#like...do they know..do they know gay people are real...

[gayofthefae]

I'm gonna be the one that says it:

They tolerate Will Byers because he is their model gay person-

Knew he was gay early

Came to terms with it quickly

Didn't date any girls

Doesn't burden anyone else with his queerness - processes his grief in silence and making himself as small as possible

They could tell he was gay

Doesn't expect anything from others - specifically straight people

Prioritizes the happiness of straight people over his own

They like him because he doesn't challenge their worldview. That they are "able to tell", that queerness should be private, that queer people should "know" and have no consequences on those around them while they are processing, that queer people - even when fearing for their lives - should rather be outed than date someone to hide

This is not saying he isn't good representation. He exists in the real world, this is saying why he can only be truly good representation in the context of having another character to contrast with in experience.

They like that they don't have to confront anything in themselves or do anything for him but say "it's ok to be gay!" They like that when they say "you don't deserve the same happiness as straight people", he agrees.

They like a queer person who hates himself.

[seewetter]

"there's gender equality and prostitution is holy! But people are somehow surprised if someone in a position of power turns out to be a woman, and "whore" is a common insult"

To be fair, the noticeable thing is what people aren't writing rather than what they are.

Sumerians, Babylonians and Akkadians all considered prostitution holy and had a society where queerness was ubiquitous and being trans was not vilified in any known way. But they didn't have anything that could be called gender equality.

Prior to 1650 BC (the arrival of the Hittite Empire, controlled by an elite of PIEs, an elite which imposed its patriarchal values on neighbouring states) Assyria, Egypt and their buffer states in the Levant all had (legal) gender equality. Egypt for reasons I don't understand always had a patriarchal administrative apparatus (not just the pharaoh, but anyone among government top brass) but nonetheless the law codes explicitly give women "equality". In Assyria its even more egalitarian, with women occupying all positions in society except the military -- but the nasty side effect that the Assyrians thought this made them more civilized than their neighbours, thus using the egalitarian laws (among many other things) to justify imperialist wars.

"theres no homophobia or sexism! but the governments are still patriarchal monarchies and everyone still adheres to the standard nuclear family, two things that have absolutely no relation to homophobia and sexism whatsoever"

The PIEs (Proto-Indo-Europeans) and many of their descendant cultures (Ancient Greeks, Romans) considered gay sex to be normal (the Romans had some problems with "bottoming" and class factored into relationships as well, but the practice itself wasn't vilified until Christian influence), but they are the big exporters of patriarchy. Why are the Vikings, the Celts, Greeks, the Romans, the Hittites, the later Assyrians and people in Persia and India patriarchal? Because PIEs or their descendants went there and entrenched these values violently.

A world with no homophobia can still be a world with monarchies. In fact, there is a weird gap in our understanding of medieval history, because we don't know that much about pre-Christian Europe. What did pagan Europeans in Poland, Hungary or Estonia believe prior to Christianization? We have fragmentary evidence at best, but in some cases these seem to have been monarchies but with vastly different social norms to anything you would find in a textbook about medieval times. When the Polish king was accused of gay orgies...it might be helpful context that the country had become Christianized in his lifetime.

The kind of fantasy I want to see is not the fantasy where I never see an Aztec do human sacrifice, it's a fantasy that draws on the very real resistance movements against human sacrifices.

Like Assyrians for example are such a fascinating culture: they are polytheists, but they make a bunch of mistakes that monotheists typically make, like elevating a single god into incredible social importance and then killing for him. And merging the idea of the state with that god. Ashur was (1) the name of their most important god (2) the name of their empire and (3) the name of their capital city. It's only modern historians that distinguish Assur and Ashur and Assyria, because to the Assyrians, this was all the same. These people had total queer acceptance and gender equality that rivaled 20th century Western ideas...but they also deported conquered people (INTO their country, not out). They invented free trade...and then chattel slavery, but it was thankfully extremely rare despite its legality (but still completely horrific, obviously-- child slaves whose parents became slaves because they fell into debt).

And the Assyrians traded with "meluhha", likely the Indus Valley civilization, which archaeologists aren't sure had any idea of gender being socially meaningful and with the Minoans, a society that may have been ruled by women (though unfortunately a 19th century archaeologist with severe biases has strongly warped our understanding of who the Minoans may have been).

I understand that OP and prev are mostly just annoyed at the consistency with which oppressive social structures sneak into fantasy worlds that are advertised as liberated, but we should be clear that worldbuilding doesn't have to involve squeaky clean societies. As connected as the struggle for queer rights and feminism is (as any two struggles for human rights are), there have been societies like the Sumerians who gave one group relief from persecution and exhibited social control against another. And keep in mind that Sumerians actually had progressive rulers who started implementing language around "freedom" in their legislation. There were Sumerian feminists, there were people who fought for equality like they have up north in Assyria. And Assyrians also had need of feminism, because military was seen as men's stuff and arts&crafts as women's stuff.

But I think it's important that people understand that our intuitions about how oppression works, our sense that the past either moved from good to bad or from bad to good or back and forth is not complex enough. Whether it's the Quechua ("Inca") using a money-less economy based on shared responsibilities...but also forced labour or whether its early Christians abolishing animal sacrifices and fighting for more women's rights...and also heavily promoting homophobia, the world is a complicated place and people with good ideas also have bad ideas. That will also be true in fantasy worlds and it makes the society be in motion, be alive, when people don't just act like "the orcs from Patriarchia and the elves from Egalitaria".

in this fantasy world, theres no homophobia or sexism! but the governments are still patriarchal monarchies and everyone still adheres to the standard nuclear family, two things that have absolutely no relation to homophobia and sexism whatsoever

[timblriche]

The Montague reference was about Mike and Will

Stay with me! (TW: s*icide)

Most people on here have probably already spotted this Romeo and Juliet reference next to Mike during his love declaration to El (not long after Argyle tells him "Surf's up, Romeo!"):

Mike is "Montague"--as in, Romeo Montague. Romeo, who tragically killed himself after seeing what he thought was the dead body of his one true love (but as we know, she was alive!).

I've seen this be compared to Mike and El, because their romance is doomed (which it is!). But... it makes so much more sense to me that what this is also referencing, is that Mike and Will would be our Romeo and Juliet if not for El.

Because what had Mike just seen before he jumped off a cliff? What he thought was Will’s dead body. Pulled out of the same quarry Mike later jumped into. And that’s the trope of the Romeo and Juliet tragedy—lovers following each other into death, not knowing the other was still alive. But El rewrote their story!

The writers even reference Mike's attempt in S2 to allude to the fact that Mike didn't simply jump off a cliff in a self-sacrificing way like we've seen our other heroes do. No, Dustin wasn't in any mortal danger.

Through Ted, and through this Montague reference in S4, the writers themselves allude that the real reason Mike jumped off that cliff way, way back then was because he was in love with Will, and he thought Will was dead.

(And of course, it showed the deep impact everything that happened in S1 had on Mike's mental health. Mike was not okay </3)

Mike and Will would literally be our story's Romeo and Juliet, if not for El.

Will would've still been alive in the Upside Down when Mike died jumping off the cliff (thinking Will was dead). But without Mike's help, Joyce and Hopper wouldn't have known to search for Will in the Upside Down. Will would've died there.

There's a really incredible analysis on Substack (long but life-changing) that posits El as an allegorical character representing the love Mike has for Will. It's El (read: Mike's love for Will) that rescued him from his darkest place, and it's El (read: Mike's love for Will) that helped Mike find Will and pull him out of his own darkest place (the Upside Down, which itself is an allegory for the gay closet).

El saved Will, but she also saved Mike.

Mike's love helped him save Will and rescue him from the Upside Down, but that love he got to share with Will also helped him save himself.

This allegory is why at the pizza parlor, Mike fights so hard to keep his love alive (read: El). It's why he says "I don't know how to live without you." (It's because this love literally saved his life, just like El did!) Check out the Substack for a more in-depth interpretation of Mike's love declaration through this allegory!

TLDR: Love (El) saves lives!

[stonewall2023]

A Message to all of those Boycotting Stranger Things due to Noah Schnapp

This message is specifically meant for those who are boycotting Stranger Things due to Noah Schnapp. I decided to provide a list of reasons why I think the buycott is not only seriously misguided but even counterproductive. I keep my comments respectful because I want people to read and think about their choices. Feel free to comment below.

Firstly, the tactics that these specific boycotters are choosing to support Palestine have no connection to what is happening in the real world. Over 100 thousand Palestinians are dead, and many are near starvation. Boycotting an American Jewish actor halfway across the world and not getting a Netflix subscription means pretty much nothing as far as this conflict goes. Neither Noah Schnapp nor Netflix have any connection with the Israeli Defense Forces, the Likud Party, or the Israeli state. People should be protesting the Trump administration or the arms industry for supplying Israel with weapons if they want to focus their attention on America. This is what I have done in the past two years. When boycotting was used during the Civil Rights era, it was used to do things like buycott busses that segregated black from white individuals. The buycotts directly targeted the very thing they were fighting against. In contrast, Noah is not donating money to the IDF nor he is supplying weapons or supporting the Likud party with propaganda. He hasn't even written anything on Palestine in two years. Why focus so much energy on this kid?

Secondly, if boycotters are going to focus on cultural symbols in America to attack, shouldn't they focus on conservative cultural symbols? The vast majority of Democrats are opposed to what Israeli is doing currently according to polling while the majority of Republicans support Israel. Netflix is a show written by left wingers and acted by left wingers. Why would I buycott a show like Stranger Things that is all about multiculturalism and gay rights at a time when those things are under attack in America? It is counterproductive to attack left wing institutions at this moment in American history.

Thirdly, Noah Schnapp said a lot of things I disagreed with in October of 2023, but he never said anything that even remotely deserved the unbridled vitriol and online attacks he has received. There are zero quotes of this kid ever stating once he believed in killing Palestinians or taking their land. He was upset over an attack on Jewish civilians. He made a grand total of a couple of posts, he took them down, and he tried to more clearly state that he was against any form of violence. I didn't like the fact that he painted what happened in October initially in such a black and white way by purely blaming Hamas for the attack, but he never called for violence. Even the Zionist Jewish stickers were taken out of context. Students of Israeli and Palestinian history know there are dozens of different types of Zionists, some of whom support a two-state solution and others who don't. Look up the Labour Party and Yitzhak Rabin as a case example of liberal zionists. Furthermore, Noah has never come out and personally stated he supports right wing Zionism. Noah at no point stated he supported genocide. However, he still got trashed online for two straight years.

Fourthly, the type of posts I have seen rage hating on Noah worry me far more than anything Noah has ever said. Many of these people seem to be promoting violence and a very Manichean black and white view of one of the world's most complicated conflicts. In fact, I would argue that some of these people are promoting the very type of political culture that has led to politicians like Donald Trump becoming president. Good social media activists reach across the aisle to win support and change minds, but today's online activists seem to be interested in mainly finding people to hate on and destroy. This isn't productive social movement activism. This is dangerous and can potentially make the violence worse by radicalizing people on both sides. MLK, Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, etc. spoke of bringing people together and hoping for a world where Black and White people, Hindus and Muslims, etc. can live together. People should be encouraging others to change their minds through kind words and not angry vitriol.

Overall, the arguments for supporting a buycott of Stranger Things are counterproductive. I will watch Stranger Things on Netflix and pay for my subscription. Want to do something productive? Vote in politicians who support human rights and an end to Israel's bombardment of Palestine. Protest institutions that are actually involved in this conflict.

[stuckinapatriarchalbullshitland]

I was on Twitter seeing some kind of decline in the Wenclair fandom and I didn't know why, then I realized that the fucking Wednesday writers are pushing Tyler as (still) some kind of romantic interest for Wednesday.

And this contradicts EVERYTHING Jenna wanted for the character.

Tyler is a murderer. He killed innocent people, attacked Eugene, and nearly killed him. He attacked Wednesday herself, and he really enjoys killing people. There's a reason he's locked up in a mental hospital.

Tyler, like Hyde, needs a master to unleash him, and I'm sure they'll make Wednesday that new master. But, once again, if they did, that would also end up contradicting Wednesday's core values, and the Addamses themselves. They've never been murderers, much less for pleasure.

Except we know Netflix isn't gay and Wenclair isn't going to go beyond friendship. And I'm fine with that.

What I don't like is seeing all the marketing queerbainting that Netflix is doing with wenclair, only for Miller to come out and say that Tyler and Wednesday are always yes, they will be a couple.

But the saddest thing about this is not just the queerbainting, but the fact that they are ignoring Jenna's wishes of not wanting Wednesday to have a romantic interest.

Either that, or Jenna really has no real power as an executive producer within Wednesday and is just another credit to her acting resume.

Personally, I'm sticking with Wenclair in the fanfiction world, because let's be honest. There are far better Wenclair stories in ao3 than these mediocre writers could ever come up with.

For now, what would bother me is the queerbaiting and how the LGBTI+ community is being used, once again, for marketing.

Hey buddy @gotholyshadow I need to talk to you about this

[tagged-by-trauma]

I just can't fucking understand why people want to present Pedro in a bad way, like... Really? The most amazing human being that I've ever seen? This guy?

Why? 'Cause he's touching his co-stars to relieve his anxiety? 'Cause he beeds physical contact? And now people are saying that "oh, why just Vanessa? Why not the others too?" Like come on, dude! He' s been like this for years now with everyone around him. Every co-star no matter if they were woman or man. And no one, I repeat, no one complained about him. If they wouldn't want him to touch them then they would warn him. There is a word 'consent', you should really look up its meaning.

And they are saying that look at where his hand is or look at how close they are. Like his hand is literally resting on her back and on her waist? 🤨 And I think the fact that she is pregnant brings out his protective side more than ever.

And then there's the other people where they are saying that he is gay because he's interacting with his male co-stars and they see him in public with his friends. So, basically you're saying that he is like this way with men too, but you only recognise the way he's acting with women. Interesting. 🤔

So far, this means that if he even touches his male co-stars then he is gay, and when he touches his female co-stars then he is a fucking creep.

And then there's the question why is he not like this with Bella Ramsey?

If you've seen any video of them you would know that he is this way with her too, all the time. You just have to open your fucking eyes better and not just so you could see something you can turn completely outside and spit evil at people you don't know in real life. These pictures are fucking proof for it.

And at this point some people even say that he fakes his anxiety just to get close to women. These people fucking disgust me. Really. Then if there wouldn't be people around him who could calm him down then he would fake a panic attack too? Really? Just to get attention?

Why can't you understand that anxiety exists? Why is it so impossible? I have anxiety too, and I also need physical contact when I feel it creeping up at me. Then am I a creep too because I hug my friends at those times?

I am standing straight with my opinion that he is the most amazing guy in this universe. Yeah, he's got this charm that you can't explain, but the most important is that he has a beautiful soul. He is fighting against evil, not physically, but with words. He stands up for human rights, for LGBTQ+ rights, for black lives matter, and he isn't sitting in silence between four walls like a lot of people do. I'm not saying that he is perfect (and he isn't saying that either) because nobody is, but he is pretty close to it. And if you can't accept the fact that yes, women turn their heads after him because he is a great guy, and because they feel comfortable around him, then you should work on yourself and your fucking self-esteem. Jealousy is not the answer to this problem.

“Bullies make me fucking sick!”

[iwantsoupreallybadly]

im kiki posting under the cut

i dont care if none of you like her i love her and therefore i will post about her

1- the movie Kiki's Delivery Service ! :3

2- remembering her tail :( and then every time i draw it it's different like bro. its your character how are you drawing her wrong

3- her hair !! i love her hair so much the pink bangs with green hair is so crunchy to me

4- fnaf, considering she's a fnaf oc ! but if i had to choose a different one i'd put her in tf2. that might be my next art of her actually. her as a merc would be kind of awesome. maybe she mixes chemicals. what would that be called ?

5- she loves people that know how to have fun !! if you can't take a joke (not as in hateful *says something horrendous* 'i was just joking bro' as in tells gay jokes because she is a gay joke) then she won't be able to hang out with you.

6- she's a robot, so she doesn't heal, but she does get damaged. she keeps jumping off ledges in the arcade (especially those pipes that are all over the walls that she can somehow get up to. it's really a Gregory! how did you get up there??? situation) because she's a cat so therefore she Should Be Able To Land Correctly but she Cannot.

7- full out scene ! studded belts, y2k, everything ! she's a scene queen now and she'd be a scene queen if she was real . :3

8- i think she'd still be scene lol her style would never really go away . in any type of setting i think she'd still find ways to be extra

9- nope ! she is a robot . although i do think that she likes women . not as in would date one, but she definitely thinks women are pretty . gays help me what is this called

10- yes ! she loves Roxanne Wolf . they gossip together and are literally the best duo ever

11- nope ! that comes with Being A Robot

12- nope ! once again . robot. :D

13- gen z humor, i think . i dont know how to describe it . basically just my humor . jeef berky

14- her friends saying they don't like her anymore :( she loves her friends more than life itself . if not DJ Music Man and Roxy, who will party with her ? :((((((((

15- she doesn't eat , but if she did i think it would be Sour Cream and Onion chips . me too girl

16- see my post about her working retail.

17- claws !! she has actual claws that she uses when she dj's to scratch the records back and forth . she kills so many vinyls it isnt funny . do NOT hand her a CD.

18- no , but if she could i don't think she would. not even the scene makeup to go rave .

19- she's 5'9 . she was made shorter than the other animatronics and its comical when she stands next to the DJ, who is about 21 feet tall .

20- she falls asleep sometimes during her dj sets . she has also been known to go to sleep in the middle of the dance floor at night when no one is in the arcade (other than DJMM)

OC ASKS

1- what inspired you to pick that OC's name?

2- what is the most difficult thing about drawing/writing this OC?

3- what is your favourite thing about drawing/writing this OC?

4- if you had to put this OC into an existing world, which one would it be?

5- what is important in a relationship (platonic or romantic) for this OC?

6- does your oc get injured often? How well did those wounds heal?

7- what would your oc wears in a modern setting?

8- what would your oc wears in a fantasy setting?

9- does your oc have a partner/partners?

10- does your oc have a best friend?

11- does your oc have siblings?

12- does your oc have a child/children?

13- what makes your oc laugh?

14- what makes your oc cry?

15- what is your oc favourite food?

16- is your oc good with math?

17- what is your oc weapon of choice?

18- does your oc wear makeup?

19- how tall is your oc?

20- [free question of your choice]

[willowmosby]

Because I have finished my Angel rewatch and I apparently I beg to have my opinions attacked on the Internet* I have decided to rate some** Buffyverse ships. Ships are presented in no particular order

* that is a joke please please don't at me or start a fight in the comments these are my opinions alone and I'm not attacking yours just stating mine

** these are literally just ones rattling around in my head so i'm sorry if i missed some that are like super important.

Some Canon classics:

Bangel: I see it for it's narrative importance. As someone who was once a teenage girl i do get the appeal. but despite liking some of the melodrama in this ship I wouldn't personally say I'm a fan or think this is end game but I do love some elements of it 6/10

Spuffy: again honestly not super my thing. I just don't know it doesn't compel me but I understand why it should be compelling. Rated higher than Bangel because it can coexist with Cangel 8/10

Ruffy: Listen I'm not against Riley I just think that by the end of their relationship there were a lot more problems than there were goodness. There are certainly ships I will forgive that for, in fact I do often love some toxicity but this is just not really in an entraining way. 2/10

Tillow: my loves my baby's my queens. the fact that tara was killed makes my blood boil to this day. Are mistakes made, yes but counterpoints "strong like an Amazon" "I will always find you" and "can't you just be kissinge now" 1000/10

Calandlies: I 100% understand it from a storyline point of view and they are very very cute I just can't give full credit cause they weren't actually together that long. 8/10

WillowxOz: They were cute and lovely for their time and place I do think that willow and tara were better fits for more than just the homosexual reasons. defiantly and formative ship for when i first watched the show as a middle/high schooler. 8/10

Willowx Kennedy: I get what they were trying to do on some level. And I also understand why people hate it. I'm pretty neutral on it. 5/10

Cangel: my doomed by the narrative babies. I love them so much. I think that they are probably the second best ship the buffyverse ever produced. Before anyone comes for me to say this isn't fully cannon cause they didn't like date (because joss Weadon hates happiness)- besties watch angel seasons 3-5. 20/10

FredX Gunn: My sweet lovelies. This might sound weird given Joss Wedon literally buried some gays to keep ships from getting a happy ending, but This is the clearest indicator to me that he can't stand having happy couples on his show. Like literally you could have had them fight and come back together and the would honestly be a better story. they just bring such a light to the show! 10/10

Fred x wesley: as you might tell from the above ship this is really not my thing. I love toxic wesley i really do but his obsession with fred hanging on once she was with gunn didn't fell like it was written with purpose. It felt creepy but not in like a purposely creepy way. Like maybe we were "supposed" to find two guys fighting over her endearing. Even when they actually got together in season 5 it never felt like they actually worked well as couple more like they felt like they should. 2/10

Spike x Drusila: Love a toxic vampire situation. Literally insane about each other. Some times I feel bad that druseilla was the only member of the 'fanged four' that stayed a bad bitch the whole series.10/10

Angel (us) x darla: divorced energy tm. even in the flashbacks were they are together they have such combative relationship. but in like a fun cool evil way you know? also like high key Oedipus coded, but in like a cool evil way you know? 7/10

Weslah: My beloved. After this rewatch I am obsessed with them. This ship is the epidemy of I love it on TV would never want to see it in real life. They should have been end game. I understand on some level why they aren't but like they did clearly were such good fits for each other and I just think that some of the best relationship lines on other show go to them. "The flames wouldn't be eternal if they actually consumed anything" is such a banger line. 15/10

Non-Canon in life, Canon in the people's hearts:

Spangel: The second best ship angle is a part of. If you don't understand what its about go watch angel season 5. If you still don't get it that's your right but buddy you're missing some great subtext. In some way this is the best ship for either of them because they both are eternal men who don't age so there won't ever be melodrama about age. 10/10

Fluffy: Its so good. And in a lot of ways it makes more sense than some of the stuff they shows actually do. I don't think they could live happily ever after but they would be good for a while. 10/10

Fred x Wesley x Gunn: I think this would work well in seasons 3 or in season 5. I don't really see a world were it survives in season 4. I think they all give big Bisexual energy and I personally think it would be a better balance than just welsely & Fred or just wesley & gunn. 9/10

Wesleyx Illyria: This lowekey eats. I would even say borderline cannon as Illyria is very clearly attached to wesley. and like ancient as time demon falls for this sad wet cat of a guy is so good. Its got some of the toxic banter I love with Weslah. Illyria is so queercoded which makes this ship so queer coded which is fun. 10/10

Gilezx Ethan Rayne: There is something about them that speaks to me. Like such good Lovers to enemies. That being said their best dynamic is as Exs which mean their actual ship rating has to go down. 8/10

Spander: So i'm pretty sure this is one of the more popular in terms of Ao3 numbers. I think one of the modern comics makes this canon but this post is really only about the show. And honestly yeah I see it. Xander probably would benefit from sleeping with men at least for a little. Not sure its something that speaks to me personally, but it could be fun in like a rivals way. 5/10

Fredx willow: I actually think this gives the nerd 4 nerd that angel tries with Wesley & fred better than wesley & fred do. I think they would be cute for a fling but not necessarily a long term deal. Although if none of their canon ships are options I could see it working out long term. 7/10

[t00thpasteface]

okay i think i pinpointed what's turning me off from wanting to watch the superman movie and it's that none of the praise i've heard for it has been about the action, even though it's very obviously a superhero movie, and action is what that genre does best

like i'm not so much of an english major that i'm opposed to the experience of superhero movies on principle— i love action movies, and lord knows i've enjoyed a lot of tarantino— but i think they have a limited skillset in terms of cinematic experience, and they work best when they're aware of that and minmaxing into it accordingly. and this isn't an insistence of homgeneity— lots of stuff out there bends/fuses genres to great effect— but rather an acknowledgement of skillsets and limitations, like saying how you should really cook chicken all the way before you serve it, not just saying no one could possibly pull off an unorthodox flavor combination.

i mean, heck, i love captain america: the winter soldier! but i don't love it because i'm somehow under the impression that it's some kind of touching gay love story or whatever, i love it because it's a tall cool glass of kickass action movie with one shot of y2k spy-movie flavor-syrup and a capital-R-Romantic war-movie salt-rim. it knows what it wants to be (action flick), it knows what its genre excels at (martial arts + property damage + iconic one-liners), and it gives juuust enough atmosphere and emotional stakes to make you fistpump and go YEEEAAAAH (or NOOOOO) each time the fists start flying.

like what i think of when superhero movies (or other mass-market-appeal genres) start trying to dual-wield some heavier genre/messaging is the slogan from the podcast sawbones: "cure-alls cure nothing." they're just really not equipped for that by virtue of, well, a lot of the inherent staples of the genre that give it its flavor and identity. i think it's far better for a work of fiction (i hate the soulless corporate phrase ~piece of media~ with a fiery passion) to do one thing really fucking well than to do two or three things badly, or lacklusterly, or— and here's the real turnoff— "good for a superhero movie".

i keep saying it, but i really think a lot of people are experiencing a kind of low-grade vitamin deficiency for narratives in fiction because they aren't reading/watching/whatevering a diverse enough array of truly compelling creative works. and i hate coming off like an elitist snob, because i'm really not; i think the "greats" and the "classics" can really be for anyone to try and i would never dare gatekeep anything (see all my posts begging people to read catch-22), but i think you shouldn't have to settle for a political narrative that's "good for a superhero movie". i think you deserve a compelling political narrative, and you also deserve a kickass action flick with a big blue boy scout punching evil dudes, but i also think you're probably depriving yourself of both of those great experiences if you're trying to fuse them into one awkward amalgamation to the detriment of both halves.

and that goes with a lot of other nuanced subject matter and a lot of other genres/mediums ill-equipped to handle them with the gravitas they're due— the same problem crops up with people watching kids/family cartoons, which i say as a chronic rewatcher of cartoons i grew up on. if you read something like persepolis, you won't need to wring blood from a stone every time you see a superhero movie, because you'll have already gotten enough of that artistic vitamin in your brain and it won't bug you that something else isn't giving you enough of a dose.

like i've said before, at some point you have to stop looking for gummy orange slices with added vitamin C and just peel and eat an actual orange.

[gunstellations]

home cook

[bitofanupsidedowner]

"you just make everything gay" oh do we?? thats so funny. crazy how no one is anticipating lucas dumping max to be with dustin then.

no one has 300 slides proving that ted wheeler is gonna divorce karen for lonnie. or that jonathan is going to break up with nancy so he can be with argyle. & have you ever seen hour long video essays going through hopper and murray's relationship and screaming endgame!! endgame!!! he's not in love with joyce!!! because i haven't.

maybe u just hate that we wouldn't be doing this at all if mike acted different. if mike's actions were platonic we'd more than likely see them as platonic.

[knifearo]

ultimately when it comes to shipping and fandom space treatment of aspec characters i just don't accept "aro/ace people can still date/have sex" as an answer from nonaspecs. like yeah. mhm. okay. now i think we both know that you're not saying that out of real interest in the diversity of aspec experiences. so you can turn in your seventeen-page essay on why and how you plan to examine this character's aspec identity within the context of a romantic or sexual relationship complete with evidence from canon and peer reviews from multiple aspec people within the next week or i'm putting you in the pit from the edgar allen poe story

[trevination]

i’m just thinking about pony terrified that him being gay is just one more hardship on his brothers’s backs, the thing that’ll finally break their love for him . and darry and soda have suspected that pony’s queer for a while and seeing him isolate himself and pull away like this is awful and terrifying and they do they’re best to remind pony that they’ll always love him, but if anything it just makes pony feel worse because how can they promise that when they don’t know this secret he’s carrying??

[gaydennisreynolds]

people who think (especially late-seasons) macdennis isn't enjoyable anymore because mac is evil/abusive/boundary-violating .... well . what if i told you that's the appeal

[skullzy20]

extra doodles from a whiteboard with me and my buddies :3

[eff-exor]

hey girl, i noticed you from across the room and i was wondering.. well, [rests elbow on bar and it slips from underneath me but i catch myself in time so i look extremely cool and prepared for anything] can i eat your ass from the back