#and that really gay scene in episode 43

[missionel]

do you understand my vision

(og post)

[the-conversation-pod]

Let's Go, Lesbians! (A Japanese GL Episode)

And we're back! This week we're back with @ginnymoonbeam to talk about Toxic Yuri in Chaser Game W and Food Yuri in She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat. Join us as we talk about pouring champagne on your ex's head, slapping your mean boss and her big ass red outfit into next week, choosing yourself over your cruel family, becoming the best gay you can be, and marshmallow parties.

Also, because we did not talk about it in the recording, we want to repost Rina Sawayama's Chosen Family song because this scene was so powerful in SLTCSLTE.

Timestamps

The timestamps will now correspond with chapters on Spotify for easier navigation.

00:00:00 - Welcome 00:01:15 - Introduction 00:02:45 - Chaser Game W: A Flop 00:18:31 - She Loves To Cook, and She Loves To Eat 00:23:14 - SLTCSLTE: The Women 00:34:18 - SLTCSLTE: Yako and The New House 00:39:17 - SLTCSLTE: The Food and Nagumo 00:43:02 - SLTCSLTE: Depictions of Intimacy 00:50:53 - SLTCSLTE Ratings and Outro

The Conversation Transcripts!

Thanks to the continued efforts of @ginnymoonbeam as transcriber, and @lurkingshan as an editor and proofreader, we are able to bring you transcripts of the episodes.

We will endeavor to make the transcripts available when the episodes launch, and it is our goal to make them available for past episodes (Coming soon thanks to @wen-kexing-apologist). When transcripts are available, we will attach them to the episode post (like this one) and put the transcript behind a Read More cut to cut down on scrolling.

Please send our volunteers your thanks!

00:00:00 - Welcome

NiNi

Welcome to The Conversation About BL, aka The Brown Liquor Podcast.

Ben

And there it is. I’m Ben.

NiNi

I’m NiNi.

Ben

And we’re your drunk Caribbean uncle and auntie here sitting on the porch in the rocking chairs.

NiNi

Four times a year we pop in to talk about what’s going on in the BL world.

Ben

We shoot the shit about stories and all the drama going into them. I review from a queer media lens.

NiNi

And I review from a romance and drama lens.

Ben

So if you like cracked-out takes and really intense emotional analysis…

NiNi

If you like talking about artistry, industry, and the discourse…

Ben

And if you generally just love simping…

NiNi

There is a lot of simping on this podcast…

Ben

We are the show for you!

00:01:15 - Introduction

Ben

And we're back. This week, we're talking about lesbians, finally! And we brought a friend along.

NiNi

Say hi Ginny.

Ginny

Hello!

NiNi

Ginny is here with us and we are going to talk two Japanese GLs, Chaser Game W and She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat. 

Ben, what did you think, like, sort of overarching about these two before we delve into the nitty gritty?

Ben

I thought Chaser Game W gave us a lot to anticipate early on, and unfortunately went in the direction we did not want it to go. Ended up being kind of a mess toward the end? I did not end up walking away too happy with it. 

With She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat season 2, this time we had twenty 15-minute episodes and they had things to do and say with that time and I have a lot of things to say about that show. [laughs]

NiNi

Ginny, what are your overarching thoughts about these two shows?

Ginny

I had high hopes for Chaser Game W because I always want more toxic lesbians. [NiNi laughs] I want to see the girls get to be messy, I want to see complicated dynamics. And I did really enjoy the first couple episodes, but it kind of felt like the characterizations really fell apart as the series progressed, which was a big disappointment. 

She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat was a delight. Every time I sat down to watch it, my heart was full and happy and warm.

00:02:45 - Chaser Game W: A Flop

NiNi

We always go from worst to first on this show, so let's start with Chaser Game W. 

Ben, what is Chaser Game W about?

Ben

Chaser Game W is about a team of women at a game development studio in Japan who have been contracted to develop basically a demo for a GL adaptation, by a Chinese company named Vincent. It gets complicated by their project manager from the Chinese team, who clearly has beef with one of their team members and just spends most of the early show fucking with her because she's mad that they broke up in college. And then a bunch of other shit happens that is kind of weird.

NiNi

Okay, that's a hell of a description [laughs].

Ben

I'm sorry! Like, it starts off being a show that looks like it's playing into the complex dynamics about workplace power and possibly sexual harassment, and then kind of loses its way because it wants to be this mess of a story about lesbians with families and the difficult choices they have to make, and where do the husbands and children fit in this, and how does this play into career expectations? Bosses who might also be queer but evil queers?

And it's not necessarily a very coherent experience. There's a lot of ideas that sound good when you describe them to people, but in practice really weren't that satisfying to watch. This was not the Japanese GL experience I was hoping for.

NiNi

Ginny, what about you? What are your thoughts on Chaser Game W?

Ginny

It did seem like it was setting up to have some messages about not only the sexuality components, but also things about women in the workplace and being a mother and balancing those expectations… dealing with sexual harassment… all of that. But it didn't end up saying much that was meaningful to me about it, it just was like, ‘these are issues!’ If you try to draw any kind of conclusion from what the show is doing, you end up with some really messy messages. 

The way that the evil queer boss came in was so funny to me. One of the selling points of this show is this strong femdom, woman in power exacting humiliation dynamic. But halfway through the show, we're resolving the relationship between the two women, so Fuyu, our previous femdom power boss, is not going to be that anymore. So we have to bring in a new one — and it just did not work for me.

NiNi

It was the dom getting dommed. It was like an inception of domming. It was a little strange. There were definitely some Chinese-Japanese dynamics in there. I don't have the cultural competency to pick up on entirely what they were doing, but it was pretty clear from the way that the show was operating. I don't know if it's stereotype, but it was clear that there was something going on there; my cultural competency in this area is not enough to figure out exactly what was going on there.

Ben

It was kind of weird seeing a Japanese show complaining about unrealistic expectations of Chinese developers? This is not a uniquely Chinese problem.

NiNi

I feel like it being set in gaming almost didn't matter to that side of things? They wanted to have this difference the show sees in working cultures be stark and to say something about that difference. But the supposed center of this, aside from the game and the development of the game, is a relationship between Fuyu and Itsuki. It's an extremely convoluted central story that just seems to serve as an excuse for why Fuyu, when she comes back to Japan, hates Itsuki so much. 

The writing feels slightly unnecessarily complicated, but I actually rather enjoyed quite a lot of bits of this. I enjoyed, for example, the direction. I thought the camera was very assured, I thought it was very clear. I don't know if this is an original story or if it's coming from manga, but the direction is very very clear to me. I really enjoyed watching the camera move. The shots are really effective. But the story itself? It's not like I thought necessarily that… the story was badly told? I'm just not sure that it was the story that I wanted. Where we're going in the beginning with Fuyu, a mean lesbian comes back and is mean to her ex-girlfriend, I felt like, okay, that's where we're going. And then, suddenly, Fuyu is married and Fuyu has a daughter and there's all this stuff around the husband and Fuyu’s feelings, or not-feelings, about the husband. It got a little muddy. 

But even with all of that, I think I probably enjoyed it more than you guys did. And I think part of the reason is that I binged it? So I didn't sit with a lot of these feelings or a lot of the confusion for very long.

Ben

It was not a fun week to week watch. As it started to deviate and get lost in itself, it was not fun to be like, 'oh right, this is where we were, all right, let's go and see how this week goes. Ohh… no. Okay.' 

You asked about whether it's original or an adaptation. It is an adaptation. The original work is about power harassment, but I believe Itsuki’s character is a man? A lot about the show made sense once we realized that it was not an original queer story being adapted. A lot of it felt really tacked on to justify the drama and not really something that the writing really contextualized or dwelled on, at all.

Ginny

There were a lot of big character turns and big decisions made without a lot of grounding in why this character would make this choice. Once the mystery of their past is explained, you do understand why they reconcile suddenly, but then all of their choices afterwards just felt baffling to me. I'm not getting any kind of character journey. The show is like, well, this happens now, and then this happens now, and then they do this thing that you didn't expect. And I want to know why!

NiNi

I… feel like in some bits I was cottoning onto it, and then in some bits I was not. For example, when Itsuki starts to take care of Fuyu’s daughter, when she comes over and realizes that the husband's left and her daughter needs taking care of. I followed that bit of the character journey. I understood in some ways why, when the husband came back, Fuyu felt maybe guilty? 

There was also, like, a little thing which I was really surprised didn't go anywhere. Early in the show the husband was video chatting with, I think his mother. And she says something like, 'you know, you have to be good to Fuyu. You're so lacking, and she is with you anyway.' that made me think that their marriage was lavender? I genuinely thought that they had some kind of arrangement or agreement — and then to find out later down the line that the husband actually was in love with her and was jealous of the thing that she had with Itsuki? That came out of nowhere for me. And then everything that followed on from there kind of didn't track, almost. 

Did either of you get that feeling initially from the husband and were surprised or was that just me?

Ginny

My sense was that the husband had been perceived as not a good marriage prospect. Probably it was not earning a lot of money and had other loserish qualities or something. So my sense from the conversation was that that was what she was talking about. I certainly didn't ever get the sense that he was in love with her, exactly? Even when he's upset, it felt more to me kind of about pride. You can't have your wife sleeping around. That's an embarrassment. I don't think there were any deep feelings in that marriage.

NiNi

I don't even think either of them really had extremely deep feelings for their daughter. Like I think Fuyu loves her daughter, but in a distracted kind of way, almost? The only depth of feeling that I felt anywhere was between Fuyu and Itsuki, and even that was tied up in all this anger and bitterness and guilt and whatever else. That's a direction to go in for sure, but it really didn't make me understand why they wanted to be together, and then why they decided not to be together… and then in the end, why Fuyu comes back out of nowhere. 

It's all muddled and mixed for me, especially the closer that we get to the end. But like I said, I don't think that I had as bad a time with it as other people might have.

Ben

I had a very bad time. [Ben and NiNi laugh] 

This show was aggravating. We've been talking about this a lot on the show lately about how much work we think we should do for a show to like, meet them emotionally, where they're trying to take us. There are times when either the writing or the performance doesn't necessarily get you all the way there? And you kind of have to just feel it for the show. But this show just does not feel complete. There are a bunch of ideas that are fine on their own, like, ‘and then she comes in here and then she pours a fucking champagne on her head.’ That's an unhinged lesbian behavior that I have seen happen in person! So like, I totally believed that.

NiNi

Oh yeah.

Ben

But then Fuyu’s turn where she’s suddenly nice to other women in the company that they're in and stops being a huge dick to the other moms, that just doesn't really track? Like, what changed in that moment? I don't really know how we went there. They had her suddenly start being nice to them so they could be on the same team against Big Red.

NiNi

I'm so mad that you called her Big Red, but it kinda works. [Ben and NiNi laugh] I'm not gonna call her anything except Big Red now.

Ben

I did not remember what her character name was. Her name was Big Red.

Ginny

That's her name now, yep [laughs].

Ben

Like it was funny when Itsuki was like, 'Fuck off, Big Red' and knocked her ass down. [all laugh]

All these moments are like, well, that was amusing on its own, but it doesn't really come together as a coherent story unto itself. There’s this huge branching point later on where it's basically the supporting cast trying to seduce a guy to give them information to save the game, and that's happening separately from the drama with Itsuki, Fuyu, Fuyu’s husband, Big Red and all the drama going on there. 

NiNi 

I want to talk a little bit about the actual game development plot, because that stuff was wild. They're preparing whatever they have to do to develop this game, and along the way they're going through literal sexual harassment. There's a point in time that they're trying to get information from this artist. And this guy is a caricature of a sexual harasser, like at one point there are five of these female game developers in his house, and they're literally peeling this guy off of each other as he gropes them. And I'm just like, is this normal or is this exaggerated? I don't even know?

Ben 

Actually, it felt like most of that was actually normal. 

NiNi 

That is terrifying. 

Ben 

The drama with the team felt pretty straightforward for me. You had women in the team having varied responses to the sexual harassment. One of them was like, 'I will absolutely not compromise myself and use sex to get ahead' and another one was like, 'I will, I got this for us.' [Ben and NiNi laugh] I thought that was fine. I didn't mind there being a character who is willing to use men's desire to advance her goals and her team’s goals. I liked that it wasn't required only for her to do that, that there were other people who didn't want to do it that way accomplishing things for their team. The up and down of, ‘is this game going to get developed or not, the expectations of our client keep changing, it seems to be for reasons well beyond us and other drama’ — that felt fairly normal for trying to get any sort of major creative endeavor with the expensive team off the ground. Most of the game development stuff tracked normally for me. Even the whole plot line about poaching talent and then dumping talent: that is a real problem right now. That sort of stuff mostly tracked for me. I wasn't that fussed about the game development stuff and the workplace conditions that they were working under. 

It was the stuff about Fuyu and Itsuki's relationship and the motivations around them romantically, and other characters’ reactions to it, that is where I struggled the most with this. It wasn't a show that left you in a cool place at the end of an episode and picked up in a great place with the next episode. Spending two months watching this was not a great experience. 

NiNi 

I think my rating’s definitely going to be higher than you guys, so I'll go first. 

Ben 

Okay. 

NiNi 

I'm gonna say 7. To me, bits are cool and I can follow generally where this is going, and the bits that I thought were weird were not offensive. It wasn’t very good, but it wasn't terrible. 

Ben 

Ginny? 

Ginny 

I gave it a 5.5. 6 is my mad-I-watched-it threshold. Anything 6 or higher might be very bad, but I'm not mad I watched it. Below a 6 I'm kind of mad that I watched it. That's where this one landed for me. 

Fuyu was very beautiful, and I did enjoy watching her every week. But when that's the nicest thing I have to say about a show, it's not good. 

Ben 

It gave this a 4. It is not recommended. I don't think this is a good lesbian story. I don't think this is a good game development story. I don't think it's a good workplace story. It is a mess. This was developed by the same person who made His the movie, so I am very confused how we ended up with something that absolutely failed on the queer front like this. I do not get it. When this show was confused, it lands on the wrong side of the coin a lot. And it felt like at the very last five minutes they were doing a shit ton of clean up. I don't think this show is worthwhile. 

NiNi 

That's gonna land us somewhere in the 5ish range overall?

Ben 

Round it down, because it sucks! [all laugh] It gets a 5 from The Conversation. 

NiNi 

So that is officially a chop. 

00:18:31 - She Loves To Cook, and She Loves To Eat

NiNi 

All right. So we're gonna leave that behind and we're going to move on to She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat. 

Ben, give us the synopsis. What is She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat about?

Ben 

Okay, let me be much nicer now because this is one of my favorite shows now. So, [laughs] She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat is like the lesbian neighbor of What Did You Eat Yesterday? We have a young woman who's a programmer. She feels like she's like late 20s, early 30s. Her name is Nomoto. She runs like a food account on Instagram, and whenever she's in a bad mood and needs to work through some stuff, she ends up making too much food, and she has a small appetite, so it goes to waste. She has a neighbor who is a taller, bigger woman, and on a whim one night she invites her over to share food with her. And this is the beginning of their friendship that eventually becomes a more serious relationship.

Second season picks up with twice as many episodes, and boy did they need them. We spend this season with Nomoto and Kasuga befriending their new, younger woman neighbor. Nomoto becomes a full-time employee at her work and develops a more reliable friendship with Sayama. She also befriends her Twitter friend Yako, who is basically one of us. She loves her stories, she loves her little food, and she loves hearing about other people's drama and poking them to get their shit together. I love her so much. 

It was a really delightful season watching these two grow closer, figure out what their relationship was going to be, and develop that into more as they dealt with some of their real personal and professional issues. I really, truly loved the season. 

Ginny, you were fairly recent to watching this, so you watched the first and second season basically as one dedicated viewing experience. What was your experience engaging with this for the first time in the last month or so? 

Ginny 

It was very fun. I did this as my unwinding as I was moving in with my girlfriend who is the loves to eat in our relationship, where I'm the loves to cook. So it was a lovely experience. The two seasons flow so seamlessly into each other. Season 2 picks up right where season 1 left off so I'm kind of glad I did it this way. I think I might have been a little frustrated at the end of season 1, especially having to wait and not knowing if we'd get more, because they don't entirely confirm their relationship by the end of that? It's understood that they're very important to each other and they have this very meaningful place in each other's lives, celebrating holidays together, but they don't even start to have conversations about what their relationship is until we're a little ways into season 2. So I'm glad that I got to watch it all unfold as a single story. 

So many details of, just the way that that develops between them felt so realistic to journeys that I've seen between two women who are close friends and realize that they might have romantic feelings for each other. All of the angsting you do about that, and the 'what does this mean' and the 'what does it even mean to love someone romantically instead of as just this very special, most importantest friend in the world,' — just so many little details were perfectly done and extremely relatable. It was just gorgeous. 

Ben 

NiNi, since you watched the first season and angsted with the rest of us about whether or not it was going to come back, and whether or not that second season was gonna be good, what were your overall impressions of the second season after you walked away from it? 

NiNi 

I loved it, but I knew I was going to love it. I had some angst in the middle of the season that we're probably gonna get to, not bad angst. Just, ‘oh, I wonder if they're doing this thing that I think that they're doing.’ But I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

I love so much how the show expands in this season. The first season is very tightly focused, mostly on Nomoto and Kasuga, whereas this season expands outward to show you some of the other people in their life and show you them developing their relationships with these other people, some new, some not. I always love stories that show you the life that these people are living. So I thoroughly enjoyed this season, had a great time with it. 

00:23:14 - SLTCSLTE: The Women

Ben

There were a lot of presentations of various women's issues that played out this season. Do the two of you have particular storylines that you especially enjoyed, or connected to?

Ginny

I love Nagumo's story. I think the one I connected to most was probably Kasuga, but I thought bringing in Nagumo as someone who could receive some mentorship from these two women and also [laughs] kind of help coach Kasuga through her feelings revelation, and relationship transition… it was a beautiful relationship and a wonderful addition, and the way that her character brings a different perspective on the whole nature of food and communal eating was also just a gorgeous touch.

Ben

What about you, NiNi? Did you have a particular plot line that you enjoyed or connected to?

NiNi

We got some stuff on the fringes about Sayama trying to date and looking to potentially get married, realizing and talking to Nomoto that she can't get married if she wants to, and then that leading Sayama to think about whether she even wants to get married. That resonated in a particular kind of way. It was a quiet little side runner, it didn't take up a lot of space in the story, but it did hit me. We end the season without really an answer from Sayama on that, but the fact that she started thinking about it? That resonated with me, for sure.

Ben

What I love about Sayama as a straight character in this narrative is: queer people don't fit the heterosexual mold, and loving queer people forces you to reckon with why we don't. And then that can often open up things for you, as well. I really loved her apology scene with Nomoto. Recognizing that her working through her own ambivalence about marriage is dismissive of the fact that it's not even an option available for Nomoto.

Ginny

You also have Kasuga's coworker, who's older and is getting a divorce after her children have grown up. Getting a divorce is extremely liberating for her. It really does show this kind of 360 view of heterosexual marriage not necessarily being right for all heterosexual women.

Ben

I think it's notable that when they show multiple older women working at this grocery store, they're all like, 'mm-mm, divorce was the right call for me, because I don't think it's right that I'm expected to take care of my husband's family and everybody else does nothing, and that's gonna be my entire existence.' And I love how explicit she was, she told Kasuga straight up: if you were my own daughter, who I do have, I would tell her the same thing, and I would say please live your life. Do not sacrifice your life for a bunch of other people who do not appreciate what you want for your life. Because Kasuga decided to sever ties with her family, because they did not respect her and they wanted her to just take care of them, and sacrifice anything she wanted for her life. It was really lovely that the show went out of its way to be explicit about that.

NiNi

Since we're already sort of diving into it, let's lean into that storyline. Kasuga left home a long time ago and decided to live her life. Kasuga has a brother who is the favored child, but Kasuga’s brother does nothing. Now Kasuga's parents are older and ill, and her grandparents are older and ill and need taking care of. And so Kasuga's dad has started looking for her now. He's like, 'Well, you're not married, whatever you're doing isn't important, you gotta come home and take care of everybody.' It only comes to her doorstep because her aunt gives her father both her number and address, because 'oh, you’re a family, you shouldn’t not talk to each other.' Her aunt thinks she's doing the right thing, but this is definitely not the right thing for Kasuga. Kasuga's father has never appreciated her as a person, has never cared about her as a person, has only focused on his son. And now he wants Kasuga to take care of him essentially until he dies. Kasuga really struggles with this. She wonders, is this my responsibility? Is this something that I have to do? Is she a bad daughter if she doesn't do this? What does this mean for her? Fujita tells her, 'Look, if you were my daughter, I would tell you do not go. You don't have a responsibility to give up your life for somebody else.'

All the conversations that Kasuga has with her father, she has them in her car. She does not talk to him when she is in her house, her safe space? She does not speak to her father in there. When she has decided that she's not going home, not just not going home, but never going home again, she sits in the car and has the conversation where she tells him, 'I'm not ever coming home. Don't contact me again.' And then she goes from the car straight to Nomoto. And Nomoto gets so furious on her behalf that she starts to cry. She's like, 'I can't believe that this man made you feel this way about yourself. He's a horrible person.' Basically, everything that Kasuga needed to hear, she got from Nomoto in that moment. 

I am an eldest daughter. I have a fantastic relationship with my family. And any caregiving I do is of my own volition, and I am happy to do it. It is still tiring. It is still exhausting. Even when it is received with gratitude and happiness and love, it is hard to do. If you have to take care of people who don't care about you? You can feel like you're dying. I am certain about it. That expectation being placed on you is hard enough. To do it for people [who] do not love you — because I do not think Kasuga’s father loves her — is impossible. And so I had a lot of feelings about it while it was happening, but watching her say, 'No, I am not going to just let go of my entire life and everything that I want for this person.' 

And then to have Fujita tell her, 'if you were my daughter,' which releases her from that burden of thinking about her mother — because that's the other part of the guilt that she's feeling. Not necessarily guilt towards her father, but the fact that if she doesn't come home, her mother's gonna have to do all of this. And she thinks about her mother all the time. It's just, it's so much. It's so deep. It's so intense. It's so delicious. And it's not what you expect to get out of a story that's told in little 15-minute episodes! It really isn't.

Ginny

I'm also an eldest daughter and feel so much of that. I spent my childhood, really, like Kasuga, very aware that there were a lot of things I was expected to give up. The way that that sinks into your brain… you just feel like, 'I am worth what I can do for people.' 

What struck me the most in that conversation with Nomoto when Kasuga first tells her what she's done, is Nomoto begs her to keep living her life here where she's thriving, and to keep being happy. Through their whole relationship, Nomoto has taken such joy in Kasuga’s love of eating and just celebrated that this gives you pleasure and you're taking pleasure, and that's a wonderful thing. And in this moment, she kind of expands it to Kasuga's whole life. And she says, please don't ever go somewhere where you can't thrive, where you can't feel joy, where you can't feel loved, and yourself. To hear someone say that? I think I did cry in that scene. You need to hear someone say that. Someone who grew up like Kasuga needs someone who loves you begging you to take care of yourself and to do what brings you joy. The heart of their relationship and what draws them together is how deeply Nomoto celebrates Kasuga taking care of herself and being taken care of and experiencing pleasure. It's beautiful.

Ben

I really enjoyed the way that continued in the whole strawberry debacle.

NiNi

[laughs] The strawberry thing. It was so funny. [Ginny laughs] It was so cute, too. It was really cute. This is after they've started dating, but their relationship hasn't changed very much. And so she asked Nagumo, is there something that she should be doing? Which I found adorable.

Ginny

It's so real.

Ben

It's funny, too, because Nagumo admits she doesn't have much experience either [Ginny laughs], and is like, 'You could, like, go do things you both like doing? Together? That sounds right.' [all laugh]

NiNi

It’s so funny. And that's when she sees this flyer for the strawberry picking. And she's like, 'Oh, okay, I like strawberry picking. I should ask Nomoto to go strawberry picking with me. That's like the kind of thing that people do when they're in relationships, right?'

Ben

'That's, like, a food thing. She likes to make food. This might be fun!' Kasuga doesn't really say what she wants to do, she just hands it to Nomoto and is like, 'Hey, I thought this might be fun for us to do' and Nomoto’s like, 'Oh, yeah, that sounds great. We can maybe go vegetable picking and then make some stuff afterwards.' And Kasuga doesn't really speak up about what she maybe wanted. 

Late in the day Nomoto realizes Kasuga maybe wanted to go check out a restaurant in the area, and wanted to maybe do strawberry picking instead. And Nomoto ends up feeling so bad about this, feeling like she was not really receptive to what Kasuga actually wanted, and like she was steamrolling her. This plays out across almost two or three episodes, but the culmination is Nomoto saying very clearly to Kasuga, 'I want you to be selfish with me. I want you to feel like you can want things and express them. It's really important to me that you are doing the things you enjoy.'

Ginny

And Kasuga admits that that's hard for her. Another moment that rang so true for me, for both of them.

Ben

So much of their relationship is Nomoto getting intense pleasure [laughs] out of watching Kasuga enjoy herself.

00:34:18 - SLTCSLTE: Yako and The New House

Ben

I'd like to talk about my favorite character of the season.

NiNi

Ben wants to talk about Yako. Let's go.

Ben

Yako is the best thing that has happened to BL and GL in the last two years. [laughs]

NiNi

She's really just like us. [laughs]

Ben

No character’s been a better audience stand in than an asexual lesbian enjoying her wine and her takeout, watching gay movies with other girls, and then hearing about their relationship drama and giving completely reasonable advice by just asking questions.

Ginny

Best life.

Ben

I love her so much. She is everything that I am trying to be every day. [NiNi laughs] And she's good at it! [laughs] She never tells anybody, 'Just do it.' She's just like, 'What are you feeling? How do you feel if you don't do it? Well, there you go.’

And then they have the curry party? That looked like so much fun. They all go over to Yako's house and meet her properly. Nomoto and Kasuga take Nagumo with them. And they make a bunch of different curry, and naan, and some fancy juice, and they have themselves a good-ass time. And this leads to Yako becoming friends with Nagumo, and she ends up becoming a confidante to Nagumo as well. She recognizes after the girls reveal they're gonna move out that somebody should check on Nagumo, who has probably gotten used to having two really reliable neighbors who care about her, and how Nagumo might be anxious about saying, like, she misses them and still wants to see them. Even as Nagumo admits, moving out is the right call for them, I love that Yako gave Nagumo space to admit that she was a bit bummed that she was gonna not be living next to two solid friends anymore. 

I love Yako so much. She is in competition for blorbo of the year.

NiNi

Yako has the best ideas for parties, too, like the first time she had the watch party with Nomoto, they've both got snacks and drinks, and they're talking about what they've got for their snacks and their drinks and then they watch a lesbian movie and they cry. [Ben and Ginny laugh] It’s so good. Literally, Yako is really just like us. 

The only thing I'm sad about in this entire season is that Sayama hasn't yet become a part of this whole little group that they have, but she will. I know she will.

Ben

They just moved in together. They got a big space. There's room for Fujita and Sayama to show up for another party they're gonna have. These two could host all six major female characters at their new place. 

Let's talk about the new place while we're here. Where…?

[all laugh]

NiNi

Go ahead. I know you want to.

Ben

I love Kasuga. I love everything about her. I love her big chair, I love her big bed, I love her big TV. I need to know where these things are going to go in the new space. [NiNi laughs] Nomoto is totally fine to just use her iPad as her fill-in device for all of her tech needs and entertainment needs. I understand Kasuga. When I moved out, I got myself two big-ass TVs! I need to know where this goes in their new space.

NiNi

[laughs] Doing it real big, right?

Ben

Mhmm! Her car real big. Shoes real big. TV real big. Everything real big.

NiNi

We can talk a little bit about the new space. It looks really good. I like the way that it feels like both of them, which is exactly what you want in a place where you’re gonna be moving in together. But can we just talk about how U-Haul lesbian it is of them to get together and immediately start talking about moving in together?

Ginny

Hang on, they started talking about moving in together [Ben laughs] and then got together. That was the order! [NiNi laughs] They were like—

NiNi

That is true, that is fair.

Ginny

—'I’m gonna move.' 

'Oh my God. I can't bear the thought of you leaving, but I understand why you have to.' 

'Well, it's okay ‘cause I was going to ask if you wanted to move in. Also, are we in love with each other?'

Like, that was the conversation. [NiNi laughs]

Ben

'And we finally picked a place to live. Do you wanna make out for the first time?' 

NiNi

[laughs] And the other good part of it is that before any of this, they somehow adopted a child together.

Ben

Right?

Ginny

Yeah! This all tracks. This is all very typical. 

NiNi

Mmhmm. This felt like the correct order of things for lesbians.

00:39:17 - SLTCSLTE: The Food and Nagumo

NiNi

Okay, we need to talk about food.

Ben

Okay.

NiNi

Because Ben started talking about the curry party and I got excited.

Ben

I got hungry, I need to go make food after this. [Ben and Ginny laugh]

NiNi

We didn't even talk yet about the takoyaki party. I am not a huge fan of takoyaki, but that looked really good.

Ben

All right, as we go into the food, let's talk about Nagumo's eating disorder, because I think that this is one of my favorite food plots in a food show in a long time.

NiNi

One of the things about these food shows is that it's about the communal experience of food. Nagumo has a social anxiety disorder where she can't eat in front of other people. The way that this is brought to the surface, and then the way that Kasuga and Nomoto figure out how to include her in the communal experience without trying to force her to eat or making it an anxious space for her where other people are eating… There's something about Kasuga that just reads incredibly reliable from the off. So when Nagumo first meets Kasuga, she very quickly gets very comfortable and feels like she can tell this woman anything. And Kasuga is just so forthright and so understanding about things, that when Nagumo tells her, you know, 'I really can't eat in front of other people,' the first thing she asks her is 'oh, well, can you drink something? Can I make you a cup of tea?' And that sort of becomes a jumping off point for the way that they interact when they're having these communal experiences around food, and the way that Kasuga explains to other people for Nagumo, but without giving too many details of Nagumo's private business. The way that these women make a comfortable space for her to still have the community of meals together without forcing her to eat, drives Nagumo to say, 'I want to go and get myself treated because I want to be able to eat with these women, because I care about them.'

Ben

I really love the arc of that. In a show about two people bonding over food, they met somebody who they couldn't necessarily do that with right away, they had to work into it. And I love the way that they slowly built that out — like the donut party was so satisfying.

NiNi

Donut party was fantastic.

Ben

There’s the donut party. There's the marshmallow party.

NiNi

Don't get me started on Nomoto and her, like, zoning out thinking about Kasuga with these marshmallows. [laughs] It was almost erotic but not in a male gaze erotic kind of way. She's got a comically large number of bags of marshmallows in Nomoto’s mind that she's hugging to her, and then she starts eating the marshmallows with a smile on her face. [laughs] All this is happening in Nomoto’s imagination and I'm just like, 'Yes, girl. Yeah, I understand what is happening to you right now.' [laughs] She's zoning out thinking about Kasuga and these marshmallows and I am cracking up. I'm having a whale of a—Oh, it's so good. 

Okay. I'm gonna get over Kasuga and marshmallows, but [laughs] not immediately. So good, so funny. No notes.

00:43:02 - SLTCSLTE: Depictions of Intimacy

Ben

You had a little bit of hesitation in the middle of the second season. Do you want to talk about that on the show? And do you feel resolved by the way they played it out?

NiNi

Not resolved, but more… comforted, I guess. Part of the agita, I think that I was having, is that I was working through myself. Yako and Nomoto are watching these lesbian films. Yako is introducing Nomoto to these lesbian movies, and they're watching them together. And Nomoto is saying she's watching these movies and all these women are so passionate, and she knows that she likes Kasuga in a romantic way, but she doesn't think that she has these passionate feelings like these women in these films. That's when Yako tells her, 'Well, you know, I'm asexual, this is how I feel about these things.' 

And in the middle of the season when this is happening, I had a bit of a moment where I'm just like, okay, is it that they're doing this purity thing where it's fine to be a lesbian if you don't have sex or sexual feelings? It was something that I was worried about. I think it was a little bit of burden of representation stuff that I was maybe putting on the show? That I felt like it was important to show female sexuality as being good and okay and fine, and not to wrap female sexuality and women loving women up in this thing of it being somehow chaste and pure. That was something that was coming from my own thoughts about it. There's not a lot of ace spectrum rep out there in terms of media and dramas in this field, so intellectually I felt like, oh, well, this is fine. But emotionally, I was having a hard time with. Intellectually, I'm like, okay, yes, if it is that this is an ace lesbian story, this is fine because there's not a lot of representation of that, either. But then I was also, like, feeling that even if it was ace lesbian representation, it was being done in this weird binary where you're either sexual or you're not, when acespec is just a whole spectrum of things. I was getting tied up in my own feelings about a lot of this, and it was giving me a little bit of grief and a little bit of gripe. 

But when we come down through the season and come down towards the end of the season, it starts to feel more like a journey of discovery, of Nomoto figuring out what labels that she would apply to herself that make her feel comfortable with the relationship, and understanding how she feels about Kasuga and in what ways they want to proceed with their relationship and the things that they want to try or not try, and having those conversations with Kasuga, as well. And that eased me in the way that I was feeling about it. I fully admit that I got tied up in my own feelings about this, because it didn't have anything to do with what the show was doing. It works out well. I feel comfortable and comforted by the way that the story goes down through to the end. I'm good with where they've decided to take Nomoto, and Nomoto and Kasuga’s relationship, and where they have hopefully paused, not stopped.

Ginny

I understand that feeling completely. I feel some kind of meta regret that the two lesbian shows we’re talking about, the horny kinky concept one was bad, and the very chaste, ace spectrum one was good. I would love more horny kinky concept lesbians that are also actually well done. But as you said, that's not a problem with this show as it is just sort of with the bigger media landscape, and the show is giving also voice to really important, very representative experiences. 

I love where they land on the question of physical intimacy, because I was wondering what they were going to do having gotten so far into the season. They hardly ever touch each other. There is this sensuality in their relationship around food, and I don't think it functions as a metaphor or a substitute for sex — it's just a different kind and source of pleasure that is important to their relationship, and that's so cool and I love it! But I love where they end up on the question of touch. Kasuga saying, 'yes, I would like to try things out one by one with you.' That's such a lovely way to say, we don't know where this ends. We don't know how we're going to feel about it, but we trust each other enough and we want to explore together at whatever pace feels right for both of us.

Ben

I am less concerned, I think, with certain styles of Japanese shows delving into onscreen depictions of sex and sexuality because of the space those shows fill. Zenra Meshi, What Did You Eat Yesterday?, and this show. The ton of sensuality in the food stuff supports the thinking around sex and intimacy, and I'm really glad they had the hug and kiss scene to make sure that we didn't skip that? But I don't necessarily need to see it in the show, in the sense that I'm okay with just confirming that it's gonna happen, or it is happening. What I do need NHK and TV Tokyo to figure out is: how does the cast of this show meet the cast of What Did You Eat Yesterday? There has to be a way to get these two stories a crossover.

NiNi

It does feel like there needs to be a crossover between these two stories. The new place that they've moved into, I'm pretty sure it's in Shiro and Kenji's building, like it has to be. That's the only thing that makes any sense to me in my head. [laughs]

What you were saying about seeing it on screen, it's not necessarily that I need to see their physical intimacy on screen, or whether there is physical intimacy on screen. I just need to understand, I think, if it was something that they were even gonna talk about or discuss, or if it was something that they wanted or not wanted. I think that it's fine for me for them to have the conversation and say, 'Okay, let's figure this out.' And if that lands upon them not being physically intimate that's fine, if it lands up on them being physically intimate, that's fine, but I think what I was worried about, and maybe I shouldn't have been, was that they were not going to talk about it at all.

Ben

I'm very glad that they had a conversation about it before they moved out, and established that it is something that they want, even if it's something they're gonna have to figure it out.

NiNi

Most definitely, but let's move back to the part where they're moving into Shiro and Kenji's building, because I feel like somehow that has to happen. And I feel like somebody needs to slip Nishijima and Uchino a note that says, 'Hey. Y'all are good at making stuff happen. Make this happen, too. Find a way.'

Ben

It's just difficult because it's an NHK adaptation versus TV Tokyo and I don't know how that plays out because one is a for-profit broadcaster and the other is explicitly a public entity.

NiNi

Figure it out. [Ben and NiNi laugh] I don't care if it's a movie, I don't care if it's a special, I don't care what it is. They need to figure this out, because there's no way that these two shows are not existing in the same universe. They have to.

00:50:53 - SLTCSLTE Ratings and Outro

Ben

I think that's it. This show is excellent. I guess we should rate it. Let's go around. 

Ginny, you're newest to this. What's your rating for this?

Ginny

I gave season one a 9 and season two a 10. Season one felt a little incomplete to me, but season two sewed it up. If I was rating them together, I would give them a 10 as a single experience.

Ben

What about you, NiNi?

NiNi

Why you even asking me? You know my answer. This is a 10.

Ben

It's a 10! 10s across the board. Go watch it right now and then when you're finished, go show it to a friend, and then make them show it to a friend. I'm not even kidding. This is excellent. This is going to have to get a new supercut for me on the show. I’m gonna have to mention this every goddamn recording we do after this. [Ginny and NiNi laugh]

NiNi

It's a good thing Ginny's here because now she goes, she's like, okay, so I'm looking for What Did You Eat Yesterday? and then She Loves to Cook, She Loves to Eat.

Ginny

Making notes.

Ben

It was really just so lovely. One of the things I really enjoy in my queer stories is realistic and believable-feeling friend groups around them. It's really important for me, not just that I believe in the integrity of the couple, but also the integrity of their network. And I really like when queer friend groups grow as a result of two other people finding something in each other, that was really important for me. And it's why this particular show is so special to me. I really love this show, so much. Please go watch it.

NiNi

And with that, that's all she wrote. That is going to wrap us up, say bye to the people. 

Say bye Ginny!

Ginny

Bye!

NiNi

Say bye to the people, Ben.

Ben

Peace.

[charaznablespeteevee]

Would you share your thoughts on the Gundam you've seen? I added the first one to my list based on your posting about it (mostly the transition Char posting, he sounds like a fascinating character) and am not on Twitter to see your liveposting

Good question!! It seems like you want to know if I'd rec them so I'll answer based on that.

The original Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) absolutely I would rec to literally any anime fan. Both because it is a genuinely good anime, but equally because it's like. You know how people say you have to read the Bible to get all the references to the Bible in literature? It's like that. Gundam is one of the Bibles for anime. It's in everything. And you won't realize this until you watch it.

It's also a very good science fiction show just in general. The major characters are all great, the drama is compelling, and while some of the animation has not aged well, the newtype stuff has some super neat effects that are gorgeous to see on a big screen to this day.

It's also super accessible, the full show is available on Crunchyroll or if you don't want to commit watching a 43 episode show the three compilation movies are on Netflix and are a very solid alternative.

Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam (1985) - they got a big budget upgrade so everything is Bigger and More. More robots, more character drama, more romance, better music, and some bizarre segues into how men are from Mars and women are from Venus. Absolutely worth a watch if you liked the original Gundam because it continues to follow a lot of the original characters.

Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ (1986) - technically "skippable" if you consider 0079, Zeta, and Char's Counterattack a trilogy, which it kind of is. ZZ focuses on an almost entirely new cast of characters and the first half of the show is VERY heavy on the comedy before jumping directly into some of the best anime I've ever seen for the second half. The mood whiplash is kind of divisive among fans. Personally I like it and the characters are great. Worth a watch if you like what you've seen so far.

Char's Counterattack (1988) - caps off the gayass Amuro/Char rivalry and is just an amazing movie in general. Gorgeous visuals, and the final 15 minutes or so are a series of emotional gut-punches the likes of which I've rarely experienced in media. Must watch IMO.

War in the Pocket (1989) - six episode OVA featuring entirely new characters. This is a truly fantastic little series that lets you into the lives of a small handful of likeable characters and how their lives are affected by war. It's Gundam so guess how that goes. I liked it a LOT and recommend it. BONUS: This is a GREAT "starter" Gundam. It's short, it's very good, and you don't need to know anything about Gundam going in. There's a few references to prior lore, but they aren't anything major and a newcomer could easily figure it all out from context.

Mobile Suit Gundam F91 (1991) - this is a movie that was originally going to be made into a TV show and it shows, they stuffed far too much into too little time and it suffers for it. So unfortunately this is the first thing on this list I probably wouldn't rec. That said the characters are pretty fun and the ending is very good, so you can do a lot worse if you're bored or a completionist.

Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (1993) - this is what I'm watching right now! I'm a little over halfway done with it. This is all new characters and there are some interesting new concepts. For example the first twenty or so episodes were set on Earth so you got some really gorgeous scenery during mobile suit battles that made those scenes really visually distinctive compared to say, a battle in space. That said it's yet to really "pull me in" the way most other Gundam series did. For now I'm still waiting to see if it will do that or not.

Witch From Mercury - I'm assuming everyone knows what this is. It's gay as fuck, what can I say, and it's the entire reason I fell down into this Hell to begin with. 10/10

[historyisgaypodcast]

46. A Husband is Unnecessary: Yoshiya Nobuko & Japanese Girls' Culture

This episode has EVERYTHING: gay haircuts, yearning, rage against the patriarchy, they were *roommates*....let’s talk about the magical world of Yoshiya Nobuko, girls’ culture, and lesbian fiction in Taishō era Japan! Leigh is joined by guest host Erica Friedman, speaker, editor, researcher and an expert on all things Yuri. Yoshiya Nobuko was an extremely popular writer in 20th century Japan who lived with her beloved female partner for 50 years and her legacy continues today as “the Grandmother of Yuri.”. The tropes and storylines established in her writing can still be seen today in queer girls stories in and outside of Japan– get ready to learn all about modern Japan’s very own Sappho. After all, it’s all in the yearning. 

 Erica Friedman writes about Yuri anime, manga and related media on her blog Okazu, and can be found on Twitter as @okazuyuri, Bluesky as Okazu and @EricaFriedman@mastodon.social 

 Erica’s book By Your Side: The First 100 Years of Yuri Anime and Manga is the first in-depth study of Yuri in English.

Outline

0:00 Introduction 7:29 Socio-Historical Context 24:00 Who Were They? Bio Time 41:36 - 43:42 Content Note: discussion of WWII  48:37 Why Do We Think They’re Gay?: Some More Socio-Historical Context 50:12 - 55:30 Content Note: discussion of pathologizing of homosexuality 55:30 - 58:00 Content Note: discussion of suicides in the news at the time 58:34 Word of The Week: “S Class” 1:06:56 Why Do We Think They’re Gay?: Yoshiya’s Life 1:17:47 Queer Themes in Yoshiya’s Fiction 1:21:30 -1:22:39 Content Note: brief reference to suicide 1:30:07 Pop Culture Tie-Ins 1:36:00 How Gay Were They? 1:37:15 Conclusion and Sign off

 Want to help us continue to make the show? Support us on Patreon and get awesome goodies, behind-the-scenes access, special minisodes, and more! We have a Discord server for everyone to hang out in, exclusive O.G. Lesbian Sappho t-shirts, Pop-Culture Tie-In movie watches, and some really fun extras coming your way! You can also get merch in our store! Shirts, hoodies, totes, mugs, magnets, and other neat things!

 If you’d like to help us transcribe the show for our d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing fans, please head on over to www.historyisgaypodcast.com/transcribe to join the team of volunteers!

 Find our full list of sources and bonus content at www.historyisgaypodcast.com. Find us on Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! Don't forget to rate and review so more folks can see the show!

  Newest episode of History is Gay for your queer ears to enjoy!

[silverlistenstothings]

SPRINTS IN HERE . SILVER . MARLOAKWORTHY.

[Ship Ask Game] MARLOAKWORTHY...... theyre so everything to me

What made you ship it? Singlehandedly episode 43. Suddenly Hermie and Scary had actual chemistry that Normal acknowledged despite still having a crush on Hermie... yeag

What are your favorite things about the ship? 'Two catgirls and their golden retriever boyfriend' is just a really good dynamic you understand. They're narrative foils they're parallels theyre complete opposites. Hermie and Scary are so fun as scene partners and Normal is so agonizingly genuine it just creates a really fun dynamic. And its especially fun bc I dont ship Scary with either of them individually LMAO

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship? IDK what counts as an unpopular opinion other than. shipping them in the first place <3 Its not a big enough ship as far as I know to have opinions that would be considered unpopular. Its our gay little server against the world and all of our opinions are objectively correct.

[keef-a-corn]

Welcome back to Keef rewatching TFP and you just get the notes!

This is Episode 8 of Season 1: Con Job.

I write Timestamps in, but I watch Transformers Prime on Stan (an Australian streaming service) so they may be slightly out of sync.

~~~~Transition~~~~

00:03 - beautiful shot, damn

00:10 - how does Miko not fall off?

00:24 - Optimus slowly opening and closing his mouth reminds me of a fish.

00:44 - mind me, just gonna enjoy Optimus’s voice over and over again.

00:53 - Bulkhead recognising WheelJack’s voice within the second is proof that they’re gay for each other. It’s not up for debate.

00:54 - I’m sorry but Bee’s little step back looks so polite.

00:56 - you can tell Arcee wasn’t thrilled about having to move.

00:59 - Same deal with WheelJack recognising Bulkhead’s voice.

01:00 - that was a dumb question.

01:14 - Optimus saying Wheeljack in a questioning tone is cuter than I expected.

01:34 - Arcee gets it.

01:36 - HE DIDN’T DENY IT, THEY ARE GAY FOR EACH OTHER!

01:52 - how does.. how does Soundwave have access to full body scans of the Autobots?

02:10 - and here we have waisted potential.

~intro~

03:27 - reference to previous episode nice.

03:45 - smart protocol.

03:55 - mmmm s u r e

04:05 - I don’t know how I feel about Bee so silent.

04:57 - go off, queen

06:12 - ✨Jackie✨

06:20 - so Arcee and Bee were useless.

06:35 - I want to punch her so bad. I’ll consider easing up on the Miko slander if someone can give me a good reason as to why she’s such a pain.

06:45 - hah. He looks so short compared to Optimus.

06:52 - I will never get over Optimus’s formality.

06:53 - I Don’t know why I haven’t mentioned it before, but I really like the way the metal actually has a reflection on it.

07:11 - Optimus randomly gets very expressive here, it’s adorable, but kinda sad considering that he’s not talking to the real Wheeljack

07:24 - sexy walk cycles

08:35 - Beautiful scenery ruined by MIKO.

08:48 - I used to be on a netball team with this girl that would throw passes really violently that the rest of the team would be scared to catch it (she caused my fingers to jar multiple times) - it just reminded me of that.

08:55 - SHH BEE BE(E)ING CUTE TIME.

Look at hiiiiim

Actually, look at this scene.

There’s something so precious about Bee sitting on the floor, tapping his knees to the music, while right beside him Ratchet’s working.

08:57 - they’re throwing a circular object at each other, Jack. Take a while guess.

08:58 - Lobbing? Seriously? They were throwing it at each other’s stomachs. Lobs are high passes. I know, I know, they’re saying it’s a Cybertronian thing, but I’m nitpicking.

09:13 - I f o r g o t this part was in here! Raf dancing like a god and Bee’s head popping into frame like a giraffe.

09:17 - Shh… I love it.

09:19 - The moment Bee makes a sound, Ratchet stops what he’s doing to watch.

09:21 - Precious af.

09:25 - Jack’s obviously jealous of the way the two dance otherwise he wouldn’t have changed the subject, prove me wrong.

09:30 - I refuse to believe that. (Not to mention they’re not partying.)

09:34 - Raf and Bee dancing as the ball flies past is unexpectedly funny.

09:35 - that ball was gonna hit the ground.. how did it fly up??

09:37 - quick reaction time from Ratchet, goddamn.

09:38 - the wheels on his elbows were spinning as he moved and started to calm down.

09:39 - I’m surprised he didn’t threaten to kill them. I would’ve.

09:43 - I dunno why, but I really like the animation during this specific line. I think it’s because it’s slightly exaggerated so you can tell he’s annoyed, but it’s kinda comedic too.

09:57 - Ratchet feelin proud of himself at that moment. *Cri* look at hiiim

10:08 - not suspicious at all.

10:42 - This story telling part is weirdly pretty to watch.

11:10 - These two looking fiiiine.

11:13 - how long did it take y’all to realise that the laugh Bee just did was his equivalent to a full body laugh? I’ll tell ya, I only just realised.

11:26 - Bulkhead’s double take when he realised Wheeljack wasn’t paying attention.

11:31 - translation: *concerned boyfriend noises*

12:00 - I’m not the only one that feels uncomfortable from how that line was delivered, right?

12:32 - Reaction image right here.

12:40 - Both of them looking up at Bulkhead is so cute I caaaan’t.

12:42 - Bee just in the corner. Also translation = *skeptical boyfriend nosies*

12:59 - When you say that their legs could kill.

13:46 - So no red flags going off for Miko? Seriously?

14:17 - Now appreciating the way the bots look down.

14:57 - the way his eyes moved

15:02 - live ratchet reaction.

15:11 - Mmm exaggerated movements, my love

15:18 - that has the energy of that one friend stealing a cookie.

15:25 - after all this time.. ALL THIS FUCKING TIME I REALISE THAT IT WASN’T JUST HIS LOWER JAW?!

15:29 - ratchet: 😯

16:29 - there was quite some buildup for that reaction.

17:57 - Gaaah

18:11 - Wheeljack needs some self help books, huh?

18:44 - rude.

19:44 - And he’s dead. Wasted potential.

19:51 - Another beautiful scene.

19:54 - what’d I tell ya? He’s jealous. Can’t dance nearly as well as Raf and Bee.

20:02 - hell yes.

20:10 - He’s so tall

20:32 - fuckin w h a t ?

20:36 - HE’S DOING IT AGAAAAAIN! FUCK OPTIMUS LOOKIN CUTE JUST BECAUSE HE’S VISIBLE HAPPY.

20:44 - Boyfriends.

21:14 - that… sounded weirdly sexual, right?

Mmmmm that was Con Job.

It was pretty alright, not a favourite ep of mine, but I’d rewatch it in a binge.

[notemily]

Well, ladypfenix seems to have blocked me, which is a shame because I adore her stuff about morality in MDZS and would love to read more from her. But before blocking me she reblogged my post and I just wanted to defend myself against some of the things I'm accused of.

For the record this is the post, which I can't reblog because of being blocked.

I keep saying things about what I personally like and people keep interpreting that as me saying that my preferences are objectively better or that I think gay stories are better when they're sexless and subtextual, which is not what I'm saying at all.

(And yeah I'm probably missing some context, but expecting everyone in a fandom to have read every post people make in order to Have All The Context is unrealistic. There are new people joining this fandom all the time with no context whatsoever and it'd be nice if they didn't immediately get attacked for daring to express an opinion.)

As for Wangxian, of course I don't prefer for them to be best friends instead of husbands. I have read many an E rated fanfic about them on Ao3. People accusing me of just wanting sanitized queer stories where nobody has sexual desire are missing the mark. But I do get turned off by things like their first kiss being nonconsensual. "I just couldn't help myself, I had to kiss the guy even though he didn't know who I was" is NOT what I'm looking for in a fictional love interest. The Lan Wangji of The Untamed seems like he wouldn't do that, so I was more drawn to him than the version in the novel.

And yeah, I do think book Wei Wuxian is pretty oblivious. He catches up fast once he realizes what's going on, but as evidenced by the fact that he tells Jiang Cheng that he and Lan Wangji are "just friends" when they're at Lotus Pier near the end of the story, he doesn't realize what's going on for quite a long time. Yeah, there are reasons for that, but again, it's not what I prefer in a romance. And the trope of one person being oblivious while the other is pining is one MXTX seems to like - I'm reading SVSSS now and Shen Qingqiu is similarly unaware of how Luo Binghe feels about him for most of the novel. (And even when he does realize it, I have some trouble buying that he's attracted to Luo Binghe in return.) (Obviously Shen Qingqiu LOVES Luo Binghe, but I've been reading him as gray-ace and I don't think I'm alone in that headcanon.)

Another trope she seems to like is one where the first time the couple has sex is painful for one of them, and I just really don't like that. This DOESN'T mean I think she's wrong to write it or that people who do like it are wrong to like it, just that it's not my thing!

I prefer it when fictional couples both want to kiss each other, and when they take their time and make sure nobody is hurting when they have sex (and use lube). Preferring those things doesn't make me anti-sex or anti-gay. But I was disappointed by those scenes when I read the book, while I wasn't expecting the show to give me any sex scenes at all, so it didn't disappoint me in that sense. (I was disappointed by the show's ending where they separate, but it was ambiguous enough not to bother me too much.)

Anyway. I think the show is remarkably good for how much they had to cut out of the book in order to fit the censorship guidelines, which makes me wonder how much better it could have been if they didn't have to adhere to those. But I do think there's a romance there and it's a romantic show. Subtext isn't text, true, but it's also not nothing. The people making the show clearly knew they were adapting a romance, and the relationship between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji is the heart of the show.

Anyone who thinks the part with "the feeling of sticking to the single log bridge is indeed not bad" isn't a romantic scene because they don't explicitly get together later... I just do not get that. (Some people have even pinpointed the part in the show where they are implied to get together - it's in episode 43 - and yeah it's not explicit, but it's there if you look for it.)

Anyway now that I'm blocked by half the fandom I'll go back to shutting up, at least until the next time I get it into my head to Have Opinions, which is clearly not allowed around here.

[llycaons]

the wo/t podcasters are talking about the concept of rest and recovery in longform action/fantasy stories and how not putting in periods of rest/relaxation/contentment/socialization/joy ruins the pacing and makes the story exhausting to read which is one of those things that I've never thought about but once I heard about it i was like oh duh of course that would make sense

[paladinsbrainrot]

Hi! I'm doing an analysis of episode 5 of Stranger Things season 3 (the scenes that take place in the hospital from 38:20 to 43:30) and since I really like your analyses which I always find very relevant, I wanted to ask you for your opinion or to hear your own analysis on this scene! But I would understand very well if you don't have the time or the desire to do it, don't worry. (1/2)

I just want to say thank you so much for the asks. I never planned on analyzing this scene but I am so thankful that you asked this because oh my god, there is so much to unpack here and I was definitely mind blown. I didn't want to make two seperate posts so I'm just going to include the other ask you sent right here.

I’m going to start analyzing right when Mike tries to get the KitKat from the vending machine. I have mentioned this before, but I’m going to mention it again.

There are three candies, Skittles, KitKat, and Reese’s. Skittles is pretty self explanatory, it’s slogan is “taste the rainbow”, and in this case, is a metaphor for Mike being gay because the rainbow is the official flag of LGBTQ+

Next we have KitKat, which there is not much to analyze, except it’s slogan is “have a break, have a KitKat”, and a break for Mike is definitely needed. However, Mike doesn’t end up getting a break from El, because he goes to talk to her in the next scene, and doesn’t appear to have the KitKat anymore. In fact, he has M&M’s instead. It seemed like he had his eyes on the KitKat though.

And right next to the KitKat is Reese’s pieces, Will’s favourite candy. Will even ends up taking a Reese’s pieces from the vending machine later on in the episode.

There is also a Snickers bar slightly off screen, and the slogan of Snickers is literally “you’re not you when you’re hungry.” Meaning, Mike’s not himself when he’s with El. He’s being a completely different person just for her. He’s not him.

In this scene, Reese’s pieces represent Will, and the KitKat represents Mike. If you take a moment to look at the item codes, 3 and 4, you’ll see that they add up to 7, which has been a number associated with Mike and Will often. If you also put the two D’s together, it makes D&D, another symbolic thing in their relationship.

The prices of the candies are also interesting. If you add up the prices of Reese’s pieces and the KitKt, 5 + 6 makes 11.

Moving on, the vending machine doesn’t seem to work. However, El uses her powers to give Lucas and Mike all the candy that they want.

And then, Lucas says this:

“Oh my god, you’re hopeless” parallels to the scene in season one episode six “Sometimes your total obliviousness just blows my mind.”

In the scene between Dustin and Mike, they are referring to Lucas. In the scene between Lucas and Mike, they are referring to El. They are comparing Mike and Lucas’ relationship with Mike and El’s relationship, furthermore proving that Mike and El do not have a romantic relationship.

I’d also like to point out that Lucas grabs all of the Skittles, and Mike doesn’t grab any. Remember, Skittles represent Mike being gay. Lucas taking away the Skittles from Mike is a metaphor for taking away his homosexuality, because he talks to his heterosexual partner, El, in the next scene, not expressing any signs of homosexuality.

If you’ve been following me for awhile, you’ll know what I’m trying to get at in the next scene.

And if you haven’t picked up on it, there is Coke in the background. I’m not entirely sure if the advertisement is for New Coke or regular Coke, so it’s hard to say whether this represents M!leven or Byler. 

However, there is no doubt there is both M!leven and Byler in this scene.

If you are new to my blog and do not know what the New Coke metaphor is, then I suggest you check out my analysis on that here. To sum it up, the New Coke reference in episode seven represents M!leven and Byler. M!leven being regular coke, and Byler being New Coke (Byler being “Sweeter, bolder, better” - Lucas’ words not mine)

Coke is not the only drink in the series having a hidden meaning. They also use different type of drinks as a metaphor for other things in the series. For example, they used the drink “Crush” for Will, as a metaphor for him having a crush on Mike.

So, what does this mean?

There is Sprite in the background.

Now, just like the drink Crush, Sprite also has another metaphorical meaning. 

Will has been associated with fairies before. So, the Sprite represents Will. To make things even more obvious, the Sprite is in the exact place where Will was sitting just a couple of seconds ago. 

Not to mention the rainbows on Max’s shirt, which are also in frame of the scene. This represents Will being gay as well.

Later on, Mike gives El M&M’s.

What colour are the M&M’s? Red and green.

What colour is Coke and Sprite associated with? Red and green.

I’m still not entirely sure if the Coke advertisement in the background was New Coke or regular Coke, but since New Coke represents Byler, and New Coke was directly paired with Sprite in this scene (which represents Will), it’s safe to say that the advertisement was for New Coke.

So, Mike gives El red and green M&M’s. The funny thing is, red M&M’s were not produced in the 80's. They were discontinued from 1976 to 1987. Stranger Things is a smart production. They wouldn’t include a red M&M for nothing. Of course, this could be a simple mistake in filming, but for a production who gets the smallest details nailed down to the point, this feels like something they wouldn’t ignore for no reason. This was intentional.

Anddddd..... I think it’s a nice coincidence that 1976 (the year red M&M’s were discontinued) is also a special year for Byler. This is the year Mike and Will turned 5 years old, and went to kindergarten. The first day of kindergarten is when Mike asked Will to be his friend.

During the M&M scene, Mike is also paralleled to Hopper.

This is once again directly comparing El and Mike’s relationship to El and Hopper’s. It’s non-romantic. I can’t begin to explain the countless times Mike and El have been referred to as father/daughter, siblings and cousins.

During the scene where Mike compliments El about her new look, El eats a green M&M. The green M&M represents Sprite, and Sprite represents Will, so this is referring to Will in some way.

And the last reference in this scene is the rainbow mug which the nurse has on her desk, another possible reference for gay relationships/Byler.

I’d analyze the phone conversation going on between the nurse and the person on the other line, but as I am writing this @ghostgirlinsatin​ also posted her analysis on this scene, and she did a great job of analyzing the phone call and I have nothing else to add onto it, so I recommend you read it here

[lonelier-version-of-you]

Just about to rewatch S20E28 “Into The Light”, ft. Dr. Ethan Hardy. Also with major storylines for both my fucked up queer king and my very slightly less fucked up queer king, yet I don’t think they share a single scene in this episode. Wild. They probably did have one that got cut for being too gay or something.

Edit 1: John just screaming in the peace garden is extremely relatable.

Edit 2: I forgot Becky Prestwich and Nick Fisher wrote this one. I don’t know who I thought wrote it but it wasn’t them.

Edit 3: Henrik in his getting therapy era!!!

Edit 4: Oh fuck, not John lying to Jac about the other trial patients.

Edit 5: Essie!!

Edit 6: “You [Rox and John] work well together, you always have.” I think there’s definitely a place you’d like John and Rox to work together, Henrik... ;)

Edit 7: Not Rox also lying to Henrik about the trial though.

Edit 8: Oh fuck, Raf’s dad and Henrik meeting each other.

Edit 9: Guy!! Fucking!! Henry!!

Edit 10: Oh hi Ethan!

Edit 11: Ethan Hardy, canonical Doctor Who fan, sharing scenes with Paul McGann is HILARIOUS.

Edit 12: The patient is Ritchie the lawyer from Eastenders apparently. I didn’t recognise her but my mom pointed it out.

Edit 13: Ethan trying to get involved with the trial was a great idea and really realistic.

Edit 14: Henrik wearing all purple. Bi king.

Edit 15: Now I can only see the patient as Ritchie Scott, send help.

Edit 16: Roxanna looking gorgeous.

Edit 17: Donna’s ex Jared mention!

Edit 18: “John, where have you gone...?” “I’m thinking.” More like ‘I’m dissociating’.

Edit 19: John intimidating Rox when she asks if he’s lied to her, in a similar way as Henrik would intimidate Sahira. Interesting.

Edit 20: This Henrik and Essie scene :’))

Edit 21: Kaye Wragg is incredible.

Edit 22: Acknowledgement of Essie’s diabetes!

Edit 23: I love Henrik being gentle.

Edit 24: Rox snooping around in the lab again!

Edit 25: I could listen to Roxanna’s voice all day.

Edit 26: Donna in her plastics era!

Edit 27: Raf’s dad talking to the statue :’) And Henrik going down there too :’)) And GUY HENRY’S ACTING :’))

Edit 28: If the rumours I’ve heard about Ollie on Casualty are right, I hope it’s handled as well for David as the first year or so of Henrik’s reaction to Fredrik was.

Edit 29: Ethan :((

Edit 30: George Rainsford giving a good performance.

Edit 31: Kaye Wragg is BRILLIANT.

Edit 32: Henrik being alexithymic. And the show being possibly the most explicit about his alexithymia they ever have been.

Edit 33: If someone had just got John psychiatric help ages ago...

Also, it’s funny how the scenes are switching between Henrik and John but they still aren’t actually sharing a scene.

Edit 34: Donna being worried about letting her kids down :(

Edit 35: Paul McGann saying the words “Ethan Hardy” sfsfsfsfsfsf

Edit 36: What the fuck John.

Edit 37: Guy Henry’s pronunciation of “olycksfågel” is so awkward.

Edit 38: Roxanna apologising for not being able to get Ethan on the trial. Awww.

Edit 39: Ethan in this episode might actually be the best Casualty character cameo they’ve ever had. They utilised him so well.

Edit 40: “I had to try.”

Edit 41: It’s so odd that Casualty didn’t mention when the truth about Gaskell came out. They’re very valid for ignoring that storyline, obviously, but with Ethan pinning his hopes on the trial... it seems weird they didn’t mention when it all turned out to be medical malpractice.

Edit 42: “Well, you certainly never gave that impression... you always seemed so competent. So in control.” See? See? Henrik didn’t know a single thing about Roxanna, nor did she know anything about him really. They weren’t soulmates. He had an idea, a perfect version of her in his head that he idolised. That’s it.

I do love the “this is how we wrestle back control” speech though.

Edit 43: Roxanna being all cute and geeky.

Edit 44: Henrik in this episode has “other people are easier to fix” energy.

Edit 45: Dom hugging Essie.

Edit 46: Henrik: “Mr. Copeland has it in him to... connect.” Raf’s dad: “We all do.” Henrik: “...Perhaps.”

Relatable autism moment.

Edit 47: Jac: “Whatever you [John] did has worked so far.” :(

Edit 48: Raf’s dad’s little speech to Essie :’))

Edit 49: Ethan was more likeable in this episode than he was in Casualty in 2018.

Edit 50: Awww, Donna giving her patient a manicure!

Edit 51: Rox: “How does that make you feel?” John: “You sound like a therapist.”

Also absolutely laughing my ass off at Rox criticising John for his “moody, secretive silence”.

Edit 52: Society if Rox had killed John instead of the other way around.

Edit 53: Henrik doing his therapy worksheet. We love a man trying his best.

Edit 54: Henrik asks Rox out in a very similar way to how he asks John out in S20E41.

Also, Johnrik TECHNICALLY sharing a scene here, but no actual interaction. And a Hexanna cheek kiss, which is more than we ever got for any other Henrik relationship. :(

Edit 55: Rox screaming in the peace garden. Me too, Rox, me too.

And John looming over Essie for no identifiable reason.

[hopefulobjectmiracle]

it’s kind of ridiculous that two of the most pivotal moments of 6x08 - abuela reconciling with santana and finally accepting her, as well as kurt and blaine getting married - were both engineered by sue sylvester. i’m not sure if this is unpopular or not, but in my opinion, sue’s involvement takes away most of the gravitas and emotional impact of what could've been two of glee’s most important scenes. 

despite being a huge klaine shipper, i felt no happiness when they decided to get married because the decision wasn’t entirely theirs. don’t get me wrong, i don’t think they were forced or manipulated into it, and i know they wouldn’t have done it if they didn’t want to, but it’s still not a decision that they came to on their own. it wasn’t their moment and they didn’t get to own it. we didn’t even fucking see how or why kurt said yes!! i was insanely let down by the way that it went down and i would've been more satisfied if they’d told sue to fuck off and chosen not to get married in the ep. i hate just about everything to do with klaine in 6x08, but sue being the one to tell them to get married was the cherry on the top of the disappointment cake. 

and the abuela storyline...god that one is even worse. i would've been fine with the ending of 6x06, because it showed brittana standing together as partners and proving to abuela that their love is stronger than her bigotry. it showed santana finally standing up to abuela and showing her that she was the strong latina woman that she was always meant to be. imo, it was the perfect representation for queer kids whose families have not and will not ever accept them, and i think it helped a lot of people who were in this situation. 

however...glee wanted to go for those big, happy endings. and even though it wouldn’t be my first choice, i can’t begrudge them for wanting to give santana her abuela back in her final episode bc really, how often do queer girls get to have that happy fairytale ending? i don’t blame glee for bringing abuela back even if it wasn’t the most realistic thing to happen. 

what really bothers me is how they chose to go about it. abuela didn’t come to the wedding on her own. it wasn’t santana and brittany’s powerful speech that compelled her to come. it wasn’t another family member, like santana’s mother or father, who convinced her to put aside her prejudice and come reunite with her granddaughter. no, it was fucking sue sylvester. 

it was sue, the woman who made santana’s life hell, who made her come though her BS reverse psychology. sue, who santana hated and didn’t even want at her wedding, was able to convince alma to come in five minutes when santana herself couldn’t do so in three years. what kind of message does that send? if they wanted to do a reconciliation storyline, why didn’t they allow santana, her family, or brittany to be the one to push down those walls and bring her abuela back to her? 

why did so much of this episode have to center around sue when she shouldn’t even have been at that wedding? why weren’t we allowed to see kurt, blaine, santana, and brittany own their narratives in the episode where they committed to spend their lives with each other? it’s funny how the purpose of this double wedding was to push ‘gay marriage good!! go LGBT 🤪’ yet it removed the agency of so many of its queer characters in the span of 43 minutes in order to allow a character (that no one cared about past the first half of season one) to take the spotlight away from them. 

[bipirate]

fma and/or cql?

FMA:

My rating (1-10): 8.5, it's really not perfect but it's so dear to my heart i can't score it lower than an 8. i've definitely grown more critical of its political messages over the years, but when i watched fmab for the first time i was Obsessed and it's been very important to me ever since. it also got me into anime and that's why it was also unlike anything i'd ever seen before

My favourite character: ed....... i am a simple man. but i also really love ling and scar and greed

My least favourite character: kimblee...... he was very well written but i'd squash that little rat under my boot if i could

The character I think I'd be friends with: oh so many! ed and al, ling, lan fan, and paninya and winry. probably also greed because i think he's hilarious. i wanted to say hawkeye but i probably wouldnt be friends with war criminals lmao

The character I think I won't hit off with: file roy mustang under gay people i don't respect

My favourite episode/scene: i love the whole gluttony's stomach arc and especially at the end where ed opens the doorway and sees al's body... that hit me like a truck when i first watched it. also the scene where al sacrifices himself for ed and ed sacrifices his alchemy to get al back. al using the philosopher's stone in his battle against pride and kimblee. the briggs arc is fantastic as well.

Whose clothing style I like best: ed, i love my edgy son

Times I watched it (and if I would again): i've lost count.... i actually watched it twice in a row when i first watched it, then i watched 03, then i watched fmab again, read the manga, and i've rewatched 03 twice and fmab multiple times since then. my guess is i've watched fmab 7 times? and i would definitely rewatch it again (and im currently rereading it)

CQL

My rating (1-10) 9.5..... i can't rate it a perfect 10 bc i frankly think no media deserves that and cql has its imperfections in the writing and the handling of its female characters, but i don't think i've ever watched a show that had this much of an emotional impact on me. it truly has so much heart and you can tell every single person working on it had so much passion for it.

My favourite character: lan wangji my beloved, wei wuxian and wen qing

My least favourite character: jin zixun. go king give us nothing

The character I think I'd be friends with: lan wangjiiii lan wangji. also nie huaisang and mianmian

The character I think I won't hit off with: jiang cheng

My favourite episode/scene: episode 42 and 43 make me go insane. special mention to wwx's death scene in episode 33 because it's truly one of the best scenes of the show imo

Whose clothing style I like best: wei wuxian style icon

Times I watched it (and if I would again): once again i've lost count. i think. 5? and i think i'll be rewatching this show until i die so

[that-bl-bitch]

I posted 9,395 times in 2021

31 posts created (0%)

9364 posts reblogged (100%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 302.1 posts.

I added 110 tags in 2021

#bad buddy - 41 posts

#bad buddy the series - 39 posts

#lovely writer - 7 posts

#futs - 4 posts

#lovely writer the series - 4 posts

#boys lockdown - 3 posts

#blih: id - 3 posts

#i promised you the moon - 3 posts

#ipytm - 3 posts

#genesib - 3 posts

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#yeah wtf is going on with keam cause um sir i would like that to be explored way more the crumbs im getting its just not enough to satisfy

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

I really like Mork I wasn't expecting him to be so nice and genuine, from the synopsis (I watched the trailer too but months ago so I had no memory of it, all I could recall was that I vaguely remembered enemies to lovers) it made it seem like Mork was just as in love with Nan as Pi is so during the wiping of the hand scene happened I was expecting him to be mean and have ulterior motives so when he offered to buy another box I was like 'hmmm what's your plan here bub' but very quickly realized (I think in the very next scene, which they shared) that Mork liked Pi from the get go and Pi is just out here going around assuming Mork likes Nan cause they hang out a bunch, but Pi is just so focus on his crush on Nan that he can't see that Mork isn't trying to malicious with his actions and with the way Mork went about the picture thing I can see how Pi would look at that as something he was trying to do on purpose especially with his one track mindset of 'Mork likes Nan therefore he hates me and is after me'

A n y w a y s really no point of this I just wasn't expecting Mork to be like this and I'm just pleasantly surprised, I got hopes that this show is gonna be good one so I'm just a wee bit excited, excited enough to make pointless post about it apparently, also is it just me or is this giving off a bit of My gear and your gown vibe? Also not sure if anyone else clocked this or how important it is but when Mork was folding clothes he was folding kids clothes little girl clothes to be specific so that means a younger sister so maybe a cute scene or something having to deal with that in the future mayhaps

and another thing I feel like it would criminal not mention just how cute and nice Mix is in this, I had completely forgot he was even going to be in this cause I watched the trailer before I really cared who he was and before I got completely obsessed with atots, he is such a good actor it's wild

35 notes • Posted 2021-04-10 12:10:24 GMT

#4

I'm sorry but the only thing I want to do is scream about papa and daddy, episode two when they show how they met and how they ended up getting together was the cutest thing I've ever witnessed and I'm not sure it can be topped, plus a cute lesbian couple who are also planning on having a kid it's just wholesome gay relationships all around. Ugh it's so gooooood

38 notes • Posted 2021-04-24 15:33:58 GMT

#3

I would sell my first born child to be able to watch ep 7 right this very second

49 notes • Posted 2021-12-04 23:22:58 GMT

#2

also just the way pran did that with his friends around, I mean I know they were probably farther away near the bus probably but pran went from being worried that someone would see them talking at the university to licking his finger on a beach full of architect students and not giving a fuck

83 notes • Posted 2021-12-04 17:01:02 GMT

#1

Also can we talk about what a fucking queen Pa is like she runs the store when her parents aren't there and not just like a "we're just running out for 5 mins watch the shop" it sounds like she actually knows what shes talking about and what to do seems like she does all the fucking laundry in the house or at the very least hers and Pats she even went as far as going all the way to Pats dorm to do his laundry at one point like fucking queen and only in high school that queen

113 notes • Posted 2021-11-12 22:25:43 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[historyisgaypodcast]

Episode 40: Real-Life Xenas: Warrior Women Across the World

Happy 2022 and welcome to another episode of History is Gay! This time, we’re picking up where we left off with Meghan Rose and S.C. Lucier in our discussion of Amazons and real-life warrior women in history! It’s not just the Greco-Roman world that marveled at fierce, strong female fighters, but all over the world! This episode, we’re visiting Benin, Africa to learn about the real-life dora milaje of Black Panther fame, the gender-bending Dahomey Amazons; badass female samurai defending their homesteads in Japan, and Viking shieldmaidens and mythical Valkyries– who may have been a third gender? Strap-in for a whirlwind worldwide tour of gender transgression and badass real-life Xenas we want to see all the movies about!

You can learn more about our guest hosts Meg and Luce, Xena: Warrior Musical, and more of their forthcoming projects at www.xenawarriormusical.com, @XenatheMusical on Twitter, and @XenaWarriorMusical on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube!

  Outline 0:00 – Introduction 4:27 – Announcements 7:51 – Follow-Up from Last Episode 12:48 – Main Topic: Warrior Women Across the World 13:33 – Word of the Week 18:54 – Amazon-Like Women in Africa: Dahomey Amazons/mino 43:22-44:13 – Content warning: Discussion of slave trade 46:22 – Amazon-Like Women in Japan: onna-bugeisha 1:06:50 – Amazon-Like Women in Scandinavia: the Vikings! 1:30:48 – Pop-Culture Tie-In 1:33:43 – How Gay were They? 1:39:07 – Closing and Where to Find us Online

Want to help us continue to make the show? Support us on our NEWLY REVAMPED Patreon and get awesome goodies, behind-the-scenes access, special minisodes, and more! We have a brand-new Discord server for everyone to hang out in, exclusive O.G. Lesbian Sappho t-shirts, and some really fun extras coming your way! You can also get super cool merch in our store! Shirts, hoodies, totes, a coloring book, and other neat things.

If you’d like to help us transcribe the show for our d/Deaf and hard of hearing fans, please head on over to www.historyisgaypodcast.com/transcribe to join the team of volunteers! Find our full list of sources and bonus content at www.historyisgaypodcast.com. Get at us on Twitter and Instagram @historyisgaypod, Tumblr at historyisgaypodcast, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! Don't forget to rate and review so more folks can see the show!

Newest episode of History is Gay for your queer ears to enjoy!

[silkchiffoner]

I posted 210 times in 2021

30 posts created (14%)

180 posts reblogged (86%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 6.0 posts.

I added 220 tags in 2021

#lexisreblogs? - 63 posts

#trese - 23 posts

#lexiravesabouttrese - 23 posts

#reblog - 21 posts

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#trese netflix - 21 posts

#lexigushes - 15 posts

#lexiravesaboutwhatif - 15 posts

#yes - 9 posts

#reblogs - 9 posts

Longest Tag: 119 characters

#i am so glad that trese was made interesting without a love interest because she is interesting without a love interest

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

cabin 7 headcanon

The Apollo cabin has a band called "Lester and the Lonely Hearts Club" they perform covers and originals

(Apollo swings by to join performances when he can ;)

47 notes • Posted 2021-03-02 13:18:46 GMT

#4

istg this probably happened at some point

Aang: I like Katara!

Sokka: Congratulations. You are officially the last one to know.

52 notes • Posted 2021-01-14 04:43:09 GMT

#3

MISS EMISSARY, PLEASE DATE ALEXANDRA TRESE, OR I WILL.

thank you <3

59 notes • Posted 2021-06-15 06:21:54 GMT

#2

alexa, play "girls" by girl in red

trese + pride flag icons :))

(i've never made icons before so i'm sorry if they have a bit of the background showing)

flags in order: bisexual flag, lesbian flag, pansexual flag, sapphic flag, and lastly the original icons (credit to @holyshxtangel for the original pic :))

See the full post

107 notes • Posted 2021-06-13 09:57:00 GMT

#1

HELLO IFINISHED SEASON 1 OF TRESE AND I NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

• OKAY THE INTRO? BEAUTIFUL.

• baby alex is so cute i cant-

• butbutBUT, Alex's mom is SUCH. A. MILF.

• the kambal? amazing.

• the wind girls are so cute and amazing yalls

• i do believe that Alex is a lesbian? yes. am i saying that because i have a huge gay crush on her? you have no proof of that so-

• DARREN CRISSSSS!!!! YESYESYES

• RIP CAPT. GURRERO I RLLY LIKED HIM YALLS

• Hank and Nova dcbhcbyebevb

• NUNO BEING THE TRAITOR-

• I LIKED HIM >:O

• but like shay mitchell as alex was okay, but like,, when shay was chanting, or saying tagalog words,,, it was really uhm, it sounded kinda terrible ngl. IM SORRY I JUST NEEDED TO GET THAT OUT-

• anton and what he did to sinag was- it was weird.

• EVIL ALEX WAS SO HOT YALL-

• SHE WAS SO BADASS IN THE FIGHT SCENES

• ALSO LIKE THE END CREDITS OF THE LAST EPISODE? I SENSE SEASON TWO SO KEEP STREAMING TRESE YALLZ

TL;DR: the show was great, i recommend you watch it when you can, and i'm gay for alexandra trese.

okay adios, flameo hotmen!

127 notes • Posted 2021-06-11 14:18:48 GMT

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[s1i9d]

Miraculous Ladybug: Season 4 Trailer Breakdown

Yes it is the time to be alive, which is Ladybug. It's been about a year and a half since the show returned (excluding the New York and Shanghai Specials) And the official YouTube Channel has released the trailer for Season 4! Find the video here!

Now this post will contain spoilers for Season 4. If you do not want to be spoiled about the 4th Season (especially 401 & 402), do not go further. If you do not want to learn future episode names and episode content, do not read further.

I have seen the first two episodes of Season 4 (401 "Truth" and 402 "Lies") but I haven't seen the other episode released. (406 "Furious Fu") I will not watch it until 403 to 405 release officially. So please no spoilers for any episodes beyond 401 and 402 in the messages.

SPOILERS FOR SEASON 3 & 4 OF MIRACULOUS LADYBUG

00:01 - 00:04 - A monk-type person seems to be jumping rooftops on Paris. I identify this as a Tibetan Monk from the Temple we saw in "Feast". That's a discussion for later.

00:05 - 00:08 - Marinette opens the new Miraculous Box. We saw this in 401 "Truth". We saw that it opens like that because of Marinette being the new Guardian: she is full of surprises and the Miracle Box does reflect that. One thing I do find interesting is when the Miracle Box opens with all the Kwamis coming out, each sector of the Miracle Box has its own colour and its own pocket universe. So perhaps the ultimate "Ladybug is Pokemon" argument is real.

00:09 - 00:11 - Adrien points Marinette to a door in their school, and it leads to what seems to be a green energy room. It reminds me of a portal, but I have no idea what this portal does. It's maybe the most cryptic thing in Ladybug's history as a show, right next to Gabriel and what happened to Emilie.

00:12 - 00:27 - Things from "Truth" and "Lies". Romance drama stuff sandwiched between Gabriel repairing the Peacock Miraculous. Nothing really to say here, so let's move on.

00:28 - 00:29 - Marinette and the Startrain. I don’t know where this is from, but we’ll wait and see.

00:30 - 00:32 - Marinette and a new character in Francois Dupont's art Studio with Thomas (director of the Ladybug Movie in "Animaestro"), Alya, Nino, Ivan and Mylène. Zoe and Marinette look at each other with Marinette's hand on Zoe's shoulder. I would say "THAT'S GAY" but this is Miraculous Ladybug, so not happening.

00:33 - 00:34 - Alya pulls in Marinette for a hug as she seems to be feeling low. All of their girl friends join in to hug Marinette. This is one of my favourite parts of Ladybug with Marinette and her friend group.

00:35 - 00:42 - "Truth" and "Lies".

00:43 - 00:46 - The Kwamis reluctantly return to the Miracle Box as the Monk in the beginning of the trailer summons them all back. He seems to be trying to take away the Miracle Box from Marinette since she seems to be suprised by what is happening. Perhaps she isn't a full realised Guardian, so they believe she doesn't deserve to be the Guardian.

00:47 - 00:59 - Truth and a bunch of ShadowMoth stuff. (Small note here, he is absolutely fabulous and rocking the new look.)

01:00 - 01:01 - Ladybug throws her Yo-Yo on the Rooftop of a building. I don't know what this is.

01:02 - 01:10 - ShadowMoth and "Truth".

01:11 - 01:12 - Rena Rouge is casting an illusion spell. This is actually interesting since I didn't think Alya would ever be Rena Rouge again! Since Chloe revealed all the non-Ladybug and Chat's hero identities, they would have to stop being Miraculous holders. But if the justification is that Chloe is making all of it up for attention, it would work since no one believes her.

01:13 - 01:15 - The Monk is trying to fight Ladybug and Chat on a rooftop. Seems fun.

01:17 - 01:24 - A bunch of clips from that new girl being the Bee Miraculous holder?? There's her transformation sequence, her jumping on rooftops, even fighting what seems to be a Gorilla sentimonster? If I'm correct, this is probably "Queen Banana" where Chloe gets akumatised to defeat Ladybug and Chat Noir.

01:25 - 01:26 - Timebreaker, Horrificator, Reflekta and Princess Fragrance are all roaming around the city of Paris. I think this somehow ties in to the original hug with Marinette, Alya and the girl group. Maybe Marinette is too busy for them, and they want to help but she can't let them in because of her identity and responsibility as Ladybug and the Guardian. Perhaps they get Akumatised because they think Marinette doesn't trust them.

01:27 - 01:30 - Aside from a small clip from "Truth", there's a whole freaking pink portal that Ladybug and Chat are swimming through! It seems related to that scene with Adrien pointing to the door in their school.

01:30 - 01:32 - Lady Wifi is releasing pent up frustration and anguish so strong that it actually breaks her connection with ShadowMoth. Who is seen kneeling on the ground in agony. This is an insane amount of emotion, even for Alya.

01:33 - 01:34 - "Lies"

01:35 - 01:36 - A bolt of red lightning crashes down to the football stadium Ladybug and Chat Noir are in. There is a frame where you can see the Monk, and Ladybug is holding the Miracle Box. So I wouldn't be surprised if these were the same episode.

01:37 - 01:39 - We get a glimpse of Rose's transformation sequence!!! I love Rose so much, and seeing new heroes is always spectacular.

01:39 - 01:46 - New sequences, and a charm of sorts that looks like a bee??? I think this is a car key to summon whichever Miraculous Ladybug wants, without having to go back to her house to get it.

Fun! Exciting! Can't wait for more!!!