#queer coded characters

[cheezy-whizz]

[heardsomedickwasbeinmeantoyou]

happy pride 🏳️‍🌈 to closet gay eddie diaz specifically,,, don't worry king we got you 💕

[turboheller]

qᵤ'ₑₛₜ₋cₑ qᵤₑ c'ₑₛₜ?

wow i’ve not drawn dean (or much of anything!) in foreverrrr but got inspired to draw this today when i saw THIS STUNNING PIECE by the crazy-talented @jensensitive — so this is for you, elle! <3

[kyoonnyoon]

me, introducing my mutuals to my current favorite queer-coded couple from whatever i’ve decided to hyper-fixate on this month:

“this is tweedle-dee and tweedle-dumbass”

[aromantichc]

Aromantic Character of the Day (10/11/24) is...

Logan Howelett / Wolverine (X-Men) !

Anon headcanons Logan as demiromantic allosexual, queer, and polyamorous !

[littlecakeclub]

Finishing Fruit Basket as a 33 year old

(Full spoilers ahead!)

I read the manga up until most of season one back when I was a teen, and I remembered a fair bit. I’d always been curious to see how the story wrapped up. I’ve preferred the anime’s art over the manga’s (totally subjective), so I went for the anime this time around. And honestly, I’m really glad I did. So here are some of my scattered thoughts.

Yuki had the best character arc by far. He starts off as that “perfect” prince-type character I found really annoying back then—and still found annoying rewatching season one! But as the story unfolds and we get more of his backstory, everything clicks into place. The pressure, the loneliness, the feeling of playing a role that didn’t fit him, the emotional distance from his mother… all of it hit harder now. I especially loved the scenes with his brother. The student counseling episode was probably my favorite moment in the whole series. His arc was subtle and strong, and I really liked his romance with Machi too. It’s a shame we didn’t get more of her in the anime.

Kyo and Tohru were adorable, beginning to end. They were my ship when I was a kid, and I was still rooting for them. I actually found it okay that Kyo told her he was disappointed in her at one point—it felt real. In relationships, people do hurt each other sometimes. What matters is coming back from that and growing. That said, I do feel like Tohru wasn’t the most compelling character as I watched with adult eyes. I would’ve loved to see her written with more depth.

I really liked Rin and Hatsuharu too. Honestly, both of them felt so mature, like they could’ve been in college. Their dynamic—trauma, trust, pain, healing—was emotionally rich and really moving. Two emo kids that I will defend with my whole heart.

I was also glad that Momiji didn’t end up with Tohru. Their dynamic was sweet, but there was a maternal, nurturing quality in the way she treated him, and turning that into romance would’ve been weird. I know he gets more closure with his sister in the sequel, which I haven’t read. But it would’ve been nice to get a little of that in the main story. That said, Momiji is definitely one of the most touching side characters, and it’s easy to see why he’s a fandom favorite.

I didn’t buy into the Kureno x Arisa insta-love at all, but Kureno as a character was interesting, and I found his dynamic with Akito compelling.

Akito's part of the story left me with mixed feelings, especially around her gender reveal. It’s a twist that worked narratively, and it’s very typical of early 2000s manga, where gender play was a common trope in shojo manga. But watching it now, it feels… off. There’s something about it that brushes up against the “crazy crossdresser” trope, or like a reversed forced transition. It’s complex, and I’m not sure how it sits today, especially for queer viewers. I’d honestly be curious to hear what LGBTQ+ fans think, because part of me sees some uncomfortable implications.

As for Shigure and Akito… I loved how twisted the relationship was. But they should not have ended up together. Their story felt like it needed to be a tragic almost-love. Something full of pain and longing, but ultimately about two people who did too much damage to ever truly be together. I would’ve loved to see Akito choose a life outside the Soma clan altogether, far from the old power structures. A real breakaway without Shigure in the picture.

I really appreciated how the show explored Kagura and Kyo’s bond. It was messy, and honest. Guilt, pity, affection, and ultimately, friendship. I wasn’t expecting to like their scenes as much as I did.

Tohru’s parents, though… I still find their romance creepy. The whole teacher-student thing just doesn’t sit right with me. But I did love the way they supported each other as two people rejected by their families, and I really appreciated how the movie gave us more of Kyoko’s grief and inner world. That part worked well for me.

Hatori’s romance, on the other hand? No thank you. It felt off. Falling for your friend’s fiancé and then dating him after she loses her memory just… no. That whole storyline had this weird heteronormative energy of trying to pair off everyone, no matter how awkward the circumstances. It was one of the few parts of the series I just didn’t enjoy.

I also really wish we got more of Tohru’s best friends. Not necessarily in romantic arcs, just more scenes of them. Their backstories were so well done, and the way Kyoko (and later Tohru) helped them find themselves was really powerful. They were such strong characters and deserved more focus.

Kisa’s arc was another highlight. The bullying, the selective mutism, the trauma—it was beautifully handled. Her slow healing felt real and gentle. Hiro’s guilt, and his complicated relationship with Akito, added layers to his character too.

I also found Ritsu really fun, and honestly wish we’d seen more of him. His relationship to gender presentation and anxiety had so much potential. It’s a shame he didn’t get more space in the story, especially since Fruits Basket already flirts with queer-coded narratives.

Despite most of the cast being in high school, a lot of the emotional themes are really intense and sometimes the adults seem even less functional than the teens. Watching it now, in my 30s, it’s still incredibly enjoyable and deeply relatable in places. I think if I’d finished the series as a teen, it would’ve hit me even harder. But even now, I’m so glad I went back to it.

It’s beautifully acted (I watched in Japanese), the music is great, and the tone feels much more grounded than the over-the-top comedy of the 2001 version, which I never really liked. This new adaptation strikes the right balance between sweetness and pain. I get now why Fruits Basket is considered a classic in the shojo world—and I’m not disappointed to have finished it, even if it took me this long.

[beauspot]

"i do hope the nypd isn't in the business of outing gay men" is such a weird line to say before focusing intently on barba’s face.

[the-lesbian-orpheus]

Hey tumblr very important post to show my friend the truth

Did Horatio have feelings for Hamlets/is the bro queer coded at the end (not to be confused with did they have feelings for eachother- I feel like hamlet is definitely straight)

Alternatively could it at least be argued that there were some feelings/queercoding

Thanks!

[clairedelune-13]

I think what initially drew me to Castiel, was that he reminded me of David as the Tenth Doctor.

Just this skinny, spiky-haired little guy in a trenchcoat who was clearly autistic-coded and queer coded. I loved him immediately. 💙

[madladmorty]

Can we reclaim Voldemort? Seriously, I wanna do that-

If you read the books, you can, amongst all the transphobia and antisemitism, find a lot of queer coding in Voldemort. Specifically trans/non binary and aromantic.

Look at that fucker, and then look me in the eye and tell me he would be a transphobe. If you can, I politely and respectfully ask you to fuck off because that is not the vibe at all.

The aromantic coding isn't even coding at this point. While, yes, Rowling got it quite wrong about where aromantisism comes from with Voldemort, (for a shockingly nice representation of it I recommend looking at Charlie Weasley), he is canonically aromantic. He doesn't understand love, it's a foreign concept to him. It doesn't make him evil, in fact my aro friends agree that they actually find him a little relatable in that way. Like, wtf is this thing that everyone is constantly talking about? I don't get it. It's weird.

As for trans/enby, bare with me here.

As a trans person myself, I can actually match up to the muggle raised wizard experience in general, but Voldemort has added stuff.

For starters, he always knew he was different, knew he wasn't like the rest but also realised that talking about it would result in a worse situation for himself. Very relatable. I remember when I was very young and finally realised that, no, girls don't all want pixie sticks. I don't why, but I felt that I had to shut up about it because some things are just better left unsaid.

I think the biggest trans/enby coding in Voldemort is the name change. Unfortunately, the way Voldemort's name is treated does somewhat reflect experiences of real trans and non binary people. No one calls Voldemort by the name he has chosen for himself, except the those who view him as a threat. In fact, Harry, egged on by Dumbledore who also does it, flat out deadnames him. To his face. Dumbledore even acknowledges that he uses a different name now but STILL calls him Tom just to seemingly assert dominance. Real mature, Dumbledore, real mature.

Then there is the fact that he has undergone drastic physical changes that people around him view as 'monstrous', 'unnatural' and 'deformed'. That ring any bells? As a trans guy it sure does for me, as Abigail Shrier in her infamous book Irreversible Damage claims that trans guys have a 'bulldozed female profile' and says over and over that we are mutilating ourselves and having our womanly features stripped from us as if we didn't choose this for ourselves.

So please, can we reclaim Voldemort? We can really expand him as a character, it's incredibly easy. I don't condone his wizard nazi views, but we can give this complex, multifaceted, nebulous being the respect and depth that he truly deserves. what do think?

[theficlistpodcast]

🎶I think I’ve seen this film before…🎶

[cheezy-whizz]

shout out to homicidal homoerotic toxic best friendships in movies, gotta be one of my favorite genders

[easeinjazzout]

hits him with the beam text transcript in alt (boy do i hope i did it correctly)

[zilanthix]

she wants to keep the kitty

[gnome-adjacent-vagabond]

RED DWARF IN THE YEAR 2025

Consider this an ad campaign

[squidinu]