#and I mean that to the gayest extent

[gaywatch]

thoughts on luis/leon?

I am K I C K I N G myself that I didn't do a stream for my RE4 remake playthrough. I'm a longtime RE fan, but for whatever reason I had never gotten more than 1/3 of the way of through RE4--which is why I was so excited for the remake. This also meant I had no idea what I was in for with Leon and Luis and dshbasfijjwhdsfkljdgl I'm furious. Like no kidding, I'm streaming every new RE release from now on just in case. The chain scene?!!?!!?! Redemption???? "I'LL MAKE IT CHEAP FOR YOU"?!!?!!?!!?!? I'm on the goddamn floor, I couldn't believe it.

[yurisorcerer]

Two immediate thoughts here. 1. A good chunk of this episode is the gayest thing I've seen in an anime that's not technically about wlw romance in years. 2. It's so, so funny that the obvious solution to the Aqua/Akane/Kana "love triangle" is polyamory but all 3 of them have way too many issues to make that ever work. (Also mainstream fiction just Doesn't Ever Do That because life is pain. Also they're all in showbiz so that's another obstacle there.)

ANYWAY.

I love that this episode, in a fundamentally similar way to the last one, is less about the play itself and more about the psychology of the characters of Akane and Kana. To an extent, "it's about the psychology of these characters, not their performances themselves" is the whole show and at least most good examples of anime about the arts in general, but it's *really* pronounced here. Almost the entire episode is from Akane's perspective from the point that she shows up, and this is especially obvious with her flashbacks to her childhood meeting with Kana.

In a lesser series, something like this would come off as really contrived. You mean to tell me that Akane was taken with the quality of Kana's acting at such a young age? That she just happened to meet her while doing auditions? That when the real Kana inevitably doesn't live up to Akane's idealized image of her (boy that whole relationship is a WHOLE thing on its own), there just happens to be a honkin huge billboard of Kana outside staring her down?

The unreliable narrator card is obvious, but this is so clearly a depiction of how Akane remembers all of this rather than what actually happened per se. I love it, I love how it leads Akane to delve deeper into the psychological side of acting, and I love her speech about how the Kana she loved was an overpowering, selfish actress.

Let's dive into that little monologue actually, because I think it's really telling not just about Akane but about Oshi no Ko in general. The specific phrasing she uses to convey what she wants out of Kana---or at least how it's translated---is "acting that devours everyone around you."

This is something Oshi no Ko is kind of obsessed with. Charisma, talent, star power, as this almost supernatural force that bends the world around it. This is something it shares in common with like, a very small handful of other anime I've ever seen, most prominently Revue Starlight which I think is more similar to Oshi no Ko than fans of either would ever care to admit, but it's such a perfect conveyance of the feeling of being swept up by someone who is just that talented. That's what Akane wants out of Kana, and she is so frustrated that she's not getting it, and she kind of has a breakdown near the end of the episode because she fears she might be in the wrong for wanting it. She worries that she's just coming off as a showboat.

But the funny thing is, she isn't! Kana's general reticence to really stand out is hurting her! This is a fact that Kana herself doesn't even seem entirely cognizant of despite how obvious it is to everyone else. (Including Aqua, who only joins the proceedings at the very end here. There's a grim irony in how good he is at spotting everyone else's issues but how bad he is at understanding his own.) Akane frames it as Kana having been "squashed down by the adults around her" which is a real thing that happens to kids who excel in ways that aren't necessarily expedient to the adults around them. It has a resonance beyond the world of show business that Oshi no Ko takes place in, and I think that's part of what makes this whole ongoing arc so effective. We will presumably get more into Kana's head next episode (and Aqua's, since he's part of this too and there's still the whole "deliberately triggering himself as acting trick" thing to deal with), i can't wait.

Also! I must say I love how dreamlike the back half of this episode feels. There are huge swathes of it where it's not really clear if what we're seeing is the actual play, something backstage, or some kind of idealized thought-space that combines the two. I hope they keep leaning into that, it's fantastic.

[victimsofyaoipoll]

Round 1

Propaganda Under Cut

Han Sooyoung

han sooyoung is one of the main trio protagonists yet people constantly ignore her in order to ship the other two males despite the fact that they are all doomed by the narrative TOGETHER!!! fanon content is even worse because it either slaps a lesbian sticker onto her to shittily write her off in fanfic OR they make her so one dimensional its like a cardboard stand in. han sooyoung arguably has a more important/interesting dynamic with the main male protagonist yet everyone ignores her because they want their uwu gay babies IM SO SICK OF ORV FANS

Dokja and Joonghyuk are a very popular ship (rightfully so, i get it) but usually Sooyoung is seen as in the way of their relationship or not as valued as the other two even though her place in the story and relationship with the other characters is just as strong. Recently there was a post on twitter being rude about people who ship her and Joonghyuk (which is a super valid ship) and i saw a lot of hate that i believe just stems from her getting “in the way” of a yaoi ship. 

99% of that kind of symbolic fanart REFUSES. to acknowledge her existence man. even though she is part of the main TRIO man

Shinoa Hiiragi

The fandom hated her for getting in the way of Mika/Yuu (she had a crush on yuu). The rare times they didn’t hate her they made her into a fujoshi obsessed with shipping them which isn’t in character at all. In fact if you look at the owari no seraph specials she would ship yuu with kimizuki but no one even cares

One of my favorite characters ever forever and treated heinously by crazed fujoshis that hallucinated she was getting in the way of MikaYuu, which for the record she wasn’t! I mean even if she WAS getting between them it wouldn’t justify the crazy misogyny that got thrown at her but she had a ONE-SIDED CRUSH on Yuu. He didn’t even like her back. What was the issue, then? An unrequited crush is not going to prevent a relationship! Whatever I haven’t even told you about her. She’s Silly. She’s incredibly cunning and a great leader, in fact she is the leader of the anime’s main squad. She’s calculating. She’s a gossip and a prankster and a bit flirty and a bit mean-spirited and she presents herself in a Silly Goofy way, in part to cover up the amounts of angst in her backstory, like my girl has ISSUES. She even has an epic demon weapon that is better and cooler than most other demon weapons but if you ask any fangirl from way-back-when, she’s just a bitch and the personification of evil. and probably homophobic too, even though she has a girl rival-turned-friend which is the gayest trope out there. 

She seems to be the (male) protagonist's love interest and appears to be canonically in love with him, but he is not interested in her whatsoever, often brushing her off and dismissing her in favor of thinking about his found family instead. I don't necessarily ship him romantically with any other male character (i hc him as aroace) but by god the anime was extremely charged with homoromantic subtext in every corner. One of those "holding each other's faces in the opening, spends the entire first season pining and wishing to be reunited" types. The fandom ships her love interest with another male character to the extent that I started watching the show in the first place because i kept seeing ship posts of the main character with that other guy thought they were cute. And also i cannot fucking stand her personality and want to light her on fire. I think the rest of the fandom agrees with me but I'm honestly not sure. I'm also a gay man so i think you could argue that I, the submitter, could play the role of the "yaoi" terrorising her as well

[hallucinateonpaperspines]

are breakdown and KO a couple already or are they getting there ?

Breakdown and KO are not a current couple in Of Timelines and Trolleys at this time.

*BOOOOOOO*

Yes, yes, I hear y'all, but let me explain. I am aware these are some of the gayest bots present and are very obviously (and confirmed in a comic) to be Conjux Enduras/married.

They still have the hots for each other, are clearly connected, and are still partners, but they are not bonded in my fic currently for a few reasons.

Bonding is risky.

In OT&T, I do employ spark bonds and subsequently, the phenomena of spark connections. This may or may not be relevant to the main plot. Connections that can share emotions, memories, energy, and Conjux Endura's are included in the bond types that have that sharing effect. 'Caus you're literally bonding your souls. So, in wartime, just as the production of sparklings would be frowned upon (and later impossible due to the Allspark issue) creating that type of bond would also be looked down on. Don't want half your soldiers dying of sparkbreak, sergeant! It's a two-for-one hit!

Consequently, even as the war has dragged on for millennia, they are still at war with the same directives. Considering KO and Breakdown met as Decepticons during the conflict, they've never had a chance to become an exception via holding a predating bond.

2. Cultural effects of the war

So, yes, they aren't bonded but that doesn't mean they couldn't be a couple right? Just perpetually dating until the war ends, and they can make it official right? Yes! Kinda!

So, since the war has been so long-standing, to the point where Bumblebee and Smokescreen's generation don't remember a pre-conflict Cybertron and most other bots (as Airachnid's derision of Starscream's boasting he was a "Supreme Air Commander" before the war implies) see Golden Age Cybertron as a far off era. War protocol has become their culture to a very large extent. This means that to most except ye oldies, the concept of spark bonding also seems relatively archaic. But on top of that, the concept of bonds at all (specifically for a dog-eat-dog command like the Decepticons) is basically unheard of. Literal or emotional. Death is constant, loss is constant, and individual is expected to pick themselves up and keep going if someone they know is terminated. Sure, vengeance on behalf of that individual is acceptable, but it's not the standard. Even in the original show, Knockout had to wait until Cylas was no longer useful to Megatron before he could get his saw in there, and even then it was under the guise of "research" for the cause. Was it an act of vengeance? Yes. Did it have to be justified for the cause? Also yes. Dreadwing also had to deal with this but without the capacity of properly being able to give a reason for his actions beyond "He Killed My Twin." Murdering OP and Bee was okay, because they were already the enemy, murdering Starscream was not because Screamer was offering something to Megatron.

I think the Autobots in general are a bit better about this, but there's still a decent bit of emotional constipation; it's a war front, you keep fighting and surviving, or you join them in their grave. Arcee has to do this with the death of her partner, Wheeljack does this with the death of Seaspray, and later at Bulk's injury. There's time to grieve, yes, but that doesn't change the fact that missions still need to be completed, or that someone else is ready to kill you should your guard be low.

The Decepticons, at least in the version I'm writing, have none of that. They cannot afford to appear weak or have a weakness, or they could be killed/used by their own side. Starscream is the scrapping SIC and is technically Megatron's successor and he is a walking reminder that no one is immune to this pecking order. It's a cycle of abuse that is continually reinforced. So for that reason, Knockout and Breakdown's genuine friendship is almost unheard of in these later stages of the war. Once, it might have been normal, now they're the exception to the merciless rule. A romantic bond, something beyond quiet acts of kindness and subtle flirts is risky for both of them, especially in Knockout's temporary dabbling in politics.

It's a very sad Romeo and Juliet scenario, isn't it? Angsty, that unrequited love ending in tragedy and loss that can't even be acknowledged unless KO would want more than the occasional insults tossed at the memory of Breakdown. No wonder he was so sadistic with Cylas.

So no, they're not a couple... but I wonder what might happen if tracks are switched and there are some ripples in the timeline...

Of Timelines and Trolleys is a cracky and angsty tale of a chaotic in-denial oc, but it's also a story of making choices and living with the consequences of how they impact others; the trolley problem if you will. And those decisions are not limited to Ashlyn Moore.

[nicosraf]

*a&m spoilers!

i just finished reading a&m and i am in shambles, so thank you (genuinely)! i was expecting to be hurt by the fate of some of these characters, but i was also admittedly excited for the inevitable toxicity and hatred/anger being shared particularly between Michael and Lucifer, and you delivered so much more than I would have expected. I want to apologize if this ‘ask’ turns into me just yapping away - your work has impacted me so greatly (,:

Not sure if this has been mentioned by another reader yet, but i read this line, said by Lucifer to Michael, “be blessed that you will never know why” (pg 406) and found that it sounded familiar, and I realized that this exact sentence was also mentioned to be said by God to Lucifer at the end of chapter 1. Lucifer imitating/wanting to be like God was hammered in so subtly here, and including this line on opposite ends of the book added so much to this theme

CHAPTER 37!!! I lost it - I knew that something like this was bound to happen but the way that you did it brought me so much joy. I must admit that I adore Lucifer and Michael’s dynamic now (although I of course also adored the past dynamic as well). It’s complicated, genuinely toxic and written so painfully well ;; Lucifer’s incessant insults and degrading, Michael craving violence and choking him, biting him and digging his fingers into the wounds he caused, i was in disbelief. (And Michael having that thought as he brushed past Baal oh my god i felt the ground shake)

And even then, despite them hurting each other, Michael listens when Lucifer tells him about the table because he knows that there is something genuine in the way he says it. It was bittersweet, to see a very brief moment of care (and a fraction of what remains of their past selves in heaven) in between this performance of violence and hatred

I appreciate just how much love you put into your characters, particularly Lucifer. I’m genuinely a fan, I’ve been mystified and trapped if it wasn’t already painfully obvious. I love how much emphasis you put on his excessive jewelry and the sort of clothes he wears, it really set the mood for him as a character and it tied in so well with his body language. I was super super impressed with how you were able to paint a picture of his demeanor now that he has become satan, especially in the heart-eating scene. You made it so easy to imagine every one of his little actions in all their unrelenting cruelty and it was definitely one of my favorite scenes in the book. Lucifer eating a raw, human heart straight from a man’s chest while staring into Michael’s eyes was one of the gayest things I’ve ever read

I have so many more things I wish to say but i will end my yapping here for now lol, thank you for writing these characters I’ve come to adore! <3

Thank you so much for reading!! It means a lot to me and I'm really glad you enjoyed!! :) please do not apologize for yapping... Im the angel of yapping

Lucifer imitating/wanting to be like God.... I'm glad you noticed that little recurring line! Lucifer is very much acting like his own version of God in A&M, mimicking him to some extent... and the narrative treats Lucifer like a new God in this book too! (in ABM, God is distant, seemingly all-knowing, and his plans/thoughts are unknown to the reader. And in A&M... agh.,.,. Lucifer..... the way the narrative treats Lucifer... all of Lucifer's actions in this book... I'm really crazy about it, Im afraid)

And Chapter 37 skskssk I'm glad you like their dynamic! Michael and Lucifer are fascinating to me because of the insane development of their relationship. I love them when they're innocent love birds and I love them when they hate each other; I love the turmoil of going from one end to another. Lord, they are so toxic. There are so many relationships here that are unhealthy (I would say most of them), but Moocifer is definitely near the top of the list of Messiest. Michael's fingers in the wounds... Michael thinking that at the end.... What's wrong with him. Whats wrong with the both of them (there's so so much)

Michael moving off that table when Lucifer asked... the brief moment of care... i can't think about it too much right now without going insane but... lord

i love my characters very much, so im glad that you like them!! and i put a lot of thought and love into Lucifer... It warms my heart a lot that you find him fun! <333

thank u again for reading!!! have a great day :)

[wolfwrenbrainrot]

All the thoughts I ever had about SW ship wars from 2015 to 2023?? And why I ship Wolfwren I guess Idk

⚠️ DISCLAIMER ⚠️

I’ll be discussing the ship wars that are happening right now in the ahsoka fandom and compare it to how my perception about the fandom war that happened during the sequel era changed with the years). Oh, and I’m going to get into some tangencies that may not make much sense most of the time, so reading this to the end is on your own account. I ended up being a bit cynical too, but not in a mean way, I hope?

.

.

.

.

.

I usually give up everytime I start writing an opinion on tumblr, because most of the time I just think my opinion won’t change anything, but the ahsoka fandom got “revived” (not that it was dead, but, well, we haven’t had any new episodes and to an extent the most of us move on to others shows a little until we get new content, like it happened these last few days) and I’ve been thinking about this show all on my own for a while (my friends aren’t really into Star Wars stuff, so they can listen, but they’ll never GET IT like interacting with fans online will). I’m explaining myself too much, but all I mean by that is that by writing this, I don’t intend to add fuel to the fire. That’s why i won’t tag sab//ra, r//lo or mention the ships just because I don’t want to upset those of them that can have normal conversations about media nor trigger those that can’t (which, thankfully, doesn’t seem to apply to all sab//zras). So, if you don’t like Wolfwren, you’ll only see this if you are looking for a ship you don’t like or if you’re invested enough in not liking it to check the anti tag. I’m not judging, we all been there. In fact, I was there during the sequel era, with a ship that is pretty similar in dynamic to Wolfwren. It was also pretty similar to a ship I loved at the time, Catradora, from Netflix’s She’ra. So, yeah, I was a big hypocrite. I still kinda think sapphic enemies to lovers is the superior taste of the trope, but that’s because I’m so profoundly gay it would scare the gayest gay, so obviously the ships I’m more invested in are sapphic. It’s a given. But my point is, now I see the whole R//lo argument from a different angle, that you can disagree with, but I believe is more realistic:

I don’t ship it.

Although it is an illusion to believe our taste in fiction is not related to who we are as people (because blah blah blah capitalism blah blah blah I’m a commie), it is possible to distinguish what we want from two fiction characters and how we expect to meet our partners in real life lmao.

(This next part I’m a bit uncertain of how it’ll be perceived, but I hope it makes sense. Please, both R//los and antis that may or may not be reading this, be patient and try to understand what I’m trying to say.

Yes, Finn was casted aside by Lucasfilm. Yes, K//lo getting a more prominent role in the films played a part in this whole process. Yes, there was a part of the R//lo fandom that was racist to John Boyega. This is also true for the Star Wars fandom as a WHOLE, because there was plenty of shitty dudebros complaining about the same shit they’re complaining today, “woke culture” and all that crap, just because they decided to have a woman and a black man as the protagonists. A decision that most likely wasn’t made by those executives thinking: “Oh, wouldn’t it be so great if we made a few minorities feel seen in this universe many of them really love?”. But it did that.

The Force Awakens came out and, despite being, at the same time, a remake of A New Hope and a continuation of Return of the Jedi, its new characters had SO. MUCH. POTENTIAL. And, limitations imposed by mainstream products made by big corporations and set in galaxies far, far away from ours aside, black people and women felt represented. It is one of the many contradictions of symbolic effect of minorities groups being represented in media produced in the system that oppress them (commie, warned you). Does it change things? No, not really. Isn’t it usually done it a way full of limitations that sometimes reinforce certain ideas that are pretty harmful? Yeah… Kind of… But didn’t it feel great, after growing up frustrated that Leia wasn’t a Jedi in the old movies, to have Rey? Wasn’t it awesome that black people got Finn? This complex (at least, it started that way) defected stormtrooper turned rebel? That could, maybe, even be force sensitive…? Yes to all of those questions! Tricky, isn’t it? By the way, I do believe that (before TROS) Finn had the narrative placement of Han (reluctant hero), Poe had Leia’s (rebel leader that gets captured and literally puts important information in a droid lmao), Rey had Luke’s (lives a boring life but has a calling to the adventure blah blah blah becomes a hero, we all heard it so many times) and Kylo had Vader’s (villain that’ll eventually get redeemed by the hero). All basic, old hero’s journey. A story structure that, despite being critical of, I eat up every fucking time it envolves spaceships and lightsabers. Getting back to the point, representation has its limits but it matters and the Star Wars fandom is full of racist, sexist pieces of shit and there was a percentage of the R//lo fandom that were too. But shipping R//lo isn't, like, intrinsically racist. You can make an argument for the implications of Adam Driver being chosen as a romantic interest (both by many fans and by Lucasfilm) over John Boyega, but at the same time there is, to some degree a level of which trope (friends to lovers or enemies to lovers) attracts you more. For me, it depends. I was a Finnpoe with a soft spot for Finnrey and an anti R//lo. But I’m obsessed with Wolfwren. Guess I like non-menacing men and evil lesbians. Wonder why Ezra Bridger is my favorite Rebels character and I ship Wolfwren. 🤔

Going back to the “Opinion on R//lo checklist”:

Would I like to meet my future partner by being kidnaped? No, not really. Do R//lo shippers want that? I think it's pretty safe to say they don't, even if they joke about it as much as I do about wanting Shin Hati to stab me. Because, ohh, right, it's a fictional movie about spaceships, galatic wars and space wizards. Yeah, I totally forgot about that when I was younger.

So, shipping R//lo doesn't mean you condone abusive relationships or domestic violence or whatever. Same applies to Wolfwren. ‘Cause, like, they aren't in a relationship yet, they’re not even friends or allies… They're on opposite sides of a war. You’re supposed to try to kill each other. Some people are just intrigued by the tension/dynamic between two characters and some others are just attracted to the characters and want to read about them fucking, and if it upsets you enough that you need to try to annoy people into stop shipping it… you need to rethink your relationship with fiction. I’m saying this because I had to do it, too. I went on with the mob and statements I agree to this day got mixed up with a bunch of nonsense and I thought that by being anti R//ylo I was making a statement, I was fighting against the romanticization of toxic relationships. I wasn't. It’s like that Luca Guadagnino’s film, “Bones and all”. Canibalism as a metaphor for love has been explored in multiple ways, by multiple artists in paintings, films, novels… Does it mean all the people who produced and consumed those works want to eat human flesh?

There’s also different ways of shipping an ETL ship. I love Wolfwren, and, in fanon, I don't mind it getting super angsty and fucked up, Killing Eve style, but I also love it when it's a slowburn romance with them going from enemies to reluctant allies to slowly building a friendship and falling in love. Do you see the range? Shipping is also about imagination, about overanalyzing things, about wondering what could character x possibly bring to character y? If Wolfwren ever does become canon, my perfect scenario would be the slowburn one, though I’ll love every second of them fighting and stare into each other's eyes until then.

If you ship S/b/rza, it doesn't mean you're homophobic. Unless you, well, use homophobic rhetoric to hate on Wolfwren and/or its shippers. This homophobic rhetoric can also be an attempt of being (hate to use this word) “woker” than the person shipping a gay ship and saying the queer people shipping Shin and Sabine are actually reinforcing lesbian stereotypes. Triste me when this is not the hot take you seem to think it. Maybe try researching a bit about queer representation in media, queercoding and the hays code era. Or try to put yourself in our shoes. As I stated above, representation has its limits but it matters and increases our ability to connect to the pieces of fiction we're consuming. In my case, as much as I can enjoy it, there's always gonna be a degree of alienation when it comes to “straight people media”. That's why I headcanon characters as sapphic. Because I am. That's why autistic people headcanon characters as being autistic. Same goes for trans people and other minority groups that do the same. So, in the end, it doesn't really need to be canon and even after today I’m still not that hopeful, ‘cause, again, it's Disney. If anything, there's always a possibility that, if Shin lives, she ends up being paired up with a random dude just so people can't call her a lesbian (this has never, ever, stopped a lesbian before tho lol). I'm guessing whatever happens with Wolfwren won't affect what happens to S/b/rza. I may be proven wrong in the future but I think they closed that door in the show, at least for now. Filoni doesn't seem that interested in writing romance to me, especially this time around. We are yet to see physical or romantic attraction being even remotely alluded to in this show. (S/b/rzas interpretation of Sabine's motivation to find Ezra or my interpretation of the tension between Shin and Sabine doesn't change that). It's a pretty sexless show (and I’m not saying they should have explicit sex on a Star Wars show, but George Lucas didn't shy away from romance and showcasing attraction and romantic love). I believe that's why he made sure to “discard” S/b/rza, despiste knowing it was a relatively popular ship in the Rebels fandom (obviously it doesn't stop anyone from shipping it, but it is an indicative of how Filoni intended us to perceive their dynamic). You know what I mean? Wolfwren happening or not, being or not supported by the cast and crew, doesn't change anything for your ship. And to be really honest, it is kind of funny to me that some people feel threatened by Wolfwren. ‘Cause, like, even if Filoni wants to make it canon, in the end it will be up to Lucasfilm and Disney to allow it or not and the best they gave us so far is Velcinta in Andor. Do you truly believe we have a better chance at getting our endgame than you do? Come on, guys. Please. I don't think any of us will, just to be clear, but even if Wolfwrens “win” this ship war, it won't be like some injustice or disrespect towards the s/b/rza fandom. Same goes for s/b/rza, because unlike Poe x Zorrii that was a last minute, pulled of their ass straight romance that only existed to send the very clear message that Poe Dameron is a heterossexual man (lol, he isn't). Ezra and Sabine do have a history together that I see as platonic but can be interpreted as romantic. And you will still be able to ship it, even if Sabine ends up with Shin. That's why fanfiction exist. If she ends up with Ezra, I’ll keep reading my Wolfwren fanfics and be happy with it. At the end of the day, it's just fiction. I care enough about it to write a long ass Tumblr post, but not to make me actually upset over a relationship that isn't my own.

[gascon-en-exil]

15 for Xander, 25 for Dedue

15. What’s your favorite ship for this character? (Doesn’t matter if it’s canon or not.)

Ryoma, to the limited extent that I ever get into Fates shipping. Laslow is there as well, but that would involve accounting for his dimension-hopping weirdness and time in a game I revisit even less than Fates.

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

From pre-release:

Me: "The Finn to Dimitri's Quan, possibly the gayest part of this game."

Now: Actually is the gayest part of these games in spite of stiff competition (and I don't mean from the nonentity that is Byleth). Onscreen handholding, a back-and-forth of schlocky romantic one-liners, a secret shared death scene, lots of story attention even in routes where they're not playable, including one where Dedue does in fact play out Finn's role, even more cheesy activity dialogue and paired warrior special dialogue, plenty of indicators that they'd be down for opening up their relationship from a variety of angles...Dimidue is astonishingly gay, and remains so even over four years and one mainline game later.

[homicidalfantrolls]

💭

@trollcafe Liam. My main man. my brisket mac and cheese. the shake to my steak. my sun and stars. the top gun to my sub gun.

I don’t think there’s really anything I can say about Liam that I haven’t beaten into the evisersted carcass of that horse BUT

I love him. I’ve known him since we was in middle school and seeing him go through highschool and then college to now being a teacher is fucking insane. through both of us transitioning, four relationships, many dogs, two rats, two cats and countless dunkin donuts gifted back and forth he’s always around and always being the gayest version of himself he can be. I don’t know if I can go into how amazing it is to plot with him, how much his art and writing have improved ( like to a ridiculous extent. What the fuck) and how unreasonably kind and sweet he is no matter what. (Except road rage.) so we won’t get into that

there are no words to express how much he means to me and how excited I am to be seeing him again this summer for our 2k24 Halloween rails reunion tour

love u

[kookiecrush]

I have to say, while I do ship TK I am not a believer, but yeah...Taehyung has never personally gave me fully straight vibes. Lol

Hi 😊 Yeah, it always surprises me when I come across people who are adamant that Tae is 100% straight. I'm sorry, but he is the gayest member to me 🤷‍♀️. I've only ever seen him show interest and attraction to men. And of course, not only queer people support queer people, but straight people rarely do to the extent Tae does. Whether it's wearing queer clothing brands, listening to and recommending queer music, his love for queer art, watching queer media, etc. You can tell that it really means something to him, that it's something he holds close to his heart, and I'm really proud of him for making that known despite his country's attitude towards queer people.

[gaykarstaagforever]

Batman Forever from 1995 has a 39% Rotten Tomatoes score, and while I personally think that is a little cruel, it is certainly a mediocre movie.

That said, both U2's "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" and Seal's "Kiss From a Rose" are from the soundtrack of this crappy movie, which is kind of impossible to believe.

Of course, Batman and Robin are the gayest they have ever been here, so maybe that explains why the music is good? This may very well be a gay superhero movie made by gays, for gays, compromised only to the extent that they tricked a major studio into paying for it. That, and the garish camp production design, are, besides the music, the highlights here.

Like I said, 39% is unfair. It is a solid C+. The 90s did way worse things than this.

Also, the director, the late Joel Schumacher, claimed to have had sex with upwards of 20,000 men, starting from the age of 11. He was 80 when he died, so that would mean he fucked 290 different men every year he was alive after his 11th birthday.

I assume he was being hyperbolic.

Also, when you start having sex at 11 years old, that had better be with other 11 year olds, or that doesn't count so much as sex as evil crimes.

...Look. This post was supposed to be about music or something.

[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

Season 4, Episode 6: An Extremely Chaotic and Incoherent Review

My favorite episode!!! GET READY FOR HEAD FULL MANY THOUGHTS

The Good:

"Kicks Get Chicks" *is the gayest episode in the entire season* Kicks get DICKS more like

"Sure, we're good for the occasional inspirational moment, but we're not exactly center mat material" HA, love that this fucker is self aware

He knows he's the Comic Relief Guy and he embraces it fully

"He who shall not be named" absolutely LOVE how Demetri just fucking despises Robby now but is trying to be lowkey about it so as not to stir the pot

If he could I'm pretty sure Demetri would pummel this man six ways to Sunday

Once again reminding everyone that Robby paralyzed and nearly killed Demetri's best friend, betrayed his and Demetri's dojo, and then held down and forcefully shaved Demetri's other best friend

Yeah he wants to like...murder Robby at this point honestly

I can't blame him, either--if someone fucked over my bestie, my dojo, AND my crush??? I would indeed be out for blood, yes

The way Demetri looks CRUSHED when Daniel's like "I know you're missing your friends but we have to put the past behind us" :( :( :(

He just wants his boyfriend back god bless

Wow no wonder Tory's fucked up, with an aunt like THAT

GOOD LORD

This season is kinda making me love Tory, I'll admit

I never thought I'd see the day but here we are

SIAHDZUIYVDX JOHNNY TRAINING IN A PLACE WITH BLACK MOLD

Could this man BE any more delightfully unhinged

Johnny Lawrence's dojo marketing will never NOT be hysterical

"Smack-dab between the pipe supply and the burned-down Chuck E. Cheese" SIR

"I'm asexual" WELL at least we exist on television, right???

I guess this is the queer rep we get for Season 4, RIP

YOOOOO IT'S MY GIRL MOON

"I can't do the whole physical aggression thing" Remind me again why she and ELI FREAKING MOSKOWITZ are meant to be compatible at all??? Literally what even would they talk about??? Well REGARDLESS, can't help but admire her staunch determination to be a pacifist in a high school singlehandedly spearheading the local karate wars

"She's the best athlete in school and she's not afraid to get into a fight" Okay don't get me wrong, I'm still seething over Moon and Piper breaking up, BUT I do find it absolutely HYSTERICAL that Moon apparently has a type

Even funnier that Yasmine lowkey fits her type too, which is apparently mean, cocky bitches who don't take shit from anyone

Oh SHIT, Sam catching Amanda talking to Tory??? This boutta get JUICY

OKAY HERE WE GO HERE WE GO

BASEMENT SCENE LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOO

I've got a lot to say here but I'll try to organize my thoughts somewhat

FIRST OF ALL, I am absolutely delighted that my headcanon that these two have been friends since kindergarten and can easily let themselves into each other's houses is correct!!!

Also Demetri's gay ass is obsessed--I have a lot of long-time childhood friends, and I don't have the location of their spare house keys memorized XD

"You should really think about increasing your security given, you know, THE KARATE WAR???" Not Demetri still being the most overprotective goddamn boyfriend I've ever SEEN

He gets pissy at his friends whenever they do (or suggest) something dangerous that could get them hurt, and it's kind of hilarious but also adorable

He cares so much but has like 0 tact in showing it, bless his soul

The overprotective pissiness is turned up to eleven with Eli though, which is pretty gay

I knew so many dudes in high school who were obsessed with and idolized Batman to a weird extent so like

A very confident "YOU'RE BATMAN!!!" from a guy who seems to be one of those Batman-obsessed boys is uh

Basically a love confession

"Oh, I forget, you're not a DC guy" losing my MIND, I can't believe absolute edgelord Eli Moskowitz isn't into the kind of dark, gritty shit DC is constantly putting out XD

Plot twist of the century honestly

"Forget Batman, you're The Hawk!!!" Hey um check and fucking MATE, haters who threw shade at Demetri for being a bad friend because he never fully accepted the "Hawk" persona

He wouldn't use that as a means of trying to build back Eli's confidence if he hadn't learned to embrace "Hawk" at least somewhat????

And like even if he's still not the biggest fan of "Hawk," he thinks talking about that is what'll make Eli happy and help cheer him up and feel better about himself

He just wants Eli to be his best, happiest self ;__;

"I just proved I was an asshole. To Moon, to Miguel...especially you." Gonna point out that he listed what I think are the 3 most important people to him and he emphasized Demetri

THE WAY HE LOOKS AT HIM AFTER HE SAYS THAT OH GOD THE WAY HE LOOKS AT HIM

And I could swear his voice cracks a little, like he's legit getting choked up just thinking about all the fuckery he subjected Dem to

This dude still has so much guilt festering in him about what he did to Demetri, fucker loves Demetri so much ;_;

"I forgave you, remember?" Dem of course we remember you giving in to Eli's puppy dog eyes in all of 2 seconds because you're deeply in love with him

OPE my homebody Demetri literally says he doesn't give a fuck how Eli does his hair, he still thinks he's the shit regardless

Sorry "Demetri only accepts Eli and not Hawk" truthers, y'all are wrong again

He loves all versions of Eli Moskowitz, he just doesn't want him to be an asshole actually

Which seems reasonable to me

Tfw when you say "Miyagi-Do needs you" but what you really mean is "I need you"

Gay gay homosexual gay

Okay I read some steaming hot takes about Demetri coming to emotionally blackmail Eli to join Miyagi Do or whatever, but...no??? The dude is clearly just panicking and venting and also has no filter at all when he's stressed

Like everything here just seems like panicked word vomit to me, he doesn't seem nearly controlled enough to come in with some devious plan to trick Eli into joining his dojo :/

The whole ramble when Demetri first comes down into the basement reads like he's having an anxiety attack tbh

Can't really blame him, since he's dealing with the stress of worrying Cobra Kai is gonna wipe the floor with him AND his recently-traumatized best friend going totally fucking AWOL

And Demetri seems like the type who snaps and lashes out when he's worried and/or stressed, and like I said, that could account for the absolute lack of any filter he has here

Hence "WHO CARES WHAT THEY THINK??? IT'LL GROW BACK!" Certainly not the most tactful thing to say, but Demetri is way too anxious to think before he blabs, it seems

Ah, so it's the "That's just great, you're choosing Eagle Fang over your best friend" line that everyone's getting hot and bothered about

Honestly I chock this one up to anxiety-induced word vomit, too...like Demetri is kinda just rambling and speaking his mind and his panicky thoughts are going BRRRRRRR so fast that he's definitely not stopping to consider if he's coming across as an ass

And anyways, like...considering Johnny DID help mold Eli into a dude who fully embraced toxic masculinity and bullied the shit out of Demetri, I...don't think it's that unreasonable for him to have reservations about Eli going back to Eagle Fang :/ Like I don't blame him for not wanting Eli to go back to a situation that brought out some of the worst in him

And also like??? Eli fucken dragged Demetri through the ringer and Demetri only just got Eli back in his life a few months ago, of course he would panic if he thought Eli was gonna leave him behind again!

And maybe even lash out and be a bit of a dick, cuz ya know. Homeboy's not perfect

So Eli saying "I'm not going BACK to Miyagi-Do" instead of "I'm not JOINING Miyagi-Do" implies they've discussed Eli joining MD before. I do feel like this needs to be its own scene to clarify, but it's still important to note

So no, he's not tryna guilt trip Eli into joining MD out of nowhere, he's following up on something he and Eli seem to have previously talked about

The "OH SHIT" look on Demetri's face when Eli says he quits KILLS me. Like that's his wakeup call that oh fuck, this is THAT serious and he looks absolutely horrified that Eli has hit rock bottom so hard he's resorted to quitting that has essentially become his favorite thing in the world ;___;

"Yes I will be awake" "NO SENSEI BE WOKE" Johnny Lawrence you are literally always going to make me just lose it

"What about nonbinary and genderfluid?" "Yes fluids are CRUCIAL, if you don't hydrate, it affects performance" He a little confused, but he got the spirit!!!

Also headcanon that Moon is genderfluid but isn't publicly out yet--Piper was one of the only people Moon came out to

Hence why Piper is so quick to make sure Johnny is including genderfluid people! You dun best believe she’ll still defend her ex-girlfriend’s honor

My main reasoning here is that Moon is the most transgender name I have ever heard in my entire life

Highkey love seeing Miguel and Johnny's relationship at its best again. I missed them so much!!!

Honestly good on Sam for standing up for herself!!! She's highkey right that her parents haven't really been listening to her or trying to properly address her trauma

Like for FUCK'S sake, the girl has PTSD!!! Put her in therapy!!!

Oh HELL yes, Amanda backstory!!! Let's fuckin GOOOO!!!

Oh shit, she got arrested??? PLOT TWIST OF THE CENTURY

I mean given that she married someone as chaotic and hotheaded as Daniel this shouldn't actually come as a surprise but STILL

Oh damn, I was wrong!!! I thought Amanda took pity on Tory because she saw some of young Daniel in her, but she actually sees a lot of her younger self in her ;___; Okay okay okay okay I need a minute

Lowkey they're right that "bad kids" just get told the same thing over and over and it's never gonna help course-correct

"She's not the only one who needs a wake-up call" *cuts to Eli in a depressive funk fully believing he can never do karate again* CIMENA

"You put me in a situation where I had to join the dojo" this is probably the kindest possible way to put it, considering said "situation" was "threatening me and then attempting to beat me up over a Yelp review" XD

Ah, so I see Demetri has regained some semblance of tact! Guess the worst of the anxiety attack finally passed, now that he's had the chance to take in that Eli is in fact safe (if having quite the Sadboi Hours) and not kidnapped and beat up by Kyler and co.

Uhhhhh not Demetri telling Eli that him getting Dem into Eli's special interest was the best thing that ever happened to him

Like you telling anyone that them getting you into something they liked is the best thing that ever happened to you is just so Extra and over-the-top that it's extremely difficult not to read as romantic because like

I've had a lot of friends get me into stuff over the years, and I never looked them dead in the eye like "YOU INTRODUCING ME TO THIS THING WAS THE BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO ME"

Anyways tl;dr Demetri is in love

Duh

ALSO Eli's wide-eyed, pleasantly surprised look when Dem says karate is the best thing that ever happened to him, MY HEART

Oh god oh why oh no Eli looks SO FUCKING SAD when Demetri starts talking about Yasmine

Thanks I hate it

I know that look, that's the EXACT expression I make when my crush starts talking about their crush

*Bart Simpson voice* "You can pinpoint the exact moment his heart rips in half!"

"It's not gonna be as exciting if you're not there" I stg this fucker Demetri just sees the world through this sad, destitute, mopey lens when Eli isn't around and then Eli shows up and suddenly everyone upped the color saturation by like 500% and everything is all vibrant and fantastic

Again, this dude is in love

Also the way he looks at Eli when he says it, MY GOD

YOOO THERE WE FUCKIN GO THERE'S THAT SHOULDER SQUEEZE

"Scuse me" *Eli proceeds to have 0 issues with Demetri getting all up in his personal space and practically cuddling with him* Yeah, these dudes are GAY

Like Demetri is LEANING on this man like a giant cat and Eli is just like "I have no problem with this"

"I say a lot of things" God you sure do

THERE'S THE SQUEEZE THERE'S THE SQUEEZE THERE'S THE PRECIOUS SHOULDER SQUEEZE

I'm going feral actually

You tellin me this dumb video has 15k views??? I'm betting this is a viral meme in certain niche circles

And there's definitely some YouTube community who ships them

THESE IDIOTS CAN'T SING

Also are you telling me Demetri made his codename "zer0" and Eli's codename "the 1" and he's NOT in love with Eli???? Uh HUH

Like it's the perfect manifestation of Demetri's cripplingly low self-esteem (wouldn't be surprised if the dude really did consider himself a "zero" of sorts) and him fully indeed believing Eli is in fact The One (romantic)

And he's right!

Also can we appreciate just how INTO IT Eli is getting in the video??? Like this dude has literally always had a hammy, overdramatic side, it's just that prior to them meeting Miguel, Demetri was the only person who could bring it out ;__;

Absolutely HYSTERICAL that Eli is still so deeply and personally offended at the mere idea of being a "loser" XD

The utter HORROR on his face when he says it, I can't with him

"Because this is who you are" "A loser?" "My BEST FRIEND" *sobs*

Also I'm very certain that Demetri could potentially have made other friends and wasn't actually "stuck" with Eli before Miguel showed up, but he just straight up never wanted anyone but Eli as his best friend

"I know you think that mohawk defined who you are, but it didn't. Not to me. Eli, Hawk, hell, call yourself Cornelius for all I care. None of that changes the fact that you're my Binary Brother." ONCE AGAIN CHECK-MATING YOU FUCKERS WHO THOUGHT DEMETRI NEVER ACCEPTED THE HAWK PERSONA AND ONLY WANTS TIMID SADBOI ELI

He LITERALLY just said "I don't give a shit what you go by or how you wear your hair, nothing can ever change what you mean to me"

ALSO "Eli, Hawk, hell, call yourself Cornelius for all I care." basically confirms that Demetri would be down to call Eli Hawk if that's what he really wanted!!! And the hopeful look Eli gives Dem when he says "Hawk"!!!! Like I think this is the first time Eli truly realizes that Demetri fully accepts him no matter what he goes by and how he chooses to present himself and he's so euphoric about it and I think that's beautiful

Also they deadass did the "I'll take care of you." "It's rotten work." "Not to me. Not if it's you." convo with Demetri and Eli I am SCREAMING

Also ALSO my headcanon is that Demetri actually started calling Eli Cornelius as a joke and then it turned into a legitimate pet name when they started dating

"Whether you're number one...or zero" My homeboy Demetri really just said "I will take you at your best AND your worst" in Nerd

The way he looks at Eli during this entire exchange kills me, this man is so in love I'm getting secondhand pining just from looking at his big sad eyes

Actually kind of loved the Daniel-Robby interaction here because like. Daniel isn't trying to make excuses for Robby here or be like "it's okay, I know you still have a good heart!!!" Like he's done trying to be a "savior" guy and he's basically saying "do what you want, it's your life" but at the same time, he still cares enough to give Robby a warning

"I heard what you did to Eli" (threatening)

Hell yeah, Scary Daniel has entered the chat! EXCEPT

"I'm not here to judge you." Okay, well I am. Get over here Robby, I'm going to beat your ass

OH HELL FUCKING YES, AISHA ROBINSON MY LOVE

I know she's only going to be here for like 2 minutes but her presence fills me with an overpowering calmness and serenity that somehow convinces me that everything will be all right

"I broke a kid's nose" Legit forgot what an incredibly badass queen this woman is. I stan

Okay I've seen some people complaining that the writers seemed to forget that Tory and Aisha were friends too BUT I raise you that after Tory tried to basically murder Sam in the school fight I feel like it's not that whack to think Aisha would side with Sam

Like Tory went after Aisha's childhood best friend with lethal-seeming intent TWICE, it's not all that unreasonable to assume Aisha would cut ties with Tory after that

"But Tory was a better friend to Aisha!!!" Okay but Aisha and Tory were friends for like...a couple months at most, and Sam and Aisha had been friends for years and just happened to be going through a rough patch when Cobra Kai came to town. I feel like a few months of on-and-off falling out aren't really enough to cancel out a lifelong friendship, or make you suddenly not be concerned about your estranged friend's actual safety. Or side with the girl relentlessly attacking said estranged friend.

Like this coming from someone who does indeed enjoy Tory x Aisha, yes, but I do think it's important to keep things in perspective yn

"These are the same overprotective LaRussos who made me wear a helmet on your trampoline" OKAY THEY WOULD

"She's my bestie. My new school bestie, you'll always be the OG" SCREAMING CRYING SOBBING

GOOD GOD I'VE MISSED THEIR FRIENDSHIP SO MUCH

We were ROBBED I tell you ;___;

Okay I fuckin love that Aisha went "I'm gonna take all this karate bullshit I learned and use it for the POWER OF FRIENDSHIP"

And she's right!

When will Aisha return from the war??? I need her

Pretty sure she has one of the only brain cells in the valley and they desperately need it right now

I want Sam and Aisha to keep in touch and bond over their appreciation for Johnny's chaotic yet proactive life advice

PLEASE I need it

Also this fucker Johnny Lawrence really wanted to crossdress Mitch and thought no one would be fooled

As of last scene I NEED to see Sam and Aisha's reaction to this

All of Miyagi-Do chanting "MEAT MEAT MEAT MEAT" is so funny because we know damn well none of these guys are the ones who truly want Demetri's meat

If you catch my drift

"DAMN IT" I’ll bet Demetri's more anxious and high-strung than usual because he feels bad about having to leave Eli to wallow in his sorrows in his basement and go to karate practice ;__;

OH so Eli decides to join Miyagi-Do to be with Demetri, despite literally all his other close friends being in Eagle Fang??? Fellas, is it gay to join your Totally Platonic Bro's dojo full of people who are still kind of mad at you because you want to help your Totally Platonic Bro out in the AVT that bad????

Not Demetri looking at him with huge doe eyes in the background ;___;

"Is it Eli or Hawk?" "Doesn't matter, I'm just here to do what I can to help out the team" Nice to get an official confirmation that basically throughout S4 Eli has never fucking minded when Demetri called him Eli instead of Hawk

Legit have seen people upset he's cool with going by Eli again, and like??? I'm pretty sure him not feeling like he has to have a cool nickname to kick ass at karate is a good thing actually???

Like ffs let him embrace softboi Eli!!! Let him be gentle and vulnerable and true to himself, even the parts that aren't all hardcore and macho!!! He can cry at sad movies with his boyfriend Demetri and still pound your whiney toxic masculinity-obsessed ass into the ground, actually!

I SWEAR I heard Demetri's voice crack at "it's good to have you back, man"

Do I see tears in his eyes??? Is he HAPPY CRYING???

Demetri stop being so in love and so painfully unaware of it, it's making me embarrassed for you

HOLY SHIT SAM TELLING TORY OFF WAS LOWKEY TERRIFYING

But in the BEST possible way

Still feel bad for Tory, but like...SAM. QUEEN. Taking 0 shit from Tory and I am HERE FOR IT

"I'm coming for you, bitch" *evil smirk* YOU ABSOLUTE SAVAGE

Aisha was like "respond to your problems with love!" and Sam actively chose violence instead, kind of love that for her

The Bad:

Damn, these fuckers really dedicated 3 whole minutes of screentime to an AVT board meeting instead of. You know. Hawk's trauma. Or why the fuck Moon and Piper broke up. Or what Yasmine actually does with her time aside from being thirsty for Demetri. Or Daniel tryna deal with some recent manifestation of his Terry Silver trauma. Or Demetri hunting down and beating the shit out of/attempting to beat the shit out of Kyler and Gang. Or Carmen getting to do something independent of her son-and-boyfriend-related storylines. Or literally anything else

Can you tell I'm a little pressed

Also I stg they're just using the separate gender division thing as an excuse to milk even more drama out of the AVT

Like the stakes are already high enough, y'all don't need to kick them up even HIGHER and complicate the plot even more, like

We already have like 7 arcs going so let's introduce a new conflict/arc instead of working on resolving the ones we already have going

Also it's like

"What hamfisted excuse can we use to introduce more badass female characters for Woke Points so we don't have to give the ones we already have any depth whatsoever?" (Yes I'm talking about Moon and Yasmine)

Literally would not even be hard to flesh them out A TINY BIT but the show just said "no thank you, they don't properly exist as people outside of their relationship to these two gay nerd boys"

Also they’re depriving me of a Demetri-Tory fight and this is an unforgivable crime

Demetri was literally so ready to throw hands with her when she threatened Eli last season, and now we shall never perceive it

Disgusting

I just want overprotective boyfriend Demetri to fight everyone who threatens his mans

ALSO Sam deserves to beat the shit out of Kyler. As A Treat

Yeah I sure do remember that shit he pulled in S1

You try to feel up my girl and slut-shame her??? She deserves to beat yo ass like never before

And anyways we’ve seen multiple times that Sam and Tory can and do hold their own in fights against boys

So what gives, Cobra Kai???

I definitely feel Robby hatred emanating from Demetri but I would like to feel even more

This man has grievously wronged Demetri thrice now, as discussed above, and I think it would be fun if Demetri got on a warpath to absolutely destroying Robby Keene

Is it OOC, considering that Demetri is often rather violence-averse? Perhaps, but consider: I want him to find his inner darkness and become very scary

Speaking of which, why is Sam the only one who is super pissed and vindictive??? As if Demetri WOULDN'T be

Listen, being fight-averse doesn't extend to when your best friend who you're in love with gets pinned down and shaved

Ah, so the LGBT rep this season is acknowledging that asexuals, nonbinary people, and genderfluid people...exist???

Wow, such great rep, I'm shaking and clapping and cheering

Very convenient for the writers that their rep didn't include actually writing any LGBT characters

Also we still haven't gotten any fucking reason or explanation as to why Moon and Piper broke up

Like if they're gonna split up the only LGBT couple in the show, the very fucking LEAST they could do is tell us why :/

Was Piper becoming too much of a jerk for Moon to be okay with??? Did they clash because of Moon's staunch pacifism and refusal to get in a physical brawl ever??? Who the hell knows??? Definitely not us

Probably not the showrunners either

They just needed to set up the stupid Hawk x Moon plot that they're dragging out of the grave like a horrible gross heteronormative zombie

Okay as much as I love the basement scene I 1000% feel like there was a scene missing between the hair-shaving reveal and the basement scene

Like are you really telling me that Demetri didn't check in on Eli once until after he'd already been AWOL for a cool minute??? I simply do not buy it

And like it doesn't even have to be an Eli-Demetri scene, it could be something as simple as Demetri talking to Chris and being like "hey have you seen Eli? He hasn't been at school and he's not answering his phone. And he hasn't been to a single practice since...well, you know." And Chris is kinda confused like "No, I haven't see him at school, but wouldn't he be going to Eagle Fang practice???"

Cue Demetri explaining that he and Eli had previously discussed Eli potentially joining Miyagi-Do if the dojos split, so Demetri expecting Eli to join Miyagi-Do doesn't lowkey come out of nowhere

THEN Demetri asks Miguel if Eli's been at Eagle Fang practice, and Miguel is like "No, actually...I'm starting to get really worried tbh" and reveals Eli hasn't been answering Miguel's texts and calls either

And THEN Demetri busts into Eli's basement like "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN"

They seriously could have replaced that AVT board meeting scene with this bit and it would have made everything 4000x better

ALSO like. Why is Miguel not concerned at all about Eli regularly bailing on practice??? They're buddies--I'd expect ONE line of worried dialogue being like "Where's Hawk at?" at the very LEAST

Anyways like I mentioned before I feel like there needs to be some kind of explicit confirmation that Eli and Demetri previously talked about Eli joining Miyagi-Do if/when the dojos split, because otherwise Demetri being fully under the impression Eli's going to come back to MD instead of EF seems a little out of left field

Okay, wow. WOW. They seriously could not let Demetri and Eli have ONE scene

ONE GODDAMN SCENE

Without having Demetri bring up Yasmine to very insistently remind us that he's straight -___-

How even is Yasmine "the girl of your dreams" dude, her only personality traits are "hot" and "makes a sassy comment once every 7 years"

"None of that changes the fact that you're my binary brother" Damn they're seriously trying so damn hard to convince us these dudes have a "brotherly" relationship and simply will not accept it's never, ever going to work

Also did they seriously No Homo Demetri and Eli twice in one scene

Of course they fucking did

They know damn well there's gay tension but still deny it at every turn to appease the creepy homophobic conservative fanbase

For shame, homophobes! You've messed up a perfectly good queer-coded karate show is what you've done!

Look at it, it's got heteronormativity!!!

Regardless I can't help but get some amusement out of the fact that the writers are constantly trying so desperately hard to convince us Eli and Dem aren't gay because their interactions are just that inherently fruity

Y'all fighting a losing battle, we all know damn well they're gay

Hey Daniel I know Robby is your ex karate son but you absolutely should judge him for the shit he pulled with Hawk actually

Forceably shaving someone's head in an attempt to destroy their self-esteem is not very punk-rock at all

Also they really be treating Daniel's Terry Silver trauma like Trauma Lite

Like they're barely doing anything with it at all :/

If it's meant to be the reason he's being kind of a self-righteous jerk this season, then like??? They could talk about that??? They could explore it more and what the long-term effects Silver had were???

But nah, just one uncomfortable convenience store confrontation and that's all we need I guess

They GAVE me my Aisha Robinson??? Only to take her away again??? This is unspeakable cruelty and I am going to scream

Okay so like. Devon seems cool, don't get me wrong. But also can this show fucking CHILL with introducing new characters???

Like we are on SEASON FUCKING FOUR we have PLENTY of characters and arcs to work with already!!!

Also Cobra Kai Writers Stop Introducing New Female Characters Because You Don't Know How To Write Your Existing Ones Challenge

WHAT is this weak-ass bro-hug shit, I know my boy Demetri and he would absolutely CRUSH Eli in a hug, sorry

Maybe he doesn't wanna be TOO gay in front of all his MD friends but boy it is FAR too late for that

Damn the gayest episode is behind me now, idk what to do with myself :O

Guess I’ll have to create some Elimetri and YasMoon content

[strangertheories]

Anyone saying Eddie is a pedo because of Chrissy need to realize that any romanticism and/or sexaulisim was made by FANS. Like they have great chemistry and I personally see that they could have had a Robin Steve friendship but yeah

And I guess I get why someone would say that. Eddie should be older than Steve and Steve is like 19-20 making Eddie 20-21 while Chrissy is around 17-18 possibly even 16 but probably not

Although that’s also not a big age difference and while Eddie is older he hasn’t actually experienced life outside high school so he’s on her level

But yeah I don’t think anyone should call him a pedo since in canon they weren’t even friends

Exactly. Not a pedo! People really assume every single boy/girl interaction is romantic. It's why people shipping Robin and Steve before she came out to him including Dustin within the show. But Robin and Steve were platonic clearly unless you ask some homophobic twelve year old on TikTok. So Chrissy and Eddie can be the same. And probably are. I'm not denying they had chemistry, but that energy could've easily have been platonic. You can't call a character a pedo because of headcanons.

I mean that's what really annoys me about the people who say you can't ship Steddie because they're platonic. And I'm saying that as someone who's really not that huge of a Steddie fan (I like it but it's not my thing). When arguably their interactions were just as romantic and Chrissy and Eddie's plus they've never been shown to actively not like guys. Steve I understand to a certain extent because he's been interested in girls, but bisexuality is clearly a thing.

And Eddie calling Steve big boy is the gayest thing I've ever seen and if you combine that with the handkerchief, I don't get why it's more normal to say he liked Chrissy because of one decent interaction where he thought she was mentally struggling than Steve, despite their many interactions and Eddie's queer coding. We'll never know for obvious reasons but that is something that annoys me.

Also her age is really unclear anyways so I'm not going to make a judgment either way as she did go to middle school with him and has a 69 necklace (not like that haha) but also the file. But then Eddie's missing flyer said he was 17. So I'm just not trusting the show on anyone's birth year or birth day (cough Will Byers cough).

Thanks for the ask (: hope you're doing ok

[sometipsygnostalgic]

Dang your meta posts make me wonder why there's so much hostility between Hordak and Catra stans when they are mirrors.

I dont really care about this conflict. It's in the past.

I mean, look at reddit for example, everyone there loves BOTH characters. It's only here and twitter, where people are hyperfocused on making fictional characters take responsibility for their actions (????), that it was ever a problem. And if it was, it isn't anymore, because ive been watching SPOP tags for a month and seen absolutely Nothing happen.

I think it's reasonable for people to be concerned that others stick up for an edgy male character while shouting down a character he abused. Also i think shipping discomfort plays a part (lots of people shipping a very weird straight pairing in the gayest show alive). And the Hordak fans are extremely fucking defensive. I've seen the wikia, tvtropes, and Wikipedia! You guys need to slow your roll and fix the articles you embellished!

However this discomfort at fandom trends is completely irrelevant to the quality of the show's content. Personally Im very glad i didnt watch til recently. Catra abuser discourse and, in fact, Entrapdak discourse (before i knew of the characters) were the two things I heard about that made me stay a million miles away from She-Ra until recently. Not because I thought the show was doing anything wrong, but because I could sense an extremely hostile fandom environment, with fandom/creator tension, and I'd already suffered enough with SU and HS and to an extent Voltron.

If youre looking for my opinion, i think Hordak's cruelty was (at first) way more calculated and brutal than Catra's, because he was bullying people to maintain a steady control. Catra in season 2 had, at worst, beaten the shit out of Adora and Shadow Weaver and had gotten more aggressive against Entrapta who she couldn't control. She'd also demonstrated in that season she still cared for all the above parties in some way, even Shadow Weaver. It wasn't until Hordak send Catra to die that she finally snapped, and became a monster.

But obviously we have to account for how Hordak was treating Catra and Shadow Weaver the way he'd been treated (which isn't an "excuse" but really i dont think he had a chance to be a good guy and it's a miracle he has some good characteristics, like taking in Adora or Imp). And when Catra turns against him and her other Horde friends, it's very much the same thing, but on a more complex level, because Catra's been through so much abuse from many places, but has also actively thrown away her every chance at happiness just to perpetuate her fight to make Adora hurt. She could have stayed in the Crimson Waste, but had developed an absolute tunnel vision of pain, and that's when Catra betrayed everyone she ever cared about.

Her tunnel vision in season 3 and his in season 4 are two sides of the same coin.

[tuiyla]

Okay okay random 12pm (that’s right, not even am) blorbo thought but the more I discuss all the issues Santana had and developed specifically because she had to hide in the closet for 17 years and in light of Florida’s Don’t Say Gay bill or, even more appallingly, whatever Hungary’s doing, the more I see a beautiful connection between her own fictional story and what she meant and continues to mean to people in real life.

Paragraph-lenght sentences aside, this is why representation matters. Because Santana, like kids growing up in conservative areas/states/countries was taught to repress and even hate a part of herself. You think Alma’s homophobia was only revealed when Santana came out? Grandmothers like her don’t work like that. No, Santana must have grown up with that atmosphere at home and then the general small town ignorance that made Kurt’s life hell for most of his teenage years. Not all of Santana’s problems throughout the series can be traced back to issues she’s developed because of homophobia, I don’t want to take away from her general flawed character. But many of them can be.

I don’t think it’s too wild to say she would have been a more balanced and maybe even kinder person, or more willing to show kindness anyway, had she not grown up fighting this war within herself. Santana lives with so, so much anger and most of that is because she knows she’s living a lie and she knows exactly what, who it is she actually wants but she’s utterly terrified being treated queer, different, Other. So now imagine if she could have grown up in a different environment, if, when she first realized she felt the way about girls she was supposed to feel about boys, she could have just acted on that. Without dismissing it as a joke, without hiding behind the exploitation of the male gaze, without the justified fear of getting disowned for the love she feels. I just think it’s a no brainer that she would have been more well-adjusted and therefore didn’t feel the need to take her anger out on others. Not nearly to the extent she does in canon.

And now imagine how many kids, teenagers, and young adults watched Glee and felt a little less alone. Because of Santana, or Kurt, or Brittany, Blaine and any of the others, they felt a little bit more normal. Like gay maybe wasn’t such a dirty word and there was more to being queer than what conservative propaganda would have you believe. And you know, we joke about how Glee was the gayest show on television at the time but it wasn’t this niche cable series with an adult target audience. It ran on Fox and it was the biggest thing on TV for a while there, especially when the meat of Kurt and Santana’s stories were unfolding. Yeah sure, it’s always been cringey or whatever but it was mainstream and visible and exactly what made in real life Kurts and Santanas even just a little bit better about themselves.

Imagine if Kurt grew up watching someone like himself on TV. He’d be astonished. Imagine if Santana saw not only a lesbian woman get a happy ending but an Afro-Latina lesbian. They’re fictional, but their struggles represented the lived experience of millions and helped in ways we’ll never be able to truly quantify. And I just think there’s something beautiful about a fictional character being that for people, and something really ugly in wanting to take that away.

[its-chelisey-stuff]

Word of Honor eps 1-10 (thoughts and feels!)

Well, grab your glasses, fill them with your favorite drink and raise them up because this wonderful drama is doing God's gay work lmao Cheers!

I mean, who would've thought that the romance (there's no way I'm even gonna pretend and call it “bromance”) between a former and dying leader of a assassin's organization under the Emperor's orders AND the unstable (a gentle way to say crazy) but charismatic overlord of the sneaky and scary Ghost Valley, could end up being this sweet and kinda wholesome? I mean, I could easily name couples from other dramas that do not have as healthy of a dynamic as these two or the same level of understanding between them (they’re soulmates!)... Which is, you know, bit unexpected lol

On the other side, while the person they present to each other is true to them to some extent, is also in no way the people they are completely (or were, in ZZS’s case). You have one man that is trying to forget his past and trying to live peacefully for the remaining of his days, and the other who laughs at people who fight and kill each other for a piece of glass that he helped replicate, seemingly just for the laughs. This romance is INSANE and they’re most definitely not good people but I DON’T CARE, because I need them together and happily living in seclusion, just like they want. I’m rooting for them.

No, but for real, I'm gonna start measuring the gayness in BL chinese adaptations in a scale from The Untamed (lowest) to Word of Honor(highest) now because holy Jesus! I never thought I'd see another chinese BL that would make me see The Untamed as a bromance (and still doesn't lol but it's easier to imagine now, in retrospective). Word of Honor basically went "hey let's try and see how much of this we can get away with, let's find our away around the system, put in there as many touches and hugs and loving looks without ever actually saying the words “I like you/I love you” and let's just hope for the best" and my goodness! Those crazy brilliant bastards! Those mad geniuses! They fucking did it!! And it's an amazing thing to see. It’s beautiful.

Anyway, I have to say, while the romance storyline has me in love with this drama, I struggle to keep up with all the Sects' drama and their schemes to get ahead of each other lol which was something I saw coming given that I didn't like that in the novel as well. And I realize I have to pay a bit more attention to that because otherwise I'm not gonna get the whole story they've written for my precious, gayest, craziest and blood-thirstiest male lead ever, our very own and dangerous Wen KeXing (who is being played delightfully by Gong Jun, it’s like this role was made for him).

Difference with the novel

Yeah, I know I shouldn't obsess about this, but I can't help it. I mean, if we look at it broadly, they're basically telling the same story. Let's look deeply though and it's different, a more detailed one, I guess? The novel is very short (yet i haven't finished it and it doesn't help that I can't find it completely translated lol) and it's not that I don't like the changes, on the contrary, I'm glad and they had to because otherwise they couldn't tell a story that filled all 35 episodes. And it's good because this way they added more depth to the story and characters and we have more interactions with our OTP.

My biggest surprise about the differences with the source material is that they decided to tell/show right away that Wen KeXing is bad news and a little okay a lot coocoo bananas. Even past halfway of the novel, you still don't know the full story with him, despite his weird behaviour (although Zhou ZiShu suspects it). 

Another thing (but this is me being super picky) is that I preferred the way Cao Weining and A-Xiang met in the novel, but in the drama they made A-Xiang appear right away as the badass she is before the guy. It's still a "love at first sight" kind of meeting on his side, so it's okay. And we have KeXing older brother/parent protective side that it's not that shown in the novel. So you win some, you lose some lol.

Them, drinking under the moonlight, being happy and starring lovingly at each other is most definitely not straight. There isn’t any heterosexual explanation for that.

Now I need to see ep 11 asap because I cannot handle my OTP fighting and going their separate ways (this doesn’t happen in the novel!). They need to reconcile soon! The fastest the do that, the fastest I can get over that final scene at the end of ep 10. Gong Jun was brilliant but damn! That was a bit scary.

[scientificphilosopher]

I saw your tag... Socrates was the gayest philosopher? EXPLAIN! Btw what do you think of pewdiepie reading philosophy and getting his audience to read it too? I like that more people are getting exposed to philosophy so I’m grateful he’s started this. Right now he told us to read The Wisdom of Life by Schopenhauer!

I mean, I like to imagine all of my favorite philosophers as gay. Was Socrates ACTUALLY gay? That’s a complex question, primarily because homosexuality as a concept has varied widely throughout recorded history. The concept of gayness relies on many cultural assumptions -- like, for instance, assumptions about what defines gender. And gender, like sexuality, is a fluid concept that has waxed and waned and varied and veered through the millennia. The Ancient Greeks had very different perceptions of sex and romance than what’s common or normalized in the U.S. today (and MUCH of it would be considered very disturbing or problematic -- but that’s a post for a different time). That said, if you’d like to see Socrates at his gayest, I’d recommend checking out Plato’s dialogue “The Symposium” where Socrates does his thing and fucks with everyone’s understanding of love. 

As far as Pewdiepie goes, I was not aware that he was encouraging his followers to read philosophy. I’m not familiar with Pewdiepie at all, really, beyond his reputation of having associations with alt-right culture. In that regard, I would worry about his massive platform and influence generally, and to the extent he promotes philosophy, I’d be concerned about and critical of how he’s interpreting and distilling the messages behind it. Of course, I’m a big advocate for the popularization of philosophy in general, but in the wrong hands, it can be misunderstood, misapplied, and used as a tool to further oppressive ideology and systems. Is that what Pewdiepie is doing? No clue. I’m just shooting from the hip here because I’m pretty ignorant as to who this guy is. 

In conclusion... ignore everything he has to say, just to be safe.