#'a homosexual declaration of love'

[orionsangel86]

Happy Destiel Day to all who celebrate!

[drulalovescas]

No because you don't understand. I am absolutely and utterly obsessed with the way Cas' homosexual declaration of love has everyone in a chokehold. Like seriously!!!! They wanted Cas in The Winchesters but ... what about the confession. They want the revival to happen BUT they'll have to address the confession. Because after all the controversy they cant just not address it right???? They wanted desperately for the "i love you" to stay ambiguous but Misha Collins said no fucking way. I fought too hard for this shit to happen. The angel is gay. And stays gay. So now we have this show "Supernatual" that is all about the brothers" but that gay little nerdy angel who was supposed to stay for 3 episodes only!!! dictates the narrative. They painted themselves into a corner so badly because they wanted to please EVERYONE and thus managed to piss off everyone. And I'm just here grinning and eating my🍿 waiting for how things will unfold. And yknow what? I'm not even sorry. Also, Cas is gay.🌈

[thisbisexualbrainrot]

Jensen always words things so carefully ya know he’s always on eggshells trying to please everyone and not openly give his opinions on the confession or destiel he’s very diplomatic about it

meanwhile Misha is out here saying shit like “if the CW weren’t cowards Dean and Cas would have been balls deep”

And I just think that’s hilarious

[freechaostyrant]

A few times Misha (and Jensen, Rich, and others) make reference to Castiel's HOMOSEXUAL/ ROMANTIC confession of love:

[strawlessandbraless]

How often do you think Jensen Ackles lays in bed to watch the castiel love confession footage on his phone? Do you think he mouths the words? Do you think he cries? Do you think he goes crazy knowing that he’s written a better ending and he just wants the world to see it?

[1-800-arsonforsale]

I wonder if Ali Hazelwood watched 15x18 before writing this.

[inthiswhisper]

people saying “we cannot tell if the writers were inserting queer subtext in later seasons for us or to punish us.” yes, we can. do you hear yourself. do you not see the patterns and parallels. they were doing it on purpose. destiel (at the very least during dabb era) was on purpose. those writers were queer-coding and paralleling dean and cas with canonically romantic pairings on purpose. it was not to punish fans, it was to reveal fans were always right, done by way of evading censorship while serving spn’s narrative, of which the love between those two men is such a pivotal aspect. the queer subtext / text was added on purpose.

[evilkitten3]

everything i've ever said about naruto is correct. if kishimoto said something that contradicts it then it's doubly correct. what does he know

[purgaytorysupremacy]

I get the reasoning behind this, I really do. We don't want to talk about how confessing your gay love for your gay bff is shameful. I get that, and I support it.

But also.

It is shameful to Cas. And to Dean! That's what makes Cas declaring it at that moment brave and courageous. If it wasn't hard and shameful and embarrassing, why aren't they declaring it all over the place? You know?

From an in-universe perspective, Cas is embarrassed by his love for Dean. And whomst among us hasn't had an embarrassing crush on a bff we think is way out of our league? And Dean? Mr. I-haven't-deserved-one-single-good-thing-in-my-whole-life Winchester? Pfft! Hell yeah they're ashamed of what's going on between them.

But it's not the gay thing! It is a shameful secret because neither of these grown ass men have learned they can ask for something purely for themselves in their entire lives! Neither of them believe they deserve good things so coveting this man who they respectively believe is the single best entity to have ever walked the earth? Who do they think they are! The hubris! The gall! The shame!

I guess what I'm saying is that it can be both, and neither takes away from the other. If anything, they enhance it. A confession is also a hard thing to do, which is also the undercurrent in these definitions. Cas is literally giving up everything for Dean here. Is he doing it via a declaration of his love, a testimony to the love of his life? Yeah. But it's hard to do, it's a brave sacrifice, because it's a secret. (Not to mention the secret of the whole Empty Deal in the first place.)

So yeah. I do like that the conversation from the actors themselves have moved towards a more positive, affirming discussion of this scene that was obviously very important to everyone. Out-of-universe, I support that impulse. However, in-universe, I don't think we should erase the courage Cas had in confessing his secret love for his best friend, even as it was a joyful, tender testimony to him.

I really really love the language both Misha and Jensen have been using re: the "confession"

Like Misha repeatedly stating "homosexual declaration of love"

declaration: a formal or explicit statement or announcement. announcement. proclamation.

It's just, stating something, making it known.

Then there's Jensen correcting himself from saying "confession" to "testament"

Jensen: "he gave a confess- or he gave his - his testament"

testament: something that serves as a sign or evidence of a specified fact, event, or quality. a tangible proof or tribute. an expression of conviction. creed. attestation. related to testimony: a solemn declaration. an open acknowledgment.

These words are more neutral / positive statements than "confession." Cas's feelings just are, and he is declaring them proudly, attesting** to them. Speaking his truth. Whereas "confession" connotes shame.

confession:

a formal statement admitting that one is guilty of a crime.

an admission or acknowledgment that one has done something that one is ashamed or embarrassed about.

a formal admission of one's sins with repentance and desire of absolution

All of these imply that something about what is "confessed" is shameful, embarrassing, sinful. There's guilt associated with the "confessed" thing, and that's not what Cas felt in the moment of his True Happiness.

In that moment he felt proud, he felt elated to finally declare his feelings, and also in his speech to Dean, which imo is a big part of Cas's happiness, getting to tell Dean how he sees him, how many actually see him, as a being of love, as someone who is always trying and fighting for others. as someone who loves so fiercely and strongly that he taught Cas how to love in this way too. And none of those feelings are shameful, he's proud to tell Dean these things. He's happy to finally get to say them.

So I really like the language they're personally using when talking about this scene. It's really not a confession. Cas's love isn't some secret, shameful thing. In that moment all those feelings burn brightly, happily in him. In that moment he is making his solemn declaration to Dean about his feelings and all the things about Dean that he loves, openly acknowledging what has sat quietly between them for years, not hidden, not shameful, just unspoken.

**to show, say, or prove that something exists or is true

[orionsangel86]

Happy Destiel Day to all who celebrate!

[drulalovescas]

Say what you want but those who experienced November 5, 2020 (and then consecutively the horror that was November 19, 2020) LIVE do share a more profound bond.

[the-gayngel]

me in 50 years: the happiness is in just being... canon in spanish... onion field... cas helped... open to interpretation... homosexual declaration of love... balls deep... it's not subtext it's clear text.....

them: alright grandma let's get you to bed

[hag-lad]

CINEMATIC PARALLELS

True luv is real...

[annarubys]

i’m in the midwest with the whole family this weekend and my aunt turned to me when we were in the car and said “hey have you ever seen supernatural?” and my blood ran completely cold because i was literally reading fanfiction this morning. so i said in the most casual tone possible yeah why. and she said “this neighborhood looks exactly like the towns from that show” and then i proceeded to find out that her son aka my cousin is a massive fan. also they only speak spanish so naturally i had to ask if either one of them had ever finished the show and the answer is no which means. i shan’t say it

[saywhat-78]

Misha Collins looking the so called cw sniper dead in the face:

“I said it was a homosexual declaration of love. Castiel loves Dean like a lover. If cw weren’t homophobic Cas and Dean would be balls deep. The show’s ending would have had Castiel in the bar with his arm around Dean”

[calder]

Released in 2010, Obsidian Entertainment's Fallout: New Vegas actively concerns itself with the realities of gay existence, and is widely recognized as a noteworthy work of queer science fiction. New Vegas extensively examines social attitudes towards homosexuality among the game's major factions, and primarily conveys this lore through gay and bisexual characters describing their own experiences. It also allowed the player to mechanically set the Courier's sexual orientation. By taking both available perks, the player character can be bisexual. By choosing neither, the player can opt out of seeing flirtatious dialogue options.

Uniquely, Fallout: New Vegas explores homosexuality in the context of wasteland societies, and touches upon related issues. The core theme of New Vegas is that the desire to recreate the past is driven by irrational nostalgia, and any endeavor to manifest past glory is dangerous and doomed. The social issue of homophobia is used as a demonstrative example. The resurrection of corporate and military power structures presents new avenues for Old World problems such as institutional homophobia to reemerge. One of the many issues that divide the New California Republic and Caesar's Legion is the latter's open persecution of gay people. The NCR is described as tolerant and even accepting of same-sex relationships, though acceptance tends to fall off the further one moves away from the developed, urbanized core of New California. In recent years, the Republic's rapid economic transformation has led to an unforeseen erosion of the humanitarian ideals which it was founded to serve. In practice, to recreate America was to take on its shortcomings and its sins. As subsistence scavenging has dried up, the people of the NCR increasingly turn to wage labor, entrepreneurial venture, or military enlistment to keep their families fed. Meanwhile, their government enacts morally corrosive imperialism (narrative verbiage), their dominion expanding indefinitely as their infrastructure crumbles from within. This has led to a profit-based imperial monoculture which must conquer, consume, and coerce to perpetuate. As personal politics and service labor grow in importance, people find themselves more inclined to present as "normal" in the interest of financial stability and political expedience. A loading screen visualizes this culture of artificial social normalcy: the portrait of President Aradesh on the NCR 5$ bill neglects to depict his unibrow, earring, and facial scarification, overall portraying the once-chieftain so cleanly-cut as to be unrecognizable at first glance. He also appears to be wearing a collared shirt or suit as opposed to the robe he wore in Fallout.

In the Legion, Caesar has mandated that every legionnaire take a wife and produce children, citing high infant mortality rates and the constant need for soldiers, and going as far as instituting child quotas. He treats human beings as a resource to be exploited for war. Ostensibly in this aim homosexuality has been declared a capital offense punishable by death. Historically, routine demonstrations of violence towards women and gay people are a deliberate feature of fascist societies, the only logical cultural conclusion of a government devoted entirely to war and control. In Forlorn Hope letter 9, an NCR soldier wrote wrote the following to his boyfriend:

Dearest Andrew, Writing this seems pretty morbid, but tomorrow we march into the no man's land between our camp and Nelson, which is crawling with Legion. The Major insisted I write this damn "if you get this, I'm dead" letter so here it is. What a crock. I have the luck of the devil and your love on my side, so I'll be home soon. Keep the porch light on for me. We'll party in New Vegas when I get back. I love you. —Devin

Devin believed he would prevail over the Legion because his love would keep him safe. He was found dying or dead on the battlefield, the letter was found on his body. In a post-release patch, the injured soldiers were removed from the battlefield for performance reasons, and never re-implemented. Driven largely in reaction to the Legion's hyper-masculine posturing and misogyny, rumors persist across the Mojave that gay male relationships are not only common within the Legion, but condoned. These rumors are repeated commonly in NCR society. A closeted NCR Major mentions that the Legion is "a little more... forgiving" about close male "friendships," speaking in a hushed tone to avoid suspicion. At the same outpost, the player can encounter Cass, a bisexual civilian woman. She may flirt with a male Courier, who may imply they are gay, prompting her to imply gay men are more common in the Legion. Even as gay men fight and die in the name of love under his command, NCR General Oliver may remark to Courier Six at the Second Battle of Hoover Dam: "If you think after all that's happened, I'm going to grab my ankles and take it like the Legion..."

This writing pertains to institutionalized homophobia which manifests in practice though power structures and social interactions without being written into law. Simply put, in his derogatory remark, the general expresses to his army that military surrender is gay, much like their gay enemy. From the brevity and bluntness of this remark, it's clear that this sentiment is already well understood among his ranks. Logically, to project strength in the eyes of such a leader, one might also project homophobia by scrutinizing and harassing one's peers and subordinates. In this atmosphere, the expression of homophobia is not only normalized, but materially incentivized. For the ambitious, it becomes a tool, and a way of casting shame upon rivals. For the closeted, homophobia becomes a survival tactic, hoping to throw scrutiny off oneself. This is why Major Knight is immediately frightened when a male Courier flirts with him. He is so profoundly alienated that he romanticizes life as a gay man under the Legion. The Legion punish homosexuality with death, and yet Knight characterizes them as more "forgiving" than the NCR. Through these apparently disparate events, the audience can trace how a distorted perception of gay people emerges among insecure men in a military environment, and subsequently becomes ingrained in the corresponding civilian culture. At the 188 Trading Post, a lesbian from the Brotherhood of Steel named Veronica also wryly remarks that she believes legionaries have gay sex about as often as straight sex. She also notes that this only applies to men, as women have no rights whatsoever in Legion society. In this aside, she conveys a pre-existing frustration with lesbophobic social norms. Veronica also mentions that the people of her bunker would rather she remain on the surface. The Mojave Brotherhood of Steel has no official policy prohibiting homosexuality, but an implicit attitude among its dominant members that their limited numbers require everyone to have children to avoid extinction. Numerically, this may seem logical on the surface, given their reluctance to recruit outsiders. However, given their tiny population, this is an ineffective countermeasure, as they do not have nearly enough members to maintain genetic diversity for more than a few generations. This approach is not universally supported by all family units within the Brotherhood, but every individual is ultimately at the mercy of the elder. Veronica was in a lesbian relationship, but they were quietly separated by Elder Elijah, due to the dominant culture of enforcing heterosexual pairing among their population.

Caesar's law has not ended homosexuality within his domain. Despite the obvious risks, some legionaries have continued to pursue relationships behind closed doors, especially given their access to slaves. So long as members complete their societal obligations and fulfill the child quotas, they are able to pursue romance with other men in secret. Homosexual relationships in the faction are noted as being relatively equal compared to the average Legion husband and wife, in a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" sort of open secret policy. Gay legionaries must always make sure to keep their activities hidden. A centurion was once almost caught fraternizing with the teenage boy he had chosen to tend his tent. Despite previous "romantic" intentions, he quickly resolved to dispose of the slave to dispel suspicion. Had they been caught together, the centurion would have been charged with homosexuality and sentenced to death. This story is only known because the enslaved young man, Jimmy, managed to escape execution. Further illustrating the cruelty intrinsic to Legion governance, it's stated that homosexuality was the crime, and not the rape of a young slave; in fact, it seems Jimmy was forced to contribute to the child quota despite being a gay teenager, and the experience left him traumatized. He has resolved to never have sex with another woman, as the very notion triggers memories which fill him with disgust, and (in his own words) makes him feel like a slave all over again. The Strip is indifferent to gay people, viewing them as another opportunity to make caps. Both the Gomorrah and the Atomic Wrangler are interested in maximizing profits, and their prostitution services cater to clients regardless of their orientation. The openly gay Jimmy works at nearby Casa Madrid, but there is some tension among his peers due to his co-worker Maude's blatant homophobia. She supposes he's "okay, for one of those," and if propositioned by a female Courier, Maude will direct them to Sweetie for such "perverted" services. Pretty Sarah must regularly intervene to keep the peace among her staff.

The Followers of the Apocalypse, well-read punks who seek to embody healing through anarchistic values, are not concerned with gender. Most are openly and casually sexually active. Upon meeting Courier Six, Arcade Gannon offhandedly makes his gayness known, unprompted. The audience must face the fact that Arcade's apprehension of the Legion is far from abstract; under Legion law, he would be put to death. One possible ending gives further insight into Caesar's hypocrisy: should the player sell Arcade into slavery and leave Caesar alive, he will keep Arcade as a personal physician and philosophical advisor. They intellectually spar at length, and Caesar grows singularly fond of him. Accordingly, Arcade imitates the historic suicide of Cato the Younger by disemboweling himself. The Legion's remaining medics attempted to save his life, but none were Arcade's equal. Caesar understood his doctor's final gesture of contempt, and mourned him for months.

New Vegas ventures further into themes of healing from the trauma of sexual violence, from the perspective of a lesbian character. Corporal Betsy, an NCR sharpshooter, is a rape survivor, and suffers with PTSD from the incident. Her unprocessed trauma has manifested as a maladaptive tendency to aggressively and explicitly proposition the women she encounters, in an effort to reassert a sense of control. This defensive hypersexual impulse has negatively impacted her ability to connect with other women. A male superior officer notes that her behavior is inappropriate for anyone of her stature, but abstains from disciplining her out of sincere concern for her mental health. The Courier can help her begin to recognize these problems, and convince her to seek treatment from Doctor Usanagi at the New Vegas medical clinic, which proves helpful to her as she processes and heals from her trauma.

In Old World Blues, the Think Tank are five floating brains in jars who express themselves by waving robotic arms bearing screens depicting facial features. Before the War, they were federal scientists who committed crimes against humanity in the name of weapons development. Each is stuck in some sort of neuro-bionic feedback loop which prevents them from moving forward with their projects, mentally binding them to their central laboratory. Walking through their homes at Higgs Village, it's clear each was deeply neurotic before they were transformed into floating brains. Now without bodies, they attempt to maintain the illusion that they are exempt from sexuality as purely mental beings, but each displays obvious interest in the human form. They have codified this shaming with the term "formography." Most of the men are obsessively defensive over their complete disinterest in penises, which they talk about constantly. However, the shameless Dr. Dala shows overwhelming interest in observing and recording any and all human functions. Already androgynous in her pre-War life, Dala has taken to self-identifying as a "gender neutral entity" (though she is not known to use they/them pronouns). Regardless of the Courier's gender, they may coquettishly scratch themselves, clear their throat, and stretch in front of Dala until her biomed gel decoagulates. Dr. 8 also responds positively to graphic masturbation advice from Couriers of either gender. The X-8 research facility is ostensibly a massive immersive shrine to Doctor Borous's hatred of Richie "Ball-Lover" Marcus, a long-dead child who bullied Borous centuries ago. He also clings to his resentment of one Betsy Bright, who refused to attend a dance with him, supposedly so she could "go smoke with RICHIE MARCUS." Clearly arrested in development, Borous has literally built a temple to the fantasy of torturing his adolescent romantic rival and feeding him to dogs. His frozen, static characterization of the jock Richie Marcus as a "pinko-commie" who "likes balls" reflects the shallowness, pettiness, and overall misanthropy underlying his patriotic identity. It remains apparent throughout Old World Blues that the Think Tank are all chronically sexually repressed, which is inseparable from the values of the violent and judgmental pre-War culture which created them. With time and isolation, this ingrained repression has manifested as various intense and deranged psychosexual behaviors, including rage-fueled homophobia, voyeurism, and the obsessive performance of puritanical pretense.

____

“Although I’ve been out for a very long time, I made a conscious effort to be out with relation to this project, as I wanted to be visible as a lesbian in the game industry. New Vegas itself is, I think, one of (if not the) best games out there in how we treat homosexuality – and all of that is very intentional.”

“If my work on FNV, if my being out has helped even one gay person, then I have succeeded.” — Tess “Obsidian’s Gay Cowgirl” Treadwell

____

written (with help from other editors) for fallout.fandom.com/wiki/LGBT_representation_in_the_Fallout_series criticism welcome