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#i hope its gonna make me look queer as hell
arklayraven · 3 months
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I can't sleep rn while this annoyed/pissed off. So time to remind people OM is canonly a queer game as hell and to tell the queerphobes and transphobes to FUCK OFF. (Seriously, why are you following me if you hate queer and trans people/characters? Get out of here.)
This is a official post by OM devs over the creation of OM and their MC. Read the left section well.
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"OM isn't a queer game" many like to say.
The game, writers and characters beg to differ.
From someone kind who felt they knew all about the game and characters well, even tho they played it themselves.
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Let's go back to that official post by Solmare about OM and this section specifically.
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Hope you read that well, and the person(and many who think/believe this) learns how damn wrong they are.
Also...God don't bring up my Asmo and act like you know all about him. Another thing from that kind person.
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Firstly, canonly none of the characters have set labels. But they are all in fact canonly queer. Whether you like to believe/accept this or not. It's fact, was fact from day one.
Asmodeus is the most openly proud queer boy in the series, and gender nonconforming too at that, even if he uses only he/him pronouns(but he's been shown to be fine being called princess, queen, etc. So he's clearly open to all gendered/less pronouns/labels I feel).
He drips of gender fluidity, and going against gender presentation norms(Babe has presented so fem and nonconforming for awhile now. Learn to look at him and appreciate him better). So take note of all of that, and never say again he's not queer, because that's a damn fucking lie.
Also I hate how bi is used as default for queerness as a whole for characters who are interested in more than one gender, and wish for the day people stop using it as so. (Use MSPEC or just queer if you wish to sound more inclusive of all possible labels/identities for a canon queer character with no canon label set.)
Second, back to what I said before, ALL THE CHARACTERS IN OM ARE QUEER. If you ship your MC or yourself with them, know that's a canon queer character you're pairing them/yourself up with. And you can't erase their queerness and identity. Especially if it makes you personally feel bothered or crap.
And before you say anything, dating them, as a straight woman, doesn't automatically make them straight now too. They are still queer, but are dating you, who happen to be a straight woman. (stop being damn queerphobic challenge.)
I'm already tired of this crap, so gonna end this now and fast.
OM is a canon queer game, and was made with a MC who is genderless to be inclusive of ALL PLAYERS. This opened the door quickly for men, nonbinary, etc players to enjoy the game too, and be part of the fandom as well. There's as much men and nonbinary players in the series like women are, but only difference is in the fandom mainly. Many people choose to see which fans or MCs are more accepted in the community, and which ones to show more love/attention too.
If you tried to expand your horizons more, you will surely quickly find people who identify as men, nonbinary, etc in the fandom as well. And learn how we're here, always been here, just greatly drowned out or ignored by a vast majority of people just because of who we are. (Lots of people with dislike for MCs who are men, or just plain damn queerphobia and transphobia in the works.)
The more people try to ignore the clear fact men and nonbinary people play OM too. The more easier it is for them say OM and its characters aren't canonly queer, and they can feel special/happy about playing the game. That they want to believe was just made to cater to women only. But in reality it was made to be catered to all players, no matter their gender identity or lack of, and same for romantic/sexual attraction.
Also another thing I forgot to add to put more facts that OM is a queer game to be inclusive of ALL PLAYERS.
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Already, the undateables from day one are canonly queer too. If you need to be reminded and stated that as well.
That's pretty much it on this annoying tiring topic.
Enjoy playing OM, the canonly queer game made for ALL PLAYERS. <3
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orionsangel86 · 1 year
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I'm sorry but why do you ship them so hard? They just have 1 episode together.. I watched the sandman expecting destiel and it was literally almost nothing there. 1 episode. Idk how you guys got so much ship content out of that.
Ah nonny, I'm sorry but if you go into anything expecting Destiel you are gonna be dissappointed. Destiel is a behemouth of 12 years worth of gradually escalating gay subtext, queer coding, and romantic tropes. Destiel is the ship that people go into expecting that Tumblr exaggerated only to be blown away by how ridiculously gay it is even when it tries so hard not to be.
But remember, once upon a time people shipped Destiel after only a few moments of interaction. The first Destiel fic was written 30 minutes after Lazarus Rising aired...everything has its time.
When I joked that Dreamling was the "Destiel of Sandman fandom" I meant in terms of popularity compared to everything else about the show. The ships share some similar traits when compared on a grand scale - think ancient cosmic entity that has very strict rules slowly changes and starts to become more "human" thanks to their friendship with one dude who just so happens to be a hedonistic stubborn ass who refuses to die - but are otherwise very different.
But if you are wondering why people ship Dream and Hob so hard, well, this post goes some ways to explaining it.
But basically, look this may only be a half hour of television, but it doesn't equate in universe to half an hour of interaction. This half hour of television spans the course of 6 centuries for these two characters. There is a totally untapped potential hidden in the gaps between centuries to explore, and on top of that, the final meeting is left completely up to the imagination of the audience. Its a sandbox ship. Its a dozen fanfiction gaps laid on top of each other. It's at least 20 different prompts for fans to sink their teeth into. Its the potential. It's the what if.
Then on top of that, if you follow the comics, you know that the future Dream x Hob meetings also have a hell of a lot of potential to turn romantic. Dream going out of his way to hunt down a specific bottle of wine that doesn't exist on Earth anymore to gift it to Hob in his dreams, the very fact that he visits Hob in his dreams (hello common Destiel trope right there). They don't meet too many more times in the comics, but each time the tension is palpable. The meeting in the Kindly Ones is heartbreaking, because you can tell desperately how much they need each other at that moment, but they are both too distracted or consumed by grief and depression to truly reach out to one another. The comics never reveal why Dream sought Hob out at that point, but given everything happening to him at the time, its not hard to assume that Dream was seeking comfort from his friend - the only person he could really turn to for comfort at that point.
Then we have Hob's dream. One of the final stories in The Sandman original comic run. After everything else has happened, after the climax and all that takes place, after the smoke has cleared and you think everyone else has moved on and you are certain the ending is set in stone, you get to Hob's dream, and your mind is once again blown, and suddenly you have a thousand more questions. So many fans hopes and dreams rely on Hob's dream right now I can't even begin to express how important that particular comic issue is to me.
It's all about the potential. There is so much potential.
Plus the 30 minute scene we got was loaded full of subtext, romantic tropes, and queer coding. I dunno if you picked up on it, but I have an extremely long meta essay still in the works that goes through everything that 30 minute sequence gives us in terms of shipping fodder (I really need to finish that). Its not just the romantic tropes, the break up and make up, its the acting choices, the eye fucking, the freaking song choices in 1989 holy fuck could they be more on the nose.
Also, consider this thought experiment: Crowley and Aziraphale in Good Omens are a hugely popular ship, where their creator Neil Gaiman has confirmed that theirs is a love story. Whatever else you may believe about Crowley and Aziraphale, their story is a love story. Creator confirmed love story.
Now, Crowley and Aziraphale are the leads of Good Omens and interact throughout the entire 6 episode show. But consider the first half of episode 3. Imagine a version of Good Omens where Crowley and Aziraphale don't really interact outside of that 30 minute opening sequence. That the story was much more focused on the Them, the Horsemen, and the other characters. Imagine then seeing that 30 minute sequence which shows Crowley and Aziraphale slowly warming to each other and becoming friends over the centuries, shows them getting to know each other, do each other favours, come to each others defence, get into fights and break up with each other, only to make up later...
Would you still ship them? Even if that 30 minute sequence was all you got? I guarantee if I asked any Ineffable Husbands fan that question they would say yes. Because THAT 30 minute sequence is what solidifies the importance of their relationship and its what MAKES IT a love story.
Guess where Neil Gaiman got the idea for that 30 minute sequence in Good Omens from? Ah Neil, plagiarising his own work all these years later!
If Neil Gaiman thought that Men of Good Fortune would work well for a canonical love story in Good Omens, I wonder what he was thinking when he then adapted Men of Good Fortune for television?
THE POTENTIAL.
I ship Dreamling that hard because it has more potential than any other ship I have come across. It has 6 centuries and all the future of the Sandman show for me to explore, to tweak, to play with. Besides they just suit each other ya know? Like Dream is notoriously bad at relationships, but Hob is literally perfect for him. The more my mind dwells on how perfect Hob is for Dream the more I want to scream about it. Give the sad wet cat man a boyfriend who is literally his opposite in every way. Dream is a character looking for a reason to keep living, and Hob is a character who refuses to die. Dream is a pessimist, Hob is an optimist. Dream is afraid of change, Hob literally changes constantly with the times. Dream is desperate for love and someone to stay by his side, Hob just wants to love someone he doesn't have to eventually leave.
Let them meet in the middle.
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happypotato48 · 20 days
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We Are EP 4 Unhinged Tangent Thoughts
Finally! some good shits. this week Vibes the show finally let go of some of its dumb BL tropes. and let the boys being their extreamly cute and chaotic selfs with each other.
Ok i'm still not 100% or even 60% vibing with Phum and Peem but this ep made them much more tolerable. i think my biggest gripe with Phum as a character is that in the show full of earnest loveable dorks his tsundereness and assholedary (is this a real word???) was sticking out liked a sore thumb. so i'm happy that we learnt this ep that he and Toey knew each other and that he and Fang used to take care and protect Toey from bullying when they were kids (i called it! Toey mannerism and the way he talks definitely made him prime target for bullying.) its still not excuse Phum's behavior toward Peem but that + all the apologies he gave this ep soften him for me.
Tan is my new number one blorbo. throwing a party to just tell your friends that you're in love is very Mwah! and that VOICE! he did for toey at the party, crack the hell out of me. ok, how to explain this. so that voice both the deepness of it and the way the audio played gave a very specific old C dramas Thai dubbed feels. that it, thats was the joke. i really loved its but its probably don't translated fully to non thai speakers.
We only got crumbs for Pun and Chain this ep. but ahhhhhhh! baby pun is so cute i can't, he too god damn cute. as a dumb boy myself your brain leaking from reading too much books is so relatable. Chain and Pun relationship being more like a mother and her son than friends is kinda weird but i'm rolling with it. idk what thats say about me but idc, i loved this two too dang much.
And now for the stars of this ep Toey and Q🌟 blam blam blam!! 🌟so i was kinda not into this two as much as other people on here who go bananas for them. but this ep sold me, i'm now 100% a QToey boyie. the way Satang portray him with such earnestly and those forking puppy eyes finally broke me. look, look. i'm not gonna say that i didn't cringe at the way toey talks, and i felt bad for it after we learnt that he definitely got bullied as a kid. the scene in the park where Q asked Toey if being his nong rahat make him felt under any pressure. Fuck thats so sweet, my heart! Q care so much despite being a grumpy bitch and he god damn shows it. i loved this so much. cause not a lot of grumpy BL characters were balanced well with thier grumpiness and tenderness. most of the times relationships like this in other BLs felt very one sided, but not this one. i hope the show will explore more of what happened to Toey, but i'm not gonna get my hope up cause thats kinda don't fit the vibes of this show.
This ep gave me the Friendships and the cutenest and i'm full! now we only need the brothers to get rope into this queer friends group, hell Phum can bring his two hot friends and Toey can bring cute little JJ, and Ciize can be the token lesbian. make them all friends!!
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alatismeni-theitsa · 6 months
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Hey! It seems a new Heracles novel will be published, called "HERC" (well, it is announced as a Greek Myth Retelling but they had to choose the Roman name LOL) The subtitle is "Hero, Huband, Father, Monster, Villain"... How can you naked Heracles the villain? It's quite ruthless, if we remember that the craziest shit he did (killing his wife & sons) was done because of Hera's magic. What are your feelings about it? I read somewhere that it's being announced as a "Querer Romance" (Heracles' "friend" Hylas and his nephew Iolaus will be included, it seems), but I don't have any hope about the nivel portraying gay relationships in a positive light TBH...
"HERC"?? wHAT in the Anglophone hell made them cut the name like that?? 🤮 (on top of choosing the Roman name for absolutely no reason other than ignorance)
"Anglophones research 15 mins before writing" challenge
oh, and
"westerners stop villainizing every male Greek hero. You're not cool or deep" challenge
In such books the elements of the og myth look sooo thin in this retelling. Usually the worldbuilding is "yeah there was a palace with columns, and it was summer and it was SO HOT, and there was the sea and they were eating olives and praying to zeus like they are protestant Christians".
Not only my hopes are not high for this but the facepalming percent for this will also probably be high. I mean, creativity is good but I challenge you to go to random Greeks on the street and explain this book to them. The facial expressions you're gonna get will be PRICELESS
Another reason why this trend annoys me is that the readers will be like "omg I LOVE Greek myths" and their definition of "LOVE!" is "I'm reading every western absurd fantasy scenario available on the market, and have no idea about how the og culture sees its hero. This book is enough for me and apparently Hercules sucks".
Just...make another book at this point, with ancient magic and queer couples!
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tuiyla · 3 months
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NATLA Ep. 4 "Into the Dark" initial thoughts
Okay wow, I think this is my fav so far in terms of changes they've made. The best ep so far is probs Warriors but this was quite bold in the changes it's made and you know what, the first episode made me fear they'd be too timid to actually lean into their changes but no. Just like Danny Pudi put his whole Pudissy into his role, this episode committed to its direction and I can respect that even in places where I don't agree with the changes. The only exception is Bumi's tests, a lot of the dialogue and other aspects lifted straight from ATLA didn't work because it felt more forced in this context than anything. And overall I think Bumi is my least favourite part of the episode and its adaptation.
I was glad to see Jet in this episode, too, even if it was brief. I'm still lacking stronger emotions and a stronger presence from Katara but I'm glad for this goodbye with Jet and how it sets up exactly what it needs to. We did lose Jet being a foil to Sokka and there was a major missed opportunity in having Jet actually interact with Sai but ah well, can't have everything.
Instead of Sokka foiling it out with Jet there's the surprise inclusion of basically Book 2 Chapter 2 which I did not expect but am pleasantly surprised by. This ep went hard on the music taken straight from ATLA between the nomads' songs and Leaves From the Vine playing over the Iroh flashback. And! And!! Oma and Shu are lesbians!!! This is not a drill, Oma and Shu are lesbians in love. If there was one thing I hoped for in terms of the live action show it was casual queer representation and I got it in the most unexpected but pleasant place. Love it.
And!! On top of the surprising but not unwelcome inclusion of The Cave of Two Lovers, the story is recentered entirely on Sokka and Katara. I'll share more thoughts on this later but suffice to say I always love me some Water Sibs appreciation and this was much needed in this version. I still take issue with essentially erasing Katara's mothering of Sokka but it's clear the impact Hakoda leaving had on them is the same and, most probably in lieu of Bato of the Water Tribe, we get this storyline with them. The fact that love being the answer was reframed as the love between these two siblings is honestly a galaxy brain change and decision and I respect the hell out of it. There's still much lacking in terms of really fleshing out our cast but I will never, ever say no to more Water Sibs content. If we were gonna spend so much time in Omashu and put so many familiar faces in there, makes sense to also do the Omashu backstory AND utilize it to shine some light on the sibling dynamic that otherwise doesn't have much room to breathe in the live action. This is the kind of bold new direction that they have to take and own to make this show work.
I also enjoyed the Zuko and Iroh stuff and that's some interesting inclusion of more Book 2 things as well. The way even their plot from the Winter Solstice part one ep was integrated here is quite clever and I enjoyed both the past and present Iroh scenes. We'll see how they handle the actual Zuko backstory and I do think this version of Iroh needs a bit more, how should I put it, softness, but there's much to like here. Especially giving Zuko the option to pursue Aang instead and having him choose to rescue Iroh. Similar to a choice he made in the above mentioned Spirit World ep but honestly, lowkey more poignant here.
That's it for me for today but I'll watch the second half of the season tomorrow. I have to say, so far it has at least provided some interesting new takes worth taking a deeper critical look at, and I don't agree with those who dismiss the show entirely. It has merit even if, halfway through the first season, it's yet to convince me it can justify its own existence.
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asafeplaceforus112 · 5 months
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awwweeee nooooooooooo
I'm gonna be so sad when I found out about James sucking, like I just, "I'm sorry if I ruin your favourite youtuber" you don't understand, I'm so worried.
This is my reaction, because I need somewhere to vent it,
overall, go check out Hbombergay, its so good, regardless of if you don't want to get to the James Somerton part.
youtube
I typed this bit after but I wanted to put it here rather than at the end where noone could see it:
Ummmm overall I don't know, I'm just really sad, I really respected Somerton, I thought he was someone like Contrapoints or Shanspeare or Philosphy tube and he wasn't
I'm sad about it, I also just hope he's okay? Thats weird but regardless of the shitty thing hes done he's human, and I'd like it if he could be okay overall, obviously now would be a tough time, but I just don't want to see him gone because of this
People are bad but I also know the power of people who sometimes go too far and end up cruel so you know? I just hope everything ends up okay
Reaction bit
Oh lord,
oH my god, I was a patreon supporter, thats how much I liked James, I just looked, holy shit he's deleted the patreon holy shit
ooooo Tinker bell and evil queens look like an interesting book, i will be reading that later
oh nooooooo
)): I'm so sad
"Wow you're ditching ship quick" (wrong phasing but you know)
ughhh because gut feeling and I can see the evidence.
I lost a close friend who was a gay man like James Somerton, I specifically lost this friend because he was a gay man that would do whatever it took to get a leg up, it didn't matter if it was against his ethics, as long as he got closer to his career goal he didn't care. For example, wokring under a politician that believed in conversion therapy specifically the use of medical castration. So yeah, lost that friend, went "omg a gay man thats not a boot licker" aaaannndddd
attached to a gay men that uses other people's work to get up in his career
-deep sigh- Goddamn
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH he did it twice??? UUUGUUGGHGHGHHGHGHH
I have so much more of a respect for plagerism stuff in university, like I know but I also have come to a realisation that some of my uni work can be considered as plagerism, if I'm running late with stuff, I find stuff I like, I reword, find another thing, reword, and then make a frankenstein (I do always reference and intext reference and say who said what but after learning this stuff, yeah thats not good enough
NOOOOO not society and queer horror )))): It was one of my favourite vi
god its word for word ))):
Holy shit it never connected in my brain how misogynistic he was
xDDD
"it wAS THEM'LL"
holy shit thats funny
.... How can batman be too woke???
no fucking way
not are they gay )):
A. that pheonix Wright sprite looks amazing
B. HOLY SHIT DD: HE LITERALLY HAD IT ON THE PHOTO HOW
OH SHIT MY ICON SHANSPEAR WAS MENTIONED HELL YEAH
"tHATS RIGHT SHE'S REAL YOU DONT KNOW ME" thats so fun xDDD
urinating tree???
"Too dark for a plagirism" BOI PLAGERISM IS DARK
"MIST" PANTHEON MIST??? -Brain rot activated-
Good video, sad vibes ):
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ihopesocomic · 9 months
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[Wall of possible spelling errors, my pride related]
I think the reason why people include homophonia, biphobia, acephobia etc. in content that's supposed to be about LGBT characters is to convey a form of empowerment.
Like "despite their homophobic parents X was finally able to come out and get with Z, and they've found friends that accept them" in that example it's showing preserverance it's creating a sense of hope for LGBT people still in the closet.
But then there's cases with TOO much homophobia in LGBT content, yes there are ofc sad stories that aren't supposed to end well and people watch them at their own risk. BUT this isn't the case for our lovely example MY PRIDE (I know it's referencing a lion pride but something's telling me it meant LGBTQ pride too)
I know the wlw romance isn't the 'main story' per say of My Pride, but it's the part most people talk about/ got advertised and it still takes up a large chunck of the plot.
But you see the problem is most of that plot chunk is taken up by everyone crapping on our LGBT characters. I cannot find a single supportive moment in this show where it's like "hey nothing it's okay to find other lionesses hot". The characters that are supposed to representing us get nothing but crap after crap, so any sense of empowerment they were trying to convey is killed because there's no satisfying end.
But that's just my take on it.
You are absolutely right, it was never a point of conflict for either of the characters. Like. Ever. The only time homophobia was ever a "problem" was when Proudmane said something all the way in episode 7, and even then there was no consequences for it. I will however argue against Hover or Nothing being treated badly for being gay in any capacity tho. Nothing was always ridiculed for being physically disabled. And Hover was sort of antagonized for being prideless, but that was never a personal conflict for her. And the way the two of them got together told me their love was only forbidden because Hover wasn't in the pride, not because they were the same sex. There was no context clues for homophobia being a thing and I presented plenty of times they could've included it in our review. Hell even Powerstrike was like "We don't kill our gays anymore" like what was the point then? Oh there wasn't one. You just happened to be taken over by the one Pride Law fanatic on the entire continent. Because "drama" I guess.
Just to point out to others tho, no one here argued against the existence of queerphobia in media. It has its purposes, like people recounting their own experiences, and making meaningful social commentary on it, but in most cases I've seen its about telling cishet people to not be queerphobic. Which. Sure one could argue that's a good use for it. I don't feel that way about it tho. More often than not, queerphobia exists in media that doesn't actually give a fuck about it and is just used because it's "expected" to be there, regardless of context, tone, messaging, etc.
Or my favorite argument in the case of My Pride is "it's irresponsible to not include it". Like that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. MP can't even take responsibility of its own trigger warnings, and they want to be judgmental about media that chooses to not include queerphobia? What, are people gonna /forget/ that queerphobia exists? Should people be told "Fuck you, that's reality, bitch" when they don't really wanna see it everywhere they look, cuz they already do? Give me a break. Maybe deconstruct why you think the existence of a queer person justifies the inclusion of discrimination. You can ask this same question about anyone tbh.
People just quite frankly don't know what to do with homophobia in fantasy, they just think it makes for decent plot elements, and to that I say "you're boring" and "Maybe take a creative writing course." It's especially egregious in MP because the homophobia in MP is as shoehorned in as the queer romance. (And Moonstrike's existence just creates a whole mess of questions the show has no intensions of ever answering.)
Like maybe the show didn't include any previous mention of homophobia within prides because it was never intended to be there in the first place. That would be MY guess. It would make sense since Nothing and Hover's failed Romeo and Juliet plotline is abandoned about as quickly as they get together, and served about as much purpose as genderbending the mouse in live-action Cinderella.
We've said this before, MP was stronger with the initial plotline, and including homophobia just made it unnecessarily complicated and stupid, especially since there was quite literally no consequences for it. Call me old fashioned, but discrimination in writing should have a point. - Cat
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hexitca · 4 months
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Rant about Puritan fandom culture!
Well I typed it on twitter but then I had more to say so tumblr it is!
Under read more
WARNING: Long as fuck
Here's some pics
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I know I basically said the author of Heartstopper "brought it on themselves" but yea they kinda did.
You can disagree with BL/Yaoi you can hate the shipping discourse or shipping in fandom in general but you cant frame it in a "i hate [that] bc it's sinful/fetishistic and I'M ABOVE THAT BC I'M WHOLESOME AND BETTER THAN THOSE DISGUSTING SHIPPERS"
bc that's gonna bite you in the ass...as it is doing now. The fucking image of their character's google history is so tame and normal, esp in LGBTQ+ spaces! Yet they are being called a pedo? Crazy. In the end, you only hurt yourself!
I never bothered with HS bc i just wasnt interested in it but thats just my preference. It's sad to see ppl, esp young ppl, turn on a series of LGBTQ+ representation just bc of the author's past (or current? idk) stance on the BL/Yaoi or MLM or whatever genre just bc their stance wavered a bit in a simple comic image. Something that is so fucking normal also! but they will grow up and realized how limiting it is to restrict themselves just to appear pure within a group.
Yet the artists/writers/creators are traumatized by the witchhunt. I know I said the author brought it on themselves for supporting anti but damn I don't want them being accused of being a pedo! Or ANYTHING! NO ONE DESERVES THAT. I dont know anything about the author other than surface knowledge but at the end of the day, all this online shit, doesnt matter. It doesnt! Me saying that is ironic bc im typing this post up right now!
but it's something we care about! I care about fandom spaces, I care that creators are getting attack for something as mild as this even if they invited these ppl into their circle. We're human and we change our views a million times a fucking day. I could agree with one thing and disagree with it another. That's why anti discourse pisses me the hell off! It's just a bunch of bullies looking to make themselves feel better by shaming others! I don't respect that type of behavior. And I hate that they just run around saying shit like "kys" over a two characters fucking?!? It amazes me beyond words.
Fandom has never been without its discourse. But the puritan bullshit is not even fandom discourse, it's just straight up bullying and harassment. It doesnt take much to tailor your fandom spaces to your preferences, i should know ive been in fandom spaces since I was fucking 13 years old. I didn't explore nsfw/porn/anything until I wanted to when I was 18. That is MY personal experience. I never put that on anyone else BUT MYSELF. If I saw nsfw and didnt want to see it I blocked the person. Not make a fucking witch hunt out of it. You are in charge of keeping YOURSELF in check not some person who shared nsfw art/fanfic. How fucking hard is it to turn the "don't show me nsfw" toggle on??? Bc it's not about that. Y'all just wanna be mad and be above someone so why not ppl minding their own business.
And guess what? There ARE ppl who are bad and support nsfw art/writing. They fucking suck. They are outliers and deserve to be called out when they get exposed. But many times, ppl always go "see i told you all the ppl in THAT fandom were pedos/freaks/etc" hmmm sounds like when conservatives go "see...that queer person turned out to be bad, SO all queer ppl are bad" DO YOU GET IT?? It never works out with that line of thinking. You are harming innocent ppl minding their own business. You are harming yourselves when you grow the fuck up and realize that "OH actually...I am curious about sex" and have ppl who you thought were your friends eat your face. PLS wake the fuck up.
If you're an anti:
I hope you recover from that
go fuck yourself
if you're offended by me saying "go fuck yourself", pls take that as a sign to log off the internet and go touch grass. As someone who has done that many of times, it's very refreshing.
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leighlew3 · 1 year
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Hi Leigh!
I hope you don't mind me asking this, but because of your knowledge of the industry, I'm genuinely curious about your thoughts on the whole Warrior Nun situation. With everything going on - fandom noise, all the articles, Netflix CEO commenting, etc - what do you, realistically, think is going to happen? Not only with the show itself but also within the industry. Like, do you think it will have an impact in any way? I've personally never witnessed a streaming service getting so much negative criticism before, but it reminds me of the time around Lexa's death on The 100 and all that followed. It feels like "bury your gays" turned into "cancel your gays" and if nothing else, I just hope all these WLW shows getting cancelled leads to some changes - but again, is that something you see happening?
Buckle up, this is gonna be a novel...
In all honesty if this was a couple years ago, or even just one year ago I would say it might make people less likely to drop LGBTQ shows, absolutely.
But with everything that’s happened over the last year… sadly, I think Hollywood will do what Hollywood so often does and take all the wrong lessons from this and become even more paranoid about greenlighting LGBTQ (and in particular wlw) shows in the first place, for fear if it doesn’t work out they’ll have a widespread backlash from the LGBTQ community and risk being labeled as homophobic. aka “We don’t have to worry about pissing people off with cancellations if we don’t make the shows in the first place.” aka “Not worth the trouble.” could be the perspective of people in charge in the coming days.
Lexa’s death on The 100 taught the lesson that it’s (generally) NOT okay to bury your gays. And then Supercorp on Supergirl sent the message that queerbait is outdated as hell, and just plain embarrassing and unacceptable now (aka either deliver and go there, or stop teasing it and state outright you never will). 
So, I’d love to say Warrior Nun will teach people not to cancel wlw shows that have strong fanbase, but based on recent statements it’s clear that in this case they’re running with the (hard to buy) defense that it wasn’t successful and the fanbase was “small” (?!), or at least not successful and big enough for the budget it required to keep going. So between that + the many, many wlw shows that have been lost over the last year to cancellations... it’s pretty bleak right now, tbh. Recent events overall, even beyond WN, is just likely sending the message to TPTB that it’s risky doing shows featuring (lead especially) LGBTQ rep, in particular shows with wlw rep. It’s sending the message that wlw shows simply don’t perform to the level needed. 
And rather than look at the REAL reason WHY something failed to reach a broader audience or meet someone’s invisible and undefined standards for renewal, TPTB in many cases could sadly chalk it up to “queer women don’t sell” even though there could be so many other reasons a show didn’t reach the level of audience they deem acceptable for a renewal, including but not limited to: bad or limited marketing by the network or streamer themselves and/or lack of time to garner a proper audience (a struggle many streamers have with their shows in general, even outside of LGBTQ rep), or maybe it’s on TPTB behind a show itself aka it simply had subpar writing and poor production value, or bad acting/casting, or lack of chemistry for the lead duo, or just plain terrible creative decisions (see The Wilds Season 2 making a show about girls into a show about boys) etc etc. 
I mean, Dickinson was effing brilliant, fantastic casting and chemistry, incredibly clever and heartfelt writing, solid production value, overwhelmingly positive reviews -- but it never got the marketing it should have had. And thus it quietly came and went, left its mark on its core fans, but was at least able to end in the way they wanted if nothing else, after 3 short seasons. 
Look, one of the most successful streaming series of all time that literally helped launch the format -- was the sapphic as hell Orange is the New Black. But OITNB was the perfect recipe. It was well written, fantastically cast, had organic buzz galore, award noms -- but it also had big marketing. It was the ideal alignment of ALL vital elements coming together to work. 
And I think that show really paved the way for a lot more queer wlw content to emerge, and fill the streamers especially. Alas, sadly, the bubble burst. And it burst for many reasons, including political theater in real life and an attack on LGBTQ rights of late. But for two big reasons, from a strictly industry side: lack of proper marketing for some shows, and lack of quality from others. 
I mean, let’s face it, some of the wlw series that have been axed the last year or two were not always high quality shows overall (I mean come on, some were on The CW for a reason). And it may seem like “But, cishet shows can be silly or cringey or lame and last for years!” Yes, absolutely. And that’s incredibly unfair that LGBTQ audiences can’t have shows that are just straight up camp or have mediocre writing or acting but are still loved by fans and last for a while. But that’s the hierarchy. It’s heteronormative bs and it’s not right, but it’s just how things are until we can successfully change them. The community has to work twice as hard to be taken seriously. And for LGBTQ BIPOC in particular, sadly one can stack those obstacles even more. 
So, I think for the next few years, shows with wlw representation in the TV space (and otherwise) -- well, they’re going to have to check a LOT of boxes in terms of overall quality, casting, concept, execution, talent on screen and bts, etc and then be grabbed up by a partner that truly believes in it enough to properly promote it -- in order for it to stand a real chance at sticking around. 
Warrior Nun had most of the elements above, alas much like Dickinson -- it just did not have the marketing support it needed. Meanwhile others shows had the marketing -- but honestly just weren’t that great in terms of quality, so fans simply didn’t latch on as much, and who could blame them. 
And thus, here we are. So do I think the widespread backlash around Warrior Nun’s cancellation, and fans’ amazing efforts to fight back will have any lasting effect on how Hollywood makes cancellation decisions? In the past I would have said 100%. But for now, I sadly kinda doubt it, because its cancellation was just the latest (but arguably biggest) in a long list of cancellations. 
If anything, right now Hollywood execs may actually feel emboldened to just go with the flow, take the social media fury from fans, and do what they’re gonna do -- with no regard for impact on the LGBTQ community. They also can hide behind the excuse of “Lots of shows and projects are being cancelled left and right, LGBTQ shows are no exception nor being specifically targeted, LGBTQ fans just don’t see the bigger picture. For every LGBTQ show canned, there’s 10 shows about straight people that are dead too.” And I say this -- because I had this said to me recently by someone with power in the industry. Alas what these people don’t understand is it’s NOT the same. Because LGBTQ content is so limited already that the community can’t afford to lose any more. And those 10 cishet shows that got the axe? They’ll just be replaced with 10 more next year. Meanwhile LGBTQ shows? Are less likely now to be greenlit after all this. 
And that’s disheartening. And it’s not okay. 
TLDR: I dunno how all of this will play out for sure. I HOPE the Warrior Nun situation changes something for the better, I just... right now, at this exact moment in time, I don’t feel super confident that it will. I think we just need to get through this painful period in LGBTQ media history and hopefully come out the other side better off somehow, likely after a show with wlw rep hopefully comes along soon that has both the quality AND marketing to truly succeed.
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buck-yyyy · 1 year
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Mike’s Pocket - AKA, Theo losing his goddamn mind over FUCKING fabric
Okay, so I’ve talked about this before, you’ve definitely read about this before, everyone knows about Pocketgate by now—so, instead of reiterating old points, I’m gonna summarize my opinions (and therefore what I’m drawing from for this whole thing) the stuff that we’ve all been over and then I can talk about fun stuff >:D
1. Finn Wolfhard said that the pocket was sideways!
Okay, yes he did say that, but I also need everyone to look at the pocket closely for a second.
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See that thick shadow and creasing at the top? The pocket opens from the top, meaning that it can’t open from the side (underneath the triangle) because it needs to be attached by at least three sides—otherwise, it would be hanging off. There is no way for the pocket to open from the side, because it wouldn’t be structurally sound—additionally, we would see the fabric creasing to accommodate that opening, whether or not there’s a cover over it. That triangle opens (we can see that the metal circle is the same kind of snap closure that’s at his neckline), but it’s purely decorative.
2. The triangle points to Will all the time!
HELL YEAH! GONNA GET INTO THAT!
3. There’s a letter in the pocket! Hm. See, this is where I’m torn, because I love the idea, but also, I don’t think it… makes sense? Even folded up notebook paper (because it would have to be folded to fit) would be noticeably bulging (hate that word for…chronically online reasons) against the fabric and noticeably pushing it out. This anon I got a while back makes a good point, but I’m not a huge fan. I just feel that we would see the letter in the pocket, because even if (like the anon said) they’re planning on him having a letter, he wouldn’t have had it in that pocket because changes of clothes do exist, and after several sweat, dirt, blood and grime filled days in the same clothes, no matter how much of a teenager Mike is, he would one HUNDRED percent change out of that thing as soon as he had the chance. No point in keeping it around.
4. Triangle imagery = queercoding!
FUCK yes. The woman in charge of costume design literally said that she purposely incorporated triangle patterns and organization into Robin’s clothing, there’s absolutely zero reason to believe that she wouldn’t do that for other characters that are intended to be queer.
FUN PART NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just finished my fourth or fifth rewatch of season 4 today, and I noticed something kinda neat—it almost seems like there’s… two jackets?
I’ve talked before about my theory that they used interfacing in the pocket (because we know that it’s handmade) to draw our attention to it, and I stand by that based on the way that it moves—in certain scenes.
A fabric that’s reinforced with interfacing will bend, but it will NOT bend the normal way fabric does. It doesn’t quite follow the shape of your body—I mean, it will follow the curve roughly, but it’ll kinda make its own shape. I wish I had an example, but I don’t own any clothes with interfacing, aaand my mom already looked at me like I was insane when I ran in to bend the collar of my dad’s shirt to hopefully get an example, so. You’re just gonna have to take my word for it. 
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For example- interfacing in the collar of his shirt to keep it stiff!
NOW, FOR A REFERENCE!
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Alright. Here’s a shirt made out of what I’d wager is a pretty similar fabric, although I think it’s slightly more flexible than what Mike is wearing. (If I see any of y’all insulting my fashion taste I Will End You)
When the fabric around it is scrunched, it keeps its shape, yes—but the fabric of the pocket creases slightly in places where it already had wrinkles. And what about when it’s actually on?
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I hope you all know I bound my chest (at almost 11pm) so I could make this as accurate as possible without it getting in the way. 
Anyways, see how when my arm is close to it, it bends? Mike’s only does this, like, half the time.
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This is a terribly blurry image, but you can see that the pocket is facing Argyle, and is bending perfectly naturally with his arm pressed up against the side of the shirt. It matches the shape of his pose, and it doesn’t look like there’s anything in there. Regular pocket! No interfacing!
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Points to Jonathan, and it’s a little stiff, sure, but it's creasing pretty normal. Likely just a stiff jacket.
This one is,,, tricky. It looks pretty stiff, I’d agree. 
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But look closely! The black lines are where it creases and wrinkles with the shape of the rest of the fabric, and the white traces how the shape of the pocket follows the shape of the edge of his shirt.
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And oh, my favorite ever example (and the reason I’m looking into this to begin with) <3 that pocket is moving NORMALLY and it’s facing EL!!!!! RIGHT AS HE’S SUPPOSEDLY ABOUT TO SAY ILY!!!!!!!!
But let’s look at some examples where it IS facing Will. 
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NOW THAT’S AN INTERFACED BEND! JUST A LITTLE BIT TOO PERFECTLY CURVED! Notice the difference between how it’s bending in this versus when he’s with El in the last example! (of course, the difference in pose should also be accounted for, but still. That is HEAVILY drastic.)
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FUCKKKKKKK YEAH BAYBEE
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STIFF! ASS! POCKET! I mean, it’s nearly straight (heh), whereas Will’s is way more curved. They’re both slouching and facing the same direction. 
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(Tracing isn’t perfect but my point still stands.) 
Anyways, I fully believe that there’s two copies of this jacket—one for scenes with Will on Mike’s left, in order to draw attention to the triangle/arrow; and one for scenes without him. Thoughts?
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coveredinredpaint · 6 months
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hi! my name is rex too and i think thats pretty cool
anyway, i was wondering if you had any tips on dressing feminine but like,,,, also being able to pass? or tips on being confident enough to not need to pass?
heyy that is pretty cool!!
im gonna be honest with you, i never really managed to pass before starting t. there were like 5 times ppl gendered me correctly but after that they immediatly "corrected" themselves. the only person who didnt was a toddler, i hope hes doing great.
all the tips and tricks ppl gave out never worked for me, never managed to figure out why, im thinking it was mostly my voice.
so i got absolutely no passing advice for you, but i can definitely tell you how to work on your confidence and say fuck you to societies ridiculous expectations
(it turned out longer than i distracted, i cant give concrete advice apparently my apologies)
tw: mention of bullying and some mental health stuff but nothing heavy
before i start i will say that it takes time. it takes time to learn and let go of this need to fit in. to learn to do your own thing even if you have to do it alone. to grow and learn who you want to be or are.
first we need to understand that expectations of how we should act or dress or look, whether based on our gender or not, are absolute bullshit. like straight up made up.
step one is kill the cop in your head. every time you judge yourself (or someone else) for something, ask why you care about that. most of the time its cause you have been taught in some way that what youre doing is not according to "the rules". this can be for the smallest things, like when i get really excited and stim about something i used to feel embarassed because "men dont act like that". sometimes i still feel that way. its not something you can just get rid of, so its important to actively affirm yourself that what youre doing is okay and that you are allowed to do what makes you happy.
dealing with yourself is already a hell of a challenge, but other people, that something else. i hope you live in an accepting area and i have heard many stories of people are queer fully accepted for it. but often thats sadly not yet the case. surely isnt for me at my school. there are people who are gonna make you feel like shit, who are gonna call you all the horrible things the voice in your brain calls you too. you are gonna wish you were "normal" sometimes, even if you dont really mean it.
going back to normal? going back in the closet? letting go of the clothes that make my feel better even on the most dysphoric days? fuck no, i finally started to get myself, my life back, im not sacrificing that for some teens whos names i dont even know. so you turn it around, no longer "why do they treat me like that" but "how dare they treat me like that" if they kick you while youre down you better bite their ankles and dont let go. most people who bully people who are "other" are terrified of what they see in us. we are living proof that their belief of how the world should work is very wrong. they call you a fag and a tranny? you better come to school next day in the gayest clothes you own. they call you an emo and bark at you? you better be dressed even more punk the next day. they may laugh at you, yell at you, even record you or push you around. it doesnt matter, they hold no power over who you are.
but please do not try and carry this alone. dont let yourself turn bitter. its is difficult to be treated like shit for simply existing. even when it doesnt hurt as much as it did its still exhausting. find someone to talk to, whether its a family member you trust, a friend, a mental health professional or other queer people online. its important not to suppress your feelings. get them out, by either talking about them or writing or making art or music.
know that its your life and you can live it however the hell you want. be kind to yourseld, be kind to others. if you are not where you want to be to right now you will in the future. cant really call it a life if you didnt live for it. it will get better, you just got to keep going and keep fighting.
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animorphs #4 notes
-wait is this the book where Ax shows up?
-OH MY GOD ITS THE ONE WHERE AX SHOWS UP
-fun fact: #4 was the first animorphs book i ever read as a kid lmao. what a place to jump in at
-another fun fact: cassie and tobias were my favorite characters as a kid. cassie because i wanted to be a vet, tobias because i had social anxiety and was weird as fuck
-love how cassie is just like “me and my friends live in constant terror and have the weight of the entire world on our shoulders even though we are just children. also i like like Jake”
-they have literally all called Marco pretty lmao
-i love ax so much man. i think it’s kind of easy to forget that he is also just a teenager. he was probably scared as hell trapped at the bottom of the ocean and thinking there was literally no one on the planet who could save him
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-i think this is the first time we see marco immediately agree to a stupid plan and i think it really goes to show that he really does care about the cause and is just (rightly) scared for the safety of himself and his friends
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-cassie’s pov is really interesting so far just because she reads so far into the other characters. also this is depressing as hell. what the fuck.
-i have a lot of mixed feelings about cassie. on one hand, she’s a great friend and tries really hard to take care of her friends (complimenting marcos hair on the bus and joking to tobias to try and make him feel better, for example) but on the other hand her whole “we’re just as bad as them” morality thing is annoying as hell. like how are you actually sitting there comparing you and your 3 friends temporarily taking over dolphin minds to the Yeerks trying to make slaves out of the entire human race. also you and your friends have murdered innocent people who were being controlled by yeerks, but you’ve decided to have a moral crisis over some dolphins?
-take a shot every time tobias says “good grief”
-ok. we’re talking to a whale. this is normal.
-yknow i know they’re like 13 but i think cassie might be a little. crazy. naive. i’m probably gonna make a whole post about cassie when i get a little further into the series because i have Thoughts
-marco really does straight up accuse her of being afraid of responsibility in book #4 huh
-marco is the only valid bitch here
-AX
-AX AX AX AX
-MY BOOOOOY
-i am once again thinking about how terrified ax must have been. and then had to find out his brother is dead. and that the only hope for the planet hes on lies in himself and 5 human teenagers who don’t even really know what they’re up against.
-i love ax so fucking much man
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-i think this might be one of my favorite moments in the whole series because i think this is when it really hits the animorphs and us just how fucked this situation is. The way they expected Ax to be a warrior like Elfangor but he ends up being a kid just like them really is a slap in the face
-oh my god. these poor kids. they are so damn scared. i love these kids so fucking much man
-idk how to explain it but there’s something very gender about ax morphing human. do y’all get me because idk how to explain it
-look i’m just saying that the animorphs are a queer friend group ok. happy pride (editors note: it was in fact pride when i took these notes i’m a dumbass who forgot to post)
Bonus screenshot i took but didn’t make a note on for some reason:
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I think this might be another one of my favorite moments in the series. i just love ax a lot man
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spurious · 11 months
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⭐️⭐️!
(fic writer commentary asks)
me: getting this ask and going back and forth for three hours about whether it's too much to just go off on a fucking dissertation about O I Think We Should Be Brethren
actually, you know what, fuck it, we ball!!!! i'm extremely proud of this story and i can allow myself to talk about it.
For the moment I'm just going to talk about chapter one, because I started writing my thoughts and it got.........................................long, but if anyone's actually interested in the following two chapters I am fully willing to get into those as well.
ALRIGHT BUCKLE UP.
Walt Whitman's Live Oak, With Moss #4 reads, in its entirety, as follows:
This moment as I sit alone, yearning and            pensive, it seems to me there are other           men, in other lands, yearning and            pensive.  It seems to me I can look over and behold            them, in Germany, France, Spain—Or           far away in China, India, in           Russia—talking other dialects,  And it seems to me if I could know those            men I should love them as I love           men in my own lands;  It seems to me they are as wise, beautiful,            benevolent, as any in my own lands;  O I think we should be brethren—I            think I should be happy with            them.
So my initial notes for this were the sort of vague idea of exploring my headcanon of John being gay, and wanting to sort of chart some of his experiences with finding/looking for/failing to achieve a queer community? And how that would intersect with his having, you know. Joined the military, traveled to exotic locations, met interesting people, and killed them (as they used to say). This is also how I ended up starting to read that fascinating book about gay us military history, because I really just had no frame of reference for what John's experiences might've been like.
Anyway, I wrote the first paragraph or so one night when I couldn't sleep and was just laying in bed mentally writing lines (honestly good job to me for not thinking I'd remember in the morning and then...not lmao).
Initially I just started writing, thinking about this kind of...handful of formative queer experiences that John might've had, and then after a while it became evident that this was gonna be...kind of long...so I made a separate note attempting to diagram out the different biographical beats I wanted to hit (thanks stargate wiki and also so many information websites about the US air force). So I just sort of ending up writing my way through these different points of John's life, through the twin lenses of loving flying and loving men, and all of his understanding of the tension that existed there; all of which leads him to learn that his feelings need to be sort of ruthlessly compartmentalized for, essentially, his own safety.
Also while writing the first chapter of this fic I had a week or so where I just vivid-dreamed about airplanes and flying? Literally never happened to me before but ok
I think one of my favorite bits in the early section of the first chapter is John driving down to Edwards just hoping to catch a glimpse of one of the test flights. There’s something just really pure and sweet about it to me, and it sticks out as an impactful moment even though nothing really happens.
The section beginning with In Asia, John learns a few more things. is where I really think I started to hit a stride in terms of the overall voice of the story, the sort of barren sadness of it all, mixed with that quiet desperate little spark of hope.
Writing directly about John's relationship with Nancy in a story where he's explicitly, textually gay was an interesting exercise. My read on the whole situation is that he did care for her, and that he thought, to some degree or another, that he could make it work--that maybe friendship would be enough, that he could give her what she needed, and anyway, what the hell else was he going to do? Live his truth?
So the bit with Nancy is where I ended up getting into the sort of recurring motif of marriage vows (the playlist for this fic being called "till death" and all that). In terms of writing the breakup, I tried to use the small amount of screentime we get of Nancy, where she just seems sort of...sad, for John, like that he's like this? And idk, she probably could've, would've been angry, but she strikes me as this very in-control woman who would have planned out this conversation beforehand, not really wanting it to devolve into a whole..."scene", or whatever (since I tend to imagine Nancy is of a similar WASPy stock to John, iykwim). And John, I think, would just go along, because like, that's how he ended up in the marriage in the first place, for one thing, but again, I believe he cared for her and he'd, like. Want her to be happy?
The divorce is fast, and John finds out that, for all that the brass loves a family man, there's plenty of room in the chain of command for an unattached loner who doesn't care if he dies.
This is just a line I like. Like, John knows exactly what his value to the military is, I think.
So anyway, then I proceeded to give myself several million feelings about John and Holland? Honestly from Phantoms I immediately read the relationship as a romantic one, at least on John's end. Like yes it's a showing of his usual Sheppardian recklessness when someone important to him is in danger, but...I just think he's in love, it makes sense to me that he would've had this just absolutely fucking devastating experience? That he would've fallen in love with this sort-of-mostly-straight guy and convinced himself he could live on these little scraps of affection, and then it ends with the person he loves just fucking. Dying? That's how you end up depressed in Antarctica!!!
I spent a lot of time reading transcripts and rewatching snatches of episodes while writing this (mostly ch2, but) and when I got to this bit of Phantoms I just fucking lost it:
HOLLAND (weakly): Sheppard, when we get out of here, I'll make sure I say something really nice at your court martial. SHEPPARD (smiling): Yeah. Come visit me in Leavenworth, huh? HOLLAND: No. It's way too depressing. SHEPPARD: Yeah.
And it's EVEN FUCKING WORSE in the actual episode than it is in text. Like it seems as though Holland's trying to make a joke when he says no, but John just...takes it? Like yeah, of course, you wouldn't want to do that for me. About this guy he's sacrificing his career and his life for? He just goes, yep sure wouldn't expect you to put yourself out even a little bit? IT IS JUST DEVASTATING. AWFUL. Fucking horrible and absolutely perfect angst content for me and my fic lmao. god. I cannot believe how sad that exchange is.
Soooooo you know. I think John went into that rescue thinking he would either save Holland and get a court martial, or he would die. And I think for quite a while afterward, he believes that he should've died in that desert, and everything afterward is extra innings he didn't really deserve.
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szasza-chan · 1 year
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I’m really jealous of everybody who can enjoy Buddy Daddies because this anime makes me so angry.
I KNEW that nothing will happen between Rei and Kazuki but still the whole presentation is just... ARGH!
Yeah, its not a 1:1 Spy x Family copy but still try to ride that wave, don’t fool yourself! But it would be more obvious with a straight couple, so why not make this show with two dudes? Genius! In that way, they can get the queer people and fujoshis/fudanshis’ money, but they won’t make their relationships gay, so everybody can “safely” watch it. That’s just disgusting to me.
I’ve already seen people saying that they’re happy that it’s not gay, so they can enjoy and watch it. Because, you know, if it’s gay and you’re straight, its physically impossible to you to watch something. *irony* And on the other hand people are like “yeah I know they won’t gonna get together but stll ship them”. Yeah, that’s the problem. They knew that a lot of people still gonna watch it and ship the protagonists, and that’s enough for them, because they already got your money. Even though they spit you in the face.
Do I want that Rei and Kazuki have sex? Hell no, who tell you that? This is not that type of anime, so of course it’s totally okay if they have a more “kid friendly” relationship. But I still would like to see some confirmation that they’re together, or get together later. A meaningful handholding, or a romantic hug. But this never gonna happen. Is there a chance that one of the guys is bisex? Of course, but you never gonna know it because in Japan media, there are no bi people (except if they want to make a gay character “straight”, like Mikasa in Fuuka, who “was” gay for 200+ chapters, and then he fell in love with his female teacher under tho chapters and got together... yeah, fuck you Seo Kouji, you coward bastard!)
I hate when people say that Japan is some safe place, where feminism and wokeness and “gay agenda” are unknown because it’s just not true. They has a lot of feminist manga/anime (like the whole mahou shoujo genre) and they has queer anime/manga from like the ‘80/’90s. CLAMP, Ikuhara, Yoshida Akimi all had LGBTQ+ characters, few years ago we had Yuri!! on Ice and Sarazanmai, so it’s not like that Japan is no capable of making queer media. But you’re naive if you think its as easy as in the west. They’re still very conservative and it’s hard to make real, uncensored queer anime, without resriction.
Of course I don’t say that it’s absolutely bad if somebody like this anime, or you’re a bad person, if you ship Kazuki and Rei. You watch what you want to watch, and like what you want to like. As I said, I’m just jealous, because I want to like it but can’t. I’m still hoping that in the end I will look like a fool, because they get together, but I know they won’t. It’s just another fujoshi-bait anime, which is okay, I like a lot of these type of shows (like Free! or S8 Infinity), but this is just feel bad.
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Sidelines are for sports games, not characters of color
I want to address the somewhat awful job ST has done with its POC characters not just in Vol 2, but over the course of the show. I've done a similar post talking about the queer rep in the show if you want to check that out.
I'm gonna start with Lucas, who's been sidelined from the beginning. I get this is rural Indiana in the 80's and you wouldn't expect a whole ton of POC characters fine fine fine whatever. But if you're going to include exactly one (1) POC main, you better hope to god you do a good job with that character. Look at S1 -- Will was central to the plot in a major way (duh), Mike was huge in pushing everyone to find Will and was well-defined by his close relationship with him, and Dustin's intelligence set him apart even in a group full of so-called nerds. What did Lucas get to distinguish him in any particular way? Nothing much. Even moving into S2 his character remained distinctly less fleshed out than the others
One part of S1 I did very much like, however, was this scene. I thought it was a great way to address the kind of casual racism that people who grow up with privilege can often display, even unintentionally.
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Mike and Lucas had both showed up to school dressed as the ghostbuster Venkman and Mike tried to argue that Lucas should be Winston Zeddemore. Lucas pointed out that Mike only said that because Zeddemore was black, and he didn't want to be Zeddemore because he, like so many black characters in film, wasn't as interesting or influential as many of the white mains.
Ironically, a similar fate ended up befalling Lucas. He began to be drawn more into the spotlight in S2 and S3, but it was more in reference to his relationship with Max than anything else. Listen, I love Lumax (their relationship outclasses Mileven by a mile, argue with the wall) but Lucas needing a relationship with a white character in order to gain real traction within the show and the fandom is pretty fucking shitty.
S4 finally put Lucas' character on par with the others in terms of screentime, lines, and fandom attention, and the Duffers managed this oh-so-impressive feat through the power of... basketball. Come on, I mean really?
Yes, from what we've seen basketball is the fastest path to popularity in Hawkins High (Steve, Billy, Tommy H, Jason) but to make the only black character suddenly a basketball star when he's shown zero interest or athletic ability up until now... it doesn't sit right with me, let's put it that way.
Erica falls into similar black stereotyping as Lucas. We see little development for her over the seasons and from the first moment she's on-screen she's very much the Sassy Black Girl. There's nothing wrong with characters displaying stereotyped traits as long as you can give them other characteristics that define them beyond the typical fallbacks. If your character is essentially reduced to that stereotype, however, it's a problem. All we know of Erica, beyond her never-ending supply of clapbacks and sarcasm, is that she likes DND and My Little Pony. 90% of her lines are full of sass, no matter who she's talking to, and while it's entertaining at times (her calling Murray a bald bastard was funny as hell lmaoo) it can quickly get old. Erica's not the worst black rep I've ever seen, not by a long shot, but the Duffers definitely could've done better with her.
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[Having the only black female character also be a staunchly avowed capitalist feels a little weird to me, but I honestly don't have a way to properly articulate why so I'm not going to go into that rn. Maybe in a later post.]
Watching Vol 2 was a crazy fucking experience for a lot of reasons, but watching Jason and his little basketball cult fully beat up black kids significantly younger than them was... really something. A mostly-grown guy full on rugby tackling a middle school girl with aggression that far outweighed the situation...
You can't tell me there wasn't racial motivation there, but the situation really wasn't handled that way on-screen. It wasn't filmed to really make the audience think about the kind of aggressions (micro or otherwise) that black kids in bumfuck Indiana would experience. It wasn't addressed as racially-motivated. It wasn't addressed at all, actually. Thanks to the racist implications of that moment (and, in fact, the racist implications of Jason's entire attitude towards Lucas & Erica) never being addressed ever, the whole scene came across as more gratuitous violence than anything. I'm not saying the show needs to hold the audience's hand and look in their eyes and spell out J-A-S-O-N = R-A-C-I-S-T, but the S1 Zeddemore scene proved there are ways to intertwine talks about racism into the script, ways to address problems like xenophobia without making it stilted or shoehorned in.
When you show the brutal beating of black children and then move on too quickly for the audience to fully process what happened, it takes away from the heavier implications of such violence.
Moving on from the Sinclairs, we have Kali.
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I liked her character very much, I'm going to be honest. The way she embodied El's angrier, more violent inner voices, with El's return to Hawkins representing her turning her back on that side of her while never truly facing up to it, made her an excellent lens for the audience to see more of El than what we got in S1.
But brown women in media too-often fall into one of two categories.
the docile, meek woman who comes from a patriarchal culture and will always defer to the men in her life, even when it goes against her own desires and dreams
The angry, probably violent woman who rages against the world because she has been wronged in the past
Again, a brown character being one of these two things isn't necessarily bad, but when we're left room for little else around all the resentment Kali's built up? When there's almost no middle ground between the two extremes?? Let's not rely on the old stereotypes over and over and over again, please.
...
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...Did someone say stereotypes? Oh hang on wait it looks like we have another one. I once again feel the need to establish that this is not hate on the character himself, Argyle was legitimately one of the best parts of the California group and I love him with my whole entire heart (& also Eduardo Franco deserves so much better from this shitty fandom).
But the first Latine character on the show being a stoner? That's the best y'all could come up with?? Argyle was funny, he was useful to the plot, and he was a nice foil for the often-serious characters he's surrounded by, but all that being said, I couldn't quite get rid of the nagging irk in the back of my mind every time he was on screen because the stoner Latine character??? At this point, all the blatantly stereotyped characters just make this shit boring and predictable. I don't even have anything new to say about Argyle because it's nothing I didn't just address in terms of Erica, Lucas & Kali.
I feel like the treatment of ST's queer and POC characters is definitely different. We see constant abuse and mistreatment of queer characters without getting any outwardly, happily-queer endings for them; with the POC characters it strikes me more as the typical sidelining and stereotyping that we see in a lot of mainstream media. I'm not going to sit here and argue over which is worse or which is more harmful to audiences, they're both shitty and I'm tired of it all.
Do better.
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caseythebunnyboy · 1 year
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sorry this is so out of the blue but it’s so so nice seeing other SEA trans people!!! i feel like i never come across people like me online (esp. in nsfw spaces) so this blog genuinely came as a really pleasant surprise <3 also ur outfit in that bunny post is SO cute
okay this probably wont make sense to people who arent poc but this actually means so much to me. i have a really big history on having internalized racism and feeling like im "lesser than" white people. to be honest, it still effects me to this day in small ways, but thats another topic for another day- there are so many layers that influence how i see my race that connects with my sexuality and gender identity that you cant really explain to others, they just have to experience it themself.
(im gonna put the rest under the cut because this is probably gonna be long and i dont wanna clog your dashboard/screen)
another thing is that ive felt like i was a "lesser" asian as well. im not chinese, japanese, or korean so my entire identity of being asian is constantly being questioned and pushed aside because im not one of the pretty, well known asians. it made me feel inferior for so long and took me years to get over, and honestly im not sure if im over it yet, but its definitely died down more.
this ask means so much to me because it makes me feel like just by existing as a south east asian, (a group of people that are often ignored and doubted as to whether or not theyre the race they are) and being proud of it, im helping my people not be ashamed of it too. because the sad reality is that almost every single one of my fellow south east asian friends have wished they were white when they were younger.
i wouldve done anything to get younger me to be proud of his color, rather than trying to whiten it whenever he drew himself, rather than wishing he were american, and rather than despising his own country and people for 12 years. he was blinded by inferiority to the point were it became a mindset that we were lesser. that white people are cooler and more advanced, that my countrys history was boring, and that my culture could never compare.
when i was 13 i finally got out of that mindset, but little bits and pieces linger around that i try my best to ignore. now iam an adult man that is proud of my countrys culture, music, fool and people. it makes me happy that i made someone go "oh i found someone else like me!" because yes! we are like each other! and im so glad you feel proud of that, since i am too!!! surprisingly, we arent that uncommon, i have a whole friend group of south east asians that are also trans, you just have to look closely to find us hehe
theres a whole other topic about how me being poc (that isnt all that common or well known) affects my experience being queer but honestly thats a suuuuper long topic i could talk about for hours, so i wont get in to that here. anon, if youre still reading this because i know this is long as hell, please feel free to dm me so we can talk!! i wanna get to know a fellow trans south east asian, and who knows, we might even be from the same country!
last thing, im happy you guys like my outfit in the bunny posts, will post more pictures of me in it i swear! 💜 thats all i can fit in to one post, again, thank you so much anon. i hope you have a great day 😊
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