#but is he contextually and canonically queer

[purplecladmerchant]

I'm calling this Eldermourne relisten. WAIT IS ZIRK STRAIGHT?! And I'll let you know if Zirk is or isn't canonically queer.

[morningfangirl]

The Room Where It Happens absolutely gutted me emotionally. I went from screaming laughing about Ian saying he could get Poppy pregnant to sobbing just a couple minutes later.

Poppy avoiding the hard conversations under the guise of wanting to set her boundaries. Ian not understanding how what he did was selfish and genuinely thinking he was doing a good thing for Poppy. Ian knowing he doesn't fit in (like Poppy struggles to fit), but not caring because he thinks Poppy will always be there, and begging to do anything. Poppy not throwing Ian's own family in his face because she doesn't want to hurt him, but she also fully realized how Mythic Quest limits her instead of just wanting power and control like seasons 1 and 2.

Contextualizing this episode within everything we know about canon digs even deeper. Poppy doesn't know adulthood (and really doesn't know life in America) away from Ian's influence. She dropped out of MIT at nineteen to be Ian's programmer. They've been working together for a decade and a half, and Poppy has only been given somewhat of a platform to be Ian's equal for roughly a third of that time.

In terms of writing I loved it, character growth is an important aspect for most types of stories, but also I like Poppy and Ian's toxically co-dependent queer platonic relationship.

[camerainbow]

Eddie Diaz Rant (Buddie included) *hopecore*

This is a long one but it’s pretty straightforward

I know the Buddies are upset by the finale but if we are assuming Buddie will become canon I’m kind of glad Eddie will have his support network in person when he starts to figure himself out and doesn’t have to confront how repressed he has been when in his former hometown (and away from Buck).

I think it’s a good thing to show people that you can figure out parts of yourself in your chosen home instead, I’m glad he got Chris back so that Buddie can be coparents as they’ve been set up to potentially be.

Yes the PR tour of Buddie stuff now feels like a distraction to that finale but I think it was kind of like: don’t lose hope Buddie shippers, even if it’s not now, it will happen. Grief doesn’t have to be the thing that causes you to find yourself (or realize someone is your partner who you hadn’t considered before) and it seems kinder to have Eddie figuring out himself in a later stage of grief after rebuilding his life in his ideal home: Los Angeles.

I do agree the El Paso storyline did feel like a lot for just getting Chris back but at least Eddie now knows his most supportive family is his chosen family (and Aunt Pepa as a more fitting maternal figure than what is in Texas, and someone who can step into the void Bobby’s death created within his support network). Also we got that great episode from the moving storyline of Buck supporting Eddie by subletting from him and he didn’t have to lose Chris’/his home when he sacrificed stuff to get his son. The progression of Buddie seemed stilted with the absence of Chris if I’m being honest, I’m looking forward to them in person again.

Buddie not being partners through the 118 in next season means they get to contextualize their relationship in a different way than before which is exciting(!) and I think Eddie will realize better the depth of Bucks love for him without the partner label. Also out and proud homosexual Hen being his medic partner (if we assume Chimney as Cap) will be exciting and I hope we see more of their relationship like we did in 8x17 (clearly the best episode of late S8). We might get to see more of Eddie channeling Bobby to find “another way” when presented with only two options during an emergency (though I see Chim also channeling Bobby).

I’m personally so glad we avoided the awkwardness of having to see the logistics of Eddie going back, selling that house, and Buck being asked to leave. Though yes I am mourning a sooner Buddie roommates reality :/

Once we saw the direction they were going with the El Paso storyline I kind of dreaded a rushed feelings realization if there was gonna be one in S8. I’m happy it will be explored more in depth and not be a sudden moment/cliffhanger, it feels more honest to the character. Even though it frustrates me as we grow more and more impatient. But we must remember Buck has only been canonically queer since S7, and they have only been on ABC for two seasons now. Queer slow-burn storylines when both of the characters begin their character arcs on the show as “canonically” (assumed) straight have to take longer than other slow-burns by design (for the general audience to accept).

After seeing the Buddie argument in the kitchen, I think the aftermath of Chris visiting creating the impression of it being all better would be a little too storybook. And although I didn’t really care for the regression of Buck’s feelings in this finale episode (he shut down again seeing his 118 family not heeled since he knew Eddie was leaving still), it did feel real for him to still be processing the grief and loss of his old normal.

The amount of shifting around (Chim to Captain, Eddie back but working with Hen presumably, hopefully more Buck Ravi bestie-ism) will be very interesting to watch in S9!

Most of what I’m worried about is honestly Athena’s storyline since we didn’t really see her actual thought process for selling the house, I don’t know how we will see them (her and the 118) interact in the future out side of work, we can assume they will be a family but since not every shift includes police response, will she be getting less screen time?

Let’s remain hopeful to the possibilities! I think this set up allows us to process Bobby’s death more over the hiatus and doesn’t use a queer storyline for shock value in a finale!

I totally understand anyone who steps away from the show for their own mental wellness, it’s a lot if you feel strung along, but there’s always hope as the show is not over. Be kind to yourself and don’t fall into a spiral of doom if you can help it <3

[evansbuck-ley]

yk what i have been thinking about? the bucktommy beginning was sm about tommy teaching and showing buck new things. and it felt so romantic and hot. but now 8x06 has recontexualized everything in a bad way. 😩

it seems like they never had any casual talks about buck's newly discovered queerness. just, yk, hey, how are you feeling two months into this relationship? do you still have moments where you worry what others might think? buck put a rainbow emoji in his public instagram account during pride, has queer friends, and... he apparently did nothing with his personal queer revelations?

they apparently also never talked about exes and what they did in their lives before meeting and how they want their lives to look like in their future and their personal boundaries and and and... like, you ask those big questions (family plans, financial situation, hobbies, job situation, etc.) in the dating phase, which is before you actually commit to a person in an exclusive monogamous way! why invest in a relationship when you don't even ask if the other is looking for something long-term lol?

the fact that 8x06 also confirmed that they spend a lot of time together just makes things worse because 1.) what the fuck have you been doing all this time then, both individually and together, and 2.) then it makes even less sense for buck to ask tommy to move in or for tommy to break up immediately or for both wanting to reach out because how did they even reach the 6 month mark without talking? without learning anything of importance about each other and themselves?

it makes canon bucktommy look like every other shallow short-term fling that buck had so far. could have simply been fuck buddies and they would have had the same level of knowledge about each other after 6 months. just hate how this one episode retrospectively fucked over canon bucktommy in so many different ways ☹️

8x06 is straight up trash. fact.

if they had always planned for them to break up they could have done it SO much better and not leave a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. And you are right, contextually it makes the whole six months they were together seem so…meh.

and as much as people joke about buck speed running his bisexual awakening, since the first initial story line, has anyone really acknowledged it? are you telling me that hen has not even spoken to buck about what this all means to him? wdym known research freak evan buckley didn’t spent all night after tommy kissed him deep diving into this whole new side to him. they simply said “look he is bi and now has a boyfriend” and moved on. they don’t even SAY the word bisexual in the show. which is just fucking insane to me. they just skate around it in such a horrendous way.

and don’t even get me started on the Abby side of things because I absolutely DESPISE it. it’s such lazy writing.

but on the flip side, contextually 8x06 gave us so much good. buck was ready for something more with tommy, he was ready to live together and grow old together. he was ready for tommy to be just last. same for tommy, he wanted all that with buck. buck was also tommy’s last and they had so much opportunity to really dig into his character, to explore why he was scared to go there with buck. but again, they just wrote it off.

we also have previous episodes that actively show that this isn’t just a fling, especially for tommy. he showed up to the cafe simply because buck asked. he came to the hospital after fighting a fire because he made a promise and buck got a lil pouty about it. he showed up for buck again and again in 8x05 because he clearly cared.

for me personally, 8x06 doesn’t make their whole relationship seem like a fling. for me, it shows that these two characters care about each other so much, but clearly lack some communication of how they feel and where they both are, in the context of their relationship and in the context of their own personal journey’s.

[cinematics123]

So, buddie lifer here, but I will say that I did like Tommy, historic problems with that character aside. While I prefer Buddie, I enjoyed the perspective of an older queer character (look at Josh/Brian Safi’s speech!) to the show.

I would love to see Tommy back on the show, and to get to explore that more - and I think Josh would be an excellent partner/foil for that.

That said, I liked Natalia too. And I even liked Ana, although Marisol can suck a dick. I didn’t dislike characters because they “stood in the way of Buddie” and I still don’t. I hated Taylor because she was BAD for Buck - and he was bad for her.

That said, it’s not good to gloat and I feel bad for the actor getting swept off (although glad he has other projects) and I’d love to see him back on the show in a different capacity.

For the BuckTommy only fans, I know you all feel pretty angry at the moment, but I also would like to invite you to contextualize what this means for 911 and Buddie - Buddie *was* supposed to go canon, that is the direction the show was actively moving in - and the studio not only blocked it but they cancelled the show. Only ABC was willing to step in and give the show a chance to shine and to actually have the courage to do buddie.

Without the passion of the audience, we would never have had bi Buck or BuckTommy from season 7, because the studio that shall not be named cancelled the show in Season 6.

A line from Josh on learning to respect the struggle of your elders definitely applied to Buck needing to respect what Josh has been through. But, it also applies to what the Buddie shippers have been through getting gaybaited by a studio on purpose and getting their whole show (which was the number 1 show in its time slot) shut down so their ship could not go canon. I will miss Tommy. I’d like to explore what his struggles were that led him here and led him to being someone Chim and Hen could rely on instead of being in the group that picked in them. But, understand why people are thrilled to see another barrier to their ship go away. It may come off as something anti-Tommy - but that anger has never really been about Tommy.

[chaoortu]

a brief 8-25 analysis

supa late but spoilers below!

okay so i have to talk about the juxtaposition between these two panels bc like holy fucking shit

like 1) the absolute growth of charlie actually leaning on his mum for help in this chapter is huge and i love how we see that character growth for jane and charlie!!! fucking 10/10 i love to see Jane Spring getting better as a character (bc some of y'all rlly loathe that woman even though she's just an average, emotionally constipated, anxious british mum but im not getting into all that rn) and 2) nick WALKING AWAY FROM HIS MOMMY WHEN HE USED TO GO TO HER ABOUT THINGS!!!! Also... Sarah with the b.o.b bob you know she's known for the bob!!!! also like... the way nick was just sick 30 minutes ago oh i know smthn is gonna happen at that damn rugby match. i will be unable to stfu if that happens guys i'm literally foaming at the mouth for nick to get injured i need my WHUMP. idk if alice will go that far but i dont want smthn world ending just like. a bonk. a bonk on his noggin !!! just a bonk please misses oseman i am on my hands and knees. why make boy play high impact sport if high impact doesn't knock him on his butt once in a while hmmm.... LOVED THE SPRING FAMILY GETTING ALONG IN THE KITCHEN. COEXISTING AND BEING HAPPY

also jane was so cute for saying "more for me" i love her and the progress she's had throughout HS like yeah... things can change, people can get better. i love you queen.

i just think these panels are so cutie butt. look at the happy spring family... also jane spring ipad adultisms my beloved. now let's get into the meet and potates of the rest-- I love that Tori actually gives Nick the benefit of the doubt here bc not many characters do in the comic. i enjoy that she was like; "yeha, nick's saviorism isn't good and it's lowkey gross but also here's how he was when you were in inpatient.", like... contextualizing some of Nick's behavior to Charlie and honestly-- the value of an outside perspective is huge when you're in a relationship. I do think it's funny that she was like: "Lol yeah, a normal couple would just break up, but you're Nick and Charlie so you won't." bc like... idk! if there was anytime that as a teenage couple, the boys would've broken up, it probably would've been right before Charlie went to inpatient when he was being really mean. That's just a shit ton of stress and they were only like 16 and 15 or 17 and 15/16 at the time? I can't remember. But Nick held out and I think the reason why Charlie hasn't considered breaking up as far as we know is bc Nick did not give up when things got hard and still isn't-- he's just anxious and not talking. But yeah, any other teenaged couple probably would've thrown in the towel. I do think the fact that they're queer and Charlie is Nick's first everything plays into the fact that they haven't considered the possibility. I can't see Nick initiating a breakup at this point in the story so lowkey... it would be on Charlie to make that decision. I don't think he will though! I'd just be shocked if Alice leaned into the novella rn bc tonally it just doesn't match with where the boys are currently. time for my fav panel

i love how whimsical this looks, and i also love-- and idk if this was on purpose, but Charlie being the one with his eyes open while Nick's are closed. Charlie understands the reality of their situation but Nick! Is kind of ostrich in the sand right now (imo: bc he doesn't know how to communicate why he's so anxious) i also adore that throughout this whole comic we really see how much charlie has grown physically. he's starting to look like a man!!!!! he got taller, his face is angled out, and ugh his hair rn is sooo fucking cute but he's also less shrunken in on himself and confident despite everything. i also love how in this panel, we see their size difference a bit more clearly. nick is only like two inches taller than charlie canonically (which makes charlie leaning up on his toes funny to me bc like??? what's the point ur mouth is RIGHT there brother...) but also like! Nick is so strong physically and has been the big strong one in dynamic and page for so long that it's easy to forget sometimes that he's just a kid too. like yeah!!! they're growing up together and that's hard as fuck but we know they're endgame so i cannot WAIT to see how they work things out. Furthermore, to my peeps with the patreon-- can someone PLEASE tell me when we circle back to the Tao and Elle fight thing??? I know these past few chapters have been very close together time wise but I need details!! Now, my predictions: I think Charlie's going to have his running in the rain/snow moment. I at least am begging for it. I think Nick is going to get injured at rugby and or get into a fight at rugby. I think David's going to point out to Sarah that Nick is NOT okay in a weird act of brotherly love bc the worst thing about being a sibling is when ur sibling is miserable and ur not the one who made them that way for once. I am crossing my fingers HOPING for a friend group fight at some point, bc I sincerely believe that what happened at the Green Dragon with everyone letting Nick walk away when he was that drunk was really fucked up and I think Charlie could really spearhead that conversation bc he's so aware of Nick's anxiety rn.

[neonscandal]

Okay, if you were asked who are in JJK & BNHA that you can see based on canon that are gay/bi/pan/demi, which characters are they?

For me satoaugu and bakudeku are definitely not straight (yes, I ship them but I don't think they "must be into women only" like a post I just saw). Also, kaminari, jirou, toga, nobara, megumi, kenjaku....

Ah yes, a person with discerning tastes. ✨ While this feels like a sure fire way to get me into some hot water, let's dive right in.

✨🌈 Happy pride to the queer people in my phone 🌈✨

But especially these

Megumi "Only Interested in Compassion" Fushiguro - pansexual (very much choosing to overlook very subtle implications of siscon as a red herring to, of course, further contextualize ItaFushi). See also Gojo and the uncharacteristic Miwa agenda.

Satoru Gojo - Let's be so for real. Man is down astronomical for Suguru but I think there's still evidence/reason to believe he could be ace or demisexual. Can strength be conflated with love?

Kinji Hakari - waving the white flag on this one considering I'm 4 weeks behind and I don't know if there's been further clarification that might swing this verdict one way or another but support Hikari's love regardless of Kirara's gender expression/identity. Also, given current events, it'd be pretty weird if Gege slipped that in out of nowhere.

Kenjaku - 🗣️ IF GIVEN ENOUGH TIME, DO WE NOT ALL BECOME A LIL GAY!? I understand straight people probably don't have such realizations so I'm just going to sit with that reflection.

Nobara Kugisaki - be so for real. I think she had a misplaced crush in her idolization of Saori that made more sense when she left the bumble fuck countryside and could live her best life, out and proud with her muscle mommy girlfriend, Maki. Also explains, a bit, why Saori was ostracized where Nobara may have lacked understanding/context.

Maki - Plenty of gay icons without last names, queen. This one just happens to also be gay.

Eijirou Kirishima is almost so straight that he unintentionally makes a hard U-turn into flirting with queerness. His phrasing is baffling as he tends to pop up in those threads frequently with assumingly unintended innuendos but it is also reminiscent about how no one third wheels harder than a dude's girlfriend when he's with his best friend? I don't know if that makes sense but I'm throwing him in the mix as someone who maybe just needs some time ✨ regardless of the BakuDeku to KiriMina parallels.

Denki Kaminari - This kid has eyes and he uses them, gender be damned. A bi-disaster if I've ever seen one.

Minoru Mineta - IDK if his Deku confession was a translation faux pas or if Mineta, too, has fallen for the male lead's quintessential charm that wins over hearts and minds. While the Council on Bisexuality would fight me on this one... his membership is still pending.

Izuku Midoriya - I have it on good authority that Izuku is Bakusexual. Flustered by girls in the same way that any awkward and bullied kid might when encountering the opposite sex but his heart has always had its allegiance to one person. Whether that makes him gay, demi or even bi, I think it tracks.

Katsuki Bakugo - bi, pan or gay, the consensus is he is Not Straight.

Kyoka Jiro - in Smash, Jiro is a total fujoshi (she just like us fr). If you'll allow submitting MHA Smash into evidence, coupled with the canon main story, I say bi. A girl who knows Momo is stacked but also reasonably wants the attention and company of a Class 1A boy as a girl would at that age.

Himiko Toga - one thing about Toga. She is going to know and live her truth. Confidently bi ✨

Ochaco Uraraka - SPEAKING OF LIVING TRUTHS. She a little late but she has the right spirit.

Bonus, if including Kirishima didn't some how get me booed, I was going to add Yuta Okkotsu too but I thought better of it. 👉🏾👈🏾

[parasauro]

AN ANGEL, A DEMON, AND A PLATE OF ROAST MEAT - QUEER INTIMACY IN GOOD OMENS’ “A COMPANION TO OWLS”

Spoilers for S2 EP 2 of Good Omens below the cut!

A “Companion to Owls”, the minisode pertaining to the second episode of the second season of Good Omens, brings us a significant reveal in that Crowley was the one to introduce Aziraphale to food. Deftly using the audience’s foreknowledge to bring illuminating tenderness to an otherwise simple scene, Aziraphale discovers the bliss of human food while hiding out an overhead storm. The scene plays out reminiscent of Hades and Persephone, a temptation and entrapment through food presented underground, or in this case a cellar. A more Christian-aligned interpretation of the scene lies in the particular observation that Crowley tempts Aziraphale into an innocuous bite that swiftly becomes an act of gluttony- a deadly sin not unlike the Garden. Just as humanity got quite a lot out of the whims of Crowley’s temptations, Aziraphale’s very first experience with food, which he comes to love deeply in arguable moderation, was an act of indulgence and gluttony. At a defining moment in his relationship with Heaven, his love for human food is not only contrary to the behavior of an angel, but sinful in itself. 

Since the act of Aziraphale eating is doubly characterized as a deviant behavior, it bears credence to analyze how this scene fits into the broader themes inherent to Aziraphale and Crowley’s queerness. Throughout the first season, Good Omen’s themes of ostracization, divergence from expectation, rejection of the accepted, and a connection transcendent of standard human definition permeate the queer experience. Both Crowley and Aziraphale have been consistently coded alongside the queer expressions of the various eras they’ve lived through. In relation to each other, Crowley is arguably more experienced in the then-seedier parts of Soho and the elements of queer life that entailed. Aziraphale doesn’t lag far behind, but his experience lies solidly with a different crowd of queer folk. Contextualized within their continuing relationship to queerness, the scene in the cellar takes on an additional interpretation. In the simplest terms available that preserve the content of the scene: Crowley offers Aziraphale his meat, and Aziraphale gobbles it down. 

Blunt, but accurate. 

In a more nuanced discussion, queer intimacy on film has historically necessitated deep coding and subtextual theming to convey representation. While contemporary queer film has seen significant bounds in this regard, the long canon of coded queer intimacy has remained a staple of queer storytelling. Among the most commonly coded activities is eating, ostensibly a quotidian task with romantic and even sensual connotations depending on the people involved- thus the discussion of this scene. In the act of presenting Aziraphale with a plate of food, Crowley takes on an introductory and mentor-like role, stewarding Aziraphale into an experience familiar to himself but novel to his companion. Aziraphale reacts in a manner of initial repulsion at the temptation, to concession to his desire and curiosity, to performance of expected disgust, and finally to uninhibited indulgence. Beat-by-beat, this sequence in the cellar follows the rhythm of an experienced queer person guiding someone’s “first time”. Notably, this scene is intense and invokes a strange sense of voyeuristic discomfort, but remains a non-sexual display of intimacy, adhering to many fans’ (myself included) interpretation of Aziraphale and Crowley as asexual and exploring what non-sexual modes of intimacy look like. As Aziraphale eats, Crowley holds the plate and watches with a smug smile on his face– Aziraphale has accepted and is now joyously partaking in the nonconformist behavior he discovered long ago.

Even beyond this particular scene, the pairing’s frequent outings are frequently justified by a “temptation” to lunch, dinner, or a drink often initiated by Aziraphale (e.g. Aziraphale “tempting” Crowley to try oysters in Rome, and Aziraphale “tempting” Crowley to “a spot of lunch” after switching back corporations as the most explicit examples). As such, the act of eating remains an act of intimacy between the two, if nothing more than a pretense to spend more time in each other’s company while hiding their true sentiments from Above and Below.

[olderthannetfic]

The problem is I feel like people on tumblr would misuse it even harder than they do queerbaiting for shit like LoK that was genuinely trying to get around censors because its so contextual.

LoK was not trying to get around censors. That is 100% not what happened, and it is galling to me that Bryke get so much credit for LoK tripping on its face so creators who actually gave a shit about queer rep and trying to make it clear in their work could walk and then run, because they... didn't actually do a single goddamn thing.

And they admitted as much!

Korrasami was not why LoK was getting jerked around by Nickolodeon. By the time Bryke even thought about asking if they could make K/A 'endgame', Book 4 was almost completed and they quite literally had nothing left to lose. (This was admitted in the infamous 'Korrasami is Canon' post, where they said they hadn't even considered the possibility that they'd be allowed until the show was nearly finished.) They did nothing to develop the relationship or even their friendship throughout Books 3 and 4--allegedly the time in which they'd decided to make it canon, if you actually believe them about that and I sincerely do not--and it's especially grating in Book 4 where there was ample opportunity to at least make it clear that this relationship was important, whatever form it might take, to the people creating the show.

(People still make fun of the 'popping the biggest bottles' poster to this day, but it was Mako's relationship with Korra that formed the emotional pillar of the final season, particularly as it related to Korra's own character arc, so of course it would have been the natural conclusion to draw that this was where their story was heading. The only reason it seems so ridiculous in hindsight is because Bryke gambled on the fact that making K/A canon would distract from all the very valid criticisms their show had been getting to that point--and they were right. The fandom has bent over backwards ever since to make it seem like this was some groundbreaking moment in animation history that Bryke had to fight Nickolodeon to get on the air.)

There's no evidence (not even their own attempts at ass-covering) that Bryke tried for anything more than the five second shot of hand-holding at the very end of the season. They had nothing left to lose, and still all they bothered to do was ask--and by Bryan's own words in the blog post he wrote, the studio was supportive, but 'there was a limit to how far [they] could go with it'. Nothing about trying to push that limit or argue for a more unambiguous ending. They should not be put up on a pedestal as if they fought to put queer rep in their show when they evidently couldn't even be bothered to write halfway decent friendships, despite ostensibly having quite a bit of experience from working on the original show.

And I refuse to forgive them for the terrible writing that spanned the entire show, just because they decided to make a half-assed effort and queer rep in the very last seconds of the very last season.

--

[verdemoun]

did the gang find out about macsummers in modern or canon times?

i have given up on answering asks in order i answer asks in order of the giggles they give me

the girlies of the gang all knew in canon era. karen, mary-beth, jenny, and tilly were all actively shipping them and directly responsible for sean realizing lenny was actually flirting with him. god knows if sean would have ever connected the dots in either era without them (to be fair lenny was flirting in that 19th century 'could be murdered in the street if he was outed' and spending adolescence in reform school did not help sean in learning how to understand subtext and contextual clues)

also please imagine lenny 19th century educated man flirting. thinking he's so smooth laying it on maybe a little too thick teaching sean to read starting with the happy prince, sean mentions it offhandedly to mary-beth who proceeds to choke on her coffee because She Knows

lenny and sean being together was such a core part of the quartet's dynamic that when lenny found jenny in modern era and said 'and sean's here too' jenny let out a sigh of relief because she was not putting up with lenny's lenny-ness on her own before going 'no oops that sounded fucked i'm super sad he died but also yay sean's here'

hosea is just side-eyeing them suspiciously for a few weeks because "HMM they seem awful co-dependent in a way i had not noticed in canon era. maybe it's trauma bonding? maybe they're clinging to their friendship more than they did in canon era to cope with oh god damn us all they're fucking aren't they"

bessie just tilts her head slightly in confusion "darling i know you were slightly distracted at the time but did you not see the way they embraced when they saw each other? i am almost certain this is not a new occurrence"

also shoutout to bessie who despite being a 50+ year old history lecturer who no one would expect to be in the know she very politely sat the boys (and her husband) down powerpoint presentation style to explain modern era queer lexicon like for the love of all that is holy please do not use the terms sodomite or pederast they have CHANGED MEANING (the term homosexuality wasn't considered popularized in america until 1906 like she would have had to explain... so much)

arthur was very confused because look he's a little behind the 8 ball at times and just assumed karen and sean + lenny and jenny would become things, moreso than actually taking issue with anyone's sexuality. they obviously all suffer from heteronormativity

and of course how much identities and terminology changed from 1999 to 2011 (when most of the gang got there) lenny spent a good two years unironically identifying as moronsexual

sean's dyslexic ass having to learn the acronyms he thought BLTs were gay sandwiches for weeks pray for him (he still calls them gay sandwiches in private and they are a staple of the macsummers household)

it took so long to get used to gay meaning queer instead of happy. still slip up and say they're feeling gay when someone asks how they're going then backpedaling wait no well yes but you didn't need to know that i Was in a great mood

most of the gang didn't really react - they ALL knew about hosea and dutch 'reading' in canon era so if it was going to be an issue it would have come up then. just 'oh cool good for you guys what the hell is with miniature moving picture box in the house are we rich'

bill was the only one who even questioned it? looking at all these same-sex couples discreetly wondering aloud if in the future it was the norm ('without' a hint of optimism in his voice) because i, the author, accidentally made them all very not cishet

maeve at the tender age of 4 looked this bear of a man in the eyes and called him a faggot (she picked it up from the gang using it affectionately)

bill had no idea what that meant but he did know it was something at his expense

[redhoodinternaldialectical]

5, 16, 20?

Linking the original ask post cause it took some digging to find it again lol

Something you see in fics a lot and love:

B-boysss... kissing :3

lol okay uh the overwhelming majority of what I read is jaytim that's rated Explicit, so there's, ya'know, a lot of patterns in there that I've self selected for, but attempting to get into a more meaningful answer, I really like the way that fanfic repeatedly digs up old shit and uses it as a catalyst for characters to gain greater intimacy with each other. The constant reinvention and re-contextualization of Jason and Tim's various fights is neat to me

A tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate:

Oooh I'm gonna throw up the post I already made about the guy Jason manipulated into playing puppet for him

But that feels like cheating so I also want people to appreciate the asymmetrical aspects of the OG spoiler outfit, because I adore it so. I am a SUCKER for shoulder pads/spikes and 80s asymmetrical outfits.

Your very first fandom:

That's... actually pretty hard to answer.

The first online community I truly got involved with is City of Heroes. Loved playing the game when it was live, and I role played in the Homecoming servers for fourteen hours a day, seven days a week, for about five years. I still play every once in a while too! If you see Dread Captain Bones, David Drakal, or Cowboy Cline around, those are me :3 The only issue I have with saying it's this one is that I'm not entirely sure this counts as a fandom?? It really is more a role playing community than anything like a fandom for the game itself, most people only very lightly engage with the setting and it's considered a tad crass to get any of the named canonical characters involved with your character's story lines.

We could very technically count Naruto simply because that was the first one I ever tried to find fanfic for but uhhhhh... I started with ff.net with a super dark E rated fic because I thought E meant for Everyone and bounced off it so hard. I'm very sorry geisha AU naru-sasu fic I read when I was like thirteen, I tried so hard to like you, but my PTSD was not having it lmao

There's also half decent arguments to be made for Marvel comics, Doctor Who, or Vampire the Masquerade simply because my parents are/were such massive nerds lmao

Both of them did a lot of LARP and one of my favorite pictures of my mom is her as either the Sheriff or the Prince of our city ripping someone's heart out via a sponge soaked with fake blood :3 so yeah I def grew up learning about the clans and the lore and such

And this is very much a Marvel household lol My parents used to do story time with me about the X-men, and like they are completely accepting of my metal head and queer stuff, but I feel like it hurts my dad's soul just a little bit that I ended up being so into DC and so uninterested in Marvel. Whenever we talk about some of my (not romance related) plotlines for my DC fics he'll substitute in vaguely equivalent Marvel characters because he simply cannot be asked to dedicate braincells to DC characters lmao

Me: "I'm really looking forwards to writing out how the super geniuses and stuff push the limits of what Jason and Tim did to the diseases."

My Dad, knowing FULL WELL that I am not including any Marvel characters in this fic: "Oh yeah, Reed Richards would go nuts trying to figure that shit out."

My dad also collected Doctor Who episodes, like the ones from 1963 all the way to modernity, I grew up watching the black and white stuff, and for sure tumblr did expose me to Superwholock, through I never felt like I was a part of that.

It might actually be DC comics itself that's my first fandom! I just never really interacted with any sort of online or fandom space directly until Boostle dragged me into DC fandom's sphere of influence.

Anyhow I hope my ramblings were interesting/entertaining and thank you muchly for the ask! :3

[selchwife]

lgbt terminology is annoying in fic for a game like ffxiv. I don’t mean other people using it but trying to figure out what would be appropriate in my own writing myself. it’s all deeply predicated on cultural context and there’s seldom little basis for envisioning that in canon, if any.

and it’s like, these are things that can be spoken about without specialized vocabulary to some extent, but being queer itself is just as highly contextual, so trying to delve into like “how would a trans man in this setting express that he’s trans or explain what he feels” gets frustrating. Emet is even tougher bc like, I DO have an idea of how he would view his gender and sexuality in irl terms, but how to express that? i at LEAST imagine that he didn’t start out this way in the unsundered world bc he was very intently closeted, so his identity as a queer person is probably more deeply rooted in the context of sundered societies than not. but even then, with his being immortal and not a “true” member of those societies, it’d feel odd for him to, for example, claim that he’s an [insert garlean equivalent of f slur here] in his heart and soul — like, he’s not garlean. entirely. ykwim? but then i guess the point of emet is that the masks he wears do persist, even should he claim otherwise, so.

and anyway like im sure it would not be be odd to anyone if i were to import modern terminology to apply to these concepts (the word trauma being used in a psychological context in recent msq was pretty jarring to me, but that’s an example of one such precedent). i don’t want to spend a bunch of time inventing new words that carry less meaning, either. it’s just one of those things where it becomes difficult to speak about queerness in a way that feels grounded for the setting, and i can’t even go the way of c&w and avail myself of the actual historical research bc this is a fantasy setting where queerness is at best an afterthought

[turtlemagnum]

Last Line Game!

"tagged" by @rat-prophetess

Rules (i'm also ignoring these, see her post for why because i have the same reasons): Make a new post and post your latest/most recent line from your WIP and tag as many people as there are words.

"Cook for one hour"

this was in a recipe for ribs i made, hope you enjoy :)

ok but seriously in the last thing i actually wrote, "and so the courier marched on, fulfilled for now, ready to make his mark on the wastes just as she knew it would."

so, this was the last line in a fallout: new vegas erotica thing i wrote that i will Never Share with the general populace, though if anybody i know and trust wants to see it i'll share. otherwise? taking it to my Got Damn Grave. it's a retelling of the bleed me dry quest, starts off with some light casual banter between my courier (who's kind of a self insert) and my two favorite companions, arcade and veronica; it's a little bit of character building that shows all three characters are queer, and it works to contextualize that my courier is referred to with he/they/it pronouns (which might not scan from just the last line alone, which is why i specified it). basically, i think red lucy's voice is Hot and i kinda have a thing for both green eyes and blood/apple red hair, which she has both. so like, it's pretty easy for me to imagine a version of her that's not just Hot For A New Vegas Character, y'know? there's a bunch of melodramatic prose and intimate connections being formed, which starts off as a pretty distinct tonal shift between that and the cheery banter at the start. two very different tones to convey the multitudes that i want these characters to embody.

also like, a solid third of it is Hardcore Boning, which is impressive since the whole thing's about 4k words long, and i find it easy to get bored writing sex scenes because i feel like there's only so many ways i can describe things like that. i'm pretty proud of it, it's not quite one of those longform 50k word in depth character studies, but it's a slower burn than just "and then they kith uwu" y'know? i also wanted to portray their relationship in a bit of a queer way, since red lucy canonically will sleep with the player regardless of gender, and my guy's bi (again, self insert(also, the ingame damage bonus is nice)).

i also lightly paraphrased (stole) part of the "two hands clutching the same whole" line, and i am NOT ASHAMED

[queer-as-used-by-tolkien]

hey if you are a GW2 follower who has watched this blog go from 'GW2 AND TRAHEARNE MY BELOVED' to various things including psychology/child development, Christianity, and a very light (I hope lol) touch of politics now and then, and don't want to hear it? bc I know my non-GW2 opinions are. uhm. queer (as used by Tolkien), weird unusual or just make you uncomfortable (and I know I don't tag very well, sorry) - if you're wondering where all the GW2 stuff went, then I have news!

I just posted chapter 3 of my fic over on @skaald-of-the-hearth-fires and that's probably where most of my GW2 energy will be focused going forward. (if this post gets a positive response or I see y'all migrating over, I may just shift all GW2 energy over there, including reblogs and stuff not necessarily related to the actual fic. so that might just be my gw2 sideblog.)

ANYWAY if those are ideas y'all like then pls smash the 'like' button and give skaald a follow lol.

and the fic is... well for now it's a Logan stan fic that 1) stays in character (i.e. isn't canon-breaking), 2) contextualizes his obsession with Jennah, and 3) shows how awesome he is anyway. I consider it an achievement. Oh and yeah it follows pre-S3 lore where Jennah loves him back (yeah S3 retconned that. I've changed it from a retcon to - well, that would be spoilers. actually it wouldn't be because by the time this fic gets to S3... uhh... we have to get past Mordremoth for that bc it was Mordy's death that kicked off the Bloodstone that kicked off the White Mantle stuff that kicked off the Lazarus/Balthazar stuff that kicked off PoF, and let's just say... I'm anticipating we never get around to that. we'll see ig but I have probably an IRL decade's worth of stuff planned before I get there. anyway the headcanon is that Jennah had reasons for changing her mind, and Logan totally deserved it, but that's a whole separate post. storyline or character study or smth) ANYWAY THE FIC IS ABOUT LOGAN IN THE PRESENT-DAY. I also have some Rytlock stuff planned but have been questioning the point of it. (I'll probably include it as, like, side stories and not part of the main fic at least, lol)

[ectonurites]

I see a flashback to Tim and Cassie kissing and I’m just like yes the trauma of missing your shared dead boyfriend

NO FOR REAL like.

for context, this was in the previews we got this week:

(Preview for Dark Crisis: Young Justice #1)

Revisiting these moments now, in the aftermath of Tim realizing he's bi, written by the same person who wrote that revelation... I think could be utterly fascinating. Especially because Meghan Fitzmartin had even referenced Kon's death during Tim's coming out story:

(Batman: Urban Legends #5)

Like, knowing that Fitzmartin is about to be digging into this group's history and specifically stuff around Infinite Crisis/in the aftermath of Kon's death... that line feels way more intentional now than it originally seemed when this released.

When I first saw this line, my interpretation was basically "Kon is commenting on how Tim wanted him back so badly when he was gone (Kon knows about the cloning attempts and how Tim & Cassie tried to find comfort in each other, I think the only thing he doesn't know about is the close call with the Lazarus Pit water in Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul), yet now that he is back after another situation he'd been lost- Tim's kinda ignoring him... which is making him worried that something's wrong," and I don't think that interpretation has changed. The thing that now has a slightly new light shone on it imo is maybe why this line was included at all.

After the Gotham Outsiders podcast interview shortly after UL #6 came out, in which Fitzmartin had compared Steph & Kon's respective importance & history irt Tim:

[starting from 22:48] Interviewer: Soooo- my boy Conner Kent- [laughter] Can we hear this- In your Urban Legends story, and he and Tim have a complicated history of being read as queer coded, was any of this running through your mind while writing their interaction Fitzmartin: I mean, I’ve-I’ve seen the internet. I’ve-I’m aware. I’m aware that the internet exists. Umm… Interviewer: [overlapping] Alright Fitzmartin: K-Ya know. Conner is part of Tim’s history just like Stephanie is part of Tim’s history in-in varying different degrees in varying different ways but, um, we are who those around us- we are what others around us are- ma-uh- make us to be. And. so. Interviewer: Right- Fitzmartin: [overlapping] I’ll leave it at that- Interviewer: That’s a fair- fair answer, I will take it.

I had mainly just (realistically) seen it's inclusion (on the same page as his scene with Steph) as... part of showing that closeness between them, and specifically including something with a connection to their newly restored pasts to acknowledge their history, and figured I was just reading way more into it than was intended (which admittedly I definitely still am).

But now that we know Fitzmartin's going to be addressing that exact period of time at least a little bit... It does just feel more intentional that she brought up Kon's death specifically. I think the odds just now feel a bit higher of seeing unpacked some of the dynamics behind what happened in the aftermath of Kon's death that we as fans have often seen as present (the parallels between how Cassie was feeling about Conner and how Tim was feeling about Conner) but that were never like officially canonically said to be there. Not a sure thing of course, but it just feels a lot more possible that it'll be addressed now.

Plus, ya know, Fitzmartin did establish he's "always kind of known" he was attracted to boys, but just hadn't had the brain space to reach that point of "personal enlightenment"

(Batman: Urban Legends #10)

So basically what I'm saying is that Dark Crisis: Young Justice could be a place where we get that statement expanded on a bit, and get some of Tim's previous actions re-contextualized now that he's had this revelation. Who knows! I'm just... utterly fascinated by what we have coming down the line now.

[sixstepsaway]

okay but mary and izzy parallels? i have a hunch about how they're supposed to -- well, be parallels. but no one's talking about it. thoughts? - ripple

hi ripple!! hope you're doing well!

There has been discussion of Mary/Izzy parallels but I haven't found a lot of meta about it. If you'd like to really be agonized, check out this gifset. Izzy and Ed with Mary's quotes over them. Mm. Pain.

But, as for my own thoughts on this:

Izzy and Mary are deeply paralleled throughout the show, both narratively (similar journeys) and contextually (the way the show is edited).

The first time this is really shown, as far as I can tell, is in 1x04. Stede is dreaming of Mary, remembering his highly failed marriage. He's dreaming of when he showed her the model ship of the Revenge, how passionate he was about it, how much he loved the idea of going away to sea. Mary's response is... not great, as she doesn't like the ocean and doesn't hate their lives, at least not as much as Stede does.

She doesn't get it.

The show immediately swaps to Ed rummaging through the Revenge while Izzy trails around after him trying to get him to focus on their lives. Ed produces the model ship and gushes about how cute it is.

Izzy doesn't get it.

The model ship is purposefully used to draw the two scenes together, to show Stede and Ed in their respective relationships (Stede with his rapidly failing and then abandoned marriage, Ed with his rapidly degenerating and soon to be abandoned work marriage (see: Izzy leaving in 1x06 and Ed leaving in 1x09)).

It's a fascinating parallel that I especially enjoy because Ed and Izzy aren't, in canon right now at least, in a sexual or romantic relationship, nor do we think right now they've ever been (I doubt they've ever been, truly. I don't think that's in their past at all), so the framing of Stede's marriage (lacking love and affection) against Izzy and Ed's platonic* relationship (full of love and affection but it's diminishing faster and faster every day) is gorgeous, because it shows that relationships aren't always the standard Person A + Person B in love and married and then they fell out of it and it was Bad because of that.

(*Yes, David Jenkins says Izzy is in love with Ed, and we all agree with him, but for the sake of the framing, the fact they're not doing anything with those feelings makes the relationship itself platonic)

I find in a lot of media, relationships are shown only as participating in the relationship escalator and no other relationships "count", and queer relationships are pushed into that same relationship escalator because enforcing heteronormativity even on queer relationships is essential (blah blah purity culture blah blah making being queer palatable to corporations blah blah sanitizing the queer movement blah blah)

(I remember when Chicago Fire did a storyline where Severide lost his best friend (who I'm pretty sure he was in love with, but she was a lesbian, and i digress) to an accident that took her life and he was absolutely destroyed by it. He ran off for a weekend in Vegas, where he met a woman who had recently lost her husband suddenly. They got drunk, got married, and he brought her home as his new wife and everyone flipped out because it seemed so stupid and she was surely not good and was playing him for a fool or something.

But in the end, they were married for a few months, never in love, but their brief relationship helped them both heal and they ended up going their separate ways. And I loved that, because not all break-ups or divorces have to be "failures", and not all relationships have to march up the endless escalator.)

It's nice to see a relationship posed in a way that isn't just the escalator and isn't just "oh yeah we dated once" or whatever. This is beside the point though lmao.

The contextual framing continues when Ed returns to the Revenge as well. Stede goes back to Mary, Ed goes back to Izzy. They go back to the familiar, the safe, and they're not greeted the way they'd like.

Mary makes sure Stede knows he's unwelcome now, though it's not because he's changed (although he has: drinking, attacking Doug etc) so much as that he left a gap and she filled it with someone else (someone better, in fact, for her, someone who can give her what she wants and needs and love her) in his absence (as she should).

Izzy meanwhile welcomes Ed back with open arms, but can't cope with his changes. Ed is softer, more vulnerable and open, and maybe if that had been how he was when they first met, that might have been okay. Izzy might have wormed his way into that vulnerability and made a nest there, a safe place for himself and a bit of armor for Ed, but as it stands right now he can't do that, because he doesn't know how and nor does Ed, and so instead he wants Ed to go back to how things were in the past.

But you can never go home again, can you?

That's sort of the base message of 1x10 imo: you can never go home again. Stede can't pursue his life of piracy and expect his family to welcome him home with open arms, and Ed can't soften up and abandon his life of piracy and expect Izzy to just adapt overnight and accept that new version of him.

(And it's unreasonable of either of them to expect those things from the other person. Izzy didn't sign up for a life with soft-n-squishy Ed, and Mary didn't sign up to be the woman waiting at port for her wayward husband to come home whenever he chooses.)

Narratively, Mary and Izzy are mirrored throughout the first season, primarily with Izzy and Mary being fully committed to the lives they've signed up for. Mary may be unhappy, but she tells Stede as much: she doesn't hate their lives, not enough to yeet them into the abyss, but they're the only lives they're going to get and this is their lot, so shouldn't they make the best of it?

Izzy might be struggling too, but he clings to Ed like a lifeline at all times, refusing to budge even when Ed's mental state gets so rickety he puts everyone around him in danger.

The difference is that when Stede leaves Mary, she flourishes. She finds someone better for her, she takes up painting, she loves her children without hesitation, she makes friends and extends her social circle. When Izzy is forced to leave Ed, he stagnates and his entire focus is on getting Ed back and keeping that promise he made, even if Ed doesn't want it kept anymore.

Mary and Izzy are on the same path, but Mary is miles ahead of him. Since I don't think we'll get Steddyhands or Blackhands in canon, I hope Izzy gets to reach the end of the path like Mary did, with someone who loves and deserves him, and a social circle that supports him.

Then, you have the main issue with Ed and Stede: lack of real communication, and massive failure whenever they try.

Stede tried when he told Mary he wanted to run away to sea, but she shot him down (fairly so, in my eyes), and so he never tried again.

Ed tries when he tells Izzy how bored he is, but Izzy is focused on the fact Ed's boredom is going to get them killed (fairly so, again), so Ed doesn't talk to him about how he's feeling about Stede in relation to that boredom.

Both of them talk around what they're actually feeling and considering doing, neither of them really talk about the problem and try to find a solution they just wildly yank the other person around like a dog with a toy, because they've always been there, so won't they continue to always be there?

I read Stede as having had a certain level of reliance on Mary. I believe they could be really good friends now their marriage is over, though I don't think they were before lmao. But the way wives were expected to act and be treated in 1717 implies she was likely doing most of the household work, raising the children etc. We don't ever see any servants I don't think, even in the background of the current day scenes in 1x10, and that makes me think Mary does most of it.

Which explains a lot about why Stede is a fucking mess when he first breaks free of that life and it reframes how he is as honestly how well he adapts and changes to fit in his new life! Assuming we go by Ed's, "these last few weeks" and assume the show to be about 10 weeks because of the season length (which I hate, thanks), he managed to stop being a complete mess in about five weeks and that's damn impressive. Kudos and cookies to Stede Bonnet.

I read Stede as autistic with some social deficits, which is why he's so... blunt, I suppose? It's also why he takes everyone around him at face value (if they say something is a way, he believes them, no matter whether they might be lying). I can imagine that during his marriage, Mary - who I do not read as autistic - was the one gingerly keeping him from being scammed or robbed or overtly lied to by people around him, and now he doesn't have her so he just has to learn for himself! And he does really well actually at that.

See also: him believing Pete about his prior time serving under Blackbeard. I too believe Pete, but let's not act like his stories don't sound like utter fabrications. Stede just... believing him, that Blackbeard has a head made of smoke and his eyes glow and that Pete served under him and was dubbed Black Pete for serving so well.

(Also, I know there's a running fandom joke about Pete calling himself Black Pete considering he's pasty white, but you've all realized it's a direct reference to Blackbeard right? He's saying Ed gave him the moniker of Black to echo his own!)

Meanwhile, as we've said before, Izzy has been shackled with being Ed's SSRIs, adderall and bullet journal for god knows how long, frankly, and without him Ed... does struggle. We don't see a lot of it because he has the Revenge crew filling the blanks and his fixation on Stede is also keeping him from sinking back into depression, but it's definitely there. He's supposedly acting as a co-captain in 1x07, but they run out of oranges. Calico Jack shows up and he just attaches to him like a barnacle and doesn't track that maybe he's being insensitive. It takes Lucius giving him a stern talking to twice for him to figure his shit out, and that's without any real dire consequences going on around him.

He also jumps right to running away to China which is objectively not a great plan for him or Stede, and Izzy absolutely would have said, "The fuck? You don't even speak Mandarin, Edward." to it.

He does okay without Izzy, likely because he's had more practice, but he definitely misses something that he's been reliant on Izzy for: a steadying hand and someone who spots the details he misses (like not knowing Mandarin and it being a leap year).

But whereas Mary gets loose of those shackles, Izzy desperately tries to get back into them because he doesn't know how to function without Edward and, frankly, Edward doesn't know how to function without Izzy either, not now his dopamine fix has run away.

When Mary tries to kill Stede when he comes back and ruins her life, Stede and Mary instead come up with a plan together to fix things, to set both of them free. They communicate, which allows them to work together, in a rather perfect harmony actually, and understand each other's needs and learn to care for one another outside of the shackles.

When Izzy tries to 'kill' this new version of Edward that's ruining his life (literally trying to un-pirate them all), Ed strikes out in return. Instead of working together, they break apart and fracture, two forces with differing needs that can't find a middle ground because the communication has broken down.

Like I say: Izzy and Mary are on the same road, but Mary is far further down than Izzy is.

The parallels truly kill me but they also give me some hope for the future when it comes to Izzy.

Currently Mary is 'best case scenario' and Izzy is 'oh my god what the fuck WORST CASE WORST CASE??? PUT THE SCISSORS DOWN EDWARD' but hey, maybe we can get there!