#queer stories matter

[multifandominfj]

I have watched this movie a total of five times now, and I’m completely enamored and in love with this movie. Ali and Humberly make my cheeks sore every time I’ve watched because all I did was smile and squee with joy watching one of my favorite holiday romance stories of all time.

I’m a sucker for a fake dating trope, it’s one of my favorites. And to see a movie where the two leads already don’t have to come out, not made a big deal of them being lesbians and have a healthy relationship with their parents was an added treat.

Now, for some of my favorite moments.

The first one being the exchange of the gloves. The fact that not only were they MATCHING, but the flirtatious texting had me gushing. That moment was so “Carol” coded, and I’m here for it.

The next one being the work Christmas party and where Amelia walks Daniella to her door. I think that was THE moment in the movie where they both realized they liked each other. “She’s the most unexpected Christmas Miracle.” ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! That was just so cute! Them dancing with each other at the party made my heart are warm and mushy, and where they both happen to gaze between each other’s eyes and lips at Daniella’s door; I was practically shouting “HEY, YOU TWO SHOULD KISS” at my tv.

The last is where both of the family helps with the declaration of love. I want someone to shout their love for me from the rooftops, while showing my photos of our favorite memories. They are beyond adorable when they act shy while telling each other how they feel.

AND THE KISSES ! Not only did we get one with the love declaration, but another at their Christmas dinner. They were perfect.

This movie is perfection, and it’s in my Top 5 favorite Christmas movies of all time. I hope Ali and Humberly know how many holidays they’ve made brighter with this movie. How many people they’ve made feel loved during a time of the year when they feel alone. I know they’ve helped me a great deal. ❤️

#friends and family christmas #hallmark movies #hallmark #humberly gonzalez #ali liebert #ali liebert has got me questioning everything about my sexuality #humberly gonzalez had me blushing the entire time #these movies are for queer girls #queer stories matter #sapphic representation matters #women the sapphics love

[charlieee-haha]

Why is no one talking about squilliam at the met gala?? I forgot to take a screenshot but he was there and he absolutely tore??

#squilliam fancyson #spongebob #squidward #met gala #my post #tumblr #fashion #this happened #and it’s serious #queer stories matter

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

i think the second you start putting together a list of the writers and what their gender/sexuality identities are for the sake of proving the ofmd writers room isn’t as queer as you think it should be you’re already in too deep. the fact that an izzy fan did all that AND went even FURTHER and just openly assumed everyone was cishet if they couldn’t immediately find evidence otherwise is beyond parody. i can’t even find it in me to be upset or anything i’m just amazed at how little self-awareness some ppl have. how do you type all that up and post it without ever stopping to think “wait is this a shitty thing i’m doing” like babe what is WRONG with you

#also like maybe you guys didn’t like the season bc queer ppl aren’t a hivemind #maybe a very queer writers room made a season of television that you just. didn’t enjoy #maybe you not liking the season doesn’t have anything to do with evil terrible cishets maliciously ruining queer stories #maybe it’s just a matter of taste. idk. just a thot #ofmd #ofmd fandom crit #txt #mine #og #the izcourse #anyway i just got home from a Journey and i am now about to become unconscious. goodnight

[gideonisms]

I will admit I hate the trend towards measuring how Healthy fictional relationships are. they're not breakfast cereals! we don't need to measure the amount of fiber! even if it did matter how much fiber a fictional relationship has "healthy" is also a very general, vibes-based word for concepts that I think we probably should get more specific about

#here are some great words: 'consensual' 'exploitative' 'fulfilling' 'draining' 'enjoyable' 'painful' 'affectionate' #we can talk about the ways a relationship is or isn't working for the parties involved #without falling back on 'health' #i think that what is considered healthy changes based on the time period and in general as a queer person i do feel a certain hesitance #to just like nod to health without specifying what i mean given the complicated relationship between queerness and #being considered unwell or unhealthy by society/doctors/psychiatry #ultimately this is a small thing and doesn't matter because once again #if everyone in a work of fiction stayed physically and mentally healthy throughout that would be a very boring story. to me #it's just not the type of story i like so it doesn't matter anyway it's just #sometimes i'm like. but we all know there is no one simple standard for health right? right??

[zhoras-bitch]

Romancing Vesper or f!Onyx in WTC is particularly juicy because this way MC gets to hate herself not only because of her 'unholy' powers, but also because she's gay, which is x2 religious trauma combo.

#i say all this as if im not gonna romance renato lmao #i am not immune to pretty boys with freckles and curls #i mean the whole story is so queer coded no matter who you romance #so you're telling me the main characters are a group of outcasts and misfits #who are part of a minority which is prosecuted by the church for something they are born as #sounds pretty fruity to me idk #romance club #w: time catcher #rc vesper #rc onyx #bitch speaks #rc spoilers #rc update

[moongothic]

Seen quite a few people comment how they believe it's more likely the Dragodile Divorce happened due to ideological differences rather than because Dragon was too straight to stay with Crocodile, and. Like I did suggest that (or at least tried to) in my Crocodad Giga Thesis (really I should've been more clear about it in my essay so I wouldn't be writing this now lol), but like yes, Dragon and Crocodile absolutely have drastically different beliefs on How One Overthrows The World Government. And that absolutely could have contributed to the two separating and/or Crocodile deciding to go his own way instead of becoming a proper Revolutionary

Because like, as I tried to imply in the essay (but failed to deliver); if Crocodile's goal had always been to get Pluton so he could just nuke Marijoa off the face of the earth by himself and end it all in one go, then Crocodile and his way of thinking could work as this, like... contrasting opposite to how Dragon believes things should be done. Some fans (unfairly imo) call Dragon a "fraud" because over the past 20+ years he has only attacked Marijoa and the WG directly just once, and even when he did, instead of doing something to stop their corrupt reign for good... the Revs destroyed... the Tenryuubito's... food storage..? Like. Sure, that'll bother them for a little while, get their panties in a good twist etc, but in the end they're just going to demand more tributes and more free food. The Revolutionary Army may be successfully inspiring more people and more countries to rebel against the World Government's corrupt rule, but the Tenryuubito are still in power and will continue to be in power for a long time. And that's kind of how Crocodile would greatly complement Dragon within the narrative. Dragon being arguably "too soft" with his slow, methodical way of overthrowing the WG, while Crocodile would just kill them all without mercy, even if it meant hurting innocent people in the process. The two would act as the opposite sides of the same coin, the different extremes of the same spectrum. Crocodile would become like a response to the complaints people have against Dragon.

And yeah, the two having such wildly different ideological views could VERY EASILY contribute to a divorce, for sure.

My thing is that... If (and this is an if) Crocodile is meant to go a character arc and grow as a person, if we're meant to see him as a sympathetic character at all and maybe even feel bad for him... It'll be much harder to write that if the Dragodile Divorce happened only because of the two having ideological differences. Like who's going to feel bad for Crocodile if the two got divorced because Crocodile wanted to mass murder people and Dragon wasn't okay with it? That's not a tragedy, that's not a situation where we as the readers would feel for Crocodile and want to root for him. That's not something that would give a character unprocessed emotional trauma to heal from and overcome. He'd just be a villian who'd need to have his beliefs changed.

Where as, if The Divorce was caused by Dragon and Crocodile no longer being compatible due to Dragon being straight while Crocodile transed his gender... Even in the most respectful of scenarios that is a heartbreaking situation, a painful thing to go through. That is a tragedy without bad guys, a story where you could feel bad for Crocodile and want to root for him. That is a situation that would give him trauma to heal from.

And that's kind of why I so strongly believe in Crocodile's transition being a more important, contributing factor in The Divorce. Again, this does absolutely depend on what Crocodile's actual role in the story is going to be and whether or not he's even meant to go through a character arc at all. Like if he's not going to be that important and if he isn't meant to go through an arc then sure, Crocodile's transition doesn't have to matter one fucking bit. But if he is meant to go through an arc, if we are meant to feel bad for him and find outselves rooting for him eventually... From a writing perspective, that'll be far easier to do if we can find ourselves sympathizing with him even just a little bit.

Also like. Yes, you can have queer characters who are just queer for the sake of being queer, their queerness does not have to be an important aspect in them or a huge plotpoint in their story at all. Crocodile could be queer just for the sake of being queer. Because that's what it's like being queer, you just are what you are. At the same time, from a writing perspective. What would even be the point of making him queer if it didn't matter to his character at all and have an impact on his character?

Also while Crocodile and Dragon clearly have very different beliefs on how the WG should be dealt with right now, we don't really know when Crocodile came to his beliefs. Like for all we know Crocodile could've formed his worldview years after the divorce. Hell, based on the way he spoke to Vivi about her ideals, and how we know he spent over a decade in utter emotional solitude, his current worldview could have been partially born from resentment towards Dragon (and his ideals) that's been simmering away over the years.

All of this to say; yes I think the two's beliefs could have been a contributing factor in The Divorce, but from a writing perspective (and based on the direction I personally want to see the story go), I find it far more likely if Crocodile's transition was the main cause, one way or another.

#Moon posting #OP Meta #Dragodile #Like for me it's either they divorced because of the transition OR the transition AND ideology #But not because of the ideology alone #There is also something to be said about people having it hard to imagine Oda writing something... So nuanced about trans people #Which. Fair. Like eight months ago I had zero fucking hope either #But also if you look at how Oda has been writing characters (queer or not) you can see he should actually Get It #Like when I shared that video from MelonTeee about Katakuri and joked about Katakuri being trans as hell. Like yes I was joking #But also the way MelonTeee explained Katakuri's story made me realize how queer coded it actually was #If Oda can write about Katakuri having to hide his true self from his family for a fear of rejection for who he really is #Then maybe Oda can write about Crocodile being rejected by his significant other for who he truly was #One Piece is so much about finding love and acceptance no matter what and no matter who you are #I think Oda could do it. I want to believe

[paellegere]

"their relationship is romantic" "their relationship is familial" "their relationship is platonic" you're thinking too narrow. their relationship goes beyond labels. the family is inherently queer. their platonic love is romantic. the erotic is familial. each one is the other and the other is them

#.txt #i've gotten to the point of relationship anarchy where i no longer understand the obsession with labeling relationships #there's a post floating around like 'it doesn't matter if you view them as romantic or platonic the point is that they love each other' #and i get the message. however may i propose that distinctions such as that don't even have to matter. consider #bold claim probably. but whatever i didn't have the choice to think about love in a normative way and as a consequence i have thoughts #of course i am thinking about wincest but it applies everywhere. jopzier even #jopson views crozier as a surrogate parent but in an inherently queer way. does that mean he want to fuck his mom? probably not #but the fixation and need for redemption turns the traditionally familial relationship into something far more #do you understand #once you leave the normative behind labels become useless #do sam and dean love each other romantically or platonically or familially? consider: it doesn't matter. there are no words to describe it #their love is queer in the sense that it extends beyond normativity. society holds no sway over them. they are ungovernable #i find it ultimately unhelpful to discuss fiction in normative terms when the characters themselves exist outside of normative society #shows like supernatural and the terror are perfect examples. sam and dean were never normal and franklin crew left normal behind #the arctic doesn't care if you fuck your mom. the impala doesn't care if you kiss your brother #this isn't really about anything i just saw that post the other day and i was like. why doesn't this Hit for me. well this is why #however it IS helpful to discuss fiction set within normative society in relation to normativity. it's relevant! #most stories are not however set within the bounds of normativity. that's kinda the whole point of a lot of fiction #baby i explore relationship anarchy in ways that you couldn't even imagine #<-tldr #i have a tendency to write essays in the notes every time i post something. sorry about that. it feels safer here and i am skittish

[rhfffas]

your average period drama: white/straight/cis, with annoying men who have egos and screen time bigger than the whole sky

aloto: none of these things above

#justice for aloto

#aloto #a league of their own #a league of the own series #period drama #lgbt #lesbian #queer #wlw #lgbtqia #gay #sapphic #tv show #queer culture #gay culture #wlw shows #queer shows #lgbtq #lgbtqiia+ #poc queer stories matter #trans stories matter #period queer stories matter #transgender #trans stories

[demontobee]

Good Omens queering storytelling/TV – part 2: PLOT/NARRATIVE

Structure: The show does not present us with a traditional “beginning – middle – end” structure of storytelling that goes back at least to Aristotle. That is not to say that it does not adhere at all to traditional structures of storytelling. Remember, queering things is not about doing the exact opposite of what has become the norm (as that would feed into binary thinking as well), but to challenge the norms by playing with our expectations in a way that make us realise that we had expectations and  normative assumptions in the first place. So, for example, the traditional structure is challenged and exposed through the first scene of S2, which takes place “before the beginning.” This does not only challenge our perception of how time works in general, but it also tells us that what we thought we knew as “the beginning” of Crowley and Aziraphale’s (love) story was not really their beginning. It was just presented in a way that made us believe it was.

It also presents us with more insight into and background of the characters and their relationship, which might also change how we perceive them now and, in hindsight, perceive them in S1. This scene is there to, among other things, tell us that nothing is absolute about the story, that nothing is as it seems, and that everything depends on perspective, editing and version of narration. Along the same lines, the minisodes we get this season play with our expectations of structure. The Job episode, for example, is placed, chronologically speaking, between the flood and the crucifixion, both of which we saw in the first season. Now, the way they were presented in S1 probably made most of us assume that these were the exact times they saw each other, in chronological order (note here that the minisodes themselves upset the chronology of the narrative). In this season, however, we are presented with another encounter (and a whole story with character development and sexual tension which I will not go into here) that took place between the other two. It not only shakes up our assumptions about what we know about Crowley and Aziraphale’s relationship, it also explains, content-wise, how Aziraphale became such a foodie. (Also note, plot-wise, how Aziraphale’s morally difficult decision to lie to heaven in the Job minisode is juxtaposed with the swiftness of him telling a lie in the present day portion of the episode). It is like we are getting small bits and pieces that together make a whole story, but we do not get them in an order that we would expect, and it messes with our expectations and assumptions. A similar thing happens with the sequel to the 1941 minisode. Again, we were presented with a piece of the story in S1, probably assuming that we were being told the most important bit of that part of the story. However, in S2, we get the rest (or, at least, another part?) of the story about the night in 1941. Again, this new part seems to be rather vital for our understanding of the relationship between the two main characters and the level of trust they have in each other (not to speak of the sexual symbolism and tension of the whole magic trick scenario). What we realized while watching S2 that in S1 we were only told parts of the whole story, and only edited versions of what was going on that showed the characters in a certain way that way relevant to the story then. We can assume that this is also true for S2.

Plot: We do not have the typical “hero has a certain goal in mind and has to go out and overcome obstacles to achieve it and become a better person on the way” journey that informs the plot. In fact, a lot of the 1-star ratings of S2 on Prime criticize the apparent “absence” of a plot, or, the lack of action and “sense” in the plot. This is, in my opinion, due to the queer nature of how and to what end the plot is crafted. Because in S2 especially, the journey(s) and “action” in general are not there to make a given character look good or to show them succeed in a very normative way (hetero, capitalist and otherwise). The events of this plot all seem to be metaphorically or literally about Crowley’s and Aziraphale’s character development concerning emotions, moral values and, most immanently, their relationship. Thus, the plot is there to show character development in a very unmasculine way: Learning to face their own, deepest emotions and being able to communicate them better. And there is not even success (yet) at the end of the story!

This ties back to the characters and the roles they are assigned in the story (which probably deserves a post in its own right). Basically, both main characters are initially assigned roles in a system that they both, in one way or another, are not comfortable with – and thus question, defy, rebel against them. They are initially presented as opposing forces and very different from each other. However, we soon understand that they are both liminal creatures who challenge the binary opposition set up by the system in power. And they do this out of love – for the world, for humanity, and for each other. As if this was not queer enough, Crowley seems to be a genderfluid chameleon who journeys through time and space to find out who or what he is, being the only one on his own side. Aziraphale, on the other hand, sets out seemingly knowing who he is and where he belongs, but gradually shifts in his view of his own identity and that of “his side” until he more or less joins Crowley on the (no longer) lonely side of systemically uncomfortable misfits. They seem to recognize in each other the queerness, not only romantically, sexually or gender-wise, but also in their queer habit of questioning and troubling the status quo (in hope of creating a better world). This is what the plot of S2 is there to explore. Not a whole lot of external action, but the formation of a (forbidden but unbreakable) bond between two confused queer beans who do not always know what they want or need. It is not a story of success, it is a story of being queer in a world that wasn’t made for people like you and figuring out how to exist and to love in this world, with all the breakthroughs and setbacks there are to that.

To conclude, Good Omens is queering plot/narrative by challenging the traditional structure and plotline of normative storytelling, meaning what we expect and assume will happen in a story, and thus gives us, to use the words of Neil Gaiman himself, not what we want, but what we need.

Feel free to add your own ideas in the comments or tags!

#good omens 2 #good omens #good omens s2 #aziraphale #crowley #ineffable husbands #go2 #crowley x aziraphale #good omens meta #neil gaiman #good omens season 2 spoilers #good omens season 2 #queer representation #queer rep in media #lgbtq representation #queer media #representation matters #queer stories #queering the narrative #thank you neil gaiman #thank you neil gaiman for cranking up the queer #meta #queer

[multifandominfj]

#friends and family christmas #hallmark #hallmark movies #queer stories matter #sapphic representation matters #this movie is everything to me #this movie is a masterpiece #this movie is for the girls #ali liebert has got me questioning everything about my sexuality #ali liebert #humberly gonzalez

[mattzerella-sticks]

THIS is how you 'Dare to Defy'

#911 on abc #9-1-1 on abc #911 abc #thank you abc insta for putting the art creds so I don't have to type more lol #evan 'buck' buckley #bi buck #every day the fumble from the CW by not letting dean be bi and by extension not showing destiel grows bigger and bigger #queer stories and characters matter they just do

[veliseraptor]

just thinking about the "xue yang never cared about xiao xingchen he doesn't have real feelings and just thinks of him as a toy" take again and @ameliarating pointed something out to me namely:

Xue Yang broke into peals of laughter. "Wei-qianbei, you're merciless!"

"Fine, laugh. Even if you laugh yourself to death, Xiao Xingchen's soul will still be too broken to put back together. He found you repulsive, yet you still insist on dragging him back so that you can play games with him."

Abruptly, Xue Yang swung from laughter into rage. "Who wants to play games?!"

"Then why did you kneel in front of me and beg me to fix his soul for you?"

Of course, someone as clever as Xue Yang must have been aware that Wei Wuxian was trying to bait him. First, distracting him with anger, and second, provoking him into shouting, Wei Wuxian made it possible for Lan Wangji to deduce his location and strike. But still, Xue Yang couldn't help replying. "Why? Hah! As if you don't know. I want to turn him into a fierce corpse - under my control! Didn't he want to be a pure, virtuous cultivator? Then I'll make him endlessly slaughter people, so he'll never find peace!"

"Ah? You hate him that much? Then why did you kill Chang Ping?"

Xue Yang sneered. "Why did I kill Chang Ping? Do you need to ask, Yiling Patriarch? Didn't I already tell you? I said I was going to kill the entire Yueyang Chang Clan - I wasn't even going to spare one dog!"

[...] Wei Wuxian said, "You sure came up with a good explanation. Too bad the timing doesn't match up. Someone like you, who can't even let a dirty look go without avenging yourself a thousand times over, someone who strikes so swiftly and ruthlessly - if someone like you really wanted to kill off an entire family, why would they wait so many years to finish? You know perfectly well why you killed Chang Ping."

"Then tell me, what do I know? What do I know perfectly well?!"

He shouted this last sentence.

"You killed them, yes. But why lingchi? Killing someone that way signifies that it was punishment. If you were only getting revenge for yourself, why did you use Shuanghua and not your own Jiangzai? Why did you have to dig out Chang Ping's eyes and make him like Xiao Xingchen?"

Xue Yang shouted himself hoarse. "Bullshit! It's all bullshit! It was revenge - was I supposed to let him die comfortably?"

"Indeed, it was revenge. But whose revenge were you seeking? How ridiculous. If you genuinely wanted revenge, you should have sliced yourself into pieces!" (MDZS, Chapter 42)

so if we're meant to buy that interpretation, then...what is the point of this passage? what is it trying to say? is it just to give Wei Wuxian a means of distracting Xue Yang and making him show himself? then why this means? and why are we taking the line that Xue Yang himself, a famously reliable narrator (?) gives (re: wanting to turn Xiao Xingchen into a fierce corpse and control him) as the truth of the situation, as opposed to Wei Wuxian's own interpretation (where Xue Yang is taking revenge on Xiao Xingchen's behalf, albeit expressed onto a different target)? and what is the point of Xue Yang's reaction after this, where he suddenly goes silent and stops responding, meant to indicate? the fact that Xue Yang gets angrier and angrier at Wei Wuxian for pressing the point?

these are all cues present for a narrative purpose, not "just because," and they're pointing in a direction that indicates that Xue Yang in this scene is lying through his teeth, whether or not he admits that to himself.

furthermore, since inevitably "but adaptation" comes up in these conversations, CQL actually retains this scene in a remarkably intact form:

coming to the conclusion based on this scene alone (not even touching the narrative surrounding the events in the past) that people who claim that "xue yang had no genuine feelings about xiao xingchen whatsoever" is to be taken as truth are not just taking the most boring possible read of this text but also at least a little actively reading against it.

#but what else is new #like okay. entitled to your opinion but whatever #proposing 'fanon xue yang' tag for this stuff :) #anyway. #lise does meta #loosely. #the sad queer cultivators show #xuexiao #xue yang #whether or not you ship xuexiao as a romantic pairing though...point stands. #and i will defend this reading if pressed #and i'm not interested in ~moral judgment~ or whatever that's not the point #the point here is what is the emotional story the narrative is telling #and - from my perspective - the sophisticated answer there is 'i'm right you're wrong nyeh' #lise's aggressively bitchy opinions about irrelevant and unimportant matters #might regret posting this but uhhhhhh whatever!!! it's been a week and it's only tuesday

[sorryiwasasleep]

NEW STARKID MUSICAL??? 👀👀👀🥰🥰🥰🥰

#BRYCE LEAD???? #FANTASY SEEMING??? #I AM!! #LIKE TORI VEGA ON THE SLAP.COM #FELLING: EXCITED 🤪 #BRYCE CHARLES #A WIN FOR GAYS #AND BY THE GAYS IM TALKING ABOUT ME I LOVE THAT WOMAN #team Starkid #new Starkid #(but i do hope it’s got some queer content included but that always my gay little asses hope and Starkid tends to pull thru) #Starkid #the real team Starkid #NEW STARKID PROJECT #MORE NEWS ABOUT IT COMING ON APRIL 6TH PER THE INSTAGRAM #‘There’s a castle on a hill- as the story goes…’ #is all we got so far #and color my interest Peaked #i wonder who’s writing the music because i think that will greatly influence my true ability to enjoy no matter what the plot :/ #(is this also a controversial sk take? cause oh boy i do have thoughts about each shows soundtrack and who wrote the lyrics 🫣) #(by also i mean in addition to the one i made a few posts down my feed about my Grace chastity hc’s)

[vulturevanity]

normal thing to say about your dear friend who you think is really cute and charming and hard-working and basically the perfect wife material

#hamefura #my next life as a villainess #otome game no hametsu flag #aaand rewatch done! now my honest thoughts #good start. the middle is kinda boring. ep 8 doesn't exist don't worry about it #this anime draws me in in the same way that Futari Wa does #in that it has a fascinating main cast and a very vague skeleton of a worldbuilding that leaves me wanting to overthink it #unstructured thoughts incoming: #Geordo's still a creep and no matter how much the story wants me to like him I just can't #Keith's siscon is very Yikes! and that's so bad because I love his and Katarina's relationship as siblings #Katarina lowkey thinks Sophia is a freak but never kinkshames her and that's so bestiecore of her. they're soulmates your honor #Mary is SUCH A LESBIAN holy shit. I did not remember how much lesbian she is #I'm lowkey annoyed that the show frames her attraction to Katarina as “haha funny isn't she weird?!” #like in the sleepover episode she was describing the things she'd like to do with her beloved and she's being like. normal about it #but the soundtrack does a silly and I'm like. wow this anime does not like her huh #I swear Geordo and Keith are even weirder about Katarina than she is but the anime always gives them slack about it #unless they're having their homoerotic squabbles. which is to say the anime does Not Like The Queer Coding of the story #I'm sure there are worse examples of weeb homophobia but there are a couple moments I saw in the manga but not here! #anyway where was I. Oh right. Ascart Sibs Autusm 👍🏼 #Nicol doesn't have much presence in the story due to his quiet nature which is so sad because his inner world is intriguing #he's such a good friend. loyal and caring. I wish we got more of him in this season #and finally: Maria. God. what is there to say about her that I haven't already #the girl came in with a 7 year disadvantage on her rivals and yet Katarina is all over her! #rewatching season 1 is so weird because I could swear she had more presence than she really does because holy shit #Katarina loves her! so much! wtf #maybe I'm remembering season 2? #anyway these are my thoughts on doomflags season 1 #2nd watch edition #oh I almost forgot #romance in chiaroscuro

[rthko]

IBS warriors I want to hear your perspective: did diagnosis help? Are you able to get new treatments or just the same old fiber supplements you could get over the counter?

#yes i will post about my shitting habits QUEER STORIES MATTER

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

there are a lot of reasons i'm really, really impressed by how well sdmi portrayed the dynamic of an abusive relationship with pericles and ricky, and one of the big ones is how accurately they show what it looks like when abuse starts to escalate.

the extent of that is yet another thing that'll take a longpost of its own to go into, because it spans like.... the entire arc of their relationship in the show. but one thing that stands out to me in particular is their portrayal of the massive red flag that is a partner trotting out bigoted behavior against a group you're in. especially insults, and especially directed right at you.

this show has a LOT of fatphobia, jesus christ does it ever, and there are certainly some fatphobic tropes going on with ricky; but i've always been surprised and impressed by how many of the nastier ones they avoided, especially considering his role in the story and what his arc is about.

he is a major, nuanced character whose trauma is treated with full weight and sincerity. it's implied that his body type changed the way it did due to the trauma he went through when he was younger, and the ensuing mental illness, which is a pretty realistic experience for a lot of people. the things that happen to him are played for full tragedy and horror, when it would have been so, so easy for them to make light of it because Tee Hee Fat Guy and Tee Hee Male Abuse Victims Funnee. despite how his whole thing involves corporate greed, they don't go the route of portraying him as Gluttonous and Hedonistic; if anything he is very obviously not using all that money for even basic physical self-care, and the only time we ever see him eating anything it's when he's drinking wine grape juice with pericles. which, like, there's issues to be unpacked with that too, but jesus christ it's an improvement over what usually happens with characters like him.

he's a fat queer man who isn't degendered or made feminine in a mocking and/or predatory way. (there's nothing wrong with feminine fat queer men and they need more non-shitty rep, please and thank you god, but there is a lot of nastiness in the tropes they're often used for in mainstream media, and one of those tropes is when people consider 'fat queer man' and 'masc' to be oxymorons.) no one ever once calls him ugly; if anything multiple people in his life think he's attractive and desirable, for better or for worse. no one body-shames him. and no one ever mentions his weight.

except pericles.

'The Horrible Herd' and 'The Devouring' are two halves of a whole here, re: escalation of abuse. 'Devouring' is when the abuser goes full mask off and shit hits the fan; 'Horrible Herd' is the wind-up before the punch. HH is when ricky realizes things are getting Bad and he needs to put a stop to this now, and Devouring shows what happens when he tries, because by the point where it's gotten bad enough to give him a wakeup call it's already too late. it's how abusive relationships tend to go, and it's chillingly accurate.

and what's one of the things pericles says during Horrible Herd when that punch is winding up? something no one's ever said before now, including him? 'you pudding-faced dummkopf.'

he body-shames him. he insults his weight, and that's a major turning point. bigotry is something that's often there to some degree from the start, but not always, because some abusers are good at hiding things like that until they're confident they've got you where they want you. the message with ricky and pericles is loud and clear: when this happens, the walls are dripping blood. get out.

(if you can. and be careful when you try.)

when this show is good, it is really, truly good. god damn.

#sdmi #scooby doo: mystery incorporated #ricky owens #professor pericles #pericky #abuse cw #fatphobia cw #domestic violence cw #i am just consistently fucking blown away by what fantastic SA/DV survivor representation ricky is #i have no idea how he ended up where he did; especially with how godfuckingawful their *other* portrayals of IPV are; and just. wow. #he is incredibly important to me and i love him with my whole heart #also; to be very and extremely clear; i do not say he's queer as a headcanon or because he feels like he has Vibes #he is quite literally one of the two most blatantly thread-away-from-textually-explicit queer characters in the show #a show that is famous for *velma and marcie.* that is *saying something.* #and the other most blatantly queer character in the show is pericles #and they are mutually *why the other one is queer-coded* #ricky is a fat canonically bisexual man and he is an abuse survivor whose story is treated with respect and that is just. so much. #and that is why i am insistent that people do not ever ever tag my posts about them with 'not ship' #you don't have to ship them yourself to acknowledge that they're a thing and that matters; and discuss it #but like. don't. do not. do not ever try to cut ricky being canonically queer or a DV survivor off of anything that i post. thanks #SDMItag #dyn: when i die i want you to die too