#anyways he believes he is the only valid queer person

[transmascwillbyers]

The #1 piece of byler proof for me isn't the van scene, it's that Will's way too intelligent to ever have feelings for Heterosexual Mike (tm)

#byler #all mike wheeler hcs are valid except cisallohet mike get that shit away from me #no but seriously #will byers is one of the smartest most perceptive kids on the show #he's only ever liked one person in his life... and you expect me to believe it's Heterosexual Mike? #no no no his standards are way too high for that badly written mf #and yes for the record i am treating Queer Mike and Heterosexual Mike like two completely different characters here #because... the headcanons both paint his writing in a completely different perspective making it either brilliant or completely incoherent #accidental rant in the tags sorry but anyways #mike wheeler is either queer or terrible and there is no in between

[keepittoyourshelf]

I’ve been thinking far too much lately, about BG3 of course because the hyper fixation is only just starting to wane now after 4 months.

Anyways, I am tired of certain members of the fan community inferring that women players shouldn’t pursue Astarion because he shows a clear preference for men. I don’t disagree that in-game dialogue that I have personally seen re: his past dalliances have shown them to be exclusively male. I am not sure if that was a conscious choice on the part of writers, but if it was, I suspect it has more to do with driving home the canonicity of his identity as a queer character in general than it does saying he’s a gay character that can choose to be with women only if the player forces him to.

It’s funny that nobody raises this issue with Halsin, another enthusiastically pansexual character, and I would bet my life on the reason behind that being that Halsin is your stereotypical burly outwardly masculine character, whereas Astarionis decidedly foppish and more delicate in appearance.

Boiled down it seems like a lot of people think that body hair and a messy hairdo makes a canonically pansexual male character “less gay” than another and therefore a more valid romantic option for women.

I’m not going to get into how there is so much more to Astarion (or Halsin for that matter) than his physicality. But certain types of people (i.e. neckbeards and incels) can’t wrap their head around the fact that a character that moves beyond the borders of their limited, one dimensional concept of masculinity could be enthusiastic about fucking a woman. I’m not excluding people that are members of the homosexual community that might be advocating for the fact that Astarion is clearly gay either. They’re a problem too just in smaller numbers.

I mean this poor, wonderful vampire man, so obviously in need of love, is literally accepting all comers (no pun intended I know Astarion hates puns) and because he’s flamboyant and pretty it’s somehow less believable?

I dunno, I get that people are overprotective of stuff they love and there’s this weird instinct to claim things so your obsession seems somehow more validated or whatever. And I probably would feel stupid having daydreams about gay men wanting to sleep with me (real or fake) if they were explicitly stated to be gay.

Astarion’s pansexuality isn’t implied, it’s confirmed, so don’t piss in my cornflakes and let me enjoy playing out the vampire romance dreams I’ve been harboring since I first read Interview With the Vampire in 1994. Like this is the closest I’ll ever get to realizing my dream of Lestat being real and me getting to make out with him and have him tell me I’m pretty so let me just have it for fuck’s sake.

Interesting side note about Lestat, he is yet another character who shows overwhelming textual evidence of being what some would consider gay (flamboyant, dramatic, into fashion) yet can appreciate and enjoy the beauty of women as well. For whatever reason though folks seem to think women have less of a “claim” over Astarion than Lestat, so whatever.

Tldr: Astarion is a man of prodigious appetites, and sometimes he wants tits and pussy and that’s okay.

They’re both hot, they both want my Tav, so fuck off.

#baldur’s gate astarion #bg3 astarion #astarion bg3 #astarion ancunin #baldur’s gate halsin #bg3 halsin #halsin silverbough #bg3 #baldur’s gate 3

[oh-hush-its-perfect]

INVALID reasons to dislike Taylor Swift as a person:

You don't like her music

You think her fans are obnoxious/annoying

You believe she is not being genuine about liking/appreciating her fanbase or the awards she has received

You didn't fact-check that "study" that claimed she emitted 8,000 tons of carbon via her private jet (I read the article by Yard— not only do they not source their methodology, but other climate experts have come up with completely different estimates, averaging around 1,000 tons)

You believe Taylor Swift (the person) is guilty of queerbaiting

You don't think non-Black people have any place at all in hip-hop

She has friends who are mostly also rich white people

She has had a lot of boyfriends in the past and seems to have moved on from her partner of six years very quickly

She sometimes plays the victim

You think heartbreak is all she writes about

VALID reasons to dislike Taylor Swift as a person:

You believe Taylor Swift (the brand) is guilty of queerbaiting and that Taylor Swift (the person) is content with this business strategy

1,000 tons of carbon is still A LOT to emit and Swift should be more responsible with her footprint, ESPECIALLY now that she's touring

The music video for "Shake it Off" features what many people consider racially insensitive material, disputably using traditionally Black and Latine styles of dance as the butt of the joke and Black and Latine women as props

Swift was politically quiet for years, allowing white supremacists and nationalists to claim her as one of their own and declare her their "Aryan goddess" (though this could be blamed on her marketing team, considering they did not allow her to be politically active until 2018— and she did denounce racists in interviews prior to making her Democratic opinions public)

She is currently dating white singer/songwriter Matt Healy, who has been accused of a) saying the n-word, b) doing a Nazi salute on stage "ironically—" and there is video evidence of this, though it's difficult to tell if it's actually a Nazi salute or just a regular gesture to which he didn't give much thought, c) making fun of fat people, and d) making fun of black women. And probably more of which I'm not aware.

The music video for "You Need to Calm Down" portrays a very naive view of bigotry as angry people holding signs (and a somewhat classist view of bigotry as well, considering the appearance of the "homophobes") and uses queer people as props

She's a rich white liberal and is guilty of many of the sins typical of most rich white liberals

She has played the victim as a white woman and vilified black men (specifically Kanye West) in the process

You believe her releasing new songs like "Mr. Perfectly Fine" and the 10 minute version of "All Too Well" has encouraged harassment of men she dated over a decade ago and there was no need to rehash this hurt.

You believe that the academies (i.e. the Grammys, the VMAs, etc.) are biased towards her as a white woman and she has not done enough to combat or even acknowledge this racism

She has engaged in LGBTQ+ erasure by having one of her brand's official accounts call straight couples "lavender," even though that is a queer phrase, following the announcement of her song "Lavender Haze" and by using the queer dog whistle "hairpin drop" in a song even though she is assumed to be straight, reducing the saying's meaning.

You just don't like her vibes (NOTE: this is a valid reason to dislike her in your personal life, but NOT to diss her)

More can be added to both lists. Please note that many people acknowledge all of the flaws above listed and like her anyway because, as it is important to understand, she is human and will often make mistakes. Doing any one of these things do not make her a "bad person," and dividing people into "good" and "bad" categories— especially people who you don't know— is very binary and unnuanced; however, they do make her a flawed person, and people, Swifties and non-Swifties, have a right to make of that what they will.

#i could write a dissertation on this #taylor swift critical #anti matt healy #swiftie #swifties #taylornation #celebrity culture #tw racism #tw white supremacy #tw white nationalism #tw nazis #tw nazi #anti taylor swift #FOR THE RECORD I'M A SWIFTIE #I'M JUST A SWIFTIE WITH. LIKE. CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS #but outright hate will not be tolerated #any 'f*ck that b*tch' type comments will be deleted and tags will result in an instant block #this is a NEUTRAL post #manifesting that this post only garters productive conversation and polite discourse and NOT people on either side cussing me out

[pinkyjulien]

Just a heads up: you, a white creator, putting Native American/First Nations/indigenous inspired clothing on your white OC, and then calling it the "wilding" appearance, could be considered cultural appropriation and could also be considered offensive to people from those cultures.

And yeah, I am doing this from a throwaway account to protect myself because I know how Tumblr and the cyberpunk 2077 fandom works. Even if I do have a valid point or critique, I could still be attacked by "fans" on my main who refuse to use any critical thinking for themselves.

Safe travels 👋 I hold no animosity towards you personally.

(From a "cowardly" anon in an extremely hostile fandom which likely will pretend that this outfit and the name for it isn't tinged with implicit and internalized racism.)

(And, no, I'm not one of the so-called "housewives")

Hey Anon,

Not sure what to say, you claim to not hold any animosity towards me, yet this could've easily been a DM. I'm only assuming you're blocked and had to create a side blog to by-pass the said block.

If this was truly a well-spirited heads up, it would've been a DM.

But anyway, if you're here to accuse me in a sugarcoated way, I already know you're having the time of your life about it in some obscure discord server, so might as well.

The Aldecaldos (and Nomads in general of every clan and family) are multi cultured, there's people of every races, every ethnicities- we see it in game and it's mentioned time and time in the sourcebooks. They're communities, formed of many minorities; queers and pocs alike.

Valentin joins the Aldecaldos during the Star ending, just like the canon game event; he makes friends left and right, and friends makes gifts to one another. We also know that resources, clothes, cars, guns, are shared in nomad communities.

The name "wilding" is a direct reference to the Neo Tribe sourcebook, page 21. I used that same name for Mitch's appearance. They use those outfits to ride off near cities, just like the definition on the page below. They're both proudly showcasing their Aldecaldos colors in whichever place / cities they're visiting.

In my own canon, Dakota is kind of a mother figure for Valentin; she helped him after fleeing the Wraiths, she gave him his first gig with Jackie, she made sure the 'caldos ripper kept the bullet he revoved from Valentin's skull, etc etc

That Jacket could've well been a gift from her before leaving to Arizona, but I haven't decided yet. I was just happy to share my modding project of those past two days.

I've always liked Nomads and what they stand for, their diversity, their lives, their outfits and aesthetics too.

None of the above information is presented as an excuse, they shouldn't be seen as excuses either; I'm simply sharing what inspired me (actively or subconsciously) for this outfit.

If Valentin's appearance, both models and name, did actual upset anyone, I apologize, as this obviously WASN'T the intention. If it does bother you, I invite you to block me.

With all of the "explaination" out of the way; why are you really here?

Because we both know you already knew that about the Aldecaldos. You played the game, you know Panam is half native, you know there's a bunch of native characters in the Aldecaldos and in the game in general.

This ask isn't fueled by kindness or by an attempt at educating someone who could've made a simple mistake.

Nope, you're simply part of this "hostile fandom" problem. Everything you said in brackets reeks of past drama.

Again, you claim to not hold any animosity, but I believe otherwise; that's totally fine, but refrain from contacting me with this fake benevolence, everyone can see it's bullshit.

Repeating myself, this could've been a DM, yet you choose to assume I have some "internalized racism" that You Need to point out, doing so via a side-blog supposedly out of fear (since I don't know who you are, I'll choose to believe you simply by-passed a block) while also dragging in the "Housewives" for no reasons.

You're part of this fandom problem. You're part of the reason why nobody feels safe about sharing anything; you and your friends are out there spying, monitoring what everyone does, assuming the worst at any given occasions and ready to write callouts, to throw witch hunts.

Please, do some critical thinking yourself, remove all the bias and all the "Pinky Bad so this is obviously Racist" bullshit fogging your brain, and ask yourself why you really sent that ask.

#ask #anon #cyberpunk 2077 #long post

[irenespring]

House MD Characters and Their Mentors

Oh look it's more of this very niche character analysis. This time I'm looking at which of @lorata's District Two Victors would be good mentors for House characters. House fans reading this: you would really like Lorata's writing. Only limited Hunger Games knowledge required (basically you need to know the premise); lots of messed up people making the best of things, found family shenanigans, emotional angst, and queerness.

Anyway, time for mentors!

James Wilson: Devon. The essence of a Devon tribute. Really wants to make the world better. Fairly messed up and depressed, but does genuinely care about the district, and even the kid he volunteers for. The one bit of really key information we are provided about Devon's tributes is that Devon's dreamers burn bright, but flame out as the reality of the Games shatters their world view. This reminds me a lot of how House says that "Wilson thinks that if he cares enough he'll never have to die" contrasted with Wilson's feelings of betrayal and devastation that he, a oncologist who gave his life to treating cancer, is dying of cancer. He served the Capitol, believed everything the Center told him, and the truth of the Games ---the pain and the guilt and the injustice of it all--- is a sudden betrayal that completely unbalances him. The only way he wins is through temporary Arena madness, the kind of desperation that caused him to double his dose of chemo in a last ditch effort to survive and make the world make sense again during canon. Devon's main challenge post-Arena is helping him rebuild his shattered sense of self: Wilson thought he was a good person, but you can only win the Hunger Games by being vicious. Devon, as someone who had a similar break, is the best choice to help him form a cohesive identity. Devon can see him for who he actually is, all of it, and still say he cares. Devon can cite his own struggles with accepting care without "enough work" in return to get Victor!Wilson to step back from compulsively ignoring his needs to "earn" affection. Devon can pull him out of spirals about how his mental state is worse than his brother's now and show him how there is a way forward. The Victory Tour almost kills him, all those people hate him even though he only ever did what was asked of him and what he thought was right. Along with Devon, there is probably only one other person who could help him embrace that he does not need to be perfect or liked by everyone, which brings us to...

Gregory House: Adessa. I went through multiple avenues with this one. First I thought Callista, because viciousness and unapologetic attitude. Then I thought Lyme, because abusive childhood, resentment of the rules, and attachment issues. So we had option A and option B...and we somehow landed around option L. I dismissed Callista because of the reasons I thought Lyme. I moved away from Lyme because she works best with tributes who want to open up but can't until after they win. Claudius wants a family, Misha wants affection, etc. House wouldn't want to open up--- he would want respect, validation, and someone to make everything make sense. The reasons Adessa wasn't a good fit for Nero would make her a great fit for Victor!House. Nero wanted to be told Adessa loves him, but House wouldn't trust any obvious display of affection---instead perceiving his mentor's care for him through nonverbal actions she takes: exactly what Adessa expected to be true of Nero. Adessa can make recovery and all the chaotic, swirling feelings fit within a reasonable framework. She can answer his questions and treat him like someone with a rational mind. She knows that if he opens up, he probably doesn't want to be touched. She understands why he doesn't want the cuddly relationship that Victor!Wilson would have with Devon. She wouldn't pressure him to talk about feelings before he was ready and would give him space when he was ready. She understands his intellectual curiosity. She's probably the only one who could get him to invest in therapy. He wouldn't go based on "I've been there" talks or "I care about you" talks, he would go because "after a significant trauma the logical course of action is to seek medical care, so that one can be assigned medications to regulate neurotransmitters, and to remove unwanted chaos so one can better focus on more important matters." Oh, and also if John House every showed up to take credit for shaping his son into a Victor, Adessa has a briefcase full of knives and decades of fantasizing about taking revenge on behalf of her Victors. They would find his body in pieces...probably. If Adessa was feeling nice and wanted Blythe to have closure.

Devon is terrified when Adessa requests a meeting with him. Misha asks him what he did like fifty times and he doesn't know. He almost calls his mentor, but doesn't because he's a mentor too now, dammit and Adessa totally shouldn't scare him anymore. When he shows up she opens with: "Our Victors appear to have significant romantic attraction to each other. Shall we hasten their union via jointly planned manipulation, culminating in an arranged one-on-one meal over candlelight, perhaps involving the exchange of flowers?"

Lisa Cuddy: Nero. This one is hard. Cuddy is a lot more difficult to analyze than House and Wilson even though I actually prefer her over House (Wilson is my favorite, he just has so many problems, weird habits, and hidden depression). She has a lot of contradictions. She's manipulative, but empathetic. She genuinely advocates for the rules, but allows for crazy ass things to take place. She seems to argue for the rules because she has to, but is inherently drawn to the more chaotic, vigilante tendencies of House. She puts on a show of obeying regulations set by those above her, but seeks power so that she can facilitate what she thinks is right (she repeatedly says she's the only one who would employ House). This is reflective of a Nero tribute. She doesn't know why she is drawn to violence and competition of the Centre, but she is. She completes her kill tests with the highest scores in her year, but she mainly only feels guilty for not feeling guilty. She doesn't have a rationalization for why she is like this the way someone with House's history has. She should want to join the Peacekeepers or be a medic. But the more time passes in the Centre, the more she wants to win the Hunger Games. She goes into the Games a year early, the youngest District Two volunteer in history, and even though she knows the killing is wrong she still wants to win because why shouldn't it be her? She's better at this than the others. However, the inner conflict causes problems post-Games, as the criticisms from other districts actually hurt her, because she agrees. She knows there's something wrong, she fears she might secretly be evil. Nero, with a lifetime of dealing with conflicted, crazy tributes, knows how to reassure her that even if that something is actually wrong, she still has people who love her.

Bonus! Ducklings:

Foreman: Brutus. He's just here to do his job. He knows he's better than his Centre rivals, so his job is the Games. Trying to make it right or wrong will only drive you crazy.

Chase: Lyme. Daddy issues, alcoholism in the family history, wants the authority to like him. Lots of weird hidden triggers.

Cameron: Emory. Wants to be a decent person, just kept going in the Centre because she figured no one would pick her and she owed it to her district to keep trying. She had a baby Victor crush on House and Adessa had to take Emory aside and be like "the baby is making my Victor uncomfortable, tell her to calm down."

Thirteen: Misha. Rules are for suckers, enjoy your life while you have it, desperately try to find meaning in the world while pretending you don't give a shit.

Kutner: Lyme. Wants to find a place to belong, shoves his emotional issues down because he thinks nobody cares. Thinks outside the box, but still responds well around authority he respects.

Taub: I have no fucking idea. Seriously, the more I try to think about this the more I have no thoughts, head empty. Maybe Odin? Odin has a "do what you're supposed to do no matter what, no matter the cost" ideology that would cause a mentor mismatch like Adessa and Nero but at least that mismatch is something.

Anyway if one (1) person requests a Victors!House/Wilson I will write scenes so you have been warned.

#house md #gregory house #james wilson #lisa cuddy #the ducklings #the hunger games #district two #lorataverse #we must be killers: tales from District Two #mentor meme #character analysis #like really niche character analysis #a longwinded piece of character analysis that will make no sense to anyone? me? you must be mistaken #but anyway I have Thoughts and I'm making it everyone else's problem

[sorcerous-caress]

Hi! I really admire the way you write bg3 charas and I was curious about your opinion- what you think about the polyamory options in the game? iirc Shadowheart and Astarion are open to it- Shadowheart at least is enthusiastic about poly with Halsin and a four/fivesome with the drows at Sharess’s Caress, I’ve seen mixed interpretations of Astarion’s reactions. Karlach I think? Says she’s open to it but due to circumstance wants a closed relationship. (Halsin ofc is very openly poly.)

Do you think any of the comps could conceivably have and enjoy a healthy poly relationship outside of what we see in game, and (toying the line of bobcourse {bob discourse} and it’s totally fine if you don’t want to touch that) (actually it’s totally fine if you don’t feel like answering this in general; please don’t feel pressured by this monster of an ask!!) do you think the ones we have rn are healthy? 👀 Sorry if you’ve talked about this already!

(Btw the theme looks great! Diarrhea never came to mind at all)

Thank you so much <3 This means a lot.

Okay, just to be clear, poly isn't having threesomes and vice versa, so I don't think we should use their willingness to have the orgy in Sharess's Caress as a frame of reference. Because the drow twins are two strangers and not people they're in a poly relationship with.

Poly relationships don't require having sex. They're like any other relationship, just with more people. AroAce people can be poly too.

Also, I think the reason we don't have poly ingame besides Halsin, which was a last edition, is because Larian ran out of time and budget. They'd have to make whole new scenes with whole new dialogue trees and animations.

And keep in mind that they're characters, just tools and dolls. Not real people. You can headcanon them all as poly, and it's valid.

Anyway, so here is my opinion who is and who isn't poly ingame.

There are monogamous exlusive characters who make it very clear they don't want poly: Gale, Minthara and maybe Lae'zel

There are some who show being poly but can't due to circumstances and the current options of people: Shadowheart, Karlach, and Astarion.

Side note, I really don't believe that theory going around about how Astarion was only willing to be poly with Halsin because "high elves don't take relationships with wood elves seriously". Maybe if this was dos2 then sure, but Larian really removed most of these things in Baldur's Gate 3.

It feels like cherry-picking. If we are going with this old representation of high elves, then based on that, he'd never be with any non-high elf Tav, not even human. Astarion agreed to share with Halsin because he is clearly comfortable with him. It feels belittling and insulting to both of their queerness to even consider this theory. Especially with how his past lover was a whole drow, you really think a high elf who is racist against wood elves would consider loving a drow if this was the case?

This leaves Wyll, which... honestly, I'm not sure how to categorise him.

Wyll is selfless. He always assumes you're going to choose the other person in Act 2 and bids you farewell, saying how the dance you shared will be a nice memory.

He focuses on his love for you, not owning you, not being possessive, but genuine overflowing love and poems. I think Wyll might be open to being poly but not just with anyone, it would have to be someone he loves as deeply as you.

*cough* Karlach Tav Wyll poly *cough* WE WERE ROBBED

Also, you were very kind and polite in your ask. It's really refreshing <3. Thank you for being so understanding and thoughtful.

#♡Astarion #♡Bob Slander #♡Wyll #♡Shart #♡laezel #♡Gale #♡Minthara #♡Halsin #♡several characters #♡Karlach #♡character study #♡poly

[maddy-ferguson]

in general, acting like mike is being SO obvious and clockable in being gay/his feelings for will in canon is a little. bizarre for me cause like. maybe for you for those people here who have spent months after vol.2 re-analyzing all his behavior and also we’re an unseen audience who know he’s fictional and thus know it’s narratively significant his expressions are caught in super close-up 4k? otherwise… girly… it’s really not that clear at all. will’s not just in denial and refusing to believe he can have this good thing (though he also is) like… mike has a girlfriend he has professed he loves before + abandoned will/party for in the past? and not only for will, this idea that mike’s queerness is so obvious to everyone around him. I can maybe see a ‘oh yeah… that’s makes some sense’ afterwards by the party, but no one now in the party actively disbelieves that mike is into el? lucas pushes mike towards el in s1 precisely cause it’s never ever occured to him mike wouldn’t like girls. he helps mike in s3 ‘win El back’ cause he fully thinks that’s what mike wants. more broadly on mike’s sexuality, the fact the bullies in hawkins came after will with plaintext homophobia and would’ve done the exact same to mike tells us the degree that mike is not perceived as ‘outwardly gay’ within this society. At most, you can talk about mother’s intuition with Karen encouraging mike to talk to her in season 1? But even then it feels almost like it’s meant as a subtextual double meaning /for an audience/ who recognizes its similarity to a sexuality talk vs. actually being one in-text. I mean, we’re the ones who know El’s upstairs literally tucked away by Mike in his closet. and idk on a personal af level I feel like acting like mike’s soooo clockable diminishes the power and significance of his story for those queer people who struggle for so long because of feeling so invisible, so easy and inviting to delude yourself that it /would/ be ‘easier’ on your future to blend in and continue playing at this role, even taking so long to come to terms with your feelings or sexuality yourself /because/ it was never recognized early in your life and hadn’t had it called for you before you knew it’s true. Having to live with your identity only as this private thing inside your head. the specific hurt that comes with knowing you /do/ belong to a community, but since you’ve been scared to step free of the closet doors, you’re cut off and isolated and so alone, a core part of you has never been acknowledged for who you are. afraid precisely cause you know it WOULD be a shock to others. The bravery to choose anyway to defend against disbelief, that you know YOU more than that person they’ve all believed they’ve known your whole life. and SO fucking brave when mike does, when being recognized and valued exactly as you are becomes worth more than false approvals, brave enough to turn your back on the open gate of validation, refuse your allotted slot to conformity. if only you stay invisible. but you don’t. it’s… real af

ohh wow. i agree with everything you said. like you said, it's really not just taking something that is undeniably will's and giving it to mike, it's also taking something from mike, because his is also a very real experience that comes with its own set of challenges, their experiences are so so different, deliberately so.

and i know why people do it, reversing the roles is fun sometimes, but it's not fun to me when it goes against canon by taking away experiences that are so important to who the characters are.

you don't have to get why everyone on the show clocks will as gay, you don't need to see it yourself, you just have to accept that they do! there's really no use in fighting it, especially not when it's something that's so important to his character. and same with mike, even though acting like the guy who's been romantically involved with a girl for most of the show is soooo obviously queer is just...nonsensical. it's not obvious that he's queer and in love with will, that's the whole point! it's so frustrating to see people act like it's not, even when it's just for a joke. will really isn't oblivious, the guy he's in love with literally has a girlfriend? and is frankly acting like he's obsessed with her? the vast majority of people watching the show don't think mike is queer and will is supposed to be living this 40-37 years ago. will being visibly queer (both to the audience and to the characters) and mike being the opposite serves a purpose and will isn't blind, there's really just no way he'd know after the events of seasons 3 and 4.

#yes people were denying the fact that will was gay but that's on them #mind you this is the fandom that was calling noah the straightest man alive up to 25 minutes before he came out so like. you guys aren't #very perceptive either😕 #and yes it's very different he's a celebrity but ykwim and you shouldn't stereotype but you also shouldn't...stereotype the other way lol #you're so well-spoken or well. this is so well-written i'm so flattered you sent this to me🫂 #ask

[wewebaggit]

I think it was because he was abused or something and apparently had drinking problems? Like bruh you cannot claim to use subversion of 80s horror genre tropes and at the same breath make your black character one of the victims without even focusing on it. Its just...? St can really use some criticism sometimes

Yep it was because he had drinking problems and was a disgrace to his family as per the voiceover that Patrick and we hear as he's riding in the car with Jason n the gang. And then Lucas mentions that he once saw him with a black eye. That's it. That's all.

Patrick deserved way better. Even discounting the fact that he's black. The same episode had the stupid mid air fight between Murray Yuri and Jim's girlfriend. That lasted longer than necessary. That existed. Both valid reasons for having a more fleshed out buildup to THE MOTHERFUCKING SACRIFICE FOR ONE OF THE FOUR (NOT FOURTEEN) GATES.

Maybe if they cooled it on Eleven slow jogging through the lab, eyes wide, breathing heavily and emoting nothingly, Jopper doomsday fucking, Elmike/Mileven, (God stop milking it, it's not great writing, we are gaslighting ourselves to believe it is cuz there was a time we thought the most they'd do for gay Will is have his best friend say something INCREDIBLY HOMOPHOBIC to him), a Russian plot sillier than season 3's - fucking talent, I could go on we could've had something justifying (at the risk of sounding repetitive) A MOTHERFUCKING SACRIFICE FOR ONE OF THE FOUR (NOT FOURTEEN) GATES.

Also leaving you with some of this:

Jason to Patrick

Mike to Lucas

Billy to Max about Lucas

Mike about the science fair contest

(Let me elaborate: It was a state competition and the result was political? MY conjecture is it was not because of frogface or a boy with no teeth or a boy who his town thought was queer - I'm suspecting it wasn't a statewide consensus. Who's left?)

Jason with Lucas

Andy with Erica

I'm not American so I'm not someone who gets the whole American experience of it. But American cultural colonisation means I'm somewhat aware of the tendencies in media. N to me personally I don't resonate with a white/black/brown American character on a racial level but just by how they're written n how well the work is performed. I do not live in a post racial world bt my country has its own different version of racism. That is to say any character being white/other colour is of ZERO value to me. So when I am consuming foreign media, I'll be like this is well written that is not. But then when I arrange them in order of well written to not or underwritten, it's a shade card alright. (🙋🏻🙆🏼🙅🏽🤷🏾🤦🏿) So ya. It's like white ppl tend to write white ppl better. What a discovery. Idk if to call it racist or "I don't see colour" in that I only see white cuz it is not a colour. (How is that for colour theory?) That is NOT to say that X CANNOT at all write about Y. Writing is after all a collaborative effort. It just means you gotta do both: collaborate and put effort.

ST exploits the tropes more than / before it subverts them. And like not in a good way. It's a fantastic show with plenty of opportunity to love it and shit on it in unequal measure tipping more in favour of shitting. And I'll be doing both. Especially regarding the characters that don't go by the name of Mike or Eleven. But them too.

You'll also see me Kali raging soon. Very soon. She might also be (DEFINITELY IS) why I have this whole new account anyway.

El's abuse > Kali's abuse. Okay. At least accepted within text by the writers. Want the "yass girlboss El shoulda snapped Angela's neck for....er...breaking your diorama and ....er......throwing milkshake on you" crowd to respectfully go. Just go. Go Away!

#wewe's st re watch #wewe's askbox #patrick mckinney #trope subversion where #lucas sinclair #erica sinclair #kali prasad #st 008 #justice for Kali Prasad #byler #y'all the audience #stranger things

[thatvampireblog]

Look at me.

Look. At. Me.

Marwa wasn't a person. Not the Marwa we were given, anyway. Obviously she was at some point, but the Marwa that Nandor had resurrected was nothing more than a projection to begin with. Neither she nor Freddie 2 were real in any true sense. The real Marwa probably lived a long, full life after her Husband's death that didn't revolve around him. What we saw of her was only a projection of a long dead woman. THAT BEING SAID. What he did to that projection of a woman who had died centuries ago was fucking vile, and you SHOULD be upset about it! That was the point!!! The point was for it to upset you!!! The point is that Nandor has always been a Bad Person who does Bad Things and makes Bad Choices!!!! It was DISGUSTING what he did to that projection of a person, stripping her of her personality and her agency and then completely turning her into someone else, but it was also COMPLETELY IN CHARACTER.

And furthermore, the choice does NOT come down to "Nandermo goes canon and it sucks, or it's queerbait"!!!!!

First of all, Nandermo was ALWAYS going to suck if it went canon!!! Look at them!!!!!! Look at the absolute DOGSHIT mess of power dynamics!!! At the lack of agency Guillermo had for 12 whole years!!! At the fact that the only way he was able to get a LITTLE bit of respect was to demonstrate REPEATEDLY that he is a THREAT!!!! It was ALWAYS going to be horrible and ugly, but y'all didn't want to believe that until now!!!

And it's not "Queerbait" if they DON'T get together!!! I AM LITERALLY BEGGING YOU TO LOOK UP WHAT "QUEERBAITING" IS AND THEN REALLY THINK ABOUT IT!!! It's a queer show!!! Explicitly!!! They're queer!! All of them!!! There's no trap to bait!!! They didn't trick us!!! IT'S FUCKING QUEER, DO NOT ERASE THAT JUST BECAUSE IT DIDN'T FIT YOUR IDEAL IMAGE OF WHAT A PERFECT QUEER SHOW SHOULD BE!!!!! I'm literally begging y'all to let us have queer characters that are multifaceted and more than just "Here is me and my boyfriend with whom I have the healthiest of relationships". Not everything has to be Heartstopper or Love Simon to be a valid queer story.

#wwdits #wwdits spoilers #obviously if this doesn't apply to you it's not about you #i know not everyone in this fandom is allergic to nuance #additionally this doesn't touch on the very real and valid problem #of another female character biting the dust #and her being a woc as well #but I'm not as qualified to comment on that angle #and there's nothing I could say about it that hasn't been said better by someone else #also I very much do ship #nandermo #I'm just not a dumbass #i know they suck and I'm glad they do

[most-canon-non-canon-ship-poll]

I, the poll runner, made this poll because they suck that much

Why Mileven is shit - a submission-based essay, part 3/3

Mileven - a currently canon het ship from the Stranger Things fandom between Michael (Mike) Wheeler and Jane (Eleven) Ives/Hopper/Byers/IDK

This doesn't mean she will never have another relationship, it doesn't even mean she is "alone" while other people are in relationships (although personally I think there is nothing wrong with not being in a relationship tbh... some people need to unpack this). It just means that she reclaims the power to decide if and when she will give love to someone again, a choice she's never really had. As for Mike, I believe his low self-esteem and what makes him feel so different is his feelings for Will which have steadily stepped out of platonic more and more as time has gone on, and THAT is the truth that is hard to admit, not his apparent love for El that she has been begging for him to say. Mike and Will are written so perfectly as a romantic duo that it is wild to me that anyone would ship Mike with anyone else. Mike deserves more than to be a shitty friend and El's boyfriend (because if he really does just love El, then his actions are just him being mean and weird with no cause or explanation, which I can't imagine is the case), Will deserves more than to be the sad gay in unrequited love who only suffers, and El deserves more than to be some boy's "superhero" who is loved for what she can do more than for who she truly is. She deserves to shake the shackles of male control, and yes... Mike unfortunately falls into this due to his feeling responsible for El's wellbeing because of the unfortunate circumstances they met under. Plus he's, in my opinion, fallen even harden into this parentified role in Hopper's absence (those parallels are insane too, don't even get me started). Anyway, all that to say... Mileven is an objectively bad ship that doesn't fit with the story Stranger Things is telling. It doesn't serve any of the characters involved in a positive way, and Byler is a significantly more touching and well-built couple. Personally, even the argument that El will be "crushed if they break up" doesn't really carry any weight. It's clear that she has already hurt so much IN THE RELATIONSHIP, so ending it just seems like the logical next step (and I'm among the people who believe she wanted to break up at the pizza place tbh). Why should she stay with someone who can only love her in life-or-death situations? Why should Mike be with someone who makes him feel worthless or not enough or like his personal experiences and struggles aren't valid? Why should Mike and El settle for a relationship that takes so much work but makes them both ultimately unhappy (it's giving Karen a d Ted). Why should Will just accept that in a world of demogorgans and alternate dimensions and telekinetic lab children, the craziest and most unlikely thing is a queer boy like him finding requited love with the person who makes them feel better for being different and encourages them to fight on? I just don't think the writers are telling that kind of story. I love El, Mike, and Will... I hope they will get a beautiful ending. To me, a beautiful ending would include Mike and El mutually caring for each other enough to admit that their relationship is not good for either of them as El deserves to be loved and needs time to heal, and Mike deserves to embrace his truth and his own feelings without feeling insignificant or unlovable (and ultimately be rewarded for embodying one of the show's core themes: that forced conformity is bad, you will never feel gratification or happiness by pretending to be something or someone you're not, it's okay to be a "freak" and it's okay to be different and to rebel against the limited, restrictive forms of "happiness" society pushes. After all, forced conformity is one of the real villains in this show, as clearly stated!)

#propaganda #why [ship name] is shit #the (s)hit list #not a poll #anti milkvan #anti mileven #still on this #byler #kinda

[stranger-rants]

Well, I was only talking about Billy, so of course I only labeled something he did as a hate crime. A little baby hate crime. Honestly I think the stuff at the roller rink in S4 should count, since they clearly are fucking with her cause they think she's mentally deficient.

Breaking up homophobia into little bits and pieces and implying it's only homophobia if he called the other boy a f*ggot sounds like cope, but from you I fully believe it's sincere. Like how you keep calling Steve queerphobic cause he specifically called Jonathan a queer. You can say it's homophobic even if it's not the big daddy f slur.

My point is that he did do something homophobic, in a flashback, parroting his dad. And it's clearly something he does not remember fondly since it's in that big dark mental hurricane space. I don't think Billy is canonically homophobic, but he did do a homophobia.

With the race stuff, "Billy isn't racist" is definitely a valid interpretation but imo it deserves to be a minority opinion (same for "Billy is homophobic" btw). The clear, obvious interpretation of his behavior towards Lucas is that it was racist. I choose to ignore that shit cause it's not fun to write about and fandom isn't activism. Though if I did I'd prolly go the "Billy's smart enough to figure out racism is stupid and he'll get better about it as soon as he's out of his abusive home and has the mental space to work on himself" route.

Anyway, I'll stop clogging up your inbox. Obviously we disagree on stuff, but I really like your blog and I hope you have a nice day :)

I'm very specific in my language because these things, while related, represent different facets of bigotry. I also don't like using "baby hate crime" to describe most bullying behavior committed by children, for similar reasons why we don't diagnose children with ASPD. I don't like setting children on a course for incarceration for their behavior when they are children and hate crime is explicitly a crime. Bullying is dealt with very differently and as a person who works with children, I do think this distinction is important.

I use queerphobia because it encompasses more than homophobia. I use hegemonic masculinity and effemiphobia to talk about how boys use the word "pussy" to bully other boys into masculine behavior. It's important to be precise, especially when bigotry can take on many forms. I don't consider this as a clearcut example of Billy being homophobic. He was a child beating up another child who we assume was a boy repeating the same words his dad said, but also probably something he hears quite often. The fear that men show and teach young boys to feel towards femininity is not just a matter of homophobia.

I also think it's silly, personally, to downplay Billy's racist behavior while harping on Billy - as a child - bullying another child using the word "pussy," which he was also told and/or may not have fully understood at the time. To me, his racism is much more evident and it's something we should be more critical about. Still, he doesn't go around hate-criming people. A lot of his violent outbursts are incidental and not exactly targeted. Using that word continually to describe his violent behavior ignores context and assumes Billy just does these things regularly.

I'm glad you enjoy my blog, but I say what I say for a reason. His bullying behavior as a child is still wrong, but I don't agree that it's clearcut evidence that Billy is/was homophobic. As I've said, people accuse him of saying and doing things he never actually said and did and that includes the "Billy is homophobic" bs.

#asks

[spicyicymeloncat]

Sorry gang for being late to the party but this guy

And every other lava shipper is so right and I can’t believe I never even noticed I’m actually disappointed in myself.

Under cut I ramble aimlessly

When you think, oh yeah lava is no more valid than any other non canon Ninjago ship but then you get reminded

Cole is the most queer coded ninja, his true potential was about him coming out to his father. Also Kai is the most touchy in that episode, hugging him

In s7 when Jay calls out Nya’s name and Cole calls out Kai’s (Ik this and a lot of other points might be handwaved that Kai and Cole are more of a default match up just because everyone is already in relationships, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t in one too)

S10 Kai’s reaction of trying to turn back the ship, and then crying to Cole falling (although I’ll accept that this is more of his reaction to grief,m, counterpoint from Cube - Kai only really reacts like that, here and then with Nya both times she died)

S10 when Jay and Nya help each other up, Cole does the same for Kai (and then Cole takes his hand off Kai’s shoulder when Kai points to Zane coming over - yeah that doesn’t mean anything it’s just kinda sus)

S10 Kai and Cole paralleling Jaya’s hug also

Wildbrain era really said lavashipping

S11 Cole is the one supporting Kai when he brought back fire to the village. That could have been anyone it could’ve been Lloyd or Nya in that shot with him but it was Cole

S11 Cole being the one to comfort Kai when the village was frozen. S11 said “you can have all these close ups of Kai but it’s mandatory that Cole’s face is in the corner of the screen”

S12 and everything about it. “On one life Kai” jumping off the mountain to save Cole

S12 Kai watching Cole dance before Cole pulls him into dancing

S12 them sharing a car and then having the gayest sacrifice in the whole show (on the race track)

S12 also being notable for its dance lesbians (who aren’t confirmed to be gay but if it gets censored in Russia and Malaysia then I think it counts) and

Also s12 including couple moments for every other character (Jay and Nya, the Pixane episode, even Lloyd and Harumi show up (not saying their a good pairing, just that technically they were a romantic pairing at some point)

Cube mention s13 where Kai is the one to demand to search for Cole (which Ik can be handwaved as just Kai’s personality) and then Kai being one to call out to Cole just before the tunnels collapse whilst Zane doesn’t (again this could be chalked up to their personalities; Kai is the loud one and Zane doesn’t need to follow suit, but these are less of evidence and more of increasingly interesting add ons when after you watched prime empire). Tbf s13 had Kai and Cole separated so they couldn’t have interacted much anyways

The island, where Kai and Cole share more moments tm with Cole complaining he’s hungry and later on Kai getting Cole something to eat. This actually contextualises that one comment from Cole in s11 where he says he’s done with cake jokes from Kai. Anyways it’s cute that Kai first makes fun of Cole and then goes out and gets him food

Seabound where they both stayed behind to play video games. Do I need to say anything?

Crystalised, the only thing I remember is that one scene where Kai went for a hug but Cole ran passed him to get water

Besties that’s actually a lot yknow. Pretty sure that’s more interactions than both of those characters and other characters. It’s like lava is in a weird position where its not canon but it’s definitely more canon than the other non canon ships. Including kailor and conia.

No shade to either shippers but Conia’s only claim to canon is that Vania is a girl introduced in the Cole season, he said he didn’t even like her, and Kailor are not even dating. I think Tommy Andreasen and Chris Wyatt also tweeted that neither are dating (also Tommy replied in a tweet in regards to Cole’s sexuality that anyone’s interpretation is valid). (Also imo I personally see Vania is younger than the ninja yknow)

With Kailor, Kai barely knew her and she barely new him or literally anything other than the island, and they go their separate ways in the end. I mean Skylor definitely needed to establish her own identity after being an extension of her father her whole life so I think it’s fair. Yeah they continue to be good friends but Kai doesn’t even have Skylor’s number. Ik Kai visits Skylor in s7 but that’s to talk about his dad with someone who understands. Ig the more convincing moments are near the end of s9 where whilst some can be seen platonically, there is this one shot where they look at each other in a more romantic way (the same shot in which Cole embraces his true soulmate, cake), idk ig it can be just a hug but I will say, that post s4 that shot is probably the biggest Kailor contender. But as Cube said, it’s just a little awkward. Kai doesn’t really visit Skylor often and their closeness in s9 could be due to the fact that everyone nearly died? I’m assuming there’s a chance Kailor, regardless of whether it’s a thing in the past or the present, will be addressed in crystalised tho.

What is interesting is that both s4 and s13 have a lot of parallels. In both, the ninja stay over at a new place hosted by the villain, who underneath his house, owns slaves who he uses to earn money, and his daughter turns to the side of the ninja. Kailor and Conia have a lot of similarities (and therefore a lot of similar issues, such as the assumption that woman = love interest)

Also I don’t think I have to argue that Cole was ever interested in Nya. He was much more concerned with kicking Jay’s ass and we all know it.

But yeah lava is surprisingly a lot more convincing. Also some of their interactions (s10) do imply they’re keeping it a secret from the other ninja. Either because they’re worried how the others would react (although it’s hard to believe the legos are homophobic. Imagine. Homophobic Zane 🙀) but also, in a world where there probably is homophobia (considering there are pride flags) it’s still possible that there is a worry. I could see Kai being closeted since he very clearly showed interest in girls since s3 to s6 so the realisation that he is anything but straight may have shaken him and he’s not quite ready to be open about it (oh look a fanfic idea), and I can see Cole maybe wanting to be more private about the relationship since he tends to withdraw when anxious (see pilots, where the death of his mother made him leave home and climb mountains, see s4 where the group’s fight made him retreat to the forest to become a lumberjack, see s5 where he wanted to quit the team because he was a ghost, s11 where he leaves on his own because he felt bad about losing the tea, this guy has a history). The last romance related thing Cole was a part of was s3’s love triangle which was not fun, so maybe Cole is still kinda traumatised but that. Or on a lighter note, maybe they’re both seeing long it takes for the others to notice. An out of canon explanation is that it’s making fun of how Russia and Malaysia wouldn’t accept them either. Also that was in s10 and tbh since they canonically killed of Hageman (idk which one) in s11, there has been a lot more lava so maybe in canon they’ve become more of a relationship as time went on and they might be out now, if they weren’t before. Or maybe I’m reading into it too much.

Anyways they’d definitely have double dates with jay and Nya can you imagine Kai and Nya getting ready and then Cole and Jay (cuz they’re besties) getting ready because that’s cute.

That’s it. Just know I’ve successfully turned into a lavashipper (I mean polyninja ftw but as in this could literally be canon if Lego says yay to the gays) this is all I’m going to think about this week.

#Youtube #ninjago #lego ninjago #lavashippers how does it feel to be bigbrain #again no shade to ppl who disagree but yeah #Ik this is old new to everyone else but listen #I’m learning this for the first time let me have it #Ninjago kai #Ninjago cole #ninjago lavashipping #ninjago spoilers #ninjago crystalized spoilers #ofc #below tags sound so awful out of context #they made Zane learn stupid gender roles so im sorry to say but Zane homophobia is a possibility; slim and upsetting but it’s there #which means that his one episode in crystalised is him realising that actual yes to gay rights #homophobic Zane has potential that’s all I’m saying #remembering homophobic Zane is from one millisecond of s10 I took wildly out of context yknow maybe ignore me entirely #I hope I do not start homophobic Zane discourse tho #that’s why this is under all the tags #oh no

[staghunters]

hey hey! 2, 8, 12, 14

hoi hoi!

2. Oldest book you own (as in the one you received earliest in your life)

This one!

I got it from my grandpa one pakjesavond (sinterklaas/the dutch boxing day) when I must've been around 8 years old? I can recommend it, though it is very much a children's book in that there is a lot of exposition that feels overdone at times. Still, it's got "fairy tales are real but a bit fucked up in this world", fairies with double agenda's, sibling love, a shapeshifter who's definitely queer in some way shape or form!!, and the main character is basically like an Indiana Jones but for fairy tale artefacts (hijinks included) on the background is this large-scale political conflict that makes it all very witcher-y.

You might know this author from Inkheart, btw! This one has also been translated into english.

8. Best cover

A tie between these two!

I got them both last year on my bday credit at the store and haven't read either of them, but they look very nice. The Bale one is a hardcover that has gold details, but just the whole composition of it all is perfect.

12. Weirdest book you own

Definitely "The making of The African Queen, or, How I went to Africa with Bogart, Bacall, and Huston and almost lost my mind" by Katherine Hepburn.

I couldn't get it anywhere physically except as an second-hand library edition from the states (shoutout to Boston Baptist College Library!) but read it beforehand on internet archive because you can borrow it there for free! It's just a personal account of making a movie, but Katherine Hepburn is hilarious. It really reads like you're sitting with her and she has to vent about this stupid flick she did but wowza. Please let the following passage convince you to check it out. The full thing is only 150~ pages long.

14. A book you love but wouldn’t really recommend to others

HEX by Thomas Olde Heuvelt! (I don't have the cover below but really like it so ordered it at work just now asjdkfhlsd)

It was review bombed big time on Goodreads. On some points I could see the validity, but there's something really cool going on in here but that either doesn't translate well cross-culture, or is in general a bit ambiguous. The climax and ending is WILD. Not in a way of "wow some crazy fucked up shit happens here", which it kinda does, but I'm talking fucked up like a Hieronymus Bosch painting, and not like SAW.

I believe Olde Heuvelt did change some things to make it more understandable for american audiences, while sticking close to what he meant in the dutch version. Putting the town in the Hudson Valley as opposed to somewhere near Nijmegen makes sense, but still doesn't cover the typical "dutch small town" feeling from the original, particularly because of how densely populated my country is, making the whole curse that confines you to your super small old town forever till you die thing a lot more frustrating when everything modern and big is within a half hour drive.

Anyways, if you'd still want a rec: A town (name might vary but it's called Black Spring in the american edition) is haunted by the figure of a 17th century witch. the gist of her curse is that anyone who stays in the town for too long or is born there will have to stay till they die, only being able to leave for short amounts of time. Over the years there's been a sort of witch-watch task-force that keeps track of the witch's movements (she otherwise doesn't really do anything). All goes well until some teen boys want to fuck around for a nice video to post online.

Bookish Asks

#thanks for the ask B!!

[limeade-l3sbian]

i am extremely anxious bc on one hand, i never held any hatred for trans ppl/trans women but i do have a brain and so i do know what a male and a female is, and i also know what a lesbian and a gay man is, so i understand that most cis lesbians only want pussy bc the act of sex and sexual attraction is centered around the body and same-sex attraction is a real thing. however, i feel like im being gaslit every time i interact with the average (usually white) queer person bc i have to pretend like i dont know what i know, like i dont have eyes, like homosexuality doesnt exist, like biology isnt real actually, bc if i dont, i’m labeled a bigot. im tired.

i believe that trans ppl deserve to live in peace. however i don’t believe that homosexual cis men and women have to fuck them to validate their identities. and i feel like the average off-line person believes this. i feel like the average person both believes in trans rights and also maintains that homosexual people are same SEX attracted. hell, i have a nonbinary friend that only likes pussy.

idk why i’m ranting in ur inbox. mainly i’m frustrated. im frustrated bc i don’t see gay men being policed the way lesbians are being policed when it comes to how they speak about their attraction. i’ve never heard someone refer to males as ppl with dicks. and i’m frustrated bc i can’t call it misogyny without being accused of victimizing myself as a cis woman. and im even more tired that black women are always used as talking points during these trans debates.

it’s making me upset bc i feel like most trans folks don’t hold these beliefs. i’ve seen a trans man go on reddit and admit that he doesn’t enjoy being in the community bc of these backward beliefs and policing and sometimes predatory behavior, and i’ve seen other trans folks admit that they agree. yet i have to pretend like i don’t see it? like what we call ‘queer theory’ doesn’t have real ideological, misogynistic, and often racist issues? and i can’t call this without being called a terf when i don’t even hate trans women? i just want women to be able to talk about the oppression they face without giving several disclaimers (and yes, this includes cis women bc they still face oppression like hello), and i want black women to stop being used as talking points when we’re real people, and i want everybody to leave lesbians alone…

anyway sorry for going off. i’m drunk and thinking a lot and i feel like this is where i can get my thoughts out without being shot on sight.

No apology needed. I'm just sorry I got to this so late. Talk your shit, girl.

#ask

[dnpbeats]

just to add to the conversation about being closeted in a relationship. and this is on the hypothetical relationship they could have, as we've established that speculating on their relationship is something that they don't want, so we shouldn't be doing. I heavily disagree that someone needs to have no self respect to be with a closeted person who doesn't wanna be publicly dating. I think people can have different boundaries, and if that's a deal breaker for that first anon that's totally valid, but it isn't for everyone. particularly in this case, when Phil knew how much the topic of sexuality weighed on Dan, he'd wanna be supportive and make sure dan felt safe exploring and navigating a relationship with that amount of internalised homophobia. Dan's hatred of queerness was directed inward not outward, so I don't feel he was ashamed of Phil, he was ashamed of himself. it's not a question of self worth, it's a question of boundaries. it's not about having patience or lacking self respect, it's about if you think you're able to support a person in that state and if that's what you want for your life at that time.

also, I think it's wild to think Dan exaggerated his struggles with sexuality. his issues were so painfully obvious and he made such personal videos about it that I think it's extremely disrespectful to think that. it's also important to note that the reason why he made the videos was in part because a lot of his struggle was in the public eye and people had been harassing him about it for years. it really isn't okay to be talking about someone's experience like that, specially when we as an audience contributed to the problem to the extent that we did. it's good to be skeptical and not assume we know someone's intentions when we don't actually know them, but minimising their experiences isn't okay.

you're so real for what u said about speculation would you believe that like 8yrs ago I was helping run a blog that was against phan speculation and I got death threats for it 🤘🏻 anyway

based on what dan said in BIG I think you hit the nail on the head. he talked a lot about his own internal struggle with his sexuality and identity but when talking about Phil he explicitly stated that it was important for him that Phil was openly gay and proud about it (or something along those lines, being real I have not watched that video in a hot minute lol). like he wasn't out here being homophobic towards Phil lmao

and yes 100% his struggles were compounded by the harassment he faced from the public. I mean when he posted "trying to live my truth," people were up in arms bc based on the title the thought he was gonna come out and then obviously he didn't in that video. it's batshit to get mad bc you thought someone was gonna come out and then didn't, and that's just one singular example out of 100 of what the phandom used to be like. imo it's very obvious that dan was struggling for a long time and that's only based on what we've seen/he's told us so im sure it was worse in actuality—this is all to say I agree that we shouldn't be minimizing/diminishing his experience

#ask #anon #dan and phil

[nosolaceofastraightanswer]

happy pride month!!!! anyway tua pride headcanons cus i want to lol :P *note- i do not identity with all of these labels. i cannot give you a personal experience or defense for these. if i include any harmful stereotypes, lmk. it’s pride month and queer people are valid*

quick overview, analysis below the readmore

luther- he/him cishet

diego- he/him cis and bicurious

allison- she/her cishet

klaus- he/she (they sometimes) genderqueer/enby, pansexual

five- they/he gay and ace. agender.

ben- he/him cishet

viktor- he/they transmasc lesbian

for some i used the canonical pronouns as to not confuse before i get the explanation. <33333

luther- to me he’s like a cishet guy honestly. i still love the pride hc’s other people have, bc most of the time they’re really good. i just prefer this reading, espec. with sloane (QUEEN!!!!). i also don’t like the s1 era fics where everyone hated luther (almost entirely unjustified) so they would make him be a dick to klaus and stuff. like did he drink reggie’s kool aid? yes. but is he homophobic? no. i think a better example in a canonical kid fic of him saying mean things to klaus for plot would be like,, making fun of him for being a druggie or lazy, because that’s stuff that reginald would actually encourage him to say. rant over lmao that just has always bothered me.

diego- honestly this one is back and forth for me, between bisexual and straight. like him and lila being bi4bi is just too fucking amazing, but he does give off straight guy energy sometimes so i’ll put it at a bi-curious. he’s def an ally though, and i can imagine he would do his best to get over his fear of needles to help v with his t shots, or defend klaus from homophobic assholes. although i personally hc him as cis, the transmasc diego people have their fucking shit together because that HITS DIFFERENT. i think done right, it adds so much to his character in AU’s and stuff and it’s just rly cute!! but bisexual diego is a very fanon thing that i like to see.

allison- i think probably straight and cis once again. she seems very comfy and happy in her femininity and gender, and her with ray??? (sidenote almond as a ship name makes me lose it ITS SO CUTE). i think she’s always been a big ally to klaus. i can also see her as pan or bi, but pressured to appear as straight by the constant eyes on her since she was like ten. i mean not only was she the only girl, but also a black girl? she was 100% so insecure during her childhood because people were constantly critiquing her. so honestly i don’t think it would be too out of the ordinary to hc her as queer.

klaus- i mean, we all know this one. as far as i know he has been canonically (though not mentioned in show, more like an interview or something) pansexual and non-binary. if not then it’s VERY FANON. directly through the show, we see his attraction to men through dave and also his enjoyment of more feminine clothes and makeup and things like that. i hc him as genderqueer and just generally chilling out and not really caring too much about labels. like a “i’ll fuck you if you’re hot” kind of attitude.

five- now this one might get me some weirdness, but i don’t see five as a cishet man for my hc’ing purposes. a common fanon opinion is that he’s asexual, which i totally like. i also think he’s gay. i guess that would be homoromantic? and also agender. he said no. no. MEN. i think that any romantic hc that does not acknowledge delores is not doing it right, bc holy shit delores is so fucking important to the understanding of his character!!!!! i believe in the interpretation that delores is himself, but a separated part that he forced himself to view as a separate entity to survive the apocalypse. he kind of fucking tricked himself into loving himself, though unfortunately as many people have pointed out, he doesn’t see himself as capable of good. he doesn’t see that delores is him- he can’t. he was down bad though for his mannequin apocalypse wife okay??? they were in love fuck you???? idk sexuality is fluid. let this old man live his life. he’s so tired. also agender, i think they don’t like being called a boy (possibly childhood trauma, possibly gender) but still is okay with “old man”.

ben- he is the token cishet of the upper numbers trio ( 567 icons real and true ). the jennifer incident was heavily implied if not directly and canonically stated to be a romantic issue, and also him and jill!!!! yes it was weird but it was so cute. bring back umbrella ben istg idc about the themes you messed them up in s3 anyway. i would talk more about him BUT HE NEVER GOT ENOUGH FUCKING SCREENTIME EVER AND THE THEMES THE THEMES HIS CHARACTER THEY DIDN- gets shot

viktor- canonically transmasc, canonically a woman enjoyer, ten out of ten character. i love looking at s1 era fics where people would be like. there is no way this guy doesn’t like women. *lesbian headcanons*. and elliot page just slaying with the queer rep season after season. i think he/they pronouns for viktor is really good and i like it :)). also some people hc them as bi because of harold (or for weird reasons but we don’t talk about that-) but i think it’s more of a lesbian thing personally. now. don’t come after me i’m not looking for he/him lesbian discourse on my pride month fandom post. AND FURTHERMORE elliot page is a king and he doesn’t deserve in any way the crazy hate he gets for being trans. trans men are men, trans ppl are valid etc. that being said, i hc him as a he/they lesbian. RESPECTFULLY. i imagine there were a lot of complicated factors while he was coming out and realizing things about themself. i think the harold thing was wanting to be wanted and loved more that actually wanting or loving, and you know we all gotta have that spicy *heteronormativity* woohoo.

bonus LILA (queen)- bisexual!! also she/they hc’s are valid asf for that. we love a queen who can do both. not sure if this is partial or full canon, or just heavy fandom but idc.

okay byyeeee happy pride month and also have a good juneteenth. black lives matter!!!!!

#tua #writingastraightanswer #the umbrella academy #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #allison hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #five hargreeves #ben hargreeves #viktor hargreeves #happy pride month everyone!!!! #this was way longer than i meant it to be lol #enjoy ig