#he was one who was used as a gay icon during those years

[clairenatural]

hey sorry to ask you but what is the destiel lamppost thing? if u know what it is

Hi anon!!! I wasn't ignoring you I just wanted to be able to sit down and type out the lore.

So "why lamp"/the destiel lamp thing starts with 15x10, The Heroes' Journey, in which Dean and Sam are stripped of the luck/protections that being written as protagonists gives them by Chuck (very meta) and Dean ends up needing cavities filled.

Garth gives him laughing gas for the procedure, during which Dean has a dream of a black and white 50s style dance sequence. It takes place in the bunker and while initially it's Dean dancing with Garth, eventually Garth leaves and Dean runs over to pick up a lamp from the corner of the room to dance with. Here's the whole thing:

But once it's Dean and the lamp, the dance becomes markedly more romantic - he's dancing with the lamp as a partner, not like the tap dancing he and Garth do side-by-side.

Also important to note that they're dancing to "Let's Misbehave," which is about sex and also was written by Cole Porter, who was gay. This is a really good breakdown of the dance itself, the significance of the song and Cole Porter and its connections to old queer Hollywood.

At the end of the episode, Dean sees Bess and Garth dancing in their living room through the window and says "You know, I always thought I could be a good dancer if I wanted to be."

This is pretty clearly associating the dream sequence, and Dean dancing with a lamp, as about Dean longing for a partner and therefore the lamp as a stand-in for that partner.

NOW. Meta was written as soon as this episode aired with people linking the lamp to Cas, and there has continued to be much better meta than I can write here - this one is in-depth and connects it to themes across the seasons and Dean's years-long character arc. "Cas is Lamp" even has its own superwiki page.

But besides all the normal meta deancas reasons and the fact that this comes at a time when Dean's character arc had been building both to him wanting to settle down with someone AND that someone being Cas (this is the episode right after The Trap and Dean's "I should have stopped you/of course I forgive you" prayer), Cas (and angels broadly) is associated with light and lamps throughout the series, perhaps most iconically in 4x16.

So, after 15x18, "the lamp thing" was something frequently cited and that we held onto as another thing they'd dropped alluding to (nay, ensuring - because they'd surely somehow have to wrap up Dean's own arc of wanting a partner to settle down with) a happy deancas endgame where Cas is rescued and they live happily ever after.

And then. 15x20 happened. And "why lamp" took off as part of a long list of "if they were just never going to mention Cas again, let alone resolve the confession or this very key part of Dean's story arc of wanting to settle down, why did they include [long list of things that make no sense with the ending we got]." Why lamp has become shorthand for a long list of missing links and loose ends and things that just don't add up. If deancas wasn't going to be the happy endgame, then why lamp. Why did they drop so many clues and work up to a very clear resolution for Dean's character arc if they were just going to drop it. Why lamp. It's one of those things that will haunt us because we will never get an answer. Okay grandma, let's get you to bed. But why lamp.

[depressedraisin]

notes on "mr. snarl"

hello, hello, hello welcome to the mr. snarl is high camp discourse. i've been readin' and thinkin' and drivin' myself nuts over this, so i'll be blabberin' on for a good minute. bear with me.

before we dive into any discussion of camp, we ofcourse need to understand what camp is in the first place. camp as an idea is nearly impossible to neatly put down in a few words or a sentence. it has no definition as of such. camp is loud. camp is ostentatious. camp is exaggerated. camp is 'too much'. camp is gay. camp is ironic. camp is cheeky. drag is camp. marlene dietrich is camp. baroque art is camp. cher is camp. mommie dearest (1981) is camp. the rocky horror picture show (1975) is camp. dostoevsky is camp.

the girlies who get camp get it, those who don't, don't.

however we do have susan sontag's 1964 seminal essay 'notes on "camp"' from where most of our contemporary ideas and understanding of 'camp' comes from. in her essay, sontag noted 58 points on what camp is or might be. for our purposes in this post, we'll go by those. because it is the camp bible of course. and i am a pretentious bitch.

now before we get to the meat of the matter, a quick detour to discuss the many faces of alex turner.

alex's personas have now come to as closely associated to his image as an artist and public figure as blonde wigs are with dolly parton, i suppose. it even has its own section in alex's wiki page. he is one those performers to whom the "eras" concept can truly and perfectly apply. he is a different man on stage with every new album, each 'era' is unique from the other and distinctly defined. a new 'era' for alex is not only a change of a haircut or a new pallette, it is a total revamping of his mannerisms and performance style and public image. be it mr. schwarz (the car era), mark (tbhc era) or oliver tate sr. (early sias era), each one of his personas is another way in which he represents the themes of that album. understanding a persona is integral to understanding the album.

and alex admits to as such. each Performer is a fractured reflection of his own self, and of the album.

but. but. i do not think that he has always made use of the Performer, or atleast, tried to make perceivable distinctions between them. in the first three-four years of his career- during WPSIATWIN and FWN, he presented as just Some Guy. just another normal bloke from sheffield. which, you could argue, was the persona that fit the context of those albums, but i would say that he was probably not putting that much thought into it at the time. it isn't until TAOTU that we see alex using his on-stage fashion to project a certain kind of image that ties in with the music he's playing. (do i think it's miles' handiwork? yes.). the lil suits and ties and beatles-mop cuts, y'know.

the first distinct Performer appears during the Humbug era. the soft-spoken, brooding, fawn-mannered poet who is probably hiding a bagful of secrets and hang-ups behind those layers of brown curls- let's call her him aly. then we have the bright-eyed, puppy-smiled, deep-voiced loverboy of the early SIAS era. i propose to call him oliver tate sr. (after the guy from submarine (2010) obviously). then mr. snarl- we'll get to him later. the loud and theatrical and slutty and deliciously gay EYCTE era persona. then the melancholic space poet mark of TBH&C and finally the suave auteur of The Car- mr. schwarz.

mr. snarl is the one who has garnered the most fascination and endured the most in popular imagination. dare i say, AM-era alex turner is a lowkey late 2010s pop culture icon. it is very easy to understand why- the quiff, the leather jackets, the perpetual sunglasses, the biker boots, the LA drawl tinging his sheffield accent, the devil-may-care wantoness. the girlies on tiktok and pinterest aren't obsessed with him for nothing.

so, what makes mr. snarl camp? what am i yapping on about?

let's get back to sontag.

camp is artificial. camp is ironic. mr. snarl is too. he is a character. he is a mask. *cue the bourne identity and body paint*. 'artificial' does not imply fake or dishonest. we should be careful not to be quick in putting any value judgement onto this artificiality- the aritifice is a quality of camp. you can't appreciate camp, if you snigger at the artificial.

2. camp is character. mr. snarl is a character if there ever was one. extremely defined, visually and behaviourally- you see a performance and can immediately recognise the moment mr. snarl is peeking through. he is also very intensely one thing- very intensely masculine, very intensely rockabilly, very intensely rock god. he is 'instant character' as sontag puts it, which is why perhaps he so immediately and so firmly gripped our collective imagination.

3. camp is exaggerated. camp is style. do i even need to elaborate on this? Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian said it much better than i could- alex ironically "played with the role" of being a rockstar but simultaneously "can't help but be a real rock star." so, to put it in sontagian terms, he is not a rockstar but a "rock star"

the 2014 brit awards speech is the peak of this ironic, exaggerated performance i think. (i'm still waiting for someone to do a drag performance based on it).

4. but to me, what makes mr. snarl camp is his performance of gender. now let's get one thing clear- camp is not effeminate or queer behaviour. it is the "spirit of extravagance", so any kind of extravagant and ironic presentation of gender can be under the purview of camp.

this performance of gender is not the david bowie or marc bolan or brian molko kind, no. this performance of gender is much subtle, much more nuanced- he wasn't playing around with rigid definitions of gender or crossing gender lines. he wasn't trying to say something with it necessarily. i doubt even, if it was a purposeful thing that he was thinking of back then.

but mr. snarl is a performance of gender. it is a performance of masculinity. and the thing that makes it so very interesting is that it was a cis, straight man doing it.

[if y'all are interested, another interesting example is dolly parton + her persona + her performance of exaggerated femininity. for more on that i'll point you towards be kind rewind's video essay on her.]

mr. snarl was an image of a very certain kind of masculinity. 1950s, elvis presley, rockabilly, greasers, james dean- these are some of the pop culture touchstones that come to mind when we think of mr. snarl. he is also decidedly american. a "fictional character from america" as alex later put it. was this whole persona thing an effort to conquer america then? perhaps...but eh. there is no way i can conclusively say that. it certainly helped that cause. AM the album was very us-american in essence-- it drew from hiphop and r&b after all. the soundscape of the arctic monkeys was very much rooted in its northern british indie roots, and AM was the first one that was clearly not. and mr. snarl was just a visual reflection of that. [for more on how the arctic monkeys conquered the us]

mr. snarl was a certain kind of masculine in a way alex turner personas haven't been previously or since. he has always presented as conventionally masculine. even the humbug persona- him being my girlfriend notwithstanding- is not much different from the aesthetics of say, ray davies or mick jagger or george harrison back in the 60s and 70s. the slightly effeminate dramaticism of eycte is not exactly gender-bending as such.

but mr. snarl was hypermasculine. masculinity has had an interesting place in his lyrics up until they- they are both critical ('brianstorm' 'a certain romance') and fascinated ('jeweller's hand' 'catapult') of more aggressive masculine characteristics. (he does use a lot of very sexual but not necessarily erotic language to describe said masculinity- but that's another can of worms.) mr. snarl was in a way, alex being those characters from those songs he was writing about. mr. snarl also very aggressively straight. straight with a capital s. his songs in AM still had the self-abasing and submissive undertones to the narrator that love songs from humbug and sias, but much toned down. he was out there shouting out his girlfriend on stage. and who can forget the "ladiessssssss!" moment. he had models hanging off him in photoshoots.

you probably saw these photos and thought- "what the fuck?!" with a cackle. that is exactly what makes mr. snarl camp. the irony, the ridiculousness of it all.

5. i don't think alex was trying to be or do camp. camp is best when it is not intentional. i can even confidently wager alex would not take it as a compliment if i showed him this essay. a lot of very "serious" people look down upon camp as something lowbrow and tacky and unserious. but it isn't. i would go ahead and classify mr. snarl under naive camp- he is trying to be straightlaced and serious, but failing grandly, which makes it deliciously camp.

so. mr. snarl was an exaggerated representation of masculinity. in a sense, mr. snarl was basically drag. alex turner being "Alex Turner".

[silvers-not-home]

my lame fucking autistic rambling

here's my massive stupid autistic rant about life series characters and my head canons for them

literally everything i'm thinking about is going on here im not even processing it im just typing sorry for any typos there will be many😭

this is also for my two (2) mutuals who i care for very deeply kiss kiss hug hug <3 /p /gen

okay it's the morning so i'm gonna continue this thumbs up emoji

starting off strong with mr grian minecraft himself (oh wow what a surprise /s)

he tried piercing his own nose in highschool. like. he was THE teenage dirtbag. sneaking out, drinking, smoking, shitty garage band that got nowhere (yes the bad boys was a garage band you c ant change my mind), mcr, pierce the veil, paramore, sexuality and gender crisis, "i know a guy", shoplifting, skipping class, you name it be probably did it with jimmy and joel during freshmen-sophomore year

pearl is his sister, jimmy and lizzie are his cousins (older cousins i should specify. him and pearl are twins but she's the older twin) and they went to the same high school. he met joel through lizzie and jimmy and joel and grian all clicked instantly

joel would stay at jimmy and grians place so much to the point it was like a second home to him and they would all hang out in the basement. joel stayed with his grandparents and helped them out a lot but they passed while he was in his bad boys phase and so he just stayed at grians place a whole lot during his depression (don't worry he's fine now just a little fucked up but they all are)

grian and pearls parents were kinda really shitty (yes i'm also counting yhs lore fuck uou) his whole life and so they got taken by cps and they lived with jimmy and lizzie's parents. and they were much better until he went to japan and all that shit happened (iykyk)

sam made him really realize that like. "oh my fucking god i'm gay. and it's for a damn sociopath. fuck." (that's like half canon)

he and taurtis DID hook up every tuesday thumbs up emoji

his wings didn't start growing in until AFTER senior year (so post japan/yhs incident)

the yhs holds a ceremony thingy for all the people that passed during all that shit and he goes every year and still has rowens glasses and ran into taurtis one year and it was awkward as HELLL but like. it wasn't an awful experience neither of them knew what to say. especially taurtks is bc by then grians wings had already fully grown in and his ass DID NOT recognize him💀

oh yeah also the four of the cousins are all winged animals so grians a parrot, pearl is a moth but like she's one of the super fluffy one (i forgot what they're called), jimmy is a canary (for obvious reasons), and lizzie is a flamingo because. fuck it (also half canary too it's from their mom) but she doesn't have as many features as the others

they all grow feathers (except for pearl) when they're stressed or feel a heightened emotion and have the little winged ears. they still do have actual ears but they grew in behind they're human ears and pearl has the little antennae things on top of her head. lizzie's kind of blends into her hair since yk. pink on pink and they're more folded then fanned out(?) if that makes sense?😭

jimmy was an early bloomer while grian was a late bloomer (i'm talking about wing/feather wise)

also some little sexuality/gender headcanons those are always fun :3

grians definitely trans masc and mlm (he/him anything else gives him dysphoria)

jimmy is THE bisexual demiboy icon (he/they)

lizzie is also bisexual (she/they)

pearl is a NONBINARY LESBIANNNN SHOUT OHT YO ALL MY NONBINARY LESBIANS WOOOO (she also uses any pronouns that would be considered feminine/androgynous or basically just. anything other then he/him/anything masculine)

mumbo is ace and omni (they/he)

scar is pan and a demiboy (all pronouns. like seriously he's collecting them like pokémon cards)

tango is bi and TRANSMASC WOOOO SHOUT OUT TO ALL MY TRANSMASC PEOPLE OUT THERE (he/they/flame)

martyn is transmasc and unlabeled. he doesn't want one/or thinks any is fit for him but is on the aspec (he/him)

scott is just. gay. goddamn fa- (he/him)

also just thought abt something grian jimmy and joel all had matching (infected and now faded) stick and poke tattoos that read "bad boys, today, tomorrow and yesterday" but that last part is faded completely since they ran out of pen ink halfway through and jimmys mom came home and they didn't wanna get in trouble (also yes their tattoos are in the same spot as each others it's on the right side of their chest) and let me TELL YOU. lizzie makes fun of joel TO THIS DAY about that tattoo and she likes to trace the words with her finger sometimes when they're cuddling, humming their old songs (he hates it but she still thinks it's absolutely adorable)

grian and mumbo are middle school best friends and he knows everything that happened to grian when he was in japan

grian, scar and mumbo all went to the same high school and mumbo and scar tried making a baking club called (you're never gonna believe this) the buttercups but grian was supposedly "too cool for that fairy shit" but would hang out during lunch with them and go to the meetings and help buy the ingredients and also help bake with them for extra credit and so would jimmy and joel. for extra credit of course

tango, mumbo and impulse were all in the computer club and coding club in highschool. doc was their teacher and cub was the senior teachers assistant trying to get early college credit

jimmy had the FATTEST crush on tango while they were in high school (yes they all went to the same highschool shut up) and tried impressing him by "making" a robot (mumbo made it and gave him the remote and told him to push two single buttons) and he pushed them in the wrong order and it short circuited and it almost exploded. he got suspended for a month and the only reason he didn't get expelled was because tango said it was his and it was a project. he complemented "jimmys" robot and said it had nice coding and a bunch of other nerd /aff terms that didn't make ANY sense to jimmy (that was his way of confessing but jimmys too stupid /aff to understand it at the moment so tango thought he didn't like him back) and when jimmy was talking to grian and joel about it they were yelling at him about how "JIMMY YOU IDIOT HE LIKES YOU BACK" and "WHAT'D YOU SAY? YOU SAID YOU LIKED HIM TOO RIGHT?" to which he (of course) responded with

"NO?? I DONT SPEAK NERD JOEL HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW??"

also tango wears a feather jimmy gave to him as an earring and has kept that earring since they started going out which was like sophomore year or smth like that

they also had an exact conversation to joel before lizzie asked him out (and she also proposed too fight me)

i can go on for HOURS about those three but i'm gonna a do stuff about martyn now because. omg. he drives me CRAZY

also just realizing how most of these are just high school head canons. sorry (no i'm not)

everyone in school always thought that the bad boys were the mean bullies bc they wore leather jackets and studs and cuffs and blah blah blah but in reality they were just the dorky, socially anxious losers that were loud in class because they all adhd. not because they were asshole

martyn and scott were the ones you had to worry about (mostly scott actually but martyn would be a passive aggressive bully)

those little twits had an actual burn book. martyn. the almost loser that pierced his own ears, causing them to get infected but refused to take them out because he wanted to match with his fellow mean gill and wore anime shirts to sleep and doc martins (only because they had his name in it dont praise him he was a loser /aff) wrote "annoying dorks" in the burn book page dedicated to the bad boys. he had NO ROOM to talk and i find that hilarious bc him and jimmy were actually really close and he ate the page. yes. he ate the page in front of scott's face after an argument to prove a point and scott has never respected another person more in his life

i also felt like it was important that martyn and scott got voted prom king and queen

martyn LOVES necklaces, rings, bracelets. he has a matching necklace and/or bracelet with all his four (4) friends that consisted of scott and the bad boys. he still has them as an adult and holds onto the charm when he misses them which is all the time (i love martyn angst evil laugh)

ykw fuck it he still wears the necklaces and tucks them under his shirt, he asked everyone else if they still had theirs and it either broke or they lost it

EVERYOEN EXCEPT FOR JIMMY BC THEY WERE CHILDHOOD BEST FRIENDS AND HE WEARS IT UNDER HIS SHIRT TOO FUCK YOU I LOVE THEM

and for anyone curious it was a dog bone that is split in half and it like one of those magnetic necklaces that you have to get uncomfortably close to eachother for it to work

okay that's enough for tonight bc i have things i need to do tomorrow and thumbs hurt and it threw in the morning and i've been typing for over an hour straight good night cleveland *proceeds to stay online for another hour*

[atopvisenyashill]

seeing how some greens act like rhaenyra being groomed by her uncle, and subsequently being unable to let go of him, is HER personal failure turned me into a rhaenyra extremist when i simply enjoyed her character beforehand.

im really glad you're speaking about it because even though it's fiction, it still perpetuates a very dangerous rhetoric

wait this gives me an excuse to ramble, pls excuse me if i phrase things maybe a little crassly here, it’s a delicate topic i’m speaking indelicately about but also, i think i should be allowed bc [redacted] BUT-

obviously i don’t like, love, some of the changes to the show but i think the first half does a great job of setting it up to where you can see both alicent and rhaenyra are surrounded exclusively by much older men who want to fuck them, and have just no way of knowing who is being genuine with them. because no one is really! so you have episode 4, where alicent is sleeping in a room with pornographic art on the wall and being called to her husband’s bed and she can’t say no, and he’s not going to do anything to make the whole thing even marginally easier for her. and then you have rhaenyra, pulled from her bed by her uncle to a brothel, and she’s completely exposed, and she’s experiencing new things, and he’s purposefully trying to make this feel good but also overwhelming for her, then abandons her drunk & confused & half naked. this is The Same Thing - they’re both being used and manipulated by a much older man, but because that manipulation looks different, they react different. but it’s still manipulation.

yes, the type of abuse is different when it’s like, your ugly ancient grandpa grooming you vs a handsome 30 year old stranger you met online that you tell all your high school friends is your boyfriend, but ultimately, both the grandpa and the 30 year old boyfriend are abusers but more importantly, the granddaughter and the high schooler are both victims!!! i think a lot of people when analyzing this whole thing, will pin daemon as a groomer but then completely forget that this also makes rhaenyra a victim. some people will even hee hee haw haw over it because “oh your feminist icon would rather marry her groomer uncle than her gay cousin in the book” DO YOU HEAR YOURSELF. could it possibly be that rhaenyra prefers daemon to laenor because daemon has manipulated her into thinking she is only free with him? she is only safe with him?? could it possibly be that he has been giving her gifts and taking physical liberties with her for her whole life, and being the Good Cop, Sweet Confidant to her parents Bad Cop her whole life, that she feels taken in by him because he is all she knows???? in the same vein that alicent just swallows all the poison and bullshit from otto because that’s her father, and his protection is all she knows????

honestly part of like ~the discourse~ that’s most frustrating is that most greens just refuse to see rhaenyra’s pov or see that she’s also a grooming victim grasping for power to protect her own children, again just like alicent, but on the flip side, most of the analysis from the blacks side is like “if you think nyra is a victim of grooming you are just as bad as the people calling her a whore for having children out of wedlock” and like, how do you even engage with that. with either of those opinions. you can’t wksjd so if youre, ya know, like a normal fucking person who can see how both girls are being manipulated, but you have like a fondness for nyra specifically, it’s just constant bad takes. there’s nowhere to go to escape the bad takes.

i thought we had already hashed out this idea that being aware or unaware of your victimhood doesn’t suddenly mean you’re not being oppressed during the main show with arya and sansa but no, we’ve actually just taken this exact same annoying fandom discourse about which teenage girl is dealing with being abused in the most acceptable way and made it a thousand times worse.

[autisticlancemcclain]

fic rec friday 10

welcome the the tenth fic rec friday! where, on friday, i rec five of my favourite fics.

1. A Rain-Check on Redamancy by @youraveragemushroom

Burnout these days usually came from working long nights at the Garrison. If Lance from five years ago could see himself today—working part-time to rebuild Earth and full-time as an instructor at the very same institution that gave him his crippling anxieties—he would probably shit a brick. Hell, five years ago he hadn’t even known aliens existed (although he always knew deep down that humans weren’t alone in the universe), and now he’s best friends with multiple! One of which had apparently texted him an hour ago.

Forgoing proper texting procedure due to fatigue and general doneness, Lance tapped on the icon to call back.

“Hello?” a familiar deep rasp answered from the other line.

“Hey, mullet,” Lance replied, pushing aside the papers in front of him to lay his head down on the desk. “What’s cooking?”

In which Lance finds himself ignoring how late it is and indulges himself in pining after Keith. Which becomes slightly more difficult when said object of his affections shows up in the middle of the night to rescue him from paperwork, stress, and the melancholy that came from being away from him.

the ‘god i wish you were here’ ‘look behind you’ trope will get to me EVERY single time idc. always makes me all stimmy bc its THE epitome of romance. this whole thing was so so romantic and full of parallels to the first episode to show how deep their relationship has gotten...i love me some romantic parallels fr

2. sweetheart by @jilliancares

“Sorry, babe,” Keith says. He even smiles, no doubt proud of himself.

And Lance knows it’s his fault. He started it, after all, but at least the biting term of endearment made sense when he was the one doing it. Keith had been talking to him like they were some old married couple. The kind who’ve been married too long and don’t love each other anymore and gripe over meaningless shit, only managing to piss each other off even further.

That’s why Lance called him dear. Because it made sense in the situation. It was a calculated insult. A strategic jab.

Keith, on the other hand, is weaponizing the term of endearment without any rhyme or reason, simply to get back at Lance.

Or: Keith and Lance have gotten into the habit of using pet names as condescending insults. They're not really terms of endearment.

ooooooo god endearments going from sarcastic to desperately genuine and the inherent hopelessness in that....whew boy. its def a Concept that u indulge and then you have to clutch ur stomach. i remember reading this as i was getting ready and brushing my teeth and the cliff scene made me gasp out loud and stop just to i could pay Full Complete Attention

3. don’t speak the language by @goldengalaxies

“More importantly” Lance says. “I am currently having a breakdown in this lift because look at him- I am so incredibly gay.”

“Lance!” Hunk buries his face in his hands. “He could speak English you know, your skills of deduction are really not that good.”

Lance ignores his warning in favour of groaning dramatically. “Oh, Dios mio, Hunk, he’s so gorgeous. Look at those muscles. He could probably bench press me.” Lance fanned himself. “Oh my God, fencing is my new favourite sport, fuck swimming.”

(or the one where Lance thirsts after a random guy in the lift who he thinks can’t speak English. lance is very wrong and hunk is very much done with his shit.)

let me tell u about this fuckin FIC. it’s hilarious, but i first read it before i meticulously started storing and bookmarking my fave fics, so when i wanted to reread it i couldnt find it. but i KNEW it was hilarious so i spent fckn hours looking for it, and it took me hours too bc i coulnt figure out which tags to filter. but it was WORTH IT. the entire concept of this fic is hilarious and makes me laugh. amazing work.

4. Whose bright idea was this? by IronScript

When Lance is captured during a mission with the MFE pilots, he wakes up aboard Haggar's ship, though the witch herself isn't there, so he figures why waste an opportunity? Then he finds something that he definitely hadn't expected.

All the while, he has no idea that back at the Garrison, his team and a few select others are watching his every move.

bro the idea that the team is panicked for lance’s safety and they desperately organise a rescue mission for him terrified that hes getting tortured and losing hope but by the time they find him he’s already got one foot out the door and has rescued himself is ENDLESSLY funny to me. like he really said ‘damsel in distress who’ and i love him for that lmao

5. Garfle! Warfle! Snick! by IronScript

How the game show episode actually should have happened.

I'll admit to being a Lance stan, but even people who don't like him seem to agree that he was really fucked over in this episode. So here's my attempt at it. Is it more realistic than what actually happened? I like to think so.

another ironscript fic bc they nail bamf lance. this is how the gameshow WOULD have gone if vld gave a shit about their characters like actually. like yes of course the team is proud of each other and capable of acknowledging mistakes. of course keith knows lance’s worth. of course lance is a badass. of course the team knows wtf theyre doing. love to read this when i get mad about the game show

that’s it for today!! i’ll see y’all back next friday for the next fic rec post!!!

[thestylesindependent]

We haven’t seen an artist like him since David Bowie

I’ve always considered myself to be somewhat of a music purist.

I still listen to albums from front to back, usually on an old record player I keep next to a collection of EPs that produces a lovely scratchy sound as original masterpieces from Revolver to The Queen Is Dead turn on its table.

Those albums aren’t just important because they are musical triumphs, they’re important because they had a profound impact on the industry and influenced cultural movements that impacted society as a whole.

Without the Beatles there is no Pixies, Nirvana or Oasis. Without The Smiths there is no Stone Roses, Radiohead or The Libertines. But what those bands did for women’s liberation, gay liberation, environmentalism and working class movements is equally profound. Both are bands whose popularity was supplanted by their artistry, giving them a unique position in the annals of music history.

For me, ever since the X Factor aired on our screens, fronted by Simon Cowell with his pearly white teeth, pristine T and Twickers jeans and shoes combination, it has been the absolute antithesis of all that.

The public flogging of people out to chase their dreams has seen huge audiences flock to the show over the years as they crown acts who manage to not butcher classic covers. As Michael Rosenberg (AKA Passenger) once put it, the show “murdered music” at the altar of a few “money-grabbing pricks”. It robbed us of an original Christmas Number 1 for decades until a countermovement propelled Rage Against The Machine to the top spot. And quite right, too.

But the show has, quite miraculously, given birth to a musician who, in my view, belongs in the same category as The Beatles, The Smiths and, pertainantly, David Bowie in status.

Harry Styles, formerly of One Direction fame, is quite obviously a popular bloke. He is about to perform in front of 90,000 people at Wembley for the fourth night after completing the highest selling Scottish stadium tour ever. He has 48.9 million followers on Instagram and his 2022 hit ‘As It Was’ was the most streamed Spotify song that year.

But his popularity should not be confused with his artistry.

Styles is more than just the hoards of screaming teenage fans and strings of celebrity endorsements we’ve come to know him for. He’s actually an icon both in music and in style, and increasingly an icon in modern movements of inclusiveness and self-worth.

During a concert in Houston, Texas, in 2018, he interacted with a ten-year-old boy in the crowd who had become overcome with emotion. Styles assured the young boy, “Crying is very manly. Being vulnerable is manly”. That is fucking classy, man.

His debut album artwork, which depicts the least tattooed area of his naked body half-submerged in a pastel pink bath, similarly conveys vulnerability, femininity, reflection, and intimacy, all of which are buzzwords for new youth movements that will only grow in acceptance and popularity.

When I look at his Love on Tour show I don’t see a teenage heartthrob. I see the Beatles. I look at his fashion and I see Bowie. I look at the messages he’s sending out to kids and I see Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation. And I see the fact that nobody is talking about him in those terms as proof that he is actually woefully underrated.

Now bring on the hate…

[straightplayshowdown]

Angels in America: In the first part, we meet Louis and Prior and Harper and Joe, two couples whose relationships are on the rocks: the former because of Prior’s AIDS diagnosis and Louis’s inability to cope with illness, the latter because of Joe’s closeted homosexuality and Harper’s incessant fears and hallucinations, as well as her addiction to pain-killers. The second part focuses on the story of Prior Walter, a gay man living with AIDS who has recently been left by his partner, Louis, after he could not cope with the physical and personal impact of the disease.

The Baltimore Waltz: In a series of comic vignettes underlined by tragedy, the farce traces the European odyssey of sister and brother Anna and Carl. They are in search of hedonistic pleasure and a cure for her terminal illness, the fictitious ATD (Acquired Toilet Disease) she contracted by using the bathrooms at the elementary school where she teaches. Knowing her life is nearing its end, Anna is driven by a lust that compels her to have casual sex with as many men as possible during their travels, a passion shared by her gay brother. Assisting the pair is the mysterious Third Man. The play actually takes place in a hospital room in Baltimore, Maryland, where Carl has a terminal illness, and Anna is imagining the trip that the two never took.

Propaganda under the cut!

Angels in America:

painful funny surreal and down to earth all at the same time somehow, even without being a landmark piece for me personally w/ regard to queer literature

The Great American Play. The definitive exploration of how AIDS affected an entire generation of queer Americans in the '80s, and what it left behind in its wake. Those more eloquent than I am will be better at doing this play justice, but my sincerest hope is that the sheer significance of this work is clear enough to carry it all the way through to the highest end of this showdown.

honestly the peak of modern theater 2 me. everything i write and create is in the hopes that i might someday make something that lives up to the bar that angels set. it treats every one of its characters with such depth and compassion and the world it creates is so vivid and fantastic. and the context in which it was created will always be beyond important to me like i don't know how to describe how important it is that a play widely considered an american classic is about the aids crisis. she's the blueprint she's perfect she's everything

genuinely changed my life when i first read it. andrew garfield played prior walter in the 2018 national theatre version and he fucking kills it. it's 6 whole hours of joy and heartbreak and, most of all, hope. stan harper pitt!!!

This epic stageplay has become more accessible since its HBO miniseries adaptation in 2003. It is epic, intersectional, commemorative of a collective trauma that had been silenced for too long at the time of writing. (also Harper deserves to be as much a Tumblr Sad Girl icon as Lana del Rey or Sylvia Plath.) 

The Baltimore Waltz:

Paula Vogel's brother died of AIDs. A few years before being diagnosed, he tried to get her to go on a trip to Europe with him, but she was busy. This play explores that imagined trip, but it also a lot more complicated.

[scarecrow-in-a-hatake]

Yo,

Speakin' of kiddos, I've always wondered something. Growing up, I'm sure y'all spent a good time around the OG Ino-Shika-Cho. How's it feel watching the new generation step into them same shoes? I think they did pretty well, but that'd be my opinion.

Sorry if this makes ya' feel a bit up-there Hokage-sama!

By 'OG', are you referring to Inoichi, Shikaku, and Chouza? Because I hate to break it to you, but there's at least... five more generations of that iconic trio before those three. The Yamanaka and Nara have been Akimichi clan vassals for a long, long time, if not from the start. Although I will concur that it was the three you have in mind who elevated the Ino-Shika-Cho formation into international infamy during the Third War, since their immediate predecessors were more diplomats and negotiators with a emphasis on trade at the time. I was too young to have really known them, aside from seeing them around the village from afar.

Long post ahead. You've been warned.

Now, Inoichi... I didn't know him beyond as a work acquaintance. Definitely addicted to caffeine, incredibly busy with leading both his clan and the intelligence department, but he made time for his friends' old genin students just so they wouldn't have to switch shrinks when they got older. A good man, if a tad absent from his home as the years went by, from what I've heard. I can appreciate that he kept whatever he learned about me separate from our working relationship, and honor all he's done for this village.

Shikaku was a great drinking buddy if you weren't looking for any drama, but a frustrating conversationalist when he was looking for something from you. It was difficult to stay mad at him when he was so... deadpan? Levelheaded? Blase? I don't know if I would have accepted my initial nomination to become Rokudaime after Pain's attack if he hadn't been the one to talk me around.

He left a very strong impression on me when I was younger. You could say I looked up to him, in a way. He wasn't a genius like his son— which isn't to say he wasn't a brilliant analyst, tactician, and strategist in his own right— but then, there are very few people who can match Shikamaru in that aspect. It was more his organizational skills that got him where he ended up as Konoha's jounin commander and the Shinobi Alliance's chief strategist. Incredibly efficient, incredibly sharp, and above all, you never saw him lose his cool or his resolve. He knew what had to be done and made sure that it would be done. Among that generation, Shikaku was one of the greats— not infamous like Minato-sensei, but rather, the epitome of what a shinobi had to be.

Chouza is only someone I know because Gai and Genma— two of his genin students— kept in touch. I used to get dragged to Akimichi-hosted gatherings when I was younger, ergo, lots of positive connotations. I appreciated his wisdom when he invited me to tea shortly before both of my formal nominations, and he remains the most easy-going out of all the clan heads I have to meet with on a quarterly basis. Although he's since retired from the field, he was one of our village's greatest combative assets through two wars. I'm glad that he's still with us.

That said, their successors are not them.

Ino is still making progress in leaps and bounds with her clan techniques and innovating with our village's barrier team. Shikamaru is learning how the tower operates and taking on more responsibilities. Chouji continues to be an exemplary shinobi of Konoha and a role model for the rising generation of new genin as he grows in his role as a squad leader on missions.

All three have been lauded for their admirable contributions during the Fourth war. It is my hope that they will never see another, and never become what their fathers had to be. Let the youth create new footsteps for others to follow, and let old shoes be buried with a past that we can learn from.

If you want a better comparison, maybe ask @whotookmysenbon. He's closer with everyone involved than I ever was.

[tempobrucera]

Because I have enough and I usually don't talk about the anon asks in my inbox or anything that isn't fun on here (for reasons) but I have a limit. And this here is just ugly.

TW: Antisemitism, saying Ukraine is lead by a Zionist (yeah, Jewish people rule the world - got it), rape mention, literal death treats, ect. The list is long. Here we go, those are the highlights from about 100 asks or more, I am going to spare you the holocaust denial.

@anon - You're a clown. An antisemitic clown but you're still a goddamn clown and nothing more. I hope you're aware that I could take this to the police.

Discussing with people who feel the need to talk like this is absolutely senseless but maybe we can show someone else what the problem here is.

This is the problem: Jewish people are currently telling you that your rock icon (R*ger W*ters) on his pedestal is walking on antisemitic terrain and has done so for years. Not the first time Jewish people do so and are disregarded by people who don't know about our struggles or what we face. I told someone today that it's not good to talk over Jewish voices when it mainly concerns us, we might be few (open a history book - antisemitism didn't start during the 1930's) but we still have the right to be heard and to be threated like humans. I said this in a reply to a post and in DMs (which haven't really been answered, neither was I listened to - you can't apologize one billion time for "personal backlash" (......... you mean antisemitic hate death threats which don't have to do anything with me except for me being Jewish? Stop pretending this is "personal backlash") and was literally told, that they aren't talking over Jewish voices (you are - I'm not the first Jewish person pointing his tendecies out) and basically that it was disinformation. You're still talking over me.

So. We established that he used a pig with a Star of David on stage. People already pointed out ten years ago that this is antisemitic and he tried to weasel his way out of it with a half-assed explanation which btw doesn't make it better.

I am aware that Pigs is part of one of his bands concept albums and that they stand for wealthy, cunning people in office. He has said and claimed that it isn't the represent Jewish people. The problem is when you don't want to represent Jewish faith it is easy enough to not use the Star of David. "I have many Jewish friends" is an argument like "I'm not rassist, I have a Black friend", "I'm not a homophobe, I have gay friends". "it is almost inevitable that the symbol of the religion becomes confused with the symbol of the state" - No, you are the one who is confusing it. I have never stepped foot into Israel (while I worked for humanitarian aid in Palestine and Iraq (that's a story in itself) - when these countries where labelled active war zones), but I'm proud of my Jewish heritage. Stop confusing Israeli (government) with Jewish faith. Most Jewish people live outside of Israel. The other problem here is that "Judensau" / "Judenschwein" (Jewish pig) is used as an insult, especially by Nazis and people who are leaning towards antisemitism (you might not know that as a person who's not Jewish but I've heard this enough times growing up), so putting the symbol of Judaism (not goddamn Israel) on a pig isn't the smartest idea by default. In Germany and Europe, in churches and paintings, Jewish people were often depicted as pigs or Jewish people sucking on a sow (I can tell you, not in good faith). Furthermore have Jewish people adjectives like "wealthy", "cunning", "manipulative", "dirty" or that they "secretly run the world" associated with them for millenia. So putting the Star of David into this context is not a smart idea. Not at all, because it's heating up antisemitic rhetorics and resentments. You might not want to be associated with Nazis but I can tell you, Nazis will always be happy to associate themselves with you and they always do, I have seen them leech onto less than this.

He also claimed that the U.S. is being controlled by Jewish Republican donor Sheldon Adelson and described him as a “puppet master” who is “filling the coffers and pulling all the strings” on U.S. policies. Which brings us back to the antisemitic believe that Jewish people run the world. If you think, he said something like this only once, no he did it more than once over the years. (Also more than twice, or three times, honestly I STOPPED counting).

"Waters repeatedly promoted antisemitic conspiracies and themes, including that a nefarious “Israel lobby” prevented the election of Jeremy Corbyn in the UK" - this interview is from this year btw, not ten years ago because you all so fixated on how long some bullshit is ago.

"(Sheldon Adelson) believes that only Jews – only Jewish people – are completely human, that they are attached in some way… everybody else on Earth is there to serve them" - That is a quote out of the interview from this year. He's talking about JEWISH people, not ISRAEL. You get what the problem here is? It doesn't matter that he apologizes anymore, he does it so often, his apologies are fucking worthless at best at this point.

He also implied Israelis / Jewish people are kind of responsible for George Floyds death (yes, Jewish people run the world, it is getting boring)

He called verified reports of Beijing’s enslavement of Uyghur Muslims and massacre of Tibetan Buddhists "absolute nonsense".

I don't know how much bullshit has to come out of one single person that you might think, maybe I shouldn't support this.

All of this leads to another problem. You can always say stuff like "I don't agree with everything this person does", "I don't agree what he said about Ukraine", "I can disagree and agree with some one" (Yes, but you're automatically treating some people as lesser with this view, congratulations. One good thing doesn't make the other things better or excusable). The problem is that there's also other people who will be like "Thank you, but I agree with the view on Jewish people and I think the same on Ukraine" and in a few hours you will have a person under your post that says Ukraine is being lead by a Zionist (yes, Jewish people rule the world, we got it). And then you don't even have the balls to call this out or you think the same, who knows. And people who feel encouraged to send death threats, are denying the shoah, and so much more. This is the problem, if you think it's okay on a small scale, people will use it on a big scale. If you really don't see one problem with any of this, you're the problem, not me.

And for fucks sake: Stop getting on people's nerves who talk to me, are nice to me or reblogged my previous post.

[obey-moi]

Angels and demons can live centuries, millennia even. There’s no arguing about that. Even Solomon has lived hundreds on hundreds of years.

Another fact is that both races also have visited the human world (demons more often than angels, if I’m assuming correct).

What I would LOVE to see is what the characters got up to during the decades, what styles they would wear in order to blend into the human world, stuff like that.

(Keep in mind this all comes from a Very American POV of history, which is not to discredit or forget other events around the world. I’ll even cover Belphegor’s whereabouts despite being grounded in the attic for a while. I just want to keep this light-hearted, yeah?)

Like. 50’s gangster/beatnik bs, of course. I’m sure many of us have written plenty of 50’s AU fics. Not much I can say here. I’m sure Asmo adored Mod back then, as well as the little well-known Marilyn Monroe, and was incredibly heartbroken over the deaths of James Dean and Buddy Holly. Satan fell in love with “Catcher in the Rye” and is just behind most riots and protests in general, here and in the future. Belphie gets more and more interested in the developments between America’s and Russia’s space race.

Then the 60’s, Belphie REALLY getting behind the hippie movement, where more teens and young adults became disillusioned with the status quo and stopped working, started living in vans, and taking crazy drugs. That must have been a groovy time for Bels. Not to mention Asmo is probably one of the biggest inciters of the free love movement. Without that 57 brother duo, The Beatles, The Monkeys, all those bands might not have ever existed. Mammon gets super inspired by Oceans 11 and tries to get his brothers in on a heist plan (Lucifer shuts that down QUICK).

And when they hit the 70’s?? Leviathan discovering PONG?? Lucifer going with Diavolo to a fucking discotheque wearing those silken half-open button-downs and flared pants??? (I’M GOING CRAZY. I’M GONNA TURN INTO A BUG. I think I just want to see those two wearing silk shirts with all the sexual tension between them of the covers of gay romance novels). On the other end of the subgenre scale, Satan gets into punk and blasts The Clash and The Ramones on Lucifer’s record player 24/7 in an act of defiance.

Then in the 80’s, Mammon got up to terrible corpo-schemes, going crazy over the stock exchange. And Beel. Ohhhh god Beel is going crazy keeping up with the Fast Food development. He’s running around, going from one fast food joint to another like a strained addict who needs his next McRib fix. Asmo? Oh honey, he is WORKING. He is SERVING. He is becoming a TRENDSETTER, an ICON. The clothes, the hair, the makeup, the colours and prints and fabrics, the whole god damned EVERYTHING. Prince? Madonna? Jane Fonda? Uplifting and inspiring each other (or at least their stylists). Although, if you ever find photos of Asmo in his 80’s era, no you didn’t. (Mammon keeps entire photo albums of all his bro’s in the decades in secret. Claims it’s for blackmail or to sell to fans.) The NES comes out and it all goes downhill for Levi.

I could go into more decades, but I wanna hear from Y’ALL! I wanna read what era events or trends you can see the characters getting into and influencing/being influenced by. Please, share your thoughts!

[anacecherry]

Ace Lore

Everyone in my friend cycle is posting their lore and Louie gave me the idea to make my own as well so here we go. Kept switching between 3rd person and 1st person because I felt like using both so the phrasing may seem weird

This isn't in any order I wrote them down as they came to my mind

Named Ace because of Among Us

Had a Danganronpa phase in 2020

Was a mod in dr-transparents

Also had a dr edit blog have fun trying to find that one

Used to be homophobic but one day during breakfast I asked my mom if being gay was a sin and she just thought for a second and said no so I stopped being homophobic

Dad in jail (out in march 9 😎)

Watched the entire mcu once

Goes to one of the greatest schools around the area and its shit

Watches how to learn Turkish videos despite being turkish

Has been pirating movies ever since I started using computers because I didn't know you had to pay for it until 3 years ago

Has an """uncle""" and """aunt""" thats younger than me (the aunt is a toddler)

First experience with the sonic franchise was that flash fangame based on sonic advance 2 and I thought Knuckles was a girl

Has an evil twin named Allo, who likes reddit and men

Knows every single frame of animation in Rise of the TMNT

funneylizzie follows me. I forget about that a lot.

The only person that never misread Penosh's og url

.w batman

Will :handshake: me

The CEO of Rise Casey Jones (Cassandra)

The mere sight of Cjj is enough to fill me with rage

Got kicked out of a toh youtubers server bc I tried to explain the owner that the potion coven was, in fact, a real coven and not just a track that they only teach at Hexide

Once woke up and saw a short weird girl with long black hair watching me from the side of my bed, she disappeared after I closed and opened my eyes again. No it wasn't sleep paralysis.

Has a sunflower seed addiction

I was Penosh's first follower I think that should be here

The 6 kittens we took care of after their mom died, most didn't last 2 months alive, the 5th one ran away like an idiot and the 6th lives with our neighbors and hates us

Most likely had a crush on my middle school best friend

Says "Lan" a lot in real life my friends think it's funny

Grew up near the sea so Im immune to the smell of fish

Remembers her first earthquake in 3rd person

When I clear out likes it takes a long time and I end up rebloging a lot of posts, and it might happen again & will be real big this time so be prepared

The Ralsei icon is traced from the og sprite from Deltarune and I will never ever change it it is a part of my identity now

Url used to be tsundere-blue-cherry before I changed it

The first time I remember throwing up might be one of my core memories. did you know you cant talk when you're just about to vomit

Has headaches forever ever since elementary school

Had a budgie named Şans that flew away because mom kept forcing us to keep the windows open

When I was ~6 I a dream where a Caillou toy that I had came to life and I got so scared that I tore it apart and ran. When I woke up I checked the drawer I put the toy parts in and he was still there and greeted me I screamed and slammed it shut and never looked at that drawer again

Ayıcık the teddy bear

Had 2 imaginary friends and one of them was a mirror

Diagnosed as American

I have cherry in my url but cannot eat cherries bc when eating cherries I realized it had worms in it and it happened twice and I have not been able to eat cherries without drowning in anxiety ever again

My youngest sister called my middle sister Dede despite her name not having those letters in it and the word dede meaning grandpa in our language. We started calling her that as well

Had a dream, before the sonic 2 trailer came out, where the trailer released and it was normal except Boom Knuckles was there as a separate character from normal Knuckles and had his model from the show

Made up number lore when I was younger

Uses light mode

[kai-selfships]

SING + SING 2 HEADCANONS (human au)

Part 2: side characters (may not be as long because I don’t have as many ideas haha

Picrew link, art by Naylissa on various social medias

(One year passes in between movies so for characters who are in both movies, there will be two ages listed)

I’m posting this here instead of on my main because you guys are used to me being cringe <3

Also, important: I chose each character’s ethnicity based either on where in the world their species of animal lives, or (for animals that live all over, like pigs or mice) other contextual things (like Gunther’s accent)

Eddie Noodleman (he/him, gay)

35 years old as of the first movie

5’7”

Mixed race (his mom is black and his dad is white)

Still lives in the pool house

Does not have a job

But he does have a YouTube channel! He posts video game speedrun

Bleaches his hair

Grew up rich so he doesn’t know how to cook or anything

He is really close with his family, and Nana likes him a lot

He was the one who broke up with Buster— nothing bad happened, he just thought they would be better as friends, but Buster’s feelings were hurt :(

Nana Noodleman (she/her, asexual)

92-93 years old

5’10”

Eddie’s maternal grandmother

Becomes good friends with Clay Calloway— they’re both old, rich, mean, and famous in the music industry

They don’t really have the same taste in music (Clay is a rockstar and Nana is a theater actress), but they have a lot in common otherwise

Was a very iconic and popular actress, but it was “controversial” how she had a child out of wedlock and raised them alone

At first she didn’t like Buster at all, but she changed her mind after watching his show, which was very successful

Ryan (he/him, questioning but he ends up identifying as gay)

24 years old

5’11”

Thai

He’s a natural at dancing, and is the youngest person on Klaus’ high-level choreography team

Was kind of friends with Alphonso during the production of “out of this world” and maybe had a little crush on him

Is very kind— he felt horrible having to beat Johnny over and over on the first day of practice

He thought about reaching out, but was really shy

Really likes to wear pretty clothes and extravagant outfits

Is really stressed out because a lot is expected of him

Suki Lane (she/her, femme lesbian)

26 years old

5’4”

Egyptian

Bleaches and dyes her hair often

She got her job working for Mr. Crystal because her parents are big investors for Redshore City’s theater shows

After Jimmy Crystal is arrested and she’s out of a job, she decides to pursue her dream of going to art school and becoming an artist full time

She starts dating Sasha a few months after everything went down, but they had been friends pretty much since the day they met

She doesn’t actually need glasses, she just things they look cool

Loves to thrift

Is allergic to cats

Sasha (she/her, futch lesbian)

27 years old

5’6

South African

She works as a stunt actress and happened to be hired by Jimmy to train Rosita— so she doesn’t directly work for Crystal

She’s very strong and good at gymnastics and rock climbing

Has a two year old child from a previous relationship, and has full custody

She is very close with her siblings and parents— they help raise the kid when she has a lot of work to do

Met Suki during “Out of This World” production, and they became fast friends. Suki needed a cheaper housing arrangement after she lost her job, and Sasha happened to be looking for a roommate, so they end up living together and eventually dating

She was the first one to confess— Suki didn’t realize her feelings were reciprocated

James “Jimmy” Crystal (he/him)

45 years old

6’0”

Originally from Canada, but moved to Redshore for business opportunities

Has always struggled with controlling his anger, but he stopped putting in an effort after his wife left him

Has a podcast about how to “survive” in the entertainment industry

Thinks being gay is a choice and doesn’t support Porsha being a lesbian

Definitely one of those “alpha male” guys

Jerry (he/him, gay)

48 years old

5’8”

Norwegian

Is so in love with Jimmy and in denial about him being a horrible person

“Babysat” Porsha way up until she was a teenager because she used to get into trouble and Jimmy let her do whatever she wanted

Was really good at his job and very dedicated

Always fought with Suki because he was jealous that Jimmy liked her better

Trying really hard to learn Norwegian because he wants to travel there one day

Mike (he/him)

25 years old, was sadly murdered at the end of the first movie (this is implied in canon btw)

4’11

Recently graduated from the Lincoln School of Music, but had yet to land a real gig

Still loved to drink and party, and used to go to clubs every weekend

Is from a rich family, but got cut off financially after he made some poor choices regarding money in his teens

Really loved Nancy— she went to the same music school learning to play the flute, and they used to date. She broke up with him because she was going through some tough personal things and didn’t have the energy to be in a relationship

When he saw her again in the first movie, a year had gone by and he was hoping that she was ready to date him again

He plays a lot of instruments; he’ll get bored quickly and move on to another one as soon as he masters it

Nancy (she/her, pansexual)

24

5’0”

Glamorous af, really cares about her appearance

But also really sad :( she was partying and drinking to cope with how lonely she was

Her life was spared by the bears that killed Mike. She ended up breaking down and asking them to kill her, but they felt too bad— Mike had cheated them out of a lot of money, but Nancy hadn’t ever done anything to them

She ended up moving to Washington state to live closer to her family and just get away from the city that held so many bad memories for her

She finds out shortly after the events of the first movie that she’s pregnant, and chooses to raise the child anyway

Still has horrible memories about witnessing Mike’s murder

Alphonso (he/him, pansexual)

25 years old

6’5”

Lactose intolerant

Meena isn’t his first girlfriend, but his first breakup left him not knowing what to do because his ex had been so controlling. As a way to try and get over it, he had been practicing putting himself out there by flirting and being really friendly with all the actors and actresses he served

Once he met Meena, though, there was kind of a spark— they were both so awkward and didn’t know how to flirt, lol— he was glad to meet a kindred spirit, and started kinda crushing on her in secret. Plus, she was like really pretty.

He would tell his friends about his feelings, and they encouraged him to ask her out, but he thought for sure she’d have a boyfriend already because she was so cute and kinda famous

He was so glad when she asked him out, and he’s the best long distance boyfriend ever! They do a lot of virtual dates, and send each other love letters and gifts, and all that cute stuff :]

[ratsarecute4]

Lotr headcannons I have

Aragorn

He needs to be reminded to bathe or he won't fucking do it

Straight, but he is the biggest ally you will find

Had an emo phase as a teenager and wrote a lot of poetry

Talks about Arwen about 80% of the time. It should be annoying but is actually really sweet

Every year he dons his ranger outfit and hangs out in the woods for a few days to get a break from the stress of being King for a bit

Legalised gay marriage as his first act as King

Doesn't drink enough water

Always tells people they need to make sure to eat and relax but he doesn't do either of those himself

Boromir

Carries candy with him everywhere because Faramir loves candy and he just never got out of the habit of bringing it with him

Thinks of Merry and Pippin as his younger brothers

Aro/ace

Doesn't really understand romance but also gets really excited for his friends' relationships

Secretly loves when the hobbits complain about being too tired to walk because it means he gets to carry them and it makes him feel needed

Talks a lot about Faramir

Loves big dogs. He has several at a time and enjoys taking them on walks and spoiling them

His father owns peacocks and Boromir got bit by one once and now he is deathly afraid of them

Legolas

Used to talk shit about the rest of the fellowship to Aragorn before learning that Frodo and Boromir both speak elvish too

Makes up silly songs and sings them in an obnoxious voice to annoy everyone else

Although some of the others in the fellowship might think of him as cool and serious at first, he actually can't take anything seriously

Somehow always has flowers in his hair, even during the winter

Doesn't tell anyone he is a prince at first because he doesn't want them to expect him to act like a prince

The youngest child with several older brothers. He just gives me youngest child vibes

Doesn't understand how mortal ages work so treats everyone like a child

Vibes well with Pippin

Overly enthusiastic about pine nuts

Gandalf

Can't actually turn anyone into an animal. He just uses this to threaten children so they won't misbehave

Somehow, Pippin finds out and decides to be even more annoying now that he knows the threat is empty

Gandalf starts threatening to beat him with his staff instead

Loves going to the Shire because hobbits throw the best parties and because they all think of him as a weird old man who does magic tricks. The outside world place expectations on him so it is nice to go to the Shire to have some fun

Is very fond of children of all types and believes the best use of his magic is to entertain the children with it

While he views the rest of the hobbits in the fellowship as adults who can make their own decisions, he knows Pippin is still a child and so treats him as he would his own grandchild.

Feels really guilty for everything that happened to the hobbits and believes it is his fault

Constantly makes jokes about having died

Gimli

Talks shit about the rest of the fellowship to himself. Thankfully, no one understands him

Understands the importance of keeping the dwarves' secrets secret, but also taught Legolas every swear word in his language because he thinks it is funny

Cares quite a bit about his appearance, especially his beard, and carries a comb in his belt right beside his throwing axes

Legolas is the only one allowed to touch his hair. Everyone else doesn't wash their hands enough, according to him

Kind of a mom friend

After the quest, he visits the Shire and makes sure to go to every tavern to try out all the ale

Once got in a very heated argument with Merry about pipeweed and it was so bad Aragorn had to intervene

Sam

Doesn't trust anyone but himself to cook

Bisexual icon

Also polyamorous

Married to Rosie and Frodo

Is super strong because of all the gardening work he does

Incredibly fond of chickens. He gets a few chickens when they return back to the Shire and he loves them so much.

Knows a lot about flower language and always gives people flowers that mean something

Makes the best chicken pot pie in all the Shire. He knows this because he won a prize for it at the Fair in Michel Delving

Really really loves elves and learns elvish so he can speak to them. He practices with Legolas every time he is over

Like Gimli, is a mom friend. If he so much as guesses someone might be sick, he fusses over them and makes them soup and doesn't allow them to get out of bed until he is convinced they are well

Gets super embarrassed when people treat him like a hero, but also secretly enjoys it and knows he deserves it

Always grows too much zucchini and when the harvesting season comes around everyone tries to discreetly avoid him so he can't give them a thousand zucchinis

Frodo

Feels really bad about how he used to steal Farmer Maggot's crops so now he leaves more crops in the fields any time he passes by the farm. Farmer Maggot caught him doing it once and was really confused when Frodo explained his method behind "reverse stealing"

Asexual

Went through an emo phase when he was a teenager

Enjoys his reputation for being odd. It makes him proud to inherit Bilbo's title of Mad Baggins

Is very good at swimming. He doesn't do it often and was scared of water for the while after his parents drowned, but he is a strong swimmer and fast too

Enjoys making bread. It makes him feel strong to use his hand after the quest and kneading bread is the perfect way to do it

Enjoys hosting grand parties with lots of food and dancing

Spends a lot of money on repairing roads and bridges anytime he hears they need fixing

Writes stories all the time

Likes to climb trees

He has a lot of bad days where he can't get out of bed, so he makes sure to really enjoy the good days. On good days, he invites friends over, or bakes pastries, or dances with Sam and Rosie

Owns the grumpiest, bitchiest cat in the whole world. Sam jokingly calls it Gollum and it responds only to that now

Merry

Had a huge crush on Éowyn

Really likes girls who are strong and stubborn

Straight, but he gives me trans vibes

A total nerd

Knows literally everything there is to know about pipeweed and will tell you all about it whether you are interested or not

Has very strong opinions on most things and cannot be swayed from them

Used to lie and say Pippin was his brother because he was sad they were just cousins

Very cunning and comes up with a lot of schemes and plans. He is good at not getting caught

Has always held an interest for herbs but becomes even more interested after his time spent in the House of Healing

Learns Rohhiric. At first it is to impress Éowyn, but then because he finds it interesting

Can't sing but does it anyway

Owns lots of ponies. He allows all the children he knows to name them

Wears giant round glasses and think they make him look cool and smart even though they actually make him look like a total geek

One time he broke a flowerpot at Bag End and blamed it on Pippin and then cried later because he felt bad

Makes about a thousand cookies every year around Yule

Pippin

Insists he is taller than Merry even though he knows deep down it isn't true

Dyslexic

Bisexual

Super gender non conforming. He wears skirts sometimes because he like how he looks in them.

Used to let his sisters play dress-up and tea party with him as a kid because he wanted to be included in their games

Thinks Boromir is so cool and wants to be like him

Gandalf called him a little shit once and he has been chasing that high ever since

Very shy around girls he fancies but is painfully obvious around boys

He had a crush on Aragorn for like, a day, but then he made them march through a marsh and the crush went away instantly

Used to hang around Bag End in the summertime so he could watch Sam roll his sleeves up

Had a huge crush on Faramir and was low key jealous when he got married

Honestly he gets a crush on every mildly attractive person he meets

Plays a bunch of different instruments

Decent at art and likes to sketch

Likes to have odd pets like frogs and rats and fish

Was born early and got sick often as a child

He really loves Gandalf and views him as a grandfather, despite how much he likes to get on his nerves

Sometimes, when he is lonely, he talks to Boromir in hopes that wherever he is, he is listening

Met his wife Diamond when she nearly ran him over with her wagon

Even when he becomes Thain he never gets out of the habit of pranking people

Whenever he tells stories about the quest he adds new embellishments and at this point it is so far from what originally happened but it is way more entertaining and children love to listen to it

Is banned from two different inns in Michel Delving

Éowyn

She can actually cook, it's just Rohan has really shitty cuisine. I bet they eat lutefisk and that pickled shark soup stuff they used to eat over in Iceland

If, after the war is over, something happened and her friends were in danger, she would not hesitate to go into battle again, though she is glad that they are in a time of peace now because she knows war is awful now

Doesn't know how to read because Rohhiric is not a written language, so Faramir teaches her so she can send letters to her friends all over the world and they are really proud of her progress

Finds she likes weaving and makes a huge tapestry telling the stories from the war. It hangs in Minas Tirith in the throne room

Becomes good friends with Arwen and talks about herb lore with her a lot and they totally lock eyes with eachother to give eachother The Look every time a guy says something stupid in their presence. You know the Look.

Definitely still carries a sword around with her while travelling but never really wants to use it

She becomes more comfortable in her life after she finds friends and family, and she works together with Aragorn and Éomer to help pass laws that give women more freedom (allowing divorce, banning marriages to children, allowing women to have control over their finances, etc) they are both happy to change the laws, although Éomer has to confront some of his prejudices first

Faramir

I dont know what this man is but cis ain't it

Was questioning whether he was gay for a while because he wasn't attracted to women (though he wasn't attracted to men, either) and then he met Éowyn and realized he was just demiromantic

Loves giving Éowyn flowers and planning picnic dates for the two of them

This man is a romantic

He writes her poetry and leaves it around their room for her to find after he teaches her to read

Worried about whether he will be a good dad or not but he gets the hang of it really easily and is a really really good father

Was aware of Pippin's crush on him during the war and just tried to ignore it because it was awkward to think about it

Started carrying candies around in his pockets in remembrance of Boromir

[bciwasinlove]

Just adding to the larries liking taylor swift, i think one of th reason is that most of the larries are part of of the lgbtq community. And in our community, Taylor is very loved. She's a gay icon. It's easy to just brush away the shits that happened with haylor since it's in the past. Also these larries thinks it's a double sided bearding. There is this theory about how TS was dating Diana at the time of haylor. I believe Diana also sometimes thirdwheel to haylor's dates. That Out Of The Woods is about when their stunt is ending or smthng. OR this larries could be just newbies that already like Taylor Swift and couldn't careless about Haylor since the y didn't get to experience how horrible that time was.

For me, I think I just tolerate her. Some of her songs are good. But I am still annoyed at the annoying songs she wrote about haylor. 🤢 Can't escape it tho, since two of my sisters are swifties.

Hey anon I do know about those rumors I personally don't feel the same on the matter of her being 🏳️‍🌈 tho I don't know much about her music past the "h**lor songs" to truly say. But for argument sake let's say she is isn't that worse when it comes to this topic? She would know what it is like to be a closeted celeb and yet she still used a fellow closeted celeb to make herself look like a victim and them the "toxic ex womanizer who treats women like trash." She did something that further put H in the closet and madw people think he's straight.

People may say oh it was all her team like sure her team may have initially decided for her to get involved in a fake relationship with H but all the slandering of H from her at one point that's on her. If her team did tell her to say all those things and it wasn't her personal choice to drag H then give her a fuckin oscar bc she did a damn good job playing the role of I'm a victim of a shitty ex and here is why.

So I [along with anonymous mutuals] believe whether she is or isn't 🏳️‍🌈 she still dragged H through the mud with almost all of 2013 promo/award season being her dragging "her ex" aka H and we just can't get ourselves to be ok with that. And during the time period of h**lor's relationship L&H were fuckin miserable every day.

Of course here we are 10 years later and he is STILL being asked about her and whether his songs are for her and to no suprise he fuckin hates it. She unintentional or not caused them a lot of trauma and was the reason H womanizer image sky rocketed in 2013. So it will never make sense to me how someone can claim to love L&H proudly "being a larrie" while idolizing her.

I do think like you said most of those who love her are newbies who just weren't around in 2012/13 time period to know what happened bc if they had been they would know how much it fucked them up. And don't even get me started on how most of these stans think their ✨️ besties ✨️ with her.

This interview from 2012 will always be a huge deal to me in understanding how they felt about the situation and her. When Lou was asked what his thoughts are of H&T relationship Lou makes it clear not only are they not dating but their not even friends. This was literally Lou reaction/body language throughout the whole 3 month ordeal.

Lastly L&H celebrated when it ended. They clearly don't care for her, want her to stop being brought up and to move on from her but some of their own fans sit here and try to paint them as friends.

[shititbe]

Anyway, HSM2 is about internalized homophobia, and no one can tell me otherwise.

High School Musical is one of the most beloved franchises in the world. Teenagers all over the world grew up watching Troy and Gabriella harmonize together. Three movies, and nearly a decade later it’s still beloved by all. The first film easily forgotten in the ashes of the early 2000’s, the third film stuck in a purgatorial limbo of the rather unfortunate late 2000’s. The second film on the other hand sticks out between the ruckus. 

The second High School Musical film takes place at Sharpay and Ryan’s family country club, during the summer between junior and senior year. The Wildcats are working summer jobs on the country club, often forced to the beck and call of Ryan and Sharpay themselves. Sharpay uses all her prestige to help Troy with college instead of starting at the bottom ( or rather, in the kitchen washing dishes) with his friends. In the time she’s helping Troy, she is also pushing her brother away; replacing him with Troy in their musical number for the talent show, and refusing to hang out with him in preference for Troy. Ryan becomes vengeful to his twin and starts hanging around the Wildcats in the kitchen. At first, he was met with some distasteful looks and words (most of which from Chad). With the help of Kelsey, and her neutral party, Ryan fits in smoothly with the other teenagers, eventually giving the WildCats all dance lessons.

 Throughout the movie, the main conflict continues to be the internal conflict of Troy Bolton. He debates over and over again if he should go through with Sharpay’s shenanigans, or if he wants to “listen to my own heart.”  This of course involves Gabriella, as she is Troy’s love interest. She’s not in the second film except for the beginning, then, where she leaves in the middle of the film - in order to create angst for Troy - then when she shows up again in the finally to sing/rejoin Troy. 

The conflict in the second film  is the combining of Troy’s two worlds. His first - his main world in the first movie, that hence became his secondary world - which is represented by Chad. Then his secondary world - which becomes his main world in this movie - which is represented by Ryan. Chad represents Troy’s masculinity, or his more idealized version of himself. Ryan represents Troy’s femininity or his current version of reality. These two worlds collide in the iconic song “I don’t dance”.  

Since this movie - and hence this scene - came out in the early 2000’s, a lot of the innuendoes went over people's heads. Luckily, as the children who watched this movie grew older and more experienced, and the world became more accepting, we’re able to see this song for what it is. 

Before getting into the lore and symbolism of the iconic “I Don’t Dance” sequence, context is needed. For most of human history, homosexuality was seen as a sin in all places except ancient times (see: Greece and Japan). The modern age is the most accepting on all fronts, such as sexual orientation, race, and religion. In the early 2000’s, High School Musical director Kenny Ortega was not publicialy out yet. He wouldn’t be till 2014. 

Originally, while writing this, my first thought was  that Kenny - the director - would be using Troy as a y/n type character to project his insecurities and struggles with masculinity, and what that means in defining his orientation and societal views that would be placed upon him. Then, it came to me later that this is in fact not the case, Troy (and Gabriella - who is in fact a y/n character for the female audience) is more of a character for a man of his time, confused with his own ideals of masculinity and the views of society because, “oh god, I can’t like theater/drama because only queer people and girls like it!” The second point is pushed further with the Troy and Sharpay sub-plot. Sharpay tries to further Troy’s career as a basketball player, though that’s not what he wants anymore, and Troy is no longer sure if that is what he ever wanted to begin with (enter the song “Bet on it” and the hilarious meme “no dad, I’m giving up on your dream”). 

Keeping these things in mind - Kenney’s queerness, and Troy’s struggle to realize you can in fact sing and be a heterosexual, wow, revolutionary - it became clear to me that Kenney’s y/n characters were Ryan and Chad. 

For those who aren’t into the arts, or find them too difficult after a singular attempt thinking they could write a world class novel on the first go, let me be the first to tell you every author has a y/n character. First, for those who don’t know what y/n stands for, it’s a popular fanfiction trope where a writer will write a story about a character dating, being friends, and so on, with the reader. The y/n stands for “your name” so anyone can be the main character in this story at any time. For a writer of mainstream fictional work, such as High School Musical, Game Of Thrones, Lord Of The Rings, Pride and Prejudice, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, even most comics. Now, most writers or directors aren’t going to be as obvious as having a character not named (or named y/n) or even named Jane (looking at you Jane Austin), the y/n character of many mainstream authors/directors/comic artists and so on is usually the character they feel or have given the most attributes similar to themselves. 

It’s the same reason people have favourite characters. You see a fictional character and you either 1. Want to Bob the Builder them, 2. Some sort of weird sex thing, or 3. See more/the most of yourself in this character. Number three - thankfully - is usually the main reason. Some people just create their own favourite characters. An even easier way to think about this, is just projection baby, that’s psych 101.   

Before I went off on a small tangent of fictional works and how human emotion plays into creating them (except anything Disney has made in the past decade, and no you can’t change my mind on that) I mentioned that Chad and Ryan are Kenney’s y/n characters. As a queer person myself, it’s clear for me to see the different struggles each of these characters face and how these reflect the queer experience. 

So, let’s finally get into it. 

Ryan, without it being explicitly said is clearly a character of what people in the early 2000s think a gay man is. He is effeminate, wearing bright coloured outfits with lots of accessories - namely his signature hats - he is also in the theater department doing musicals, and passive/subservient to any of his twin sisters' wills. Yes, now we know gay men aren’t just feminized men, but in the early 2000’s a gay man who can do "masculine" things like change their car oil, like sports, and so on, break the "effeminate" stereotype thus confused many cishet people. Sharpay is painted as more confident - or, for sake of comparability - masculine to her twin in the first movie, and most of the second movie. Making Ryan a bit of her dog who would do anything to get by - painting Ryan as lesser than human, once more, playing into the homophobia of the early 2000's.     

Despite the clear stereotypes playing into his character, Ryan is consistently one of the most confident characters in the movie. The other, being his sister of course. This confidence in himself is what gravitates the other characters towards him, either by being intimidated (Troy, thinking Ryan and Gabriella were a thing), or admiration (Chad, by the end of “I don’t dance”). 

Chad, on the other hand, is a whole different ball game. While he is confident in the first movie, and the first portion of the second movie, he begins to break more and more when Ryan becomes a more integral part of the Wildcat group. To keep in mind, Chad is also the most vocal about his distaste for Troy’s artistic past-time. When the other Wildcats join Ryan and begin learning how to dance for the talent show at the end of the movie, Chad is also the most vocal about his distaste. The baseball game where “I don’t dance” takes place, is the climax of Chad’s arc and his turn towards acceptance to Ryan/Troy’s hobbies. 

Of course, there is more to the “I don’t dance” sequence than just Chad’s realization - the exact one Troy comes to terms with in the second movie as well - of “oh my god I don’t have to be gay to enjoy stereotypical ‘feminine’ things.” That is the main part of the song though, that and all the sexual tension. 

Going back to what I’ve stated previously, Chad and Ryan are Kenney’s projection or y/n characters. Let me do a small recap before we get into the nitty gritty of the famous “I don’t dance” video. 

Thinking back to the first few paragraphs, I stated that Kenney wasn’t publicly out till 2014, about 7 years after the second movie came out. This could be due to the fact that a) it’s the early 2000’s and everyones still very homophobic, or b) self-doubt that comes with the queer experience. The most likely reason is a mixture of both of these. Because of this, Ryan is the more self-assured version, or idealized version of Kenney that he wants to be. Ryan is confident, never being swayed about his lifestyle (could be read as: sexuality) even though Chad - and most of the wildcats in the first movie - put him through relentless “teasing” and humiliation. He’s confident, almost to a fault, he’s sure of himself, and yet still reaches out a hand to Chad and the other wildcats to show them that they’re just being, kinda dick-ish. 

Every queer person wants to be Ryan. Despite his heavily stereotyped characterization, I personally believe he is one of the stronger written characters in the movies, mainly due to Kenney putting the time in to really make Ryan feel like a real person, to give himself some sort of relief of his own anxieties, a chance to see the world through a person who truly has no fear. Unlike Kenney himself. 

This is where Chad comes in. 

Chad is seen as “confident” in the first movie, the second Troy “leaves” basketball though, all that confidence comes crashing down. His best friend has another hobby - one he thinks is “not right” (it’s okay, you can say gay), - they wont be spending all their time together (first, can you say dependent relationship much, yikes).Chad’s defining characteristic up until their fight that instigate act three of the second movie, is being Troy’s best friend. I’m going to take this as if this were truly the case, and not a decently written character arch. Some people base themselves around their friends and their whole identity on being a friend, that they lose sight of themselves, this mainly in high school of course, when your whole world is really nothing but school, and friends. Newly developed independence is there, but that’s scary, so instead of worrying about the future, cling to something that’s reliable. I’ve seen this happen, mainly at the end of high school, when the “real world” is coming a bit too close for comfort. This could generally be the case if a person is lonely, but for timeline sake I’m going to say Chad has got some anxiety about graduating (considering the second movie takes place the summer of junior year). 

His lashing out at Troy’s hobbies and at Troy’s neglectful friendship, make more sense with that background, and are seen more in the second movie where Troy begins spending all his spare time with Sharpay (trying to collect that BAG!). Chad - and others (read: father) - insists that music is not a feasible career option, and Troy should just stick with basketball (like...that is a feasible career option). The tension Chad creates in the studio only grows when the other wildcats decide to take up Ryan’s offer for dance lessons and move from the kitchen, to helping out with the talent show. (Next essay idea: how high school musical two was really about class all along, cause Jesus). 

 Chad is the less obvious option for a y/n character. Though again, the 2000’s were not as cool people like to pretend they are. Chad - for Kenney - represents what he actually feels, this fear of being rejected for how he is and how he chooses to live his life/lifestyle, so he sticks to something reliable. Ryan is new, and exciting, and confident in a way that Kenney/Chad wish they could be, but in order for that to happen they need to understand that maybe people are complex creatures, and can enjoy multiple hobbies (aka: the same lesson Troy is teaching the viewers, but far less boring). But, for Kenney/Chad facing that thought and that realization is scary, and thus, they lash out at anyone (read this paragraph as: Chad mad jealous of Ryan cause Ryan bomb as fuck). 

All this build up, finally comes ahead in the employee baseball match 

                                                       ******

The baseball game is probably the most memorable scene in the whole High School Musical franchise (minus Sharpay’s “Fabulous” solo, but that’s also from the same movie, and it’s kinda rude to give what’s already the best more points); the tension in the scene, and what it implies makes it the best written segment of all three movies, let alone the most entertaining. 

Some things to keep in mind from our background information: Chad is missing his bestie and struggling with what being “masculine” really means for him and others. Ryan of course makes this confusing, because the traditional method is being thrown out the window. In short, Chad has internalized homophobia, and Ryan being open - or as open as Disney would let him - is causing all sorts of problems. 

Despite the song, “I don’t dance” being logged into our collective skulls for all eternity (you’re probably humming it right now, sorry about that), the very brief interaction of Ryan and Chad before the game is lost on the public consciousness. The two are clearly comfortable with each other, though the distaste seems to be on Chad’s side more than Ryans. So, the two start playfully jabbing at each other before deciding to do a bat toss to see who will be in the outfield first. 

Before they begin the bat toss, Ryan says “You don’t think dancing takes some game?” Chad then very clearly checks him out, doing a simple but effective ‘drag-your-eyes-over-them-top-to-bottom-then-smile’ and says “you got game?” (Seen in gif below) 

I don’t know how much you know about sex metaphors and how many of those baseball has in it (seriously though, it’s a lot), but with the bat toss, Ryan’s hand ended up on top, and Chad’s under Ryan’s. Let’s ignore this for now, it’ll be implied again later. Ryan’s team starts out in the outfield because he won the bat toss, and hence, the song officially starts. 

The first lyrics (ignoring the chores of “hey batter batter, hey batter batter, swing”) is 

I'll show you that it's one and the same

Baseball, dancing, same game

It's easy

Step up to the place, start swingin  

This part is sung by Ryan, who is taunting Chad out in the outfield. Before the game, as stated, Chad was taunting Ryan about his lack of “game” (both sexual and not sexual metaphor are implied), and now, Ryan has turned those tables around. Baseball - is seen as more masculine than dancing, not as masculine as football or basketball, but it’s up there. Chad is someone who cares about his masculinity, enough to the point that Ryan playing baseball makes him loose his mind. Makes him question his own personal definition of masculinity, if you will. 

Ryan says, “baseball, dancing, same game,” impyling that, to him, baseball and dancing are one and the same. That is baffling to Chad, cause well, how can something meant for girls even be close to something meant for boys. 

Chad comes back with: 

 I wanna play ball now, and that's all

This is what I do

It ain't no dance that you can show me, yeah

This only proves my previous point. 

I had a conversation with myself about this, and I’ve decided not to include it in this essay, but a second essay may or may not be possible. Basically the premise - the dancing/”musical” moments of High School Musical are conjured up images by those meant to see them (ie: like a visual hallucination, but, not really) but this scene kinda poo-poos that idea. 

Now, the thing I am talking about is Ryan and Chad’s  peacocking at each other during the time they sing these lyrics. The movements they’re making could be mistaken for dancing - as we automatically assume it is because of the title and themes of the movie - or it could be them just getting ready for the baseball game. Ryan swings his leg over the pitcher's mound, tossing the ball up and down into his glove, making wavy hand gestures, etc. Chad brushes off his gloves, swings his legs, hits the bat on each foot, and so on. 

For the peacocking, Chad makes a mock of the ballerina foot stance before strutting over to the home plate. Ryan laughs at this, which earns quite the smirk from Chad himself (see gif below). 

This is when it becomes a conversation.   

You'll never know - R

Oh I know - Ch

If you never try - R

There's just one little thing - Ch

That stops me every time, yeah - Ch

Come on - Ch

When Chad says “Come on” it’s when Ryan throws the baseball at him, starting the game, and giving Chad’s team their first strike of the game (get it, it’s funny). Now, obviously we need to talk about the “there’s just one little thing that stops me every time.” As a queer person, I assure you, two of the things that kept me from living my Best Life were 1) my own ignorance of what asexuality was and 2) the fear that everyone I love would hate me for who I am, and what I have no control over. 

Sorry to get deep like that on main, but, can any other queer person say different? Obviously, your first point may differ, but my point still stands. In the video/scene there is a very short moment (to which I have condensed into a gif for you all, you’re welcome, and I’m sorry about the quality in advance), of the camera moving over to Chad’s team (or his friends in this case since it’s an employee baseball game) as he says this line (gif below). 

I will not be explaining the use of subtly in this essay, but I’m sure you get the metaphor Kenney is trying to use. If not, let me spell it out for you in very simple words. This song has a lot of sexual innuendos (as mentioned pervious with the baseball bat scene and still, more to come), with that in mind, and clearly queer themes at play (as mentioned before, again), this scene only shows Chad isn’t as straight as he leads on. His fear/phobia of Ryan/the arts come from a much deeper place. 

In shorter, and much simpler terms: Chad queer. 

But, let’s get back to the boy's conversation. 

I don't dance - Ch

I know you can - R 

Not a chance, no - Ch 

If I could do this, well, you could do that - R 

Translation: “If I can do this weird, sweaty, dirty, Male thing without blowing a fuse, you can and should be able to dance just fine.” 

But I don't dance - Ch 

Hit it out of the park - Both 

I don't dance - Ch

I say you can - R

There's not a chance, oh - Ch

Slide home, you score, swingin on the dance floor - Both

I don't dance, no - Ch  (This is just the chores, you’ll see it multiple times throughout the essay, I just figured if the song is going to be in your head, go all the way right). 

Two-steppin, now you're up to bat - R

Bases loaded, do your dance - R 

Here we are with the baseball metaphors you’ve all been waiting for ladies and gentlemen. Girls, gays, and non-binary pals. For those who have somehow managed a sheltered existence with access to the internet, lemme help you. Ryan is talking about “loaded bases” both in the context of the game (where it shows each base has one person from Chad’s team on them) and in the term of sex. While you go out there dating - while it’s mostly douche bags and people using it ironically - your nosey friends may ask you how far you got. 

“First, second, or third base?” They may ask. Or something like, “oh wow, did you get to home plate/base?” These are simply the rankings of the stages of a sexual relationship. First - kissing, sometimes just handholding, Second - making out, some light groping, Third - full on groping, no clothes come off, but it gets close. While each person has different boundaries, these are the general accepted definitions for the bases. 

Home base is obviously full blown sexual intercourse. Since Chad has his “bases loaded” it means he’s done all these things before, just never gone completely to sexual intercourse with someone - in the terms of the song and the history we’ve already established, it’s most likely a male character. This is only proven by Chad’s uncomfortable nature towards Ryan (internalized Homophobia, thank you, returning theme) but his easy, and cocky personality towards everyone else. “bUt thAt DoEsnT pRovE” hush, that’s the final cherry on top. Remember this conversation. 

It's easy - R  

Again. Previous points have been made.  

Take your best shot, just hit it - Ch 

I've got what it takes, playin my game - Ch

So you better spin that pitch - Ch 

You're gonna throw me, yeah - Ch 

I'll show you how I swing - Ch

Ah, the famous “I’ll show you how i swing” a very strong baseball metaphor for everyone. Keeps queer people from defining themselves to dangerous (straight) people, and, well, that’s it actually. This term is mostly used by bi/pan people, though if you want to stay in the closet or are in a dangerous place, it is also used to subtly tell other queer people you are in fact, not straight. My favourite is when this term came into play when President Buchanan got elected in 1856 (for those that don’t know, he’s the first and only gay president). 

You'll never know - R

Oh I know - Ch

If you never try - R 

There's just one little thing - Ch

That stops me every time, yeah - Ch 

This is again, the same lyric as before it doesn’t pan, and the tone is much different. The camera stays on Chad as he says this line, meaning he’s reflecting, he is now his own problem, the person that is keeping him back. His friends are not on his mind anymore, which is good, Ryan’s Gay Propaganda has been working. 

Come on - Ch

I don't dance - Ch

I know you can - R

Not a chance, no, no - Ch

If I could do this, well, you could do that - R

But I don't dance - Ch

Hit it out of the park - R

I don't dance - Ch

I say you can - R

There's not a chance, oh no - Ch

Slide home, you score, swingin on the dance floor - Both 

I don't dance, no - Ch

Lean back, tuck it in, take a chance - R

Swing it out, spin around, do the dance - R

I wanna play ball, not dance hall - Ch

I'm makin a triple, not a curtain cal - Chl

I can prove it to you til you know it's true - R

'Cause I can swing it, I can bring it to the diamond too - R

You're talkin a lot, show me what you got - Ch

Again, like the beginning of this song, this is a heavy base for flirting and sexual tension, which this song is drowning in. 

Stop swinging - both

Hey - both

This is the part where they all start a flash mob in the middle of the baseball diamond. Again, alluding to the conversation I had to myself earlier, this only proves my own theory as no one takes notice of this. But, that’s not this essay, this is where I mention how close Chad and Ryan are at the end of the group dance.  

Come on, swing it like this - both

Oh, swing - both

Jitterbug, just like that - both

That's what I mean, that's how you swing - both

You make a good pitch but I don't believe - both 

Here is yet another (and the final) sexual innuendo. This is actually a rather quick one. Pitching in queer culture is considered the person who tops (because queer people even had to straight-ify their sex lives to “top” and “bottom”), this is the person who is giving, if you know what I’m saying. 

I say you can - R

I know I can't - Ch

I don't dance - Ch

You can do it - R

I don't dance, no - Ch 

 Here is where that mosh pit ends, and how they get a little too close to comfort. 

Nothing to it, atta boy, atta boy, yeah - both

The rest of this song is simply a mash-up of the baseball game being finished, and this lovely gem. 

Now, clearly, Chad’s self conscious nature towards his sexuality is gone, he’s sitting close - if not squishing - Ryan, and talking to him like they’ve been friends forever. Take note of the change of close, most likely due to all the tension at the end of the song, and maybe a little of Chad’s own natural human curiosity built in. Now, I leave you with this note: 

If there is anything that confirms all this more, its Chad’s girlfriend wearing the pride colours. 

Also note: this could also be seen as a friend helping his bro discover his sexuality and fighting internalized homophobia, but, that’s ignoring the sexual tension, so go off I guess. 

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.  

Watch the full thing here

[feelingofcontent]

DNP Rewatch: Answering Questions I Would Usually Avoid

Date video was published: 01/26/2021 (X)

DNP Main Channel Rewatch: 435

The first true ‘AmazingPhil’ video of 2021. We were not prepared for Phil to start the year with this. Phil asked for questions on Instagram the week before.

0:02 - love that he’s wearing the moon jumper from VPMO 2 and starting with the fireworks effect

0:19 - “put my hand into the uncomfortable jar” a Phil-idiom for sure

0:29 - he really did push towards more openness with his first-half-of-2021 content

0:36 - and the wine with the little eyebrow raise as he says it! the start of this video really was a different Phil

0:50 - Phil is like...’people don’t know I’m gay?! everyone must know I’m gay!’ I love it and the “surprise!” bit 😂

1:03 - “I like....men.” totally definitely what he was thinking there...

1:14 - Phil really is funny in this video

1:25 - I’m surprised that he both didn’t seem to know, and was surprised by it...though the baking video isn’t what I would have guessed, especially because I thought January ad revenue was usually lower

1:44 - or you know, cause it got a ton of views for reasons

1:55 - king of comedy with the screenshot when he says “fashion” there 😂

1:58 - also appreciate the insight into how that works

2:07 - he really addressed this one early in the video...and his answer to it is definitely a point he wanted to get across to his audience at the start of the year

2:28 - yay boundary-setting! and the ice cream shop line is just iconic now. I love Phil

2:51 - excellent use of the “boing” sound effect

3:07 - seriously SO funny in this one

3:14 - the all-caps “BYE” at the end kills me 😂

3:34 - he is definitely better unscripted

3:47 - I mean, that one is particularly bad. but I wonder if part of that is the control factor...most photos of himself that get published, he gets to pick out himself

4:10 - show us pictures of those looks, Phil!! I want a better picture of their last Star Wars premiere looks so much

4:21 - John shout-out! and Charlie! those were good mentions. 

4:31 - feel like he also could have mentioned PJ or Bryony, but they didn’t seem to be who he was thinking of...I wonder who he was that he didn’t want to be grouped with. not sure Dan really counted as an “OG YouTuber,” but Phil is grouping Dan with himself! (and also begins an unprecedented streak of Dan mentions and/or appearances in Phil’s videos in early 2021)

4:35 - ...and I wonder how much of a nugget of truth was in that statement

5:02 - he had never talked about this on YouTube before...this is awful 🙁

5:33 - and the fear and anxiety he had after that must have been horrible to deal with. maybe no wonder he didn’t want to leave his house with Dan when he came to visit

6:10 - this is the perfect way to explain that feeling. also the opposite as well...my bi self realizing that the women I “admired” when I was younger was more than just admiration...

6:25 - terrifying; love sarcastic Phil

6:39 - him admitting this and then explaining his reasoning for it...lol. I do not think I want to know what kind of secret accounts Dan has, on the other hand

6:52 - I actually can’t believe he touched this question

6:56 - and answered it, but mostly used it for a good message/advice to his audience

7:20 - word choice regret 😳

7:39 - he definitely did a nervous run of his hand through his quiff at some point during that answer

8:06 - “I love you all. Let me into heaven, guys. I’ll be fun; I’ll bring a board game” is somehow the most Phil answer

8:15 - the contrast of ‘not going to talk about my current dating life’ a few questions ago and then this... ‘did you see my video with Dan? did you know I bought a house with Dan?’ and that is DNP in 2021...no direct statements, but just living life together and making it obvious in every other way

8:48 - I’m really glad Phil’s at that point with his channel where he just has fun and doesn’t have to worry about the numbers

9:04 - “watch this one twice” more king of comedy

9:30 - 😂 and then he had to google about that...

9:51 - really a lot of “ass reveal” talk between this and the Dan magazine shoot conversation in the last video

10:06 - and an f-bomb in his first video of the year. Phil in 2021, huh?

10:17 - he can throw Dan under the bus all he wants...though he’s sharing the blame

10:25 - HOW did they think that was a good idea?! 

10:44 - they actually did remember lemon juice, but they did a lot of other things questionably

10:48 - can’t have us thinking it still wasn’t funny and fun to film though! of course they still had fun

10:54 - you truly can see the panic in Phil’s eyes in that video

11:03 - what even is this last question/ending

11:28 - “Danny” again

I love this video a lot. It makes me laugh and appreciate Phil. And has a more open, personal Phil, while still keeping the boundaries he’s comfortable with.

Sidenote: shortly before this video is when I created this blog, so now I have a reference for my thoughts and other thoughts I liked and reblogged at the time as well. Such as Phil using these kind of prompts/videos to get a particular point across.