose)

White Knight's scenes in volume 9

White Knight's chemical wedding 2.0 by hamliet

Now, let's dig into White Knight's two (for now) weddings.

WHITE KNIGHT'S WEDDINGS

White Knight's weddings make use of this imagery:

There is a Mercurius (entity representative of change), who unites a man and a woman through impaling one of the two.

This is what happens to Weiss and Jaune twice:

In Mistral Cinder impales Weiss and in the Ever After the Curious Cat impales Jaune. Not only that, but both Cinder and the Cat make sure Weiss and Jaune indirectly hurt each other.

Cinder takes Jaune's heroic remarks and uses them as an excuse to mortally wound Weiss:

The Cat tricks Weiss into physically hitting Jaune:

These parallelisms lead us to two considerations:

The two weddings are inversions: this isn't any news because in RWBY the second wedding is always an inversion of the first. Still, when it comes to White Knight, this inversion is particularly through and it ties with an important motif of theirs. Weiss and Jaune are strong mirrors of each other.

Cinder and the Cat (our two antagonistic Mercurius) force Jaune and Weiss into specific gender roles. Both mock Jaune (the knight) and use Weiss (the damsel). This isn't by accident and it ties with the archetype explored by White Knight, aka that of the Anima/Animus.

MIRROR MIRROR = ANIMA + ANIMUS

Weiss and Jaune's weddings mirror each other in multiple ways. Let's see how.

Weiss and Jaune's first wedding starts with Cinder impaling Weiss and leaving her to die. Jaune rushes by her side and activates his semblance to save her. The whole scene ties in their respective fairy tale symbolism. As a matter of fact Jaune performs a miracle as Jeanne. Weiss instead gets resurrected by the Prince and crowns herself Queen Snowhite through the Queen Lancer.

Weiss and Jaune's second wedding starts at the end of volume 8, when Cinder defeats them both and reiterates their trauma. She forces Jaune to kill a maiden and targets Weiss to hurt Winter. She is also the reason why Weiss and Jaune end up together in the Ever After, where their wedding reaches its climax. In this magical world, Weiss guides Jaune towards self-realization and metaphorically has him fall, so that he can integrate Alyx and resurrect. Their interaction in volume 9 references another alchemical text, knowns as the Splendor Solis. Specifically, it alludes to this plate:

This plate has:

2 miners excavating a hill (a metaphor for making the stone from the prima materia). It is important that the two characters wear respectively a golden and a silver robe, which call back to the Sun and Moon

The Sun and Moon mirroring each other. The Sun is in the sky (air) and the Moon is in the river (water). They are opposites balancing each other

Eshter's story pictured in the frame of the pedestal. Eshter is a biblical character and the second wife of King Ahasuerus, who is determined to kill the Jews. Still, Eshter (a Jews herself) steps in, touches the King's staff and convinces him to let her people live

The plate's theme is the beginning (prima materia) of a union (sun and moon) through communication (Eshter's parable).

It is referenced here:

The Genial Gems create a giant white hill, which clearly alludes to the philosopher stone. Jaune and Weiss play the Solar King and the Lunar Queen:

Jaune is linked to the sun and masculine (gold), while Weiss to the moon and feminine (silver). They grow closer thanks to empathy.

In particular, their interaction is an inversion of King Ahasuerus and Eshter's. In the biblical episode, the King wants to kill the Jews and Eshter stops him. In RWBY, Jaune doesn't want to let the Paper Pleasers ascend and Weiss tries to get through to him (together with BY):

Weiss: Then why do you care so much about this village?! Jaune: Because I can actually PROTECT these people!!

Just like Esther touches the King's staff, Weiss grabs Jaune's sword:

Eshter's gesture is a symbol of intimacy and connection. Similarly, using another person's weapon in RWBY shows closeness.

In short, both weddings are rich of symbolism, but the first focuses on the fairy tale allusion, whereas the second explores alchemical imagery. This isn't the only difference, though, as the two situations are perfect parallels/inversions of each other:

In Mistral, Cinder kills Weiss to hurt Jaune, whereas in Atlas, she forces Jaune to kill Penny. Moreover, both times she negates Weiss's agency and uses her as a pawn to hurt someone else (Jaune and Winter).

In Mistral, Jaune and Weiss go through a crisis together, but they emerge victorious. In Atlas/Ever After, Jaune and Weiss lose, but grow closer as they come to terms with this defeat.

In Mistral, Jaune hurts Weiss because of his psychological issues, but saves her physically. In the Ever After, Weiss saves Jaune psychologically, but hurts him physically. Both are responsible for the death and resurrection of the other.

In Mistral Jaune unlocks his semblance (changes spiritually), whereas in the Ever After he becomes young again (changes physically). Both in Mistral and in the Ever After Weiss ends the wedding by unlocking a new summon. She conjures the Queen Lancer in Mistral and the Nevermore in the Ever After.

In Mistral, Jaune is led by Pyrrha towards his ideal-self, whereas in the Ever After, he is led by Weiss towards his real-self. Symbolically, he goes through two stages of the anima integration. From Pyrrha/Mary (devotion and idealism) to Weiss/Sophia (understanding and reality).

In Mistral, the resurrected Weiss unlocks her Queen Lancer, which is key to fighting Hazel. In the Ever After, Jaune integrates Alyx and is reborn after a trial of fire. Once he comes back, he is key in defeating Neo and the Cat with his plan to separate them. Both do not "win" the conflict, but are instrumental to its solution (Weiss through heart and Jaune through mind).

In general, both times Jaune and Weiss make important steps to integrate their anima/animus, which their bond represents. The anima/animus is the feminine (anima) and the masculine (animus).

In Mistral:

Weiss integrates her animus and summons a Queen Lancer, an entity which is both queen (feminine) and knight (masculine)

Jaune integrates his anima (feminine) by discovering himself a healer (traditionally feminine quality)

In the Ever After:

Weiss integrates her animus by acting as Jaune's Knight. She summons her Knight while fighting side by side with him. Moreover, throughout the whole volume Weiss looks for someone who can guide her home. It turns out in the climax she herself is the guide, the knight, who leads Jaune and the others to the tree. As a matter of fact she is the one who teaches the others the theme of "acceptance".

Jaune integrates his anima by accepting he is no hero (no Knight) and by realizing Alyx is a part of himself. He faces her and integrates her spiritually (her vision in the smoke) and physically (her knife):

In volume 9, both Weiss and Jaune regress and go back to their stereotypical selves. Weiss is stuck as the damsel and Jaune rusts as the knight. However, they move on thanks to each other. They are reborn.

WHITE KNIGHT= REBIRTH

The focus of White Knight is rebirth (coagula). In Mistral they get a victory and in Atlas they get a loss. Still, both weddings climaxes in resurrections. Weiss is reborn in volume 5 and Jaune is reborn in volume 9. Not only that, but after White Knight's Ever After wedding Ruby herself is reborn:

This renewal of the self is celebrated by a full Nevermore:

This marks White Knight's second wedding as their nevermore wedding, which has them overcome grief through love.

NEVERMORE

Weiss summons her full Nevermore in the finale. This Grimm is tied to both Ruby and Jaune.

It is symbolic of Ruby's rebirth, as it is the first Grimm team RWBY killed together and Ruby landed the final blow. Weiss is able to manifest it because by the end her team is whole again and Ruby is back.

It celebrates Jaune and Weiss's wedding, as our Lunar Queen conjures it after her interaction with Jaune. Their exchange is the pivotal moment for Weiss in volume 9, as she helps herself by helping Jaune. She teaches Jaune to forgive himself and learns to forgive herself at the same time. As a result, she unlocks this summoning, which is symbolic of the self:

Its glyph is in fact a mix of all the other ones, as Weiss is a sum of all her avatars.

Jaune too makes a decisive step towards the self:

Alyx: Maybe it’s time for a change, to be the kind of man you always wanted to be.

He accepts Alyx and gets a second chance to grow up as a result:

His new self has a white streak of hair to show he has successfully integrated with Weiss (white) and has obtained wisdom.

FROM UNCONSCIOUS TO CONSCIOUS

There is one final difference between White Knight's two weddings. The first has Weiss and Jaune's metaphorical union happen unconsciously. The second instead has this process become conscious. Let's consider this:

In Mistral Jaune instinctively activates his semblance and Weiss unconsciously unlocks her summon. Their actions happen because of internal and unconscious changes that are not elaborated on. They are quick transformations and the wedding itself is quick.

In the Ever After Weiss consciously encourages Jaune. By doing so both characters find a catharsis for their unconscious feelings. They make them conscious. Similarly, Jaune can consciously face Alyx and integrate with her. Weiss's own summoning is not quick and raw, but it is the result of a process that starts in volume 8 (when she fails to materialize the Grimm), goes on in the chess fight (she has the wings appear) and is finally complete at the end of volume 9 (the full Nevermore manifests itself). The wedding is also very slow and distributed throughout two volumes.

This choice makes sense, as Weiss and Jaune's dynamic is about them slowly realize who they are and who the other is. They have been each other's mirrors since the beginning and as they better understand themselves, they can better relate to the other and accept them.

#rwby #rwby chemical weddings #chemical weddings #white knight #weiss schnee #jaune arc #rwby meta #rwby alchemy

[laurellerual]

Do u think the my featherbed song is the strongest evidence for a possible gendry/arya romance? I rarely see anyone outside of shippers talk about it but it feels so obviously referencing them

Yes, I think that's the best evidence. Many of their interactions taken separately can also be interpreted as friendship or brotherly love, while this interaction has an undeniably romantic subtext. I mean is literally a love song, and the scene at times seems copied from a rom com.

Furthermore, while other interactions may show at most the signs of a little crush, this one is full of forshadowing for the future. Arya is not the maiden of the tree yet, she is just a child in a green dress that makes her look like an oak tree. But when the summer has passed the oaks are dressed in golden leaves and little tree girls become maidens of the tree.

It's full of readers who read the books in their entirety years ago, and therefore investigate this or that piece of text outside of the chapter in which Martin decided to place it. This means that many clues that can be derived from the context gets lost. And there are also plenty of readers who are more interested in the characters from Robert's Rebellion than the ones currently alive. Which is totally valid, everyone has their favorite asoiaf pieces, but sometimes when I read those kind of metas it feels like a totally different fandom.

If you want my opinion, outside of the obvious Gendrya forshadowing, the theory about this song that has more merit is that it was written, in universe, to talk about Duncan and Jenny of Oldstones. Because some pages earlier we saw Tom singing Jenny's song, so it makes sense that this type of song is part of his repertoire and that the bard is thinking about that. And it makes sense for the text to draw a parallel between these two couples: a prince/princess and a commoner with royal ancestry, living their story in the forests of the Riverlands.

#arya stark #gendrya #jenny of oldstones

[enbyleighlines]

I always make the mistake of looking at the comments when I watch compilations of Soren’s cameos in Engage because inevitably, I always come across Those People who are sole-minded in their determination that Ike and Soren are Not Gay and somehow feel the need to argue this in every part of the internet where ikesoren shippers might gather.

And it’s just always an instant mood killer.

It also just… confuses me. Like, okay, I can understand why someone might be adamant that Ike is straight. I think they’re wrong, but I understand the mindset. Ike keeps his emotions close to his chest. He’s stoic and beefy, a stereotypical red-blooded manly man.

I don’t think they’re correct. I think there is plenty of subtext (and like, actual text) that validates the idea that Ike is, at the very least, some shade of queer.

But Soren? I feel like anyone who argues that Soren is straight must be either lying or have no clue what they’re talking about.

For one, the way he talks to and about Ike leaves little room for doubt. Ike’s place is where he belongs. Ike is special to him. Serving Ike gives him purpose. He doesn’t care if all the cities burn and the seas swallow the earth, so long as Ike survives. So on and so forth.

There’s also the literary parallels in Ena and Rajaion’s relationship in the first game, and Micaiah and Sothe’s relationship in the next, both canonically romantic pairings.

But I feel like even Soren’s character arc is a metaphor for the queer experience. He grows up suspecting that there is something different about him, something that causes the beast laguz of Gallia to ignore him, to be unsettled by his mere existence, to give him the impression he would be better off never having been born. And in early adolescence, he again notices something off about himself, things that set him apart from his peers.

Then, still within his adolescence, he figures it out. He learns a key part of his identity, something that he cannot change, something that marks him as sinful, a physical embodiment of a religious taboo.

If his secret gets out, Soren risks rejection. And so he is desperate to keep it secret, to pretend to be “normal,” to deny anyone who insinuates that he might be just like them. His fear is so great that, when Nasir threatens to effectively out Soren to Ike, Soren stops questioning Nasir, fearing Ike’s reaction more than the potential of having a traitor in their midst.

Then, in Ike and Soren’s A support, Soren finally reveals his secret, fully expecting it to be the end of their friendship. Instead, Soren finds immediate acceptance. Because it doesn’t matter, not really. This aspect of Soren doesn’t change the core of his character. It’s part of who he is, but it’s not who he is.

Is it not a clear metaphor for being gay?

Gosh I love Soren so much. A+ character. I just wish there were less people who were so dedicated to misunderstanding him.

#ikesoren #soren #tellius

[mariposahxh]

Someone on Tiktok told me I'm wrong for saying shinjū is romantic and say shinjū can be done by friends so Killua and Gon aren't gay, they're also denying ever single proofs given (like the similarities between HxH and Ten de showaru Cupid, and basically every HxH subtexts), because Togashi never said that the characters are in love or making the characters saying they love each other, they also call me a delusional shipper and all of these "proofs" are just opinions (even though all of the proofs given are written by Togashi himself). I told them shinjū can only be done by lovers and family, they told me I'm wrong.

When they were told about the shinjū thing, I know they didn't know that word existence before being told to but act like they know everything, that's why they keep denying that shinjū is romantic and keep saying it's platonic even though in Japan it's like a really heavy word that used by lovers 😭

After spending a few years in the hxh fandom, I’ve learned that some people just aren’t ever going to accept Killua’s queerness. They aren’t going to believe what they don’t want to.

People will gaslight themselves and do whatever it takes to keep living in their own imaginary world because they’re so against hxh having a rare queer character&romance for some reason.

Togashi could say “yes Killua is gay and in love with Gon.” and people will STILL do anything to deny it.

I wouldn’t waste my time trying to convince them. It’s clear that they have a lack of media comprehension skills and can only believe something if it’s written word-by-word in big simple bold letters (which is not at all how Togashi does things.)

Most people who deny killugon or Killua’s feelings usually have no idea who Togashi even is! He’s a man who’s always been open about his interest in lgbt romance material and even wanting to write his own. and he HAS written lgbt content in his works, multiple times. hxh included.

The puzzle pieces all fit together. Togashi’s interests, his old works, his parallels, his inspirations, the pacing, the subtext, the text, everything!

If people refuse to accept it, that’s a them problem. They aren’t going to admit they’re wrong. Best to just ignore them and let them believe what they want. I actually feel a bit bad for them since they’ll never be able enjoy hxh the way Togashi Intended. Oh well.

#ask #killugon #killugon propaganda #hunter x hunter gay

[presentlydean]

my god the revisionist history in this fandom sometimes, like.  i guess some part of me should be glad that people watching it in 2023 can watch supernatural and say, this show was not queerbaiting, dean and cas are obviously together and anyone who watches it should know, and the confession was redundant and useless, but.

guys.

i'm not saying this undercut the work of many writers who spent years layering in details of queer subtext, parallel storylines, and meaningful moments between dean and cas.  those things exist—alongside actively homophobic text, yes, but they exist, and they are important—hugely so to me.  but there is a reason why destiel is a case study in academic works on queerbaiting.  there's a wink and a nudge that comes with a lot of the queer subtext in the 2000s and 2010s, where creators can allude to their characters being queer either by having other characters joke about them or by putting them in queer situations, but the audience is supposed to be in on the ‘joke’ and nothing is meant to come of it.  nothing was meant to come of the queer subtext on supernatural.  it was always meant to be queerbaiting.  

i'm going to call out season eight/season nine era specifically because it was mentioned in one of the posts i'm vaguing (if you see this—i just didn’t want to reblog yours to be grumpy and contrary so i made my own—no ill will!).  watching supernatural as season eight aired was actively painful because you would see these parallels between sam and amelia and dean and cas; you’d watch the writers layer in romantic tropes for dean and cas; you’d have dean on his knees, bloody, saying “this isn’t you, i need you;” you’d have all the deans cas was brainwashed to kill; you’d have “he’s in love…………………with humanity”—and then a fan would go up on stage in a convention and ask a simple question about the relationship between dean and cas and get eviscerated.  that's if you manage to get a question about them past the censors—oh! because questions about ‘destiel’ were literally banned.   

a teenager says she’s bisexual and is booed by the convention audience and dismissed by jensen ackles (“i'm gonna pretend i don’t know what you asked,’ as i seem to recall him saying) for saying she sees a lot of herself in dean and asking if he might be bi.  homophobic jokes from the actors.  big, blow-out fights between fans and creators.  a bigwig getting on twitter and calling fans delusional for pointing out what was actively happening between the characters and what it implies (this is where misha collins’s “your not crazy” tweet came in, and let me tell you people held onto that one like it was a lifeline—because it was).  people quit the fandom then, a lot of them, because of how vicious it was.  people would send anon hate to destiel shippers telling them to kill themselves while literally quoting jared and jensen’s nasty comments on dean and cas.  after that point, even the show started trying to dismantle some of the affection between dean and cas after that point (cue someone asking about the relationship between the characters and jensen saying they don’t really have one this season, and it’s refreshing because the dean and cas thing has been blown out of proportion).   

as someone who was a young adult and had imprinted on this show like a baby duckling, it was just a straight up bad time.  and i'm sorry, you cannot say that just because there was a subtextually queer connection between dean and cas at that point, the show wasn’t queerbaiting.  if the creators cannot respond to polite questions about the basic queer subtext of their show, that’s queerbaiting.  it just is. 

and as for the confession?  it was hugely important.  and half of what made the confession powerful actually was “in just saying it,” not just for the characters, but also given the fraught context of the show.  in speaking it, they made it real in a way that it wasn’t before simply because of the cultural context it exists in.  they said the thing that they had forbidden. 

when i say ‘unparalleled media experience’ when talking about supernatural, i really do mean it.  never have i seen a show so actively hateful towards its fans turn around and say, no, we were wrong, you were right (and then weirdly try to reverse it after the show ended????).  i stopped breathing when cas started his confession because, after the pain that came from season eight and nine, i never thought they would get as close to explicitly stated destiel again.  and then they did it.  they said that right there.  after all those years. 

dean should have kissed him.

#destiel #supernatural #junespeaks #queerbaiting #sorry a couple of posts got me worked up tonight #have a rant #and really if you wrote one of the two posts that prompted this #i do mean you no ill will. i just have a lot of feelings about this #and i think that people forgot how bad it was to be in the fandom at that time #it really hurt #and what we got was important #even though we didn't get everything #suicide mention cw #homophobia cw

[tinylilvalery]

people are taking matthews quote from a recent interview out of context abt tomgreg (he said he didnt play it as romantic but thinks it's fun that the fans see it that way) and claiming it means tomgreg is dead and he hates it... i'm so frustrated with this goddamn fandom smh...

It's interesting that he said that (I haven't seen the interview) considering how he acted Tom, but also people gotta realise

1. It's shipping... You can ship things whether actors ship it themselves or not. Hell, William Shatner has said time and time again that Jim Kirk is heterosexual, and yet you can watch TOS and see how Jim interacts with Spock and like... I really don't need to explain, I'm sorry sksnsk. So I look at Tomgreg the same way if it's really true MattMac doesn't ship it (again, idk what he said, but if he did say that these are my thoughts on shipping even when an actor doesn't). I have very close friendships and I don't behave in the way Tom does with Greg, but that's just me 🤷‍♀️. To summarise I'd say, it's like death of the author actor, because the performance itself transcends the actor's comments on it after the fact.

2. Actors aren't solely responsible for the character and the characters relationships W others, therefore they can't really take full credit of the character. Yes they embody and bring them to life, but there's also the script (multiple writers), the showrunner, as well as editing and direction as all the other massive contenders as to who creates the characters and the relationships on screen. As a writer myself, I do find it really um,, like very irritating¿ that people keep anointing actors as the sole creator of a character. They interpret script and bring it to life with direction but they didn't write the character and so they didn't create it. Kieran Culkin's acting practice is that he doesn't like to know where his character is heading, so he lives in the present and episode to episode when acting Roman. What I mean by this, is regardless of Kieran, there was ALWAYS a set path for Roman as to where he was headed in each season, and it didn't matter what Kieran was up to, his plotline still existed despite not knowing it. Does that make sense? My point is, whether an actor knows it or not, things are written in by writers, and I consider Tomgreg VERY MUCH a part of the text and subtext of the show.

So to summarise, if MattMac really said he didn't play Tomgreg as romantic and doesn't see them that way he basically achieves Death of The Actor because his performance speaks louder to me than his comments about his approach to acting Tom. Tom looks at Greg with such adoration that I've never seen him look at another character, he speaks to him in tones that he doesn't speak to other characters in, so again, his acting transcends his post comments. And SECONDLY, MattMac's comments still aren't a ship killer to me because he didn't actually create Tom alone. He interpreted the character, brought him to life, and definitely would have had say + freedom in his performance considering what we know of Succ's production, but he didn't CREATE Tom. That credit is owed to the writers who literally wrote Tom, and wrote Tomgreg's scenes how they did. The credit is also owed massively to editors in how they edited all the many hours of footage to portray Tom and Greg's relationship as we saw it.

We all know Succession is an incredible show. There's so many undercurrents happening all at once that surface at various times in forms of parallels and callbacks. I think it's funny to think that despite the pedigree of Succession, something as massive as Tomgreg was some sort of shared hallucination. It wasn't. Tomgreg is part of the sauce, and they're an intentional ingredient.

#Tomgreg #succession hbo

[aotopmha]

Done with Eden!

(Final Fantasy 14 spoilers!)

With this kind of writing/imagery I always wonder about the age-old "just subtext" element/issue with fictional gay relationships.

Because I know the "romantic friendship" trope is pretty common in Japanese media, specifically, and really, lots of media all over the world often ends up with the gay female characters forcibly paired with boyfriends or dead, if they are characters with any kind of importance or depth at all.

New lore apparently has revealed Artemis was a woman (in fact, Artemis being a woman makes a lot of sense in hindsight if you know Greek mythology) as an ancient, so I think I'm more positive than negative about Ryne and Gaia because their parallels are pretty much text now, but you never know.

I do hope for the best. Good representation is cool.

Talking about the characters specifically, though, I do feel Gaia's character arc happened a little too fast. She was absolutely insufferable during the second wing and then pretty okay by the third.

And I'm all for female characters who can be wrong, make mistakes, be awful people, but something was off about her entire journey and the best way I can put it is that, I'm not sure I believe it.

I get the same sense with her character as I did with everything involving the Crystal Tower storyline until Shadowbringers. It feels incomplete, off, somehow because back with CT we barely learned anything about G'raha and while we do learn a lot about Gaia as a character, her growth feels more like a switch flip than a lot of other characters.

So, in my eyes the strongest aspects of Eden were Ryne and the lore we learned about the Flood.

I've said it before, but I already know the story of this game, I'm a gameplay sprout, not a complete sprout.

So I know about upcoming stuff, and I feel you could do so much more with Ryne and Gaia in light of some of it and considering where the story is heading (outside of Tural), and I really hope they'll take advantage of what they have built here at some point.

I'm not sure what they could do for me to buy Gaia's arc better, but I also don't truly dislike it or have very strong negative opinions about it, so I guess it can just stay what it is, too.

However, above all, I really like how this is just super high-effort side content.

in so many games, particularly RPGs, side content is limited just maybe a bunch of generic fetch quests or in better cases some secret super bosses.

In 14, we get whole storylines that could be their own little complete games.

It's really cool.

#Final Fantasy 14 #Final Fantasy XIV #FFXIV #FF #Final Fantasy #FF14

[saveforthelasttime]

#togspoilers

The Snake Man and Laura’s first met scene is paralleled to Bellerir and Khun’s first met.

And we know that scene of The Snake Man and Laura is about The Snake Man met Laura and fell in love at first sight with her.

The Snake Man and Laura’s scene started with the Snake Man met Laura, then he saw her face and fell in love with her. And if we read the chapter where Bellerir and Khun met from the bottom to the top, we will see that these panels of both scene are formed similar to each other and from there we might understand what is really SIU’s intention and what Bellerir really felt at that moment he saw Khun.

The scene started with the Snake Man wanted to see Laura’s face, so he moved closer to see her. If we read the Bellerir’s scene from the bottom to the top, we will see that Bellerir did the same thing like the Snake Man. He called someone to lower the platform so he could see Khun’s face more clearly. The texts (and context) from the Snake Man’s scene are matched perfectly with the Bellerir’s scene.

Then we see both the panels of them looking up/down to Laura and Khun:

The angle of both scenes are similar, the only difference is that Laura is in a higher position even though she is not as strong and powerful as the Snake Man, it showed that she is the one who will take control in their relationship. Otherwise Khun, who is more weaker than Bellerir, and is in the lower position than him. It shows us the gap between them and tells us who will have more powers in their recent relationship. But We can see that because the Snake Man has fallen in love with Laura, she then has more power in their relationship than him, so this can be a foreshadowing that Khun will be the one who has more affection on Bellerir in their relationship later on. Then in the next panels, we see the Snake Man and Laura’s faces, which are similar to Bellerir and Khun’s scene, we see Khun and Bellerir’s faces up close:

Laura is beautiful and Khun looked confused but that does not matter, what matters is if we match the next panel, we will see how The Snake Man really felt when he saw Laura and it would possibly be the same to how Bellerir really felt at that moment he saw Khun:

Do you see that? Bellerir’s face? The text? The first time i saw his expression I was shocked. It wasn’t only because the “mew” thing but that I couldn’t believe SIU would do it that clear. The “mew” scene wasn’t just implied the sexual tension (which heavily showed us all in the season 3 theme), it was also implied a romantic subtext in it which was decided to be hide under the sexual thing by SIU to make Bellerir’s character felt “sick”. From what i get after seeing this parallel, the real hiding subtext is that Bellerir made that face isn’t because of Khun’s mew, he made that face because he saw Khun’s face and fall in love at first sight with him. And if we ignore the sexual tesion of whatever is that, Bellerir is just a nerd who wants to be like his father but doesn’t really know what to do. I think Gustang is just the same. I read somewhere that SIU said Gustang got into women and cigar just to show Blossom that he was fine without her (which he is not). It’s just their acts to hide their true feeling after all. And lastly, after that we saw both the Snake Man and Bellerir made up their mind, the Snake Man chose to help Laura protect her child, Bellerir chose to get Khun out of that prison (to another one, poor Khun):

Do i need to say something more? These panels are just formed the exact same way. It’s not even subtle anymore. If i flip one of them? Here we go:

They looks just the same. I don’t have anything more to say because it is pretty clear here. I wonder it will be easier to make people think some characters are sick/obsessed with someone than make people think that they are just in love?

Finally, I did this analysis is just because i want to write about some romantic subtexts in TOG - which always have been there in the story and show my admiration for SIU, who made those wonderful parallels and gave this story so much effort and love!Thank you for reading my Ted Talk!

#tower of god #tog spoilers #khun aguero agnis #tog analysis

[atamascolily]

princess tutu re-watch, episode 9

Narrator: Once upon a time… Woops, wrong story! … or is it? (strongly implying the evil raven is forcing Rue to dance a la The Red Shoes)

Okay, here's something I never thought of before: if Drosselmeyer is the writer of this novel (ostensibly), then who the FUCK is the narrator supposed to be???!!!! Are there any older lady characters in this show??

Rue (standing by a fountain staring at her hands): "Curse these sinful hands!"

lol at Ahiru's friends live-tweeting (heh) the drama between Rue and Mytho

Fakir (standing by a fountain staring at his hands): "Curse these sinful hands!"

Oh, hey, I thought the pizza shop was a one-off joke, but here we are again!

Fakir, at a literary speak-easy: "I'm here to see a man about a book."

I just realized that the piano in the ballet studio has all the old-fashioned punch cards, so it can play without an accompanist when the penguin is busy.

Fakir, looking at a picture of a knight getting sliced in two: GOSH I SURE HOPE THIS DOESN'T AWAKEN ANYTHING IN ME

Edel: "Depends. Are ya feeling lucky, punk?"

HOLY SHIT EDEL IS A PUPPET (I mean, okay, there were plenty of hints she was doing stuff for Drosselmeyer earlier, but now we've gone from subtext to text).

Rue (talking to Ahiru): "Weird… this must be what it's like having friends. A novel experience."

Ahiru: "BIRD GIRLS OF THE WORLD UNITE! HIGH-FIVE!" (okay, okay, she has no idea Rue is Kraehe and neither does Rue, but I couldn't resist)

Neko-sensei is romantically pursued by a goat. I have no words. At least she's a fellow teacher??

Ahiru's Friend #1: "Don't worry, Ahiru, we love you in spite of your fuck-ups!"

Ahiru's Friend #2: "Actually, we love you ESPECIALLY for the fuck-ups!"

Ominous flock of crows: Hey little girl, want to join a GANG?

the parallels between Rue and Fakir as they cope with Mytho essentially breaking up with them are excellent.

so the school is an arts school! we have dance, musicians and art students, how about that?

Malen, the art student we will never see again: "I am obsessed with Rue."

Ahiru: "It's okay, me too! Let's be besties!…. oh wait, it's a shard again, isn't it?"

(the fact that Mytho's devotion still seeks out Rue IS proof he genuinely loves her, though)

hey, uh, Drosselmeyer? femslash and OT3s exist, so stop being such a heteronormative dick, okay?

the birds turning into shoes effect actually looks pretty good! like Animorphs, but ballet!

Rue's transformation into Kraehe in this episode is so similar to Homura's transformation at the end of Rebellion that it's clear the animators of the latter were taking notes

and the fact that Kraehe screams and the feathers initially appear as thorns is a big hint This Is Not Good for Rue at all.

Fakir making a dramatic entrance by busting THROUGH the window and grabbing a glass shard to stab Kraehe is Peak Everything. This boy should have been a theater kid.

Unsurprisingly, this makes Kraehe revert back to being evil when she was on the cusp of giving into Tutu's persuasion/charisma roll. NICE JOB BREAKING IT, HERO.

also HUGE SHOUTOUT to "The Old Castle" from Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition for being such excellent music for this episode.

#princess tutu #lily liveblogs

[hamliet]

What is the difference between interpretation and textual evidence?

Also, what relevance does canon serve in light of shipping? I think I get confused because shipping doesn't necessarily require subtext unless you desire it, right?

It is interesting to me though how some narratives, for example in danmei novels, are very interwoven to the romance. I personally haven't seen that in shounen mangas since they tend to be quite tropey with less emotional energy and development present despite the subtext being there (and still being less compelling in most instances for the romance lol)

I'm gonna break this down by question if that's okay?

"difference between interpretation and textual evidence"--textual evidence are facts. The text says this. Interpretation is the "so what?" about the text. Why does what the text says matter to how the text resonates with us?

"shipping doesn't necessarily require subtext unless you desire it, right"<--yes, and therein lies the problem. Sometimes there is subtext. Often there's not. I do not care whether there is or isn't when it comes to my ships, but I do get annoyed when people act like there is subtext when there isn't.

For example, Jin Guangyao and Lan Xichen's relationship. The text explicitly says their relationship is a parallel to Wangxian and to the Lan brothers' parents' marriage. Textually, all it means is that this is a pivotal relationship, and you can interpret it as platonic or romantic.

However, those are both romantic relationships textually compared to this relationship, which makes us wonder whether it is platonic or not. That's subtext, and why I would interpret it as romantic, while others may not.

However, I've seen people say there is subtext between Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen, because Lan Xichen asks if he's okay in the temple scene once. Lan Xichen keeps trying to mitigate the violence throughout his career; there's nothing to indicate we're supposed to see a unique or romantic intent there, and the two sect leaders literally never otherwise interact in the story. Not subtext. You also don't need subtext to enjoy a ship! You can just think it'd be a cool scenario!

#ask hamliet

[calyssmarviss]

idk i think its less outrage bc its slow but bc of how its done. repetitive storylines, new ones that lead nowhere and that this probably was planned as a series finale. i understand the frustration of most.

Look I’m just starting to get really annoyed with all the posts i see that are like “wow it didn’t happen in this season finale like it should have i have been Baited and Betrayed and Stabbed and also it totally means it won’t ever happen because there was only this moment.”

Okay going in order here: well maybe they’re worth being repeated because clearly Buck and Eddie didn’t learn all the lessons they needed to learn from their previous relationships. Come on look at them asking everyone around for advice, they’re clueless, about many different things, not just each other. (And what if i wanted to see them on an awful awful double date the last time and didn’t get it?)

And we just don’t know that any storyline is “going nowhere”??? Seriously one of the things i like about 911 is how they bring back stuff most shows would forget about and I’m continuously baffled by the people who can’t even recognize how well it’s doing on that front (and on many others). Or just assume malice from people they don’t know and are under understandable constraints when it comes to explaining their decisions (you think KR is gonna spoil her show in interview just to reassure anxious fans? Really?)

The fact is that there IS going to be another season. And idk, I’m not an expert in the industry but seems to me like there was never any real danger of the show getting entirely cancelled. Literally they announced it was going to ABC in the same breath. And i really don’t think this would have been the finale if it was going to be the end of it and they knew it.

Basically those people are getting mad at things that didn’t happen, things they don’t know the outcome of and motivations they ascribe to creators while ignoring the text and the history of the show and by doing that they take out all of the enjoyment they could get from it and raining on other people’s parade.

I’m not even saying “there are other characters/the show ain’t just buddie”. It’s the main reason I’m here too. I get it. But there’s so much there already? (It’s A Thing, whether it’s platonic or romantic or sexual or official or canon, none of that happening or not won’t make it A Thing that we can see on our screens and discuss and write and read about) And there’ll be much more I hope, and I hope it’s not rushed and that it gets even more layered and convoluted. Because that’s what sets buddie aside from the show’s other ships. It’s the uncertainty, the guessing work, the beautiful metaphors and parallels (that are so loud they’re more text than subtext at this point). And how you have to use the rest of the show as a key to read it, like it’s the x in an equation. The one big unknown.

I don’t know it’s just exciting to me, much more that any “established relationship” narrative. I mean sure I’d love to see them as an official couple or whatever, maybe for a season? That’d be a big win. And i’d probably keel over from too much feelings anyway from the most basic domestic scenes because I’m that invested now rip. But to me really it’s the drama on the way that’s the most interesting.

#buddie #911 season 6 #pay it forward #taking the scenic route #ask #anonymous

[motownfiction]

15-20, 9

9. you’re browsing the Internet and you find a weird piece of unlicensed fan merch for your WIP. what is it?

idk if i've said this before but it's probably a tote bag for sam's record store. i'd like that, though, LMFAO ... idk, there would probably be some jerk on redbubble putting charlie's face on a mug because they don't get that he's the bad guy (or they do and they don't care, which is honestly preferable to trying to defend him)

15. someone creates a tumblr fan account for your WIP. what’s their username?

one of the first ones taken would be bisexualsamdoyle, as though that's a flex ... sam being bi isn't subtext, it's text l;dfnsf

16. make a meme for your WIP.

this one is simple but it's pretty good

17. you should’ve expected it, but you’re still surprised when you find out people aggressively ship (which non-canon pairing of OCs?)

i've already said that i know that will and sam would be an aggressively popular ship (and you and i have already talked about how people would girlboss lucy out of the equation, despite will having been romantically attracted to exactly one person in all of his life, because "she's too pOWeRfUL for someone as iNSecURe as he is!") ... so like, i guess i have to say there would probably be people out there who ship sadie and will. like, there would probably be a few very passionate people who insist that will should have loved sadie all along (despite sadie being will's parallel, having only loved one person in all her life). these people also ship will and sam, btw

18. what kinds of fics could people write about your WIP?

i honestly would not complain about carrie x sam fics. hell, i'm even sort of writing them, by choosing to focus on their brief fling in '87. carrie x sam is a preferred ship by me. it just could never have happened for the sake of the story 😭

19. you attend a convention and see someone cosplaying one of your OCs! how are they dressed?

like, how do you cosplay as one of these characters ... they are literally just people lmfao ... i guess if there's a specific school uniform look, they could cosplay that.

20. describe an interesting headcanon fans would create for your WIP or OCs.

this is so hard because, like, if i say it ... then there's no reason it shouldn't or wouldn't be canon lol ... i think maybe i'll go with that thing we talked about a few days ago, which is that charlie might have had a speech delay.

#asks #areiphilos #thank you!

[remythologise]

very loud subtext in s15 alone implying dean loves cas back includes but not limited to:

everything about the arguments and breakup including dean’s actions like CUT TO drinking and wandering around in a bathrobe

every single sam/eileen parallel to dean/cas but particularly ‘I know that was real’ / ‘you asked what about all this is real, we are’

alternate timeline chuck-loses dean losing it after he had to BURY cas in the ma’lak box?

lamp

the trap confession in its entirety but ESPECIALLY ‘you don’t have to say it’ vs. ‘it’s in just saying it’

adam and serafina. RIGHT before 15.18. what was going on there. his dark materials reference free will romance motherfuckers ‘(s)he’s the only one who could put up with me all these years’

parallels of sam and charlie losing the people they romantically love in 15.18 and dean losing the person he…?

lucifer phone call.

#jensen ackles ring ring I am AT your doorstep #feel free to add more. there literally IS more just like. thoughts from just now #also this is JUST like. romantic parallels and subtext not text #supernatural #kira for ts #supernatural spoilers #spn spoilers #dean x castiel #like there’s also stuff like dean looking back at cas during the fight in unity but we don’t have time for that #also I can’t like text post it it’s just SUCH an in the moment. why this

[k-s-morgan]

Hello!! I'm really curious why do you ship destiel but not wincest? From what i understand your blog arent they more to your preferences?(possessivenes,gaslighting,overprotective and sam was the character dean loved the most from starting to the end of the show.)

Hello! Thank you for such an interesting question)) While I tend to prefer darker ships, I can fall in love with any couple as long as they share a mutual obsession. This is usually my main requirement, in addition to smaller, more unique personal factors.

In Supernatural, Dean and Castiel share the obsession and they also share canonically romantic subtext and text. While Dean and Sam are definitely obsessive over each other too, it's not for the reasons that attract me personally. With them, it's more like, "I had no one else while I was growing up; I'm terrified of losing you because you are the only person I used to rely on, and without you, I'll be all alone." They were thrown together because of fate, they didn't have a choice. In other realities we see, Sam and Dean don't even get along all that well because they are pretty incompatible. Like in Dean's perfect world fantasy: he and Sam are brothers and they love each other, but their contact is limited to a few visits on holidays and phone calls. From the first episode, their dynamic is not just brotherly - Dean is presented as Sam's father, a person who raised him. They have some romantic subtext and mirroring, but their chemistry is purely familial: I never sensed a iota of romantic tension there. Posessiveness between them comes from the fear of being left alone, not because they actually crave to be the only people in each other's life.

You mentioned that Sam is the person Dean loved most from start to finish, and I both agree and disagree with it. If he had to choose between saving Sam or Castiel, I'm sure he would pick Sam, yes. Because to Dean, Sam is not just a little brother, he's his child, and Dean will always put him first no matter what. But losing Castiel would break him just as terribly - we've seen it on more than one occasion. Dean cannot live without him, and to me, it's stunning because Dean is a character who doesn't give his love freely. He loved his parents, he loved Bobby, but no one got under his skin the way Castiel did except for Sam, who was around forever because he's family. The fact that in so many ways, Castiel and Sam hold the same importance to Dean is huge, especially in parallel, because unlike Sam, Castiel is a fairly recent addition. Castiel killed numerous people, made terrible mistakes that Dean would have never forgiven if someone else did them, and he's not a safe choice - he's literally an angel who can leave any time, with Dean being unable to stop or find him. And yet he still loves him tremendously, to the point where he becomes suicidal without him.

Castiel is the only person who gives Dean what he needs: unconditional love that centers on him alone. Sam loves Dean, but as he said and showed numerous times, he wants to have other people, other priorities, too. Sam's heaven is full of strangers; Castiel's (fake) heaven was supposed to be full of Dean, and that's the biggest contrast between them. Castiel makes Dean a priority; Castiel singles him out and focuses on him with intensity that Dean has been craving all his life due to his self-worth issues. He knows he can count on Sam because Sam's family - Castiel is not, yet he still loves him with abandon, and Dean is helpless in the face of such intense devotion. With Sam, Dean is surviving; with Castiel, he has a chance to live and learn what being happy means. If Dean allowed himself to be selfish and to think of his own happiness, I think he would pick Castiel over Sam.

Interestingly, he did pick Castiel several times, both of which happened in Purgatory. Purgatory has been said to be "pure" - it's a place where Dean doesn't have to worry about obligations and expectations, and it's telling that Castiel becomes his priority there. They chose each other; Castiel quite literally defied the God's narrative out of his love for Dean, and I think it's both epic and beautiful.

Also, before Castiel, Dean didn't understand that people grow up and move on to build their families - Sam did, and this created a rift between them.

Dean: “You and me and Dad—I mean, I want us….I want us to be together again. I want us to be a family again.”

This shows the state of Dean's mind and his views on love. Dean wants to stay with someone forever. He craves loving and being loved, he longs for constant contact. He wants to share his life with someone, and in his mind, it can only happen with Sam and John because they are the only people he knows how to love. It doesn't matter how flawed their family is, it's all Dean's got. Unconsciously, he's trying to assign the role of a life partner to Sam and John, and obviously, this could never work.

Like Sam says, "Dean, we *are* a family. I’d do anything for you. But things will never be the way they were before."

The script adds: "Dean looks heartbroken."

But Sam is right. Like I mentioned, their co-dependency emerged because in their childhood, they had no one else. No friends, no meaningful connections, no long-term bonds. And as life has it, most family members drift apart with time: they still love each other, sure, but they pursue different interests and they start their own families. Dean doesn't get it. Sam is ready to open his heart to others, but Dean isn't - this is all he knows and he’s too scared and too emotionally closed off to learn.

And that's why observing him with Castiel later is so fascinating. There is suddenly an angel of the Lord who worships him, who structures his whole existence around him, who loves him and values him above everyone else. And finally, after all those years, Dean starts to understand it. He's still fiercely attached to the concept of family, but it begins to expand, and the more he clings to Castiel, the more he lets go of Sam, the healthier and more balanced their relationship becomes. Sam finally becomes a brother who has his own life but who'll always be there if needed; Castiel becomes someone who is going to be there always, period. And Dean can finally become truly happy. Cas helped Dean feel special and loved in a way he's never been before, and this very premise is something I really love.

TLDR: Sam makes Dean fight to stay alive because he needs to be there for his brother. Castiel makes him want to live and actually enjoy this life. Sam and Dean are abused children who clung to each other because they had no other choice; Castiel and Dean chose each other for themselves against all odds.

#destiel #deancas #supernatural #dean winchester #castiel