#and it's hardly subtext

[lazarusthirsting]

Thank you, and to add some tinfoil-hat theory, anyone that feels cheated by the ending they got? It's because of the explicit bi erasure. You're mad? This is just another Wednesday for me. This is why i dont hate the ending - they made people *mad* the bi characters died, rather than casually accept that their deaths were inevitable as so many shows, including this one (as a *commentary* - more on that later), have done.

Season 15 (and most seasons, I would argue) is a meta-mirror of the real world, the writers explicitly likened Chuck to a network executive for a reason, and they wrote the Destiel arc to be so central to the plot, that the only way to end it was to fulfill the romantic arc and canonize the bisexual love in the room, or kill them, and the network had to choose - the writers didn't kill Dean and Cas, they gave the network a choice, and based on *market research* (see: the American public), most people would rather see a dead bisexual than a happy one, and that's how the writers attempted to make up for all the queerbaiting and homophobic nonsense we had to endure for 15 seasons - showing everyone their own ass, i mean, isnt this what they asked for?

We can joke about how it's a show that doesn't take itself seriously, but plenty of these writers had been working on this show for years, they loved these characters - if we watch their last season, deadly seriously, they have given us a pretty damning social commentary on the state of corporate/network censorship seizing control of our own narratives from us.

Edit: grammar, punctuation, wording

ok but where are my fellow bisexual castiel truthers huh where are my bi4bi deancas siblings in arms huh where are my cas-is-gay-but-as-in-the-umbrella-term people HUH WHERE ARE Y'ALL WHERE

[toastedcinnamonflakes]

I think it is a little far-fetched to say that Pyotr Verkhovensky's feelings are supposed to be his "redeeming quality"... Like, from the perspective of a 21st-century reader, sure, but there is no real textual evidence to support that. The text leaves it open, and given that even in his last scene where he says goodbye to Erkel, he's portrayed more negative (not caring about Erkel's feelings, being flippant, going to play cards with a nobleman) I doubt that he's supposed to have any redeeming qualities...

Like, I get that it's a comforting thought to think that gay love in a 19th century text is supposed to be positive, but there is nothing in the text that really supports that thought.

[pandaimitator]

I ran out of Jeeves and Wooster episodes. Now what?

[qcollective]

Not to firmly have my clown nose and shoes on, but if steddyhands was not going to happen, why does this season in a show that advertises itself as a romcom so heavily feature Izzy in a season where the main pairing is finding eachother again and are reconnecting their love, where he himself admits love to one of the pairing in a way that was not rejected? Hm???

[cataqu33rz]

So like, tfp Megatron's favorite pony is Twilight Sparkle right? right.

Her and Optimus Prime have always had like, an insanely close parallel across pretty much all iterations of Optimus, id call them like the same character trope kinda

So what I'm trying to say is Megatron's a GAY ASS--

[his-quietus-make]

“I’m just a soul whose intentions are good / oh lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood” really is an anthem for autistic people.

(And the little known verse: “the words that I say are the words that I mean / oh lord, there is no subtext in between”)

[wubbybubbly]

when people analyze goodbyes, rfta and the entirety of justice for all without a single mention of gumshoe

[ratatoastwrites]

Victoria’s secret

Spencer Reid x fem!Reader

nsfw, 18+ MDNI

a/n: munch spencer, we all say in unison 😫 i wrote this cuz i was bored at the mall lol, does that count as public indecency? haha jk, but that is lowkey what this blurb is about ✨😮‍💨 also special challenge, take a shot every time i use the word lace lol

cw: oral (f receiving), tiny bit of fingering, bit of rough kissing yum, lingerie (obvi), umm kinda public indecency tbh lol, borderline exhibitionism ig but it isn’t really mentioned just subtext ig, uhhh what else, oh yea friends to lovers kinda (or fwb if u fancy, it is kinda vague), no written aftercare cuz again i just couldn’t be bothered, also this is an unedited & no beta & english is my second language mess as per usual mwah 🧚‍♀️

also also special shout out to @apple-pie-and-impala for never getting annoyed with me about the way that 90% of our text msgs revolve around this man 🤭 love ya, my little enabler 🫶

When you first asked Spencer to go lingerie shopping with you, he didn’t think much of it

He honestly believed that it was just going to be a normal hangout between two friends, because really, there wasn’t anything inherently sexual about the prospect of an adult person wearing underwear

Well, that thought lasted until about five seconds after he stepped into the store with you

It was hard not to let his thoughts wander as he watched you running your fingers across the lace fabric of a matching lilac set, his breath catching in his throat as he imagined you actually wearing it

He watched you pick out a few sets, his heart hammering in his chest as his head filled with more and more sinful thoughts

So when you coyly asked him if he wanted to accompany you to the back (your excuse being that you didn’t want to get bored all alone back there), he didn’t even hesitate before nodding vigorously

As he sat in one of the chairs just outside the fitting room you were in, he contemplated that this might be his purgatory

He could hear the rustling of your clothes, and he knew that you were wearing those torturous sets of lace, and yet he couldn’t do anything about it, forced to sit tight and listen to your chatter through the curtain, trying to will away the painful hardness in his pants

“Spence, could you come in here for a second? The straps are a little loose, and I can’t quite reach the clips.”

He froze for a moment at your seemingly innocent request, before standing up on shaky legs and pulling the curtain to the side just enough for him to slip inside the small, closed space next to you

When he finally turned to look at you, he almost collapsed on the spot

You were wearing a white set with intricate lacing that left hardly anything to the imagination, your hands cupping your breasts to keep the bralette from slipping down, the straps hanging loosely over your shoulders

As soon as your eyes locked together, the air seemed to crackle between you, and he wasted no time pushing you against the nearest wall and kissing you like his life depended on it

He was a needy mess in just a few seconds as his hands glided across your skin, mapping every inch of your body that he could reach, while he familiarised himself with your taste

Your hands pulled on his hair as he sunk to his knees in front of you, and you had to bite down on your bottom lip as you watched him pull the dainty panties you were wearing to the side, his puppy eyed gaze making you weak in the knees

You gasped as you felt him press a tentative kiss on your clit, having to slap a hand over your mouth as he immediately followed it up by lapping at your wet folds enthusiastically

He had you shaking in a matter of minutes, eating you out like your pussy was his ambrosia and he had been starving for years

You had to balance yourself on the wall as he put one of your legs over his shoulder, his tongue exploring your insides, the new angle making his nose nudge against your clit with every move

He replaced his tongue with two of his fingers, his lips wrapping around your clit, sucking on it like it was his favourite dessert in the world

You gripped his hair tightly as you came with a loud gasp of his name, rutting against his face, the vibrations of his whimpers making your eyes roll back in immense pleasure

His tongue worked you through it all, licking up your juices languidly, until you had to push his head away when your eyes started tearing up from overstimulation

It was safe to say that you ended up buying that set, walking out of the store hand in hand with Spencer, before leaving the mall to go back to his place, eager to return the favour

[fruitsofhell]

My other fun addition to the Hbomberguy video stuff is not just that you need to start checking everyone's sources just to make sure you aren't being duped, but to not use them as a stand in for media consumption/experiences either. Like I'm not gonna lecture you on reading sources cause I am the first one to not and that's my laziness, but like sometimes more important than checking the original analysis of something is just to... see tge thing being analyzed yourself. That's not even about misinformation or lying, sometimes people's opinions just SUCK ASS.

Like there are youtube video essayists I overall kinda respect but they have dogshit opinions on things. I used to love Jack Saint's bad faith overly critical analyses of throwaway kids films, until I realized he also saw films that in my opinion had a lot of merit, and it turned me off from him. Big Joel is cool as hell, but anytime he gives his opinion on animation save like a few points, I completely glaze over and find him annoying. The other day I watched a video essay about the "Magical Negro" trope, and the first movie sourced interested me, so I watched it and I hardly understand why they put that in, it framed the movie as something it wasn't.

Just in general, it's good practice to make sure your opinions on media are your own and experience it yourself. MY biggest takeaway from the Hbomn video wasn't to throw rocks at Somerton or start obsessively fact-checking every essayist I watch, but to make sure I have a baseline of what they talking about myself and not letting anyone throw around media examples without reckless abandon. The Celluloid Closet and Tinkerbelles and Evil Queens is on my watxh/read list now, but the first thing I did from the words he stole from Celluoid Closet was watch Rebels Without A Cause out of curiosity of this gay subtext in a 50s blockbuster. And it was a super interesting experience that has given me my own unrelated opinions. Not to discount whatever important queer reading and historical importance the film has, but I'm happy I also have more than just that cause I Watched It Myself, not someone's specific and unavoidably biased reading of it.

The video isn't about cultivating suspicion but cultivating appreciation for the skills of analytical/informative/opinion writing. So even when people aren't being lying grifters, it's just good to be your own critic and media analyst. Maybe you'll even contribute to that world yourself, or maybe you'll keep all your cool opinions in your heart and die, who cares. The point is that unlike some people, your opinions and words are your own. It's a beautiful thing to have your own creative voice.

[mehlsbells]

'Xena doesn't have sex scenes'

like fuck it doesn't

XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS (1995–2001) Season 6, Episode 3, 'Heart of Darkness'

[awkwardandeccentric]

No but can you imagine

Blitz is so happy he can hardly sleep. This is what he always wanted. Stolas in his home, in his bed (couch), wearing his family’s clothes, smelling like his soap

And he’s reveling in the domesticity and intimacy because he loves that stupid birb so much and he finally gets to show it and he turns around, eyes little hearts and tongue sticking out of his mouth

But Stolas isn’t there.

Because Stolas meant what he said when Blitz was under no obligation to touch him, to bed him, to see him.

There’s a little note on the couch thanking Blitz for letting him stay the night.

He didn’t hear the subtext: stay for the rest of my life.

[coterieofroses]

scent of embers and amber

Declan O’hara x Reader

Summary: Declan gets a phone call from London, one that leaves him brooding. When his secretary happens upon him at home, she shows him just how far she would go to prove how much he means to her… in a way.

Warnings: 18+, angst, pet names, kissing, cheating(?), drinking, fingering, praise kink, sex

w/c: 2.7k

also on AO3

You had grown used to the smell of the man who seemed to occupy every moment of your waking life. Cigarettes and whiskey, permeate the air, seeping into the wool of his sweaters, and his suits. You knew when the bite of whiskey was stronger, things usually were worse with his wife. He knew that when he’d been researching a critical guest, a reek of tobacco would sit in the natural fibers of his clothes, sometimes even staining the sleeves. The antiseptic of his particular brand of aftershave even became familiar. Declan was a passionate man, and the rhythm of his artistic temperament was something you grew to dance easily around. And for that he was always generous and kind, working as his secretary was rewarding, if there was a world where you had no bills to pay, you may have worked for his praise alone.

It made sense when you followed him when he left Corinium. Knowing full well work might be hard to find again if he should fail. Then when Maud stepped out, following after where her own heart took her, you braced for the fallout. Knowing the coming days would be hard on a man who’d you’d had such a growing affection for. You tried to dismiss it as a schoolgirl crush, but there was so much more affection for this mentor, more than any fleeting feelings for past teachers.

You returned to the Priory late one night, a thick folder in hand, knowing he would be up. His office was the only illumination left in the vast residence. That and the porch light he always left on. You had wondered a few times if it was for you but never grew the courage to ask. Instead of knocking and waking the dog or Taggie, you quietly let yourself in the front door and made your way to his office. Your hand was raised to knock but the shattering of glass you heard caused you to abruptly stop, and pause. You could hear Declan on the other side of the door, a gentle, lightly intoxicated ‘Fuck’, leaving his lips before you pushed inside, and shut the door behind you.

A whiskey glass was in pieces on the floor, and the bottle on his desk was, rather thankfully, only half gone. He sat at his desk brushing the glass aside with his slippered foot. Without a word you approached, setting the folder on his desk. As you turned to move for the dustpan, Declan reached for your wrist. His firm holds causing you to turn and face him.

You’d been polite enough several times before not to look when he’d worked himself up like this. The flannel he wore was loose and had a few more undone buttons than was fit for the company. His undereyes were darkened with a lack of sleep. But he fixed you with the same kind, sad gaze he almost always did, despite his stupor.

“Why?” he asked you simply. His voice was a deep grunt.

“Why, what, Mr. O’hara?” you replied, your brow knitting together with confusion.

“Don’t call me that, you never call me that,” he grumbled softly, uncomfortable with your choice for propriety at this time. “Why bother with me? I’m sure you’d be better paid, better suited, with a better man. Maybe any other man. Probably in London,” he drawled, clarifying his question.

“I don’t want another man, Declan,” you sighed at him, and his hold on your wrist relaxed slightly. Seeming to cling to you for comfort loosely. You were telling the truth, your last boyfriend had broken up with you due to your dedication to the job. You’d hardly sought out another. You had even less ambition to abandon him for another boss.

“You’d be the only one,” he gruffed, ignoring the subtext of your words, or missing them, you couldn’t quite tell. “I got a phone call from London,” he offered. The frown you replied with letting him leave it at that. You knew it was Maud already. Knew it was attention from another man. As the silence lingered he sniffed and looked pointedly away toward the darkened windows that acted more like mirrors in the dim glow of the desk lamp in the room. His hand dropped limply from your wrist, falling to his knee. If you’d looked out the window, you’d notice he was looking at your reflection, standing close to his.

A gentle sigh left you as you lifted your hand. You hesitated a moment before placing it gently on one of his broad shoulders. “You’re good to me Declan. You deserve the loyalty you inspire,” you attempted to soothe him softly. Your words had struck an off chord, causing his jaw to clench and a disgruntled frown to form under his mustache.

“Loyalty,” he refrained, looking back at you with simmering anger. The kind you’d seen directed mostly at Rupert or Tony. Never you, the look alone made your skin crawl, your hand slip off his shoulder as you swallowed back any pride you had left.

“I’ll just leave that here, and come back another time…” you attempted hurriedly, all while Declan rose to his feet. Before you could scurry out, or even take a step back he’d let his fingers comb into your hair, grasping you perhaps not so gently by the nape of your neck and tilting your head to look up at him. Your eyes met his gaze that looked much more sober than you’d expected, and still far too intense.

“Have you thought how far you’d go for me? What you’d endure?” he questioned, hard, unreadable.

“I’d do anything you needed me to, Declan.” you attempted confidence, but it came out in more of a whisper. The answer seemed to make him let out a soft laugh, or perhaps a scoff.

“So I’d have to need it then?” he replied, clearly rhetorically. He let out a soft sigh, gently shaking his head from side to side.

“Anything you wanted, Declan,” you admitted softly in return, eyes wide and earnest. You felt the fingers in your hair tense, a soft pulling at the root that pulled a gasp from you.

“Shouldn’t say things like that,” he warned you softly, the anger in his gaze seeming to melt into something else. “Y’don't mean it,” he grumbled, mostly to himself before you attempted to shake your head in disagreement, leading to effectively only tugging your hair and loosening his grip.

“Of course I do,” you attempted, but further protests were silenced by Declan leaning in and pressing his lips to yours. Suddenly your senses were flooded with the taste of the scent you’d memorized. The taste of whiskey and tobacco on your tongue, mixed with the sharpness of the menthol in his aftershave. It made your head spin and give in to him. A culmination of thoughts you’d let wander far too many times. When your thoughts came back, your hands planted firmly on his chest, the coarse feeling of his flannel on your palms as you pushed him back.

“You’re drunk,” you offer softly, attempting to give him an out and let him decide it was a mistake he could forget.

“I’m not,” he replies bluntly, confirming what you knew, but letting you get away if you wanted. “Sorry, love,” he mumbled, beginning to part from you, detangling himself from his hold on you before you grasped his collar and pulled his lips back to yours.

When it hits him that you’re just as eager to kiss him back, he’s like a man possessed. Hands move to your waist as he holds you close for a moment, lips searching yours hungrily. The prickle of his unshaven cheeks chafed your skin slightly. He groans into your mouth before lifting you up and setting you to sit on the edge of his desk, using a forearm to shove more papers out of the way.

His haste causes him to break the kiss, and for a soft giggle to leave you. It’s clear he’s desperate for you. Once he’s satisfied, he gently cups your face, savoring looking down at you, his pupils blown wide with lust as you look up to him, lips slightly agape.

“Need you…” he admits softly, broken and wanting. When you nod it’s enough for him to rush to begin helping you undress.

“Take me then, Declan.” you encourage him as you slip your trousers down your legs, your panties along with them as you sit bare now on his desk’s surface. Your words elicit a feral growl from his throat as he nudges between your knees, spreading them slightly. A soft hiss when he gets sight of your slick petals.

“Pretty girl.” he coos the praise, aimed more at your cunt, than you, causing a blush to flood your cheeks. He traces his index and middle fingers on your lips until you open your mouth further, and then he wets them on your tongue. All until you wrap your lips around his thick fingers and suckle around him. Your eyes meet as he lets out a soft groan. “‘another time,” he grunts, a promise at your suckling before pulling his fingers free from your mouth and tracing them down your body to play along your slit. The heat and texture of his calloused fingers causes you to squirm involuntarily under his touch.

“It’s alright darlin’, just need to be good to you first,” he rumbles soft praise to you before stepping closer. You’re engulfed by him as he presses a soft kiss to the top of your head, fingers slipping through your folds to gently prod at your entrance, sinking slowly in. A soft growl leaves him when you give in and shift so your sensitive pearl brushes against his palm. Needy gasps leaving you as you press yourself harder against him, seeking the friction as he eases his fingers into you, filling you gently, starting to curve and work them into you in earnest.

“Always good to me, Declan,” you whined back, high and needy before you pressed your face into the crook of his neck, taking deep breaths, the scent of him filling your lungs and making your head swim. “So tight…” he grumbled in reply, continuing to lavish you with praise as your walls fluttered around his fingers, adjusting to their thickness. Your hands on his chest grasp onto him greedily, pawing at his shirt as you whimper into the meat of his shoulder.

“God, please Declan,” you began to beg. At first, he only answered with a groan of his own, fingers picking up their pace as his palm dragged against your clit.

“I know, I know, but I gotta get you ready first,” he replied, pleading with you. It seemed to go on deaf ears though, your nails digging into the cotton of his shirt and barely dulling the sharpness as you whimpered little aimless pleas as he worked you up until you began to sob out in pleasure. Noises of release were only muffled by his bulk as he used his free hand to gently stroke your hair. Your hips bucked against the hand buried into you. All the while he soothed you through your climax.

As you came down from your high Declan slowly pulled his fingers from your slick walls. He eased you to sit up as he put them to his lips, suckling your slick clean off them. Leaving you to gaze over his face, dazed with lust and the culmination of your tamped-down affections, your hand that’s been clawing at his chest drifted down to reach for the bulge tenting his trousers. Grasping at his hardened length, and getting a clear idea of the size of him, big, but more so thick. His insistence on warming you up is more than warranted.

A grunt left him as his hand fell from his mouth at your groping. “Not gonna be able to stay sweet about it if you keep that up,” he warned, thick and gravely. Hands come to rest at your hips and scoot you to the very edge of the desk.

“Don’t want you to,” you breathed, head still spinning. “-want you to take what you need,” you reminded him, kneading once more over his bulge as you sat up slightly to press kisses to his stubble-covered jaw.

You think you heard him curse under his breath at your continued pleading with him. It seemed your encouragement was enough to cause him to snap, unzipping his trousers and relieving his hard length from his boxers. Taking your chance your hand slid down his chest, popping the snaps of his flannel shirt to leave his broad, hairy chest bare to you, the garment loosely hanging over his shoulders.

He grasped the base of his cock, reddened and already leaking with evidence of arousal. Lining himself up with your entrance he let out a soft hiss as he bullied his way into your tight heat, your inner walls fluttering as they struggled to content with his size. Even considering his attempt to warm you up. By the time he bottomed out you’d been left breathless, your arms moving rest at the back of his neck as you held him close. Once fully seated he eased you back further onto his desk, taking each of your thighs in hand and pressing them back as you were laid open and exposed to him. It gave you just enough time for you to be able to catch a few shallow breaths before he took you in earnest.

He draws his hips back just to snap them back into yours, filling you somehow deeper than before. It rips a sharp gasp from you, a desperate whine breaking from your throat, you’d know if you weren’t so impossibly wet the stretch would sting.

“Bein’ such a good girl for me,” he praised, “Takin’ it so well, darling,” he continued between grunts, building up a brutal pace as his hips pumped into yours, any resolve to hold back or be gentle melting as he had you effectively pinned down on his desk.

You laid back, over the piles of papers and envelopes, ignoring them entirely as he leaned forward, pinning his hands down on the surface, and trapping you with your legs draped over his forearms. When you met his gaze you could barely see the warm brown of his eyes, too filled with lust as he dragged his length through you with every thrust. The whimpering moans that left you only spurring him on, every few pleasured whimpers being answered with a throaty grunt of his own pleasure, becoming more beast than man.

“I’m gonna,” you warned softly between wrecked-sounding moans, your voice broke and crackling as you neared another peak. “Don’t stop,” you begged, a broken whimper as you locked your arms around his neck.

Holding Declan close was hardly a struggle; he tucked his face into the crook of your neck and let out a growl into your skin as your walls fluttered around his length. Your thighs shivering with the intensity of the pleasure that overtook you, you were left gasping out, eyes rolling back as the searing heat overwhelmed you. Declan’s thrusts stuttered as you clamped down hard around him, his pace faltering as he hit his own peak. He attempted to lean back and pull out, but with you clamping down around him, and holding his face into your chest he spilled his release into your eager cunt.

“Shit,” he grunted in a mix of satisfaction and frustration under his breath, finally snapping from your daze enough to let go of your hold. He took his chance to lean back up, let you lower your legs, and pull out. His spend dripping out of your twitching walls in his wake.

“It’s okay,” you only offered softly in reply. “L-like it, even,” you admitted before using your forearms to prop yourself up slightly, and watch the maddened glint in Declan’s eyes only be fueled by your admission. A soft sigh left him before he leaned in and cupped your face, his thumbs running over your cheeks.

“Perfect, darlin’,” he practically cooed before pressing a soft kiss to your lips.

[forestleavescat]

Moominvalley: Or Not at All

A long post about Moominvalley through the different seasons. Planning, potential, promises, and outcomes.

This won’t go super far into detail about season 4 but it will talk about a certain outcome as well as handling of characters and relationships. If you don’t want any spoilers or info on the fourth season steer clear

(I’m not the best with titles)

I watched season 4 of moominvalley last night and I was pretty dang disappointed in how certain things were handled. Don’t get me wrong. There was some nice stuff. But it still felt like it was largely missing what made me love the show so much from the start. As well as things I had been looking forward to from the books. Above all else, I feel like their handling of the fandom’s favorite pairing was bad. I can’t even begin to put into words how upset I am since gutsy and by extension moominvalley felt like a company that wouldn’t do this. I want to put my thoughts on paper so to speak. 

It’s insanely disappointing to know that this company has been queerbaiting since day one. This show is a huge comfort to me and it was nice to watch since it helped me feel more at ease with my own sexuality. But now that feeling has been largely reversed because I know that those moments were manufactured to sell the show only for them to drop them by the end. So let’s look at things

Queer coding has existed for a long time. It’s helped creators give hints and nods to a character’s identity or hints of a relationship when times and places don’t exactly allow for it. There are many stories that have queer coding and give this beautiful subtext that those in the community can enjoy. Even though it would remain ambiguous whether a character was gay or two men or women were dating, the coding allowed it to be suggested even when it wasn’t allowed given the time period. 

Queerbaiting is almost the opposite of this. Queerbaiting comes about more from existing in a time or place where it is accepted but instead of giving genuine representation, a person uses the desire to see that representation to sell a product. Moments between characters that are clearly more than friendship only to disappear - often replaced by a hetero pairing. (Tbf the character who was implied to have feelings for someone of the same gender would still be bi or pan but it stings when the idea of something between two people of the same gender was suggested but removed) Queerbaiting has been an extremely frustrating thing to experience in fandom spaces. Series like voltron, sherlock, supernatural, etc. You get invested in these characters. There’s a possibility and every moment that suggests it could be more gets you hooked. Similar to how miraculous viewers became invested in the romance that’s hinted since day one. If you put the time and effort into using that for a story and draw people in with it only to take it away it’s bordering false advertising. It sucks because you spent time caring about it and waiting to see how it would play out. 

I mean just look at this. The moominvalley team did this deliberately. I mean, they included that one scene in the teaser which made it seem like more snufmin. It felt like a taste of what the season would offer but in reality it was one of few crumbs. And I mean crumbs. Because compared to the other seasons there was hardly anything. Their moments didn’t have this underlying feeling that they usually did. Every other season felt like it had underlying feelings to be explored. But here it became hollow. And snufkin took a backseat to a lot of the action this season

 But they definitely knew that the fans were interested in this pairing. It’d be tough to get into the moomins without knowing about this part of the story and community. And they acknowledged this idea of moomin and snufkin multiple times in interviews and qnas. 

And voice actors aren’t the ones who decide but there were more than just vas discussing this.

This series started off with their relationship. Episode one ended with the first mention of snufkin who’d be returning to the valley in the very next episode. That entire second episode gave a clear look into how their relationship would develop throughout the series. Moomin waiting for snufkin longingly while snufkin took his time until showing up felt right all while missing moomintroll. This episode has a sort of sense that there could be something more to them. Especially seeing as moomin is more focused on snufkin than snorkmaiden, his love interest. The following episode gives us this:

And while moomin wants the dragon to be his loyal pet, we know that “And just promise me this, that you'll give me all your kisses Every winter, every summer, every fall”

is referring to somebody other than that. This leaned much heavier into the potential for something beyond friendship between them.

There are the usual moments that could go either way, with focus between them and close contact.

This is more similar to other adaptations where they have a clear, close relationship. But in most of those you could come to love the pairing but you generally know they won’t do something unambiguous. Just the occasional scene that could be read as potentially romantic.

Moominvalley doesn’t strictly stick to this though. It feels similar to the original works where there is something ambiguously there. Then it further implies that there will be something important between them storywise. You get Tooticky saying that there are other lost souls waiting to be heard before the camera cuts to Snufkin leaving the valley alone.

And this didn’t really get fulfilled in any real way. Yet it implies that the future of the series will go in a direction where moomin is the one to help snufkin in some way. That part isn’t even romantic, but it goes to show that they stopped focusing on this important connection between them.

Their relationship in season 2 continues very beautifully. Moomin immediately wants to go make sure snufkin is okay when the volcano’s gonna erupt. There’s an entire conversation that highlights their difference of perspective with loving vs possessing in regards to the ruby and the hobgoblin. Something that is linked to their relationship and things they need to figure out. Then when they have to leave the valley, moomin wonders if he’ll ever see snufkin again. On top of that, he and snorkmaiden have their break up.

Which I want to talk about their relationship a bit. A majority of the episodes that feature them as leads do it with a wedge between them. Their relationships is honestly not great going both ways. They clash and are generally unhappy. And usually moomin has to apologize for something that doesn’t exactly feel is entirely on him. Little My I get. I mean he didn’t think the note would get to mymble but this was still a genuine mess up on his part. But he ended up on a rock in the middle of the sea over the ghost episode. And snorkmaiden spends much of their time making a home together getting angry because he misses his family and hasn’t come to terms with saying goodbye to them. There are times they’re together where he’s selfish and she’s just angry at him. They don’t feel like a happy couple to cheer for. Back in 90s moomins I actually did like them. They were cute. I was a bit divided between that and snufmin because there were these moments that really did count for a lot and had such a wholesome feeling. But moominvalley honestly made me cheer for a break up. Meanwhile, he and snufkin have this relationship that they’re navigating in moominvalley. They don’t argue much even when they have different perspectives. Moomin admires snufkin and in some ways tries to emulate him. But all while still being his own moomin and figuring himself out.

The two are still given parallels in little moments such as zooming in when they take each other’s hands.

So back to season 2 and how it handled snufmin. When moomin leaves the valley we see snufkin dealing with that absence for a change. He begins to understand how moomin feels when he’s gone. While he’s at the moomin house he seems pretty in his element for the most part. He seems happy to play along and give toffle an idea of what the moomin family was like. But in that there are scenes where he’s looking for a note. We see bits of how much he misses moomin and wants to know where his friend has gone and when he’ll be back. This is the beginning of a shift in their relationship. Because snufkin gets to feel what moomin feels like. And when he hears that the moomins are coming his face lights up the way moomintroll’s would.

They’re often portrayed in a way that shows that they’re the most important person to the other. There’s this sort of soft undertone that seems to suggest feelings. And all while their relationships grows and changes and they become all the better for it.

Also there’s this

Season 3!

Season 3 felt like there was a change in direction. I feel at this point that there was deliberate queerbaiting but I also know that there was a shift somewhere around season 3. We got the music cut. The voice actor for moomin changed. There were some adjustments with the writing team. But they still deliberately put in scenes with this duo. And with romantic framing. I could be convinced that season 1 and 2 were made with the idea of them as endgame in some capacity. That the queerbaiting wasn’t from day 1 and that it began here. There were really great moments with them. But it feels like they shoehorn snorkmaiden in as a romantic interest again. A lot of episodes with her here don’t exactly make it explicit but there are some that nail it in. They reunite and it almost feels like they’re back together again without a full conversation. Especially with the final episode. I feel like the narrative would’ve been richer if they hadn’t done that considering the way they’ve been building snufmin up.

But I’ll focus on moomin and snufkin for now. When snufkin sees moomin again moomin goes for the greeting he’s been used to but snufkin gives him a hug. That description alone won’t do it justice though. The music rises as it zooms in on their eyes as they make their way to each other. When snufkin hugs moomin you can see the joy from both of them. It shows how their greetings and by extension their relationship has evolved over the seasons.

And then it cuts to snorkmaiden.

This becomes a notable pattern in season 3. It’ll give a really meaningful scene that pushes snufkin and moomin in a more romantic light only to undercut it by reminding you that snorkmaiden is here. It’s at this point where it feels like they know a ton of fans are here for snufmin. They include the pairing. But they also seem to be reminding us that snorkmaiden is here to stay and in a more romantic way. But there’s still this hope, especially if you recall everything from seasons 1 and 2 and the way that they felt. Especially if you rewatch them right before watching season 3. And the show very clearly uses that and makes it feel like there’s a chance. Makes the viewers hope and stick around to find out.

So let’s go through season 2. Moomin and snufkin make some progress on their relationship. They’ve switched positions now and have more of an idea of how the other feels when one of them leaves. And from there they communicate that. Especially moomin. This is shown to a degree in the episode with the fairgrounds. Again in lonely mountain. There are also little nods here and there about their relationship. But again. Lonely mountain is the big one. It starts with little my getting on moomin’s case for worrying over his ‘precious snufkin’

As usual moominmama also seems to act like she knows there’s something more to his relationship with snufkin. Papa remains oblivious though. There’s a parallel between the parents and snufmin too. But the most well known part is this

look. there’s nothing remotely platonic about this. This is one of those things that someone straight and homophobic could detect. The point where they’d stop arguing ‘they’re just friends’ because there’s no way that’s all. I mean just listen to moomin’s “yes” when snufkin goes to add something. There’s so much hope and feeling in that word that I would love to get my hands on the script to find the voice direction for that. I mean come on

And better yet it ends with an interruption so we know they’ll have a whole heart to heart later. A conversation where they lay out their feelings. The feelings that were clearly present here.

Except they don’t

Anyway the season goes on. Moomin, snufkin, and obligatory third wheel sniff go on a journey to take the sun back after it was stolen. They get it back and the season ends with a beautifully queer scene that promises more to come from these two.

Except that a few minutes prior snorkmaiden calls moomin her soulmate and they have their usual thing. And even after snorkmyden really did get some good content this season.

Look, I know that snorkmyden was probably not on their minds throughout production. There’s a difference between the way they handle snufmin and the way they handle snorkmyden. Both duos get great development in their relationships but while there are a ton of cute moments between snorkmaiden and little my, it never feels like there’s a focus on making that endgame. It feels more like snufmin did in some of the other adaptations - something with cute moments and a genuine bond that could be seen as romantic but it’s highly unlikely it won’t be. I want to say this since this series didn’t feel that way for snufmin. It felt like the first chance of it working out fully. I put a lot of scenes in here showing it but the first two season really show it in a way clips and gifs can’t. There’s just so much there and it’s beautiful and sweet. It feels hopeful for them.

Until season 4. Season 4 feels like the team shrugged off all of it. They step even further away. It’s like season 3 but without any of the scenes between them. Suddenly, you’re looking at scenes between them where they talk and have physical contact but the deeper feelings are completely gone. It’s like the anime. Where you can smile about it and think ‘aw them’ but you know it won’t happen. They heavily lean to snorkmaiden and moomin instead. This is the final season. They know people will watch to see if moomin and snufkin go anywhere romantically. And even if people don’t finish it, they’ve got people paying for memberships just to see if it happens. So it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t happen. Because they’ve secured the views and the money.

I do want to say that when I refer to it as becoming canon I don’t know if they’d call each other boyfriends or even kiss. But I would expect them to acknowledge it as there being something more. Like the series ending with them having a discussion about how much they mean to each other. Something that shows they’ll go into the future and continue to get close. Physical closeness like a hug or one putting his hand on the others or even just leaning against each other. Whatever it would be I’d expect more than this. Because they very clearly built these two to be inseparable in that one required the other to undergo their full arc. The show starts with a promise that their relationship will be close to the story. But then season 4 hardly shows snufkin at all

This is what queerbaiting is. And I never expected it to happen with this series. Not after the team talked about it with care. It’s such a gut punch after waiting for five years to see how it’d turn out. I don’t know if they always intended it to be a way to bring in customers. Maybe it was initially going to work out but they changed it between season 2 and 3. I don’t know. But this. This really is queerbaiting. We live in a time where gay relationships are more accepted. They show up in the media more. We’re finally at a time where this relationship could be made more explicit instead of having this ambiguously romantic subtext. And if someone made a new adaptation of moomins and didn’t do that, that would be perfectly and completely fair and okay. If they didn’t consistently imply that there could and even would be something more. But here they used a very old and well loved pairing to gather fans and make money only to never have it come to fruition. Season 4 of moominvalley felt like companies on july 1st. I literally can’t think of a better comparison for how it feels. The first video starts with the quote “The Spring Tune is where we say that this series is going to be different. That you’re going to have to wait and give it time and just be patient. And wait for the story to unfold.”

And so many people did. But then it turned out like this. And I don’t know if that was always the intention. Because it feels like that interview was suggesting that it would go in that direction. But heck. The whole series up until season 3 felt like it would go in that direction. And then it didn’t.

Gay representation is something that has a huge positive impact on the lgbtq community. Even more so on the world overall since it allows people to see these relationships and shows that it’s okay for people to be gay. And it would be even nicer for a series that started off with that subtext got the full representation now that we’re in more accepting times. And it felt like it would be even more meaningful with recent treatment of gay stories.

Our flag means death was cancelled, shadow and bone, the owl house had its final season drastically shortened, good omens is only getting a single episode for their finale

Many are just getting dropped and in a time where this community needs them more than ever. These are shows that make people feel seen. Shows that bring a feeling of joy and comfort and acceptance. And it’s even worse to see that there’s still queerbaiting now. This could’ve had such a beautiful ending and likely would’ve been loved for many years to come if they committed to what they’d built up all this time. How could someone take a series created by a woman who not only added subtext in her original stories but was bi, and use it to build up a romantic story just to bring in money and then toss all that development away. I don’t know what else to say other than this is queerbaiting. And the gay community deserves better. I really did believe that moominvalley would do better by us.

[scruncheduppaper]

ultrakill fandom is gonna hate me for my opinions

I’m bored so I made a new shipping bingo ask game

[owlmylove]

another thing i love abt nimona is that the film’s messages are as blunt as its title character. the knights are holding hands and saying “i love you” RIGHT out the gate, no tragic fight necessary. nimona describes the final twist exactly 11:42 into the film. when bal is torn between fighting against the forces he had always hoping to be accepted by, worrying that his new friend’s otherness will lead them to further ostracize him, nimona explains he can either fight or he can die in this closet. ND really said subtext? hardly know her!! and i think that’s beautiful

[therainscene]

I've described myself in the past as "overly-queerbaited" as a way of explaining why it took me so long to come around to Byler endgame as a legitimate possibility... but that's kind of a misleading way of putting it.

Truth is, I've always been too much of a cynical fuck to fall for queerbait... or any other story that promises positive queer rep.

[Sherlock couldn't touch me; I saw this cringe homophobia coming from a mile away. Fans mistaking straight anxiety jokes for meaningful gay subtext was clearly doomed to end in mockery. Nobody deserved to be treated like that... but god, it was easy to predict.]

I think it's a symptom of having grown up under Section 28 -- feeling like I'm being unreasonable for wanting to see queerness normalized is such an ingrained habit that even today I instinctively recoil like a vampire touching sunlight whenever an optimistic queer story falls unrequested into my lap.

But I'm hardly alone in feeling this way -- many queer Millennial and Gen-X fans of Stranger Things are against the idea of Byler because it would ruin the catharsis of watching the gay boy growing up in the same era as we did slowly succumb to the same despair that we did.

[For those who haven't played the VR game: Vecna is speaking in this screenshot.]

There's genuine comfort to be found in painful stories -- this type of catharsis is practically the cornerstone of horror as a genre -- so I can't really fault myself or anyone else for wanting it, despite the obnoxious oversaturation of disappointing queer endings in media.

This is the nostalgia show, after all -- and like it or not, for many middle-aged queers in the target audience, nostalgia is shot through with the pain of homophobia and loneliness.

But do you know who else is a hurt queer(-coded) adult who resents happy endings? This cynical fuck:

Henry personifies despair and loneliness and the dark urge to take our pain out on others -- and when Will is in the picture, I would argue that he also represents internalized homophobia.

Will might represent who we were -- but Henry represents who we've let ourselves turn into.

And I don't think many of us want to admit to that, because that would involve questioning why we have so much in common with the literal villain of the show; why we're still so consumed with self-pity after 20+ years that we're obsessing over the fate of some kid.

I'm not suggesting that wanting a less-than-fairytale ending for a fictional gay boy is equivalent to being a child killer lol. It's perfectly valid to want to see your pain acknowledged, and stories which appeal to that desire deserve to exist.

But between Henry's connection to Will and the cycle of abuse themes of the show, it's clear that this particular story simply isn't about wallowing in the bleakness of growing up gay in the 80s, but about self-actualizing in spite of it all.

So I just can't bring myself to want a "relatable" ending for Will.

As much as I struggle to enjoy positive queer rep, I don't want to be so cynical. I'd thrown up so many walls to protect myself as a teenager that I forgot how desperately I wanted to see just one of those painful queer stories end on the same uplifting note that straight stories were always entitled to: with true love overcoming the odds, saving the day, and living happily ever after.

[But I'm A Cheerleader, a surprisingly fun movie about conversion therapy, is proof that stories like this did exist when I was a teen... but finding them in the pre- and early-internet days amidst so much censorship was a tall order.]

What makes Stranger Things different from most queer stories -- and what allowed it to pierce through my defenses and stab me in the gut -- is that it perfectly mimics those bleak, acceptable-to-the-censors stories from my youth -- only this time, the secret uplifting gay plot twist is real.

Not for the sake of shock value or of grabbing some empty woke points at the last second, but because the plan all along was to slap the audience in the face for believing homophobic lies about the existence of queer happiness.

That's some gourmet catharsis, if you ask me.

Just the possibility that my inner child might finally be vindicated has allowed me to truly let myself want the things I want for the first time in 20 years -- and that's the first step towards finally crawling back out into the sunlight.

Happy Pride Month, everyone. 🌈