#why queer content NEEDS HAPPY ENDINGS

[mewtwo24]

I finally finished reading the fourth volume of svsss in full, and thing is--the first time through I only read the bingqiu content because I was ravenous for more of their happy ending.

Turns out that was a perilous mistake.

Because I started reading the airplane extras. And I swear to god. MXTX is trying to kill me

What do you MEAN demon lord Binghe was sitting on his big fucking throne. All stoic and forbidding. Surrounded by his demon generals who don't know shit about human courtship. Asking them what he should do, fully demoralized by constant rejections from sqq, only to have airplane tell him to act more pathetic and needy. Which is already hysterically funny and insane, UNTIL LBH'S RESPONSE IS THIS, KILLING ME INSTANTLY:

LUO BINGHE. WHY DOES HE SAY IT LIKE: "I already tried that, didn't work--nothing works :/ not mean, not maidenly, not housewife, not spicy, not capable disciple. Is doubling down on clingy really all it will take? What's a born hater with only one love in his life to do????"

The dichotomy of him sitting there like 'how can I reach the unfathomable depths of shizun's heart?' A HEART HE'S ALREADY WON OVER, MIND and then in the Holy Mausoleum solving the puzzle without blinking and being like 'oh yeah you just have to hit the acupoints, no sweat.' Literally the comedy writes itself I'm so--

How am I supposed to be normal about this. MXTX understands the juicy quintessential queer joy of a person with the world's power at their fingertips wishing only for love. Willing to do anything to earn that love, when unbeknownst to them it's already been freely given. Totally not screaming and yelling and clawing at the walls

And that's not even touching airplane's uproarious account of events. The way he's like 'lol what's next, lbh and sqq are best friends now? smfh' only to see lbh TACKLE SQQ LOVINGLY. FOR SQQ TO BE BASHFUL ABOUT IT BUT SO SO FOND OF THE LITTLE SCAMP. This when we've been experiencing sqq's constant inner monologue of 'I'm so cool and so dignified about my role, truly the epitome of propriety and poser-level fortitude.' Meanwhile, in their universe:

Airplane constantly flaming???? Sqq and lbh in his observations????? His absolute bewilderment and confusion????? Legendary. No notes every single second of this shit was hilarious.

Airplane's comment that sqq + older adolescent lbh traveling together was just watching a couple in their honeymoon phase. OR the fact that lbh is exceedingly petty and refuses to share their food in the wake of airplane's interruption of their time together, until sqq relents sheepishly and insists airplane eat what's left (ONLY AFTER PLACATING LBH WITH MORE FOOD FROM HIS PLATE, SOBBING)

Watching airplane salivate over Mobei-Jun and acting like that's totally normal behavior. Finding out mbj and airplane got together first. Finding out sqq encouraged airplane. LIKE THIS. WHILE HE IS STILL IN DENIAL ABOUT HIS OWN FEELINGS:

Mobei-jun clearly thinking their arrangement is a forever thing, heartbroken his human abandoned him with all the hapless fury of a scorned wife swept away by false promises of fidelity. Airplane writing demons to be the type to beat up their crush lovingly and still unable to connect the dots about mbj's feelings. Mbj letting him go and respecting his wishes, only relenting when there's indication airplane was poorly processing his own feelings and didn't actually want to leave. Mbj caring for him and listening to him as soon as airplane voices what he needs directly and with clarity. None of these gays are functional and it's everything to me

Unrelated, but I physically can't hold this information in anymore:

I'm still reeling from younger lbh having his sexual awakening from the image of sqq wrapped in the immortal binding cables. Condemn me as you like he was so, so real for that.

And no I will not be taking any comments about how luo bingge couldn't bear to see luo binghe cherished in ways he never got to have and all the haunting implications of that. I will also not be taking any comments about luo binghe's instinct to look for sqq in that alternate universe, only to be shaken to the very core to be unable to find his shizun anywhere. The unspeakable and latent horror of his relentless mind likely piecing together what happened, but unable to say it; to suspect what is true, and live with the harrowing confusion of his double's actions. To blame himself, to assume that he had let his anger get the better of him in that world and result in unspeakable folly...

I also refuse to talk about how heartrending it is to hear Tianlang-jun weakly say "In the end, I really can't bring myself to hate humans." The implication that the foolishness of that hope and bright-eyed fondness--the very thing that put him through such unspeakable agony--couldn't be beaten out of him entirely. To discover that his faith in Su Xiyan hadn't been misplaced, to the contrary: his beloved hadn't scorned him at all, but rather fought to the miserable end to protect the fruition of their genuine feelings of love when she couldn't protect tlj or herself.

How MXTX has sqq deliberately draw parallels between their situation and that of ygy+sj and tlj+sx; desperately wishing it might not be too late for them. The concept of breaking cycles of abuse and harm pervasive throughout the newly devised story, how it evolves for the better only when love takes the place of power, pride, and domination. How the moment sqq chooses vulnerability instead of saving face, the genre shifts to the so-called "cringe" girly genre where most if not every character is more fulfilled, more true to themselves. How the "male-oriented" former genre was aimlessly sensationalized and sexualized, how it was a sustained performance of aspirational toxic masculinity. How men objectify other men without end. All of the unspoken gendered implications that come with that.

Anyways. Going to go put my head in a sandbox and try to process everything I just witnessed because even a second reading is not enough to find a modicum of closure.

[eternalbuckley]

We could have had it all. — rafe cameron

SUMMARY: Rafe and you used to hook up with each other until you broke it off. Now he wants to get your attention back.

word count: 1,854

genre: angst | gn!reader, queer!reader, bipoc!reader and plus-size!reader friendly

warnings: mention of sexual content (no smut), use of petname (baby), strong language, alcohol consumption, crying, emotional talk, use of Y/N one time, english is not my first language, slightly proofread — if i forgot something, please let me know!

a/n: I've been thinking about a long time to finally write for Rafe and here it finally is!! It's my first full fic in months but hopefully you can enjoy it!! Happy reading 🫶

disclaimer: please do not repost or try and take ownership of my work or post this anywhere without my consent. do not translate my work and post it anywhere — i give you no permission to do that. i only post my stories here, so if you find my work anywhere else please let me know! reblogs, likes and comments are appreciated and welcomed!

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Doing anything possible to distract yourself from reaching out to him got harder every passing day since things broke off between you. It‘s not like you were together or something. You couldn’t keep doing this 'we-are-people-who-like-each-other-and-occasionally-have-sex-with-each-other-but-are-not-in-a-relationship-or-friends' thing that you had going on with the infamous Rafe Cameron. It was draining you and your mental health. Sure, it was fun and good times with him. You would never lie but the thing that made this even more complicated were your feelings for him. You didn’t plan on falling for him but in the end, the heart wants what it wants. He made it hard for you to resist falling for him.

Rafe was not the perfect person to fall in love with. He never talked about feelings or showed them in public. But there were a very few small moments that showed him in his more vulnerable and caring side. There were moments when Rafe would snuggle up to you after having sex with you. His soft sighs made it more special for both of you. Rafe loved these moments. Including the moments where you two would just lay in bed without having sex. Just cuddling, him stroking your back and telling you about one of his more recent accomplishments he was proud of. Were he would crack jokes with you and tell you how comfortable he feels. He just would never admit that he loves these moments though. But you tried to hate these moments especially because the next day he would act like nothing of that ever happened. But you couldn’t.

If you two were in places with others he would barely look at you nor talk to you. Unless he was feeling horny and needed you. Rafe would find a good moment to catch up with you when nobody would pay attention and whisper things into your ear to get you worked up. ‘Ready to get out of here, baby? Can’t wait to leave you screaming underneath me.’ All until you would be whimpering and practically begging him to drag you into the next bathroom or any possible spot to hook up. Afterwards? You didn't exist to him. But you couldn’t keep doing this. Being treated like this was not what you wanted no matter how much you liked Rafe. It took you many tries to finally tell him you don’t want this anymore.

It was after one of your occasional meetings to sleep with each other. He was lying next to you in his bed, catching his breath and looking at the ceiling instead of you. After you caught your breath, you made the decision to end it.

“What are you doing?” Rafe eventually looked at you and watched you getting up to gather your scarred clothing.

You put on your underwear and looked at him while taking your shirt. “What does it look like, Rafe?” you put on your shirt, “I’m putting on my clothes.”

He was confused and sat up. The blanket slightly moved and exposed his stomach, “Why?”

“I’m leaving.”

Rafe nodded his head and leaned back against his bed. “When will we see each other the next time then?”

“This was the last time. There won’t be a next one. This thing here,” you pointed between you, “This is over.”

“Sure. As if you wouldn’t fold the next time when I whisper all those things I’d do with you. I know your body too well by now,” he chuckled which made you roll your eyes.

“Fuck you, Rafe.”

That was all you told him before you left and never came back. And it was the last time you had sex. Since then, it had been almost two months but it was still hard to ignore him whenever you saw him. Whenever you did, you immediately turned around and went the other way to get out of his way. It’s not like he would give you attention anyway. But little did you know that it drove him crazy that you ignored him. Especially tonight.

There was a party again and you looked absolutely breathtaking. All night he couldn’t keep his eyes off you. Most of the time Rafe completely ignored his friends talking and only had his eyes on you. He wanted and needed you but couldn’t have you. But seeing you talking and seemingly flirting with another guy made him go feral. Rafe’s jaw was tensed up and he was gritting his teeth. He was trying to control himself but seeing you happy with another guy and all giggly made him want to beat up that other guy. He knew you were tipsy and close to making out with that guy since your and his hands were all over each other already. But he wanted to be the one you were touching like that. He wanted to be one who makes you laugh and smile like that. He was desperate. For you.

Rafe took his last sip out of his alcohol-filled cup and threw it away. He made his way over to you and harshly shoved away that guy from you. He fell to the ground and let out a muffled ‘what the fuck man’.

“Take your hands off her, asshole,” Rafe spat down on that guy. Not caring at all that this drew all the attention of the party to the three of you. He was in a rage and jealous.

You stood behind Rafe and looked at his back. You were shocked by the sudden action from his side.

“What the fuck is your problem, man?!” The other guy stood up, not knowing what he was getting himself into. You wanted to stop him but you couldn’t move.

Rafe was fuming, “You’re my problem. Get the fuck away from here or you’ll meet my fist,” he raised his voice. Rafe’s nose was flared.

“What are they? Your partner or what?”

Suddenly you became very aware of the attention you all had on you. You looked around and saw a few people whispering while watching the scene that was going on in front of you. You slightly put your hand on Rafe’s arm which startled him for a second but you noticed that he eventually slightly relaxed to your touch.

“Rafe come on,” you insisted and tried pulling him away from the guy you were talking to and the attention of everyone else.

Rafe’s eyes were still locked on the guy while you were pulling him away. You ended up on a more private part of the beach. Once you made sure you were out of sight you angrily shoved Rafe.

“What the fuck is your problem?!” you shouted, “Why would you do that, Rafe?”

He looked at you, not exactly knowing how to explain why he did it. Simply because he had no good explanation at all. He just did it out of instinct as if he had to do it even though nothing was going on between you anymore.

“You had no right to do that!”

You were angry. Angry at him. It was the first time he truly saw you being angry with him and he wasn’t sure if he should have done it now. All he wanted was your attention.

“I… I’m..” he stuttered, “I’m not sure.” Rafe held his arms in front of you, trying to calm you down.

You scoffed and crossed your arms, “Sure. Why would the Rafe Cameron have an explanation for why he wants to control every single person around him even if they want to be left alone. Ever the guy who threatens everyone.”

Rafe sighed and closed his eyes while moving his palms over his eyes. You knew what it meant when he did it. He was shaking and overwhelmed by the sudden burst of feelings. He didn’t know what to do. He never cared about anyone that much until he met you. Everyone knew he wasn’t the guy for emotions but he felt calm and more happy around you. The moment he first realized what he truly felt about you he started pushing you away. Rafe was afraid of the feelings he held for you. He was never in love, nor did he know how it felt to be loved except by his little sister.

“I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry for what I did.”

“Don’t,” you shook your head. You didn’t want to believe him. You were tired of the games he played with you. “I know you aren’t, Rafe.”

“Listen to me, Y/N,” his voice cracked as he looked up at you. “I am sorry. I.. I know it’s wrong what I’m doing to others most of the time. I just lose control in m..moments like that and I don’t know what happens. Y..you know? I’m trying. I’m trying to be better...For you. I want to be with you,” his voice was trembling and tears were in his eyes. He covered them with his hands again.

You didn’t know what to say and just stared at him. The sudden talk about his feelings was overwhelming for you. You didn’t know he would be able to talk about his emotions at all. It was quiet between you for a moment.

You sighed and shook your head, “As much as I want to believe you, Rafe. I can’t. Not after the way you treated me.”

“I understand.”

Tears were building up in your eyes now. “No. I don’t think you do, Rafe! I felt miserable. You never dared to give me attention whenever we were in the same room unless you needed me for your needs,” you argued. “You just want me back because you don't have my attention anymore. You loved that I gave myself up to you whenever you wanted it, Rafe. But you never cared about me or what I wanted. I didn't exist to you until you needed someone to fuck. Even if you could have had anyone else… In the end, you always came to me because you knew I couldn't resist you. You used me. I was good enough for a quick fuck.”

“That’s not true. After all, you enjoyed our times together.”

“I never said I didn’t enjoy sleeping with you. I just didn’t enjoy the way you treated me every other time we weren’t sleeping with each other. I didn’t feel like a person around you and that’s why I ended this whole bullshit with you.”

Rafe gulped. You turned your body away from him and tried to hold back your tears even more. You didn’t want him to see you like that. This wasn’t what you wanted. You didn’t want him to know how you truly felt. You clung on your cardigan and looked at the moon that was reflecting in the ocean.

Your voice was trembling now. "Just tell me that this was a fucking lie. That everything that happened between us was not real. That every word you said, every compliment, was a goddamn lie and you didn’t mean one single thing. Let’s just act like nothing ever happened and act like strangers again."

"I can’t," Rafe whispered which made you look at him.

[asexualbookbird]

insert Imagine Dragons Radioactive Gasp Here

Hi. Coming up for air. I'm surrounded by yarn ends and fabric scraps I'm sweaty and covered in paint. I was a tiny bit productive this July! Made lots of progress on the Irish Lullaby Blanket, painted our balcony, started a few projects I really shouldn't have, and oh yeah! READ EIGHT BOOKS?? Who am I. I'm twelve books ahead of schedule according to goodreads, eleven by StoryGraph standards. It's wild. It helps that my library is holding an adult summer reading bingo contest and I fully intend to fill out the entire board.

The City We Became by NK Jemisin ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- WAOW. I initially rated this four stars, but sitting on it and coming back to it now, it was absolutely a five star read. I would love to reread it, the world was intriguing, and the AUDIO NARRATOR WAS STUNNING! I do try not to judge the contents of a book by it's narrator, but what a performance! When library bingo is over, I'm listening to book two ASAP.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Oh look! A Classic I actually enjoyed! I don't want to judge horror on whether or not I'm scared, because it IS kind of tough to get to me, but this was fun! I could see the spooks! Even if it wasn't spooky For Me, Personally, it was still a fun time!

The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Oh. Ouchie. A shortie, but a goodie, I'm kicking myself for returning the ebook immediately because I would've liked to go back and reread bits of it if not ALL of it. A not exactly new take on fae, but an interesting one that I actually enjoyed.

Starling House by Alix E Harrow ⭐⭐⭐⭐- I did NOT intend to read this directly after Hill House but I am SO glad I did. THE PARALLELS!!!! The circular story!!!! THE STARLINGS!!!! I laughed, I cried, I yelled at Arthur, there were surprises I genuinely didn't expect, but made so much sense in hindsight. I don't exactly buy the romance, but I'll let it slide this one time.

Ghost Station by SA Barnes ⭐⭐- Two stars is Very Generous. And I'm sticking to it because the concept is still intriguing and if you squint there was some Leech stuff going on. Maybe I should just reread Leech. Sigh. Ophelia was hired to do ONE. JOB. To make sure none of the team members have Want To Murder Disease. And then Birch shows signs of Want To Murder Disease and she KEEPS IT QUIET BECAUSE *checks notes* HE KNOWS HER DAD HAD WANTS TO MURDER DISEASE. Everyone is stupid. They're scientists and everyone is fucking stupid. It wasn't scary, because EVERYONE WAS FUCKING STUPID. Biting all of them.

Thornhedge by T Kingfisher ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Oh T Kingfisher, you have never disappointed me, why do I read anything else. Another fun take on the fae! It's so hard to get me to like a fae book, so GOOD JOB KINGFISHER! I liked the new take on Girl Locked In A Tower, I liked that Toadling was surrounded by love and still encouraged to do what makes her happy. Again, I almost reread (listened. Whatever) this immediately just for funsies. Another banger from T Kingfisher.

The Sun and The Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro ⭐⭐⭐ - I've been waffling on this rating a LOT. Disclaimer that I haven't read any of Riordan's stuff since the OG Percy Jackson series, and that was ages ago so I can't compare this to that. This was a fun little book, but it felt a little heavy handed with the themes even for a middle grade. It doesn't make me want to read more, but I'm not mad I read it at all.

The Scapegracers by HA Clarke ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Okay. Listen. Look. Look at me. Was this The Perfect Book? No absolutely not. Was it a banger? Did I have fun? YES ABSOLUTELY YES! It's a book I could've needed in high school, but I wouldn't have been mature enough to appreciate it so I'm glad I have it NOW. Angry Queer Teen Girls will run the world. And I'm here for it. So looking forward to the rest of the series, I need to know what sort of mischief these girls get up to. I hope they curse another fuckboy. They deserve it.

BONUS! I also watched The Haunting of Hill House on netflix! One bingo square said "read a book then what the movie" and I really thought Mike Flanagan's Hill House was a movie but no it was ten (10) hours of spooky fucked up family dynamics. Also Nate Ford was there. Naturally. It was good! It was creepy! I wanna watch it again JUST FOR THE TREE HOUSE. I was skeptical when I first started because who the hell are you people (Steve, Shirley) but no it was fun! But also. Fuck Steven and Shirley. Congrats to Theo and moving in with her girlfriend of one week, peak lesbian stereotypes. Biggest complaint is with Mike Flanagan and his need to not only kill cats, but get close up shots of said dead cats. What's up with that my dude. What did cats ever do to you?

Plans for August (how am I saying that) are The Bone Season side by side comparison with the first edition and the tenth anniversary edition. I'm counting that as two books, I think, because it IS two books, and looking at them next to each other, there's a pretty sizable difference in page count! No clue about word count. This is part of book bingo (reread a book you didn't enjoy the first time), and this has helped me realise that I've been avoiding this for a Reason. I truly and surely did not enjoy The Bone Season and have no desire to experience that again. Don't know what to do with this information. So. I'm rereading it. Yay.

I have a few sewing projects I'm working on, and I am SO CLOSE to finishing the Irish Lullaby Blanket! It's exciting! So lets go!! Bring it on, August!!

[becauseimanicequeen]

WHAT I’M CURRENTLY WATCHING

It's been a while since I made one of these lists. But here I am with a new one, including the queer shows I'm currently watching. (As always, they're in alphabetical order, because that's just how I am, lol).

4 Minutes (Thailand):

This show is my current obsession. Period. The content on my blog being 99.999999999% about 4 Minutes right now says it all.

Addicted Heroin (2024) (Thailand):

I've seen both the original as well as Stay With Me, which were both fine. I was curious enough to see what Thailand would do with it, which is why I'm watching. And I'm loving it, so far.

I like Hero, even though he's an idiot. And I like the supporting pair. Hero's dad, though... No.

Battle of the Writers (Thailand):

I still have no idea what this show is about except for a couple of writers, two of which have a history together. But, I got to see three of my Playboy babes, so that's a win for me.

First Note of Love (Taiwan):

I'm spoiled with my beloved Taiwanese QLs right now. I'm even more spoiled that I have yet another very rare show where I can actually listen to the music played and sung without muting the damn thing. And I'm spoiled fucking rotten because I've got Charles Tu on my screen again.

I love everything about this show 5 episodes in, and it makes my Mondays a lot brighter (and my Mondays were fine before this, btw).

Happy of the End (Japan):

I like my Japanese shows dark and complicated. So, I'm obviously loving this.

Hidden Moon (Thailand):

I'm only one episode into this one so I don't really have much to say other than that I like the vibe and that it's visually stunning so far (always a plus for me).

I Hear the Sunspots (Japan):

I'm a bit torn with this one. But I love the representation of the deaf community because my great-grandfather was deaf.

(Kind of unrelated, but kind of not: My great-grandfather didn't know sign language, he just read lips. And he was always most comfortable around people who treated him like just anyone else.)

I Saw You In My Dream (Thailand):

Considering I only started watching this because I saw a gif of Ai wearing a Dream Theater shirt (which was my dad's favorite band before he passed away), I wasn't expecting much. But it's surprisingly enjoyable.

The only critique I have is that they ended this week's episode right in the middle of Ai and Yu kissing. Not that I think they'll go all the way in that particular scene. One of them will probably stop. But cutting the scene there... That's just rude. (I'm joking... But kind of not.)

Kidnap (Thailand):

I'm just one episode in so I don't have much to say other than that I love that Papang is in it. I always need more of him on my screen.

Live in Love (Thailand):

This is another one I'm only one episode into (the second one comes out today), so I don't have much to say other than that I really like the vibe so far.

Monster Next Door (Thailand):

I'm a simple girl. I would watch Big in anything as long as he's kissing boys, because this boy knows how to kiss boys.

The On1y One (Taiwan):

Again, I'm spoiled with my beloved Taiwanese QLs right now. And this one is everything to me.

I knew it would be amazing (it's from the same director who made Your Name Engraved Herein) so, no surprise there. And if I wasn't so busy screaming about 4 Minutes during the little spare time I have now that I'm in the middle of a big art project, I would be screaming about this show.

I only needed 10 seconds of the first episode to be hooked (them looking at each other was all I needed to be sold). 6 episodes in, and I'm in heaven.

Seoul Blues (Korea):

This is from the same creators of Blue Boys and Bad Guy and I'm watching it solely for the chemistry and the... how should I describe it? Mellow vibe?

The Trainee (Thailand):

I had a hard time getting into this one. Mainly because I can't relate to the whole office environment thing (I've always worked for myself). But somewhere around the end of the second episode or the beginning of the third, I was sold. Mostly due to the dynamics between the characters and that everyone is unique and flawed in their own way. Plus, the colors are amazing.

It's been a while since I had at least one new episode to watch every day (I think it was sometime before the summer), so I'm starting to get back to normal again. And I love it here.

[thefirstlioveyou]

about queerbaiting

this is a byler doubt free post, don’t worry. i’m gonna dove into queerbaiting itself to prove why mike will be confirmed queer.

if byler isn’t canon, the ship as a whole wouldn’t be considered queerbait. however, the fact that mike would be confirmed to just see him as a good friend and is straight is considered queerbait.

byler itself is considered ship teasing due to the fact there’s confirmed feelings on one side already. ship teasing can happen with any type of ship, especially when there is a love triangle involved. ship teasing is done to grab an audience of any kind to watch the show. for example, them liking melvin comments is ship teasing as much as noah’s byler comments are.

because of the fact will byers is confirmed gay and in love with mike, the ship itself could not be qbait… that doesn’t mean the show doesn’t get away with no queerbaiting allegations though - mike wheeler by himself would have been what the queerbait was.

he is so heavily implied to be interested in will, giving will the eyes, how he speaks to him, how he treats him vs his girlfriend, how he cherishes him. outside of byler, he is also implied to not have any attraction to girls. he is the only other boy besides the canon gay boy to show distaste for girls when theyre put in a romantic/sexual light, the comments from his father, the imagery, his s4 bedroom, how he looks at el vs will, intereviews.

all this for him to be confirmed in love with a girl and not into boys in the end and that will’s just a really good friend to him, THAT’S queerbait as well as horrible writing.

however, let’s put ourselves in the shoes of producers and showrunners who do queerbait for a second…

“i want money and publicity. i also notice there’s hardly any queer content out there, i see how desperate the gays are. but.. if i dare even giving them what they want, that can lead to backlash and angry fans who drop the show, causing the viewership to go down, which can lead to the show being cancelled. but at the same time, if i give the gay part of the fanbase what they want that fanbase can grow bigger, which means a growing publicity about my show and ultimately more money for a bigger budget for another installment. but, i also don’t want to lose fans by doing this…. i have an idea! i’ll go 50/50. i’ll hint at a potiential queer characters and by the end of the show, once i got everything i wanted and needed, i’ll tell them they were just good friends or leave it up for interpretation, that way nobody drops the show and the homophobes stay happy. perhaps the gays will be mad, but i doubt they would drop the show. they’re too desperate and will take anything because there’s little to nothing for them anyway. i’m sooo smart, and a pussy!”

(sounds incredibly evil huh? it is.)

now, apply this to stranger things. there is no actual benefit they get from queerbaiting if we’ve already got two confirmed gay characters. they’re already taking the backlash they got from making will gay and from introducing robin in s3, yet… they don’t care. as they should.

think about this… why leave only ONE heavily implied gay character amongst canon ones just to debunk it afterwards to pander to homophobes, when you’ve already pissed them off with said canon gays?? there’s no sense in that. like. at ALL.

noah could’ve just said will’s sexuality was up to interpretation and left it as that. in the end, they had confirmed it later because they wanted to save the audience from spoilers. that’s the same thing happening for mike. him being queer and in love with will is a spoiler and plot twist, they’re not gonna reveal it now, even though it’s blantly obvious.. the same way it was obvious will liked mike.

these big hollywood people queerbait because they BENEFIT from it viewership-wise and ultimately fincially. if stranger things already features canon gay characters with a coming confirmed gay relationship between two girls, they get zero benefit with not falling through and not confirming mike queer, only pure backlash, nothing more or less.

never forget:

they’ve straight baited the audience once no problem, they’ll do it again if they really want to. as they should!

[peachjagiya]

How Layover taught me self confidence

Or Why Biasing Kim Taehyung is good for your mental wellbeing

-----------

So I'm not even a year into being into BTS. I'm toddler army, I think since April? This video of the Sirius performance of Butter came up on my tiktok randomly and I Just Wanted To Know Their Names and now I'm here.

I didn't immediately bias Tae. I actually attached immediately to Jimin. I also thought Suga was grumpy and there was something going on between Jimin and JK cos I watched the official content and fell for the narrative 😇 (I wouldn't say I'm a former jikooker though. It lasted like a week then I got weird vibes from it 🤷)

I'm really into jazz and swing so Tae wrecked my bias with Le Jazz De V.

Then it really got serious with Layover. Specifically these pictures:

See this outfit rewired my brain.

Here's the thing: I'm a big girl and I've been uncomfortable in my skin and clothes for a long time. I'm also gay and that comes with a lot of style related baggage too. Don't dress too masculine, everyone will think you're a man-hating lesbian. You're wearing a dress, you don't SEEM gay.

It made me hate my style. Trying to dress to hide my figure but not look too baggy. Trying to be feminine but not too feminine, trying not to wear anything too masc, trying to be stylish, trying a lot of things that never worked for me. I have no gender dysphoria but I never felt happy in my clothes.

Then I saw a literal idol wearing baggy jeans and tee and looking so stylish with it and a switch flipped. Maybe a slender South Korean man isn't where I'd imagine finding inspiration as a British bisexualish plus size lesbian but I suddenly felt like a style was accessible to me. The jewellery, the effortless slouch... I tried it out and it sounds dramatic but it was like a fashion euphoria. I liked how I looked for maybe the first time ever. My tummy hidden but I still looked good and like I'd made an effort.

His queer coding is so important to me too. It doesn't matter to me what he turns out to be. His promotion of queer artists, films and music, genderless expression and demonstrated support for queer community, will always be important in helping me feel seen and valued regardless of whether his participation is as a queer man or as an ally.

And he has made me more accepting of my own neurodivergence. I'm a mum to a six year old. I do the school run and cook and pay my mortgage with my boring communications job and I'm really into BTS. It's a bit of an eyebrow raise for a lot of people. I'm not into diagnosing strangers but Tae's relentless ability to be himself, no matter how weird the rest of the world thinks he is, and being a hugely popular idol when the world tells you you can't be a bit of a free-thinker and successful at the same time... That's important!

So yeah. The other guys have qualities that comfort me too but Taehyung has had a profound impact on things that needed fixing in my brain.

And that's why he's my best guy THE END ask me anything I'll talk about Taehyung for hours.

(I'm sorry I ever thought you were just a grump, Yoongi.)

Are these dungarees/overalls backwards btw?

[maxphilippa]

AYO! NEW CONTENT FOR THE GKGG AU?!

Also shotout to @burgycreeper405-blog cause she helped a lot on Trophy's looks/design and generally helped a lot in developing this AU you're very cool compadre :]♡

YES!!! AND IT'S WITH THIS GROUP OF QUEERS!!

lets start with the basics + what changes with them here!

Trophy: Okay.

Trophy takes the role of Tissues that is, but he's somewhat similar to canon again. Back then he was a jock who was confident on himself but had his heart on the right place. He was admired and well-respected by others for how strong he was and how charming he acted as well, generally being considered a light amongst objects.

So... what went wrong? He was settled, everything was going okay and he was happy.

At one point of his life, the condition came to him. He probably always had it, but it was only at that moment where it "woke up" in a way. He started feeling constantly dizzy and tired, which led him to not be able to work out as much as he used to, constantly started fainting and was unable to do much physical activities, and due to the stress of this, and him not being able to understand what's wrong with him, he cut off ties with everyone that knew him and just... kind of disappeared of everyone's minds.

He felt like he was messing things up and that he wasn't helpful at all, and saw him as an failure. Just because of his condition. He went to many doctors to check what was going on but no one really knew either and they are still figuring things out to help him.

When he arrived to the show, he was absolutely demolished. He was known back then so like. Showing your face to the public after years of being gone was definitely something that shattered his confidence, since he wasn't the same bright and golden loving jock everyone adored, but... just a sad, sick man who can barely even exist without coughing every second or so. He's shy and delicate, and didn't want to stay on the show for too long anyway.

He does feel guilty over infecting Cobs with his condition since it has ruined his own life so like. He didn't want to ruin the life of someone else with it.

So he tends to hide from others. After he arrived to Hotel Origami properly, Paper started to look after him and Trophy started taking his medicine again. He's slowly getting better, the condition still unbearable, but there's some progress on the methods to help him out. He tries to be more social with people and that certainly did help.

Tissues:

Tissues wants to be a magician here. The only thing is that his magic tricks end up being dangerous/harmful for others.

He gets consumed too easily by his desire to be a great magician and make his shows, and meanwhile he has a lot of potential, he needs someone to put his feet at the ground and make him realize that MAYBE a REAL cannon isn't the greatest idea.

At the begin of S2, he acted like a somewhat sly and confident bastard, on a good way, always wanting to impress Fan with his magic tricks since nothing seemed to amaze him, and the knee slap remains since he's a bit of a jokester as well! Uses comedy and magic! But a lot more of magic.

Since Tissues wasn't exactly conscious/aware of the fact that his tricks were hurting/could hurt people, but he was pretty good with the jokes though, he kind of forgot that he had to keep his audience alive.

He almost killed Fan with a small trick and that led Fan to yell at him and say "SEE?! THIS IS WHY YOU WILL NEVER HAVE AN AUDIENCE! YOU'RE HURTING PEOPLE! TALK ABOUT BEING A MONSTER WHEN YOU DIDN'T LOOK AT YOURSELF YET! ... go away. I don't want you near right now. Please."

So that led Tissues to being self conscious and feeling like he was only capable of hurting people. So his cockyness went down and he was somewhat sad, hopeless even, as he felt like some type of awful monster thanks to what Fan said. And magic was the thing he truly adored and was good at, but needed to work on a lot more. But what was the point of doing something that brought distress to others?

He knew he was going to get eliminated anyway and he simply cooled down a lot. He felt like a failure. He thought he found something that he could actually do and enjoy, but maybe he was just... broken. Maybe he had to make commercials again and forget about his dreams. So many years passed, wanting to be recognized by others. And he did now, but not in the way he wanted to be.

Perhaps he deserves to live in the shadows...

But he managed to work those things out in the end (will later on post a drawing + text of it!)

After he arrived to Hotel Origami and properly settled down, he began to rework his tricks and jokes, so his method of doing shows is somewhat like stand up comedy but he tells a story of his life/a joke meanwhile he does the trick itself.

He's charming and sweet, always listening to suggestions and is generally a pretty kind guy. A lot of people come to see his shows even AT the island.

And... Trophy goes to support him too.

And Cheesy, too. Even though Cheesy is there to mock him, he never misses one show.

Tissues swears he heard Cheesy going "wow" once.

Cheesy:

Cheesy is a fun case so to speak (not really). Years ago he was a pretty loving and sweet guy, and wanted to help everyone in anyway that he could. However, this made him an easy target for others, since he was naive.

He didn't have an easy life to put it shortly. He wanted to be happy the way he was, but could never really be since everyone made him a target for jokes. So Cheesy decided that if he can't make them love him, he's gotta adapt to them and make them fear him. But how? He was a lil' guy and not very... you know, intimidating.

But he was completely done at one point. Completely frustrated with life that is. He felt ashamed and completely shut down the kind persona he once was. Started to put his anger on working out, training and that. Relies on some unhealthy habits such as smoking too for stress.

He got into numerous fights and that roughed him up a bit. He's always alert and doesn't want anyone to look at him with pity. Cheesy's pretty strong too, being able to kick Trophy without much stress as well.

Even other jocks fear him too.

He's constantly focused on being the best and being respected in a way, sure, he's not loved, but people definitely fear him.

However... he does feel pretty lonely at times. He does want a friend. But Cheesy doesn't know how to have or make friends in a good way. Heck! Even the other jocks he befriended were still assholes to him! So you can imagine how awkward it is for him.

Test Tube was... someone that he actually wanted to befriend. But she was not interesed on the slightest, which is fair, she has never been the type to *do friendships in the middle of the show*, but that still felt unfair for Cheesy. But perhaps it was also for the fact that Test Tube was actually just... chill with him as she said "sorry, mate, i'm not really interesed, good luck tho".

And when he found out about the Hello Kitty doll... well. He did what others did to him.

If they don't want to be your friend, force them.

But the difference is that he was... actually not that shocked with being kicked out. Just angry with himself in a way and got that out on Box.

So that results in him being kicked out by Test Tube herself.

Once he settles down in Hotel Origami, his life does take a whole ass spin.

He's still a jock but. He found himself caring for Trophy and his condition slowly, even if he tosses the subject away and says that he's just frustrated because he can't sleep well at night thanks to his roomate. He acts kind of like a dick, and is almost always alone, since no one really hangs out with him out of fear or frustration. Paper and him do argue a lot in the beggining since Cheesy is careless.

But... as time passes by, and the closer he starts getting to Trophy and Tissues, the softer he gets. And he *fucking hates it*, he doesn't want to go back to who he was, everyone will make fun of him again, he thinks. He's always there with/for them, mocking them, but still there. He doesn't have to be. But he adapted the mentality of "I'm the only one who can make fun of these two idiots", since he gets protective with them as well.

He starts to become more chill as time passes by, his relationship with Tissues and Trophy still being uncertain, but they did "turn him into the softest bitch he knows".

He started to hang out calmly with the other residents. Actually made some... connections not based on fear but genuine enjoyment. His relationship with Paper got better as he helps with the Hotel. Started getting the help he needed.

Instead of photography, his hobby would be painting landscapes and or animals based on photos he takes.

And even other objects sometimes but... He's too ashamed to admit that golden and teal are colors that he uses too much.

He sucks at jokes but he's great at pick up lines.

Have extra art of these three:

not too fond of gay people /j

[ravi-is-my-beloved]

I'm so tired of being scared to speak out against Tommy and BuckTommy fans because of the chance they'll call me homophobic and paint me as part of the reason why they feel unsafe in this fandom, when these fans are the reason I, a gay brown man, feel unsafe in this fandom since they're so quick to forgive and defend a racist and misogynistic character for his past actions despite his victims never actually forgiving him on screen and his so-called change being non-existent.

Like please, for once in your life, actually think about how some of who don't like Tommy are people who are part of the marginalized groups he was being racist and misogynistic to and they have valid, non-homophobic reasons for disliking him. And while Tommy may be a fictional character, you defending him so easily and so quickly is harmful to actual real life people of color and women because it makes actual racist and misogynistic white men think they can easily be forgiven for their actions just because they're queer.

And you're right, there are anti Tommy/anti BuckTommy people who are actually homophobic and their homophobia is just as harmful to queer people as your dismissal of Tommy's racist and misogynistic actions. And you're right that we shouldn't let them get away with it.

So here's a little but necessary talk for all of my fellow anti Tommy/anti BuckTommy people (please note that these are all of the things I've personally seen while scrolling through the tags, so there's probably so much more harmful rhetoric than what I've listed):

Saying that Tommy is a predator and that he only wants Buck for sex is homophobic because gay men are so often painted as predators by homophobes and gay men have been villainized for their sexual behavior for so many years. Also all of you who joke about wanting Tommy to die in the upcoming season is also harmful to gay men because writers have a history of killing of queer characters and not giving them their happy endings and it's still a problem today.

But BuckTommy fans also all need to also take a step back and think about how your actions and words are hurting people too.

Think about how painting Eddie Diaz, a man of color, as this temperamental man is perpetuating harmful stereotypes against Mexican men. Think about how even jokingly (though I don't know how much of it is y'all actually joking) saying that Tommy deserves to have more scenes than Karen and Hen is perpetuating the lack of content/representation of black lesbians.

The call is coming from inside the house, but it's not just our house it's coming from. It's coming from yours too.

(NOTE: I do want to briefly speak out against how both sides of this fandom use the words/phrases "delusional" and "need someone to spell things out for them" in a way that's very harmful for people with mental illnesses and people with learning disabilities. I know these are things that are constantly being used on the internet, but they're still harmful and we should all strive to learn about how harmful we're (most unintentionally) being.)

[twig-tea]

Love Senior: Final Thoughts

I've been putting off making a post about this because I don't like trashing things that are small efforts and especially not GL because we don't get enough of it to begin with. But I was enjoying Love Senior through episode 7. The leads were lovely, they had chemistry, their characters were both interesting, and one of them had casual sex with someone else before they got together and it was fine! They even talked about it! And they were thirsty! I love it when women get to have sexual desire in shows.

After episodes 8-9, the narrative took a serious turn and I broke and wrote a content warning post because of how gross the turn in the plot was. With one episode left, I watched to see whether it would undo any of the damage it had done, but instead it doubled down on awfulness.

The last episode is truly a smorgasbord of some of my least favourite tropes all rolled up into one miserable finale, and makes the show truly unwatchable even though it delivers a "happy ending". It didn't make sense, it wasn't good characterization, it served nothing but unnecessary angst, and it meant we didn't even get satisfying reconciliation or dealing with the issues laid out in 8-9. After this ending, I was extremely unconvinced these two would last, or that they should.

I know this isn't the worst there is in the world of QL. I've watched a lot of stuff. I used to just stay quiet if I didn't like something, but honestly, I want folks looking for info about this show to know what to expect, and I also want folks creating content to know that audiences expect better these days. I don't want people to think GL flops because nobody wants to watch it. We're so desperate for good, or even half-decent content (the viewing numbers for GAP should have made that obvious)! But things need to hold together at least somewhat, and this very much did not.

Most of the cast in this show is in a girl group together, so you can support them, continue past the cut if you want details on what makes this finale suck (I've kept it vague but obviously there will be spoilers), and I hope this is taken as it's intended--to help inform the watching decisions of us who love GL and want more of it, and to give information to those making it.

[I'm just going to note also that this show was by StarHunter Entertainment which is not known for its queer rep or good treatment of its people, so I don't feel like I owe this production company any loyalty].

Details about the last episode under the cut.

In episode 10, the following happens:

we get told the SA that I warned about in my 8-9 post was just staged for the purposes of blackmail/breaking up the leads

[the show doesn't acknowledge that the characters were still left in a position that they could have still been sexually assaulted, and that they were put in that position by someone they trusted]

Someone gets hit by a car

One of the leads falls into a coma, and on waking, gets amnesia

Her friends and family conspire to lie to her, not just erasing her girlfriend from their picture of her life, but saying that one of her other friends who has a crush on her is her boyfriend. They all go along with this lie for months

On finding out that her girlfriend had been told that she's actually dating some other guy, her girlfriend decides to noble idiocy and disappear from her life

More time passes, and they see one another at the amnesia girl's graduation, and hug for a happy ending.

THE END.

No conversation. No reconciliation beyond acknowledgment that they still have feelings. No mention of their breakup before the coma. Nothing that convinces me this couple will actually last at all, or reason (in the form of character growth, or narrative purpose) for why they've gone through this. Nothing about the main character being lied to by all of her friends and family for months. This ending says 'everything is fine as long as the two people you want to be in a relationship are in a relationship at the end of the story', and that doesn't fly with me.

[carowleysposts]

Sometimes, before i fall asleep, i keep imagining their happy ending and smiling. I imagine them holding hands, laughing, kissing, talking and just being happy and in love. And it always makes my day.

And that makes me think a lot about why we care so much that our fictional characters end up well. Why it seems so personal to us. It’s because we are the things we love, the content we consume, and we are a mirror to everything we root for.

We need fiction because we NEED to believe that life can have happy endings as well. We need fiction because it translates beautifully the world we know and the feelings we have to this shiny, creative, magical mirror where we can see ourselves and still have hope, the kind of hope we sometimes don’t have for our real lives.

And, as a writer, I truly believe that’s the reason why fiction saves lives. We need happy endings and loving queer angel-demon couples, we need amnesiac archangels finding redemption, we need Job’s children turning into lizards and never actually being k1lled, we need Jane Austen balls in non-profit bookshops, we need to have something to believe in. We need magic, fantasy and fairytales. We need Good Omens.

[why-do-i-like-the-bad-guys]

A point no one ever touches on about Flint:

The fact that he was raised by his grandfather.

Now, maybe it was common back then, but from personal experience; losing your parents at such a young age makes a huge impact on a person.

People argue that “Flint” was created because of the loss of Thomas Hamilton. But I’d like to think it was when he lost his parents. The only difference being, Miranda and Thomas allowed him to come out of the shadows, out of hiding. He had that rage inside him before he lost Thomas, his boss in the Navy said so himself after he beat up a guy in the bar. He had a darkness in him that not even he understood the depths of.

I can definitely relate to that statement and mindset, I think as a kid instead of acting out on his aggression; Flint used books and stories to try and escape his reality, so he wouldn’t be alone with his own thoughts. I do the same with TV shows and stories I write.

But then he found Thomas and Miranda and he didn’t need the books to crawl into, he was accepted by them, welcomed. And as someone who was adopted themselves, it’s extremely hard and sometimes it feels impossible to believe that someone could love you as you are or for who you are. Not only that, I think he found family within them, something sometimes hard for someone who loses their parents.

Flint tried to fit in by becoming an officer, upholding the standards of the law and whatnot, to be like everyone else. But deep inside, I think he felt very out of place and alone. He saw the world as it was, the cruelty within the people, and he ended up showing that to Thomas who was quite oblivious to it. But Flint knew the world was cruel at an early age.

They come from different backgrounds, but together they get to see the world through each other’s eyes, and that is a world that they can see being happy in.

Now, I know a lot of people like to think it’s purely queer rage that drove Flint, but I like to think it was something much deeper than that. Yes, he loved Thomas, inside and out, but I think Thomas was the first person who he didn’t have to pretend with. He was the first person who made him feel as if he wasn’t alone: that he was worthy of being loved. Then he was taken away and James became Flint and took Miranda away with him out of England.

Her ghost even says that first to him, she was a mother, and that’s why he was so ruined over her. He lost his mother again. I think it just shows that his reasons are a lot deeper than just being ostracized for being queer in that time. I think his rage goes beyond that, it goes all the way to his core of who he believes he is because of the loss of his parents. He came up from nothing, his grandfather wasn’t well off, he didn’t have a mother figure, that can be extremely damaging to a child growing up.

And sure, he had his grandfather, but growing up without parents also makes it extremely hard to figure out who you are. And it doesn’t specifically say how he lost his parents, but personally I like to believe that he lost his mother in childbirth, maybe his father died before he was born. It does mention that his father was a carpenter’s mate (worked on a ship) and that James himself had no schooling growing up. Which means, he learned everything himself because his grandfather was a fisherman and probably wasn’t well educated either. So he came from literally nothing and made something of himself, yet I don’t think he was content. I think he kept climbing the ranks, hoping it would give him a sense of meaning or purpose within his life, give him the peace he wanted, fill the hole within that losing his parents left.

An additional to that would be that James McGraw was a personality he put on, much like he did with Flint.

I also think he saw Gates as a father figure, a mentor, someone he trusted and respected more than any one else. So I think when Gates betrayed him, it broke something inside of him and he felt alone again.

He also says that England took his home; and I don’t think he meant the physical place, I think he meant Thomas. But I also think he meant his final security within himself. With Thomas and Miranda he found family, he found love and trust.

When Miranda was murdered it was the absolute last straw for him. It was like his mother dying all over again; except this time she was murdered, and now no one was safe from his vengeance. And people might think he went overboard, but think about it: someone insinuated that she was a slut and he almost beat the man to death. I think it was well within his rage now he burned the entire place down after she was murdered. Hell, those people got off easy.

He also talks about where the name Flint came from. A man that was never seen again. I think he chose it because in his mind, identity was something you could change, something you could toss away when done with. But closer to the end, he realized, he was Flint, Flint was him, and there was no throwing it away and starting over.

He tells Silver that he shouldn’t be afraid that he (Silver) will be his end because I think he already realizes that he’s already his own end. That there is no other way other than to die, in order to get rid of Flint. I think he knew at some point, that Silver would have to kill him and he was oky with it, but as long as the war was won or Silver carried on with the efforts of the war, so Flint would no longer be needed. Or Flint would just off himself when the time came. It was like passing on the torch, only Silver blew it out in front of him.

And for the offing himself part, we all know he would do it because at the end of the first season he tried to drown himself, he gave up hope. So he does have it in him to do that. (Not so fun fact: adoptees are 4x more likely to attempt suicide)

And I think it’s another reason Flint allowed himself to trust Silver in the first place. On some level, he knew that Silver understood what it was to have no solid identity, to have a background that made something inside of you missing. Silver had no problems shifting his position on the ship in order to stay relevant, which is why they made such good partners, because they understood one another in a way that Gates never could. But the thing with Silver was that he couldn’t see the ultimate bigger picture like Flint could, he didn’t have the loss Flint had, the sacrifices that Flint made, all he saw in the end was the destruction, not the new beginning coming out of the ashes.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

[martinsharmony]

Thank you for your RPF post. I agree. I wake up thinking of scenarios for DT/MS. They're just there, in my head, being in love and content. And I need them there. I need to know that even middle aged queers can find love, that lives adapt, that finding new love doesn't mean abandoning established love.

I need to see happy, older queers thriving in our bigoted, hateful world. Because I don't get to have that happy ending myself. And because young questioning queers need to see it, know they have a chance. To know that not everyone finds their someone(s) in high school or college. To know that everyone's path and timeline are different.

And MS and DT are such lovely people, inside and out, truly kind and giving and they deserve happiness in whatever shape that takes. It warms my poor, injured heart to see them gazing at one another adoringly, their softness for each other plain on their faces. To see them choose to be in each other's lives over and over. Like, how wonderful! How can someone hate on that? They're little bright spots in my cloudy world.

My shipping them with never affect them. I don't know them, I'm not in their circles, they will never know I exist. If any of them are seeking out the RPF fics, then they are reading them intentionally because they want to. (I'm sure MS has written and submitted some himself based on various interviews over the years.) They aren't fighting allegations of a relationship, they continuously fuel them, even. Something I don't think they'd do if they felt it was harmful to their careers, untrue, or as queerbaiting. They're allies at a minimum, they wouldn't cheapen the lived experiences of other queers for a couple of extra asses in seats at a show.

Anyhow, thank you for your well thought out post and for making me feel seen, even as I hide behind an anonymous ask.

Thank you so, so much for writing this. My apologies in taking so long to respond.

And thank you for saying that my post made you feel seen. I truly appreciate that. RP shippers are the red headed step children in the fandom world. You saying you felt seen by my writing made ME feel seen by your appreciation, and truly by receiving this ask as well.

I agree with you. I have never seen anything so wholesome in my life as the way Michael and David are with each other. They just exude love. It's so pure. I really don't understand the vitriol against it. I mean the majority of our "fuel" comes from them in the 1st place. Plus it's evident when you watch them interact.

I just chalk up the hate to it saying more about them than us.

And yes, of course people can find love at any age and regardless of what state their current relationships are already in. Why should we think they are not with each other because they are each already in relationships? Because they are famous? Because they have kids? That makes no sense. People do it every day.

Yeah no way they are doing this for any kind of "marketing" or whatever, except to provide some kind of narrative that would allow them to hide in plain sight. That way they can be just about as "free" to be themselves and show as much affection toward one another as reasonably feasible. I wish they could feel 100% free to be out in the open with it, but I also realize they probably prefer privacy as well.

I look to them as relationship goals. I hope to someday find someone that I feel as at home with as I believe they feel with each other.

[elvensorceress]

sunday sentences

tagged by @hippolotamus @alyxmastershipper @monsterrae1 @disasterbuckdiaz @wikiangela @messyhairdiaz @giddyupbuck no pressure tagging if you have something and want to share 💕 @spotsandsocks @shortsighted-owl @mysteriouslyyounggalaxy @shitouttabuck @cowboy-buddie @bekkachaos @bigassdiaz @heartshapedvows @ebdaydreamer @wildlife4life @theotherluciferr @transbuck @butchdiaz @911onabc @spaceprincessem 💕 It's been soooo long idk who has done this and who hasn't, but some lovely people tagged me and I have a random thing to share? I have no idea what it is yet, but here, you can has.

“Hen,” he says very slowly and patiently so she doesn’t get the wrong idea. “I’m not gay.” 

“Eddie,” she says with a barely contained edge of exasperation that can only be perfected by someone who deals with very young children or a stream of incompetent, rude, bigoted, ignorant assholes on a regular basis. “Liking men doesn’t automatically mean ‘gay.’ There’s infinite variation between ‘gay’ and ‘straight.’ It’s not an ‘either/or’ situation. Sexuality is complex, multilayered. Gender identity is the same way. People don’t fit in neat categories.”

Eddie lets out a sigh that is almost as agitated as he is, and he tries very hard not to roll his eyes. No one wants to be on the end of an annoyed, grumpy Hen. “I’m not bi either. I’m not being—” When he tries to think of a word to describe what he’s trying to describe, and comes up with nothing. His mind is blank. Zero. Run dry. Wiped clean of everything. Much like the whole of his love life or sexuality or whatever they’re going to call it. He settles for, “Like that. I’m not homophobic. I love you. And Karen. And I don’t— There’s nothing wrong with it. I don’t think there is. I don’t have a problem with anyone being gay or whatever else. I’m just not— I’m not. Queer. That’s not me. I’m not—”

His breath stops and his words fail and he’s pretty sure his hands and fingers go numb. Somewhere across the station, Buck laughs. He’s laughing. In a bright, joyous, throw your head back and burst with happiness from the depths of your whole heart and soul. Because Buck is like that. He’s glowing, wonderful, pure sunshine and warmth. 

And Eddie knows his voice. Eddie knows his laugh. 

Eddie knows his smile and his warmth and his endless loyalty and devotion so well that it makes his own chest tighten. 

How can anyone breathe properly in the face of something so magnificent? How can anyone’s heart not rush after hearing him, watching him, knowing him? 

It’s normal. There’s nothing extraordinary about it. Buck is extraordinary but this isn’t extraordinary. If you watched a vivid sunset or held a sleeping child or ate your favorite meal or heard your favorite song or somehow found peace, contentment, reprieve from loneliness— it’s only reasonable that you’d get a flood of happy chemicals through your body that make you feel pleasant. 

That’s all it is. There’s nothing more to it. 

Eddie swallows hard and his skin prickles electric danger in the air all around him. “I can’t be. It’s not that— I’m not being— I’m just not. That. I can’t be that.” 

Hen’s gaze narrows like she’s diagnosing problems and wow, does Eddie need their shift to be over immediately. Why has it only barely started. She tips her head, looks at him sideways, looks elsewhere in the station like maybe in the direction of Buck and his laugh and his happiness and life-giving sunshine. “You can’t be that,” she says still without looking at him, like it’s not a question and she’s not expecting an answer, and there are alarms in his head and knots in his stomach and neon warning lights everywhere. 

That’s right. He can’t be that. He can’t be and he’s not, and it has nothing to do with sexuality or orientation or homophobia or fucked up expectations for someone of a certain gender. 

And Hen of course zeros in on that. “You can’t be queer,” she says again like it’s so simple and easy and fragile and why does it feel thinner than ice in 120° Los Angeles summer? “Because then you could be in love with Buck.”

Is it hot in here? Of course it’s hot in here. It’s far too hot and Eddie has on too many layers. Not that he wants to take off anything because Buck — and Chimney but Chim isn’t the whole fucking issue here — bounds up the stairs and over to the sofas where Eddie and Hen were drinking coffee and not discussing anything. They weren’t talking and there were no comments or incriminating accusations made. Buck plops himself right next to Eddie (because why wouldn’t he) and then launches into a story, something Chim had been telling him about Jee-Yun and Maddie and bubble soap, and Buck is beaming and clearly trying not to get too animated or bouncy with his wild gestures and reenactments. 

But maybe that’s only clear to Eddie. Because he knows how Buck gets when he’s excited and how he tries to hold himself back and it makes tension wind through his back and shoulders and thighs—

And Eddie is not thinking about Buck’s thighs. 

Eddie is not looking at Buck at all. 

No one can look directly at the sun. They’ll only be burned. They’ll only be blinded. 

It would only ruin everything. 

But there’s warmth next to Eddie. Enough that his skin is too cold, too icy, and his heart is too frozen, and of course none of Eddie dating ever works and of course Eddie never feels anything. There may be faraway stars but his universe spins around and pulls him into the sun. There’s only one sun. There’s only one Buck. 

He smells like coconut and vanilla. Sweetness and softness that’s rare and rich and decadent. They’re not even touching but he’s so close, they could. If they wanted. 

If he wanted, he could touch. If he wanted, he could pull Buck into his arms and kiss him and Eddie could love him the way he should be and Eddie would never let him feel undeserving or like he isn’t enough and Eddie wouldn’t let go of him for a single moment.

Eddie can’t think like that. He can’t because he’s not into anyone, never will be into anyone, and that’s the end of it. 

He’s not in love with Buck. He can’t be. It’s impossible. 

Buck laughs again as he finishes his story and immediately turns to Eddie with his big blue eyes and his bright smile and his effusive personality. 

Eddie smiles back, he tries to but knows it’s weak and that anyone could see through it. But Buck especially will be able to. So, Eddie does what he does best. 

He gets up and runs. 

[girl4music]

INTERVIEWER: “So we meet up with Waverly and Nicole. We’re about 2 years later since we last saw you. They’re still very much in love. But like all couples they’re going through something really unique and personal. Nicole has really come into her own. Kind of, you know, in charge of the town. Has all this respect coming towards her. But Waverly’s craving adventure and like ways to use that big brain of hers. How will WayHaught tackle these fundamental differences and still remain this beloved couple that so many fans have been rooting for for 8 years?”

KAT: “I think the thing that I love about WayHaught is that they always trust their love at the end of the day and I think that’s just a testament to how genuine and across all universes their bond is. I think it takes a lot of strength in a couple to say ‘this is what I want to do, this is what you want to do - how do we give the space for each of us to grow as individuals but still trust that we’re going to come back together at the end of the day?’ I think that’s one of the amazing things that continues to make them iconic, continues to make them aspirational. It’s just that they trust that they’ll come back together and that their love is strong and their relationship is strong and there’s a lot of space to be their own people - which is so fundamental for a healthy partnership.”

INTERVIEWER: “Oh, that’s so beautifully said, Kat.”

DOM: “So beautifully said and I completely agree and I think that it is so wonderful to see the representation of the reality of a couple and what comes after happily ever after. You know, we’ve seen this beautiful wedding and it’s like where do we find them after a little bit of time and you said it yourself, Dana. Waverly has such an ambitious spirit and that it would be a disservice if she lost that. It’s such a core fundamental piece of who she is and so allowing that to live and then Nicole actually seeing that and embracing it is a testament to their strength as a couple. That Nicole sees what Waverly needs and I think Waverly’s trying to figure out why she is irritable and why she’s craving more but she’s incredibly happy with her wife - and so both things can exist - and being able to like work with that within their relationship is such a blessing and seeing the representation of a supportive partner that wants their love to go off and spread their wings is such a stunning way to end the special.”

INTERVIEWER: “I think it’s something a lot of couples go through and so I love being able to see this very realistic thing in a relationship in this very fantastical world full of demons and monsters, right? And it’s also a real testament to Emily and the writers and the crew to be able to put conflict in a queer relationship without it being about death, breaking up, all these others things. I think it’s a really nice evolution so I was really excited to see it.”

Just in case people didn’t understand the choice made with WayHaught temporarily separating and Waverly’s leaving with Jeremy to reconstruct Black Badge at the end of the special - here’s a rundown of Kat and Dom talking about why it matters that this happened and that it’s actually a good thing and it does not mean that they’re breaking up or getting tired of each other or any of these negative thoughts and worries that I’ve seen so many people have on it.

This is just all part of their relationship evolution and their evolutions as individual people too because one evolution does not have to clash or exclude the other.

I think sometimes we just need to take a step back and listen to what the creators/cast/crew say about the content that they’ve made and have been a part of because they’ll often have the answers we seek. They’re a very passionate family of co-workers that really love the art/entertainment they put out and really respect the storytelling for the characters. Their evolutions both individually and together as a couple’s dynamic and you don’t often find that very often in TV art/entertainment. Most casts for TV shows or movies couldn’t give a shit about any of this as long as they’re getting paid for it at the end of the day, week, month.

The creators/cast/crew of the IP ‘Wynonna Earp’ are a little different and we should trust in them more for it. If things go south with this new venture with Tubi as far as the way WayHaught are treated, I think we can have faith that DomKat will speak up. After all - they’re no longer just our queer allies. They’re LGBTQ+ too.

[sundaycentric]

Hi!! I heard you had requests open, and I wanted to ask if you were comfortable with writing Neuvillette reacting to learning about the fact his s/o is trans. With him being all supportive and just some wholesome fluff. :) Gn reader please, and I wish you a fantastic day!

neuvillette x trans gn reader

content ★ headcanons, trans reader, established relationship, not proofread, no specified agab or gender, fluff, sfw

note ★ IM SORRY OTHER REQUESTERS FOR DOING THEM OUT OF ORDER I JUST AUUGH.. this one makes me really happy bc im trans myself !!

Neuvillette noticed how you became a bit more nervous around him for the past few months. He can't understand why, but he doesn't want to overstep and push you. He wants you to tell him by yourself.

When you do tell Neuvillette, it's one of the rare days where theres no courts in session. The two of you have some time to spend together, outside of his work.

He can tell that you seem nervous throughout the date. His face doesn't change, but the skies darken some. He can't help but be worried, especially since he can't properly figure out what you're feeling.

At the end of the day, when the sun began to set and the two of you were content, you began to open up to him.

Neuvillette listened to what you were saying about how you don't want him to view you any different, and how you still want things to work out and hope he doesn't hate you. Neuvillette frowns a bit. Hate you? He could never.

When you finally do tell him that you're trans, he doesn't really react much. Except for the faint smile that grew on his face, and sky lightened a bit. Neuvillette knows what it is, and has more knowledge on queer topics simply because he has been alive for so long.

Neuvillette is relieved it wasn't something that would matter that much. He doesn't really care for your gender: you're still you. Especially since he isn't human, he doesn't think that much about gender at all.

Neuvillette will immediately ask you what you want to go by. If you don't know yet, he'll offer his help with picking you out a new name. If you do have a name in mind, he'll immediately switch over to it, as if you were always that name instead of your deadname.

He'll listen to you rant and vent when you need to. Neuvillette will be there whenever you need him. He may not have lots of advice or a suggestion, but he will try to comfort you.

Neuvillette will offer to help you get your name legally changed, as well as your gender on official documents. It still costs money, but he'll pay it all for you.

Neuvillette will go shopping for you when you're out. Binders, packers, tucks, whatever it is that'll help you feel more comfortable. People may look at him oddly when he is at stores, buying these, but he really doesn't care. Neuvillette's more concerned with your happiness.

He is very supportive. :) If you are transmasc, he'll try his best to give you some tips since he's masculine. If you are transfem, he'll get Lady Furina to help you out. She does, happily, and she'll advise you however she can. If you are transneutral, he can't do much, but he will listen to anything you ask of him.

[crookedfandomquill]

I am about to lose my mind with y'all, for real. To recap, we got: tons of new backstory content on Aziraphale and Crowley's relationship; tons of cute new content including them dancing together a la Jane Austen; two other queer relationships meant to parallel and contrast their own; a FUCKING KISS; confirmation from Neil that he has an entire third season planned out and, regardless of whether it gets made in a TV format, will definitely give it to us in some form or fashion... and there are still fans jumping online and acting the fool.

Look. I totally understand if relationship angst isn't your thing. I'm not always in the mood for it, and it has to make sense for the story and the characters. However, feeling a lot of feelings about how the season ended, or wishing it had gone differently as a personal preference, is not the same as getting on this platform and saying, with your whole chest, that it was HOMOPHOBIC for Aziraphale and Crowley to hit a major relationship snag. Was it goddamn sad? Absolutely. Did it hurt my soul? 100%. But there are people claiming that it's part of some new "queer people have to suffer" trend (an emotional bury-your-gays, if you will), and that Neil (noted storytelling genius and LBGTQ ally) wrote this ending as an elaborate form of queerbaiting.

My girls. My gays. My theys. My sweet, silly geese. This is preposterous. First of all, this is not how the story ends. It is a clear and masterful setup for a third season (or whatever form it takes, hopefully TV but we shall see). It's pretty typical for the second act of a story to end in some kind of tragedy or twist that needs to be resolved in the third act, and it's typical because it works great for narrative flow and character development.

Second of all, and I'm begging you to listen to me: it is not homophobic to have your queer couple experience relationship problems. It is not homophobic for there to be pain and difficulty before they get a happily ever after. It is not homophobic to let your queer characters deal with commitment issues, unresolved trauma, or other baggage that temporarily prevents them from being together. This is literally a staple of the romance story, regardless of the sexualities involved, and is something that almost anyone who's been in sexual or romantic relationships has experienced in real life to some degree.

Now, if there were truly a phenomenon in fiction where every single queer couple had to go through astronomical levels of difficulty to get a happy ending, proportional to fictional straight couples, and the sweet, uncomplicated stuff just wasn't there to indulge in, I'd concede a little. But that's just... not true. If you think it is, you may not be reading or watching broadly enough. Queer folk deserve to see queer characters overcome relationship conflict just as much as they deserve to have sweeter, escapist options.

If you're mad about Good Omens 2 because you prefer drama-free escapism in you queer relationships, or were expecting that and felt let down, that's fine, you have a right to your feelings. And it's always hard when you've waited for a story for four years and built it up in your head (which is why I generally try not to do that, but you do you). But, you do not have to justify your feelings by accusing the story of queerbaiting or homophobia. In fact, I beg you not to. Just say that it hurt and you wish it had been happier; it's okay for you to feel that way, and people shouldn't put you down for it.

But propping up your emotions by accusing a piece of media of implicitly contributing to a system of oppression that it actively works to undermine is just not where it's at, folks. There is media that genuinely does that, but this isn't it. Again, have all the emotions about the ending that you want, but stop crying wolf. It's getting old.